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While Mithun Ali was quite shy to describe his feelings after being selected for the India ODIs, Taskin Ahmed was excited and was well aware of the attention surrounding him

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2014When a video of Taskin Ahmed bowling at the England Under-19s was uploaded on Youtube a couple of years ago, people wanted to know more about this tall fast bowler. After his second BPL game where he burst through with three wickets in four balls, curiousity peaked. This doesn’t happen with most uncapped cricketers in Bangladesh. If you search Youtube for Mithun Ali, the other uncapped player who is in the Bangladesh side for the ODI series against India, you will mostly get scenes from a Bollywood movie that starred Indian actors Mithun Chakraborty and Saif Ali Khan.The pair were informed on Thursday evening of their call-ups and reacted contrastingly. While Mithun was quite shy to describe his feelings, Taskin was excited and was well aware of the attention surrounding him.”The feeling is obviously great,” Taskin said. “This is my first call-up to the ODI team. By Allah’s grace, I hope to play at the top level for ten to twelve years. My dream is to become a world-class fast bowler, and for that I will do everything within me to reach the level. For now I am excited to be in the squad against India, and hoping to do well whenever I am given a chance.”The interest among Bangladesh fans is quite easy to understand. Fast bowlers have not been produced in droves in the country, especially one who makes the wicketkeeper collect the ball near his head or one who can burst through batsmen with pace at the age of 18. Among the current lot with whom he has been bowling in Mirpur during the training camp, Taskin is the quickest, clocking over 85 mph on occasion and regularly above 80 mph.A knee injury last year held him back for eleven months but he recovered in time to make his T20 international debut against Australia in the World T20. He has been bowling with a more comfortable action compared to during the BPL or even a few months ago. He has also understood a bit of what he would have to do the next time he steps out in front of a home crowd.”From that game against Australia, it was easy to understand that international cricket was no place for loose deliveries. I have to bowl a tight line and length. There is always a bit of pressure with the crowd around, and that was a bit of a problem for me as I couldn’t focus fully. I have learned a few things from that game, and mainly it is to bowl at the batsman not at his name.”I was in rehab for almost a year. I felt bad during that time as everyone else was playing, but I was in the sidelines. I think the rehab process went well, which helped me play in the World T20. I am still in rehab, having to do that work after everyone leaves training.”Like Taskin, Mithun also has a single T20 international under his belt. He got out for a second-ball duck against Sri Lanka, and felt that he was too nervous for the occasion. But the 2013-14 season has been Mithun’s most prolific since he made his first-class debut in 2006.He has averaged 47.07 in nine matches compared to his career average of 33.59 but feels that despite finishing the domestic season with a century in the Bangladesh Cricket League final, he is not one of those who expected things to happen.”I never really thought that if I scored a hundred today or tomorrow, I would get close to the national team. There are selectors who will take these decisions,” Mithun said. “I was more focused on my performance. It was always a dream to play for Bangladesh. I never gave up on it because I never got to the age when I could think like that. I always believed in myself.”I was really nervous when I made my T20 debut for Bangladesh. I feel that’s why I didn’t click. I have to control the pressure that I put on myself next time I go out there.”Very different characters, Taskin and Mithun will both be hopeful of making their ODI debut against India. It is a critical phase for Bangladesh with new coaches being appointed and selectors looking everywhere to find the right combination. With the 2015 World Cup coming closer every day, Bangladesh would also look to the likes of Taskin and Mithun to add their strengths to the team, one that needs a bit of in-house competition every now and then.

Fast bowler Umaid Asif has been banned for one year by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for a prohibited substance

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2014Fast bowler Umaid Asif has been banned for one year by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for a prohibited substance. The ban has been deemed to have commenced from January 23.According to a PCB release, Umaid’s urine sample was collected on November 29 in Lahore last year when he was representing Khan Research Laboratories against State Bank of Pakistan in the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup. The sample was forwarded to National Dope Testing Laboratory in New Delhi which gave an adverse analytical finding for substances prednisolone and prednisone, both of which fall under category S9. Glucocorticosteroids in the 2013 WADA Prohibited ListAccordingly, Umaid was issued a notice of charge by the PCB on March 25 wherein he was provisionally suspended from participating in any form of cricket pending the proceedings of the anti-doping tribunal, which comprised Shahid Karim, advocate Supreme Court, Wasim Bari, and Dr. Ucksy Mallick.After conducting personal hearings, the tribunal found Umaid guilty of violating article 2.1 of the PCB’s anti-doping code (presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in a cricketer’s sample).Umaid’s individual performances in the 2013 Faysal Bank T-20 Cup will be disqualified.

Fans of rival clubs believe that the Red Devils have benefited from preferential treatment this season, so Goal has reviewed all 19 of their penalties

Not since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson have we heard so much talk about Manchester United getting preferential treatment off referees.

Social media has been running wild with talk of 'VARchester United' and 'Man Utd Penalty Bingo' because of how many spot-kicks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have been awarded this season.

However, even Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has voiced his concern over the number of decisions that seem to be going United's way.

But are United really receiving help from the officials?

Below, we review all 19 penalties awarded to the Red Devils this season to see whether there's anything to these conspiracy theories…

Getty1FA Cup: Man Utd 1-3 Chelsea

Callum Hudson-Odoi blatantly tripped Martial as United tried in vain to get themselves back into the semi-final showdown at Wembley.  Fernandes fired home but it was little more than a consolation goal for United as their hopes of FA Cup glory went up in smoke.

Verdict: PENALTY!

AdvertisementGetty2Premier League MD34: Aston Villa 0-3 Man Utd

The most controversial decision of the season? It was certainly a historic one, as United equalled the record for most penalties received in a single Premier League season (13). Jon Moss pointed to the spot after Fernandes had been upended by Ezri Konsa in the area. However, on closer inspection, it emerged that the attacking midfielder had actually initiated the contact. However, VAR inexplicably agreed with Moss, clearing the way for Fernandes to open the scoring. Villa boss Dean Smith called it a "disgraceful" decision and his fury was understandable.

Verdict: NO PENALTY!

Getty Images3Premier League MD33: Man Utd 5-2 Bournemouth

The game at Old Trafford was tied at one goal apiece when Mike Dean pointed to the spot in the 35th minute, after noticing an Adam Smith handball. Rashford took care of the rest as United went on to record an impressive victory.

Verdict: PENALTY!

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Getty4Premier League MD30: Tottenham 1-1 Man Utd

Eric Dier was bamboozled by Paul Pogba's neat footwork and bundled the Frenchman over in the box. Fernandes scored from the spot to salvage a point for United.

Verdict: PENALTY!

N.B. Jon Moss awarded United a penalty in the dying minutes for another perceived foul on Pogba by Dier but the referee was correctly overruled by VAR.

The BCCI is likely to convene a special general body meeting (SGM) in May to replace N Srinivasan on the board’s disciplinary committee

Amol Karhadkar20-Apr-2014The BCCI is likely to convene a special general body meeting (SGM) in May to replace N Srinivasan on the board’s disciplinary committee. The issue was discussed during Sunday’s working committee meeting because of Srinivasan’s inability to serve as BCCI president until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict in the IPL corruption scandal.According to the BCCI’s regulations, a three-member disciplinary committee is appointed at every annual general meeting, “to inquire into and deal with the matter relating to any act of indiscipline or misconduct or violation of any of the rules and regulations by any player, umpire, team official , administrator, selector or any person appointed or employed by BCCI”. The rules also prescribe that all three members have to be present administrators “of whom the president shall be one of them”.Since the disciplinary committee has to be appointed at every AGM, any change during the term has to be made at an SGM, which will be convened by the board secretary Sanjay Patel with a 21-day notice, in accordance with the rules.Since Srinivasan cannot continue as BCCI president for the moment, he cannot be a part of the disciplinary committee, and it was brought to the notice of the working committee that this issue was preventing the committee from meeting to decide on the allegations against Ajit Chandila. Chandila, who was one of three Rajasthan Royals players arrested by Delhi Police in May 2013, was given additional time to reply to the disciplinary committee in March. Though Chandila has filed his reply, the disciplinary committee comprising Srinivasan and two BCCI vice-presidents Shivlal Yadav and Rajeev Shukla, has not been able to take the proceedings forward.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said his team would seek clarifications from the match referee on how West Indies offspinner Shane Shillingord’s illegal deliveries are policed

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2014New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said his team will seek clarifications from the match referee on how West Indies offspinner Shane Shillingford’s illegal deliveries are policed. Shillingford, who was suspended during the tour of New Zealand after both his conventional offspinner and the doosra were found to be breaching the 15-degree flex limit, will be playing his first international match after remedial work on his action. His doosra, though, remains illegal.”It’s quite hard to see how they actually police that,” Hesson said. “It’s all very well saying it, but do they call a batsman back if he bowls a doosra? It’s going to be an interesting discussion with the match referee.””Same with [Marlon] Samuels, he’s not allowed to bowl a quicker ball so we’ll certainly get some clarification on those two things.”Shillingford was reported during the second Test against India, in Mumbai, in November, and following testing was suspended in New Zealand in December. It was the second time he had been suspended due to an illegal action. Subsequent testing on March 4, again at the University of Western Australia in Perth, showed that his offspinner and straighter ball were within the regulations after remedial work. On his return, he grabbed 11 wickets in a first-class game at the Sabina Park, which also hosts the first Test, and Hesson remains wary of the threat.”He’ll get more bounce and turn over here whereas in New Zealand they tended to slide on a lot more,” Hesson said. “Shillingford seems to be their first-choice spinner, and [left-armer] Sulieman Benn is back in favour. None of our guys have faced a lot of him and, with his bounce and his height, he’s going to ask some different questions.”While West Indies’ spinners are likely to pose a lot of problems for the visitors, New Zealand’s batsmen will also have to contend with a stronger pace attack compared to what they faced at home. The return of Kemar Roach, who had been sidelined last season with a shoulder injury, comes as a boost to the home side.”It was excruciating pain, but I believe I am back now, and close to my best,” Roach said. “I just want to continue this form and go out in the park and give it a good shot.”

Brilliant for much of this summer, Australia settled for simply being the lucky country on their national day, as a fortuitous moment at the pointy end of the final ODI effectively handed the hosts a fourth limited-overs victory out of five

The Report by Daniel Brettig in Adelaide26-Jan-2014
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

‘Familiar story with England on Australia Day thriller’

Brilliant for much of this summer, Australia settled for simply being the lucky country on their national day, as a fortuitous moment at the pointy end of the final ODI effectively handed the hosts a fourth limited-overs victory out of five over England and a ninth from 10 encounters including the Ashes clean sweep.In a scrappy contest dictated largely by the sluggishness of Adelaide Oval’s drop-in pitch, Australia posted a mediocre total but defended it grandly against an England team who threatened to take control at several stages of the chase but could never quite manage to wrest command of the evening.Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan all contributed useful scores to take England close, but it was left to Ravi Bopara to try to take his team to a second win in a row. He seemed likely to carry them there, until falling victim to a most unfortunate end, as Matthew Wade’s fumble behind the stumps bounced back onto the leg bail with the batsman’s foot barely raised.The Australians celebrated their win raucously and fittingly – it was one more moment of joy in a summer brimful of them, while England rued the swings of outrageous fortune that inevitably seem to go against the side to fall behind. The hosts owed much to Nathan Coulter-Nile, who delivered perhaps his best and most disciplined spell for Australia, before Clint McKay gave nothing away in the closing overs.James Faulkner also bowled well despite complaining of knee soreness earlier in the day, while Shaun Marsh may be under his own fitness cloud having left the field midway through England’s chase. Aaron Finch was the beneficiary of two dropped chances in the afternoon but was beaten for pace by a revved up Stuart Broad, before Shane Watson, Michael Clarke and Shaun Marsh all perished to loose strokes as they tried to raise the hosts’ run rate.The remainder of the innings was a struggle despite the best efforts of George Bailey, the only batsman to pass 50 in the face of a diligent England bowling line-up. Broad’s pace and direction showed the way for his colleagues, while Ben Stokes, Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan and James Tredwell also delivered sturdy spells.Ian Bell and Cook began smartly, until the difficulties posed for shot-making on a decidedly slow surface began to rear. Bell tried to drive on the up and was taken at mid-off. Stokes’ attempted pull shot was not middled and settled in the hands of midwicket. Then after a partnership with Root that hinted at success, Cook himself mistimed to short cover.Root showed admirable composure on his return to the team, unhurried and unflustered while building another stand with Morgan. At 3 for 154 they were close to breaking the back of the chase, only for Morgan to follow his predecessors in perishing to a lofted stroke, this time finding Shane Watson at mid-off from the bowling of James Faulkner.James Faulkner’s late wickets helped turn the match on its head•Getty ImagesThree runs later and Root was trudging off too, his attempted paddle only succeeding in picking out short fine leg. A previously restive Australia Day crowd found its voice as the Australian huddle grew more enthusiastic. Jos Buttler enhanced their anticipation when he picked out deep midwicket with a pull shot, and Bresnan’s one mowed six over wide long-on was cancelled out when he was thrown out by Glenn Maxwell, running in from cover.Those who had witnessed the final day of the Adelaide Test against South Africa were made nervous by the sight of Wade stationing himself up to the stumps for McKay, but the bowler averted any problems by bringing one between bat and pad to bowl Broad. That left Bopara with just Jordan and Tredwell for company, and the fourth ball of the penultimate over brought unexpected reward for Wade’s decision to stay up.Beaten outside off stump by McKay, Bopara very briefly lifted his back foot, and at the same moment Wade’s failure to glove the ball cleanly had it ricochet back onto the stumps. It was an exceptionally tight call, but the third umpire Kumar Dharmasena went the way of Australia. Bopara walked off in a daze, and Watson bowled a suitably tight final over to make the match safe.Jordan and Broad had almost as much reason to curse their ill-fortune early in the afternoon, when Cook and Bopara both dropped chances they should have taken from Finch. Jordan’s new ball swing posed problems at one end while Broad’s pace was notable at the other, eventually rewarded when Finch was far too late on a ball that uprooted off stump.Watson made a fairly ugly duck, narrowly avoiding an lbw appeal and DRS referral by Broad then swishing at a wide delivery and offering a catch to Buttler. Clarke spent 26 balls over 8 before trying to smear Bresnan across the line and also being bowled, and Marsh’s start was wasted when he clipped Stokes to midwicket where this time Cook held on.For a time Bailey and Maxwell stemmed the bleeding, manoeuvring the ball around a somewhat spongy outfield with the occasional muscular blow to the boundary. However Maxwell’s patience is far from infinite, and a dabble too many outside off stump brought an edge behind the wicket.Bailey’s innings was nothing spectacular but he came closest to finding the right balance between aversion and aggression to score at a reasonable rate. Even so, his last 23 balls were devoid of a boundary, creating pressure that resulted in an attempted punch down the ground that skewed instead to mid-on.Wade did his best with a busy 31, then Faulkner and Coulter-Nile tried to hit out at the finish, but the final tally looked meagre. Jordan was rewarded for his unrewarded earlier efforts with two wickets in as many balls during an excellent final over, but was to be left crestfallen at the finish as the chase fell maddeningly yet somehow fittingly short.

Ordinarily, a near run-a-ball 135 from David Warner, or the sidelining of Dale Steyn with a rare injury would be the defining moment of a day’s play

The Report by Brydon Coverdale01-Mar-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Warner was in fine form on the first day in Cape Town•Getty ImagesSmart stats

David Warner’s 135 is his seventh Test century, but only his second in overseas games, both of which have come in this series.

Before this series, Warner’s overseas Test average was 25 (and his home average 52). His overseas average is now 36.70.

Warner’s aggregate in the series is 398; the highest by an Australian opener versus South Africa since their readmission to international cricket is 429, by Matthew Hayden in 2001-02. Phil Hughes had 415 in 2008-09, while Warner is currently in third place, with possibly one more innings to go past Hayden.

Of the 135 runs he scored, 80 were made off Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and MorneMorkel, off 87 balls. Overall in his Test career, Warner has scored 399 runs off these three bowlers and been dismissed by them six times, giving him anaverage of 66.50 against them.

Michael Clarke’s unbeaten 92 is his first score of 25 or more in 12 Test innings. Since scoring 148 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test against England, Clarke’s highest in his next 11 innings was 24.

The 114-run stand between Clarke and Steven Smith is their second century partnership in 11 Test innings, after the 214 they added against England at Old Trafford last year. In their other nine partnerships, their highest stand is 37.

Ordinarily, a near run-a-ball 135 from David Warner, or the sidelining of Dale Steyn with a rare injury would be the defining moment of a day’s play. Both of those certainly contributed to Australia’s dominance on the first day of the series decider in Cape Town, but the image that will linger longer was the sight of Morne Morkel tenderising Michael Clarke during a brutal spell of short-pitched bowling. And of Clarke surviving, fighting through it and reaching stumps within sight of a century.If he should reach it, it will be one of his finest Test hundreds. Not for the class of his strokeplay but for his first-rate bloody-mindedness. The fact that Clarke survived Morkel’s assault with his wicket and bone structure intact was a victory for Australia, albeit a painful one, and by stumps the Australians had moved on to 331 for 3 and they had a well-settled Clarke at the crease on 92 alongside Steven Smith on 50.Their partnership had grown to 114 and although Morkel asked some more questions late in the afternoon with the second new ball, including jarring Clarke on the thumb with another short ball that led to a visit from the physio, South Africa managed no more than one wicket per session. They sorely missed Steyn, who limped off with a hamstring strain after bowling the first ball of his 11th over, and his ability to bowl for the rest of the match remained in doubt.Steyn’s fitness is the stuff of legend – he has missed only one Test in the past five and a half years – but there could hardly be a worse time for him to succumb, with a series on the line. Initially it was he who probed Clarke early in his innings, but then it was Morkel who sustained an around-the-wicket line and peppered him with short deliveries that struck him all over the body.Much like South Africa’s batsmen against Mitchell Johnson in the first Test in Centurion, Clarke knew what was coming but was unable to find a comfortable way of handling it. With no half-centuries in his past 11 innings, Clarke was searching for a purple patch, but not the kind that Morkel caused on his left forerarm after banging in a few short ones that left the Australian captain bruised.Worse for Clarke was the blow he took on the left jaw after he failed to get out of the way of another 147kph Morkel bouncer that ricocheted off his shoulder and up under the helmet, bringing the physio immediately on to the ground. Clarke remained at the crease, though, although he was lucky to survive the very next ball when another Morkel bumper lobbed off his gloves and narrowly missed the stumps while also evading the short-leg fieldsman.But for all of that, Morkel did not get his man, and remained wicketless at stumps. Clarke started to find some relief, and some runs, and eventually reached his half-century from his 122nd delivery. Late in the day, Clarke was able to latch on to a couple of short balls from Morkel, pulling and cutting him for boundaries that screamed revenge, and it was a fine way to end a day that began with him winning the toss and choosing to bat at a venue where Australia were last dismissed for 47.Clarke had strong support from Smith, who struck six fours and one six and reached his fifty from his 91st delivery, upper-cutting Morkel over the cordon for four in the penultimate over of the day. But it was Warner who really set Australia on their path with 135 from 152 balls, his first century in the first innings of a Test since South Africa visited Australia in late 2012. He brought up the milestone from his 104th ball with a pull fine for four off the bowling of Kyle Abbott.Warner was the dominant partner in all three of his half-century stands, first 65 with Chris Rogers, then 73 with Alex Doolan and finally a 79-run combination with Clarke, who moved back up to No.4 to accommodate Shane Watson at No.6. Despite striking 12 fours and a six, Warner rarely took a silly risk to maintain his high strike-rate.He began quickly with three fours in the sixth over against Philander – an upper cut and a couple of pulls – although he nearly became overconfident and on the last ball of that over was fortunate to survive a leading edge that lobbed just over the head of cover. Warner was strong when driving, cutting and pulling, and there seemed little South Africa could do to slow his progress as he rotated the strike throughout all his partnerships.He brought up his half-century from exactly 50 balls with a rare five, when he took a sharp single off Steyn and picked up four overthrows when Philander’s throw ricocheted off the stumps and away to the boundary. Before tea, South Africa had to settle for the wickets of Rogers and Doolan, both of whom made starts but failed to go on.Rogers looked solid in reaching 25 from 41 balls before he edged to slip in the first over of Steyn’s second spell, and Doolan had 20 when he pulled a Philander delivery that was too full and skied a catch to mid-on. It became one wicket per session for South Africa when Warner tickled an edge behind off JP Duminy after tea, but Clarke and Smith ensured 217 for 3 did not become five or six down. And in doing so, Clarke gave the spectators something to remember.

Marcus North maintained his surprising resurgence as an opening batsman as Western Australia played out a high-scoring draw with South Australia in the first match at a redeveloped Adelaide Oval.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2013
ScorecardPhillip Hughes made his highest score in first-class cricket•Getty ImagesMarcus North maintained his surprising resurgence as an opening batsman as Western Australia played out a high-scoring draw with South Australia in the first match at a redeveloped Adelaide Oval.While a rare crowd of 17,201 took in the Oval’s new, AFL-approved vista, its drop-in pitch failed to deteriorate quickly enough to afford the bowlers enough variation for a result, allowing North and Mitchell Marsh to play out the final afternoon in relative comfort after conceding a 167-run first innings deficit to the Redbacks.SA had batted swiftly in the morning to try to build their lead, following Phillip Hughes’ monolithic 204, a century for Michael Klinger and 98 for the young left-hander Travis Head.The Warriors were thus left with little option but to play out the day for a draw, something North and Marsh accomplished after the innings wobbled with the losses of Cameron Bancroft, John Rogers and Shaun Marsh. North now has scores of 45, 118*, 50, 37, 110 and 84* since moving up to open in the Sheffield Shield this season after a long career in the middle order.

West Indies’ resistance in the face of South Africa’s daunting first-innings total could not be faulted for determination but it went entirely unrewarded as they ended the day trailing by 275 runs after following on with eight wickets in hand

The Report by David Hopps19-Dec-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:52

Moonda: Philander the man of the moment

Test cricket against the leading nations has long become a trial for West Indies. Faced by a daunting South Africa total, they initially stiffened sinews as best they could but by the end of the third day of the first Test in Centurion that resolve had been replaced by a familiar expectation of impending defeat.They followed on 351 runs behind shortly after tea and, although South Africa’s attack understandably lessened in intensity second-time around, they still lost Devon Smith and Kraigg Braithwaite in reducing the deficit to 275.South Africa’s protagonist was Vernon Philander, who bowled with great intelligence throughout, the only rider being that those qualities did not extend to his appetite for the review system. Twice his emphatic signals requested a review; twice his desire went unrewarded. Nevertheless, he finished with five wickets in the day, his first-innings 4 for 29 in 15 overs being the reward for some insistent, pitched-up seam bowling.A first-innings opening stand of 72 proved to be West Indies’ high point. The first four batsmen all fell in the 30s and a chance to put right a lacklustre and depleted display in the field was slowly relinquished on a Centurion pitch that treated batsmen more kindly than that prepared for Australia’s visit in February.Smith’s exit, for 35, will provide more fodder for DRS sceptics, but the decision was not as off-beam as some immediately suggested. The umpire Billy Bowden had rejected Philander’s appeal after the ball passed between Smith’s bat and hip as he sought to work it through square leg. Snicko, unhelpfully, showed a spike when the ball was between bat and trouser pocket.Superficially, there was no evidence to overturn Bowden’s decision but Paul Reiffel, the TV umpire, did just that. Two sound spikes did give some credence to his conclusion that the ball had touched both bat and hip on the way through to the stand-in wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. The ICC, too, has advised that sound spikes can potentially appear in the next frame, just after contact has been made.But, all in all, there were too many presumptions for an on-field decision to be overturned without discontent: DRS is not about educated guesses but clear proof that provides the basis for widespread agreement. Reiffel’s decision possessed logic, but Smith would count himself unfortunate.Brathwaite then followed in Philander’s next over. Earlier, he had edged him just short of second slip. This time a thinner edge flew to Hashim Amla at first. Leon Johnson and Marlon Samuels stabilised West Indies until lunch in a session extended to two-and-a-half hours because of the rain that washed out the final session on the second day.South Africa were depleted in the field, although unlike West Indies the mishaps had not affected their bowling attack. Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper, twisted an ankle and Faf du Plessis’ virus had been bad enough for him to visit hospital. There were niggles later for both Dale Steyn and Philander. But the pace attack was initially in rude health and the Test possessed an intensity sorely lacking on the previous day.The opening pair was almost split by what would have been an unfortunate run-out. After Smith pushed Morne Morkel to midwicket for a quick single, Brathwaite lost his footing approaching the crease, dropped his bat and was still short of his ground when Dale Steyn’s underarm throw narrowly missed the stumps.Leon Johnson was the one top-order West Indies batsman to depart wastefully, driving Kyle Abbott loosely to cover in the third over after lunch. When Philander rapped Samuels on the pads before he had scored, the bowler’s excitement at a perfectly-executed plan was apparent. Samuels’ weakness for being trapped on the crease early in an innings had been exposed, but replays revealed he was struck just outside the line.Instead, it was Morkel who removed Samuels, causing him to chop on as he brought one back sharply from around the wicket. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s crooked resistance entertained for a while – one swing around from his open stance to work Abbott through point off an open face defied geometrical rules – but he was plucked by Alviro Petersen at slip off Philander. When Jermaine Blackwood fell on the stroke of tea, an excellent low catch by Petersen at second slip, legitimised only after numerous TV replays, it was undeniably South Africa’s session.West Indies capitulation after tea was swift. Denesh Ramdin succumbed to a solitary over of left-arm spin from Dean Elgar, Jerome Taylor pushed a return catch to Morkel next ball and with Kemar Roach unable to bat, it was all over when Morkel flattened Cottrell’s stumps.Imposing the follow-on put South Africa’s fast-bowling quartet under strain but the pattern was set. Smith was caught at slip while Philander roared initially for lbw – Smith failing with a review – and Petersen’s snaffling of Brathwaite at second slip – first the parry then the catch as he lay on his back – ensured a contented end to South Africa’s day.

Mohammad Irfan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been ruled out for six weeks due to a hip fracture and is likely to miss the forthcoming Tests against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2013Mohammad Irfan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been ruled out for six weeks due to a hairline fracture on his hip and is likely to miss the forthcoming Tests against Sri Lanka, which start from December 31.Irfan suffered the injury during the second T20 against South Africa in Dubai in November and was subsequently rested from the limited-overs tour to South Africa. The bowler was not a part of the T20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka, but was expected to join the squad for the Tests. Irfan, who made his ODI debut in September 2010, played his first Test in March this year and has since taken 10 wickets in the longest format, at an average of 38.90.Pakistan are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for two Twenty20s, five ODIs and three Tests in the UAE. The limited-overs leg of the tour starts with the first T20 on December 11 and ends with the fifth ODI on December 27. The first Test, to be held in Dubai, is scheduled for December 31, while the second and third Tests will begin on January 8 and January 20 respectively.