Corrie van Zyl will return to work at CSA after the completion of his disciplinary process, although his role within the organisation is yet to be announced.

Van Zyl was working as interim director of cricket before he was suspended in October last year on allegations of misconduct related to unpaid commercial rights fees to the South African Cricketers' Association during the 2018 Mzansi Super League. Graeme Smith has since taken over as director of cricket in an acting capacity until he begins an IPL commentary stint in late March.

Two other staff members, chief operating officer Naasei Appiah and commercial manager Clive Eksteen were suspended for the same reason. Their cases, along with that of four other members of staff including CEO Thabang Moroe, are expected to be decided by early March.

Smith has indicated his interest in taking on the role permanently, which, if confirmed, would leave van Zyl to fill a different role at CSA. Van Zyl has worked as interim national coach and took the team to the 2011 World Cup, as general manager of cricket and in high performance.

British number two Heather Watson came from a set down to beat American Coco Vandeweghe 4-6 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the Mexico Open.

Watson secured the win over the former world number nine on her fourth match point after two hours, 31 minutes.

Vandeweghe is now ranked 193rd as she returns from ankle and foot injuries.

"I was just pleased with how well I fought," said Watson, 27. "I wasn't playing my best, but I stuck in there. I'm just really enjoying my tennis."

It was Watson's first match for more than two weeks since Britain's Fed Cup loss to Slovakia, which followed her defeat in round two at the Australian Open.

"I didn't feel like I had much rest," said Watson, who faces Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in the next round.

"From the Australian Open, I had a week at home, but then I went straight to Fed Cup and was there the whole week.

"Fed Cup is a very high-stress environment, and I feel like I'm just about recovered to be here now."

Kyle Edmund continued his good run of form with a straight-set win over Feliciano Lopez at the Mexican Open.

Edmund, 25, who won the New York Open earlier in February, beat the 38-year-old Spaniard 6-4 6-1 in Acapulco.

He came through an evenly balanced first set before an early break in the second set put him on his way to a comfortable victory in 68 minutes.

The British number two now faces Australia's Alex Bolt or Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last 16.

Meanwhile, Britain's wildcard Cameron Norrie, 24, could not sustain his dominant first-set form and fell to a 2-6 6-3 6-3 defeat by France's Adrian Mannarino.

Record entry heading to Hull for English Juniors
By DONNA HELMER – Squash Mad Correspondent

Former champions Max Forster and Katie Malliff have been named as Boys and Girls Under 19 top seeds respectively in the Dunlop English Junior Championships 2020 (EJC) in Hull from March 5-8.

This year’s championships will feature a record 324 juniors competing across ten age categories from the Girls and Boys Under 11s to the Under 19s.

Reigning champion Max Forster (Nbria) will be looking to defend the Steve Hubbard BU19 title but is likely to face a stern test from last year’s BU17 champion [2] Ben Smith (Lincs) who he’s seeded to meet in the final.

GU19 favourite Katie Malliff (Bucks) is seeded to lock horns with [2] Margot Prow (Middlesex) in the final. Malliff, 16 will first have to navigate past [3/4] Kiera Marshall (Worcs) who she’s predicted to meet in the semis in what could be a repeat of January’s British U23 Open final in which Malliff triumphed.

England No.1 Franklyn Smith (Sussex) is favourite to lift the BU17 title but will face fierce competition from Warwickshire’s [2] Hassan Khalil, the 2019 British National BU17 runner-up.

Meanwhile, GU17 reigning champion [1] Saran Nghiem (Lancs) will be striving to defend her crown but has a formidable trio of [2] Torrie Malik (Sussex), [3/4] Asia Harris (Yorks) and [3/4] Amy Royle (Yorks) standing in her way.

Last year’s champion [1] Jonah Bryant (Sussex) tops a highly competitive BU15 draw and is seeded to do battle with [2] Yusuf Sheikh (Essex) – the 2020 British Junior Open finalist – in the semi-finals. Looking to mount a serious challenge is last year’s BU13 champion [3/4] Alexander Broadbridge (Hants) and 3/4 seed Abd-Allah Eissa (Warks) – the 2019 British Junior Open BU13 champion.

GU15 top seed Amelie Haworth (Hants), the England No.1, is predicted to square off with Pontefract Silver 2019 champion [2] Francesca Hall (Yorks) in the final.

Gunning for national glory in the BU13s is Kent duo [1] Dylan Roberts – the British National BU13 finalist – and second seed Jude Gibbins with Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) and James Lee (Warks) seeded 3/4.

British National GU13 winner Tala Abaza (Middlesex) tops the GU13 draw with defending champion Charlie McCrone (Lancs) seeded second.

Top seed George Griffiths (Hants) and [2] Mohamed Abaza (Middx) are predicted to contest the BU11 title.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s [1] Fearne Copley is in prime position to take the GU13 title and is seeded to meet [2] Harriet Broadbridge in the final.

The championships commence at 5pm on Thursday 5th March and will be played at the University of Hull, Hull and East Riding Squash Club, North Ferriby Squash Club and Haltemprice Leisure Centre with the finals scheduled for Sunday. All spectators wishing to see the country’s rising stars are welcome free of charge.

View the draws on the official website, and for news and reaction visit the official Twitter page. 

Pictures courtesy of England Squash

‘My team and I looked at every part of my game and I have come back stronger’
By NATHAN DUGAN – Squash Mad Correspondent

Amanda Sobhy may have had a January to forget on the PSA World Tour, but tonight she showed a packed house that 2020 could be a very good year for her in the final of the Gaynor Cup in Cincinatti.

It was an incredibly high level throughout the match with both players saving their best squash of the week for the final. Sarah-Jane Perry had not been in her best form in the early rounds but used her experience to find a way to win.

Tonight though she started the match with accurate hitting and looked to be moving freely as she controlled a relatively one sided first game.

Amanda’s response in the second was intense, as the world number 8 used more holds and moved SJ to all four corners with relentless pressure.

The pace quickened and the execution of each shot was severe as her opponent, ranked one place higher, could merely stay in the rallies and hope for errors that just never came.

The third was more of the same onslaught until Amanda completely missed the ball at 10-4. The distraction and humour created by her visions of grandeur of what was going to be the game winning shot, carried over for the next few rallies, as SJ crept closer and closer to 10-9.

The rally that followed essentially ended the English number one’s challenge, as SJ made a strange shot selection by flicking the ball crosscourt into the tin in maybe a desperate attempt due to the work Amanda had delivered to her tiring legs.

On paper it would be easy to presume that SJ quit in the fourth or didn’t fight to the death, but in reality it was quite the opposite.

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In certainly the longest 11-1 game I have ever witnessed, the play was as intense and physically brutal as the rest of the match.

The only difference was that Amanda kept hold of the serve. To think at 8-0 that a bagel was even on the cards seemed very wrong, and to see how hard SJ had to work to earn that single point was incredible.

The fact that Amanda was giving a pumped-up scream at the end of each rally as the game neared its conclusion, also showed how tough the squash was.

It was a high quality match worthy of two players in the world top 10, and the Cincinnati crowd loved every minute.

Sobhy’s is the first American name to be added to the Gaynor Cup trophy and Amanda vowed to be back next year to defend her title.

Afterwards she explained how she and her support team had looked at every aspect of her performance and said: “Thank you for reminding me about those poor results! My team and I looked  at every part of my game, on and off court, the training, diet, nutrition, everything, and I have come back stronger.

“When you have come back from a career-threatening injury as I did with my achilles, coming back from a few poor results is nothing.”

Certainly her phenomenal movement, speed around the court and attacking strategy paid off with a wonderful win on home soil. She will hope to take that form with her to Chicago for the Windy City Open, where she and SJ are in opposite halves of the draw for this blockbuster event. 

PSA World Tour Bronze $51,250 Women’s Bahl & Gaynor Cincinnati Cup 2020, Cincinnati Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA..

Final:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-1 (45m)

Semi-finals:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 11-7, 4-11, 12-10, 11-7 (48m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [4] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (51m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Nele Gilis (BEL) 11-5, 11-2, 11-3 (24m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [6] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
[4] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) bt [7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (33m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [8] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 (65m)
Full results on www.squashinfo.com

Pictures courtesy of Cincinatti Country Club

After beating Scotland and Wales, Ireland were brought back down to earth fairly quickly by a big, powerful England team who blew them out of the water in Sunday's Six Nations game.

A pretty good performance against the Welsh had everyone dreaming about potential Grand Slams and Championships, but the defeat at Twickenham should serve as a reality check that there is still a lot of work to be done.

There are players wearing the green jersey who aren't performing consistently, and let's face facts here, they haven't been consistent for quite some time. Ireland got hammered in a Rugby World Cup quarter-final by New Zealand and there we were watching the majority of that team get another beating at Twickenham.

Conor Murray is coming under massive pressure from John Cooney for the number nine jersey, and I think some changes must be made to freshen up this wounded team. Andy Farrell has to rattle a few cages, make players accountable for their mistakes, and not be afraid to drop an out-of-form player.

An Ireland shirt is never yours to keep. I think making a number of changes for the next two games might make a few people realise this once again.

Captain Sexton 'under pressure'

After the game Farrell took his share of the blame, basically saying 'I'm going to take a bit of the heat here', but some players have to stand up and be counted.

Johnny Sexton compounded one error with another. It's not like him and he now has the additional burden of captaincy. You have to ask how he is coping under pressure with so much responsibility? Sunday's game would indicate he is struggling.

When you are trying to get back into a game after conceding two bad tries you just can't afford to miss straightforward penalty attempts.

While Johnny will be disappointed, I don't think it would have had any bearing on the result if those kicks had sailed between the middle of the sticks. England were so dominant and the end scoreline flattered Ireland in many ways.

England get their kicks at Ireland's expense

I think a lot of people believed Ireland would give England a game, but I didn't think like that. My prediction was that Ireland would lose the match by 10 points and that was pretty close to how it ended up.

England won the kicking battle - they kicked the ball a lot more than people thought, 24 times to be exact. That's seven times more than Ireland did. England also managed to retain six of those, two of which led to tries.

Over the last four or five years, not many teams have won the kicking battle with Ireland, but England certainly did. Yes they physically out powered the away team, however don't underestimate how important an accurate kicking game is at Test match level.

A lot of fingers were pointed at individuals for mistakes and the bounce of a rugby ball can be cruel at times, but you have to give England a lot of credit for recognising the space that Ireland left in behind. Eddie Jones was always keeping the Ireland back three thinking.

England deserved to win. But did they deserve a bonus point win? Probably. However Ireland showed a bit of grit and determination in the second half and played their way back into it a bit. They didn't roll over.

Anyone watching the game might guess England had all of the ball. Looking at the stats, however, Ireland had 19.52 minutes of possession, to England's 14.52. Ireland also carried the 32 times more.

Ireland didn't get it that wrong tactically - they just didn't execute anything particularly well. Murray's box-kicks were invariably collected by England and they counter-attacked effectively.

Ireland conceded five penalties in their own 22 and that is unacceptable at international level.

You look at individual players too. Someone like Josh van der Flier, who missed a couple of tackles that allowed big line breaks. In the 60 minutes he was on the field, his contribution was only two carries and nine tackles made.

His opposite number Sam Underhill played 80 minutes but made 24 tackles and only missed three, and a lot of those were dominant tackles. He is a machine.

England were dominant in their line speed and didn't commit too many men to the ruck, kept a lot of people on their feet and chopped everyone down in front of them.

Ireland didn't get their attacking game in gear because England were flying off the line.

Underhill and Tom Curry were outstanding but the likes of CJ Stander, who was man-of-the-match in the two previous games, didn't really get going.

Iain Henderson was a big loss and when you compare what Devin Toner and Maro Itoje brought to the game, it was like night and day.

So many things just didn't click for Ireland. In my opinion the reason for this is because England wouldn't let Ireland settle. They were relentless at times.

Replacements make a positive impact

The comments made in the press conference after the game indicated Ireland felt they were chasing the game after 20 minutes and were unable to do what they wanted.

With the way the bounce of the ball went for Ireland, sometimes tactics go out the window - and you also can't afford your captain to miss easy kicks from in front of the posts when you are trying to get back into a game.

The boys who came off the bench were given a lot of responsibility and Farrell showed faith in them. He made a lot of changes and Ireland finished the game strongly.

That was the only positive to come out of the game really - how good the bench were and the impact they had.

Championship still in their sights

Instead of rolling over and letting things get away from them as they did against England in the summer series, they showed a lot of character to dig their heels in. Having said that, they will go through their video review fully aware they came out second best.

It's not obvious there has been any massive change in the gameplan under Farrell as yet, but one thing you have to get right in international rugby is your attitude.

Why were England more emotionally and physically charged than Ireland? That's three games on the spin versus England that Ireland have been beaten up.

From a fan's perspective I'm still carrying a little bit of hope. If Ireland can rack up a five-pointer against Italy and then roll the dice against France.... well you just never know.

Stephen Ferris was speaking to BBC Sport's Richard Petrie.

New York Rangers hotshot rookie goaltender Igor Shesterkin suffered a non-displaced rib fracture in a car accident in Brooklyn on Sunday night and will be reevaluated in "a couple of weeks," according to Rangers president John Davidson.

Forward Pavel Buchnevich was also in the car and "shaken up," according to Davidson. Buchnevich suffered no significant injuries and is considered day-to-day. Shesterkin was driving the car.

Davidson said the driver in front of the players made a U-turn that led to the collision. Airbags were deployed.

"Seat belts were being worn by both players," Davidson said. "Thankfully for that. I mean thankfully for that."

Shesterkin and Buchnevich were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital and were seen by Rangers team doctors.

Shesterkin, 24, a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2014, has long been the franchise's top goaltending prospect, especially after starring in the KHL. The Rangers made the surprise decision to call up the Russian in January -- despite having Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev on the roster. Shesterkin emerged as the Rangers' No. 1 goaltender in recent weeks, leading the 37-year-old Lundqvist to be a healthy scratch.

Regarding the accident, Davidson said: "In our business, you're dealt with curveballs all the time. That's a tough curveball that we have to deal with."

Shesterkin backstopped the Rangers to back-to-back wins over the weekend, including a 27-save performance in a 5-2 win in Carolina on Friday and a 44-save performance in a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square on Saturday.

Shesterkin is the first goalie in NHL history to have a .900 save percentage or better in all of his first 10 appearances since saves became a stat in 1955-56, along with the first to have four 40-save games and four 40-save wins in his first 10 contests.

Buchnevich, also a 24-year-old Russian, has 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points in 61 games this season. He was a third-round pick of the Rangers in 2013.

Davidson announced the accident on Monday morning, ahead of the NHL's trade deadline. Davidson also announced that the team had re-signed forward Chris Kreider to a seven-year extension. Kreider, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, was considered the top available forward on the trade market.

Bangladesh 560 for 6 declared (Rahim 203*, Haque 132) beat Zimbabwe 265 (Ervine 107, Hasan 4-70, Jayed 4-71) and 189 (Ervine 43, Hasan 5-82, Islam 4-78) by an innings and 106 runs

Nayeem Hasan spun Bangladesh to a massive victory in the one-off Test in Mirpur, taking 5 for 82 in Zimbabwe's second innings to give him a match haul of 9 for 152 and secure victory for the hosts by an innings and 106 runs. Hasan was well supported by Taijul Islam, the pair bowling in tandem for much of the day as dark, heavy clouds and the odd spot of drizzle enveloped the ground. Islam picked up four wickets of his own, removing No. 10 Charlton Tshuma to end the game before tea.

The visitors started the day two wickets down, and their slim prospects of saving the game were almost immediately dented when opener Kevin Kasuza was squared up by one from Islam that spun across him, taking the shoulder of the bat and landing in the lap of Mohammad Mithun at second slip.

Faced with the unlikely prospect of a two-day battle for survival, with rain around and the possibility of a curtailed game, Zimbabwe's top order might have been expected to dig in defensively, but their tactic was precisely the opposite. Whatever the thinking was behind their aggressive intent, the execution was lacking and a succession of batsmen fell to attacking aerial shots that were pouched at deep square leg, midwicket, mid-on and deep mid-off. The close-in fielders around the bat were not needed at all, despite the conditions and the quality of the spinners on show.

As Zimbabwe's senior batsman, Brendan Taylor's was the prized wicket for Bangladesh, and he gifted it to them when he top-edged a bold sweep in Hasan's very first over of the morning.

And the shots kept on coming. Sikandar Raza whipped Hasan through square leg with a one-handed sweep early in his innings, while Craig Ervine was even more proactive, repeatedly stepping out to hit Hasan over the top. Raza raised the fifty stand by powering Islam well over long-on for his first six, the runs in their partnership having flowed at close to five an over, while Ervine raced into the 40s at virtually a run a ball.

But Hasan kept probing, and might have removed Zimbabwe's captain had Liton Das been able to complete a stumping opportunity 15 minutes before the lunch interval. Drawn out of his crease, Ervine was beaten by the turn and bounce, but so was Das, the ball rearing up to hit him on the shoulder.

The error wasn't a costly one. Moments before the break, Raza tapped Islam towards point and the batting pair chanced a quick single. But Mominul Haque was onto the ball in a flash, hurling in a direct hit to catch Ervine short of his ground: the first time Ervine has been run-out in this format, coming in a situation where quick runs were distinctly not at a premium.

While Timycen Maruma held up an end and kept the scoreboard ticking over with some bristling strokeplay, Bangladesh chipped away at the other end. Raza aimed a pull at Islam but didn't keep it down, Mushfiqur Rahim leaping up from his position at midwicket to hold onto the chance. Next to go was Regis Chakabva, who settled in calmly and then, one ball before the drinks break, aimed a wild drive at Islam to chip a catch to Tamim Iqbal at mid-on.

Ainsley Ndlovu slapped his first ball for four and played all around his second to be trapped lbw, and with the situation increasingly hopeless, Maruma then helped Hasan to his second Test five-for with a lofted drive that only got as far as Iqbal at deep mid-off. Tailenders Victor Nyauchi and Tshuma briefly delayed the inevitable, and it was left to Islam to wrap things up as an arm ball got the better of Tshuma.

While it was their spinners that closed out the game, Bangladesh shone with bat and ball alike over the last four days to storm to Haque's first victory as captain after a string of heavy defeats and some significant changes in personnel. A new-look team cruised to Bangladesh's second innings win in Tests, coming 450 days since their first, against West Indies in December 2018, a game which was also their last win in this format. On current form, they will likely be celebrating a few more victories in the one-day series to come.

Cricket West Indies has suspended Jamiaca offspinners John Campbell (a part-time bowler who opened the batting for West Indies in all three formats last year) and Pete Salmon from bowling in domestic West Indies matches with immediate effect, for illegal bowling actions. CWI confirmed that opinion reports from independent assessors at Loughborough University found that the actions of the two bowlers exceeded the permissible limit of 15 degrees.

Campbell and Salmon will remain suspended until their actions are found legal either by an opinion report from Loughborough University or by an independent analysis from an accredited testing centre, in accordance with the board's regulations for dealing with suspect bowling actions.

The duo will undergo remedial work supervised by Jamaica and they can apply for a reassessment after modifying their actions.

Cambell was reported for a suspect bowling action during the first round match against Trinidad & Tobago early last month. He took figures of 1 from 54 in his 19 overs in the match.

Salmon's action was reported on his first-class debut, the fourth-round match between Jamaica and Guyana earlier this month in Guyana. Salmon's figures were very impressive: he finished with a match haul of 8 for 110, which won him the Player-of-the-Match award in his team's narrow win of seven runs.

New Zealand's fledgling pace star Kyle Jamieson was "quite relaxed" leading up to his Test debut, and following his success in that game, he confident there's "still a lot more to come" from him.

Speaking the day after New Zealand thumped India in Wellington, Jamieson spoke of his transition from batsman to bowler, the people who helped him make the switch, and what he learnt from bowling alongside Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

He also hinted at what an ideal future might hold - upping his pace, among other things. "Yeah, for sure [looking to get quicker than an average of 130kph]," he said. "I'm still a long way off where I want to be as a bowler and as a cricketer. The stuff that I started to work on with Auckland, with Heinrich [Malan, his coach at Auckland and New Zealand A], I think in the next year or so I'm going to make massive strides."

To begin, Jamieson was a batsman. But then, when he made the step up to Under-19 cricket, Dayle Hadlee - the former New Zealand pacer, brother of Richard Hadlee, and ex-New Zealand U-19 coach - spotted something in him that pushed him to take up bowling.

ALSO READ: The lowdown on Kyle Jamieson

"I was pretty much a batter all through high school and then made the New Zealand U-19s and Dayle Hadlee got a hold of me and told me to run in, which kind of shifted me towards becoming more of a bowler," Jamieson said. "I always liked batting, it was probably what I grew up admiring the most - whilst I did bowl, I did not think of that as my career option growing up.

"Now I'm a bowler who can bat, trying to get to the allrounder stage, that's where I ideally want to be."

Jamieson, born in Auckland, had moved to Canterbury in his late teens to develop his cricket. When he eventually made the Canterbury side, he worked with current New Zealand coach Gary Stead, who, back then, was overseeing that team. Soon after, his transition from batsman to bowler under Hadlee began.

Now Malan, who has worked with Jamieson at the New Zealand A level over the past few months, and whom the bowler followed from Canterbury back to Auckland in 2019-20, has taken over as his primary bowling guide.

"I remember watching him, first time I ever saw Kyle bowl was in Burnside Park in an U-19 tournament, and I looked at Dayle Hadlee and I told him, 'this boy's got a little bit about him', and it was pretty exciting to watch" Gary Stead on Kyle Jamieson

"I worked with Steady for a couple of years and just tried to learn that craft of bowling which I didn't have growing up, so I'm still pretty young I guess on that journey," Jamieson said. "For the most part, Dayle [was a big influence in making me a bowler], for my four, five, six years in Canterbury, I'm still in contact with him as well... Heinrich the last six-eight months, he's been massive. His knowledge around bowling has certainly opened my eyes. I think those two from a bowling point of view have been massive."

Stead remembers Jamieson from his pre-bowling days, and is amazed at the changes he has made. "I think it's an amazing story, really. Kyle [who is now 25] was a 17-18-year-old when he came down to Lincoln University, and he actually was a batsman, didn't really bowl at all," Stead recalled after the Wellington Test. "So for me to see that development in six or seven years is a pretty amazing story in itself.

"I remember watching him, first time I ever saw Kyle bowl was in Burnside Park in an U-19 tournament, and I looked at Dayle Hadlee and I told him, 'this boy's got a little bit about him', and it was pretty exciting to watch. [It is] a testament to the work Kyle's put in, the way he's developed. But also I think the coaches around him and the systems we've had in New Zealand cricket, which have helped him get to this point, is really pleasing."

Now Jamieson has another outstanding source for ideas and inspiration: his New Zealand team-mates, Boult and Southee. He learnt a lot watching them at Basin Reserve, Jamieson said. "The way Trent bowled when he came down-breeze, chopping and changing the angles, real intensity... the role that Tim played in using the crease and just the accuracy - I guess it's quite relentless in a way how they go at guys. I just observed all that."

There remains doubt over whether Jamieson will play in Christchurch, given Neil Wagner is set to return to the set-up after paternity leave, but if he does get to play, it will be a homecoming of sorts for Jamieson. And he's excited by the prospect: "I spent five or six years down there, pretty familiar with the ground [Hagley Oval]. It's always going to be special, it played such a big part in the start of my journey, it will be nice to be back in that changeroom."