In a remarkable end to a dramatic match, Warwickshire skittled Middlesex for 136 at Lord’s to claim their first win of the season in the Specsavers County Championship’s Division One by a thumping 190-run margin.

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2017
1:06

County Championship round-up: Warwickshire secure first win

In a remarkable end to a dramatic match, Warwickshire skittled Middlesex for 136 at Lord’s to claim their first win of the season in the Specsavers County Championship’s Division One by a thumping 190-run margin.Chris Woakes, completing a successful comeback from a two-month injury lay-off, took 3 for 38 as he and Keith Barker, who snapped up the first three wickets to fall and finished with 3 for 21, left the Middlesex second innings in ruins.And all this, on a humiliating day for the champions, after Barker and Chris Wright had earlier taken their unlikely ninth-wicket partnership to 97 as Warwickshire, who resumed on 293 for 8, reached 361 in their own second innings to set Middlesex 327 to win on a pitch which had seemingly flattened out following the opening-day carnage of 20 wickets.

Gubbins’ England hopes hit by injury

Nick Gubbins’ hopes of an England call-up appear to be over after suffering a hamstring injury during Middlesex’s defeat at Lord’s.
While Gubbins has not enjoyed the best of seasons – he has scored just one Championship century and is averaging 24.91 – he has a reputation as one of the best players of fast bowling on the circuit and is thought to have the game to flourish on the pitches anticipated in Australia.
With Keaton Jennings enduring a grim series against South Africa and Haseeb Hameed struggling for form, Gubbins had been mentioned as a potential replacement in recent days. He played for England Lions over the winter and only just missed out on selection when Jennings was called-up during the India series.
With England’s squad for the first Investec Test against West Indies scheduled to be named on Friday, it seems Gubbins is unlikely to be considered for a call-up. George Dobell

Middlesex, it is true, were hampered by injuries to openers Nick Gubbins and Sam Robson – Gubbins was forced to come in at No 8 after tearing a hamstring in the field – but the way both their batting and bowling fell away in this game will be of great concern to them.Warwickshire, meanwhile, though they may well remain bottom of Division One when this round of matches is done, are now only 31 points behind Middlesex – who began this game in fifth place – with five matches remaining for both counties in this summer’s campaign.Barker ended up on 62 not out from 109 balls, with eight fours, after resuming on 30 and his stand with Wright, who made an 83-ball 41 before being caught behind off Steven Finn, flourished in a morning session in which the Middlesex bowlers huffed and puffed to little effect.Leg spinner Nathan Sowter then earned himself a maiden first-class wicket by bowling last man Ryan Sidebottom for 1, but by then the damage done was not just to Middlesex’s morale. Gubbins, in attempting to take a sprawling catch off a top-edged Barker hook as he ran in from long leg, hurt himself so badly that he had to be helped from the field by Middlesex’s medical staff.Gubbins was unable to open, meaning Nick Compton was promoted to partner Robson, who used Sowter as a runner as he made 19 despite a leg injury before being first out.Middlesex were 20 without loss at lunch but that proved only to be the calm before the storm. The headlong collapse began at the start of the second over after the interval with Robson pinned leg-before by Barker who then, later in the same over, had Stevie Eskinazi taken at second slip for 2.Left-armer Barker struck again in his next over, this time going around the wicket to surprise Compton with a nasty lifter that he touched to keeper Tim Ambrose to go for 3.And 28 for 3 became 28 for 4 when Woakes nipped one off the seam to have John Simpson leg-before for 4. Ryan Higgins, after one extra cover driven four, was also leg-before to Woakes for 5 in the England all-rounder’s next over, and the same bowler soon breached James Franklin’s defences to bowl the Middlesex captain for 1.From 45 for 6 there were a few defiant blows from Sowter, who had been joined by Gubbins and runner on Franklin’s dismissal, before his 37 ended when he turned the first ball of Sidebottom’s second over straight into the hands of short leg.Middlesex’s tail was cleaned up by off spinner Jeetan Patel and right-arm seamer Sidebottom, who added 2 for 41 to his first innings’ 4 for 29 and completed a memorable championship debut by winning an leg-before appeal against Gubbins on 15 to finish the match. Patel had Tom Helm taken at first slip for 15 and bowled Tim Murtagh for 0 to give himself figures of 2 for 19.A last wicket frolic by No 11 Finn and the injured Gubbins, who added a quickfire 48 with Finn playing some superb shots in his unbeaten 31, provided scant consolation for Middlesex, who for much of the first two days were clear favourites to win this game.For Warwickshire, bowled out for just 126 at the start of the match, this was a significant victory – especially as they had lost five of their previous eight games. Bowling out Middlesex for 161 on a helter-skelter opening day kept them in the contest, and then a gritty second innings batting effort on day two took the sting out of Middlesex’s seam attack.When day three dawned, however, with their lead a seemingly middling 258 on an easing pitch, they could not have dreamed of winning so decisively or so quickly. It is a result which could yet have ramifications for the ultimate destiny of both sides this season.

The fast bowler is in the final phase of rehabilitation from the back injury he sustained during the England tour, and has been ruled out of the Cobras’ season-opening first-class fixture against the Knights

Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2017Vernon Philander will not play for the Cobras in the season-opening first-class fixture against the Knights in Bloemfontein, after a CSA directive ruled him out of the match. Philander is in the final phase of rehabilitation from the back injury he sustained during the England tour and is the second premier fast bowler after Dale Steyn to be sidelined for this round of matches.Given that the four-day game is the only competitive cricket South Africa’s players will have before a two-Test series against Bangladesh that starts on September 28, Philander is likely to be doubtful for the first Test.Philander was part of the Cobras’ pre-season preparations in Oudtshoorn but did not play in either of their warm-up matches. He has not had any game-time since the Oval Test in July, where his performance was hindered by a stomach bug. Philander recovered from the illness in time to play the final Test at Old Trafford but suffered lower-back spasms on the morning of the match and had to be left off the team sheet, causing former captain Graeme Smith to launch a scathing criticism of the fast bowler.Smith asked whether Philander’s ongoing issues with his fitness merited picking him in the first place and warned him that his career was at risk of “fading away pretty quickly” unless he paid better attention to his conditioning. Philander was said to be furious with Smith’s public comments and requested a meeting with Smith, which was due to take place in Cape Town post-series.Whether that meeting has taken place is yet to be ascertained but it would seem Philander has more pressing things on his agenda. His unavailability for this round of fixtures is unlikely to sit well with new South Africa coach Ottis Gibson, who arrives in the country on Monday and has insisted all national players avail themselves for the first-class fixture ahead of the Test squad’s selection.With neither Steyn nor Philander playing, South Africa will be left with an attack of Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel – who will return from the World XI matches in Pakistan to play for the Titans – and one of Duanne Olivier or Chris Morris, who also suffered a back injury in England. The Test squad will be announced next week, after the first-class fixtures.

West Indies’ openers ground their way to 76 in almost 47 overs after Zimbabwe were carried to 326 by Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo30-Oct-2017Stumps
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSikandar Raza revived Zimbabwe’s innings•AFP

Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza starred with the bat on the second day at Queens, but incisive bowling and attritional batting from West Indies ensured the honours were shared at stumps. Masakadza and Raza did enough to ensure that the hosts passed 300, which looked a long way off when they were 14 for 3 yesterday, but Zimbabwe’s progress was stalled by openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell. They ground their way to an opening stand of 76 in almost 47 overs before Brathwaite was eventually prised from the crease, as nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo partnering Powell until the close.The game had moved much faster in the morning, when Hamilton Masakadza cracked the first ball of the day through the covers for four, and then collected four boundaries in the space of seven deliveries before the first drinks break. He and Raza threatened to take the game away from West Indies with a stand that stretched to 90 runs, but with Masakadza’s dismissal West Indies forced their way back into the game. The spinners struck repeatedly with the old ball to peg Zimbabwe back, and after lunch, the quicks used the new ball to deal with the tail, as the wickets were shared around.Masakadza had looked set to surpass his Test best on the second morning, but Jason Holder’s decision not to take the new ball when it was due slowed the game down, made scoring harder, and eventually helped West Indies break through. Three runs short of his 150, Masakadza attempted to force the pace with a slog sweep at Bishoo, but the ball ballooned off the top edge to be caught by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.Malcolm Waller then went for a golden duck, flashing a drive over the top of an extravagantly flighted ball from Brathwaite, and Regis Chakabva never settled, missing a sweep at a Bishoo legbreak to be bowled for 10.Only Raza stood firm, going to fifty with a swatted pull for six over midwicket off Bishoo. Picking the right balls to hit and using his feet effectively, he wore the responsibility of batting with the tail well and carried Zimbabwe past 300 with a flowing drive through cover point. The eventual arrival of the new ball brought about his demise, however. Raza drove at Shannon Gabriel but edged to second slip for 80 – the first catch to be taken in the slips off a pace bowler for either team all series. An overly adventurous single saw Cremer run-out for 11, and when Roach undid debutant Tendai Chisoro with a superb slower ball, Zimbabwe were all out for 326 midway through the second session.The clouds that had engulfed Bulawayo on the first day parted in the afternoon, and West Indies’ openers began their riposte under bright blue skies. There was a similar clarity to their batting, both men seeing the shine off the new ball ahead of stiffer challenges from Zimbabwe’s spinners.Cremer brought himself on as early as the 10th over, immediately finding the outer half of Powell’s bat, though the edge fell short of slip. Raza, used ahead of specialist left-arm spinner Chisoro, also had a strong lbw shout turned down in his first over. Zimbabwe weren’t helped by a couple of missed opportunities. Cremer missed two caught-and-bowled chances off Powell’s bat straight after tea, but otherwise both Powell and Brathwaite’s knocks were studies of attritional, risk-free accumulation; 19 of the 49 overs West Indies faced were maidens.Chisoro eventually had a bowl late in the afternoon, and with his stock ball turning away from the right-hander, he looked particularly menacing when bowling at Brathwaite, beating his outside edge several times in his first spell of bowling in Tests. Yet it was Cremer, who had struggled for rhythm and consistency early in his spells, who eventually brought the breakthrough. Moments before the close, he got Brathwaite to spar at a quicker, flatter legspinner to be well caught by Masakadza at slip. After a lot of hard graft – West Indies made the lowest Test score after 40 overs in the 21st century – the wicket ensured the day ended with the balance of the match at an even keel.

The New South Wales Supreme Court found insufficient evidence following allegations that the batsman had exposed himself to a massage therapist during the 2015 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2017Chris Gayle prevailed in his defamation case against Fairfax Media, after a four-person jury in the New South Wales Supreme Court found that there was insufficient evidence to prove he exposed himself to a massage therapist in a Sydney dressing room during the 2015 World Cup.After deliberating for a little less than two hours, the jury concluded that Fairfax Media – which publishes , and the – had not justified its January 2016 report of the allegation on either the basis of truth or of qualified privilege, which weighs up the public interest value of published information and whether or not the media outlet acted reasonably.The massage therapist who made the allegation, Leanne Russell, testified in court last week that she cried uncontrollably after Gayle pulled down his towel to expose himself while saying “is this what you’re looking for?” during a training session at Drummoyne Oval. Both Gayle and his team-mate Dwayne Smith gave evidence denying that the episode took place.Russell had contacted the sports editor of the , Chloe Saltau, to tell her story after she saw the infamous interview of Gayle by the broadcaster Mel McLaughlin in January 2016. Russell also said that the incident with Gayle had followed another, when Smith had sent her a text message saying “sexy” while she had been giving him a massage.Speaking for Gayle, barrister Bruce McClintock said Russell had been “bitter” and “vengeful” in targeting Gayle. Russell, who now works as an executive assistant for the AFL, stated in her evidence that she had wanted to take a stand for women in sport. “I was sick of being treated that way,” Russell said in evidence. “I was someone who had forged my career in sport. I would never be as successful as I would be if I was a man.”Russell had made a verbal complaint at the time to the West Indies team manager Richie Richardson, who had then sent an email to the team requesting them to “please at all times, treat her in a respectable and professional way”. In his evidence, Gayle had insisted the incident “did not happen”.After the verdict was read out, Gayle spoke of his relief outside court. “I’m a good man,” he said. “I’m not guilty.”Following the verdict, Fairfax Media indicated concerns with the conduct of the case and that the company would be considering an appeal. “Fairfax Media is concerned with the conduct of the trial to the extent that on Friday it sought an order that the Jury be discharged and a new trial ordered,” a spokesperson said.”The Judge [Justice Lucy McCallum] accepted that the Jury had been misled in a way that prejudiced Fairfax, but declined to discharge the Jury. Fairfax believes that it did not get a fair trial. It is seriously considering its appeal rights.”

Both teams are in with a shot at victory in Perth after 11 wickets fell on the third day

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2017
ScorecardBrendan Doggett leads Queensland off the field•Getty Images

Eleven wickets fell on the third day of the Sheffield Shield game in Perth, as momentum see-sawed between Western Australia and Queensland.First, the WA bowlers combined to take the last five Queensland wickets for only 81 runs, denying overnight batsmen Jack Wildermuth (95) and Marnus Labuschagne (92) a single run, let alone their hundreds. But then Queensland hit back as legspinner Mitchell Swepson (3-76) and seamer Brendan Doggett (2-28) reduced WA to 5 for 99. An unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 66 between Ashton Turner and Josh Inglis ensured the hosts went to stumps at the WACA with a 155-run lead.It all began with Queensland losing three wickets without adding anything to their overnight score of 343. Wildermuth was the first to go, when he was caught off Matthew Kelly in the second over of the day. Labuschagne joined him soon after, caught by the wicketkeeper in the following over. Simon Mackin then bowled Swepson for a duck and Queensland were suddenly seven wickets down, still trailing by 71. It was at this point that Doggett, the 23-year old playing only his third first-class game, stepped up with an unbeaten innings of 48 that handed Queensland a 10-run lead.WA’s second innings got off to a solid start with openers William Bosisto (27) and Jonathan Wells (44) putting on 67 in 32.1 overs. But then they lost five wickets for 32 runs and were in serious trouble when Turner (30*) and Inglis (40*) got together to stem any further damage.

With a first-innings lead already under their belt, declaration wasn’t a priority for the Vidarbha batsmen who piled on 277 runs in 94 overs on the penultimate day to put their side on course to securing a semi-final berth.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2017PTI

Centuries from Faiz Fazal and Apoorv Wankhade swelled Vidarbha’s lead to 501 as they finished on 431 for 6 at stumps against Kerala on the fourth day in Surat. With a first-innings lead already under their belt, declaration wasn’t a priority for Vidarbha who piled on 354 runs in 94 overs on the penultimate day to remain on course for securing a semi-final berth.Having finished on 77 for 1 on day three, Vidarbha captain Fazal converted his overnight half-century into a 209-ball 119 – his 16th first-class century – adding 90 for the second wicket with Akshay Wakhare, who could only add 23 runs to his overnight score of 7. Fazal, however, stitched together another 74 runs with Wasim Jaffer (58) for the third wicket, before being caught behind off left-arm spinner KC Akshay, who also dismissed Wankhade towards the end of the day. Having come in at No. 6, Wankhade raced to his maiden first-class century that anchored a 135-run stand with Ganesh Satish (65) and culminated in a 94-ball 107 that featured six fours and five sixes.Offspinner Jalaj Saxena accounted for three of Vidarbha’s top five, while medium-pacer MD Nidheesh picked up the solitary wicket of Jaffer off his 18 overs. Vidarbha’s Akshay Wadkar and Karn Sharma kept vigil on at stumps with an unbeaten 20 and 4 respectively.

Following remedial work and reassessment, Brian Vitori’s bowling action has been found to be legal

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2018Zimbabwe left-arm seamer Brian Vitori has been allowed to bowl in international cricket again after his bowling action, following remedial work and reassessment, was found to be legal.Vitori had been reported for a suspect action in January 2016 and had been suspended for an illegal bowling action a month later.Vitori had been reported following a T20 against Bangladesh in Khulna nearly two years ago in which he conceded 45 runs in four overs. He then underwent assessment in Chennai, where all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under ICC’s regulations.Vitori has played domestic matches for Tuskers in Zimbabwe since then, most recently in a first-class match in December 2017. Overall, the 27-year old has played four Tests, 20 ODIs and 11 T20Is for Zimbabwe after making his international debut in August 2011.

Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will also feature in the 50-overs tournament while Ravindra Jadeja has been chosen to play for Rest of India in the Irani Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2018A day after being named Kings XI Punjab’s captain, R Ashwin has been given the leadership of another team. The BCCI selection committee has named the India spinner captain of the India A side that will compete against Karnataka – who, on Tuesday, won the Vijay Hazare Trophy – and India B in the 50-overs Deodhar Trophy from March 4 to 8 in Dharamsala. India middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer will lead the India B side.Test fast bowlers Mohammed Shami (India A) and Umesh Yadav (India B) have also found places in the Deodhar Trophy squads. Shami has not played any cricket since the third Test against South Africa in Johannesburg while Umesh, who featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Vidarbha, sat out all three Tests in South Africa, having slipped behind newcomer Jasprit Bumrah in the fast-bowling pecking order.Other notable selections in the Deodhar Trophy squads include the top-order pair of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill (both India A), who were part of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign in New Zealand, spin-bowling allrounder Jayant Yadav, who played for India in the 2016-17 home season (India B), fast bowlers Siddarth Kaul (India B) and Navdeep Saini (India A), who have been on the India selectors’ radar recently, and wicketkeepers Ishan Kishan (India A) and KS Bharat (India B).Shaw, Jayant, Kaul, Saini and Bharat have also found places in the Rest of India side that will face Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in the first-class Irani Cup match from March 14 to 18 in Nagpur. Karun Nair will lead the side, which also includes his Karnataka team-mate Mayank Agarwal, who has scored over 2000 runs in this domestic season, and the India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja.Jadeja did not play any of the three Tests in South Africa, and has been out of India’s limited-overs sides since July 2017. He played for Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but a side strain prevented him from bowling in their last three matches. Given the two-week break before the Irani Cup, he should be able to recover fully and resume bowling duties.India A (Deodhar Trophy): R Ashwin (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Unmukt Chand, Akshdeep Nath, Shubman Gill, Ricky Bhui, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Krunal Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Basil Thampi, Kulwant Khejroliya, Amandeep Khare, Rohit RayuduIndia B (Deodhar Trophy): Shreyas Iyer (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ankit Bawne, Manoj Tiwary, Siddhesh Lad, KS Bharat (wk), Jayant Yadav, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Umesh Yadav, Rajat PatidarRest of India (Irani Cup): Karun Nair (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, R Samarth, Mayank Agwarwal, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Ankit Rajpoot, Navdeep Saini, Atit Sheth

The pair added 98 for the second wicket to set up India’s total of 166, which they defended with aplomb courtesy three wickets each from Shikha Pandey, Rumeli Dhar and Rajeshwari Gayakwad

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2018Jemimah Rodrigues sports a smile after the practice match•ESPNcricinfo/Annesha Ghosh

A 98-run stand between half-centurion Mithali Raj and Jemimah Rodrigues, followed by an inspired effort by their bowling and fielding units, helped India complete a 54-run win in the fifth T20I and seal a first-ever away-series double. Having won the ODI series 2-1, India clinched the T20I series 3-1, bowling South Africa out for 112 in 18 overs in Cape Town.Having put India in, Marizanne Kapp removed Smriti Mandhana inside the Powerplay. Mandhana’s opening partner Raj, however, pressed on to her third half-century – a 50-ball 62 studded with short-arm pulls, sweeps and cuts that brought her eight fours and three sixes. Keeping her company for 11.3 overs was the 17-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues, whose promotion to No. 3 – which has otherwise been the slot earmarked for captain Harmanpreet Kaur in this series – paid off.Having been reprieved on 15 by wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee, Rodrigues waltzed to a 34-ball 44. Raj and Rodrigues then fell in successive overs, to Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka respectively. India were 134 for 4, with 3.1 overs left. Harmanpreet partnered Veda Krishnamurthy in a brisk 32-run stand, reeling off 27 off 17 balls courtesy a four and two massive sixes that sailed into the leg-side stands. Krishnamurthy pinched eight off the six balls she faced, before being run-out off the final ball of the innings as India finished on 166 for 4.India’s momentum, gathered through the closing overs of their innings, was kept going by their quick-bowling troika of Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey and Rumeli Dhar, who reduced the hosts to 22 for 3 inside six overs. While Vastrakar opened with a maiden over, Dhar accounted for both openers – Dane van Niekerk her first wicket upon returning to international cricket after a six-year hiatus.Pandey subsequently sent back Sune Luus, followed by the wickets of Mignon du Preez and Nadine de Klerk in the space of three balls in the ninth over. Half the South African line-up had been sniped out for 44. Chloe Tryon tried resuscitating the chase, hitting two sixes, but could not go beyond a 17-ball 25 as she holed out off Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Harmanpreet completed a regulation catch at long-off and blew a kiss as a follow-up act.That three of South Africa’s partnerships ended in the twenties, the highest being a seventh-wicket stand of 29 between Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp, underlined their inability to deal with the lack of pace from the Indian attack, aided by some agile fielding. While Harmanpreet and Mandhana prevented at least three fours by throwing themselves around near the rope, Rodrigues pulled off a stunner at the deep-square leg boundary to send back Kapp for a 21-ball 27. Rodriguez’s two-handed back-arch-and-leap act gave Dhar her third wicket before Gayakwad took out the tail; both finished with identical returns of 3 for 26, though Gayakwad bowled one over less.

AB de Villiers played another cameo as the hosts chased down 101 with six wickets in hand

The Report by Brydon Coverdale12-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe hardest job on day four in Port Elizabeth was not chasing 101 for victory. Through the majesty of AB de Villiers, South Africa did that with ease and levelled the series 1-1. No, the most difficult task was assigned to whoever chose the Man of the Match. Would it be de Villiers, whose unbeaten 126 in the first innings was not only a game-changer but one of the most impressive knocks in recent history, and whose run-a-ball 28 in the second innings helped seal the win? Or would it be Kagiso Rabada, whose 11-wicket haul was irresistible to watch and completely blunted Australia’s batting?Certainly it was Rabada who lit up the morning session at St George’s Park. South Africa began the day clearly in the stronger position, but Australia were 41 runs ahead and still had five wickets in hand. If they let Australia’s lower order off the hook, South Africa could have been faced with a tricky chase of 200-plus. The key seemed to be Mitchell Marsh, the last member of Australia’s top six, who was unbeaten on 39 at the start of play. Rabada didn’t even let Marsh survive an over. He nipped one back in to Marsh, at speed, to find the gap and rattle his stumps.Rabada followed by having Pat Cummins caught by Theunis de Bruyn at gully for 5, and he added Mitchell Starc, who was caught behind for 1. Rabada finished with match figures of 11 for 150, and he became just the third South African to achieve a ten-wicket Test haul on at least four occasions. For perspective, the others are Dale Steyn, whose five ten-wicket hauls have come in 86 Tests, and Makhaya Ntini, whose 101-Test career brought four ten-fors. Rabada has four in just his 28th Test. He is still only 22 years old. This is a young man who could be absolutely anything.Perhaps a caveat is needed to the earlier statement. There was one other task on day four that might have been even harder than determining the Man of the Match. This job fell to match referee Jeff Crowe, who had to decide whether Rabada would be suspended for the remainder of the series for his shoulder bump with Steven Smith during Australia’s first innings. In isolation, the incident would not be worthy of a ban, but Rabada’s bank of demerit points changes that. After a hearing on day three, Crowe chose to defer his verdict for 24 hours.Kagiso Rabada celebrates a wicket with his team-mates•Associated Press

Australia’s innings finished with Nathan Lyon being caught behind off Lungi Ngidi for 5 and Josh Hazlewood caught at deep midwicket off Keshav Maharaj for 17. Tim Paine remained unbeaten on 28 in Australia’s 239, and their lead of 100 was never likely to be truly competitive. One of the major concerns for Australia as they head to the third Test in Cape Town is that not a single Australian batsman has scored a century so far in this series. South Africa, by comparison, have had hundreds in each Test – from Aiden Markram in Durban and de Villiers in Port Elizabeth.Australia had the chance to snap up Markram for 7 in this chase, but his edge off Hazlewood was put down at first slip by Mitchell Marsh, hardly a promising start for a team needing a miracle to avoid defeat. Wickets did fall, but not enough. Dean Elgar was caught and bowled by Lyon off a leading edge for 5, in a near carbon-copy of his dismissal in the first innings in Durban, and Markram was caught at second slip by Smith off Hazlewood for 21, but all that did was bring de Villiers to the crease.Australia’s minor sniff was snuffed out by the aggression of de Villiers, who struck four fours and one six during his 28 off 26 balls, and his 49-run stand with Hashim Amla delivered South Africa to within 20 runs of victory. Both men fell – Amla caught behind off Cummins for 27 and de Villiers caught at short-leg off Lyon – but Faf du Plessis and de Bruyn steered South Africa home with no further loss, a cover-driven boundary from de Bruyn confirming the six-wicket win.The teams will head to Cape Town for the third Test with South Africa looking in the stronger form, but potentially without their strike bowler Rabada, who is far and away on top of the series wicket tally with 15 at 16.80. Whether they are the same threat without him remains to be seen. And, just for the record, in the race to be Man of the Match, Rabada beat de Villiers by a nose.