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Giles Clarke, the ECB president, is set to renew his relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board, after being tasked alongside David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, to explore ways to boost the board’s economy in the absence of any home international matches.The decision was taken at the quarterly ICC board meeting that concluded in Cape Town on Friday. The board also agreed to look into financial “assistance” for the PCB given that it has now been almost eight years since their cricketers were last able to play a match in front of their home fans.Clarke, who is a member of the powerful Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee, headed up the ICC’s original Pakistan Task Force in 2009, although he was unable to visit the country in that capacity due to the ongoing security concerns.Despite their difficulties, Pakistan’s Test team rose to become the No.1 nation earlier this year following a hugely creditable 2-2 draw in their away series against England. It is understood that Clarke is scheduled to meet PCB officials in a month’s time to chalk out the details of the ICC’s funding exercise.”We reflect the unique contribution of Pakistan to world cricket. There is a huge amount of goodwill at the ICC board table for Pakistan,” Clarke told ESPNcricinfo. “Along with the [ICC] chief executive, I have been charged with looking at how we can assist Pakistan. Some of the economics of life has not been easy for Pakistan because they can’t play home games.”We are looking at the economics of Pakistan cricket, seeing where the ICC can help in recognising the importance of Pakistan to the international cricketing community, and to the cricketing world. They got the Test mace and played a superb series in England this summer. They were magnificent on and off the pitch during the England series.”Describing himself as a “very committed supporter” of Pakistan cricket, Clarke said he had spent seven years trying to figure out ways to develop the game in the country.”We have made a bit of progress today with some of the ideas that came out of the meeting. David Richardson and I are going to see what we can do to help Pakistan cricket economically and what we can do what possibilities are there for anyone to tour Pakistan.”However, the prospect of international cricket making a permanent return to Pakistan remains doubtful. Earlier this year, memories of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in March 2009 were revived when another terrorist attack ripped through Lahore, killing at least 72 people and injuring 300 others in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, a popular hangout.”As you know, we were a very long way down the road with a concept of having a heavyweight world team tour Pakistan and play against Pakistan,” said Clarke. “Then the atrocity in Lahore absolutely scuppered that.”As a consequence of that attack, the PCB had to terminate a planned World XI versus Pakistanis match, an exercise that had been intended to provide a first step towards a return of full international cricket.”Cricket does not belong in a war zone,” said Clarke. “[But] Cricket does belong in Pakistan. If we are going to bring world cricket back to Pakistan, then we will need the help of the vast number of massively enthusiastic Pakistani cricket followers – which in my view is most of the country. Because it is the bad guys who are stopping us. If you love cricket in Pakistan, you know we can’t have atrocities. It stops people from coming. But if you give up, then the terrorist wins. I am not bloody giving up.”According to Clarke, PCB executive chairman Najam Sethi made a “very powerful plea” which had struck a chord with the ICC board during the Cape Town meeting. Sethi had been representing his board in the absence of Shaharyar Khan, who could not attend due to health reasons.During his address, Sethi focused on the major issues that were denting Pakistan cricket financially. Aside from Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in May 2015, have played all of their matches since 2009 in the UAE. However, the extra costs incurred by those matches have directly hampered the development of the game back home in Pakistan.In a bid to shore up their domestic infrastructure, the PCB recently began work on 16 regional academies as a part of their developmental plan. Another option under consideration is that ICC should help carry the cost of Pakistan’s bilateral series in the UAE.There is, however, an acceptance from all parties that it will ultimately be down to the players themselves to determine whether they are prepared to tour Pakistan again. As England’s current tour of Bangladesh shows, administrators cannot force players to tour when they are not comfortable with the security.

India coach Anil Kumble has said he was heartened by Hardik Pandya’s performance with the new ball on his ODI debut, and that the team management would give the allrounder the freedom to bat and bowl without specific instructions. Pandya opened the bowling along with Umesh Yadav in Dharamsala and was responsible for New Zealand’s batting meltdown. His figures of 3 for 31 from seven overs earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.”[Pandya] is someone who obviously gives us the right balance,” Kumble said on the eve of the second ODI in Delhi. “He can not only bowl but also bowl at a pretty decent pace as well. [Bowling with the new ball] was certainly the strategy MS [Dhoni] wanted Hardik to try. He certainly has the potential and he showed his potential in the limited opportunities that he has got, whether it be the T20s or in the ODI. With him giving us those seven-eight overs, sometimes even 10, certainly gives us a better balance in the team.”When asked if Pandya’s ball-striking ability gave India lower-order insurance, especially with MS Dhoni moving up the order, Kumble said the team backed Pandya to play the way he wanted to. “For someone who is just starting his international career, we don’t want to put pressure on him by giving him definite plans as to this is what is expected of him,” he said. “He is someone who likes the freedom and that’s exactly what we have given someone like a Hardik. Even with regard to his bowling, we have told him to bowl with freedom and not worry about getting hit.”The moment you start putting pressure saying we want you to bowl six deliveries in one spot… it doesn’t work like that in international cricket especially if someone is just starting his international career. So even with his batting, he has all the freedom; it doesn’t matter what the situation is when he walks in. I’m sure he’ll play the way he wants to play rather than how you want him to play.”Kumble backed Manish Pandey to continue batting at No.4, but said the batting order remained fluid and would change according to the situation. “In one-day cricket it is not necessary that you need to have certain positions fixed as far as batting goes. It all depends on the situation,” he said. “So, you could see someone else walking in at No. 4 [depending upon] if we bat first or we bat second. We have a couple of options [for No.4]. Obviously Manish is someone who has done really well in the recent past and he started off well even in Dharamsala.”He comes into international cricket with solid domestic performance over the years. So that certainly gives him the additional advantage of knowing exactly what to do in different situations. Yes, he is certainly your No.4, but it depends on the situation, you could see someone else walking in at No. 4 as well.”Kumble, however, said Ajinkya Rahane would continue opening the batting through the series, and that it was premature to pencil in a permanent opening combination. “At the moment I think Rahane certainly fits in at the top of the order and that’s something that we will persist with,” he said. “Yes, it does give us an option once Shikhar [Dhawan] and [KL] Rahul are fit.”But we will only look at that probably post the England Test series, when England come for one-dayers. Looking at the Champions Trophy, we will then decide as to who will be our opening batting combination and then who will bat at 4, 5, I think all that will come in much later.”

The BCCI will pick national selectors for the men’s, women’s and junior selection panels via an interview process for the first time, discarding the previously used zonal method. The deadline for applications closes on September 14 even though the BCCI released the advertisement only on September 10.With the Lodha Committee deciding to do away with the zonal system, the BCCI was forced to abandon the traditional method of appointing national selectors: based on nominations received from the five zones. The eligibility criteria mentioned by the BCCI in its advertisement also differed from the one set by the Lodha Committee.According to the Committee’s guideline, only former India Test players would be eligible to be appointed to the men’s and women’s selection committees, provided they had been retired from the game for at least 5 years.The BCCI’s criteria, however, stated: “He/She should have represented the Indian team either in a Test match or a one-day international or more than 50 first-class matches in India, in a team selected by the BCCI to be considered for the Senior National selection Committee.”For the junior panel, the BCCI wanted eligible candidates to have played more than 50 first-class matches in India, compared to the Lodha Committee’s recommendation of “a minimum of 25 first-class games.”The BCCI also set an age cap of 60 for the eligible candidates, and said that an applicant cannot be a former national selector, be associated with an IPL franchise in any position, run a cricket academy, or have a criminal record.The BCCI did not make it clear whether it would adhere to the Lodha Committee’s decision to restrict the selection committees to three members as opposed to five. “The Men’s Selection Committee shall consist of three persons to be appointed by the Board at the Annual General Meeting, on such terms and conditions as may be decided by the Apex Council from time to time. The senior most Test cap among the members of the Committee shall be appointed as the Chairperson,” the Lodha Committee Report said.That recommendation did not find favour among former national selectors, who felt pruning the panel would be detrimental and result in too heavy a workload, given the size of the country and the number of first-class teams involved.

ScorecardFile photo – Paras Khadka hit seven fours and a six in his 84•Peter Lim/ACC

Paras Khadka, the Nepal captain, contributed with bat and ball to help his team defend 217 against Netherlands in an ICC World Cricket League fixture in Amstelveen.Khadka top-scored with a 94-ball 84, and then nipped out two wickets – that of Stephan Myburgh and Wesley Barresi – with his medium-pace in six overs. Netherlands, who recovered from the early blows to be comfortably placed at 103 for 3, were bowled out for 198 in 48.3 overs.Netherlands, who opted to bowl, had Nepal reeling at 65 for 3 in the 20th over. Khadka then forged a 118-run fourth-wicket stand with Sagar Pun to rescue Nepal and set them up for a competitive total. While Khadka hit seven fours and a six, Pun faced 78 deliveries for his 45 and struck two fours.The dismissal of both batsmen in the space of 16 deliveries allowed Netherlands to claw back. Michael Rippon, the left-arm wrist spinner, ran through the lower middle order to finish with 4 for 35 off six overs, while Ahsan Malik, who sent back Khadka, had two wickets.Netherlands’ top three contributed just 21. It needed a rescue act from Max O’Dowd and Roelof van der Merwe to bring the chase back on track; the pair added 82 to rescue them from 21 for 3 in the eighth over.But van der Merwe’s dismissal for 56 to Sandeep Lamichhane, the legspinner, brought Nepal back into the game. The wickets of O’Dowd and Pieter Seelaar in successive overs left Netherlands tottering at 140 for 6. Timm van der Gugten and Tim Gruijters kept the chase alive courtesy a 53-run stand, before Nepal returned to pick up four wickets in eight deliveries to close out the contest.Despite the loss, Netherlands are still three points ahead of second-placed Hong Kong in the eight-team table. Nepal, for whom this was the third win in eight matches, are placed sixth and equal on points with Kenya, who have two games in hand.

Sri Lanka A head coach Avishka Gunawardene lamented the lack of big scores from the batsmen, after the side lost all four games in the A-team tri-series involving Pakistan and hosts England Lions.Sri Lanka A passed 255 only once on good batting surfaces, with Angelo Perera’s 69 being their highest individual score in the tournament. In contrast, Lions piled up runs and misery on Sri Lanka A, including a total of 425 for 1, which was set up by Ben Duckett’s unbeaten 220 not out, in the sixth match.”The biggest disappointment for me was not England Lions scoring 300 or 400 against us but that none of our batsmen used the conditions to get a big hundred,” Gunawardene said. “I thought that was the ideal opportunity for the batsmen. You don’t get better tracks even in Sri Lanka. The ball came nicely onto the bat and there wasn’t much movement, but our batsmen didn’t make use of that opportunity.”Besides Angelo, Niroshan Dickwella and Bhanuka Rajapaksa got to fifties, but could not convert it into a big score. Gunawardene held temperament responsible for batsmen not building on starts. He also said the batsmen need to learn the art of pacing an innings from domestic cricket.”They will get a 30, 40 or a 50 and throw it away. It’s all to do with their mindset; nothing wrong with their talent,” Gunawardene said. “Even the Pakistan A coach said that we had so much of talent but something was not right, which I also agree. The batsmen will have to start learning how to play long innings in domestic cricket. They should know how to build an innings, how to pace an innings, these are little things that our batsmen need to learn and develop and all of them comes from playing domestic cricket.”Gunawardene lauded Lions’ dominant batting line-up, which dictated the series. Five of their batsmen registered 150-plus scores as Lions won all their four matches.”That side is as good as their senior national team,” Gunawardene said. “The wickets were very flat but the difference was their batters in every game made it big with each one of them getting big scores against us and Pakistan A.”Dickwella finished the series as Sri Lanka A’s highest run-getter with 164 runs at 41, but Gunawardene termed Dhananjaya de Silva, who had to leave England and join the senior team for the home series against Australia, as the “most impressive”.”Roshen Silva looked the one guy who was ready to score the big one, very willing to spend a long time in the middle,” Gunawardene said. “He looked very good and he had the knack for batting longer hours and making big scores but he got a call to return to Sri Lanka. Mahela Udawatte didn’t score a lot of runs although he looked good. Niroshan Dickwella got starts but didn’t convert them into big ones. The most impressive of them was Dhananjaya de Silva, the moment he joined the squad I thought he was really good. [Lakshan] Sandakan looked like one of those spinners who could turn the ball he has first-class experience and he needs to get to next level and play.”Thisara Perera let Sri Lanka A down, despite having the experience of 168 international matches•Associated Press

Gunawardene said the the absence of five players – Roshen Silva, Dhananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa and Asitha Fernando – all of whom were named in the Test squad – left the A team short on experience.”I went to England with two spin-bowling allrounders for the three four-day matches and when it came to the one-day tri-series the only spinner in my team was Sandakan who was picked for the Sri Lankan Test side for good reasons,” Gunawardene said. “I was left with only Sachith Pathirana and Ramith Rambukwella who are spin-bowling allrounders. I didn’t have a specialist spinner in my line-up and I was left with only three fast bowlers and the squad had only 13 guys because several had been called to the national team and others to the Under-19 team that was to tour England.”Gunawardene, however, praised Asitha, who was Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker in the Under-19 World Cup, and Vishwa for adding bite to the attack.”They were very impressive in all the matches, they got the ball to move and the batsmen struggled against them,” Gunawardene said. “Vishwa was quite quick and touched 140 kph. Asitha is just 19 and bowls 135-plus kph. I saw him in the Under-19 squad but he has to play more first-class matches and get the experience. The best thing about him is that whatever we say he has the capacity to grab, which I think is a good sign.”Thisara Perera was the biggest disappointment of the series, scoring 99 runs in three innings and taking one wicket in four matches while conceding 226 runs at 7.06 runs an over, despite having the experience of 168 international games.”You have to get more out of someone who has played over 100 ODIs he should have done something at least stop batsmen from scoring whereas he went for 60 and 100 runs,” Gunawardene said.”Thisara is only 27 but for someone like him to be considered for the national side he has to perform exceptionally well. He can’t be performing at the same level as the under 19 and the rest of the guys. He is so experienced; he has to come up with exceptional performances. You can’t be just under-performing.”

Despite the ICC’s strong reassurances in the wake of former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum calling the anti-corruption unit (ACU) “casual”, the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) has said players across the globe remain insecure when it comes to providing information related to corruption to the anti-corruption units of the various member boards.While delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture recently, McCullum, who had provided evidence against former team-mate Chris Cairns in a perjury case at the Southwark Crown Court last year, had revealed how he had reported two approaches by Cairns to a member of the ICC’s ACU; the official took the information on a piece of paper, McCullum said, and told him it would end up at the “bottom of the file”. Cairns was acquitted of all charges in the case.According to Tony Irish, FICA’s chief executive, players were concerned about the manner in which “sensitive information” provided by them was treated by the anti-corruption units of various member countries. “There is a degree of nervousness generally among players who report, around how that information will be used. Brendon’s experience doesn’t help with that,” Irish told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a question often asked by players during anti-corruption education sessions run by players’ associations at the domestic level.”According to Irish, the protocols around how player statements were dealt with by both the ICC and the ACU in various member countries was an issue on which FICA wanted focus. “From a collective point of view we want to ensure that any sensitive information provided to authorities by players is protected, and that the various protocols and procedures in place provide adequate protections to players, in particular to whistle blowers,” Irish said. “Protecting clean athletes effectively is a critical aspect of ensuring that corruption is stamped out.”McCullum’s first sitting with the ICC’s ACU, when he was bewildered by the anti-corruption official’s approach, had taken place at the start of the 2011 World Cup. In 2014, when he sat with the ACU to record a much more elaborate statement, once again he was left stunned when his statements were published by an English newspaper. “How can the game’s governing body expect players to co-operate with it when it is then responsible for leaking confidential statements to the media?” McCullum said during his speech.Responding to McCullum’s remarks, the ICC said it was not responsible for the leaks, and that the episode had provided an opportunity for the ACU to review its processes. The ICC also said it was committed to “gain and retain the complete trust” of players. Irish said it was important for the ICC’s ACU and the anti-corruption units in various countries to keep the FICA and players’ associations in the loop.”The best results will always be achieved when players are part of and buy into regulations, rules and protocols that affect them,” Irish said. “Everyone needs to be in this fight together. We have been pushing to formalise the relationship with the ACU for some time, and we will continue to do so, as we think that this is vital to achieving good outcomes globally.”By ensuring that player representatives are able to have input into operating procedures (including those related to how player evidence and statements are dealt with), protocols and regulations, it will help to build and develop trust and confidence.”

England’s home season in 2017 has been confirmed as the longest in their international history, after the ECB announced a glut of fixtures spanning 148 days and featuring both the earliest start date, May 5, and the latest finish, September 29.South Africa and West Indies are lined up for full tours in an unprecedented summer that will also feature the ECB’s hosting of the Champions Trophy in early to mid-June, and the women’s World Cup between June 26 and July 23..The previous earliest start to an English summer was May 6, when England and West Indies embarked on that summer’s first Test at Lord’s. The latest finish also involved West Indies, when they beat England in the final of the Champions Trophy on September 25, 2004.England men’s summer will be launched by a two-match ODI series against Ireland, at Bristol and Lord’s on May 5 and 7, before the arrival of South Africa’s ODI squad for three matches – at Headingley, Ageas Bowl and Lord’s – on May 24, 27 and 29, which will serve as warm-up fixtures for the Champions Trophy, which opens with England’s match against Bangladesh at the Kia Oval on June 1.

England’s 2017 schedule

• May 5, 1st ODI v Ireland, Bristol
  May 7, 2nd ODI v Ireland, Lord’s
  May 24, 1st ODI v SA, Headingley
  May 27, 2nd ODI v SA, Ageas Bowl
  May 29, 3rd ODI v SA, Lord’s
  Jun 1-18, Champions Trophy
  Jun 21 v SA, 1st T20, Ageas Bowl
  Jun 23 v SA, 2nd T20, Taunton
  Jun 25, 3rd T20 v SA, Cardiff
  Jul 6-10, 1st Test v SA, Lord’s
  Jul 14-18, 2nd Test v SA, Trent Bridge
  Jul 27-31, 3rd Test v SA, The Oval
  Aug 4-8, 4th Test v SA, Old Trafford
  Aug 17-21, 1st Test v WI, Edgbaston
  Aug 25-29, 2nd Test v WI, Headingley
  Sep 7-11, 3rd Test v WI, Lord’s
  Sep 16, Only T20 v WI, Durham
  Sep 19, 1st ODI v WI, Old Trafford
  Sep 21, 2nd ODI v WI, Trent Bridge
  Sep 24, 3rd ODI v WI, Bristol
  Sep 27, 4th ODI v WI, The Oval
  Sep 29, 5th ODI v WI, Ageas Bowl
  

After the tournament, which concludes with a final at The Oval on June 18, England and South Africa play three T20Is – including their first international fixture at Taunton since 1983 – before attention switches to seven Test matches in the space of 67 days.South Africa are lined up for four matches, starting at Lord’s on July 6 then proceeding to Trent Bridge, The Oval and Old Trafford, before West Indies commence a three-Test series on August 17.That opening fixture, at Edgbaston, has been mooted as England’s first home day/night fixture, although the ECB as yet has not clarified its status. Further matches are scheduled for Headingley and Lord’s, before a one-off T20I followed by five ODIs, with the home summer set to finish at the Ageas Bowl on September 29.”With three different international teams coming here next summer and this country playing host to two major ICC global events – the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Women’s World Cup – there will be a feast of international cricket to excite us in England and Wales,” said Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive.”Both the international and the domestic schedule will have a different shape to previous years. And the early season block for the Royal London One-Day Cup – with a new mid-season date for its Lord’s final – will support both England’s ICC Champions Trophy preparations and our longer term planning for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. It will also allow players to focus skills on the white ball game and help more people to understand the structure of the season.”It promises to be a memorable summer of cricket for all our international grounds and a particularly special one for Somerset CCC which will host its first England men’s fixture for more than thirty years; a great opportunity for the county to further capitalise on its strong support for England women’s cricket in recent years.”Edgbaston will once again host NatWest T20 Blast Finals day while the Royal London One-Day Cup Final has been brought forward from its traditional mid-September date to a new mid-summer slot in early July.

India Women’s captain Mithali Raj has expressed the need for more support staff in the team, even as she welcomed the BCCI’s decision to allow India’s women cricketers to play in foreign leagues.Raj’s observations came in the wake of the BCCI’s women’s cricket committee meeting earlier this week, which deliberated on the creation of an expansive vision document that will, among other things, deal with the appointment of support staff.”I personally think we need to have a more enhanced support staff,” Raj told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s the first thing I will look into. For the World Cup [World T20], we just had a coach, manager, physio and trainer. Probably if we have a fielding coach or an assistant coach it will enhance the team as there won’t be too much pressure on the coach to look after everything.”The coach can’t deal with everything. [For instance] when some of us are batting in the nets, there is nobody to give fielding practice to the other girls as the coach would be at the nets.”Raj also stressed on the need to commence preparations for the 50-over World Cup next year in England, and said it would be ideal to have preparatory camps ahead of India’s forthcoming series against West Indies and Pakistan. “With pretty much a year [for the World Cup] to go, we should start our preparation as soon as possible,” she said. “Both these series are going to be vital in terms of points and preparation.”I would prefer to have a couple of camps before these series because getting the girls to regroup after a break is important. There are also some girls who might want to work on different things.”Raj was also confident the players will be better for the experience of playing in leagues abroad. “It’s a very positive decision. Since we don’t have one [a league] of our own this crossover will give youngsters like Smriti Mandhana and other young spinners a chance to play in leagues abroad where there will be exchange of cultures,” she said.”It’s a great opportunity for them to start observing other players and their rituals, their tactics and how they prepare. It’s a different feeling to be playing with a player who you have never played in the same team with. That’s how we felt when we played in the Rest of the World [versus MCC] match.”Veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami said the exposure that came with playing in different conditions had long-term benefits. “The experience you gain by making runs and taking wickets in different conditions will be useful when you play international cricket,” Goswami said. “I hope many young women participate in such leagues. This will benefit the Indian team in the future as well.”The BCCI’s decision, though, has come a little late for Indian participation in the inaugural Women’s Super League in England, which will be held this year from July 30 to August 14. The BCCI had not decided on the matter when the ECB sent a letter to all Full Members seeking their permission to enlist players. India’s women players had also missed the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League in December-January. Despite missing out on the tournaments, Raj was upbeat about the future.”If we had played in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash it would have given us a platform for WSL,” Raj said. “Nevertheless, it’s just one season and I am sure many Indian players will be a part of such leagues in the future.”When asked if these were logical steps towards the creation of a women’s IPL, Raj said it would happen eventually. “It should be, maybe in a year or two. It should happen when people in India actually start following women’s cricket more keenly, and not just the World T20 and big events.”Shubangi Kulkarni, the women’s cricket committee member from the west zone, said the women’s IPL wasn’t specifically discussed, but was optimistic about how the meeting panned out.”This was an introductory meeting. I thought everybody was pretty positive and I think some good things have come out of this,” Kulkarni said. “It’s difficult to come up with solutions for everything in the first meeting, which is why we felt a vision document was needed. We will table the document shortly.”

By the second hour of the third day in Bulawayo, the outlook had turned bleak for Zimbabwe. South Africa’s third-wicket partnership between Wiaan Mulder and David Bedingham had grown to 72 at over five runs an over. Zimbabwe’s spearhead, Blessing Muzarabani, was off the field due to illness. The field placements were defensive and the home side looked out of answers.Then came a lucky breakthrough. Wellington Masakadza, brought back for the 33rd over, banged one in short to Bedingham, who should have dispatched it to the boundary. Instead, he mistimed the pull straight to midwicket and fell for a brisk 35. That dismissal triggered a slide, with South Africa losing 3 for 19 in five overs; the only passage of play in Zimbabwe’s favour.It was otherwise a day of South African dominance. Mulder, who had added 63 with Tony de Zorzi for the second wicket, had a partnership of 104 with Kyle Verreynne for the sixth. South Africa’s No. 3 made a career-best 147 at a strike rate of 71.35 and put the match out of Zimbabwe’s reach. They were set a target of 537, after South Africa were bowled out for 369 in their second innings, and ended the day at 32 for 1.Mulder, who started the day patiently, lost his partner de Zorzi when the left-hander edged Tanaka Chivanga to second slip for 31. But each time the bowlers strayed in line or pitched too full, Mulder tried to drive to the boundary. Those occasional fours, and Bedingham’s quick start, kept South Africa going. Mulder brought up his fifty with a huge six over midwicket off Masakadza in the 24th over, by which time South Africa’s lead had passed 250.Zimbabwe resorted to spin at that point for nine consecutive overs but couldn’t prevent Mulder and Bedingham from scoring 44 runs in that phase. Bedingham’s miscue eventually gave Zimbabwe a window, and Vincent Masekesa exploited the rough outside off to turn one sharply into first-innings centurion Lhuan-dre Pretorius, bowling him for 4. Masekesa struck again in the 38th over, dismissing Dewald Brevis for 3 when he attempted an ambitious hoick.Wellington Masakadza picked up four wickets•Zimbabwe Cricket

With South Africa 155 for 5, Mulder capitalised on the hittable balls. He drove, flicked and glanced for three boundaries in the next two overs, and reached his second Test hundred in the 43rd over with another boundary. By lunch, South Africa were ahead by 352.Five overs into the second session, Mulder and Verreynne were scoring boundaries frequently as Masekesa and Chivanga lacked control. Zimbabwe’s energy and confidence dropped; although their spinners were getting turn, the two well-set batters were untroubled.The century partnership was eventually broken by a short ball, as Wessly Madhevere had Mulder caught at deep midwicket. Three balls later, Masakadza found just enough turn to induce Verreynne to edge to slip for 36. At 259 for 7 – just as when they were 155 for 5 – Zimbabwe hoped to end South Africa’s innings quickly. But it wasn’t to be.South Africa’s captain Keshav Maharaj and Corbin Bosch deepened Zimbabwe’s woes, extending the lead beyond 425 with a quick 92-run stand. Maharaj began cautiously with three dots, but from the 61st over, the pair added 47 runs in eight overs.With the lead nearly 500, Zimbabwe suffered another blow in the last over before tea. Muzarabani, eligible to bowl after making up for his time off the field, had Bosch caught at first slip off a no-ball. Maharaj got to a half-century off 64 balls in the 77th over, but in the next one, Masakadza bowled Bosch for 36 by turning one from the rough outside leg.Masakadza had his fourth wicket soon after, removing Maharaj, who missed one after skipping down the pitch. Muzarabani then cleaned up Kwena Maphaka to finally bring Zimbabwe’s ordeal to an end.Set a daunting target of 537 and with stumps approaching, openers Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Prince Masvaure adopted a defensive approach. Only eight runs were scored in the first seven overs, as Codi Yusuf and Mulder bowled with discipline. When the final over of the day began, Zimbabwe had reached 32, and 15 of those runs were extras. The second ball of that over turned out to be the last of the day, as Kaitano edged Bosch to second slip, giving South Africa their first breakthrough in their pursuit of victory.