All posts by h716a5.icu

It is not often that the first day of a four-day game begins and ends under floodlights. But Owais Shah didn’t seem to mind as he landed some telling blows for Essex on day where the September sun was second best.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Canterbury11-Sep-2013
ScorecardOwais Shah made valuable runs for Essex•Getty ImagesIt is not often that the first day of a four-day game begins and ends under floodlights. But Owais Shah didn’t seem to mind as he landed some telling blows for Essex on day where the September sun was second best.The artificial lights, which were restarted as the players walked off at 4:21pm, allowed us a prompt start yet failed to salvage the 19 overs left in the day, which Kent probably edged on points.Thanks to Shah, and Gautam Gambhir who has returned from India, the visitors lost only two wickets in the first session: a morning fraught with danger but navigated by experience.Inserted by Geraint Jones – standing in for James Tredwell, who is away on international duty – the combination of a chilly morning, a spicy track and artificial lighting was always likely to assist Kent’s bowlers.The third ball of the day popped on Jaik Mickleburgh for a simple catch to Daniel Bell-Drummond at forward short-leg. Eleven overs later, Darren Stevens nipped one away from Greg Smith, who nicked the ball to Adam Riley in the slips with only 19 on the board. But despite some probing spells – Mark Davies’ opening seven overs, which included five maidens and the wicket of Mickleburgh, went for just three runs – Shah and Gambhir left the ball with ease.There were a couple of missed opportunities. Jones made up good ground to give him an outside chance of clinging to a top-edge from Shah, on 7 at the time, but was unable to make up the ground fully with an impressive dive. An over later, Gambhir was out of the frame when crossed wires had him skipping out of his crease for a run that Shah had no intention of making. The throw from point was off target by a whisker if the reaction of the fielders was anything to go by.When Gambhir failed to make his hard work count, dropping his back knee to dispatch a beautiful looking drive off Charlie Shreck into the hands Brendan Nash at cover-point, something stirred within Shah.Having not scored a post-lunch run up to that point, he freed his arms to put the pressure on Kent’s bowlers, most notably Davies; a trio of fours in the 52nd over – one square, one over mid-on and one straight – taking the score past 100. He then brought up his fifty off 118 balls (his first of the season), with a sumptuous late-cut off the same bowler that contained all the elegances associated with the stroke, but with the added oomph that Shah generates from his dexterous wrists.Ben Foakes came to the crease at 117 for 4 – after Ryan ten Doeschate was lbw attempting to sweep to Riley’s very first ball – to assist Shah, as they scored at exactly three an over to ensure they made the most of the best batting conditions of the day. The morning of day two will be another test, but Shah, with over four hours at the crease under his belt, has shown he has enough game to thrive on this pitch. Foakes certainly has enough about him to do the same, and their survival could see some quick, valuable runs added before 110 overs are through.

Chris Rogers and Sam Robson set a new record for the highest ever first-wicket stand for Middlesex against Surrey

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's04-May-2013
ScorecardSam Robson’s impressive start to the season continued•Getty ImagesChris Rogers and Sam Robson set a new record for the highest ever first-wicket stand for Middlesex against Surrey on a day that saw the home side wrestle back the initiative from their south of the river rivals. It was in the 69th over that the record set by Pelham Warner and James Douglas in 1907 at The Oval was passed, and owed as much to the openers’ pro-active start as it did to a pitch that became much easier to bat on.In an elongated afternoon session, Rogers and Robson compiled 161 runs in 48 overs, in a determined yet comfortable manner. They continued on their merry way in the evening with such nonchalance that the passing of Surrey’s total was met with nothing more than a cursory glance at the scorecard from the spectators. While their hundreds were reached at the same pace – both took 185 balls – the nature of their innings bore the imprint of their respective personalities.Robson displayed his aptitude for driving before bringing out his dabs behind square on both sides of the wicket. If you’ll allow the typecasting, he is the evolving opener; growing into his innings through a well-rounded attacking game rather than bitty accumulation. Obviously that comes with its own pitfalls – his conversion rate of fifties to hundreds may never get above the one-third it stands at now – but he is an exciting prospect who should be encouraged to play his game. His decision to try and hook Zander de Bruyn cost him his wicket, but he had played a fine hand.”Been there – done that – did it again” would be the pithy 1990s subtext to Rogers’ first century for Middlesex against Surrey. The majority of his runs against the seamers came through third-man with a deliberateness that Jade Dernbach couldn’t quite believe; anything on his legs was greatly received. Even when he was driving crisply yet straight to the fielders at the end of the day, he would wryly walk away from his crease, before returning to push the next ball around the corner for a couple. It was his career in a nutshell; trial and error – hold the error.The day started with Surrey taking the one remaining wicket before Tim Murtagh and Corey Collymore could add the 28 runs needed to avoid the follow-on. Unsurprisingly, with his bowlers well rested and rain predicted for Sunday, Graeme Smith put Middlesex back in. There was rain in the air; a light drizzle greeted spectators upon their arrival before the start of play and a bigger, longer downpour came with Middlesex 29 without loss.A 40-minute delay and an early lunch later, in muggier conditions, Dernbach drew the first false shot with Rogers edging a difficult chance to Wilson at second slip, which had the Irishman diving to his right and slightly forward, but failing to hold on.At the other end, Chris Tremlett looked strong and quick, bringing his length forward and hitting the bat hard. Watching him the previous day from square of the wicket, the 6ft 7 inch bowler had a notable stop after delivery; an unusual hop, seemingly dissipating any kind of forward momentum. Today he bustled through the crease with greater fluency – the hop making way for a couple of ferocious strides. However, Rogers used this extra pace to slap a couple of fours behind point as he and Robson took Middlesex past fifty with minimal fuss.The springiness of the surface on the opening was a faint memory as the pitch played with more conventional bounce which Robson in particular thrived on. He didn’t have to force the issue, instead timing the ball well on the front foot and, as he moved into the 30s, working the ball through cover-point and in front of square leg off Tim Linley and Dernbach.He moved past fifty for the fourth time this season with his ninth boundary and Rogers soon joined him in the fifties, though not before a little scare when he edged again to second slip, this time well short, off the bowling of Linley. Save that moment, Linley was ineffectual and at times looked like he was returning a favour to Robson.As both players motored on in the evening session, Smith got creative in the field. When Robson was startled by a short-ball from Dernbach, Smith encouraged his bowler to persist and supported him with five men on the leg-side; a wide mid-on, midwicket, deep square leg and two behind square – one of whom was a leg-slip.Considering the circumstances and the protagonists – an Australian batsman in the process of qualifying for England and a South African-born English bowler obeying the orders of his pugnacious yet affable skipper – it was very much Bodyline-lite, and when Dernbach was slightly wide with his short-ball, Robson gleefully moved to 96, and past 3,000 first-class runs.Rogers was not keen to play the short ball, choosing to duck and dive, which only infuriated Dernbach further; he thought he might have had Robson caught off an inside edge but it wasn’t given. The 200 partnership came up with both batsmen on 98 and the only question was who would get there first. In the end it was Rogers with a punch through cover, before Robson followed with a scampered single to midwicket.With an overnight lead of 111, Middlesex’s middle order have the chance to make amends for their earlier misdemeanours and give their bowlers enough runs and – importantly – time to push for a win. The corresponding fixture, albeit on a less accommodating pitch, produced a thrilling finish in Middlesex’s favour, and history suggests it may not just dribble to a draw.If the Sunday of a long weekend has you at a loose end, look no further than Lord’s – where adult tickets £5 and it’s free for over-65s and under-16s – for the finale of what has been a compelling encounter.

Warwickshire bagged four wickets for four runs in the space of 10 deliveries to take command of their clash with Middlesex in Uxbridge

09-Jul-2013Middlesex 177 for 4 (Voges 81*, Simpson 50*) trail Warwickshire 486 for 6 (Chopra 228*) by 309 runs
ScorecardEven though close to a career-best, Varun Chopra puts the team first•PA PhotosWarwickshire bagged four wickets for four runs in the space of 10 deliveries to take command of their clash with Middlesex in Uxbridge.After their acting captain Varun Chopra declared unbeaten on 228 and with his Warwickshire side sitting pretty on 486 for 6, Middlesex crumbled to 28 for 4 before launching a comeback after tea to reach 177 for 4 at the midpoint of the game.Having fielded in blazing heat for the best part of 10 hours, Middlesex quickly wilted in the face of some impressive new ball bowling by the reigning champion’s attack. Dawid Malan fenced at one from left-armer Keith Barker and nicked to third slip then, four balls later, Joe Denly was squared up by a leg-cutter to edge to the same fielder.Without addition to the total Sam Robson followed a lifting delivery from Chris Wright to pick out Jeetan Patel for a third successive catch at third slip then Neil Dexter feathered Wright’s next delivery through to the keeper to go for a first-ball duck.John Simpson survived Wright’s hat-trick ball and, after the tea break, joined forces with Adam Voges to frustrate Warwickshire’s bowlers throughout the third session.Voges, the Australian right-hander, posted a 70-ball 50 with eight fours and went in at stumps on 80 not out, while Simpson reached the landmark from 86 balls and with nine fours in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 149. Even so, the hosts will go into day three requiring a further 160 runs to avoid the follow-on.Warwickshire batted for much of Tuesday’s opening two sessions before Chopra’s selfless declaration gave them a session and eight overs of day two in which to make inroads into the Middlesex top-order.Having featured in stands of 113, 113, 55, 100 and 66 Chopra – who was dropped twice on the opening morning before even scoring a run – finally said enough soon after 3pm having batted nine-and-a-half hours for his double century.When only five short of equalling his career-best 233 (scored for Sri Lanka Premier League side Tamil Union against Sinhalese SSC in Colombo, January 2012) and 14 short of his 1,000th run of the summer, Chopra called time on his marathon stay of 428 balls that led to 20 boundaries.Resuming on 141, Chopra soon lost his third-wicket partner Ateeq Javid for 22 when he prodded forward to a Corey Collymore delivery only to edge to the keeper. Left-hander Tim Ambrose marched in to add more pep to the innings with a brisk 60 from 78 balls before his push drive against off-spinner Ollie Rayner picked out Malan at short extra cover.Having gone it at lunch on 388 for 4, Warwickshire promoted Chris Woakes to carry in the impetus Ambrose had given them and he duly obliged with a straight six against Ravi Patel in a cameo 34 that ended when he chipped a return catch to Rayner.Middlesex dropped their fourth catch of the innings when Rikki Clarke, on 10, saw Joe Denly down a skier at long-on, but only 12 runs later Clarke miscued to cover against Collymore to see Voges pull off a fine over-the-shoulder catch running back toward the rope.Chopra declared soon after throwing the gauntlet down to his bowlers to extract some response from a, hitherto, extremely placid Park Road pitch – which they duly did.

Having taken part in ten consecutive ODI defeats with England in India, Samit Patel was well placed to put into context their success in Rajkot

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2013Samit Patel, born in Leicester but of Indian heritage, knows a bit about cricket on the subcontinent. And having taken part in ten consecutive ODI defeats with England in India, he was well placed to put into context their success in the first match of the current series in Rajkot.England’s nine-run win was their first ODI victory in India since 2006 – and even that was the blip in a 5-1 thrashing. In 2008 and 2011, on each occasion Patel was a member of the side that lost 5-0 and when England last went to Rajkot four years ago, in a match played at the old Madhavrao Scindia Stadium, they suffered a 158-run mauling. That was Patel’s seventh ODI appearance, and his first experience of defeat, but it was soon to become a wearyingly repetitive one.”I’ve been here for ten ODIs before and lost all ten,” he said. “It’s just great to get a win here. Sometimes people don’t realise how much of an effort it is to beat these guys over here. They’re just good players in their own back yard. They play good one-day cricket all around the world but in India they dominate spinners and they dominate cricket in general.”On past tours here we’ve not even won a warm-up game. To win the first ODI in Rajkot was fantastic. We lost the first two warm-ups again so we knew how crucial it was. We knew the boys were ready but what a great win and what a great start.”Patel has forged a reputation as one of England’s best players of spin – his top scores in both limited-overs formats have come on the subcontinent – but it was against India’s quicks that he did the damage during the final overs at Rajkot, clubbing 44 from just 20 balls to hoist England to a defendable total. The sensation of victory, at least, should help make up for the lack of applause.”To play India in 2008 was quite demoralising,” he said. “We put up good scores and they knocked them off; they put up good scores and we got nowhere near them. As a batsman when you hit a boundary and you don’t get a clap it can be a bit hurtful really. You know you’ve played a good shot and no one’s really appreciated it. That can eat a bit under your skin but it’s about how you handle it.”England have not won an ODI series in India since 1984-85, when they had their sole success, and recent tours have resembled something like a nonviolent resistance, without the same end result. But despite well-documented weaknesses against slow bowling, Alastair Cook led the one-day side to an unexpected whitewash of Pakistan in the UAE last year and followed that up with a Test series triumph in India for the first time since that same tour of ’84-85. Such improvements, suggests Patel, have given the squad confidence that they can pull off another upset.”I think the way we’ve learned how to play their spinners is outstanding and a credit to us as a team because in past tours we’ve struggled,” he said. “It just shows if you put in the hard yards and you learn you get your rewards.”The Test series win was outstanding. It took a lot of courage, a lot of desire, a lot of hard work. It is something good to be a part of and I think [the one-day squad] can achieve it if we stay calm and level headed. If we look to be positive and back our own ability then we have a good chance.”

Brydon Coverdale15-Mar-2013There are plenty of professional cricketers who live with their heads in the sand. Most followers of the game would argue that the well-rounded Ed Cowan is not one of them. But Cowan has forced such a mindset upon himself since becoming a Test cricketer, trying his best to ignore criticism from past players and journalists, avoiding Twitter and the often mindless condemnation that it facilitates between player and spectator. It is his self-imposed head-in-the-sand approach.Cowan’s critics have been many and varied. Ian Chappell has regularly argued for Shane Watson and David Warner to be reunited as Australia’s opening pair, and Shane Warne also left Cowan out of the preferred Ashes XI he published this week. After scoring a gritty 86 from 238 deliveries against India in Mohali, a strong effort considering Australia’s batting struggles in this series, Cowan was asked if he could see himself changing the mind of people like Chappell.”I’m going to have to score a hell of a lot of runs before that happens,” Cowan said. “One of the things with Test cricket is you work out pretty quickly that everyone has got an opinion, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Often it’s not the same opinion as what you have. I’ve taken a bit of a head-in-the-sand approach in relation to guys when they pick a team and you’re not in it. So be it. I’ve got the opportunity now and it’s important for the team now that I keep playing more innings like today.”I’m the first to put my hand up and say I haven’t been good enough in terms of making sure those 50, 60-ball innings become 180, 200-ball innings. That’s one area where I can really kick on and if I can turn a few more of those starts into long innings then I don’t really mind what Ian Chappell has to say. But I doubt that I’ll ever see myself in his team.”After Cowan scored his first Test century against South Africa at the Gabba, Chappell said he was impressed by the attacking mindset Cowan had shown at times during the innings. In India, Cowan has discovered that his best approach is to occupy time and force India’s bowlers to work out other ways to get him out, and by surviving for so long in the first innings in Mohali he ensured the rest of the batsmen had something to work with.That Australia finished the second day in another shaky position at 273 for 7 was not the fault of Cowan. He and David Warner provided Australia with a very solid platform, a 139-run opening partnership that was their second-highest in Tests. Their partnership average is now 48.07, which by Australian standards is above par for an opening pair. By comparison, David Boon and Geoff Marsh averaged 46.77, Bill Lawry and Keith Stackpole averaged 44.89 and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer aren’t that far ahead at 51.88.Personally, Cowan still wants to see his big innings’ getting even bigger. He still has only one century, but his role in Australia’s team of stroke-players is that of anchor. There were plenty of jokes about Cowan’s so-called homework task for the coach Mickey Arthur during the week – it would win the Nobel Peace Prize, one theory went – but the truth is his personal goals were pretty simple.”What I said to Mickey was I want to be accountable to bat a long period of time and I put a figure on that which is between me and Mickey,” Cowan said. “My personal accountability is to bat a long time. I didn’t bat for as long as I would have liked but I felt I did fairly well today.”For me, today wasn’t about runs, it was about time and soaking up balls and soaking up pressure. It felt like that’s what the team needed in this particular game considering what has happened the last two. At no stage did I think, I’m getting close to a hundred. I wasn’t even looking at the scoreboard, I was looking at the clock on the other side of the ground saying ‘c’mon mate, just get to drinks or change of bowler, get through the next break’.”It didn’t bother me that I didn’t score a hundred, I was happy that I faced 238 balls. Deep down, I would have loved it to be 350 balls and if I faced that many balls I would have been a hundred. But that wasn’t the focus for me. The word contentment is pretty apt in that circumstance. Up against the wall in terms of the way the series has gone, I was happy I could contribute.”

Pakistan’s journey to defeat in the final game that decided the series was an emotional ride that had several moments of satisfaction and relief, but ultimately ended in frustration and regret

The Report by Siddhartha Talya18-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAngelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara celebrate victory after a thrilling finish•AFPSmart stats

Sri Lanka’s two-wicket win is their narrowest margin of victory against Pakistan (in terms of wickets). It also equals their closest win in terms of the number of balls remaining (two balls).

The target of 248 is also the highest chased by Sri Lanka in ODIs against Pakistan at the Premadasa stadium. Overall, it is the third-highest target chased by any team at the venue.

The series win is Sri Lanka’s third in their last four series (bilateral series) against Pakistan. Their previous two series wins were 2-1 in Pakistan (2009) and 3-2 in Sri Lanka (2009).

Angelo Mathews’ 80 is the highest score in a chase by a Sri Lankan batsman against Pakistan at the Premadasa stadium and the third-highest for them against Pakistan at the venue.

Mathews’ strike rate of 105.26 is the highest for a Sri Lankan for a fifty-plus score against Pakistan at the venue.

Umar Akmal’s half-century is his 15th in ODIs and fifth against Sri Lanka. He averages 51.27 against Sri Lanka while his overall average is 38.48.

This is the fifth occasion that Mahela Jayawardene has been dismissed for a first-ball duck.

Mohammad Sami conceded 75 runs off 9.4 overs. This is fourth-highest on the list of most runs conceded by a Pakistan bowler against Sri Lanka and the highest by a Pakistan bowler in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan’s journey to defeat in the final game that decided the series was an emotional ride, which had several moments of satisfaction and relief, but ultimately ended in frustration and regret. The satisfaction was because of a significantly improved batting performance that cast aside memories of a dispiriting collapse in the previous ODI, they experienced relief after wriggling out of difficult situations they’d created, the brief-but costly-spells of wayward bowling were a source of frustration, but the emotion that will linger will be the regret of an insipid fielding display that undermined each forward step. Amid all this, Angelo Mathews was a figure of calm and assuredness, and not for the first time he rescued Sri Lanka from trouble and fashioned a thrilling victory with the tail.Not quite the “tail”, since Sri Lanka’s No. 9 – Jeevan Mendis – has nine first-class hundreds. Nuwan Kulasekara did his bit too, but Mathews’ presence was the key. With his team on 138 for 6 in the 35th over, Pakistan were the favourites. Mathews didn’t flinch. He was selective in the balls he picked to dispatch, displayed confidence in his lower-order team-mates, indulged in a lot of touch-play and placement to work the gaps, all the while reminding his opponents that his was the decisive wicket.Those reminders weren’t enough to prevent Pakistan from letting their guard down. Outfielders failed to prevent twos that should have been ones, and those inside the circle failed to run the batsmen out at least three times, missing their targets as the chase approached a thrilling end.With 12 needed off five balls, Mohammad Sami – replacing the “rested” Saeed Ajmal – bowled a juicy length ball that Mathews launched over long-on. Another poor throw and two runs later, with four needed off three, Mathews cracked a short ball over point to seal the win.There had been several mini-conferences between overs, parallel discussions between fielders, all summing up Pakistan’s struggle to close the lid despite climbing to positions of advantage. The run-outs of Thisara Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne deprived Mathews of two capable partners, but Pakistan were in for a surprise soon when Mathews ceded floor to Mendis, who kickstarted the counterattack.Just when the required-rate had gone past nine an over in the 44th, Mendis smashed Sohail Tanvir’s slower ball for six over long-on before driving and glancing Umar Gul for two boundaries. Tanvir eventually got rid of Mendis, but Kulasekara hung on, even collecting a fortuitous boundary past third man off Sami. The pair of Kulasekara and Mathews knocked off six singles in the penultimate over, leading up to Mathews’ final surge in the 50th that included another missed run-out.While poor ground-fielding produced the reprieves towards the end of the innings, it combined with poor catching in the first half. Misfields and a ball kicked for four in the outfield preceded a straightforward catch dropped off Kumar Sangakkara on 25 by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. The run that lapse conceded brought about a half-century stand between Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal. It had helped Sri Lanka recover from two early blows inflicted by Tanvir, who castled Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga. Even though Sarfraz reacted sharply to run out Sangakkara for 36, the Pakistani heads continued to sink in their hands as the fielding woes didn’t stop.Chandimal, too, was given a life on 35 when a mistimed pull off Gul in the 30th over was put down by Azhar Ali at deep square leg. Ali was several yards in and failed to hold on as he back-pedalled and was unable to keep his balance. Chandimal went on to score a further 19 runs, those extra runs proving a major contribution in the outcome.Pakistan replaced an experienced Younis Khan with Imran Farhat, who opened the batting and delivered to make a fluent fifty, with shots relying heavily on wristwork and backed up with flourish. He built a solid partnership with Ali, who then formed a steady association with Asad Shafiq. Each of the three batsmen, however, gave their wickets away – Farhat and Ali were caught off avoidable shots while a moment’s hesitation for a single accounted for Shafiq.Umar Akmal gave the innings impetus with his attacking, unbeaten 55. He thrice flicked Lasith Malinga past short fine, struck Perera for two sixes and promised to take Pakistan past 260. At 220 for 6 in the 44th over, that was well within reach. Akmal was picking Malinga’s slower ones, but that changed soon as the seamer got his yorkers on the mark. Akmal made room, moved across, swung hard, tried to scoop, but Malinga had the better of the contest at the death. His thrift ensured Akmal managed only nine runs off his last 19 balls, and Pakistan just 27 off the last six overs. It would hurt Pakistan in the end, but not as much as their fielding.

Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore01-Sep-2012Barely had the Saturday crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium finished savouring one of their favourite shots in cricket – a Sachin Tendulkar straight drive – when Tendulkar was bowled through the gate by Doug Bracewell and India were down at 80 for 4. As in 2010, the apparent no-hopers from New Zealand had again pushed India to a tight spot. The rescue artist VVS Laxman was no longer around, and it was down to the Test rookies to save them.Despite India still being nearly 300 behind, Suresh Raina didn’t opt for wait-and-watch cricket. Instead, he went on the offensive, with a hat-trick of fours off Bracewell, and a patented extra-cover loft for six off Jeetan Patel. Suddenly, the New Zealand attack was no longer as menacing and the Indian fightback was well and truly on.Raina said he was inspired by Ross Taylor’s hurricane hundred on the first day. “Whenever I got the ball in my area, I made sure to bat positively because Taylor was going really great against us so this is the style I would like to play in Test cricket,” he said. “At the same time I need to control my aggression, need to judge the line and length, so I am getting better. I have done well in one-dayers so hopefully I will be better in Test cricket too.”By the time Raina was dismissed for 55, India had progressed to 179 and Virat Kohli was looking assured. Though Raina was disappointed he couldn’t carry on to a bigger score, it was a vital innings for him, as his place is the most vulnerable in the Indian line-up. After the mauling in England last year where he looked completely out of depth, this is Raina’s comeback series and the challengers for his spot are plenty.Raina knows the importance of this series for him, and it helped that he is fresh off several match-turning knocks in the recent limited-overs series in Sri Lanka. “There was no pressure to score big runs but I always looked to enjoy the game,” he said. “I didn’t do well in England but I went back to the domestic cricket, played couple of matches, scored a double hundred and then played crucial knocks against Sri Lanka and did well in the IPL.”Now that we have a lot of young players, this is the time to score as many runs and book my place in the side because there are a lot of Test matches coming up in India and abroad as well.”With Raina’s exit, New Zealand had a look-in, but like India’s bowlers in the final session on Friday, the visitors also failed to produce breakthroughs late in the day, as Kohli and MS Dhoni helped India even up the match. Tim Southee, who justified his selection ahead of Chris Martin with three wickets, didn’t think his side flagged as the day progressed.”No, we’re still creating chances and getting edges,” Southee said. “I guess we didn’tbuild enough pressure through dot balls. The ball got a bit old and it wasn’t carrying. I thought we bowled well. It just gets easier as the ball gets older and unfortunately we couldn’t get it to reverse.. “I don’t think it was a very abrasive surface so the ball hasn’t scuffed up as much as we would have liked. That’s why we couldn’t get it to reverse.”With the old ball proving ineffective, Southee said the first hour on Sunday will be crucial. “The wicket is a pretty good wicket. So I guess now it’s a pretty important time for us with the second new ball (which is two overs away) to see if we can pick up the rest of the wickets.”

Derbyshire have appointed Simon Storey as their new chief executive, replacing Keith Loring

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2012Derbyshire have appointed Simon Storey as their new chief executive. He replaces Keith Loring, who remains with the club in a consultancy role but has stepped down from day-to-day duties.Storey, 42, has a marketing background with 20 year’s commercial experience. He comes from a management role with a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland.”It is an exciting time to join the club,” Storey said. “I am relishing the opportunity to help lead Derbyshire towards future success. I do not underestimate the challenge ahead but I have confidence in the long-term direction of the club and I am committed to bringing all my leadership abilities, commercial experience and sporting passion to help the club achieve our goals on and off the field in the coming years.”Storey will inherit a county in reasonable financial shape, Derbyshire having made a profit in five of the last six years. But the main challenge is to bring back success on the field. Derbyshire have not finished above fifth in Division Two of the County Championship since their only season in the first division – in 2000 – where they finished bottom.Last season had long-standing chairman Don Amott leave the county after a boardroom dispute and coach John Morris left two months into the new season.But Derbyshire have begun 2012 strongly, with victories over Northamptonshire and Glamorgan and a draw against Leicestershire.

Andrew Strauss has said he is taking the issues of the England captaincy one series at a time

George Dobell16-May-2012With the sun shining on Lord’s and Andrew Strauss receiving the ICC Test Championship mace in the rose garden, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that all is well for England cricket.It is true, too, that the last few years have brought unprecedented success. England have won their first global competition – the World Twenty20 – they have won the Ashes home and away and they have climbed to No. 1 in the official Test and T201 rankings. It is a record of which they are justifiably proud.Any delusions of grandeur they may have had, however, were dispelled over the winter. Defeat against Pakistan in the UAE – a crushing 3-0 defeat at that – provided a harsh reminder of how far they have to go before they can build the “legacy” of which they have spoken.Now England find themselves at a crossroads. Win against West Indies and South Africa this summer and they will re-establish their reputation. They will still have questions to answer about their ability to counter good quality spin bowling in Asian conditions but they will at least arrive in India later this year with confidence restored. Lose either series this summer and they will be overtaken in the rankings and their period of supremacy will be regarded in much the same way as a one hit wonder looks back at their music career. Even a draw against West Indies, with the first Test starting at Lord’s on Thursday, would see South Africa take top position.Another series loss may also bring more casualties. Eoin Morgan was the one man to lose his place as a result of the winter’s travails, but it was telling that, at the captains’ pre-match media conference, it did not take long for questions to turn to Andrew Strauss’ own form. England’s captain, averaging just 26 over the last year, knows that he is under the spotlight and gave the strongest hint yet that he will reflect on his position as captain at the end of this three-match series.”It’s dangerous to look too far ahead,” he said. “Things can change so quickly and if you’re too wedded to some ideal moment to go you can be very surprised by it. So the way I’m looking at it really is one series at a time and if I feel like I’m still contributing and helping the side be a better side both as a captain and batsman then I don’t see any reason to change things. But we just don’t know what’s round the corner; we never do.”Perhaps little should be read into such words. Strauss tends to speak in measured tones and use caveats to cover most eventualities. He did accept that the runs had not flowed as he would have liked, but insisted his confidence and his determination remained as high as ever. While he suggested conditions in the county game had not been conducive to batsmen finding their touch, he also knows that the likes of Nick Compton, Joe Root and Varun Chopra are rendering the argument that England do not have suitable top-order replacements redundant.”I recognise as captain and as an opening batsman that I need to contribute,” Strauss said. “I fully intend to do that. I’ve got no reason in my mind why I shouldn’t go on and do that this summer. Hopefully I’ll be able to lead from the front with the bat as well.”It’s always a challenge as an opener to score runs. I feel in reasonable form last six months, but 20s and 30s aren’t what we’re looking for.”It didn’t feel like a witch hunt [being questioned over his form], it just felt like the issue of the day. I think we all know that the only way to switch attention elsewhere is to go out and perform and that’s what I intend to do.Andrew Strauss with the ICC Test Championship mace ahead of the series against West Indies•Getty Images”Conditions in county cricket this season have challenged you to look at your technique and, if there are any weaknesses in it, they are going to be exposed. We have been unlucky with the weather but, if you combine the weather and the lack of the heavy roller, then suddenly there have definitely been times when things have been too much in favour of the bowlers. It hasn’t been impossible to score runs, but it’s all about balance between bat and ball.”I feel good. The times I’ve lasted more than 10 balls or so I’ve felt very good. But it’s been the nature of the beast that, early season with the weather we’ve had, that it’s been pretty tough for batting. But I feel well-prepared, I’ve had a lot of time working on my game in and amongst the games we’ve played and I’m quite excited to go out there and hopefully have a good season.”England have other issues to resolve before that. They have to pick three from their five seamers – realistically one of Steven Finn, Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan – to play here, while Jonny Bairstow is also set to make his Test debut.”He’s a really exciting talent,” Strauss said of Bairstow. “He’s shown glimpses of it in the shorter forms of the game and his first-class record is excellent. He can play the game at a number of different paces, as well. For a guy batting at No. 6 that is a great attribute to have. He is young and enthusiastic and it’s been great having him around because it just reminds us all how special it is to be representing your country: you can see the excitement on his face. It has been lovely to have him involved. It has come a little bit from leftfield for him but I’m sure if he gets the chance he will make a really good fist of it.”All five seamers have very strong reasons to be playing in this Test match, but the likelihood is we are going to pick three of them. A lot of it boils down to your gut feeling about who you is going to offer the most in these conditions, but I would be very confident walking out with any of the five that we have here this week.”The winter was a challenge and we’ve learned some really valuable things but now it’s about reconnecting with what we’ve done well in these conditions. We’re a very confident side and we’ve got all bases covered in these conditions, but the challenges is to perform. There are always points to prove. We have shifted our attention away from the number one ranking because it’s unhealthy to look over your shoulder. It’s about us concentrating on improving our own performances. If we can do that then the number one ranking will look after itself.”

Hampshire’s Chris Wood smashed a quickfire half-century to help his side avoid any lingering risk of defeat against Worcestershire in the County Championship

26-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Hampshire’s Chris Wood smashed a quickfire half-century to help his side avoid any lingering risk of defeat against Worcestershire in the County Championship.Division One’s bottom two sides finally got under way after a long rain delay, with Hampshire just 59 runs to the good at 84 for six and staring down the barrel of a defeat. But Wood took an extraordinary approach to batting out time, hammering an unbeaten 56 from just 42 balls in an unbroken stand of 79 with Dimitri Mascarenhas (25 not out) before captains Dominic Cork and Daryl Mitchell shook hands on a draw.Worcestershire’s seven points lift them six clear of the relegation zone, where they are replaced by Yorkshire, but the Tykes will have been relieved as the weather and Wood’s onslaught prevented them making any further progress.