Delhi dominate, Sehwag strikes form

Delhi 448 for 9 (Manha 100, Yadav 81, Nehra 57, Sehwag 56) lead Vidarbha 88 by 360 runs
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Virender Sehwag showed glimpses of his shot-making prowess for an hour and 49 minutes as Delhi's batsmen took apart a below-par Vidarbha attack. On the same Roshanara track where Vidarbha were shot out for 88 on the first day, Sehwag hit his first half-century of the season.

While Sehwag will take most of the headlines, the biggest contributor for Delhi was the experienced Mithun Manhas, who scored his 25th first-class century to stretch the lead to 360 by stumps on the second day.

It is unlikely that captain Gautam Gambhir will extend Delhi's innings further as he would want his bowlers to use the freshness of the Roshanara track on Monday morning to take seven points, which will be crucial to his team's progress.

If Manhas and Sehwag consolidated Delhi's position in the match, wicketkeeper batsman Rahul Yadav (81) and Ashish Nehra (57) - fresh from his six-wicket haul on Saturday - clobbered the Vidarbha bowlers into submission, adding 122 for the eighth wicket. This was Nehra's first 50-plus score in any senior level cricket, and the towering sixes that he hit to cow corner were cheered boisterously by his team-mates.

The pitch had good bounce today as well but it was a mix of better batting and some ordinary bowling that led to Delhi taking a firm grip on the match.

The BCCI had hurriedly sent the head of their Pitches and Grounds committee, Daljeet Singh, today to Roshanara, probably to gauge what went wrong with the surface yesterday, but Delhi's batsmen certainly made the track seem less tricky with some solid batting.

Sehwag got going with a punch straight down the ground off Amol Jungade, after left-arm seamers Shrikant Wagh and Ravi Thakur initially tested him with a few short deliveries.

Sehwag went in to lunch on 20 and it was in the first 30 minutes of the second session that he was in his element. The best shot was a late cut off seamer Sandeep Sharma which was applauded by everyone at the ground. Sehwag started walking down the pitch as Sharma charged in and bowled a fuller delivery. Any other batsman would have left it alone but Sehwag just opened the face at the last moment to guide it wide of third slip for a boundary.

There were signature cover drives but the other boundary that stood out was the manner in which he dug out a Wagh yorker and sent the ball racing to the midwicket boundary. He didn't even complete the full follow-through of a forward defensive push off Jungade as the ball raced past mid-on for four to bring up the half-century off 62 deliveries.

Sehwag then lofted Jungade for a straight boundary, but was caught by Vidarbha captain Shalabh Srivastava running back from mid-off when trying the same shot again off the part-time seamer Faiz Fazal.

During Sehwag's rampage, the calming presence of Manhas also guided Delhi as it has so often over the past decade-and-a-half. Manhas played the square cut with authority. He clipped anything on the legs through midwicket, and he drove the half-volleys through cover to bring up his third century of the season. It leaves Delhi in a overwhelmingly dominant position at Roshnara, as they push towards a crowded top third of the Group A table.

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Prasanth 199 sets up Andhra's 417

Himachal Pradesh 24 for 3 (Vijaykumar 2-17) trail Andhra 417 (Prasanth 199, Dhawan 5-125, Malik 4-73) by 393 runs
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Prasanth Kumar played a captain's innings with his 199, missing a maiden double ton, as Andhra put on 417 in Visakhapatnam. Resuming from their overnight tally of 224 for 4, Prasanth and Ricky Bhui added just two runs to the score before Bhui was caught behind off Rishi Dhawan. Prasanth continued to anchor the innings, forging partnerships with some of the lower-order batsmen.

Dhawan was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 125, and was ably supported by Vikramjeet Malik's 4 for 73. Opening Andhra bowlers, DP Vijayakumar and D Shivkumar, knocked off the top three batsmen, with two of them falling for ducks, as Himachal Pradesh finished on a rather abject 24 for 3, trailing by a massive 393 runs.

Goa 9 for 0 trail Hyderabad 514 for 6 dec (Vihari 201*, Akshath 99, Habeeb 78*) by 505 runs
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Hanuma Vihari hit a maiden double-century to help Hyderabad reach 514 for 6 before declaring their innings against Goa in Porvorim. Resuming their innings on 234 for 3, Vihari and Bavanaka Sandeep continued to build, adding 90 to their partnership from yesterday before Sandeep was dismissed off the bowling of Harshad Gadekar for 57. Syed Quadri and Amol Shinde fell within five overs, but Vihari found an able partner in Habeeb Ahmed, with the pair putting on 172 runs before the innings was declared. Vihari reached a second first-class ton, before doubling it to finish on an unbeaten 201, while Habeeb played a vital hand with his unbeaten 78.

Goa had just seven overs to face before the close, with the openers being very circumspect having scored just 9 for 0.

Jammu & Kashmir 294 for 5 (ID Singh 94*, Beigh 65*) lead Assam 263 (Gokul 108, Mudhasir 5-71) by 31 runs
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Jammu & Kashmir finished on 294 for 5 at stumps, in response to Assam's 263 from yesterday, taking a slight lead of 31 runs in Jammu. The J&K openers, Adil Rishi and Obaid Haroon, began positively, putting on 69 for the first wicket. Rishi was the first to fall on 34 when he was caught behind off Arup Das. Wickets would fall at regular intervals from there on till the score was 118 for 4. ID Singh, batting at No. 4, found a useful ally in Hardeep Singh, with the pair adding 46 for the fifth wicket. Once Hardeep fell for 18, in came Samiullah Beigh, and together with ID Singh, added 130 runs before the close of play, with ID Singh not out on 94, along with Beigh on 65.

Kerala 151 and 23 for 0 (Jagadeesh 15*, Surendran 6*) trail Maharashtra 314 (Khadiwale 97, Darekar 52, Manoharan 4-60) by 140 runs
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Harshad Khadiwale's 97, along with useful innings from tailenders Chirag Khurana and Akshay Darekar, helped Maharashtra reach 314, giving them a lead of 163 runs in the first innings.

Khadiwale resumed on his overnight score of 67, and CP Shahid removed him just three runs short of what would have been his 13th first-class century. A 79-run stand between Khurana and Darekar helped get Maharashtra past 250 after they lost six wickets for 29 runs. Khurana would fall on 45, before Darekar followed on 52, his maiden fifty, and Vinoop Manoharan was the pick of the bowlers with his 4 for 60.

Kerala's openers had just ten overs to see out for the day, and did the needful, posting 23 for 0 at stumps, trailing by 140 runs.

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Johnston accepts dual coaching role

Trent Johnston will continue to play an influential role in Ireland cricket following his retirement. He has accepted a new dual role that will see him take charge of the Ireland women's team and also become fast-bowling coach at the recently-formed national academy.

Johnston, 39, ended his 198-cap international career on Friday when he was part of the side that lifted the ICC InterContinental Cup - his 12th title in a glorious ten-year span that also saw him feature in two World Cups and three World T20s.

"It's very exciting and a great honour to be given these new challenges by Cricket Ireland," said Johnston, who takes over the women's role from Jeremy Bray. "It's certainly a new chapter in my life and one I'm looking forward to immensely.

Johnston is on a two-year deal to coach Ireland women. His first task is to oversee a tri-series in Qatar in January with South Africa and Pakistan. That is followed by Ireland's first World T20 finals in Bangladesh.

"It's going to be tough because we'll be the only Associate Member there - but I wouldn't have it any other way," Johnston said. "The Qatar series will be ideal preparation for Bangladesh. It'll let me get my feet under the table and get to know the squad.

"I've worked with most of them before but this is different in that I'll be Head Coach this time around and I'll have ultimate responsibility. I'll enjoy that and hopefully in time I'll get them playing the brand of cricket that I've played."

Johnston has also been charged with moulding the next generation of Ireland pace bowlers with his part-time appointment as the fast bowling coach at the national academy.

"It's a great job fit for me and it'll be great helping shape the future of Irish cricket," he said. "I'm going to be busy as I'm also keeping my role as Leinster Lightning coach."

Performance Director Richard Holdsworth was delighted that he was able to keep Johnston in the Cricket Ireland family.

"Trent has played in over 15 countries worldwide and just under 200 times for Ireland," Holdsworth said. "He has moved further into coaching in recent times, and we firmly believe he is the right man to lead the Ireland women's team for the next two years.

"He has an enormous understanding of the game, a work-ethic which is second to none, and is constantly willing to learn. He has excellent technical and tactical knowledge and captained Ireland 60 times. Trent knows how important team ethic is in winning teams and that is sure to rub-off on the players. "

Holdsworth is confident that Johnston will prove a perfect role model for the young Academy bowlers and the Ireland under-age squads.

"It is fitting that the man who has led the Ireland bowling attack for ten years, is now going to be instrumental in the development of the next generation of young quicks," he said.

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Innings wins for Islamabad, Karachi Whites and Rawalpindi

Group I

Rawalpindi thrashed Karachi Blues by an innings and 140 runs to continue leading the table with the help of left-arm pacer Nasir Malik's 11 wickets in the match. Their batting was led by a hundred from Awais Zia (123) which gave them a huge first-innings lead.

Karachi started well with Naved Khan (48) and Abdul Jabbar (85) but only one more batsman, Faraz Ahmed (43), managed a decent score to lead them to 266. Nasir was not economical but his five wickets restricted Karachi's score. Rawalpindi put on a massive 457 with fifties from Babar Naeem (78), Muzammil Nizam (56) and handy contributions from the tail. Still trailing by 191, Karachi were dismantled by Haseeb Azam (4 for 25) and Nasir (6 for 17), who finished with his career-best match figures, to be routed for 51, an innings which included six ducks.

Group II

A maiden double-hundred from Faizan Riaz and bowling efforts from medium-pacers Shehzad Azam and Mudassar Ali gave Islamabad an innings win against Quetta in Islamabad to move to third place in Group II.

Put in to bat, Riaz's unbeaten 256 charged Islamabad to 444 for 8, which they declared on. Quetta managed only 208 as Azam took 5 for 63, and were made to follow-on. Still trailing by 236, they were demolished for a paltry 99 in the second attempt, with Mudassar taking 4 for 7 to finish the match with more than a day to spare.

Mir Hamza's 10-wicket haul and hundreds from Saad Ali (101) and Faheem Ahmed (105*) helped Karachi Whites to an innings win against Multan in Karachi, which continued Karachi's lead at the top of the table.

Asked to bat, Multan had only four batsmen reaching double figures, Ahad Raza top-scoring with 47, to reach a total of 115, as Hamza (5 for 31) ran through their tail. Karachi got a shaky start but took a massive lead of 357 runs with the help of Saad and a ninth wicket stand between Faheem and Khurram Shahzad (82). Multan's batting performance hardly got any better as they tallied 142 in their second attempt and Hamza troubled their top and middle order this time. Aamer Yamin resisted with 61 but could not avoid the big loss.

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Munaf, Yusuf put Baroda in command

Baroda 62 for 0 (Mistry 33*, Wakaskar 24*) trail Services 191 (Swain 62, Munaf 4-38, Yusuf 3-19) by 129 runs
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Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan shared seven wickets between them to give Baroda the advantage on the first day against Services in Vadodara. While Munaf removed the top-order batsmen, Yusuf took three from the middle and lower order to restrict Services to 191.

Put in to bat, Services were rocked by two wickets in Munaf's consecutive overs as he removed the openers with the score on 23. He struck again in the 11th over, and Murtuja Vahora dismissed captain Rajat Paliwal at the other end for a 16-ball duck to leave the visitors struggling at 42 for 4. Yashpal Singh and Soumya Swain revived the innings with an 87-run stand, and struck fifties to take them past 100.

However, the partnership ended when Yashpal was stumped off Bhargav Bhatt for 58, and the left-arm spinner struck again six overs later to trap Vishnu Tiwari lbw for 8, leaving the score at 146 for 6. Swain resisted more at the other end to score 62, his second fifty of the season. Once he was caught behind off Yusuf with the score on 181, Services added only 10 more to their tally as Yusuf took the last two wickets to finish with 3 for 19.

Baroda were given a steady start by openers Saurabh Wakaskar and Dhiren Mistry, who were unbeaten till stumps on 24 and 33, leaving Baroda 129 behind Services.

Madhya Pradesh 342 for 2 (Jalaj 157*, Ojha 154) v Saurashtra
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Naman Ojha struck his second successive hundred and fourth of the season, while Jalaj Saxena scored an unbeaten hundred as Madhya Pradesh piled on 342 runs for the loss of only two wickets against Saurashtra in Indore. Both batsmen scored over 150 and put on 207 runs for the second wicket to put MP in a strong position.

Saurashtra bowler Abhishek Bhatt struck in the tenth over, after his captain Jaydev Shah elected to bat, with the wicket of Satyam Choudhary with the score of 29. Jalaj and Ojha started their run-fest from there, batting for the next 78 overs. Jalaj's hundred was the seventh of his first-class career and Ojha scored his 13th to take MP past 200. Saurashtra's six bowlers proved ineffective against the batsmen as the stand was broken with Ojha's run-out for 154 in the 87th over. Jalaj stayed unbeaten on 157, along with Mohnish Mishra on 6, at stumps.

Tamil Nadu 200 for 8 (Prasanna 88*, Mali 3-29, Anureet 3-49,) v Railways
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A half-century from R Prasanna took Tamil Nadu to 200 by the end of the day after Railways bowlers Anureet Singh and Ranjitkumar Mali took three wickets each on the first day. TN were reeling at 49 for 4 as Mali took three of the first five wickets before an unbeaten 88 from Prasanna saved them from being dismissed for a paltry score.

Railways made use of their opportunity to bowl after winning the toss as Anureet struck on the second ball of the match to trap Arun Karthik lbw for 0. Abhinav Mukund and S Badrinath survived the next 11 overs, but Mali had both of them caught behind, sending Dinesh Karthik back for 1 to put them in a precarious position. No. 6 Prasanna faced over 200 deliveries and revived the innings, first with B Aparajith, who scored 29 off 119, and then with L Balaji for the eighth wicket.

Bengal v Uttar Pradesh

UP make competitive 212 on greentop

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Nehra six-for decimates Vidarbha for 88

Delhi 96 for 2 (Gambhir 49) lead Vidarbha 88 (Nehra 6-16) by eight runs
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Ashish Nehra turned the clock back with some incisive swing bowling as his six-wicket haul decimated Vidarbha on a proverbial green-top at the Roshanara Club ground in Delhi.

Nehra, who finished with figures of 6 for 16 - his 14th five-for in first-class cricket - took a wicket in each of his first six overs, running through Vidarbha's top and middle order with effortless ease. The day also had a few controversial moments as play was stopped for 28 minutes after a delivery from Parvinder Awana took off from the good-length spot and hit Vidarbha's Amol Jungade (27) on the right shoulder.

The stoppage led to the use of a heavy roller which probably eased out the pitch for Delhi as they pushed the score to 96 for 2 in 48.3 overs. Gautam Gambhir , the Delhi captain, and Unmukt Chand added 78 runs for the opening stand before both fell to poor shots.

Gambhir won a good toss on a pitch that hardly looked any different from the square around it. It was the kind of track a bowler like Nehra needed to make the Vidarbha batsmen dance to his tunes. The grass on the pitch ensured there was steep but even bounce.

Nehra extracted swing to trouble right- and left-handed batsmen. Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal (4) and No. 3 Ravi Jangid (1), both left-handed batsmen, were dismissed by with two deliveries that came into them. Vidarbha's right-handed opener Akshay Kolhar also got an incoming ball and he responded by spooning a simple catch to Rajat Bhatia at short leg.

Shalabh Srivastava, the Vidarbha captain, got a ball that pitched on middle before beating the right-hander's bat to hit the off stump.

Nehra soon had a five-for in his fourth over, the eighth of the day, as Ranjit Paradkar edged an away-going delivery to Delhi wicketkeeper, Rahul Yadav. Rashmi Parida watched from the other end as 21 for 5 became 33 for 7 and he tried to fight back with a 28-run stand for the eighth wicket, in the company of Amol Jungade.

The teams had a few anxious moments, however, as Jungade was hit by a delivery from Awana in the 19th over. The batsman was writhing in pain as he cried for medical help and panic struck the Vidarbha bench as match referee Sanjay Patil, in consultation with umpires Syed Khalid and CK Nandan, decided to temporarily halt the match.

The use of heavy rollers during the stoppage did not help Vidarbha's cause. Once play resumed, Awana got a ball to rear up and Parida's leading edge flew to Mithun Manhas at second slip. Debutant Navdeep Saini then bowled a beauty to remove Jungade as the delivery pitched on middle and late swing saw the off-stump go cartwheeling. Saini also dismissed the last batsman to finish with 2 for 18, as Vidarbha's innings folded in only 31.1 overs.

In reply, Chand and Gambhir batted for nearly 38 overs before frittering away a good start. Chand, who hit some crisp drives edged one from part-time seamer Faiz Fazal giving a simple catch to Urvesh Patel behind stumps for a score of 37.

Gambhir once again curbed his aggressive strokeplay but threw it away when he was nearing a well-compiled half century. He chased a wide delivery from Sandeep Singh down the leg side, which was taken well by Urvesh behind the stumps.

Delhi will now be aiming to bat out the whole day tomorrow and take a substantial lead, giving themselves a shot at a bonus-point victory.

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Bowlers take Sialkot to innings win

Group I

Hasan Ali took nine wickets in the match to help Sialkot demolish Bahawalpur by an innings and 19 runs inside of two days at Bahawal Stadium. Sialkot won the toss and put Bahawalpur in to bat, which proved an inspired decision as Hasan and Waqas Ahmed tore into their line-up, claiming nine wickets between them, as Bahawalpur were bowled out for 39 in 19 overs. No batsmen went past 8 as Hasan claimed 6 for 15 off 10 overs, with Waqas Ahmed supporting him with 3 for 14.

Although Sialkot lost opener Majid Jahangir for just 2, the second-wicket stand between Yasir Aziz and Faisal Rasheed almost overhauled the deficit when Rasheed went with the score on 32. The captain, Mansoor Amjad, led the way with his 64 as Sialkot posted 153. Wasim Mustafa and Zahir Siddiqi were the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 22 and 3 for 50 respectively.

Trailing by 114 runs, it was imperative that Bahawalpur's batsmen showed some form, but Hasan and Waqas Ahmed again stole the show, dismissing six of the first seven batsmen, as Bahawalpur again crashed for a low score, this time for 95, failing to recover the deficit set by Sialkot.

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Bangladesh's weak T20 bowling worries Mushfiqur

Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain, expressed concern over the failure of his bowlers to defend scores of 171 and 188 in the Twenty20 Challenge Series against Bangladesh A. Mushfiqur captained a side that lost all three games against Bangladesh A, including the final T20 on Saturday.

The poor bowling by the senior side is an extension of a trend where they managed to restrict international teams to a score of less than 150 only once in their last seven matches. Bangladesh conceded 204 runs against New Zealand last month and were also hit for 190-plus totals on three occasions in the last two years.

On Saturday, Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel Hossain were blasted out of the attack, each conceding more than 10 runs an over from their three overs. Al-Amin Hossain picked up two wickets but he, too, gave away 28 runs in 2.3 overs. For Bangladesh, the more concerning performances came from Abdur Razzak, who gave away 45 runs in three overs, and Sohag Gazi, who was taken for 26 in his two overs.

"The matches were quite one-sided so we are concerned, particularly about our bowling," Mushfiqur said. "Our biggest problem was batting but over the last 12 months, we have improved in that area. We have scored 170-plus regularly. Our worry is bowling in the first six overs and at the death. We must work in these areas.

"Bowlers will leak runs on such a wicket but we have to minimise the damage. We have to practise in these regards. Bowlers have to survive by bowling bouncers and yorkers, in particular. We have enough time to rectify ourselves in these areas."

According to Shane Jurgensen, the Bangladesh coach, the bowlers are yet to bridge the gap between practice and execution. He admitted there is some confusion within the bowling group as they seem to do well in one-day cricket but have delivered different results in T20s.

"We had set up this week to put the bowlers in tough situations so to be fair on them, they tried hard," Jurgensen said. "But we are still struggling to execute what we learn in practice.

"If a bowler is confused from the top of the mark as to what he wants to bowl, then he is not in the right frame of mind. I think we have enough time to mend these problems, and yes, more matches would be helpful."

Faruque Ahmed, the newly appointed chief selector, said the batsmen, too, needed to have better plans.

"I would consider these matches as practice matches, but I would have felt better if the national team had won one or two games," Ahmed said. "Bangladesh A played hard to win all three matches, very easily. Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain had important roles to play.

"It helps the team to play these matches. I think the senior side lacked in batting plans. We have to play more matches to improve and understand the game, and prepare better for the next matches. The bowling wasn't good today, probably because the wicket was really good for batting."

The three members of Bangladesh's team management agreed that a few new players were staking a serious claim for a place in the national side. Jurgensen saw T20 potential in Muktar Ali's ability to bowl accurately, while Faruque believed that Sabbir Rahman was a contender for the allrounder's role in the lower-middle order. Mushfiqur, too, spoke about the cricketers he believed would push the national players.

"We have guys like Farhad Reza, Muktar Ali, Arafat Sunny, Rumman [Sabbir Rahman] and Mithun Ali who have done well. We want these players to push us in the senior side," Mushfiqur said. "We have more matches in the near future when we will monitor performances of these players as well as those from the Bangladesh team."

The senior side is likely to play another set of T20 matches in the coming weeks as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is looking to arrange another short tournament before the National Cricket League, the country's first-class competition.

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Bowlers set up big win for England

England Under-19s 97 for 3 (Tattersall 42*) beat United Arab Emirates Under-19s 94 (Chopra 46, Jones 3-19) by seven wickets
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A comprehensive bowling performance from England Under-19s, led by legspinner Rob Jones, set up a seven-wicket win over United Arab Emirates Under-19s in Sharjah, keeping them in top spot, but tied on four points with Pakistan who still have a game in hand.

England began dominating proceedings soon after putting UAE in. Pacer Jack Winslade dismissed both openers within the first four overs to leave UAE struggling at 10 for 2. Fast bowler Harry Finch pitched in with two wickets in the ninth over before a 41-run, fifth-wicket stand between Shorye Chopra and Qazi Ayub tried injecting some resistance into the innings. Chopra was eventually dismissed for 46 off 57 balls by Jones, with the score at 66 for 5, and the legspinner combined with Miles Hammond to dismiss the rest of the UAE line-up for 94. Jones finished with figures of 3 for 19, while Winslade, Finch and Hammond took two wickets apiece.

In spite of a few quick wickets, England took a little more than 21 overs to overhaul the 95-run target. Opener Jonathan Tattersall, the captain of the side, scored an unbeaten 42 off 63 balls to guide England to its second win in the tournament.

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South Africa's ODI drought 'not ideal'

When South Africa next play ODI cricket, the country could have a new president, another IPL season will be complete, and winter will be on its way out. Their next 50-over assignment, according to the FTP, is in July - seven months away. With the focus on Test and Twenty20 cricket, ahead of the 2014 World T20, there is a danger that the gains AB de Villiers' ODI side has made over the last six weeks will be lost, affecting their build-up to the 2015 World Cup.

The tournament in Australia and New Zealand is in 15 months and South Africa's long break from ODI cricket is "absolutely not ideal," former players Shaun Pollock, Herschelle Gibbs and Boeta Dippenaar told ESPNcricinfo. They agreed that South Africa need to play more one-dayers to build on their recent impressive performance, which could shape their World Cup strategy, and have asked the national board to look at ways to schedule more one-dayers at home.

If the present schedule were adhered to, Dippenaar said, none of the players would have enough games - and not enough, according to Pollock, against good enough opposition. The series in July is in Zimbabwe and it is far from guaranteed because Zimbabwe Cricket is suffering from financial problems, which forced it to postpone a visit by Sri Lanka this year. Should that series be put off, South Africa's next scheduled ODIs are only in November 2014, five matches in Australia. Following that tour, South Africa will host West Indies for five more ODIs before the World Cup.

Cricket South Africa had displayed its proactivity by organising a last-minute home series against Pakistan to fill the gap in the season caused by the shortening of India's visit. "The amount of ODI cricket needs to go up when you're preparing for a World Cup. Its like a marathon runner who increased the distance every week in training before tapering off just before the race," Dippenaar said. "The pace and bounce of our pitches are similar to Australian wickets so it would be a good place to practice. I'd invite a team like England or New Zealand - they are scrappers so it would be good to play them, or even Sri Lanka.

"If that doesn't work then I'd say they should play three exhibition matches in South Africa. A best versus the rest, or something like that. They absolutely have to play something else before the World Cup."

While Dippenaar was adamant about adding to the schedule, Gibbs said that as long as South Africa were playing "some form of cricket against someone," they would benefit. De Villiers wasn't too concerned either.

"If we didn't win a series I would be very worried but now that we have, I feel we will get back into it again," de Villiers said. "It is a long time but when you finish things on a good note, you can pick it up again. The guys are doing well together, they seem to enjoy each others successes so I feel we will pick things up straight again in July."

Whether South Africa do so will have a significant impact on their chances of ending a poor run in ICC tournaments. After they crashed out of the 2011 World Cup, one-day cricket took a back seat as South Africa strived to become the No. 1 Test side. A result of that neglect was a poor showing at the 2013 Champions Trophy and in Sri Lanka, two tours that exposed how much South Africa's batting hadregressed.

In the past six weeks, however, South Africa have smoothened out those wrinkles. They won two series out of three, one in the UAE against Pakistan and the other at home against India, the top-ranked ODI side. They had seven wins in 11 matches across the three series but the win-loss record did not highlight the numbers that mattered to de Villiers. South Africa's batsmen are showing more "care," he said, for partnerships.

In eight ODIs during the Champions Trophy and the tour of Sri Lanka, South Africa had only two century stands and eight half-century partnerships. In the next three series, they had five century stands and 13half-century partnerships. Their bowling was always impressive and now their batting has caught up. According to Pollock, South Africa have "probably settled on the 16 names they will take to the 2015 World Cup."

Whether they will be able to pick up where they left off is the question. "A break can be a dangerous thing when you are in good form," Dippenaar said, making a reference to the performance of the Test team after a seven-month break earlier this year. "The only reason they lost that first Test against Pakistan in Dubai is because they were rusty. It showed that when you're playing well, you need keep playing, so you can build on the things you do well to help you when you are struggling a bit."

Dippenaar stressed the concern was over younger players, like Quinton de Kock and David Miller, who are just starting to carve a niche for themselves and will now have that process interrupted. "Quinton needs to play as much as possible," he said.

Gibbs also said de Kock must be given opportunity to gain as much experience as possible. He believed the youngster will keep Graeme Smith out of World Cup contention. "I can't see Graeme forcing his way back now," Gibbs said. "So Quinton needs to play."

So does the person who may need to step in for Jacques Kallis, who should use the next seven months to make a firm decision about his ODI future, according to Pollock, Gibbs and Dippenaar. They seemed to be sayingthat Kallis may have to accept that the 2015 World Cup could be a bridge too far. "It will give Jacques the time to decide if he wants to continue," Pollock said.

Dippenaar was of the opinion that it may not be up to Kallis to make a decision. "There is the real question that he may not make it to the World Cup and then it's going to be tough on whoever has to replace him, because that person won't have enough games," Dippenaar said. Unless CSA step in and do something about the schedule.

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