‘An important chance to adjust’

Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen smashed centuries as South Africa headed towards an imposing total in their World Cup clash against Sri Lanka today, October 7.

De Kock, who is playing in his final international tournament, hit his 18th ODI century off 83 balls with 12 fours and three sixes.

De Kock put on 204 runs for the second wicket with van der Dussen before being dismissed off the next ball he faced after reaching 100, top edging a delivery from Matheesha Pathirana to Dhananjaya de Silva at mid-on.

Van der Dussen soon reached his fifth century in the format off 103 balls with 12 fours and three sixes.

De Kock and van der Dussen came together at the fall of the first wicket when skipper Temba Bavuma was trapped lbw by Dilshan Madushanka for just eight in the second over.

Sri Lanka bowl first against South Africa 

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first in their World Cup clash against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.

Both sides arrived in India with injury setbacks.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, are missing leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga while off-break bowler Maheesh Theekshana is still unfit.

South Africa were stripped of fast bowlers Sisanda Malanga and Anrich Nortje.

The Proteas, who have never got beyond the semi-finals of the World Cup, named four fast bowlers in Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee with Keshav Maharaj taking on the main off-spinning role.

The last time they played in New Delhi in 2022, South Africa were bowled out for 99.

Matheesha Pathirana, described by coach Chris Silverwood as possessing the "X Factor" for the World Cup, starts for Sri Lanka with his distinctive slingy style.

Teams

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wkt), Temba Bavuma (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wkt), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (capt),Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana

Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Sharfuddoula (BAN)

TV Umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

In the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup, an all-rounder from Bangladesh lit up the tournament with 606 runs at No 3 and 11 wickets with his left-arm spin.

His name, of course, was Shakib Al Hasan.

Four years down the line, Shakib is now the leader of the Tigers in the 2023 edition of the World Cup in India.

Shakib's role as a batter has changed in the past four years as the all-rounder now occupies a spot in the middle-order.

Shakib has given up the one-down spot to Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has risen to the challenge and is Bangladesh's highest run-getter in the format this year.

Read more

Wake up, the World Cup’s here

So, a performance on par with the 2019 World Cup may be a little hard for even Shakib this time around.

But in the Tiger's opening match at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, the Bangladesh fans saw another all-rounder come to bat at one-down, hit a half-century to steady the innings following a rocky start and snap up three wickets with the ball.

This '2019 Shakibesque' performance came from Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

Miraz took the third wicket to fall in the Afghanistan innings, when he dismissed captain Hashmatullah Shahidi for 18, which initiated a collapse that saw the Afghans lose their remaining seven wickets for 44 runs.

Miraz claimed two more wickets and finished with figures of 3-25.

Read more

The Tamim-Shakib fiasco and Bangladesh’s prospects at the World Cup

The right-handed batter came in to bat at one-down for the first time in his ODI career, although he had batted in that position in Bangladesh's warm-up games against Sri Lanka and England, after Tanzid Hasan got run-out.

After Liton Das played a ball onto his stumps, Miraz got together with Shanto and formed a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket which set Bangladesh on course in the 157-run chase.

The 25-year-old lost his wicket after making 57 off 73 balls as Bangladesh completed the chase with six wickets to spare. Miraz was deservingly named the player of the match.

Miraz is likely to get similar chances higher up the order in the tournament as the management is viewing him as an option in the top-order.

It may be early to say whether Miraz, who has batted at No 7 or 8 for most of his ODI career, would replicate what Shakib did in 2019 or not.

But for one match at least, Miraz conjured up a '2019 Shakibesque' performance.

Saud Shakeel was nowhere near World Cup selection three months ago but a thrilling half-century in Friday's win over the Netherlands underlined his remarkable and rapid rise up the cricketing ladder.

Shakeel actually made his ODI debut in England in 2021 but he was largely out of the reckoning until he cracked an impressive double century in a Test in Sri Lanka in July.

The diminutive 28-year-old, originally seen as a Test specialist, was included in Pakistan's squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan in August but he played only one match where he scored just nine.

The team management, however, led by strategy and analytics manager Hasan Cheema and manager Rehan-ul Haq, backed him and convinced chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq to retain him for the Asia Cup.

Pakistan crashed out of the tournament with defeats against India and Sri Lanka in the tournament.

Perhaps not playing in a single match did Shakeel a favour -- he was included in the 15-man World Cup squad in place of allrounder Faheem Ashraf.

Shakeel showed glimpses of what he can do in the warm-up match against New Zealand with a gritty 53-ball 75.

On Friday, he became the toast of Pakistan's batting with an innings-reviving 52-ball 68 studded with a six and nine boundaries, guiding Pakistan to a fighting 282 after a precarious 38-3.

"I am very pleased to help my team win," said Shakeel at the post-match ceremony. "I tried to follow my basics and be positive for my team despite having early nerves."

Shakeel added 120 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Rizwan who also scored 68.

Pakistan then dismissed the Netherlands for 205 in 41 overs to kick-start their World Cup campaign with an 81-run win.

Shakeel admitted he was lucky at the start.

"I was lucky to get early boundaries," said the left-hander. "We (with Rizwan) discussed that the pressure would transfer if we score, which did happen."

'Next big star' 

Before his Test baptism against England in December last year, former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had predicted Shakeel would make his mark.

"Shakeel has the skill and temperament to become a successful star," Sarfaraz said last year. "Take my word, Shakeel will be the next big star for Pakistan."

Shakeel was the stand-out performer for Pakistan in an otherwise 3-0 annihilation by England who carried on their fiery Bazball approach of demolishing the opponents.

Shakeel scored 346 in six innings -- second highest from Pakistan after Babar Azam's 348.

An unbeaten maiden Test century against New Zealand in Karachi in January put him on track but the double hundred against Sri Lanka changed his Wold Cup fortunes.

So consistent has been Shakeel's scoring that he became the first batter in Test cricket's 146-year history to pass 50 in each of his first seven Tests: his remarkable record, in fact, stands at six half-centuries and two centuries at a Bradmanesque average of 87.50.

"I've been working hard," said Shakeel. "I knew I'd be batting No. 5, I tried to improve my shots, attacking options and be brave. The coaching staff has given me confidence."

And he duly dedicated his man-of-the-match award to his domestic team coach Hanif Malik.

Bangladesh all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz said he had enjoyed the input of veteran skipper Shakib Al Hasan as both spinners struck in the Tigers' six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their World Cup opener.

Shakib, in his fifth World Cup, made the early breakthroughs in a return of 3-30. Mehedi followed up with 3-25 as Afghanistan were dismissed for just 156.

Mehedi, in a player-of-the-match performance, then made 57 as Bangladesh eased to a target of 157 with more than 15 overs to spare in Dharamsala.

"From the start (Afghanistan were 83-1) we didn't expect that," said Mehedi. "Shakib and me did very well. And the first few balls, we got a little bit of turn.

"And after that information was passed on by Shakib that the ball was turning. So, if you bowl on the right track, it might be good for a spinner and obviously for the pace bowlers also. So, we just discuss and think about like how to bowl in these conditions."

If it was the spinners who shone for Bangladesh, the seamers recovered well after some uncertain early overs.

"The way the bowlers bowled was really well," said Mehedi, 25.

"From the start, our fast bowlers didn't bowl well, but they came back strongly."

As for his batting, he said: "I always play at number eight so it was a great opportunity to bat in the top order...it's a great moment for me to perform."

Najmul Hossain Shanto was top scorer for Bangladesh with 59 not out.

"Mehedi, Shanto...these are our in-form players -- they are always confident and want to do well for the team," said Shakib.

The state of the outfield caused concern, with Bangladesh coach Jonathan Trott saying Mujeeb Ur Rehman was fortunate to escape without a serious injury after his left knee went into a sandy surface while diving.

Trott, who stressed he was not blaming the outfield for Afghanistan's defeat, said he did not feel qualified to "make an assessment" on whether the ground was fit to stage World Cup matches.

But the former England batsman added: "You've got players unsure of whether they can dive."

"And when you've got players worried about getting injured...we are lucky Mujeeb hasn't got a serious knee injury towards the end."

Mehedi accepted the outfield was "a little heavy", adding: "The ball wasn't travelling a lot. But you can't blame the outfield...you have to perform in every situation."
 

Cricket got a glimpse into its future during a momentous 2023 but its present continues to be dominated by Australia, who bagged the test and 50-overs world titles under Pat Cummins's inspiring leadership.

After two years of intense lobbying, cricket finally got the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) seal of approval to be part of the 2028 Los Angeles Games having last featured in the world's biggest sporting extravaganza in 1900.

The sport also dipped its toes into a lucrative new market in the United States this year with Major League Cricket (MLC).

With the Indian American CEOs of Microsoft and Adobe among its backers, MLC hopes to squeeze cricket into a crowded sporting landscape dominated by baseball, basketball and American football.

While franchise cricket is driving the game's global growth, it may also supplant national boards to become the primary employer of players.

The owners of eight of the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises also own at least one team in another foreign competition.

The owners of the IPL's Mumbai and Delhi franchises have acquired teams in new T20 tournaments in the U.S., South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

CONTRACT CONTROL

Franchise cricket's expanding footprint has spurred national boards into action, with England introducing multi-year contracts and Australia hiking pay in a bid to essentially retain control over where and when players can play.

Neil Maxwell, Australia's most prominent player agent, told Reuters earlier this year that the current contract system was not sustainable in the long term and that cricket was becoming more like football.

"The landscape is changing, similar to the EPL system where playing for the club is the priority," he said referring to the English Premier League.

Already awash with cash, the IPL could be set for a massive financial boost with Saudi Arabia reportedly set to splurge billions of dollars for a stake.

Should the deep-pocketed Saudis enter the fray, more players could be tempted to decline national contracts in favour of lucrative stints in the IPL and other global leagues, setting the stage for club v country confrontations.

India's powerful board (BCCI) does not allow any of its players, even those without central contracts, to take part in foreign leagues.

But while the IPL has been wary of antagonising the BCCI it is not a stretch to imagine the pair butting heads over player contracts in the coming years.

While those are the unmistakable signs of things to come, Australia are clearly living in the moment.

Barely five months after beating India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval, Australia got the better of Rohit Sharma's men once again to claim a record-extending sixth ODI World Cup title in Ahmedabad.

A deathly silence fell over the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium where 93,000 predominantly India fans sat crestfallen as Australia ended the host's unbeaten run in a stunning title decider.

Should Australia deliver another successful campaign in the T20 edition in the West Indies and United States next year they would become the first team to hold all three World Cup titles at the same time.