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Writes of a lack of open communication from CSA’s then director of cricket Graeme Smith as well, in his new autobiography

Firdose Moonda23-Oct-2022Faf du Plessis has said that a breakdown in his relationship with outgoing national men’s head coach Mark Boucher led to his retirement from Test cricket. In his autobiography , du Plessis claimed that Boucher, Graeme Smith, CSA’s former director of cricket, and convener of selectors Victor Mpitsang ghosted him when he made himself available for the T20 team following his Test retirement in February 2021.In the book, du Plessis reflects on a difficult childhood, a career that started in shadow of his best friend AB de Villiers, South Africa’s 2015 and 2019 World Cup heartaches, his elevation to national captain, and his eventual exit from the role, driven by what he terms a lack of soft skills from Cricket South Africa (CSA), particularly in the latter stages of his career.In a chapter titled, “The Ghosts of Insecurity”, du Plessis begins to document his final phases with the national side, which started when Boucher took over for a series against England in December 2019. Du Plessis writes that the series “felt different” to previous ones because he did not feel backed by Boucher when he faced a media barrage.Before the second Test, du Plessis, who was out of form at the time, was asked why Temba Bavuma – that team’s only black African batter – had been dropped and, in his response about Bavuma’s lean run, he remarked that the national side did not see colour. The comment caught fire and du Plessis was severely criticised for not understanding the nuances of South Africa’s segregated past, even as he struggled to score runs. He wrote that he did not feel Smith or Boucher provided him with the support he needed then, which set the tone for the rest of their relationship.”I needed someone to back me up in the media, and Graeme and Mark were best positioned to clear the air and show public support for their national captain who was dealing with head- and tailwinds simultaneously. When Mark attended a press conference while this storm was raging, he didn’t do that,” du Plessis writes.Related

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• 2021 T20 World Cup: Sout Africa leave out Faf du Plessis

Later in the series, Boucher asked du Plessis about his future with the national team and du Plessis committed to all three formats. However, he opted for a break in ODIs and, with the 2023 World Cup more than three years away, to stand-down as ODI captain. Boucher also asked du Plessis if he would give up the T20 captaincy but du Plessis writes he was “not convinced that relinquishing the T20 captaincy was the right decision”. Du Plessis went on to assume Boucher’s idea that he step down as T20 captain was only a “suggestion.” Du Plessis spent the rest of the series “concerned that Mark and I weren’t connecting on a deeper level as a captain and coach”, and felt their relationship was “somewhat cold and distant” and that he “increasingly noticed how close he was with Dean (Elgar) and Quinny (de Kock)”.Later, du Plessis discovered that Smith and Boucher “felt strongly about appointing Quinny (as captain) in both white-ball formats”, which is what subsequently transpired. He finished the England series with a sense that he was “losing that connection with my purpose as a leader in the team”.After the series, du Plessis took the decision that since “Mark and I didn’t click” it would be “better for the team to have a new captain than someone who couldn’t connect with the coach”. He resigned from the Test captaincy on February 17, 2020, but opted to stay on as a player and thought of himself as “leading without a title”.That is the header of his next chapter, where du Plessis looks at the year between stepping down as captain and retiring from Test cricket, which was sandwiched between the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Du Plessis writes that in that time, when South Africa played Test series against Sri Lanka at home and away in Pakistan, his relationship with Boucher had become “purely transactional” and that he benefited from Boucher’s technical expertise. He went on to a career-best 199 against Sri Lanka but struggled in Pakistan, where he discovered “my desire and joy to play Tests for South Africa weren’t what they used to be”.Du Plessis highlights an incident that he said took place during the first Test and underlined his decision to retire. It was on the third day, with South Africa having built up a slim lead in the second innings after having conceded a 158-run first-innings deficit. The day’s play was drawing to a close and Keshav Maharaj was padded up as nightwatch. The South African team had an unsaid rule, du Plessis writes, that they would send a nightwatch in if a wicket fell within 30 minutes or seven overs of play left in the day. But Boucher, he writes, told Maharaj he would not be needed because a nightwatch only goes out 15 minutes ahead of the close. Du Plessis, who says he told Boucher about the 30 minute precedent, had to get ready to bat and go out when Rassie van der Dussen was dismissed 25 minutes before the end of the day. Du Plessis lasted 20 minutes and was dismissed with five minutes left to play.”I was furious when I left the field. We had just lost a main batter because of an avoidable tactical error. I said to myself that I was too emotional to address this with Mark immediately and that I should go to bed, sleep on it, and discuss it with him the following morning,” he writes.South Africa went on to lose the game the next day, having set Pakistan a target of 88. “At our post-match review session, I said I did not agree with the way we had handled the situation. For the past ten years, the batter had had the option of a nightwatchman, and I wanted us to discuss this. I said that I wanted to share my opinion but I was happy to be challenged on my stance. I felt that the nightwatchman was a trump card to be used tactically when required but, if the team felt differently, I’d go with what they wanted,” du Plessis writes. “The vast majority of our batting unit said they preferred having the option of a nightwatchman. Mark tried to push back, saying that in his day the norm was fifteen minutes prior to the end of play, but that’s not how I remember it. I had also played with Graeme, [Jacques] Kallis and AB, and they used to love the option of not having to bat in the dark.”This went on to leave a sour taste in both du Plessis and Boucher’s mouths. “Mark brought this conversation up again a few months later while we were still discussing my involvement in the [2021] T20 World Cup, and he said that he didn’t like the way I had challenged him on the nightwatchman. Personally, I always appreciated it when someone challenged me on something I did or believed in, especially if it came from someone who wasn’t necessarily a friend. But that’s just me,” du Plessis writes.Du Plessis informed Smith of his decision to retire from Test cricket on his return home from that series and sent Boucher a message asking if they could meet to discuss an important matter. “He never responded to my message, nor did he contact me after the announcement had been made… His silence confirmed to me that I had made the right decision to retire from Tests.”At the time, du Plessis was also negotiating a continuing role in the T20 side, with the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups in mind. Du Plessis wanted to continue playing T20s for the national side, on a contract deal, and be allowed to compete in T20 leagues outside of his national commitments. In essence, du Plessis was asking CSA to go somewhere it had not gone before: issue a T20I-only contract. Smith assured du Plessis he would look into the possibility. CSA’s board eventually decided it would not award T20I-only contracts but was still exploring the possibility of using du Plessis at the 2021 T20 World Cup, if he played in 65% of the national fixtures.Du Plessis, wary of clashes between leagues and international fixtures, and with an IPL contract that “wasn’t enough to cover all my financial commitments” wanted a “formal offer that would enable me to play in fewer leagues”. He claims Smith never got back to him on this, which led to him accepting more league opportunities. But, du Plessis says, he did not leave it there and on May 11, 2021, “sent Graeme, Mark and Victor Mpitsang an email asking for better two-way communication. I said a breakdown in communication had led to AB not playing in the 2019 World Cup, which became a media mess. I wanted us to prevent a repetition of that. So what did they expect of a player who was not contracted but was in contention for the World Cup?” Du Plessis said he did not get a reply from any of them and that Mpitsang “had not had a single conversation with me since he’d been appointed to replace Linda Zondi in October 2020”.He writes that “dealing with CSA during this time was like being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t value you as much as you value them. That complicated matters, and I had to work much harder than should have been necessary to get them to communicate efficiently. Their actions made it easier for me to accept that going to the World Cup was not meant to be.” Du Plessis did not go to the 2021 or 2022 T20 World Cups but remains in form in league cricket around the world.CSA has yet to see a copy of du Plessis’ book and told ESPNcricinfo it will reserve comment until it has been through it.

Ross Taylor, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson and Trent Boult also move up after WTC final performances

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2021There were a number of key contributors in New Zealand’s eight-wicket win over India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, and many of them, led by captain Kane Williamson, have made gains in the latest ICC Test player rankings. Williamson, for starters, has moved back to No. 1 among batters after his 49 and 52*, while Ross Taylor, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson and Trent Boult have also moved up.Williamson’s 101 runs in the low-scoring game took him past the 900-point mark and ten points clear of Steven Smith, who had taken over the perch two weeks ago. Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli and Joe Root complete the top five. Taylor scored 11 in the first innings, before partnering Williamson in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 96 in the second, which took New Zealand to their target. He scored 47*, and that took him up three spots to 14th place.Conway top-scored with 54 in New Zealand’s first innings – only two half-centuries were scored in the game – and that helped him continue his steep rise, the opener moving up 18 places to No. 42.The fast-bowling foursome of Tim Southee, Boult, Jamieson and Neil Wagner picked up all 20 Indian wickets in the game, the youngest of them, Jamieson, leading the way with a match haul of 7 for 61, which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award too. He moved up to a career-high 13th place among bowlers as a result, while Boult’s 5 for 87 for the match took him up from 16th to 13th.It wasn’t such a happy time for the Indians, with only Ajinkya Rahane making a mark, his 49 and 15 helping him go from No. 16 to No. 13 among batters. Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, slipped back behind Jason Holder at the top of the allrounders’ chart after spending a week at No. 1.Evin Lewis starred in West Indies’ win in the opening T20I•AFP/Getty Images

T20Is: Evin Lewis and Chris Jordan make a mark
West Indies are currently hosting South Africa in a five-match T20I series, which the visitors are leading 2-1 after three games. Only two of those games counted in the latest rankings update, and Evin Lewis, the West Indies opener who smashed 71 off just 35 balls in the opening game, has moved up from No. 13 to No. 10 among batters, while among bowlers, Fabian Allen has gone from No. 43 to No. 20.For South Africa, Quinton de Kock was up one place to 22nd after the second game, Reeza Hendricks up three places to 24th, and Temba Bavuma went up 24 places to No. 64 after South Africa won the second game.For England, who beat Sri Lanka 3-0 at home, bowlers Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, Sam Curran and David Willey have all progressed. Jordan has gone up five spots to No. 11, Wood 11 places to 14th, Curran 62 spots to 39th, and Willey 23 places to No. 51. For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga has moved up five places to fifth and Dushmantha Chameera 41 places to No. 43 among bowlers.Meanwhile, at the end of the quadrangular T20I tournament in Sofia, which Romania won by getting the better of Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, their batter Ramesh Satheesan entered the top 100, moving up 101 spots to No. 95 after topping the batting table with 197 runs from five innings, his runs coming at a strike rate of 209.57.

Smith was appointed in an interim capacity in mid-December

Firdose Moonda17-Apr-2020Graeme Smith has been appointed South Africa’s director of cricket for a two-year period ending on March 31, 2022.Smith was appointed in an interim capacity in December last year, during a time of crisis at Cricket South Africa, and was due to take a break to commentate on the IPL. With that tournament now postponed indefinitely, he has been confirmed in the role.ALSO READ: Smith confirms de Kock won’t be South Africa’s Test captainSmith had initially applied for the post in November last year, but withdrew his interest citing a lack of confidence in the administration. He was re-engaged when CSA underwent an overhaul, which saw CEO Thabang Moroe suspended and Dr Jacques Faul appointed in an acting capacity (a status quo that remains as Moroe’s disciplinary hearing has yet to conclude. Smith has also maintained a distant relationship with the board that has come under severe criticism from the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and sponsors for their role in CSA’s collapse. While a boardroom clean-out has yet to happen and some of Smith’s reservations remain, his experience of working with CSA staff and his growing interest in developing the game convinced him to commit to a long-term contract.”If I told you I had 100% certainty (over things) I would be lying to you. There have been so many doubts over the last period, it’s impossible to be certain,” Smith said during a video conference on Friday. “But, operationally I have got to know the staff, I have seen a lot of hard-working people that care deeply about the game. Over the three months, I have become invested in the position and started to care about the responsibility to the game, sorting it out, getting us back to the top of performance and the business of the game. It created that feeling for myself that I want to get stuck in and try and make a difference.”Smith has overseen South Africa’s worst home summer since readmission, in which the national team won only one of the five series they played under a new coaching staff, replaced captain Faf du Plessis and cast the selection net wide. The dip in performances – South Africa have not won a Test series in a year – raised serious questions about the talent pool and Smith acknowledged he was taken aback by how much work needs to be done on the field.”Initially it surprised me how much coaching had to take place at a national level,” he said. “I feel our players need access to really smart coaches and smart people to develop their games and their thinking around playing at the highest level. For us on a national level, really trying to understand who the players we have to work with are, how do we get them better and what do we need to do to get back on top.”To that end, South Africa developed a winter training program, which has been put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has enforced a five-week lockdown in the country. However, 47 players have been identified to form part of a high-performance programme and they have been sent fitness regimes to maintain even during the lockdown. Smith is in communication with all those players and has opened up a communication channel that had been blocked off under the previous administration.”It’s been about building relationships we needed to strengthen, with SACA and player pools,” Smith said. We’ve had open two-way discussions and players are feeling a lot more settled and comfortable to express themselves.”While players have received one level of reassurance with communications, they also have another financially. Faul confirmed that both players and staff do not face an immediate pay cut threat, like some of their international counterparts. With the international home season over before the pandemic hit, “we haven’t lost income that would trigger pay cuts,” Faul said.However, the long-term forecast may not be as positive, with Faul admitting there is likely to be less money available in the future, as the full impact of the coronavirus becomes known. Further, CSA’s sponsorship deal with Standard Bank ends at the end of this month and they have yet to announce a replacement and their broadcast rights deal with pay-television provider comes to an end next year. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, insiders were predicting that a new deal could be worth around 33% less, given South Africa’s flailing form. Given the contracting economy, Faul expected a tough road ahead and said CSA would continue to monitor the changing situation.

The duo shared a 94-run stand for the fourth wicket to lift Sixers to 177 before Abbott and Curran sent Heat packing for 98

The Report by Sam Perry20-Jan-2019The Sixers easily disposed of the Heat in Sydney on Sunday, led by a sizzling James Vince innings and a tame Heat reply.The Englishman made 75 from 45 deliveries, enabling the Sixers to post an imposing 177. After slumping to 2 for 16 after four, the Heat weren’t ever able to make a dent.The result moves the Sixers to ten points and second position, while the Heat remain rooted to seventh position with seven points. While enough time remains in the tournament for both sides to improve their position, a defeat was going to make matters difficult for the losing outfit.Sixers lay the foundationThe Heat won the bat flip and elected to field, leaving the Sixers to negotiate a wicket that appeared to be a fraction slow at first sight.Josh Philippe, promoted to open with Daniel Hughes, found the boundary four times from the first nine deliveries of the match before skying a Josh Lalor slower ball and departing for 17.Hughes kept the score rattling along, taking 13 from Jack Prestwidge’s first over, but soon departed when another Lalor slower ball – this one at 104kmph – had the opener dragging a pull shot on to his stumps.At 2 for 42 after the Powerplay, Henriques and Vince took up the mantle. The latter was able to free his arms regularly to find the rope as a solid partnership loomed. But an Henriques top-edge saw Lalor scoot around the edge of the third man boundary to take a good catch, arresting the Sixers’ momentum and bringing Jordan Silk to the crease.Getty Images

Vince and Silk take the game awayAs the Tasmania opener played himself in, Vince looked to accelerate, peppering the short boundary and providing plenty of work for Brendan Doggett and Prestwidge. Some solid boundary riding was interrupted when Doggett dropped a huge skier, and from there Vince stepped up a gear. He brought his fifty up in 35 balls, and was chief architect in setting up the Sixers total.It wasn’t without luck, as he was then dropped a second time by Doggett, this time after slogging Mitch Swepson to cow corner. The second was simpler than the first, and was painfully followed by a Vince six into the O’Reilly Stand.At this point, Silk joined the fray. Using all areas of the crease, he was consistently able to find runs through the leg side, at one point taking a Ben Cutting over for 17, as the Sixers closed in a total of 170-plus. With so many wickets in hand, Vince and Silk entered helter-skelter mode, before Vince eventually perished for 75 from 45 balls, caught after attempting to reverse sweep Mujeeb.Silk followed soon after, crabbing across too far as Lalor took his leg stump, handing the Heat pacer his third wicket. His fourth came after Alex Ross took a great catch running in from the deep after Tom Curran skied one to leg, and he then claimed a fifth – the only five-for of the tournament – after Jack Edwards was caught at long-off. It meant Lalor had 5 for 26, great reward for a spell that expertly mixed cutters and quicker deliveries.The Heat were never in itSteve O’Keefe opened the bowling and could hardly have started his team off better. He bowled Max Bryant with the fourth ball of the over, before containing Chris Lynn to finish with a wicket maiden. Ben Dwarshuis conceded one from his opening over, before O’Keefe returned and yielded only two.At 1 for 4 from three overs, the Heat needed to make a move. Bash Brothers Inc were able to combine for eleven from Dwarshuis’ next over, but Lynn came unstuck from Sean Abbott’s first ball, heaving one straight in the dewy air, leaving the ball to be well-held by Edwards.It was largely a run a ball for the period thereafter, which left the Heat needing nearly 12 an over with only eight overs gone. With the pressure mounting, Lloyd Pope then produced a delivery of quality,, enticing Jimmy Peirson from his crease, spinning it past the bat and allowing Phillipe to effect a sharp stumping.All that stood between the Sixers and a much-needed win was McCullum, and it was the flame-haired leggie, Pope, who picked him up. On 27 from 31, McCullum tried to sweep Pope in front of square, but sliced it all the way to Silk on the deep midwicket boundary, as he clasped it tight into his chest.The task was insurmountable from thereon, and the Heat’s batting slumped as a result. They lost wickets at regular intervals, with only Ben Cutting providing a sliver of light with a bright 28 before he was comprehensively bowled by Tom Curran, who led an excellent Sixers bowling performance, picking up 3 for 16.

The squads of all the PSL franchises after the player draft on November 12 in Lahore

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2017Chris Lynn was the first pick at the PSL draft•IDI/Getty Images

(players in italics were picked today)Multan Sultans: Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Irfan Khan, Kashif Bhatti, , , , , , , . Supplementary players: , , , .Peshawar Zalmi: Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Shakib al Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Darren Sammy, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, , , , , , , . Supplementary players: , , , Karachi Kings: Shahid Afridi, Usman Khan, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, , , , , , , . Supplementary players: , , Lahore Qalandars: Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Brendon McCullum, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Cameron Delport, Aamer Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Khan, , , , Raza Hasan, , , . Supplementary players: , , Islamabad United: Mohammad Sami, Andre Russell, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Samuel Badree, Iftikhar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Asif Ali, , , , , , , , Supplementary players: , , , Quetta Gladiators: Sarfraz Ahmed, Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Mahmudullah, Umar Amin, Mir Hamza, Asad Shafiq, , , , , , , , Supplementary players: , , ,