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Irfan Pathan took two wickets and then rescued Baroda with the bat to complete a three-wicket win over Saurashtra in Vadodara. Chasing the 161 target set by Saurashtra, Irfan came in to bat with his team at 38 for 4 in the ninth over – with Baroda needing 123 runs off 71 balls – and scored 65 not out at a strike-rate of over 200. His 32-ball stay included five fours and three sixes while opener Kedar Devdhar (35) supported him in a 66-run fourth-wicket stand. Chirag Jani’s three wickets troubled Baroda but a late 13-ball knock of 23 by Swapnil Singh with Irfan at the other end took Baroda to their second-consecutive win. Earlier, Saurashtra made 160 for 4 courtesy a 91-run third-wicket stand between Cheteshwar Pujara (44) and Prerak Mankad (64).Mumbai captain Aditya Tare’s unbeaten knock of 71 (off 38 balls) helped them beat Maharashtra by six wickets. Maharashtra’s target of 149 was overhauled with eight balls to spare with Tare stitching together useful partnerships with Shreyas Iyer (32) and Abhishek Nayar (20 not out). Debutant Armaan Jaffer (27) gave Mumbai a positive start to their chase before Tare’s innings of nine fours and a six took the game away from Maharashtra. During Maharashtra’s innings, Ankit Bawne fell after scoring his third-consecutive half-century. Nikhil Nayak (39) and Prayag Bhati (24 not out) added to the Maharashtra score but with Rohan Raje and Nayar taking three wickets each, Mumbai managed to restrict their opponents to 148 for 7 in their 20.

ScorecardDavid Wiese’s late blows proved the difference•Associated Press

Titans claimed a second successive T20 title and denied Warriors a first trophy in seven seasons by defending 156, despite losing their captain Albie Morkel to a hamstring injury in their first over in the field. Lungi Ngidi and Junior Dala both conceded under seven runs an over but the hero was Malusi Siboto who defended 12 off the final over to secure a tense win.A penultimate over that was boundary-less and cost Dala just six runs set the tone for Siboto’s heroics but they were not without drama. He sent down a slower ball first delivery, then a dot ball, and then only three singles to all but guarantee Titans the win. However, with what should have been the final ball, Siboto bowled a leg-side wide to leave open the prospect of a Super Over deciding the tournament. But he finished on target to leave Warriors wondering how they had left it to their seventh-wicket pair of Lesiba Ngoepe and Sisanda Magala needing to score 31 off 22 balls.The enormity of the occasion – Warriors last played in a final in the 2010-11 season – seemed to overwhelm them but they showed glimpses of breaking their drought. They pulled Titans back from 105 for 3 to restrict them to a below-par score at altitude but none of their senior batsmen could anchor the chase.Warriors reply began tentatively when Clyde Fortuin hit the ball straight to Aiden Markram at backward point but Titans’ joy soon turned to worry. Morkel grabbed at his hamstring in pain as the wicket fell and could not complete the over.David Wiese took over the captaincy and bowled the next over from Morkel’s end, with equal success. He had the leading run-scorer in the competition, Jon-Jon Smuts, caught behind and Warriors were in early trouble. Their malaise could have deepened when Ngidi appealed for a catch against Colin Ingram, who had yet to score, but umpire Allahudien Paleker turned him down. Ingram only faced another eight deliveries before Ngidi had the last laugh and Titans took the Powerplay honours with Warriors on 44 for 3.Colin Ackermann and Christiaan Jonker got them back on track with a clinical attack on the Titans change bowlers. They were particularly severe on left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, whose first over cost 14, but he could have had both their wickets. After Ackermann hit Shamsi over the grass embankment for six, he skied another strike but Siboto put it down and conceded a run. Off the next ball, Jonker tried to flick and was caught by Junior Dala to put Titans back in it.Ackermann shared in a 30-run fifth-wicket stand with Qaasim Adams, who is on loan from Titans and gave it to his old team with a feisty 17 off 16 balls. Before he could do any more damage, though, Shamsi removed him lbw with the last ball of his spell. The tale twisted even more when Ackermann holed out to Ngidi and all but ended Warriors’ challenge.That would have come as relief to Titans, who should have scored more after their strong start. They put on 35 in the first four overs, which included two overs from Kyle Abbott who was selected ahead of the competition’s second-highest wicket-taker Andrew Birch, despite Birch’s 5 for 16 against the same opposition at the same ground in the group stage.Warriors fought back when Basheeru Walters made the first breakthrough and two further blows left Titans 73 for 3 in the 10th over. Despite needing some firepower Titans did not send in their star batsman Farhaan Behardien immediately and tasked Heino Kuhn with partnering Morkel in the middle. Kuhn was run out in the 14th over, which sparked a mini-collapse. They lost three for 21, including Behardien, who was unable to provide a replay of his 14-ball fifty from the weekend, and Morkel, also run-out.At 126 for 6, with 16 balls remaining, Titans were in danger of finishing well below par but Wiese took them to respectability. He plundered 16 runs in a 19-run final over that took Titans over 150 and, in the end, it proved enough.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Imam-ul-Haq struck 10 fours•Getty Images

Centuries from openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman underlined Habib Bank Limited’s dominance over Water and Power Development Authority on day three of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final at the National Stadium in Karachi. HBL, who had conceded a 42-run lead, were 264 without loss at stumps.WAPDA, who resumed on 244 for 5 after a rest day for Rabi-ul-Awal, lost their last five wickets for just nine runs to be bowled out for 278. Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, took three of those to complete a WAPDA batting collapse – they were at 162 for no loss at one stage. Salman Butt’s 125 – his third first-class century of the season – was the top score for WAPDA.They were dealt another blow when Kamran Akmal, their wicketkeeper, didn’t take the field in the second innings because of an injury, and had to be replaced by Zahid Mansoor.Imam, nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Zaman then powered ahead to record the highest opening stand for HBL when they surpassed a 16-year record of 252, held by Asadullah Butt and Mujahid Jamshed against Sargodha in 1999-2000.Along the way, both batsmen enjoyed slices of luck. Imam was reprieved on 37 when left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar put down a return catch. Zaman was handed a lifeline on 140 when Mansoor, filling in for Kamran Akmal, missed a stumping chance off Babar. Imam hit 10 fours, while Zaman struck 19.Mohammad Asif, who picked up four wickets in the first innings, bowled only seven of the 73 overs on Tuesday, while Mohammad Irfan bowled 10 overs.

Sabbir Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain have been handed heavy fines for “serious off-field disciplinary breaches” during the Bangladesh Premier League.While the BCB release didn’t specify the nature of the breach, ESPNcricinfo understands that the incidents took place during the Chittagong leg of the ongoing season.”A Governing Council investigation has found both players guilty of serious off-field disciplinary breaches during the current tournament,” a BCB press release read. “As a consequence, Al Amin has been penalised 50% of his BPL contract fees while Shabbir has been fined 30% of his BPL contract amount.Sabbir, placed in Grade A+ in the BPL player draft, was acquired by Rajshahi Kings for Tk 40 lakh (approximately USD 50,000), while Al Amin in Grade A was retained by Barisal Bulls for Tk 25 lakh (approximately USD 31,000).”The players have been reminded of their responsibility as national cricketers and have been warned that any repeat of similar acts of indiscretion in the future will result in harsher penalty,” the statement said.

Mitchell Starc’s leg wound is still open. He will require a special knee pad to be able to dive in the field. And he is more than 10 days behind where he would prefer to be in preparation for the first Test of the summer, against South Africa in Perth – the match all Cricket Australia’s intricate preparatory plans are meant to be geared for.That’s the challenging scenario for the man who has swiftly become Australia’s most valuable cricketing asset. His pace and swing are capable of unpicking the lock to a South African batting line-up that toyed with Steven Smith’s team on the recent ODI tour in Starc’s absence.For that reason, there is no question of Starc missing out on a match that will set the tone for the home season, and a series against opponents who will test the resolve of the hosts to perform in familiar climes after humiliations in Sri Lanka and South Africa. The training-inflicted gash to the leg that Starc is still recovering from mirrors the sense that this is an Australian side yet to take complete form after 2015’s raft of retirements.”It’s still open, clean it every day, put a patch on it and away you go,” Starc said of his left leg. “It’s still a little bit opened, so it’s probably going to take a couple of weeks [to heal]. It’s not bleeding, it’s healing nicely. It’s all clean. I think when I started bowling and running again it just sort of stretched the skin a little bit. It’s not a bad thing, it needed to stretch anyway. But it probably just delayed the healing a little bit.”[Without the injury] I would have obviously played a couple of Matador games and played the full Shield game as well. So I’m probably – hard to say, probably a week or week-and-a-half behind where I would have liked to be. Being in a brace for four weeks – I couldn’t sweat on the wound, so I couldn’t run or do all of the gym sessions I wanted to do. So I was a fair bit behind at the start and tried to catch up at the end.”I’m still a little bit behind where I would have liked but it hasn’t cost me any cricket for Australia so I’m ready to go.”Echoing the views of the CA chief executive James Sutherland on the need to prioritise some series above others, Starc said he would be prepared to push through pain and even a re-opening of the wound in order to bowl the kinds of spells his captain requires. That being said, it is hard to imagine Starc being used as anything other than a high-speed battering ram in three to five-over spells after the fashion of Mitchell Johnson.”I’m happy to bowl long spells, it’s going to be up to Steve,” Starc said. “I’m prepared to play the Test match and perform any role I need to. Obviously that’s initially to bowl as fast as I can and try to attack the South Africans. It’s not going to be an issue for me to bowl longer spells, it’s just how Smithy sees my role on the day, and the conditions, the wicket and the other guys in the team.”I guess in the longer scheme of things it hasn’t been that long a break. Obviously coming off two months of cricket in Sri Lanka – it’s not like I’ve come off six months of nothing. It is a little bit behind, but I was a lot happier with how I finished the Shield game the other night after 19 overs. A couple more days of preparation this week and I’ll be ready to go full tilt.”While South Africa’s batting coach Neil McKenzie has had a bit to say about the visitors not fearing any members of the Australian line-up, Starc said he knew there would always be some trepidation among opponents about facing him. “Easy for him to say that, sitting behind the desk,” Starc quipped. “I’m happy for him to face me.”He’s entitled to his opinions. It’s a lot easier making comments like that when you don’t have to face anything. He just throws the whanger down at his batsmen and sits back and watches. Look, we’ll all be trying to crank it up. I’ll be trying to bowl as fast as I can and Josh can still hit over 140s, Joey [Mennie] bowls a heavier ball than you think and can hurry up a lot of batsmen. He probably bowls a lot quicker than people think.”Sidds is coming back into some pace as well. We’ve got plenty of firepower. Just because they’ve got Dale Steyn – I know he’s an outstanding bowler, he’s taken 400-plus Test wickets – [but] just because you’ve got him and [Kagiso] Rabada bowling fast it doesn’t mean we don’t have anyone to match that.”One of the ironies of Starc’s current physical impediment is that he may actually be in his best ever shape to play all six Tests, against South Africa and Pakistan, this summer. Until December last year, when he finally submitted to surgery on foot and ankle problems, Starc had suffered from ankle bone spurs. A full season is chief among his goals.”I’d love to play a whole summer for a change, whether it be through rotation or injury or bad form I haven’t managed to do that yet,” Starc said. “So I think I just put that on myself really, to be there for all six Tests and bowling well enough to be selected for all of those Test matches along with the one-day games this summer.”I think that’s part of it as well – being there for a little bit of time now with Josh. We probably take it on ourselves to – along with Pete coming back into the squad after his back – it’s probably important for the three of us especially to I guess lead the attack. I think we do that really well together.”There’s not really one leader, we just sort of run off the back of each other and have done for a while. We’d all love to play every Test match this summer, along with the Indian series. Without talking too much about it, we probably put that on ourselves.”Should Starc play six Tests, Australia will be hard to stop. This week may be the highest hurdle to that goal.

Summer time and the start is easy. Or so it would seem for South Africa.The season proper kicks off on Sunday with a fixture against Ireland, a team South Africa have played only four times in the past and beaten on every occasion. What could possibly go wrong? Faf du Plessis, the stand-in captain, knows what.”When you play a small nation, you’ve got everything to lose and they’ve got everything to gain,” he said. “They can play the perfect match and if you make a couple of mistakes, they beat you and that’s never something you want to do as a big nation.”Without regular captain AB de Villiers, who is injured, regular opener Hashim Amla, who is awaiting the birth of his third child, and regulars in the bowling attack like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott, South Africa could be vulnerable. This means they may take the field with three debutants. They will definitely have one in Temba Bavuma, who has been asked to open the batting as South Africa look to develop him in that role for the future.Not only is it a position that is fairly unknown to him, but it is also a format he has not exactly set the stage alight in. Across 69 List A matches, Bavuma has an average of 26.73, so there will be pressure on him to perform. “It’s a great opportunity for him,” du Plessis said. “He will be the first guy to say that his one-day record is not what he wants it to be, so he has got an opportunity to improve it.”The other rookies, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo, make up two of three allrounders in the squad alongside Wayne Parnell. Had Chris Morris been fit, South Africa would have had a quartet of two-in-one players to choose from – a luxury after several years of searching for someone to fill that spot.Having tried several players, including Ryan McLaren and Albie Morkel, South Africa have been unable to find a top-order allrounder in the Jacques Kallis mould. They now seem to be settling with the idea of a seam bowler who can bat in the lower-middle order. Now, it up to Pretorius, Phelukwayo and Parnell to prove their worth. “We’ve always said that we really need allrounders to come through to make the balance of our team easier,” du Plessis said. “They will all get game-time over these ODIs.”The main worry for South Africa is not who will get time in the middle, but who will not. Morkel and Morris will not feature at all as they recover from back and knee niggles respectively, but the focus is on de Villiers, who will undergo a fitness test on Tuesday to determine whether he needs surgery on his elbow. If he does, he will miss the Test tour of Australia, which will leave it to du Plessis to lead, and it seems he is more than willing to take over in any format.Du Plessis, who took over for the two-Test series against New Zealand last month, believes he is improving in the job.”Captaining in a Test match was unbelievable,” he said. “That is the pinnacle To get through that series with a much-needed win, which we needed as a team, also gave me as a captain confidence. As a captain you need to learn always, you are never the finished article. I enjoy making sure the team is going in the right direction and leading by example.”

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen called the achievement of three Scotland players – himself, Kyle Coetzer and Richie Berrington – crossing 1000 career ODI runs in their 98-run win over UAE “pretty special”. He also said the trio should now aim to become the first Scotland players to cross the 2000-run mark.”I was quite surprised to hear that,” Mommsen told ESPNcricinfo after being informed of the feat. “I think all three of us were. It was a nice little landmark and quite a nice thing that we could do it in the same game as well, so very happy.”Prior to Sunday, the only other Scotland players to achieve the mark were Neil McCallum and Scotland’s all-time leader Gavin Hamilton, who sits at 1231 runs from 38 ODIs between 1999 and 2010. Mommsen said being in such esteemed company made the accomplishment all the more meaningful.”It is pretty special,” Mommsen said. “I think being one of the first five Scottish players ever to score 1000 runs in ODIs, that’s something I’m very proud of. I’m sure the others are as well. There’s no reason why we can’t really push on and try and double that up and be the first guys to get to 2000.”Crossing 1000 ODI career runs may not sound like much in an era where players from Full Member nations regularly notch up the same number in a calendar year. However, it’s important to put those milestones into context. Berrington, who took the longest of the three Scotland players to get to the mark, has played in 49 out of Scotland’s 63 possible ODIs since making his debut in July 2008 against Ireland. Most other Full Member nations would have that many ODIs scheduled in two years rather than eight in Scotland’s bare-bones fixture list.Even when Scotland are able to secure precious ODI fixtures, the weather can wreak havoc on their plans, thus impacting players’ career figures. Scotland have played 30 home ODIs since their inaugural match on home soil against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup though their first bilateral home contest was not until 2006 against Pakistan. Since 2006, Scotland have had six home ODIs washed out, and another three ending in no results. Overall, nine out of their 36 scheduled home ODI fixtures in history – 25 percent – have either been abandoned or unable to be completed.To put those numbers into perspective, Australia have had a total of 420 home ODIs since the first one, against England in January 1971, with 13 ending in no results and a further four abandoned. That’s just four percent of their home fixtures. The most weather-affected Full Member, Sri Lanka, are still some ways off from Scotland’s percentage of rain-affected home matches. Since their first home ODI, in 1982, Sri Lanka have had a total of 232 ODIs at home, with 20 ending in no result and a further 10 abandoned for a 12.09-percent mark ().Taking into consideration the paucity of ODI fixtures for Associate teams in general, and the innate meteorological obstacles in front of Scotland on home soil, making 1000 ODI runs is a tremendous achievement for Mommsen, Coetzer and Berrington. The rarity of it highlights not just their skills but their longevity too, and each player has done it in contrasting styles.Coetzer has made his name as a high-octane opener who, at times, can be high risk, high reward. His third ton on Sunday is now the most for Scotland in ODI cricket, with his other two coming against Afghanistan in 2013 and a majestic career-best 156 last year in the World Cup against Bangladesh. Coetzer, though, made light of the fact that he’s just as capable of a low score, having made three ducks in his last four innings prior to Sunday’s 127.”It’s obviously very special,” Coetzer said after the game. “I think every one of the guys that have now passed 1000 runs, it’s a special achievement. I guess, for me, I was more aware that I got a couple zeros leading into the game, but I just sort of seem to be either all or nothing at the moment. I was happy to just get off the mark, first of all, and then you just take it from there, but it’s a very special day for a couple of us and it was nice for us all to do it on the same day.”Berrington is perhaps the most selfless and versatile of the three. He has Scotland’s highest T20I score, opening the batting to make 100 off 58 balls against Bangladesh in 2012. In ODIs, he has batted anywhere from No. 4 to 7, shifting around to the needs of the team. His high score in ODIs came against Ireland in 2014, an unbeaten 101, but Mommsen paid tribute to Berrington’s dynamic traits by calling a rapid 56 off 23 balls at No. 6 in a record Scotland chase, against Ireland in 2011 his most memorable knock.”It’s been brilliant sharing their careers. They’ve had some great occasions where they have won games in their own right,” Mommsen said. “I can think of Richie Berrington’s, I think it’s one of the top ten quickest fifties I think he scored here against Ireland when we successfully chased 310 or something [sic 320], really gave us massive impetus in the back-end of the innings and ended up winning the game.”For Mommsen, shouldering the responsibility of captaincy has brought out the best in him to get him to the 1000-run mark, though he’s done it with perhaps the least bit of fanfare. Upon reaching his century on Sunday, he seemed slightly reluctant to take off his helmet in saluting his team-mates and the crowd, giving a cursory nod and wave of the bat before carrying on with the final two overs, his focus locked in on finishing off the innings to help Scotland to a defendable total.Just getting to today’s moment for the three of them might not have been possible were it not for Mommsen’s 78 against Kenya in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. It was a paradoxical innings, a game of monumental importance, with ODI status and Scotland’s professional future at stake, played in anonymity, away from any TV cameras, but one that Mommsen holds as his favourite moment along the way to reaching 1000 runs.”That was playing literally for a place in the World Cup, playing for most of our careers, and full-time contracts probably would have been down the drain had we not won that game,” Mommsen said. “So it was a very, very important game and we managed to get across the line and being able to contribute towards that is something I was very proud of.”Mommsen’s ambition for the three of them to double up and get to 2000 ODI runs is a reasonable target, particularly with age mostly on their side – Mommsen is the youngest at 28, Berrington is 29 and Coetzer, 32 – but an enhanced fixture list is also a necessity. At the moment, Tuesday’s rematch against the UAE, and a pair of ODIs against Hong Kong in September are the only remaining games on Scotland’s plate for 2016. For next year, the only two ODIs locked in are against Papua New Guinea as part of the WCL Championship.It’s why a regulated fixture list as part of a proposed 13-team ODI league, including a guaranteed 36 ODIs over a three-year period, would mean the world to Associate teams like Scotland. Regardless of whether that happens though, players like Mommsen, Coetzer and Berrington will continue to make the most of the opportunities in front of them.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Sune Luus picked up her second five-for in three matches•Getty Images/ICC

Laura Wolvaardt became the youngest centurion, male or female, for South Africa in international cricket. The 17-year old opener struck a match-winning 105 against Ireland Women to wrap up a 67-run victory in Malahide.Wolvaardt’s innings began with consecutive fours against Lewis in the fourth over. She had nine boundaries by the time she raised her fifty – off only 51 balls. Her 13th hit to the fence took her to 99 in the 37th over and a couple the next time she got on strike gave her a maiden ODI century. She was 233 days younger than the previous South African record-holder, Johmari Logtenberg of the 2007 women’s team, and a full two years younger than Graeme Pollock when men’s international cricket is taken into account. In women’s cricket, only India’s Mithali Raj has made a hundred at a younger age.Wolvaardt’s innings was part of an opening partnership that added 192 runs. From the other end, experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Trisha Chetty contributed with 95. With a total of 260 to defend, legspinner Sune Luus picked up her second five-for in three matches to leave the Irish women with very little chance. She took two of the first four wickets to fall leaving the score at 75 for 4. Isobel Joyce and Kim Garth struck half-centuries each, but their efforts barely mattered in a match South Africa dominated. Ireland were bowled out for 193, with six single-digit scores.

Rob Walter has quit his job as coach of the Titans in South Africa to move to New Zealand and coach the Otago Volts instead. Walter, who was also a conditioning coach with the South African national team previously, will begin his two-year term with the New Zealand domestic side in September. He will take over from Nathan King, who had also been a member of South Africa’s support staff between 2009 and 2012.Walter is the third person South African cricket has lost to New Zealand since June. Pete de Wet, chief executive officer of the Dolphins, is going to head Central Districts, and the South African national team logistics manager Riaan Muller took the same job with the New Zealand team.”It was a very tough decision because I have had immense joy,” Walter told ESPNcricinfo. “I felt for my growth as a coach it would be good for me to experience coaching in a different environment. Like any coach, I aspire to coaching a national team and through conversations with various people I could see that in the short-term coaching the Proteas was not going to happen for me. By coaching in New Zealand maybe I can put myself in a better position to do that in the long-term. I can’t say I am leaving for lack of opportunity because I got the Titans job early in my career.”Jacques Faul, the Titans’ chief executive officer, paid glowing tribute to Walter’s work with the South African franchise. “Rob pioneered a new spirit in the Titans cricketing family,” he said. “He has transformed the franchise in many ways. It was evident in the way the franchise batting improved the past two seasons, as our top- and middle-order produced 22 centuries in two seasons. We also improved our consistency in the bowling department.”It is indeed a dark day for Titans cricket to lose a coach of Rob’s stature. We want to pay tribute to his enormous contribution. We wish him and his family well when they embark on a new chapter of his cricketing odyssey in Otago, New Zealand.”Mike Coggan, Otago Cricket’s chief executive, welcomed Walter’s appointment. “We’re thrilled to secure the services of Rob for at least the next two years,” Coggan said. “Rob is highly respected and will certainly add a competitive edge and an entirely new learning environment for the Otago Volts group and our wider staff. His experience and desire is first class.”

Match facts

Saturday, June 11 2016
Start time 1300 local (1700GMT)

Big Picture

Round Two. All even. Just about.The Guyana leg of this triangular series resulted in a win for each of the three teams, with South Africa and Australia claiming bonus points. The caravan moves to St Kitts, where South Africa and Australia kick off proceedings on Saturday.Relations between both countries have improved since the sides last met, after South Africa agreed to play a Day-Night Test in Adelaide in November after initially rejecting the idea. It’s only fitting that on the field, they are battling under lights at the moment, with South Africa having the upper hand.After being run down by Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard in the tournament opener, South Africa surged back to humble Australia, who just two days earlier had brought West Indies down to earth.Bowling has been South Africa’s stronger suit thus far, with Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir, in particular, excelling in dual roles of attacking and containing. That has meant time on the bench for Morne Morkel, although he is likely to force his way in at some stage.Australia’s attack has been equally impressive. After restricting West Indies to under 120, they dismissed South Africa for 189. Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood have been misers and their two spinners – Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa – have worked well together. That leaves both teams with concerns over their batting.South Africa’s tail was exposed too early in both matches and while Australia were untested in their first outing, they fell apart against quality seam and spin in their second. Some of that may come down to conditions, however. Providence’s slow, spinner-friendly surface made for slow scoring rates and a scant boundary count, but that should change with change in venue.Both line-ups will want to work on partnership-building in what could be an important match in deciding who holds the advantage before they take on the hosts.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)Australia LWLWL
South Africa WLWWW

In the spotlight

Faf du Plessis’ recovery from a finger injury and Dean Elgar’s calls up means there’s that much more pressure on JP Duminy to perform. Duminy has not scored an ODI half-century in eight innings, since July 2015 against Bangladesh. He has had starts in both innings in the tournament, but uncertainty outside offstump has cost him.Unlike Duminy, Australia’s captain Steven Smith hasn’t managed to get into double figures in either of his innings so far. Smith has been out lbw on both occasions while shuffling across his stumps to play through the onside. He will want to get back to the kind of form he was in against India earlier in the year, when he hit a century and a fifty, along with two scores in the forties.

Team news

After resting Mitchell Starc from their first meeting with South Africa on Tuesday, Australia will be keen to unleash him here. The changing conditions could mean space for only one of Zampa or Lyon, with Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood forming part of the pace attack.Australia: (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steve Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Adam Zampa/Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodRilee Rossouw’s injury should pave way for du Plessis’ return at No. 3 even though Dean Elgar has been called-up as a replacement. South Africa are unlikely to field three specialist spinners again. That would leave them with a choice between Aaron Phangiso, the left-arm spinner, and Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wrist spinner. They may opt for a holding spinner in Phangiso if Morkel gets a game. Shamsi could yet find a place if Kyle Abbott plays.South Africa: (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Wayne Parnell 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Morne Morkel/Kyle Abbott, 10 Aaron Phangiso/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

The biggest difference between Warner Park and Providence is the size. Smaller boundaries are likely to mean more big hits, although a livelier surface could bring the pacers into play a lot more than they did in Guyana. The rain threat from Guyana has been reduced to next to nil, although humidity levels could test the players’ fitness.

Stats and trivia

• The average first innings score at this ground is 282, well ahead of the Providence’ average of 211.
• Both Australia and South Africa have made totals over 300 here, Australia four times including a match-winning 377 for 6 against South Africa at the 2007 World Cup and South Africa once.
• Warner Park is the venue of Herschelle Gibbs’ six consecutive sixes against Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup.

Quotes

“I just thought we didn’t pick the ball out of the spinners hand. It’s just the basics of batting. We needed to be a bit more patient, maybe. We talked about adapting, we’ve talked about partnerships. Probably we didn’t do any of those things the other night.”