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Zimbabwe tour of South Africa 2017 [Update#36]

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Wednesday, 27 September 2017

Zimbabwe will play a 4-day day/night Test match – a first for the game – subject to ICC approval at their meeting next month.

ZIMBABWE TOUR ITINERARY

December 20-22: @ 14h00 Zimbabwe v SA Invitation XI, Boland Park, Paarl
December 26-29: @ 14h00 Day/Night Sunfoil Test match, St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
 
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Steyn, AB confirmed for Zimbabwe warm-up

Cape Town - Chris Morris and Dale Steyn make their return to multi-day cricket after lengthy injury absences for the SA Invitation XI to play Zimbabwe in a three-day day/night tour match at Boland Park from December 20-22.

AB de Villiers, who only played one Sunfoil Series game at the start of the season will also be given the opportunity to get into long format cricket form.

A fourth member of the Proteas Test squad, Temba Bavuma, will also be given the opportunity for more game time with the rest of the squad being made up of players who have done well in either franchise or the Sunfoil Cup Provincial 3-day competitions.

“Chris and Dale both missed the first five rounds of the Sunfoil Series through injury while AB was only available for one match,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel convener Linda Zondi.

“This is an ideal opportunity for all three to get back into the multi-day arena.

“Temba only got limited batting time during the Sunfoil Test Series against Bangladesh because of the dominance of our top order and we feel he will benefit from spending more time in the middle.

“These matches also provide opportunities to explore our talent development pipeline. We were very pleased with the way a similar squad performed against Bangladesh when they managed to lead on the first innings with Michael Cohen, Shaun von Berg and Zubayr Hamza being among those who excelled and they will all get another opportunity.”

SA Invitation XI squad:

Dominic Hendricks (Highveld Lions, captain), Temba Bavuma (Cape Cobras), Tladi Bokako (Warriors), Michael Cohen (Cape Cobras), AB de Villiers (Titans), Isaac Dikgale (NW), Leus du Plooy (Knights), Zubayr Hamza (Cape Cobras), Chris Morris (Titans), Kagiso Rapulana (NW), Kelly Smuts (Warriors), Dale Steyn (Titans), Ricardo Vasconcelos (Boland), Shaun von Berg (Titans), Lizaad Williams (Cape Cobras)

Head coach: Russell Domingo

Assistant coach: Salieg Nackerdien

Physiotherapist: Molebatsi Theletsane

Fitness Trainer: Nandile Tyali

Video Analyst: Abram Ndhlovu

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Proteas/steyn-ab-confirmed-for-zimbabwe-warm-up-20171205
 
An "Africa derby" - but probably going to be a very one sided Test.

Hope Zimbabwe make a good fist of it, with Taylor and Jarvis back they have a chance of at least competing.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ZimCricketv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZimCricketv</a> have named the uncapped pair of fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani and batsman Ryan Burl in their 15-man squad for the historic four-day Test match against <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OfficialCSA</a> set to start on Boxing Day in Port Elizabeth. Here's the full squad . . . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvZIM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvZIM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4DayTest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4DayTest</a> <a href="https://t.co/omxIfhrSnX">pic.twitter.com/omxIfhrSnX</a></p>— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZimCricketv/status/940182102707929089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Pakistan should have taken the opportunity to play some competitive cricket.

Stupid PCB rejected the invitation
 
Good for Zimbabwe but this will just be a warm up for South Africa for the India series.
 
THE following are the significant changes to the playing conditions for four-day Test cricket compared to those that apply to five-day Test cricket that will be in place for the Sunfoil Test match between the Standard Bank Proteas and Zimbabwe



6 ½ hours of play / minimum 98 overs per day
Usual 30 minutes overtime available to complete the minimum overs
2 intervals, spanning a combined 60 minutes (this is the current provision we have in place for day/night Tests and provides flexibility for scheduling over 4 days)
Maximum scheduled session length = 2 ½ hours, with the minimum = 2 hours
30 minutes available to make-up for lost time on the day
No make-up time carried over to subsequent days.
Follow-on becomes 150 runs (rather than 200 runs) as per the Laws of Cricket
All other aspects of the Test match playing conditions remain unchanged.

Hours of play for Sunfoil Test match against Zimbabwe (December 26-29)





Session

D/N Test Match - PE

1st Session

13h30 – 15h45

Interval

15h45 – 16h05* Tea

2nd Session

16h05 – 18h20

Interval

18h20 – 19h00* Supper

3rd Session

19h00 – 21h00



Hours of play for warm-up three-day match between Zimbabwe and the SA Invitation XI at Eurolux Boland Park (December 20-22)



1st Session 15h30 – 17h45 (2h15)

Supper 17h45 – 18h25 (40 minutes)

2nd Session 18h25 – 20h40 (2h15)

Tea 20h40 – 21h00 (20 minutes)

3rd Session 21h00 – 23h00 (2h00)
 
AB DE VILLIERS and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the Standard Bank Proteas Test squad for the day/night four-day Sunfoil Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.

De Villiers’ last Test was against England at SuperSport Park during January 2016 while Steyn has been recovering from a serious shoulder injury suffered against Australia at Perth just over a year ago.

A third player, Vernon Philander, is also back in the Proteas squad after missing the most recent series against Bangladesh following an injury picked up during the winter tour to England.

“It is a very exciting moment not just for South Africa but for world cricket to have Dale and AB, two icons of the game, back in the multi-day format,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel Convener Linda Zondi. “After Zimbabwe we have two very tough home Test Series coming up against India, the No. 1 ranked side in the world, and Australia, who have just regained the Ashes in their current series against England.

“AB and Dale bring loads of experience to the side apart from being two of the South African all-time greats.

“It is also good to have Vernon back and it is very encouraging that our four premium fast bowlers – Steyn, Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel – are all back in the selection mix.”

Standard Bank Proteas Test squad: Faf du Plessis (Multiply Titans, capt), Hashim Amla (WSB Cape Cobras), Temba Bavuma (WSB Cape Cobras), Quinton de Kock (Multiply Titans), Theunis de Bruyn (VKB Knights), AB de Villiers (Multiply Titans), Dean Elgar (Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Multiply Titans), Morne Morkel (Multiply Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Vernon Philander (WSB Cape Cobras), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Dale Steyn (Multiply Titans).

De Villiers (lower back strain) and Chris Morris (groin strain) have been withdrawn from the SA Invitation XI to play Zimbabwe in a three-day tour match at Eurolux Boland Park, starting tomorrow.

“AB de Villiers is struggling with lower back stiffness and has been withdrawn from the three-day warm-up match as a precaution,” commented Proteas team manager Dr. Mohammed Moosajee. “He is, however, available for selection for the Test match against Zimbabwe.”

Young Western Province all-rounder Dayyaan Galiem has been brought into the SA Invitation XI as a replacement for Morris.

Revised SA Invitation XI squad: Dominic Hendricks (bizhub Highveld Lions, capt), Temba Bavuma (WSB Cape Cobras), Tladi Bokako (Warriors), Michael Cohen (WSB Cape Cobras), Isaac Dikgale (NW), Leus du Plooy (VKB Knights), Dayyaan Galiem (Western Province), Zubayr Hamza (WSB Cape Cobras), Kagiso Rapulana (NW), Kelly Smuts (Warriors), Dale Steyn (Multiply Titans), Ricardo Vasconcelos (Boland), Shaun von Berg (Multiply Titans), Lizaad Williams (WSB Cape Cobras)


Head Coach: Russell Domingo

Assistant Coach: Salieg Nackerdien

Physiotherapist: Molebatsi Theletsane

Fitness Trainer: Nandile Tyali

Video Analyst: Abram Ndhlovu
 
Very very strong squad.
They have to make a choice for number 7: it’s one of Bavuma or Phelukwayo. I will go with the all rounder especially knowing that they are playing 7 more home tests overs the next 3 months and their pacers are all fragile.

Who is going to be the fast bowler to be left out? Probably Morkel...

Their top 6 is so strong with :
Elgar
Markram
Amla
Abdv
Faf
De Qock
That they can afford to play 5 bowlers
Philander
Rabada
Maharaj
Steyn
Morkel

That will be a terrefic line up.
 
Remember the days when PP pundits predict that AB never will play again in white shirt
 
Expecting Zimbabwe to get hammered but hope the lads give it their best shot.

Should be a good atmosphere with South Africa hosting their first day night Test on Boxing Day.
 
Ohhh strong saffers team. It will be interesting to see how AB, Steyn and Philander after injury lay offs
 
Expecting Zimbabwe to get hammered but hope the lads give it their best shot.

Should be a good atmosphere with South Africa hosting their first day night Test on Boxing Day.

St George's crowd will love this one. I for one will be there :)
 
LOL so the batting legend De Villiers suddenly makes his grand return after bottling the more difficult tours.

A nice little one-off home game against Zimbabwe, where he can score a century with his eyes closed thereby boosting his stats - and then “retire” again.
 
LOL so the batting legend De Villiers suddenly makes his grand return after bottling the more difficult tours.

A nice little one-off home game against Zimbabwe, where he can score a century with his eyes closed thereby boosting his stats - and then “retire” again.

Quite sure his main aim was to return for the India series and the Zimbabwe match serves as a prelude for that.

He seems fully committed towards SA once again.
 
DALE STEYN eased back into the longest format of the game on the opening day of the three-day tour match between Zimbabwe and the SA Invitation XI at Eurolux Boland Park on Wednesday.

He slotted very easily back into a rhythm that belied the fact that he had been inactive for more than a year with the nine overs he sent down in two spells in the first two sessions costing just nine runs.

By his own admission he did not crank the speed gun up and kept his short ball in the locker for next week’s Test match, concentrating on bowling an immaculate line and length that saw him start his new ball spell with 18 consecutive dot deliveries.

He had a confident appeal for a catch behind the wicket to his fourth delivery to Hamilton Masakadza turned down and then had a catch dropped at backward point to his 19th delivery that resulted in the first run that he conceded.

The important thing was that he came through his activity without feeling the slightest pain or niggle and he created another chance in his second spell with an inside edge by the left-handed Ryan Burls that evaded the keeper and went for the boundary that put three figures on the board.

Steyn clearly has a lot more ammunition in his tank which will no doubt be primed in the build-up to next Tuesday and the start of the pink ball Test.

The seamers were not helped by a pink ball that went soft very quickly. There was nevertheless a lot to like about the first change seamer, Tladi Bokako, while the experienced franchise leg-spinner, Shaun von Berg, was as effective and reliable as ever.

He captured the key wicket of Brendan Taylor and later broke the fourth-wicket stand of 65 between Masakadza and Burls when he dismissed the latter and then got rid of Sikandar Raza as well to have the excellent figures of 3/47 after 16 overs.

Masakadza provided the foundation of the Zimbabwe innings, scoring more than half the runs in the first 50 overs that saw his side reach 134/5 with 48 overs still left in the evening.
 
Great news. Good to see AB back in squad.

It was quite obvious that he took a break to prolong his career till WC 2019 and try to stay fit till then as he was having severe back issue and heavy workloads across formats was fainting him.
 
Wickets are tumbling under lights in the tour match between Zimbabwe and the Invitational XI - 13 wickets have fallen today so far.
 
Paarl - Dale Steyn doesn't want to talk about the possibility of becoming South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker, he said during a steady comeback to long-form cricket on Wednesday.

Steyn was not among the wickets for a South African Invitation team on the first day of a three-day day-night match against the touring Zimbabweans at Boland Park, but was happy with his rhythm ahead of an expected Test comeback against Zimbabwe in a day-night clash in Port Elizabeth, starting next Tuesday.

Steyn, 34, needs just five wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock's record of 421 Test wickets - but it has been more than a year since he took his 417th wicket, shortly before breaking down with a freak shoulder fracture against Australia in November 2016.

It was his third major injury in just over a year. He has only played in four of South Africa's last 25 Tests.

The Zimbabweans struggled to 196 all out, with only the experienced Hamilton Masakadza playing a substantial innings.

Masakadza survived an early dropped chance against Steyn and went on to make 79. The next highest score was 26 by the uncapped Rod Burl.

Steyn bowled 12 overs in four spells, including one with the new pink ball, conceding 16 runs. He started by bowling three consecutive maiden overs with the new ball, having a confident appeal against Solomon Mire turned down and then having Masakadza dropped at point on one.

Steyn said he was fully fit and pain-free. He had not tried to bowl at express pace on Wednesday, concentrating on finding his rhythm without revealing too much to the Zimbabweans in case he was picked for the Test.

That, though, seems likely because Steyn will only play the first two days of the current game before joining the South African Test squad in Port Elizabeth.

"I am still fitter than the youngest guys in the side," he said. "It was just about getting through this year and trying to decide whether I still wanted to do it... I'll play until I'm not good enough or someone's better than me."

"Every time someone talks about a record I get injured," he added. "So I'm not bothered. Let's just go play. Let's see what happens."

The South African Invitation XI reached 60/3 at the close.

https://m.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Proteas/steyn-plays-down-hopes-of-wickets-record-20171221
 
Steyn masquerading as a very accurate medium pacer.
Shane Warne used to do the same in the warm-up games on tour.
Did not turn his leg break and showed no variations until the Tests started.
 
Steyn masquerading as a very accurate medium pacer.
Shane Warne used to do the same in the warm-up games on tour.
Did not turn his leg break and showed no variations until the Tests started.

Was getting it into the mid 140s during some of the 20 over games so the pace is still there. I think he'll only fully unleash himself against the Indians
 
Was getting it into the mid 140s during some of the 20 over games so the pace is still there. I think he'll only fully unleash himself against the Indians

I know, thats my point. He is deliberately bowling medium pace, no bouncers and within himself.

There was a 148.2kph delivery against the Cobras at Centurion I saw the one Sunday.
 
THE Standard Bank Proteas continued to get maximum value out of the three-day tour match between Zimbabwe and the SA Invitation XI at Eurolux Boland Park on Thursday when Temba Bavuma followed Dale Steyn’s good bowling workout on the first day with his own perfect warm-up innings for next week’s Sunfoil Test match.

If it was a good day for the home side it was a bad one for Zimbabwe who finished only 29 runs ahead with just three second innings wicket left.

On a surface on which all the other batsmen have struggled to score quickly Bavuma stroked his way to what amounted to almost a run a ball innings of 70 (77 balls, 7 fours), sharing an unexpected partnership of 81 along the way with night watchman Tladi Bokako (41 off 62 balls, 4 fours and 2 sixes).

Bavuma had done the hard work the previous innings when the SA side started their innings under the floodlights with the pitch becoming a lot livelier than it had been earlier in the day. With a much more placid surface to encounter on the second morning the overnight pair made merry, scoring more than 50 runs in the first half-hour off just 8 overs.

Bavuma played a succession of well-timed cover drives which is always the signal of a batsman in good form.

It meant that for the second time this season the Invitation XI has managed to lead its international opponents on the first innings, having achieved the same distinction in the previous match against Bangladesh.

Apart from Steyn and Bavuma there are not a lot of players with franchise experience in this line-up which suggests that the semi-professional set-up is slowly starting to make progress.

Bokako, Michael Cohen and Dayyaan Galiem are among those who have caught the eye and what has stood out has been the ability to identify and seize the moment. Bokako did it as night watchman, Cohen in shutting down the Zimbabwe lower-order in the first innings and Galiem with his partnership of 90 for the last wicket with the ring-wise Shaun von Berg that established the lead of 91 runs.

Galiem (57 off 54 balls, 10 fours) came to the crease with Zimbabwe still leading by 3 runs and Von Berg when the South Africans had a precarious lead of just a single.

Galiem excelled both in shot selection and picking length and he truly grabbed the opportunity that was provided when Chris Morris was withdrawn from the squad.

Zimbabwe will be wondering how they let it slip. Their four most experienced bowlers – Graeme Cremer, Christopher Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis – shared 8 wickets between them.

It left them with a tricky 40 overs in the evening’s play.

Zimbabwe got their second innings off to the worst possible start when Hamilton Masakadza offered no stroke to the second ball of the innings and was bowled by Lizaad Williams with a delivery that trimmed the bails.

With Williams having finished the first innings with three wickets in four balls it meant that he had taken four wickets off six deliveries.

Zimbabwe continued to struggle with Williams and Cohen taking a further two wickets each which left them five down by the time they had cleared the overall deficit.

They finished the day 27 runs ahead with only three wickets in hand.
 
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Can't wait for South Africa vs India and the games against Australia that will follow.
 
REARGUARD ACTION GIVES ZIM A FIGHTING CHANCE

Friday, 22 December 2017

ZIMBABWE fought a strong rearguard action on the final day of the three-day tour match against the SA Invitation XI at Eurolux Boland Park on Friday to give themselves a chance of winning the encounter as the testing night time batting conditions settled in.

Ryan Burl (51 off 138 balls, 6 fours) and Chamu Chibhabha (55 off 110 balls, 5 fours and a six) were largely responsible as they shared an eighth wicket partnership of 97 that was easily their side’s highest of the match.

It enabled the visitors to score 123 runs for the loss of their last three wickets before they were all out right on the stroke of the dinner break (the first interval of the day), setting the South Africans to make 153 for victory.

There was still more than enough time left in the match with 63 overs still available but most of these were to be bowled under floodlit conditions when batting has proved to be much more difficult in the match to date.

Lizaad Williams (4/47) and Shaun von Berg (3/57) were the two most successful bowlers.

The Invitation XI made a solid if unspectacular start to their chase and reduced the target to double figures for the loss of their captain, Dominic Hendricks, wicket.
 
Zimbabwe are horribly underequipped for this day-night match - they haven't played any FC matches under lights until now.

The floodlights are still not up at Harare Sports Club as the ZCB for years have been unable to pay the cost of installation.
 
THE South African Invitation XI overcame a strong Zimbabwe rearguard action on the final day of the three-day tour match at Eurolux Boland Park on Friday to claim a well-deserved five-wicket victory.

Ryan Burl (51 off 138 balls, 6 fours) and Chamu Chibhabha (55 off 110 balls, 5 fours and a six) were largely responsible for the Zimbabwe fightback as they shared an eighth wicket partnership of 97 that was easily their side’s highest of the match.

It enabled the visitors to score 123 runs for the loss of their last three wickets before they were all out right on the stroke of the dinner break (the first interval of the day), setting the South Africans to make 153 for victory.

Lizaad Williams (4/47) and Shaun von Berg (3/57) were the two most successful bowlers.

The Invitation XI made a solid if unspectacular start to their chase and reduced the target to double figures for the loss of their captain, Dominic Hendricks, wicket.

Then, just when it looked like the home side might be faltering against the leg-spin of Graeme Cremer, who picked up the first four wickets to fall, they found the man for the moment in wicketkeeper/batsman Ricardo Vasconcellos who smashed an unbeaten 57 off 51 balls (8 fours and 2 sixes) to put the issue beyond doubt with a five-wicket victory with the best part of 25 overs to spare.

Cremer finished with 4/44 from 13 overs.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CSAnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CSAnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreakingNews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BreakingNews</a> Du Plessis to miss Zimbabwe Test; De Villiers to captain.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvZIM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvZIM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProteaFire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProteaFire</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZS5cQl4CpW">pic.twitter.com/ZS5cQl4CpW</a></p>— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA/status/945553565233373184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Du Plessis developed a viral infection this week, which delayed his return to full fitness following lower back and shoulder injuries. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvZIM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvZIM</a> <a href="https://t.co/gH6abqVjvZ">pic.twitter.com/gH6abqVjvZ</a></p>— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA/status/945553769940639744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AB de Villiers has been appointed as the stand-in captain for the one-off match. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvZIM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvZIM</a> <a href="https://t.co/vo3Y4J7IDm">pic.twitter.com/vo3Y4J7IDm</a></p>— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA/status/945554227019042817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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MORKEL AND MAHARAJ FIFERS SPEARHEAD PROTEAS TO INNINGS WIN

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

THE Standard Bank Proteas took 16 wickets on the second day of their one-off day/night Test match against Zimbabwe to clinch victory by an innings and 120 runs at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe simply had no answer to the Proteas attack as Morne Morkel (his seventh five-wicket haul) did the demolition job in the first innings and then Keshav Maharaj helped himself to his third five-wicket haul in the second innings when the visitors had been forced to follow on.

In all Zimbabwe batted no more than 72 overs in their two innings and while they had to contend with the twilight and night time conditions for the first part of their first innings their entire second innings took place in day light.
In addition to Maharaj’s 5/59 in 17.3 overs Andile Phehlukwayo returned career best figures of 3/13 in 7 overs.
Aiden Markram was named Sunfoil Man of the Match for his first innings century.

AB de Villiers, the stand-in wicketkeeper for the injured Quinton de Kock, took eight catches behind the stumps and now has 205 catches (not all behind the stumps) and five stumpings from his Test career.
 
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