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Wes Robinson struck his second first-class century and Luke Ronchi returned to batting form as Western Australia piled up an imposing score on the first day against New South Wales

Cricinfo staff03-Nov-2009Western Australia 5 for 371 (Robinson 141, Ronchi 79*, Smith 3-115) v New South Wales

Scorecard
Wes Robinson was in fine form with his 141•Getty Images

Wes Robinson struck his second first-class century and Luke Ronchi returned to batting form as Western Australia piled up an imposing score on the first day against New South Wales. The Warriors reached 5 for 371 at the close with Ronchi unbeaten on 79 from 78 deliveries and Theo Doropoulos on 47.It was an extremely promising day for the visitors after their captain Marcus North chose to bat at the SCG, where the Blues had included two spinners on a pitch they expected to turn later in the game. The legspinner Steven Smith picked up 3 for 115 but the runs came freely and Robinson provided the impetus at the top of the order.Robinson has enjoyed a productive few weeks, having passed fifty in his three most recent Sheffield Shield or FR Cup innings before this match. He equalled his career best of 141 in his ninth first-class appearance and reached triple figures from 178 deliveries with two consecutive fours off Smith.Smith eventually bowled Robinson, having already accounted for Marcus Stoinis and North, but there were more runs to come from Ronchi and Doropoulos. They put on an unbroken stand of 124 for the sixth wicket as the New South Wales attack struggled to plug the leaks.The form of Ronchi was particularly encouraging for the Warriors after he lost his place in the state line-up late last summer due to a severe batting slump. An in-form Ronchi could again challenge the growing list of contenders to be the national side’s backup gloveman behind Brad Haddin, who took one catch on his first day of first-class cricket since having surgery on his finger.

Ricky Ponting had urged his players prior to the first Test to lift Australia from their modest fourth place on the Test rankings

Alex Brown at the Gabba28-Nov-2009Ricky Ponting urged his players prior to the first Test to lift Australia from their modest Test ranking of fourth, and backed them with perhaps his most tactically aggressive game as captain. This is a new era for the Australian team and also for Ponting’s leadership, should his ruthless pursuit of West Indies over the past three days become a template for future campaigns.A rare first-innings declaration and a rarer enforcement of the follow-on – just the third time in Ponting’s 63-Test captaincy career – signalled Australia’s positive intent in the post-Ashes era. Whereas Ponting has historically favoured a methodical, asphyxiating approach when in possession of a sizeable first-innings advantage, this time he went for the quick kill – and in so doing assured his players two extra days shore leave.”The one thing I spoke about a bit before the game was our ranking and how keen I am for this group of players to do their best and put their best foot forward to improve that,” Ponting said. “I think today was our first step forward in being able to do that. We’ve got a good group of players together, there’s a lot of skill around our group at the moment and a few of our younger blokes are starting to have some good performances.”Winning games tends to make everyone feel a bit better about themselves around the group. We’ve achieved the things we wanted to this week. As far as the Ashes are concerned, that’s long gone, done and dusted. We’ve all learned from it and hopefully it will make us better cricketers in the future.”Conservatism is a term that has hounded Ponting throughout Australia’s transition period. Sometimes instinctive, sometimes in response to uncertainly over new cast members, Ponting’s cautious approach has jarred with an Australian public weaned on the cavalier captaincy of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, and attracted criticism from the national media.Will the Gabba Test be the line in the sand? Ponting certainly hinted as much after play on Saturday. Increasingly at ease with his next generation line-up, Ponting showed supreme faith in his bowling line-up throughout the match and called upon selectors to end the era of experimentation.”Generally when a team’s having a lot of success there’s not a lot of change in the side,” he said. “I guess that was one other thing I said before the game: it would be good to keep a group of players together for a long time, because that generally means the team is performing well and individuals within the team are doing well and performing their roles. All going to plan, we won’t have too many changes at all over the next 12 months. It would be great to keep the squad together.”Ponting was pondering follow-on permutations as early as day two, when he declared Australia’s first innings closed at the tea break. “I felt at that stage that 480 was a pretty big total and if we bowled well and held our chances, there was a chance that we might have been good enough to only have to bat once in the game,” he said. “It worked out
pretty well from there.”But the defining move came in the second session on Saturday, when Ponting opted for the knockout blow rather than a points decision in enforcing the follow-on. Only a gallant century from teenage debutant Adrian Barath pierced the otherwise all-encompassing gloom for the tourists, who slumped to their fifth consecutive Test defeat.”I thought today that if the bowlers could bowl well at the start of the second innings then the opportunity to finish the game today and for them to have an extra couple of days off leading into Adelaide was pretty appealing,” Ponting said. “That’s the reason we did it the way we did it.”We know that West Indies were probably a long way off their best in this game and there is no opportunity for us to be complacent with what we’ve achieved. It’s one Test match out of the summer and I made it pretty clear at the start of this week that it’s about us getting our cricket to a level that’s going to move us back up those rankings.”

Makhaya Ntini, South Africa’s iconic fast bowler, is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket later this week

Cricinfo staff03-Jan-2010Makhaya Ntini, South Africa’s iconic fast bowler, is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket later this week, and could be set to join Middlesex as a Kolpak player after being dropped for the crucial third Test against England at Newlands.Ntini, the first black African to play for South Africa, made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at the same venue back in March 1998, and celebrated his 100th Test cap against England at Centurion two weeks ago. However, his form in the current series has been poor, with only two wickets at 233 in the opening two matches, while his 29 wicketless overs at Durban were a major factor as England piled up a matchwinning total of 574 for 9 declared. Prior to the start of the third Test, Ntini opted not to take part in the team warm-up at his own request.On the eve of the Newlands Test, South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, had made it clear that a tough decision was on the cards when he refused to give Ntini his unequivocal backing. “It’s a sensitive issue in South Africa, and that’s being honest,” Smith said. “When senior players are at the point where there are a lot of questions being asked about them it’s always a terrible, tough time for any leadership group to manage. We’ve really tried to support Makhaya and give him as much as we can behind the scenes.”Ntini was this week told by the selectors that he would not be playing at Newlands, and has since been linked with Middlesex as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season. Any such move would automatically confirm the end of his 101-Test career, in which he has taken 390 wickets at 28.82, including 18 five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket matches, the most memorable of which came at Middlesex’s home ground of Lord’s in 2003.”If a player of his quality becomes available, obviously we’d be very interested,” Shaun Udal, Middlesex’s captain, told BBC Test Match Special. “The next call is down to him but, if he does decide to make himself available, everyone at Middlesex would love to have him.
We were made aware through various sources that, if the series didn’t go particularly well, he had expressed an interest in playing county cricket of some form and, if anything happens – and it’s still a big if – he would like to play at Lord’s.”Makhaya has done well at Lord’s, he’s got three five-wicket hauls there, and it’s the home of cricket, so who wouldn’t want to play at the home of cricket if the opportunity arises? If he does decide to come, we’d be absolutely delighted. We’ve spoken to two or three people about him and not heard one single word of anything but praise in terms of his attitude, his mentality and he was brilliant in the dressing room.”Ntini’s place in South Africa’s starting line-up has been taken by Friedel de Wet, who starred on his debut at Centurion two weeks ago when he claimed four wickets with the new ball in a memorable final session of the match. His recall is entirely on merit, as he comes into the team to complete a pace attack that also includes Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.”It’s a sad time for Makhaya, as it is for any player who gets left out,” said South Africa’s wicketkeeper, Mark Boucher. “But that’s unfortunately one of the things you have to deal with as an international sportsman. I know Makhaya, his attitude will be good, and he’ll work really hard on his game.”

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has said batsman Mohammad Ashraful was fortunate to retain a place in the national team but felt there was no adequate replacement for him yet

Sriram Veera in Dhaka22-Jan-2010Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has said batsman Mohammad Ashraful was fortunate to retain a place in the national team but felt there was no adequate replacement for him yet. Siddons also viewed the first Test as an opportunity lost for Bangladesh and believed the result could have been different had the top order batted better.Ashraful averages 22.92 from 51 Tests, and his 101 against Sri Lanka in December 2008 is his only 50-plus score in more than two years. “There is definitely a lot of pressure on Mohammad Ashraful,” Siddons told Cricinfo. “He knows that he has been very inconsistent and we have talked about it. In that regard, he is very lucky to be still in the team but unless you find someone else, someone better, to replace him, he will play. After all, it wasn’t long time back that he hit a hundred against Sri Lanka. I hope he scores in the second Test and inspires the whole team.”Akram Khan, the national selector, had earlier said that they were forced to play Ashraful in the past because of the lack of seniors but Siddons wasn’t convinced about that reasoning. “I have never been a fan of playing players just because of experience. You need to perform,” Siddons said. “Else, you might as well play young players. As for Ashraful, there is no one anyway, as yet, as good as him and hence he continues to play. But the pressure is growing.”Looking back at the first Test, Siddons said Bangladesh would have done better, perhaps even won the Test, had the top order put in a better performance. “I definitely see it as an opportunity lost. We finished short of 100 runs in the end. We bowled well in the first innings and that gave us a great chance. But we didn’t bat well in the first 30 overs in both the innings. The top order needs to step up. If we can bat the first 30 overs well, I am sure this team is capable of putting good totals.”Shahriar Nafees, playing his first Test in nearly two years due to his ICL dalliance, looked shaky at No. 3 in both innings and looked uncertain outside his off stump but Siddons said that Nafees would be given another chance in the second Test in Dhaka. “He should get a chance. This is his comeback game and there was bound to be some nerves. We played him because he is a good player of spin and we felt India would play two spinners in that Test. If he had got through the initial period against pace he can go on to play a big innings. He is working hard and I must say that he did get a good ball in the first innings.”Considering Nafees’ form, some felt there might be a revision in the batting order but Siddons also ruled out any promotion in the order for Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim or Mahmudullah. “Shakib is still learning to bat at his position at the international level and I don’t think he should be pushed up now. Mahmudullah did bat well but he has just started playing at this level. He also found out all about pressure at this level in the second innings (Zaheer Khan bombarded him with a bouncer-attack and Mahmudullah fell trying to counterattack). Mushfiqur has to keep wickets as well. It won’t be prudent to push people up, what would solve the problem is the batsmen batting higher up start scoring some runs.”

Cricinfo rounds up the action from the fourth day of the 2009-10 Duleep Trophy semi-finals

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Scorecard
South Zone’s resilience, through the course of the match and, in the face of early setbacks on the fourth day earned them a well-deserved five-wicket win over Central Zone in Indore. Resuming at 57 for 1, South’s chase of 291 was rocked in the first hour by Central’s seam attack. The overnight batsmen, Abhinav Mukund and Arun Karthik, were dismissed for the addition of just 15 runs. The time was ripe for a heroic rearguard, and a day after being included in the national side, Subramanian Badrinath seized the moment in style. At the other end, Manish Pandey did his cause no harm, striking a typically stroke-filled 59 with eight fours and a six. The duo added 102 in good time, giving their side the ascendancy, before RP Singh breached Pandey’s expansive drive to hit the stumps. Badrinath however, was not going to give it away and, mixing caution and aggression in the right proportions, took his side closer. He was finally sent back, 18 short of a hundred, with the target still 63 runs away. If Central entertained any thoughts of triggering a collapse, Ravichandran Ashwin quickly put paid to them, and asserted his influence on the match for the third time in three days. He smashed twelve fours in a 44-ball 59 and it was fitting that he and Muralidharen Gautam completed the remarkable comeback that they had initiated on the second day.Scorecard
While the action in Indore was edge-of-the-seat through the course of the final day, it was a slow burn to a foregone result in Rajkot, as West Zone sitting back on their monumental first-innings lead, played out a draw against North Zone. Having not enforced the follow-on, West had already killed the match as a contest, and the only interest on the final day centred around individual performances. Resuming at 56 for 1 on the final day, West batted on to accumulate 289 runs in the 75 overs that were bowled before the match was called off. In the process, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma struck attractive hundreds, and served the national selectors a reminder, albeit a day late. Rohit, in particular, was at his belligerent best, crashing five sixes in his 116 that came at a brisk strike-rate. Vikas Mishra picked his second four-wicket haul of the match, while Ravindra Jadeja helped himself to a fifty in the closing stages of play.The stalemate notwithstanding, West Zone proceed to the finals of the Duleep Trophy, where they will meet a confident South Zone.

South Africa have named allrounder Justin Kemp in their initial squad of 30 for the ICC World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff27-Feb-2010South Africa have named allrounder Justin Kemp in their initial squad of 30 for the ICC World Twenty20 to be played in the Caribbean in April and May 2010. Experienced fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who is no longer a part of the Test and one-day sides, has also found a place in the list of probables.Kemp joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League soon after the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, and hasn’t played for South Africa in nearly two-and-a-half years. After the ban on him for ICL links was lifted at the start of the season, he has captained Cape Cobras to the top of the table in the Supersport Series and a place in the semi-finals of the Standard Pro20 series.South Africa have also named four uncapped players in the preliminary squad. The four are batsman Colin Ingram and fast bowler Rusty Theron from the Warriors, batsman David Miller from the Dolphins and fast bowler Ethy Mbhalati of the Titans.The final squad of 15 will be named in March.Men’s squad: Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Colin Ingram, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, Johannes van der Wath, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van Wyk.

Andrew Miller in Chittagong13-Mar-2010Missed opportunity of the day
It’s not often a batsman can make 173 in a Test match and feel as though he’s sold himself short, but Alastair Cook will rarely play a worse shot than the flat-footed mow that led to his downfall at the hands of Mahmudullah. From Sachin Tendulkar to Jacques Rudolph, via Marvan Atapattu and even Jason Gillespie, the cast of cricketers who have cashed in against Bangladesh is extensive to say the least, and a maiden Test double-hundred was there for the taking. As it happens, Cook’s mentor, Graham Gooch, fell to an almost identical hoick on 174, against Sri Lanka’s Don Anurasiri, at Lord’s in 1991. It’s clearly an Essex trait.Just desserts of the day
Some might argue that Paul Collingwood’s tenth Test century was handed to him on a plate this afternoon, as Bangladesh’s morale slumped to their boot-straps and England’s total soared. Others, however, might suggest it was long overdue after his frankly heroic endeavours of the past 12 months. Incredibly, this was Collingwood’s first century since the drawn Test in Trinidad in March 2009, but he hasn’t exactly been moping in the meantime. He’s produced three match-saving innings (74 at Cardiff, 26 not out at Centurion and 40 at Cape Town), contributed to two victories with 54 at Lord’s and 91 at Durban, and even bashed out a face-saving 71 at Johannesburg. Tougher challenges are what make him tick, but no-one should begrudge him this freebie.Soft dismissals of the day
Prior to the series, the editor of , Scyld Berry, ensured himself of a less-than-red-carpeted welcome when he suggested that Bangladesh were so poor that they risked dragging England down to their level. But when Stuart Broad starting roughing up the top order, you had to concede his point. All thoughout his career, Broad’s penchant for the short ball has been the most frustrating aspect of his game, but when the left-handers Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique flapped pitifully at a brace of leg-stump rib-ticklers, you started to imagine him attempting such a stunt at Brisbane in eight months’ time. Thank goodness, then, for Tamim Iqbal, who had no truck with such nonsense. The next ball that Broad bowled in that vicinity was helped over fine leg for six.Inevitable dismissal of the day
Graeme Swann just can’t stop striking in the first over of a spell. It became his calling card on the recent tour of South Africa, and his happy knack has been extended into yet another series. In the 12th over of the innings, Swann came on with the left-handed Tamim in his sights, but it was the right-hander, Aftab Ahmed, who duly became his first victim. All it took was a single delivery – his fourth of the series – as Aftab shaped to play a lame paddle, and Bell at short leg walked into position to intercept with his midriff.Statement of the day
At least there was one Bangladeshi who refused to accept the inevitable. Tamim is fast becoming the champion of his team, and when their innings began with a daunting 400 runs to save the follow-on, he notched off a hundredth of those in the space of a single delivery. Broad’s first ball was short and wide, and smoked past point for four, as Tamim announced his intentions to play on his own terms. In rattling along to a chanceless 53-ball half-century, and surviving thereafter, he showed the sort of fight that will be sorely needed both here and in Dhaka next week.Atmospherics of the day
It’s amazing what a difference an innings makes. Never mind the match situation, all that matters is who’s batting. And with Tamim in full flow in the evening session, the locals found their voices at last, with chants of “Tamim! [clap clap clap]” and “Bish bish bish, shabash Bangladesh!” The Barmy Army, meanwhile, managed a mournful chorus of Jerusalem as England came out to bowl, but retreated into their shells thereafter.

Bangalore have already defeated Chennai once this season, and will aim for a repeat to distance themselves from the mid-table pack

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran30-Mar-2010

Match facts

Wednesday, March 31
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Kevin Pietersen returns to bolster an already formidable Bangalore outfit (file photo)•AFP

Big picture

Chennai Super Kings have lost four matches in a row, but what would have
been most disappointing in their most recent defeat – to Rajasthan
Royals – will be the manner in which they were outplayed. In each of their
three previous reverses, Chennai were in with a chance for a good chunk,
but they hardly ever looked like controlling the match against Rajasthan
after the opening burst from Michael Lumb and Naman Ojha.The bowling remains a massive source of concern, with players
like L Balaji and R Ashwin, who impressed early this season, proving
expensive in the past few matches. The batting is less of a worry, but
Chennai will toy with the idea of sending the big-hitting Albie Morkel
slightly higher up the order – many of his chances this season have been
with the match already gone.Their opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore, have lesser concerns, after a
superb start to the campaign has lifted them to second spot and a healthy
net run-rate. They are coming off a week’s break, during which Kevin
Pietersen and Cameron White have joined the squad. They have already
defeated Chennai once this season, and will aim for a repeat to distance themselves from the mid-table pack (four other teams have either the
same points or two less than Bangalore).

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings LLLLW
Royal Challengers LWWWW

Team talk

Only two bowlers look certain picks for Chennai: Muttiah Muralitharan and
left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati. Seamer Thilan Thushara also had a good
match against Rajasthan and could get another game. A slew of injuries has
reduced the options for a team whose policy was to sign on free-stroking
allrounders, which means Morkel could be persisted with. MS Dhoni will have a
hard time choosing the Indian quick bowler from one of Balaji, Joginder
Sharma, Manpreet Gony and Sudeep Tyagi.Bangalore have been a settled side, making no changes since the second
game. The arrival of Pietersen, though, means Eoin Morgan is going to make
way. One argument against that move will be that if Morgan is left out,
Bangalore are likely to be a team with 11 right-hand batsmen.

Previously.

Bangalore 4 Chennai 2The latest encounter between the two teams was last week at the Chinnaswamy
Stadium, where Chennai’s bowlers did well for most of the innings
until Robin Uthappa’s fireworks powered Bangalore to a winning total.

In the spotlight

Kevin Pietersen was Vijay Mallya’s big-ticket signing in 2009 to
galvanise Bangalore from a ‘Test’ team into a dynamic Twenty20 outfit.
Bangalore were uninspiring under Pietersen in the early part of the IPL
last season, and their transformation into a capable IPL side came only
after his departure for England duties. The coming weeks present him a
chance to show Indian crowds his Twenty20 skills.Dale Steyn v Matthew Hayden: When the two teams met last week,
Hayden had the confidence to walk down the track to take on Steyn, who was
regularly crossing the 150kmh mark. Wednesday will be another chance to
watch the imposing batsman take on the top-class fast bowler

Prime numbers

• Matthew Hayden is only 24 runs short of becoming the third batsman
  (after Adam Gilchrist and Suresh Raina) to make 1000 runs in the IPL

• Anil Kumble’s winning percentage of 68.75 as captain is the highest
  among all players who have led in at least 10 matches

The chatter

“True, the momentum has had a negative impact on us, but Twenty20 is very fickle. The momentum can quickly change. It all boils down to individual players challenging themselves to lift their game.”

Matthew Hayden“As a captain, it is a tough job for me with KP (Pietersen) and White having joined us. We need to take a different approach from here on and also have to decide how to fit in these two players.”

Anil Kumble

India are likely to face another stern examination of their technique against bouncers when they take on West Indies in a crucial Super Eight match at the Kensington Oval on Sunday

Andrew McGlashan in Bridgetown08-May-2010India are likely to face another stern examination of their technique against bouncers when they take on West Indies in a crucial Super Eight match at the Kensington Oval on Sunday. The hosts are set to unleash Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach on a top order that struggled against the short ball from Australia in a bid to keep their tournament alive.Both sides are desperate for victory having lost their first Super Eight matches by huge margins and another defeat would leave them on the brink of exiting the tournament. It now seems likely that either the financial powerhouse of world cricket or the host nation will not make it to the semi-finals.West Indies were awful against Sri Lanka as they missed six chances in the field, but India’s vulnerability against the short ball offers them a window of opportunity. At last year’s World Twenty20 they bounced India out at Lord’s on their way to the semi-finals and Chris Gayle didn’t hide the fact that it will be a tactic discussed in the build-up to this match.”We can use the short ball but at the same we have to be careful because it’s a small ground and they have quality batters who can make adjustments,” he said. “But it’s certainly something we will put into our plans.”Taylor and Roach were impressive with the new ball against Sri Lanka but weren’t backed up by the fielding. It was the first time in the tournament that West Indies’ two quickest bowlers had been paired together after Taylor struggled with injury during the group stage. Roach, meanwhile, was left out after the opening game against Ireland but his return of 2 for 27 against Sri Lanka was commendable as West Indies conceded nearly ten an over.MS Dhoni is well aware that his team will be targeted but is confident they can respond despite being rattled by Australia’s trio of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson. “It’s the same stuff that Indians have been facing for the last 10, 15, 20 years and some of the best batsmen in the world have come from India so there’s no reason why they can’t do it,” he said.With the early starts for the first match each day it is leaving the captains with a conundrum over what to do at the toss. Michael Clarke said he was surprised India bowled with just two frontline seamers in the attack and Gayle hinted that he may prefer to defend a total even if that means holding back his quicks.”Whichever team bats second will be under pressure, especially when they are chasing a total over 170,” he said. “If you lose a few early wickets you are on the back foot and I’m sure it’s something teams will be looking at. But with the first game starting at 9.30 there can sometimes be a bit in the wicket.”

Suresh Raina has credited the India captain MS Dhoni for helping him develop to become the third player to score a Twenty20 international century

Cricinfo staff03-May-2010Suresh Raina has credited the India captain MS Dhoni for helping him develop to become the third player to score a Twenty20 international century. Raina’s 101 against South Africa elevated him to elite company with only Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum having previously made hundreds.The innings ensured victory for India, who have progressed to the Super Eights, and surpassed Gautam Gambhir’s 75 three years ago as the highest score by an India player in an international. Raina said playing with Dhoni in the Chennai Super Kings’ triumphant IPL campaign had been a major bonus.”Mahi [Dhoni] helped me a lot in the IPL,” Raina told reporters in St Lucia. “The senior players, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, have also supported me throughout. I’ve played five or six years of international cricket, it’s important to fulfil the dreams they’ve had for me.”He brought up his milestone with a six off Albie Morkel and in doing so, made the most of an early life after he was caught off a Morne Morkel no-ball on 5. Raina said he didn’t feel at his best early in the innings but found his touch as the day wore on.”I was not hitting the ball when I came in,” he said. “I was thinking ‘just rotate the strike’ and when I get a loose ball just go for it.”The 14-run result has left South Africa needing to beat Afghanistan in Barbados on Wednesday to move past the group stage. It is a game that South Africa should win but they have left themselves vulnerable after failing to restrict Raina’s output.”We started well with the ball, 160 was par and we were on track for that until Raina got hold of us at the back end,” the captain Graeme Smith said. “It was a terrific knock, he held the innings together.”He played with great accuracy and power and he was able to exploit our lack of accuracy towards the back end, which played into his hands. I spoke before the game about little things and that no-ball proved to be costly for us in the end.”Smith conceded that South Africa’s chase wasn’t helped by a slow start from himself and Jacques Kallis. Both men made reasonable scores but they didn’t move fast enough and when they fell within an over of each other, they had left the team still needing 59 from 22 balls with seven wickets in hand.”Myself and Jacques probably left it a bit late for the other guys,” Smith said. “It was disappointing, when you are chasing a total and you end up 15 runs short of whatever it is and not all your guys get a chance to have a whack. We’ve definitely got to sharpen up before we play Afghanistan. We’ve got some things to work on and to think about.”