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Alastair Cook has admitted England will be taking “a risk” if they select James Anderson in their team for the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town.Anderson missed the first Test after sustaining a mild calf strain and, though he is confident he should be fit for this match, has not been able to deliver the overs he would have liked before heading into a major match. He bowled just five overs in the tour match in Potchefstroom and, while he bowled in training over the last couple of days in Durban, he usually does very little the day before a Test in order to ensure he is fresh.With England having seen Dale Steyn break down during the first Test after coming into the match having recently recovered from injury, they will be very keen not to make the same mistake.”We have to be really careful with heart and head,” Cook said. “He’s desperate to play but we just have to make sure it’s the right decision for him. We don’t want to hinder ourselves and have an injury caused that we could have prevented. Obviously there will be a bit of a risk about it.”Ultimately, it seems Anderson will be trusted to make the decision himself. As a highly experienced bowler who knows his body, the management are confident that his heart will not rule his head. He bowled at full pace and batted in the nets on Friday and all things considered, he looks likely to play.”If he’s fit to go, then he’ll play,” Cook said. “It’s an interesting call because of how many overs he’s bowled so far on this tour – it’s not a huge amount – and the conditions will be tough for all of us. We’ll have a good chat in the changing room and see how he feels.”You want your best players playing. If he’s fit and ready and confident, then he’ll be opening the bowling. But we have to make sure we’re right.”England’s other concern is their consistency over recent times. In 2015, they won six and lost six Tests sometimes following an excellent performance (Grenada and Cardiff) with a pretty wretched one (Barbados and Lord’s).”I certainly haven’t got to the bottom of why we’ve been so inconsistent as a side over the last ten months,” Cook admitted. “Have we as a side learned? Can we be more consistent and harder to beat?”If South Africa play out of their skin and we hit the same standards then I’ll be happy. But we have to hit the same standard. In Durban, we set a benchmark. It’s just a case of whether we have the same hunger in us to do that again.”In the longer term, England have some scheduling concerns. Both sides go into this match with just a two-day turnaround between games – it seems incredible to think that Tests used to contain rest days – and it starts a year when England are scheduled to play 17 Tests (though it is rumoured the five Test series in India could be reduced to a four-Test series).Such a schedule – and that is before ODIs and the World T20 is considered – gives England’s top players little chance to play at their optimum. Given more rest and care, Anderson and Stuart Broad might still be capable of producing their sharpest spells more often.Equally Graeme Swann’s elbow might not have caused so many problems and Jonathan Trott may have had time to recover his equilibrium. Andy Flower, too, may reflect that the relentless pressure of the England coaching role saw him change, over time, and become, for a while, a less positive figure.Many of the players have their families with them at present – one of the coaching staff saw his family at Christmas for the first time since September – but there is a concern that the demands on those involved now stretch to around 300 days a year and create strains on family life that cannot be fully compensated by a large salary. International careers are becoming shorter; the demands are unsustainable.”A two-day turnaround isn’t great for the players,” Cook said. “If we’d bowled 140 overs in the dirt in Durban and then had a two-day turnaround in 40 degrees, which it has been here, that’s a gruelling ask to keep the standards up. Hopefully, this is just a one-off and people see sense. You need a couple more days between Tests.”We started in April saying that we had 17 Test matches and it was a gruelling schedule. But we certainly won’t be using that as an excuse at the end of this week if we don’t play well.”The players, like the coaches, are pawns in a game that sees the ECB demanding more to sustain a business model that is creaking under the weight of the demands upon it. It is not easy for the ECB: pay any less and players may prefer a future in T20 leagues; play any less and the money may not be there for the academies, the development tours, the county system and salaries. But the current demands on the players are too great and, in time, will become self-defeating.

Robert Key has been given a golden opportunity to enhance his case for an England recall, after being named as captain of a strong England Lions squad to face New Zealand in their final four-day warm-up at the Rose Bowl on May 8.Key dominated the Kiwi attack at Canterbury on Monday, milking them for an unbeaten 178 out of a first-day total of 324 for 1, which follows on from the twin centuries he scored against them on their last tour of England in 2004. He was also named as England A captain in the 2006 home season, when he scored a hundred against Pakistan.”Robert Key enjoyed an excellent season for Kent last year, was recently named in the England Performance Squad and he will bring his experience of leading his county to the captain’s role,” said England’s selector, Geoff Miller.Key’s goal is a place in the first Test at Lord’s on May 15, but first he must overcome the claims of Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara, both of whom toured with the Test team this winter, and who have also enjoyed flying starts to their summer. They have been named alongside him in a strong 12-man squad, which also includes two up-and-coming batsmen in Hampshire’s Michael Carberry and Sussex’s Luke Wright.The bowling front is no less competitive. There is no place for Steve Harmison, but Matthew Hoggard has forced his way back into the reckoning with his eight-wicket haul for Yorkshire against Hampshire this week. Also included is the Hampshire seamer Chris Tremlett, who came close to an England recall in New Zealand this winter, but pulled up injured after a five-over spell in the Test warm-up fixture in Dunedin.”Matthew Hoggard was left out of the last two Test matches in New Zealand but he is a fighter and he will not want to give up his England place easily,” said Miller. “He has started the season with a strong performance for Yorkshire and this will be another chance for him to show what he is capable of against an international side.”The wicketkeeper for this fixture is another recent England reject, Matt Prior, who was ruthlessly axed following the tour to Sri Lanka in December. He impressed with the bat on that trip, and came close to saving the first Test at Kandy in a bold rearguard, but his glovework proved too fallible for the selectors’ comfort. Nevertheless, he has started the season strongly for Sussex, and has a prime opportunity to restate his credentials.”In choosing this squad we were keen to show consistency by giving further opportunities to players who were involved with either the Test or one-day squad during the winter or the England Lions,” said Miller. “There is intense competition for places in the senior squad at present and all of these players will be keen to make an impression on the selectors ahead of the international season.”One notable absentee is Andrew Flintoff, who has been bowling with pace, accuracy and intent since the start of the season, and also found a hint of form with the bat in the Friends Provident victory over Scotland at the weekend. But he is not being risked just yet, as he continues his rehabilitation from a fourth bout of ankle surgery.England Lions squad
Robert Key (Kent, capt), Ravinder Bopara (Essex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Steven Kirby (Gloucestershire), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

Hasan Mohsin starred with bat and ball as Pakistan Under-19s defended 212 to beat Sri Lanka Under-19s by 23 runs and finish top of Group B. Pakistan will take on West Indies in the quarter-finals while Sri Lanka will meet England.Sent in to bat, Pakistan made slow progress at first, and their run rate was still below four an over when Wanidu Hasaranga dismissed Salman Fayyaz (33) in the 41st over to end his 61-run stand with Mohsin. Wickets fell steadily at the other end, with none of bottom five getting into double figures, but Mohsin ensured he dragged Pakistan to a competitive total, and was ninth out for a run-a-ball 86 with eight fours and a six. Pakistan were bowled out for 212 in the 49th over.Opening the bowling with his gentle seam-up, Mohsin then gave Pakistan two early breakthroughs, dismissing both Sri Lankan openers. Sri Lanka slipped to 63 for 4 when the in-form pair of Charith Asalanka and Shammu Ashan got out to soft dismissals against the spinners, but Kamindu Mendis and Vishad Randika got the chase back on track with an 84-run stand for the fifth wicket. Just when Sri Lanka seemed to be cruising home, though, Mendis holed out to long-on for 68 (104b, 5×4), and Hasaranga and Randika (46 off 71) followed him soon after. Damitha Silva kept Sri Lanka in the hunt for a while with an unbeaten 21, but the lower order fell away around him, with legspinner Shadab Khan picking up the last two wickets to finish with figures of 3 for 31.

The Cobras have allowed five of their players, who are currently in India with the South African squad, to stay on for the IPL instead of returning home for the domestic Standard Bank Pro20 tournament. Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince will thus remain in India after the third Test in Kanpur, which starts on April 11.Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, indicated that the Titans might also follow suit and allow three of their IPL players who are in India – AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel and Dale Steyn – to miss the domestic tournament. He also said that talks were on with the franchises of the three other South African players who are involved in the IPL – Eagles (Loots Bosman), Dolphins (Shaun Pollock) and Warriors (Makhaya Ntini) – to grant exemption to these players.The Pro20 Series, South Africa’s domestic 20-over tournament, involves seven teams, including Zimbabwe, and concludes on April 25. With the IPL starting on April 18, this means the Cobras’ players will not miss the first week of the tournament. The IPL franchise which benefits the most from this decision is the Bangalore Royal Challengers, who have Kallis, Steyn and Boucher in their ranks. Gibbs is with the Deccan Chargers, while Smith has been signed up by the Rajasthan Royals.

The KSCA has been denied permission to host Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru by the state government and police due to safety and security concerns, forcing the games to be moved to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) on the outskirts of the city.The tournament opener between Delhi and Andhra, which is expected to feature Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, will be played behind closed doors – without spectators – at the CoE. The KSCA was informed of the development on Tuesday by Karnataka’s home ministry, after which both teams were told ahead of their training session.The Chinnaswamy Stadium has not hosted any matches since eleven people died in a stampede outside the venue during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations on June 4. Following that tragedy, a report compiled by Justice John Michael D’Cunha termed the venue “highly unsafe” for large gatherings and recommended that the KSCA comply with several directives to make the Chinnaswamy Stadium suitable for spectators.Related

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Since Venkatesh Prasad took over as KSCA president earlier this month, there has been frenetic activity around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and several meetings have been held with government officials about the possibility of top-flight cricket, including the IPL, being played at the venue. While the KSCA accepted the government’s decision on permissions, it is hopeful that the situation will change in the near future.”KSCA understands that the decision on permission is linked to the implementation of the recommendations of the Justice Cunha Committee,” the KSCA said in a statement on Tuesday. “It has come to the attention of the present administration that earlier communications from the police Department since August 2025, concerning implementation of the Justice Cunha Committee recommendations, did not receive the desired level of follow-up from the previous managing committee. In contrast, the newly elected managing committee of KSCA, under the leadership of former international cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, which assumed office on 8 December 2025, has been proactive and responsive, engaging swiftly with all concerned government departments and statutory authorities within a short span of less than two weeks.”The present committee has actively reached out to seek guidance, inputs, and approvals required for the conduct of matches and has initiated all necessary steps to align KSCA’ s actions with the expectations of the authorities … The association looks forward to receiving the detailed inputs, observations, and recommendations from the authorities forming part of the review committee and assures that all such recommendations will be implemented in a structured and time-bound manner.”KSCA remains fully committed to implementing all practicable safety, security, and infrastructure-related measures at the earliest. With this proactive approach and full compliance with the recommended measures, KSCA is confident that the necessary permissions for conducting Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will be granted in the near future.”The KSCA had earlier moved the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches involving Kohli and Pant from Alur to the Chinnaswamy Stadium due to logistical and security challenges. The association was also hopeful that it would be able to open two stands, which could have seated 2000-3000 spectators.On Monday, a committee constituted by the Karnataka government comprising officials from police, public works and fire safety department inspected the Chinnaswamy Stadium and submitted a report, after which the directive was issued to move the games away from the venue.

The Indian Cricket League has announced that its next tournament will feature international sides, as first reported by Cricinfo. The event called ICL 20s World Series 2008 is a Twenty20 tri-series that will have a team comprising Indian players, one with Pakistan players and a World side taking each other. Previous ICL competitions have all been contests between city-based sides.The ICL 20s World Series 2008 lasts for a week starting from April 9 and will be held at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium in Hyderabad. The competition, the fourth to be conducted by the ICL, involves seven matches, with each team playing against each other twice, followed by the finals.Inzamam-ul-Haq, currently captaining the Lahore Badshahs, will lead the Pakistan team while Chris Cairns will captain the World team. Moin Khan, John Emburey and Steve Rixon will coach the Pakistan, World and India sides respectively.Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board of the ICL, said the Indian squad will be selected after the semi-finals of the ongoing Twenty20 tournament. The captain of the Indian team is also yet to be announced.

Test discard Shadab Kabir slammed 105 and fellow opener Shahid Afridi smashed 88 off 63 balls to guide Karachi Whites to a commanding 299 for three on the second day of Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at the KRL Stadium on Tuesday.At stumps, Hasan Raza was batting on 73 with Saeed bin Nasir (2).Islamabad lost their last wicket after adding 11 runs to their overnight score of 196 for nine.Shadab and Afridi put together an opening stand of 114 as they punished Islamabad’s mediocre bowling at will. Afridi produced his trademark strokes that included 13 fours and a six each against Bilal Rana Rauf Akbar. He reached 50 off just 40 balls in 70 minutes (7x4s). The Test opener fell 12 short of his century when he snared by Bilal Rana while attempting an aggressive shot and was well caught at short mid-wicket by Rao Iftikhar.After putting on 50 for the second wicket with Zeeshan Pervez (24), Shadab was involved in another century stand with Hasan Raza. The pair added 124 runs in 164 minutes for the third before Shadab was adjudged leg before wicket to Bilal Rana just before stumps.Shadab’s knock included 12 boundaries and a six. Hasan Raza was also in belligerent mood in the first half of his innings when took 71 balls to reach his 50 that included nine fours. His 217-minute innings includes 12 fours.

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Tamil Nadu faced a strong challenge from Karnataka in Chennai as Ganesh Satish and KB Pawan led them to a strong 239 for 3•K Sivaraman

Odisha made Delhi work hard for their wickets, but the hosts put in the hard work to end the day hopeful of an outright win. Their quicks persevered even as Odisha resisted, and by stumps Odisha were only 41 ahead with four wickets in hand.Govind Podder was the main irritant for Delhi, scoring 85 runs and denying the hosts for close to three-and-a-half hours. He added 84 for the third wicket with Biplab Samantray. Sumit Narwal, though, found a way to hit Podder’s stumps. Narwal had also scored crucial 66 runs to help Delhi build up the lead.That wasn’t the end of the resistance as Samantray and Natraj Behera added 59 to make sure Delhi will have to bat again. Pawan Suyal now found Samantray’s wicket, and two more fell quickly to send Odisha from 202 for 3 to 225 for 6. Behera, their last hope, was still at the wicket, unbeaten on 35.
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In a match that is bad news for spin enthusiasts in India, only seven wickets have fallen in three days on a square turner. Spin was introduced as early as the sixth over of the match. Keeping in with the Tamil Nadu trend, all six of whose batsmen scored at least fifty, no Karnataka batsman, with the exception of Manish Pandey, fell before reaching the half-century.They ended the day at 239 for 3, needing another 300 to take the first-innings lead. If neither Karnataka are bowled out nor 539 is reached, both teams will have to do with one point each.The scores, though, are misleading. They suggest an airport road, but it simply wasn’t the case. The ball jumped, kicked, turned a long way throughout the three days, but the wickets just didn’t arrive.Robin Uthappa was the first to reach fifty on the third day, but fell playing across the line soon after. KB Pawan, who looked good for much more, scooped a full toss from part-timer Abhinav Mukund to mid-on. Pandey edged M Rangarajan behind, raising Tamil Nadu’s hopes at 184 for 3, but Ganesh Satish and Amit Verma batted out the 25.4 overs to stumps.
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Yusuf Pathan smashed 78 off 36 balls to lend energy to a meandering match, giving Baroda enough time to push for an outright win over Vidarbha. Before Yusuf’s intervention, Baroda had claimed the three first-innings points through a century from Abhimanyu Chauhan, but the rest didn’t show much intent to set up a declaration.Rakesh Solanki, too, got a hundred, but at a strike-rate of 40. However, Yusuf walked in at 364 for 4 in 139.2 overs and left at 473 in 147.5. The game’s complexion had changed through his six fours and five sixes, and Baroda could now ask Vidarbha to bat before stumps. And in those four overs Firdaush Bhaja bowled Aniruddha Chore to leave Vidarbha needing 247 to make Baroda bat again.
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Another pitch has produced just seven wickets over three days, but this one is a bona fide airport runway. Which is perhaps why Maharashtra didn’t look too keen to declare despite crossing 700 on the second evening. They even added 26 on the third morning before finally asking Uttar Pradesh to bat.The worst fears about the pitch came true when UP cruised to 287 for 1 by stumps. Mukul Dagar joined Jiwanjot Singh and Paras Dogra as centurions in both the matches of Ranji Trophy so far. This was his second century in a three-match career. Tanmay Srivastava scored his seventh first-class century. The only wicket went to part-timer Kedar Jadhav, who scored a triple-century on day two.If Maharashtra can’t do better with the ball on the final day, a first-innings result will not be achieved. Both the teams will get a point each, and the local association might have to face questions regarding the quality of the pitch.For more on the third day’s play from Pune, click here.

ScorecardFile photo – Shreyas Gopal picked up four wickets•BCCI

Govinda Poddar’s fourth first-class ton was the only bright spot in Odisha’s innings which was terminated for 232 by Karnataka’s bowlers in Mysore.Electing to bat, Odisha lost Natraj Behera in the third ball of the innings to Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar, but Poddar, along with Rajesh Dhuper, added 42 runs for the second wicket. However, after Dhuper was dismissed by Stuart Binny, two more wickets fell in quick succession to leave the visitors struggling on 73 for 4.Poddar and Pratik Das, then, added 93 runs for the fifth wicket before Udit Patel had Pratik caught by Binny. There was little resistance in the Odisha innings thereafter, as legspinner Shreyas Gopal and left-arm spinner J Suchith spliced through the lower order. Poddar was the ninth man out, bowled by Suchith. Gopal and Suchith finished with seven wickets between them.
Scorecard.Seamer Navdeep Saini’s six-wicket haul, his maiden five-for in first-class cricket, shot out Maharashtra for 80 inside 26 overs at the Feroz Shah Kotla.Electing to bat, Maharashtra were reduced to 8 for 3, with Saini accounting for all the wickets, including those of captain Rohit Motwani and Kedar Jadhav. Harshad Khadiwale, who top-scored with 21, and Ankit Bawne did some damage control with a 38-run alliance. But, once Saini had Khadiwale lbw, Maharashtra were on a freefall and their innings didn’t last more than two hours.Delhi’s reply began as shakily as the visitors’ innings, with openers Gautam Gambhir and Unmukt Chand dismissed inside four overs to leave them on 9 for 2. However, a 99-run partnership between Dhruv Shorey and Nitish Rana steered them out of trouble, and Delhi ended the day with a lead of 77 runs.
ScorecardBengal squandered a strong start after being put into bat by Vidarbha in Kolkata. Openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sayan Mondal put on 118 runs, but after Easwaran was caught behind off Shrikant Wagh, the hosts’ innings began to disintegrate, as they slipped from 118 for 1 to 140 for 4.A 42-run stand between Sudip Chatterjee and Pramod Chandila helped Bengal stage a mini-recovery before offspinner Akshay Wakhare, who claimed four wickets, prised out Chandila. Wicketkeeper Amol Ubarhande collected five dismissals.
ScorecardAssam seamer Krishna Das and Dhiraj Goswami picked up seven wickets between them after Haryana opted to bat in Rohtak. Only Himanshu Rana and Rohit Sharma resisted for Haryana, adding 73 for the third wicket. But, apart from them, only one more batsman managed to reach double figures.

On a day of slow cricket, Karnataka made a fitting reply toHyderabad’s first innings total of 302 on the second day of theirSouth Zone (under-19) Cooch Behar Trophy game at the Chinnaswamystadium in Bangalore on Tuesday. A watchful unbeaten 48 by DeepakChaugule saw Karnataka finish the day on 126 for four off 60 overs.Karnataka in fact lost three wickets for 60 before a fourth wicketpartnership of 63 runs off 32.4 overs between Chaugule and C Raghu(23) saw the side go into a position from which they could challengethe Hyderabad total on the final day on Wednesday. Chaugule, by closehad faced 119 balls and hit two boundaries. Keeping him company wasStuart Binny who failed to open his account after facing 19 balls.Earlier, Hyderabad, resuming at 239 for five, were all out shortlybefore lunch. The overnight batsmen Ibrahim Khaleel and Abhinav Kumarboth did not last very long, being dismissed for 73 and 43. A watchful35 by Ahmed Qadri, who was last out, saw Hyderabad getting past the300 mark. Opening bowler Steve Lazarus and Keerthi Bhat took twowickets each on Tuesday and finished with five for 108 and four for 63respectively.