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Bavuma, Coetzee, Jansen return for South Africa’s home Tests against Sri Lanka
Temba Bavuma South Africa’s Test captain, has recovered from his elbow injury in time to be available for their two-Test series at home against Sri Lanka. Bavuma will lead a 14-man side which also features Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, who both made their international returns from a conditioning break in the recent T20I series against India and have not played Tests since last summer.
Bavuma will bolster an inexperienced batting line-up, who had three maiden centurions in Bangladesh last month, and a team who are chasing a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
South Africa need to win all four Tests at home – two against Sri Lanka and two against Pakistan – to guarantee their place at Lord’s next year. They could also make it with three wins out of four, based on results elsewhere. Either way, the importance of the next four Tests is clear and having their regular captain back was top of mind for Test coach Shukri Conrad who called his side “still Temba’s team” where Bavuma was unable to play.
He travelled with the side but was battling the after-effects of the injury, which was sustained during an ODI against Ireland on October 4. Bavuma has not played any competitive cricket since then. He has also not played any red-ball cricket since Tests against West Indies in August, but Conrad is confident Bavuma will be ready for the upcoming challenges.
“He’s probably going in cold in the back of not having played any matches but we’re certainly going to be simulating match situations during our short camp we’re going to have in Pretoria,” Conrad said. “His fitness test was always going to be yesterday (Monday, November 18) and then it would just be too close to a four-day match and too close to the Test match (for him to play a game). If we had asked him to or forced him to play last week, I think it could have been detrimental. And I don’t think there was anything to gain from that.”
Instead, Bavuma underwent an extensive assessment which included batting for 90 minutes on Monday to determine whether his left elbow had sufficiently recovered from an awkward land when completing a run against Ireland. It is the same elbow that Bavuma injured in 2022.
“The concern was the impact on striking the ball and if there was any pain associated with that. That was still the case when we were in Bangladesh, which then ruled him out of the second Test there. So, it included a battery of tests,” Conrad said. “There was the fitness side of things, the aerobic stuff with the running and doing all of that. We had our high-performance lead, Tumi Masekela, there. And then, also, he had an hour-and-a-half of batting with quick bowlers. He had a throw-down net with (fielding coach) Kruger van Wyk and a couple of throwers there as well. He got through that really well; unscathed and there was absolutely no pain. We felt that on the back of that, he could be cleared to play.
Equally, Conrad said Bavuma is looking forward to leading a side he has only captained five times out of 10 possible opportunities since being named Test captain in March 2023. “He’s excited,” Conrad said. “He’s like a little kid in a toy shop at the moment because he hasn’t played Test cricket in a while.”
The sense of expectation is high given the opportunity of making the WTC final. South Africa have loaded up with as many available fast bowlers possible with Kagiso Rabada to lead the attack, the experienced Dane Paterson included and the recall of Jansen and Coetzee. Lungi Ngidi is unavailable (groin injury) until January and Anrich Nortje has opted out of Tests for the time being having come back from lower-back stress fractures.
There was some concern around Coetzee, who left the field during the fourth T20I against India, with what looked like a hamstring concern but returned to bowl later in the game. He has cleared the scans.
South Africa have included two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy, but have no space for US-based offspinner Dane Piedt, who has been part of the last three Test squads. The batting line-up will include Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi at the top, Tristan Stubbs at No. 3 and allrounder Wiaan Mulder in the lower middle order. Ryan Rickelton will likely make way for Bavuma in what Conrad called “almost like a knockout quarter-final with us and Sri Lanka.”
Sri Lanka are third on the WTC points table, 1.39 percentage points above South Africa, and also in with a chance of making the final. “That table is going to be quite a topsy-turvy one over the next couple of months,” Conrad said. “We all understand the magnitude of it. We also understand that we’ve got to play really good cricket in order for us to achieve the goal. I think we’re going to run into a very confident Sri Lanka side.
“But we certainly know that if we play anything close to our ability, that we’ll be right there when it matters. It’s an exciting time for the Test side.”
The two-Test series begins in Durban on November 27 before the teams move to Gqeberha for the second Test starting December 5.
South Africa squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne
[Cricinfo]
Regrets. Scotland and Nepal will have a few.
They arrived at the 2026 T20 World Cup with little to lose. Scotland’s 11th-hour entry after Bangladesh’s expulsion was an unexpected boost. Nepal, meanwhile, are a nation on the cusp of nailing the big time, and what better way to signal that intent by bloodying a few noses and perhaps even sneaking out of Group C?
And yet, both will go into their meeting in Mumbai wondering what could have been. Nepal were 11 runs from 8 balls away from victory in their opening against England, while Scotland spurned 30 runs in their innings against the same opponents, which might have afforded them more room to cash in the nerves they elicited in an ultimately unsuccessful defense of 152.
A comprehensive defeat to West Indies on Sunday closed all mathematical avenues for Nepal’s progression, before England’s second number on their Auld enemy was to come through another sketchy situation against Italy on Monday to secure their own Super Eights spot. And so, what might have been a genuine winner-takes-all bout is anything but. Regardless of the result, both teams will be heading home.
Of course, there is pride to play for, but perhaps a bit more on Nepal’s side of the ledger. Captain Rohit Paudel called for more opportunities against Full Member teams going forward, after making England sweat. Signing off with a maiden T20 World Cup win can further their push for more of a look-in. Their fans have made a compelling case in the stands.
The mullering at the hands of Italy felt like a blow to that cause, even though that should not be the case. It is counter-productive to pit Associate nations against one another to deem who is worthy of a bigger slice of pie, be that funding or opportunities against major sides, particularly when the deck is stacked against them on those grounds in the first place.
These are issues Scotland know plenty about, even if their surprise entry into this tournament is their sixth visit to a T20 World Cup. Between the 2024 T20 World Cup and this one, they had played just seven T20Is outside of qualification tournaments, and only three against a Full Member (a series against Australia in September 2024). They themselves have a statement to make on Tuesday.
Scotland’s initial three-match residence in Kolkata featured a 73-run win against Italy, as they became the first side at this World Cup to breach 200. That was sandwiched by losses to West Indies and England, though the latter did play out in front of a crowd of more than 40,000. This will be similarly well-attended.
One of these teams will take the lead after a 1-1 head-to-head established during a tri-series Scotland hosted and won last summer, with an emphatic win over Nepal. Their first meeting three days earlier was a low scoring shootout which Sandeep Lamichanne seized; the legspinner taking 4 for 11 then bagging the winning run off the penultimate delivery.
As such, there is plenty of familiarity on the ground for this encounter, which will been played out on what has been a game Wankhede track. Nepal’s three matches at this venue to Scotland’s none gives them a sizable advantage, but their batting has not come close to replicating the heights Kushal Bhurtel, Dipendra Singh Airee and Lokesh Bam threatened to take them to against England over a week ago.
They were tentative against Italy (who chased down 124 without loss and with ease) and overawed by Group C leaders West Indies. It spoke to the standards expected that consultant coach Nic Pothas used his pre-match press conference to lament the team for “not learning fast” and making familiar errors.
Scotland, too, have errors to learn from, particularly their leg-side missteps against England when it came to the sweep shot. “The nature of the wicket [at the Wankhede] probably looks even slower than Kolkata and might take more turn,” Tom Bruce said on Monday. We shall see.
It has been a peculiar tournament for Sandeep Lamichane. Nepal’s greatest cricketing export has just one wicket at an average of 94.00, with an economy rate of 9.4 – galling numbers for a seasoned wristspinner. The 25-year-old has shown no verve, and was bullied by Anthony Mosca in the defeat to Italy, with the opener carting him for three sixes, finishing with 28 off the 13 deliveries he faced from the leggie. As mentioned further up, Lamichanne has good recent form against Scotland which he could do with replicating to save what has otherwise been an abject tournament.
Mark Watt, meanwhile, will be keen to bounce back from the shellacking he received against England. His 0 for 43 from three overs contributed to Scotland’s inability to fully turn the screw against their neighbours to the south, hammered over the fence three times by Tom Banton in a first over that went for 22 – an exchange that got Banton out of a funk and on his way to a match-winning 63*. Watt is a canny enough operator to not let that aberration dull his shine.
Nepal have been relatively consistent with their selections, sticking by 10 players and shuffling between Sher Malla (offbreak), Lalit Rajbanshi (left arm orthodox) and Sompal Kami (medium-pace) for the final spot. The suggestion on the ground is they may go in unchanged from the West Indies match after Kami provided some handy but ultimately moot lower-order runs with an unbeaten 26. Should they err towards spin, Malla may get the nod over Rajbanshi, whose single over against Italy went for 19.
Nepal (probable): Aasif Sheikh (wk), Kushal Bhurtel, Rohit Paudel (capt), Dipendra Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC, Sompal Kami/Sher Malla, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane.
Scotland have called up seamer Jack Jarvis as a replacement for Safyaan Sharif, who has been nursing a groin strain picked up in training. But the sense is they will go in with the same XI they played against England.
Scotland (probable): George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (capt), Tom Bruce, Michael Leask, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Oliver Davidson, Brad Wheal, Brad Currie.
[Cricinfo]
BBC Verify has confirmed the location of US aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln near Iran using satellite imagery, as Washington continues to put pressure on the country over its military program and recent deadly crackdown on protesters.
US and Iranian officials are set to meet in Swizerland on Tuesday for a second round of talks. Iran says the meeting will focus on its nuclear programme and the potential lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the US. Washington has previously indicated it wants to discuss other issues as well.
The Abraham Lincoln, which leads a strike group with three guided missile destroyers, carries 90 aircraft including F35 fighters, and 5,680 crew, was reportedly deployed to the Gulf region in late January but has not been seen in satellite imagery until now. It has been located off the coast of Oman, around 700km from Iran.
The US has also reportedly sent the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest warship, to the Middle East, which could arrive in the region within the next three weeks.
The Abraham Lincoln’s arrival adds to what we know about the current US military build-up in the Middle East over the past few weeks, where BBC Verify has tracked an increase of US destroyers, combat ships and fighter jets in the region.
Publicly available images from the European Sentinel-2 satellites show Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea around 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Oman.
It had not been seen since it reportedly entered the region in January but it had been crossing the open sea where satellite coverage is limited. Military assets on land are more visible and frequently captured on satellite.
It means we have now tracked 12 US ships in the Middle East through satellite imagery: the Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier, which together with three Arleigh Burke class destroyers forms a carrier strike group; plus two destroyers capable of carrying out long-range missile strikes and three specialist ships for combat near to the shore that are currently positioned at Bahrain naval station in the Gulf. Two other destroyers have been seen in the eastern Mediterranean near the Souda Bay US base, and one more in the Red Sea.
We have also been following the movements of US aircraft in the region, where we have seen an increase of F-15 and EA-18 fighter jets stationed in Muwaffaq Salti military base in Jordan, and an increase in US cargo planes and refuelling and communications aircraft moving towards the Middle East from the US and Europe.
The US Central Command released images of the Abraham Lincoln flanked by destroyers, fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and coastguard vessels in the Arabian Sea in an apparent show of military prowess on 6 February, which Iran has met with its own show of force.
On Monday the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a maritime drill in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the Gulf between Oman and Iran. The drill saw IRGC Commander‑in‑Chief Maj Gen Mohammad Pakpour inspecting naval vessels at a harbour before missiles are seen launching from a ship, the IRCG-linked Tasnim News Agency reported.
The Strait is considered one of the world’s most important shipping routes and a vital oil transit choke point. Around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows through the Strait, including from Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal. Pakpour was seen flying over the island in a helicopter in the report showing Iran’s latest military manoeuvres.
Military intelligence expert Justin Crump told BBC Verify that the current US military preparations in the Middle East show “more depth and sustainability” than its manoeuvres ahead of the seizure of former Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro in January, or the operation carrying out air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last June.
They all feature a carrier strike group and several destroyers operating independently. However, the US deployed its assets in Venezuela and Iran last year under quite different circumstances.
The US deployed the Gerald R Ford to the Caribbean ahead of its strikes on Venezuela, one of eight warships we tracked in the region at the time, though it used fewer aircraft as it could easily send jets from surrounding US bases on America’s mainland or from its base in Puerto Rico instead. The US also deployed amphibious assault ships within the Caribbean, which can be used as launch platforms for helicopter operations as was seen with the capture of Maduro. But Venezuela’s military is generally seen as less capable of defending itself or retaliating against the US.
When the US struck Iran last year in Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, it was attacking a country with a much more powerful military than Venezuela. Iran’s military is capable of hitting US bases across the Middle East.
During Midnight Hammer the US had two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, five destroyers placed in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and three combat ships in the Gulf. It had also moved squadrons of fighter jets and refuelling aircraft from the US to Europe, but the B2 stealth bomber flights that were used to hit the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites actually took off from US bases in Missouri.
Crump, chief executive of risk and intelligence company Sibylline, said the build-up of US warships and aircraft, as well as eight existing airbases in the region would allow it to conduct a “fairly intensive and sustained strike rate” of about 800 sorties a day, with the aim of rendering any Iranian responses “ineffective”.
“What we are seeing isn’t just strike preparation, but rather a broader deterrent deployment capable of being scaled up or down,” he said. “This means it has more depth and sustainability than the force packages arranged for either Venezuela or Midnight Hammer last year. It’s designed to sustain an engagement and counter all potential responses against US assets in the region and, of course, Israel.”
[BBC]
When Ireland arrived in Kandy on Sunday afternoon, with just two points after three games, their chances of qualifying for Super Eights may have seemed fanciful. But courtesy an outstanding Sri Lankan chase against Australia on Monday night, the possibilities for Group B have been thrown wide open.
Sri Lanka have qualified, but Ireland now know that a win against Zimbabwe on Tuesday will keep them in with a very real chance of qualification – provided Sri Lanka also beat Zimbabwe in their final match.
If those very specific set of circumstances – including Australia beating Oman – occur, then Australia, Zimbabwe and Ireland could all end on four points each, separated solely by net run-rate.
But that might be getting ahead of ourselves. Zimbabwe simply need to win against Ireland to end all speculation, and considering they’re coming off a stunning 23-run victory over Australia, it would take a brave person to back against them.
Captain Sikandar Raza is also not one to allow his team to let their guard down. He has emphasised the need to maintain focus, warning that earlier performances will “count for nothing if the team slips up now.
Ireland, meanwhile, have lost to Sri Lanka and Australia earlier in the tournament but their dominant 96-run win over Oman – including a tournament-high of 235 – will have provided a timely boost in confidence. They also come in with a chip on their shoulder, over constant comparisons to Associate nations, something they will be keen to put right with a win over Zimbabwe.
Lending more unpredictability to this game is that the historical rivalry is remarkably balanced, with both sides having won eight apiece of their 18 T20I meetings.
With the extra bounce on offer, the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is one of the rare Sri Lanka grounds where more wickets have fallen to seam (201) than spin (154). It would be no surprise if seamers from both teams prove to be the difference on Tuesday.
In Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans, Zimbabwe have a pace triumvirate that can be the envy of any side in this tournament. They’ve taken 16 wickets amongst them, and managed to brush past Australia even with Ngarava out of the XI. Moreover, Muzarabani has won two Player-of-the-Match awards.
In Mark Adair, Ireland have the quintessential work horse. Despite making his debut after Josh Little and Barry McCarthy, he’s played more T20Is – 100 – than the other two and managed to pick up 142 wickets. He also loves bowling against Zimbabwe; his 24 wickets are the most he has taken against an opposition. With Little finding his form last time out with a first three-for since March 2024, Ireland will know any chance of success depends on how quick their seam-bowling unit find their rhythm.
Ireland are unlikely to change a winning combination after their exploits against Oman.
Ireland (probable XI): Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (capt & wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Josh Little Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys
Zimbabwe would have had a close eye on the pitch Sri Lanka played Australia on, but the only expected change is the return of Richard Ngarava who missed out last time as a precaution.
Zimbabwe (probable XI): Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani Richard Ngarava
[Cricinfo]
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