Paul Collingwood has serious ambitions to regain the England place as he jets around the world playing Twenty20

Firdose Moonda13-Feb-2012Paul Collingwood has insisted he isn’t jetting around the world playing Twenty20 cricket just to inflate his bank account but has serious ambitions to regain the England place he lost after last year’s World Cup.On Monday he was unveiled as captain of a new franchise in South Africa’s Twenty20 competition, named Impi, where he will ply his trade before linking up with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL having recently completed his stint with Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. Then there is his county career with Durham which will resume in mid-May following the spell in India.Collingwood remains the only England captain to win a global one-day trophy with the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. In September, England defend their title in Sri Lanka and, although chances of a recall are remote, Collingwood hasn’t given up hope of being there.”I am very ambitious and motivated to try and get back in. I know I will have to have six amazing months if I want to do that though,” Collingwood told ESPNcricinfo. “England know what I can do when I am in form and I know when I am out of form, I look pretty horrible.”Collingwood actually had a lean BBL, scoring 113 runs in seven innings and bowling three overs in nine matches, but believes his experience could play a part in turning around England’s one-day fortunes. They have struggled away from home, losing all five matches in their ODI series in India last October and going down 6-1 to Australia in January either side of the quarter-final exit at the World Cup.With a not-so-subtle hint towards England’s recent problems in India and UAE, Collingwood said he was “a decent player of spin” and admitted it wasn’t easy to see his former team-mates struggle.”They are still hunting for the right formula and it is a bit frustrating watching from the sidelines,” Collingwood said. “But it’s nice for players to have some security like I did when I was playing.”For now, though, he is concentrating on furthering his 20-over career in as many ways possible. “I see the IPL as a great learning curve because you get to play with against players from around the world, some of them who you have never even spoken to before,” he said. “You can take a lot of confidence from playing in a tournament like the IPL. I see it as a six-week crash course in 20-over cricket.”Although England did not get a single player sold in the recent IPL auction, Collingwood said he thought that was only as a result of schedule clashes and did not reflect the pedigree of English talent.Twenty-over leagues have mushroomed around the world with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh also launching marquee competitions but Collingwood does not think the franchise concept will work in England. “Cricket has a lot of tradition in England and the counties have been around for a long time. It’s very difficult to change traditions like that.”

Virender Sehwag has clarified he needed rest due to back spasms and dismissed doubts over the reasons behind his exclusion from the Asia Cup squad

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Mar-2012Virender Sehwag has dispelled speculation over him being “rested” for the Asia Cup, saying he had explained his medical condition to the chairman of the selectors Kris Srikkanth ahead of the selection meeting to pick the squad for the tournament.”I have back spasms. I need some rest. I have never kept my team management in the dark as far as fitness is concerned,” Sehwag told , after his name did not feature in the 15-member squad announced on Tuesday.Srikkanth had said Sehwag was rested based on the fitness report and recommendation of the Indian team’s physiotherapist. The word ‘rested’ was interpreted by many as a euphemism for being dropped, given Sehwag had failed during the Test series in Australia and managed only 65 runs in five matches during the CB Series.But Srikkanth strongly denied the rumours and even lost this cool during the media briefing . Sehwag, too, made it clear that his injury was genuine. “My injury is open for everyone to see. I have never hidden my injury before, or fitness problems. Even my shoulder operation was planned after consulting the then coach Gary Kirsten and skipper MS Dhoni,” Sehwag said.A BCCI official said it was incorrect to blame on selectors for copping out over the ‘resting’ of Sehwag. He pointed out that Srikkanth’s panel had, in the past, taken bold decisions like dropping Yuvraj Singh during the home Test series against Australia, months before the World Cup, and leaving Harbhajan Singh out after his loss of form during the tour of England last year.”The media and critics said the selectors did not have the guts to say he [Sehwag] is dropped. I don’t think that is true,” the official explained. “If they wanted to unconditionally drop him, the selectors would have done that. They had dropped Yuvraj Singh four months before the World Cup. Then they dropped Harbhajan Singh after the England tour last year. They could have easily done so with Sehwag, too, now in case they wanted to.”The decision to rest Sehwag, the board official pointed out, was taken keeping in mind the long-term repercussions of playing with an injury. “Sehwag was suffering from spasms, had shoulder pains and was also was having migraine. There was no option but to give him a break.”When asked if Sehwag’s concerns about his fitness would be undermined should he play the CB series finals in the event of India’s qualification, the official didn’t think so. “If at all he goes ahead and plays the final and smacks a hundred it does not mean his body and mind does not need a break,” the official said. According to him, a majority of elite cricketers are “literally stitched up together” to be fit to play, and the physio has worked hard to keep Sehwag fit on the tour of Australia.

Alex Winter02-Apr-2012Gloucestershire have reached a settlement with former batsman Chris Taylor after he sought litigation following his release by the county.Taylor’s future at the club was dependent on Gloucestershire being granted planning permission to develop their Bristol home but the application was rejected by Bristol City Council in January, prompting Taylor’s contract to be cancelled.Hamish Marshall, the former New Zealand batsman, was also given a renegotiated deal but his contract was not subject to the planning application.Having been given three months to find a new county, Taylor is without an offer ahead of the new season and his 12-year career could now be over. He is currently the England Lions fielding coach and has also been working with Somerset on a consultancy basis.In a joint statement, Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson said: “We would like to thank Chris very much for his years of service as both player and more recently fielding coach and wish him all the best for the future.”Taylor became the first man to score a century on debut for Gloucestershire with his hundred at Lord’s in 2000 – it was also the first debut hundred on the ground. He became captain in 2004 but relinquished the role after Gloucestershire were relegated in 2005.”I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Gloucestershire fans for their support over the years and wish them every success in the future,” Taylor said. “It is with great regret that I move onto the next challenge in my life but look back on my career with many fond memories. I have far too many people to thank for their help. I’m sure these people know who they are and appreciate how grateful I am.”Taylor was Gloucestershire’s leading run-scorer in 2011, making 1,139 runs at 40.67, as the county finished fourth in County Championship Division Two.

Faf du Plessis will be joining Somerset – subject to all necessary clearance – as their second overseas player for the FLt20

George Dobell03-May-2012Faf du Plessis will be joining Somerset – subject to all necessary clearance – as their second overseas player for the FLt20. Du Plessis, the 27-year-old South Africa allrounder, will replace Chris Gayle, who has pulled out of his deal with the club in order to make himself available for the West Indies.As things stand, Somerset hope that du Plessis will be available for the duration of the competition. He may, however, be involved in South Africa’s five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe that runs until June 24. Somerset’s T20 campaign begins on June 13, meaning du Plessis could miss as many as five games.”We have signed him subject to clearance,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are waiting to hear whether he will be required by South Africa but, even if he is, we are unlikely to sign another overseas player.”

Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot fixing to be released

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2012Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of the three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot-fixing to be released. Asif will have completed half of his one-year sentence and becomes eligible for release from Canterbury Prison under British law.The disgraced Pakistan trio – Asif, his fellow fast bowler Mohammad Amir and captain Salman Butt – participated in a betting scam involving the deliberate bowling of no-balls for financial gain during a Lord’s Test match between England and Pakistan in 2010.Asif and Butt were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. All three lost an appeal that their sentences were “manifestly excessive” to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who upheld the sentences later in November and said that widespread corruption could “destroy the game”.Amir, the youngest at 18, pleaded guilty before the trial and was released from a young offenders’ institution midway through his six-month sentence earlier this year. Butt will not become eligible for release until next February, when he has served half of his 30-month sentence. Mazhar Majeed, the agent who was accused of setting up the deal, received a 32-month jail term.Asif is 29 and his Pakistan career could be over unless he overturns a seven-year ban (the last two of which are suspended) imposed by an ICC tribunal in February last year. Butt was banned for 10 years (five of them suspended) and Amir for five years.Mohammad Haroon, who described himself as “a friend and cricketer” told the AFP news agency that Asif still intended to go through with his appeal against the ICC ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “Asif has already appealed against the 12-month sentence and he will also appeal against the ICC ban,” Haroon said.Amir has no plans to appeal and has taken part in an anti-corruption video produced by the ICC.

Afternoon showers on day three put an outright result in serious doubt as only one session could be played out

The Report by Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Misbah-ul-Haq declared after making a quick half-century and taking Pakistan past 550•AFP

Afternoon showers on day three put an outright result in serious doubt as only one session could be played out. In that session, Pakistan added 63 to their overnight 488 before declaring. In the next 70 minutes, Sri Lanka were put through a sterner test than the Pakistan openers, but they lost just one wicket.Pakistan’s quicks generated more response from the pitch than their Sri Lankan counterparts, but that didn’t translate into too much success as Tillakaratne Dilshan rode his luck. An overnight declaration on 488 was a consideration because of the weather: 45 overs had already been lost on day two, and forecast for the rest of the Test wasn’t the brightest either. However, Pakistan went for the scoreboard pressure, and declared only after they reached 550.Pakistan didn’t meander aimlessly, though: Misbah-ul-Haq went at a strike-rate of 82.50, much higher than his ODI career statistic, and Abdur Rehman hit two straight sixes in his 18 off 13. It took Pakistan little under an hour, and 12.4 overs, to score the 63 runs that took them past 550. In the process Misbah reached his 17th half-century, scoring 37 off 40 balls on the third morning. The fields were spread far out so he had to rely more on well-placed ones and twos as opposed to boundaries. Asad Shafiq and Adnan Akmal perished for the cause, but Rehman provided the required thrust with sixes off both spinners. Rangana Herath bowled one over fewer than a whole ODI innings.Ten minutes later, with runs on board already, Pakistan made a spirited start with the ball. Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan bowled faster and hit the seam more often than the Sri Lankan bowlers. As a result, they bowled more threatening deliveries in one spell than Sri Lanka did in the whole innings. Cheema began with a short-of-a-length delivery that reared towards Tharanga Paranavitana’s chest. Paranavitana never settled in, and was caught bat-pad to a Junaid delivery that seamed in. This was Paranavitana’s seventh duck in his 28th Test, a high rate for a Test opener.Tillakaratne Dilshan, at the other end, tried every trick in the book to get out, but the pitch and luck smiled on him benevolently. The seam movement in Junaid’s first over seemed to have rattled him, and he hoicked at the last ball of that over; the leading edge fell straight of mid-on. Until lunch, Dilshan kept slashing and flashing, twice edging short of the cordon, once bisecting keeper and first slip. In Saeed Ajmal’s first over, minutes before lunch, he survived a desperately close lbw shout when he was hit just above the knee roll bang in front and inside the crease. However, nothing stopped the aggressive Dilshan: he followed that lbw shout with two lofted fours, a response not too different to the rest of his innings. By lunch he had raced along to 46 off 54.Kumar Sangakkara was much more reassuring for Sri Lanka, clipping the first ball he faced for four, and continuing to do so. The only moment of concern at Sangakkara’s end arrived when he got a thick inside edge onto his pad, but it was too meaty for Azhar Ali at short leg to react in time.No play was possible after lunch.

Preview of the first Test of the series between England and South Africa at The Oval

The Preview by Alan Gardner18-Jul-2012

Match facts

Thursday, July 19
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)
Andrew Strauss and Graeme Smith will lead their sides in contesting the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy•Getty Images

Big Picture

This series could be all about cart-wheeling stumps, bonce-bothering bouncers and catches in the cordon, as the world’s two best bowling attacks go head to head in conditions favourable to pace and swing. It could also be overshadowed by the weather and the Olympics, with its attendant bureaucratic bungling, amid grumbles about the inadequacies of a three-Test encounter. For now, we can savour the prospect of a potentially thrilling clash between the two best sides in Test cricket – even if the rankings would perversely deny the fact.Despite the ICC’s annual recalculation dropping South Africa to third, victory in the series would lift them above England to No. 1 – a position they last occupied, briefly, in 2009. Graeme Smith was the last touring captain to secure victory in England, going back to the historic series success of 2008, and South Africa are also unbeaten away from home since losing a two-Test rubber to Sri Lanka in 2006. With four batsmen – AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and Smith – in the top ten, they have a top-order on which to build a successful campaign; in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, the bowlers to torment England in a manner they are more used to dishing out.South Africa’s last two tours have resulted in the end of an England captain’s tenure but, fortified by back-to-back Test hundreds against West Indies, Andrew Strauss will fancy his chances of ending the hoodoo. Under Strauss and Andy Flower, England have become ruthless bullies in their own conditions, winning seven home series in a row. The quicks are programmed to bowl an relentless line and length – something which South Africa’s attack are still adjusting to here – and in Graeme Swann, England may hold the trump spin card. His fitness after a twinge in his troublesome right elbow, as well as The Oval’s receptiveness to spin, could be a determining factor in the first Test.Posturing aside, there will be a touch of sadness when the teams take the field, at the absence of Mark Boucher, who was set to reach 150 caps and more than 1,000 dismissals in international cricket during the series. Both teams have plenty of motivation but neither is confident enough to mutter “you guys are history” just yet.

Form guide

England DWWWL (most recent first)
South Africa DWDWL

Watch out for

England’s No. 6 is just about the only area of long-standing uncertainty in the side and, after Jonny Bairstow’s difficult introduction to Test cricket against West Indies, Ravi Bopara has been given another chance to establish himself in the middle order. He enjoyed a successful ODI series against Australia and seems more comfortable about meriting his place, though he is often a slow starter and South Africa’s bowlers won’t give him any help in getting going.AB de Villiers is one of South Africa’s most accomplished batsmen but he will have to perform both in front of and behind the stumps, in the wake of Boucher’s enforced retirement. De Villiers said he is looking forward to a rest whilst wearing the wicketkeeper’s gloves, rather than running around at point, but there will be greater demands on his concentration, not to mention his back. His record as ODI keeper suggests he may be up to the challenge.

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first Test pitch produced by The Oval’s new head groundsman, Lee Fortis. Spinners have often prospered here, though more often at the back end of the season, and given the damp summer thus far the surface could be lower and more seam friendly than before. The forecast is grey and rain-spattered, which will probably have both sets of bowlers sniffing around the toss.

Team news

After a month away from international cricket, Kevin Pietersen returns to the England fold, while Bopara finally gets his opportunity at No. 6 – barring a stubbed toe or ricked neck between now and 11am tomorrow. With Graham Onions nursing a tight hamstring, England’s only decision is likely to be between Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn for the third fast bowler’s spot.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonThe shock departure of Boucher from the touring party aside, South Africa are a settled team. De Villiers is expected to take the gloves, with JP Duminy, who scored a century on his last outing, coming in to add depth to the batting as well as a back-up spin option. Alviro Petersen has recovered from a foot problem, so Jacques Rudolph remains at No. 6.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have not won in 13 visits to The Oval, losing their last three
• This is the earliest an Oval Test has been held since 1983, when New Zealand began a four-match series in south London on July 14
• Andrew Strauss needs 70 runs to reach 7,000 in Tests and one century to equal the England record of 22, jointly held by Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Geoffrey Boycott
• Graeme Smith is set to play his 100th Test but it will only be his 99th for South Africa, as he captained the ICC World XI against Australia in 2005
  

  Quotes

  “The rankings say we are number one but we’ve got to go out there and prove it.”
  “There’s a real feeling of contentment and clarity. We’re at the point where we want to be and just want this series to start now.”

Mohammad Akram has been named Pakistan’s bowling coach for a period of one year

Umar Farooq24-Aug-2012Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Akram has been named Pakistan’s bowling coach for a probationary period of one year. He will join the squad in the UAE for the series against Australia, Intikhab Alam, the PCB director, announced today.Pakistan was without a bowling coach since the former fast bowler Aaqib Javed resigned to be UAE’s head coach after the series against England last year.”After a lengthy deliberation we have decided to appoint Mohammad Akram as Pakistan bowling coach,” Alam said. “Stuart Barnes [of] England was also shortlisted but unfortunately [Barnes] was not available immediately and we found Akram more suitable for the role.”Akram, who played nine Tests and 23 ODIs for Pakistan between 1995 and 2001, is settled in England and has represented Essex, Sussex, Surrey and Northamptonshire. He played 125 matches and picked up 415 wickets in his 15-year first-class career. However, he hadn’t been involved with any of the first-class teams in England and Pakistan in a coaching capacity.The appointment, therefore, didn’t meet the criteria that were advertised for the position, requiring at least five years of experience with the elite cricketers at international level. Alam, however, said he was convinced that Akram’s playing experience in county cricket and his engagement with universities in England as a consultant was enough to warrant his selection.”He is a decent and experienced coach, and has good reputation,” Alam said. “We have appointed him [for] a period of one year in which he will remain under our observation and if things go well with him, his contract will definitely be extended. The scope of the job isn’t restricted to the national side but his services will be expanded to the academies and the regional level as well.”Akram, 37, was overshadowed by the presence of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis while playing for Pakistan. He had more success on the first-class circuit, but was charged with ball-tampering – a Level 2 breach of the ECB disciplinary code – during his Sussex stint in 2004 . He’s been living in England since his last international appearance for Pakistan in 2001 and completed his last county deal with Surrey in 2007.Akram hadn’t expressed his interest in coaching until 2009, opting to do commentary instead. “It would be a good challenge for him to deliver and we can understand that he has the potential to take care of our bowlers,” Alam said. “We are all with him and hope he will meet our expectations and produce results.”

Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2012Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach. Sehwag’s lackadaisical attitude threatens to squander his great god-given gift, Chappell wrote in the . Chappell coached India from 2005 to 2007, a controversial stint just after which Sehwag was dropped from the national side.Sehwag made a stirring comeback from that low, but is currently in an extended lean patch. His last Test century came in November 2010, but outside the subcontinent that date extends back to January 2008. His fitness and fielding have been a worry for the team management, and he has played only 13 ODIs since the World Cup, with only two innings of note – the double-century and a 96 against Sri Lanka.Sehwag was “rested” for India’s second league game in World Twenty20, one of India’s more complete T20 performances. That has brought Sehwag’s form into focus once again. “To say that Viru was one of the great frustrations of my time with the team is an understatement,” Chappell wrote. “Sadly, he continues to disappoint and is in danger of squandering his God-given talent. The person who is least likely to be fazed by all of this is Virender himself.”What I soon learned about him was that Viru did not want to dedicate himself to taking his talent to its zenith. He was happy to turn up and play and accept what came his way. No amount of cajoling from me could shift him from his insouciant way.”Only lack of runs, according to Chappell, could make Sehwag work hard, but that wouldn’t last. “This often happens to those with the greatest gift,” Chappell wrote. “Because he had never had to work hard at developing such a skill, Viru did not know how to dedicate himself to disciplined training. It was only during periods of relative poor form that he was prepared to spend time getting things back on track. As soon as he made some runs he slipped back into old habits and appeared content to practise in the same old profligate way; until his form evaporated again.”Chappell also spoke of a lack of responsibility and fitness. “The other area of frustration for me was that he did not keep himself in good shape and would often be troubled by a back ailment that restricted him in the field and made him even less likely to want to put time into expanding his ability. Apart from his batting skills, he is a very talented offspin bowler and he should have been the best slip fielder in the team, but he eschewed the responsibility at every opportunity.”Chappell said not much has changed on that front. “Seven years on, nothing much has changed,” he wrote. “He has worked on his fitness and appears to be in better condition, but on the evidence of his training in Australia early this year, he still practises the way he has always done and the results, unsurprisingly, are similar.Chappell also had a dig at Sehwag’s reported captaincy aspirations. “Strangely, for someone who only wants to play the game on his terms, he harbours a desire to captain his country,” he wrote. “I have no doubt that he could do it for he understands the game well, but what he fails to grasp is that with the honour comes responsibility. In fact, the responsibility to show personal leadership has to come before one can earn the higher honour. He wants the prize, but has been unwilling to pay the price.”More damningly, Chappell suggested that his selfish attitude towards batting cost India matches. “The surprising thing was that when Viru got runs in 50-over cricket, India often lost,” Chappell wrote. “For one thing, he seemed more concerned with his strike rate than the bigger picture. He would play shots from the first ball and not stop until he got out, which was often just when the team needed him to go on to a big score.”Usually, if he got a start, he would get away to such a flier it would get everyone at the ground excited, including his team-mates who would then think that they should score 300 plus. Once Virender got out, the good start was often squandered by the loss of multiple wickets as others tried to maintain the frenetic run-rate and generally the game would slip away.”However, like the rest of the world, Chappell admired Sehwag’s talent, and also said that the opposition will only be relieved if he plays no part in the upcoming matches. “Despite my frustrations with him during my tenure as Indian coach, I could not help but love him,” Chappell wrote. “He is, after all, a loveable rogue. And he can bat better than most. In fact, he is the most gifted ball striker that I have seen…”It is unlikely that Sehwag will ever change. It is probably too late now. But if Dhoni and the selectors have decided that enough is enough and that they have a better chance of winning the World Twenty20 without him, I reckon the Australian bowlers will breathe a little easier on Friday.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the South Africa and Pakistan Super Eights World T20 match, in Colombo

The Preview by Firdose Moonda27-Sep-2012

Match facts

September 28, 2012
Start time 1530 local (1000 GMT)Imran Nazir was ruthless in Pakistan’s previous game•AFP

Big Picture

What appears to be the tougher of the two Super Eight groups gets underway with a repeat of the 2009 World T20 semi-final, a match that is remembered as one the most thrilling, in a format where almost anything can be labelled so. Historically, these two make good opponents: the unpredictability of Pakistan against the sometimes uber-predictability of South Africa. But things have changed.Pakistan still implode at times but tend to bring some of their best games to major tournaments. They have also tempered their fiery side with reason and both have been on display in equal measure in the group stage and even before that, in series against Australia and Sri Lanka. Combined, those two contrasting styles could result in a Pakistan side that consistently performs as well as they have done of late.They defended a decent total against a determined New Zealand line-up and then turned on the heat when they hunted down Bangladesh’s score ruthlessly. Importantly, their top three all have runs to their name and each of the bowlers, particularly Saeed Ajmal, have seen success.South Africa also take confidence into this round. They have had one all-too-easy encounter (against Zimbabwe) and one severely reduced match (a seven-over-a-side shootout against Sri Lanka) and managed not to get carried away by the former or spooked by the latter. Their philosophy when playing major tournaments appears to have changed. AB de Villiers spoke about not needing to win every game but building to a crescendo but South Africa have so far won and built at the same time.Having been on tour since the beginning of July, Gary Kirsten has stressed the importance of being fresh to his men. They had two days off in Bentota before they resumed training, which was describe as “lengthy and intensive” by the coaching staff. Surprisingly, they do not have a certain starting line-up as they try to keep an aura of mystery about them in their bid for ICC silverware.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa WWLWW
Pakistan WWLTW

Watch out for

South Africa will not have fond memories of playing against Shahid Afridi after he was solely responsible for stopping their march at the 2009 event. Afridi was a one-man act as he destroyed a Graeme Smith-led side that had not lost a single match in the lead-up to the semi-finals with both bat and ball. He is a man for a big occasion and even though the contest is not a knockout, to make a statement of intent against one of the favourites may be just the stage for Afridi to perform as he did on that day.Power is the quality that most batsmen want to be able to use to score runs in the shortest format, but Hashim Amla has chosen a different route. Small adaptations to his game have allowed him to keep the class and still become the world’s top-ranked ODI batsman. Flanked by the strength of the Richard Levi and the experience of Jacques Kallis, Amla is the calm in the South African batting line-up, something they will need as the tournament goes on.

Team news

Pakistan played the same XI in both their group matches and with two good results should keep the same team.Pakistan : 1 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Yasir Arafat, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Saeed AjmalSouth Africa also won both their matches, although they fielded different XIs, with the change being in the batting line-up. Faf du Plessis was given an opportunity to bat at No. 3 against Sri Lanka and scored 13 in a reduced game. He is the likeliest to be left out as South Africa opt for two spinners on a pitch that should take more turn than was on offer in Hambantota.South Africa (probable): 1 Richard Levi, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Albie Morkel 8 Johan Botha 9 Robin Peterson 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Dale Steyn

Pitch and conditions

Albie Morkel expects a more typically sub-continental surface in Colombo compared with what he called “home conditions,” in Hambantota. The pitch is said to be much slower, with little in it for the quicks. A 60% chance of rain should lessen as the afternoon grows longer but the chance of another shortened match remains.

Stats and trivia

• Three of the top four wicket-takers in World T20 are all from Pakistan. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul are on 29, 27 and 27 wickets respectively.
• South Africa and Pakistan have played against each other in five T20s, twice in World T20s. South Africa have a better head-to-head record, winning three of the five played overall.

Quotes

“The beauty of our batting line-up is that we have a lot of variety and different sets of batting skills in our line-up. Guys can use their feet, guys can sweep, guys can reverse sweep; so we have some very good options in our line-up.”

“We are blessed with some of the greats in T20s, especially Ajmal and Afridi. This is our main strength even though we also rely on our fast bowlers.”