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New South Wales allrounder Jack Edwards has been named captain of a youthful Australia A 12-man squad to face England Lions in the upcoming four-day game in Sydney from January 30, with the squad also featuring two other fast-bowling allrounders in Aaron Hardie and Will Sutherland.Kurtis Patterson, 31, has also been recalled to the Australia A fold for the first time since 2020 and is the oldest player in the squad.Australia’s selectors have pushed for youth and have only retained five players from the squad that faced India A in two four-day games in October and November, with Jordan Buckingham, Fergus O’Neill, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli and Brendan Doggett all getting another opportunity, although Doggett was only drafted into that series as a late injury replacement.Related

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There was no room for Marcus Harris, Jimmy Peirson or Nathan McAndrew, who performed solidly in the second Australia A game in Melbourne. Former Test batters Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb were also not selected. The latter was very close to being selected for the Sri Lanka Test tour and is currently captaining the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions in the first match of the tour in Brisbane.Cameron Bancroft is unavailable through injury after fracturing his shoulder in the BBL. Veteran two-Test seamer Michael Neser, who injured his hamstring in the Australia A game at the MCG, has also not been selected.The selectors showed how much they valued performances in the Australia A matches during the Test series against India with Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas and Beau Webster all selected for their Test debuts after good performances against India A. Doggett was also called into the Test squad for the second and third Tests as fast-bowling cover following his stunning 6 for 15 against India A in Mackay.CA contracted fast bowler Xavier Bartlett gets an opportunity after missing the two Australia A matches with a side injury. He took 5 for 32 in his last first-class match for Queensland before the BBL break.Aaron Hardie is the only member of the Australia A squad who is also in the Champions Trophy squad•Getty Images

By overlooking Harris, Renshaw and Handscomb, the selectors are looking to the future on the batting front with the exception of Patterson. Jayden Goodwin and Tim Ward, like Patterson, have been rewarded for outstanding recent Shield form despite all three not being in the first-choice XIs of their respective states early in the Shield summer.Ward, 26, played four matches for Australia A against New Zealand A in 2023 and made three half-centuries in eight innings but was dropped by Tasmania last season. However, he has bounced back strongly with scores of 51, 92, 96, 7 and 142 since being recalled by Tasmania in November.Goodwin, 23, is currently playing in the CA XI alongside Ward and is highly regarded by the national selectors despite only averaging 32.38 across 27 first-class innings. But he made scores of 94, 139 and 69 in Shield cricket in November with the latter two coming against South Australia in a pink-ball game, which featured Doggett and Australian white-ball pacer Spencer Johnson.Hardie is the only member of the Australia A squad who is also in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad. He has not been bowling recently due to an ongoing quad issue and has only played one first-class match this summer after a lean season with the bat last year in red-ball cricket. But he has scored a century for Australia A previously in New Zealand in 2023.Sutherland, 25, is the only full-time Shield captain in the squad, but Edwards captained NSW in three Shield games prior to the BBL break, standing in for the absent Moises Henriques, and is NSW’s permanent 50-over captain. It will be the first time Edwards has represented Australia A, having played all 37 of his first-class matches for NSW, averaging 28.21 with the bat and 26.69 with the ball.Australia A squad: Jack Edwards (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham, Jayden Goodwin, Aaron Hardie, Fergus O’Neill, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe (wk), Corey Rocchiccioli , Will Sutherland, Tim Ward

Rain had the last word at the Gabba, as was widely expected, but only after Australia and India conjured up the most intriguing of what-ifs in the 22 overs that were possible on the fifth day of the third Border-Gavaskar Test match.After taking the final India wicket four overs into the day’s play and securing a 185-run first-innings lead, Australia made one final push for victory, going hard at India’s bowling, losing quick wickets in the process, and declaring at 89 for 7 after 18 helter-skelter third-innings overs. That left India with a target of 275 in a theoretical 54 overs. Only 2.1 were possible, as bad light drove the players off the field before rain came back down to signal an early finish.Australia’s brief innings on day five gave a glimpse of all the possible rain-free finishes this match could have had. There was pronounced seam movement and uneven bounce, and Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj ripped out five wickets in the space of 11 overs. But some of the wickets also came from Australia’s intent to score quickly. They promoted Mitchell Marsh to No. 4, batted Travis Head above Steven Smith, and kept going for their shots. The runs came at a fair rate too, with the pace of the pitch allowing Head, Alex Carey and Pat Cummins to rattle off a combined 59 off 49 balls.Related

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Given all the help for the new ball, Australia could have envisioned bowling India out. Given the scope for run-scoring, and the fact that Australia were without one of their three fast bowlers, India could have imagined making a bid for victory if they managed to see off the early overs relatively unscathed. As it happened, the draw may have been the best result for the series going forward, with two Tests to go and the teams locked 1-1 on Boxing Day.Australia’s declaration harked back to the 1950 Test on this same ground, when England declared at 68 for 7 and then Australia at 32 for 7 as both teams tried to make the best of a sticky pitch after a spell of rain. Such events are exceedingly rare in the days of covered pitches, but something not too dissimilar happened on this day with Australia declaring at 89 for 7.One man who may have been a touch displeased at that point was Bumrah; he had just come back for a new spell and dismissed Cummins with a clever slower ball. It was his ninth wicket of the match, and he was so close to bagging his first ten-for, one of the few feats he has yet to achieve in his remarkable career.

Pakistan 344 (Shakeel 134, Sajid 48*, Noman 45, Rehan 4-66, Bashir 3-129) and 37 for 1 (Masood 23*) beat England 267 (Smith 89, Duckett 52, Sajid 6-128, Noman 3-88) and 112 (Root 33, Noman 6-42, Sajid 4-69) by nine wicketsThe wait is finally over. For the first time since 2021, Pakistan have won a Test series at home, coming back from 1-0 down to confirm a 2-1 success over England.A comprehensive nine-wicket win on day three of the third and decisive Test in Rawalpindi arrived before lunch, achieved with so little fuss that England’s victory by an innings in the opening match feels like it belongs in a different series altogether. It is only the second time Pakistan have come from behind in a series and the first time they have done so at home.Just as it was in the first innings, and indeed the victorious second Test at Multan, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan ran riot, bagging all 10 wickets as England were snuffed out for 112 in a listless second innings performance. It was Noman’s turn to pocket the match ball with 6 for 42, a sixth five-wicket haul, while Sajid’s 4 for 69 registered a second 10-wicket match of his 10-Test career after 6 for 128 on the first day.That left a nominal chase of 36 on the table, which was still enough for beleaguered home skipper Shan Masood to indulge in a cathartic 23 from six deliveries. He clouted four successive fours against Jack Leach upon his arrival to the crease after Saim Ayub was trapped leg before, then sealed victory with a towering six off Shoaib Bashir.Prior to Masood walking off with Abdullah Shafique, Noman and Sajid had done so hand in hand, basking in the glory of instigating England’s day three collapse in which the final seven wickets fell for just 46, and the fact their introductions turned the series on its head. Since being drafted into the squad after the tourists took a 1-0 lead, they have managed 39 wickets between them – Noman’s left-arm spin taking 20 at 13.85, Sajid’s off breaks 19 from 21.01.And yet, things began serenely enough for England. They started Saturday 53 behind on 24 for 3, but in Root and Brook, they had two batters capable of chipping off that deficit, and then some.Related

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When Brook began the 13th over by striking Sajid for back-to-back fours – first through cover, then over mid off on the charge – the more pessimistic Pakistan fans might have been wondering if the Yorkshire pair were about to embark on another match-tilting partnership. After all, it was these two who combined for all of 454 in the first Test at Multan.However, that was before Sajid and Noman entered the series. And after the former adjusted his line to keep Brook honest, the latter followed up a slow delivery with one far quicker that was cut late into the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan’s lead had been cut to 11, but the first domino had been toppled. Others duly followed.Stokes’ troubles against spin continued, inexplicably leading a straight delivery from Noman, expecting turn from over the wicket that never came. Jamie Smith’s charge to Sajid was almost as bad, bowled off stump through a wild swing that belied the sensibilities he had displayed with a load-bearing 89 in the first innings.It was only four balls after Smith’s dismissal that England went ahead, and what hopes they had of extending that in a meaningful way ended when Root was snared by a pearler from Noman with a lead of eight. Perfect dip onto a length to drag the right-hander forward from around the wicket, before just enough spin – it was a delivery the 38-year-old had served up a few times but only Root was good enough to nick. ASajid tagged in to lop off the tail, yorking Gus Atkinson before knocking back Rehan Ahmed’s leg stump for his second 10-wicket match haul. And he looked to have bagged a second five-for in the match when Shoaib Bashir was given out LBW on the sweep.A cursory DRS review came back in the No.11’s favour, with the impact onto the pad coming outside off stump. The reprieve only brought an extra two runs, as Noman caught Leach lacking on the charge, firing one wide of the advancing left-hander, stumped smartly by Rizwan.A lead of 35 was always going to be light work on a pitch that was far from demonic, but it was Masood’s introduction that ensured formalities were completed inside 3.1 overs. Ayub began the chase with a brace of fours at the end of the first over before Leach pinned him in front, confirmed via DRS after another erroneous call from umpire Sharfuddoula.But even his dismissal brought some icing to the cake, as Masood took the team charging over the line for his first series win as captain. After starting his tenure with six straight defeats before the second Test of this series, It was hard to begrudge him that honour.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has expressed his wish to step down as the Bangladesh captain, according to BCB. Shanto, Bangladesh’s captain in all three formats, has informed the board that he wants the ongoing Test series at home against South Africa to be his last as the captain.ESPNcricinfo has learned that Shanto sent the message to senior board officials following the first Test against South Africa in Dhaka, which Bangladesh lost by seven wickets. The BCB is yet to discuss the matter as president Faruque Ahmed is not in the country – he is expected to arrive in Dhaka on Monday evening.If Shanto’s resignation is accepted, the BCB will have to appoint a new captain on short notice with a packed schedule ahead.Related

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The second Test against South Africa is scheduled for October 29 to November 2, and Bangladesh are then off to the UAE to play three ODIs against Afghanistan, with the first game on November 6. That series ends on November 11, and they then go to the West Indies for an all-format series – the three-day tour match prior to the series-opening first Test starts on November 15.ESPNcricinfo understands Shanto’s fluctuating form with the bat influenced his decision. He has averaged 25.76 since taking over the Test captaincy last November after being one of the team’s in-form batters at the time.He was subsequently given Bangladesh’s ODI and T20I captaincy too, as the BCB was looking for a man to lead the team through the period of transition with several of their senior cricketers either retiring from certain formats or being on the verge of doing so.Shanto, however, hasn’t done badly as a captain, leading Bangladesh to a Test win against New Zealand last year and then the Test series win against Pakistan in August this year.

Yorkshire remain on course for a victory that they believe may be enough to realise their promotion ambitions despite bad weather washing out more than half of the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Leicester.Leicestershire will resume on day three at 35 for two in their second innings, trailing by 246 after Yorkshire had posted 379 following an excellent 126 from captain Jonny Tattersall and a career-best 88 from pace bowler Matthew Fisher, who also claimed both Leicestershire wickets.Rain forced the players off shortly before two o’clock and they were unable to return. It meant 57 scheduled overs were lost but with two full days still to come Yorkshire would be mightily disappointed should they fail to turn their strong position into a win.Ahead of this fixture, head coach Ottis Gibson predicted that one win from his side’s final three Division Two matches would be enough to secure a top-two finish, even though they trailed second-placed Middlesex by a point going into this round.In the play that was possible, Leicestershire’s hopes of limiting Yorkshire’s lead after they were dismissed for 98 on day one went unfulfilled in an opening session dominated by a 138-run ninth-wicket partnership between Tattersall and Fisher, who could not be parted for an hour and a half, and only when home skipper Lewis Hill had belatedly recalled Rehan Ahmed into the attack.The England wrist spinner, who turned 20 last month and has been named in the squad to tour Pakistan next month, was successful with his fourth delivery (having struck with his second in his first spell on day one) as Tattersall’s fine innings ended with an edge to slip. He finished with three for 60.The Yorkshire captain had completed his second hundred of the season in the sixth over of the morning from 170 balls. He celebrated with two lovely straight driven fours off Scott Currie and had raised his boundary count to 14 by the time he was out.The pitch appeared to offer far less to the bowlers than it had 24 hours earlier, when the first dozen overs of the morning saw Leicestershire lose seven wickets for 15. The corresponding period this time resulted in Yorkshire adding 51 without loss as Fisher posted his maiden first-class half-century for the county. Even the new ball, taken as soon as available nine overs into the day, had little effect.More to the point, in the broader context, the shift in the balance of the contest had enabled Yorkshire to turn one batting bonus point overnight to three, which may be vital as they bid to seal their return to Division One, matching Middlesex’s haul against Gloucestershire. They were one short when Tattersall was out, but Fisher and Ben Coad added another 31 from just 26 balls before Ahmed dismissed Fisher, helped by a sharp catch snapped up at ankle height by wicketkeeper Ben Cox.Seamer Tom Scriven, still searching for his first five-wicket bag in first-class cricket, finished with four for 103.There was time for Leicestershire to face one nervy over before lunch, and though they survived that one, they slipped to 34 for two for two shortly before the rain arrived, Fisher continuing his productive day by taking both wickets.Opener Rishi Patel, whose approach to his side’s 281-run first-innings deficit was to be ultra aggressive, profited only briefly from it before he was leg before playing a horrible hoick across the line. Partner Ian Holland was more cautious but departed quickly nonetheless, caught at first slip.

England’s Jonny Bairstow contributed a combative 57 – his first first-class fifty since last July – as Yorkshire took charge of their Vitality County Championship clash with promotion rivals Sussex after two days at Scarborough.Bairstow came in immediately after lunch with Yorkshire 104 for three in reply to Sussex’s 189 all out, the visitors’ first innings wrapped up in the day’s second over.The 34-year-old shared 90 with fourth-wicket partner Will Luxton, the fledgling batter whose 59 represented his career-best score in only his fourth appearance.Sussex off-spinner Jack Carson claimed an excellent season’s best five for 83 in 20 overs as Yorkshire were bowled out for 326, a lead of 137, and the Hove county closed their second innings on 26 without loss from 10 overs.Bairstow’s innings was what Yorkshire and England fans have come to expect, but not without luck as he was dropped on 38 and 51.The latter was by England team-mate Ollie Robinson as he ran in from mid-on following a top-edge at left-arm seamer Sean Hunt.Bairstow was quickly into the battle.After driving his first ball for four down the ground off Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Robinson thought he had him caught behind on four. It seemed as if the pair had words, as they did again the following ball when Bairstow missed an attempted expansive drive.The batter stomped down the pitch to talk to his batting partner as Robinson (two for 57 from 21.5 overs) stared.Both men are aiming to rekindle Test careers which stalled following England’s New Year tour to India.There was no doubt Bairstow won today’s battle, and Yorkshire, who have had the best of batting conditions, could go on and claim victory in the war with the Division Two leaders over the next couple of days.During his afternoon innings, including seven fours and a six in 72 balls, Bairstow successfully drove two boundaries off Robinson, he lofted Hudson-Prentice’s medium pace over mid-on’s head twice and pulled Hunt for six two balls after Robinson’s drop.While all the focus will be on Bairstow, who last posted a red-ball fifty in the final Test of last summer’s Ashes at The Oval in late July, Luxton was just as good but in more watchful fashion during his 130 balls.The fact he didn’t score in the afternoon’s opening 50 minutes, stuck on 27, indicated that.There had been some doubt as to whether play would start on time due to a gale-force wind. But it did, and four morning wickets fell.The first saw Jordan Thompson trap Hunt lbw to wrap up the Sussex innings and claim his third wicket, leaving Tom Alsop unbeaten on 86.Indian left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat left Yorkshire at 31 for two as Adam Lyth played on for 24 before getting Fin Bean, the other home opener, caught behind.James Wharton and Luxton shared a dashing 73, with the former pulling Hunt for six.But Hudson-Prentice limited Wharton’s contribution to 40 when, in the final over of the morning, he had him caught at first slip – 104 for three in the 26th over.That brought Bairstow to the crease, and when he departed before tea – lbw to Carson’s off-spin as he played back – he thought it may have been outside the line of off-stump.Umpire Tom Lungley disagreed, and Yorkshire were 194 for four in the 48th over.Carson added three more evening wickets as Luxton was bowled, Jonny Tattersall lbw and George Hill caught at mid-on, leaving the hosts at 248 for seven in the 66th over – a lead of 59.Robinson had Matthew Revis caught in the slips for 34 and Dan Moriarty caught behind to wrap up Yorkshire’s innings.Sandwiched in between, Carson bowled a paddling Ben Coad. But Sussex were hurt by a swashbuckling 44 not out with four sixes as Thompson built the Yorkshire lead.Bad light later cut Sussex’s second innings short by five overs.

Superb performances from Katie Levick and Bess Heath led Northern Diamonds to a four-wicket win in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy against Central Sparks at North Marine Road.The pair helped Diamonds to their fifth win in the competition, with Levick taking 4 for 46 and Heath making an unbeaten 58.In a back-and-forth opening innings at Scarborough, Sparks posted a competitive total of 239 for 8, with Davina Perrin and Katie George both passing 50. Every time it looked like Sparks were going to kick on, Diamonds fought back with wickets, with Levick leading the charge.Diamonds’ chase started off well, with opener Lauren Winfield-Hill attacking in the powerplay to give the hosts a good platform. It was backed up by the excellent Emma Marlow who made 55, while Heath and Erin Burns combined well to help take the Diamonds over the line with six overs to spare.Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Sparks made a terrible start as Diamonds’ overseas star Burns bowled the visitors’ skipper Eve Jones for 1 in the first over.Sparks fired back though as Chloe Brewer, who looked in good touch, hit back-to-back fours from a Rachel Slater over easing the pressure on the visitors after a tough start. But Brewer’s innings didn’t last much longer with Levick getting the Sparks opener lbw for 37.Phoebe Turner then got in on the act for Diamonds as Abbey Freeborn pulled one to a diving Katherine Fraser at fine leg for 19.Courtney Webb and Perrin combined well and guided the visitors past the 100 mark, with some good rotation of the strike in the middle overs. The impressive Webb then departed with Turner bowling her for 37 to give Diamonds a vital breakthrough after a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket.Despite losing her partner, Perrin continued to enjoy her day at the seaside, reaching her half-century from 68 balls, but she was then Levick’s second victim of the day, caught behind for 50.The wickets then continued to come with Bethan Ellis departing at the hands of Fraser for a five-ball duck. Coming in at No. 6, the fluent George counterattacked, regularly finding the boundary.Levick then struck again, removing Emily Arlott, but the positive George got her fifty from 53 balls. Levick got her fourth of the innings, trapping George in front of her stumps for 52 in the penultimate over and Sparks set Diamonds 240 to win.Diamonds started their chase in solid fashion, chipping away at the total, but Winfield-Hill picked up the pace with a delightful four straight over the bowler’s head. Marlow was dropped in the slips on 5 and struggled to get going, while her opening partner Winfield-Hill nutmegged bowler Arlott with a beautiful straight drive for four.The England international was attacking a Sparks bowling attack that offered plenty of width, regularly finding the offside boundary during the powerplay.Much to the relief of the Sparks bowlers, Winfield-Hill departed for 46 after being caught by mid-off from the bowling of Hannah Baker.The loss of Winfield-Hill checked the Diamonds progress slightly, but skipper Hollie Armitage and Marlow made sure they rotated the strike as much as they could. The pair took Diamonds past the 100 mark in assured fashion, then Armitage went on the attack with two fours in an Ellis over, leaving the hosts in a good position at the halfway mark.Armitage was then removed by Georgia Davis for 28, but that didn’t halt the progress of the Diamonds with Marlow passing 50 from 70 balls.Sparks fought back through a two-wicket over from Ellis, bowling the impressive Marlow for 55, before getting Sterre Kalis lbw for 7.Heath and Burns then came in and rebuilt well, with Burns producing an eye-catching reverse sweep for four to make further inroads into the target. The experience of Burns, who made 34, and the boundary-hitting ability of Heath helped see the Diamonds over the line for a vital win.

Former Australia white-ball captain Cameron White has been identified as the man to coach the Melbourne Renegades back into contention in the BBL.White has signed a three-year deal to replace David Saker, who moved on in May after a disappointing seventh-place finish in his third season at the helm.The 40-year-old White is taking on his first head-coaching job but has worked under Sydney Sixers boss Greg Shipperd for the past two years and was previously an assistant at the Adelaide Strikers.Related

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He inherits a Renegades roster that includes white-ball run-machine Jake Fraser-McGurk, superstar spinners Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon and prized recruit Josh Brown.”I’ve got so many great memories here as a player and achieving success, so to be back in Renegades colours several years later is a thrill,” White said. “The idea of working with this playing group – some really exciting players there, both young and experienced – is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to ripping in and starting my journey as coach.”Renegades came out with pick two in the BBL overseas draft order announced on Thursday.As a player, White represented Australia 142 times across all three formats.  He was best known for his contributions as a middle-order batter in the white-ball sides.While his Test career was limited to four appearances on a 2008 tour of India, White captained the T20I side six times and the ODI side once, in 2011.He was also a member of the Australia side that beat New Zealand in the final to win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009. Domestically, White played during the Renegades’ only BBL championship in 2019.Victoria’s longest-serving Sheffield Shield captain, White amassed more than 7000 first-class runs between his debut as a teenager in the 2000-2001 summer and his final match in 2019.

Match details

USA vs South Africa
Super Eight, North Sound, June 19, 10.30am local time

Big picture – Can USA slay another giant?

It’s Super Eight time.Before the start of the T20 World Cup 2024, the ICC had allotted pre-decided seedings to the eight top teams. A2 was given to Pakistan. The match timings were set according to what would be prime time in Pakistan and the rest of the subcontinent. But then a USA-sized blow hit Pakistan in their very first match and the tournament hasn’t been the same since.So USA, in their first T20 World Cup appearance, are now A2, and will kickstart the Super Eight stage against South Africa. As both teams head over to North Sound in Antigua – USA aren’t quite at home anymore, note – they would hope for two things: better batting conditions and no rain.Related

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• South Africa hold their nerve (for a change)

South Africa are entering the Super Eight stage with an all-win record. But after their win over Sri Lanka in the first game, the rest could have gone either way. They found themselves at 12 for 4 chasing 104 against Netherlands, only scored 113 for 6 and won by four runs against Bangladesh, and scraped through by a solitary run against Nepal.South Africa have lost 11 wickets and are averaging a mere 9.63 in the powerplay this World Cup – the third-lowest behind Uganda and Papua New Guinea. And none of their top-order batters have a strike rate of 100 in the first six overs.Having said that, South Africa played three of their four games in New York, where batting conditions were far from ideal. And in hopefully better conditions in North Sound, they will hope the top order can finally flex their muscles.USA, in foreign shores after playing 12 straight home games (of which two were abandoned), will hope for the fairy tale to continue. They showed their batting muscle in the opening game against Canada, and then restricted Pakistan to a middling total in the second game. Even against India, they had the opposition top order in a bit of early strife.The likes of Aaron Jones, Saurabh Netravalkar and Monank Patel have shown they belong to this level of cricket. Now for them to give it another tilt and try to take another Full Member down.Saurabh Netravalkar sent back Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in his first two overs against India•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

USA LWWLW
South AfricaWWWWL

In the spotlight – Saurabh Netravalkar and Anrich Nortje

Left-arm quick Saurabh Netravalkar has been a star for USA in the powerplay, where he’s picked up three wickets and gone at an economy of 4.57. He’s found swing and shape consistently and even accounted for the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma already. Coder by day, fast bowler by night, he has had to extend his leave at his day job by a few more weeks and will want to make it count against a South Africa top order that is struggling for form.Anrich Nortje had a forgettable IPL 2024, where he picked up just seven wickets in six games and went at 13.36. But, he’s hit his straps from the get-go at the T20 World Cup. He’s bowled with pace, he’s been accurate, and, more importantly, has picked up wickets. After four games, Nortje is the joint-second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with nine wickets, and has bowled at an economy of just 4.37. His bustling pace might be useful against the USA batters who might not have faced such high speeds too often.2:53

Can South Africa find space for both Shamsi and Maharaj?

Team news – Shamsi or Maharaj, or both?

USA’s last group game in Lauderhill was abandoned without a ball bowled. Before that, they played India, where Monank Patel, their regular captain, missed out because of a shoulder injury. He is likely to come back into the team replacing Shayan Jahangir at the top. Depending on the conditions, there is also a chance USA could slot in left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige in place of fast bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk.USA (probable): 1 Steven Taylor, 2 Monank Patel (capt), 3 Andries Gous (wk), 4 Nitish Kumar, 5 Aaron Jones, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Harmeet Singh, 8 Shadley van Schalkwyk/Nosthush Kenjige, 9 Jasdeep Singh, 10 Saurabh Netravalkar, 11 Ali KhanSouth Africa brought in Tabraiz Shamsi for Keshav Maharaj in their last group game, and that could be the only selection they spend time on for this game. While Shamsi got four wickets against Nepal, Maharaj has performed consistently.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Tabraiz Shamsi/Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich Nortje

Pitch and conditions

It is expected to be an overcast morning in North Sound, but there is no rain forecast in the area on Wednesday. The teams batting second have won three out of four games here, with the surface good for batting. At the World Cup, Australia and England blew Namibia and Oman away respectively, but Oman hit up 150 against Scotland, which was chased down in 13.1 overs, and the rain-hit England vs Namibia game had 206 runs in 20 overs.

Stats that matter

• Nortje has picked up eight wickets in the middle phase, the second-highest after Adam Zampa’s nine
• USA have the highest run rate against spin of all the teams in the tournament – 11.04; Jones has been striking at 263.33 against spinners in the World Cup 2024 (80 off 30 balls)
• South Africa have the second-best death-overs economy in this tournament – 5.27
• This will be the first T20I between the two sides

Quotes

“Still striving for that close to perfect game. I thought our bowlers so far throughout the comp have been really good for us and potentially bailed us out of jail once or twice. But it’s understandably so. Conditions have been quite tough for us with the bat. It’s a fresh start for us. Specifically, if you speak as a batting group, we get the chance to get to new conditions, hopefully slightly more batting friendly for us, and a good time for us to start peaking and finding some form moving forward in the competition.”
“Myself, and Steven [Taylor], we have a lot of support in the Caribbean So we’ll definitely have some support tomorrow for sure as it relates to the whole team. I think a few people from USA actually flew to the Caribbean to support us. So, it’s really good but that’s no face for us. We just want to play hard cricket regardless of the situation.”
Aaron Jones is expecting good support for USA in Antigua