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Edwards, lower order prop Netherlands to handy total
South Africa were taken aback by a riveting slog-overs assault from Netherlands led by skipper Scott Edwards with entertaining cameos from Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt. A whopping 104 runs came off the final nine overs of the innings as the Dutch ended with a more than handy score of 245 in the World Cup encounter at Dharamsala on Tuesday (October 17). Persistent showers meant that the game was reduced to 43-overs-a-side right after the toss was held.
Given the overhead conditions and the expectation of inclement weather later on, South African skipper Temba Bavuma opted to bowl. He’d have opted for some movement as the surface had been under covers for a long time. Also, Dharamsala has historically favoured the quicks, which is why the Proteas got in the extra pacer in Gerald Coetzee in place of Tabraiz Shamsi. Despite a slightly wayward start, South Africa’s pacers vindicated their skipper’s decision and had the Dutch struggling at 50/4 in no time.
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen with their varying skill sets had Netherlands’ batters in a lot of trouble while Coetzee’s extra pace also proved to be a handful on the pacy deck. When Edwards walked to the middle to join Teja Nidamanuru, the score read 82/5. The duo was just about starting to put the innings on track before the latter became the victim of a searing Jansen yorker. Logan van Beek also got a start but he too wasn’t able to hang around for long with his skipper. At 140/7, you couldn’t have faulted South Africa for wishing to wrap up the innings quickly. Except that they couldn’t.
van der Merwe is known across the globe for his ferocity on the field, be it with bat, ball or on the field. Not many will forget his incredible running catch in the 2022 T20 World Cup to dismiss David Miller. He came out today with that typical grit and threw the South African bowlers off-guard with his brand of unconventional hitting. Suddenly, the Proteas weren’t sure of where to bowl and the set Edwards also feasted on some lackluster death bowling. Their 64-run stand came off just 36 balls to completely reverse the momentum in Netherlands’ favour.
van der Merwe’s cameo was cut short by a sharp Ngidi bouncer but more drama awaited South Africa in the form of Dutt who smoked three sixes in his nine-ball innings to give the perfect finishing kick to the innings. At the other end, Edwards kept doing his thing by finding regular boundaries and the cumulative effect of the trio’s efforts is a competitive total on the board for the Dutch. It may not be a daunting total but South Africa certainly have a game on their hands now as far as the chase is concerned.
Brief scores: Netherlands 245/8 in 43 overs (Scott Edwards 78*, Roelof van der Merwe 29; Marco Jansen 2-27, Kagiso Rabada 2-56) vs South Africa
The Artemis II astronauts are bound for Earth after conducting a historic lunar fly by and witnessing a total solar eclipse from their spacecraft
Commander Reid Wiseman says the Orion spacecraft crew “saw sights that no human has ever seen” while pilot Victor Glover says there are “no adjectives” to describe what they observed
The spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth -252,756 miles [406.771km] – during the lunar fly-by. The crew had already broken the previous record for the furthest distance humans have travelled into space
The astronauts lost connection with Nasa while behind the Moon – the outage was expected and lasted around 40 minutes
“It is so great to hear from Earth again” said mission specialist Christina Koch as she broke the silence from the spacecraft
US President Donald Trump tells the astronauts that they have “made history and made all America really proud” – and invites them to the White House.
The astronauts are due to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the US at 20:07 eastern US time on Friday (01:07 BST Saturday)
[BBC]
Matheesha Pathirana and Wanidu Hasaranga are among 15 Sri Lankan players under central contracts yet to take their mandatory fitness tests, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed. Six others are understood to have failed at least one attempt, which means that of the 45 centrally-contracted players, currently only 24 have passed the test.
The reasons for those yet to take the test vary from injuries to logistical issues. The timelines for Hasaranga and Pathirana remain most pertinent, with the pair set to represent Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively in IPL 2026.
Hasaranga’s scenario looks the most bleak, with sources close to the player saying it’s unlikely he will play “anytime soon,” while a source at SLC said that “Hasaranga has not as yet requested for an NOC (No Objection Certificate).” The legspinner has been out of action since tearing his left hamstring in Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in February, and there is no clear idea on when he will undergo his fitness evaluation.
Pathirana, who strained his calf in the T20 World Cup match against Australia, is understood to have begun bowling in the nets as he ups his recovery, with sources close to the player hopeful of him being in India for the IPL by mid-April. While no date has been officially set for his SLC-mandated fitness test, it is likely to take place next week.
SLCs overhauling of their fitness culture has also extended to the domestic National Super League tournament, which began on Monday. The testing for that is less stringent; players only need to complete a 2km run and a skin-fold test. No points are allocated, they simply need to pass the minimum threshold. Whereas centrally-contracted players have a 20m sprint, a 5-0-5 agility test, and a Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) – each offering points ranging from one to five each – with a potential seven points each up for grabs in the 2km run and skin-fold test. Seventeen out of 29 points are needed to pass the test.
Of the 87 players taking part in the tournament, 23 failed to clear the minimum fitness requirements and have been given an April 19 deadline to pass the test. If they fail to do so, they will be allowed to continue playing but will be denied their match fees, with future representation in the tournament also likely to come under scrutiny.
[Cricinfo]
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