His phone kept buzzing in the wee hours of the morning when Australia were being annihilated by South African bowlers in Cape Town and Mark Taylor could not believe what he saw when he turned on the television.
Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann said on Thursday he will step down after this week's Test match against South Africa, partly because of abuse his family received over a ball-tampering scandal that has rocked the sport.
With injuries to regular fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Australia have included a uncapped duo Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser in their squad and recalled veteran Peter Siddle for the two-match series next month.
Australia's batting boot camp focussed more on mental work rather than technical shortcomings with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin predicting the form of the team's batting line-up will make-up for their inexperience in the series against India.
The defeat in the Centurion Test was India's fifth in a row in SENA countries under Head Coach Rahul Dravid.
Chasing 211 for victory, South Africa were 111 for two in 27 overs, with capatin Graeme Smith batting on 49 and Shaun Pollock on 25.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
Uncapped spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were named in South Africa's squad for next month's three-match test series in Australia on Monday as the Proteas seek to exploit a perceived weaknesses in their hosts' batting. Faf du Plessis will again captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers after leading the side in the two-test series against New Zealand last month, which they won 1-0. "Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful under Australian conditions and against the test batsmen we are likely to face," selector Linda Zondi said in a statement.
Jasprit Bumrah took 6/61 as India crushed South Africa by seven wickets to level the two-match series 1-1.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock will be available for the ODI series after his abrupt retirement from Test cricket on Thursday, while all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius earns a recall.
India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said the repeated failures of his batters in the third innings of a Test match and the inability of the bowlers to take 10 wickets in the fourth innings is a matter of concern.
England are thinking of bringing a specialist spinner back into the line-up after going with an all-pace attack in their last two outings, coach Chris Silverwood said as they arrived in Cape Town for their second Test against South Africa starting on Friday. That means a seamer such as record wicket-taker James Anderson or Stuart Broad may be dropped for a contest expected to be played on a much flatter deck than the first Test in Pretoria, which South Africa won by 107 runs inside four days on Sunday.
Former South Africa skipper Bacher Ali believes that young black players cannot make it to the country's cricket if they continue to stay in the township culture.
West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who has officiated in a record 126 Tests, will retire from international matches in March.
A major shift in 'attitude and culture' is needed in cricket in the wake of the Australian ball-tampering saga that has engulfed the sport, according to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
'As big a thing as it became, you never want to see anyone go through that because I have known David and I have known Steve as well'
All-rounder Jacques Kallis dominated the South African Cricket Awards, winning three honours, including the prestigious Cricketer of the Year.
An undefeated century from Alviro Petersen helped South Africa reach 252 for three after they had skittled embattled New Zealand for 45 on a spectacular opening day of the first Test in Cape Town.
South Africa's premier left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is confident that slow bowlers will play a vital role on flat decks expected to be on offer during the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Americas in June.
Kagiso Rabada proved the destroyer-in-chief with 4-103, assisted by Anrich Nortje who took three wickets for 56 runs as England fell short by 107 runs.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
Australia's vast experience should allow them to get over the calamitous first Test when they were all out for 47 and lost by eight wickets last week, South Africa captain Graeme Smith said on Wednesday.
Jacques Kallis hit his second century of the match as Harbhajan Singh claimed seven wickets to bowl out South Africa for 341 in their second innings on Day 4 in the third Test against South Africa on a high, at Newlands, in Cape Town, on Wednesday.
Ahead of his final Test match at his home arena of Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Australian opener David Warner reflected on the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town.
South African spinner Paul Harris is looking forward to bowl to Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar during the three-match Test series starting December 16 at Centurion.
Images from Day 3 in the third Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town, on Tuesday.
South African captain Graeme Smith urged his batsmen to pull up their socks ahead of the crucial third and final Test match against India, which will start at the Newlands, in Cape Town on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara, a vital cog in India's batting wheel, on Tuesday, stressed on the importance of leaving the ball on the bouncy pitches of South Africa during the three-Test series beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
The fate of India's upcoming tour of South Africa amid the trepidation triggered by new COVID-19 variant Omicron will be addressed when the Board of Control for Cricket in India holds its 90th Annual General Meeting in Kolkata on Saturday.
Australia respect the decision to allow Kagiso Rabada to feature in the rest of the Test series and the South African fast bowler's participation is 'exciting', Australia spinner Nathan Lyon said on Tuesday.
Test cricket on Sunday said farewell and thanks to Steve Bucknor, the most experienced umpire to date in the longest form of the game. The 62-year-old Jamaican umpired his final Test match at Newlands in Cape Town between South Africa and Australia, his 128th match in the middle. Bucknor has been umpiring at international level since 1989 when he took charge of the One-Day International (ODI) between the West Indies and India at the Antigua Recreation Ground on March 18.
His loss for even part of the series would be a huge blow to a team already missing so much batting experience because of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
New Zealand have left Doug Bracewell out of their 15-man squad for a One-day international series in South Africa to manage the seamer's workload, the country's cricket board said on Friday.
South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs as arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for drink-driving in Cape Town, reports said on Friday. Gibbs recently signed up to play for Hyderabad in the inaugural Indian Premier League, the multi-million dollar Twenty20 event which begins on April 18, in a deal worth $575,000 dollars.
Cricket Australia imposed a two-year captaincy ban on him for his involvement in the sandpaper gate, ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
AB de Villiers isn't one bit surprised at the possibility of his good mate Virat Kohli playing in this year's T20 World Cup.
England off-spinner Graeme Swann's sparkling form in South Africa contrasts with his tour there 10 years ago when he spent a lot of time drinking and was a million miles from the Test side, he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Cricket Australia has appointed an ethics guru to review the sport's culture in the wake of the cheating scandal that has rocked "the gentleman's game".
Smith is banned from leadership roles until March because of his involvement in a Cape Town ball-tampering scandal last year but he is tipped by some former players and leading cricket writers to regain the captaincy from wicketkeeper Paine after his batting heroics in England.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said they are mulling over whether to select a specialist batsman or all-rounder at number six for the opening one-day international against India on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances