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Dean Elgar averages under 40 and he wants to change that. He wants to be more consistent as he continues to establish himself as South Africa’s senior opener

Firdose Moonda at Newlands02-Jan-20172:47

‘Every Test hundred is up there’ – Elgar

“It was bloody really just pissing me off a little bit.”In between mouthfuls of one of the media’s post-play pies (which he nicked), Dean Elgar told us what he thought about reaching a sixth Test century, one match after squandering two good starts in the Port Elizabeth Test.The thing about Elgar is that he is hard on himself. In his 31st Test, he averages under 40 and he wants to change that. He wants to be more consistent as he continues to establish himself as South Africa’s senior opener and he has been consulting widely on how to do that.”I’ve tended to get a hundred early in the series and then I don’t get on – I get these stupid 20s and 30s and 40s, which are highly frustrating. I know that’s not my character,” Elgar said. “I had some chats with the Titans coach and some input from guys who aren’t in our squad.”Since returning home from Australia, where Elgar scored a century in Perth and then tapered off, he has chatted to Mark Boucher, who had the same bulldog in him as Elgar does, about how to do more than get one hundred a series. Boucher’s answer lay in simplifying his gameplan.”In the past I was going too hard at the ball. Hence I was sitting watching the game and not playing the game. It was part of that mental switch I had to go through. It was frustrating in previous series and games, which was bloody really just pissing me off a little bit.”So Elgar has gone back to being patient and letting the bowlers be his guide for when he can cash in. He is willing to see out the difficult periods, knowing that this attack have a tendency to try too hard early on and tire later.”We knew that if we get through the first hour, once that new ball becomes a little bit older, it’s going to give us a few more run-scoring opportunities. We feel that their bowlers maybe go searching more, especially in the early overs, and that gives you a few free hits and boundaries.”Although Elgar’s innings seemed to gain fluency as it went on, his second fifty actually took more balls (99) than his first (87). It was Quinton de Kock, not Elgar, who pushed the accelerator on South Africa’s effort late in the day but that’s one thing that does not bloody really just piss Elgar off.”Quinny is one of those freaks of world cricket. His nature of play is not going to change very much. He puts bowlers under a lot of pressure. They tend to think they’re on top of him but next thing you wipe your eyes and he’s got a fifty,” Elgar said.”I can’t compete with Quinny. He’s a world-beater. The minute I start trying to compete with him is when I’m going to fail, more times than not. He’s one of those guys who can really kill the opposition when he gets going.”

Faf du Plessis has declared himself as having a “60-40” chance of playing the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe after picking up a viral infection in the week leading up to the game

Firdose Moonda25-Dec-2017

Faf du Plessis has declared himself as having a “60-40″ chance of playing the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe after picking up a viral infection in the week leading up to the game. Du Plessis had been out of action since late October, when he sustained a back injury against Bangladesh, and took no part in the recently completed domestic T20 competition. Instead, he used the time to undergo surgery on a troublesome shoulder and though he was 80% ready to play last week, his chances have diminished because of illness.”Last week I was 80-20 for playing, probably now 60-40,” du Plessis said on Christmas Eve. “My progress was really good over the last two weeks but I picked up a virus last week which has slowed me down a little bit. Right now, where we stand, trying to get to practice and see how it feels. I practised on Saturday and there was still a bit of pain in the back and when the professionals say there is pain in the disc, there is still a bit of risk.”A final call will be taken on du Plessis’ availability on the day of the Test, and if he is passed fit he is certain he will be ready despite two months on the sidelines. “I have been feeling really good in the nets,” du Plessis said. “I’ve had some time when the guys were playing Ram Slam. I was working with Neil Mckenzie (former batting coach) in Cape Town and faced Dale [Steyn], also trying to see where he was at. It was a great opportunity for me to work with him. I felt very good in the nets. I’d rather feel good and play no cricket than play cricket and not feel good.”Steyn is the other player South Africa are not wanting to rush back into the starting XI, primarily because they are mindful of managing bowlers’ workloads over the next three months. Steyn has not played international cricket in more than a year while recovering from shoulder surgery and has had numerous setbacks on his way to complete recovery. He bowled 12 over for the CSA Invitation XI in Zimbabwe’s warm-up game last week and came through well but unless South Africa are sure he is ready for the rigours of Test cricket, they may save him for later in the season.”With Dale, in terms of the amount of overs he has bowled leading up to the first Test, it’s important to assess how ready he is to bowl at full intensity which is where we want him to be,” du Plessis said. “You want a Dale at 100% ready to go when he plays. If we feel that he is there, we will make a decision. If we feel he isn’t quite where he needs to be from a Test-match-intensity point of view, there is still enough time to get him ready before that first Test against India.”While the January Tests against India are on South Africa’s mind and du Plessis admitted to “already thinking [about the] balance of the team, trying to think of combinations that would be best suited to beat India”, the Zimbabwe match is not being downplayed, especially as it serves as something of a warm-up.South Africa last played a Test in early October against Bangladesh and last played genuinely competitive Test cricket in July-August in England so finding rhythm is crucial ahead of bigger challenges. “We have an opportunity to play against Zimbabwe, whether it’s pink or red [ball], just to get some Test cricket in again. It’s going to be a nice challenge to get ourselves running again because we’ve got a jam-packed season coming up, India and Australia,” du Plessis said. “This will be a nice Test for us to get back into the swing of things.”The novelty of the pink ball has somewhat waned for South Africa – they faced it in Adelaide last year and concluded that though the idea of a day-night Test sounds totally different to a regular match, most of the match is actually played in the day – but the shortened four-day format is new. For du Plessis, an innovative, experimental captain, it provides another occasion to try something funky. “There’s even more room for the unknown and thinking out of the box and making sure you can outsmart and out-think the opposition, so definitely if there is an opportunity to do that, we’ll do it.”

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said that pacers Trent Boult and Tim Southee will sit out parts of the limited-overs series against Bangladesh at home in a bid to keep them fresh through a lengthy home summer

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2016

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said that pacers Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be used sparingly in the upcoming home series against Bangladesh in a bid to help them get through a busy home season that culimates with the Test series against South Africa in March.New Zealand’s home summer begins on Boxing Day with the first of three ODIs against Bangladesh, in Christchurch. While Boult is expected to sit out of the last ODI and the start of the three-match T20I series that follows, Southee will miss the T20 leg altogether to stay fresh for the first Test that begins in Wellington on January 12.”It’s always a balancing act with guys that play all three forms, especially the bowlers,” Hesson said. “We’ll give them a chance to get their loads up so they’re ready to go for the Test match.”Boult was New Zealand’s most successful bowler in their previous international assignment – the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in which he took six wickets in three matches at 30. Both he and Southee have played for Northern Knights in the 2016-17 Super Smash.Hesson further indicated that while the pace-bowling duo are the only ones identified for a lighter schedule, there may be other personnel too who could be rested.Kane Williamson, the captain, joined the squad on Saturday after having had a break of two weeks to re-energise. Williamson has not played a match since the final ODI against Australia at the MCG and will have just a couple of training sessions as preparation for the Bangladesh series.”It’s been nice to be able to give him a break,” Hesson said. “It’s a tough ask playing all three forms of the game and you’re captain as well. I’ve left him alone, to be fair, to enjoy his break rather than getting annoying phone calls from me all the time. He’s certainly fresh and ready to go.”Despite New Zealand’s recent dip in form in ODIs – they lost 3-2 in India before being blanked 3-0 in Australia – Hesson exuded confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back.”I think it’s been good the guys have had 10-12 days home playing some domestic cricket,” he said. They are getting some confidence back, and on the back of a couple of wins in India …. it wasn’t too long ago that had some pretty good memories.”

قدم مدرب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي، بيب جوارديولا، آخر التحديثات الخاصة بفريقه قبل مواجهة إيفرتون في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويلاقي مانشستر سيتي خصمه إيفرتون، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثامنة عشر من منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي، الخميس، على ملعب “الاتحاد”.

ويحتل مانشستر سيتي المركز السابع في ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 27 نقطة، بينما يأتي إيفرتون في المركز الخامس عشر برصيد 16 نقطة.

اقرأ ايضاً.. تعويضاً لإصابة ساكا.. آرسنال يقترب من ضم هدف ليفربول في الميركاتو الشتوي

وقال بيب جوارديولا في المؤتمر الصحفي قبل المباراة: “الأمر يتعلق بنا للعودة إلى أفضل مستوياتنا، سيستغرق ذلك بعض الوقت، لكن علينا تحقيق النتائج في أسرع وقت ممكن. نواجه إيفرتون وهم في لحظة جيدة ونتائجهم وأداؤهم يثبتان ذلك”.

وسخر جوارديولا من أسئلة أحد الصحفيين حينما قال أنه تفوق على شون دايتش في جميع المباريات ويعتبره خصما مثاليا، أجاب المدرب الإسباني: “أنت لطيف للغاية، في هذا الوضع لا يوجد خصم مثالي”.

وعن هالاند أوضح بيب قائلاً: “الأمر يتعلق بنا جميعًا وليس فقط بلاعب واحد. عندما كان إيرلينج يسجل الكثير من الأهداف كان الأمر يتعلق بنا كفريق. هالاند مهم جدًا لنا وسيظل كذلك ونحتاج إلى استخدامه بطريقة أفضل”.

وأكد المدرب الإسباني حول نقطة ضعف مانشستر سيتي: “اللاعبون يركضون أكثر من أي وقت مضى لكن العديد من التفاصيل الصغيرة والكبيرة تجعلنا لسنا كما كنا سابقًا، ومع ذلك لدينا فرصة أخرى في المباراة المقبلة”.

وحول جاهزية ستونز وباقي المصابين، أفاد: “ستونز ربما لا يكون جاهزًا للمباراة. وبخصوص بقية الفريق، حاليًا لا أعرف، سنجري التدريبات بعد الظهر وسنعرف كم عدد اللاعبين المتاحين لدينا”.

وأنهى حديثه قائلاً: “لدينا لاعبون سيعودون في وقت معين وسنكون أفضل بمجرد جاهزيتهم”.

Essex are well beaten but both sides fail to make the last eight

ECB Reporters Network18-Aug-2017Sussex Sharks won their final group game in the NatWest T20 Blast when they beat Essex Eagles by 55 runs at Hove on Friday. But their convincing victory was still not enough to see them through to the quarter-finals of the competition as they were edged out of the tournament on Net Run Rate.Chris Nash’s 73 gave Sussex the edge as he batted with Luke Wright as a runner towards the end of his innings after pulling up in pain following a quick single.Chris Nash batted with a runner but his efforts were in vain•Getty Images

Essex never looked likely to get close to a target of 173 on the thrilling last night of the competition’s group stages.Unlike Sussex earlier in the evening, their Essex innings got off to an awful start. Varun Chopra was out in the first over when he hit Danny Briggs to deep midwicket. And the wickets continued to fall.Dan Lawrence was caught in the covers when he got a think edge to one from David Wiese and the bowler struck again in the same over when Ravi Bopara was well caught behind buy the diving Ben Brown to make it 33 for 3 in the fourth over.It was 45 for 4 when James Foster was caught behind and Essex were in deep trouble at 49 for 5 in the eighth over when Will Beer had Ashar Zaidi caught at deep square-leg. Everything now depended on Ryan ten Doeschate. But when he hit Beer high in the direction of cow corner Chris Jordan took an excellent running catch. After that even some late clouting from Paul Walter and Simon Harmer could not get the Eagles close.When Sussex batted Chris Nash was once again their star, with an innings of 73 off 55 deliveries. It was his sixth half-century in the competition this year as he continued to turn around his disappointing early season form.There were seven fours and two sixes in his innings which ended unluckily in the penultimate over when, playing a ramp shot off Mohammad Amir, he flicked a bail off his stumps with the stroke.Nash and Luke Wright put on 84 for the first wicket before Wright, attempting a straight six, was caught just inside the boundary by Ryan ten Doeschate for a 23-ball 37 in the ninth over.The Sussex innings stumbled as they lost three wickets while scoring 18 runs off four overs. Sussex were without skipper Ross Taylor, who had returned home to New Zealand for family reasons. But Nash finally found the support he needed in Laurie Evans, who hit an astonishing six over midwicket off Jamie Porter on his way to 47 off 34 deliveries.

Brett D’Oliveira followed his hundred against Essex with another impressive display on the opening day against Glamorgan

ECB Reporters Network08-May-2016
ScorecardJoe Clarke continued his fine start to the season•Getty Images

It was fifty-one years ago to the day that Basil D’Oliveira struck his maiden Championship century against Essex, a feat his grandson Brett repeated last week against the same opposition at New Road. He quickly added a second hundred in Cardiff against a Glamorgan attack who toiled with little reward on a good pitch that did offer something early on to the five seamers they had surprisingly selected ahead of a recognised spinner.D’Oliveira was at the crease throughout the day for his career best 152 not out and his concentration never wavered although he was dropped twice and often played and missed early in his innings. He was well supported by Joe Clarke, who reached his hundred in the penultimate over of the day, as the pair added an unbroken 209.D’Oliveira said: “I had to work hard out there today, probably harder than I did against Essex last week. They bowled well in the morning, and I had to be patient, play straight and keep digging in. We will have to keep on going tomorrow, and hope that the poor weather forecast doesn’t materialise.”Although there was more grass than usual left on the pitch Worcestershire opted to bat after winning the toss, with Daryl Mitchell and D’Oliveira putting on 26, before Craig Meschede trapped Mitchell with one that nipped back in the seventh over.This brought in Moeen Ali, playing his last game for the county before joining the England squad next week, and he unfurled some trademark cover drives as the second-wicket pair added 108. He was dropped on 5 – a difficult caught and bowled chance to Michael Hogan – but then was then rarely troubled until he drove ambitiously at Graham Wagg to give wicketkeeper Mark Wallace a routine catch.Clarke, a talented 19-year-old batsman who played for England Lions last winter, then joined D’Oliveira to share another substantial partnership. D’Oliveira, who reached his 50 from 113 balls, went along at the same pace to reach his century – 114 balls later – and to say that he has come of age at the start of this season would certainly be an understatement. After making his debut in August 2012, until the end of last season he scored only 413 runs at an average of 21, but this year he has already made over 500 runs at an average of over 80.Clarke made a shaky start, but as the pitch got easier and the bowlers lacked the venom they showed earlier in the day, he confirmed his promise and soon reached fifty with some powerful driving both sides of the wicket, and although the second new ball was taken, it made little difference to the scoring rate. Clarke went on to score his third first-class century of the season, although he was badly dropped from a caught and bowled chance on 83 by Wagg.

An unbroken century opening stand between Billy Godleman and Luis Reece raised Derbyshire’s hopes of a first County Championship victory since July 2015

ECB Reporters Network16-Apr-2017
ScorecardBilly Godleman has responded immediately to Derbyshire’s new regime•Getty Images

An unbroken century opening stand between Billy Godleman and Luis Reece raised Derbyshire’s hopes of a first County Championship victory since July 2015 at the end of the third day of the Division Two match against Northamptonshire at Derby.Reece made an unbeaten 69 on his Derbyshire first-class debut and Godleman 63 not out as Derbyshire closed a day when 44 overs were lost to rain on 142 without loss, a lead of 116.Max Holden had earlier top scored for Northants with 76 to earn the visitors a first innings lead of 26 but their bowlers could not breakthrough and they lost paceman Ben Sanderson with an injury.Derbyshire’s first task was to break the last wicket stand which had given Northants an unlikely lead and Tom Milnes ended Holden’s impressive innings when he beat his attempted drive in the third over with the second new ball.But Holden and Sanderson had added 47 in 10 overs which meant the last two wickets had put on 136 to swing the initiative back to the visitors but Derbyshire fought hard to see off the new ball.It was tough going for Reece and Godleman in conditions which favoured the bowlers but although they were beaten a number of times, they did not offer a chance in 22 overs before lunch although Rory Kleinveldt had a very good lbw shout against the Derbyshire captain turned down.Derbyshire scored only 38 before the interval which reflected the quality of the bowling and the determination of the openers to preserve their wickets with Reece again displaying a sound temperament and good judgement in his second first-class innings for his new county.Northants were handicapped by the loss of Sanderson from the 28th over when he pulled up after bowling a short ball at Reece and limped back to the pavilion but that should not detract from the quality of the opening stand.Reece had shown in the first innings he was prepared to be patient and his application was rewarded when his sixth four took him to 50 shortly before tea.Rain and bad light delayed play until just before 6pm but in the remaining 16 overs, Derbyshire stretched their lead past three figures to give themselves a chance of forcing a win on the final day.

R Ashwin has sought to put in perspective his performance in the World T20 semi-final against West Indies in Mumbai, and even made a thinly-veiled observation that he didn’t get the chance to bowl more despite creating wicket-taking opportunities

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2016

India offspinner R Ashwin has sought to put in perspective his performance in the World T20 semi-final against West Indies in Mumbai, and even made a thinly-veiled observation that he didn’t get the chance to bowl more despite creating wicket-taking opportunities.When a journalist remarked, on the eve of his team Rising Pune Supergiants’ debut at the IPL, that Ashwin had “struggled” with the dew in the World T20 semi-final against West Indies, he was quickly interjected to ask, “You mean with the ball?” After the journalist replied in the affirmative, Ashwin said he wasn’t well placed to answer the question because he hadn’t bowled when the dew had set in.”It’s better you ask someone who actually bowled. To be very honest, I don’t know how it felt,” Ashwin said.”It’s very amusing because for the first 12 balls I bowled I created a wicket-opportunity as well. It’s quite surprising the way you phrase your question.” When it was offered that MS Dhoni, the captain, had said Ashwin had struggled with the dew, he flatly responded: “I don’t know what he said.”India were defending 192 that night at the Wankhede. Ashwin was introduced in the seventh over and he began by only conceding seven runs. However, his figures suffered when opener Johnson Charles mowed him across the line for a four and a six in his next over. Ashwin, however, did not bowl after the ninth over of the innings. He finished with figures of 2-0-20-0, but he could well have picked up a wicket off his fifth delivery. Lendl Simmons, when on 18, sliced a thick edge to short third man, where Jasprit Bumrah took a fine catch, but replays indicated Ashwin had overstepped. Dhoni blamed the two no-balls – Hardik Pandya bowled the other one, which Simmons hit the straight down the throat of mid-off – and the dew for India’s defeat.When asked if he had got over the disappointment, Ashwin gave a convoluted reply to suggest that it was relatively less significant in the larger scheme of things.”The day I went back home my dog had a heat stroke. He had fits. It just showed me what’s more important and what is very, very important in life,” he said. “I didn’t turn a piece of paper for the next three days. So I haven’t really read about what people have said. There have been good enough journalists, and knowledgeable people who called me and said I haven’t’ bowled a no-ball in ages, and to have bowled one no-ball I don’t become the villain. If that’s the perception, I don’t know how to counter that.”On the subject of physical and mental fatigue in the IPL, which begins less than a week after the World T20, Ashwin admitted it was going to be taxing.The thing about IPL is that it’s pretty fast-paced. If you get in and try to beat your own odds, look for improvements during this time, it’s going to help you as a cricketer and hold you in good stead through the year.”As far as I am concerned, IPL is a place and avenue to improve your cricket,” Ashwin said. “You have lots of down time to work on your game, the practice facilities are international standard. These are the things you look forward to. On top of it, it’s one of the best T20 leagues going around. You improve and try and see what you can offer the team.”

Only Claude Henderson, the spin bowling consultant and Greg King, the fitness trainer have been retained from Russell Domingo’s technical team while Prasanna Agoram remains in place as the analyst

Firdose Moonda16-Nov-2017

Warriors’ coach Malibongwe Maketa has been appointed Ottis Gibson’s assistant, pipping Lions’ coach Geoffrey Toyana to the post in a shake-up of South Africa’s support staff. Former Natal and Durham batsman Dale Benkenstein will take over as batting coach from Neil McKenzie while Justin Ontong, the Cobras’ senior statesman, has been appointed fielding coach.Only Claude Henderson, the spin bowling consultant and Greg King, the fitness trainer have been retained from Russell Domingo’s technical team while Prasanna Agoram remains in place as the analyst. Physiotherapist Brandon Jackson has been replaced by Craig Govender. Team manager and doctor Mohammed Moosajee’s contract has been extended until April 2018 – the end of the South African summer – after which CSA’s board will appoint two successors, one in a managerial role and one in a medical role. That will increase the number of backroom staff to 12, from its current 11.Full list of staff appointments

Coach – Ottis Gibson
Assistant Coach – Malibongwe Maketa
Batting Coach – Dale Benkenstein
Fielding coach – Justin Ontong
Physiotherapist – Craig Govender
Fitness Trainer – Greg King
Spin Bowling Coach – Claude Henderson
Logistics Officer – Volvo Masubelele
Media Manager – Lerato Malekutu
Security Liaison Officer – Zunaid Wadee
Technical Analyst – Prasanna Agoram

Gibson, who was appointed in September, worked with Domingo’s support staff for his first assignment, a home series against Bangladesh. On its successful completion, Gibson said he had spoken to CSA about his choices for a backroom staff and had given them a list of name, “some from overseas, some local,” and would wait on the board to make the appointments. Who he had nominated from abroad is not known but only local candidates have made the cut, in what appears to be an exercise in cost-cutting.While Gibson had previously said he would perform the bowling coach duties himself, meaning one fewer member of his support staff, the batting coach Benkenstein is going to be shared with a local school. Benkenstein, who left Hampshire in July last year to return home for family reasons, has been working at Hilton College, a prestigious school in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands and will continue there while also working with the national team. CSA have made an agreement with the school that Benkenstein will accompany the national team on tours and will be around the camp when they play home matches but will also work for Hilton College.Maketa, the new assistant and Ontong, both come from within the current system and would not have been as expensive to hire as a foreigner. CSA’s financial position has been weakened following the postponement of the T20 Global League, on which they had spent millions organising, marketing and on upgrading stadiums, and their situation may worsen once a player-payout has been agreed. The South African Cricketers’ Association and CSA will undergo mediation to determine how to resolve the contractual fallout from the T20 Global League.In the meanwhile, attention will turn to Gibson’s sidekicks.Maketa has been with the Warriors since February 2015. He took over mid-season when Piet Botha stepped down and though he has not won any trophies, Maketa has had to work without many national players in his ranks and at a franchise without a sponsor. He has led the Warriors to two limited-overs finals – the one-day and twenty-over tournament last season – and has also worked with the national academy and the South African A side. Maketa was preferred over Toyana, who has won four trophies in five seasons with the Lions and was thought to be the favourite for the head coach’s role, will remain with the Warriors for the current Ram Slam before linking up with Gibson. It is not yet known who will succeed Maketa at the Warriors.Ontong will have a similar time-frame. He is still an active player for the Cobras and played in all five of their first-class fixtures this summer (and scored a century and three fifties) but a CSA spokesperson said he “will have to,” retire in order to take up his coaching duties.This will be his first coaching role and he will become South Africa’s first fielding coach since Rob Walter left the post after the Champions Trophy in 2013. Though South Africa have a reputation as a top-fielding side, standards have slipped on occasion in the recent past and it must have been something Gibson noted when compiling his staff.”My first six weeks as head coach gave me a good indication of the areas and resources needed for me to take the team forward,” Gibson said. “I’m confident with the coaching support staff we have put together and believe we share the same vision and understanding required to achieve success in our environment.”The coaches are experienced experts in their respective fields and will add value and energy to an already high-performing environment. The Proteas have a well-run and professional setup and I have no doubt that these additions will further enhance that element during my tenure.”South Africa’s players are currently engaged in the Ram Slam domestic tournament, which will run until December 16. Ten days later, they will begin the first of eight home Tests, a four-day, day-night fixture against Zimbabwe. South Africa host India for three Tests, six ODIs and three T20s and Australia for four Tests in March in their busiest home season to date.

Katie George and Lauren Winfield will boost the strength of the squad from 14 to 16 after England’s opening T20 on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2018

England have made only one change to the women’s ODI squad that faced South Africa, by replacing wicketkeeper-batsman Lauren Winfield with left-arm quick Tash Farrant for the opener of the T20 tri-series on June 20. Winfield will, however, join the squad of 14 along with Katie George for the double-header on June 23, when the hosts take on South Africa and New Zealand. Allrounder Georgia Elwiss, who last played a T20 international in 2016, was also picked in the squad after playing two ODIs against South Africa.Katherine Brunt, Laura Marsh and Sarah Taylor, who didn’t travel for the T20I tri-series in India in March, also returned. Brunt had missed those T20s because of a back injury and returned for the ODIs against South Africa to take six wickets, the second-most in the series. Taylor was left out of the India tour as part of management of her anxiety condition and she scored a century in the second ODI at Hove, in their 69-run win.The players to be left out after the India tour were Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Alex Hartley, Bryony Smith and Fran Wilson. While Cross hasn’t played international cricket since 2016, Hartely was dropped from the ODI squad too recently. Interestingly, Smith put in impressive performances recently – two consecutive half-centuries against the Aboriginal Women, a century and five-for against Essex, and another half-century for Surrey – and was still left out.”In selecting this squad, we’ve had the opportunity to consider our England Women’s Senior Academy fixtures against South Africa and New Zealand and it’s heartening to see so much competition for places,” coach Mark Robinson said.”We saw some excellent individual performances in those games – Sophia Dunkley hit 91 against New Zealand, Emma Lamb and Freya Davies have bowled well and Bryony Smith made an outstanding 92 yesterday against South Africa.”There’s a growing number of players beginning to make cases for selection which is a reflection of the depth that’s starting to emerge and that’s exciting.”Squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones (wk), Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Nat Sciver, Sarah Taylor (wk), Danni Wyatt