Hannah Hidalgo and No. 8 Notre Dame rolled to a 79-68 home upset victory over No. 2 UConn on Thursday night in South Bend.
Hidalgo, who is one of the best players in women's college basketball, scored 29 points while adding 10 rebounds and eight assists in the victory. Fellow running mate Olivia Miles rolled her ankle early in the contest, but returned to score 16 points for the Irish. Liatu King also added 16 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
But the story was Hidalgo's performance, as she continues to improve upon her standout freshman season a year ago. After the statement win, Notre Dame's social media account called Hidalgo the best two-way player in the country, which is hard to argue given her defensive prowess and continued improvement offensively.
The win for Notre Dame extended a three-game win streak that started with a 10-point win over No. 4 Texas in overtime last week.
As for UConn, star Paige Bueckers scored 25 points in a losing effort, but the team as a whole was plagued by 13 turnovers and a paltry 3-of-16 mark from three.
The Atlanta Braves were enjoying a 6-2 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the top of the sixth inning on Saturday night, so they could afford to take some aggressive risks on the bases in the interest of opening up a larger cushion. So it wasn't too surprising that third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo sent Alex Verdugo barreling toward home on a Matt Olson single to left field. It was a bit strange, though, to see leftfielder Jarren Duran toss a missile to the plate that beat Verdugo by a good 30 feet.
Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez waited for Verdugo to finally reach the dish and applied the tag, facilitating a completely stress-free decision for home plate umpire Paul Clemons.
To his credit, Verdugo did the only thing to be done in that situation: flash a big smile and chuckle at the absurdity. After all, it wasn't decision to try to score. It's not his fault he looks so fast.
All fun and games for the Braves right now but if Boston somehow finds a way to come back and win, it will be less funny.
Mohammad Ashraful believes he can represent Bangladesh again, with his five-year ban set to end later this week
Mohammad Isam09-Aug-2018
Mohammad Ashraful playing in an unaffiliated cricket tournament in New York•Peter Della Penna/Peter Della Penna/ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Mohammad Ashraful still harbours hopes of playing for Bangladesh again after his five-year ban for involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League officially ends on August 13. Henceforth, he will become eligible for international cricket and the BPL, having already been allowed to play in Bangladesh’s domestic competitions on the same day in 2016.Ashraful is delighted to be making the return, saying he had been waiting for this day for the last five years.”I have been waiting for August 13, 2018 for a long time now,” Ashraful told ESPNcricinfo. “It has been more than five years since the day I admitted my involvement. Although I have played domestic cricket in the last two seasons, there is now nothing preventing me from being eligible for national selection. Playing for Bangladesh again will be my greatest achievement.”Mohammad Ashraful’s ban: a timeline
May 31, 2013 A: BCB investigates allegations June 4, 2013: BCB indefinitely suspends Ashraful. Later that day, Ashraful admits to fixing during the 2013 BPL
January 18, 2014: BPL anti-corruption tribunal begins hearing
June 2, 2014: Ashraful plays in unofficial US tournament June 18, 2014: BCB bans Ashraful for eight years July 22, 2014: Ashraful appeals against ban September 29, 2014: BCB’s disciplinary panel reduces Ashraful’s ban to five years
October 21, 2014: BCB unsuccessfully appeal against Ashraful’s ban reduction August 13, 2016:Ashraful’s ban from domestic cricket ends August 13, 2018: Ashraful becomes eligible to play all international and BPL cricket
The highlight in these two seasons has been his five List-A centuries in the 2017-18 Dhaka Premier League. He is only the second batsman to do so in a single List-A tournament; the other being Alviro Peterson in the 2015-16 Momentum One-Day Cup on South Africa’s domestic circuit.He has averaged 47.63 in 23 List-A games since the ban was lifted, but his first-class form hasn’t been as good – a 21.85 batting average in 13 matches, with just one century. “The first season after my return wasn’t great but I did well in the 2017-18 season. I hope to do even better in the coming seasons,” he said.”Now I can be considered for selection through my performance. I have already gone through a month-long training programme and after August 15, I will go into pre-season training leading into the upcoming season’s National Cricket League.”In June 2014, the BPL’s anti-corruption tribunal had banned Ashraful for eight years and fined him BDT 10 lakh (USD 12,000 approx). In September that year, the BCB’s disciplinary panel reduced the ban to five years, with the last two of those years suspended. The BCB and ICC unsuccessfully appealed against the ban reduction. The reduction was subject to his participation in a BCB or ICC anti-corruption education and training programme. Accordingly, Ashraful took part in an anti-corruption programme and during the 2015 BPL, appeared in awareness videos shown to players and officials.
The full tour includes three Tests, five ODIs and three T20s and runs from January to March
ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2018England will play their first Test match in St Lucia as part of a two-month tour of the Caribbean early next year.The other two venues for the three-match Test series, which is the first part of the trip, are Barbados and Antigua.England’s previous Test series in the Caribbean finished 1-1 after West Indies levelled the series in Barbados following England’s win in Grenada.A five-match one-day series will follow with matches in Barbados, Grenada and St Lucia before the tour wraps up with three T20s which also includes a match at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.England arrive in Barbados on January 11 and have one four-day tour match pencilled in ahead of the opening Test on January 23.A tour by England remains very important for the West Indies board because of the number of travelling supporters they are likely to bring. This is the first time all three formats have been played on the same tour since 2009.ItineraryWed Jan 23-Sun Jan 27 – 1st Test, Kensington Oval, Barbados
Thu Jan 31-Mon Feb 4 – 2nd Test, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
Sat Feb 9-Wed Feb 13 – 3rd Test, Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia
Wed Feb 20 – 1st ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
Fri Feb 22 – 2nd ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
Mon Feb 25 – 3rd ODI, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
Wed Feb 27 – 4th ODI, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
Sat Mar 2 – 5th ODI, Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia
Tue Mar 5 – 1st IT20, Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia
Fri Mar 8 – 2nd IT20, Warner Park, St Kitts
Sun Mar 10 – 3rd IT20 Warner Park, St Kitts
Pakistan have issues with their bowling, their batting and their fielding to address in a winner-takes-all game against a hungry Bangladesh
The Preview by Mohammad Isam25-Sep-20182:02
Manjrekar: Pakistan will have a slight edge
Big pictureUnpredictable sides make for great knockout games, so the Bangladesh-Pakistan encounter in Abu Dhabi, which will determine India’s opponents in the final, is unlikely be any different. Pakistan can be a dangerous side in crunch situations while Bangladesh would see making the Asia Cup final a big step in their progress as an ODI force, especially with the World Cup now eight months away.Not making the final would be seen as a backward step for Pakistan’s ODI set-up, especially after their Champions Trophy triumph last year. But so far their average Asia Cup campaign goes with their recent trend of extreme highs and lows from series to series. In October last year, they beat Sri Lanka 5-0 before being blanked 5-0 by New Zealand. They beat Zimbabwe 5-0 in the last ODI assignment before the Asia Cup where they have won against Hong Kong and Afghanistan, but lost both times to India and comprehensively so.Mohammad Amir going wicketless in his last six ODIs has been surprising, while Hasan Ali, the only quick bowler picked in every game in the Asia Cup, has taken three wickets at 51.66 each. Shadab Khan therefore has to take up responsibilities against a Bangladesh batting line-up that can be susceptible against legspin.Pakistan would also have to pick up their fielding, having dropped too many catches in their last two matches against Afghanistan (five) and India (three). On top of these bowling and fielding woes, Pakistan also needs runs from three batsmen among their regular top six.Fakhar Zaman, who made a record 210 against Zimbabwe in July, has so far made just 55 runs in the tournament. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Asif Ali have made 58 and 46 respectively, in the four matches so far. Runs have mostly come from Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq, but against Bangladesh’s efficient bowling line-up they cannot afford a top-order collapse or a poor finish.Bangladesh are at times susceptible in their death bowling aside from Mustafizur Rahman, whose skillful mix of slower balls, yorkers and bouncers troubles big-hitters. Mashrafe Mortaza and Mehidy Hasan Miraz often keep it tight in the first Powerplay while Mustafizur, Shakib and Rubel keep the run-rate down in the middle-overs.But Bangladesh become a stronger bowling unit when they post at least a competitive total. Liton Das’ 41 would be encouraging for the team management but his opening partner in the last three games, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, has made a poor start to his ODI career with just 20 runs.As a result, Imrul Kayes, who made 72 batting at No. 6 for the first time in his career in the previous game, may be sent to No. 3 with Mohammad Mithun reverting back to No. 5. It would mean they have two senior batsmen in Imrul and Shakib in the top four, while the in-form Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah have the capability to stop a batting collapse or, in a better situation, go after the bowling in the last 10 overs.Neither team can however be assured of everything going to plan. They are unpredictable and at times flawed, which usually makes for gripping viewing.Form guideBangladesh WLLWL (last five matches, most recent first) Pakistan LWLWWIn the spotlightMustafizur Rahman’s last-over heroics handed Bangladesh the win against Afghanistan, and bowling in the last five overs is fast becoming his biggest strength. In the last three years, he has been one of only two bowlers to have an economy rate of under six per over during that period in ODIs.Shoaib Malik has been Pakistan’s main scorer in the tournament, having made 181 runs in four matches. He would also want to improve his ODI record against Bangladesh, having scored just one half-century against them in 13 innings.Team newsBangladesh usually doesn’t make changes when they have just won a game, especially when they are playing at the same venue.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das 2 Nazmul Hossain Shanto, 3 Mohammad Mithun, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Imrul Kayes, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Mustafizur RahmanBatting and bowling woes may tempt Pakistan into trying out Shan Masood and Junaid Khan for the first time in the tournament. But it also doesn’t mean the likes of Faheem Ashraf, Haris Sohail and Usman Khan can’t be hopeful of a place in the XI.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Usman Khan, 11 Shaheen Shah AfridiPitch and conditionsOnly Pakistan have won while chasing in Abu Dhabi in the four Asia Cup games held here so far, so it remains a bat-first ground. There will be no let-up in the heat.Stats and trivia Pakistan have won 31 out of 35 ODIs against Bangladesh, but three of those four defeats came in the 2015 ODI series. Shakib Al Hasan’s direct hit that ran out Rahmat Shah in their previous game was only Bangladesh’s third run-out with a direct hit in the last 12 months. Shakib has two of them, Imrul Kayes the other. Shoaib Malik is 54 runs away from eclipsing Younis Khan’s 7,249 runs, which will take him to sixth place in Pakistan’s all-time ODI run-scorers list.Quotes”Pakistan are a tough cricketing nation and want to put things right. I did read some comments from Mickey Arthur about some of their tactics and that’s the very reason I am trying to not give our tactics away. But I know what he wanted his bowlers and batsmen to do and they did not do it in those games. They are a good team and they can very much bounce back.”
The fast bowler picked up 5 for 100 as Western Australia were bowled out for 251 in their second innings despite Josh Philippe’s maiden century
The Report by Alex Malcolm19-Oct-2018Chris Tremain goes up in appeal•Getty Images
Last season’s leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker Chris Tremain has picked up where he left off, claiming nine wickets in Victoria’s innings demolition of Western Australia at the WACA ground.Victoria’s march to victory was halted by heavy rain on day three. But despite a sparkling maiden Shield century from Josh Philippe, the game was wrapped up before lunch on day four.Philippe and Cameron Green put on a 78-run partnership for the seventh wicket to frustrate Victoria. Philippe added 17 to his overnight score to reach his century before falling to Scott Boland for 104 from 142 balls.Green watched helplessly from the non-striker’s end as Boland then knocked over Usman Qadir and David Moody for ducks before Tremain trapped Simon Mackin in front for nought to complete his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Green finished on 35 not out.Will Pucovski was named Player of the Match for his stunning 243.
With a dab through backward point – and the help of four overthrows – Alastair Cook completed a fairytale hundred in his final Test
Melinda Farrell10-Sep-2018Alastair Cook had passed 20 the afternoon before, so finishing with 12,345 runs was out of the question. A shame for members of the Consecutive Numbers Appreciation Society.Then there was the half-century to tick off. He did so on the first ball of the second over of the morning, crisply flicking a Jasprit Bumrah delivery off his pads as the fans were still flooding in. No doubt at least some of them were skiving: who cares about work or the first full day back at school when history is crooking its finger?Next up was Kumar Sangakkara’s position as fifth on the Test run-scorers’ table: Cook needed to reach 76 for that. He got there driving, not cleanly, but an inside edge was enough for a single and the title of highest scoring left-handed batsman in Test history.And then, of course, the century. Cricket has been cruel to many of its greatest proponents. Few get to name the day of their final stand, let alone write the bit about riding off into the sunset and living happily-ever-after. Cook had scored a half-century and a century on his debut against India in Nagpur; surely, 12 years and 161 Test matches on, he couldn’t sign off a tremendous batting career in a home Test the same way? It would be too symmetrical, too .Alastair Cook soaks in the applause of The Oval crowd after raising his 33rd Test century•Getty Images
Okay, so it wasn’t a glorious cover drive or a dramatic slog sweep for six but in a way it was still a perfect shot to sum up Cook’s career: a dab to backward point. He was only on 96 at the time, but the overthrow for four made sure of it and the first to react was Joe Root, who threw both hands in the air. A kid once more, celebrating his idol.Cook completed the run before raising his bat, removing his helmet and beaming his Jane Austen-hero smile at the crowd. No sweat visible, obviously.The ovations that have greeted him throughout this game have been extraordinary but this was unlike any that preceded it. On and on the applause went, circling the Oval like an unending Mexican wave. It rose again each time his face appeared in the big screen. Play couldn’t restart. Eventually, standing at the non-striker’s end, he had to acknowledge it and, almost sheepishly, walked halfway down the pitch with his arms outstretched.Then play resumed and all that is left is the party. England have won the series, they look ever more likely to win this match, and Cook has his farewell century. Everything else is icing.
Moeen Ali has intensified the focus on Australian player behaviour after claiming that he was subjected to a racial taunt
ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2018Moeen Ali has intensified the focus on Australian player behaviour after claiming that an unnamed member of their 2015 Ashes team subjected him to a racial taunt during his first appearance against them.Writing in his autobiography, which is being serialised in The Times ahead of the book’s publication later this month, Moeen claims he was abused during the first Ashes Test at Cardiff in 2015, a performance in which he made 77 in the first innings before taking five wickets in a 169-run England victory.”It was a great first Ashes Test in terms of my personal performance,” Moeen writes in the book. “However there was one incident which had distracted me. An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, ‘Take that, Osama.’ I could not believe what I had heard. I remember going really red. I have never been so angry on a cricket field.”I told a couple of the guys what the player had said to me and I think Trevor Bayliss [the England coach] must have raised it with Darren Lehmann, the Australians’ coach.”Lehmann asked the player, ‘Did you call Moeen Osama?’ He denied it, saying, ‘No, I said, ‘Take that, you part-timer.” I must say I was amused when I heard that, obviously I had to take the player’s word for it, though for the rest of the match I was angry.”Moeen added that he had brought the incident up at the end of England’s 3-2 series win, but once again, the “Osama” slur was denied by the player in question, who then added that some of his best friends were Muslim.Cricket Australia has responded to Moeen’s claim, saying it will meet with the ECB to probe the alleged incident.”Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and have no place in our sport, or in society,” a CA spokesperson said. “We have a clear set of values and behaviours that comes with representing our country.”We take this matter very seriously, and are following up with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) as a matter of urgency to seek further clarification around the alleged incident.”Moeen, who was born in Birmingham to a Pakistani father and an English mother, spoke earlier this year about the racial abuse he had suffered at the hands of Australia’s spectators during the last Ashes series Down Under, with one person asking him when his kebab shop was opening.At the time he played down the incidents, but the anger is apparent in his book. “Guys were sticking their fingers up at me,” he writes. “I expected Australia to be quite rough, but not as bad as this. I hadn’t heard such comments for a long time. I got some of this abuse even in the practice games.”In an interview in The Times on Friday, Moeen had gone into greater detail about his treatment on the Ashes tour, from the players in the middle as well as those watching from the stands”Everyone you speak to . . . they are the only team I’ve played against my whole life that I’ve actually disliked,” Moeen told Mike Atherton. “Not because it’s Australia and they are the old enemy but because of the way they carry on and [their] disrespect of people and players.””The first game I played against them, in Sydney just before the 2015 World Cup, they were not just going hard at you, they were almost abusing you. That was the first time it hit me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt but the more I played against them they were just as bad, the Ashes here [in 2015] they were worse actually. Not intimidating, just rude. Individually they are fine and the Aussies we’ve had at Worcester have been fantastic, lovely guys.”Australian cricket has since been left stunned by the tall-tampering scandal in Cape Town in March, which led to bans for three of their players, including the captain and vice-captain, Steve Smith and David Warner. A culture review has been commissioned by Cricket Australia to look into their player behaviour, but Moeen feels that the team got what was coming to it.”I’m someone who generally feels sorry for people when things go wrong but it’s difficult to feel sorry for them. This ODI series they were very good actually; they’d been…humbled.”September 15, GMT 0710 The story was updated to include Cricket Australia’s response
USMNT star Weston McKennie has reportedly turned down a contract offer from Juventus after the Italian giants proposed a reduced salary.
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Article continues below
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McKennie rejects reduced salary
Current deal expires in 2025
Lack of deal may prompt Juve to sell
WHAT HAPPENED?
USMNT star Weston McKennie has reportedly turned down a contract offer from Juventus after the Italian giants proposed a reduced salary. According to the midfielder and his representatives swiftly rejected the proposal which would have extended his stay in Turin beyond the end of his current deal which expires in June 2025. Facing the prospect of losing the player for free, Juventus may be tempted to sell the player this summer.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The news comes as blow in a season where McKennie has won over his doubters on his return to the club, establishing himself as a key piece of a team that briefly threatened to challenge runaway league leaders Inter. The Texan's consistent performances and driving runs from midfield have won over manager Max Allegri and a sceptical coaching staff.
DID YOU KNOW?
McKennie became the first American to play for Juventus when he made his debut for the Old Lady in September 2020. He has since been joined by Timothy Weah, who arrived from Lille last summer – although his future in Turin is also uncertain.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MCKENNIE AND JUVENTUS?
Juventus travel to Rome to face Lazio tomorrow evening but with Inter roaring clear at the top of Serie A and Champions League qualification looking assured, McKennie and company could not be blamed for having one eye on their upcoming Coppa Italia semi-final against the same opponents on Tuesday.
Time is running out for Elgar, Hendricks and Zondo to make their mark, especially now that du Plessis has recovered from injury
The Preview by Liam Brickhill05-Oct-2018
AFP
Big PictureSouth Africa have walked a narrow line between tryouts and continuity in this series, and they are clearly still in phase one of Vision 2019 : experimentation. The first two ODIs against Zimbabwe saw new players in pivotal positions and old players trialled in unfamiliar ones.In both games, stand-in captain JP Duminy had dropped down the order to offer the more inexperienced batsmen in the squad the chance to close games out themselves. Neither opportunity was taken, however, and the hosts slipped to 96 for 5 in the first match and 101 for 7 in the second as the visiting Zimbabwe bowlers exploited conditions heavily weighted in favour of the ball.The early-season pitches have played wildly out of character and this hasn’t been a profitable series for batsmen. Steyn’s fifty is the only one to have been scored from either side, and the South African bowling attack has flattened Zimbabwe’s batsmen in both games, bowling them out for 117 and 78.Steyn has shown he still has serious pace, topping out at around 145kph in the second game – a number all the more terrifying given how badly the pitch was behaving – and Imran Tahir’s series strike rate is an eye-watering 8.2. Add Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo to the mix, and it will be an achievement if Zimbabwe are even able to last 50 overs on Saturday, given their struggles.South Africa’s attack is settled, and it’s the batting that has yet to come to grips with Vision 2019. South Africa made have it clear all along that they were willing, if a little reluctantly, to sacrifice results for this vision but time is running out for the likes of Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks and Khaya Zondo to make their mark, especially now that Faf du Plessis has recovered from the shoulder injury that had kept him out of the first two games. They should at least have a more placid track on which to stage their third audition of the series.Zimbabwe will be hoping that the pressure to perform continues to tell on South Africa’s middle order. They are on a nine-game losing streak, and while their bowlers have been able to put them in strong positions in the last two games, their batting has failed completely.Form guideSouth Africa: WWLLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe: LLLLLIn the spotlightSouth Africa’s batting tyros have one more chance to get things right before the series switches format and the hosts settle on their personnel for the trip to Australia at the end of the month. Aiden Markram has got himself in, and then out, in both games and though everyone has shown positive intent, stickability has generally been lacking.Zimbabwe’s batting engine room has completely failed to fire so far. The visitors tend to do well with the bat when the middle order has a cushion, but Solomon Mire has struggled since his return from injury and captain Hamilton Masakadza, like Markram, has done the hard work against the new ball only to give it away. If Masakadza and Mire can lay a platform, the job becomes much easier for everyone following them.AFP
Team newsTabraiz Shamsi is the only member of South Africa’s squad not to have played a game so far, so he could well slot in to the XI along with the returning du Plessis. Imran Tahir has spoken about his excitement at the possibility of playing alongside Shamsi, but conditions will likely impact whether South Africa see fit to pick both wristspinners.South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Reeza Hendricks/Khaya Zondo, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 JP Duminy (capt), 7 Christiaan Jonker, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiZimbabwe may well give a game to Ryan Murray, who was part of the squad sent to the Africa T20 last month and showed some form with 46 against Northerns and 77 against South West Districts. They, too, may also consider bringing left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza back into the XI, depending on conditions.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 2 Solomon Mire, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Brendan Taylor(wk), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Ryan Murray, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Wellington Masakadza/Donald Tiripano, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Tendai ChataraPitch and conditionsPaarl is about 50 kilometres from the coast, and South Africa’s coastal grounds are not affected by the winter break as those inland are, so the Boland Park strip should be a good one. Winters are wet in the Western Cape and the early-season pitches can hold together a little better. Furthermore, Boland Cricket chief executive James Fortuin has promised a “run-fest” for this game after two low-scoring matches, and the ground has already been used this season for the Africa T20. Those results suggest a good pitch, with the possibility that spin could be important: several teams in the Africa T20 chose to open the bowling with spin at one end when playing in Paarl.Though there has been some rain – and even snow – around in the mountains of the Cape, summer is starting to arrive and Saturday should be warm and dry.Stats and triviaBoland Park in Paarl was the ground at which Wasim Akram became the first man to take 500 ODI wickets.The last time South Africa played here, AB de Villers smashed 176 (his 25th and final ODI ton) and they amassed 353 for 6 against Bangladesh, the highest score on this ground.While there have been three 300-plus scores at this ground, it has also seen spectacular batting collapses. Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 43, pursuing South Africa’s 301 for 8, in 2012, while in 2003 Canada were bowled out for 36 by Sri Lanka, the second lowest ODI score of all time.Quotes”We have spent plenty of time on the pitch, and lots of runs are expected. We are used to big matches and the wicket looks good. We will have a proper one-day wicket.” “I thought Kimberley was poor, and we thought it would get better coming to Bloem. But we are hoping Paarl is going to be the best one.”