Tag: South Africa

ANTIGUA: South Africa have won the toss and elected to bowl first against the West Indies in a crucial Super Eights fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday.

PLAYING XIs

South African batter David Miller was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during his side’s ICC Men’s Super Eight match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 against England.

The left-handed batter was handed an official reprimand over the Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the final stages of the South African innings.

Furthermore, one demerit point has been added to Miller’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.

The incident occurred in the 19th over when the South African batter faced a full toss delivery from Sam Curran and signalled for a review, expecting it to be called a no-ball.

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However, a review is not possible in such decisions, so umpires disregarded his appeal, leading him to show dissent and breach Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

The charges were levelled by the on-field umpires Chris Brown and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Joel Wilson, and fourth umpire Chris Gaffaney.

For the unversed, if a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned.

Notably, David Miller was a notable contributor to South Africa’s narrow-victory over England with a 28-ball 43 which featured four fours and two sixes.

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KINGSTOWN: Tabraiz Shamsi took a four-wicket haul to lead South Africa to a narrow one-run victory over a spirited Nepal side in a thrilling ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 clash here at Arnos Vale Ground on Friday.

Chasing 116, Nepal needed two off the last ball, however, South Africa held on their nerves and ran out Gulsan Jha to earn the hard-fought win.

Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh gave Nepal a cautious start with a 35-run opening pair in 7.2 balls before Tabraiz Shamsi halted their momentum.

Shamsi bowled Bhurtel, who scored 13 off 21, and Rohit Paudel (0) in three balls in the eighth over.

Anil Shah then scored a 24-ball 27 during the 50-run stand for the third wicket with Sheikh to force Nepal’s comeback. Aiden Markram dismissed Shah with 85 runs on the board in 13.4 overs.

Shamsi once struck twice in an over, removing Dipendra Singh Airee (6) and a settled Aasif Sheikh to close the 18th over at 100-6.

Sheikh top-scored for Nepal with 42 runs from 49 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six.

With 16 required off two overs, Anrich Nortje bowled the penultimate over and called Kushal Malla to further dent Nepal’s pursuit, however, Kompal Sami scored eight runs off the last two balls, including one six.

Ottneil Baartman bowled the last over and gave away six runs to lead his side to a thrilling victory.

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Shamsi returned with the figures of 4-19, while Nortje and Markram picked one wicket each.

Sent into bat first, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock (10) early in the fourth over with 22 runs on the board.

Hendricks was joined by skipper Aiden Markram (15) and together they constructed a cautious 46-run partnership from as many balls before Bhurtel struck to pick his first wicket.

Bhurtel soon dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (3), while Dipendra Singh Airee removed a set Hendricks, who played a cautious knock of 43 runs from 49 balls.

Hendricks’ innings featured five boundaries and one six.

Tristan Stubbs played an unbeaten cameo of 27 runs from 18 balls, laced with two boundaries and one six.

Meanwhile, Bhurtel Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada on the final two balls of the innings to restrict South Africa to 115-7 in 20 overs.

Bhurtel’s figures read 4-19, while Airee claimed three wickets for Nepal.

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KINGSTOWN: Nepal have won the toss and opted to field first against South Africa in the 31st match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Arnos Vale Ground on Friday.

PLAYING XI

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich Nortje

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Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Anil Sah, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Gulshan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Abinash Bohara

READ: Tim Southee reprimanded by ICC over code of conduct breach

NEW YORK: Heinrich Klaasen’s 46-run knock, followed by Keshav Maharaj’s last-over heroice helped South Africa register a narrow four-run victory over Bangladesh in a thrilling ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 clash here on Monday.

With this victory, South Africa booked their place in the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, having six points from three games.

Chasing a modest target of 114, Bangladesh managed only 109 courtesy of Maharaj’s double-wicket last over.

Bangladesh lost the opening batter Tanzid Hasan in the second over with nine runs on the board.

Najmul Hossain Shanto then added 20 runs from 25 balls with Litton Das (9) for the second wicket before Maharaj struck to remove the latter.

Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje dismissed Shakib Al Hasan (3) and Shanto in consecutive overs to reduce Bangladesh to 50-4 in 9.5 overs. Shanto scored a scratchy 23-ball 14.

Towhid Hridoy and Mahmdullah then attempted to bring Bangladesh back into the match with a 44-run partnership from 45 balls.

With 20 required off 18 balls, Bangladesh looked like favourites to win the game, however, South African bowlers pulled things to clinch a thrilling victory.

Kagiso Rabada dismissed Hridoy on the first ball of the 18th over and gave away only two runs in the over, leaving Bangladesh to chase 18 off 12.

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Hridoy top-scored for Bangladesh with a 37-run knock from 34 balls, laced with two boundaries and two sixes.

Ottneil Baartman gave seven runs in the penultimate over and left 11 runs to defend in the last over.

Maharaj brilliantly defended the target, giving away only six runs and taking two wickets to steer his side to the Super Eight stage of the tournament.

The left-arm spinner topped the bowling chart for South Africa with figures of 3-27, while Rabada and Nortje claimed two wickets.

South Africa opted to bat first, however, the decision backfired as Bangladesh reduced the batting side to 23-4 in the fifth over, with pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib taking three early wickets.

Klaasen and David Miller (29) then joined hands to help South Africa recover with a 79-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Klaasen played a gritty knock of 46 runs from 44 balls with the help of three sixes and two boundaries before Taskin Ahmed castled him in the 18th over.

Except for Klaasen, Miller, and Quinton de Kock (18), no other batter managed to reach double figures as South Africa set Bangladesh to chase 114.

Sakib led the bowling charts for Bangladesh with figures of 3-18, while Ahmed took two wickets.

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NEW YORK: South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat first against Bangladesh in the 21st match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium here on Monday.

Playing XIs

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UYO: South Africa held Nigeria for a 1-1 draw on Friday at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium to keep the Super Eagles without a victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier.

The stalemate saw Nigeria drop to fourth in Group C with three points from as many matches with South Africa third on four points.

Minnows Lesotho ranked 149th in the world, are top of the Group C standings with five points on the back of a 2-0 win over Zimbabwe earlier on Friday.

Rwanda are second with four points and a better goal difference than both Benin and South Africa.

Friday’s match in the southern Nigerian town of Uyo was a repeat of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in the Ivory Coast, which also ended 1-1 before Nigeria won on penalties.

The hosts started brightly with Paul Onuachu, Ademola Lookman and Benjamin Tanimu having shots at goal in the first half.

South Africa gradually settled into the game. A Teboho Mokoena free kick brushed off the crossbar with Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali beaten.

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The visitors were rewarded in the 29th minute when Themba Zwane took on the Nigerian defence on his own before he fired home the opening goal.

Tanimu came to the rescue of the Super Eagles after 36 minutes, when goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali was beaten by a chipped effort, but the Tanzania-based defender headed to safety.

But Alex Iwobi teed up Fisayo Dele-Bashiru for the equaliser after the break as Bafana Bafana often tore through the Nigerian defence.

Both sides had their chances to break the deadlock in the second half.

South Africa continued to pour forward, but Elias Mokwana failed to finish off another sleek attacking move while visiting goalkeeper Ronwen Williams cleared an Onuachu header.

And Williams denied Atalanta forward Lookman in stoppage time when he turned away a goal-bound effort for a corner.

Group C remains wide open with Nigeria, two points adrift of Lesotho in fifth place, hoping to register their first win away against Benin on Monday, with South Africa playing at home against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

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KINGSTON: Johnson Charles played a scintillating knock to help West Indies thump South Africa in the third T20I and complete the 3-0 whitewash here at Sabina Park on Sunday.

While chasing 164, Charles inspired the Caribbean side to a crushing victory with 6.1 overs to spare after losing only two wickets.

Charles along with West Indies’ stand-in captain Brandon King gave the home side a tremendous start with a 92-run opening partnership in only 6.4 overs, with the former scoring the majority of runs.

Charles scored a smashing 69-run knock from only 26 balls, which featured 14 boundaries including five sixes before he fell to Nqabayomzi Peter.

Kyle Mayers joined King and carried the momentum until Gerald Coetzee removed King, who scored 44 off 28 with the help of four sixes and two boundaries.

Mayers remained unbeaten with 36 runs from 23 balls, laced with four sixes, guiding West Indies to an impressive victory ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Earlier, South Africa opted to bat first and put 163-7 on board in their allocated 20 overs with skipper Rassie van der Dussen being the top-scorer with 51 off 31.

His innings featured five sixes and one boundary, while Wiaan Mulder was another notable contributor with 36 runs.

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West Indies pacer Obed McCoy, who was named in the World Cup squad as a replacement for injured Jason Holder, topped the bowling charts with 3-39, while Shamar Joseph and Gudakesh Motie picked two wickets.

“Happy with my own performance,” the West Indies skipper said. “I would’ve liked to carry my bat through the end though. It was an important 3-0 win, last series before the World Cup, so important preparation and good momentum going into the World Cup.

“Our bowling performances were very pleasing, we had consistency throughout,” King added.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s captain expressed his disappointment following the clean-sweep loss and credited West Indies for outclassing them.

“Thoroughly disappointing. Not what we had in mind coming here,” Van der Dussen said. “From the first game, they were all over us. We couldn’t adapt, and today we couldn’t find answers with the ball. Not happy with that.

“The chat coming into today was that you can chat all you want but have to deliver in the middle. We couldn’t do that today. Time for talking is done, we’ll need our experienced people coming in to take more responsibility. There’s no excuse,” he added.

“We were caught off guard how they played with the bat and they were better with the ball as simple as that. We were taught a few lessons.”

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KINGSTON: West Indies’ stand-in captain Brandon King scored a brilliant half-century, coupled with a dominant bowling performance that guided the home team to a 28-run victory over South Africa in the first T20I at Sabina Park on Thursday.

After being invited to bat first, King gave West Indies a flying start with his belligerent hitting. He lost his opening partner Johnson Charles (1) in the fourth over.

However, he continued the onslaught during the 79-run partnership with Kyle Mayers, with King scoring the bulk of runs.

The skipper was dismissed by Andile Phehlukwayo after scoring 79 runs from 45 balls with the help of six sixes and six boundaries.

South African bowler made an amazing comeback after King’s wicket, restricting West Indies to 175-8 in their 20 overs.

Mayers (34) and Roston Chase (32*) remained the only batters other than King to score in double figures.

For South Africa, Phehlukwayo and Ottneil Baartman claimed three wickets each.

In response, South Africa had a horrible start as they lost two wickets inside two overs with 11 runs on the board.

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Reeza Hendricks raised a 42-run stand with Rassie van der Dussen (17) for the fourth wicket, however, Gudakesh Motie bowled a two-wicket over to reduce South Africa to 78-5 in 10.5 overs.

Hendricks waged a lone war as wickets kept falling from the other end. He played a gutsy 87-run knock from 51 balls, featuring six boundaries and six sixes, before falling in the final over.

Matthew Forde picked two wickets in the last over to book South Africa for 147 runs, registering a comfortable 28-run win.

Forde and Moties picked three wickets each while Obed McCoy grabbed two.

“I know the conditions well, which was an advantage,” said King, who was playing at his home Sabina Park ground.

“We knew we had to go hard against the new ball as it’d get tougher later. We had 200-220 in mind as we had wickets in hand but fell short on a tough pitch.”

The second and third games of the series are also being played in Kingston on Saturday and Sunday ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 hosted by the West Indies and the United States which starts on June 1.

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KINGSTON: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa, starting from May 23.

The three-match series will serve as the final preparation for both teams before the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which is scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the United States of America from June 1.

Top-order batter Brandon King will lead the Caribbean squad against South Africa as their regular captain Rovman Powell will not feature in the series owing to commitments with the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.

Along with Powell, key players Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford will also miss the series due to the ongoing IPL. However, Joseph and Rutherford will join the West Indies squad if their teams fail to reach the IPL final.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope have been given rest ahead of the mega-event, as their IPL teams have been knocked out.

“These are among the last competitive T20 international matches before the start of the World Cup,” lead selector Desmond Haynes said.

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“Players have the opportunity to fine-tune their skills and ensure they are as prepared as they can be for the World Cup, whether they are in the final squad or reserve pool.”

“We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua,” head coach Daren Sammy said.

“Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the IPL and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup.”

West Indies squad for South Africa T20Is

Brandon King (c), Roston Chase, Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Series schedule:
First T20I, Jamaica, May 23
Second T20I, Jamaica, May 25
Third T20I, Jamaica, May 26

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