Two matches, two high-octane finishes, with two centuries from two players who needed big numbers to their names, and one spirit-of-the-game debate that will keep us talking long after the dust settles on Wednesday. With honours even, the third match is a finale in the truest sense and will decide who earns a series win.

For South Africa, this is the chance to claim a third trophy in nine series under coach Mark Boucher, and a second this summer. For Pakistan, it’s the opportunity to win a series against a top-seven ODI team for the first time since 2013 when they beat South Africa at home. Both teams could also use World Cup Super League points, but South Africa will have to try to get them without almost half of their first-choice team.

Five key players – Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi – have left the squad for the IPL which means a complete change to the pace pack and the absence of the chief protagonist in the controversy. de Kock will not be around to take in the conversation around whether his gesturing to the non-striker’s end when Fakhar Zaman was run out at his ends amounted to wilful deceit. Both Zaman and the match officials didn’t think so and to them, at least, the matter is closed. So is the question of whether Pakistan would have successfully chased 342. They didn’t get there but showed enough fight and will fancy their chances against a less-experienced South African attack in the decider.

With the three main quicks gone, South Africa will lose out on the combined experience of 114 ODI caps. The replacements, likely to be Lutho Sipamla, Daryn Dupavillon and one of Beuran Hendricks or Junior Dala have a total of 14 caps between them, so Pakistan could see that as a potential area to exploit.

Form guide

South Africa WLWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Pakistan LWLWW

This was never expected to be a series for spinners with only one wicket between Tabraiz Shamsi and Shadab Khan and with the latter ruled out with injury, it’s the former that’s under our microscope. Shamsi shot from the hip in defence of de Kock and got into a few Twitter tangles, but those are not kinds of webs he’ll want to be weaving. Shamsi has been South Africa’s second-most expensive bowler so far and will want to show he can play a holding role if required. Otherwise, Shamsi will know that Keshav Maharaj, who enjoyed strong domestic returns over the past two summers, is an alternative South Africa may want to consider in more seamer-friendly conditions.

With Nortje away at the IPL, Haris Rauf has the opportunity to finish as the series’ leading wicket-taker. He currently has five to his name, two behind Nortje’s seven, and has made breakthroughs at crucial times. In the first ODI, Rauf got rid of David Miller immediately after he reached fifty; in the second, he accounted for both de Kock and Temba Bavuma as they went in search of boundaries. Thought Rauf has been more expensive than he might like – both he and Mohammad Hasnain have conceded at 6.3 runs an over – he has taken a wicket every four overs, while Hasnain only has one in every ten. After four ODIs, Rauf looks like a player who could create a regular spot for himself in Pakistan’s XI.

South Africa will have to make five changes to their XI – two in the top six and the entire pace pack – following the departure of players to the IPL. That will mean a new opening partner for Aiden Markram with Janneman Malan getting an opportunity after many considered him unlucky to miss out in the first place. Kyle Verreynne will replace David Miller with Heinrich Klaasen likely to remain at No. 6 and take over the wicketkeeping duties. South Africa’s big conundrum is how to make up for the absence of Rabada, Ngidi and Nortje. Sipamla and Dupavillon are expected to slot in and a decision is to be made between left-armer Hendricks and a second spinner in Maharaj.

South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Kyle Verreynne, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Beuran Hendricks/Keshav Maharaj, 9 Daryn Dupavillon, 10 Lutho Sipamla, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pakistan have one enforced change after Khan was ruled out of the tour with a toe injury. Usman Qadir will step into his place. They may also make a change to their No. 6 position, with Asif Ali’s scores of 19 and 2 necessitating a switch. Haider Ali could earn his third ODI cap. Hasan Ali, who was declared fit ahead of the series but has yet to play a game, could also be called on, likely in place of Hasnain.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Danish Aziz, 6 Asif Ali/Haider Ali, 7 Usman Qadir, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Mohammad Hasnain/Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf

The series moves back to Centurion where the early morning conditions offered something for the quicks and batting eased out later in the day. The slightly cooler and wetter weather may narrow that gap, with rain expected overnight and at some point on the game day. The temperature will hove in the upper and mid-20s as the season changes.

Stats and trivia

• Imam-ul-Haq could become the second-fastest player to 2000 ODI runs. He is currently on 1909 from 42 innings, two innings behind Hashim Amla and three ahead of Zaheer Abbas. Earlier in the series, Babar Azam became the fourth-fastest to 2000 runs, in 45 innings.
• The last time South Africa lost a series decider was in 2015 in Bangladesh. Since then they have won 13 out of 16 bilateral ODI series, including beating New Zealand (2015 & 2017), India (2015), England (2016), Australia (2018) and Pakistan (2019) in the final match of a series.

Quotes

It’s a massive loss but in saying that, it’s an opportunity for the guys that are on the fringes. In 2023, we are going to play a World Cup. We want to see if our big names get injured, that we’ve got someone who can step up.
Charl Langeveldt chooses to see the silver lining after the loss of five first-choice players

Tasmania 514 (Webster 135, Doran 123, Wade 90) and 6 for 184 dec beat Western Australia 219 (Bancroft 57, Freeman 4-72) and 304 (Inglis 54, S Marsh 54, Rainbird 4-67) by 175 runs

There was no miracle chase from Western Australia. They were bowled out midway through the final session of the last day having never seriously threatened to haul in a mammoth 480. When Cameron Gannon was caught at mid-on it confirmed that Queensland would play New South Wales for the title.

Tasmania’s success was shared around to secure their second consecutive victory and suggest that, with some more home advantage next season if all goes well, they could be a title contender.

Sam Rainbird, the left-armer who is not always a first-choice pick, produced some beautiful late inswing during the second innings to add the key middle-order scalps of Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh – both clipping to well-placed midwickets – to his dismissal of Cameron Bancroft the previous evening.

As he had been all season, Jackson Bird was impressive and added three more wickets to his tally including Josh Inglis who was brilliantly caught by Tim Paine after an entertaining 54 off 38 balls to cap a fine season for the wicketkeeper.

Western Australia’s slimmest of hopes rested on the perfect day – two sessions of brisk accumulation with, perhaps, just three wickets lost to set up a final-session dash for the line with the middle-order power in their side.

Partnerships threatened to build but never developed. Sam Whiteman was caught behind early and Shaun Marsh fell shortly before lunch for a well-made half-century.

During the afternoon Green hinted that he could produce something significant and briefly put the foot down, but was undone by some smart captaincy from Matthew Wade when he picked out the squarer of two midwickets placed exactly for the strong clip he played off the pads against Rainbird.

However, during the course of his 40 he had passed 900 runs for the season and will finish as the leading run-scorer of the competition. There are many more runs to come from that bat.

Two overs later Mitchell Marsh fell in almost identical fashion as he picked out the straighter of the two leg-side catchers and it was only a question of how long it would take Tasmania.

Ashton Agar, edging to slip, and Inglis both fell before tea then a 48-run stand between the injured Joel Paris and Matt Kelly briefly delayed the end.

Jarrod Freeman broke through shortly before the new ball when Paris shouldered arms and had his off stump taken before the quicks returned to wrap it up.

South Australia 333 (Head 76, Kerber 55, Holland 5-82) and 9 for 329 (Hunt 127, Lehmann 62, Holland 4-90) drew with Victoria 365 (Harper 106)

Henry Hunt‘s exceptional rearguard innings to conclude a strong season at the top of the order could not prevent South Australia’s ignominious finish at the bottom of the Sheffield Shield table for the fourth consecutive season after Travis Head and his Victorian counterpart Peter Handscomb called off proceedings early at Junction Oval in Melbourne.

There were still 43 overs scheduled to be bowled on the final afternoon with the Redbacks nine wickets down and leading Victoria by 297 runs. But the retiring Chadd Sayers did not get a final innings in which to bowl as the two teams preferred a swift finish to a season that was short of expectations for each.

When they slipped to 4 for 52, leading by just 20 runs overall, on the third afternoon, SA looked set to slide to yet another defeat in a season that, with one domestic limited-overs match remaining, has so far been completely devoid of victories.

However Hunt stood firm against the spin of Jon Holland – nine victims for the match – and the seam and bounce of Scott Boland for long periods, adding a priceless 122 with Jake Lehmann to frustrate Victoria’s efforts.

In an otherwise grim season for SA, Hunt’s emergence as a top order batsman of substance with 628 runs at 44.85 and two centuries has been some consolation after he moved from country New South Wales to Adelaide in search of greater opportunities.

New South Wales 381 (Sangha 103, Hughes 74, Gilkes, Hearne 50, Doggett 4-79) and 5 for 145 (Gilkes 66, Swepson 4-59) drew with Queensland 433 (Labuschagne 112, Khawaja 64, Peirson 59, Street 59, Lyon 6-128)

Though rain curtailed his chances of delivering an outright victory, Mitchell Swepson showed why he looms as a major threat to New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield final with another outstanding exhibition of wrist spin bowling on the final day of the drawn match in Wollongong.

Swepson finished with 4 for 59 to take his season tally to 29 wickets at 22.44 from just four Shield matches – either side of a neck injury – and again spun the ball expansively on a deteriorating surface to keep the Blues batsmen wary throughout a day that ended shortly after lunch due to persistent showers.

Nathan Lyon was named Player of the Match for his workmanlike figures of 6 for 128 in the Bulls’ first innings of 433, but it was Swepson’s improvement across the course of the game to be the standout threat on the final day that would have excited the Australian selectors most of all.

One early leg break that pitched around leg stump and then fizzed past the defensive bat of Jason Sangha underlined the difficulty of facing Swepson. Matt Gilkes was fortunate to survive a vehement lbw appeal when he padded up on the back foot to a delivery that spat out of the footmarks and appeared destined to hit the stumps in the same way Daniel Hughes had been bowled on the third evening.

Sangha made it as far as 29 before he flicked Swepson from around the wicket into the lap of the short leg fielder Bryce Street, who somewhat fortuitously hung on. Gilkes went on to his second half century of the match, as part of a young NSW batting line-up that functioned rather better than the older top six that had been routed in their previous game against Tasmania, before edging Brendan Doggett behind in the last over before lunch.

When play resumed, Swepson made short work of the debutant Lachlan Hearne, tempting the left-hander into a drive and then zipping a leg break back between bat and pad to rumble the stumps. At this point, the Blues led by only 84 runs with five wickets remaining and more than half the day’s allotted overs to be bowled.

Wicketkeeper Baxter Holt eked out 18 deliveries without scoring as the lead advanced by another nine runs, before the rain that briefly interrupted the morning session returned more steadily to hasten the abandonment.

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After being bowled out for 219, Tasmania opted not to enforce the follow-on

Western Australia 219 (Bancroft 57, Freeman 4-72) and 1 for 11 need 469 more runs to beat Tasmania 514 and 6 for 184 dec

So you’re telling me there’s a chance? Western Australia needed to chase 480 to earn a place in the Sheffield Shield after another day where Tasmania dominated at the WACA.

It will require the most perfect of batting performances but, other than for professional pride, there is little point playing for a draw. Over in Wollongong, New South Wales and Queensland won’t be worrying themselves.

The almost-impossible became even tougher still when Cameron Bancroft was bowled off the last ball of the day aiming a drive at left-armer Sam Rainbird.

Once Tasmania put up such a huge first-innings total it become a mammoth task for Western Australia to get the win they needed to jump into the top two. During the third day there were a couple of scenarios that could have played out. Once all the bonus points had been gathered in the NSW-Queensland match one of them was to score 434 in the first 100 overs of their first innings which would have given them enough points to edge ahead of NSW if that match ended in a draw. They got nowhere near.

An opening stand of 85 between Bancroft and Sam Whiteman laid a promising foundation but when Beau Webster followed up his hundred with two breakthroughs, finding the edge of Whiteman and Shaun Marsh, the innings never regained a foothold as all ten wickets fell for 134 – the first four being catches to Tim Paine.

Lawrence Neil-Smith, playing his first game of the season, claimed the big wicket of Cameron Green who, with likely one innings left, sat 11 runs behind Travis Head at the top of the run-scoring charts with 882.

Offspinner Jarrod Freeman went on to collect the best Shield figures by a Tasmania spinner since Xavier Doherty took 5 for 96 against South Australia in November 2013 while Jackson Bird produced an excellent delivery to remove Josh Inglis.

The follow-on was not enforced and instead Tasmania went out and batted positively for 34 overs led by captain Matthew Wade’s 42 off 32 balls

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Marnus Labuschagne earlier scored a hundred with these two sides now all-but certain to meet again in the field

New South Wales 381 and 2 for 49 (Swepson 2-9) trail Queensland 433 (Labuschagne 112, Khawaja 64, Street 59, Peirson 59, Lyon 6-128) by 3 runs

Mitchell Swepson‘s fierce spin brought a turgid Sheffield Shield encounter to fresh life on the third evening in Wollongong, as Western Australia’s first innings slide against Tasmania in Perth all but assured the Blues and the Bulls of meeting once again in the competition final.

Western Australia had needed to rattle near enough to 450 in 100 overs in order to claim the first innings points they needed to squeeze past New South Wales. But after they got nowhere near this tally, proceedings against Queensland took on something of a perfunctory air as the visitors climbed past the NSW total thanks to a century from Marnus Labuschagne and supporting hands from Usman Khawaja and Jimmy Peirson.

Nathan Lyon, twirling his way through no fewer than 48.2 overs, was rewarded with six victims to extend his lead on the wicket-taking aggregates for the Shield this season with 39 wickets in eight games. Lyon’s steadiness and accuracy underlined why he has been a fixture in the Australian Test team for nearly a decade now, but the exciting alternative offered by a quality legspinner was to be showcased when NSW batted again in the final hour.

Playing his first Shield game of 2021 after missing several months with a neck injury, Swepson had been somewhat short of his best in the first innings. But granted a generous helping of foot marks to use against the all left-handed NSW top three, he was rapidly into the fray for the eighth over.

Based on the length and width of Swepson’s third ball, Daniel Hughes had a right to rock back and think about cutting. However the vicious fizz and turn snapped back at nearly right angles to slice through Hughes’ hurried attempt to defend and rattled the stumps in a manner reminiscent of Shane Warne’s classic to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the SCG in 1996.

A couple of subsequent deliveries to Kurtis Patterson and Matt Gilkes threatened to make a similar impact, missing the stumps by centimetres as they shouldered arms. Patterson needed medical attention at the other end as a Brendan Doggett bouncer struck him under the helmet grille, but was looking sturdy enough when he shaped up again to face Swepson.

This time a top spinner or wrong’un from Swepson did not spin back as Patterson expected, going past his bat and prompting a frenzied celebration from Queensland and, eventually, the raising of the umpire’s finger. Patterson looked aghast, seeming to think his bat had brushed his pad, but the wicket was a further reminder of the kinds of scenes a leg spinner can create.

Swepson, despite his injury, now has 27 Shield wickets in just four matches this season – only Lyon, Jackson Bird and Scott Boland are ahead of him.

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Victoria a turned a likely deficit into a lead then claimed early wickets to set up the chance of victory

South Australia 333 and 5 for 151 (Hunt 73*) lead Victoria 365 (Harper 106*, Seymour 60, Worrall 3-86, Kerber 3-92) by 119 runs

Henry Hunt held South Australia’s faltering third innings together after Sam Harper‘s first century for Victoria gave the hosts an unexpected first innings lead in the Sheffield Shield match at Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Resuming 132 runs behind with just three wickets remaining, Harper fashioned stands of 54 with Mitch Perry, 88 with debutant Todd Murphy and 28 with the last man Jon Holland to allow Victoria to regain the upper hand against the lowly Redbacks, assured of finishing bottom of the Sheffield Shield table for the fourth consecutive season.

Harper was on 91 when the ninth wicket fell but moved to his century with consecutive ramps over the slips then a scampered single to mid-on.

As if conforming to this trend, SA’s second innings began with a rush of dispirited exits, as Jake Weatherald, Liam Scott, captain Travis Head and Alex Carey all departed inside the first 20 overs. Carey’s dismissal, top edging a reverse sweep to backward point after being tied down by Holland, was particularly galling.

At that point, a three-day finish was not out of the question, but Hunt found allies in Harry Nielsen and Jake Lehmann to at least ensure that the Redbacks would have something to bowl at in the last innings of Chadd Sayers’ long and reliable domestic career on the final day.

Queensland 2 for 184 (Labuschagne 81*, Street 59, Lyon 2-52) trail New South Wales 381 (Sangha 103, Hughes 74, Gilkes 66, Doggett 4-79) by 197 runs

If Tasmania’s gargantuan first innings tally in Perth against Western Australia took some of the heat out of the battle between Queensland and New South Wales in the last round before the Sheffield Shield final, there was still plenty of sizzle to a string of individual duels across a willingly fought second day in Wollongong.

Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja were in occupation for the Bulls at the close, having both evaded their shares of nervy moments, particularly against some fiery spells from Mitchell Starc. Nathan Lyon, finding some appreciable turn at times, was also a handful and the bowler responsible for claiming both wickets to fall thus far.

After Jason Sangha reached a deserved third first-class century, the Blues’ hopes of piling on a total beyond 400 were undone by the speed of Brendan Doggett and a flurry of shots that seemed to indicate the hosts felt they had enough runs.

Both Sangha and Lachlan Hearne, author of an accomplished half century on his Shield debut, drove expansively at wide deliveries and were athletically caught by Khawaja and Matt Renshaw respectively.

Runs and wickets then accrued in a hectic passage that saw the final five wickets of the innings go down for 36 as Baxter Holt helped himself to a useful 29, ended only when he skewed Mitchell Swepson’s leg break to Labuschagne, who avoided a stumble and then discarded the ball in the haphazard manner once favoured by Herschelle Gibbs.

Bryce Street and Joe Burns got through the early overs with the new ball, only for the former Test opener to snick Lyon behind when trying to force through the off side on the back foot.

Some stodgy passages followed as Labuschagne and Street sought to build a platform and absorb the freshest spells of the bowlers, who were all quite economical with the exception of Liam Hatcher.

Runs began to flow a little more freely when Starc delivered a second spell of considerable speed after tea, demonstrating a return to the higher, more traditional load-up with his left arm that he abandoned in late 2019 in search of greater control. Street was clanged on the helmet by a bouncer, before Labuschagne edged wide of the slips and then next ball straight to Trent Copeland at first, who dropped it and also hurt a finger. Both balls went to the boundary.

Street freed his arms against Hatcher and was starting to motor until Lyon moved over the wicket and coaxed a top edged sweep that Starc held expertly at deep backward square leg.

This left Khawaja to navigate the day’s last 11 overs with Labuschagne, and he too came close to being dismissed by Starc, jamming a short ball off bat and body up into the air and then perilously close to the stumps as it landed: Khawaja’s relief at the end of the over was tangible.

Nevertheless, Khawaja and Labuschagne made it to stumps, with the hope of stretching their union on Easter Monday and setting up a fourth innings chase.

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Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock also chip in with vital half-centuries in big batting effort

South Africa 341 for 6 (Bavuma 92, de Kock 80, van der Dussen 60, Haris 3-54) vs Pakistan

Big contributions at the top of the order took South Africa to 341 in their bid to level the three-match ODI series at Wanderers.

In the annual pink ODI to raise money for breast cancer awareness, 92 from South Africa’s new ODI captain Temba Bavuma led the charge against a listless attack, with the hosts in complete control right through the innings.

Contributions from Quinton de Kock (80) and David Miller (50 off 27 balls) served as the perfect goodbye present from two men set to leave for the IPL before the third ODI, going a long way to ensuring the series will still be up for grabs then.

Conditions here were quite similar to the one at Centurion wo days ago. Babar Azam called correctly again and elected to field on a belter, seemingly keen on knowing their target. But this time, there was no sedate start from Aiden Markram, who took the set the tone with a classy cameo in the first Powerplay, his 34-ball 39 ensuring Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain were unable to build much pressure early on. Once he fell, driving on the up off Faheem Ashraf, de Kock took more of a leadership role.

Haris Rauf was smashed for a six over fine leg and a boundary in the same over, while neither he nor Bavuma allowed Shadab Khan to settle. Even Afridi, brought back a little earlier than Pakistan might have planned owing to the lack of wickets that fell, suffered punishment in his second spell, with de Kock taking 18 runs off his two overs.

There was little incision at the top from Pakistan, and while the rawness of Mohammad Hasnain means there will be ups and downs, he was especially indifferent on Sunday. While Bavuma and the irrepressible Rassie van der Dussen were in full flow, Pakistan looked like they had reverted to going through the motions; discussions between captain and bowler were few and far between, and slot balls and full tosses abounded. Shadab’s nosediving form shows little signs of recovering.

Van der Dussen brought up his half-century with a sweep to midwicket, following it up with another six and four off the hapless Hasnain. But with the South African going after just about every ball by this stage, he would hole out in the same over to long on, his 37-ball 60 having pushed what looked like a 300 total past 330. Bavuma was unselfish at the other end, continuing to go for high-risk shots even as a first hundred as captain beckoned, and found deep midwicket just eight short of the milestone.

By this time, Pakistan’s sloppiness was infectious, Faheem Ashraf leaked 13 off one ball when a no-ball and the free hit were ach dispatched for six by David Miller whose 27-ball 50 further damaged Pakistan. Haris Rauf did manage to pick up a couple of late wickets that slowed South Africa in the final few overs, but Miller would compensate for it by plundering 19 off Shaheen’s final over. Pakistan have never chased a total this high before, and have much of their work ahead of them on the other side of the break.

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Jharkhand crumble from 130 for 5 to 167 all out

Railways Women 169 for 3 (Raut 59, Meghana 53) beat Jharkhand Women 167 all out (Roy 49, Rana 3-33, Singh 2-22) by seven wickets

Fifties from Punam Raut and Sabbhineni Meghana helped Railways lift the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy, after right-arm pacer Meghna Singh and offspinner Sneh Rana routed Jharkhand for 167 to set them up for a win in the final in Rajkot.

Jharkhand were off to a decent start before Ekta Bisht applied the brakes with Niral Rashmi’s wicket. Singh then struck in consecutive deliveries in the seventh over to remove Ritu Kumari and Radhey Sonia to leave them reeling at 30 for 3. It was Indrani Roy and Durga Murmu’s fourth-wicket partnership of 60 runs that then resurrected Jharkhand’s innings. Rana pinned Murmu in front to break the partnership and then returned to have Roy stumped for 49. Jharkhand’s innings never saw a lift following that, except for captain Mani Niharika’s 39 off 59 balls, as Rana, Bisht and Poonam Yadav combined to rattle the lower order, bowling them out for 167 from 130 for 5. Rana finished with three wickets, while Singh and Bisht picked two apiece.

Railways lost opener Nuzhat Parween for a duck but a strong second-wicket partnership between Meghana and Raut kept them on course in the chase. Raut, who is coming off an excellent form for India in the recent ODIs against South Africa, followed up her 69 not out in the semi-final against Bengal with a carefully-crafted 59. Meghana, on the other hand, was the aggressor in the partnership, making a 67-ball 53, which included six fours.

Ravinder Devyani removed both the set batters, but the rest of the line up had only 43 runs to chase in with 116 balls remaining after Meghana’s dismissal in the 31st over. Rana made easy work of the target with her 22-ball 34 and Mona Meshram chipped in with a 34-ball 19 as the duo remained unbeaten to help Railways cruise to a seven-wicket win.