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Rabada to lead strong South Africa pace attack at T20 World Cup
Kagiso Rabada, who returned to action on New Year’s Eve after almost ten weeks on the sidelines with a rib injury, will lead South Africa’s attack at the men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Rabada, who took 2 for 48 on comeback for MI Cape Town (MICT) in the SA20, has been named alongside five other quicks: Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi and Kwena Maphaka complete South Africa’s pace battery.
Maphaka and Bosch are among seven players who will appear at a World Cup for the first time. The others are batters Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi and Jason Smith, and allrounders George Linde and Donovan Ferreira.
South Africa will be led by regular T20 skipper Aiden Markram and will have only seven members of the squad that reached the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Quinton de Kock is back at the top of the order after making himself available for South Africa in October, while David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Jansen, Rabada and Nortje were all in the XI that lost to India in Barbados in June 2024.
Of those not in the squad, Heinrich Klaasen has retired from international cricket while Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin and Tabraiz Shamsi have missed out. All eight of these players are currently in action in T20 franchise leagues, with the first seven at the SA20 and Shamsi at the ILT20 and then the BBL.
Among the biggest talking points in the current squad is the addition of de Zorzi, who has not played in a month, since injuring his hamstring in an ODI against India in Raipur. De Zorzi had been in good form prior to that match, and is seen as someone who is suited to subcontinent conditions. He is part of the Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) squad in the SA20 but has yet to play a game.
Tony is recovering well,” Moroney said. “He’s working with a medical team and he will be fit and ready to go when we play the West Indies. He’s probably slotting in at number three.”
Moroney also explained the selectors’ thinking behind leaving out Rickelton and Stubbs.
“It was a big decision between Quinny de Kock and Ryan Rickelton and ultimately we’ve opted to go with Quinny de Kock in that opening berth along with Aiden Markram,” he said.
“On Stubbs, in theory what we’ve really looked for there is to make sure that we have that attacking middle order where the left-handed David Miller slots in for us ideally and then with [Dewald] Brevis and [Donovan] Ferreira complementing him on either side is our general plan.
“That’s what we’ve opted for with Stubbs not included in this tour, in this World Cup.”
Smith, who only has five international caps to his name, is also something of a surprise inclusion. Smith has recently enhanced his reputation as a finisher after an unbeaten 68 off 19 balls to send Dolphins into the playoff of the CSAT20 Challenge, and the 14-ball 41 for MICT against DSG in the SA20 opener. Smith also offers a seam-bowling option, though he has not bowled since October as he recovers from a niggle. MICT coach Robin Peterson confirmed Smith may start bowling towards the end of the competition.
“Jason brings us a lot of versatility and is able to bat nearly anywhere in the order,” Moroney said. “He also gives us that opportunity to go in in the powerplay. That’s something that we were looking at, to get that player movement, to give the coach the opportunity to be strategic and slot batters into different positions in the batting order. It definitely gives us that versatility that we look for.”
Left-arm quick Nandre Burger, Moroney said, was unlucky to miss out. Burger sustained a hamstring injury recently, but it wasn’t this as much as competition for slots that led to his non-selection, with Nortje selected instead.
“Nandre Burger was part of the selection [conversation] and we’ve opted to go with Anrich Nortje instead of a player like Nandre. He’s recovering and everything indicates that he’ll be fully fit, but from a selection point of view we’ve gone with Anrich.”
In the spin department, South Africa have stuck to their two left-arm spinners in Maharaj and Linde, while Markram and Ferreira (who also keeps wicket) will be the offspin options. The international career of left-arm wristspinner Shamsi, who recently won a case for a no-objection certificate against Cricket South Africa and is no longer centrally contracted, appears to be over.
The T20 World Cup will be the first white-ball tournament under all-format coach Shukri Conrad, who took over the limited-overs sides in July last year. His regular support staff of Ashwell Prince (batting coach), Piet Botha (bowling coach) and Kruger van Wyk (fielding coach) will be enhanced by Albie Morkel as a specialist T20 consultant. Morkel is currently part of the management team of Joburg Super Kings at the SA20.
All South Africa’s players will be involved in the SA20 for most of this month. They will then host West Indies for three T20Is before heading to India for the T20 World Cup. Their campaign starts against Canada on February 9. South Africa will also play Afghanistan, New Zealand and the UAE in the group stage.
South Africa squad for the T20 World Cup:
Aiden Markram (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Smith
(Cricinfo)
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s ODI series decider against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday, with Jordan Cox likely to replace him and keep wicket. Don Lawrence who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, has been called up to the squad as cover.
Buttler pulled up with a left hamstring injury while running between the wickets in Thursday’s second ODI at Headingley and received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, a recent recruit from rugby union club Exeter Chiefs. He faced two more balls before retiring hurt, and briefly hobbled back to the middle before holing out as England slipped to a 16-run defeat.
Buttler’s eventual 69 was his highest score in ODIs in three years, but his injury will be something of a concern. He is now 36, and has been affected by various soft-tissue injuries in recent years. These have mainly been calf injuries, but he also suffered a similar left-hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.
England do not yet know the extent of Buttler’s injury but expect to have more information early next week once he has been for an MRI scan.
In Buttler’s absence, Cox is likely to win only his fourth ODI cap on Sunday and is expected to take the gloves ahead of Tom Banton. Kevin Pietersen, England’s new white-ball mentor, said on Thursday night that opportunities available through injuries would help build depth ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Pietersen said.
Lawrence, who made three half-centuries in four innings in England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan, has been withdrawn from Surrey’s ongoing Country Championship match at Somerset, having made his sixth hundred of the season on Thursday. He will train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday.
Lawrence was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 when their first-choice side went into Covid isolation, but did not play a game in the series. He has only played 28 List A games in his career, the most recent of them in May 2019.
(Cricinfo)
Tens of millions of people across the north-eastern US are in the path of a powerful storm bringing coastal flooding, power cuts, travel chaos and cancelled stadium events.
The so-called nor’easter is bringing “dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall” to areas including New York City and Boston on Saturday, the US National Weather Service (NWS) said.
States of emergency have been declared in New York and New Jersey, both of which faced a coastal deluge in some areas. Rain and strong winds are forecast from Virginia to Maine.
Ed Sheeran’s much-awaited Boston concert was among events called off due to the weather.
Residents on kayaks in a Beach Haven West, New Jersey, neighbourhood (BBC)The nor’easter caused widespread power cuts. More than 100,000 households, nearly all in the northeast US, have lost electricity, according to tracker PowerOutage.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended air passengers check with airlines about their flight status. More than 2,400 flights have been delayed and another 1,199 grounded, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s full moon is projected to worsen coastal flooding. Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in the coastal New Jersey communities of Surf City and Manasquan on Saturday.
“I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay alert and follow local guidance,” Governor Mikie Sherrill said.
NWS said in its alert: “Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”
In New York, officials are warning of wind gusts of up to 55mph (86km/h) throughout the weekend, leading to downed trees and power lines
“Don’t travel if you don’t have to,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents in a video message. “Do not drive or walk through floodwater.”
In the Boston area, the Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida.
A professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was also cancelled.
(BBC)
US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week
He told reporters at the White House that Tehran “want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly”.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump’s comments, but said Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators.
On Friday, Araghchi had told reporters at the UN in New York that an agreement could be reached “if the necessary conditions are met” and that these were contained in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two countries in June.
The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.
“I’m rejecting their deal,” Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had “total control” of the strait, with “massive amounts of oil” passing through it.
“They want to make a deal, and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable,” he added.
Araghchi wrote that Trump “has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently.”
He added that he would await the “definitive views” of mediators, and that Tehran “will make a decision based on that.”
On Friday the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he saw a renewed bombing campaign as probable.
Iran responded to US and Israeli air strikes, beginning in late February, by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US – as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has caused wild fluctuations of energy prices.
The economic effects have also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict – particularly as the US heads towards Congressional elections in November.
(BBC)
Buttler out of Oval decider as Lawrence earns ODI call-up
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