Cricket news round-up – January 28: England win 3-1, Zimbabwe dominate at Harare

Cricket news round-up – January 28: England win 3-1, Zimbabwe dominate at Harare

England South Africa Basil D'Oliveira Trophy

England won the Johannesburg Test by 191 runs as Vernon Philander bowed out of Test cricket with a whimper; Zimbabwe raced to 352/6 by stumps on Day 1 at Harare; the third T20I between Pakistan and Bangladesh was washed out; and the Playoffs for the 2019-20 BBL have been decided.

England spoil Philander’s swansong

England won the Johannesburg Test by 191 runs to win the Test series 3-1. The South African openers began grittily in pursuit of 466 before Rassie van der Dussen (98) and Faf du Plessis (35) took charge, taking the score to 181/2 before both fell in quick succession.

Quinton de Kock (39) and Temba Bavuma (27) then took the score to 235/4 before South Africa collapsed to 274. Vernon Philander, playing his last Test, was caught behind for 10 down leg off Mark Wood (4/54). Wood’s all-round performance (35*, 5/46, 18, 4/54) won him the Player of the Match award.

Zimbabwe dominate at Harare

Zimbabwe scored at almost 4 an over to finish Day 1 at Harare on 352/6. Despite a run-a-ball 62 from Brendan Taylor, they were reduced to 133/4 at point by Suranga Lakmal (2/31) and Dhananjaya de Silva (2/67).

Captain Sean Williams (107) and Sikandar Raza (72) then turned things around with a 159-run at well over 4 an over, being particularly harsh on Lasith Embuldeniya.

No play at Lahore

The third T20I between Pakistan and Bangladesh had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled due to incessant rain at Lahore. Pakistan won the 3-match series 2-0.

BBL Playoffs lined up

Brisbane Heat were knocked out of the tournament following a 7-wicket defeat against Melbourne Renegades at Docklands, Melbourne. Batting first, the Heat reached 154/7 despite the failure of Chris Lynn and AB de Villiers. Matt Renshaw (65 in 47 balls) led the charge as Will Sutherland finished with 4-0-30-3 and Samit Patel with 4-0-23-1. Aaron Finch (63* in 49) saw the Renegades home in the last over.

The fixture reads:
Eliminator: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder
Qualifier: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers
Knockout: Adelaide Strikers vs winner of Eliminator
Challenger: Winner of knockout vs loser of Qualifier
Final: Winner of Qualifier and winner of Challenger

England, Sri Lanka Under-19s win comfortably

Sri Lanka beat Nigeria by 233 runs in Plate Quarterfinal 1 of the Under-19 World Cup. Asked to bat, Sri Lanka piled up 306/7 thanks to Ravindu Rasantha’s 102; Rasheed Abolarin took 2/50. Dilshan Madushanka (5/36) and Kavindu Nadeeshan (3/6) then bowled out Nigeria for 73, for whom Abdulrahman Jimoh (15) was the only one to reach double figures.

Elsewhere, from 78/2, Japan collapsed to 93 in Plate Quarterfinal 2 against England as Scott Currie took 3/15 and Hamidullah Qadri 3/17. Dan Mousley (57* in 36) then saw England home inside 12 overs.