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If Mitchell Starc’s performances are a barometer of Australia’s World Cup prospects, then you might as well hand them the trophy here and now.With his second five-wicket haul of the tournament – and his fourth of four or more – Starc marched past the 22 wickets in eight games with which he sealed his Player of the Tournament title in the 2015 campaign, and has moved to within three of overhauling the all-time record for a World Cup campaign, the 26 that Glenn McGrath claimed in another of Australia’s five World Cup wins, in the Caribbean in 2007.And yet Starc remains unmoved by the prospect of individual milestones. Asked what it would mean to overhaul the great McGrath, he replied: “Not much if we don’t win the World Cup.” With every passing performance, the odds on that turn of events lengthen.For New Zealand, there was a bleak inevitability to Starc’s interventions at Lord’s. His first spell may have been wicketless but it came against a pair of openers whose only instinct was survival – and seeing as he chipped in with a 96mph thunderbolt in his third over, it seemed from the sidelines to be a prudent course of action.WATCH on Hotstar (India only): Starc dazzles with a five-for But with his team-mates keeping up those restrictive methods, Starc was able to return with a vengeance for his latter spells. Recalled for the 26th over, just as New Zealand had started to realise that discretion means little without a touch of valour, he struck with his fourth ball to dislodge the main man, Kane Williamson.Ten overs later, he repeated the trick – this time sinking Tom Latham at midwicket – and with four overs still up his sleeve, there was now no reason not to keep him going in search of a clean kill. By attacking the stumps with lethal pace and late swing as a bonus, he once again displayed a method that, so far, only India’s star-studded batting has managed to counter.”[Attacking the stumps] is part of my game-plan,” said Starc. “Again, it was a worn wicket today, so we were all fortunate that Finchie won the toss and we got to bat first. I believe they bowled well at the start. But I guess we keep learning from the opposition when we do bowl second, and I guess that fuller length and that straighter line for me, attacking those stumps, it is pretty much part of my game-plan.”I think as a bowling unit today, we were fantastic to keep such a good side to under 160. So it was a great performance by everyone.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The simplicity of Australia’s methods with the ball make their earlier struggles to find serviceable back-ups to Starc and Pat Cummins something of a mystery. But with Jason Behrendorff adding another oppressive left-arm option to their ranks, and with Nathan Lyon’s Test-honed killer instincts delivering another inch-perfect spell on a worn surface, there was never any real opportunity for New Zealand to free their arms and catch up with an escalating rate.Starc, however, does not yet believe they have stumbled upon the magic formula for guaranteed success.”I think the fantastic thing about our 15 guys is we’ve got guys that can open the bowling. We have got several guys that make up good combinations. We’ve had all 15 part take part so far in the tournament. Guys are ready to go if called upon. The guys that were picked today did another fantastic job, [but] I don’t think we’ve quite played the perfect game, if you like.WATCH on Hotstar (US only): Full highlights“We’re finding ways to scrap and to restrict teams, and we keep improving every game. But I think the turning point was probably that Indian game where we had a good chat as a bowling group and a batting group and we’ve just continued to improve as a whole group of players from that game, so it’s been fantastic.”Until the start of the World Cup, Starc had been an onlooker as Australia set about their quiet resurgence of white-ball fortunes. He missed the 3-2 series win in India with a pectoral muscle strain, and was still on the road to recovery when they went on to beat Pakistan 5-0 in the UAE in March. But having returned to Australia’s set-up he has recognised a side that had renewed belief.WATCH on Hotstar (India only): New Zealand’s innings“From all reports, it’s been a fantastic feel around the group in the UAE and India,” he said, “and to play some fantastic cricket heading into that April break, was probably the momentum that the group was after heading into this tournament.”So I think our chances are as good as any other team. We’ve always spoken about peaking towards the back end of the tournament, and we’re still searching for that perfect performance. We’re not quite there yet. We’re showing glimpses of what we are capable of with the ball and with the bat and in the field, but we have still got room to improve, and that’s exciting for this group.”And if we can do that – well, we’ve got to play our best game in the semi now and hopefully better that in the final – and that’s what tournament play is all about.”

Mohammad Shahzad, Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper and opening batsman, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after suffering a knee injury.Shahzad, whose hard-hitting exploits at the top of the order have been a major factor in Afghanistan’s rise through the ODI rankings, fell for a duck in their opening fixture against Australia last week, and made 7 from 11 balls in their low-scoring defeat to Sri Lanka in Cardiff.The ICC’s Event Technical Committee has approved Ikram Ali Khil as Shahzad’s replacement in the squad for the remainder of the tournament.Khil has played just two ODI matches, having debuted against Ireland in Dehradun in March this year. The 18-year-old was also part of Afghanistan’s squad at the 2016 U19 World Cup in Bangladesh, and the 2018 event in New Zealand.He played a pivotal role in Afghanistan’s Asian Cricket Council U19 Cup triumph, scoring an unbeaten hundred in the 2017 final. He also has one Test cap to his name, after playing in Afghanistan’s maiden victory over Ireland in March.The World Cup’s Event Technical Committee consists of Geoff Allardice (ICC, ETC chairman), Campbell Jamieson (ICC representative), Steve Elworthy (CWC representative), Alan Fordham (host representative), Harsha Bhogle and Kumar Sangakkara (both independent representatives).

As it happenedFor the second-day running, the 2019 World Cup witnessed a no-result that forced Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to walk away with one point each.This is the fifth World Cup being staged in England, and incredibly this one has already witnessed two abandonments (cancellations without toss), the most-ever in a single edition.Sri Lanka, who already endured a washout against Pakistan, now have two points courtesy rain, which effectively amounts to second win. For Bangladesh, the situation is dire as they are in the bottom half of the points table with just a solitary win in four outings.Wednesday in Bristol dawned dark and grey with heavy overnight showers dashing hopes of a prompt 10.30am start. In fact, the teams were back at their hotel until noon, before Sri Lanka arrived to some frenetic activity in the outfield.ALSO READ – Sidharth Monga’s tour diary about BristolAs many as three pitch inspections had to be called off at different stages because of heavy rain. And while the groundstaff tried their best to flush out the water that had seeped into the outfield, the persistent and steady rain eventually put paid to hopes of even a 20-over shootout. The match officials eventually called off the game at 1.55 pm BST.The result aside, Bangladesh will have a nervy next few days, sweating over the fitness of Shakib Al Hasan, who was a doubtful starter for this fixture having picked up a thigh injury at training.There was some sombre news in the Sri Lankan camp too, with Lasith Malinga set to dash home to Colombo for the funeral of his mother-in-law. He is, however, likely to return in time for Sri Lanka’s next clash against Australia on Saturday.

Middlesex opened their Royal London One-day Cup campaign with an exciting 38-run victory over Essex at Chelmsford. After posting 366 for 8 in their 50 overs, they bowled their opponents out for 328.Defeat left Varun Chopra with the dubious distinction of being on the losing side after scoring his second century of the week in the competition. He followed up his 111 against Glamorgan 48 hours earlier with a superb 127 from as many deliveries before he was caught on the midwicket boundary by Eoin Morgan attacking Toby Roland-Jones.Chopra’s innings contained two sixes and 14 fours and his removal from the scene in the 38th over with the total on 256 proved the turning point, Essex losing their last seven wickets for 72 runs.With Tom Westley, Chopra shared in a second wicket stand of 158 in 22 overs after Alastair Cook had been caught behind by John Simpson off Tim Murtagh for only 11. Westley made 77 from 59 balls with the help of two sixes and seven fours before he fell to a Nathan Sowter return catch.Middlesex’s innings, after they had been put in, owed much to Dawid Malan. The opener, without taking undue risks, stroked the ball fluently around the field while gathering 11 fours in his 95 made from 102 balls. With his century beckoning, it needed a fine throw by Peter Siddle at cover to remove him with a direct hit.John Simpson, Morgan and Steve Eskinazi all scored better than a run-a-ball before being dismissed in the 20s but it was Nick Gubbins and George Scott who gave the Middlesex innings momentum in the later overs.Gubbins struck seven fours in making 56 in 57 balls while Scott thrashed five sixes and three fours from only 30 deliveries before becoming on of Siddle’s three victims at a cost of 71 from 10 overs.It was not a match Ravi Bopara will want to remember. He conceded 59 while sending down half-a-dozen overs and made just 20 before edging Roland-Jones to wicket-keeper Simpson, who was standing up to the paceman.Following Chopra’s dismissal and that of Bopara in the same over, Essex were always struggling to keep up with the required rate despite the efforts of Ryan ten Doeschate. The Essex captain made 39 from 19 balls, his departure providing the excellent Sowter with his fifth wicket when he was stumped.Sowter’s teasing legspin brought him a personal best of 6 for 62 from 9.2 overs and was just reward for a disciplined performance.Robbie White, on a two-month loan from Middlesex to help Essex overcome a wicket-keeping crisis, underlined his promise with four catches and a stumping to go with the five catches he took in victory against Glamorgan earlier in the week. But his efforts were not enough to spare Essex from defeat after Middlesex finished one run short of their highest 50-over score.

Scotland 181 for 4 (Coetzer 74, Munsey 50) beat Ireland 180 for 7 (O’Brien 65, Stirling 56) by six wickets
ScorecardPaul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien each notched half-centuries as part of a 115-run opening stand, an Ireland T20I record for any wicket. But left-arm spinner Mark Watt nabbed both sandwiched around No. 3 Andy Balbirnie in a game-changing spell of left-arm spin to restrict Ireland to a well-under par 180 before Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey produced a Scotland T20I record opening stand of 109 in a six-wicket win.After a morning display in which Oman scored 120 off their last 10 overs after being sent in, Ireland appeared destined for 200 or more given the platform that was laid by Stirling and O’Brien. But the innings stuttered after Watt intervened, paired with some sharp catching on the boundary by Michael Leask and Munsey. O’Brien drove to Leask at long-off before Balbirnie skied a sweep to Munsey at deep square leg. Leask made his presence felt again at long-off to nab Stirling as Ireland lost 3 for 15 to slip to 130 for 3.Richie Berrington was an unsung hero on the day, returning 0 for 26 in a spell that built on Watt’s breakthroughs to put the brakes on Ireland’s batting once the top order was removed. Safyaan Sharif was then responsible for two wickets in the 17th, knocking back Lorcan Tucker’s off-stump before running out Simi Singh with an underhand flick in his follow-through on the next ball to make it 138 for 5.Ireland fought back in the final three overs as Alasdair Evans’ short-ball plan failed to the tune of 35 runs conceded off the 18th and 20th. George Dockrell’s cameo of 15 not out off 7 balls propped up the total but Ireland’s lull in the middle of the innings came back to bite them, as did an uncharacteristically poor fielding display.Coetzer was named Man of the Match for his 74 off 38 balls to pace the Scotland chase. But he benefitted greatly from three dropped chances – the first on his second ball when he was yet to score – as well as being caught off a no-ball when Peter Chase overstepped with Coetzer driving to Shane Getkate at long-off on 39.At the other end, there was no doubt about the crispness of Munsey’s knock. He scored Scotland’s first 18 runs across the opening two overs of the chase, driving Singh back down the ground for four and six. He brought up his half-century off 26 balls, two slower than Coetzer, before a false drive against Getkate resulted in an edge behind to Stuart Poynter in the ninth.Coetzer smashed back-to-back sixes over long-on in the same over to bring up his fifty, then followed it with two drives through mid-off against Boyd Rankin in the following over for another pair of boundaries. He took one more off Rankin through mid-off again in the 13th before he was beaten driving on the next ball to fall for 74, the seventh half-century of the day on the pitch.By that stage, the required run-rate had come down to less than a run a ball. Despite Berrington and Matthew Cross both falling for ducks to complete a mini-collapse of 3 for 3, Calum MacLeod and Craig Wallace added an unbeaten 37 together to see Scotland home. MacLeod ended the match with a straight six off Peter Chase to clinch victory with nine balls to spare.For Scotland, it’s their second ever T20I victory over a Full Member following a win over Bangladesh at the Hague in 2012. It also kept them alive for a shot at the T20I Quadrangular Series title. A win over Oman on Sunday would take them to 2-1. Ireland also has a chance to end with the crown if they can beat 2-0 Netherlands on Sunday, which would create a three-way tie to bring the net-run-rate tiebreaker into play.

Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short dismantled Adelaide Strikers to record only the second ever 10-wicket victory in the eight-year history of the Big Bash League, at the same time extending their lead at the top of the competition table.Perth Scorchers had done the trick over Melbourne Renegades via the innings of Shaun Marsh and Michael Klinger in December 2015, getting to a target of 171 with eight balls remaining. But Wade and Short continued to lead the way for the Hurricanes, the captain working as the initial aggressor before Short began to catch-up, reeling in the Strikers with a yawning 19 balls to spare.They had been given a more than manageable task by the excellence of the Hurricanes’ attack, Jofra Archer and James Faulkner keeping the Strikers very quiet, even if Colin Ingram was able to find the range of Riley Meredith late in the hosts’ innings.Archer hits the mark
A strength of the Hurricanes this tournament has been the sheer depth of their attack, with Archer, Faulkner, Meredith and Johan Botha all playing key roles at varying times – the first three all having topped 10 wickets for the BBL so far. So when the Strikers got a hold of Meredith at Adelaide Oval after his early dismissal of Jake Weatherald, others were ready to take up the strain, namely Archer.Matthew Wade lifts one over the leg side•Getty Images

Across four overs, all bowled non consecutively, Archer conceded only one boundary while at the same time picking up the more than useful wickets of Matt Short and Rashid Khan. More so than the wickets, it was Archer’s sheer discipline that maintained pressure and opened up avenues for others, including Faulkner, who picked up a pair of victims of his own during a spell in which he conceded only one more run than Archer.Ingram holds it together
At 3 for 50 in the 10th over after the loss of Alex Carey, the Strikers were staring at a total well short of 150 on what appeared an excellent Adelaide pitch. In the absence of Travis Head, Colin Ingram has proven himself to be a creditable captain with the bat and in the field, leading his team’s run-makers in the process. This night he provided another indicator the Strikers had made a wise choice, as he produced a salvaging innings of quality.Starting with a clean blow over midwicket off the bowling of Botha, Ingram found a useful ally in Jon Wells, building up to the 19th over from Merddith in which he piled up 22 runs to ensure the Strikers made it past the 150 mark. If he was unable to be quite as damaging to Clive Rose in the final over of the innings, Ingram had still given what looked to be a potentially defensible total. Looked to be.Wade goes off
Hobart’s ascendancy has often been started by the way that Wade and Short have been able to dictate terms, and it wasn’t long before the captain had Strikers fans starting to think about making an early exit from Adelaide Oval. The usually excellent Rashid Khan dropped short to be pulled for four in the second over, and the Hurricanes scarcely looked back from there.Wade took a particular liking to his erstwhile Australia team-mate Billy Stanlake, hammering the tall Queenslander for 26 from 12 balls faced, while Ben Laughlin and Michael Neser also conceded strike rates of more than 200 runs to Wade. For a time it appeared as though Wade might get as far as three figures, before a previously conservative Short took over.Short finishes off
A criticism of Short during his international career so far has been a tendency to soak up too many balls before getting out. But with a confident and aggressive partner in Wade, he has been able to pace himself this BBL, with often devastating effect.As the Hurricanes closed in on the win, Short crashed 28 runs from his final nine balls, including 17 off Rashid’s last over. With the finals beckoning, the Hurricanes could scarcely be rolling along any better.

Virat Kohli, the best batsman in the world today, doesn’t want to face Jasprit Bumrah. That’s a scary message for the batsmen world over. After India took an unassailable 2-1 series lead, checking the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in for a return journey to India, the best batsman in the world spoke glowingly of the best bowler in the world, at least across formats put together if there are people yet to be convinced of Bumrah’s status in each individual format.Bumrah began the year as a surprise entrant into Test cricket after having played no first-class cricket in 2017, but has ended up with five-fors in all the countries he has gone to. He has the best yearly haul for an Indian fast bowler, and is a lock to be the fastest Indian quick to 50 Test wickets. His captain was ever so grateful. Kohli began with talking about bringing Bumrah into the longest format through the unconventional route.”I think the fact that he was showing amazing levels of energy and fitness in white-ball cricket and hence he was so good because he was not giving runs with the new ball, he was getting wickets, he would come back in the death overs and not bowl one loose delivery,” Kohli said. “He was training like he wanted to play Test cricket, he was that obsessed about his fitness levels and his work ethics. So we discussed before South Africa that if we put him as a surprise package, he could be lethal if he gets his lines and lengths right.”

‘Credit to our first-class set-up back home’

Kohli attributed India’s success with the old ball to the grind in often unsympathetic conditions in the country’s premier first-class competition, the Ranji Trophy.
“Our first-class cricket is amazing, we have tough sessions where you have to run in and bowl with the old ball and that’s the skill level you saw in this game,” he said.
“We were far better with the old ball and that’s why we got the breakthroughs and ended up winning the Test match. Credit has to go to the first-class set-up back home, which provides different challenges to fast bowlers.
“People often say we don’t have the conditions but it makes you tougher. If you embrace that, you’re going to come out and do special things when the pitch is not offering that much and win Test matches for your country. And our bowlers vouch for that as well.”

Bumrah is blessed with a freak action, but it is his sharp mind as much as that action that sets him apart.”The mindset he has is what separates him from anyone else in the world right now,” Kohli said. “He looks at the pitch, and he doesn’t think, ‘Oh it’s a hard toil on this wicket.’ He thinks how can I take make a breakthrough for the team and your mindset separates you from the rest. He is as strong-headed as I have seen anyone in the past, and that’s the key to his success, that’s what I have seen in the past 12 months.”The way he has matured in Test cricket, and the areas he has bowled so quickly in his Test career, I think it’s a scary sign for the batsmen around the world in Test cricket. I mean if there is a pitch like Perth, I wouldn’t want to face Jasprit Bumrah to be honest because if he gets on a roll he can really crank it up and the way he bowls is so much more different to anyone and I think he realises that more than the batsmen, and that’s why he is so confident about his skills.”Kohli went on to call Bumrah the best bowler in the world.Now that the series can’t be lost, India can breathe a little easy, but Bumrah’s partners in Sydney – a Test, Kohli said, India want to win and not just hang on to for a draw – will be crucial. It is a pitch that Tim Paine expects to turn, which makes R Ashwin’s fitness that much more important.”I think Ashwin’s very close to being match-fit,” Kohli said. “He has been bowling a lot of overs, and I’m sure these next four days [three] will make him even stronger. So regardless it being the last Test match, he will be willing to push himself and start for the team, but again it depends on what kind of pitch we get in Sydney.”Kohli’s focus on the nature of pitch might suggest Ashwin might get in only if they play two spinners. At the moment, though, they don’t want to think too much about Sydney.”We are very happy,” Kohli said. “Leading the series for the first time in Australia. We will take the trophy back home regardless of what happens in the last Test. Although our aim is to win the series here, which is what we came here thinking and that hasn’t changed regardless of whatever happened. But it is important to realise this moment, and it is important to understand how much hard work we have put in to reach this scoreline. We have to appreciate that as a whole team.”

Janneman Malan swings during his half-century•MSL

Cape Town Blitz’s bowlers rallied to defend a revised target of 145 against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants to maintain their team’s unbeaten run in the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League. With three wins in as many matches, Blitz are the only undefeated team in the competition, rising to 13 points, eight clear of the second-placed Jozi Stars.Farhaan Behardien, the Blitz captain, had had little hesitation in electing to bat on what he sussed out to be a worn surface. Janneman Malan vindicated that decision, tearing into the Bay Giants attack with a 39-ball 57 that set the base for a competitive 175. In reply, Bay Giants were well behind the mark, at 49 for 2 in 8.4 overs, when floodlight failure resulted in a fifteen-minute break in play. With no provision of extra time to account for stoppages, four overs were slashed from the Bay Giants chase, leaving them with 96 to get in 44 balls.Much of that early struggle by the Bay Giants was down to Dale Steyn, who turned back the clock to produce a fiery spell of fast bowling. Clocking speeds in the range of 85 to 90 miles per hour on a consistent basis, Steyn was incisive, and had the Bay Giants batsmen fretting against his pace. Steyn hit the deck hard, generated substantial bounce, hit razor sharp lines, and managed disconcerting movement off the deck. And the impact was felt immediately.With his second ball, Steyn got Marco Marais into a tangle, and produced a leading edge, with the batsman playing half-heartedly across the line, to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps. That over from Steyn ended up being a wicket maiden. In his next, he foxed JJ Smuts with a slower one that the batsman tamely chipped back, with Steyn getting down sharply on the followthrough to snare it low in front. He then followed up with a short ball, fired in at full tilt, that spat up off the deck, and crashed into the helmet grille of Heino Kuhn. At the end of his second spell, Steyn had figures of 2-1-1-2. A top-edge over the slips in his next over resulted in the first boundary of Steyn’s spell, but by the end of that over, the last of the Powerplay, Bay Giants had played out 19 dots.Kuhn did well to ride the early storm, however, and in the first full over after the resumption, laid into Dane Piedt, cracking three fours and a six, making it the most expensive over of the match. Using quick feet and powerful arms, Kuhn scooped, slogged and reverse-swept Piedt to breathe life into the chase for the first time.Thrown a lifeline when he was shelled at third man off Steyn on 42, Kuhn swatted the next ball through midwicket for four, and brought up his half-century off 32 balls. But an unfortunate run out, in another boundary-heavy 13th over, transferred the pressure back on Bay Giants. In the face of a mounting required rate, Hussain Talat’s double-strike in the next over further tilted the scales in the favour of Blitz, who then made sure to avoid any more surprises.As with the bat, Bay Giants struggled with the ball early on, failing to find the right length. They kept pitching it short to Malan, who was in an unrelenting mood and smashed two fours and a six off the first seven balls he faced. Ryan McLaren managed to hit a different length, but a full toss and a half-volley outside the off stump were hardly the need of the hour and were duly put away for boundaries. So dominant was Malan that de Kock had contributed only 6 to the first-wicket partnership when he stepped down and blindly swung to be stumped.Phehlukwayo matched Malan’s aggression, and the two continued to pinch timely boundaries as they settled into the ideal pace in their partnership of 49 in 37 balls. Having settled down courtesy some generous gifts from the Bay Giants bowlers, Malan collected his fifty with a full toss from Tahir that he chipped straight back over for four.Malan and Phehlukwayo fell in successive overs – Malan trapped plumb in front by the left-arm spin of JJ Smuts and Phehlukwayo to a blinder from Aaron Phangiso at midwicket – but the platform laid by them was such that the brief cameos that followed lower down were sufficient to haul Blitz to a match-winning total.

England could face upheaval ahead of the World Cup with news that Paul Farbrace is a candidate for another coaching job. Farbrace, England’s assistant coach and a key figure in their limited-overs revival, is understood to have had talks with Hampshire in connection with the role recently vacated by Craig White.While Farbrace is far from certain to be offered, or to accept, the role, the fact that he is considering other opportunities at this stage underlines the uncertainty around the England camp.With Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, stepping down from his role at the end of the 2019 English season, the rest of the backroom staff are facing an uncertain future. No decision about a successor has yet been made and, with the ECB currently searching for a replacement for Andrew Strauss – England’s managing director and the man who would appoint Bayliss’ successor – no guarantees can be made to anyone.It is not unusual for Farbrace to be connected to other coaching jobs. He has an excellent reputation, having led Sri Lanka to the World T20 title during a brief spell in charge in 2014, and has been approached by several of the English counties and at least one national team, in Bangladesh.But while he has become accustomed to turning such roles down, he will also be aware he has no job security beyond September. He has intimated in the past that he would be interested in taking over as England head coach but, with the role expected to be split into two (a Test coach and a limited-overs coach) and a possibility that some candidates have been sounded out for their availability already, he may conclude that he is better to take opportunities while he has them.Still, having been such a big part of England’s white-ball recovery, it would surely smart to leave just a few months before the World Cup campaign that has been their focus for the last few years. It would also not be ideal for a dressing room that has prided itself on its stability and positivity in recent times.Applications for the England managing director job close on November 16, with Ashley Giles and Wasim Khan expected to be among the frontrunners. Mike Atherton, the former England captain and current cricket correspondent at the , is also understood to be considering applying having been encouraged to do so by top officials at the ECB.

Big Picture

Zimbabwe’s bowlers have teed up strong positions throughout this tour. As the T20I series moves up into the Highveld and what should be the best batting conditions yet encountered, the visitors’ misfiring top order now has a chance to get it right, especially when a major obstacle has now been removed from their path.Imran Tahir has been a wicket-taking, hairband-wearing, celebrating nightmare for Zimbabwe all tour. The legspinner has taken 15 wickets in four games, and his trademark wide-armed sprint towards the boundary after taking a wicket is being memed by fans at games now.For Zimbabwe, Sean Williams has been the only batsman to score a fifty, and there have been seven ducks up and down the order as Tahir helped himself to a hat-trick in the second ODI and a career-best 5 for 23 in the first T20I on Tuesday. But this limited-overs tour has been as much about figuring out their best combinations in white-ball cricket as it has been about winning for South Africa, possibly even more so, and the decision was made to rest Tahir for the remainder of the series so that the selectors can have a closer look at the team’s other bowling options.They will also be watching their new batsmen keenly. Albeit in difficult conditions, the performance of South Africa’s top and middle order was patchy in the ODIs before fifties from Reeza Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen turned things around in Paarl. It was Rassie van der Dussen’s turn in East London, for whom his debut fifty was “a dream come true”.Van der Dussen also offered the somewhat ominous warning that having had a look at Zimbabwe’s bowling, he would look to push even harder at a venue he knows intimately. Senwes Park was van der Dussen’s home ground when he played for North West, and his short-format record here is nothing short of phenomenal.Fifteen games deep in a losing streak across formats, Zimbabwe desperately need a win, and a positive result might do a little to raise the sombre mood back home. Many Zimbabwe fans are more focused on the impending economic meltdown in their country at the moment than they are on the team’s performance, but a win could still be a spark in the gloom.

Form guide

South Africa WLLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLLLLAssociated Press

In the spotlight

Brandon Mavuta has had an impact in all of Zimbabwe’s matches so far, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to conditions unlikely to favour his style. He was Zimbabwe’s most economical bowler in the first T20I – registering figures of 1 for 19 from his four overs – and if he can pull off a similar performance, the visitors will be far more likely to keep South Africa’s total within reach.Tabraiz Shamsi is under a different sort of pressure to Mavuta, having been one of the few South Africa bowlers to struggle in this series. He was wicketless in Paarl, earning South Africa’s most expensive figures against Zimbabwe in the process, and felt the brunt of Peter Moor’s hitting in East London. But with Tahir gone, he is South Africa’s only spin option (apart from JP Duminy) in an attack brimming with right-arm quicks, and his variation could be key to control in the middle overs.

Team news

With Tahir rested and spin less likely to be a factor, South Africa could look to beef up their lower-middle order with allrounder Robbie Frylinck. He strikes the ball at 148.22 in T20s and would lengthen a batting order that looked a little light on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Christiaan Jonker hasn’t quite fired yet and will be under a little pressure if he plays ahead of JP Duminy and Heinrich Klaasen.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Gihahn Cloete, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 David Miller, 6 Christiaan Jonker, 7 Robbie Frylinck, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Junior Dala, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiElton Chigumbura has picked up two ducks in his last three innings, and Zimbabwe may tinker with their lower-middle order as they look to fill the holes in their batting line-up. Chamu Chibhabha and Solomon Mire have done the job down the order before, but these days the two play as openers. Seaming allrounder Neville Madziva is another option, and he has proven himself in high-pressure situations with both bat and ball in the past.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Tarisai Musakanda, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Peter Moor, 7 Elton Chigumbura/Neville Madziva, 8 Tendai Chisoro, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu

Pitch and conditions

Potchefstroom usually offers a flat pitch and a fast outfield, though it’s still a little early in the season and the track may not have flattened out entirely. It may be a little cloudy on Friday afternoon and evening, but it should be warm and there’s no rain predicted.

Stats and trivia

• All three of Rassie van der Dussen’s domestic T20 hundreds were scored in Potchefstroom: two of them for North West, and one for the Lions franchise.
• The last time South Africa played a T20I in Potchefstroom, David Miller broke the record for the fastest century in the format – since equalled by Rohit Sharma – off 35 balls against Bangladesh.
• Senwes Park has seen three T20 team totals above 200, and a couple of near misses. South Africa soared on Miller’s century to reach 224 for 4 against Bangladesh, but there have been two scores that are higher still. In 2005, Eagles reached 225 for 6 against Lions, and in 2014, North West reached 226 for 4 against Namibia.

Quotes

“Our bowlers have been fantastic this whole tour, and as a batting unit, we owe it to them to pull ourselves together over the next two games.”
“We might have some high-scoring games if the wickets are like they usually are in Potch [Potchefstroom] and Benoni.”