South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie has urged the Proteas to boycott their 2025 ICC Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan due to the Taliban government’s ban on women’s sports and disbanding the women’s cricket team since it came back to power in 2021. Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign through a Group B clash against Afghanistan at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan on February 21. The two teams are in Group B alongside England and Australia.

“To be clear, the ICC has accepted the principle of equality in sport, and that member nations should be developing both male and female players. This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there. In the same breath, Sri Lanka was banned in 2023 for political interference.

“I am aware that the ICC, like most international sporting mother bodies, professes not to tolerate political interference in the administration of sport, despite its obvious inconsistency with Afghanistan. It is not for me as the Sports Minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan.

“If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen. As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.

“Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world, and especially the women in sports. I hope that the consciences of all those involved in cricket, including the supporters, players and administrators, will take a firm stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan,” said McKenzie in a statement on his ‘X’ account on Thursday.

Previously, a letter by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, with nearly 160 UK members of the parliament signing it, called for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott their match against Afghanistan, to be played in Lahore on February 26.

Though ECB chair Richard Gould rejected calls for the boycott of the game, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also called on the ICC to follow its own rules, which make it mandatory for any full member that fails to field men’s and women’s teams in international cricket to be suspended.

Right-hand batter Kamran Ghulam and left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi’s exceptional performances guided Pakistan to victory over South Africa by 81 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Newlands on Thursday. With this win, Pakistan take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the last fixture to be played at Johannesburg on Sunday. The Asian side got half-centuries from skipper Mohammad Rizwan (80), Babar Azam (73) and Kamran Ghulam (63) when compiling a total of 329 and that proved too much for the Proteas as a clinical bowling performance from Shaheen Afridi (4/47) and Naseem Shah (3/37) guided the visitors home.

It was Pakistan’s fifth bilateral ODI series victory on the trot – following previous series triumphs over Australia and Zimbabwe in recent months – and they also become the first Asian side to have won a trio of ODI series in South Africa have also tasted success in the country in 2021 and 2013.

It also helps Pakistan continue to build momentum prior to next year’s Champions Trophy event as they bid to become just the second side to defend the trophy after Australia managed to win consecutive titles in 2006 and 2009.

Pakistan defeated arch-rival India in the final of the Champions Trophy tournament at The Oval in London seven years ago in 2017 and will be considered among the favourites for next year’s event based on their current form in 50-over contests.

Rizwan was thrilled with the performance from his side, with the Pakistan captain paying special tribute to Ghulam for his Player of the Match heroics that arrived via some lofty late hitting.

“It was a fantastic team effort with everyone performing exceptionally well. As a captain, it’s always a great feeling to see such a performance. Saim Ayub’s positive start gave us a solid foundation so Babar and I decided to play a bit slower and consolidate the innings. However, Kamran Ghulam’s innings really boosted us and took the game away from South Africa. Initially, we were aiming for a target of around 300 but his knock helped us reach a 320-plus total.,” Rizwan said in the post-match presentation as quoted by the ICC.

“As a skipper, I had faith in Kamran Ghulam but I didn’t expect him to play like he did tonight. I’ve played with him in the same region KPK and Peshawar but he showed a completely different side of his game today. He’s a bright prospect for Pakistan,” the wicketkeeper-batter added.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma was left to rue a late fadeout from his batters, who had received good innings from Heinrich Klaasen (97) and Tony de Zorzi (34) early in the chase.

“We had things under control in the first 25 overs but we let them express themselves in the last 25. We let the good work in the first 25 overs slip away,” Bavuma said.

Pakistan 329 all out (Mohammad Rizwan 80, Babar Azam 73, Kwena Maphaka 4/72) vs South Africa 247 all out (Heinrich Klaasen 97, Tony de Zorzi 34, Shaheen Afridi 4/47).

File image of Lonwabo Tsotsobe.© AFP

Former South Africa pace great Morne Morkel has been roped in as the Indian cricket team’s new bowling coach, BCCI secretary Jay Shah told PTI on Wednesday, completing the appointment of new head coach Gautam Gambhir‘s preferred support staff. It is understood that the 39-year-old, who replaces Paras Mhambrey, will take over as the bowling coach from the Bangladesh series that starts with the opening Test in Chennai from September 19. He has been appointed till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

“Yes, Morne Morkel has been appointed bowling coach of the senior India men’s team,” Shah told PTI.

The other members of Gambhir’s support staff are assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, and fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate.

Morkel was also Gambhir’s preferred choice, having worked with him at Lucknow Super Giants during the Indian’s two IPL seasons as mentor of the franchise.

Morkel has played 86 Tests, 117 ODIs and 44 T20Is for South Africa with a total of 544 international wickets.

He will be reporting in Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy at the start of next month and is expected to watch the Duleep Trophy games. Once there, he will also touch base with VVS Laxman and head of bowling in NCA, Troy Cooley.

According to sources, Morkel was directly appointed on Gambhir’s recommendation ahead of other options like Lakshmipathy Balaji and R Vinay Kumar.

“The Cricket Advisory Committee’s (CAC) mandate was to interview the candidates for the head coach. When it came to choice of support staff, it was imperative that Gambhir’s choice prevailed. He has worked with Morne and thinks of him highly as a bowling coach,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

“Also with the big series against Australia coming up Down Under from last week of November, there isn’t a better choice than the South African, who has himself enjoyed fair bit of success over there. Also there will be the five-Test tour of England next year with a potential sixth match if India reach WTC final.” It is understood that Balaji and Vinay’s names weren’t considered once it was clear that Morkel would carry forward the good work done by Mhambrey.

One half of the famous fast bowling duo that featured Dale Steyn, Morkel is a cricketing heavyweight and has also played quite a lot in India to have a fair idea about the conditions.

Also, his stint in the IPL has allowed him to have a ringside view of India’s next crop of fast bowlers including the most exciting of them all — Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan and Yash Thakur to name a few.

A lot of observers believe that Morkel worked quite a lot with Mayank during the past two seasons of IPL even though he remained injured for the better part.

Morkel’s biggest challenge will be to handle the transition phase as Mohammed Shami enters the business end of his illustrious career and Jasprit Bumrah needs more potent support apart from Mohammed Siraj, especially in red-ball cricket.

Morkel had last year worked with the Pakistan team till the end of the ODI World Cup and quit before his contract expired.

India have never had any spin bowling coach as such although former director Ravi Shastri was a distinguished left-arm spinner in his playing days. Sairaj Bahutule, who is a part of Laxman’s team at the NCA, has travelled on and off with the senior team.

Young India wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel has revealed that he was cheering for South Africa during the side’s 2024 T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados. In the summit clash, India won by seven runs, snatching an unbelievable victory from the jaws of defeat. At one stage, South Africa needed just 30 runs from 30 balls but India managed to turn the tide in their favour. Now, Jurel has confessed that while he was supporting India, South Africa were playing well. So, playing on the jinx, he switched to supporting South Africa so that India could make a comeback in the game. And sure enough, India did bounce back.

“When I was watching the final and cheering for India, South Africa came in the winning position, so I started cheering for South Africa and India made a comeback. I kept cheering for South Africa and India won the World Cup,” Jurel told BCCI.

Where were they?

What were they doing

How much #TeamIndia‘s #T20WorldCup 2024 triumph means to them?

Indian Cricket Team in Zimbabwe is like the All Of Us! #Champions

WATCH – By @ameyatilak pic.twitter.com/J2VDtNwSPk

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2024

Jurel is part of the India squad that is touring Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series, starting from July 6, and is expected to make his India debut in the shortest format. Jurel made his Test debut for India against England in February this year.

Talking about the India vs South Africa 2024 T20 World Cup final, an excellent final five overs bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh clawed the Rohit Sharma-led side back into the game, as the dangerous duo of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller were dismissed

Team India celebrated its T20 World Cup title in incredible fashion, as it conducted an open-top bus parade on the streets of Mumbai, starting from the Marine Drive to the Wankhede stadium.

35,000 spectators packed the Wankhede stadium while lakhs were on the streets to celebrate the T20 World Cup victory with the team. The parade was a repeat of what happened in 2007, when an MS Dhoni-led young India side won the inaugural T20 World Cup. After the tournament, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is.

India were able to tame varied challenges thrown at them by South Africa so far, and they will be eager to take the series to its fitting conclusion of a 3-0 margin during the third and final ODI here on Sunday. Currently, the margin stands 2-0 in favour of India but that insuperable position has not come without its own trials by fire. In the first match, the Indian batters had to come back from a perilous 99 for five before making a 260-plus total. The home side bowlers defended the target well too.

But in the second game, it was the turn of the Indian bowlers to ace the test that they were subjected to by centurions Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp on a placid pitch.

Despite the heavy pounding, they kept their nerves till the last ball of the match to come out on the right side of the result.

However, the common thread across these two matches was the exceptional batting of Smriti Mandhana, who made 117 and 136 in them.

Mandhana thus became the first India woman batter to score two successive hundreds in ODIs, and she also equalled Mithali Raj’s record of seven one-day centuries.

So, the Indian vice-captain will be eager to sign off from the ODI series on a high before entering the one-off Test at Chennai from June 28.

The timely return to form of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who made an 88-ball 103 in the second match, too might have pleased the management no end.

However, the think tank will be eager to see a substantial outing from opener Shafali Verma, whose run of low scores has now been extended to eight matches.

With the series already in kitty, India might also give an outing to fringe players such as bowlers Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque and top-order batter Priya Punia.

On the other hand, South Africa will be keen to win the match and gain at least two ICC Women’s ODI Championship points, critical in their qualification for next year’s 50-over World Cup.

Of course, a win will go a long way in instilling a dose of confidence ahead of the Test and the ensuing T20I series.

But for that, the visitors will need a concerted effort from their batters and bowlers.

Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Uma Chetry (WK), Dayalan Hemalatha, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Priya Punia.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Eliz-Mari Marz, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker.

Match starts at 1.30 PM.