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Pakistan have been docked five World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 25% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over rate during their 10-wicket defeat in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town. They were ruled to be five overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration.Match referee Richie Richardson imposed the sanction, which Pakistan captain Shan Masood accepted after pleading guilty to the charge – levelled by on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon, third umpire Alex Wharf and fourth umpire Stephen Harris – which meant that was no need for a formal hearing.Related

• Pakistan need to know what they want from Test cricket

• South Africa seal ten-wicket win despite Pakistan's great resistance

Teams are deducted one point for every over by which they fall short of their target. This is Pakistan’s third points deduction in the 2023-25 WTC cycle. They were docked two points after the first Test against Australia in Perth in December 2023, and six points following the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in August 2024.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As a consequence, Pakistan now have 35 points – instead of a possible 48 – from 12 Tests in the 2023-25 cycle. The latest deduction has brought their percentage of points contested – the number that determines a team’s position on the WTC table – down from 27.78 to 24.31. They remain in eighth place as before, but their points percentage is now only a few decimal points better than West Indies, who occupy the bottom of the nine-team table with a percentage of 24.24 – with no over-rate deductions.The deduction adds a layer of intrigue to one of the two remaining series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle – Pakistan are due to host West Indies for two Tests, in Karachi and Multan, starting January 16.

Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s Test captain, has recovered from his elbow injury in time to be available for their two-Test series at home against Sri Lanka. Bavuma will lead a 14-man side which also features Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, who both made their international returns from a conditioning break in the recent T20I series against India and have not played Tests since last summer.Bavuma will bolster an inexperienced batting line-up, who had three maiden centurions in Bangladesh last month, and a team who are chasing a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.South Africa need to win all four Tests at home – two against Sri Lanka and two against Pakistan – to guarantee their place at Lord’s next year. They could also make it with three wins out of four, based on results elsewhere. Either way, the importance of the next four Tests is clear and having their regular captain back was top of mind for Test coach Shukri Conrad who called his side “still Temba’s team” where Bavuma was unable to play.Related

• Sri Lanka's batting vs South Africa's bowling in the race to WTC final

• Bavuma battles 'mental demons' as he returns from lengthy injury layoff

• Groin injury rules Ngidi out of action till January

• Embuldeniya and Oshada Fernando return for Sri Lanka's Tests in South Africa

He travelled with the side but was battling the after-effects of the injury, which was sustained during an ODI against Ireland on October 4. Bavuma has not played any competitive cricket since then. He has also not played any red-ball cricket since Tests against West Indies in August, but Conrad is confident Bavuma will be ready for the upcoming challenges.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“He’s probably going in cold in the back of not having played any matches but we’re certainly going to be simulating match situations during our short camp we’re going to have in Pretoria,” Conrad said. “His fitness test was always going to be yesterday (Monday, November 18) and then it would just be too close to a four-day match and too close to the Test match (for him to play a game). If we had asked him to or forced him to play last week, I think it could have been detrimental. And I don’t think there was anything to gain from that.”Instead, Bavuma underwent an extensive assessment which included batting for 90 minutes on Monday to determine whether his left elbow had sufficiently recovered from an awkward land when completing a run against Ireland. It is the same elbow that Bavuma injured in 2022.”The concern was the impact on striking the ball and if there was any pain associated with that. That was still the case when we were in Bangladesh, which then ruled him out of the second Test there. So, it included a battery of tests,” Conrad said. “There was the fitness side of things, the aerobic stuff with the running and doing all of that. We had our high-performance lead, Tumi Masekela, there. And then, also, he had an hour-and-a-half of batting with quick bowlers. He had a throw-down net with (fielding coach) Kruger van Wyk and a couple of throwers there as well. He got through that really well; unscathed and there was absolutely no pain. We felt that on the back of that, he could be cleared to play.Equally, Conrad said Bavuma is looking forward to leading a side he has only captained five times out of 10 possible opportunities since being named Test captain in March 2023. “He’s excited,” Conrad said. “He’s like a little kid in a toy shop at the moment because he hasn’t played Test cricket in a while.”The sense of expectation is high given the opportunity of making the WTC final. South Africa have loaded up with as many available fast bowlers possible with Kagiso Rabada to lead the attack, the experienced Dane Paterson included and the recall of Jansen and Coetzee. Lungi Ngidi is unavailable (groin injury) until January and Anrich Nortje has opted out of Tests for the time being having come back from lower-back stress fractures.There was some concern around Coetzee, who left the field during the fourth T20I against India, with what looked like a hamstring concern but returned to bowl later in the game. He has cleared the scans.South Africa have included two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy, but have no space for US-based offspinner Dane Piedt, who has been part of the last three Test squads. The batting line-up will include Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi at the top, Tristan Stubbs at No. 3 and allrounder Wiaan Mulder in the lower middle order. Ryan Rickelton will likely make way for Bavuma in what Conrad called “almost like a knockout quarter-final with us and Sri Lanka.”Sri Lanka are third on the WTC points table, 1.39 percentage points above South Africa, and also in with a chance of making the final. “That table is going to be quite a topsy-turvy one over the next couple of months,” Conrad said. “We all understand the magnitude of it. We also understand that we’ve got to play really good cricket in order for us to achieve the goal. I think we’re going to run into a very confident Sri Lanka side.”But we certainly know that if we play anything close to our ability, that we’ll be right there when it matters. It’s an exciting time for the Test side.”The two-Test series begins in Durban on November 27 before the teams move to Gqeberha for the second Test starting December 5.

South Africa squad for Test series against Sri Lanka

Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne

Big picture: Do not adjust your timezones

Are you keeping up at the back? England’s Test team has just arrived back home from Pakistan, licking their wounds after a 2-1 series defeat, but already making plans for their next three-Test tour of New Zealand in barely three weeks’ time. And now, to fill the idle minutes between those two significant endeavours, a separate England squad has been dispatched to the Caribbean for its fourth visit in the space of three years, to continue the reboot of their white-ball fortunes after two underwhelming World Cup defences.This is the sweet spot of England’s post-Covid fixture congestion – a series so shoehorned that it’s hard to know what to read into the players selected, or indeed the results expected. As Jason Holder told ESPNcricinfo, the ECB’s honouring of its debts to West Indies after his team’s efforts in the lockdown summer of 2020 is a significant factor in the timing of this tour, and so there’s a transactional aspect to the coming eight games that cannot be ignored. The financial stimulus in the Caribbean may matter more than the actual results, given that the hosts don’t even have a place at February’s Champions Trophy to offer a short-term focus for their efforts.For England, however, this is a golden opportunity for their next generation to stake claims for integral roles in the coming Bazball-ification of the white-ball team. Brendon McCullum won’t be getting his feet under the table until the tour of India in January, but his influence is already palpable. The cross-pollination of players – with Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed joining from the Pakistan tour and Jacob Bethell soon to take the opposite route to New Zealand – reinforces the sense that one philosophy is about to take hold across all three squads, and so it probably doesn’t matter where and how you make your case … Big Bazzer Will Be Watching You.And so, in the short term at least, cohesive strategies will probably matter less than well-crafted cameos. With Jos Buttler extending his absence from professional cricket into a fifth month, and with Harry Brook – his heir apparent – tied up on Test duty, Liam Livingstone gets an unlikely shot at the captaincy, just weeks after he was initially cut from England’s ODI plans against Australia. He takes charge of a squad that features five potential 50-over debutants, from the restlessly ambitious Cox, to the fast-tracked legspinner Jafer Chohan, as well as the ubiquitous John Turner, the Hampshire fast bowler who has been mentioned in dispatches for more than a year already but might finally get his opening in these coming games.Shimron Hetmyer is back in West Indies’ ODI squad•Getty Images

More established names ought to relish this opportunity too. Sam Curran, for instance, was wondering out loud last month whether his face fitted in the Bazball era, given his lack of extreme pace and height runs counter to the attributes that England’s selectors have been advocating of late. The fact that he was overlooked as Buttler’s stand-in might confirm his paranoia too. But he was player of the match in his last ODI in Antigua, and that will surely count for something.Phil Salt is another who might be grateful for the absence of the multi-format players. The Caribbean was the scene of his breakthrough as a T20I opener, with twin hundreds on England’s last visit, but in the 50-over format, he failed to make it out of the powerplay in any of the five matches against Australia, even if his 45 from 27 at Bristol last month was a rowdy way to sign off for the summer.They’ll be coming up against a West Indies team with a proud home record against England. In addition to their two-decade unbeaten run in Tests, they’ve won each of their last three home white-ball series against the visitors, including a 2-1 win in the corresponding ODI campaign in December 2023.Between the wily left-arm spin of Gudakesh Motie and the pace prowess of Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, West Indies have invariably found the requisite firepower to blunt England’s hard-hitters, and they’ve rarely lacked muscle with the bat themselves. It ought to be high-octane cricket over the coming days, in front of eager crowds of autumnal English sun-seekers. But quite what any of it will prove, the jury will remain out on that, at least until the new year.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL
England LWWLL

In the spotlight – Evin Lewis and Liam Livingstone

England fans may remember Evin Lewis from his astonishing onslaught at the Kia Oval in 2017, right at the apex of England’s white-ball revolution. On a cool autumnal afternoon, he blazed a remarkable 176 not out from 130 balls with 17 fours and seven sixes, and was firmly on course for West Indies’ second ODI double-hundred when he inside-edged a yorker onto his ankle and retired hurt with a hairline fracture. That was the third of his five ODI hundreds to date – a tally that only Shai Hope among contemporary West Indies cricketers can beat – and the most recent came only last week against Sri Lanka in Kandy: a 61-ball onslaught, sealed with a matchwinning six. Remarkably, that was Lewis’ first ODI appearance for more than three years, but as his captain Hope put it at the post-match presentations, “he picked up where he left off”.Barely six weeks have elapsed since Liam Livingstone was called up as an injury replacement for Jos Buttler, after his calf injury ruled him out of the ODI series against Australia. Now, he’s been handed a more remarkable promotion still – stepping directly into the skipper’s shoes as England’s sixth captain of 2024. He returns on the crest of a relative wave, after recently rising to become the leading T20I allrounder in the ICC’s rankings. But his returns in ODI cricket remain hit-and-miss. His blistering 62 not out from 27 balls against Australia at Lord’s contained a stunning seven sixes, but was also his first half-century in 14 innings since another dramatic intervention, 95 not out from 78 balls, against New Zealand in September 2023. In between whiles he went missing (along with most of his team-mates, to be fair) at the 50-over World Cup in India. His multi-faceted spin bowling remains a vital means of balancing England’s XIs, however, and a strong showing in this series will set him on course for a shot at redemption in the Champions Trophy.Jacob Bethell prepares to bat in the nets in Antigua•Getty Images

Team news: Debuts in prospect for England

Shimron Hetmyer’s return is West Indies’ only change from the ODI squad that played (and won) the last of its three matches against Sri Lanka on Saturday, and so continuity would seem to be the order of the day. He looks likely to slot into the middle-order, with the 17-year-old Jewel Andrew, who made his international debut in that Kandy contest, the obvious batter to make way. There’s time enough for him to come again. Romario Shepherd could also make a return after sitting out that same match.West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (capt and wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Keacy Carty, 7 Alzarri Joseph, 8 Roston Chase, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Romario Shepherd, 11 Jayden SealesThe squeeze on this series, from Test tours of Pakistan at one end and New Zealand at the other, mean a swathe of multi-format players will be missing in the coming days, including Brook and Ben Duckett, whose century against Australia in Bristol was a perfect translation of his Bazball tempo from five-day to 50 overs. Cox, fresh from the Pakistan tour, will be one of several players earmarked for ODI debut in the coming days, while Buttler’s absence means Michael Pepper, his injury replacement, could be another. More likely, perhaps, given the rough hierarchy that governs England’s opportunities, is that Will Jacks gets a chance to open, and Dan Mousley – overlooked for a debut against Australia – gets first dibs in the middle order.England: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Jordan Cox, 4 Jacob Bethell, 5 Liam Livingstone (capt), 6 Dan Mousley, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions: Remember the wind factor

A fairly central strip means boundary dimensions are more or less uniform. With four visits to the Caribbean in the space of three years, England’s senior players are well used to the cross-winds that can aid or end any given batter’s attempts to clear the ropes. Conflicting reports of rain may also throw a little chaos into the mix.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won seven of their previous 18 ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Ground in Antigua, five of which have come in their last six appearances since 2017.
• Their most recent match at the venue, however, was a six-wicket defeat against England in December 2023.
• Evin Lewis needs 51 runs to reach 2000 in ODIs.

Quotes

“That’s something you’re going to see throughout the series, there’s going to be a fair few debuts. And there’s going to be people who get an opportunity because we want to see what we can do. Because that’s what we want to get out of this trip is see how they fare in international cricket.”

South Africa’s openers put on 64, a middle order led by Marizanne Kapp crashed 70 off the last eight overs, and South Africa motored to 166 for 5, the highest total of the tournament.Scotland’s reply was in tatters in the first seven overs. They lost both openers for single figures, captain Kathryn Bryce was out inside the powerplay, before Alisa Lister and Priyanaz Chaterji departed soon after. They were soon 45 for 6 at the start of the ninth over, and continued to collapse, sliding eventually to 86 all out in the 18th.South Africa’s left-arm spinners were the prime destroyers. Chloe Tryon was the first to strike, dismissing the Bryce sisters – Katherine and Sarah – caught-and-bowled in successive overs. Nonkululeko Mlaba was a menace through the middle overs, as she has been all tournament, and collected the game’s best figures of 3 for 12 from her four overs, with Nadine de Klerk also getting two wickets in addition to Tryon. Thus, the 80-run victory pushed South Africa to the top of Group B, their net run rate rising to 1.317.

Wolvaardt, Brits start strong

For the second time in three matches, South Africa’s openers were outstanding in the early going (they’d also put on an unbeaten 119 together against West Indies). Laura Wolvaardt had given an early chance, slapping a full toss straight to Katherine Fraser at mid-off, only to be dropped on 2.She took full toll of the mistake, hitting three fours and a six off the next 13 balls she faced. With Tazmin Brits also joining the boundary-frenzy in the sixth over, South Africa sped to 60 for no loss by the end of the powerplay.Tazmin Brits scored quickly at the top•ICC/Getty Images

Kapp marshals the middle order

Kapp arrived at the start of the 12th over, and quickly began to dominate. Her first two boundaries came from drives through cover, and then long-off against legspinner Abtaha Maqsood. Then she settled into a rhythm of singles to the leg side, with the occasional lapped sweep with the short fine leg inside the circle. Kapp holed out against the bowling of Kathryn Bryce in the 18th over, but she had cracked 43 off 24 balls – the best knock of the game.

Scotland’s top order fails

While a target of 167 was always going to be incredibly challenging, Scotland will be displeased with how meekly their top order fell. The Bryce sisters both provided leading edges to the bowler, and Saskia Horley gave a simple catch to extra cover. That exposed the middle order to South Africa’s in-form bowler Mlaba, whose first wicket came from a beautifully-flighted delivery to Alisa Lister, who was beaten in the air and walked past the ball.Scotland were 34 for 3 by the end of the powerplay, and had soon sunk to 39 for 5 and 56 for 7, with a big defeat all but assured.

South Africa’s players top the charts

Only South Africa and Scotland have played three matches so far, but key players seem to be finding form for South Africa, as they head towards the bigger matches to come. Lead among these is Mlaba, who even bowled Darcey Carter around the legs for her second wicket, and bowled 19 dot balls from her 24 deliveries. She has a tournament-high eight wickets, with an economy rate of 5.25.Wolvaardt, meanwhile, is the tournament’s highest run-scorer, with 141 runs at an average of 70.50, and a strike rate of 116.52.

Play three fast bowlers or three spinners? Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir will have to make that call when they sit down to finalise India’s XI for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Chepauk pitch will be a red-soil one, with quality bounce and carry. The burning hot temperatures in Chennai, though, are bound to ensure spin will play the dominant hand as the Test grows old. However, the fast bowlers, it is understood, are expected to pose danger throughout the game as the pitch and the conditions are expected to facilitate reverse swing, too.India are likely to play five bowlers, with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being certain starters. The contenders for the fifth spot are Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep and Yash Dayal, the only left-arm seamer in the squad.Related

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• Can Rahul's middle-order move take him to the top in Test cricket?

• Rohit: 'You want your best players to play all games, but that's not possible'

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• Shami: 'Don't want to rush and risk getting injured again'

Incidentally, the last time India played three fast bowlers in a home Test was also against Bangladesh, in Kolkata in 2019. In fact, it is also the only home series since the launch of the World Test Championship where India loaded their XI with three fast bowlers. With the focus on getting a positive result and securing one of the top two positions on the WTC points table, thus ensuring a berth in the final, host teams have relied on their strengths. In India’s case, it has meant playing two seamers and three spinners.The thought of playing a third fast bowler also emerges from India keeping an eye on the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which starts in Perth on November 22. While Mohammed Shami, who is on the cusp of regaining match fitness, is expected to join Bumrah and Siraj for that, the selectors are keen to identify at least three more fast bowlers for the squad.There has been some chatter about whether India would use the Bangladesh series, and even the New Zealand series that follows, as a preparation ground for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. And whether the BCCI would instruct the curators to prepare seamer-friendly pitches. However, it is learned no such message has been sent by the board or the team management.The nature of the pitches at Chepauk has completely changed since the last time India played a Test here – the first two Tests of the England series in 2021. England won the first Test on the fifth day on a pitch that the curator had promised would be a “typical Chepauk pitch with an English look”.R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja are certain starters•PTI

The Indian spinners were disgruntled by what turned out to be a flat surface. By the second Test, the default setting was restored and England failed to cross 200 in either innings as local hero Ashwin scored a century and picked a five-for and Rohit scored a majestic 161 to help India level the series.The key difference between the two surfaces in 2021 was the nature of the soil. The pitch for the first Test comprised purely red soil and did not break until late in the match. The pitch for the second Test, though, had a base layer comprising red soil and a top layer of black cotton soil, which started to crumble under the sun, allowing Ashwin, Jadeja and debutant Axar to dominate.Three years later, though, the surface at Chepauk is different. Of the nine pitches on the square, three are made of red soil brought from Mumbai. The Mumbai variant, used at the Wankhede stadium, is known for aiding true bounce for both fast and spin bowlers. India started their training on both red- and black-soil pitches available on the square at the MA Chidambaram stadium, but on Monday, they practised exclusively on a red-soil pitch. Bangladesh, who arrived in the city yesterday, have so far trained on a black-soil pitch.The chances of India playing a third fast bowler are higher in Chennai than in Kanpur, the venue for the second Test. The Green Park pitch, which is made of black soil, has generally been a turning track.

The Vitality County Championship Second Division match between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire was abandoned owing to concerns from the umpires over player safety on a hybrid pitch.Umpires Chris Watts and Sue Redfern called a halt early on in the final session after Northants batters Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh had been struck blows on the hand by Gloucestershire paceman Ajeet Singh Dale and retired hurt.Northants were 116 for 2 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 125 when the contest was abandoned at 5pm, the umpires consulting with both captains before leading the players from the pitch and then holding a consultation with groundstaff to explain their decision.Watts and Redfern then talked with match referee Jason Swift before contacting ECB pitch inspectors at Lord’s to seek advice. The decision was then taken to abandon the match.Gloucestershire scored in excess of 500 runs on a neighbouring pitch against Leicestershire earlier in the week, but were unceremoniously shot out in just 36.1 overs on this occasion. The county deployed a hybrid pitch for their home Championship match against Middlesex in May without any issues arising. But this was an altogether different set of circumstances, with Vasconcelos being taken to hospital with a suspected broken finger.When Keogh was struck during the final session, the umpires, concerned for the safety of the batters, made their intervention. Northants will collect 11 points for a draw, including three bowling bonus points, but Gloucestershire will receive none. It remains to be seen whether or not the county will face any further sanction but the matter has been passed to the Cricket Regulator for investigation.The umpires issued a brief statement, which read: “The match has been abandoned because there was a foreseeable risk to the batters. In the opinion of the umpires, it would be unreasonable to continue.”Gloucestershire declined to speak to the media at the close of play, and later issued a statement in anticipation of further action.”Whilst we acknowledge that this is not something anyone would have wanted to happen, we need to see, understand and discuss the match referee’s report before making further comment on the decision,” the club wrote. “We expect there will be an ECB investigation and we will of course assist them at all stages of that investigation.”Justin Broad had reason to feel aggrieved, having produced a career-best bowling performance to put the skids under Gloucestershire. In the absence of pace spearheads Ben Sanderson and Jack White, both rested ahead of next week’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Somerset, batting all-rounder Broad was handed the new ball and returned startling figures of 7 for 33 in 15.1 overs with seven maidens.Of the Gloucestershire batters, only Ollie Price managed to cope with exaggerated nip and seam off the pitch, top-scoring with 52 and staging a stand of 60 for the fifth wicket with Graeme van Buuren, whose dismissal for 40 sparked a collapse which saw the home side lose their last six wickets for 22 runs in 11.1 overs.Despite having to field a weakened attack, Procter did not hesitate to bowl first on a green-tinged surface and it proved an exceedingly good toss to win, Gloucestershire losing openers Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth inside six overs as Broad and his captain made the new ball talk.Although Broad boasted just 11 wickets at 43 apiece in 13 previous first-class matches, he looked the part when persuading a length ball to straighten up and clip the top of Bancroft’s off stump. Having scored a maiden double hundred in his last innings, Charlesworth was brought down to earth with a bump when pushing tentatively at an angled delivery from Procter and offering a straightforward catch to second slip.Procter struck again in his next over, Miles Hammond swishing at a ball outside off stump and nicking to second slip as Gloucestershire slipped to 16 for 3. Unlike Hammond, the in-form James Bracey could not be held accountable for his dismissal, the Championship’s leading run scorer being unfortunately run out when Dom Leach diverted an Ollie Price drive onto the stumps with the batter at the non-striker’s end backing up.Price and van Buuren enjoyed better fortune against the change bowlers, the latter taking on Gus Miller with a top-edged hook that went for six and then twice pulling Leach to the mid-wicket boundary to afford the innings momentum.But van Buuren flirted with danger and was twice dropped on 25 and 30 before pursuing a wide delivery and feathering a catch to second slip to gift Broad his second wicket. The South African’s dismissal for a run-a-ball 40 with the score on 93 sparked a calamitous collapse, Tom Price falling lbw to Broad in the final over before lunch, which was taken with the hosts on 113 for 6. Gloucestershire’s slide continued unchecked after the interval, Zafar Gohar shouldering arms to a straight one from Broad, who then pinned Ollie Price lbw for an 85-ball 52 to register his maiden five-wicket haul.Broad then accounted for tailenders Dom Goodman and Zaman Akhter in quick succession on his way to achieving the best figures of any Northants bowler in matches at Bristol since George Thompson took 8 for 14 in 1910.Batting continued to be a hazardous affair when Northants replied. Prithvi Shaw and Vasconcelos staged an opening partnership of 50 in 11.1 overs, only for the latter to then edge a catch behind off Singh Dale. Vasconcelos advanced his score to 21 before retiring hurt, after which Procter and Keogh added an unbeaten 49 for the third wicket.

Former South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk will make her return to professional cricket this summer after signing for provincial side Western Province.While she has long-term hopes of making a return to international cricket, she told ESPNcricinfo she has “no timeline”. For now, she just wants to “play again and have fun.”That means van Niekerk is unlikely to be in consideration for South Africa’s squad, led by Laura Wolvaardt, at the upcoming T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Van Niekerk’s wife, Marizanne Kapp, will play a key role in that tournament which van Niekerk is unlikely to be at, as she participates in domestic games at home.She confirmed she will play “all the fixtures, if I am able,” and hopes to get back into contention for higher honours. “My No.1 priority is to play again,” she said. “I have no expectations other than that. What will be, will be. I miss representing my country and playing at the highest level. It has nothing to do with anything other than that.”Van Niekerk has not played any cricket since The Hundred in August last year, which she was forced to leave early after fracturing her right thumb. Before that, she captained Sunrisers in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, where they finished fourth, and had a stint in the first edition of the WPL, where she was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru outfit. She has not played for South Africa since 2021 and retired from international cricket in March last year, shortly after she missed out on South Africa’s T20 World Cup 2023 squad because she was unable to meet Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) standards.At the time, South Africa required women’s national players to run a two-kilometre time trial in 9:30 and van Niekerk, who had recovered from a broken ankle, missed the mark by 18 seconds. CSA have since abandoned the rigid application of the time trial and skinfolds tests and left national selection to the coach’s discretion.Currently, South Africa do not have a confirmed permanent coach after Dillon du Preez took over in an interim capacity for the tour to India. Du Preez replaced Hilton Moreeng, who was in the role for almost 12 years. CSA are expected to announce a succession plan for the women’s coaching role ahead of October’s T20 World Cup but with no fixtures between now and then, and only two months, it is likely du Preez will continue, with a permanent appointment to be made ahead of the home season. South Africa host England this summer for an all-format tour including the first home Test in 22 years.

Big picture: Can India save the series?

Back in 2015-16, when the Test contest between India and South Africa was named Freedom Trophy, or alternatively the Mandela-Gandhi Trophy, both sides committed to treat it as a marquee contest. For the first time since 1992-93, they played four Tests in a series. A major part of such a commitment is to avoid the unsatisfactory two-match series. It was good while it lasted. All of four series. This is the second straight two-match series between these two evenly matched rivals.While India are not responsible for shortening of these series, they are at the receiving end of the series’ brevity. Once again, a series win is impossible for them after 2.67 days of cricket. The best they can do now is level it; the worst will mean a second series defeat at home in the last three after 12 years of winning every home series.Related

• Bavuma and South Africa look to silence every last doubter in Guwahati

• Rishabh Pant's battle with Simon Harmer could define his first Test as captain

• What type of pitch will India want in Guwahati?

• Mystery pitch leaves SA guessing ahead of Guwahati Test

It should come as no surprise that the leaders of the time find themselves under the pump despite all the success in ODIs and T20Is. In fact, it speaks to the health of Test cricket in India that a home defeat, even if it comes against the world champions, draws such sharp reaction.After two fruitless tours of India in the last decade, South Africa would have been glad the depth of their attack was not tested in Kolkata. With Kagiso Rabada missing and Keshav Maharaj off colour, they still managed to take 20 wickets mostly through Simon Harmer and Marco Jansen.With some of the equivocality around their world champions status now dissipated, they will look to find a way once again to take 20 wickets and go away with a series win from the toughest place to tour. India will want to test that depth and make sure their country continues to stay the toughest place to tour, and not get relegated to “formerly the toughest place to tour”.3:30

Botha: New ball should play a role with early start to the Test

Form guide

India LWWWD
South Africa WWLWW

In the spotlight: Ravindra Jadeja and Simon Harmer

The first Test practically came down to a second-innings shootout between the two best spinners in the match. The margin for error was so low that you couldn’t afford even one remotely ordinary spell. Simon Harmer, now as good a spinner as any in the world, took 4 for 21. Ravindra Jadeja, after bowling a near-unplayable spell of 13-3-29-4 on the second evening, went searching a bit on the third morning. This Test will hopefully bring out more aspects of their bowling.2:45

Karim wants India to pick both Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal

Team news: Gill and Rabada ruled out

India will be without their regular captain, Shubman Gill, who faced only three balls in the first Test and retired with a neck injury. With six left-hand batters already in the XI making Harmer an even more potent threat and no reserve right-hand batter in the squad, allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy might come back in if only for the sake of variety. There are also suggestions that B Sai Sudharsan, who made way for the extra spinner in the last Test, might come back to No. 3. Based on what they did at training a day before the Test, Axar Patel is the spinner likely to miss out. Rishabh Pant will be India’s fourth Test captain in the last 12 months.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Dhruv Jurel, 5 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajRabada is out of the second Test as well, but South Africa are bolstered by Lungi Ngidi’s return. Expect him to replace Corbin Bosch. The one question South Africa will ponder is if Wiaan Mulder, who didn’t have much to do in the first Test, should make way for a spin allrounder in Senuran Muthusamy or a specialist batter in Dewald Brevis. If that change does happen, Tristan Stubbs might have to move up to No. 3.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 Wiaan Mulder/ Dewald Brevis/ Senuran Muthusamy, 4 Tony de Zorzi, 5 Temba Bavuma (capt.), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Lungi Ngidi2:53

Saba Karim: Pant will be unpredictable as captain

Pitch and conditions

This is a big occasion for Guwahati as it becomes the eastern-most Test venue in India. The inadequacy of one time zone in a country as vast as India is apparent from how this Test will need to start at 9am in order to beat the early sunset. The first session break, at 11am, will be tea; lunch will be taken at 1.20pm.It is hardly ideal that all eyes will be on the pitch of a debutant venue but it is what it is after an underprepared surface in Kolkata undid India. There has been high drama around the pitch with coach Gautam Gambhir saying it had been made to his order only for batting coach Sitanshu Kotak to say that Gambhir actually sacrificed himself to prevent throwing the curator under the bus, in the process throwing said curator under said bus.Both the captains expect this pitch to be good for batting in the early exchanges before starting to turn. Which is exactly what they said before Kolkata, except that now they have added that it should play better than Kolkata. So make of it what you will.

Stats and trivia

• Kolkata was the first Test and the first toss that South Africa won in India since 2010.
• Nobody other than Bosch and Muthusamy in the South Africa squad averages over 40 with the bat in Test cricket. None of them averages 50 in first-class cricket overall.
• Before he took over the Test captaincy, Temba Bavuma averaged 34.53. As captain, he averages 57.

Following India’s win at the Women’s World Cup 2025, the BCCI has announced a cash prize of INR 51 crore for the players, support staff and the selection committee. The team will also receive USD 4.48 million (approx. INR 40 crore) as prize money from the ICC.”On behalf of the board, I congratulate the Indian women’s cricket team on this historic world championship victory,” BCCI president Mithun Manhas said in a statement. “The team’s resilience, talent and togetherness have lifted our nation’s hopes. This triumph vindicates the investment and faith the BCCI placed in building a world-class women’s programme.”India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in front of a crowd of 39,555 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Asked to bat, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led unit posted 298 for 7 with Shafali Verma scoring 87 off 78. Led by Player-of-the-Tournament Deepti Sharma’s five-wicket haul, India then bowled South Africa out for 246 despite captain Laura Wolvaardt scoring a century.Related

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“This phenomenal achievement is the result of relentless preparation, flawless execution and the unshakable belief of our women cricketers,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said. “The coaching staff, support personnel and every state association have played a role. Congratulations to each and every member of the team. This team has made the entire cricket fraternity proud.”India had won the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023 but this was their first senior world trophy. They had come close twice, finishing runners-up in 2005 and 2017. India beat Australia in the semi-final at the same venue to set up a title-clash with South Africa, who had overcome England in the other semi-final in Guwahati.From the squad that won the World Cup, Shafali Verma has been named North Zone captain for the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy starting November 4 in Nagaland. She will miss the opening match as the victorious Indian team is due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on November 5.

Rahul Chahar, the India spinner, has joined Surrey for their season-ending fixture against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl this week, as the club bids for their fourth County Championship title in a row.Chahar, 26, was registered to play for Surrey at the start of September, in line with ECB regulations, but was not required to play in the club’s home matches against Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. That latter fixture ended in a thrilling 20-run loss that has handed Notts control of the title race going into the final week.Chahar has regularly featured for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy, and also made a one-off appearance in this season’s IPL, as an impact substitute for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Overall, he has taken 87 wickets in 24 first-class matches at 26.12, with best match figures of 9 for 148.He also played one ODI and six T20Is for India between 2019 and 2021, around the same time that he played a key role in Mumbai Indians’ twin IPL titles in 2019 and 2020.”I’m excited to join Surrey for this week’s match,” Chahar said. “I’m coming here to have an impact and help the team in their final match of the season.”His call-up comes after Surrey lost both of their current spinning options, Will Jacks and Cam Steel, to injury. Alec Stewart, the club’s high-performance advisor, said: “Adding Rahul to the squad gives us another spin option at the Utilita Bowl.”We always knew that we would be missing players for the final period of the season and try to plan accordingly given the potential surfaces and the opposition we’re playing.”We had originally earmarked for Sai Kishore to return for the latter stages of the season but he unfortunately has a finger injury resulting in an operation has meant he was unavailable.”Surrey trail Nottinghamshire by 14 points going into the final round of matches, meaning that they must win their fixture, and hope that Notts accrue fewer than 11 points in their own final match against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.