New Zealand began with six wicket standing, but lasted only a little bit after lunch as Austrlia’s bowlers swung them out for an innings-and-52-run victory

The Report by Daniel Brettig14-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:38

Farrell: Test was decided on the first two days

Emphatic doesn’t quite do it justice. Unrelenting throughout, Australia put on another exhibition of high quality bowling to seal a vast victory over New Zealand and place one hand on the ICC Mace awarded to the world’s No. 1 Test team. A deflating result for the visitors in Brendon McCullum’s 100th Test was only a tail-end flurry short of New Zealand’s heaviest ever loss at home to Australia.Having set up the match with expert use of seaming early conditions on the first morning, Australia’s bowlers asked quite different questions on the fourth morning. Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird all used reverse swing to good effect, while Nathan Lyon homed in on a footmark outside the right-handers’ off stump to gain sharp spin. The absence of Peter Siddle, resting a back complaint, was well compensated for.Steven Smith will be a most contented captain, having overseen a performance in which many questions about this team have been answered. They chose the right XI for the conditions, they bowled impressively, and most importantly batted with command even after Joe Burns and David Warner were out cheaply with the ball still new on day one. New Zealand will be left to wonder over the significance of the “no-ball” that reprieved Adam Voges early.Henry Nicholls endured longest for the hosts, on the way to making the highest score by a New Zealand debutant batting at No. 4. But his dismissal on 59 by Bird left the tail exposed to the bounce and conventional swing of the second new ball. Southee and Trent Boult entertained another strong Basin Reserve crowd with a late flurry against Lyon, but it was merely a parting shot.Having lost McCullum from the last ball of day three, New Zealand’s chances of survival were slim, and they narrowed further when the 63-over old ball began bending in both directions. Corey Anderson struggled with the ball moving away from him around the wicket, but after a few play and misses Smith directed Marsh to go over the wicket and try to straighten one down the line.Two balls into the tactic, Marsh pitched one in line and swung it back to pin Anderson in front. Like McCullum he reviewed, but it was a futile gesture for a delivery crashing into middle and leg.BJ Watling arrived and his first ball from Lyon hit the aforementioned footmark and narrowly missed spinning back to strike the off stump with the batsman offering no shot. Lyon took note of this, and it was not long before he delivered a slightly flatter delivery on the same line that had Watling playing back, fatally. The turning ball was through him in an instant.Nicholls had absorbed all this pressure, but Bird’s decision to send one down at a full length made the difference, coaxing the batsman into a flick across the line. Again there was some swing, and the ball flicked off the pads into the stumps. At this, the Australians took the second new ball, and a Hazlewood lbw review against Doug Bracewell was declined due to a lack of conclusive evidence before the interval.Hazlewood had his due reward soon after resumption, when Bracewell was struck in front: this time there was no bat to confuse the issue. Southee’s blows dented Lyon’s figures somewhat, but the bowler was content to keep tossing it up in expectation of a miscue, which was exactly what happened.Mark Craig and Boult entertained for a time also, but in playing so freely they did nothing so much as underline how well the Australians had bowled to the batsmen. A match over in fewer than four days had taken place on a pitch that would still be good for batting on day five. In pursuit of Test cricket’s top perch, Smith’s men had played to a very high standard indeed.

ESPNcricinfo previews the deciding T20 between South Africa and Australia

The Preview by Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2016

Match facts

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Start time 1800 local (1600GMT)1:47

‘My goal to have a century in each format’ – De Kock

Big picture

For the second time this summer, a limited-overs series enters the final match with the sides locked all-square. This one will cap off a blockbuster season of international cricket that has captured the imagination of the country’s cricket-lovers. Australia’s visit follows England’s and while some might think hosting two of the big three in the same season may serve to remind South Africa if their status in the small seven, in shorter formats it has done quite the opposite.South Africa built confidence with five successive wins over England and kept on that roll in the first match against Australia. Now, as CSA posted on their Twitter account, “it all comes down to 1.”Victory for South Africa in the final T20 will give them a boost ahead of the World T20. Defeat will have the reverse effect and highlight the few lingering issues, especially around the middle-order and how JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien fit in. A delicate issue was resolved for them, at least in the short-term, when Aaron Phangiso’s action was clear on the eve of the game but it has been decided that he will sit out this T20 and spend further time fine-tuning his action ahead of the World T20.Whereas South Africa’s has steadily built with recent results – notwithstanding the defeat in Johannesburg – Australia are still trying to formulate their T20 gameplan having had precious few games in the format over the last two years. The success of David Warner in the middle order suggests they are finding one solution – alongside Glenn Maxwell it backs for a dynamic pairing – but they will want a more all-round performance before they head to India.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)
South AfricaLWWWW
Australia WLLLL

In the spotlight

South Africa’s highest T20 run-scorer JP Duminy is under pressure to prove his worth despite his numbers because of his recent, unremarkable form. Duminy has not scored an international fifty since October last year – 20 innings ago – and has miscued to midwicket twice in this series. Despite strong support from the coach, Russell Domingo, the pressure is growing on Duminy to deliver especially as his bowling is playing far less of a role.In a similar position is Shane Watson who was not tasked with bowling during the second match in an Australian attack with plenty of options. Watson’s job is to push one of Usman Khawaja or Aaron Finch out of the XI by getting Australia off to a quick start. Watson has only just recovered from an abdominal injury which ruled him out of the PSL but he was in fine touch before that, with the second highest score in T20I history, and will want to get back into that form ahead of the World T20.

Team news

South Africa have opted not to draft in Phangiso for a game ahead of the World T20 after his action was clearedm but they may tweak the top order to give Hashim Amla a game. Dale Steyn could continue to keep Kyle Abbott out unless Kagiso Rabada is rested.South Africa: (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 AB de Villiers (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 David Wiese, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran TahirAustralia found a winning combination in the last match which vindicated their decision to keep David Warner out of the opening berth. Having already tried the Usman Khawaya/Aaron Finch and Shane Watson/Aaron Finch combination the only one left for them to try is Khawaja/Watson, which could see Finch sit out. Nathan Coulter-Nile could find his way back into the XI and Adam Zampa may be preferred over Ashton Agar in the spin department.Australia: (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 David Warner, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 John Hastings/Nathan Coulter-Nile 11, Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

After the thin air on the Highveld, the teams return to the coast where, as was the case during the England series last month, scores are expected to be lower. The Newlands pitch will be more subcontinental in nature and may even take some turn will which aid in preparation for the World T20. The weather, though, will be entirely different. It is expected to be mild and breezy with evening temperatures touching 20 degrees.

Stats and Trivia

• Faf du Plessis needs nine more runs to become the third South African after JP Duminy and AB de Villiers to reach 1,000 T20I runs.
• Australia have won the last two T20 series against South Africa, which has included the only three-match rubber between the two sides. Then, in November 2014, South Africa went one up but squandered the lead.

Quotes

“There is a bit of importance. But if we were playing the series in India it would be more important; the fact that it’s here in SA means the wickets are different. We know series wins against Australia don’t come easily. But there’s a bigger picture. When we get to India and we play against them in different conditions there, we’ll see what happens.”

Journalist Jacques Talbot has claimed that Newcastle United have "no reason" to consider a change in manager despite "god tier" Julian Nagelsmann becoming available.

What's the latest on Julian Nagelsmann and Newcastle?

Last week it was announced that Bayern Munich would be sacking their 35-year-old manager and replacing him with German coach Thomas Tuchel.

As per Bild (via Mirror) Nagelsmann was left 'completely surprised' by the decision but it hasn't taken long to see him linked with a move to the Premier League already.

Indeed, with Tottenham Hotspur sacking Antonio Conte, Spurs are now looking to hire a new manager and the former Bayern boss has been tipped as a main candidate

While talking about Nagelsmann's possible move to England on his YouTube channel, Talbot praised the German but said he wouldn't want him to replace Eddie Howe at Newcastle even if he is now on the market.

He said (35:00): “I know Nagelsmann's a better manager, on paper. I totally get it, he's like god tier manager.

"But there's no reason to change, there's no reason change, we have something, a good relationship with Howe. It’d rupture the dressing room and stuff.

"So I might be biased. But I see Eddie Howe at Newcastle for a very long time. A very long time.”

Would Newcastle want to replace Eddie Howe?

To be fair to Talbot, Howe certainly has managed some pretty impressive feats since taking over the Magpies last season. Indeed, he already led them to their first cup final since 1999 (although they lost), and he currently has them pushing for a spot in the Champions League, two points behind fourth-placed Spurs with two games in hand.

What's more, the Englishman has an impressive record of 1.77 points per game. To put that in perspective, his predecessor Steve Bruce managed 1.15.

However, Nagelsmann is one of the most exciting young managers in world football. He leaves Bayern having picked up 2.31 points per game, whilst having also won the league and the super cup – which shows just how brutal the sacking was.

With that in mind, it's easy to see why Nagelsmann is rated so highly by so many but Howe certainly hasn't done anything yet to warrant seeing his position come under pressure.

Still, if Newcastle fail to make the top for and the 35-year-old German remains a free agent in the summer, perhaps the board will be brutal and take the opportunity to hire the "god tier" alternative.

Insider ExWHUEmployee has revealed there is no reason to panic over West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta after he was spotted with an oxygen mask.

What's the latest on Lucas Paqueta and West Ham?

It was an important win for the Hammers on the weekend as they picked up all three points which lifts them out of the relegation zone and up into 14th.

Indeed, going into that game against Southampton, there was talk that manager David Moyes would be sacked if he couldn't guide his team to victory at the London Stadium.

As it happened, a single goal scored in the first half by Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd was enough to decide the Premier League encounter.

Fans would have certainly been relieved to pick up the vital three points but may have jumped to some fearful conclusions after Brazilian international Paqueta posted a picture of himself on instagram after the match.

Indeed, as seen here, the midfielder shared a selfie online as he looked a little worse for wear while using an oxygen mask.

While speaking about the concerns on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex was able to reveal what the full story was.

He explained (7:53): "Now people were starting to worry last night because on Instagram, he posted a picture of himself with an oxygen right face mask on and lying down on a bed.

"And people worried that he'd obviously sustained an injury but this is a common recovery method when you've played an exhausting game. And you've got to play another one soon."

How many tackles did Paqueta make against Southampton?

Paqueta played 88 minutes against the Saints on Sunday and really did work hard as he attempted a mammoth 26 duels, winning 15 of them (the most of any player on the team). What's more, he made 10 tackles in the game, the most in a Premier League game by a West Ham player since Mohamed Diame against QPR in 2012 (via Opta).

Seeing as the £150k-p/w star may well be in line to start again on Wednesday night at the Hammers host Newcastle United, it's not hard to see why he's been doing all he can to aid his recovery.

And after this tireless performance against Southampton, fans will no doubt be delighted to learn that the Brazilian looks to be as fit and healthy as could be expected.

With just 11 games left to save themselves from relegation, it looks as though Paqueta will be key to their plight.

India and West Indies have typified there are various ways to dominate T20 cricket. With a shot at a World Championship on the line, who will succeed?

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu30-Mar-2016

Match facts

Thursday, March 31, 2016
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)2:43

Match Day: Who should replace Yuvraj in India’s XI?

Big picture

Chris Gayle. Virat Kohli. Dwayne Bravo. MS Dhoni. The Wankhede stadium will be screening an ensemble-driven action movie as much it hosts a cricket match on Thursday night. Those individuals and their styles of play contribute to a lot of the interest surrounding this game, and also typify there are various ways to establish T20 batting dominance.India’s has been to simply extend their Test and one-day game into the Twenty20s arena, and when all goes well, they get the bulk of their runs through orthodox cricket. West Indies, ideally, wouldn’t want their long-format form anywhere near them right now. Helpfully, this format has a tight cap on the number of overs so the big-hitters can keep hitting big without worrying about consequences.Case in point are the methods that their marquee players use. Gayle likes to “beat” the ball. No wonder it rockets as far away from him as it can, hoping to be lost somewhere in the rings of Saturn. Kohli is kinder in assisting with the ball’s travels, and even throws in a few surprises – patrons waiting in the off stump line could end up at midwicket almost as often as they do in the covers.Both teams clearly have lots of cream at the top, but the middle looks a bit squishy. It’s been over two years since Denesh Ramdin or Suresh Raina have hit a T20 fifty. Dwayne Bravo, at No. 5, has looked unsure whether he needs to be the aggressor or the anchor. Yuvraj Singh has been similarly jittery, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the World T20. That leads West Indies to the prospect of bowling at a player – one of Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey or Pawan Negi – who hasn’t faced a ball in this tournament. But Mumbai is just about the perfect venue for the out-of-form and brand new batsmen to get into the swing of things – the lowest total in the tournament here has been Afghanistan’s 172 against South Africa.Quite apart from tactics and strategy, there are players from both sides who may be playing their last World Cup, so the incentive to make it to Eden Gardens – for the final – for one more match will be very strong.

Form guide

India WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LWWWW

In the spotlight

The last time India were in Mumbai, they missed the hell out of R Ashwin. It was an ODI, three of the opposition batsmen scored centuries and they were left chasing a 400-plus total. He did not have his best game against Australia, but his presence in the XI still goes a long way to adding confidence to the team.Samuel Badree seems to take the mickey out of the Powerplay overs every time he bowls. He doesn’t rely on turn, doesn’t often believe in flight, but faithfully follows a wicket-to-wicket line. The batsmen are tied down, and when they try to escape, they tend to fall. Hard.

Team news

India haven’t made any changes to their XI since the start of the tournament. But now, with Yuvraj ruled out, they will be forced to do so ahead of the semi-final of the tournament.India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Manish Pandey/Ajinkya Rahane/Pawan Negi, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish NehraWest Indies will be without Andre Fletcher, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury. His replacement Lendl Simmons has a chance at getting a game straight away.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Suliemann Benn, 11 Samuel Badree

Pitch and conditions

Mumbai has been an oasis this World T20. Tough pitches have left batsmen parched for runs, but at the Wankhede they can come and go wheee. In terms of the weather, a clear night is expected.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli, the No. 1-ranked T20I batsman, averages 91.80 batting second but 35.22 batting first.
• Chris Gayle is two sixes short of being the first player ever to hit 100 sixes in T20I cricket

Quotes

“We’ve played to 70% of our abilities in this tournament. So there’s still 30% in areas we need to improve, so lets hope it happens tomorrow”
“No not really, have you ever heard of Chris Gayle?”

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has sadly never lived up to his immense potential at Chelsea and Graham Potter should look to move him on from Stamford Bridge this summer.

Should Chelsea sell Ruben Loftus-Cheek?

The powerful midfielder is a product of Chelsea's youth academy and has been with the Blues since the age of eight, but has not gone on to achieve the things many thought he would when he was a teenager.

The former England international earned a wonderkid status from the media after making his debut for the club in a Champions League game against Sporting at Stamford Bridge back in 2015.

At that point, nothing seemed likely to prevent Loftus-Cheek from reaching the very top with the Blues but he has been plagued with minor injuries throughout his career, which have perhaps prevented him from ever enjoying a consistent run in the first team.

Now 27, the versatile midfielder has failed to ever make more than 24 appearances for Chelsea in a Premier League season, with his 30 top-flight outings at Fulham in the 2020/21 relegation campaign producing an underwhelming one goal and no assists.

While he has been something of a regular under Potter this season, making 18 appearances in the Premier League thus far, he has averaged a disappointing 6.67 rating from WhoScored for his performances, with no goals or assists to his name.

This ranks him as the 15th-best performer at Stamford Bridge and it seems likely that, with the January addition of Enzo Fernandez, he will be forced to play second-fiddle to Chelsea's big-name signings in the future, as he has done for much of his career.

Former manager Thomas Tuchel perhaps put it best when describing Loftus-Cheek's ability after he scored his first Chelsea goal in three years last season, saying:

“This performance is what he shows in training, but it’s not enough because he needs to show it on the pitch.

“I think he’s been hiding his talent and his potential for a long time in his career. He’s capable of producing performances that everybody sees on the pitch, but he’s also capable of producing performances that hides all of his quality."

However, there is still an opportunity for the Blues to rake in a promising amount of money on their academy graduate, as CIES Football Observatory values him at €15m (£13m), which would represent good value for money for Chelsea given they obviously paid nothing to sign him.

There would surely be interest in the Englishman from other top-flight clubs and a move away from Chelsea could be exactly what both the player and the club need to move on, with both no doubt left wondering what could have been had he lived up to his immense potential with the Blues.

Controversy around their security arrangements in India, batting issues and changes to the squad due to injury and form mean that Pakistan enter the 2016 World T20 in a weakened state

Umar Farooq15-Mar-20165:45

Ramiz: Pakistan will be mentally fatigued

Big pictureFor the first time, Pakistan will enter the World T20 a weakened side. Over the years, they have lost their Midas touch in the format and the unpredictability that was once a defining feature, is now merely a liability.Pakistan announced their World T20 squad in early February but then made changes to their squad due to injuries and form. The last of these changes was to bring Ahmed Shehzad back into the squad in place of Khurram Manzoor, who fared poorly in the Asia Cup. Their departure was delayed following concerns over the security situation in Dharamsala, where they were scheduled to play a match against India, and this cost them one practice match. The match against India was eventually moved to Kolkata and the team arrived on Saturday.An unsettled top order and an inconsistent middle order leaves them as one of the weaker teams in the Super 10s stage. They are not being seen as favourites but the senior players – Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad – are all overdue for big performances.Pakistan’s biggest strength is the four-man pace attack, with Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Sami all capable of clocking speeds close to 150 kph. Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, has, however, stressed that the batsmen will need to support the bowlers. The tracks in India, too, might work against Pakistan, as their specialist spin department is another weak link.Road to the World T20Pakistan are ranked No. 7, close to Sri Lanka at No. 8. Their performances in the last 12 months have been poor. They have nine out of 17 games, and five of those victories came against Zimbabwe and UAE. They lost series to England (3-0) and New Zealand (2-1) followed by a dismal Asia Cup where they lost crunch games against India and Bangladesh and failed to make the final.At the helmThis is Shahid Afridi’s second and final World T20 as captain; he previously led the team to a semi-final finish in the tournament in 2010. He took charge of the side after Mohammad Hafeez stepped down following the side’s exit in the group stage of the 2014 World T20. Afridi’s form has waned recently – in the Asia Cup, he scored two runs and took two wickets. Over the last 12 months, he has scored 173 runs in 15 innings at an average of 12.35 and has taken 12 wickets at 35.41. There were calls for a change in leadership after the Asia Cup but PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan refrained from making an alteration so close to the tournament.Key stats20Number of batsmen Pakistan have tried in the top three since 2012, the most for any team. They haven’t, however, been able to find a stable top order yet and their experiments in the Asia Cup only left the team with more questions.Umar Akmal’s T20 experience and form will be crucial to shore up a brittle Pakistan batting order•AFP

Leading menMohammad Amir
The 2016 World T20 will be Mohammad Amir’s first ICC event since his return from a five-year suspension for spot-fixing in September 2015. He made his presence felt in the Asia Cup with a charismatic bowling show, particularly against India, and will be an important player for Pakistan.Ahmed ShehzadShehzad was first dropped from the World T20 squad and then added at the last minute after Khurram Manzoor failed in the Asia Cup. He has scored the most runs by a Pakistan opener in T20Is – 912 – but can be an inconsistent performer. He made his way back to the squad because the selectors were forced to revisit their original pick and the onus is now on Shehzad to produce the performances expected of him.Umar AkmalUmar Akmal has been in and out of Pakistan’s Test and ODI sides but is an important player in the side in T20 format. With 1611 runs in 75 matches at an average of 27.30, he is Pakistan’s highest run-getter in T20 internationals and fourth overall in the format. Currently he is in assured form – in the Asia Cup, for instance, he played a crucial 50 off 46 balls to help Pakistan overcome a scare from UAE. With the top order looking brittle, he has a vital role to give his side momentum with his flamboyant batting. In three World T20 appearances, he has scored 408 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 134.65.Burning questionCan Shahid Afridi sign-off with a bang?Afridi’s 20-year career has had exhilarating highs and excruciating lows, and he is now nearing the end of his international career. His career and extravagant persona have made a significant impact on Pakistan cricket. He brought the curtains down on his ODI career with a quiet 2015 World Cup and the World T20 is his chance to mark his remarkable career with a perfect farewell.World T20 historyThey finished runners-up in the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007, losing to India in the final. In 2009, they won the title and finished semi-finalists in 2010 and 2012. In 2014, however, they failed to move beyond the group stage.In their own words”It’s a matter of the entire team clicking together and this is the only pattern of Pakistan winning a game. Gone are the days when one player stood up and finished off the game single-handedly. Now we need to perform as a unit, and every single player in the side has to play his role. We all know what to expect and who to expect, and the answer to every question is batting. And the day we manage to get consistent with the bat, we will become the best team in the world.”
Aakash Chopra on Pakistan’s strengths and weaknesses

ScorecardFile photo: Shabnim Ismail picked up three wickets to bowl South Africa to their first T20I win against West Indies•Getty Images

Shabnim Ismail’s three wickets in seven balls and Dane van Niekerk’s two in an over helped South Africa Women defend 125, which seemed a sub-par total, and claim their first-ever Twenty20 win over West Indies Women. South Africa’s victory, which comes two weeks after they achieved the same feat over England, bodes well ahead of the World T20.On a slow, spin-friendly surface in Durban, West Indies restricted South Africa and would have fancied their chances of taking the early honours, but the hosts’ attack was up to the task. Ismail was instrumental in reducing West Indies to 16 for 4, before Deandra Dottin and Stacy-Ann King put them back on track. They shared a fifth-wicket stand of 72 but van Niekerk removed them both to take South Africa to a historic win.Ismail set the tone with an early strangle. She gave away just two runs in her first over against a watchful West Indies opening pair. Moseline Daniels, her opening partner, was more generous and pitched the ball up, but Ismail showed the way with the short balls. She had Stafanie Taylor caught at midwicket, attemping a pull, and followed it up with a fuller one, inducing an edge from Hayley Matthews, who was caught behind. Ismail stuck to the fuller length for the hat-trick ball, but it was defended.Ismail could not stay out of action. She took a catch at mid-on off debutant Odine Kirsten to send Kyshona Knight on her way before returning to dismiss Kycia Knight. South Africa would have already sensed an improbable victory at that stage, but had Dottin to deal with.Dottin took a liking to Kirsten and was strong down the ground as she started to claw West Indies back. She found an able partner in King, who was circumspect up front, and then began to pierce the gaps and threatened to take the game away.The pair took West Indies to within 38 runs of victory before van Niekerk struck. She broke through King’s defence to give South Africa some hope. Dottin holed out at the end of the over, and then all South Africa had to do was contain.Shemaine Campbelle and Shaquana Quintyne kept West Indies in the hunt by finding the fence in each of the last three overs, but left themselves too much to do. They needed 20 off the last over, but Ismail conceded just eight runs to seal the win.West Indies were disappointed after they dragged South Africa back from 39 without loss in the first five overs. Van Niekerk and Trisha Chetty took advantage of some loose bowling early on, but Anisa Mohammed ended their charge. She removed the openers in her first over, forcing them to rebuild.Three boundary-less overs followed and South Africa lost their captain Mignon du Preez to reach the halfway stage at 59 for 3.Lizelle Lee sensed the urgency to accelerate and opted to take on the spinners. She shared a stand of 48 runs, the highest of the innings, for the fourth wicket with Marizanne Kapp and set South Africa up for a strong finish. But she did not stick around to do it herself and was dismissed in the 16th over. South Africa lost three wickets for 24 at the death to finish with a total they may not have been confident of defending, but eventually did.

Liverpool are struggling to replicate their former success under Jurgen Klopp's tutelage this season, with the prestigious Premier League outfit languishing in sixth place in the table and out of every cup competition rather prematurely.

It is a far cry from the outfit that gleaned the FA Cup and Carabao Cup last season, falling in the final of the Champions League against Real Madrid and finishing second in the English top-flight with 92 points, one agonising point behind Manchester City.

Unequivocally, Klopp has cultivated an incredible squad with an imperious winning mentality, but it has indeed crumbled this term and the forthcoming summer transfer window will be paramount to returning to former glory.

With the centre of the park one of the key areas of concern, speculation has been rife regarding the bolstering of the formerly excellent system consisting of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum.

Fabinho and Henderson both remain on the Reds' books but have been shadows of their former selves, but the latter, Wijnaldum, left the club in 2021 after signing for £25m from Newcastle United in 2016, and the absence of his all-encompassing drive has been poignantly felt this term.

Would Wijnaldum transform Liverpool?

When Wijnaldum completed his transfer to Klopp's Liverpool in 2016 after the Magpies plummeted into the second tier, he has primarily been utilised as a dynamic offensive force, plying his trade out on the offensive left flank or in a more central, but still forward-thinking role.

He had, after all, proved his worth as a formidable striking force, scoring 11 goals and serving five assists in his solitary Premier League season at St. James's Park despite the club's fruitless exploits, relegated from the top-flight after finishing with 37 points, bitterly two points adrift of acrimonious rivals Sunderland.

However, Klopp recognised his worth as an assiduous and controlled force at the heart of the Reds field, where he was crafted into an industrious, composed and unrelenting workhorse to ensure Liverpool were charged with high-octane batteries.

He would forge 237 appearances for the Merseyside outfit, scoring only 22 goals and supplying just 16 assists, but his brilliance did not lie in his potency in front of goal, rather his orchestrating approach to run in tandem with the diligence and discipline that allowed the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to wreak havoc on opposing defences.

The 87-cap Dutchman would go on to win the Premier League and Champions League under Klopp's wing, and when he eventually departed on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, his absence was certainly felt, the 32-year-old even hailed as "irreplaceable" by Richard Jolly.

For a Liverpool midfield that is discernibly lacking in potency and vigour, Wijnaldum, in his prime, would be a catalyst for success once again, and it is hard to imagine that the woes of the campaign would be quite so profound with his robust presence pulling the strings.

The Athletic are just one of many to illustrate the issues that have left the Reds chasing top-four instead of challenging for the league title, with the phenom never dropping below an 87% pass success rate in the Premier League for Liverpool and indeed working tirelessly, like an unabating storm.

Stefan Bajcetic, Liverpool's 18-year-old prodigy, bears a semblance to his senior positional peer and has indeed thrived among the dirt this season, praised for "looking right at home" in the midfield by Statman Dave.

But the precocious Spaniard cannot alone bring his outfit from the ashes, and with Wijnaldum partnering him in the centre, Klopp could've indeed constructed a winning formula this term.

Wijnaldum's time at Anfield has come and passed, but his excellence at the beating heart of Klopp's dynasty is a reminder of exactly what the club are missing right now, and if the sagely German manager can get his hands on another ace to emulate the former feats, a course to success could be set once again.

Rain, snow, sleet and even a dead pigeon prevented a positive result at The Oval as Chris Rogers was left to hail the continuing influence of Marcus Trescothick

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval27-Apr-2016
ScorecardKumar Sangakkara drives on his way to another half-century•Getty Images

When the start of play was delayed to remove a pigeon’s dirty protest to the side of the pitch, you wondered if that was a sign of things to come. In the end, both Surrey and Somerset played some impressive cricket even if it was to no avail. Had rain, snow, sleet and avian intervention not taken time out of this game, both teams would have been able to state their cases for a win.The match went as far as 5.45pm, at which point hands were shaken and a draw was officially called. That option was available to Gareth Batty from 5pm but, with Somerset 54 for 3 and no intention of chasing their target of 292, the Surrey captain sensed a collapse might be forthcoming. Only one more wicket would fall as composed knocks from James Hildreth and Peter Trego saw Somerset through to safety.The evening session and Somerset’s chase had started with Ravi Rampaul dismissing Tom Abell at the end of the second over, with no run scored, for the West Indian’s 14th wicket of the season. Zafar Ansari then accounted for the other three to fall. Along with his wicket in Somerset’s first innings and 67 runs in the match, Ansari put in a tidy shift in the field which was capped off with a stunning catch to remove Craig Overton off Rampaul on day three. It was a quietly impressive return to first-team action.Earlier on, both sides had shown a willingness to move the game along but it was the timing of wickets that prevented both from following through.

Trescothick ‘inspiring’ – Rogers

• On Marcus Trescothick’s three hundreds in six innings: “I thought Marcus’ innings in the first innings was world class. It’s kind of great to play with a guy and see that kind of innings at his age. That’s quite inspiring.”

• On Somerset’s display: “I thought we reacted really well to losing the toss. I’d say we created 30 chances with the ball and put down 12. That’s where we let ourselves down and we need to improve on that.”

• On captaining Somerset: “It’s different from Middlesex. There’s an interesting mix of senior players and young players who could be very special. A lot is to do with the development of those younger players. It’s been challenging but I’ve really enjoyed it. They’re a great bunch of guys and that’s a good recipe.”

For Surrey, any impetus for quick runs was curtailed at regular intervals. The loss of Rory Burns and Arun Harinath in the space of six balls, caught behind off Overton and Lewis Gregory respectively, meant Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Davies had to rebuild. After one run in his first 21 balls, Davies hit three fours in his next six before his wings were clipped for 26 – stumped off Jack Leach.Even Jason Roy, whose default is to press fast-forward, was unable to get going. Chris Rogers took a smart low catch at cover to give Leach a second wicket to remove him and it was only when Sangakkara fell for 71 – his fifty coming off 86 balls – that others tried to get the scoreboard moving along. With Batty’s dismissal came the declaration, which asked Somerset to get 292 in 42 overs.At stumps, Batty ceded that their original plan had been quashed by a disciplined Somerset bowling effort. “The perfect scenario would have been that we would have got into a better position quicker,” he said. “Somerset put up a real fight this morning, making it real tough for us to score.”He was also mindful of leaving Somerset too much time, referencing Surrey’s match with Leicestershire in May of last season. On that occasion the hosts, on a pitch not too dissimilar to this one, which took a bit of turn and was away to the side of the square nearest the Archbishop Tenison’s School, chased down 216 inside 22 overs to snatch the game at the death. With Somerset possessing big hitters such as first-innings centurion Marcus Trescothick, Peter Trego, Gregory and Overton, he didn’t want to risk it.”It was respect to them more than anything,” Batty said. “We were always very confident but we felt like we played a lot of good cricket in the game and we didn’t want to put ourselves in a compromising position against some very dangerous players.”Somerset, on the other hand, couldn’t quite get enough wickets at a rate that would have provided them with an appropriate target and ample time to chase. Gregory and Overton shared three wickets each – the former in particular exhibiting good control while the latter tested outside off stump, then ripped out middle when he yorked Tom Curran.While Somerset’s nerves were tested in the final session, they survived to register a second draw on the road this season.”It was pretty tough out there, actually,” said Rogers, who was impressed with his side’s scrapping throughout the match. It was his decision to call for the toss in the hope that Somerset would benefit from batting first and bowling last on what turned out to be a decent wicket for both disciplines. From the point they had lost the toss, Somerset were always behind in the game but performed admirably to not crumble in the face of Surrey’s first-innings 463 and then hold their own at the end.He did, however, deride his side’s inability to take their chances, particularly against Sangakkara, who he believed benefited from “four chances over two innings”. That really hurt us and I think he was the difference.” He highlighted that lack of ruthlessness in the field as something that needed to be addressed.Both sides, after two matches, are winless.