Semifinals #CWC15

New Zealand v South Africa, World Cup 2015, 1st semi-final, Auckland.

Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have 40 ODI hundreds between them. The likely New Zealand XI has 34.

"It would be silly to focus too much on the cricket they've played. They've played really well but if we play to our full potential, no one is going to stop us. I need to make sure they are confident mentally and fresh physically."
AB de Villiers keeps his focus on his own team rather than New Zealand.

#ProteaFire.
#AB

ALL-ROUNDER DE VILLIERS STARS IN SOUTH AFRICA WIN

South Africa emerged victorious by a 146-run margin, formalising its entry into the quarter-final stage.

“It seems the only way they cannot score 400 runs is if we win the toss and bat,” Mohammad Tauqir, the UAE captain, had joked on the eve of his side’s ICC Cricket World Cup Pool B fixture against South Africa.

Tauqir raised quite a few eyebrows therefore by choosing to bowl first upon winning the toss on a beautiful batting strip at the Wellington stadium on Thursday (March 12), but his bowlers did reasonably well to keep South Africa to well under 400. Indeed, had it not been for a late blitz by Farhaan Behardien that brought 41 runs in the last 13 deliveries of the innings, South Africa might have finished a fair few short of 341 for 6.

UAE was never in the hunt at any stage, their final tally of 195 giving South Africa victory by 146 runs and formalising their entry into the quarterfinal stage, against opponents as yet undecided.

South Africa announce home season fixtures

South African cricket fans can look forward to a bumper home programme of international matches over the next 18 months involving series against New Zealand, England and Australia.

NZ tour of SA 2015

• 14 August : 1st T20I, Kingsmead, Durban

• 16 August : 2nd T20I, SuperSport Park, Centurion

• 19 August: 1st ODI, SuperSport Park, Centurion

• 23 August: 2nd ODI, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom

• 26 August: 3rd ODI, Kingsmead, Durban

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has a announced a detailed tour itinerary starting with England's tour to South Africa in December 2015 and January-February 2016, which will consist of four Test matches, five ODIs and two T20 Internationals.

This will be followed immediately by Australia's tour to South Africa in February-March 2016 when three T20 international matches will be played ahead of the 2016 edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in India.

Australia will then return later to South Africa in October 2016 to play three ODIs.

CSA has also finalised details of New Zealand's tour to South Africa in August 2015 when two T20 International matches and three ODIs will be played.

"It will be a season for our fans to look forward to," said CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

"Our latest announcements will make next season one of the busiest programmes of home internationals we have had in a very long time.

"I am certain that our fans will enjoy competing against New Zealand, England and Australia, all in one season. New Zealand and Australia are both playing outstanding limited overs cricket at the moment while our Test series against England over the years have always been epic encounters.

"Playing three T20s against Australia just before the ICC World T20 is ideal for the Proteas. We are grateful to Cricket Australia for having agreed to split their visit to South Africa in 2016 so that we can deliver a full programme of fixtures."

CSA has also confirmed the schedule for the Proteas tour to Bangladesh in July this year. The sides will play two T20 Internationals, three ODI's and two Test matches over five weeks starting July 5.

Miller, Duminy madness sinks spirited Zimbabwe

south Africa fended off a spirited Zimbabwe to notch up a 62- win at the picturesque Seddon Park on Sunday (February 15).

South Africa, put in, rode on centuries from David Miller and JP Duminy to to 339 for 4 in its opening Pool B tie.

Chamu Chibhabha and Hamilton Masakadza made 64 and 80 respectively to give Zimbabwe hope of a successful run chase. That Zimbabwe was on 214 for 4 from 36 overs would have concerned AB de Villiers, the South African skipper. But soon enough, the bowlers were able to get their act together in getting Zimbabwe out for 277.

Amla and Rossouw spark perfect Proteas World Cup send-off

 HASHIM AMLA and Rilee Rossouw gave the Castle Lager Proteas the perfect World Cup send-off as they struck impressive centuries in a record partnership that secured a 131-run victory over the West Indies in the fifth Momentum One-Day International at SuperSport Park.

 In a match reduced to 42 overs per side when afternoon rain delayed the start by two and a half hours, Amla scored 133 (105 balls, 11x4s, 6x6s) and Rossouw hammered 132 (98 balls, 9x4s, 8x6s) in a South African total of 361.

 The West Indian reply was stunted by the dismissal of Chris Gayle off the very first ball, and had its heart ripped out when Wayne Parnell picked up four wickets in 10 deliveries.

 The tourists were eventually bowled out for 230 in 37.4 overs.

 The only mild disappointment for the Proteas was Quinton de Kock’s inability to spend time at the crease on his return from injury, but the good news was that the wicketkeeper appeared fit and nimble on his feet behind the stumps.
 De Kock and Faf du Plessis fell in the opening 10 overs after the West indies had won the toss and elected to bowl in conditions that offered some swing early on, but from there on the Proteas dominated.

 Amla and Rossouw began steadily but then flicked gears in the 29th over, before going on to take 152 runs from their last 63 deliveries together.

 Their partnership of 247 beat the previous South African record for the third wicket of 238 that Amla and AB de Villiers scored against Pakistan in 2013, and is the second highest of all time after the 258 scored by Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin against Bangladesh in St Kitts last year.

 By a quirk of fate Amla and Rossouw have shared two partnerships of 247 in the space of 10 days. Those two partnerships are the highest for any wicket for the Proteas and 15th on the all-time list of record partnerships for any wicket.
 Amla’s average for the series is 206.5 – 413 runs from 4 innings with two not outs, which compares with the 402 runs in five matches when he became the first South African to score more than 400 runs in a series in the Caribbean in 2010.

 This was his 19th ODI century, while Rossouw’s was his second.
 In reply Gayle was caught behind off the bowling of Kyle Abbott (2 for 59), who also took the wicket of top-scorer Marlon Samuels (50).
 Samuels had added 91 with Denesh Ramdin (40), but his dismissal sparked a collapse as Parnell ran through the middle order and finished with 4 for 42 in his nine overs.

Pink Day 2015 raises more than half a million rand in support of breast cancer awareness

#PinkDay18Jan

The Castle Lager Proteas, fans and sponsors knocked cancer for a six by raising R600,000 for PinkDrive at the recent Pink Day Momentum One-Day International held at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday 18 January 2015.  Thanks too must go the visiting West Indies team for their full support in making the third ODI a pink day. 

 The match will go down in the annals of cricket history as one of the most electrifying as local hero AB de Villiers broke the world record with a phenomenal fastest century in a one-day international, with 100 off 31 balls and the most 6’s in an ODI (16).  Pink is obviously a good colour for the Castle Lager Proteas as they have never lost in pink.  A big thanks must go to Protea sponsors Castle Lager who backed up their support of the team with sizable donations for every run, 4 and 6.  Castle donated R163,100 through the efforts of the team.  AB’s contribution alone added up to R112,900 with his 149 runs, nine 4’s, sixteen 6’s, two of which went into the Momentum Family Area at R10,000 a pop from Momentum. 

 One-day cricket sponsors Momentum also added to the donations with R34,000 from big hits to the boundary, on to billboards and 6’s into the Momentum Family Area.  Bidvest also came on board with a sizeable R49,000 for every ball touching the boundary ropes.

 But it was also the fans in the stadium and around the country that showed their massive support for breast cancer awareness and Pink Day with donations of over R200,000 from close to 11,000 sms’ sent (R20 per sms) and R48,000 collected from donations and memorabilia sales at the stadium on the day. 
 With a grand total of R544,920 raised on match day, Momentum generously topped up the difference to take the amount up to the final total of R600,000 to make this the most successful Pink Day ever. 

 In conclusion AB de Villiers said: “It was an absolute privilege for the Proteas to be part of the most successful Pink Day to date. I've said before that this is a day on the cricket calendar that we all look forward to participating in and this year's day was special for many reasons.”

 “Special credit has to go to CSA, Momentum, Bidvest, South African Breweries and the supporters for making it another memorable day, along with their generous contributions towards breast cancer awareness and PinkDrive.  Our performances in pink seem to get better by the year so we definitely can't wait to see what next year's day will bring,” added de Villiers.

AB de Villiers leads full strength Proteas to World Cup

AB DE VILLIERS will lead a full strength Castle Lager Proteas squad to Australia and New Zealand in February to challenge for the 2015 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“Quinton de Kock is the only injury concern at the moment,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) selection committee convener, Andrew Hudson. “Our medical committee has backed his inclusion in the squad at this stage so there is confidence that he will be ready for the tournament.

“There are eight players with previous World Cup experience – De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir – so we feel we have a nice blend of experience of major knock-out tournaments plus the freshness that will come from the relative newcomers.

“We have also stayed true to our policy of consistency and reward for good performances that has enabled us to build up a good record over the past 12 months. The fact that most of these series have been played away from home has provided excellent preparation as well.

“The selectors have also identified a group of standby players in the event of injury replacements being needed but these will not be named at this stage.”

Castle Lager Proteas World Cup squad:

 AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Hashim Amla (Nashua Cape Cobras, vice-capt), Kyle Abbott (Sunfoil Dolphins), Farhaan Behardien (The Unlimited Titans), Quinton de Kock (bizhub Highveld Lions), JP Duminy (Nashua Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (The Unlimited Titans), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), David Miller (Sunfoil Dolphins), Morne Morkel (The Unlimited Titans),Wayne Parnell (Chevrolet Warriors), Aaron Phangiso (bizhub Highveld Lions), Vernon Philander (Nashua Cape Cobras), Rilee Rossouw (Chevrolet Knights), Dale Steyn (Nashua Cape Cobras).

Morne van Wyk (Sunfoil Dolphins) will deputize for De Kock for the Momentum ODI Series against the West Indies.

Alviro Petersen quits international cricket

South Africa's opener, Alviro Petersen, announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect after the match against West Indies. He also revealed that he will retire from international cricket with effect from April 1, 2015.

"I feel that at 34, it is time for me to retire from international cricket and to move on with my career. I intend playing County and Franchise cricket for the next three years and also concentrating on my Foundation and my cricket school," said Petersen.

"It has been an honour to represent my country and to be part of a South African Test team that is ranked number one in the world. I want to thank Cricket South Africa, my team mates, sponsors and cricket fans for all the support and memories over the years. I will miss Proteas' amazing team culture that we have built, International cricket, and especially, my team mates but it is time to move on. I wish South African cricket and the Proteas all the best for the future, especially for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australasia," he added.

Petersen fell for a duck in his final innings but was a steady member of the Proteas Test squad over the last few years. He made his Test debut in 2010 against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and immediately impressed with a century. He played 36 Tests in total and scored 5 hundreds with an average of 34.88.

CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, led the tributes for Petersen.

"Alviro's contributions to the Proteas success cannot be measured only in statistics. As a senior member of the team, he played a key role in establishing a successful team culture and introducing younger players to it. His confident starts and solid opening stands have been vital to our growth as a successful team. Together with Graeme Smith, he shared in major partnerships totalling more than 2000 runs at an average of more than 42. This is excellent for an opening batting partnership, which is arguably the most difficult job in the game, particularly under South African conditions.

"We well remember his century on debut against India at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2010 while his career best innings of 182 at Headingley in 2012 was pivotal to the Proteas beating England 2-0 and starting our standing as one of the best teams in the world. To have succeeded against the odds we know Alviro had to face during his formative years, makes him a true role model for every youngster aspiring to play for the Proteas.

"The foundation he has set up to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities says a great deal about Alviro the man. On behalf of all at CSA, I wish to sincerely thank Alviro for his part in making the Castle Lager Proteas one of the most formidable teams in the world. He can look back with great pride and satisfaction on having contributed to the most successful Test era in South African cricket history," said Lorgat.

SA to tour Bangladesh in July-August

South Africa's tour of Bangladesh 1st T20I - July 5, Dhaka 2nd T20I - July 7, Dhaka 1st ODI - July 10, Dhaka 2nd ODI - July 12, Dhaka 3rd ODI - July 15, Chittagong 1st Test- July 21-25, Chittagong 2nd Test - July 30-August 3, Dhaka

International cricket will be played in July and August for the first time in Bangladesh, after the BCB announced that South Africa will play two T20s, three ODIs and two Tests in the country during the monsoon season. In addition, the BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said that Pakistan will play three ODIs, two Tests and a T20 in April, while India and Australia will also tour Bangladesh in 2015.

South Africa will arrive on June 30 and play a practice T20 game in Fatullah on July 3. This will be followed by the T20 matches in Mirpur on July 5 and 7. The ODI series will begin on July 10, the third of which will be played in Chittagong. The first Test will also be held in Chittagong, from July 21, while the second Test will be held in Mirpur from July 30 to August 3.

"This tour was set four or five years ago in the FTP," Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB CEO, said. 

"We tried to change the schedule but we had to match with South Africa."