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If Kings XI win:

• RCB will be eliminated because the maximum they can get to will be 12 points. Sunrisers Hyderabad (18), Chennai Super Kings (16), Kings XI (14) and the winner of the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals (14) will be out of reach.
• Kings XI will not only strengthen their chances of qualifying for the playoffs, but also have a shot at finishing in the top two.
• Mumbai Indians will have to win their last two matches to stay in contention, and even that may not be enough.
• Knight Riders and Royals will stay in contention.

If RCB win:

• RCB’s playoff hopes stay alive. If they win their remaining games, and if other results go their way, RCB could even qualify without worrying about net run rate.
• Kings XI will also stay in contention, because they could still finish on 16 points by winning their last two games. Even 14 points may be enough if other results go their way.
• Sunrisers will be assured of a top-two finish, because Super Kings will be the only team that could match or beat their present tally of 18 points.
• Mumbai could still go through if they finish on 12 points because of their strong net run rate.

Rajneesh Gurbani in action•PTI

While India were locked in a riveting contest with England at Edgbaston, fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini made inroads for the A team against South Africa A in a less-intense setting at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The two quicks swung the new ball and later Rajneesh Gurbani seemingly reversed the old one, but the South African batsmen kept stabbing at wide deliveries and continued nicking behind. Seven of the eight batsmen who were dismissed on day one were either caught by wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat or pouched in the slips.However, Knights’ wicketkeeper-batsman Rudi Second, who has been a prolific scorer in the Sunfoil domestic competition, repaired the innings with a sprightly 94 off 139 balls and hauled his team from 93 for 4 to 246 for 8 at stumps.Unlike his team-mates, Second largely played close to his body and when he shaped to drive, he ensured his front foot met the pitch of the ball. He was compact against spin too, often stretching forward to smother whatever little turn Yuzvendra Chahal extracted from the day-one pitch. Fifteen minutes before the close of play, though, Second himself threw his bat at a Siraj offering that finished possibly wider than a set of stumps outside off and handed Bharat his fourth catch.Siraj’s wickets, however, weren’t as eye-catching as the inswinger that stormed through the defences of Alastair Cook in Worcester. “Getting a world-class batsman like Cook gave me the confidence that I would dismiss any batsman,” Siraj said after play. “My plan there was to just keep bowling dot balls and make the batsman commit a mistake. Even today there was movement with the new ball and I just wanted to bowl in the right areas.”As for Chahal, who was playing his first red-ball match since the Ranji quarter-final against Jharkhand in 2016, he showed signs of rust in the first two sessions before settling down after tea. In his second over, he bowled a knee-high full-toss to Sarel Erwee and watched the ball disappear into the midwicket boundary, where his coach Rahul Dravid was overseeing the action. He then bowled two front-foot no-balls, the second of which was cracked to the extra-cover boundary by Second. Chahal, ultimately, got the breakthrough in the 72nd over when a sharp legbreak duped Shaun von Berg. Axar Patel, the second spinner, who was picked ahead of Jayant Yadav, barely found turn and toiled for figures of 17-3-35-0. He was the only Indian bowler who did not take a wicket.Siraj, however, was the standout bowler for India A. He had been the pick of the bowlers in the four-dayers in England as well, bagging 15 wickets against West Indies A and England Lions, and moved up the pecking order further with his 3 for 56 on Saturday. He made his first incision when he moved the ball off the seam and drew the outside edge of opener Pieter Malan in the fifth over. In his next over, he removed Zubayr Hamza in similar fashion for a duck. Siraj later returned with the second new ball to nip out Second.Saini had also generated seam movement and was rewarded with the wickets of captain Khaya Zondo and allrounder Senuran Muthusamy. Both were jittery throughout, flashing the ball over the cordon or the infield before their edges were also snaffled. Muthusamy faced 17 dots before getting off the mark with a top-edged boundary that sailed over long leg. He then hung on for a 59-run stand – the highest of the innings – with Second.Second rallied the middle and lower order after Erwee had scored 47 around the top-order wobble. Second was particularly strong through the off side, driving Gurbani off either foot through extra cover. He also laced Axar in front of square and dared to foray down the track against Chahal, proceeding to his 29th first-class fifty off 71 balls. Moments later, he was reprieved on 60 when Hanuma Vihari shelled a low catch. Second added 34 runs to his tally before being the last man to be dismissed on day one.Meanwhile, Gurbani, who played only the four-dayer against West Indies A in Taunton, gave a good account of himself by venturing wide of the crease and nipping the ball against the angle from over the wicket. He claimed the only non-caught behind wicket when he pinned Dane Piedt in front for 5 in the 79th over.

Nottinghamshire are closing in on the signing of Derbyshire’s Ben Slater.Slater, the 26-year-old opening batsman, is in the middle of a productive season for Derbyshire – he is averaging 43 in the Championship – and was understood to have attracted the interest of several counties. Only three men in Division Two of the County Championship have scored more runs this season.Nottinghamshire have lost several top-order batsmen – the likes of Greg Smith, Michael Lumb, James Taylor and, from red-ball cricket, at least, Alex Hales – over the last year or two. While Slater is solid in the red-ball game, he also has a fine record in List A cricket where he averages in excess of 50 and recently made a century against a strong Yorkshire attack.Meanwhile, Kent are understood to have shown strong interest in Nottinghamshire’s Matt Milnes and Leicestershire’s Neil Dexter.

The series is lost but Ravi Shastri is not “throwing the towel in” yet, and neither are the Indian team. Shastri has singled out his batsmen for not being as mentally strong as they could have been, giving away the advantage to England in situations they should have capitalised on, but despite England holding a series-winning 3-1 lead with only the fifth Test to play, India’s coach believes his team will compete hard in the match at the Oval that starts on Friday, and rectify mistakes made in the first four Tests.The five-Test series got off to an exhilarating start after England held their nerve on the fifth morning at Edgbaston to win by 31 runs. England then obliterated India at Lord’s in a matter of a few sessions. India bounced back collectively to hurt England at Trent Bridge and keep the series alive.In Southampton India had England reeling at 86 for 6 on day one. Still, stunningly, it was India who were left bruised in the end as Sam Curran played another belligerent knock to wrest back control, just as he had done at Edgbaston in the second innings when England were stuttering at 87 for 7. India’s five-man bowling attack failed to stop Curran both times, and paid the price.On the third day, England were in trouble once again and lost quick wickets either side of the lunch break to slip to 92 for 4, but their lower order resisted admirably and hit back to raise a big lead on a worn pitch. India had no answer to Moeen Ali, who kept pitching the ball in the footmarks and getting it to turn and bounce sharply. It was something India’s lead spinner R Ashwin failed to do, which Shastri said was the difference between the sides.But Shastri was still not giving up. “The fact of the matter is that you had a chance,” Shastri said after India’s training on Wednesday. “The scoreline says 3-1 which means India have lost the series. What the scoreline doesn’t say is India could have been 3-1 or 2-2. And my team knows it. They would have hurt, and rightly so, after the last game. But this is a team that will not throw in the towel. It will compete. It will come out there to compete and not look to be on the first flight home, rest assured.”After losing the series in Southampton, India captain Virat Kohli was blunt in his appraisal, saying his team could not be satisfied just with competing, and had to learn how to cross the line. Shastri reiterated that sentiment. “We have run teams close overseas, we have competed. But now it is not about just competing. We have got to complete games from here. And the endeavour is to learn, understand where you made the mistakes, take it head on and try and correct.”Virat Kohli chats with Ravi Shastri•Getty Images

Shastri said India were on top and looking to take a sizeable lead when Cheteshwar Pujara played a ” (a Mumbai cricket term loosely equivalent to bloody-minded)” innings to notch his first century of this tour. But the rest of the batting did not show the same resolve. “It is being aware of being in a good position and then capitalising and not doing something silly to open the door for the opposition. I thought at 180 for 4 there was a definite chance of a 75-80 run lead, and that would have been crucial. So that hurts.”Shastri felt the Southampton defeat would hurt more than the one at Edgbaston because India were in charge of the fourth Test at different points. “At Edgbaston, it could have gone either way. We had our share of luck as well because at one time England were in the driver’s seat. We managed to come back. We were chasing the game there all the time. But here, this would hurt more because you were ahead of them. And there was a stage you could have been really ahead of game after the job the bowlers did on day one.”At the start of this series, Shastri had told ESPNcricinfo that Kohli’s team had the “potential” to be one of the best travelling sides. He said he was making that statement based on India’s spirited performance in the 2-1 series defeat this January in South Africa, where India won the final Test in Johannesburg and were in contention in the first two Tests too, in Cape Town and Centurion.Not everyone is convinced India are improving as a travelling unit overseas though. Speaking to , former India opener Virender Sehwag said India had learned the art of winning overseas under Sourav Ganguly. Back then, India were a stronger batting unit with bowlers who couldn’t consistently take 20 wickets, and Sehwag felt it was the other way round now, with India having a strong bowling unit but a weaker batting group. “Best travelling teams are made by performances on the ground and not by sitting in the dressing rooms and talking about it. One can talk whatever they want to talk about but unless the bat does the talking, they can never become the best travelling team,” Sehwag said.Shastri still maintained India could win overseas. He pointed out that India had won three series and nine Tests overseas since 2015. Incidentally, Anil Kumble was India’s coach for one of those series, against West Indies in 2016, which India won 2-0. Shastri was in his first stint with the team during the 2-1 win on the 2015 tour of Sri Lanka. In Shastri’s second stint, India have won one series overseas, in Sri Lanka (2017), and five Tests.”If you look at the last three years, we won nine matches overseas and three series. I can’t see any other Indian team in the last 15-20 years who had that kind of run in such a short period and you have some great players in those teams.” Shastri said. “So the promise is there. It is just [about] getting tougher mentally. You have got to hurt when you lose such matches, but that is when you look within and come out with the right kind of answers to combat such situations again and get past the finishing line. One day you will, as long as you believe.”

James Hildreth, the long-serving Somerset batter, has announced that he will retire from professional cricket at the end of the season, almost 20 years after making his debut for the club.Regarded by some as the best batter of his generation not to have represented England, Hildreth amassed more than 17,000 first-class runs for Somerset, putting him third on the county’s all-time list behind Harold Gimblett and Marcus Trescothick. He currently averages 40.98, with 47 first-class hundreds, but the closest he came to being capped was a handful of Lions appearances more than a decade ago.He is Somerset’s leading run-scorer in T20 cricket, with 3906, and also tallied more than 6000 runs in List A games. Hildreth hit the winning runs when Somerset won the 2005 Twenty20 Cup, aged 20, and then did the same at Lord’s 14 years on to secure the Royal London Cup.Related

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Hildreth will turn 38 next month, and has only managed 256 runs at 25.60 in this year’s County Championship. He was not involved at all in Somerset’s Blast campaign.”It feels like the right time to start a new chapter in my life and I’m excited about what the future holds,” Hildreth said. “I left school at 18 and have spent the last 20 years with the club. It’s been my life and I’ve loved every minute of it.”The club and cricket as a whole has given myself and my family so much over the last 20 years, and I’ve got nothing but fondness and love for the club and that will continue for the rest of my life. I’m looking forward to being a Somerset supporter and to coming down to watch the guys with my family and my children.”The thing I’ll miss most is the pride that you feel when you pull on that shirt to represent the club and the whole of the south west. The Somerset members and supporters have been incredible to me. They’ve always been so supportive, and I’ve always felt that, whether that’s walking through town or being out on the pitch. I’d like to thank them for their support over the years, and hopefully I’ve managed to bring a little bit of enjoyment into their lives with what I’ve done on the pitch.”Hildreth, who was awarded his county cap in 2007 and a testimonial year in 2017, has made 715 appearances for Somerset – more than any other player – and was a central figure as the club regularly pushed for their first Championship pennant during the 2010s, five times finishing as runners-up.Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said: “James Hildreth will go down in history as one of the best players ever to represent this club. His stats speak for themselves, but his contribution to Somerset cricket has been so much more than that.”During his time at the club he has proved himself to be the model professional and he is the perfect role model for any aspiring player. The way that he has conducted himself both on and off the field has been exemplary, and as such he has become one of the most respected players within the domestic game over the last 20 years.”His name will forever be synonymous with Somerset County Cricket Club, and everyone associated with SCCC wishes James and his family well in their future endeavours. On behalf of everyone at the cub both now and in the past, thank you for so many incredible memories.”Somerset’s head coach, Jason Kerr, recalled two of Hildreth’s “outstanding” innings for the club – a 53-ball T20 hundred against Glamorgan in 2012, and his century on one leg during the final game of the 2016 Championship – while Gordon Hollins, the chief executive, described him as one of the finest batters of his era and a “mainstay of the success that this club has achieved over the last 20 years”.Kerr added: “I guess all good things have to come to an end, but James has had an outstanding career and I’m sure that we’ll see a deserving outpouring of best wishes and superlatives for him over the next few weeks. There’s no doubt he’ll be missed, first and foremost as a person, but obviously also as a cricketer. Players of Hildy’s calibre are few and far between.”

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will not play the one-off exhibition match on September 16 that will act as a curtain raiser to the second season of the Legends League Cricket (LLC). In a letter to the league, Ganguly expressed his inability to play citing “professional commitments and continuous work with cricket administration”.”It’s [Legends League Cricket] a wonderful idea of bringing retired cricketers back on the cricket field and engaging with fans across generations,” Ganguly said in a statement from LLC. “However, due to my professional commitments and continuous work with cricket administration, I will not be able to take part in this game. I am sure the fans are eagerly looking forward to this league and there will be large crowds at the stadium. The league is bringing together the stalwarts of the game and I am sure there will be exciting cricket on display.Ganguly said he would be at Eden Gardens to watch the game between Indian Maharajas and the World Giants, led by England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan. The match will also commemorate 75 years of India’s independence and the proceeds from the game will be donated to Kapil Dev’s Khushii Foundation, which supports the education of female children.The Indian Maharajas team includes former players like Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel among others. The Giants have former South Africa stars Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Steyn and Herschelle Gibbs in their ranks, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralidaran from Sri Lanka, and Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson from Australia.The final of the second season of LLC is scheduled for October 8. The tournament comprises four teams led by Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Pathan and Harbhajan.

Pace bowlers Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Sen bowled New Zealand out for a paltry 167, sharing seven wickets between them, as India A posted a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the first of the three one-dayers at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday to take the hosts 1-0 up in the series.After asking the visitors to bat, Thakur – who had replaced the injured Prasidh Krishna in the squad – struck in his second over on a pitch that had pace and bounce on offer, cleaning up opener Chad Bowes for 10. Known for his outswingers and nip-backers, Thakur soon after removed Dane Cleaver with a short ball, forcing him to pull only to be caught at fine leg after a top edge.Sen, making his debut for India A, bowled in tandem with the senior quick to trap No. 3 Joe Carter leg before wicket. That was the third wicket of a collapse which saw New Zealand A slide from 14 without loss to 74 for 8 in a span of 16 overs.However, there was some resistance from the lower order, thanks to tailenders Michael Rippon and Joe Walker. Their 89-run partnership off 126 deliveries for the ninth wicket eventually lifted New Zealand A to 167. While Rippon top-scored with 61 from 104 balls and hit four boundaries, Walker made 36 off 49, hitting three fours and a six during a stable partnership.But Walker was run-out in the 39th over, and it took India A less than more overs to bowl New Zealand A out, as Thakur ended with 4 for 32 – including getting Rippon out last – while Sen returned figures of 3 for 30.A below-par score on a batting-friendly pitch was never going to pose a threat, and India A made short work of the chase.After Prithvi Shaw perished for 17, Ruturaj Gaikwad and No. 3 Rahul Tripathi, who got 31, stitched 56 runs. Gaikwad’s three fours and two clean sixes helped him accumulate 41 before he was caught-and-bowled by Rippon.But an entertaining partnership followed between India A captain Sanju Samson and the in-form Rajat Patidar. Samson was welcomed with a rousing cheer from the 200-odd spectators as the pair put on an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 69 to chase down the target with seven wickets and more than 19 overs to spare.Samson remained unbeaten on 29 – including hitting three sixes – while Patidar, who punished the bowlers whenever they went full, struck a quick 45 off 41 balls. His knock included seven boundaries.The second of the three one-dayers will take place on Sunday at the same venue, with the visitors now in a must-win situation to remain alive in the series

Big picture

In the aftermath of two derbies, two different moods. Zimbabwe upset with having had to carry on in the conditions they did against South Africa, but no doubt relieved to have come away with a point. Pakistan, meanwhile, anguished at seeing two points slip away in that wild last over at the MCG against India.In other times, that kind of loss might have felled other Pakistan sides, but there’s something more settled about this one. They may rue not picking a fourth pacer at the MCG, but Mohammad Nawaz was not far from winning it: a little luck with the deflection off the stumps on the free-hit, a little fortune with that no-ball call, and they’re sitting pretty now. In the dressing room after the game, Babar Azam was not letting heads fall, telling Nawaz he was still his match-winner. Imperfect they may be, but they’re more together than most Pakistan sides of modern vintage.Related

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And at the risk of stating the obvious, they are also still a pretty good T20I side. They have the second highest number of wins and the third best win-loss ratio among Full Members since the last T20 World Cup. They will also take some heart from their middle order managing a competitive total after a rare joint failure of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. They are also unlikely to come across conditions as tough for batting as they were at the MCG.Zimbabwe will look at all this, however, and recognise a side that they have had the better of twice in white-ball cricket in the last two years. As many as nine who may play in Perth will have beaten Pakistan in the Super Over of a tied ODI in Rawalpindi or a T20I in Harare.A little luck in that last over against India and Pakistan would have been sitting pretty now•Getty Images

Now, under coach Dave Houghton, Zimbabwe have also started taking a more attacking approach. That has crystallised most vividly in the form of Sikandar Raza, arguably the player of the tournament so far. But high-quality pace bowling has tested their batting resources beyond Raza twice now: Alzarri Joseph in the first round and South Africa’s attack in the wash-out.Pakistan have plenty of that.

Form guide

Pakistan LWWLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Zimbabwe WLWWL

In the spotlight

Shaheen Shah Afridi’s long-awaited, much-anticipated return to international cricket was an underwhelming one. Perhaps that was to be expected, given the nature of the injury and ensuing rehab and the length of time he was out. This was, remember, his first international game in three months. It led to both the Ws, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, asking on a TV show whether Afridi had been rushed back before he was fully fit. He didn’t get the kind of sustained swing that might have been expected after India’s opening bowlers did what they did. He wasn’t awful, just a little ordinary, and it was only in his last over when Virat Kohli went at him did his figures take a beating. He narrowly missed his lengths a couple of times in that over, a sure indicator of rustiness rather than anything more terminal. Away from the glare of a big game, against a lesser opponent, might be a good time for him to settle back into his groove.Zimbabwe’s pace attack has served them well in the tournament so far, though none more than Blessing Muzarabani. His height and the extra bounce on most Australian surfaces was always going to be a trump card for Zimbabwe to pull out at the tournament and it hasn’t been disappointing. He has sometimes struggled to hit the right lengths for each situation, but when he has, he has been difficult to keep out. It has come with decent pace as well. And he doesn’t mind Pakistan as opponents – it was his five-for in that Rawalpindi ODI (and two wickets in the Super Over) that secured a memorable triumph. Pakistan often struggle against bounce, and if Muzarabani gets it right, then, well, it could be a battle.Blessing Muzarabani will be Zimbabwe’s trump card•ICC via Getty Images

Team news

There was plenty of talk around Pakistan not playing a fourth seamer at the MCG, though with the definite benefit of hindsight on a surface that did plenty for fast bowlers. They could bring somebody like Mohammad Wasim in and drop one of the perennially under-fire Haider Ali or Asif Ali (especially as Wasim has six-hitting skills) from a deep batting order. But they don’t like changing unless they really have to, and it may not be that stage yet.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Haider Ali, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Naseem ShahRichard Ngarava’s slip in the rain against South Africa and subsequent ankle injury means Zimbabwe may be forced to disrupt their pace attack. Brad Evans – whom captain Ervine said would likely play if Ngarava is not fit – is not a like-for-like replacement, but he does bring genuine pace.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Craig Ervine (capt), 2 Regis Chakabva (wk), 3 Sean Williams, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Wessly Madhevere, 6 Milton Shumba, 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Richard Ngarva/Brad Evans, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Blessing Muzarabani

Pitch and conditions

The forecast in Perth is for partly cloudy conditions but no rain. The pitch has a green tinge and the new ball has swung. While there’s pace and bounce for the fast bowlers, runs can also be scored quickly, especially straight. Spinners often suffer if they bowl too full, but can tie it up in the middle overs by bowling a back of a length and forcing batters to hit to the vast square boundaries with the ground similar to the dimensions of the MCG.

Stats and trivia

• Rizwan, who fell for 4 against India at the MCG, has not been dismissed for successive single-digit scores in T20Is since February 2019.
• Raza is the third highest run-scorer in T20Is this year and has the second-best strike rate – 155.23 – among the top 20 run-scorers this year. Only Suryakumar Yadav has more runs at a higher strike rate.
• Zimbabwe have never beaten Pakistan in an ICC tournament.

Quotes

“The morale of the boys is high. We are trying to prepare for the next game and come back strong and remain in contention for this World Cup.”
“I’m pretty sure Pakistan will be coming hard for us. The first five-six overs with the new ball has been challenging for every team. It’s a key area to get through.”

Corbin Bosch and Nandre Burger stifled Zimbabwe with the ball, and rookie Rubin Hermann struck his maiden T20I fifty to secure South Africa’s place in the T20I tri-series final – while knocking the hosts out – in a seven-wicket win in Harare.Zimbabwe’s total of 144 for 6 was too little to trouble South Africa. Their third loss in as many outings also makes the last two league games dead rubbers. South Africa and New Zealand, both on four points, have their spots in the final assured with Zimbabwe still on zero points with one more fixture remaining for them.It was another insipid batting display from Zimbabwe after Rassie van der Dussen opted to bowl first. They posted the lowest powerplay score of the tri-series and managed just 55 for 3 in the first ten overs. Only Brian Bennett’s counterattacking 61 gave the innings a degree of respectability.South Africa then overcame an early stutter in the chase courtesy Hermann’s 63 and van der Dussen’s 52 not out. They won with 16 balls to spare.Brian Bennett celebrates fifty during his 78-run stand with Ryan Burl•Zimbabwe Cricket

Bennett turns it around

Bennett faced only 10 balls in the powerplay and was starved of strike as Zimbabwe crawled to 29 for 2 in six overs. His first boundary came in the eighth over, a back-foot cut off George Linde, and he finally blossomed during a 78-run fourth-wicket stand with Ryan Burl that gave the innings some direction.Legspinner Nqaba Peter bore the brunt of Bennett’s charge, hit over his head and past deep square leg for fours, then over wide long-on for a six that landed on the roof of the Sports Club. Linde, brought on to stem the flow, couldn’t halt the assault either: Bennett cut him behind square for four and launched a six onto the midwicket grass banks in the 13th over, then repeated the four-six combo in the 15th. The second six, that just cleared long-off, brought up Bennett’s half-century off 38 balls.He then got away with a thick edge for four off Ngidi and followed it with a Douglas Marillier-style ramp past short fine leg. But Ngidi had the final word, bowling him with a slower yorker off the last ball of the 16th. Bennett’s 61 off 43 helped Zimbabwe add 60 runs between overs 11 and 16.

Bosch earns the rewards

Bosch capitalised on early pressure from Ngidi and Nandre Burger, with Zimbabwe crawling to 17 in the first three overs.Brought in for the fourth over, Bosch struck with his third ball – a full delivery on middle stump – dismissing Wessly Madhevere caught at mid-off. In the next over, he bowled short and angled into Clive Madande, who spooned a catch back to the bowler.Corbin Bosch was tough to put away•Zimbabwe Cricket

But it was in the death overs that Bosch really showed off his skills. Mixing yorkers on the stumps with wide-line deliveries, he gave away just six runs each in the 18th and 20th overs, stifling Zimbabwe’s attempt of a late flourish. Bosch ended with 4-0-16-2 and didn’t concede a single boundary.Burger also returned a tidy performance with 1 for 20 in four overs, delivering 15 dots across spells in the powerplay and death overs. The duo combined to allow only 22 runs to be scored in the final four overs, leaving South Africa a target of 145 to chase. Zimbabwe’s second-highest run-scorer was Burl with 36 in 31 balls, who despite staying unbeaten till the end, failed to get the slog-overs connection that Zimbabwe desperately needed.

Maposa delivers a scare

Without Blessing Muzarabani, who was unavailable owing to a bereavement in his family, Zimbabwe needed someone else to step up with the new ball. And it was Tinotenda Maposa who brought the fire.He tested the aggressive Lhuan-dre Pretorius with a short ball in the second over that forced the batter to miscue a shot to mid-on where Sikandar Raza took a screamer. Extra bounce was at the forefront again in the fifth over as Maposa got a short and wide ball to rise enough to induce the edge off Reeza Hendricks’ bat when he tried to play the cut.The two openers combined for only 10 runs in 20 balls.

Hermann’s encore, Rassie clinical

Hermann top-scored with 45 on his T20I debut in the tri-series opener against Zimbabwe, and with his 36-ball 63 on Sunday flattened them again. Combining with van der Dussen, Hermann was the majority contributor in a 106-run partnership for the third wicket that lifted South Africa from a tricky 22 for 2 to the position of ease.He was on top of Zimbabwe almost right away, driving Maposa uppishly for four off his second delivery. He then dispatched Raza’s loose deliveries in the tenth over by flat-batting a short ball to long-on for four and pulling another half-tracker over deep midwicket for six. Left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza was then slapped for six down the ground and swatted for four through the leg side, and by the 12th over, Hermann had brought up his maiden T20I fifty in only 29 balls when he hit Maposa for six down the ground.Van der Dussen’s unbeaten innings of 52, that included six fours, complemented Hermann’s beautifully. In the powerplay, he used his wrists well to dispatch Trevor Gwandu for fours to fine leg in the powerplay, took a backseat when Hermann was hitting it well, and then picked up his pace when South Africa grabbed pole position again.Hermann’s poles were eventually flattened by Richard Ngarava in the 16th over, and he walked back disappointed. After his debut, he had said he wanted to be the “guy who finishes games” for South Africa, and this was yet another opportunity squandered. But by then, the equation read 17 runs required in 27 balls and the game was wrapped up within the next 11 deliveries.

West Indies are “not in the same level-playing field as other playing countries”, and an emergency meeting of Cricket West Indies (CWI), which included Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and current head coach Daren Sammy, among others, has ended with a roadmap of sorts in place for a revival, but “it’s a long road, it’s not going to happen tomorrow”. One of the immediate decisions is, as Lloyd said, to ask the ICC for a “special dispensation” – extra money keeping in mind West Indies’ glorious past.While those in attendance at a press briefing at the end of the two-day meeting in Trinidad – CWI bigwigs as well as Lloyd and Lara – said that a lot of ideas were thrown about, it was not yet time to announce them since they had to go through an internal process before being put into action. There was trepidation too, since the downward spiral of West Indies cricket has been quick and seemingly without end: “Hope to see them come to fruition,” Lloyd said. “Sincerely hope this doesn’t come to some damp squib.””We have identified a list of about a hundred things that we have to improve, but probably among the top five: facilities at every level for our cricketers; practice pitches across the region; the quality of our domestic tournaments, there’s definitely a skills deficiency at various levels that don’t get highlighted till they reach international levels and then you see the glaring deficiencies vis-a-vis our international counterparts, which again is systemic,” Chris Dehring, the CWI chief executive said.Related

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“As the batting coach [Jimmy Adams] pointed out, it’s very difficult to change habits when you are getting somebody who has made so many runs at regional level but clearly has deficiencies when it comes to international level. It’s very difficult to change in a couple of weeks. There are issues concerning strength and conditioning, which again points back to facilities which are available to youngsters and emerging players and ‘A’ teams, etc.”Dehring said that, among other things, CWI planned to have “a proper high-performance centre established in the region, a prototype that will then be modelled and imitated across the region, in other countries, [and] academy systems to ensure that the West Indies way of playing cricket is both documented and taught from very early”.

Twenty-seven all out and the aftermath

The last time West Indies played Test cricket, at Sabina Park in Kingston against Australia, they were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest innings score in Test history and the lowest since 1955. The meeting was announced soon after that. Since then, West Indies have played ten white-ball games, winning two and losing eight.”It’s been that case for years, where we are not in the same level-playing field as other playing countries,” Lara said. “Back in the days when skill was the prominent factor, we excelled, we were the best team in the world. But the game has evolved, and technology and analytics, and we now have to see a new way of finding ourselves back to being very competitive.”I said not a level-playing field because a lot of the countries are far ahead in these sorts of areas. The skill factor of the game is still there, but not as prominent as it was in the past.”It’s a long road; it’s not going to happen tomorrow. It was not about the 27 runs. If it was 57 or 107, will we be feeling any better? I don’t think so. It was the fact that we’ve got something to address, and for us to get back on top, or to be a competitive nation in world cricket, we’ve got to address these situations and address them shortly, quickly, and hopefully we can reap the benefits in the years to come.”The challenges are “systemic”, director of cricket Miles Bascombe said, and that they were “across our cricket system”. The goal now, he said, was “identifying the challenges at every level of our production pipeline […] and how to put all of that together. To have a holistic solution and then we will engage all of the stakeholders necessary to help us along the way.”

Club vs country, the losing battle

It’s not new, the notion that modern-day West Indian cricketers, called mercenaries in the past, have prioritised franchise T20 leagues around the world, where they are in big demand, and the West Indies team has suffered as a result.If that is the case, what is the way forward?”West Indies cricket is still very important in the minds of all youngsters, male and female, and when looking at cricket as a career,” Lara said in response to a question. “I think you have to understand that in different eras and decades, there are different motivational factors. In the ’50s and early part of the ’60s, we were thinking about the independence – we can show our colonisers that we can play cricket, we can govern ourselves. In the ’70s and ’80s, I believe that under Sir Clive, it was all about trying to be the best in the world. After learning from previous decades.Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have primarily been in action in T20 leagues over the past many years•BCCI

“Presently, if I can fast forward, the game has now very much commercialised. The franchise system is definitely in the mind of every young person, and every parent as well. When you see what’s happening around the world with the IPL, the American cricket league [MLC] and much else. The motivational factors we have to tap into: what motivates youngsters today? It might not be just representing West Indies 365 days of the year. It might be playing in an IPL or a BBL or something else. We have to find out those interests and see where West Indies cricket can still benefit from the youngsters.”It’s unfortunate [that] a young man at the age of 29, like Nicholas Pooran, will call an end to his international career. Find out why these things are happening and how we can stem that sort of situation and we get the best players to play for West Indies. Australia, India and England and these countries benefit from wholeheartedness from their players, the passion that they have playing for their country. We have to get that to return to West Indies cricket.”The solution, Bascombe said, was that, “We will never be able to compete with franchise money, everybody acknowledges that. So it has to be pride. Pride in the performance and pride in representing the West Indies.”That, looking at the past many years, might be easier said that done.”People must realise that T20 is an exhibition and Test cricket is an examination. When you are getting offered the type of money that these guys are being offered, there’s only one way they’ll go. It’s a lot of money,” Lloyd said. “The point is we have to try and keep the guys that we have, teach them the right things, and hope that our cricket will still be in shape.”