All posts by csb10.top

Annerie Dercksen’s maiden ODI century – which came off the back of two successive 50-plus scores and is also the fastest by a South African in the format – headlined South Africa’s consolation win at the women’s tri-series in Colombo.With South Africa out of contention for Sunday’s final, they put together their most complete performance of the competition and posted their fifth highest score in all ODIs thanks to contributions from the lower order, which ultimately won them the game.Dercksen arrived at the crease with South Africa on 85 for 5 as offspinner Dewmi Vihanga ripped through their top and middle-order. She consolidated with Nondumiso Shangase before sharing a 112-run seventh-wicket stand off 88 balls with Chloe Tryon, a seventh-wicket record for South Africa, to put them in sight of a big score. Tryon smashed 74 off 51 balls and was part of a 66-run stand off 30 balls with Nadine de Klerk which pushed South Africa over 300 and asked Sri Lanka to complete their highest successful chase.Related

• Nilakshika Silva, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Sugandika Kumari give Sri Lanka rare win over India

• Centurion Rodrigues, all-round Deepti take India into tri-series final

Sri Lanka have already done that once before against South Africa – when they also chased down a 300-plus total – and were in a good position on 160 for 3 in the 30th over. But Ayabonga Khaka’s double-strike, which included the dismissal of Chamari Athapaththu for 52, and a career-best 5 for 34 for Tryon, including a hat-trick, ended their chances of another historic win.Instead, the records were all Dercksen’s after she became only the second batter to score a hundred at No.7 or lower in women’s ODIs and capped off a breakthrough series as a batter.Dercksen scored her first half-century just two matches ago, at this tournament, and finished as the leading run-scorer from the league stage. Her maturity and aggression rescued South Africa after a start which turned in the wrong direction and should see her bat higher up the order in future.Dewmi Vihanga picked up a five-for•SLC

Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits put on 68 for the first-wicket and were both batting well when Vihanga first struck. She drew Brits forward and took the edge and Hasini Perera took a good, low catch at slip to give Sri Lanka their first. In her next over, Vihanga beat Wolvaardt’s inside-edge and bowled her and in the over after that, had Miane Smit caught slog-sweeping at midwicket.Just when Vihanga may have thought things couldn’t go better, she plucked two more in her next over: Lara Goodall caught at slip and Sinalo Jafta, bowled while giving the charge. Vihanga, at 19 years old and playing in her third ODI, had her first five-for and is the second-highest wicket-taker of the series behind Sneh Rana.Sri Lanka had the opportunity to run through South Africa from there but Dercksen stood in their way. She hit the third ball she faced over Vihanga’s head for four and there was no looking back. Dercksen favoured the area down the ground, where three of her five sixes were scored, including the one that took her to the century.Dercksen’s innings was laced with cuts and pulls off the back foot and, unusually for her, a selection of sweeps including a reverse off Athapaththu. She dominated the partnership with Tryon, and scored 77 of the 112 runs they put on and it was only when she was dismissed, in the 44th over, that Tryon took over.She charged Sugandika Kumari and hit her for six, moved across the crease to send Manudia Nanayakkara over midwicket and then took three sixes off Athapaththu before missing one and being stumped. De Klerk finished unbeaten on 32 off 19 balls and South Africa would have been comfortable with the target they set Sri Lanka, who began well in pursuit.Chloe Tryon scored a half-century and took a five-for, which included a hat-trick•SLC

The opening pair of Hasini Perera and Vishmi Gunaratne put on 52 and it was Tryon’s introduction that separated them. Her second delivery was tossed up, Perera tried to drive and spooned a catch to Dercksen at cover. Four overs later. Tryon switched to around the wicket and had Gunaratne caught at backward point.Athapaththu was in at No. 4 and gave Tryon a taste of her own medicine when she took 10 runs off her fourth over, including her first six.Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarickrama’s third-wicket partnership grew to 52 and and they took Sri Lanka to the halfway stage on 124 for 2 but debutant legspinner Seshnie Naidu ended their stand. Samarawickrama tried to hit the first ball of Naidu’s fourth over out of the ground but was caught at mid-off.Athapaththu brought up a 17th career half-century and kept Sri Lanka in the hunt but Khaka was brought back at a crucial time. In the 30th over, with Sri Lanka needing 156 runs to win, Khaka returned and Athapaththu sliced her to cover to all but end Sri Lanka’s hopes. In her next over, Khaka bowled Nilakshika Silva with the slower ball.Sri Lanka continued to bat proactively even as the asking rate climbed and then they were snubbed out in the 42nd over, when Tryon took three in three.She had de Klerk to thank for the first after she ran in from deep backward square and took a diving catch to remove Vihanga. Off the next ball, Sugandika Kumari was caught at backward point and then Malki Madara got a faint edge to Jafta to complete Tryon’s hat-trick.Sri Lanka were bowled out for 239 in the 43rd over and lost by 76 runs.

Abahani bank on experience

Abahani had dropped four points in the first phase, so they needed to keep winning in the Super League phase, where the top six teams from the first phase play each other once again. Mohammedan Sporting Club had pursued them right to the last game, setting up a finale at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday.Abahani outclassed Mohammedan in the title-deciding game, winning by six wickets with 56 balls to spare. Mohammedan were mired in controversy last week. Towhid Hridoy was banned for one game for arguing with the umpire Sharfuddoula about an lbw appeal, but it was extended to two matches when he made an outburst in the post-match press conference on April 12.The BCB’s umpires committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed reduced Hridoy’s ban to one game, which allowed him to play Mohammedan’s April 20 match against Agrani Bank. By now, umpire Sharfuddoula was among the two BCB employees to resign, reportedly in protest of the decision to reduce the ban. Enamul Haque was the other, who resigned from his post on the DPL’s technical committee.The BCB then announced that Hridoy would have to serve the ban for that game, which was followed by a group of players, led by Tamim Iqbal, to meet the BCB officials on April 25. Tamim called the incident “laughable”, after which the BCB reneged from their position. Hridoy was now available for Mohammedan’s next match against Gazi Group Cricketers on April 26. However, during that game, Hridoy was found guilty of reacting to his dismissal, for which he incurred another demerit point. It got to eight points in total, which meant he was now banned for four games. He didn’t appear in Mohammedan’s DPL finale against Abahani.

Anamul finally gets his due

Anamul Haque finished the tournament with 874 runs in 14 innings, including four centuries and as many fifties. It was yet another massive season for the opening batter, who took his centuries tally across all formats to 51. Apart from the obvious celebration, bigger news was waiting for him. The national selectors picked him for the second Test against Zimbabwe, his first in nearly three years.Left-hand opener Parvez Hossain Emon finished on 798 runs, while Mohammad Naim made 618, his 176 being the highest individual score of the season. Amite Hasan was the other batter to cross the 600-run mark this DPL.

Mosaddek, Rakibul take 30 each

It was hard to get past Abahani in the middle overs throughout the campaign, as Mosaddek Hossain and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan cut down the runs significantly. The pair took 30 wickets each, and finished as the joint-top wicket-takers for the season. Among fast bowlers, Mohammad Saifuddin took 24 wickets to finish third while left-arm quick Shoriful Islam picked up 21.

Best match

Mohammedan got into the position as title contenders thanks to their last-ball win against Gazi Group Cricketers in their penultimate match. Nasum Ahmed was their batting hero, hitting two sixes and a four in his unbeaten 13-ball 21, as they chased down Gazi Group’s 237-run target off the final ball.

How the Super League unfolded

Abahani kept their nerve in the last game, but Mohammedan made a fair run for it. In the end, they needed a win in the league’s last game to get ahead in the head-to-head count. It was also an impressive season for Gazi Group and Legends of Rupganj, while Agrani Bank and Gulshan Cricket Club were good as first-timers.

Big picture: Will the real SRH stand up?

One team is hammering away runs quicker than everyone bar Lucknow Super Giants, while the other has lost more wickets than anyone in the powerplay.One team is seeing a new batting hero in every game, while the other is looking around for someone to stand up with the bat.One has the second-best batting average for a team this season, while the other has the second-worst batting average for a team’s top three.It’s almost like Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have swapped places this IPL, and now they run into each other with contrasting fortunes and form. The PBKS batting is lighting up fireworks like never before with three different batters – including Priyansh Arya, the latest IPL sensation – taking home the Player-of-the-Match awards in their three wins, and all this without Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell doing anything of note.SRH, meanwhile, have as many worries as PBKS have things to brag about. Runs have almost vanished for all of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan after their first game. Even though more and more questions are being asked about their uber-aggressive batting approach, their bowlers have the worst economy rate (10.73) and the highest bowling average (41.47) in the tournament. They have the second-fewest wickets in the middle overs (7-16), and in the absence of a big-ticket spinner in their XI – having left out Adam Zampa – there is too much responsibility on the shoulders of inexperienced Zeeshan Ansari.Be it with their batting or bowling, SRH quickly need to turn things around before the playoffs qualification gets out of their hands.

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad LLLL (last four matches, most recent first)
Punjab Kings WLWWIf fit, Harshal Patel will slot back in for Punjab Kings•Associated Press

Team news and likely XIIs

Harshal Patel had missed the last match for SRH because of an illness, and was replaced by Jaydev Unadkat, who got just two overs. If Harshal is fit again, he should slot right back in for his death bowling and cutters he bangs into the pitch. The bigger question is if they will go back to Zampa and leave out Kamindu Mendis for a better wicket-taking option.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable XII): 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Zeeshan Ansari, 10 Jaydev Unadkat/Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Simarjeet Singh/Rahul ChaharPBKS went unchanged into their last game, against CSK, and brought in right-arm quick Yash Thakur for the centurion Arya when it was time to bowl. They might do the same once again.Punjab Kings (probable XII): 1 Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nehal Wadhera, 5 Shashank Singh, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Lockie Ferguson, 12 Yash Thakur

Big question

SRH head coach Dan Vettori said after their last game he still wanted his top order to go aggressive, but said they must also “respect conditions”. What’s the best way forward for them?

In the spotlight

The Pat Cummins we have seen so far is not the same Pat Cummins we saw with the ball last year. He has been leaking runs at 11.16 an over, which is a far cry from his economy rate of 7.30 after the first five matches last season. For context, his team-mates Mohammed Shami and Harshal have gone at less than 9.50 per over so far this IPL. As compared to bowling nearly half his overs in the middle overs the last season that fetched him nine wickets while going at under eight an over, Cummins has brought himself on in the powerplay more often this time but hasn’t struck more than twice and leaked 9.28 runs an over. The death overs have been the worst for him this IPL, with no wickets and an economy rate touching 19. Can he, like his batters, turn things around in this home fixture?Pat Cummins has been leaking runs at 11.16 an over this season•Associated Press

Yuzvendra Chahal appears like a shade of himself this season, having gone wicketless in three out of four outings so far. He has also not always been given his full quota, though. Against CSK, he came on only in the 17th over for his lone over and didn’t get his fourth over against Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans. If SRH’s top order fires on Saturday, he will have the big task of bowling to three left-hand batters in Abhishek, Head and Kishan, and possibly Mendis later.

Stats and trivia

• The average for Head and Abhishek’s opening stand has fallen sharply from 49.90 last season to 16.80 this IPL.
• Kishan has a delicious match-up against two PBKS bowlers. Against Arshdeep Singh, he has struck 31 runs in 15 balls while being dismissed three times. And against Chahal, he strikes at nearly 172 but has also fallen three times to him in 32 balls.
• Shreyas Iyer has a strike rate of exactly 200 this IPL.
• Maxwell’s highest IPL score (95) was against SRH back in 2014, when he was with the same team, PBKS.

Pitch and conditions

Hyderabad has hosted three games so far, where SRH batted first on all three occasions, and their totals dipped from 286 to 190 to 152. It has been raining in the lead-up to the match, along with some thunderstorms and gusts of winds. The good news is that there is no rain forecast for Saturday evening. The temperature is expected to dip below 30 degrees Celsius after hitting 36 or so in the afternoon.

Quotes

“I don’t think there are any concerns with Maxwell. We all know what a great player he is. He just finishes off the game so he’s that kind of a confident player and we all believe in him, and so does our coach Ricky Ponting.”

Lloyd Pope missed out on a hat-trick but played a crucial role as South Australia continued their quest for a drought-breaking Sheffield Shield title with an 87-run win over Tasmania.Set 381 runs for victory, Tasmania moved past 200 for the loss of three wickets as they sought to pull off an improbable run chase on Friday’s final day of play at Adelaide Oval.Related

• Doggett sparks South Australia fight back as 20 wickets tumble

• Morris turns up to the heat as WA thrash Queensland

• Bird joins 400 club to put NSW in mix for Shield final

• Rogers questions if attacking Konstas is the real Sam

But legspinner Pope claimed three of the last seven wickets to steer table-topping SA to their fifth win of the season from eight matches. SA now have one foot in the door of the final as they chase their first Shield title since 1996.Fighting half-centuries from Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Jake Doran and Test allrounder Beau Webster weren’t enough for Tasmania, who were bowled out for 293 before tea.Webster belted five fours and a six in his 59-ball innings but was the last man out when he skied a catch to Jake Lehman off Nathan McAndrew.Lehman had dropped a couple of catches earlier in the match and almost spilled the last chance, before grabbing it at the second attempt.It brought down the curtain on a remarkable match, after 20 wickets fell on day one. It was the first time SA have won a Shield match after batting first and posting fewer than 100 runs in the first innings.They were skittled for 93 but responded by knocking over Tasmania for 101 on Tuesday, thanks largely to 6 for 40 from player of the match Brendan Doggett.Ben Manenti made the crucial breakthrough on the final day when he removed Radhakrishnan, and was busy in the field with four catches.Radhakrishnan, an Indian-born 22-year-old who can bowl spinners with right and left arms, put on 79 runs for the fourth wicket with Doran as Tasmania briefly eyed victory.Pope was on a hat-trick when he removed tailenders Kieran Elliott and Gabe Bell – both out for ducks and caught by Manenti.

Steven Smith was fearful he had done significant damage to his elbow when he felt pain throwing in the BBL last week in what would been a major jolt to Australia’s plans in Sri Lanka.But after advice from a specialist Smith was cleared to join the training camp in Dubai where he arrived on Tuesday and is planning on resuming batting in the next couple of days. He is Australia’s captain for the two Tests in Galle with Pat Cummins on paternity leave.Related

• Kuhnemann has 'no pain' after batting and bowling; hopes to fly to Sri Lanka

• Smith's assist in Connolly's selection, ten years on from childhood photo

• Smith flays 121* to send a reminder of his T20 worth

• Smith sets his sights on 2028 Olympics amid T20 ambitions

Smith’s scare came to the same elbow he had ligament surgery on in 2019 – which required lengthy rehab – and it was memories of that which were at the forefront of his mind at the SCG last Friday.Outlining how the problem occurred, Smith explained he had taken a catch off David Warner, flicked it back inside the rope and was then throwing the ball in when he felt the pain.”Straight away I thought ‘oh jeez, that hurt’,” Smith said. “That was a similar sort of feeling to when I ruptured my ligament back in 2019, so I was a little bit worried for a little bit. But scans showed fortunately my ligament is still intact, the one that I got repaired. I’ve got a little bit of muscle damage, and it’s a small millimetre of the ligament on the bone that’s doing something.Smith added he believes the issue may have stemmed from a blow he took on the shoulder from Jhye Richardson earlier in the BBL which left a significant bruise on his right shoulder and led to him adjusting his throwing technique to compensate.Steven Smith will lead Australia in Sri Lanka•Getty Images

While he has been cleared of major problems with the elbow, Smith may be limited in how much he can throw in the field although as he will largely be a close catcher in a series where spin is expected to dominate that shouldn’t be a huge issue.”In terms of batting I’m pretty comfortable I’ll be able to get into it and play with some tape on it,” he said.Smith will start the Sri Lanka series on 9999 Test runs having twice been dismissed within touching distance of the 10,000 landmark during the final Test against India at the SCG.The full Australia squad, minus injured left-arm spinnerMatt Kuhnemann, is now in Dubai with Beau Webster and Mitchell Starc having arrived yesterday alongside Smith. They are preparing at the ICC Academy on bespoke pitches to replicate conditions they expect to face in Sri Lanka.”I was watching a bit there and there was a lot of variation in the spin and some bounce as well,” Smith said. “That’s the reason we are here in Dubai, we are able to do what we want to do with these wickets, try and help guys develop game plans when it does get extreme. Guys are going to learn over this week and hold us in good stead for the tour.”An update on Kuhnemann’s availability is expected in the next couple of days after he underwent surgery on a compound fracture-dislocation in his right thumb suffered in the BBL last week.

Adelaide Strikers put a severe dent in the WBBL finals hopes of the Perth Scorchers with a 30-run victory as Megan Schutt put on a masterclass.Strikers posted 169 for 6, with Laura Wolvaardt, Smriti Mandhana, and Katie Mack the chief contributors at Karen Rolton Oval. Scorchers slumped to 17 for 4 as Schutt ran through the top order, leaving their finals chances hanging precariously.With two games left, Scorchers remain in fifth spot with eight points and they trail fourth-placed Hobart Hurricanes by a sizeable run rate difference.Strikers, champions of the past two tournaments, climbed from bottom of the ladder to seventh – they have six points but just one match remaining.Strikers were sent into bat openers Mandhana and Mack made an instant impact, taking 40 from the initial four overs. They reached 81 in the 10th over when Mandhana was caught at mid-off from the bowling of Sophie Devine, ending a knock featuring five fours and a six.Just eight balls later, Mack advanced down the pitch but was beaten by a perfectly flighted delivery from legspinner Alana King and was stumped.Wolvaardt soon took centre stage with her rapid-fire innings featuring three fours and three sixes – two from consecutive balls from Chloe Ainsworth.The South African was caught on the cover boundary with three balls remaining and King finished with another stumping on the last ball, giving her figures of 3 for 29.Scorchers’ run chase began terribly with Maddy Darke bowled by Schutt second ball. And in the third over, Schutt struck with consecutive deliveries, dismissing Dayalan Hemalatha and bowling Amy Edgar for a golden duck with a top-shelf inswinger, to boast figures of 3 for 6.Schutt was denied a hat-trick by Scorchers stalwart Beth Mooney, who fell in the next over for 6 as the Scorchers crashed to 17 for 4 from 3.3 overs. Skipper Devine and new signing Brooke Halliday rallied but the task was beyond them.

Allrounder Aaron Hardie bowled a lively opening spell in his first Sheffield Shield appearance of the season before Western Australia’s frontline attack restricted Tasmania on a rare rain-interrupted day’s play at the WACA.Only 53 overs were bowled on the opening day with Tasmania finishing at 158 for 5 in a rematch of last season’s Shield final. No.5 Jake Doran held firm with an attractive 59 not out before play was called off after rain lashed the ground early in the final session.Related

• Australia's selection race: who is in the running to face India?

• Live – Starc, Smith, Boland return to Sheffield Shield

• Abbott presses his case with four to give NSW an edge

In the wake of Cameron Green being ruled out of the summer, there has been considerable spotlight on Hardie who represents a like-for-like replacement. He impressed on Australia’s recent white-ball tour of the UK, but missed WA’s season opener against Queensland due to a quad injury.There had been speculation that Hardie would play as a specialist batter, but he entered the attack in the ninth over after openers Jake Weatherald and Caleb Jewell comfortably saw off the new ball.Hardie immediately produced sharp bounce and bowled a short of a length line to cause problems for Jewell, who on 11 survived a loud appeal for caught behind.Hardie bowled two three-over bursts but struggled to find the same bite in his spell in the second session. He finished with 0 for 32 from six overs.Allrounder Mitchell Marsh is available to bowl, having played as a specialist batter against Queensland, but has yet to enter the attack and spent most of his time fielding at first slip.Perth is usually known for its oppressive conditions during cricket season, but amid overcast skies and rain in the air, WA skipper Sam Whiteman had no hesitation to bowl first on a green wicket.The WA quicks relished the prospect but offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli, who recently earned Australia A selection, stole the show with the wickets of Weatherald and captain Jordan Silk before lunch.After being well collared by Queensland, with Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja counterattacking him in good batting conditions, Rocchiccioli conjured sharp turn and trademark bounce to put WA on top.He outfoxed Silk, normally very proficient against spin, with a looping delivery that had him dancing down the track but hitting straight to midwicket.Quick Brody Couch, who had a mixed WA debut against Queensland, was fiery and clocked speeds reaching 143kph. He was rewarded for the breakthrough of Jewell, who edged a good length delivery to second slip.WA had a stranglehold but rain cascaded on the ground shortly after lunch causing a brief interruption. The weather change seemed to change the state of the game on resumption with Rocchiccioli unable to have the same impact in very windy conditions and with a damp ball that was suddenly impotent.Doran capitalised and hit several gorgeous strokes straight down the ground as he combined in a half-century partnership with Charlie Wakim. WA were left frustrated and seemingly going through motions until quick Cameron Gannon, who bowled too full with the new ball, had Wakim edging to second slip.Much like Hardie, allrounder Beau Webster might be in Test calculations to replace Green but he made just 3 after nicking off to seamer Matt Kelly as play soon ended prematurely in a rarity at the WACA.

Ireland have dropped Test captain Andy Balbirnie from their T20I squad to face South Africa in Abu Dhabi later this month, with the selectors looking to create “a new dynamic” at the top of the order.Balbirnie is Ireland’s second-highest T20I run-scorer but has struggled for form this year, averaging 24.83 in his 12 innings and scoring at a strike rate of only 113.74. He missed Leinster Lightning’s most recent T20 in the Inter-Pros, with Lorcan Tucker opening the batting in his absence, suggesting he could replace Balbirnie as Paul Stirling’s opening partner.”One area we will explore on this tour is the top order in our T20 squad,” Andrew White, Ireland’s national selector, said. “We’ll be looking at introducing a new dynamic, with Andrew Balbirnie sitting out the T20Is on this occasion. There are only two T20Is in the upcoming series, but they will offer important opportunities as we try to increase our levels of performance again.”Balbirnie has been named in the squad for the three-match ODI series which follows the T20Is and will continue alongside Stirling at the top of the order in that format. “Andrew remains very much central to our thoughts and will open the batting in the ODIs,” White said.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Josh Little is not included in either squad due to his involvement in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League, where he is playing for Trinbago Knight Riders. Little and Balbirnie are the two men to drop out from June’s T20 World Cup squad, with left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys added.Ireland were eliminated at the group stage of the T20 World Cup and were hugely underwhelming. They lost all three of their completed matches – against India, Canada and Pakistan – and had their fixture against co-hosts United States in Florida washed out.Meanwhile, uncapped legspinner Gavin Hoey is in contention for an ODI debut, with allrounder Gareth Delany only included in the T20I squad. Stephen Doheny and Andy McBrine will also arrive for the ODIs, with Ross Adair joining Delany in heading home after the T20Is.”2026 and 2027 are pivotal years for our white-ball squads – those years being the next T20 and 50-over World Cups respectively. Given their timeframes, it means we are looking at this upcoming series against South Africa as the start of a new cycle,” White said.”We need to deepen our pool of international cricketers and for the likes of Gavin Hoey, he will come into the international arena with greater confidence following his involvement in such fixtures and this is hugely important. The volume of international fixtures leading into 2027 is exciting and there will be opportunities for players to make their mark.”Ireland are staging South Africa’s tour in Abu Dhabi due to “infrastructure constraints” which they hope will be overcome with the development of a new national stadium. South Africa have already announced their squads for the series, with many of their first-choice players rested.Ireland T20I squad vs South Africa: Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Matthew Humphreys, Graham Hume, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.Ireland ODI squad vs South Africa: Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Gavin Hoey, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.Fixtures: September 27 and 29 – T20Is; October 2, 4 and 7 – ODIs (all Abu Dhabi)

Andre Russell summed up the overwhelming feeling at the Queen’s Park Oval as the Trinidad crowd turned up in droves on Wednesday to celebrate one of its greatest T20 heroes in what was possibly his last CPL game.Before the start of CPL 2024, Dwayne Bravo had announced he would retire from the league after the end of the ongoing season. But he has played just two games so far this season, and the one against defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain might have been his last, Russell suggested after winning the Player-of-the-Match award and dedicating it to his good friend.”I’m just happy to be part of this game tonight and that’s the reason why so much emotion was kind of behind that celebration,” Russell said after Trinbago Knight Riders beat Amazon Warriors by five wickets. “He [Bravo] deserves a win tonight. You have helped me a lot with my cricket – how to outthink the batter and then to be a smarter bowler. You’re not going to get it right all the time but once you have the right mindset to get the execution, I think you’re on the right way.”We’re going to miss him but I hope he is still going to be around for the rest of the tournament. But he’s definitely one we all listen to and we all look up to and you know he might shed a bit of tears tonight inside the changing room, but I appreciate him.”Related

• Injury draws curtains on Dwayne Bravo's CPL career

• Fletcher: 'We were poor, way below poor, as a fielding team'

• 'That was the turning point of the game' – Tahir toasts 100th CPL wicket

• Dwayne Bravo to retire from CPL after 2024 season

• Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph rested for SA T20Is

Russell, who has played 130 matches alongside Bravo, including 74 for West Indies, spoke glowing of the impact Bravo has had on his own career.”I think me being who I am today, Bravo has a lot to do with it,” Russell said. “I used to wicketkeep, then I started bowling and batting at No.10, No.11 and 9. Watching him play in Test cricket for West Indies – bowling good pace, fielding and diving and all those things and then when he comes to bat, he gets the job done.”