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Hosts pile on 503 but Durham responded positively after 146.4 overs in the field

ECB Reporters Network11-May-2024Tom Prest flaunted his significant talent with his second Vitality County Championship hundred as Hampshire and Durham’s Division One clash turned into a run-fest.The 21-year-old expertly scored 102, to dovetail with Ali Orr’s day one century and Ben Brown’s 75th first-class fifty, to help Hampshire to 503.Alex Lees led Durham’s response on a Utilita Bowl pitch which has displayed heavy spin in patches but has mostly been fun in the sun to bat on.The opener scored 71 before departing in the penultimate over of the day, having teamed up with David Bedingham to put on a match-high 97 for the third wicket. Durham ended the day on 146 for 3, 357 in arrears.Prest furthered his reputation of being Hampshire’s most exciting homegrown batter since James Vince while showing his complete range.He had enthusiastically reached his half-century on the first evening but was forced to bedded in with Ben Brown, as the visitors bowled accurately during the morning. The pair eventually added 72 together.Prest’s overnight partner Liam Dawson was leg before in the third over of the day – having survived a caught behind appeal from Ben Raine the delivery before.The former England under 19 captain cemented his place in the Hampshire side after a century against Essex in the penultimate match of last season, before an 85 against Lancashire last month proved the ton was no fluke.He never looked in any discomfort, not offering up a single chance as he strode his side to three batting points and a 161-ball century.Prest guided to first slip two balls after reaching three figures to give Brydon Carse his first wicket of the season – having gone nought for 285 up until that point in 2024.Brown, who passed fifty in 95 balls, and Felix Organ maintained Hampshire’s progress – with a clear intention to only have to bat once, especially with rain forecast on Monday.They put on 60 before a flurry of wickets ended the innings. Brown lost control of the bat and splattered one-handed to midwicket, Organ was run out by James Fuller’s lazy running, Kyle Abbott was bowled by a Callum Parkinson ripper before Fuller – after some exciting shot-making – lost his off stump.Parkinson ended with an expensive four-for, with debutant Peter Siddle pilfering three. Hampshire reached 500 at home for the first time since 2019.Vince called for his spinners as soon as the eighth and ninth overs and was quickly rewarded with turn for Dawson and Organ – the former seeing two loud lbw appeals turned down in his first over.Organ was the first to strike when Scott Borthwick brought tea by misreading a full straight delivery to be bowled, and end a pacy 45-run stand with Lees. And then Colin Ackermann was plumb in front to Dawson.Lees batted himself out of danger of becoming a victim of the spin and variable bounce with a series of aggressive boundary shots.But the spell of peril eased and Lees slipped back down the gears to reach 50 for the second time this year in exactly 100 balls, with Bedingham keeping him company.He was adjudged leg-before to Dawson with the seventh from last ball of the day, with Hampshire the only side who could realistically win this game.

Tom Rogers’ first BBL half-century ensure Stars win with 33 balls to spare, keeping their slim final hopes alive

AAP12-Jan-2023Melbourne Stars made light work of their 109-run chase in a nine-wicket thumping of Adelaide Strikers that keeps their slim BBL finals hopes alive.Strikers’ high-powered batting line-up crumbled at the MCG on Thursday night as they were bowled out for just 108, following successive scores of 200-plus. It was the lowest total of any side batting first this season and the third-lowest in Strikers’ history.In reply, Tom Rogers hit the first half-century of his BBL career as Stars cruised to victory with 33 balls in hand. Fellow opener Joe Clarke was the only player dismissed when he was run out by a direct hit from Ryan Gibson.The win lifted Stars off the bottom of the ladder and improved their net run-rate, giving them a finals lifeline ahead of Saturday’s derby against Melbourne Renegades. Strikers host the last-placed Brisbane Heat on the same day and are also firmly in the mix.Strikers’ low total came despite Matt Short hitting two of the first three deliveries of their innings for six as he took 20 off Luke Wood’s opening over. They were the only two sixes of Strikers’ innings.Experienced duo Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa shone for Stars, who clamped down on their opponents and bowled almost 60 dot balls.Liam Hatcher removed the competition’s top two run scorers – Short and Chris Lynn – while Beau Webster took a superb diving catch at extra cover to remove Adam Hose. Wood was the only Stars bowler with an economy rate above five an over.Harry Nielsen top-scored for Strikers, who are winless from six attempts against Stars at the MCG.

Dhaka pitch in focus as is unseasonal rain which is forecast from the second to the fourth days

Mohammad Isam03-Dec-2021

Big Picture

Bangladesh have narrowed the gap in skills with Pakistan, but they are still some way off acquiring the mental steel needed to turn corners, handle clutch moments and win Tests. The Dhaka Test is the home side’s last chance to pose the visitors a stern challenge and turn things around for themselves.Shakib Al Hasan’s return to full fitness should help Bangladesh on many fronts. Taskin Ahmed, meanwhile, will be expected to inject a bit of pace.Pakistan’s approach to difficult situations helped them dominate most of the Chattogram Test. When Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das put together 206 runs for the fifth wicket in the first innings, they responded with a strong showing on the second morning. When Bangladesh bowled Pakistan out for 286 in their first dig, their bowlers again got them back in the game.Related

• Mominul Haque: Lack of 'a lot of performing players' reason behind reliance on longer-format rookies

• Shakib fit for second Test; Saif Hassan out with typhoid

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali didn’t just bowl exciting deliveries to get the wickets, they also put together a bowling partnership that left very little wiggle room for the Bangladesh line-up. Such was their dominance over Bangladesh’s top four that the rest of the batting order was left scrambling to compile a big effort.Abid Ali was Pakistan’s batting enforcer in Chattogram. Their gamble to try out newcomer Abdullah Shafique also paid off handsomely, as he struck two fifties in his debut Test. Babar Azam and the rest of the batting order will look to make amends for not contributing much in the first Test.Bangladesh’s batting is their major concern. The top order combusted easily in both innings, which included captain Mominul Haque. Shakib’s inclusion will bolster the batting that was heavily dependent on Mushfiqur and Liton. The bowling, too, will be spin-heavy now that Shakib is back, but how they balance it with pacers is also a big question. The bowling composition will be an early indication of the type of pitch that curator Gamini Silva might dish out.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LWLDL
Pakistan WWLWW

In the spotlight

Abid Ali more than made up for his duck against Bangladesh last year with his 224-run tally in the first Test, which included a first-innings 133. Batting like a solid opener, he shifted gears with aplomb, getting into his shell to see Pakistan through good spells of bowling and then opening up quickly to punish errors against spinners and quick bowlers alike.Liton Das bounced back admirably in the Chattogram Test after the T20 World Cup debacle. His maiden Test hundred came at a crunch phase for Bangladesh when they looked down and out. For a player with an aesthetically pleasurable style of play, his inconsistency, though, is frustrating for Bangladesh.

Team news

Shakib and Taskin are set to return to the XI while Mahmudul Hasan Joy could make his Test debut in Saif Hassan’s vacated spot.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Ebadot HossainPakistan are likely to be unchanged.Pakistan (probable): 1 Abid Ali, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Azhar Ali 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Nauman Ali, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Sajid Khan

Pitch and conditions

Spinners will definitely come into play at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The question is when. Unseasonal rain is in the forecast from the second to the fourth days.

Stats and trivia

• In the Chattogram fixture, Abid Ali missed out to become the third Pakistani opener, after Hanif Mohammad and Wajahatullah Wasti, to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match.
• Afridi is tied with R Ashwin as the top Test wicket-taker in 2021 with a tally of 44.
• Liton Das has the second most Test runs among wicketkeepers this year.

Quotes

“Everyone from the subcontinent plays spin very well, so it is better not to give them a spin wicket. I think everyone else would do the same. I prefer a flat wicket.”

From safety protocols to assigning home grounds, here is what could happen during the Sunday meeting

Varun Shetty01-Aug-20207:35

Bal: Hosting IPL a far bigger challenge compared to a bilateral series

What’s the meeting about?

The IPL Governing Council is still awaiting a clearance from the Indian government to host the IPL in the UAE, and according to chairman Brijesh Patel, it “will come” soon. The BCCI has already submitted a letter of intent to the Emirates Cricket Board, and with that out of the way, the council will meet on Sunday primarily to finalise the fixtures and come up with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure safety as players from various countries gather in the UAE. The window for the tournament is between September 19 and November 10.

Who will attend?

The meeting will be chaired by Patel, and also feature BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. Other prominent members expected are IPL COO and BCCI interim chief, Hemang Amin, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, and BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal.

What are the pressing issues? What is an SOP?

Moving the tournament abroad itself isn’t new to the BCCI, but the main point of contention is the safety of doing it this time round. In comparison to, say, the recently concluded bilateral series between West Indies and England, the IPL will have a lot more variables: there will be eight teams, for starters, and they will have to be monitored strictly over a duration that could end up being close to three months.That is where SOPs come in – the procedures that will be defined in microscopic detail and enforced strictly to avoid any infections to the people involved.The SOPs will be drawn across various categories. For example, with something like the testing process: who will be authorised to conduct the tests, and how often will they conduct them? For a player who might arrive later than the rest of his squad, will there be a quarantine period? And how many tests will be required before he can play? What happens if a player tests positive, and what will that mean for the rest of the team given they’ll all be in the same “bubble”?Take that level of detail and apply it across the board to matters like who will be in charge of creating bio-secure bubbles – the franchises or the board – how populated those bubbles can be (will it involve just the team or even the support staff from, say, the hotels?), and how they will be secured against breaches.Get ready for an IPL unlike any other•BCCI

What else needs clarifying

Home grounds and match day protocols: With the fixtures, franchises will be assigned “home” grounds across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah that will likely be on rolling basis. A cap on the number of people allowed at the ground on match days is also expected to be laid down.Closed doors or not? UAE board secretary Mubashir Usmani believes that the active cases in the UAE will reduce from the current figure of about 6,200 by the time the IPL rolls around. He said the board will look to allow spectators to the tune of 30-50% capacity at the stadiums. Given that most sporting events are happening behind closed doors, the council will have to take a call on this.When can teams land in the UAE? Chennai Super Kings are already aiming to get to Dubai in the second week of August to kickstart training, and various franchises are reportedly looking at the August 20-22 window.What about the latecomers? Some players from Australia and England are expected to be engaged in an ODI series till the second week of September, and Lasith Malinga and Isuru Udana could be held up by the Lankan Premier League which is scheduled to end on September 20. Quarantine protocols will dictate how early such players will feature in the tournament.Player replacements Franchises are keen to understand how replacements will work during the tournament. The IPL normally allows mid-season replacements in case of injuries, and this time there will be the added possibility of players pulling out of the tournament for a variety of reasons.Will there be AB? There is also the matter of South Africa’s borders remaining closed both ways at the moment, which adds another dimension to the logistical issues for franchises, particularly to CSK and RCB, who account for six of the ten South African players in the league.Will Indian team players train together at Motera before the IPL? ESPNcricinfo understands that there was an idea to set up a national team camp in late August, and that franchises are waiting to hear on whether or not that will happen.Will families be allowed? Given that players could likely spend a minimum of two months inside hotels – longer for those who will play India’s Tests in Australia in December – there is the very serious question of whether families will be allowed to travel with them.

The tour was originally scheduled to begin in early May, but was postponed following the Easter Sunday blasts in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2019The PCB has announced that Pakistan’s Under-19s will tour Sri Lanka from May 23 for a series of five 50-over matches. The tour was originally scheduled to begin in early May, with the team set to depart Pakistan on April 30, but was postponed following the Easter Sunday blasts that left over 250 dead in Colombo.The original schedule consisted of two four-day games and three one-dayers against Sri Lanka’s Under-19s, in Galle and Hambantota. Now the tour will consist only of one-day games, all in Hambantota, on May 26, May 28, May 31, June 2 and June 5. The team will depart for Karachi on June 6.The team will be captained by Rohail Nazir, the 17-year-old Islamabad wicketkeeper-batsman, and coached by Azam Khan.Zakir Khan, the PCB’s director – international cricket, said the decision to go ahead with the tour was made after reviewing the security arrangements made by SLC.”I am pleased to confirm the Pakistan U19 cricket team’s tour to Sri Lanka is now back on track following 21 April tragic events,” Zakir said via press release.”Pakistan have themselves been a victim of terrorism. In the past decade, we have suffered massively, both financially and in terms of growing and developing cricket in our country, following international teams’ refusals to visit Pakistan.”When the offer for a revised schedule came on the table, the PCB management team unanimously agreed they will not allow any cricket playing country to go through the same difficulties and challenges as Pakistan. In such difficult times, the cricket family needs to stand together and support their member.”The decision to visit Sri Lanka is not only to show solidarity with them but to also practice what we preach.”In reaching the decision, we have reviewed and are satisfied with the security plans Sri Lanka Cricket have to put place for the Pakistan U19 cricket team. We have complete faith and confidence that our team will be well looked after in Sri Lanka.”In making the final decision, the PCB also took consent of the relevant authorities who backed our view to support Sri Lanka in these difficult times.”Pakistan Under-19 squad: Rohail Nazir (capt & wk), Mohammad Taha, Abbas Afridi, Akhtar Shah, Basit Ali, Haider Ali, Khayyam Khan (wk), Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Wasim, Niaz Khan, Saim Ayub, Shiraz Khan, Suleman Shafqat, Qasim Akram
Reserves: Amir Ali, Irfan Niazi, Mohammad Amir, Nadir Shah, Said Nazir
Coaching staff: Azam Khan (coach-cum-manager), Mohtashim Rasheed (assistant coach), Faheem Shah (physiotherapist), Saboor Ahmed (trainer), Usman Hashmi (analyst)

Wade brought up his 10th first-class century and struck up two crucial partnerships to propel Tasmania to 5 for 327 on the first day

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018ScorecardAn outstanding rearguard century from Matthew Wade has wrestled the momentum in Tasmania’s favour on day one against Western Australian in Hobart.The Warriors threatened to run through the Tigers’ lower order having reduced them to 5 for 159 after winning the toss. Andrew Holder had done the early damage removing Beau Webster and Alex Doolan with swing and seam movement. When George Bailey fell lbw to Simon Mackin, the Tigers were 3 for 51.But Wade started the rebuild. First, he combined with Jake Doran in an 82-run stand to steady the ship. Later, he was joined by Simon Milenko and the pair feasted on an inexperienced Warriors attack.Wade marched to his 10th first-class hundred. Milenko scored an unbeaten 66 in the 168-run partnership that can grow even further on day two.

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.”

New Zealand’s top three struck 139 runs between them off 88 balls to lead the hosts to 188 in 20 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka’s Women never really got going and were kept to 86

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Sophie Devine hit one four and four sixes to down Sri Lanka•ICC/Getty

New Zealand’s top three struck 139 runs between them off 88 balls to lead the hosts to 188 for 3 in 20 overs, a total that eventually set up a 102-run win. In reply, Sri Lanka’s Women never really got going and were kept to 86 with only three batsmen passing double figures.Having opted to bat, New Zealand Women had a strong start with openers Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest putting on 82 in eight overs. Left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera, however, broke the partnership off the first ball of the ninth over by trapping Priest lbw for 49. Bates was bowled by another left-arm spinner, Sugandika Kumari, but there was no respite for Sri Lanka. Sophie Devine soon found her range and scored her third T20I fifty. She added 48 with Sara McGlashan before the latter was forced to retire hurt for 20, the only worry for New Zealand on an otherwise perfect day. By the time Devine was out for 54, New Zealand had surged past 170.Devine then took the new ball and undid Chamari Atapattu for 9; Sri Lanka’s score of 11 for 1 soon became 17 for 3 in 5.5 overs thanks to pacer Lea Tahuhu. The middle order was tied down and the innings would have panned out a lot worse if not for knocks from Oshadi Ranasinghe (34) and Ama Kanchana (16).Five out of six New Zealand bowlers had economy rates under six; debutant Thamsyn Newton finishing with figures of 0 for 16.

If Alviro Petersen had his own tankard in the local pub and a cider named after him, he could hardly have taken to life with Somerset more comfortably

George Dobell at Taunton25-Apr-2013
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick sustained a crushing blow to the neck off the bowling of Rikki Clarke•PA Photos

If Alviro Petersen had his own tankard in the local pub and a cider named after him, he could hardly have taken to life with Somerset more comfortably.Petersen, fresh from the 258 runs he scored on debut at The Oval, followed up with a century in his first game at his new home ground to help Somerset establish a commanding position by the end of the first day of this game against Warwickshire. A total of 394 runs in his first three innings does not just bear testament to some good wickets, but also a batsmen in supreme form.Some might look at the scores and conclude that Petersen is filling his boots against soft county attacks, but it is not so. There was nothing soft about this innings. Somerset, choosing to bat on a green-looking pitch on which Warwickshire would have chosen to bowl, were up against a fast-bowling attack that contained three men pushing for an England place. And while a couple of them were not absolutely at their best, a crowd of over 2,000 was treated to a high-quality encounter between two strong teams that would not have disgraced many international matches. The standard of county cricket at the top of Division One really is impressive at present.That Somerset have, at this stage, had the best of it is largely due to the strength of their top-order batting. A trio of Marcus Trescothick, Nick Compton and Petersen would grace many international sides and they responded to the challenging circumstances with classy displays.While Petersen will gain the headlines – he drove beautifully, but also cut and pulled fluently – the foundations for this innings were laid by Compton and Trescothick in an opening partnership of 103. Progress was not easy – runs to third man were plentiful as Warwickshire’s bowlers found the edge regularly – and Trescothick was hit a crunching blow on the side of his neck in the middle of a fierce spell from the dangerous but expensive Rikki Clarke.Perhaps Warwickshire were a little unfortunate, too. Compton, on 2, survived an edge off Chris Woakes that flew between the slips and gully, while Trescothick, on 9, was lucky to see his slashed edged go high over the cordon. But both batsmen leave so well and allow so little margin for error that, having survived the early challenges, they gradually gained the initiative.”Our openers did a great job seeing off the new ball,” Petersen said afterwards. “That made my job easier. I’m pretty happy with where my game is going and I hope I can go from strength to strength in the next two years.”Warwickshire may also reflect that they were not absolutely at their best. Chris Wright, perhaps anxious to make an impression in front of the TV cameras and the watching selector, Ashley Giles, struggled for rhythm just a little and drifted down the leg side more than normal, while Oliver Hannon-Dalby, in for the injured Keith Barker and preferred to Boyd Rankin, struggled to maintain the pressure with a few spells of floaty medium pace. It meant an attack that usually has a relentless nature to it instead had a weak link that allowed the batsmen to settle and regroup.Maybe Warwickshire chased the game for a while, too. After clawing their way back into contention after lunch, they seemed to strive too hard for wicket-taking deliveries rather than maintaining discipline and patience. It saw Petersen and Jos Buttler counterattack fluently in a partnership that eventually yielded 193 runs in 47.1 overs. Woakes, the pick of the bowlers, always demanded respect, but his colleagues overpitched and underpitched more than would, by their own high standards, have pleased them. Wright, in particular, improved during the day and produced several searing bouncers – one of which struck Buttler on the gloves – but with Graham Onions prospering elsewhere, may have ended the day further from the England team than he started it.Buttler will certainly have gone in the other direction. He is an unusually gifted batsman and will resume in the morning 10 short of the third century of his first-class career. There are times, such as when he throws his hands at wide deliveries without foot movement, when you worry for his technique but, when the ball disappears for four as often as it did today, such concerns fade. For the second game in succession, he added over 100 with Petersen and, perhaps more pleasingly, for the second game in succession, he tempered his own attacking instincts for the good of the team when a break for bad light and the loss of two late wickets threatened to reverse Somerset’s progress.For a while it appeared Somerset might squander their good start. They lost four wickets for 40 runs either side of lunch as James Hildreth pulled to square leg and Craig Kieswetter’s 17-ball duck ended when he fended one to slip as if providing catching practice. Earlier Compton was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw – there was more than a hint of inside edge on the ball – and Trescothick, just starting to show glimpses of his imperious best, played down the wrong line to the first ball of offspin from Jeetan Patel.Later Petersen, slashing at a cut, was brilliantly held in the slips, before Peter Trego, in the middle of a run of batting form so grim that his last six first-class innings have garnered just 19 runs, top-edged a pull and was also athletically held by Tim Ambrose. Ambrose’s days as an England player are surely gone but, on merit, he and Chris Read really should be considered among the very best of the contenders as No. 2 to Matt Prior in the Test team.

Tim Paine has conceded he was nervous when he batted in the nets this week after spending nearly a year out of the game with a finger injury

Brydon Coverdale28-May-2012Tim Paine has conceded he was nervous when he batted in the nets this week after spending nearly a year out of the game with a finger injury. Paine has been chosen as the gloveman for the Australia A tour of England in July and it will give him a chance to prove he can still be an option for Australian selection despite being overtaken by Matthew Wade in the national wicketkeeping queue.It has been a tough 18 months for Paine, who made his Test debut in 2010 when Australia played Pakistan in England, and retained the position for the tour of India later that year. In November 2010 he broke the index finger on his right hand while batting against Dirk Nannes in an exhibition match and while he was able to play during 2011, he missed the entire 2011-12 summer after breaking the finger again during pre-season training with Tasmania.But Paine believes the time off has allowed him to heal properly, and he has been training at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane ahead of the Australia A tour. Keeping wicket has not been a problem for Paine during his training but it was only this week that he returned to batting, and he said it would take some time to get used to a new pair of batting gloves designed to give his finger extra protection.”The finger is going really well,” Paine said. “It has been a long 16 or 18 months. I’m glad to be back now … I’ve had my first hit against bowlers today and I’m training wicketkeeping more, that’s pretty much at 100%. I’ll build that up over the next four or five weeks before I head off to England. It’s going well.”I was a bit nervous [when batting]. It’s been a long time. I’ve got some new gloves made up from Kookaburra and Alex Kountouris, the Australian physio, has put even more protection on that. That’s something I have to get used to as well, I have to hold the bat slightly differently, because there’s a lot of padding and a lot of tape on the fingers. That’s something that will take time but I’ll get that right over the next month or so.”Paine has plenty of training to catch up on. Not only did he miss all of last summer, he spent hardly any time with the Tasmania squad, given leave by the state coach Tim Coyle to pursue other activities. He said the time off had helped keep his mind fresh and prevented him from trying to return too quickly, which had been a problem when he first broke the finger in 2010.”Last summer I didn’t do a hell of a lot of cricket, I had a bit to do with the Big Bash with the [Hobart] Hurricanes but stayed away from any sort of training and had plenty of time off, away from cricket, away from Bellerive Oval, which was really good,” he said. “It’s got me in a good frame of mind now, I’m nice and fresh and excited to be back.”The first one I struggled a bit more because hanging around and wanting to do stuff and not being able to was frustrating. Then every time I’d try to do something it would break again, or something would go wrong. That was frustrating. It was important this time to just get away for four or five months. I didn’t even try and pick up a cricket bat or catch a ball in that whole period. I didn’t think too much about cricket. I spent a bit of time in Melbourne and had a good time recharging.”But while Paine was recuperating, he remained in the minds of John Inverarity and the rest of the Australian selection panel. Although Paine, 27, has watched his childhood friend Matthew Wade, 24, grab his opportunity in the baggy green and score a Test century against West Indies, a strong summer for Tasmania would ensure Paine was firmly in the frame once again for national selection.The Australia A squad is set to play two three-day games against Derbyshire and Durham, and two four-day games against the England Lions, in July and August.