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Rashid Khan’s MI Cape Town have been crowned the new champions of the SA20, after they denied Aiden Markram’s Sunrisers Eastern Cape a three-peat and decimated them for the third time this season, in front of a packed crowd at the Wanderers.After opting to bat, MICT felt at home – all of their top five play for Lions at the Wanderers – and sent the ball flying over the boundaries in the Highveld. The rarefied air suited their style of play: despite losing wickets, MICT kept attacking and posted 181 for 8 on the back of electric cameos. Three of their batters passed 30 and all of them struck at 150 or above. It was Dewald Brevis who truly brought the crowd alive with his 18-ball 38. Brevis, 21, capped the season as its rising star.MICT’s older stars Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada then wrecked Sunrisers’ chase by sharing six wickets between them. Boult, in particular, hooped the new ball both ways in the powerplay, and ended with 4-0-9-2. Rashid and George Linde, the left-arm fingerspinner, then ramped up the pressure in the middle overs before Rabada wrapped up the victory. Sunrisers folded for 105 in 18.4 overs.MI have now ticked off title wins in every franchise T20 tournament they’ve been part of. IPL, CLT20 (now defunct), WPL, MLC, ILT20, SA20.

Rickelton fires opening salvo

Ryan Rickelton threw the first punch at Marco Jansen, the best bowler of the competition, taking him for 29 off nine balls at an eye-popping strike rate of 322.22. When Jansen pitched it up, Rickelton pumped him over his head and then, when he shortened his lengths, Rickelton used the rarefied air of the Highveld to his advantage and hooked him away over the leg side.However, when Craig Overton took pace off, Rickelton couldn’t manufacture his own pace and ended up chipping a catch to mid-off.As for Rassie van der Dussen, he also showed attacking intent on the occasions he manufactured swinging room, but his execution wasn’t as good as Rickelton’s. Van der Dussen made 23 off 25 balls before Liam Dawson had him stumped in the ninth over. By then, Reeza Hendricks had also fallen to Richard Gleeson for a duck.

Brevis intervention

When it seemed like Sunrisers had seized control, Brevis intervened and put MICT back on track for a tall total. He walloped Dawson for back-to-back sixes down the ground and proceeded to line up Andile Simelane, who had replaced the injured Ottneil Baartman. Playing only his second SA20 game, Simelane wilted under pressure and leaked 14 in the only over he bowled.Kagiso Rabada struck in his first over and claimed four wickets in all•SA20

Brevis then brought the roof down at the Wanderers when he launched a one-handed six off a slower variation from Overton in the 15th over. Linde, who had been promoted to No.5 to counter Dawson’s left-arm fingerspin, also did his job, hitting him for two sixes. When he attempted another six, he failed to clear long-off.After having been taken to the cleaners in the early exchanges, Jansen bounced back to cut Brevis’ innings short.Markram didn’t want to risk Similane at the death and hence decided to take matters into his own hands in the 17th over. Though he got rid of Connor Esterhuizen, the batter had already done the damage with a sequence of 6,6,4 in an 18-run over.Delano Potgieter and Rabada then ensured MICT breached 180.

MICT’s bowling masterclass

That total looked a whole lot bigger when Boult, especially, made Sunrisers’ batters look silly in the powerplay. After he softened David Bedingham with inswingers, Rabada made the incision by having the batter chipping a catch to short cover for 5. Boult got his first wicket of the evening when he drew a leading edge from Jordan Hermann for 1.Boult had scarcely believable powerplay figures of 3-0-4-1 before he returned at the death to trick Tristan Subbs with a slower variation. Tom Abell briefly countered MICT’s strikes before Linde had him stumped for 30 off 25 balls. Linde continued to keep it tight along with his captain Rashid, who pinned Tony de Zorzi lbw for 26 in a boundary-less spell. During their chase, Sunrisers went without a boundary for 45 balls.Dawson ended the drought when he sent a thick outside-edge flying to the boundary off Rabada but the quick sunk the Sunrisers’ lower order with his nifty variations.From finishing bottom of the table in the first two seasons of the SA20, MICT clinched their first title on Saturday and celebrated under firework-filled skies.

Veteran New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd has told Sam Konstas he must adopt a more consistent approach to his batting, while adamant the teenager is showing signs of striking the right balance.Shipperd on Thursday backed Konstas to return to Australia’s Test team for June’s World Championship final against South Africa, after being squeezed out of recent matches in Sri Lanka.The opener’s batting will face another test against the pink ball this weekend in Hobart, as he tries to help pilot NSW into the Sheffield Shield final.Related

• Konstas hits fifty in draw as NSW and WA lose ground in push for final

• Rogers questions if attacking Konstas is the real Sam

• 'Yeah mate, no stress': Konstas takes axing in stride

The headline act of the summer since his twin tons for NSW in October, Konstas’ eye-catching batting has been a point of consternation for months. He was a national sensation when he disrupted Jasprit Bumrah’s rhythm by repeatedly reverse-scooping the Indian maestro on Test debut on Boxing Day.But his approach has since been heavily scrutinised, particularly when bowled trying to slog-sweep Scott Boland in the third over of a Shield match last month. That dismissal prompted questions over whether Konstas could regain his spot for the Test Championship final, with another top-order squeeze looming at Lord’s.The opener responded by not playing an attacking shot in his first 30 balls in the second innings against Victoria, before making a 107-ball 50 as NSW held on for a draw in Perth last week.”I’m not sure he planned that [aggressive approach to Boland], I think it just unfolded in that particular moment,” Shipperd said. “With discussions and reconsideration of what a batting plan looks like, he’s made some adjustments.”That means to me he’s listening and he’s learning, and that’s very important for him at this stage of his career. He’s still working the game out.”I’d be very surprised if the Australian selectors weren’t considering him strongly for that opening position [for the WTC final].Shipperd said he has been in regular contact with Australia coach Andrew McDonald and selectors around Konstas’ development. The 19-year-old batted with a far more conventional approach early in the summer, before becoming more audacious with his batting from December on.”Quite clearly we can see that there are times when that method has been successful for him,” the NSW coach said. “But as a general theme we’re encouraging him, as most of the experienced pundits around are calling for, for a more consistent approach.”Finding the right time in the innings and also considering what the team needs at that particular moment.”We’re encouraged that he’s learning each game and he’s considering all of these issues as each innings unfolds for him.”The Tasmania match could potentially be Konstas’ last before the Test Championship final, if NSW fail to qualify for the Shield decider and he does not land an English county deal.With one round to play in the Shield, bonus points are likely to determine who of Queensland, NSW, Western Australia or Victoria qualify for the final against South Australia.If NSW beat Tasmania and leapfrog Queensland into second, Steven Smith is a chance to play in the final.

Sachin Tendulkar is set to receive the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the BCCI’s annual awards ceremony on February 1. Jasprit Bumrah has been chosen for the Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer for 2023-24 in the men’s category while Smriti Mandhana has been picked for the corresponding women’s trophy.Tendulkar will be the 31st recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was instituted in 1994 in honour of India’s first captain CK Nayudu. Tendulkar retired from international cricket having played for more than two decades after debuting as a 16-year-old in a 1989 Test against Pakistan. His 200 Test and 463 ODI appearances are the highest by any player in history, as are his runs tally in both formats: 15,921 in Tests and 18,426 in ODIs. He also played one T20I, India’s first ever, against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2006.Bumrah, who was also named the ICC Cricketer of the Year earlier this month, was India’s standout bowler in the assessment period, playing a pivotal role in India lifting the T20 World Cup in June. He picked up 15 wickets in eight games at an economy of 4.17 and was named the Player of the Tournament. Apart from that, he was also instrumental in India’s Test series win against England at home.Mandhana, who was named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2024, was India’s best woman batter across formats. Apart from scoring 149 against South Africa in the one-off Test in Chennai, she notched up 117, 136 and 90 in successive ODIs against the same opponents.

Ashwin set to receive special award

R Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in December 2024 as India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, will be given a special award. Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 and played a defining role in India’s 12-year domination in the longest format at home wherein they won 18 series on the trot.Sarfaraz Khan was picked for the Best International Debut Award among men for his quick-fire fifty against England in the Rajkot Test in February 2024.Among women, Asha Sobhana has been chosen for the award for Best International Debut for her 4 for 21 against South Africa to help India win by 143 runs in the first ODI at Bengaluru in June 2024. Offspinner Deepti Sharma will be awarded for finishing as the highest wicket-taker in ODIs in the awards period.Mumbai allrounder Tanush Kotian, meanwhile, will be awarded for the Best Performance in BCCI Domestic Trophy. He scored 502 runs and took 29 wickets in ten games to help Mumbai win Ranji Trophy 2023-24.

Kane Williamson has paid tribute to the “incredible” career of his close friend Tim Southee after the pace bowler announced he would retire from Tests after the England series.The careers of Williamson and Southee have run side-by-side from junior and Under-19 level through domestic cricket into to all formats for New Zealand with the pair playing their 100th Tests together against Australia earlier this year, although Williamson made his debut two-and-a-half years after Southee.Related

• Tim Southee to bow out of Test cricket at end of England series

• Williamson returns for England series, Nathan Smith called up

• Southee chuffed about playing last Test series against England and McCullum

Williamson is New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in Test history while Southee is second only to Sir Richard Hadlee on the wickets list with 385 so remains a chance of reaching 400 against England.”Playing so long together, you just go through so much,” Williamson told reporters in Hamilton ahead of his first game for Northern Districts since 2019 where Southee will also line up. “Both doing stints in leadership roles and you go through different turbulent times, then you have some good ones as well and they are all part of the experience. To do it as long as Tim has is incredible as a fast bowler, there’s not many in the history of the game who have been able to achieve what he has. Such a huge member [and] leader of our side and a close friend as well.”While New Zealand’s historic 3-0 victory in India suggests there could be plenty of good times ahead for the current team, Southee’s retirements marks the latest departure from an era of players that brought considerable success following the likes of Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme and Neil Wagner while Trent Boult no longer features in Tests after stepping away from a central contract and has also retired from T20Is.”It’s life, isn’t it. You do realise you are closer towards the end than the start which is a certainty,” Williamson said. “It’s [about] navigating those periods because you feel slightly different when you play your first game to when you play your 100th and there’s different levels of excitement, your life changes a little bit, whether that’s family, extra dogs, whatever it is you are into, so the picture does take a slightly different shape and your motivation does adjust.”There’s sadness, but excitement as well for Tim because the end of your time in a sporting professional environment is scary but there’s so much more to come.”Williamson, who will return from a groin injury against England after missing the whole series in India, also turned down an NZC contract this year but remains committed across formats. He termed the victory in India one of New Zealand’s “all-time cricketing memories” although added missing out on being part of it was challenging at times with his fitness assessed on a Test-by-Test basis before it was decided he wasn’t ready.”It was a lot of internal temptation [to try and get there], for sure, then after a few discussions it was keep taking that time to get it right so that’s what I did,” he said. “Suffered a little bit of FOMO, which is a good thing, but just admired it really. To go over and play the way they did, so special, one of our all-time cricketing memories.”Williamson’s groin injury was picked up running between the wickets in the second innings of the second Test in Galle and he admitted the body needed more looking after in the latter stages of his career.”It’s not major, which is good,” he said. “Think post knee [injury] there’s always little curlys that bob their heads so actually making sure I keep putting that time in. For so long you feel invincible, and I’ve certainly had a few reminders that’s not the case recently and making sure that I’m staying on top of all those things and keeping the body in check.”

Pakistan offspinner Sajid Khan has found a number of ways of getting under England’s skin, from the moustache twirling to the thigh thumping that accompany borderline invasion of personal space. Much of it has involved bamboozling them with the angle of his spin or the flight of his deliveries, but on Friday, he found another avenue for English befuddlement: their spin bowlers’ bilingualism.After the fourth ball of the 86th over, once Saud Shakeel had flicked Shoaib Bashir away to turn the strike over to Sajid, the pair met to discuss how to manage the strike, and didn’t appear to bother if the stump mic picked them up. Sajid, presumably, was to see off the final two balls, but he danced down the wicket and launched Bashir over midwicket into the Javed Miandad stand.It could hardly have been the plan, but according to Sajid, the intended audience for the conversation wasn’t each other but Pakistani-origin spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir.”We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can.”And Sajid did. The next over Bashir bowled, Sajid plundered two sixes and a boundary in much the same way, swinging towards the midwicket boundary, finding the middle of the bat with regularity. 19 came off that over, and though Rehan kept him quieter, he was stung once when he spread the field out. Sajid took the men at long-off and long-on, comfortably clearing the rope. The wheels, by now, had begun to come off England’s bowling effort, and Pakistan’s lead had ballooned.Rehan acknowledged the quality of the innings, but was having none of Sajid’s claims. “He didn’t fool me at all, he just said it for the media,” he laughed “I didn’t even hear him. He said something like he’s going to run down this ball and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, and it didn’t really work. I think he batted well, and he hit some big blows, but he didn’t really fool me or Bash.”

Babar Azam has quit as Pakistan captain for the second time in less than a year, citing a desire to lessen his workload and focus on his batting. In a lengthy post on X, Babar said he had notified the PCB of his decision to quit the white-ball captaincy last month in an interest to “prioritise my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend quality time with my family”.”I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team,” part of the statement said. “It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role. Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it’s added a significant workload.”By stepping down, I will gain clarity moving forward and focus more energy on my game and personal growth. I’m grateful for your unwavering support and belief in me. Your enthusiasm has meant the world to me. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together and excited to continue contributing to the team as a player. Thank you for your love and support.”