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Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford said Nuwan Pradeep was unlucky to miss out on a Lord’s five-wicket haul, given the quality of his bowling in the second innings

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Lord's12-Jun-2016Sri Lanka coach, Graham Ford, said Nuwan Pradeep was unlucky to miss out on a five-wicket haul and a place on the Lord’s honours board, given the quality of his bowling in the second innings. Pradeep finished with 3 for 37 from 15 overs, but had three clear chances missed off his bowling, and was also denied a wicket by an incorrect no-ball call.Pradeep had England’s highest scorer Alex Hales dropped on 19 by second slip on Saturday evening; Hales was reprieved off Pradeep’s bowling again on 39, when a diving Dinesh Chandimal failed to hold on to a tough chance down the leg side. A much easier chance off Steven Finn was then missed by Chandimal next ball. Finally, on Sunday, Pradeep pegged back Hales’ off stump when the batsman was on 58, but umpire Rod Tucker incorrectly ruled that Pradeep had overstepped. Hales said later that the no-ball call had not had a bearing on the stroke he played.”It was disappointing that Nuwan Pradeep bowled so damn well and had such bad luck,” Ford said. “If ever a guy deserved to get a five-wicket haul at Lord’s, it was him. It’s sad for him in many ways.”Pradeep is Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker in the series, having claimed 10 scalps at an average of 31.6. Ford said the bowler had improved significantly since Ford’s first, two-year stint as Sri Lanka coach – between 2012 and 2014 – when Pradeep first began to play Tests.”He’s certainly moved on a great deal since then. He’s always been a guy that runs in hard and tries really hard. But he’s now got more skill: he’s got the ability to move the ball both ways. He’s also got the ability to now assess conditions and make a decision on the types of lengths he should be hitting on a particular surface. He’s grown a great deal as a bowler. He’s come on in this series and I can’t say enough about how well he bowled in the second innings.”Ford said Sri Lanka’s seam unit had made gradual improvements during the series, but was nevertheless critical of their consistency. Sri Lanka conceded 17 runs in the first four overs of England’s second innings, then allowed the hosts to move to 45 for 0 after 12 overs before finally breaking through.”The seam group have improved, but there are areas where we’ve let ourselves down, and often the momentum gets lost,” Ford said. “Yes there are one or two catches that could have made a difference as well. The way they went out today and really hit their areas was very, very pleasing. But I have told them that yesterday when we started, we did leak a few release balls that can really ease the pressure and settle the opposition dressing room.”In comparison, England bowled three consecutive maidens to begin day three. They took three wickets in the first eight overs of the day.”We’ve got to be really ruthless at the start of sessions, as England were yesterday,” Ford said. “They gave us nothing up front. After seven overs we had seven runs. That was a four down to third man and a three down to third man. Two nicks – that was all we got. We didn’t get one release ball. That’s why they are such a great bowling unit. We are showing signs of starting to get that sort of thing right.”Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series, had also had a wicket denied him by the umpires – when S Ravi turned down an lbw shout against Alastair Cook in the 49th over of England’s innings. Had Sri Lanka reviewed that decision, it would have been overturned. Herath took 4 for 81 in the first innings.”Rangana’s just brilliant,” Ford said. “He often bowls in conditions that don’t really suit him, and to bowl as well as he did in the first innings here was amazing. I’m sure everyone appreciated watching the great skill and ability he has.”Sri Lanka’s openers survived 12 overs of their second innings unscathed, and the team now requires 330 for victory on the final day. Ford suggested there was more to be gained from attempting the target, than there was to be lost in risking a whitewash.”Very definitely we want to win the game,” Ford said. “That’s why we’re here. Winning a match at Lord’s is very special, and it would be a wonderful achievement and a huge growth within the group if we manage to do it. The boys are going to come in and try very hard.”Great that we got through that really tricky session tonight. Hopefully the weather’s great tomorrow and there are good batting conditions. If we get a good partnership up front, we’ve got the ball strikers to get busy and chase the target. We’ll have to be positive, but that’s the way the boys are going to go about their business anyway.”

Riki Wessels made an unbeaten 159, his highest score for Nottinghamshire since he fell one short of a double hundred against Sussex at Hove in May 2012

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge29-May-2016
ScorecardRiki Wessels made his highest first-class score for four years•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire’s season is in danger of following last season’s perilous trajectory, three defeats in their opening six Championship matches again leaving them with catching up to do. With Chris Read out of the picture until some time in July with a broken hand and thus unable to organise the lower middle-order rescue act that has become his speciality, you fancy the challenge this time might be greater still.A tough fixture against a resurgent Durham, chasing a third consecutive win, did not look the ideal moment to be relying on batsmen in unreliable form yet two of them have delivered abundant runs here, as a result of which Paul Collingwood’s team is the one needing to fight back.Brendan Taylor, whose 71 in the defeat at the Ageas Bowl last week was his first innings of substance this season, followed up with his first century for almost a year on Saturday and, after an opening passage not without difficulties, Riki Wessels matched him and more, building on similar portents of returning form against Hampshire by making an unbeaten 159, his highest score since he fell one short of a double hundred against Sussex at Hove in May 2012.Backed up by a career-best 74 from Brett Hutton in a partnership that added 197 for the seventh wicket, Wessels enabled Nottinghamshire to build further on the recovery from 27 for 3 engineered by Taylor and Samit Patel on the opening day to reach a total that ought to be enough, at the very least, to ensure a fourth defeat is avoided.Watchful at first, perhaps even a little fortunate at times as Graham Onions and the returning Chris Rushworth bowled with skill but no luck in the first hour or so, Wessels completed a 92-ball half-century with a streaky four to third man off Onions but pushed on confidently thereafter, Durham suffering for the absence from their attack of one of their seam quartet, Brydon Carse, who has a foot injury. Wessels moved from 50 to 100 in 64 more balls and from 100 to 150 in just 42. Even so, he did not take any serious liberties in looking for boundaries until the reverse sweep off Scott Borthwick that took him to 150.”I’ve felt all right but kept getting out in different ways,” Wessels said, reflecting on a run of low scores after an 81 in the opening fixture against Surrey. “Onions and Rushworth bowled well first up so it was good to get past fifty and push on this time.”The Wessels innings spanned four and a half hours, after which he was compelled to swap batting gloves for wicketkeeping gauntlets as Read’s stand-in behind the stumps, from which vantage point he was able to watch Jackson Bird deliver a damaging burst of three wickets in six deliveries either side of tea as a solid start to Durham’s replay unravelled.From 72 without loss they slipped to 75 for 3 as Keaton Jennings and Mark Stoneman succumbed to near-identical dismissals, each clipping balls that were caught low down at short midwicket, before Jack Burnham was pinned in front first ball.The Australian finished on 4 for 59, which perhaps did not do justice to his performance on a wicket that is not offering much to the bowlers.Bird missed the defeat at Hampshire through a minor injury. Luke Fletcher might consider himself unlucky to be the man left out to accommodate him after taking 12 wickets in his last two matches but in a straight choice between him and Hutton, Nottinghamshire took the view that in Read’s absence the young all-rounder was a likelier source of runs and were justified in doing so.After a wicketless morning, Durham enjoyed the better of the afternoon, taking the last four Nottinghamshire wickets for 61 further runs and losing only the one wicket before the next interval. Borthwick’s leg-spin claimed all four, giving him only the third five-for of a career that has certainly suffered, in regard to that part of his game, from spending half of it bowling – or, more often, not bowling – at the Riverside.He might have seemed destined to be a one-Test wonder after his solitary, unsuccessful appearance during the ill-starred 2013-14 Ashes tour, but England have not yet given up on him completely as a leg-spinning allrounder. Encouraged by England’s spin coach, Peter Such, he went to New Zealand in the winter to work with Warwickshire’s Jeetan Patel, who has been an effective spinner in English conditions for a number of years.Running through the Nottinghamshire tail does not count for much, of course, but it will have been good for his confidence, if nothing else. He needs no such boost in terms of his batting. As he and Collingwood rebuilt after Bird claimed Michael Richardson as his fourth wicket, Borthwick is unbeaten on 59 at the close, having recorded two fifties and two hundreds in his last six innings.

Brad Haddin has said Australia have mentally recovered from the defeat to New Zealand, and are ready for the Indian challenge

Sidharth Monga at the MCG25-Dec-2011Brad Haddin has said Australia have mentally recovered from the defeat to New Zealand, and are prepared to face India. “I think we’re in a very good space,” he said on the eve of the Boxing Day Test. “We’ve had a week to prepare. We couldn’t be more prepared and more looking forward to the game. Boxing Day is a great occasion to walk out on the MCG. As a sportsman it’s a highlight to come out in front of sometimes 60-70 thousand. We’ve had a very good couple of days at our batting camp and we’re ready for this.”Haddin has had an ordinary year with the bat, with two half-centuries in 14 innings, although both of them set up wins for the side. At the batting camp in the lead-up to the match, he said, he worked more on the mental side of things. “From my point of view it’s not the swinging ball,” he said. “It’s just making sure my mindset is just playing at the tempo I play at, don’t try to take the game forward too quick and just react to the game.”Similarly the three senior batsmen in the line-up, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, have been under pressure, especially with a total experience of five Tests among the top three. “I think it’s important that we all stand up,” Haddin said. “After our series against New Zealand we are very much looking forward to this. You talk about our inexperienced top three, I think we’ve got a very in-form top three, which is good, and if we’re going to do any good in this series it’s going to be from one to seven with the bat. We’ve all got to perform. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got our game heads on and ready to go.”One of those top three is debutant Ed Cowan, Australia’s 10th new Test cap this year. “He’s very excited like we all are,” Haddin said. “The one thing in Ed’s favour, he’s coming off some very very good form and he is feeling confident. He played the Indians last week. It’s an exciting time to make your Test debut and especially Boxing Day. It’s a massive event and he’ll be up for the challenge. There will obviously be some nervous energy today, tomorrow, but he will deal with that.”Haddin admitted he didn’t know quite what to make of the speculation around the fitness of Indian quicks. “I think they rely on the two big boys quite a lot,” he said. “With the injury cloud I don’t think too much about that with this Indian team. Once they take the field they seem to roll out all right. We know where their strengths are, but we also know there are areas that we can get the game moving forward and develop the game as quick as we like.”Haddin spoke about freeing the mind of too many thoughts now that all the preparation is done and there are fewer than 24 hours to the toss on Boxing Day. He then went off to the Christmas lunch with his team-mates and their families. “It’s an exciting time of the year.”

Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele08-Sep-2011Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele. He threatened numerous changes to the team if performances did not improve.Dilshan was one of a series of batsmen dismissed cheaply as Sri Lanka lurched to 76 for 5 at lunch on the first day, a position from which they never recovered despite an excellent batting pitch. The start seemed to reflect the chaotic nature of the hosts’ lead-in to the Test, with Rangana Herath (finger) and Ajantha Mendis (back) ruled out on the morning of the match due to injuries.”Definitely there is something wrong in the batting,” Dilshan said. “We are talking, discussing, we are doing a lot of hard work in the training and we are discussing a lot of things, but now is the time to deliver.”We can’t say the wicket is bad. They’ve bowled really well but we’ve played the last series in England, where there was a better attack, and on a difficult wicket we batted really well. Now the players should put their hands up and deliver, they have to deliver, now is the time, we can’t wait anymore.”This is the third time we’ve got out cheaply [including 82 on the final day against England in Cardiff]. They bowled really well in the start but our batsmen didn’t bat well, that is why we got out. It is a good wicket, we are playing seven batsmen, we can’t expect 174 all out.”Several ideas have been tossed about in Sri Lanka’s dressing room, including the employment of the sports psychologist Rudi Webster at the conclusion of the series. Dilshan also said the older batsmen, including himself and Thilan Samaraweera, had to take more responsibility or risk being dropped. Their struggles contrasted with the success of Angelo Mathews, who followed a second-innings 95 in Galle with 58 here.”He’s batted really well in the No. 7 position,” Dilshan said. “We have problems with the middle order and the top order. We don’t want to change someone batting really well at No. 7, but we have to think about the second innings. Maybe change the batting line-up and send someone in top.”Dilshan described the changes to the side minutes before play as “unfortunate”. They necessitated the inclusion of the offspinner Suraj Randiv, who was going to be dropped, and the legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, making his debut.Herath was struck on the finger during a fielding drill on the eve of the Test, while Mendis had a back problem that worsened in the lead-up to the game. “We thought he [Herath] would be okay but today he tried to grip the ball and he couldn’t, his finger was very sore,” Dilshan said. “Ajantha had a back injury in last one-dayer but he managed to play, but today morning he talked to the physio, he was worse than the last few weeks. I don’t want to take a chance and play him, so that is why we gave a youngster a chance. Unfortunately we had to make two changes in the morning.”

The full text of Stokes’ statement at Lord’s, in the wake of the publication of the ICEC report

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2023The long-awaited report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket was published on Tuesday, and offered a damning critique of both English cricket, and Marylebone Cricket Club – the hosts for this week’s second Test against Australia at Lord’s.The issues raised in the report have overshadowed England’s preparations for the contest, and at the start of his pre-match press conference, captain Ben Stokes read the following statement.“Just before I start, I want to make it clear I have not read the report as it only came out last night.”To the people involved in the game who have been made to feel unwelcome or unaccepted in the past, I am deeply sorry to hear of your experiences. Cricket is a game that needs to celebrate diversity on all fronts because without diversity, this game would not be where it is at today.”As a sport, we need to learn from past mistakes and do all we can to make people feel safe and be themselves at every level. I have been an England player since 2011 and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of some incredibly diverse teams and love how everyone has a different story to tell.”We must go further and be more inclusive and diverse because the game I love – and millions worldwide love – should be enjoyed without fear of discrimination or judgement whether that be due to your upbringing, race or gender.”As I said earlier, everyone has a different story to tell. I am Ben Stokes, born in New Zealand, a state-educated pupil who dropped out of school at 16 with one GCSE in PE. I needed help with the spelling and grammar in this speech and I am currently sitting here as the England men’s Test captain.”It is clear there is so much more the game has to do and, as players, we really want to be a part of that to ensure this is truly a sport for everyone.”

Nortje brushed aside concerns after being knocked down by the contraption and hurting his left shoulder and elbow

Alex Malcolm27-Dec-20222:14

Nortje: ‘My role is to be aggressive, try and speed it up’

Cricket Australia’s host-television broadcaster Fox Sports has apologised to Anrich Nortje and the South Africa team after the fast bowler was knocked down by the flying spidercam while fielding on the second day of the ongoing second Test at the MCG.Nortje confirmed after the day’s play that he was fine, despite being hit on his left shoulder and elbow. He was able to bowl – at high pace – after being hit. He was in the outfield at the time, shortly after lunch, when he was knocked to the ground by the mobile camera as it was zipping along at head height.CA confirmed that Fox Sports had admitted it was an error by the operator. The camera was not in use for the rest of the day but CA confirmed that spidercam would be in operation on day three with some extra safety measures in place to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen again.Related

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“I didn’t know what hit me, to be honest,” Nortje said. “So far so good. It just knocked the [left] shoulder and the [left] elbow. The elbow is a bit sore but otherwise seems to be okay. I’ll just monitor it and see how it goes with the [doctor].”I saw cables and then I turned around or moved my head and then I saw the camera, but I was a little bit too late. It was quite quick. It didn’t really change my mindset or anything. I tried to stay focused.”I think the one thing we’ve spoken about earlier is how low it is and it probably shouldn’t be unless [it needs to be] for certain interviews or something. But I don’t think it should be travelling head height. That’s just my opinion. And then for Marco [Jansen] as well, they must take him into consideration [for his height].”Rough day for South Africa on the field
It added insult to South Africa’s injury on a brutal day in the field. They took just two wickets in 37-degree heat, including one via a run-out, as Australia piled up 341 runs in 79 overs with David Warner making a spectacular 200 before retiring hurt.Warner survived a blistering spell from Nortje just after lunch. Nortje was consistently bowling at speeds of over 150kph, including one delivery at 155kph. He had hit Warner in the helmet earlier in the morning and hit him on the index finger during that spell. Nortje also hit Cameron Green on the index finger later in the day, drawing blood and forcing Green to retire hurt and head off for a scan.Nortje finished with just one wicket for the day, that of Steven Smith for 85. He was frustrated to have bowled so well for so little reward.”It happens,” Nortje said. “You’re in the heat, you’re trying all the things with the ball, you’re trying a different grip, try this and that. But it happens, it’s part of cricket. They batted really well.Anrich Nortje bowled at blistering pace, but only had the one wicket to show for it•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

“I thought they controlled the situation really well. They calmed it down when we were not on top of them, but when we were hitting our areas and then maybe when the guys were a bit tired or when it was a little bit later in the day, the ball wasn’t doing much, then they tried to dominate again.”Nortje wants batters to do their bit
South Africa are a long way behind in the game, trailing by 197 runs, and the series but there is one small glimmer of hope with Australia potentially two bowlers down in the second innings. Both Green and Mitchell Starc have suffered injuries to their bowling fingers. Starc will only bowl again in the game if required and looks in doubt for the Sydney Test, while the outcome of Green’s blow is still unknown.Nortje said it would be critical for South Africa to bat as long as possible second time around.”The more overs the bowlers are going to bowl, the more maybe a back-up bowler or someone who doesn’t really come on would have to apply themselves,” Nortje said. “So that’s going to be a crucial stage for us. Hopefully, we can have a lot of batters in hand and work through the difficult stages with our top order and then try and cash in a little bit later on.”

They will tour Pakistan over the Christmas and New Year season, as well as during the IPL next year

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2022After not touring Pakistan for 19 years, New Zealand are all set to visit the country twice in the space of five months to play two Tests, eight ODIs and five T20Is. It means New Zealand will not play home fixtures over the Christmas and New Year’s season this year, and will have to deal with a clash with the IPL during the second leg of the Pakistan tour in April and May next year.The two Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship and will be played in Karachi (December 27-31) and Multan (January 4-8). The teams will return to Karachi to play three ODIs that are part of the ICC Super League on January 11, 13 and 15.New Zealand then go back to Pakistan in April and May to play five more ODIs, which are not part of the Super League, and five T20Is. The first four T20Is will be played in Karachi on April 13, 15, 16 and 19, before the teams travel to Lahore for the fifth T20I and the first two ODIs on April 23, 26 and 28. The last three ODIs of the series are in Rawalpindi on May 1, 4 and 7.New Zealand’s first visit is a part of the Future Tours Programme, while the second was agreed to make up for the matches lost when they called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan minutes before the start of the first ODI in September 2021, citing security concerns.”New Zealand is one of the high-performing sides and the more we will play against the top teams in our backyard, the better we will get as a unit, which is crucial to our objective of featuring inside the top three across all formats,” Zakir Khan, PCB director – international cricket, said in a statement. “The New Zealand matches will also provide opportunities to our youngsters to continue to watch and follow their favourite players in action, something they have missed when we were forced to play our international cricket offshore.New Zealand last toured Pakistan in November 2003, and their return follows the tours of Australia and England to the country this year after a gap of 24 and 17 years respectively.”I know our players can’t wait to arrive and savour the experience of playing in Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi – places that carry a great cricketing heritage,” NZC CEO David White said. “The recent tours from Australia and England have left us in no doubt regarding the quality of the Pakistan side across all formats, and the extent of the challenge that awaits us.”

Second-wicket pair put on 320 after Gloucestershire had asked the home side to bat on a green-tinged pitch

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-2019A partnership of 320, a first-class record for the county’s second wicket, between Neil Dexter and Hassan Azad put Leicestershire in a strong position after the Foxes had been asked to bat by Gloucestershire in the Specsavers County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.Dexter’s 180 was a career-best for the 34-year-old, coming in his 261st first-class innings; Azad’s 137 a first Championship century for the 25-year-old, in only his seventh match.Gloucestershire captain Chris Dent’s decision to exercise the away team’s prerogative to bowl first was not an entirely unreasonable one, given the amount of rain that had fallen in the East Midlands over the previous week, but the pitch, though slightly tinged with green, looked to be a good one, and played that way.The Foxes did lose Paul Horton early, Chadd Sayers picking up his first wicket for Gloucestershire with an out-swinging delivery that Horton edged, wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick holding the catch diving to his right in front of first slip. But with Azad playing solidly at the other end, Dexter went for his shots from the start, particularly off the front foot. Ryan Higgins was hit for four consecutive boundaries as Dexter went to his 50 off just 57 deliveries.The pair accelerated after lunch. Azad reached his 50 off 128 balls, and a few balls later, Dexter brought up his century, which included 19 boundaries, off 134 deliveries. By tea they had comfortably beaten Leicestershire’s previous record second-wicket partnership against Gloucestershire, 153 by Barry Dudleston and Chris Balderstone at Bristol in 1979.The runs continued to flow after tea as the partnership passed Leicestershire’s previous Championship second-wicket record, an unbroken 289 between Balderstone and David Gower against Essex in 1981, before – pleasingly – expunging their first-class second-wicket record, set by Azad and Ateeq Javid against Loughborough MCCU at the start of this season.David Payne found a good lifting delivery to make the long-awaited breakthrough, having Azad caught behind, before Dexter’s tired push at Josh Shaw saw Roderick pick up a third victim.The wicketkeeper made it four out of four when Mark Cosgrove prodded at and edged another Shaw delivery, and shortly before the close nightwatchman Will Davis spooned a catch into the covers.

The team also decided to donate all their match fees for this ODI to the National Defence Fund.

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2019The Indian cricket team decided to play the Ranchi ODI in army camouflage caps to honour those killed in the terror attack in Pulwama last month. They also donated their match fees for the ODI to the National Defence Fund.At the toss, India captain Virat Kohli explained the decision. “It is a special cap,” he said. “This is to pay respect to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and their families. All the players have decided to donate their match fees from this particular game to the National Defence Fund. I, as the captain of the team, would urge everyone in the country to do the same, donate how much ever they can to the National Defence Fund and help in the education and well-being of the families and the children of those who lost their lives in the attack. So this is a very special cap and a very special game indeed.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCCI had approached the ICC before going ahead with the plan, and that the ICC confirmed there was no breach of match regulations. “We discussed with the BCCI as they requested permission, it is as part of a charity fundraising effort,” an ICC spokesperson explained.Commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted that the gesture was initiated by MS Dhoni, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Indian territorial army. Dhoni presented the cap to Kohli and the others before the toss. This could be Dhoni’s last international in his hometown, Ranchi.BCCI tweeted: “#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces. And to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependents of the martyrs.”Recently, the BCCI had also announced that a part of the budget for the usually extravagant opening ceremony for the IPL, estimated to cost around INR 20 crore, would be donated to families of Pulwama martyrs.

An opening bowler and middle-order batsman, Maajiet played for – and captained – the Western Province Cricket Board, and was chosen for the South African Cricket Board national teams

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2018Dashing South African allrounder Saait Magiet, whose career was adversely affected by apartheid during the prime years of his career, died on holiday in Malaysia yesterday of a heart attack. He was 66.An opening bowler and middle-order batsman, Maajiet played for – and captained – the Western Province Cricket Board (WPCB), and was chosen for the South African Cricket Board (SACB) national teams. A right-arm bowler and batsman, Maajiet began playing in 1971 at the age of 19, his career spanning 20 years until just after unity. He represented the WPCB on 64 occasions in first-class matches, in addition to numerous limited-overs contests, and made 2,397 runs (including three centuries) and took 169 wickets at a remarkable average of 12.71. He played a key role in non-white cricket at the height of apartheid rule. An allrounder in many senses of the word, he also captained the City and Suburban Board rugby team as a loose forward.His elder brother Rushdie Maajiet also played 37 times for Western Province, in addition to representing the SACB.Cricket South Africa extended its condolences, issuing a statement saying it had heard “with shock and sadness” that Maajiet had died in Malaysia.”Saait and his elder brother, Rushdi, were two of the legends of the game under the auspices of SACBOC and later the SACB, and both would undoubtedly have represented a unified South African cricket team had the opportunity existed,” CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe said. “On behalf of the CSA family I extend our condolences to his family, friends and cricket colleagues.”