Category Uncategorized

The possibility of relegation looms larger for Lancashire after Worcestershire restricted them to only one batting point

18-Aug-2012
ScorecardGareth Andrew recorded his best bowling figures of the season against Lancashire•Getty Images

The possibility of relegation looms larger for Lancashire after Worcestershire restricted them to only one batting point from their crucial Championship clash at New Road. Worcestershire, still with a game in hand, closed the gap at the bottom of the table after dismissing last year’s champions for 216 in a draw that came down to a scrap for bonus points.Gareth Andrew led the way with a season’s-best return of 4 for 42 and Moeen Ali, who captured 12 wickets in last month’s win at Old Trafford, polished off the lower order with 3 for 46. To darken Lancashire’s mood, news then came through that Surrey and Durham, other counties in the danger area, had both snatched narrow victories.Lancashire may need to win two of their last three games if they are to avoid emulating Yorkshire (2002) and Nottinghamshire (2006) in falling out of Division One the season after winning the Championship.Worcestershire may still be the back-markers but they showed they have the punch in their attack to have a chance of escaping relegation. They have dropped only two bowling points all season and none at all on their own ground.Replying to the home side’s declaration at 251 for 7 on Thursday, Lancashire seemed to be laying a solid foundation when Paul Horton and Luke Procter stayed together until the ninth over on the final morning. There had been few alarms up to that point but soon after one wicket went down, Horton edging Andrew’s second delivery to Daryl Mitchell at second slip, they were wobbling at 47 for 3. Luke Procter moved too far across and lost his leg stump to Alan Richardson and Karl Brown was trapped in front by an inspired Andrew.This was how the innings continued, as Worcestershire attacked non-stop and Lancashire exploited gaps to hit 33 boundaries, but each time a partnership began to develop they would lose a cluster of wickets. Ashwell Prince fell to the Mitchell-Andrew combination and Andrea Agathangelou and Steven Croft, who promised more with six fours in his 28, were caught behind in the space of five deliveries from Richardson and Andrew.Gareth Cross quickly became top scorer with 39 from 38 balls before he was bowled by Joe Leach, giving the young allrounder his first Championship wicket, and Kyle Hogg edged Moeen to slip after a stand of 58. Lancashire eventually needed some old-fashioned hitting by Glen Chapple and Ajmal Shahzad to scramble a point before Moeen mopped up.In 50 minutes before the captains shook hands on a draw at 4.50pm, Worcestershire scored 33 without loss in their second innings.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been named as Sri Lanka captain in all formats of the game until the end of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan has been named as Sri Lanka captain in all formats until the end of the year. This means he will stay in charge for the three-Test home series against Australia and at least the first two Tests of the South Africa tour that kicks off in December. The appointment was ratified by the Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.Dilshan took over the reins from Kumar Sangakkara following Sri Lanka’s runners-up showing at the World Cup, but the team’s fortunes have dwindled since – they lost the Test and ODI series in England, and currently trail 1-2 with two matches to play in the home one-dayers against Australia. They have had more success in the Twenty20 format, with victories in the one-off against England and the two-match series against Australia.Dilshan, personally, has had a mixed time as batsman since taking charge. After Sri Lanka’s capitulation in the first Test against England at Cardiff, Dilshan was in the process of leading a fightback at Lord’s when he was struck on the right thumb. The injury was diagnosed as a fracture, and kept him out of the third Test and the solitary Twenty20, leaving Sangakkara to lead the side in his absence.Dilshan was in poor form on his return, failing to reach double figures in the five ODIs against England and the solitary outing against Scotland that followed. An unbeaten ton in the first Twenty20 against Australia, however, seemed to shake the rust off. Dilshan played a key role in the victory in the third ODI, hitting a half-century and bowling a tight spell in the middle overs as Sri Lanka kept the series alive.

Tim Nielsen, the Australian coach, will be in charge until the end of the 2013 Ashes after his contract was extended

Cricinfo staff24-Aug-2010Tim Nielsen, the Australian coach, will be in charge until the end of the 2013 Ashes after his contract was extended on Tuesday. Nielsen, who took over from John Buchanan in 2007, has kept Australia as the No.1 one-day nation but under his watch the Test team has slipped from top of the world to No.4.Since taking over from Buchanan, Nielsen’s outfits have won 20 of 36 Tests, 57 of 88 ODIs and 18 of 33 Twenty20s. “I am excited about the coming phase in Australian cricket,” Nielsen said. “We have players who have come into the group over the last year or so who have found their feet at international level and more young players coming through, it is a great time to be renewing my role.”Ricky Ponting said Nielsen’s reappointment was a “fantastic step forward for Australian cricket”. “I look forward to continuing our close working relationship as this team enters a period of great importance, striving to reclaim the Ashes and secure a fourth successive World Cup,” he said.Nielsen, a former South Australia wicketkeeper, was once an assistant to the Australian team under Buchanan and also was in charge of the Centre of Excellence before gaining the top job. The players cheered Nielsen’s extension when told at their camp in Queensland.”Tim has been at the helm through a significant and challenging period of transition which has seen a number of once-in-a-generation global champions retire from the Australian team,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, told the players. “Working closely with Ricky Ponting, team leadership, national players and team management, he has played an important role leading Australia through that transition.”

India captain dismisses talks of complacency in the wake of India’s 2-0 series loss

Shashank Kishore07-Aug-20245:39

India’s batting (except Rohit’s) against spin a sign of concern

“We need to talk about it.”That was India captain Rohit Sharma when asked if being spun out on dry Colombo surfaces to lose the ODI series against Sri Lanka 2-0 was a result of their lack of application against the turning ball. India lost 27 wickets to spin, the most by any team against this variety in a three-match series.”I don’t think it’s a concern,” Rohit said after India’s first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997. “But it’s something we need to look at seriously, into our individual game plans. We were definitely put under pressure throughout the series. We need to look into it, do something differently, need to talk about it and come back with different plans.”Rohit struck two half-centuries and was comfortably India’s best batter in the series. He provided barnstorming starts to every run-chase, but once the field spread, the ball got older and began to take turn, it became difficult for batters to maintain that tempo. Especially new ones. India’s middle-order were unable to find a way past this problem.In the series opener, India lost 5 for 57 after racing to 75 without loss chasing 231. On Sunday, they collapsed from 97 for 0 to 147 for 6 in a chase of 241. On Wednesday, Rohit struck 31 of the 37 runs for the first wicket before they lost 6 for 45.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Were India complacent?”It’s a joke,” Rohit responded. “When you’re playing for India, there’s no complacency as long as I am here captaining the team. It’s not going to be the case. You come here trying to win every game, give your best and find answers, but yes, we were outplayed. You’ve got to give credit where it’s due, Sri Lanka played better cricket than us.”India lost all three tosses and ended up chasing. In all the games, the amount of turn on offer under lights made batting progressively tougher. On Wednesday, with the series on the line, India strengthened their batting by including Riyan Parag in place of a second fast bowler in Arshdeep Singh.Related

• Ryan ten Doeschate keen to get India batters back on track against spin

• Stats – SL's spinners end India's 27-year streak

• Big-innings accumulator to powerplay aggressor: Rohit finds ways to be extraordinary

• Wellalage five-for sends India crashing to 2-0 defeat

This meant Shivam Dube had to share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj. Rohit explained the shake-up in the bowling was dictated largely by the conditions, but also to an extent borne by the need to give some of the younger players opportunities. Parag, who impressed in the T20I leg of the tour with his assortment of legspin and offspin, was the pick of India’s bowlers with 3 for 54 on ODI debut.”We looked at the conditions and thought taking pace off is an ideal combination,” Rohit said. “Having said that, we also have a lot of players waiting in the wings. We have to look at some of the guys who haven’t got an opportunity. All in all, we didn’t play good cricket throughout the series, hence we stand here.”Were there any positives?”A few, like how our spinners bowled,” Rohit said. “But even though you want to look at the positives, I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. We will go back, chat about what we need to do when we come up in conditions like this.”India don’t play an ODI series until January against England leading into the next major global event, the Champions Trophy in 2025. They also have a longish break and don’t play international cricket until late September, when the home Test season kicks off with a series against Bangladesh.”A series loss doesn’t mean the end of the world,” Rohit said. “These guys have been playing good cricket for the past few years. Yes, we will lose a one-off series here and there, what’s important is how we move on from this and how we can come back.”

Young seamer secures personal landmark as Burns seals win in a hurry

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-May-2023 Surrey 362 (Abbott 78, Sibley 60, Bhuiyan 4-65) and 58 for 0 (Burns 36*, Sibley 16*) beat Kent 278 (Evison 77*, Lawes 3-41) and 141 (Muyeye 42, Lawes 5-22) by 10 wicketsIt speaks to Surrey’s qualities as defending champions that even losing a bowler of Kemar Roach’s calibre does not hold them back. And it says even more of the nurturing qualities down in south London that the West Indian’s replacement, 20-year-old Tom Lawes, would be the one to fire Surrey to a fourth win of the season.Lawes only turned 20 on Christmas Day – for the record, he only gets one set of presents – but almost singlehandedly blitzed Kent in the second innings. Figures of five for 22 snuffed out the visitors for 141 on day three, handing Rory Burns and Dom Sibley a simple double-figure chase, knocked off so quickly that the Kia Oval felt compelled to let the hundreds of spectators use the ground as a glorified picnic area for an hour or so after this 10-wicket win had been confirmed.This was Lawes’ maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, beginning late on day two when he changed the direction of this match with a 2.4 over spell that accounted for Tawanda Muyeye and then Jack Leaning. The latter was the day’s final ball, meaning the seamer had two deliveries to finish from the Micky Stewart Pavilion End on Saturday morning. Burns decided to stick with him for longer.Within seven deliveries, Kent skipper Sam Billings had edged through to Ben Foakes and Zak Crawley – the set batter, arriving overnight on 31 – had been squared up by a wider release, edging to Ollie Pope at second slip. At that point, Kent were six down, Surrey still a run ahead and Lawes boasted absurd figures of 4 for 3. A misdirected bouncer, no-balled as it raced away for four byes, put Kent into the lead.Jordan Cox and Joey Evison did their bit to make Lawes’ figures a little less absurd. The latter, however, ended up as number five as Lawes tailed one in late enough to sneak through Evison and send his off stump for a walk. With the heart ripped out, Lawes stepped aside to allow Sean Abbott and Jordan Clark pick through a Kent line-up in real strife. Since winning their opening match of the season against Northamptonshire, Kent have lost three out of four. This, their second inside three days, sends them into the relegation zone.You could say Lawes’ five-bag was overdue, particularly given that on four previous occasions he had had to make do with four in an innings. But this was always coming. His 18 wickets across six appearances in 2022’s Championship win spoke of undoubted quality, and gave him the lowest average of the squad (23.72).Returning this winter, his action looks a little more like Chris Woakes’, and Burns is certain he has got quicker. Lawes is one of those nippy quicks who loses very little off the pitch, which explains why his short ball surprised Muyeye and Leaning (bowled off his elbow), and good lengths hit hard did for Billings and Crawley. He’s already made it to 15 dismissals from just three games and has also pocketed new career-best match figures of eight for 63 after three for 41 in the first innings.”It’s a very special moment,” said Lawes of this first five-wicket haul. “Especially walking off in front of the Pavilion. It’s a memory I’m not going to forget, really. To do it with all the teammates and all our mates. Wonderful memories.”I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a bowl (at the end of day two). But with two overs at the end, I was going to steam in and try and make something happen. To get those two at the end (Muyeye and Leaning) last night, that really set up today.”As far as young players at Surrey go, Burns wasn’t sure on where he’d rank, but likened his impact to Sam Curran, who arrived into the first-team at the age of 17 and never looked back. “It’s similar to when Sammy came onto the circuit,” said Burns. “His knack of producing things – when you need a moment, he finds it with a little bit of fairy dust.”Lawes is one of those allrounders in the early stages of their career where one suit is garnering more headlines than the other. Those who’ve been involved in his development through the ranks, both at Surrey and Cranleigh School, emphasise his middle-order activities with the bat.We got a sight of that last summer when he compiled 318 runs at 53.00 in the Royal London Cup, filling in throughout the sideshow competition as Surrey’s squad was ransacked by the men’s Hundred. A few weeks back, he opened the batting in the second innings with Dan Worrall with just 11 needed for victory against Warwickshire. Lawes somehow ended up with 14 not out after finishing the match with a six into the Hollies Stand.He was not required to strap the pads on this time around. A target of 58 was probably a little too dear to take the piss, though Burns marched out and set the tone for another quick kill with 10 off the first four deliveries of the fourth innings. The skipper then greeted Jack Leaning’s off-spin with a reverse sweep for six. When 50 was brought up after 9.4 overs, Burns had 33 of them.With scores level, the left-hander advanced down the track, scuffing a shot over the top off the bowling of Arafat Bhuiyan. It stopped a couple of feet short of the boundary but Burns and Dom Sibley had already crossed and were on their way back to greet each other for a job well done after just in 11.3 overs.But for the miscued winning run, this was about as perfect a win you could get, completed seven minutes before lunch on day three. The sun just getting to its glorious best, the weekend now open to all possibilities.The season itself, however, feels just like last. Surrey are top going into the white-ball break, winning four of six so far – one more than they managed in the same period at the start of last season. Even with England call-ups for red- and white-ball duty, they look primed to go back-to-back.

A victory at Hagley Oval will also take New Zealand to the top of the ICC Test rankings

Firdose Moonda23-Feb-2022

Big picture

New Zealand are on the brink of history but, from talking to the team, you’d barely know it. Neil Wagner described their win in the first Test over South Africa as “no different to any of the others,” but it is. Wagner, nor any of his team-mates had ever been part of a Test XI that have won a match against South Africa. That last happened for New Zealand in 2004, when Wagner was still a South African. New Zealand have also never won a Test series against South Africa and have lost 13 out of 16, including the last six. Over the next five days, they have an opportunity to change that.Even a draw at Hagley Oval – though an unlikely possibility given conditions and history – will give New Zealand victory over the only Full Member they’ve played that they do not have a series win against. A triumph for New Zealand will see them sweep the series, go top of the ICC Test rankings and will keep them on track in the World Test Championship points race. All that without the retired Ross Taylor, injured Kane Williamson, and paternity-leave absentee Trent Boult should mark a very satisfying home Test summer for New Zealand, who next play away, in England.Related

• Tom Latham and New Zealand chasing 'as many WTC points as possible'

• Wagner: Winning against South Africa 'no different to any of the other ones'

• Stats – South Africa's second-worst defeat ever, Tim Southee's home record

South Africa are also heading to the UK, but only after hosting Bangladesh at home first and will not want to go into that series looking in worse shape than they have over the last eight months. After a Test series in West Indies, a better-than-expected T20 World Cup and an against-the-odds home Test series win over India, things were looking up but they slumped to their second-biggest defeat in their history in the first Test and some will wonder if it’s one step forward and several back.Perhaps there’s comfort in knowing they are not at full strength after newly installed No. 3 Keegan Petersen missed the tour and Lungi Ngidi sat out the first match but South Africa believe they have unearthed a deeper talent pool and will want to prove that. They’re also known for working their way back from impossible situations and having their backs to the wall tends to bring out the best in them, which bodes well for the second Test, at least, lasting longer than the first.The opening Test was over in seven sessions and though the venue has not changed, South Africa promise their headspace has. It will still be a battle of bowlers but with the way South Africa collapsed last week and New Zealand prospered on the same strip, this is more likely to be a measure of which line-up adjusts better and shows the fortitude to go the distance.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWLLDSouth Africa LWWLW

In the spotlight

He went largely unnoticed next to Matt Henry and Tim Southee’s record-breaking performance and Wagner’s brute force against his former countrymen, but Kyle Jamieson was equally important to piling pressure on South Africa. He conceded at under two runs an over in the first innings and was instrumental in holding an end while Henry ran through South Africa. With his height – just a shade shorter than Marco Jansen at 2.03 metres – Jamieson generates awkward bounce and he told local media he is also searching for some extra speed so he can move out of the 130kph range and more consistently into 140kph territory. If he gets it right, he would be the scariest seamer New Zealand have.South Africa’s entire batting line-up is under scrutiny, including the position of wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne . His Test career is only five matches old but Verreynne has yet to demonstrate the kind of batting that took his first-class average to over 50 or reputation for being an aggressive stroke-maker. He has had limited opportunity but averages 15.42 from seven Test innings and has not yet crossed 30. Crucially, he has conceded 46 byes in five innings and appears to have some tightening up of his game behind the stumps. With Ryan Rickleton breathing down his neck, with an average of over 100 this season and reasonable form with the gloves, Verreynne may have to make the most of this chance or risk being swapped out for the home Tests against Bangladesh.

Team news

South Africa are likely to bench Aiden Markram, who averages 9.7 from his last 10 Test innings, but whether that creates room for Rickleton will depend on whether they feel they need an extra bowler. With Ngidi needing another two weeks to recover from a back injury, South Africa may look for insurance from allrounder Wiaan Mulder or spinner Keshav Maharaj and cut the line-up to six batters, but if they choose to include a seventh, Rickleton could debut. Glenton Stuurman had a difficult debut and could be replaced by Lutho Sipamla.South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 6 Zubayr Hamza, 7 Wiaan Mulder/Keshav Maharaj, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada 10 Duanne Olivier, 11 Lutho SipamlaTrent Boult has returned from paternity leave but does not have the bowling loads to be considered for this Test, which should allow Henry to keep his place.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Will Young, 3 Devon Conway, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Matt Henry

Pitch and conditions

The second Test will be played at the same venue but on a different pitch and New Zealand’s centurion from the first Test, Henry Nicholls, expects conditions to remain the same. Two days out from the match starting, he had not seen the pitch but assumed it looked pretty green and said that doesn’t mean run-scoring needs to be laboured. “It’s going to offer a bit to the bowlers but it does offer scoring opportunities,” Nicholls said. South Africa’s vice-captain Temba Bavuma was more hopeful that there’d be less bite. With warmer weather in the lead-up to this match, he hoped it would be pleasant for batting. Temperatures are set to stay in the high teens, with no rain forecast, but cloudy conditions for day three.

Stats and trivia

Last chance for Mumbai to experiment before the playoffs

Deivarayan Muthu02-Nov-20207:09

Should Mumbai rest key players against Sunrisers?

Big picture

After the Sunrisers Hyderabad botched a chase of 127 against the Kings XI Punjab in Dubai, they had to topple the top-three teams to make the playoffs. Having seen off the Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, David Warner’s men now run into the table-topping Mumbai Indians in the last league fixture of IPL 2020 on Tuesday in Sharjah. If they win, they go to the playoffs on net run-rate. If they lose, they go home.ALSO READ: Your Fantasy cricket guide for the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians matchHaving already lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mitchell Marsh to injuries, the Sunrisers are sweating on allrounder Vijay Shankar’s fitness. Shankar was sidelined from the game against the Royal Challengers after hurting his hamstring while bowling against the Capitals. Left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Abhishek Sharma replaced him on Saturday, but wasn’t needed with the ball.Wriddhiman Saha has come good at the top and that has also allowed his captain Warner to go back to his “old school” ways of clearing his front leg and hitting out in the powerplay. A fit-again Kane Williamson and Jason Holder have papered over the cracks in the middle order, but Rashid Khan’s spell could well be the game-changer.As for Mumbai, this is another chance for them to rest Hardik Pandya, who has been troubled by back issues in the recent past, and other key players, ahead of the first qualifier.

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Quinton de Kock/Chris Lynn, 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Saurabh Tiwary, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 8 Jayant Yadav, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult/Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit Bumrah/Dhawal KulkarniSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Abhishek Sharma, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem/Khaleel Ahmed, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 T Natarajan

Previous meeting

A fifty from Quinton de Kock coupled with big-hitting from Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers propelled Mumbai to 208 for 5 at this venue. In reply, Warner struck a fifty of his own, but the rest of the batting line-up fell away as the Sunrisers lost by 34 runs.

Strategy punts

• Sandeep Sharma has had the wood over Suryakumar Yadav, removing him three times in six innings while giving up only 27 runs off 28 balls. If the Sunrisers find a way past the openers early, Sharma could get another proper crack at Yadav.
• If Bumrah continues to play, the Sunrisers could use Manish Pandey as a floater to tackle him. Pandey has hit Bumrah for 52 runs off 25 balls without being dismissed in the IPL.

Stats that matter

• The last five games at Sharjah have been won by the chasing teams.
• Pandey seems to relish playing against Mumbai. He has scored 578 runs, including five fifty-plus scores, against them, his most against an IPL opposition.
• Rashid has picked up eight wickets in seven games against Mumbai, conceding at 4.82 an over – his second-best economy rate against an IPL opposition. Against the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, he had an economy rate of 4.37 although the sample size is limited to a mere two matches.
• Holder is one strike away from 100 wickets in T20s. He’s also 20 runs away from 1000 T20 runs.
• Kishan has hit 24 sixes in 10 innings this IPL. Only Nicholas Pooran (25) and Sanju Samson (26) have struck more sixes than him, but their teams have now been knocked out of the tournament.

Allrounder hits fifty and takes two parsimonious wickets as Vipers scramble last-ball single to tie

ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2019Southern Vipers and Lancashire Thunder produced a thrilling tie under the Hove lights in the Kia Super League.On a slow pitch Thunder’s 132 for 7 didn’t look enough but by the seventh over of their reply Vipers had slumped to 24 for 4. Stafanie Taylor and Maia Bouchier appeared to be taking Vipers to victory but the game seemed to swing back Lancashire’s way again in the 19th over when Taylor was bowled sweeping Sophie Ecclestone, who then ran out Bouchier for 40 with a direct hit on the turn.Vipers needed 12 off the final over and were back in control when Amanda-Jade Wellington struck the first two balls from Emma Lamb to the boundary only to be stumped off the next. Tash Farrant scrambled two off the fourth delivery but was bowled attempting a reverse-hit off the fifth. Carla Rudd could only manage a single off the final ball to leave the scores level.Skipper Kate Cross had made the breakthrough in the second over when Danni Wyatt feathered an edge to the wicketkeeper before Suzie Bates played on to Ecclestone in the next over. Thea Brookes mistimed a drive to mid-off to give Cross a second wicket and Lancashire appeared to be in control when Tammy Beaumont squirted a delivery well outside off stump from Emma Lamb to point in the seventh over.But player of the match Taylor, who had earlier taken 2 for 23, and Bouchier turned things around in a terrific stand of 94 in 12 overs which got Vipers’ target down to 15 off 12. Taylor took her aggregate in four innings to 173 runs as she hit Sophia Dunkley for two sixes and also struck four boundaries in 51 from 43 ballsHaving won the toss Thunder found themselves in early trouble when they lost openers Tahlia McGrath and Sune Luus in the first two overs. McGrath steered Farrant’s third ball to backward point and Luus was run out by Wyatt’s accurate throw from deep mid-wicket as she came back for a second.Skipper Beaumont mixed up her bowlers effectively and Vipers were in control when New Zealand leg-spinner Wellington came on in the seventh over to pick up two wickets and reduce Thunder to 28 for 4. A promising start by Dunkley ended when she drilled a return catch back to the bowler and Georgie Boyce played across a quicker delivery to fall for a two-ball duck.Thunder fought back through Harmanpreet Kaur and Lamb, who shared 62 in seven overs for the fifth wicket and played with increasing confidence. Harmanpreet appeared to be moving through the gears when she drove Taylor over extra cover for six and hit the next ball for four but she was caught on the mid-wicket boundary for 34 off the next delivery. Lamb fell for 29 off 24 balls in the next over when she became Wellington’s third victim.Thunder were 94 for 7 in the 16th but Cross and Ecclestone put on 38 for the seventh wicket and they proved to be crucial runs.

England have won a Test match, at the ninth time of asking – and it was a handsome victory in the final analysis too

The Report by Andrew Miller03-Jun-20181:32

Root unsurprised to see Buttler and Bess flourish

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Live Report archiveThis is not a drill. England have won a Test match, at the ninth time of asking – and it was a handsome victory in the final analysis too. A three-day win, sealed in an extended afternoon session after a day of relentless dominance, ensured a 1-1 share of the two-match series, and postponed – at least until August and the arrival of Virat Kohli’s India – the existential angst that has hung over Joe Root’s team in the early weeks of the season.In an uplifting development for England’s medium-term prospects, the day was delivered in a pleasing synthesis of old guard and new. James Anderson and Stuart Broad topped and tailed Pakistan’s second innings with a share of five wickets, as they continued to rail against those who might seek to have them put out to pasture. However, it was the young guns, Dom Bess and Sam Curran, who hustled England towards their goal, as well as a notable returnee, Jos Buttler, who delivered the point-of-difference innings for which he had been selected.For Bess, in particular, it was an especially triumphant day. Rarely can a 20-year-old have looked quite so at home and composed at the highest level of the game, especially when he had hardly been called upon to perform the role for which he had been selected.And yet, Bess hasn’t wasted a minute of his seven days in the Test limelight. Having made his mark with the bat – both in adversity at Lord’s and in forging a position of relative authority in England’s only innings here – he had time here to showcase his athleticism in the field before being finally tossed the ball for the 23rd over of Pakistan’s second innings: a stunning one-handed pluck at mid-off to extract the dangerous Haris Sohail was a pretty impressive way to pass his time.When his spell finally began, Imam-ul-Haq greeted Bess with a fairly contemptuous smack back down the pitch – a continuation of Pakistan’s rather breakneck approach to their second innings, as if they had sized up Buttler’s earlier belligerence and decided that attack was the only means of defending their hard-won series lead.But to the bowler’s immense credit, he refused to be cowed, or to desist from tossing the ball up and inviting further aggression. From the sixth ball of that very same over, he slid one into Imam’s front pad, benefiting from the natural variation that can occur when you consistently target the footholes, and up went umpire Bruce Oxenford’s finger to end a wait that a less ebullient character would surely have allowed to cramp his style.A change of ends for Bess allowed his fellow rookie (and birthday boy) Sam Curran to join the fray – and in his second over he too was in the wickets, properly this time, after his maiden Test wicket had been a first-innings slog to deep midwicket. This time, a perfect off-stump lifter to Shadab Khan, the game’s only remaining teenager, was deflected to Alastair Cook at first slip, and one of Pakistan’s most reliable sources of runs in their victories at Lord’s and Malahide had been dispatched for just 4.Thereafter, it was back to Bess to make up for lost time – as Pakistan continued to bat as if running out of time. Faheem Ashraf, perfectly capable of playing the long game when it suits him, chose instead to take a slog outside off and skied a simple catch to backward point. And then Usman Salahuddin – hitherto batting with the patience of a player who has waited seven years to get his big break – was lured inexplicably into a rash swipe to mid-on.Bess’ figures at this stage were 3 for 21 in 8.2 overs, and not even a massive first-ball mow over deep midwicket from Hasan Ali could wipe the grin from his face. Quite rightly, Joe Root trusted him to close out the contest, and to judge by the number of air shots that landed safe in the closing overs, he would surely have done so, had it not been for the old stager Broad, who docked the tail via two old-school nicks to slip in consecutive overs to wrap up a point-proving display with match figures of 6 for 66.That wasn’t, however, the most devilish array of sixes in the day’s play. That accolade was reserved for Buttler, who transcended the tricky conditions, the seeping of English wickets at the other end, and his own lack of familiarity with first-class cricket to tailor the contest to his own strengths. In essence, that involved planting his front foot, flinging his ninja-quick wrists through the line of the ball, and belting England into an invincible position before the innings had fully ebbed away.Having resumed on 34 overnight – Buttler duly became the first man in the innings to pass fifty, and had he been allowed to loiter for a further three overs, he might well have recorded the first century of the series to boot. His final 11 balls went for 4, 6, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, dot, 4, 6 and 4 – 35 runs in all – but at the other end, Broad and Anderson, in this discipline at least, were unable to fulfil their sides of the bargain.It mattered not in the end – England are off the mark for their home summer. And Buttler, having segued seamlessly from the IPL to Test cricket in only a matter of days, seemed perfectly primed to take on Scotland and Australia in the middle-distance 50-over format. It all comes rather quickly at the moment, triumph and disaster as well.

Nottinghamshire took less than an hour to complete a ten wicket victory over Leicestershire on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground

ECB Reporters Network09-Apr-2017
ScorecardJames Pattinson completed a fine allround match•Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Nottinghamshire took less than an hour to complete a ten wicket victory over Leicestershire on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.Resuming on 51-6, still needing another 27 runs to make the visitors back again, Leicestershire’s remaining batsmen could not cope with the pace of James Pattinson.Night-watchman Gavin Griffiths was first to go, edging Pattinson to third slip, where Greg Smith took a fine diving two-handed catch diving to his right.
Zak Chappell was caught behind off the inside edge, and Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove mis-pulled Luke Fletcher to Michael Lumb at midwicket.
Pattinson then ripped out Clint McKay’s off-stump, giving the Victorian figures of 5-29 for the innings, to go with 3-55 in Leicestershire’s first innings.Pattinson also hit a first-class career best 89 not out, completing an outstanding debut for Nottinghamshire, whose win was their first in the county championship since beating Surrey in the first game of the 2016 season.The defeat completes a deflating few days for Leicestershire, who were deducted 16 points on the eve of the season following an incident in their match against Loughborough MCCU.Leicestershire head coach Pierre de Bruyn: “I feel we came across a very good side. We prepared accordingly and on the first day managed to get ourselves out of trouble and then put them under pressure with the ball on day two.”But we are better than this and I will continue to back these guys to bounce back. Facing the likes of James Pattinson and Stuart Broad, world-class bowlers, sets a benchmark. But we know we weren’t good enough.”It’s the first game and I need to back these players. Our noses are out of joint, but we’re not going to panic over selection. Every player is in the mix.”It’s been a very tough few days with the 16 point deduction on the eve of the match and then this result. But this dressing room has character, we’ll have a good week of preparation and we will fight back.”