England opener Alex Hales fell one short of a second one-day International century as his team completed a comfortable five- wicket victory over South Africa on Saturday. The hosts won the toss in the second game of the series and posted 262 for seven in their 50 overs on a slow wicket that produced nothing like the run-fest of Bloemfontein three days earlier. Hales took England close to their target with a patient 99 from 124 balls as they reached 263 for five from 46.2 overs. - Scorecard The touring side now lead the five-match series 2-0 with the third game in Pretoria on Tuesday. AB de Villiers returned to form as he top-scored for South Africa's with 73 from 91 balls, supported by Faf du Plessis (46) and JP Duminy (47).
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Steyn left the field before lunch on day two of the first Test in Perth and scans revealed he had suffered a stress fracture, Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Friday.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
'We often in England, talk about express pace, but that's not what I'm seeing. It's relentlessness with the ball. It's (Glenn) McGrath-like that you do for a long period of time. It's not bowling bad balls and releasing the pressure.'
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
Quinton de Kock shone on a gloomy day in Hobart with a sparkling century that propelled South Africa to a commanding 203-run lead over Australia at lunch on day three of the second Test on Monday. - Scorecard: The wicketkeeper-batsman's 104, in a defiant 144-run partnership with Temba Bavuma, frustrated Australia's bowlers for nearly the entire session at Bellerive Oval before he was bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Bavuma was 74 not out at the break, with paceman Vernon Philander on three, the Proteas having taken full advantage of a bloodless bowling display to push to 288 for six.
Photos from the ICC World Cup match played between South Africa and Ireland on Tuesday.
With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
David Warner said he needed to be dropped from the Australian Test squad following his pub brawl with Joe Root during which the Aussie landed a punch at the young Englishman.
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.
David Miller smashed an unbeaten 53 as South Africa claimed a three-wicket victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 International at Kingsmead on Friday.
De Kock, 23, became the youngest player to record 10 ODI hundreds
Kagiso Rabada became the youngest South Africa bowler to take seven wickets in an innings as the hosts took charge of the fourth and final Test against England on Sunday.
Dismissing reports of interference in team selection ahead of South Africa's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand as 'utter nonsense.'
England Women to tour Pakistan for first time in October.
Coach Darren Lehmann voiced concern about Australia's batting lineup after a catastrophic display in which the hosts were bowled out for 85 by South Africa on the first day of the second Test in Hobart on Saturday.
South Africa are to gamble on the fitness of Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, who were named on Wednesday in a 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
South Africa's bowlers needed a little more than an hour of the final day's play to dismiss Sri Lanka for 281 in their second innings and claim a 206-run victory in the first Test in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
South Africa's talismanic captain AB de Villiers has recovered from injury and been included in the Proteas squad for the One-day series at home against Australia starting later this month.
South Africa's success in Australia is often put down to their comfort on the hard local tracks, which can be similar to those at home, but they could face some unfamiliar conditions this year.
Opener Reeza Hendricks, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, spinner Aaron Phangiso and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who have all previously represented the country in the limited overs formats, picked for Bangladesh Tests
South Africa have named fast bowler Dale Steyn in their 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in India next month, but will ask him to prove his fitness following a debilitating shoulder injury.
Robin Uthappa smashed his way to a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Tuesday.
Veteran South African cricketer Hashim Amla has reportedly become the third player from the country to be named his country's 'Cricketer of the Year' on two occasions, when he received the award for 2012/2013 season at a gala Cricket South Africa (CSA) banquet.
Faf du Plessis led from the front as South Africa flexed their bowling muscles to thrash Bangladesh by 52 runs in the first Twenty20 Internationals on Sunday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
South Africa have now lost five Tests in a row, including two shock home losses to Sri Lanka, and are struggling with on-field know-how to dig themselves out of tough situations.
Moeen Ali took three wickets on Wednesday as England made quick work of securing victory in the first Test by bundling out South Africa for 174 before lunch and ensure a 241-run victory on the last day at Kingsmead.
Bruised and battered by Chris Gayle's mauling on Wednesday, England are faced with a must-win situation as they look for ways to contain South Africa in their ICC World Twenty20 match in Mumbai on Friday.
India's 3-0 whitewash of South Africa in the four-match Test series has surprised former captain Sunil Gavaskar even though he feels that the Proteas were incapable of playing on Indian pitches.
'I think if we had rattled one or two more in the morning, we threw everything at them today morning and with all due respect, they batted incredibly well. Maybe at a stage, 350 was on our mind, that we were possibly looking at. But then it just seemed to get a bit slower and it was definitely not reversing as much as it was yesterday'
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
Philander's partnership with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has earned the trio the label as the most-balanced and penetrating attack in world cricket.
South Africa's worst fears were confirmed on Friday when premier fast bowler Dale Steyn was ruled out of the second Test match against India in Bangalore because of injury depleting their already-weakened bowling attack.
Australia took firm control of the day-night third Test on Saturday when they reduced South Africa to 194 for six at the close on day three, only 70 runs ahead of their hosts.
Alastair Cook posted his first half-century of the series with an unbeaten 67 as England closed day two of the final Test on 138 for two, still 337 runs behind South Africa at Centurion Park on Saturday.
An unbeaten half century from Joe Root helped England into a commanding position on the third day of the first Test as they opened up a 261-run lead over South Africa on Monday.
Dean Elgar's century and a quick-fire unbeaten 68 from Quinton de Kock lifted South Africa to 297 for six on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Monday.
South Africa have named teenage speedster Kagiso Rabada in a 14-man squad for their three-match home Test series against West Indies, Cricket South Africa announced on Tuesday.
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