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Geoff Allardice has been named the full-time CEO of the ICC after serving in the role on an interim basis for more than eight months. Allardice had taken over the role from Manu Sawhney in March, when the latter was suspended based on the findings of a cultural review.Allardice, a former first-class cricketer from Australia who has a degree in chemical engineering, earlier served as ICC general manager (cricket) for eight years. He did not play international cricket but was a prolific, dogged batter for Melbourne University in club cricket and played 18 matches for Victoria in the early 1990s. Former CA CEO James Sutherland was Allardice’s long-time Melbourne University team-mate. Eventually, Sutherland brought Allardice into the CA set-up as umpires’ manager in the early 2000s. From there, he went up the ladder to become CA’s cricket operations general manager, before moving on to the ICC in July 2012.”My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with Members to deliver long-term success and sustainability,” Allardice said. “I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve cricket with such a talented team.”Sawhney was first asked to go on leave by the ICC in March following issues that emerged over his management style after a cultural review, which was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He was then officially let go from his role in July, following a decision taken by the ICC board.ICC chairman Greg Barclay said: “I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.”Geoff has unrivaled knowledge of the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our Members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle.”

The modern rivalry between Pakistan and Afghanistan produced yet another instant classic, but in the end Afghanistan ran out of bowling depth to lose with one over to go. Pakistan, who will know they manufactured a crisis especially with captain Babar Azam losing his wits around Rashid Khan, are now practically in the semi-final with Asif Ali bailing them out with four sixes in the 19th over.It was as loud as it was tense off the field with scenes of stampede outside the stadium when trying to keep out ticketless fans reminiscent of the rioting during the 2019 World Cup match at Headingley between these two sides. On the field, Afghanistan made all the running, be it a frenetic start, the slowdown to avoid getting bowled out, the finishing quick, the Mujeeb Ur Rahman attack first up, the holding back of Rashid, the Naveen-ul-Haq 18th over to create pressure.

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Pakistan kept absorbing the blows before Asif struck the deciding ones in the 19th over. With one whole bowler’s quote to be made up of Karim Janat and Gulbadin Naib, who didn’t bowl on the night, Afghanistan just had too few to defend in 147.Helter skelterThe start was pure no-holds-barred manic Twenty20 energy. Three batters’ first scoring shots in the powerplay were sixes. Haris Rauf bowled the joint-fastest ball of the Super 12s stage. Shaheen Afridi didn’t get a wicket in the first over, but got one in his second. Imad Wasim took out a left-hand batter in his first and got carted two right-hand batters in his second. All told Afghanistan were 49 for 4 after the powerplay.It didn’t stop there. After a couple of overs’ lull, Najibullah Zadran reverse-swept Shadab Khan for four followed by a four and six off him in his coming overs. In between Imad got Janat. Shadab’s response to the six was the perfect wrong’un to take Najib’s edge and make it 70 for 6 in the 13th over.The Nabi-Naib showBy the time Najibullah got out, Mohammad Nabi scored just five off 12. He would continue going slow to 20 off 23 at the start of the death overs. They knew they had lost too many wickets up front, and now needed wickets in hand if they were going to get big runs in the back four. Rauf conceded just three in the 17th. In the 18th, though, Nabi exploited the short leg-side boundary to take down Hasan Ali and then capitalised on a couple of errors from Rauf. Forty-six off the last four gave Afghanistan something to work with.Mujeeb ties Pakistan downThat something became more substantial as Mujeeb started off superbly with his variations and accuracy, bowling four overs on the trot for 14 runs and the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan. By the time Mujeeb was done, Pakistan were just 44 for 1 in seven overs.Rashid Khan is congratulated after becoming the quickest to 100 T20I wickets•Getty Images

Holding Rashid backAfghanistan could have bowled an over of Rashid here looking for a wicket but they put all eggs in his basket by trying to bowl medium pace in the next three overs. This is when Babar, stuck on 11 off 17, found some momentum and got to a run a ball. When Rashid was finally brought on, Pakistan needed 76 off 10 overs with nine wickets in hand.Rashid turns it aroundIt is a matter of magic that with such an easy equation, with dew expected, with a few indifferent overs in the bag to capitalise on, Rashid still managed to create panic. In his first two overs, he drew nine false responses. At the other end, Fakhar Zaman got out looking to make up for the quiet at Rashid’s end. Babar failed to pick which way Rashid was turning it. He barely survived the wrong’uns and the edge off the legbreak went wide of slip. Mohammad Hafeez was not so lucky, holing out to long-on. Thirty-eight required off last four.The end gameAfghanistan now had a choice to bowl Naveen in the 17th and 19th overs so that their weakest bowler, Janat, is used only in the 20th, but they went ahead with Rashid in the 17th. Shoaib Malik eased all the pressure with a six second ball, but Babar still played panic-stricken shots without knowing which way the ball was turning. He was dropped first ball, but was out bowled last ball of the over.Naveen backed it up with a composed over in which a slower ball bamboozled Malik and the quicker one got him out. Shadab wanted to steal a single last ball of the over, but Asif wasn’t even looking at him. Time for dealing in quick singles was over.It was now time to exploit Afghanistan’s weakest bowler and the short leg-side boundary. First ball he went deep into the crease to convert the yorker into a half-volley and go miles over long-off. Next one was a perfect yorker. The third one was short, and he pulled it for a flat small six. Next one again a perfect yorker. The last two, though, missed the length and Asif ended the game.

Geoffrey Boycott, the former England batsman and Test Match Special summariser, has made an “unreserved apology” after suggesting that he’d have a better chance of getting a knighthood if he “blacked up” his face to look like a West Indian cricketer.Boycott, who played 108 Tests for England between 1964 and 1982, including 29 against West Indies, made his remarks during a question-and-answer session at a VIP lunch during the first Test against West Indies at Edgbaston.Knighthoods, he said, were handed out like “confetti” to West Indies greats – he named no names, but a total of 11 former Caribbean greats have been conferred the honour to date, including Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Curtly Ambrose.”Mine’s been turned down twice,” he told the event’s host, Gary Newbon. “I’d better black me face.”Boycott’s remarks were met with an uneasy silence by his audience, a room that included several black guests who had paid close to £300 a head for the occasion.In the wake of a wave of criticism, with one of those present denouncing him as a “dinosaur”, Boycott took to Twitter to apologise.”Speaking at an informal gathering I was asked a question and I realise my answer was unacceptable,” he wrote. “I meant no offence but what I said was clearly wrong and I apologise unreservedly.”I have loved West Indian cricket my whole life and have the utmost respect for its players.”The last England cricketer to receive a knighthood was Sir Ian Botham in 2007, with Sir Alec Bedser earning his a decade earlier in 1997.

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has challenged the next generation of England players to stake a claim for a spot in the 2019 World Cup squad although he expects most of those who took part in the Champions Trophy to be around for that tournament.Bayliss has often spoken about the four-year plan to build to the 2019 World Cup, with the Champions Trophy seen as a stepping stone, but the manner of England’s one-sided exit against Pakistan will be a dent to the confidence of a team that had surfed a wave of run-scoring.Only two of the current squad are over 30 – Eoin Morgan and Liam Plunkett – and though there will be the natural fluctuations in form – as witnessed by Jason Roy over the last few weeks – and injuries will occur, Bayliss is keen to use the next two years to build experience.The first opportunity for new faces to have a taste of the international scene will be the three-match T20 series against South Africa with the squad including five uncapped players: Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Tom Curran, Mason Crane and Craig Overton. The one-day series against West Indies which finishes England’s busiest ever home season could be another chance to assess the depth on offer.”I think we’d be remiss if we just said these 15 or 16 guys are going to go to the World Cup in two years’ time,” Bayliss said. “We’ve got to be sensible about it and if there is someone else who deserves to be in the team then we’ve got to look for that.”We’ve got the Test guys having a rest here so they’ll be able to play in the county match before the Test match which allows us to play some new guys and you never know, if one or two of them come up with the goods, they could find themselves in the team in two years.”We’ve come a long way in the last two years and, like the fans, we’d like to win every game we play in,” he added. “But the simple fact is we are still an improving side and getting to a state of play that we think we’re capable of, but these guys are mostly 26 or 27 so they should be around for another five or six years.”During the Champions Trophy, England only made two changes to their team. Adil Rashid was surprisingly left out of the opening match against Bangladesh, and then Roy’s lean run become too much to accommodate and he was replaced by Jonny Bairstow for the semi-final. Roy is part of the T20 squad to face South Africa and Bayliss had encouraging words for him.”I think you’ll see Roy at the top of the order a lot more for England. It was one of those situations where you’ve got one guy hoping to score runs and another guy who, when he comes in scores runs and is trying to prove a point, so there was a little bit of the negative-positive thing there. [Bairstow] batted reasonably again there, getting 40-odd.”Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jake Ball and Rashid have been left out of the T20 squad to enable them to play in the pink-ball round of County Championship matches at the end of the month. While Root, Moeen and Stokes are certain to feature in the Test side, it could mean that Ball and Rashid are also in the mix.Jonny Bairstow, the Test wicketkeeper, will miss the final T20 but Jos Buttler, who was part of England’s previous Test side against India in Chennai, is available for all three matches. Bayliss said it did not mean Buttler wasn’t in contention to retain his spot and he will go straight from the final T20 in Cardiff to Lancashire’s Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.”It is just he is so important to the T20 side,” Bayliss said. “We are giving a rest to the guys who are definitely in the Test team, but a lot of the guys will play in that third match and then back it up the next day in the pink-ball game and he is one of those.”England’s squad for the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s is due to be named after that round of Championship matches.

Match facts

May 29, 2017
Start time 11am local (1000 GMT)David Miller and Chris Morris contemplate failing to score seven off the final over at the Ageas Bowl•Getty Images

Big picture

After the liveliest of finishes, a dead rubber. England’s resurrection at the Ageas Bowl condemned South Africa to their first defeat in a bilateral ODI series since 2015 but there will still be interest in the third match, at Lord’s, thanks to the imminence of the Champions Trophy, which begins on Thursday.South Africa could look back on Saturday’s two-run defeat and legitimately wonder what went wrong. Having made good use of the overcast conditions after winning the toss, the fact England had been 13 for 1 after five overs of their innings looked like being the key difference between two hefty totals. Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers and David Miller had all weighed in and, with ten balls to go, the chase appeared to be well in hand.Jake Ball and, in particular, Mark Wood ensured that would not be the case. England had to scrap with every fibre to defend 330 – which gives an indication of where their strengths lie – but the fact they managed to pull it off, without their senior ODI bowler in Chris Woakes and with Ben Stokes only delivering three overs, will add to the sense of optimism around the team.Stokes’ importance was illustrated with bat in hand, though South Africa could again reflect on the fact England’s centurion might have been caught off the first two balls he faced. He cashed in his good fortune and left South Africa ruing their luck (as well as their catching). England have now won eight ODIs in a row – two short of their best run – and may feel they are yet to properly click.For both teams, the fine-tuning will continue on Bank Holiday Monday. England will rotate after deciding to rest Stokes, Woakes and Moeen Ali due to minor injuries*, while South Africa still have questions about their preferred XI. De Villiers was indignant at the way the umpires at the Ageas Bowl raised questions about the state of the ball, and he will hope to retrain the focus by getting a win on the board before the Champions Trophy.

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LLWLW

In the spotlight

There may still be question marks over England’s bowling but, with the batsmen regularly throwing up 300-plus scores, they at least have the cushion of big runs to defend. Liam Plunkett has capitalised on this in 2017, with only Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan taking more than his 20 wickets so far. Plunkett’s experience and skill – particularly in delivering the ball cross-seam – has been apparent in both games against South Africa, his dismissal of AB de Villiers on Saturday potentially a match-winner. With Woakes missing, he is effectively the leader of the attack.Although David Miller was not quite able to finish off the chase, his performance in the second ODI demonstrated his increased importance to South Africa. During the last ten overs, he faced just two dot balls, making light of a slow pitch and two old balls – conditions de Villiers felt made England favourites to defend the target after Quinton de Kock fell with 120 still needed. With JP Duminy lacking form and Farhaan Behardien seemingly ill-equipped as a finisher, Miller brings clinical power to the middle order and could allow them to play another allrounder.

Team news

England have called up Steven Finn, Toby Roland-Jones and Liam Dawson* after deciding not to risk Stokes, Woakes and Moeen at Lord’s. The likelihood is that England will give game time to members of their Champions Trophy squad, however, with Jonny Bairstow the next batsman in line and David Willey offering another all-round seam option.England: (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Adil Rashid, 8 David Willey, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jake BallSouth Africa made three changes for the second ODI and could make as many again at Lord’s. De Villiers has previously said Morne Morkel will get a game, while Keshav Maharaj will hope for a second outing after seeing three catches dropped off his bowling on debut. Could Morris or Wayne Parnell provide an alternative to Behardien at No. 6?South Africa: (probable) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Chris Morris, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Dwaine Pretorius, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Keshav Maharaj/Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

England racked up 328 for 6 against Ireland earlier this month, with Lord’s surfaces tending towards batsmen-friendly. The possibility of showers breaking up the afternoon may encourage whoever wins the toss to chase for a third match running.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have lost all three of their ODIs at Lord’s, all against England. The most recent was a six-wicket defeat in 2012.
• Hashim Amla needs another 23 runs to reach 7000 in ODIs. He has 11 innings in which to get there ahead of Virat Kohli and continue his record of being fastest to 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 runs.
• Stokes and Moeen Ali both need three more wickets to reach 50 in ODIs.

Quotes

“It’s unbelievable really. I don’t know how to explain it. To have won it without taking wickets is an unbelievable effort.”
“There’s a lot still to play for at Lord’s and I think if we play a similar hand there, that’s all we want. A win will be great.”
AB de Villiers targets another good performance – and a better result*6pm BST – This story was updated with news of changes to the England squad

ScorecardTwo days into Gary Ballance’s reign as Yorkshire captain and a sense of bonhomie has pervaded Headingley. Optimism abounds in every conversation. The sun shone so brightly on the second day that from the top of the pavilion you could almost imagine you could see Lancashire. Not that anyone would want to do that.And yet Yorkshire have not entirely killed this game thanks primarily to a sterling contribution from Hampshire’s new South African recruit Kyle Abbott. Abbott took the first five wickets as Yorkshire struggled to make good an advantage of 132 runs on first innings, and had 7 for 41 when their innings closed 319 ahead. If the pitch goes flat, so could Yorkshire. Five absent frontline pace bowlers could be more keenly felt second time around.Abbott, powerful and stately, has a presence in the field that is peculiar to fast bowlers of repute. For him, fast bowling is serious toil. Hampshire know how important he is to their season. You get the impression that they would not merely polish the ball for him, they would polish his shoes. At the end of each over, more energy expended, he walked back into the outfield with the authority of a man who should not be trifled with.Yorkshire supporters showed such respect more reluctantly, unimpressed by the fact that Hampshire have taken the Kolpak route to strengthening their squad. Indeed, when Ben Coad, with five wickets overnight, added Abbott to finish with 6 for 37 in his first Championship appearance at Headingley, he became a perfect example of the advantage of producing your own. Thanks to Abbott, he will be asked to restate his potential a second time.Abbott, who is one of a rush of Kolpak entrants into the county game this season, was not remotely abashed by his new county status. After a brief foray at the Rugby Stand end, he switched downhill to find the edge of Adam Lyth and Peter Handscomb in the same over. Alex Lees, lbw soon afterwards, did so much checking of heights and angles that it would have been no surprise had he pulled a protractor from his back pocket.When Jack Leaning left protesting he had got wood on his own lbw and Bresnan drove to midwicket, Hampshire began to chirrup in the field. Bresnan, who played one of the most herculean innings in Yorkshire’s history on the final day of last season – an unbeaten 142 against Middlesex – in a valiant, if unrewarded, search for a third successive title, has begun the season with a pair.

‘We’re back in the game’ – Abbott

“I’d like to think we’re back in the game,” said Kyle Abbott after his seven wickets at Headingley6. “History shows it shouldn’t deteriorate too badly, and scoring’s been pretty quick. There’s no reason why we can’t knock those off.
“If it’s not in the right spot and you’re slightly off, it’s pretty easy to bat on and is quite nicely paced. But, if you get it right as a bowler, there’s still something there.
“It’s coming out nicely for me, but it’s still not exactly where I want to be if I’m critical. I’d like to keep the run-rate a bit tighter.”

With half the side out for 115, and the lead 238, Yorkshire’s underperforming top order had begun this season much as they passed through the last. Andrew Hodd’s unbeaten 54 from 53 balls was an enterprising retort in a match where Ballance’s authority has not been matched by his team-mates. Hodd began with six flashing boundaries and brought up his 50 by lofting Liam Dawson’s left-arm slows for six. There is a little turn to be had on this surface as well.Abbott, though, had not been silenced. With successive deliveries, he had Steve Patterson lbw and bowled Josh Shaw, doing his utmost to turn the game on its head.Life had been going so much more swimmingly for Yorkshire in mid-afternoon. In the Trueman Stand, Ballance was observed warmly as he added a confident half-century to the hundred he made on the opening day. A crowd that a generation ago would still admonish anyone who cut before the end of June even applauded a meaty reverse sweep against Dawson that got his innings into gear. Coats and sweaters were flung aside in turn. One woman sat on a throne of discarded garments. Another passed around sweets.With a summer ahead, there were important matters to sort out. Not only were the blackbirds building their nests. So, too, were Yorkshire cricket supporters, equally enlivened by a shot of early sunshine.”Steward, a word. Can I report two broken seats please: numbers 481 and 488. That’s very kind of you.”As the steward departed to do their bidding, the conversation briefly crackled.”Did you see how courteous I were?””It’ll be done by next season.””He’ll have forgotten already.””That’ll teach him to come here looking for a job.”There is a job still to do at Headingley on Sunday. Both sides will still believe they can do it and, if it turns out to be Hampshire, the chat may take on a darker tone.

Afghanistan’s first bilateral series against West Indies will include three T20Is and three ODIs, beginning in the first week of June. The series will be played concurrently with the Champions Trophy, which begins on June 1 in England. West Indies, who haven’t won a bilateral ODI series since 2014, beating Bangladesh at home, failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

WI v Afghanistan schedule

June 2 – First T20I
June 3 – Second T20I
June 5 – Third T20I
June 9 – First ODI
June 11 – Second ODI
June 14 – Third ODI

All three T20s will be played at Warner Park in St Kitts, beginning from June 2. The ODIs, all of which will be played at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia, will begin a week later, on June 9.The tour’s original schedule included five ODIs and three T20Is. This series will also be Afghanistan’s first full series against a Full Member other than Zimbabwe.”It will also be an important series for our side,” Roland Holder, WICB Manager of Cricket Operations, said, “as they look to move up in the ICC World Rankings in the two formats, and continue their quest to qualify for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and Wales.”West Indies are currently placed ninth in the ODI rankings, followed by Afghanistan. West Indies will be hoping to climb up the rankings as only the top eight teams as of September end this year will gain automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. They lost their last ODI series 3-0 to England earlier this month and have three more coming up against Pakistan in April.West Indies and Afghanistan have never played an ODI against each other and the last time they squared up in a T20I, Afghanistan won by six runs, in a league match in the World T20 last year.The upcoming three T20Is will start at 7pm and the day-night ODIs will start at 2.30 pm.

ScorecardJon Holland picked up 7 for 82, including the wicket of Travis Head•Getty Images

A career-best seven-wicket haul from Jon Holland ensured Victoria remained in control of the Sheffield Shield final on the third day against South Australia in Alice Springs. It was the second consecutive season that Holland has delivered a big bag of wickets in the decider – last year he claimed five in the second innings and eight for the match in Victoria’s win over the Redbacks in Adelaide.After dismissing South Australia for 287 and thus earning a lead of exactly 200, the Bushrangers not surprisingly decided againt enforcing the follow-on, hoping instead to build their advantage to unbeatable proportions. A couple of late wickets gave South Australia a faint sniff, but with Victoria at 2 for 38, with Travis Dean on 12 and nightwatchman Chris Tremain on 3, the lead was still a hefty 238.The day had started with South Australia on 1 for 19 and although Callum Ferguson and Jake Weatherald rebuilt with a 76-run second-wicket stand, they were unable to turn it into a match-changing partnership. Ferguson edged to slip for 26 to give Holland his first wicket and in his next over Holland turned one sharply from outside off to have Travis Head lbw for an 11-ball duck.Jake Lehmann was well snapped at short leg by Rob Quiney, whose fine reflexes gave Holland a third wicket, and James Pattinson then chipped in by bowling Tom Cooper for 6. Weatherald, who had compiled a fighting half-century, fell for 60 when he played back and was bowled trying to cut Holland, and at 6 for 121 South Australia were threatening to collapse completely.However, there remained some fight in the lower order. Joe Mennie and wicketkeeper Alex Carey produced a 68-run partnership that ended when Mennie’s attempted sweep on 36 was top-edged to the wicketkeeper to provide a five-for for Holland. Carey brought up his half-century before he was caught at midwicket sweeping Holland on 57 to end a fine counter-attacking effort.It continued an outstanding season for Carey, who during the innings passed the 500-run mark this Shield summer to add to his 58 wicketkeeping dismissals so far. He became just the fourth player to complete the double of 500 runs and 50 dismissals in a Shield campaign: the recently-retired Chris Hartley did so three times, and Matthew Wade and Adam Gilchrist once each.Adam Zampa fell to Daniel Christian for 31 and Holland wrapped up the innings with Daniel Worrall caught at slip for 17 to leave Chadd Sayers unbeaten on 23 as the Redbacks were dismissed for 287. Holland’s 7 for 82 took his season tally to 49 Shield wickets, second only to Sayers in the competition and the highest season tally by a spinner since Stuart MacGill claimed 54 wickets in 2004-05.Sayers added one more to his tally by having first-innings centurion Marcus Harris caught for 21 late in the day and Daniel Worrall followed up with the wicket of Quiney, but South Australia will need to instigate a significant collapse upon Victoria on the fourth day and then bat flawlessly to pull off the victory they need to end their two-decade drought without a Shield title.