Tag: South Africa

South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Australia because of inflammation in his ankle.

Rabada played all three T20I matches in the preceding series between the teams but underwent a scan on Monday after feeling discomfort.

South Africa announced Rabada’s withdrawal just one hour before the ongoing first ODI against Australia in Cairns.

Left-arm 19-year-old quick Kwena Maphaka, who claimed a leading nine wickets in the T20I series, has been added to the squad but was overlooked for the series-opener.

Veteran quick Lungi Ngidi leads the South African attack in the series opener, featuring off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen, who makes his ODI debut.

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It’s worth noting that Kagiso Rabada will remain on the Australia tour, where he will undergo rehabilitation.

With Rabada unavailable and Marco Jansen still recovering from thumb surgery, the fast bowling options in the squad include Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, and Maphaka.

Additionally, seam-bowling all-rounders Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder are also part of the tour.

For spin options, the team has Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, and Prenelan Subrayen.

Following the first match, the teams will move to Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena for the next two matches. Meanwhile, Australia won the hard-fought T20I series 2-1.

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Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has heaped praise on young South African batter Dewald Brevis, widely known as “Baby AB,” drawing parallels with the legendary AB de Villiers.

Brevis, 22, has long carried the tag since his Under-19 days, but his recent exploits are now matching the hype.

In the second T20I against Australia, he smashed an unbeaten 125 off just 56 deliveries, laced with 12 fours and eight sixes, at a strike rate of 223. The innings lifted South Africa to 218 for 7 and sealed a 53-run victory.

That knock also propelled him up the ICC T20I rankings, where he jumped 80 spots to 21st with a career-best 614 rating points.

Speaking to Australian media, Glenn Maxwell acknowledged that while the nickname was flattering, it came with extra baggage.

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“It’s a pretty heavy burden he had to bear early in his career. He probably got fast-tracked a little bit into the South African side,” said Maxwell.

“He’s gone away, worked on his game, and he’s come back playing beautifully. His bat swing is really pure; he’s hard to stop when he gets going.”

Notably, Dewald Brevis has been equally impressive in franchise cricket. After a quiet stint with the Mumbai Indians, he joined the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025 as an injury replacement for INR 2.2 crore.

He quickly made an impact, scoring 225 runs in six games at a strike rate of 180, including two half-centuries.

So far, Brevis has represented South Africa in two Tests and 10 T20Is. With his current form, he is now in strong contention for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, which begins on August 19.

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Jacob Bethell is set to become the youngest England men’s captain as the Three Lions announces squads for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa and Ireland, set to commence in September 2025.

England will contest three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against South Africa. The ODI series begins on Tuesday, 2 September at Headingley.

The three-match T20I series against Ireland will be held at Malahide in Dublin, with the opening game scheduled for Wednesday, September 17.

Jacob Bethell is set to become the youngest England captain after being named as deputy for Harry Brook in the Ireland series.

The 21-year-old will surpass the record held by Monty Bowdow, who was 23 and 144 days when he led England.

Among the notable inclusions is off-pacer Sonny Baker, who has won his maiden call-up to the national side for the ODI series against South Africa.

Meanwhile, Rehan Ahmed is set to return to the ODI fold after having a prolific summer with the bat for his county team.

Following the squad announcement, England men’s selector, Luke Wright, shared his views on Jacob Bethell’s appointment.

“Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever since he has been with the England squads, and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage,” he said.

Wright further commented on Baker’s inclusion and his impressive tour with England Lions.

“Sonny is a player we have identified for a while and he was impressive during the England Lions tours last winter. He has carried that form into this season in white-ball cricket with Hampshire and Manchester Originals and deservedly gets his opportunity,” he remarked.

England ODI squad to face South Africa

Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith

England T20I squad to face South Africa

Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Luke Wood

England T20I squad for Ireland Series

Jacob Bethell (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood

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Dewald Brevis belted South Africa highest T20I individual score with a blistering 125 not out from 56 balls as the tourists stayed alive in the three-match series after a 53-run victory over Australia in Darwin on Tuesday.

Australia decision to bowl backfired as South Africa powered to a massive 218-7 on the back of Brevis’ maiden century in international cricket.

The 22-year-old rescued South Africa from a shaky 57-3 and dominated a 126-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs (31).

“I’m extremely grateful, just happy to be out here on the winning side,” said Brevis, who surpassed Faf du Plessis’ 119 against the West Indies in 2015.

Playing just his ninth T20 international, Brevis smashed eight sixes to leave Australia’s powerful batting line-up with an uphill task.

Australia’s daunting chase was made more difficult after the early wickets of opener Travis Head (five) and Cameron Green (nine).

Australia’s hopes rested with in-form Tim David, fresh off his match-winning 83 in their 17-run victory in the series opener at the same venue.

Promoted to number four, David started with a trio of boundaries and then bludgeoned several massive sixes, including one that landed on the roof.

But David’s 24-ball assault ended on 50 when he hit spearhead Kagiso Rabada straight to cover.

Australia’s chase ran out of steam, bowled out for 165 in the 18th over with quicks Corbin Bosch and Kwena Maphaka picking up three wickets each.

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“Chasing that down was always going to be tough and we needed a few partnerships, which we couldn’t do,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said.

Without several key batsmen for this tour, South Africa had struggled to fire in the opening game.

Captain Aiden Markram signalled his intent with a sublime boundary off the first ball of the innings, rattling quick Josh Hazlewood.

But Markram (18) fell tamely to a fired-up Glenn Maxwell, who celebrated another wicket when he had Lhuan-dre Pretorius (10) stumped to leave South Africa in trouble.

Likened to legendary South Africa batter AB de Villiers, Brevis turned the innings on its head to power past his previous highest T20 international score of 41.

Brevis received a life on 56 when substitute fielder Matthew Kuhnemann fumbled on the boundary off the bowling of an increasingly frustrated Maxwell.

Brevis made Australia pay and in a flash he was saluting the crowd after reaching his century with a boundary off his 41st delivery.

Maxwell and quick Ben Dwarshuis picked up two wickets apiece in an unusually ragged effort in the field for Australia, whose nine-match T20 win streak ended.

The series-decider will be played in the Queensland city of Cairns on Saturday.

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Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes defending champions South Africa face an uphill task in qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 final.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra assessed the Proteas’ fixtures in the current cycle and said their schedule leaves little margin for error.

“Australia, England, and Bangladesh are South Africa’s home series. Australia and England will be tough, and they will beat Bangladesh,” he said.

Their away assignments against India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, all in the subcontinent, were identified as the biggest challenge.

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“All three of their away series are in the subcontinent. They will find it difficult to even draw those series. In my opinion, South Africa might not qualify [for the WTC final]. There’s a good chance they won’t,” Aakash Chopra added.

The cricketer-turned-analyst said Bangladesh would be South Africa’s easiest opponent in the cycle, while fixtures against England and New Zealand could still be tricky.

“They will 100 percent win against Bangladesh. They should win against New Zealand. They should win against England as well. However, it’s a five-match series, so they are unlikely to get full points,” he explained.

South Africa are the reigning WTC champions, having defeated Australia by five wickets at Lord’s in the 2023-25 final, their first ICC title since winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998.

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Tim David crunched eight sixes in a blistering 83 from 52 balls in the opening Australia vs South Africa T20I clash of the three-match series to help the hosts in Darwin on Sunday.

After being sent in, Australia were all out for 178 on the final delivery of their 20 overs.

The Australia vs South Africa match also marked the first international cricket game in Darwin in 17 years.

Cameron Green (35 off 13) was the only other batter to get going, with left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka bagging 4-20 as South Africa bowled out Australia for the first time in a T20.

But David’s phenomenal innings proved enough, with the Proteas restricted to 161-9 in reply. That was despite a battling 71 from Ryan Rickelton, who fell to a spectacular Glenn Maxwell catch on the boundary.

For Australia, Josh Hazlewood and Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets each.

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Backing up from a recent 5-0 series sweep against the West Indies, Australia signalled their intent early with Marsh slamming a six off the first ball.

But he lost opening partner Travis Head (two) and Josh Inglis (golden duck) in the space of three deliveries and then skied Kagiso Rabada on 13, with Maphaka taking a tricky catch before Green and David let loose.

They put on a quickfire 40 for the fourth wicket before Green was undone by a slower ball from Lungi Ngidi.

Australia were in trouble on 75-6 when Mitchell Owen was out for two and dangerman Glenn Maxwell went for one.

But David dug in and, with Dwarshuis (17), added 59 for the seventh wicket.

David was dropped by Tristan Stubbs on 56, although Stubbs made amends by holding the catch that finally removed the big Australian after a power-packed knock.

South Africa started poorly in the chase, with skipper Aiden Markram out to Hazlewood in the first over, and they had lost three wickets for 48 by the sixth over.

Rickelton and Stubbs (37) knuckled down in a threatening 72-run stand, but Hazlewood struck again with two wickets in an over to shatter their momentum.

South Africa’s hopes were all but over when Adam Zampa matched Hazlewood’s feat in the next over.

The second match of the Australia vs South Africa series will be played in Darwin on Tuesday.

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Australia have named their first-choice opening duo of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head for the T20 World Cup, which is set to commence in Sri Lanka and India next year.

The T20I skipper, Mitchell Marsh, on Friday confirmed that he and southpaw Travis Head will occupy the top two spots until next year’s shorter format World Cup.

The announcement came ahead of the three-match T20I series opener against South Africa, which is set to begin on August 10 at Darwin.

“It’ll be myself and Heady [Travis Head] up the top for the foreseeable future,” Marsh told reporters in Darwin on Friday.

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“Obviously we’ve played a lot together, (we’ve) got a great relationship, so (we’ll) start there.”

Australia is coming off a 5-0 clean sweep over West Indies, where Marsh opened the batting in all five matches, a thing he had done only once before the tour.

Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head had never opened in the T20I format for Australia; however, they have been pivotal in ODIs, boasting an excellent record.

The pair have amassed 282 runs in just five innings at a stellar average of 70.50 in the shorter format.

Across all formats, Marsh and Head have accumulated 504 runs across 14 innings at an average of 38.67, including one century and three half-century partnerships.

Australia T20 squad:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa

Schedule of Australia-South Africa T20I Series 

August 10: First T20I, Marrara Stadium, Darwin

August 12: Second T20I, Marrara Stadium, Darwin

August 16: Third T20I, Cazalys Stadium, Cairns

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HARARE: Matt Henry took two wickets in the final over as New Zealand beat South Africa by three runs in the final of the Zimbabwe T20I tri-series at Harare Sports Club here on Saturday.

Chasing New Zealand’s total of 180 for five, South Africa were on the brink of victory when big-hitting Dewald Brevis hit 15 runs, including two sixes, off the penultimate over from Zakary Foulkes.

South Africa needed seven off the last over to edge past New Zealand.

It seemed Brevis might have hit another six off the second ball, but Michael Bracewell on the deep midwicket boundary held a high hit and calmly tossed the ball up before crossing the rope and then stepping back to complete the catch.

Three runs were scored off the next two balls before Daryl Mitchell held a diving catch at long-on to dismiss George Linde. Henry closed out the match with a dot ball.

Fast bowler Henry was named player of the match as well as player of the tournament after finishing as the leading wicket-taker with ten wickets.

“South Africa got off to a flier,” Henry said of South Africa’s opening stand of 92 between Lhuan-dre Pretorius (51) and Reeza Hendricks (37).

“It’s a credit to our team for staying in the fight, knowing wickets can change things.”

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After defeating South Africa, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his players’ ability to “hang in there” on what he described as the best batting pitch of the tournament.

“Guys stepped up on different occasions throughout this tri-series,” said Santner.

“There were a lot of challenges with the ball today, but the guys were ready and really clear on how they wanted to operate.”

South Africa captain Rassie van der Dussen said he was proud of the way a young team missing several leading players had competed.

“A centimetre more and the result would have been different,” he said.

Tim Seifert (30) and Devon Conway (47) put on 75 for New Zealand’s first wicket, and Rachin Ravindra contributed a hard-hit 47 off 27 balls before South Africa’s tactic of bowling low full tosses kept the total in check towards the end of the innings.

South Africa also lost momentum after their fast start before Brevis slammed 31 off 16 balls with three sixes, which so nearly could have been four.

A lengthy check was needed by the television umpire to determine whether Bracewell had stepped on the boundary rope while still holding the ball.

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JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday unveiled its squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia, marking the return of key players though, experienced batter David Miller was notably absent from both the ODI and T20 line-ups.

South Africa’s regular white-ball skippers Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma are set to lead the T20I and ODI squads, respectively, after missing out on the Zimbabwe tour.

Bavuma was out of the Zimbabwe Tests with a hamstring injury sustained at the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June, while Markram was rested from the Proteas Test and T20I series against Zimbabwe.

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Among the South African regular players, David Miller and Marco Jansen are not included in either of the squads. The left-arm pacer is out due to injury, while David Miller, who will be playing in the hundred, will return to the team for the White-ball tour of England in September.

South Africa’s pace attack will be led by Kagiso Rabada in both squads, while Keshav Maharaj will take the responsibilities in the spin department, although in ODIs.

The Proteas batting line welcomed the return of opening batter Ryan Rickelton and midlde-order batter Tristan Stubbs. Moreover, young batters Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis, currently playing in the Zimbabwe tour, have been retained.

South Africa ODI Squad

Temba Bavuma (capt), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen

South Africa T20I Squad

Aiden Markram (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Rassie van der Dussen

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New Zealand bowlers set up a comfortable seven-wicket win against South Africa in their Zimbabwe Twenty20 international tri-series match at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.

South Africa were restricted to 134 for eight in their 20 overs after being sent in, thanks to a clinical bowling display from New Zealand bowlers.

New Zealand opening batter Tim Seifert hit 66 not out as the Black Caps cruised to victory with 25 balls to spare.

New Zealand maintained their unbeaten record in the tournament and will go into the final against the same opponents at the same venue on Saturday as strong favourites. They won their first match against the Proteas by 21 runs.

South Africa could score only 18 runs in the first five overs despite losing only one wicket. “The way we bowled in the power play was outstanding,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner.

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“Our bowlers found a length and found some swin,g and we were able to squeeze from there,” said Santner.

Jacob Duffy and Adam Milne took two wickets each while fellow pace bowler Zachary Foulkes only conceded 12 runs in his three overs.

South Africa packed their team with spin bowlers, but the tactic unravelled in the first over against an explosive New Zealand batting, bowled by left-arm spinner George Linde, as they attempted to defend a low total.

Linde started with two wides, one of which went to the boundary for four extra runs. Then Seifert was dropped at long-off before he had scored. The over cost South Africa 15 runs.

Seifert and fellow opener Devon Conway (19) took the total to 50 in the first five overs, and the Black Caps were in control for the rest of the match.

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