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His love for cricket ebbed when he was sacked by Surrey in June but now Chris Adams is looking for another opportunity to get stuck into cricket again

George Dobell05-Sep-2013A few months ago, Chris Adams cut a forlorn figure. Watching from his office at The Oval as Ryan Buckley, a teenage offspinner from Durham, spun his Surrey side to defeat, Adams looked drawn, exhausted and a little confused. Not defeated, but certainly wearied and chastened.Now, 10 weeks after he was sacked as director of cricket at Surrey, the “old” Adams has returned. He is refreshed and revived. He laughs. He is enjoying himself again and recovered a love for the game that had, if not died, ebbed for a while. More importantly he feels, after a period of introspection, that he is ready to re-enter the fray.Quite where that may be remains unclear. Had Hugh Morris stepped down from his position as managing director of England cricket 18 months ago, Adams may have been among the favourites to replace him. He might still be.But the intervening months did not go as planned. Tom Maynard’s death in June 2012 changed everything at The Oval and the attempt to add maturity to a grieving dressing room blocked opportunities for younger players. With the club management sensing a lack of progress and feeling a change was required – as much for Adams’s own good as anything – he was relieved of his position.History’s recall tends to be black and white. So, for many, memories of Adams’s time at Surrey will consist only of a side full of grieving or ageing players, struggling to win games. It’s a grossly unfair portrayal – Surrey won the Clydesdale Bank 40 and promotion in 2011 – and, after inheriting a sleeping giant at the start of 2009, he at least put them on the road to recovery. Right up until the accident, Surrey were playing – whether they won or lost – joyful cricket and appeared to have the players to benefit club and country for a generation.Now Adams admits he is “a man at a crossroads”. Each September tends to bring new opportunities in the world of county cricket and there are suggestions of changes or additions at three or four counties and Adams is likely to be considered for most of them. Whether the way things ended at Surrey counts against him remains to be seen, but it worth remembering that coaches as proficient as Duncan Fletcher, with England, and Bob Woolmer, with Warwickshire, also endured unhappy endings to coaching assignments. The man who played such a huge role in Sussex’s golden age and reviving Surrey, still has a great deal to offer English cricket.But before looking to the future, how does he reflect on the past. Does he feel the decision to sack him was a mistake?”Well, in the four years I was with Surrey, I’d overseen a complete restructure of the coaching and playing staff,” Adams told ESPNcricinfo. “We had won promotion and a Lord’s final. In the previous 24 months, Surrey had had more representatives in various England squads than at any time. All the key performance indicators were good.”Surrey were sixth in the Championship when Adams was sacked “We had lost two games. And the T20 hadn’t even started. I guess, in the end, players win games and coaches lose them. When we signed the big names – the likes of Graeme Smith – the expectations went up. Then he went home and the goal posts moved.”It hurt to lose the Surrey job. Of course it did. But that’s in the past. I actually felt sorry for Richard Gould, the Surrey chief executive, when he told me the news. Because of the nature of the club, with people living all over the place, he had to contact me on the phone. There’s no ill-feeling. In fact, I look back at the four-and-a-half years there as a privilege.”He is, he says, “open minded” about the future. He had enjoyed a foray into commentary, where his candour has made a welcome change to the facile timidity of some, and is keen, in his words, to “retain his status within the game”.”I have had offers from outside the game,” he says, “and it may be that I look towards a spectrum of interests that include a bit of several different things. But I still feel I have a huge amount to offer in cricket. Whether it’s in a planning role as a director of cricket, or in a coaching role, maybe as a batting coach, I don’t mind. It’s been my life for 27 years and I consider myself incredibly fortunate.”But he does intend to learn from the last few years. The weeks following his sacking, he realised how completely he had allowed the Surrey job to take over his life and how he had neglected other areas.”I was completely immersed in the Surrey job,” he says. “That’s fine, up to a point. That’s why people employ me, because they know that I’ll throw myself into the job with everything I have. I still feel some affinity with the squad. I signed most of them. But I have a family, too. And maybe I had moved away from that side of my life a bit through working too hard. I need to get the work-life balance better in the future.”A couple of months ago I was running low on gas; much lower than I realised at the time. But I have my energy back now. I’m ready to return. I’m just looking for an opportunity to get stuck back in.”

Michael Powell, the Kent batsman, has announced his retirement after a 16-year playing career

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2013Michael Powell, the Kent batsman, has announced his retirement. The 36-year-old, who spent the majority of his career with home county Glamorgan, will return to Wales at the end of the season and take up a position with consultancy firm Thomas Carroll PLC.Powell has featured only a handful of times for Kent this season, despite scoring 695 first-class runs at 40.88 last year. In a 16-year career, he made more than 13,000 runs and his best score of 299 remains the second highest in Glamorgan’s history. Despite that, he was not offered a new contract by Glamorgan in 2011 and expressed his disappointment at having to leave the Welsh club.”I have had a wonderful career and I owe a lot to many people within cricket,” Powell said. “I enjoyed an extremely rewarding career at Glamorgan and have also relished the opportunity to play for Kent over the last two seasons.”I would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout my career, including supporters at both at Glamorgan and Kent. I have a number of exciting opportunities on the horizon, and look forward to moving on to the next stage of my career.”Powell came into England contention in 2004, when he was called up to the one-day squad as cover, and toured with the Lions a year later but was never capped, despite amassing 1327 runs in 2006, when he was named Glamorgan’s player of the year. In 2007, he suffered complications during surgery to remove a rib – subsequently buried at Sophia Gardens – but recovered from a life-threatening blood clot to continue his playing career.Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman, said: “Mike has helped Kent through a transition period, and true to his approach to cricket over a number of years, has done so in a very positive way, adding to all aspects of Kent Cricket. I hope he finds time to come back to see the fruits of what he has helped establish, he will always be welcome.”

Essex’s hopes of winning promotion virtually came to an end when they could only draw their Championship Division Two match with Glamorgan at Chelmsford

20-Sep-2013
ScorecardOwais Shah was one of three Essex players to be awarded their county cap on the final day•Getty Images

Essex’s hopes of winning promotion virtually came to an end when they could only draw their Championship Division Two match with Glamorgan at Chelmsford. They go into their final match against Hampshire next week 20 points adrift of Northamptonshire, who now need just five points from their battle against Worcestershire to ensure that they will join promoted Lancashire in the top flight next season.Despite Owais Shah’s first century of the season and a belligerent 89 from only 67 balls by Ravi Bopara, which helped Essex to a lunch time declaration of 424 for 6, the Welsh county had no difficulty denying the home side the victory they were desperately seeking. Going in a second time and trailing by 102, they had reached 181 for 2 when the teams shook hands at the start of the final hour.Needing to make early inroads into the innings, Essex failed to make an impact with the new ball as Gareth Rees and Will Bragg put together an opening stand of 82. By the time Bragg was caught behind off Graham Napier, the match was destined
to end in a draw, from which Essex claimed 11 points to Glamorgan’s eight points.The visitors were content to use the remainder of the game as a net ahead of Saturday’s Yorkshire Bank 40 final with Nottinghamshire at Lord’s, and Rees took advantage to help himself to 76 runs before cutting Graham Napier to Ben Foakes in the gully. Murray Goodwin also enjoyed himself by following up his first-innings half-century with an unbeaten 46 before the captains called it a day.Earlier, Essex supporters were at least treated to some fine strokeplay by Shah and Bopara after Jaik Mickleburgh was dismissed by Michael Hogan after adding just five runs to his overnight 124. The fourth-wicket pair tucked into Glamorgan’s attack with such relish that they added 130 in 20 overs during which Shah – who along with Mickleburgh and Reece Topley was awarded his county cap – moved to his century from 147 balls. He went on to make 120, adding another two boundaries before he drove Ruaidhri Smith into the hands of Rees at long-on.Bopara’s effort, which contained four sixes and seven fours, was brought to an end when Smith had him caught at deep extra cover, a success which he followed-up by removing Napier in the same over – caught on the deep square leg boundary by Ben Wright.The morning session saw Essex plunder 184 runs from 29 overs after they had resumed on 240 for 2, but such enterprising batting went unrewarded on a pitch and in conditions that increasingly favoured the batsmen as the game progressed.

Like Sri Lanka A had done in their first innings, Pakistan A lost their last five wickets in a heap, but the match wound to a draw to leave the series square at 0-0 after the conclusion of two of the three unofficial Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Udara Jayasundera made 92 from 151 balls•WICB Media

Like Sri Lanka A had done in their first innings, Pakistan A lost their last five wickets in a heap, but the match wound to a draw to leave the series square at 0-0 after the conclusion of two of the three unofficial Tests.Pakistan A lost innings top scorer Usman Salahuddin before he could improve on his overnight score of 86, but although Adnan Akmal offered some resistance with a 100-ball 47, the tail folded meekly around him. Though they had been 41 shy of Sri Lanka A’s first innings total with five wickets in hand at stumps on day three, Pakistan A manage to eclipse the hosts by only 6 runs, registering 333 all out in their first innings.Seamer Lahiru Gamage took three wickets on the final day, having begun the opposition’s slide by having Salahuddin lbw. He finished with 3 for 71 from his 24 overs. Offspinner Tharindu Kaushal claimed two lower-order scalps to finish with 3 for 88.With a draw all-but assured, Sri Lanka A’s top order put on 206 for 3 before the match was called off. Udara Jayasundera hit 92 from 151 balls, and Madawa Warnapura scored an 80. All three wickets were lost to left arm spin, with Imad Wasim picking up seven scalps in the match.

Durham redrew battle lines as 16 wickets fell in an all-action second day at New Road through a century by Scott Borthwick

ECB/PA25-May-2015
ScorecardScott Borthwick battled to a most-valuable century•Getty Images

Durham redrew battle lines as 16 wickets fell in an all-action second day at New Road. A century by Scott Borthwick, more than half of his runs coming in a last-wicket stand of 95 with Graham Onions, halted a stampede by Worcestershire’s seamers and then Durham’s pace attack went on the rampage with 6 for 65 before bad light came to the home side’s rescue.Borthwick made 103 and Onions was unbeaten on 36, his highest Championship score in three years, as Durham were dismissed for 198, a deficit of 125, but Worcestershire, with a lead of 190 at the end of play, probably hold a marginal advantage in bowler-friendly conditions.Borthwick’s innings, always resolute and frequently exhilarating, was perhaps the most unexpected and most rewarding of his six Championship centuries since he became a top-order batsman two years ago.When Onions went to the crease some 40 minutes after lunch, Durham had lost nine wickets on the day for the addition of 89 after a harrowing experience against Worcestershire’s impressive seam trio of Joe Leach, Charlie Morris and Jack Shantry. Given all the tools they needed, with cloud cover and signs of unreliable bounce, they shifted Durham’s openers in quick time, Keaton Jennings and Mark Stoneman beaten on the drive, and the next seven batsmen failed to reach double figures.Leach claimed three wickets in 30 balls, notably when an lbw decision scuppered Paul Collingwood’s move up the order, and the momentum was such that Durham could hardly find a run other than those that Borthwick chiselled from a desperate situation.Calum MacLeod was last out before lunch, an inside edge finding short leg via the thigh pad, and the afternoon session began with five slips posted for Shantry. Chances duly flew to third and fourth in the line, and then first slip was called on when Chris Rushworth was ninth out, a fourth wicket for Leach.At that point Durham were 220 adrift and perhaps only those with memories of Onions’ international career – and his part in saving two Test matches in South Africa – may have dared to consider that they could muster 174 to save the follow-on.At first Borthwick made it his mission to keep Onions off strike, which he did to the extent that his partner rarely faced more than two balls in an over, and more worryingly for Worcestershire, he mostly did this with some comfort.Borthwick’s fifty arrived in a flurry of three consecutive boundaries, two pulls and sumptuous cover drive, and as Onions began to earn a vote of confidence, the last man raised a fifty partnership with an edged four and later cleared the follow-on threat with a crashing shot past cover.The stand became a Durham record for this fixture, surpassing 84 added by Danny Law and Nick Hatch at Kidderminster in 2001, and Borthwick completed his hundred with a pull off Leach for his 14th four. He was to face only seven more balls, making 185 in all, before he was given out leg-before, a fourth wicket for Shantry as he attempted to turn the left-arm seamer on the leg-side.Bowlers regained control again when Rushworth captured the first two Worcestershire wickets and handed over to John Hastings, who took 3 for 6 in two overs. The ball that did for Alex Gidman was an unplayable shooter.Afterwards, Durham batsman Borthwick celebrated what he described as “one of my best hundreds”. He said: “At 103 for 9 we tried to bat as long as we could. ‘Bunny’ hung around and after a while we got a bit of rhythm, with me taking four balls and him two. It was fantastic that I managed to get a nice score and put us back in the game. It was an unbelievable partnership but you can bat on this pitch if you get in.”Worcestershire assistant coach Matt Mason said of his team’s performance: “What a strange day. At one point there, when we got that ninth wicket, I thought ‘you beauty’ and we’re in a position here to maybe force the follow on. We were in a really strong position but I thought their last wicket stand was terrific.”To be fair to our seamers, I thought they threw everything they could at them and hats off to the opposition. But we ended up with a 125-run lead that we would have taken at the start of the game. Those wickets tonight have rocked us a bit and put us a bit on the back foot but let’s remember we are still 190 runs in front and still have four wickets in hand, so we are still in a strong position. The new ball in particular has definitely seamed around a bit and as time goes on it gets a little bit easier to bat.”

Despite the prospect of a 10-team World Cup being confirmed at the end of this week’s ICC Annual Conference, Tim Anderson, the ICC head of global development, says Associate cricket overall is “in a much better place now than say it was six or 12 months a

Peter Della Penna25-Jun-2015Despite the prospect of a 10-team World Cup being confirmed at the end of this week’s ICC Annual Conference, Tim Anderson, the ICC head of global development, says Associate cricket overall is “in a much better place now than say it was six or 12 months ago”.In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Anderson said Associates had gained increased respect from Full Members after what he characterised as the best ever performance by Associates in a World Cup. The ICC administrator said that even though there was no guarantee that Associates would be part of a 10-team World Cup for 2019, it would be unfair to criticise the decision to downsize the tournament without considering moves that he felt had opened up other opportunities for Associates.”One of the things that I think is a bit unfair in the analysis of all of this is that the World Cup is only one of a number of ICC events that take place over a four-year cycle,” Anderson told ESPNcricinfo. “Within the same period of time that the World Cup was decided to be smaller, which happened in 2013, the World Cup Qualifier will now include Full Members. That’s a significant shift in the structure of the ICC, that a Full Member has to qualify for the World Cup.”There are more teams in the World Twenty20, going from 12 to 16 which is great. The pathway to Test cricket through the Intercontinental Cup, so that’s great. The last decision which was quite recent was having Ireland and Afghanistan on the ODI rankings table for the purposes of qualifying for the World Cup. So effectively they are now part of the ODI FTP. Now I understand the counter-arguments to some of those, that they are not guaranteed games and yes we understand that but the fact that they are part of that family of 12 countries now, I think that’s a really important step in the right direction. So I guess the bottom line for me is that even though the World Cup and the reduction of teams is a very emotive issue, there are some other good things that have happened at the same time that may have been slipped over.”Despite his admission that Ireland and Afghanistan’s inclusion in the ODI rankings table was no guarantee for securing additional matches against Full Members, Anderson said he had observed more communication between the two Associates and Full Member boards since the conclusion of the World Cup. He attributed an increased interest in Associate cricket in general from Full Members due to greater Full Member representation on the ICC development committee.”We have four Full Member directors including the chairman and the CEO on the development committee of the ICC,” Anderson said. “That has never happened before. If you look at it from region to region, Cricket Australia and Papua New Guinea have links. Cricket Australia have just been to Nepal. India [hosted a training camp for] Nepal since the earthquake. These sort of things haven’t happened before. Afghanistan played in the Asia Cup and now they are talking about having a qualification event into the Asia Cup moving forward.”England obviously continue to be supportive. I think [ECB chief executive] Tom Harrison has a very global perspective about developing the game and I think therefore that he will look at things maybe a little bit differently. In Africa, we’ve just had an announcement that Cricket South Africa is playing an African T20 competition with Kenya and Namibia. The West Indies have great interest obviously in the USA and by extension Canada and the ICC Americas Region and they’re doing a lot of stuff. So there’s a lot of things that are happening here.”Anderson said the World Cricket League Championship had been a tremendous success for the ICC and envisioned more exposure, either through video webcasts or full-fledged TV productions, similar to what occurred during the first edition from 2011 to 2013. He said the World Cricket League promotion and relegation structure, which has seen teams like Afghanistan and Nepal rise from Division Five all the way to World Cup and World T20 qualification, highlighted the strength of meritocratic structures in Associate cricket. When asked why Full Members don’t apply the same standard to themselves, Anderson said it comes down to “membership benefits”.”I think there’s a lot of respect in the Full Member world, at least at our board table, of the merit-based systems that happen in the Associate world,” Anderson said. “I think there’s a desire to try to… you can’t necessarily replicate them directly but at least take that philosophy and try to put it into more Full Member activities that the ICC is involved in, be it funding or events or whatever. But changes don’t just happen like that. It’s a fair question and my view is that the ball is turning, maybe not as fast as some people would want but it is turning.”The controversial aspect of that is that ‘You’re just telling us that you’re doing all these things at this level – events, competition and all of that – well what about the Full Members?’ I think that’s relevant. But I suppose what do I concentrate on? I concentrate on the stuff that I can control and that is creating the very best systems that we can have at a development level for our countries to get better. We are very proud of those, be it our events, be it our funding models, we think that because those are in place, the standard of our members is getting better which is what we’re about.”

Yorkshire Vikings took a crumb of comfort out of a dismal campaign by beating North Group leaders, Birmingham Bears, by eight wickets in their final NatWest T20 match at Headingley

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB/PA24-Jul-2015
ScorecardAlex Lees guided Yorkshire’s chase to end a poor campaign on a high•Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell was dropped for “unprofessional behaviour” but Yorkshire Vikings took a crumb of comfort out of a dismal campaign by beating North Group leaders, Birmingham Bears, by eight wickets in their final NatWest T20 match at HeadingleyWinning the toss the Bears struggled to 145 all out, a total which acting captain, Alex Lees, made sure was well within Yorkshire grasp by striking a measured 63 off 56 balls with eight fours and featuring in a second wicket stand of 104 with Jack Leaning.Once Lees had gone, Leaning continued on his way to his maiden T20 half-century and he was unbeaten on 60 when Yorkshire crossed the line with three balls remaining.Victory brought Yorkshire only their fifth success while Birmingham, already assured of a home quarter-final draw, registered their fourth defeat.The match ended on a happier note for Yorkshire than had been struck earlier in the evening when the club confirmed that Maxwell – who made 229 runs at 20.81 and claimed 12 wickets in this season’s T20 Blast – had been left out of the side “for disciplinary reasons”.Asked about Maxwell’s omission, Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie said: “It was just unprofessional behaviour and I don’t wish to add anything further. It has been dealt with and we have moved on and the slate is clean. As soon as the decision was made we cracked on.”There was an early setback for Yorkshire when Will Rhodes drove Rikki Clarke gently to Josh Poysden at mid-on but with little scoreboard pressure to worry about Lees and Leaning were able to set about their task without taking any undue risks.Recordo Gordon’s first ball was hit for four by Leaning but it was Lees who mainly picked off the boundaries, forcing Jeetan Patel through mid-off and steering Poysden to the fence.Lees’ first half-century of the season contained seven fours and came off 38 balls and Leaning had just raised the century stand when Lees was trapped lbw by Patel.Although the game went to the final over, the result was never in much doubt, Leaning’s 60 coming off 49 balls and containing five fours and a six.The Bears had no stand-out batsman and they were kept under control by a Yorkshire attack which bowled much tighter than on many occasions this season.Liam Plunkett, who sent down his side’s only maiden of the summer, had Tom Lewis skying a catch to Leaning in the opening over, before 17-year-old Matthew Fisher followed up with the prized scalp of Brendon McCullum.The New Zealand captain smashed his third ball over long-on for six but in attempting to blast over midwicket a couple of deliveries later he missed and lost his middle stump in spectacular fashion.Ben Coad kept Yorkshire on top with the wickets of Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke in consecutive overs while Chris Woakes was caught on the cover boundary off Richard Pyrah who also accounted for Patel when taken inside the rope attempting another big hit.Only Matthew Waite in his solitary over soaked up much punishment and Rhodes cleaned up with three for 27 as the Bears were dismissed with eight balls remaining.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is likely to send a security team to Pakistan next week for a proposed tour of the women’s team later this year

Mohammad Isam05-Aug-2015The Bangladesh Cricket Board is likely to send a security team to Pakistan next week for a proposed tour of the women’s team later this year. The series has been a possibility since PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan visited Bangladesh last year. BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said it would not be more than a two-member delegation.”Our security team will be going to Pakistan,” Chowdhury said. “We have informed our counterparts there, so it is in process. A date [of their departure] will be confirmed in a day or two. The tour could be in October.”Last week, BCB president Nazmul Hassan had said that the security inspection would be the second step in the process for the proposed tour as they had already sent a letter to the Bangladesh High Commission in Pakistan to get an understanding of the security situation.”They [PCB] have sent us a proposal. Our women’s team is getting restless to play abroad. Pakistan has given us an offer, we are thinking about it,” he said. “If everything is okay and the women’s team agrees to go…there are a lot of factors left. It is still quite far away [from being finalised].”A security team from the BCB had visited Pakistan in March 2012 but the proposed tour for the men’s team in April was postponed for more than two years.

Shortly after Michael Clarke had fought back tears on confirming his retirement, Alastair Cook let his emotions through as he tried to soak in his achievement of becoming just the third England captain to win two Ashes series on home soil

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2015Shortly after Michael Clarke had fought back tears on confirming his retirement, Alastair Cook let his emotions through as he tried to soak in his achievement of becoming just the third England captain to win two Ashes series on home soil.Cook admitted his team – who regained the Ashes early on the third day at Trent Bridge – had surpassed even his expectations with their swift demolition of Australia. This Test barely reached the third day, following on from the two-and-a-half day victory at Edgbaston which came on the heels of a thumping defeat at Lord’s.”Michael’s got emotional and it’s got me emotional,” Cook said at the presentation. “From where we’ve been over the last 18 months to what we’ve achieved, I’m incredibly proud of the lads and all the support staff. We’ve done something I didn’t think was quite possible at the beginning of the summer.”Barely 18 months after a shattered Cook had stood on the SCG after Australia completed the 5-0 whitewash which led to a disintegration of the England team he reflected on the change in fortunes.”When you lose 5-0, there’s a turnover of players and a new side develops, it takes a bit of time but you see what talent there is in the country and we saw the end potential here,” he said. “Ben Stokes was fantastic here. Joe Root has gone from strength to strength – they have driven this side forward – and the senior players have led so well. As a captain, I’m very lucky to have a group of senior players, Broady to step up, Jimmy, Bell, the support I’ve had from them means a lot.”Cook also made special mention of Peter Moores, who was sacked as coach at the start of the summer in another messy transition which opened the way for Trevor Bayliss to take the role – a position he only started officially a few weeks before the Ashes.”Peter Moores isn’t here but the amount of work he did, you’ve seen the players grow as international players. Trevor has come in and taken that forward, but without Peter and that development – it was a tough time a few months ago – he’s put a lot of hard work in for that success.”Today’s not about me, or me getting emotional, it’s about players who have taken that journey through some incredibly tough times to get the amazing times. That’s the moment you play for, when Woody gets the last wicket.”

Kagiso Rabada has said that he had never felt so much pressure in a game before and that it was crucial for him to keep a clear mind defending in the last over against MS Dhoni

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-20151:49

‘We were clear on what to do in the last over’ – Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has had to defend at the death before, with mixed results. “At school I have been required to bowl the last over quite a few times,” he said. “And yeah, sometimes we lost, sometimes we won.”So it was a little different when he was asked to defend at the death in Kanpur. “To date, I have never felt that much pressure in a game simply because of the magnitude of the players and also the level of cricket: international cricket, fans. It was a big game today. There’s no bigger stage than this. I was bowling to one of the best players in the world (MS Dhoni). I’ve seen players win games from that position.”He has also seen players lose games from there so “it was crucial for me to keep a clear mind.” But with emotions running high and noise that may have seemed as suffocating as the heat, it was difficult to find some space to be silent with his own thoughts. So South Africa’s two senior-most players tried to provide it. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers flanked him to “try to brainstorm to see what the right ball to bowl was,” as Amla explained.Rabada had nearly ensured the match-winning with two wickets in two balls so his last delivery was about ensuring he did not do anything match-losing, like bowl an extra that would give India a chance to win. The right ball was anything but a no-ball or a wide but it was also a ball that South Africa had decided was going to be their stock delivery on the day and the one that Rabada had used to take his two wickets.”I was speaking to AB and I said, ‘we’ve been bowling back of a length, so what do you think about yorkers?,’ and he said no because MS can pounce on those full balls,” Rabada said.”We spoke about it at the change as well and the batters said it was quite tough to hit back of a length and with the extra pace in our attack it was going to be harder. As the game went on we felt it was going to get harder and harder to bat because the pitch was deteriorating and it was two-paced. So we were very clear in that last over what we do.”All the clarity in the world has been known to fog over when the pressure is on but Rabada’s ability to resist that is what set him apart. Even the man who is the personification of calm, Amla, was impressed by how well Rabada kept it together. “KG bowled exceptionally well to hold his composure like that,” Amla said. “He has such maturity for a youngster.”It’s worth remembering that Rabada is only 20 years old, has played the same number of internationals – 14 – as he has first-class matches and is still able to take charge in that fashion.Someone else whose composure was under the spotlight was comeback kid Quinton de Kock, who made his first international appearance since being dropped in Bangladesh. De Kock scored 29 and seemed more in control of his game.”Quinny batted exceptionally well upfront. He timed the ball better than anybody today, well, him and Rohit (Sharma),” Amla said. “He is such an exciting talent, he is a wonderful guy and he is extremely hungry. He had good success with the A team so he comes on the back of some good experience, recent experience, and he is in good touch. Hopefully in the series we will see the best of him.”Some may disagree with Amla about who timed the ball best. After all, de Villiers’ 104 was paced perfectly but Amla reserved some praise for him too. “We all know he is the best batsman in the world and what he does, I don’t think anybody in the world can do,” Amla said. “The way he does it and the timing – very few guys can come in in the 20th over and still score a hundred the way he does. All of us, KG included, are happy that he is playing for us and KG doesn’t have to bowl to him.” Rabada would agree.