Cricket news round-up – January 8: Stokes powers England past South Africa, Saini stars in India win

Ben Stokes won England another Test, helping the visitors level the series in South Africa 1-1. Elsewhere, India coasted to 1-0 in Indore, Zimbabwe name new team captains, and Prithvi Shaw has injury concerns.

Stokes helps England level series 1-1

Ben Stokes put in yet another claim to being the greatest England player this century when he returned 3/35 in another of those marathon spells to help beat South Africa by 189 runs.

It was a tense affair, with Stokes’ dismissal of the resistant Vernon Philander late in the day sealing the win. South Africa, chasing a target of 438, made a manful attempt at fighting out for a draw after losing two wickets early to be reduced to 164/4.

They were eventually bundled out for 248, just 8.2 overs short of stumps. The third Test will begin at Port Elizabeth on January 16.

Saini stars as India go 1-0

India have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka after a seven-wicket win the second match in Indore.

Opting to field, India restricted Sri Lanka to 142/9 – Kusal Perera’s 28-ball 34 was the highest score of the innings – and with Shardul Thakur returning 3/23 and Navdeep Saini doing his bit with a 2/18.

That target proved of little threat to India. KL Rahul set things up with a 32-ball 45, putting on 71 for the opening wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (32 off 29). Shreyar Iyer and Virat Kohli then accelerated the scoring – Iyer scored a 26-ball 34 and Kohli a 17-ball 30* to help complete the chase in 17.3 overs with seven wickets to spare.

Sean Williams named Zimbabwe Test captain

Sean Williams has been named Zimbabwe’s new Test captain, with Chamu Chibhabha picked to lead the limited-overs sides on an “interim” basis.

Their appointments come on the recommendation of former captain and current director of cricket Hamilton Masakadza. “The role of captain is an honour and a responsibility which Sean and Chamu thoroughly deserve, both of them being exceptional players and great servants of our game over the years,” Masakadza said.

“I am delighted that they have accepted their new roles and I extend my congratulations to them and wish them all the best as they help to take Zimbabwe to the next level.”

Prithvi Shaw will miss India A warm-ups in New Zealand

Mumbai batsman Prithvi Shaw suffered a shoulder injury and will miss India A’s warm-ups in New Zealand.

Shaw picked up the injury during the Ranji Trophy clash against Karnataka last week, and is currently undergoing rehab. He will not play the two one-dayers in Lincoln, and whether he will recover in time for the rest of the tour remains to be seen.

Shaw hurt his left shoulder in the field on the first day of clash against Karnataka. MRI scans revealed he had hurt his rotator cuff on his left shoulder, and BCCI immediately asked Mumbai to release Shaw from the match, and send him to NCA for rehab.