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There will be much soul-searching in Cardiff over the winter, but the season at least finished on a positive note

ECB Reporters Network26-Sep-2018
ScorecardAfter Glamorgan had reduced Leicestershire to 102 for 8 shortly before tea, they would have been ready to celebrate their second Championship win of the season, but the Leicestershire tailenders had other ideas, and the home team had to wait until the first ball of the penultimate over before the final wicket fell, with Glamorgan winning by 132 runs.Dieter Klein, batting at No. 10, joined Callum Parkinson and the ninth-wicket pair stayed for 17 overs to add 72, before Parkinson was bowled by Michael Hogan for 31. Gavin Griffiths and Klein then further frustrated Glamorgan with Klein going on to score a career-best 94, before he was leg before to Timm van der Gugten – the last two Leicestershire wickets adding 168 runs.Klein faced 100 balls, striking a six and fifteen fours and he deserved a century. If the senior batsmen had only emulated his approach, the visitors could have challenged the stiff target of 403.Meanwhile, Glamorgan can reflect on a season where they won their first and last Championship games but, although they were without senior players with Marchant de Lange playing only three Championship games and Shaun Marsh four, they underperformed with their young players lacking confidence.Glamorgan resumed on 106 for 4 at the start of play, but any thoughts of quick runs and a declaration were quickly dispelled, as Leicestershire’s seamers mare early inroads. Jeremy Lawlor failed to add to his overnight score when he was bowled by Tom Taylor for 21, who then dismissed Craig Meschede and top scorer Chris Cooke in quick succession.Taylor, who was making his Leicestershire Championship debut, but who was injured for most of the season, was easily Leicestershire’s most impressive bowler, ending with excellent figures of 12.4-7-15-4.The visitors had three overs before lunch, but lost Ateeq Javed to Michael Hogan’s first ball, and when Colin Ackerman departed to van der Gugten, Leicestershire were 4 for 2. Mark Cosgrove was on a king pair against his former county and though he avoided that tamely chipped Hogan to midwicket.Hogan relied on his seamers and when Meschede was brought into the attack he had Lewis Hill caught low down by wicketkeeper Cooke, before the same combination dismissed Harry Dearden for 24.Taylor then showed he has the attributes of becoming an useful allrounder with some firm drives through the offside before nicking Hogan to first slip.
Leicestershire were then 102 for 8, but Klein and Parkinson settled to share a productive partnership with both players playing every ball on merit and making sure that their team did not lose before tea.They put on 72 in 17 overs, before Parkinson was yorked by Hogan for 31, the Glamorgan captain taking his season’s tally to 44 wickets.

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer said that he was praying that the ball would land inside the ropes when Malcolm Waller’s fighting innings ended with a controversial catch on the deep square leg boundary

Peter Della Penna in Edinburgh16-Jun-2017Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer and vice-captain Con de Lange were yearning for divine intervention during Malcolm Waller’s late surge that took their first-ever ODI against Zimbabwe down to the wire. Their prayers were answered when Waller, in his attempt to strike a sixth six, found Chris Sole on the deep square leg boundary – some may say literally. It ended Waller’s innings at 92 off 62 balls as Scotland prevailed by 26 runs via the DLS Method to pick up their first ODI win against a Full Member.”When that ball was going to deep square off Waller, I was just praying for it to land inside the ropes because he hadn’t hit many inside,” Coetzer told ESPNcricinfo. “He hit them all over the rope or even out of the ground. Then, when that last one went up, just over the moon; really, really over the moon, really chuffed for the guys. You could tell by the emotions and the celebrations from the guys, we’re obviously really happy with the day.”Waller had struck a series of sixes straight down the ground and to the east boundary, including one extraordinary cut with the wind at his back that sailed 30 yards over the point boundary, into the adjacent tennis courts. Zimbabwe entered the last three overs requiring 38 with two wickets in hand. After a lengthy chat, left-arm spinner de Lange was brought on, and Waller drove his second ball for a straight six out of the ground. But three balls later, in trying to hit one through the wind, Waller’s slog hung up in the stiff breeze for Sole to take the catch.It was controversial as video footage appeared to indicate Sole’s foot came in contact with the boundary rope before quickly coming off. Waller initially stayed on the field while Zimbabwe’s bench protested; the umpires conferred before sticking with the call that it had been a clean catch. Waller said another six there would have made the last two overs manageable, especially with at least one needing to be bowled by a medium pacer.”With this wind, we knew you have to target the one side where it is,” Waller said. “When they brought the spinner on in the third-last over there, I felt it was a good chance for me to bang a couple of boundaries, even though the wind was coming. I was probably looking to go straighter. I knew that if I could put the spinner under a lot of pressure and get two or three sixes in that over, they would definitely be under a lot of pressure with two seamers left. Ten an over against seamers, I think is pretty comfortable on here.”De Lange said he felt tense at the start of the 41st over despite having already taken four wickets, and prayed for the wind to help keep the ball in play.”It was quite nerve-wracking. I must be honest because the one that went for six, I missed the length slightly, and then that one hit the length, trying to get him to hit into the wind, and then I was just praying for the ball to come down inside the rope and it was taken,” de Lange said. “That’s why we all play cricket. That’s what you grow up as a kid dreaming towards, beating Test nations.”Our victory is probably a result of belief that we can do really well, can compete and beat the big boys. So to win, just everyone’s emotion afterwards, as soon as that last catch was taken, that relief is a fantastic feeling.”The controversial catch aside, Waller felt Zimbabwe had tripped themselves up early in the chase with needless run-outs on a good batting track. Hamilton Masakadza had battered Scotland in the Powerplay and looked set for a big score before he was run out, responding to a call for a tight single from Solomon Mire, in the 11th over for 38. It ended the opening partnership at 55.”We’ve been following a couple of games that have been played here, and obviously they have been high-scoring,” Waller said. “So we knew it is a decent batting track, and I think on average, guys are looking at 280-290. So when they posted that score, we were confident and felt if we had wickets in hand and had a good start up front that we’d be able to chase it down or get close to it towards the end.”When you’re chasing a big score like that, you don’t want run-outs. You’re going to get run-outs in games, but it’s crucial not to lose your wickets like that. I think we got off to a really good start with Hamilton and Mire, and we were definitely going along and putting them under pressure. But then just silly run-outs definitely put a damper, and then a couple of quick wickets after that definitely holds you back when you have to go at six-seven an over.”Over the course of the day, Scotland had been the side to hold their nerve under pressure. They were tested at the start, where they were limited to four runs off the first four overs. But Coetzer, who was composed to begin with, unleashed his array of drives and cuts later in the Powerplay en route to his fourth ODI ton that set up a defendable total. Coetzer hoped that the win, Scotland’s first in ODIs over a Full Member after 23 losses, will influence other Full Members to schedule fixtures against them.”I hope it will prove and put a case forward to giving us more opportunities, and this is what we’ve been waiting to do for a little while,” Coetzer said. “We’ve taken a little bit longer than other teams have, but we’ve now got a strong squad of players and we hope that we could still keep on challenging and maybe play some of the other Test-ranked teams. It’s definitely made a statement today.”

A superb opening partnership of 180 between Phil Mustard and Mark Stoneman, hit in just 27.5 overs, was the foundation Durham needed to compile a formidable total that proved just beyond Leicestershire’s capacity

ECB Reporters Network05-Jun-2016
ScorecardMark Stoneman was a central feature of Durham’s victory•Getty Images

A superb opening partnership of 180 between Phil Mustard and Mark Stoneman, hit in just 27.5 overs, was the foundation Durham needed to compile a total that proved beyond Leicestershire’s capacity to chase down, though the Foxes made a valiant effort, falling only 11 runs short.Played on the same pitch on which Durham made 120 for 9 in the previous day’s T20 match between the counties, a score Leicestershire knocked off for the loss of four wickets, it quickly became apparent this was going to be a very different sort of match.Having begun relatively cautiously, taking 37 from the first ten overs, the two left-handed Durham openers accelerated in style, with 48 coming off the next five overs. Stoneman, who took the majority of the strike, was first to his half-century, but Mustard clipped off-spinner Jigar Naik effortlessly over midwicket for six as the two left-handers passed the previous record one day partnership for Durham against Leicestershire, 167 between Michael Roseberry and John Morris in 1996.Centuries looked there for the taking, so much so that Mustard looked as shocked as anyone when he pulled a short ball from Kevin O’Brien low into the hands of Rob Taylor at long-on, his 88 having come off 70 balls and including four sixes.Stoneman too missed out on three figures, chipping a simple catch back to Taylor as the left-arm seamer held one back, his 93 coming off 113 deliveries.Having been very much under the cosh, Leicestershire’s bowlers began to exert a measure of control. Taylor bowled Graham Clark as the batsman stepped across his crease and attempted a paddle sweep, and Borthwick, having made 63, went in exactly the same manner.
Paul Collingwood and Ryan Pringle came and went quickly, but an important unbroken partnership of 48 between Keaton Jennings and Callum MacLeod ensured Durham’s final score was close to the 350 that had looked to be their minimal target after Mustard and Stoneman’s partnership.Leicestershire’s openers proved rather less effective, Mark Pettini losing his middle stump playing across the line at Chris Rushworth, and a frustrated Neil Dexter going well caught by wicketkeeper Mustard diving to his right after edging an attempted drive at Jamie Harrison.Kevin O’Brien pulled his first ball mightily for six, however, and together with Mark Cosgrove, ensured the home team remained in touch by bringing up the 100 in the 19th over. O’Brien went to his 50 off 41 balls, and Cosgrove in 48 before two balls after hitting Borthwick over extra cover for six, Cosgrove steered the leg-spinner straight to Collingwood at point.Niall O’Brien joined his brother in keeping up the run rate before lofting Pringle’s off-spin to Borthwick at long-off, after a partnership of 72 in 10 overs with his brother, and even after Kevin was dismissed for 89, Lewis Hill (31) and Tom Wells (31) kept the Foxes in the hunt.The Durham bowlers kept picking up wickets however, and Harrison, who finished with 4-40, and Rushworth (2-48), were outstanding at the death, giving the Leicestershire batsmen little to hit.

N Srinivasan has reportedly been re-elected the BCCI president for a one-year second term. He was the only contestant for the post

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-201311.35am N Srinivasan has been re-elected the BCCI president for a one-year second term. He was the only contestant for the post: it would have taken nominations from two boards from the south zone to even force an election. However, Srinivasan cannot take charge as president until India’s Supreme Court announces its verdict on the Special Leave Petition filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar against the BCCI’s probe panel formed to investigate corruption in the IPL. The Supreme Court’s next hearing is scheduled for Monday.The AGM, which began at 11am, continues. Some of the other issues on the table are the selection of other important officials including vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer and IPL chairman. The impasse over the tour to South Africa is also likely to be discussed.Noon The other big news coming is that – as expected – Sanjay Patel and Anirudh Chaudhury have been named the BCCI secretary and treasurer respectively. Vacancies for these posts were created when Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned in protest against how the inquiry into the IPL betting scandal was handled.Baroda’s Patel was the interim secretary already so this was a mere confirmation. Chaudhury has replaced the interim treasurer Ravi Savant, who is likely to be named the vice-president from the west zone. Haryana Cricket Association’s Chaudhury is the son of former BCCI president, Ranbir Mahendra, who was a known Jagmohan Dalmiya ally.12.15pm Sneh Bansal (north), Ravi Savant (west) and Rajiv Shukla (central) have replaced Arun Jaitley, Niranjan Shah and Sudhir Dabir as vice-presidents. Shivlal Yadav and Chitrak Mitra have held on to their vice-presidency from south and east zone.Jaitley, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, is understood to have pulled out because he will be busy with next year’s general elections. Shah and Dabir, though, are understood to be from the anti-Srinivasan camp. Shah’s replacement – Savant – emerged as a Srinivasan ally during the betting scandal, and was even the interim treasurer after Shirke resigned. Vidarbha’s Dabir is considered to be a Shashank Manohar-Sharad Pawar man. His replacement, Shukla, a junior minister in the national government who resigned as IPL chairman, is considered to be the BCCI’s problem solver in New Delhi.1.15pm After long deliberation, Ranjib Biswal, the Orissa Cricket Association chief, has been named the IPL chairman. Biswal, who was the team manager when India won the World Cup in 2011, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, who is the interim president in Srinivasan’s absence, were the two leading candidates for the post last night. The decision on the IPL chairman has featured the longest debate so far in the AGM.Biswal, a former Orissa allrounder with five first-class hundreds and 153 wickets in 41 matches, was also been the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman in the past. Kerala’s TC Mathew will now replace him as NCA chairman. Biswal also captained India Under-19 in 19891.30pm Among other appointments, Andhra’s G Ganga Raju has been named the head of the BCCI’s finance committee. Andhra’s staying with Srinivasan was crucial because only a split in the south zone could have caused an election for the president post. Raju has replaced Jyotiraditya Scindia, one of the first to openly question Srinivasan’s continuing as the president.Jharkhand’s Amitabh Choudhary has replaced Jammu & Kashmir’s Farooq Abdullah as the head of the marketing committee. This committee might have a lot of work ahead. The search for a title sponsor is already on, and if Sahara doesn’t continue its deal a new team sponsor will need to be found.1.40pm In a politician-for-politician switch, Rajiv Shukla has replaced Arun Jaitley as the head of the tour, programme and fixture committee.Goa’s Vinod Phadke is the new media committee chief, replacing Rajasthan’s CP Joshi.1.50pm First minor surprise of the day. Former Baroda batsman Connor Williams has replaced former India wicket-keeper Chandrakant Pandit in the junior selection committee.2.20pm A new committee to promote cricket in north-eastern parts of India has been formed. Jagmohan Dalmiya will head the north-east development committee. Currently there are two Ranji teams from the north-east: Assam and Tripura

India’s bowlers lost the second warm-up Twenty20 from a strong position against Pakistan, but Rohit Sharma does not believe the side’s attack is a concern ahead of the World Twenty20

Abhishek Purohit in Colombo17-Sep-2012India’s bowlers lost the second warm-up Twenty20 from a strong position against Pakistan, but Rohit Sharma does not believe the side’s attack is a concern ahead of the World Twenty20. Rohit pointed out that the same bowlers had defended a much lower total against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up match on Saturday.”It was one of those bad days, I would say,” Rohit said. “If you look at the last game against Sri Lanka, the bowlers got plenty of wickets. We defended a low score on that track, 145-odd runs. It was not a par score [for that track] yet the bowlers defended that. Yes, we had an off day today. I am sure we will come hard against Afghanistan and [do well] from there on.”Rohit and Virat Kohli had made fifties to lift India to 185 for 3, which Rohit felt was a decent score on the Premadasa pitch, but barring R Ashwin, who took 4 for 23, all the India bowlers were wicketless and expensive. “The track was very good to bat on. As you saw, more than 180 runs were scored in both the innings. It was a typical Sri Lankan wicket; if you bat well and apply yourself, you will get runs here. It was a good target I felt on this track, because I thought there was a little bit of help for the spinners. But it was one of those days where things didn’t come together.”We still have one more day before our actual game on 19th, so we will see how we should come back. It is not the end, it is just the start. Still a long way to go in the tournament, unfortunately things didn’t go our way today.”Rohit said despite it being a warm-up game, India had come out wanting to win it. “We were very focussed. We were quite intense in the field. It’s just that our bowling didn’t click together, which is a little bit frustrating because if you want to win the game everything has to click together. Our bowlers did a pretty good job in the first warm-up game when we defended 145 on that flat track. I don’t want to take any credit away from them. They have been bowling really well. I am sure they will come on well as the tournament progresses.”Batting is certainly India’s strength, but the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir haven’t had a decent outing in both warm-up games. Rohit backed the experienced duo to come good. “Getting a good start is important. They have been batting really well, there is no doubt about that. I am sure that in the coming games, when the actual tournament starts, they will come good. They have experience playing in these conditions and it is just a matter of one game, and we are right in it after that.”

Australia needs to show the capacity to learn quickly from the reverses of the first match, while Sri Lanka seek to extend a psychological advantage

Daniel Brettig07-Aug-2011Match facts
August 8, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Start time 19:00 (13:30 GMT, 23:30 EST)Big Picture
There is no substitute for match conditioning. This much was clear after the first Twenty20 between Sri Lanka and Australia in Kandy, as the hosts showed the benefits of a testing tour of England, as opposed to the training camps in Brisbane and net sessions in Colombo that served as the visitors’ preparation for the tour opener. The Sri Lankans also showed far better knowledge of the conditions, bowling plenty of spin on a surface that offered turn, while Cameron White preferred to use his pace bowlers in the latter stages and saw them belted out of sight by his opposite number Tillakaratne Dilshan.Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen described it as a “frustrating” start to the tour, but there will be more gnashing of teeth in store for the tourists if they do not tighten their fundamentals and show a little more understanding of the conditions that confront them. Shaun Marsh and David Hussey in particular looked out of sorts against the accurate spin of Dilruwan Perera, while Mitchell Johnson’s first spell of the tour was disheartening in its inconsistency. More encouraging was the bowling and batting of Steve O’Keefe, and the slugging power of David Warner.Australia need to show the capacity to learn quickly from the reverses of the first match, while Sri Lankan will seek to extend a psychological advantage.Form guide
Sri Lanka WWWWL
Australia LWLLLIn the spotlight
Tillakaratne Dilshan was the undisputed star of the first match, and the Australians will need to find better ways of coping with his combative attitude and inventive strokeplay. Dilshan was not placed under too much pressure as a captain in the field either, as his bowlers kept the Australians in check. Cameron White said he had resorted to adjusting his field to counter the ‘Dil-scoop’ and thus created other gaps for the Sri Lankan captain, a rare admission.Mitchell Johnson was attacked mercilessly towards the end of the innings, and was unable to find consistent line or length, let alone any swing. His work with the new bowling coach Craig McDermott is key to Australia’s success in future matches on this tour, and he will want to improve his performance after a shoddy start.Team news
Sri Lanka seem unlikely to make many changes to a team that performed so soundly and evenly in game one. For the Australians, Aaron Finch’s pugnacity may be useful after some of the batsmen struggled for traction in the opener, and James Pattinson could be in line for a T20 debut.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Jeevan Mendis, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dilruwan Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Dhammika Prasad, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Suranga Lakmal.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White (capt), 6 Steven Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Steve O’Keefe, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Brett Lee, 11 James Pattinson.Pitch and conditions
The surface for the first match confused the Australians somewhat by offering some bounce but also plenty of spin, a combination the Sri Lankans were far quicker to adjust to. Match two will be played on a similarly equal-opportunity surface.Stats and trivia* Tillakaratne Dilshan’s century was the fifth in T20 internationals
* Dinesh Chandimal was the fifth batsman to be out hit wicket in T20I matches
* Sri Lanka had not previously won a T20I at home, losing their first four such fixtures
* Dilruwan Perera achieved the rare feat of taking wickets in each of his first three overs in international cricket
Quotes
“I had the confidence to play it. It worked and I think after I played the Dil-scoop they changed the field and I felt [it was] more easy to score more runs in other areas.”Tillakaratne Dilshan succeeded in dictating terms to Australia’s bowlers in game one”If anyone scores a hundred off 57 [55] balls it will be hard work to win the game from there. But look, there were some disappointing aspects of the game from our end as well.”Cameron White knows the Australians need to sharpen up after looking rusty in the opener

Anil Kumble, the former Indian legspinner, will be travelling to South Africa next week to take part in a coaching clinic with some of South Africa’s up-and-coming spin bowlers in Johannesburg on Thursday

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2010Anil Kumble, the former Indian legspinner, will be travelling to South Africa next week to take part in a coaching clinic with some of South Africa’s up-and-coming spin bowlers in Johannesburg on Thursday. Kumble will be joined by fellow slow bowlers Paul Harris and Johan Botha as a host of young spinners receive first-hand coaching from one of Test cricket’s leading wicket-takers.The spin-bowling clinic, which will also be attended by Cricket South Africa’s High Performance spinning coaches, Shafiek Abrahams, Harry Shapiro and Paul Adams, will run alongside the second CSA Annual Conference, which will take place from August 18 in Sandton.”Anil Kumble is a living legend, and CSA is honoured that he has accepted our invitation to come out to South Africa and work with tomorrow’s stars,” said CSA chief executive Gerald Majola. “We will also invite some of our women cricketers, young batsmen and wicketkeepers who we believe will benefit from the experience.”CSA is encouraged by the progress made by our High Performance team, and we are confident that this visit is going to boost the good work being done in the spinning department.”

“If we can push them back into second and third spells and make them tire a little bit, then we have a chance”

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-20243:32

Takeaways: Paterson impresses at 35 with maiden five-wicket haul

Sri Lanka fancy their chances chasing “anything around or below 300,” on a wicket that is “playing really well,” at St George’s Park, according to former captain Angelo Mathews.Though he acknowledged South Africa, at 221 ahead with seven wickets in hand, have the advantage, Mathews brought fighting talk to the third day’s post-play press conference, with Sri Lanka looking for a win to keep themselves in contention for next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.”We are not giving up. Obviously they are in front of us, but if we can get a couple of early wickets tomorrow, we can still push them back,” Mathews said. “And if we can, you know, get through the new ball, if we can push them back into second and third spells and make them tire a little bit, then we have a chance.”Related

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The highest score successfully chased at Gqeberha was 271 by Australia, 27 years ago and that sort of history may not be of much use to either side.Instead, the evidence of the last three days is that it remains good for run-scoring which has given Sri Lanka hope that they can tackle a big chase.”It’s playing pretty well. It’s just the odd one, keeping low and taking off, but it’s playing pretty well. There’s something always for the seamers and also a couple of balls also turned,” Mathews said. “It’s a good, even wicket and even contest with bat and ball on this wicket so it’s a great wicket to play on.”Likewise, Sri Lanka’s batters have acquitted themselves fairly well so far. The 42 all out aside, Sri Lanka have batted well on this tour, scoring 282 in their second innings in Durban and reaching their fourth highest total in the country, 328, in their first innings at St George’s Park.Marco Jansen has been nothing but trouble for Angelo Mathews and the other Sri Lanka batters this series•AFP/Getty Images

What they may regret is that that could have been much higher. At 242 for 3 overnight, they were eyeing a first-innings lead but Mathews conceded Sri Lanka were “unable to capitalise,” because of a “couple of good balls.”Mathews was on the receiving end of the first of those: a snorter from Marco Jansen that kicked up off a length and brushed the glove as he tried to fend it off. Jansen continued to generate good bounce thanks to his height and is the series’ leading wicket-taker, with an innings to come in which Sri Lanka will have to be especially cautious.”The ball is coming off six foot nine or something. Obviously, he gets bounce on any wicket,” Mathews said. “The Durban wickets also, he got a lot of bounce. We couldn’t really handle him in the first innings of the Durban Test. And also here he keeps troubling our batters. We played him pretty well this time around, but still he keeps troubling us. We need to come up with some more plans to try and combat his bounce. That’s what’s worrying: the odd one takes off on a good length as well because of his height.”Jansen aside, Sri Lanka will have to contend with Kagiso Rabada, who was South Africa’s best bowler on the second day but only got one wicket, and Dane Paterson, high on confidence after his first five-for and operating on a pitch suited to his style of play.”He [Paterson] reminds me of Vernon Philander. It’s really hard to score off him, and he’s just landing it on the spot consistently. So, yes, there’s a lot of hard work to put in, but yeah, we are willing to do that.”Sri Lanka also have fond memories of a successful chase at this venue. They hunted down 198 with eight wickets in hand five years ago. While that may sound like a doddle, Sri Lanka resumed the third day on 60 for 2 after 19 wickets fells on the second day.Kusal Mendis, who is in this team too, scored an unbeaten 84 off 110 balls to seal a series win. That can’t be done this time, but Sri Lanka could square the contest 1-all and keep themselves in the running for the WTC final.If they lose one of their three remaining Tests, including this one, in this cycle, they will be depending on several other results to go their way. Their last series of the cycle is against Australia at home early next year.

Ryan Higgins scores 88 and takes three-for as visitors crash to 134-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2023Middlesex’s Martin Andersson hit a maiden career century to help his side register their first victory of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup by routing Notts Outlaws at Radlett.The 26-year-old allrounder, promoted to bat at No. 6, produced a knock of exactly 100 from 81 balls to put the Seaxes back on track alongside Ryan Higgins, whose 88 from 58 was also a career-best performance in 50-over cricket. The pair’s effort enabled Middlesex to post 365 all out after being put in – and that target proved far too steep for the Outlaws, who could only muster 231 from 40.1 overs in reply.Higgins and Ethan Bamber picked up three wickets apiece and the 134-run victory margin – Middlesex’s highest against Notts in limited-overs cricket – would have been greater but for a spirited eighth-wicket stand of 74 between Tom Loten and Calvin Harrison.Asked to bat first, Middlesex skipper Mark Stoneman set off at a brisk pace, driving Brett Hutton over the top for six and finding the boundary regularly as he dominated an opening stand of 40 with Joe Cracknell, reaching 35 from 27. However, Hutton had the last word, breaching Stoneman’s defences with a straight one and the Outlaws seamer also picked up the wicket of Sam Robson, who dragged a ball back onto his off stump.Cracknell targeted left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White immediately with two successful sweeps to the fence, but a third attempt proved his undoing as Dane Schadendorf took a tumbling bat-pad catch behind the stumps.When Jack Davies was caught at cover, the home side had slumped to 136 for 4 – but the decision to move Andersson up the order paid off as he and Higgins shared a partnership of 129 from 78.Higgins was productive against seam and spin alike, looking well set for a maiden 50-over hundred until he skied Lyndon James to mid-off, but Andersson took full advantage of being dropped when he sliced to deep third on 18.He progressed to his half-century with a boundary, punching Patterson-White off the back foot through cover and, aided by Luke Hollman (35 from 34) steered Middlesex beyond the 300 mark. On 90 at the start of the final over, Andersson carved James for successive fours and then scrambled two to reach his milestone before being caught on the fence next delivery as the Seaxes posted 365.In reply, Notts lost three wickets during the powerplay overs, with both openers falling to Bamber – yet the most eye-catching dismissal was Stoneman’s stunning one-handed catch at midwicket to intercept James’ full-blooded pull off Ishaan Kaushal.Outlaws captain Haseeb Hameed, who dispatched his first ball from Kaushal to the cover boundary, had begun to repair the damage when Bamber uprooted his middle stump to leave the visitors reeling at 60 for 4.Andersson was unlucky not to add his name to the list of wicket-takers when Patterson-White’s edge narrowly eluded John Simpson and, when Montgomery cut him to gully later in the same over, Higgins spilled the catch.Higgins made amends as he whizzed through the middle order with three quick wickets, including the scalp of Montgomery, who was caught at backward point for 40 – but Notts’ eighth-wicket pair thwarted any hopes of a swift finish. Loten struck a career-best 44 before Robson had him caught behind and the legspinner finished proceedings when Harrison, chasing a maiden half-century, was taken at long-off for 41.

Fighting performance in second innings keeps Surrey’s pacemakers at bay for now

David Hopps14-Jun-2022Somerset 180 and 319 for 8 (Gregory 71*, Goldsworthy 67) lead Surrey 382 (Burns 113, Jacks 88, Clark 63*) 117 runsSecond-innings resistance has hardly been Somerset’s forte this season – four previous attempts had brought an average return of 141 – so there was satisfaction to be had as they put up stiffer resistance than usual to take Surrey into a final day at Taunton. Not everybody expected such resolve and a few spectators will be regretting Wednesday morning commitments they made when pessimism was at its height on the second afternoon.Surrey should still complete victory on a surface that remains in good shape, their deficit only 117 runs at the close with two Somerset second-innings standing – and they may need to do just that to retain their leadership of Division One with their closest pursuers, Hampshire, well placed to see off Yorkshire on the final day at the Ageas.Somerset’s contentment focused primarily on Lewis Goldsworthy’s maiden Championship 50, an innings that in league with Lewis Gregory’s spritely unbeaten 71 staved off the possibility of a three-day defeat after the concession of a first-innings lead of 202. Gregory also finished off Surrey’s first innings with two wickets in the opening over of the day.Goldsworthy, a 21-year-old Cornishman, is the most unsung of Somerset’s array of young batters, and the most diminutive, too, standing around 5ft 6ins, but he could yet prove himself to be the most naturally suited to the four-day game. He is an impish player, particularly strong square on the off-side, although it was his favourite shot that brought about his downfall as he was caught at the wicket against the off spin of Will Jacks. He resisted gamely in the first innings, too, for more than two hours and looked deserving of an extended run even when the Australian Matt Renshaw returns at the top of the order and James Hildreth recovers from illness.Goldsworthy also became the fourth batter to be struck on the helmet in this match, top-edging Gus Atkinson on 20 when he tried to pull, and gaining a boundary in the process. It was another top-edged pull, against Jordan Clark, that delivered that all-important breakthrough fifty. The bouncer that sticks in the mind, however, was the first ball he received, from the enforcer-in-chief, Jamie Overton, a menacing, head-high delivery that he met with aplomb, flicking his head inside the line of the ball.Somerset’s opening frailties were again evident. Ben Green edged a good delivery from Dan Worrall to Ryan Patel at third slip, whilst Tom Lammonby showed signs of intent with a couple of pull shots before falling to the shot against Atkinson when he top-edged to backward point.Somerset’s prime need was to tame Jamie Overton, although he began a little ponderously, and Tom Abell helped himself to 12 runs from his first over of the day. Tom Banton, who has made serious attempts to establish himself as a Championship batter this season, with limited reward, was in better order in reaching 31, and deserved a better fate than to be strangled down the leg side as he glanced at Overton.A three-day defeat looked likely when Abell ran himself out for 45, risking a second to Atkinson’s throw from deep backward square. Steve Davies unveiled some characteristic flourishes square on the offside, but there were some play-and-misses, too, and when Jacks had him lbw on the sweep it left him with still only one half-century this season. There will be advocates of James Rew, an England U-19 batter/keeper, and fellow left-hander to be given an opportunity, although the disadvantage of that is that Somerset’s batting order is already short of senior personnel able to offer a phlegmatic perspective in difficult times.Roelof van der Merwe may feel slightly unfortunate to have fallen lbw to Atkinson, a marginal decision this, but Gregory grew into his innings on a beautiful Taunton evening. The most heartening sight for Somerset was probably when Overton yanked off his boot after delivering the final ball of the day, and trudged heavily from the field, but there was nothing to suggest that he won’t be fit and firing in the morning.