James Anderson claimed Brendon McCullum's England have changed the way the world views Test cricket as they closed in on a series win over South Africa.
McCullum has introduced a thrilling style since taking over as England's red-ball coach in May, leading the side to a whitewash of New Zealand and a terrific chase victory over India at Edgbaston.
While South Africa dealt the coach-captain duo of McCullum and Ben Stokes their first Test match defeat last month, the hosts are on the brink of completing a 2-1 series triumph over the tourists after impressing with both ball and bat at The Oval on Sunday.
England will require just 33 runs to wrap up a fourth consecutive series win over the Proteas when the decisive third Test resumes on Monday, and Anderson is relishing their revival.
"It's been amazing, I'll be honest, Baz [McCullum] has been a breath of fresh air. He's come in and it just feels positive, there's a positive atmosphere in that dressing room," Anderson told Sky Sports.
"The messages he sends about going out there and trying to entertain, everyone's bought into it. Some days it hasn't paid off, but when it has, it's spectacular.
"It's changed the way not only some of the players have thought about Test cricket, but maybe even the way the world thinks about Test cricket.
"Hopefully we can get the job done tomorrow. Still 33 runs to get on a tricky wicket, we'll just try and get it done as professionally as we can."
With 667 wickets in the format, Anderson is the third most prolific bowler in Test cricket history, behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).
He was joined in the top five of that illustrious list by Stuart Broad on Sunday, as his three dismissals moved him clear of Glenn McGrath with 566 red-ball wickets.
Anderson was delighted by his team-mate's achievement, adding: "It means a lot to him because of how high he held Glenn in his eyes.
"So for him to go past him, it means a lot to him and shows the amount of work he's put in, the dedication to his job, and his skill as well. It's a pleasure to bowl at the other end."
Having benefited from the decision to stop play for bad light when South Africa were on top on Saturday, England were left frustrated after not being given the opportunity to finish the visitors off a day later.
Despite his annoyance at the umpire's decision to call time, Anderson remains confident England will see the match through on Monday, adding: "It's obviously frustrating from our point of view, because the rate we were scoring at, we might only have needed another five or six overs.
"The guys were seeing the ball pretty well and with a good crowd in here it would have been nice to finish it.
"The point of view of the umpires is they took a reading yesterday, that's the precedent for the whole game, and I think their message was if it rained all day tomorrow it would be unfair on South Africa to get the game done today.
"It's frustrating, but hopefully we'll come back and get the job done.
"I'd like to think that common sense would prevail. At the minute, the reading is the precedent for the rest of the game, but in certain situations you do think common sense could come into play."
Klaasen masterclass sees South Africa coast in third ODI to tie series
Heinrich Klaasen brilliantly took the third ODI away from West Indies with his unbeaten century to give South Africa a four-wicket win and tie the three-match series.
Klaasen scored 119 off just 61 deliveries, completing a routine victory with three consecutive boundaries.
There were still 123 balls remaining, with South Africa's number five batter having accelerated the scoring just as the tourists had recovered some hope at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
The Windies were all out for 260, losing their way after a strong start from Brandon King (72) lifted them to 110-1 in the 19th over.
King contributed to his team's downfall when he chose not to run and left partner Shamarh Brooks (18) stranded, slipping in the middle of the pitch for a run out that triggered a steady stream of Windies wickets.
It was still no sure thing the Proteas would chase down their target despite scoring at a good rate, losing four wickets inside 13 overs – including that of captain Aiden Markram for 25.
Yet Klaasen came to the fore, bringing up his hundred off just 54 balls to swiftly bring the finish line into sight.
A showstopping finale saw poor Yannic Cariah punished, conceding 49 runs off only three and a half overs as the Windies' hopes of a rare series win against South Africa were wiped out.
Windies' wait for series win goes on
West Indies have not beaten South Africa in a multi-game ODI series since April 1992, but this represented a real opportunity, leading 1-0 ahead of the final match after the opener was abandoned without a ball bowled.
A failure to capitalise on competitive starts to both innings extended that wait, although the Windies at least ended South Africa's run of seven straight series victories.
Klaasen crashes six after six
Coming into this match, South Africa had hit only 70 sixes in ODIs since the start of last year, compared to 143 for West Indies over the same period.
But Klaasen alone matched the Windies in that regard on Tuesday, smashing five maximums – as many as the entire touring team – to go with 15 fours in South Africa's fourth-fastest ODI century.
Economic impact of Hero CPL passes US$200 Million in 2022
The 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) generated a huge economic impact for the countries who hosted matches with a total figure of US$200,935,772, a 47% increase on the amount generated during the 2019 tournament, the last time the Hero CPL travelled around the region.
The total direct economic impact on the region from Hero CPL 2022 was US$134,686,551 with an additional US$66,250,232 in sponsorship value as a result of the Hero CPL broadcast which was watched by over 700million viewers in 2022.
The four countries who held Hero CPL matches were St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana. St Kitts & Nevis also hosted the first running of the Massy Women’s CPL (WCPL) and the SKYEXCH 6IXTY. The tournament has created jobs and generated income in all of these countries as the Caribbean continues to be central to the success of the Hero CPL.
The rise in economic impact has, in part, been driven by the change to the tournament structure that now sees all six teams, TV production crew and tournament staff travelling around the region as one cohort, spending more time in each of the host countries. With more matches being played per host country, travelling fans are now offered even greater value to come and watch the Hero CPL and as a result there was a significant increase in international arrivals across the tournament in 2022.
This figure was generated by independent, world-renowned research company, YouGov Sport. This figure takes into account the total spent by Hero CPL to put on the 2022 event, the value of media exposure for the country from the broadcast of matches and the money spent with local business by those who travelled around the region for the tournament.
The Hero CPL was responsible for filling 54,702 hotel nights across the region, with players, TV crew, CPL and franchise staff and other visitors all helping to generate further revenue for local businesses and suppliers.
The total viewership for the 2022 Hero CPL was a record 721.8million, a record for the tournament. This is the third successive year that the tournament has generated a viewership figure of over half a billion. This increase in viewership gave even more exposure to host countries throughout the tournament, adding further value to hosting Hero CPL matches.
Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO, said: “The value that Hero CPL brings to host countries has been long established but for the economic impact of the tournament to pass US$200million for the first time is another milestone in the decade long history of the event. Hero CPL creates jobs, fills hotel rooms, boosts tourism and attracts visitors into host countries, both during the tournament and beyond. We are very excited to see this Caribbean product continue to grow its global reach while still hugely benefiting the region.”
Dottin remains “deeply disappointed” by Gujarat Giants explanation for her omission from WPL
Former West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin says she is "deeply disappointed" by the "bewildering reasoning" given by the Gujarat Giants explaining her omission from the squad for the inaugural WPL.
The Giants had stated prior to the season that the 31-year-old was "recovering from a medical situation", and subsequently announced Australia’s Kim Garth as her replacement.
Dottin tweeted that she was "recovering from nothing" at the time of the announcement.
At a media interaction after Dottin's response, Giants issued a clarification that they had to seek a replacement because they were unable to obtain a medical clearance in time for Dottin.
Dottin put out a detailed statement on Twitter on Sunday, saying, "I remain deeply disappointed by what can only, plausibly, be described as bewildering reasoning for my omission from the tournament.
"At the commencement of the tournament, the franchise claimed that I was excluded from the team because I was apparently 'recovering from a medical situation'. This was followed by a subsequent, clarifying statement that contended that I was, in fact 'unable to obtain medical clearance' despite being granted as recently as February 20th."
She went on to say that she had sought treatment after experiencing minor abdominal pain in December 2022.
Dottin then met two specialists in December and January for second opinions, and was advised rest until February 13. She said she had been cleared to resume training from February 14.
"Consequently, I recommenced my personal training and fitness regime according to the guided timelines and experienced some soreness on the first day of resumed training which was anticipated and reasonable, given that I had been asked to rest in the weeks preceding training.
"I was transparent about this in correspondence with the Gujarat Giants physiotherapist, however, this was misconstrued and later conveyed to members of the franchise's management team as me 'experiencing abdominal pain post-session' which was not what I had indicated."
Dottin said that Giants insisted that she got herself assessed locally even though she was given medical clearance by her treating surgeon on February 20.
"To my shock, I was then forwarded email correspondence from the Giants' physiotherapist, that included the following demand - 'Deandra Dottin is strictly advised to submit her fitness report along with the recent scan by 26/02/2023. She will be deemed unfit for T20 matches in the WPL if she doesn't comply.' This request was sent on Saturday 25th February with the deadline provided being the following day - Sunday - making it near impossible to administer all stipulated medical tests, particularly over a weekend."
She said that on the next day, February 26, she was told via email by a senior manager at Giants owners Adani Sportsline, that she had "a solid role to play" at the WPL but had to produce a new CT scan and report by March 1.
"Whilst I was trying my utmost to arrange an expedited CT scan in accordance with the various deadlines I was being served, I received yet another email the following day (Monday, 27th February), this time from the Head of Adani Sportsline, stating that they were unable to find me a timely appointment at a private hospital from their end and that they would, thus, formally be seeking to replace me in the League."
The Giants are currently last in the WPL table with two wins from eight games.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
