Usman Khawaja delighted in scoring Australia's first red-ball century in India for six years after his unbeaten 104 guided the tourists to 255-4 on day one of the fourth and final Test.

The opener carried the bat through sweltering conditions at Narendra Modi Stadium with a resolute knock to put the visitors on track for their best total of the series.

His efforts halted a long wait for an Australian to reach triple figures in a Test innings in the country, with interim captain Steve Smith the last to achieve it in 2017.

For Khawaja, his performance was a fitting pay-off for previous visits to the country where he failed to get on the pitch, offering a satisfying start to the final game in Ahmedabad.

"There was a lot of emotion in that," he said. "I have been to India on two tours before this, and carried the drinks in all eight Test matches. It was a long journey.

"To finally get a hundred in India, as an Australian, that's what you want to do, that's what you want to tick off. It's very special.

"It was such a nice wicket; I just didn't want to give my wicket away. It was a mental battle more than anything. You need to put your ego away. It was a battle all day."

Australia are looking to tie the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after they claimed a nine-wicket victory in the third Test earlier this month, following losses in the first two games.

Bangladesh completed a fine run chase to upset a weakened England in the opening T20I as Najmul Hossain Shanto's half-century helped the hosts to a six-wicket victory.

Without a host of big names in Chattogram, including Ben Stokes and Harry Brook, the world champions toiled in the second half of their innings and made only 156-6.

England then failed to make sufficient headway with the ball as the hosts kicked off the three-match series with a surprise win.

The tourists initially looked set for a routine victory following an impressive opening stand of 80 from Phil Salt (38) and captain Jos Buttler (67), but they stuttered thereafter.

Mustafizur Rahman's fierce 16th-over delivery to remove Ben Duckett (20) was the catalyst for Bangladesh's assault, with Shanto clinging onto Buttler's leg-side drive from the very next ball.

Having provided the delivery which accounted for Buttler, Hasan Mahmud also sent Sam Curran packing as England's rate continued to slow.

Bangladesh recovered from the early losses of Rony Talukdar (21) and Litton Das (12) after taking up the bat, with Shanto's knock of 51 supported by Towhid Hridoy (24) and skipper Shakib Al Hasan (34no).

Even Mark Wood sending stumps flying to end Shanto's stay did nothing to slow Bangladesh's progress, as Shakib finished off a clinical chase by finding the boundary with 12 balls remaining.

Significant scalp for Bangladesh

Bangladesh entered Thursday's contest having lost seven of their last nine T20Is, with World Cup triumphs over Zimbabwe and the Netherlands their only wins in that run.

However, after winning the third and final ODI against England on Monday, they carried that form into the shorter format to turn the world champions over in comfortable fashion at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Shanto leads the way

While the experience of Shakib helped Bangladesh over the line, Shanto's excellent knock set them on their way to a textbook chase.

Shanto's half-century was his third in T20Is, following knocks of 71 against Zimbabwe and 54 against Pakistan at the World Cup last year.

Usman Khawaja ground out a gutsy century to put Australia on top after day one of the fourth Test against India in Ahmedabad.

The opener said he had completed "a long journey" by finally making it to three figures on what is his third tour of India in the long format.

Australia amassed 255-4, with Khawaja 104 not out at stumps, reaching his ton with a boundary from the first ball of the day's final over.

A nine-wicket victory for Australia in the third Test last week has fuelled hope they could complete a fightback from 2-0 behind to draw this series, and this start boded well.

While it was Khawaja's day, others helped the score along, with Travis Head making a brisk 32 at the top of the innings and captain Steve Smith adding a hardy 38 from 135 balls before falling to an inside edge off Ravindra Jadeja.

Mohammed Shami bowled Marnus Labuschagne (3) and Peter Handscomb (17), but Cameron Green cracked a rapid 49no containing eight fours as he kept Khawaja company late in the day.

Khawaja got to 99 with a single from the final ball of the penultimate over, making it a nerve-jangling end to day one as he retained the strike to face Shami.

The 36-year-old left-hander held his nerve, clipping away a leg-side four to make it a day for him and Australia to savour. It took him 246 deliveries to get there, and Khawaja will look to bat on deep into Friday to pile pressure on India.

Comeback on the cards?

After day one, Australia will be fancying their task in this match. They are seeking back-to-back men's Test wins against India for the first time since December 2014, and the last time they had consecutive wins in a series in India was in December 1969. India have not lost more than one game in a men's Test series on home soil since losing 2-1 to England in November-December 2012. The hosts can't lose this series, of course, but a draw might feel like a defeat given they won the opening two Tests.

Classy Khawaja

Six of Khawaja's 14 Test tons have come since the start of 2022, underlining what a sensational late-career revival he is enjoying. This was his first Test century against India at any ground, with his previous highest score having been the 81 he made last month in Delhi. In an end-of-day interview, he recalled being a drinks carrier on his first two tours of India, but this time he is making his presence felt.

India have made one change for the fourth Test with Mohammed Shami returning to replace Mohammed Siraj while Australia goes in unchanged at Ahmedabad.

Australia captain Steve Smith won the coin toss and elected to bat on Thursday, as the tourists seek a victory to level the four-game Test series at 2-2, having won the third Test in Indore by nine wickets. Both captains indicated they would have batted first if they won the toss.

India skipper Rohit Sharma added that the Ahmedabad pitch is "not a surface which we saw in the first three Tests" which were dominated by spin.  

Australia maintained their three-spinner approach, with Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, alongside left-arm quick Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Cameron Green.

The hosts have already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy but can seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia if they win the fourth Test.

India have made one change for the fourth Test with Mohammed Shami returning to replace Mohammed Siraj while Australia goes in unchanged at Ahmedabad.

Australia captain Steve Smith won the coin toss and elected to bat on Thursday, as the tourists seek a victory to level the four-game Test series at 2-2, having won the third Test in Indore by nine wickets. Both captains indicated they would have batted first if they won the toss.

India skipper Rohit Sharma added that the Ahmedabad pitch is "not a surface which we saw in the first three Tests" which were dominated by spin.  

Australia maintained their three-spinner approach, with Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, alongside left-arm quick Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Cameron Green.

The hosts have already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy but can seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia if they win the fourth Test.

England could be forgiven for lacking in motivation ahead of their T20I series with Bangladesh, but Chris Woakes sees it as a chance for them to "lay down a marker" following their World Cup triumph.

Matthew Mott's team won the 50-over series in Bangladesh 2-1, with that format receiving the greatest emphasis with England set to defend the Cricket World Cup in India in October.

England won the T20 World Cup last year but will not have to defend that title until June next year, making a three-match series over the shortest format perhaps seem a tad insignificant.

That feeling is furthered by the absence of Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Alex Hales and Liam Livingstone from the squad.

For Woakes, though, there is no lack of desire.

"It's a great opportunity for us to hopefully lay down a marker again as world champions," said Woakes ahead of Thursday's opener in Chattogram.

"We haven't played a series since we won that World Cup so it's a challenge for us in these conditions, but it's exciting to play here against obviously a very good Bangladesh side.

"It does feel a little bit strange, we're obviously playing a format that isn't overly necessary right now.

"Nonetheless, you're playing for England and you want to win, so we're looking forward to the next three games."

Bangladesh have lost seven of their last nine men's T20 internationals, those two wins coming against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands at the World Cup.

New coach Chandika Hathurusingha was impressed by his side's performance in the ODIs and is excited to see whether his squad can rise to the challenge against the world champions.

"I am very open to see what we can do," Hathurusingha said. "I expect players to do the same thing that got them selected.

"So go and show in the international level against the world champions, for them to understand where they are at, and for us to understand whether we are better than them in our conditions or they are better than us.

"It is a good opportunity for us to see our skill set in T20s."
 

Jordan closing on century

Chris Jordan has been drafted into the squad and has the chance to make history.

He is England's leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 95 and by taking five more would become the sixth male player to take 100 wickets in the format.

Jordan would also become the third England player, male or female, to achieve the feat, following Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole.

A Litton bit more

Wicketkeeper Litton Das will be one of the players Bangladesh look to for batting firepower.

Since the beginning of 2022, he has a batting strike rate of 140.6 from 360 balls faced in T20Is, the highest of any Bangladesh player in the format in that time to have faced at least 10 balls.

They will likely need him to produce more of that kind of form if they are to threaten to upset the odds.

India captain Rohit Sharma labelled Ravi Shastri's recent criticism as "absolute rubbish", insisting his team's ruthlessness should not be mistaken for overconfidence. 

Former India head coach Shastri felt India played with "complacency and overconfidence" when they lost by nine wickets to Australia in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. 

Having won the first two matches in convincing fashion, the setback means hosts and defending champions India now lead the 2023 series 2-1 with the fourth and final Test starting on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

Rohit said: "When you win two games, if the people outside are feeling that we are overconfident, it's absolute rubbish because you want to do your best in all four games.

"You don't want to stop by winning just two games, it is as simple as that. 

"When they talk about being overconfident and all that - especially the guys who are not part of the dressing room - they don't know what kind of talk happens in the dressing room.

"Ruthless is the word that comes to my mind, and it comes to every cricketer’s mind, being ruthless. Not to give any inch to the opposition.

"The opposition will never let you come into the game, never let you come into the series. And that is the mindset we have as well."

India opened the batting in the third Test, but lost seven wickets in the first session and were all out for a mere 109 runs as they failed to repeat the form that won them the past three Border-Gavaskar trophies. 

Shastri then said on commentary: "This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do when you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down.

"I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the overeagerness to try to dominate in these conditions."

The victory confirmed Australia’s spot in the final of the World Test Championship and for India to do the same, they must win in Ahmedabad.

With full focus on the final Test match, Rohit believes Shastri's comments will not affect the squad and says India will continue to play with the same mindset.

"We want to do our best in all the games," said Sharma, who scored just 12 in each innings of the third Test defeat.

"If it seems overconfident or anything like that to the outsiders, it doesn't really matter to us.

"Ravi himself has been in this dressing room, and he knows what sort of mindset we have when we play. It's about being ruthless, not being overconfident."

Powerhouse performances with the bat from Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi helped South Africa to a solid total of 311-7 on day one of their second Test against West Indies.

The duo both came close to centuries for the hosts at Wanderers Stadium, with individual scores of 96 and 85 each forming the bedrock of a sturdy Proteas attack.

But a superb third session with ball in hand from the tourists saw them take five wickets for just 64 runs to keep this encounter firmly in the balance heading into day two.

After an 87-run win in the pair's first Test at Centurion, Temba Bavuma's hosts are looking to wrap up a series victory in Johannesburg this week.

Having won the toss at the top of the day and elected to bat, they certainly looked as if they could build a convincing advantage at the crease.

Though Dean Elgar (42) fell short of a half-century, both opening partner Markram and third man De Zorzi crossed the mark with composed innings of their own.

West Indies kept the run rate from dramatic levels, they looked to be frustrated for wickets after taking only two across the first two sessions.

But after dismissing Bavuma (28) shortly after starting the final period of the day, they found a tighter response to keep South Africa from building a head of steam.

Gudakesh Motie (3-75) led the attack, with Jason Holder (1-39) and Alzarri Joseph (1-59) helping them to regather some equilibrium.

Kyle Mayers struck twice in the final three overs to tip the scales back towards the tourists at the end of the day, dismissing Wiaan Mulder (12) and Simon Harmer (1) to leave Heinrich Klaasen not out at the crease on 17.

Promise for De Zorzi aids Proteas

After a less-than-auspicious debut Test saw him post 28 and a duck at Centurion, the number three will be delighted to have answered his early critics.

With 11 boundaries in his knock from 155 deliveries, he worked diligently to help South Africa build their total across the day.

Motie slows matters down

The left-arm slow bowler was integral to the tourists keeping themselves in the first innings before the final session though, continuing to deliver key wickets at big moments.

He dismissed the top three of Elgar, Markram and De Zorzi, one in each session, with a fine performance on a track that proved favourable to batters.

India are hopeful Jasprit Bumrah will be fit in time for the Cricket World Cup after he underwent back surgery in New Zealand on Monday.

The fast bowler has struggled with fitness issues over the past year and has not played any cricket since September last year after a reported stress reaction.

Bumrah withdrew at the time from a home white-ball series with South Africa and saw a subsequent attempt to return to action hindered against Sri Lanka in January.

Now, having undergone a successful operation, he faces a prolonged recovery, with the BCCI hopeful he will be back to full fitness ahead of a home World Cup starting in October.

The 29-year-old is expected to remain in New Zealand until the end of March, with surgery ruling him out of participation in both the 2023 IPL season and a potential World Test Championship final.

From there, the BCCI hope for him to resume training and bowling by August, with a steady workload increase ahead of the 50-over tournament two months later.

Bumrah already missed India's campaign in last year's T20 World Cup, as they reached the semi-finals before suffering a dramatic 10-wicket loss to England.

His absence does not look to have been felt during their current red-ball series against Australia however, with the hosts leading 2-1 ahead of the fourth and final Test starting Thursday.

Captain Rohit Sharma has already warned against rushing him back prematurely, as India seek to win a first World Cup since 2011.

Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith remains in the dark over which pitch will be used in Ahmedabad in the fourth Test against India starting on Thursday.

Ahmedabad's massive Narendra Modi Stadium will host the finale of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but two pitches were being prepared and under covers when Smith and the Australian team trained at the venue on Tuesday.

Smith conceded he left the venue less than 48 hours out from the first ball of the Test uncertain which pitch they would be playing on, having been given no clarity by the curator.

"The short answer is no," Smith replied when asked he knew which pitch was going to be used in the fourth Test. "There's two prepared."

Smith added that situation, given the short turnaround prior to the game, was something he had never encountered before in his career.

"[There] might have been a couple of [pitches] prepared maybe a bit longer out than two days but I can't remember two days," he said.

It is the latest in a series full of controversies surrounding pitches used, with all three Tests completed within three days so far. The series is on track to finish with the fewest balls bowled in a four-match series in Test history.

India coach Rahul Dravid had more clarity on which pitch was going to be used, although he said both being under covers was unusual.

"I don't know why two strips are covered," Dravid said. "I never asked him why he covered the other one. But I don't know what that was. We're playing on this one, I have no idea about the other one."

Australia can secure a series draw with victory in Ahmedabad after an impressive nine-wicket win in Indore in the third Test.

The tourists have come in for constant criticism after falling 2-0 down in the series, with Smith responding that some of that had been "mind-boggling" particularly around their bowling selections.

Australia have deployed three spinners in their past two Tests in the series where fast bowlers have played a minor role and been far less fruitful. The five leading wicket-takers in the series are all spinners, with 78 of the 93 wickets taken by bowlers coming via spin.

"It's been weird with a bit of the commentary back home, people talking about us playing three quicks and one spinner," Smith said.

"It's kind of mind-boggling to me when we look at these surfaces and we see what we've had, 11 innings in six days or something like that, and spinners have taken the bulk of the wickets and you see how difficult it is to play the spin.

"It's kind of odd to hear that kind of commentary, but we've had faith in what we're trying to do and it's good that we are able to show that we can play with three spinners and win. We weren't too far away in Delhi either, outside of that hour of madness.

"Nice to know our plans and everything we are trying to do can work."

Michael Vaughan's lawyers have accused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of being biased in their investigation against the former England captain.

Vaughan was charged with bringing the game into disrepute for allegedly saying there were "too many of you lot", referring to Asian players prior to Yorkshire's T20 match against Nottinghamshire in 2009.

Christopher Stoner KC, representing Vaughan, claimed his client was denied "due process" during the ECB's investigations into the allegations.

Stoner also labelled the investigation "wholly and woefully inadequate" as the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearings concluded with closing submissions in London on Tuesday.

"The investigation was wholly inadequate," Stoner said. "Due process matters and is the cornerstone of law.

"In our submission it was sent on holiday by the ECB. It raises a real question of fairness [of this investigation]. Mr Vaughan has not been accorded fairness."

ECB lead counsel Jane Mulcahy focused on a series of historic tweets made by Vaughan in her closing submission.

"If a person has a tendency to make racist comments, they have a tendency to make racist comments," Mulcahy said.

"Although Michael Vaughan now purports to be a changed character, Vaughan in 2009 was the same person who shortly afterwards (in 2010) sent two tweets complaining about foreigners… [he] still held the same 'unacceptable' views seven years later when he sent further tweets concerning Muslims and potential terrorism… the supposedly lighthearted but offensive expression in the tweets is very similar in tone to the comment made on 22 June 2009."

Stoner pointed to the testimony of Ajmal Shahzad, one of the four players Vaughan was alleged to have made the comment about, who said that Vaughan "wasn’t that way inclined" to making racist comments as important counter evidence.

Vaughan's defence team went on the offensive with a 32-page closing written submission and a 22-page storyboard of Sky's footage of the pre-game huddle from that day.

Stoner said of the footage: "[It is] Inherently improbable that such serious and unacceptable words were spoken to team-mates just as a game was starting, in the presence of a cameraman and almost certainly a microphone."

Mulcahy also defended the ECB's investigation from Stoner's claims of inadequacy, labelling it an "extraordinary amount of bitter and inaccurate correspondence".

Samuel Badree has been named as an Assistant Coach of the West Indies senior Men’s team for the upcoming six-match white ball series against South Africa. Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced that the former West Indies leg-spinner will join the squad for the three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three T20 Internationals (T20I) from 16 to 28 March.

Badree said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be asked by CWI to join the team and work with this great group of players in South Africa for the white ball leg of the tour.” Badree, who has previously assisted CWI as a spin bowling consultant and worked in the IPL, believes this opportunity to be “a continuation and an extension of that”.

He added: “I look forward to catching up with the players, some who I played with and most I already know, as we seek to acquit ourselves well on what is expected to be a challenging tour of South Africa. I also look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with the players as we look to bring some positive results to our loyal fans.”

Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket said: “I’m happy that Samuel is going to be spending time with our white ball teams in South Africa. He brings plenty of international experience and a strong desire to assist our slow bowlers in becoming world class. We believe this combination makes him ideally placed to add tremendous value to our support staff in South Africa, and specifically for our slow bowlers."

Badree is a two-time T20 World Cup winner. He played a vital role in both T20 World Cup winning campaigns in Sri Lanka in 2012 and in India in 2016. He played 52 T20Is and picked up 56 wickets between 2012 and 2018 – during which time he was the world’s Number 1 ranked bowler in the T20 format. 

West Indies are presently in South Africa playing in a two-match Test Series ahead of the white ball Series. The first Test at SuperSports Park in Centurion ended last Thursday. The Proteas won by 87 runs. The second Test starts on Wednesday 8 March at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

The white ball matches start on 16 March with the first ODI at Buffalo Park in East London. The T20Is start on 25 March at SuperSports Park. 

West Indies white ball match schedule

16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom 

25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion

26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion

28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)

 

After comfortable victories in the first two Tests of their home series against Australia, it looked like India would be on the way to a simple series win.

The Baggy Green came back with a vengeance in the third Test in Indore though, winning by nine wickets after limiting India to a total of just 272 runs from their two innings.

It provides more drama for the fourth and final Test, when the home team will be looking to avoid suffering defeat in multiple Test matches in a series in India for the first time in over 10 years. 

India have not lost more than once in a men's Test series on home soil since going down 2-1 to England in November-December of 2012.

The Border-Gavaskar series finishes in Ahmedabad, which has seen spin dominate in previous Tests.

Surfaces have been almost the sole subject of discussion around the matches so far, but India captain Rohit Sharma just wants to focus on playing cricket.

"Honestly the pitch talk is getting too much, every time we play in India focus is only on the pitch. We focus too much on the pitch in India," he said.

"I don't think that is necessary. Honestly speaking, these are the kind of pitches we want to play on.

"This is our strength, so when you're playing at your home, you always play to your strength, not worry about what people outside are talking about."

It was a good job Australia were able to restrict India to so few runs in the third Test, as their batters have struggled throughout the series, only scoring more than 200 in an innings once.

They have scored an average of 25.3 runs per wicket in men's Tests in 2023, their lowest rate since 1956 when they averaged just 21.6 runs per wicket.

The tourists will also be up against history, having not won multiple games within a single series in India since 1969.

Their spinners will likely be needed to step up again, with the emergence of Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann alongside Nathan Lyon proving a revelation in the third Test, with the trio taking 18 of the 20 India wickets to fall between them.

Murphy wants to make the most of it, saying: "I haven't thought too far ahead but when you look, Gaz [Lyon] is still bowling as good as he ever has so when this series does come to an end it is going to slow down a little, it's quite rare other places in the world to play two spinners."

Can Kohli rediscover form?

Virat Kohli has been unable to find his best form of late, averaging 22.2 in the series and without a half-century in five innings.

However, he has made a good connection on 82 per cent of his 219 balls faced, the highest of any player to have faced at least 60 balls this series, so just needs to find a way to translate that into more runs.

Lyon close to becoming number one tourist in India

The experienced Lyon was sensational in the last Test, particularly in the second innings as he claimed figures of 8-64.

The 35-year-old has taken 53 Test wickets in India, the second most of any visiting player in the history of the men's format, with only England's Derek Underwood (54) having taken more.

With the second and final Test between the West indies and South Africa scheduled to start on Wednesday in Johannesburg, West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite is urging his team to build on positives he saw in the first Test last week.

The tourists lost the first Test by 87 runs but had some bright spots, including bowling out the hists in both innings.

“I think it was very good for us as a bowling group to get 20 wickets. That was very important. I think it shows we are not far off,” Brathwaite told reporters in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“It gave us that belief that we could do it and just have to keep believing and it doesn’t matter which team we’re playing, we’ve always got to believe. We had a lot of positives in the first Test and we must just keep improving,” Brathwaite added.

With that being said, the Windies had another tough game with the bat, being dismissed for 212 and 159 in their two turns at the crease.

Brathwaite says this has to change if they are to tie the series.

“As a batting unit, we have got to improve. We have got to spend more time out there. South Africa will come hard, no matter the eleven they play, so we must be ready for it,” he said.

“South Africa is a tough team at home and with a little more application from the batsmen, myself included, we could do well here in these conditions,” he added.

 

South Africa have turned to spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer as they attempt to secure a 2-0 Test series whitewash of West Indies at the Wanderers.

The Proteas started a new era with Temba Bavuma as captain and Shukri Conrad head coach with an 87-run victory over the Windies at SuperSport Park.

Bavuma has since been dropped from the Twenty20 International team and replaced as skipper by Aiden Markram.

South Africa start the second and final Test in Johannesburg on Wednesday knowing third place in the World Test Championship is there for the taking.

Maharaj and Harmer come into the side along with batter Ryan Rickelton and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

Anrich Nortje was ruled out with a groin injury, while Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy and Keegan Petersen also drop out of the team.

The tourists are unchanged despite crumbling to 159 all out in the first Test, Kagiso Rabada doing much of the damage with brilliant figures of 6-50.

Both sides turn their attention to trying to qualify for this year's 50-over World Cup after this match, with South Africa not playing again in the longest format until taking on India in December.

West Indies have won only one of their 16 Tests in South Africa, that coming back in December 2007 and have lost 13 of those matches.

South Africa will be striving to secure a 20th Test win at the Wanderers, a tally they have already reached at Newlands and SuperSport Park. 

The Proteas have won both Tests against the Windies at this venue, the last of those triumphs coming in 2003.


Opportunity knocks for Rickelton

Rickelton returns for his fourth Test and Conrad says the 26-year-old left-hander has earned the chance to show he belongs in the middle order.

He said: "Rickelton deserves his crack at it.

"I still feel Keegan has a big role to play in the middle order rather than at the top of the order. I think his best position might be number five going forward in terms of the way he plays.

"But again this Test batting unit is still a work in progress."

Reliable Roach

Kemar Roach has produced the goods time and again for West Indies and he put them in the hunt to win the first Test by taking 5-47 in the second innings, with the Proteas skittled out for only 116.

The paceman has a strike rate of 42.3 against South Africa in Tests, his best against any team in the format.

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