ICC reveal $5.6m Test carrot as Proteas backflip on IPL
South Africa have bowed to pressure and will allow players to feature in the IPL until a week before the World Test Championship final against Australia.
As some of Australia's biggest names continued to weigh up whether to return to India, Cricket South Africa backflipped on plans to pull their stars out of the tournament.
South African officials had initially indicated on Wednesday players would have to finish in the IPL on May 25, when the final was initially meant to be held before the tournament's postponement due to the conflict between India and Pakistan.
"One thing we've made clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations," South Africa's director of cricket Enoch Nkwe had said at the time.
But Nwke was later forced to change his tune, with players now able to stay until the June 3 final, eight days before the World Test Championship (WTC) decider in London.
"Correction - the squad will resume training for the game on June 3rd," Nkwe said in a statement.
"The matter is being discussed higher up than me. At ground level, we are focusing on preps for the WTC final."
The development came on the same day the International Cricket Council announced it was more than doubling the prize money for the WTC final.
The winners will pocket $US3.6 million ($A5.61m), more than double what Australia earned for winning the 2023 crown.
South Africa have eight members of their WTC squad featuring in the IPL, with seven of those still in finals contention.
Strike pace bowler Kagiso Rabada is playing for ladder-leading Gujarat, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram are in sides fighting to reach the finals.
Cricket Australia confirmed this week it would allow members of the Test squad to stay on in the IPL until the final, extending No-Objection Certificates and leaving players to make their own call.
Five members of Australia's WTC squad are in the IPL, but Pat Cummins and Travis Head will both be finished by May 26 with Sunrisers Hyderabad out of finals calculations.
Josh Hazlewood will not immediately return to the tournament when it restarts on Sunday, instead opting to stay at home and have a niggling shoulder injury assessed.
He is still some chance to travel to India to play finals if Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the finals, but is expected to prioritise being fit for Australia.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Inglis are yet to confirm whether they will return, with both their sides able to reach finals.
Realistically, they would need to fly out by Friday to feature in the tournament's resumption.
The duo were each in Dharamshala last week when a match was abandoned due to air-raid warnings, leaving several players shaken.
Fellow Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was also at the ground, has since opted against returning to the tournament citing personal reasons.
South Africa have bowed to pressure and will allow players to feature in the IPL until a week before the World Test Championship final against Australia.
As some of Australia's biggest names continued to weigh up whether to return to India, Cricket South Africa backflipped on plans to pull their stars out of the tournament.
South African officials had initially indicated on Wednesday players would have to finish in the IPL on May 25, when the final was initially meant to be held before the tournament's postponement due to the conflict between India and Pakistan.
"One thing we've made clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations," South Africa's director of cricket Enoch Nkwe had said at the time.
But Nwke was later forced to change his tune, with players now able to stay until the June 3 final, eight days before the World Test Championship (WTC) decider in London.
"Correction - the squad will resume training for the game on June 3rd," Nkwe said in a statement.
"The matter is being discussed higher up than me. At ground level, we are focusing on preps for the WTC final."
The development came on the same day the International Cricket Council announced it was more than doubling the prize money for the WTC final.
The winners will pocket $US3.6 million ($A5.61m), more than double what Australia earned for winning the 2023 crown.
South Africa have eight members of their WTC squad featuring in the IPL, with seven of those still in finals contention.
Strike pace bowler Kagiso Rabada is playing for ladder-leading Gujarat, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram are in sides fighting to reach the finals.
Cricket Australia confirmed this week it would allow members of the Test squad to stay on in the IPL until the final, extending No-Objection Certificates and leaving players to make their own call.
Five members of Australia's WTC squad are in the IPL, but Pat Cummins and Travis Head will both be finished by May 26 with Sunrisers Hyderabad out of finals calculations.
Josh Hazlewood will not immediately return to the tournament when it restarts on Sunday, instead opting to stay at home and have a niggling shoulder injury assessed.
He is still some chance to travel to India to play finals if Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the finals, but is expected to prioritise being fit for Australia.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Inglis are yet to confirm whether they will return, with both their sides able to reach finals.
Realistically, they would need to fly out by Friday to feature in the tournament's resumption.
The duo were each in Dharamshala last week when a match was abandoned due to air-raid warnings, leaving several players shaken.
Fellow Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was also at the ground, has since opted against returning to the tournament citing personal reasons.
South Africa have bowed to pressure and will allow players to feature in the IPL until a week before the World Test Championship final against Australia.
As some of Australia's biggest names continued to weigh up whether to return to India, Cricket South Africa backflipped on plans to pull their stars out of the tournament.
South African officials had initially indicated on Wednesday players would have to finish in the IPL on May 25, when the final was initially meant to be held before the tournament's postponement due to the conflict between India and Pakistan.
"One thing we've made clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations," South Africa's director of cricket Enoch Nkwe had said at the time.
But Nwke was later forced to change his tune, with players now able to stay until the June 3 final, eight days before the World Test Championship (WTC) decider in London.
"Correction - the squad will resume training for the game on June 3rd," Nkwe said in a statement.
"The matter is being discussed higher up than me. At ground level, we are focusing on preps for the WTC final."
The development came on the same day the International Cricket Council announced it was more than doubling the prize money for the WTC final.
The winners will pocket $US3.6 million ($A5.61m), more than double what Australia earned for winning the 2023 crown.
South Africa have eight members of their WTC squad featuring in the IPL, with seven of those still in finals contention.
Strike pace bowler Kagiso Rabada is playing for ladder-leading Gujarat, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram are in sides fighting to reach the finals.
Cricket Australia confirmed this week it would allow members of the Test squad to stay on in the IPL until the final, extending No-Objection Certificates and leaving players to make their own call.
Five members of Australia's WTC squad are in the IPL, but Pat Cummins and Travis Head will both be finished by May 26 with Sunrisers Hyderabad out of finals calculations.
Josh Hazlewood will not immediately return to the tournament when it restarts on Sunday, instead opting to stay at home and have a niggling shoulder injury assessed.
He is still some chance to travel to India to play finals if Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the finals, but is expected to prioritise being fit for Australia.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Inglis are yet to confirm whether they will return, with both their sides able to reach finals.
Realistically, they would need to fly out by Friday to feature in the tournament's resumption.
The duo were each in Dharamshala last week when a match was abandoned due to air-raid warnings, leaving several players shaken.
Fellow Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was also at the ground, has since opted against returning to the tournament citing personal reasons.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
20 hours ago
- The Age
Starc quit the IPL because of an air raid warning. He doesn't care if he isn't invited back
Mitchell Starc has rebuked South Africa for suggesting Kagiso Rabada will be sledged about his drugs ban at next week's world Test championship final at Lord's, counselling the Proteas to catch up on how Pat Cummins' top-ranked team has played its cricket over the past five years. Speaking for the first time since his decision not to return to the Indian Premier League after he and wife Alyssa Healy were thrown into the midst of conflict between India and Pakistan, Starc told this masthead he was content with the call even if it means franchises are reluctant to recontract him in the future. Starc also rebuffed suggestions from former South African seamer Vernon Philander that England conditions suited the Proteas more than Australia. Philander has claimed the Australian batters have a 'defect' against the moving ball and their paceman bowl too short to hit the stumps. The notion of drugs-based sledging, pushed by South Africa's high-performance chief Enoch Nkwe and also Rabada himself, left Starc feeling like he was living in a time warp where Australia's players were unchanged since the infamous 2018 series in South Africa. 'I would say that people, media and fans, who've followed our team closely over the last few years would tend to agree [we don't sledge],' Starc said. 'We play cricket our way, we haven't played Test cricket against South Africa since [2023], so they can say or have an approach however they like. 'But we'll stay true to how we've been playing our cricket, the way we've been playing to get into this final, the way we've been playing it the previous two years to get to that final [in 2023]. 'We'll have our tactical meetings and whatnot, but ultimately this team has shown over a period of time that we'll stick to the way we play our cricket. Close followers of the team would have a different opinion to South Africa about how we're going to play this week.'
The Advertiser
20 hours ago
- The Advertiser
New Zealand name new coach with 'outstanding pedigree'
South African Rob Walter has been appointed New Zealand coach in all formats following Gary Stead's decision to stand down after seven years in charge. Stead announced on Wednesday he would be leaving the job of Test coach at the end of the month, having already relinquished the short format roles in April. Walter, 49, was most recently coach of South Africa's one-day international and Twenty20 teams but knows New Zealand cricket well after stints in charge of provincial teams as well as his time overseeing a Black Caps "A" tour of India in 2022. "The Black Caps have been a successful and highly regarded team on the world scene for some time now and it's a real privilege to be given the chance to add to that," Walter said in a New Zealand Cricket statement. "It's an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be contested." Walter, who led South Africa to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup and final of last year's Twenty20 World Cup, is contracted through to the end of the 2028 World Cup, which New Zealand is co-hosting with Australia. "Rob is a world-class coach with an outstanding pedigree," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink. "His success in New Zealand's domestic game, combined with his recent achievements on the global stage with South Africa, makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Black Caps." New Zealand's next international matches come in July at the start of their tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play two Tests and a Twenty20 tri-series also involving South Africa. South African Rob Walter has been appointed New Zealand coach in all formats following Gary Stead's decision to stand down after seven years in charge. Stead announced on Wednesday he would be leaving the job of Test coach at the end of the month, having already relinquished the short format roles in April. Walter, 49, was most recently coach of South Africa's one-day international and Twenty20 teams but knows New Zealand cricket well after stints in charge of provincial teams as well as his time overseeing a Black Caps "A" tour of India in 2022. "The Black Caps have been a successful and highly regarded team on the world scene for some time now and it's a real privilege to be given the chance to add to that," Walter said in a New Zealand Cricket statement. "It's an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be contested." Walter, who led South Africa to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup and final of last year's Twenty20 World Cup, is contracted through to the end of the 2028 World Cup, which New Zealand is co-hosting with Australia. "Rob is a world-class coach with an outstanding pedigree," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink. "His success in New Zealand's domestic game, combined with his recent achievements on the global stage with South Africa, makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Black Caps." New Zealand's next international matches come in July at the start of their tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play two Tests and a Twenty20 tri-series also involving South Africa. South African Rob Walter has been appointed New Zealand coach in all formats following Gary Stead's decision to stand down after seven years in charge. Stead announced on Wednesday he would be leaving the job of Test coach at the end of the month, having already relinquished the short format roles in April. Walter, 49, was most recently coach of South Africa's one-day international and Twenty20 teams but knows New Zealand cricket well after stints in charge of provincial teams as well as his time overseeing a Black Caps "A" tour of India in 2022. "The Black Caps have been a successful and highly regarded team on the world scene for some time now and it's a real privilege to be given the chance to add to that," Walter said in a New Zealand Cricket statement. "It's an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be contested." Walter, who led South Africa to the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup and final of last year's Twenty20 World Cup, is contracted through to the end of the 2028 World Cup, which New Zealand is co-hosting with Australia. "Rob is a world-class coach with an outstanding pedigree," said NZC chief executive Scott Weenink. "His success in New Zealand's domestic game, combined with his recent achievements on the global stage with South Africa, makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Black Caps." New Zealand's next international matches come in July at the start of their tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play two Tests and a Twenty20 tri-series also involving South Africa.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
‘Master of his mouth': Starc rebukes South Africa sledging, opens up on IPL escape
Mitchell Starc has rebuked South Africa for suggesting Kagiso Rabada will be sledged about his drugs ban, counselling the Proteas to catch up on how Pat Cummins' top-ranked team has played its cricket over the past five years. Speaking for the first time since his decision not to return to the Indian Premier League after he and wife Alyssa Healy were thrown into the midst of conflict between India and Pakistan, Starc told this masthead he was content with the call even if it means franchises are reluctant to recontract him in the future. Starc also rebuffed suggestions from former South African seamer Vernon Philander that England conditions suited the Proteas more than Australia. Philander has claimed the Australian batters have a 'defect' against the moving ball and their paceman bowl too short to hit the stumps. The notion of drugs-based sledging, pushed by South Africa's high-performance chief Enoch Nkwe and also Rabada himself, left Starc feeling like he was living in a time warp where Australia's players were unchanged since the infamous 2018 series in South Africa. 'I would say that people, media and fans, who've followed our team closely over the last few years would tend to agree [we don't sledge],' Starc said. 'We play cricket our way, we haven't played Test cricket against South Africa since [2023], so they can say or have an approach however they like. 'But we'll stay true to how we've been playing our cricket, the way we've been playing to get into this final, the way we've been playing it the previous two years to get to that final [in 2023]. 'We'll have our tactical meetings and whatnot, but ultimately this team has shown over a period of time that we'll stick to the way we play our cricket. Close followers of the team would have a different opinion to South Africa about how we're going to play this week.'
