All posts by n8rngtd.top

Wants to give South Africa’s next generation of leaders the chance to develop

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2020Faf du Plessis has stepped down as captain of South Africa’s Test and T20I sides with immediate effect. However, the 35-year-old remains fully committed to playing all three formats for the time being.Du Plessis cited a need to give the next generation of leaders within the team a chance to develop as the reason for stepping down. Last month Quinton de Kock was named stand-in captain for the ODI series against England, with du Plessis being rested. Graeme Smith, South Africa’s director of cricket, had then confirmed that the management was looking at de Kock as the permanent captain.”This was one of the toughest decisions to make, but I remain fully committed to supporting Quinton, Mark [Boucher] and my team-mates as we continue to rebuild and re-align as a group,” a Cricket South Africa (CSA) release quoted du Plessis as saying. “South African cricket has entered a new era. New leadership, new faces, new challenges and new strategies. I remain committed to play in all three formats of the game for now as a player, and will offer my knowledge and time to the new leaders of the team.”I have strived to lead the team with dignity and authenticity during exhilarating highs and devastating lows. I have given my everything during my tenure. I have never been one to throw in the towel and do believe I am putting the team first and believe we have to stick through the tough times to get to the good times. In a perfect world I would have loved to lead the team in the Tests for the rest of the season as well as the T20 World Cup, but sometimes the most important attribute of a leader is to be selfless. I am healthy, fit, energised and motivated and certainly see myself playing an important role in the squad for as long as I continue putting in winning performances for the team.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Du Plessis led South Africa in 36 Tests, out of which they won 18 and lost 15. They fared better in the white-ball formats: winning 28 out of 39 ODIs and 23 out of 37 T20Is under him.He is the only South African captain to have won home and away series against Australia in both Tests and ODIs but has been under pressure since the side failed to make it to the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in England. That was followed by two forgettable Test series, with South Africa being whitewashed 3-0 in India before losing 3-1 to England at home.”After the 2019 ICC World Cup, I made the decision to continue in my role as captain while the team went through a rebuilding phase following the retirement of some key senior players and a complete overhaul of the coaching staff that we had worked with until then,” du Plessis said. “It was important to me that I stayed to help the team find its feet and plot a new way forward while assisting in identifying the next generation of leaders within the players’ group during a time of turbulence in SA cricket. The last season of my captaincy has been the most challenging to date as I had a lot of off-field issues that I devoted my energy towards.”ALSO READ: Cricket is a finite game and Faf du Plessis’ finish is in sightSouth Africa have been looking at de Kock as their next captain across formats for a while now. Last year in du Plessis’ absence, he led the side in the three-match T20I series in India, that ended in 1-1 draw. And while South Africa lost the recently concluded T20I series against England 2-1 under him, there were plenty of positives for the side.South Africa next host Australia for three T20Is, the first of those starting on Friday, followed by three ODIs.

He played five Tests for Australia in an injury-plagued career

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2020Graeme Watson, the former Australia allrounder who was battling cancer, has died at the age of 75. Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he played five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972.After starting his domestic career at Victoria, Watson earned an Australia call-up on the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa as Doug Walters’ replacement. On his debut in Cape Town, the second Test of the series and the only one Australia won, he scored 50 in the first innings. With the ball, he went wicketless in 11 first innings overs, and did not bowl in the second innings after suffering an ankle injury, which ruled him out of the next Test.He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where he bagged a career-best 2 for 67 but failed to make a significant contribution with bat or ball thereafter as Australia lost the series in Port Elizabeth.Injuries remained Watson’s bugbear throughout his career, the worst of them a near-death experience, as described to Ian Chappell by the nurse who treated Watson, when he was struck on the nose by a Tony Greig beamer in a Rest of the World series match in Melbourne in 1971-72. His doctors advised him to retire, but six weeks later he was playing again and was rewarded with a place on the 1972 England tour where he played the last of his two Tests.In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a key role in their Sheffield-Shield triumphs in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons. He also played two ODIs and finished a 107-match first-class career at New South Wales in 1977.

Community cricket in Australia is set for another hit amid the Covid-19 funding crunch

Daniel Brettig25-May-2020Community cricket will take another blow as part of Queensland Cricket’s decision to follow Victoria in making severe cuts to the state association, as around half of 32 full-time positions made redundant are drawn from the areas geared at developing the game’s grassroots beyond the politically powerful Brisbane grade competition.Queensland’s announcement on Monday arrived as the association continued to haggle with Cricket Australia over a deal to cut its annual distribution by around 25%, with talks understood to have moved to the amount of flexibility contained within the agreement should revenue from the 2020-21 season not be as badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as first feared.These talks, and the strong likelihood of an India tour of Australia next summer alongside the Big Bash League, have left the timing of the cuts open to question, though they are not quite as deep as those announced by Cricket Victoria. There is one pointed parallel with Victoria however: Queensland is understood to have informed Brisbane grade clubs that their grants from the state association will not be affected this year, even as cutbacks are made elsewhere, notably to community cricket staff and also the structure and size of the Brisbane Heat’s backroom.ALSO READ: ACA swipes at Cricket Australia: ‘Something is horribly wrong’In its most recent annual report, Queensland Cricket declared reserves of about A$7.6 million among total assets worth A$18.3 million. Cricket Victoria, by contrast, declared reserves of A$25.4 million among total assets valued at A$78.7 million.Should Queensland agree to reduced annual funding, New South Wales would be left as the only state not to have put pen to paper with CA to accept cuts to annual distributions. So far, a total of 135 jobs have been lost among the states, comprising South Australia (23), Tasmania (20), Victoria (60) and now Queensland (32).Of these, South Australia’s arrived first due to the association’s direct link to the delayed start to the winter football season through its shared management of Adelaide Oval. However, the rest have all followed CA’s signals of deep financial trouble for the game when the chief executive Kevin Roberts claimed his organisation would be broke by August without immediate cost-cutting – a contention that has subsequently proven considerably more alarmist than realist.”Like all sporting codes and organisations, Queensland Cricket has felt the significant impacts of Covid-19. While we continue to have constructive negotiations with Cricket Australia around cuts to state association funding, we realise we need to act now in the interest of the financial health of cricket in Queensland,” Queensland’s chief executive Terry Svenson said. “This has been an extremely challenging time and our thoughts are foremost with our employees who have no doubt been living with a high level of uncertainty and anxiety.”Our presence in community cricket and regional Queensland remains strong, and in some cases, we have offered employees the opportunity to take on cross-role responsibilities in talent identification, coaching and club support. Cricket is still focused on promoting our sport to women and girls and we remain well-resourced in the areas of female talent specialists and high performance. As part of our new structure, QC will contract a head selector for female cricket for the first time.”CA had previously stood down some 200 staff on drastically reduced pay, while executives and a skeleton staff remained on board on 80% of their usual salaries. A sizeable round of redundancies at CA itself is expected to be only a matter of weeks away, even as forecasts of the effect of Covid-19 continue to be revised to more optimistic levels. Monday saw reports that this year’s AFL Grand Final can be expected to be watched by as many as 30,000 spectators at the MCG.That news was not reflected in Svenson’s explanation for the decision, as he leaned heavily on the idea that the 2020-21 season would be likely to play out without any revenue derived from spectators. While revenue from tickets and corporate sales for international matches are collected by CA before forming a portion of state distributions, money from Big Bash League attendances and corporate boxes flow directly into the coffers of the state associations.The Brisbane Heat have drawn consistently strong crowds to the Gabba despite fluctuating results, averaging around 25,000 to rank behind only the Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars for attendance.”As it currently stands, uncertainty remains as to whether we can have crowds at cricket matches this summer,” Svenson said. “While parts of our operating model will change, our aim is for this to be a seamless transition for participants, volunteers, partners, clubs and fans. We know cricket is being faced with challenges, however our resolve to unite and inspire Queensland communities through cricket has not wavered.”

Likely travel dates of all eight IPL franchises ahead of upcoming season

Nagraj Gollapudi and Shashank Kishore10-Aug-20200:29

Manjrekar: Conditions in UAE will suit CSK and Dhoni’s captaincy

Rajasthan Royals on August 20. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians on August 21. Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals between August 21 or 22. Those are the travel dates for teams reaching UAE via charter flights for the 2020 edition between September 19 and November 10.Super Kings, who finished runner-up in 2019, are expected to play defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener as per the norm although the IPL is yet to release the final schedule.A set of Mumbai players and support staff have already been in Mumbai since last week for quarantine and tests. It could not be confirmed whether Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma along with the coaching staff and Zaheer Khan, their team director, are part of the group that is isolating.ALSO READ: Rohit wary of returning from ‘longest gap without holding a bat’
Recently Rohit admitted that having not batted for six months since his calf injury in February, he was looking forward to the IPL challenge eagerly. Rohit had also planned to speak to Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) regarding training at their indoor facility.Super Kings’ captain MS Dhoni, meanwhile, reportedly had a few training sessions at the indoor academy in his native Ranchi last week. Dhoni will be part of a group of about 15 Indian players in the short camp planned by the Super Kings at Chepauk, which is awaiting a written permission from the Tamil Nadu government.MS Dhoni was part of the preparatory camp in March too•PTI

Super Kings are the only team so far to have planned a camp, which is expected to start on August 16. This will be the second camp for the Super Kings players who were in Chennai in March for a preparatory camp when the IPL was originally meant to start on March 29.”We want to have a camp in Chennai from August 16 till 20th,” Kasi Viswanathan, the Super Kings chief executive officer, told ESPNcricinfo. “We have applied to the Tamil Nadu government for permission. Orally they have said yes, but we have still not got the written letter of approval. If the written approval comes we are planning for a camp for the Indian players alone.”Viswanthan said that players would undergo testing before they come to Chennai and then two further tests on August 17 and 18. In case there is no camp, the players would leave on August 21 from Chennai.Royal Challengers Bangalore, which is lead, by Indian captain Virat Kohli, are likely to fly out to Dubai via a charter from Bengaluru in the last week of August. They are, however, looking to arrive “preferably on 22-23 August”, as per a team official. ESPNcricinfo understands that all players and support staff have tested negative in the first round of testing.The Indian contingent will arrive in Bengaluru this week and undergo a week-long quarantine period at a five-star hotel before flying out. It’s likely all of them will undergo another round of testing before flying out.Along with the Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, too, are expected to depart on August 20 for the UAE. The Knight Riders is understood to be finalizing the travel schedule and are likely to set base in Abu Dhabi. Both squads would fly out of Mumbai on separate charter flights.Kings XI Punjab, too, are expected to land in the UAE between August 21 or 22 and will be staying in Dubai. The Kings XI travel group, which would take a charter flight out of Bengaluru, would be lead by their new captain KL Rahul and former India captain Anil Kumble, who is the team director.Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals have not yet finalised their travel itinearary but are expected to depart between Ausgust 21 and 22.

ECB will announce fixtures for new tournament and T20 Blast on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2020The ECB has announced that this summer’s women’s domestic 50-over competition will be called the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, named after England’s World Cup-winning captain.The tournament will begin on the Bank Holiday weekend later this month – August 29-31 – and will feature the eight teams from the new regional hubs in two group of four. Each team will play six group-stage fixtures, with the top team in each group progressing to a final on September 26, held at the home ground of the finalist with the most points.The ECB has maintained its desire to stage some women’s domestic cricket throughout the Covid-19 crisis, and awarded 20 county players and five England rookies with regional retainer contracts in June. Some county games have been played in recent weeks, with Surrey’s win over the Middlesex in the London Cup last month the first major women’s fixture to take place this season.”I’m delighted that, despite the obvious challenges of Covid-19, we have been able to continue to build the new women’s elite domestic structure to the point that we’ll see the eight regions playing 50-over cricket this summer,” Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, said.”Off the back of appointing the eight regional directors of women’s cricket and awarding regional retainers, we have worked closely with colleagues across the men’s domestic game to ensure we are able to stage domestic women’s cricket safely and at high-quality venues.”Rachael Heyhoe Flint would have been proud to witness the professionalisation of the domestic women’s game. She did so much for our sport and without her work, passion and dedication, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s therefore fitting that this special edition of the competition will be played in her honour.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The team names of the eight new regional hubs have also been confirmed, with six of the eight names identical or similar to those used in the Kia Super League. The two new sides are Central Sparks (Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire) and Sunrisers (Middlesex, Essex, Northants, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk).England players are unlikely to be available until the end of the competition due to their series against South Africa, which is due to start at the end of August, although dates are yet to be announced.The full schedule will be released alongside the men’s T20 Blast fixtures on Wednesday morning. The competition’s name from next season is yet to be announced, but the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is currently planned as a one-off, similar to the Bob Willis Trophy in the men’s game.

Ed Barnard and Dillon Pennington share six wickets as Somerset limited to 251

ECB Reporters Network06-Sep-2020Somerset skipper Tom Abell continued his fine form in the Bob Willis Trophy by top-scoring on the opening day of a see-saw crucial Central Group clash with Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road.Abell showed his class in striking 59 to help ensure his side posted a challenging total on a green-tinged pitch offering encouragement to the seamers. It followed on from his 119 against Glamorgan and an unbeaten 101 versus Gloucestershire earlier in the competition as Somerset totalled 251 all out in 83.1 overs.Worcestershire continued to probe away, despite the absence of paceman Josh Tongue with a back spasm for the second half of the day, with Dillon Pennington and Ed Barnard picking up three wickets.A spell of five wickets for 41 runs in 18 overs tipped the game in Worcestershire’s favour as Somerset collapsed to 134 for 6. But steady lower-order contributions from Lewis Gregory, Josh Davey and Jack Leach steered the visitors to two batting points.Worcestershire openers Daryl Mitchell and Jake Libby then survived five probing overs from Craig Overton and Josh Davey in reaching 14 for 0.Worcestershire made one change from the side which drew with Warwickshire with Pennington replacing fellow paceman Charlie Morris.The visitors made two changes from the team victorious over Gloucestershire – both of them enforced – with Ben Green and Jack Leach in for the injured James Hildreth (hamstring) and Jamie Overton who has joined Surrey on loan prior to a permanent move.The initial breakthrough for Worcestershire was self-inflicted by Somerset with Green run out for 8 with 18 on the board. Tom Lammonby played Tongue into the covers and set off instantly for what looked a risky single – and Green was unable to beat Barnard’s direct hit.There was plenty of playing and missing during the morning session but also some fine stroke play from Abell who dominated a partnership of 75 in 26 overs with the resolute Lammonby. The opener, on 12, had a let off when Riki Wessels at first slip failed to hold onto a low chance low to his left off Pennington.The second-wicket pair continued to prosper and Abell reached his half century off 89 balls with eight fours just after lunch. But Pennington, who delivered an excellent eight-over post-interval spell, broke the stand when Lammonby chopped a delivery on to his stumps.George Bartlett departed in similar fashion to a ball from Tongue and then Pennington picked up the prized wicket of Abell. He found the edge of his bat and keeper Ben Cox pulled off a fine low catch away to his right.Spinner D’Oliveira came into the attack and struck in his first over when bowling former Worcestershire wicketkeeper batsman Steve Davies through the gate.It became 134-6 when Craig Overton edged Barnard and perished to a low catch by Daryl Mitchell at second slip. But Gregory then went on the offensive with a trio of sixes – including two in an over from Barnard – and he and Eddie Byrom added 61 in 15 overs.Gregory became tied down by D’Oliveira after tea and the spinner was rewarded when he sliced his attempted drive into the hands of Pennington at short third man.Pennington struck with the ball for the third time when Byrom attempted a cut shot and Barnard pulled off a magnificent catch low down at point. Davey holed out to square leg off Barnard – his 200th first class wicket – and the same bowler trapped Jack Leach lbw to wrap up the innings.

The Australia wicketkeeper-batter wants to be able to score 360 degrees around the wicket

Andrew McGlashan22-Sep-2020Bowlers beware. Alyssa Healy might be about to bring out even more shots. The Australia wicketkeeper-batter could unveil some new strokeplay in the series against New Zealand which starts on Saturday, having used the extended Covid-19-enforced break from the game to look at how she can become a full 360-degree player.The last time Healy picked up a bat in a match was the T20 World Cup final at the MCG on March 8 where she plundered 75 off 39 balls against India to give Australia a position from where they never threatened to lose the match.That performance, in front of more than 86,000 people, capped a tournament where Healy had bounced back from a rare lean run of form leading into the event where she had made five single-figure scores in a row during the tri-series, involving England in India, which followed a world-record 148 not out against Sri Lanka last October.ALSO READ: Healy: ‘Opportunity to play four big events in 2022 daunting but also exciting’That run of low scores, which followed a WBBL that was below her typical high standards, was very much a blip in what had been a dominant two years from Healy where she had transformed her game to become one of the leading batters in the world – her ODI record since 2018 boasts an especially prolific average of 58.70 while in T20Is in the same period she averages 37.53 (despite that little lull) with a strike-rate of 153.58.However, while not wanting to give too much away to New Zealand, Healy said that there were parts of the ground that she wanted to be able to score more freely in and has been trying out some of the new skills during the two weeks of training she and the other quarantined players have undergone in Brisbane.That fortnight elapsed on Monday and the rest of the Australia squad arrived in the city to prepare for the three T20Is and ODIs apiece which will all be played at Allan Border Field.”After celebrating the World Cup for about a month, I sat down with my batting coach and discussed a few different things we could work on, not necessarily to jump to another level but prepare as best as I could for this New Zealand attack,” Healy said. “I don’t want to give away too many secrets to the Kiwis but have been preparing for a few things in particular. Stay tuned.””You might see some new things from me in this series. It was a great opportunity for me to go back and work on things that I hadn’t really touched for a while. I’d made some technical changes a couple of years ago and they paid off beautifully but you never want to be standing still; you want to keep learning, growing and developing and there’s always areas of your game that you want to work on.”Alyssa Healy was the Player of the Match in the 2020 T20 World Cup final, which was attended by a record 86,174 spectators•Getty Images

Despite having driven some of her bowling team-mates to distraction during training over the last two weeks, the internationals may come a little too soon for Healy to show off the full new range but she promised that if they don’t come out in Brisbane they’ll be on show in the WBBL next month.”I’ve driven all the bowlers a little agro over the last two weeks trying a few things in the nets,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see if they come out in the game; [I am] not sure if I’m confident enough to do it yet but the ultimate goal in cricket is to be able to play 360 [degrees] and for me there’s some areas I haven’t quite been hitting so have been trying a few things. We’ll have to see if they come out this series, if not you’ll definitely see it in the WBBL.”ALSO READ: Cricket for some, not for all – where does the women’s game stand?Healy added that she did not see a lot of rust among the players who had been quarantining over the last two weeks despite the long absence from competitive cricket. Although the tour to South Africa after the T20 World Cup was postponed due to Covid-19 the team had been due an extended break over the winter, albeit some players would have been overseas in the UK, playing in the Hundred, under normal circumstances.”Form-wise, I’ve been really surprised with everyone around the group in the last two weeks of training, seeing the Victoria and New South Wales players go about it, there’s not a lot of rust around which is amazing,” she said. “I’m excited to see what this group can achieve with six months rest; every time we come back from a major tournament we are straight back into something else, so for us to have the ability to have some downtime will hopefully do some really good things for the Aussie women’s team.”And while Healy could see the bigger picture of how important it is for the women’s game to be up and running again – England and West Indies began their five-match T20I series on Monday in Derby – she said that the competitive instincts mean that the will to win would be as strong as ever come the weekend.”We want to win, and the Rose Bowl [one-day] series in particular is a really big one which we want to keep our hands on. Yes, I see the greater importance of having cricket back up and running here in Australia, but for us we are out there to win.”

The allrounder fell three runs short of a double century against New South Wales

Andrew McGlashan22-Oct-2020Cameron Green had taken a couple of hours to calm down as he reflected on his 197 against New South Wales as the innings of his short career that had given him most satisfaction and, to ensure the hype around the 21-year-old won’t die down any time soon, suggested he could be back at the bowling crease in the next couple of Sheffield Shield matches.Green looked distraught when given lbw three short of a maiden double hundred and while making sure he didn’t fall foul of any officials admitted it was a mixture of disappointment at getting so close and thinking he’d got an edge on the ball.”Never made 200 before,” he said ruefully. “I’ve had a good couple of hours to chill down and release my anger and disappointment. That’s probably the innings I’m most proud of, especially how hard they came all day. I understand that the pitch was pretty flat, but they came pretty hard so I’ll take a lot out of it.”Green passed 1000 first-class runs in his 17th match during the innings and now has an average of 52.57 with four centuries. The other half to his game – he has an average of 21.53 with the ball – is getting closer to being seen again this level after not bowling since last November when scans showed the early signs of stress fractures in his back.He has undergone work on his action during rehab and is hopeful of returning in the remaining matches of the Shield hub in Adelaide. His workload will be carefully managed once he takes the ball again, but the overs he does send down will be a full pace.”[There’s a] lot of things I’m working on, getting my body right, getting a bit of strength and condition in my body,” he said. “I’ve not actually bowled too many overs the last few years so just trying to get my workloads up and there’s quite a bit of technical stuff. All that mashed together, hopefully it comes together in the next few weeks.”We are tracking along okay. Potentially [will bowl] this [coming] game or the next game depending how the next seven days go. We’ll have a couple of training sessions, I’ll bowl a couple of times and we’ll the progression to see if I can bowl in the game.”It won’t be 40-50 overs, maybe five or 10 to help the captain out, [but] I won’t be bowling at half pace if I’m bowling.”

Series in Amstelveen is pushed back by 12 months due to Covid restrictions on spectators

George Dobell27-Nov-2020The ODI series between the Netherlands and England scheduled for May 2021 has been postponed due to “continuing uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 pandemic”. The series, which consists of three ODIs and is scheduled to be played in Amstelveen, will now be played in May 2022.The KNCB was hoping the series would attract sell-out crowds and provide a significant boost to the sport in the Netherlands. But the prospect of not being allowed to admit spectators rendered the games unviable from a financial perspective and threatened to turn the event into a missed opportunity.A joint statement from the KNCB and the ECB read: “The participation of the Netherlands in the ICC competition, as the only Associate Member, is an enormous challenge for Dutch cricket, and the home matches versus England would be a great chance to put cricket on the map in the country.”The prospect of having to play these matches with hardly any or no spectators at all was not a viable option for the KNCB, and the ECB showed their understanding of this situation.”Although not confirmed, it is hoped the series will still be included in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings. Originally the Super League was scheduled to start on 1 May 2020 and conclude on 31 March 2022. But with some series postponed, the ICC is discussing options to provide greater flexibility.”It is disappointing that we are unable to play the Netherlands in May in what would be England’s first visit to Holland,” Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, said. “Hopefully, with the prospect of crowds returning to sport soon, we can rearrange the three matches in 2022 and showcase international cricket to capacity crowds. I am sure many fans will want to travel across from England and be part of this historic ODI series.”In official internationals, England and the Netherlands have previously only faced one another at ICC global events, at three World Cups in 1996, 2003, and 2011, and in two World T20s, both of which produced shock results – the Netherlands won by four wickets in the opening fixture of the 2009 event at Lord’s, and by 45 runs at Chattogram in 2014.

This time the opening stand was worth a mere 186 as WA were made to regret bowling first

Daniel Brettig08-Nov-2020In the space of two sparkling innings, Will Pucovski has rocketed to the front of the queue for places in Australia’s Test match top six, vaulting to the top of the Sheffield Shield averages and giving Victoria a powerful start to a match in which they were sent in to bat by Western Australia on a grassy pitch at Karen Rolton Oval.Where Pucovski’s 255 not out in a record partnership of 486 with Marcus Harris was put together against lowly South Australia on a decidedly batting friendly surface, this unbeaten innings of 183, again with strong support from his opening partner, was a powerful riposte to Western Australia’s morning inclination that this would be a day for their all-seam attack.The two major challenges set for Pucovski were to battle full deliveries as Cameron Gannon, Matthew Kelly, Aaron Hardie, Cameron Green and Lance Morris all tried to extract swing and seam, and then to make use of his pull and hook shots as the same quintet dropped increasingly short in the face of scant success for the former method.Harris accompanied Pucovski up until the pair had put on 186 more than halfway through the day, before the Victorian captain Peter Handscomb offered strong support for the most part, albeit with the occasional moment of awkwardness. Looking on, the new Victoria coach Chris Rogers was once glimpsed laughing in conversation with a couple of his squad members: in batting terms at least, he will seldom feel more content as a mentor no matter how long his career carries on.The Warriors’ selection had been somewhat forced by an agreed decision with Cricket Australia to allow the spin bowler Ashton Agar to return home to Perth for some rest prior to looming duties with Australia A and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. The state’s 14-day mandatory quarantine requirement was going to seriously cut into the time available otherwise, although there were plenty of occasions when the Warriors would have liked to call upon their leading wicket-taker.It was instead left to D’Arcy Short, who alongside Scott Boland and Queensland’s Brendan Doggett was one of three Aboriginal cricketers taking the field in NAIDOC week, to offer up some overs of left-arm wrist spin. Short was at least able to beat Pucvoski’s bat with a top spinner, a better outcome than the vast majority of deliveries that were either left alone, defended stoutly or dispatched the boundary with some flourish.Harris survived a low chance in Green’s first over, edged into the cordon where Sam Whiteman was deemed to have scooped it up on the half volley, before his leading edge was taken by the same fielder with a superlative one-handed dive after the fashion of Steven Smith in the slips for Australia. Handscomb’s approach veered between conservatism and considerable risk, and he was to offer a half chance to the slips when scything at Gannon late in the day.These undulations only served to amplify how Pucovski showed a masterful ability to move up and down the gears depending on the scoring opportunities on offer, starting more slowly than Harris, skating into the 70s, then pulling things back before gliding to his second century in as many innings.There was to be more acceleration later on in the day, in spite of a liberal supply of boundary fielders placed by the Western Australia captain Shaun Marsh, and boundaries came with a decided rush when the hardness and bounce of the second new ball gave Pucovski a little more to work with.Stumps arrived with the second wicket stand worth 136, and Pucovski already 20 runs ahead of the Shield’s next heaviest scorer, the Test incumbent Travis Head. It may be a matter of weeks before they are international team-mates.