PAK W vs WI W | 2nd ODI: West Indies ride on exceptional bowling from Hayley Matthews to take unassailable lead

Pieter Malan appointed captain as South Africa announce A squad for home series against India A

South Africa have announced their 14-man squad under the leadership of Pieter Malan to face India A in the three-match long four-day series scheduled to start towards the end of this month. The series has been seen as one of the opportunities for the players across both sides to claim spots for themselves in their respective national sides when they clash in December later on. “The senior South Africa and India teams will be clashing this summer here at home, so this is an ideal opportunity for players with Proteas ambitions to put their hands up and make a case for themselves,” CSA convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said. “Test cricket remains one of CSA’s key focus areas, along with ensuring that the format continues to thrive and hold relevance in our country. It is therefore vital that a steady stream of talent continues to emerge from our high-performance programme.” Earlier this week, India also announced their squad for the same series under the leadership of Priyank Panchal that also includes the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini, who have already played Test cricket. The series is scheduled to start on November 23 and conclude on December 9 while the Test series between senior India and South Africa men will commence on December 18. South Africa A squad Pieter Malan (C), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusammy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi India A squad Priyank Panchal (C), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla

Watch: USA, Umpire and Canada’s hurriedness to celebrate rob it of a famous win

In a bizarre turn of events, the United States of America beat arch-rivals Canada in a Super Over in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Qualifier-Americas, taking place in Antigua and Barbuda. The match ended in a controversial way when the USA needed three to win from the last ball and the batter Ali Khan was unable to connect the ball to bat, he ran for a single, but Canadian wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq removed the bails, rolled the ball over to the umpire, which he did not collect. In an ideal condition, it should have been the end of the match with the USA losing by one run. But not in this case. Rusty Theron, the former South Africa international who was at the other end when Ali Khan was on strike, kept running and ran the second one, even as the entire Canadian team celebrated. The umpire did not object to it and rather declared it two legal runs as by the time that Canadians realised what was happening, the two batters were about to cross over for a third, which was averted by a sharp throw. In a game, if the bails are removed by the fiddler himself (not by throwing the ball onto the wicket), the ball is declared dead after it in most cases, but here it could either be called the experience of Theron, the hurriedness of Canada or simply a mistake by the umpire that all this was allowed to happen and Canada, who looked like a deserving winner, were forced to go to the Super Over. In the Super Over, Matharu, who had brought back Canada from dead to almost a win, was once again given the responsibility with the ball. But this time around the Americans were up to the task as first Steven Taylor hit two sixes and then Marshal finished with two fours to end the total at 22 at the end of the one over with two wides contributing as well. It was always going to be tough to chase 23 and as much as skipper Navneet Dhaliwal and Dillon Heyliger tried, Ian Holland was too accurate to be hit easily and the Canadians finished at 14-0 in the Super over, losing the game by 8 runs. Before the last ball drama, Jatinderpal Matharu, the Canadian pacer was to defend 12 off the last six balls against a settled Jaskarana Malhotra, who had recently achieved the feat of hitting six sixes in an over against PNG. On the first two balls, only one run was conceded and a settled Malhotra was also run out. Then on the next three balls drama transpired and after scoring eight runs, Karima Gore was adjudged LBW with the USA needing three of the last ball. Rest is now part of history. The match shouldn’t have come this close in the first place when the USA were reduced to 44-5 in the first 10 overs. A partnership of 42 runs was developed between Nisarg Patel and Malhotra. Then Malhotra partnered Gore for a 22 ball 45 runs and brought his team back in the game instantly. Earlier in the day, Canada scored 142 batting first after skipper Dhaliwal and Ravinderpal Singh remained unbeaten on 44 each to ride through the early breaks.

Rohit Sharma set to miss entire series, Rahane to lead India in first Test against New Zealand

Opener Rohit Sharma, who was not rested from the squad for the upcoming T20 series against New Zealand and was elevated as the skipper of the side replacing Virat Kohli, has asked for rests during the Test series that is scheduled to follow the three T20Is. As per veteran journalist KSR Rao, Rohit has made himself unavailable for selection for both the Tests against New Zealand and with his absence India will have to take a big call on the other opener—KL Rahul, who has been appointed as Rohit’s deputy in the shortest format. Notably, Virat Kohli too has asked for a break for the first Test of the series and he is set to be away from the action for a significant period of time as he has been rested from the T20I series as well. If all of Rohit, Rahul and Kohli will be given rest considering their extended stay in the biosecure bubble this year, India would be looking to field a completely new opening pair from the last series against England. In absence of Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will be on leadership duty for the Test series against New Zealand.

Joe Root backs resolute response to 'simply intolerable' racism issue in Cricket

England Test captain Joe Root has expressed strongly to allegations of racism towards players of ethnic minority at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club—his domestic county in England. Root has said that such episode of discrimination has “fractured” and “torn” the game of cricket while there are a lot of efforts underway to make the game more diverse and inclusive. He also said that racism should be rejected outrightly with the strongest possible response. Urging the Yorkshire county to “educate, unify and reset” to bring about a diverse environment that can subsequently build trust among all societies, the 31-year-old offered his best possible help to this cause. “It hurts knowing this has happened at YCCC so close to home. It’s my club that I care passionately about. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting. There is no debate about racism. It is simply intolerable,” Root said in a statement. “These events have fractured our game and torn lives apart. We must now recover and come back together as fans, players, media, and those who work within cricket. We have an opportunity to make the sport we love better for everyone. “I want to see change and actions that will see YCCC rise from this with a culture that harnesses a diverse environment with trust across all communities that support cricket in the county. “I will reach out to YCCC's new Chair, Lord Patel, to offer support however I’m able. We have to find a way to move forward and make sure this never happens again. In my opinion, this is a societal issue and needs addressing further afield than just cricket. That being said, we, as a sport, all have to do more.” Joe Root has reached Australia and is currently undergoing quarantine in Goldcoast along with other Test specialists for the Ashes series against Australia starting December 08 in Brisbane.