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Izatullah Dawlatzai took career-best figures of 6 for 57 to dismiss Scotland for a paltry 125 in the Intercontinental Cup in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2013
Scorecard
Izatullah Dawlatzai took career-best figures of 6 for 57 to dismiss Scotland for a paltry 125 in the Intercontinental Cup in Abu Dhabi. After Afghanistan chose to field, Mirwais Ashraf dismissed both the openers in his first five overs and Dawlatzai ran through the Scotland batsmen after that, starting with a double-strike in the 15th over. Ashraf struck again after that when he trapped Calum McLeaod lbw for a duck in the very next over.Dawlatzai took two wickets in his next two overs, with wickets of David Murphy for a duck and Matt Machan for eight, leaving Scotland at 44 for 7. However, No. 8 Robert Taylor struck an unbeaten 54-ball 48 to take them past 100. He forged a 57-run stand for the last wicket with Safyaan Sharif to post 125.Afghanistan got off to a cautious start with a 39-run opening stand but lost Nawroz Mangal in the 18th over. Shabir Noori (33) and Asghar Stanikzai (41) put on 48 for the second wicket but Noori fell to Majid Haq. They lost two quick wickets just after the 100-run mark, including that of Stanikzai, and finished the day 25 ahead of Scotland.

The dues will be paid in three instalments of 25% each on February 3, 7 and 10, the sports minister said in a statement

Mohammad Isam03-Feb-2025Bangladesh’s sports ministry said on Monday that Durbar Rajshahi owner Shafiqur Rahman has vowed to clear the team’s dues to players by February 10. Rahman had earlier said that the dues would be cleared by February 2.On Saturday, Asif Mahmud, the government advisor on matters of sports and youth affairs, said that he had spoken to Rahman, warning him of the consequences if the dues were not cleared. The Bangladesh government has also formed a fact-finding committee to look into the non-payment of players.The ministry issuing a press statement on a matter of the BPL – a tournament organised by the BCB – is unprecedented.Related

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“He [Rahman] accepted his fault and promised to clear all dues of the team in three instalments of 25 percent each on February 3, 7 and 10,” the release said. “He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”Even as the franchise continued to miss payment deadlines, the team’s overseas players were left stranded in the team hotel in Dhaka. Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Miguel Cummins (West Indies) were all waiting for some portion of their payments to come in. A couple of them had been paid 25%, while some haven’t been paid at all. To make things worse for the players, the Rajshahi team bus driver has allegedly said in interviews that he was holding cricketers’ kit bags as ransom as he too hadn’t been paid.Burl was the first to get an air ticket and he left early on Monday. According to a message from the Rajshahi franchise, Haris is scheduled to leave on Monday afternoon while the others have flights scheduled in the next two days.Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL season.Anamul Haque had first claimed that the local players hadn’t received any payments prior to the start of the tournament – they are usually played 25% before the tournament starts. They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month, while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish, but they fell short on net run-rate.

Coach Andrew McDonald also stands by the decision: “Ashton was suited to these conditions and we needed to make room”

Matt Roller23-Jun-20243:23

Moody: These were ideal conditions to trouble Australia

Australia’s captain and coach defended the “tough decision” to leave Mitchell Starc out for their defeat to Afghanistan, which has left them reliant on other results ahead of their final Super Eight fixture against India in St Lucia on Monday.On a slow, turning pitch in St Vincent, Australia opted to play only two frontline seamers – Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – and brought Ashton Agar into the side in Starc’s place, as a second specialist spinner alongside Adam Zampa. Agar bowled tidily, taking 0 for 17 in his four overs, but Afghanistan’s 118-run opening stand brought Starc’s absence as a new-ball strike bowler into focus.”It’s always a tough decision to leave Mitch Starc out of a team,” Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach said. “But from the way that the game unfolded, Ashton was suited to these conditions and we needed to make room. We knew we were going to need more than eight overs of spin on that surface and it’s probably something we’ve been planning and preparing for once we knew we were at this venue.Related

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“It’s always a difficult decision. You never know whether you’re right or wrong, but I thought Ashton bowled incredibly well today, used his skill, some good arm-balls, found some purchase early and he made it tricky to navigate through those first few overs. We got two [overs] out [of him] in the powerplay which then set up the bowling for that end with him and Zamps operating. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take those early wickets.”Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s captain, said Starc had been “unlucky” to miss out but added: “We’ve said right from the start of the tournament that we’ve got 15 guys here, and we’ll pick a team that we think can win us the game in those certain conditions, and everything pointed towards Ash… The reality is, when you’ve got this much talent, someone’s always unlucky to miss out.”Despite Agar’s two tight powerplay overs, Afghanistan made a steady start to their innings, scoring 40 for 0 in the first six. It stood in contrast to Australia’s own start, losing Travis Head, David Warner and Marsh himself to be 33 for 3 after six. But Marsh insisted: “I don’t think the game was won or lost in the powerplay tonight.”Ashton Agar bowled tight but couldn’t get early wickets•ICC/Getty Images

McDonald said that there was no point trying to work out what might have happened if Starc had been selected against Afghanistan, and said that conditions in St Vincent had been as Australia expected. They had long earmarked the game as a potential scare given the strength of Afghanistan’s spin attack and the nature of the pitch at the Arnos Vale Ground.”When you’re hopping around the islands, the conditions change dramatically, and we got what we expected,” McDonald said. “I was comfortable with that decision and now we’ve got to turn our focus to India: a totally different line-up on a totally different surface, and we’ve got to make good decisions at the selection table.”That’s part of the art of navigating through a World Cup, to get those decisions right – and you can’t play the same game twice. You can’t put Mitchell Starc in there, or Nathan Ellis, and work out what the game would have looked like. We went to Ash and backed him in, and we’ve got full trust in whoever we call on in that 15 to get a job done and we’ve got a task ahead.”

On a pitch where none of his team-mates crossed 20, Prabhsimran scored a 65-ball 103 to secure two crucial points for Kings

Alagappan Muthu13-May-20232:09

Muzumdar: Prabhsimran has come through the grind of U-19 and U-23 cricket

A special century from Prabhsimran Singh knocked Delhi Capitals out of IPL 2023 and pushed Punjab Kings up to sixth place, well within reach of a playoff spot.In demanding batting conditions, the Punjab opener, who had begun the season with a highest IPL score of 16, found ways not just to survive but to keep scoring quick runs in a way nobody else managed to. It felt like a coming-of-age innings.

How it started

When there is pace in the pitch, it’s easy to hit through the line and keep scoring runs steadily. When it is not there, it’s hard to even get the ball off the square. So you get your runs in fits and spurts.Kings suffered 22 balls for no runs in the powerplay, but hit seven others for 32 runs (5×4 and 2×6).A lot of this work was the result of Prabhsimran’s enterprise. His role in the team is to do whatever is necessary to maximise the field restrictions. And he performed admirably, switch-hitting spin for sixes and moving around all over the batting crease, just to throw the bowlers off their plans.But then his role changed. From being the guy who could not place any price on his wicket, he became the guy who simply could not get out. So he settled in. Got used to the pitch. And by around the 11th over or so, he was finding ways to hold his shape and exert complete control over his shots.Prabhsimran was 53 off 44. Then he was dropped on 68. Then he was 102 off 61.Prabhsimran Singh soaks in the applause as he walks back after his ton•BCCI

That’s 49 in 17 balls. On a pitch where none of his team-mates crossed 20, and only two others managed to score at better than run-a-ball. This was a spectacular display of perseverance, even if he did have a tiny bit of help.In conditions where the ball isn’t coming onto the bat, all you have to do is take pace off, hit a hard length and, most importantly, target the stumps. Do not let the batter free his arms.Prabhsimran though was basically invited to free his arms. According to ESPNcricinfo’s data, a majority of the balls he faced (33) were either outside off stump or worse, wide outside off stump. And he took 60 runs from them including seven fours and three sixes.Capitals should have known better. The chance they created – the catch that Rilee Roussouw dropped – was the result of a mis-hit to a ball that arrived in line with this body. They didn’t learn. And they were punished.

How it ended

Capitals had a great start to the chase. They came out knowing 168 was a tricky target, and that they had to knock off a significant portion of it within the powerplay. David Warner helped them accomplish that goal, taking them to 65 for 0 in six overs. He cruised to a 23-ball fifty, scoring 42 of those runs in boundaries. But the thing is, Capitals only faced six balls of spin in that period.It didn’t make sense why Kings would have let any of that happen on a pitch where the ball was both stopping on the batters and turning more than a fair bit.Eventually, Shikhar Dhawan turned to spin and the game changed.Cornered by Harpreet Brar (4 for 30) and Rahul Chahar (2 for 16), Capitals lost three wickets for two runs between the ninth and the 11th overs. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster quantified this swing in momentum – in a mere eight balls, Kings went from a lowly 20% chance of winning this game to 78% favourites.By the end, Capitals needed seven players to combine just to reach the total they allowed one batter to get. These were not the conditions to give away a century.

With Ed Smith and the selectors currently pondering England’s squad to play India in the first Test, we take a look at who could be in contention

Alan Gardner25-Jul-20180:33

Gale plays down chance of red-ball return for Rashid

Top order
Alastair Cook confirmed his readiness for consecutive Test No. 155 by scoring 180 for the Lions against India A last week, and he is likely to be joined at the top of the order by Jennings, who batted once for 29 on his return at Headingley, but has been in productive form this season for Lancashire, with three Championship hundreds. That would mean no room for Surrey’s Rory Burns, currently the leading run-scorer in the country, unless the selectors wanted to shuffle Joe Root back down to No. 4. What seems more likely is Dawid Malan retaining his place at four, having scored twin fifties for the Lions – Burns, who captained the team, made 5 and 38 – above England’s multi-faceted lower-middle order engine room. Malan’s Middlesex team-mate Nick Gubbins, who made 73 against India A, might be a contender as the summer wears on.Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings run between the wickets•AFP

Allrounders
Injury kept Ben Stokes out of England’s last Test, and he will miss the second match of the India series due to his impending court appearance, but he is a default pick at No. 6 and proved his bowling is in good order by taking 8 for 118 in Durham’s Championship match this week. If England stick with the blueprint used against Pakistan, Stokes will have Jonny Bairstow above him and Jos Buttler below. While it might make sense to give the gloves to the man lower down, Bairstow has been bullish about his ability to keep and bat at No. 5, while Buttler seemed to thrive on the freedom of coming in lower down, and has so far managed to maintain the purple patch of form that caught Smith’s eye during the IPL. Sam Curran, the debutant who came in for Stokes against Pakistan, could also be included with an eye towards Lord’s.Seam
Although the senior new-ball pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been managing injuries over the last few weeks, both seemed to come through Championship games – for Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, respectively – without any issues. The same can’t be said for Mark Wood, who bowled only six overs at Cheltenham before complaining of pain in his heel; he went for a scan on Tuesday, with Durham coach Jon Lewis saying “it could be something and nothing”, but England may not want to risk him. Chris Woakes, the third seamer at Headingley, subsequently missed six weeks with a thigh problem and only managed match figures of 2 for 139 for Warwickshire over the past few days at Lord’s, but a record of 46 wickets at 23.76 in home Tests stands in his favour. Other candidates might include Jake Ball, who played his last Test during the winter’s Ashes; Essex’s Jamie Porter, the leading wicket-taker in the Championship last season; Somerset’s Overton twins, with the oft-injured Jamie showcasing some impressive pace in their ongoing match at New Road; and even Matt Fisher, Yorkshire’s former England U-19 who was part of the Lions team that thrashed India A by 253 runs.Positive spin: Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid impressed in the opening match against Australia•Getty Images

Spin
If Smith wants to roll the dice, then this is perhaps the most likely department for a gamble. Talk swirled last week about a possible recall for Adil Rashid – after he left Virat Kohli goggling at a sharp-turning legbreak during the third ODI – but he has not played a first-class game since September, and Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said on Tuesday there had been no signs of Rashid pushing for a comeback. Bess impressed with his all-round ability against Pakistan, but was left out this week by Somerset in favour of Jack Leach, whose broken thumb initially gave Bess a shot with England. Left-armer Leach might offer a more probing line of attack against India’s battery of right-hand batsmen, and if England want an offspin option as well, that could open up a way back for Moeen Ali. Dropped for Leach in New Zealand, Moeen seems to have rediscovered his bowling confidence with England’s white-ball teams, and this week claimed 8 for 170 against Somerset – including his first Championship five-for since 2013. India, against whom he took 19 wickets at 23.00 in 2014, would surely be wary of a repeat.

Steven Smith moved serenely towards a 21st Test hundred as Australia continued the fightback started by taking England’s last six wickets for 35 runs

The Report by Brydon Coverdale15-Dec-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFour years ago this week, Steven Smith spontaneously changed his technique while batting against England at the WACA, adding a preliminary movement in an innings that became his second Test century. Back at the same ground, against the same opposition, but now as Australia’s captain and the best batsman in the world, Smith looked impenetrable as he sauntered towards what could become his 22nd Test hundred and dragged his team back into the contest on day two in Perth.England had started the morning in a powerful position at 4 for 305, and an England Ashes record fifth-wicket partnership of 237 between Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow built the perfect platform for a hefty total. Along the way, Bairstow raised his first Test century in 18 months, but when their stand was broken the England lower order collapsed quickly on a WACA pitch offering some of the old pace and bounce, and their last six wickets fell for 35.England were all out for 403 – still an imposing score, but not one that posed an insurmountable object for the Australians. And despite some fine bowling from Craig Overton, who picked off both of Australia’s openers after they made starts, Smith ensured that his side finished the day in a satisfactory position at 3 for 203, trailing by 200 with seven wickets in hand. By the close, Smith was on 92 and Shaun Marsh had 7, having come to the crease after Usman Khawaja was lbw to Chris Woakes for 50.Khawaja had scratched his way to his half-century from 122 deliveries, but his next ball was angled in from Woakes and struck Khawaja on the back leg. Given out on field, Khawaja reviewed the decision: there was more rocking and rolling in the third umpire’s room than at an Elvis concert as Aleem Dar tried to ascertain whether a Snicko spike was ball on bat, but in the end Khawaja was sent on his way. Marsh might have followed him in the closing overs, only for a chance off Moeen Ali, rebounding from the boot of short leg, to somehow evade both Mark Stoneman and Bairstow.Khawaja’s fifty had come about half as quickly as Smith’s, which was fitting for Smith looked about twice as good. There were some cracks in the pitch that provided the occasional spot of uneven bounce, but if it wasn’t a road, Smith enjoyed driving on it all the same, punishing England’s fast bowlers when they overpitched. He also latched on to short deliveries when he could, and dealt prolifically in boundaries on his way to a 58-ball half-century.Steven Smith punches with a high elbow•Getty Images

England were not helped by the absence of Overton for a period during the final session, as he appeared to struggle with a problem in his rib/chest region. He had clearly been England’s most dangerous bowler during the early stages of Australia’s innings, drawing an edge behind from David Warner on 22 from a ball that angled in and straightened, and then trapping Cameron Bancroft lbw for 25 with a delivery angled in from wide of the crease.Overton might have added Khawaja to his wicket tally if he could have held on to a very difficult diving return chance early in the batsman’s innings, and Khawaja had another life on 28 when his edge off Woakes was missed by Joe Root at slip. Khawaja went on to compile a 124-run stand with Smith, but it was barely half as big as the partnership between Malan and Bairstow that set up England’s innings.They broke the 79-year-old England Ashes record for a fifth-wicket partnership, which had been held by Denis Compton and Eddie Paynter, who put on 206 at Trent Bridge in 1938, and along the way Bairstow brought up his hundred from his 185th delivery with a single to fine leg. Fittingly, given the drama that followed the Brisbane Test, he celebrated his first Test hundred since the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka in June 2016 with an understated headbutt to his own helmetThe 237-run partnership finally ended when Malan was brilliantly caught by substitute fieldsman Peter Handscomb off the bowling of Nathan Lyon for 140. Malan failed to get to the pitch of the ball and in trying to hit Lyon over the top, succeeded only in spooning an edge up into the off side, where Handscomb ran briskly from backward point and took the catch while diving forward at full stretch, the kind of effort that Australia needed to turn their game around.Moeen lasted only two deliveries before the extra bounce from Pat Cummins troubled him and the ball lobbed off his glove to Smith at slip. Another fine catch, this time from Cummins at long leg, ended Woakes’ innings on 8 off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, before Mitchell Starc curled one in to rattle the stumps of Bairstow, who was bowled for 119.A short delivery from Hazlewood accounted for Overton, who on 2 managed only to fend the ball to Bancroft at short leg, and Starc wrapped up the innings by having Stuart Broad caught at short leg awkwardly swinging at a bouncer. Starc had finished with four wickets and Hazlewood three, and Australia’s quick despatching of England’s tail had kept them in the match. By stumps, England knew they had to find a way through Smith in order to keep their own Ashes campaign alive.

South Australia have called up left-arm spinner Tom Andrews, along with fast bowler Kane Richardson, for the Sheffield Shield final against Victoria in Alice Springs

Daniel Brettig22-Mar-2017South Australia have added left-arm spinner Tom Andrews and fast bowler Kane Richardson to their squad for the Sheffield Shield final against Victoria in Alice Springs.The pitch at Traeger Park has traditionally taken spin, meaning Andrews is in with a chance of joining Adam Zampa in a spin bowling pair for South Australia as they seek to defeat Victoria in the decider, having lost to them in the final last season. Andrews has played three first-class games and taken seven wickets. His last Shield match was against New South Wales in February 2016.”We’ve heard that it is a good cricket wicket and that it tends to spin a bit later in the game, but we think we have the squad to take advantage of the conditions and put our best foot forward,” South Australia high performance chief Tim Nielsen said.”We need to play positively and aggressively and back ourselves in and make sure that we give ourselves the best chance of winning the game. Unlike last year, we have to win to hoist the Shield in the air so there’s no second option.”Two players who missed out last season, Callum Ferguson and Tom Cooper, are set to take part and will both be playing in their first Shield final after long domestic careers. Ferguson, a Test debutant earlier this summer, was waylaid last year by a serious knee injury, while Cooper was dropped due to a lack of runs. Both have been firm contributors to South Australia this season. The final commences on Sunday.South Australia squad: Travis Head (c), Tom Andrews, Alex Carey (wk), Tom Cooper, John Dalton, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann, Joe Mennie, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Jake Weatherald, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa

Scott Kuggeleijn has been found not guilty of rape by a jury at the Hamilton District Court

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2017Scott Kuggeleijn has been found not guilty of rape by a jury at the Hamilton District Court.Kuggeleijn, 25, an allrounder, plays for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic circuit and is the son of former New Zealand Test cricketer Chris Kuggeleijn.The case dates back to an incident that occurred on May 17, 2015. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before coming back with the not-guilty verdict.In a release following the verdict, Northern Districts’ chief executive Peter Roach said: “This has been a terribly difficult situation for all concerned. Northern Districts is an organisation which embraces inclusivity and promotes respect towards women. As such, the charges against Scott were a grave concern.”The case had to be re-tired after a jury could not reach a verdict in August 2016.

Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opener, has said Australia missed an opportunity to capitalise on the enormous potential of Twenty20 cricket when the format was still in its developing stages

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2010Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opener, has said Australia missed an opportunity to capitalise on the enormous potential of Twenty20 cricket when the format was still in its developing stages. He claimed the desire to protect 50-over cricket – Australia’s own creation – and a primary focus on Tests and ODIs when the IPL was yet to materialise may have contributed to Australia’s delay in cashing in on Twenty20. Hayden also spoke of the need to make one-day cricket more meaningful and exciting for fans and players alike.”As a player, I think we in Australia were slow to react to T20,” Hayden, who is now part of Cricket Australia as board director, told the . ”We didn’t see much of it here for a start. It seemed to be something that was happening everywhere else. England created it and was holding competitions, but the IPL hadn’t started yet and our primary focus here was on winning every Test match and being one-day champions.”A conservative approach in trying to safeguard 50-over cricket, Hayden said, could have prompted the delay in realising the potential of Twenty20. ”There must have been some concern, being conservative as Australians tend to be, that we’ve got this great product, 50-over cricket, which KP [Kerry Packer] invented and which changed the cricketing landscape, and we didn’t want to leave it behind,” Hayden said. “We were all proud of 50-over cricket, we’d nurtured it and grew it and it was – and still is – good for the game.”But the little brother, Twenty20, isn’t little any more. He’s grown up, he’s now market leader and yelling from the mountain. Twenty20 is fuelling change.”The surging popularity of Twenty20 cricket, many believe, has threatened the viability of the 50-over format. Cricket Australia, in order to draw more people to the game, has decided to trial split-innings one-dayers next summer, with games divided into four innings of 20-25 overs each. Hayden said that, in addition to making one-day cricket more exciting, it was also important for administrators to ensure there wasn’t an overdose of the format.”I understand the fans more now than ever because, as a viewer, I want to see a game that’s exciting, innovative and entertaining,” Hayden said. “When I was in the Australian team, I could sense there was meaningless cricket going on. I always struggled to get myself up for matches against minnows. It’s not like Freddie Flintoff with his eyes wide open, bearing down on you for the Ashes. I could feel that in the team and now I can feel it from the outside, too. It needs to be dealt with.”With one-day cricket, people say they still love it, but it doesn’t have the excitement it used to, certainly not compared to T20. We have to work out when and how we play one-day cricket. It’s a pathway to the World Cup, which is still a valuable property, but it has to be programmed in a way that makes sense. Seven one-dayers at the end of a Test series isn’t [giving much] meaning.”Hayden has compiled his suggestions in a dossier, which he has submitted to the ICC. ”Greater minds than mine will act on this, but these things must be considered when discussing the game’s future,” he said. ”The intention of that dossier was to start conversations. I hope it leads to a more meaningful calendar.”The game’s gone beyond cigars and meetings in cloakrooms. The way it’s played and viewed has changed and now we need to streamline what’s important and what’s not. It brings great challenges. I think CA understands that. They know change is coming and needs to be embraced.”

The ECB has unveiled plans for an expansion of the ‘Merlyn by BOLA’ project, which will see the spin-bowling machine made available to all 18 first-class counties as well as the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough

Andrew McGlashan in Pretoria14-Dec-2009In recent years England batsmen have become far more adept at playing spin and a large of part of that improvement is put down to a machine called ‘Merlyn’. Invented by Henry Pryor, it recreates spin bowling in a way no other device has been able to do and now the ECB are investing in providing one to each of the 18 first-class counties.The new enhanced Merlyn is a joint project between Pryor and a company called Stuart & Williams, the world’s leading manufacturer of BOLA bowling machines, and the result is a machine that is almost as good as facing Muttiah Muralitharan or Shane Warne in the flesh according to ECB coaching staff.”We can probably get the ball to spin more than a spinner so we can overload the training which means batsmen will face tougher conditions than they would face in a match,” David Parsons, the ECB’s performance director, told Cricinfo. “The only thing with a machine is you don’t get the cue that a bowler gives you in terms of watching it from the hand, which can actually make playing the machine more difficult which is no bad thing.”Fifteen of the first-class counties already have the machines with the roll-out due to be completed early in the New Year while two will be permanently based at the National Performance Centre (NPC) at Loughborough.”We’ve only had very limited use of it over the last few years because until recently there has only been one such machine,” Parsons said. “But those who have worked on it have found it beneficial so the ECB has invested to get one machine out to every county.”The feedback from both the wicketkeepers and the batsmen has been fantastic because it releases the ball with a high number of revolutions on it. Historically we haven’t been very good a playing the spinning ball and this gives them a chance to practice their skills in a training environment before facing the real thing.”Unlike the original model, the latest version is much more transportable – the ECB have flown one out to Pretoria for the Performance Programme’s training camp – while it is also possible to add data from any particular bowling spell which Merlyn will then replicate.”It’s very user-friendly as a coach and it’s very easy to programme what sort of delivery you want spat out,” Parsons added. “I’m pretty confident that we will see an improvement in the way batsmen play spin, especially if the last four or five weeks here in Pretoria are anything to go by.”