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The ICC has defended the performance of the umpires and the DRS after criticism following the Trent Bridge Test between England and Australia, whilst also admitting to errors in cases involving Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad.The ICC has taken the unusual step of revealing its assessment of the umpires and the DRS analysis from the Test, arguing that the figures vindicate both. Some mitigation was provided for the errors that did occur, the ICC suggesting the “added intensity” of a first Ashes Test had increased pressure on the officials.According to the ICC, the umpires made a total of 72 decisions, which is well above the average (49) for a DRS Test match. The umpiring team, made up of Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus, was assessed to have made seven errors during the match, out of which three were uncorrected decisions and four decisions corrected using the DRS.As such, the correct decision percentage before reviews stood at 90.3% but climbed to 95.8% as a result of the use of the DRS. This represented an increase of 5.5% in correct decisions, which was the average increase from DRS Test matches in 2012-13.The three decisions that were marked as uncorrected errors included one against Trott when a correct lbw decision (not out against the bowling of Mitchell Starc) was overturned. The others involved Broad, both the edge that carried to slip via Brad Haddin’s gloves and a leg-before shout where he did not offer a stroke, but neither but these could be corrected as Australia had no reviews available.”When coupled with the conditions, with reverse swing and spin playing an important role, and the added intensity of the first Ashes Test, it was a difficult match to umpire,” read the ICC statement.The ICC’s chief executive, David Richardson, added: “The umpires did a good job under difficult conditions. This reflects the calibre of umpires Dar, Dharmasena and Erasmus who have consistently performed at a high level. Like the players, umpires can also have good and bad days but we all know that the umpire’s decision, right or wrong, is final and must be accepted.”While the ICC has complete faith in the ability of its umpires, our confidence in technology is also strengthened by the fact that there was an increase in the number of correct decisions in the Trent Bridge Test through the use of the DRS.”Technology was introduced with the objective of eradicating the obvious umpiring errors, and to get as many correct decisions as possible. If it can help increase the correct decisions by 5.5 percent, then it is a good outcome, but we must continue to strive to improve umpiring and the performance of the DRS.”

Offspinner Christabel Chatonzwa, took four top-order wickets and conceded just 12 runs in four overs, as Zimbabwe Women secured a 29-run victory over Thailand Women in a low-scoring Group A match of the Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Dublin.Zimbabwe, put in to bat, started slowly, losing opener Thandolwenkosi Mlilo in the third over and managing just 47 after 10 overs. Nonhlanhla Nyathi top scored for the team with a 47-ball 28, but no significant partnership materialised, as Thailand restricted Zimbabwe to 103 for 8.Somnarin Tippoch was the pick of the bowlers for Thailand, finishing with figures of 4-0-13-2.Thailand were never convincing in their chase and lost openers Boochatham and Pundarika Prathanmitr within the first four overs. The Zimbabwe bowlers, led by Player-of-the-Match Chatonzwa, were all tidy and incisive, and bowled at an economy rate of less than six.Somnarin Tippoch put up a fighting 24, but none of the other batsmen managed to reach double figures as Thailand were bowled out for 74 in 18.4 overs.Both teams will compete in the tournament’s Shield semi-finals, along with Japan and Canada, the other two teams that failed to make the main semis.In the other Group A game, Nain Abidi shone with a 27-ball 38 to help Pakistan Women defeat Netherlands Women by 20 runs after the match was reduced to nine overs per side due to a rain delay.Pakistan, electing to bat, got off to a slow start, losing both their openers Javeria Khan and Javeria Rauf inside two overs. But Abidi, who was named the Player of the Match, and Bismah Maroof stabilised the innings with a 60-run third-wicket partnership. Maroof departed for 25, but Abidi remained unbeaten and struck three fours during her knock to take Pakistan to a competitive total of 72 for 4.Netherlands began their innings slowly, Pakistan keeping them well below the required run-rate. Opener Helmien Rambaldo top scored with 15, and Netherlands could only manage three boundaries throughout the innings and, ultimately, their failure to accelerate the scoring meant they could only put up 52 in their nine overs.In Group B, 46 year-old Durriya Shabbir and Suthershini Sivanantham helped Canada Women to a tense five-wicket win after their bowlers had made their job all the more tougher, presenting Japan Women their top score with 27 wides and one bye.Japan suffered early setbacks after being put in to bat, losing Mariko Yamamoto and captain Shizuka Miyaji off successive balls in the second over. A 35-run union between Chihiro Sakamoto and Kurumi Ota steadied the innings, but it slumped again after their partnership was broken in the ninth over. Japan lost two more wickets and were at 65 for 5 in the 13th over when an unbeaten 33-run stand between Ayako Nakayama and Etsuko Kobayashi took them to 97 in their 20 overs.Monali Patel fell early in the chase, but Canada found stability in wicketkeeper Sivanantham, who made 32 off 41 balls. But Japan kept up the pressure, claiming four wickets, including Sivanantham’s, in five overs to leave Canada at 46 for five in the 12th over. As the required rate mounted past six, a 54-run unbeaten stand between Shabbir, who top-scored with 36, with four fours, and Sheryl Tittlemier sealed the win for Canada.In the other Group B clash, Ireland Women, who had put up the tournament’s two highest totals, could only manage 62 for 9 in their 20 overs against Sri Lanka Women and fell to an eight-wicket defeat.After being put in to bat, Ireland lost Clare Shillington, who had come into this match off of two successive match-winning efforts – 81 against Canada and 114* against Japan, and Cecelia Joyce, both bowled by Sripali Weerakkody, in the space of three balls during the second over.Sri Lanka would enjoy further instances of two Ireland batters falling one ball apart from each other – Captain Isobel Joyce was out leg-before and Mary Waldron was caught short of her ground in the 12th over leaving Ireland at 25 for 5, while Melissa Scott-Hayward and Laura Delany fell in the 15th. Ireland had to wait for the final-wicket pair of Elena Tice and Louise McCarthy to record their highest partnership of 23 runs.Sri Lanka began the chase cautiously, ensuring they did not lose any wickets in the first five overs and completed a straight forward chase with 31 balls to spare to record their third win in as many matches in the group stage.Despite their defeats, Netherlands and Ireland will join Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the semi-finals, which will be played on July 29. The top three teams of the tournament will go through to the Women’s World T20 in Bangladesh.

ScorecardAndre Russell put on a superb display of clean-hitting•Getty Images

A whirlwind half-century by West Indian Andre Russell delayed Somerset’s march towards the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals as Worcestershire registered a surprise five-wicket win at New Road.Worcestershire ended a run of three defeats and climbed off the bottom of the Midlands/Wales/West group by overhauling Somerset’s formidable total of 188 for 4 with two balls to spare.Russell led the charge to victory with six sixes in an unbeaten 77 from 42 balls – his highest score on a T20 contract for the county – and Ross Whiteley, newly signed from Derbyshire, was the perfect foil with 43 on his debut.The tall left hander cleared the rope twice in stand of 88 in nine overs before a top edge off Yasir Arafat was well taken by Chris Jones at deep midwicket.The momentum was then so much with Worcestershire that two fours by Russell in the last over from Craig Meschede completed a double over Somerset in the group.Worcestershire lost early wickets but with rain threatening they made brisk progress through Alexei Kervezee, with 32 on stepping up to open, and Daryl Mitchell with 23 until he was leg-before to George Dockrell’s first ball.Somerset had made a bad start when Jones popped up a return chance to Jack Shantry but Worcestershire subsequently conceded eight sixes and 14 fours on a good batting surface.Peter Trego led the way with 62 from only 31 balls and Craig Kieswetter was close to batting through the innings, cruising to 80 from 56 deliveries, before he was caught at wide long on in the 19th over. The pressure exerted by two batsmen targeting the shorter boundaries led to a number of fielding errors as Somerset romped to 61 in the six-over power play.Trego was the chief enforcer, bludgeoning three sixes and eight fours until Worcestershire captain Mitchell appeared as the sixth bowler and beat the allrounder’s attempt to drive his fourth delivery.Jos Buttler briefly showed his flair for the shorter format until he was also bowled, making a complete mess of the scoop shot, but Kieswetter continued on his trouble-free course. Selective hitting brought four sixes and five fours before falling to Shantry with a neat catch by Whiteley.

ScorecardSteven Crook added four more wickets to the five he took against Glamorgan earlier in the season•Getty Images

Northants will have had better days than this. They were not at their best with the ball and allowed Glamorgan to score 50 more than they should have. The fact that they are still in a strong position speaks volumes of their season to date – one which looks to end in promotion should they capitalise on what, by their standards, was a modest first day.At stumps, Stephen Peters could rest easy knowing his call at the start of the day was vindicated, as a green pitch played honest and true. Both he and James Middlebrook played positively in a 21 over period that saw them score at over four-an-over, with crisp drives and the odd boundary through third man, to leave them unblemished and just 156 runs behind.Northants went into the match with five seamers, inserting the opposition upon winning the toss. But Trent Copeland, in his penultimate game for the county before he heads home for a second and final time this summer, was uncharacteristically wayward, struggling for a consistent line against the left-handed opening pair of Will Bragg and Gareth Rees.Rees looked at ease, particularly against David Willey, as Glamorgan built up a good head of steam, and the only thing the home support had to cheer on was the athleticism of their keeper David Murphy, who was sent tumbling down the leg side on numerous occasions throughout the day; but even he was powerless to stop a wide short-ball from Azharullah that had the members gasping.But Northants showed that when they’re not good they can be lucky, as they demonstrated in an afternoon session that saw six wickets fall.Soon after Murray Goodwin and Chris Cooke brought up their fifty partnership for the third wicket, Cooke looked to have played a short-ball comfortably into the leg-side. Suddenly, Andrew Hall, from first slip, starts cheering and runs up to the stumps at the strikers end, pointing to a grounded bail. It turned out that as Cooke prepared for the back-foot shot, he inadvertently clipped off stump with his bat, much to the bemusement of all in the ground.Just 17 balls later, Willey was the beneficiary of further good fortune. Despite coming around the wicket and swinging the ball into the right-hander, he somehow managed to strangle Goodwin down the leg-side. He then managed to effect the same dismissal with his very next delivery – this time from over the wicket – as Glamorgan’s left-handed skipper Mark Wallace departed for a golden duck. Between the dismissal of Cooke and Wallace, only 17 runs were added.It would be wrong to say that Willey did not deserve his four wickets. His control in his second spell was exceptional and his ability to move the ball in the air and off the seam, at good pace, was exciting to watch.Credit should also go to Steven Crook, who powered through an 11-over spell from the Abington Avenue End to finish with four of his own. Along with Copeland and Azharullah, who recently put pen to paper on a new two-year deal, Crook has been one of the signings of the summer. It is no wonder Middlesex were reluctant to let him leave.You will be hard-pressed to find anyone at Middlesex who would not want him back, and even fewer who begrudge the success he has enjoyed this year.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who last played a Test for Bangladesh in August 2011, was named in the 14-man squad for the first Test against New Zealand, which starts on October 9. The only new face in the list was pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain, while there were recalls for Anamul Haque, Marshall Ayub and Naeem Islam too.Mahmudullah was retained in the squad despite his poor Test form. He is the vice-captain, and will once again bat at No. 8, his regular position in the line-up.Al-Amin is currently the second highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Dhaka Premier Division with 18 wickets. He had an impressive tour of England for Bangladesh A in August and had been in the selectors’ gaze for quite a while, having been a prolific bowler for Khulna Division in the National Cricket League.”Like any other cricketer, it was my dream to make it to the national team,” Al-Amin said. “I am really excited about the opportunity. My next aim is to make it to the playing XI, and take as many wickets as I can.”He could however miss out on a Test debut as both Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain are in the squad. Robiul is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Rubel had muscle stiffness, but the bowlers are expected to be fit in time. Bangladesh are unlikely to pick three seamers, given that Sohag Gazi and Shakib Al Hasan are automatic picks.As a result, Razzak’s inclusion isn’t much of a surprise and is he unlikely to play unless there is an injury. He has been the perennial back-up spinner in the Test squad previously too, despite his bags of first-class wickets. He is considered a limited-overs specialist and has done well in both ODIs and Twenty20s. He, however, had an impressive first-class season in 2012-13, picking 54 wickets for Khulna and South Zone in the two longer-version tournaments.Naeem returns after a good two Tests against West Indies where he looked like a long-term prospect at No. 4. He scored a century in the first Test, but a careless injury in the Bangladesh Premier League cost him two consecutive tours – Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Marshall was in the Test squad for Sri Lanka, but didn’t get a chance to play there. He continued to score runs domestically, scoring six centuries.Anamul, who missed the tour to Zimbabwe due to college exams, has replaced Jahurul Islam and will open with Tamim Iqbal. There are going to be a few contenders for the No. 3 and 4 positions, with Naeem, Mominul Haque and Marshall picked to give the team management options for the two places.Squad for first Test: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt.), Mahmudullah, Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Naeem Islam, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Marshall Ayub, Robiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain

India are left gaping at a Ravindra Jadeja-sized hole after a shoulder strain ruled the allrounder out of the two-Test series against West Indies. The race to that spot – possibly a No. 6 batsman or a fifth bowler – is a three-way tie between Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and the extra bowler, which is likely to be Amit Mishra. MS Dhoni said on the eve of the match that the absence of Jadeja leaves them struggling to restore the balance of the Test XI, which won 4-0 against Australia earlier this year.Jadeja was a specialist bowler on Indian pitches, and his batting ability down the order gave Dhoni the confidence to move up to No. 6. Now the team management has a dilemma. “The thing is, whether we want to go with four bowlers, or if we want that fifth one,” Dhoni said. “Or do we want someone who can bowl a bit if needed? That is one major decision. The decision is one, but it is divided into three different aspects.”If we go with five bowlers, both of them [Rohit and Rahane] may not play. If we say we need someone who can bowl a bit of offspin, Rohit plays. If we say we go with four specialist bowlers, and if needed we will look for someone else, Ajinkya will play. You’ll have to wait and watch.”All this more or less reduces Rahane’s chances in the tiebreaker. If India do decide to go with just the four specialist bowlers, you suspect Rohit’s part-time offspin will earn him a Test debut. Not only that, his form in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia – where he scored a double-century, broke the record for most runs in a bilateral series and was the Man of the Series – should give him a lead over Mumbai team-mate Rahane.Rohit already holds the record for having played the most ODIs without making Test debut. He was primed for that debut in 2009-10, but injured himself in the warm-up, minutes before the toss in Nagpur. Because India didn’t have any back-up batsmen in that lopsided squad, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha played that match as a specialist batsman.Mishra, who last played a Test more than two years ago, is an outside chance to play as the third spinner. Not quite Jadeja with the bat, Mishra did score an 84 at The Oval and a double-century on a flat pitch in the Ranji Trophy last year. How Dhoni wishes he had Jadeja, though. Not least because Jadeja’s accuracy gives him more control than Mishra will. Jadeja’s quicker pace also gives him an edge over Mishra. And then there is the balance Jadeja provides.”It has been a bit of a concern, and I’ve always said that,” Dhoni said. “I have always said that we need a seam bowler who can bat a bit, or a frontline spinner who can bat. At times, you don’t realise the importance of a particular player. People criticise individuals, but it’s important to see what kind of impact he has when he’s part of the team.”Now that we don’t have Jadeja, we’re all thinking whether we should have that fifth bowler, or another spinner who can bat a bit or is it that the batting will become too thin. We will have to find someone. Jadeja is someone who can do that job, but it’s good to have a Plan B or a Plan C. As of now we don’t have too many who can do the job.”The other decision to be taken is which pace bowler will join Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the line-up. The team management might not be sure about Umesh Yadav, who has not played much top-flight cricket since his injury. Ishant Sharma has been going through a prolonged rough phase – he has an average of 60 since he last took more than three wickets in an innings, more than two years ago. That means you can’t rule out a debut for the local man, Mohammed Shami.”He is part of the Test side, so he is ready for Test cricket,” Dhoni said when asked specifically if he felt Shami was ready. “He’s shaping up really well. If you see the ODI performances, he has given us those breakthroughs with the new ball, which I feel with the rule changes is very important. He’s also someone who bowls at a good pace and who’s able to bowl good yorkers. Overall he looks very good, and we want to keep working with him so that he can improve his fitness further. [So] when he comes into Test cricket, he’ll able to bowl those long spells, and he can come back and bowl at the same pace in the second or third spell.”

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara are the most serious obstacles on New Zealand’s path to an elusive series win in Sri Lanka, allrounder James Neesham has said ahead of their third ODI in Dambulla. The visitors have not won an ODI trophy in Sri Lanka since their triumph in a tri-series involving Pakistan in 2003, but following Tuesday’s thrilling victory, a depleted team is now one win away from securing the series 2-0.Sangakkara and Dilshan are the most prolific ODI partnership in the past two years, and are also first and third respectively on the individual run chart for the same period. They have cumulatively made 286 runs in the series so far, 263 of them together, where New Zealand have been the most vulnerable in the match.”We’ve been concentrating on Dilshan and Sangakkara at the top of the order,” Neesham said. “They’ve batted well and we spent a bit of time at training yesterday formulating plans on how to bowl to them and perfecting what we’ve been doing already. Hopefully that will work for us in the next game. They are quality players all around the world, and it’s a challenge for our bowlers to come up against them. They’ve had the better of us in the first two games.”New Zealand’s batting has appeared their stronger suit on tour, as evidenced by the successful chase of 198 from 23 overs in Hambantota, and while the team has gained confidence from that victory, the batting unit has been among the runs for some time. Prior to arriving in Sri Lanka, New Zealand hit 307 in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Fatullah, before making 204 in a T20 match.”I think the confidence and the belief in the team has been there for a while,” Neesham said. “Even in Bangladesh we knew we were playing decent cricket, and we knew the results would turn around eventually, so it’s nice to get on the right side of the ledger.”Though the trip to the subcontinent has been largely disappointing for New Zealand, who drew the Tests and lost all three ODIs against Bangladesh, acting captain Kyle Mills said individual performances from emerging players had been a heartening byproduct of the tour. Allrounders Neesham, Corey Anderson and batsman Colin Munro had impressed in Bangladesh, before 21-year-old Tom Latham hit a vital 86 from 68 in the win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.”A number of young players are putting their hands up going back to Bangladesh, as well,” Mills said. “Some of these guys, six months ago, probably wouldn’t have been in the New Zealand side, but they have played some exceptional cricket. What it does is build depth within the group and forces people to really challenge for spots. In the long run it’s going to bode well for New Zealand cricket.”New Zealand had not been expected to leave Sri Lanka with an ODI series win, particularly given the absence of three key batsmen. Their victory in Hambantota has also foiled Sri Lanka’s plan to use this series to blood young players of their own, and they instead pursue a face-saving win in Dambulla.”It would be sensational to get a series win,” Neesham said. “The boys have been under the pump since the Bangladesh series. Getting a win at the end of that tour gave us a bit of confidence coming into this one. We haven’t won a game in Sri Lanka for a long time before the last one, so winning a series will be massive for us.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTrent Johnston’s all-round display included a 32-ball 62 and three middle-order wickets•ICC/Getty

Ireland successfully defended their World Twenty20 Qualifiers title with a comprehensive 68-run win over Afghanistan in the final in Abu Dhabi, thanks largely to blitzed fifties from Paul Stirling and Trent Johnston – in his final Twenty20 match – that propelled them to a mammoth 225.Ireland, who have been in excellent form throughout the tournament, winning six of their seven group matches before thumping UAE in the semi-finals, were rampant from the get go. Electing to bat, Ireland began strongly as Stirling pulled Shapoor Zadran for four off the fourth ball of the innings and upper-cut the next delivery for six over third man.Stirling received ample support at the other end from his captain William Porterfield, who also picked out the boundaries at regular intervals as the pair raced to 68 inside six overs. Ireland suffered their first casualty when Porterfield, having just hit Hamza Hotak through the covers for four, missed a cut and was bowled for a 14-ball 27.That didn’t slow Ireland down in the least though, as new batsman Kevin O’Brien pierced the offside with his first two deliveries for four, and lofted the third for six over the bowler’s head. O’Brien departed for 20, but his 12-ball cameo had already taken Ireland over the 100-run mark in 8.3 overs.Afghanistan would have hoped for a reprieve following the wicket, but Johnston, coming in at No. 4, continued the carnage, as he and Stirling slammed 64 off 32 deliveries. Stirling finally fell for 76 – caught by Mohammad Nabi off Hotak in the 15th over – having hit eight fours and four sixes, but Johnston added 44 more runs with Gary Wilson and John Mooney at a manic pace. Johnston was eventually bowled by Zadran for 62, but it was too little too late for Afghanistan, as Ireland had already amassed well over 200.Set a daunting 226 to win – a record, if they achieved it – Afghanistan began spiritedly, as Mohammad Shahzad took 14 runs of Max Sorensen’s first three balls. At the other end Nawroz Mangal hit 12 off Tim Murtagh’s first 4, as he and Shahzad added 36 in 3.2 overs before Mangal was bowled by George Dockrell – like Afghanistan, Ireland too resorted to spin early on – for 14.Afghanistan tried to maintain the high required-rate and did so for a while, but their progress was halted by wickets at regular intervals from Dockrell and Alex Cusack .Cusack claimed two wickets with the final two balls of the Powerplay to set Afghanistan’s chase back quite a bit. Gulbadin Naib top-scored with 43, but received little support from the rest of the middle order as Johnston made a telling contribution with the ball as well by picking up the wickets of Naib, Samiullah Shenwari and Najibullah Zadran in quick succession – he too was on a hat-trick in one point in his spell – to all but wrap up the game.Seamer Murtagh delivered the winning blow, yorking Shapoor Zadran to seal the title.Despite the crushing defeat, Afghanistan can take comfort in the fact that their spot in the World Twenty20 2014 is well secured, along with Ireland, Nepal, UAE, Hong Kong and Netherlands. Afghanistan have been drawn with hosts Bangladesh, Nepal and Hong Kong in Group A for the first round of next year’s showpiece event. Ireland are in Group B, with Zimbabwe, UAE and Netherlands.

This was a landmark day for Hashim Amla. He doesn’t play for the Dolphins anymore, technically his home ground is Cape Town now. However, Kingsmead remains his home ground in public perception, you just can’t separate the two. On Sunday he finally brought up his first international hundred at home. Along the way, when he scored his 59th run, Amla became the fastest to 4000 ODI runs, beating Viv Richards’ record by seven innings. Amla was rather embarrassed about that. About the general batting, he kept going back to praising his opening partner Quinton de Kock, with whom he became only the second pairing in ODIs to have put up back-to-back 150-plus stands. Listening to him, you almost felt like he had not done anything substantial, and that it is not him you should be talking about.”Feel a bit embarrassed to have it because Sir Viv Richards is certainly the master blaster, the original great batsman,” Amla said of the record of fastest to 4000 runs. “He is more deserving than anyone else. I have met him on a few occasions, so it makes even more embarrassing. It would be befitting if he was ahead.” By this point he was almost giggling, trying to hide, in his words, embarrassment.”Whatever the case be, there is a lot of one-day cricket these days and no doubt someone else will come along and beat that and the game will just carry on.”When asked about finally getting a hundred at home, Amla could speak only two sentences before moving on to de Kock. “Very happy. Certainly it has been one of my leaner scoring grounds, so I am glad to get some runs. My partnership with Quinny was very vital. He has been batting beautifully. We have kind of clicked a bit. We have kind of got something going.”Amla went on to praise de Kock further. “He has come a long way from the time we were in Sri Lanka, and there were a few doubts about his ability opening the batting against spin,” Amla said. “But against Pakistan and against India here he has shown he has got all attributes to be a great player. He scores quickly, he has got great thinking when he is batting. I was telling someone else that I have been blown away by the fact that he has got a great calmness when he bats. So it has been a good experience.”Amla said de Kock has improved a lot mentally. “The way he is approaching his game now [shows it],” Amla said. “We chat between overs, certainly that’s the point that comes through. He has got a great idea on how to score runs. He is an attacking batsman. That’s the best thing you can have as an opener in a one-day team.”Someone who can take the attack to the bowlers, but when the need be… We have had some difficult batting situations – I remember he came at No. 3 in PE [against Pakistan], it wasn’t that easy to score, and he assessed that quite quickly, and that is a really good thing. He has played under 20 one-day games. Adjusting like that, hopefully he has got a very bright future.”At one point, Amla was told he was probably the best Test batsman in the world, and might be headed towards becoming the best ODI opener. Amla couldn’t have been more embarrassed. “I am not the best Test batsman in the world,” he said. “Everybody goes through certain phases in their career when they score a lot of runs, and then they go through leaner phases. Fortunately I have managed to get some runs. But I am not going to look too far ahead.”And immediately he went back to de Kock. “You never know what is around the corner,” Amla said. “Guys like Quinton coming along. He is putting his hand up to be probably one of the best. It’s early to talk and put too much pressure on the youngster, but I think Quinny has a bright future as an opening batsman. For me I am just going to block up one end while he smashes it all over.”

Cape Cobras moved to second place in the competition with their second win, beating Warriors by 18 runs in a day-night match in Port Elizabeth. JP Duminy and Justin Ontong lifted the Cobras to 160 before a tight-opening spell from their seamers made it difficult for Warriors to chase down the score.Cobras chose to bat first and lost Hashim Amla early for 1. A stand of 56 for the third wicket between Ontong and Duminy got them going. Ontong made 37 before he was bowled by JJ Smuts. Duminy made a run-a-ball 45 before he was caught off Lundi Mbane. Late hitting by Dane Vilas and Robin Peterson lifted Cobras to 160.Warriors were kept in check early in their chase by Rory Kleinveldt and Beuran Hendricks who conceded just two boundaries between them in the first four overs. The Warriors slipped to 74 for 7, with Davy Jacobs playing the lone hand. Jacobs smashed six sixes, including three off Justin Kemp in the penultimate over, but it came too late as it left Warriors still needing 25 off the final over. Jacobs remained unbeaten on 62.