Cricket news round-up – February 27: South Africa collapse again to leave de Kock bewildered

Cricket news round-up – February 27: South Africa collapse again to leave de Kock bewildered

Steven Smith Australia

South Africa were seen off all too easily by Australia, with the men from Down Under taking the T20I series 2-1 with a 97-run win against the hosts. Elsewhere, Pakistan got their women’s T20 World Cup off to a bright start, and Steve Smith moved to the top of the Test batters rankings and was named captain of Welsh Fire.

South Africa collapse as Australia deliver KO to take series

Australia secured a massive 97-run victory against South Africa in the final T20I in Cape Town to secure a 2-1 win in the three-T20I series.

David Warner and Aaron Finch both scored half-centuries as Australia posted a daunting 193/5 after being asked to bat first.

Then, South Africa once again imploded, much like they did in the series opener in Johannesburg, and were bundled out for 96 in 15.3 overs, with Mitchell Starc (3/23) and Ashton Agar (3/16) getting among the wickets.

Pakistan, England get first points in women’s T20 World Cup

Pakistan and England got their first points of the women’s T20 World Cup 2020 after seeing off West Indies and Thailand respectively on Wednesday.

Pakistan, in their first match of the tournament, secured an eight-wicket victory over West Indies, restricting them to 124/7 after they’d opted to bat, before Muneeba Ali, Javeria Khan, Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar helped chase that down in 18.2 overs.

Elsewhere, England coasted past Thailand, posting 176/2 after being asked to bat, and then restricting Thailand to 78/7 in their 20 overs.

Steve Smith returns to the top of Test rankings

Virat Kohli’s poor form in New Zealand has cost him his place at the top of the ICC Test batters’ rankings, with Steve Smith returning to the top spot after the latest update.

Kohli managed 21 runs across two innings in Wellington, allowing Smith to reoccupy the spot. The No.1 Test batting position has been dominated by these two for the longest time, and it remains to be seen if Kohli can recover that position with a better showing in the second Test.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has moved up to No.8 and Mayank Agarwal entered the top 10 of the batting charts, while among the bowlers, New Zealand’s dynamic duo of Tim Southee (at No.6) and Trent Boult (at No.13) moved up significantly.

Steve Smith named captain of Welsh Fire

Australia’s Steve Smith has been named captain of The Hundred side Welsh Fire.

Smith was stripped of captaincy and barred from skippering any team under Cricket Australia’s jurisdiction for a further year following the ball-tampering scandal in 2018. That sanction will expire this March, but Smith did in the meanwhile captain Rajasthan Royals for a while during IPL 2019.

On his role with Welsh Fire, Smith said: “It’s an honour to be asked to captain Welsh Fire in the first year of The Hundred. Our squad looks super strong with a great group of players who’ve dominated the international and domestic scenes for the past few years.”