High levels of pollution and smog have forced the cancellation of the Group A clash between table toppers Bengal and Gujarat, and the Group C fixture between Hyderabad and Tripura to a later date

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2016High levels of pollution and smog have forced the cancellation of two Ranji Trophy fixtures in Delhi: the Group A clash between Gujarat and Bengal and the Group C fixture between Hyderabad and Tripura.Both matches will now be played after the league phase, the BCCI announced, without mentioning specific dates or venues. With the league phase ending on December 10 and the quarter-finals scheduled to begin on December 17, it is unclear if the knockouts will be pushed back by a few days to accommodate these rescheduled games. The status of the next round’s games in Delhi, between Odisha-Assam and Hyderabad-Services, scheduled to begin from from November 13, also isn’t clear yet.Not a single ball was bowled in either game, at the Feroz Shah Kotla and the Karnail Singh Stadium. Play was called off on the second afternoon after there was no improvement in the air quality.”The teams were informed around 3.15 in the afternoon that the match was called off,” Sairaj Bahutule, the Bengal coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “Our eyes were burning. Some of the guys had headaches. Pollution was at the highest level. This is the first time in my cricketing life I have come across such a scenario.”At the Karnail Singh Stadium, Hyderabad and Tripura had a meeting at 11.30am, along with the match officials, and upon further inspection, the game was called off. “We could not even stand outside as our eyes started burning. It was impossible to run in or do anything,” Bharat Arun, the Hyderabad coach, said.The players had complained of burning eyes on the opening day as well. Although the sun came out, it failed to penetrate the thick layer of smog that has enveloped the national capital, resulting in poor visibility. The smog is believed to be an after-effect of Diwali fireworks, as well as the burning of paddy stubble in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.”Yesterday, in the afternoon, when light improved, we went out to toss. But the dust and pollution was so bad that our eyes started to water,” Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo. “In consultation with both captains, it was decided that we’ll call off play. But today, when the same situation persisted, the match referees decided it was unsafe to even attempt to play. It was called off a little after 3pm. We’ve played a lot of cricket in the north, especially Delhi, in winter months in the past. But I haven’t seen anything like this.”

Glenn Maxwell has been fined by Australia’s team leadership group for his criticism of Matthew Wade

Daniel Brettig03-Dec-2016Australia’s captain Steven Smith has criticised Glenn Maxwell and the team leadership group have fined him an undisclosed amount for comments deemed disrespectful to the team’s gloveman and Victoria captain Matthew Wade.In what Smith clearly hoped would be the end of an unseemly episode that began when ESPNcricinfo reported Maxwell had tried to leave the Bushrangers for New South Wales outside the approved window to do so, he explained that he had told Maxwell and the team as a whole that more respect had to be shown for each other. Smith also declined to confirm whether Maxwell would be playing on Sunday, stating only that he was “available for selection”.”Everyone was disappointed in his comments, I’ve expressed that to him myself and spoke to the team,” Smith said on Saturday ahead of the first Chappell-Hadlee ODI. “One of our values is respect, having respect for your team-mates, your opposition, your fans, your media.”I thought what he said was very disrespectful to a team-mate and his Victorian captain. The leadership group got together and we decided to fine Glenn, we thought that was sufficient punishment, so we’ve gone down that path. I was disappointed with the comments that he made.”Maxwell had stated that it was “painful” batting behind Wade in the Victorian Shield batting order, among sundry other comments about his uncertain role in the state team and his ambitions to return to the Test team. “Wadey was pretty disappointed as well like all the other players,” Smith said. “I talk about a respect for your team-mates and particularly the captain of your state, and he was disappointed.”[Maxwell] was a little bit shattered with what he said. I don’t think he thought the words came out the way they actually did, but we’ve moved on from that now, we’ve fined him and expressed our disappointment, but moving on and trying to focus on this game tomorrow.”Smith is believed to have been one of the players Maxwell canvassed about moving to NSW during the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour earlier in the year, but he was not interested in re-opening the discussion on Saturday. “I’m not really concerned with that right now,” Smith said. “It’s about getting through this season, and if things happen like that at the end of the season we’ll deal with that then.”Maxwell’s sanction did not meet with universal approval. Notably he was supported in his words by Mitchell Johnson, who has been a critic of punitive action against players since he was one of the four players suspended from a Test match in India three years ago – something the coach Darren Lehmann also criticised at the time.
Turning his attention to New Zealand, Smith said the combination of cagey experience and pace-filled youth in the visitors’ bowling line-up would have to be watched closely. “They’ve got some quality players in their line-up, a lot of the time they bat around Kane Williamson, he’s the glue in their middle order,” he said.”They’ve got some dangerous players up top in Guptill or Latham if he plays up top. They’ve got some experience in their bowling line-up in Southee and Boult and some pace in this young fella I’ve heard about, Ferguson. They’re a quality team and we’re going to have to be at our best.”One figure Smith is eager to command once more is the fast man Pat Cummins, making his latest return to the team amid a string of injuries. “He bowled pretty quick in the nets yesterday, he bowled beautifully in the Matador Cup at the start of the season, and he’s got that x-factor about him,” Smith said. “He bowls with great pace and good aggression and I think he’ll complement the other quicks really well and hopefully have an impact in this series.”

The search for a more commercially successful Brisbane Test is likely to end the tradition of the Gabba hosting the first Test of the Aussie summer

Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2016Australia’s cricketers should be prepared to say goodbye to the Gabba as their traditional starting point to summer outside of Ashes series – if the words of the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland are anything to go by.While admitting the team sees the Gabba as a “real stronghold”, Sutherland has hinted strongly that the search for a more commercially successful Brisbane Test is likely to lead to this year’s mid-December time slot being persisted with, more than likely in the day/night configuration to be tried against Pakistan this week. Such a decision would mean the loss of a major competitive advantage for the hosts.In unveiling the schedule for next summer’s Ashes, CA have outlined how that now seems to be the only Test series in which the national team’s preparation is to be kept as ideal as possible, with as many as four Sheffield Shield matches scheduled before the first match at the Gabba. Other summers against less marketable opponents will likely throw up similar issues to those seen this season – at least until proposed league structures for international cricket are approved at ICC level and take effect some time after 2019.

CA executive to be spoken to over Brayshaw link

Allegations that Ben Amarfio, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager for communications, digital and marketing, has been seeking job opportunities for his friend James Brayshaw with CA media rights partners will be dealt with “behind closed doors”, the chief executive James Sutherland has said.
Fairfax and News Ltd both reported on Monday that Amarfio had been helping Brayshaw try to renew his contract with the international cricket rights holders Channel Nine – a clear conflict of interest – though Sutherland denied the former Southern Cross-Austereo executive had been acting formally as Brayshaw’s agent; he and the network have now cut ties.
“Look I don’t think it’s right that one of our staff was acting as an agent, but let’s just say they’re things we’ll deal with behind closed doors at Cricket Australia,” Sutherland said. “I don’t think this is the place to be talking about that any further.”

“We’ll definitely keep our options open there. Every summer’s different. I know there are aspects of the 2018-19 summer that are very different to others, that’s just the nature of international cricket,” Sutherland said when asked about keeping the Gabba Test in mid-December. “It’s certainly a possibility we play the Brisbane Test match at a different time in the season.”I want to make that very clear. It was absolutely calculated for us to play the Test match here at this time. We wanted to ensure we gave ourselves the best opportunity to understand the Brisbane market and how we can increase attendances here. There’s a lot of promotion around it, we’ve got fantastic partners in the Queensland government and Brisbane city council, let’s see how this week pans out.”We’re on target to have the highest attendance ever for a non-Ashes Test match at the Gabba this week. We’re looking at around 80,000 and we’re very hopeful we’re on track for that.”Success in home Ashes series is seen as the most pivotal team performance metric for the entirety of CA, especially after the disastrous 2010-11 summer placed considerable heat upon Sutherland and the governing body’s board directors, resulting in the Argus review. To that end, Australia’s players can expect a similar lead-in to the 2013-14 season, albeit with the distraction of an ODI series in India beforehand. That result eased a level of pressure on the top end of CA that has not been matched by this summer’s home series loss to South Africa.”We’re really comfortable with the traditional order, and let’s be honest, this venue is a real stronghold for the Australian team, they love playing here,” Sutherland said. “This is the same order as the 13-14 Ashes summer, which was very successful for the team and in terms of spectator attendance and public interests.”We’ve really wanted to not change anything in that regard, and we’ll have a similar lead-in to the 13-14 summer with something like three or four Shield matches leading into the first Test, which we’re able to do when the Ashes series starts in late November.”The preparation leading into a series of Test cricket will depend from year to year, it’s actually quite difficult when you start a Test series in early November because usually the Australian team will be touring somewhere. But we need to work around that to get the best possible preparation in the circumstances, and for an Ashes series it’s clear with a Test series starting in late November that we’ll be able to get three matches in before the series starts.”Casting his eye over the MOU discussions currently going on between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association, Sutherland said that he was not worried by the prospect of industrial action from the players. “No, I’m not concerned,” he said. “These sorts of negotiations come around every four years or whatever the cycle is and they’re things that need to be worked through behind closed doors in an appropriate fashion.”I don’t think it’s our role to be giving a ball-by-ball commentary on it. We will, with the ACA, work through it and work with the ACA and our players to ensure the game of cricket is stronger and better for whatever the new agreement might be.”There is a lot to talk about and there are some very important issues and in some ways those issues are complex. Every time an agreement like this comes along it is an opportunity to put together a better agreement for all parties and I know that’s what we’re interested in and I know that’s what the ACA is interested in.”Late on Tuesday the ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson spoke about the past two days of negotiations, indicating there is a long way to go.”Today we were able to clarify that the ACA and CA have a lot of detail to work through with differences in a number of areas,” he said. “With the position that CA have taken in responding to our submission, we will now re-engage with the players and the ACA Executive to gain their feedback on CA’s response.”The players are emphatic that they are partners in the game and will continue to push for one agreement for all cricketers, men and women, national and state.”

The left-arm spinner dismissed Ishan Porel off the last ball of the match to ensure that the fifth ODI between England Under-19s and India Under-19s ended in a thrilling tie

The Report by Nikhil Kalro in Mumbai08-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Delray Rawlins fell for a sluggish 17•PTI

A see-saw contest, in which ball dominated bat, came down to the final ball. India Under-19s required one run with one wicket in hand. With the field in, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White tossed the last ball up and No. 10 Ishan Porel chipped a catch to short cover, resulting in a thrilling tie at the Wankhede Stadium to end the five-match series.With six required off the last over, No. 11 Heramb Parab played out two dot balls, then scythed a boundary in front of point. A dot ball and a single to deep midwicket off the next two deliveries meant India couldn’t lose.In a game of fine margins, the difference may have been the one run that Porel didn’t complete when turning for a second leg-bye in the penultimate over. Henry Brookes produced figures of 3 for 30 in a disciplined spell of fast bowling.Defending 226, England’s seamers learnt from their mistakes in the previous game. On a green surface, they resisted bowling short, choosing a good length or a fuller length instead. With some lateral movement and bounce on offer, they extracted enough to trouble India’s top order, repeatedly beating batsmen on the outside edge.Priyam Garg popped a catch to short midwicket in the first over, closing his bat face too early. Abhishek Sharma was caught at slip, driving loosely away from his body. In the 12th over, Manjot Kalra slapped a drive to cover, off Arthur Godsal, where Tom Banton took a sharp reverse-cupped catch. In his next over, Godsal had Mayank Rawat caught down the leg side, gloving a pull. India were reduced to 54 for 4 at this stage.S Radhakrishnan, one of nine inclusions for India, was loose outside the off stump early. He gradually gained fluency as his innings progressed, though. He struck a few well-timed drives and was strong on the pull. When on 65, Radhakrishnan chipped a catch to deep midwicket off Delray Rawlins. India slumped to 137 for 7, and it seemed like the game was out of reach. “I felt like the game had gone,” India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid said after the match.Ayush Jamwal and Yash Thakur then combined to add 65 for the eighth wicket to accentuate England’s frustration, taking India close enough to the target. After Jamwal was caught at fine leg, India still needed 25 off 20 balls. Delray Rawlins, Arthur Godsal and Jack Blatherwick picked up two wickets each.After being inserted, England’s top order failed to capitalise on starts, much like the rest of the series. Harry Brook (14), Tom Banton (16) and Rawlins (17) were all dismissed by India’s seamers as England crawled to 64 for 3 in the 17th over.Again, the rebuilding work was left to George Bartlett and Ollie Pope. While Pope was more circumspect against a decent attack, Bartlett repeatedly found the boundary off the seamers.All five wickets taken by India’s spinners were a result of England’s batsmen playing for turn that wasn’t there. Bartlett hit two sixes during his 47 before he missed a straight one from left-arm spinner Shiva Singh. Stand-in captain Max Holden was caught at slip, playing inside the line of a delivery from Jamwal.Will Jacks, who struck 28 off 34 balls with two fours and a huge six over midwicket, missed a non-turning offbreak from Mayank Rawat, and was stumped. Pope was bowled attempting to cut a slider and Liam Patterson-White was pinned in front after missing a sweep. At that stage, England had been reduced to 187 for 8 after 43 overs.However, some handy lower-order cameos propped up England towards the end. Godsal, who hit an unbeaten 19, should have been run-out at the striker’s end, attempting to complete a second run but a fielder had blocked the umpire’s view trying to back up the throw.

India ended the fourth day of the Hyderabad Test needing seven wickets for a victory

The Report by Sidharth Monga12-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:40

Binoy: Odds are heavily stacked against Bangladesh

Centuries by both keepers in the same Test

• 2 Number of centuries for Mushfiqur Rahim against India in Tests – the most for Bangladesh against India. He now has centuries in consecutive matches following his 159 against New Zealand in Wellington.

• 299 Lead for India at the end of the first innings. – the second-largest for India against Bangladesh while bowling second. Incidentally India has taken a lead of more than 200 in three out of four Tests played in Hyderabad.

• 4 Instances of wicketkeepers from both teams scoring centuries in a Test. Mushfiqur made 127 while Saha was unbeaten on 106. India have been involved on three of the four occasions.

• 142 Most overs faced by Bangladesh in Tests in the fourth innings of a Test. This was against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in 2005. Bangladesh’s biggest score in the fourth innings of a Test is 413 against Sri Lanka in Dhaka in 2008.

Tests hurtle towards results on the moving day in India, which has of late shifted to the third from the fourth day. On a flatter surface in Hyderabad, the Test moved on the fourth day but decisively so towards India after only 12 wickets had fallen on the first three days. India took the four remaining first-innings wickets in one session despite an impressive Mushfiqur Rahim century, followed it up with a busy session to take their lead to 458 and took three second-innings wickets in the final session to bring themselves within sight of a win.There might be some disappointed that India didn’t enforce the follow-on keeping in mind the flat nature of the pitch, but India always looked like giving Bangladesh four sessions to survive, which was going to be a daunting task. In fourth innings in India, only twice have visiting sides batted more than the minimum of 125 overs Bangladesh were asked to bat. This was also only 2.5 overs fewer than what Bangladesh played in the first innings, only the second time they have lasted 100 overs against India.It became all the worse when R Ashwin, who had become the fastest to 250 wickets with the last first-innings wicket 10 minutes before lunch, removed Tamim Iqbal as early as the sixth over of the final innings. Ashwin might have got just the two wickets in the first innings, but he was well and truly in rhythm bowling with the new ball against left-hand batsmen at the top of the innings. The rough outside their off stump had now become active, and Ashwin kept pitching just outside off, dipping the ball to make them stretch forward. This is when the natural variation becomes lethal as Tamim found out, bat-padding one that didn’t turn as much as expected.Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque kept India at bay for 16.4 overs, with India bowling seam at one end and spin at the other, but the introduction of Ravindra Jadeja brought a new challenge. Jadeja began targeting that rough obsessively, and in his second over he had the tall Sarkar stretching in front of his body to play a forward-defensive. This time the ball went straight on as opposed to turning, and Ajinkya Rahane took a sharp one-handed catch low to his right at slip.In the next over Ashwin made it a double strike, moving over the wicket to Mominul and drawing a regulation edge. There was dip and there was a piece of pitch that came off when the ball pitched on leg stump. There wasn’t much Mominul could do there. Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah then went through a nervous 10.5 overs to give Bangladesh a half chance of saving the Test.It was quite different to how comfortably Mushfiqur and Mehedi Hasan had batted out the final session on day three. That calm was disrupted with Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s reverse swing in the first over on the fourth morning. He did it each way: swinging the first ball in, the second out, the third in, and the fourth through the defence of the impressive Mehedi who had begun the day on 51.Through some fortune and through some application, Mushfiqur and Taijul Islam batted together for close to 10 overs. Taijul faced 38 of those deliveries as Mushfiqur didn’t farm the strike. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma tested both of them with bouncers with Taijul finally gloving one through to Saha.Mushfiqur might be struggling as a captain and a wicketkeeper but as a batsman he stood between India and complete and utter dominance of the Test. He had a hamstring issue towards stumps on day three, he had his gloves peppered, he saw his lower-order partners struggle against India’s fast bowling but went on to complete a second consecutive century as India took almost the whole first session to bowl Bangladesh out. Along the way he overtook Habibul Bashar to become the third-highest run-getter for Bangladesh.Mushfiqur, who had added only six more singles to his overnight score by the time Taijul got out, then got a six off a top-edged hook and started to score more freely. A misfield from Ishant at fine leg brought up the century. Mushfiqur wasn’t done yet as he targeted Ashwin after spin was introduced only in the second hour, hitting him for two fours and a six. Jadeja and Ashwin remained persistent, though, and finally broke through. Jadeja’s dismissal of the left-hand No. 10 Taskin Ahmed was almost identical to how he got Sarkar caught at slip in the second innings.Ashwin then got to his record through a stunning catch by Wriddhiman Saha down the leg side off a carrom ball. The shot was on, though: the ball was short, Mushfiqur had only No. 11 for company, and he attempted a fine pull. He managed to just glove it through but Saha had moved well with the ball to catch it.Having secured a lead of 299, India chose to give their bowlers a breather and batted on in the middle session. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane scored quick runs, with Pujara hooking Taskin Ahmed for only the eighth six of his Test career. India scored 158 in the middle session to take their lead to 458. Pujara scored an unbeaten 54 off 58, and also batted with Saurashtra team-mate Jadeja for the first time in a Test.Later in the day, Jadeja would go back to team up with a familiar partner, Ashwin, to strike telling blows.

Malinda Pushpakumara claimed a 13-wicket haul and then hit the winning runs as Sri Lanka A completed a dash to victory in Dambulla to square the unofficial Test series with England Lions

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2017
ScorecardLiam Livingstone scored centuries in each innings for England Lions, but to no avail•England & Wales Cricket Board

Malinda Pushpakumara claimed a 13-wicket haul and then hit the winning runs as Sri Lanka A completed a dash to victory in Dambulla to square the unofficial Test series with England Lions.Needing 90 to win during the final session, having been defied for much of the day by Liam Livingstone’s second hundred in the match, Sri Lanka A lost wickets regularly but did enough to hold off the Lions’ unlikely tilt at snatching victory. Udara Jayasundera made 32 off 36 and Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka A’s captain, 23 off 13 to bring the target in sight before Pushpakumara finished the job after a late wobble.The Lions began the final day still 163 runs in arrears and were grateful for Livingstone’s painstaking, unbeaten 140; in all he batted for seven-and-a-half hours in the match, becoming only the second batsman after Kevin Pietersen to score a century in each innings of a first-class match for England Lions (or their predecessors, England A and England B).Ben Foakes was the only other Lions batsman to pass 20, though, as the Sri Lanka A spinners worked their way through the order. Pushpakumara claimed 5 for 78 to go with his eight-wicket haul in the first innings, finally leaving Livingstone stranded when he bowled Jack Leach for 1 after a dogged 12-over, last-wicket stand.Tom Curran threatened to spark an upset, taking the first four wickets to fall. Sri Lanka A were 34 for 3 when first-innings centurion Sadeera Samarawickrama was dismissed but Jayasundera and de Silva added 34 in 4.2 overs to regain the momentum.The stand was broken by Curran and then Sri Lanka A lost three wickets for four runs to Leach and Ollie Rayner to leave them 82 for 7. When Dimuth Karunaratne, batting down at No. 6 after making a career-best 212 at opener in the first innings, was caught behind off Rayner, Foakes had ten victims in the match – including a couple of stumpings off Leach – to set a new Lions record. But with the skies remaining clear, Pushpakumara and Jeffrey Vandersay got Sri Lanka A over the line with five overs to spare.”It was a valuable experience for all of us,” Lions coach Andy Flower said. “There were some outstanding performances in the game, and the primary examples of that were Ben Foakes, mainly with his wicketkeeping, and Liam Livingstone.””I know Bruce French, our lead wicketkeeping coach, was really proud watching Foakes’s performance, because he’s put in so many hours with Ben over the years, and the culmination of that was a real artist’s performance with the gloves. Ten dismissals, but they were good dismissals – it’s not like they were all straightforward nicks. A number of them were standing up to the wicket, both stumpings and catches, and he took one of the best catches I’ve seen from a wicketkeeper diving to his right – and that was in the 128th over.”The other standout was Livingstone, in both innings. I really enjoyed watching both innings, and one of the most enjoyable things was he looks like he’s growing quite quickly as a player. Some of the things he’s been working on in the training camps seem to have come to the fore in his play of spin. It was a really great performance on a typical subcontinental wicket – dusty, turned a bit, skidded a bit, he had to bat for long periods against spinners operating from both ends, where the slightest mistake could mean you’re out. He showed the tactics and the skill to manage that.”After the Lions had resumed on 32 for 2, Vandersay made the opening breakthrough by bowling Tom Westley for 12. Keaton Jennings was then stumped off Pushpakumara, giving the left-armer his tenth in the match, but Livingstone and Foakes combined to hold up the home side during a partnership of 107 in 36 overs.Foakes fell to the final ball before lunch, edging Pushpakumara to slip, and the Curran brothers were both dismissed in single figures with the Lions still in deficit. Livingstone continued to play with authority, however, reaching his fourth first-class hundred off 156 balls, with 11 fours and a six.In partnership with Toby Roland-Jones, Livingstone eked the Lions into a lead, before Rayner and Leach helped add valuable extra runs but with extra time available to make up for overs lost on days two and three, Sri Lanka A were not to be denied.

Alex Davies posted his maiden first-class century to help Lancashire set Essex 478 to win – or four full sessions to save the game – in a decidedly one-sided opening match of the Specsavers County Championship season.

ECB Reporters Network09-Apr-2017
ScorecardAlex Davies put a troubled season behind him by posting his maiden first-class century to help Lancashire set Essex 478 to win – or four full sessions to save the game – in a decidedly one-sided opening match of the Specsavers County Championship season.Essex knocked off 89 of the runs in 38 overs before the close. They lost both openers in the process as Lancashire closed in on their first Championship win in 12 attempts.The day, though, belonged to Davies. He had been within one run of a century against Kent at Old Trafford almost two years ago, but batted throughout the 94.3 overs of Lancashire’s second innings at Chelmsford to finish unbeaten on 140.Essex were made to pay dearly for dropping the wicketkeeper-rookie opener twice on the second afternoon when he had just 10 and 26. Neil Wagner floored a third chance on the long-leg boundary off Tom Westley, but by then the 22-year-old had 132 to his name.Davies showed he had all the orthodox shots in the textbook as well as a punishing reverse-sweep, one of which was sent scudding to the boundary off Simon Harmer, another lobbing gently over Wagner standing at point.A fierce drive off Wagner was so straight it smashed into the stumps at the bowler’s end and ricocheted for one of his 21 boundaries. Twice he stepped back to leg and cut Wagner firmly square of the wicket. He took successive fours off Ravi Bopara to bring up the century partnership with Dane Vilas. It was not far off brutal.Davies had reached his half-century from the penultimate ball of the second day, and went to lunch on the third 97 not out. He pushed his third ball after the interval through midwicket off Harmer to reach three figures from 214 balls with 17 fours.Davies had to fight back from 11 months out of the game with a knee injury that required an operation during the winter.He said: “There were a couple of dark moments during that time. But you have to stay positive and have belief in your own ability, belief that you will get back fit, that you will get back playing. It was tough to watch Lancs last season and see people move ahead of me. But I had that belief deep down, the hunger, and that will stand me in good stead.”Yes, there are days when you think, ‘I’m injured’ and you get down on yourself. But deep down it’s always been there and hopefully there is plenty more to come. But this was really amazing and it’s good to get it off my back really. I’ve had a lot of chances in the past and not quite got over the line. It’s just another day, but a really special one at the same time.”Head coach Glen Chapple told Davies during the winter that he would be both No1 wicketkeeper and opening batsman. “I love it,” he said. “I want to bat higher, I don’t want to be the keeper who bats seven. I want to bat higher because I believe I can. It fits best for the team at the moment that I open the batting, and if it’s best for the team it’s good for me.”It was a chastening experience for newly-promoted Essex who enjoyed only two moments of success in the field during the day. The first arrived in the seventh over of the day when Aaron Beard took his second wicket of the innings. Liam Livingstone, having helped put on 51 with Davies, tried to force the young bowler through the off-side but only picked out Nick Browne at cover point and departed for 28.Lancashire’s third wicket fell 49 overs later when Jamie Porter took out Vilas’s middle stump and precipitated the declaration. In between Davies and Vilas made hay in the sunshine, adding 183 runs and taking the game out of Essex’s reach. Vilas reached 92 off 165 balls, with just five fours, and it looked for all the world like he was set fair for a ton.The Essex openers negotiated seven overs before tea and a further 11 afterwards without undue alarm before Browne carelessly gave his wicket away. He dragged a rank long hop from Stephen Parry straight into Haseeb Hameed’s hands halfway back to the boundary at midwicket for 18.With just 12 runs added, Varun Chopra (29) played across one from Ryan McLaren and turned to see his off stump cartwheeling into the distance. Westley had lives when 10 and 11, dropped by Shivnarine Chanderpaul at short extra cover off McLaren, and then by Livingstone at slip off Parry. But he reached the close on 27 with Dan Lawrence on 13.

Andrew Gale has admitted he was “disappointed” by the ECB decision to rest Jonny Bairstow from Yorkshire’s opening rounds of Championship action

George Dobell at Edgbaston17-Apr-2017Andrew Gale has admitted he was “disappointed” by the ECB decision to rest Jonny Bairstow from Yorkshire’s opening rounds of Championship action.Gale, Yorkshire’s new head coach, accepted the absence of Joe Root due to his heavy workload in international cricket. But Bairstow, who has hardly played since the conclusion of England’s Test tour to India in mid-December, has also been rested despite having been made available for the IPL.When Bairstow was not picked-up in the IPL auction, Yorkshire might have presumed he would be available for them. But, despite having played just three days of cricket this year (a warm-up game and an ODI in India, and a warm-up game in St Kitts), Bairstow has instead been rested from the opening two matches of the Championship season, appearing instead as an analyst on Sky’s IPL coverage.That has left Yorkshire, who wrapped up a crushing win over Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Monday after losing their opening game, confused and disappointed.”I can see why someone like Rooty would want a rest given the amount of cricket he’s played,” Gale said. “But Jonny has played one one-day international since Christmas. I think he’s played three days of cricket.”For me, he should have been available right from the first game of the season. He had enough time off from the end of the West Indies trip. I felt he should have been available.”It’s not the first time that Yorkshire, and Gale in particular, have expressed their discontent with decisions made by the England management. At the end of last season, with the Championship title at stake, Gale was frustrated by Adil Rashid’s decision to miss the final match of the season (Rashid claimed that a family member was ill), while the club also requested the release of players from the England touring squad in the Caribbean at the start of the 2015 season. That squad contained several Yorkshire players who were deemed surplus to requirements from the Test side.Both Root and Bairstow will be available for Yorkshire’s next Championship game which starts on Friday. Liam Plunkett, who has a calf strain, is not thought likely to be fit to return.Gale’s concerns have been eased somewhat by the emergence of Ben Coad, who had played just one Championship match before this season, but is currently the leading wicket-taker in the country with 18 from the first two matches, including his maiden five- and ten-wicket hauls.Only winning a place in the side due to the absence of several first-choice bowlers (Plunkett, Jack Brooks, Ryan Sidebottom and, for the opening match, David Willey and Rashid), he has again demonstrated the depth of the Yorkshire squad and the success of their youth development.”When you have fine seamers injured you are a little worried,” Gale agreed. “But it creates opportunities and Coady has grabbed the bull by the horns and put his name in the hat for the rest of the year. I’m sure the lads will looking over their shoulders thinking how they will get back in the team.”He’s surprised himself. He’s always had the talent and done well in the second team but to come in and take 18 wickets, I didn’t expect him to lead the attack.”We pride ourselves on bringing through homegrown players with the time and money we put into the academy. We don’t want to be signing guys from around the country or abroad. We want to back our home-grown players. We will always give them the chance first and then the academy lads can see a path into the first team and that gives them hope.”This is part and parcel of being part of Yorkshire. We’ve always wanted to bring our homegrown players through, but if we do that, they are going to get picked for England. We want our players to play for England, but when they’re available we want them to play for us as well.”

Struggling against the short ball, Afghanistan slumped to 135 all out, but Rashid Khan ensured West Indies’ chase would be far from straightforward

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGulbadin Naib scored 51 and took two wickets•AFP

Stung by their 63-run defeat in the first ODI, West Indies hit back via their fast bowlers, who exposed Afghanistan’s frailties against the short ball as they slid to 135 all out. West Indies’ batting, though, isn’t without frailties of its own, and Rashid Khan, responsible for bowling them out for 149 on Friday, caused yet another serious wobble with his zippy, stump-to-stump legbreaks and googlies. Afghanistan’s total, though, proved a fair way short of matchwinning as Shai Hope held a shaky chase together and steered West Indies to a series-levelling four-wicket win.Afghanistan could perhaps have pushed West Indies even closer with more aggressive tactics. Asghar Stanikzai, their captain, only brought Rashid on in the seventh over, by which time Evin Lewis and Kieran Powell had already knocked 37 off the target.Rashid struck in his first over, getting Powell to nick a googly to slip, and went around the wicket in his third over to trap Lewis lbw with another perfectly pitched wrong ‘un. This was high-quality bowling, and West Indies’ batsmen, unsure of which way the ball would turn, were stabbing nervously at him with leaden feet. Stanikzai, though, took Rashid off the attack after only a five-over spell.Gulbadin Naib, who had already made a sizeable contribution by scoring his third ODI fifty, then brought Afghanistan more cheer with his medium-pace, dismissing Jonathan Carter – who showed poor judgment while cutting – and Jason Mohammed – who failed to keep a cut down – in his first three overs.With West Indies four down, Stanikzai brought Rashid back after only two overs from Amir Hamza. Hope and Roston Chase played out the legspinner’s sixth and seventh overs, but he struck again with the last ball of his eighth, flighting it wide of off stump and inviting the drive. Dip deceived Chase into reaching for the ball, turn made him miss it, and all of that unbalanced him enough to drag him out of his crease. Afsar Zazai’s lightning hands did the rest behind the stumps.By then, though, West Indies only needed 38, and only needed one reasonable partnership. Hope and Rovman Powell provided that, and Jason Holder applied the necessary touch of urgency at the finish.Apart from Naib’s 51, there was little to cheer for Afghanistan when they batted, and their batsmen played no role in West Indies’ only real moments of concern, with Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph spending brief spells off the field nursing injuries. Gabriel walked off four legal balls into his sixth over, clutching his left side, while Joseph hurt his ankle while stumbling over the advertising hoardings in a failed attempt to flick a hook from Rashid back into play.Having chosen to bat once again, Afghanistan made a cautious start – Noor Ali Zadran shouldered arms to every ball of the sixth over, bowled by Holder – and moved to 21 for 0 in seven overs before the short ball found its first victim. Holder got one to lift towards Noor’s helmet, and the batsman, fending awkwardly, popped back a return catch.A mix-up at the end of the same over, which left Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah stranded at the same end, was quickly followed by Rahmat top-edging a hook off Gabriel to the fielder at long leg. Afghanistan had lost three wickets in 11 balls. Gabriel struck again in his next over, this time with a fuller length, the umpire ruling Samiullah Shenwari out lbw even though the ball seemed to be slanting down the leg side.West Indies introduced Alzarri Joseph in the 13th over, and he immediately set about peppering Stanikzai and Nabi with bouncers. Neither survived the test. Stanikzai was unlucky to receive the ball of the innings, angled in wickedly and rising head-high while giving him no time to react.Naib, expecting another short ball first up, ducked at what turned out to be a good-length delivery outside off. Exceedingly nervy at the start of his innings, he calmed down as Joseph, bowling a six-over spell, lost some of his sting, and West Indies called upon the offspin of Ashley Nurse and the gentle medium-pace of Rovman Powell.Naib grew comfortable enough to launch a rare full ball from Joseph over the long-on boundary, but that aside, runs came in a trickle. Zazai crawled to 9 off 33 before stepping out and nicking Roston Chase to slip. Then Rashid, having top-edged a hook over deep backward square leg, fell trying a similar shot next ball, only managing a nick to the keeper.Naib, looking to farm the strike, began finding the straight boundary with greater frequency, but couldn’t keep the tail away from the strike entirely. Dawlat Zadran slogged Nurse to deep midwicket, and a couple of overs later Naib, having just reached his fifty, gave Nurse his second wicket, holing out to long-off.

Stevie Eskinazi’s career-best, unbeaten 178 was the mainstay for Middlesex as they ground to within striking distance of Warwickshire

Jon Culley at Edgbaston04-Jul-2017
ScorecardStevie Eskinazi made a career-best 178 to carry the fight for Middlesex•Getty Images

The considerable fillip Warwickshire drew from dismissing Sam Robson for a third-ball duck was counterbalanced by a century from Stevie Eskinazi in which the South Africa-born batsman produced some good, aggressive strokeplay but also had to show some gritty qualities and ride his luck.Eskinazi, whose 157 against Yorkshire at Scarborough this time last year was one of the key innings of Middlesex’s title-winning season, doubled his tally of career first-class centuries to four with his second of this season, consolidating his position as leading run-scorer.Although born in Johannesburg, Eskinazi has an English mother and a Zimbabwe-born father and after playing some junior cricket in Hampshire moved with his family to Perth, in Western Australia, where he played representative state cricket at under-17 and under-19.Goodness knows where that leaves him in terms of nationality, although that is a matter for another day. For the moment, he is unbeaten on 178, having overtaken his Scarborough scored to guarantee himself a new career-best with his 23rd four after more than five hours at the crease.By the close, against the team propping up the table and desperate to find a first win, he had hit 24 fours and pulled Boyd Rankin for three sixes, which were impressive statistics, although he had been well into three figures before he began to look properly comfortable.At times earlier he had looked anything but, as was illustrated, even on 116 and 124 against a ball that was 55 overs old, when he twice edged Rankin to the boundary through gaps in the cordon.Another difficult over earlier in the day had seen Rikki Clarke beat him twice but somehow miss the stumps. There was a close call on a run-out too and, not long afterwards, a sharp chance offered to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose when Jeetan Patel entered the attack after 31 overs and Eskinazi was on 56.All of that followed a massive appeal for a catch in the gully off the first ball he faced, which was turned down on the basis that the deflection was off pads only.How different the day might have been had the finger gone up at that moment, given that Keith Barker, spearing the ball in from around the wicket, had dismissed Robson leg-before with the immediately previous delivery. Robson has twice hit a double-hundred against Warwickshire.But if he was lucky at times, Eskinazi might reasonably claim he earned it on a pitch of unreliable bounce that had a nasty surprise in store for a number of batsman.Earlier in the day, Barker had been denied a half-century with the bat when he was deceived into playing too soon at a ball from Tim Murtagh, connecting with a leading edge. Murtagh, going down low in his follow-through, took a good return catch.Nick Compton suffered in a more painful way, hit first in the box and then on the inside of the left knee by balls that did not get up. The second blow forced him to retire on 12, although he was able to return after the fall of the next wicket, when Patel’s second ball accounted for Dawid Malan, who went back to cut but could only nudge the ball into the gloves of Ambrose, who this time held the chance, albeit none too tidily.Like Nick Gubbins, who was left out of this match through lack of runs, Compton has not had a productive season. It would have been a toss up between the two of them as to who stood aside to make way for Robson’s return from the Lions. Compton’s hundred against Essex last week came at just the right moment.He did not look vastly more on top of things in his second spell at the crease and had reached 33 when Clarke returned for a new spell and had him caught behind off a thin edge with his second delivery.That left Middlesex 195 for 3, following which a terrific catch from Matt Lamb at point in the next over ensured Paul Stirling’s stay was brief, the 20-year-old hanging on to a full-blooded cut off Rankin.After a mostly sunny day, Patel increasingly came into his own deep into the final session, when he had John Simpson caught off bat and pad at short leg and Ryan Higgins caught behind, feathering a catch after shaping to cut.Spin could become a bigger factor still on the last two days, so Middlesex will look to Eskinazi to squeeze out a few more runs yet to give them a lead.