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The pundits find it hard to arrive at a consensus over the most likely candidate capable of filling the void created by Dravid’s departure

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Mar-2012Rahul Dravid left cricket assuring everyone that India had an abundance of batting talent which could easily fill in the No. 3 slot he has left vacant. The pundits however find it hard to arrive at a consensus over the most likely candidate capable of filling the void created by Dravid’s departure. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, Ajinkya Rahane and even VVS Laxman were all the names that came up as men well-equipped in both mind and with bat in hand to tackle the various hurdles faced by a one-down batsman.”The first and obvious choices would be some of the guys who were already there in the reserves in Australia,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. He said even the likes of Manoj Tiwary and Punjab youngster Mandeep Singh were on the selectors’ roster along with the above names. “People who are performing at the domestic level would be in the fray. Finally it depends on who clicks at the right time,” the source said.The chief parameter the selectors would look out for, the board insider said, was the player’s ability to perform on the overseas tours especially in Australia, England and South Africa. “One of the most important things is batsman needs to be a good player of fast and short bowling on overseas wickets. At home it is easy. Except for Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul, nobody averages above 50 overseas,” he said.Pujara, after his determined 72 on debut against Australia in the Bangalore Test that India won, would seem to be a readymade replacement for Dravid. Again though, not everyone was in agreement. “He has not scored runs in the Ranji Trophy matches after he came back from injury. Also, he has had two surgeries, so with regards to fitness, he could be a concern,” the board official said. Pujara played four Ranji Trophy matches for Saurashtra this season and scored just 200 runs with two fifties. Subsequently, he led West Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinals, but scored just 57 runs in the two innings with 55 in the first.VB Chandrasekhar, the former national selector, said it would not be a bad idea to reinstate Laxman to the No.3 spot. “If they are going to still continue with Laxman, he should be the No.3 for the short term,” he said. But the board official disagreed, saying a more healthy approach would be to think long-term. With India playing their next three Test series (against New Zealand, England and Australia) at home, the selectors had a good opportunity to blood a young talent.What also does not help Laxman’s cause is that he has weaker away record compared to batting at the No. 3 spot at home. Overall, Laxman has made 1611 runs across 23 Tests in that position at an average of 44.75 with four centuries. But in 28 away innings, he averages only 34.40 with a tally of 929 runs compared to 682 runs at 75.77 in nine innings in India, including his highest Test score of 281 in 2001 against Australia at Kolkata. And outside Asia, in 24 innings he has just 797 runs at 33.20 with two hundreds.If he has to look beyond Laxman, Chandrasekhar said he cannot see too many choices beyond Kohli or Rohit. Chandrasekhar qualified his answer by citing the parameters necessary to be a one-down batsman. “Dravid was successful for two reasons primarily. Considering India had a host of top-order batsmen who were aggressive and if there was an early loss of a wicket, it (situation) required him to come and stonewall. Also, if India had a good start, the team needed someone to sustain the momentum and Dravid did the job successfully again.”Aakash Chopra, the former Indian Test opener, said the selectors had the right opportunity now to actually hit upon a long-term No.3 batsman. Though he is a fan of Pujara, Chopra said his other choice would be Badrinath, who played two Tests in the homes series against South Africa in 2010 but never played again. “He has been the prolific batsman on the domestic circuit,” Chopra said. “Allow him to be there for a while and see how it goes.”Chopra said even if age was not exactly on his side, Badrinath had the right fitness, attitude and experience to compete with the youth. “He might be on the wrong side of 30s so to speak, but he is as fit as, or even fitter, than anybody else. And he knows how to score big runs.”Badrinath’s case inside the board, however, does not have much support. “Not only is he 30-plus, but he has been tested already. He is a good player at domestic level but unfortunately does not seem to fit at the highest level.” The official said the selectors would not be bothered even if the player was inexperienced as long as they felt he had the X-factor. He even cited the example of the Rahul Sharma, the Punjab legspinner, who was criticised as a gamble.”Some have that and some don’t. When the selectors picked Rahul Sharma, they were criticised because he had only played a handful of first-class matches and hardly got any wickets. But he has bowled well in whatever matches he has played. It was a gamble but the selectors had faith in him,” the official said.Asked if Kohli was not being groomed for the No.4 slot once Sachin Tendulkar retires, the board source said the selectors would have to keep their options open. “Depends. Three to six are slots where a lot of places would open up as the selectors would have to look beyond the seniors.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

A superb unbeaten 133 by Nottinghamshire skipper Chris Read was finally upstaged by a six-wicket haul for Graham Onions

03-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Chris Read hit a superb hundred to rescue Nottinghamshire’s innings•PA Photos

A superb unbeaten 133 by Nottinghamshire skipper Chris Read was finally upstaged by a six-wicket haul for Graham Onions as County Championship leaders Durham took a first-innings lead of 90 at Chester-le-Street.Both Onions and Callum Thorp were on a hat-trick at the same time when the visitors’ first four wickets all fell on 21. And Onions ended the innings by again taking two wickets in two balls to finish with a season’s-best 6 for 95.Despite a fifth-wicket stand of 178 between Read and Adam Voges, Nottinghamshire were all out for 261, losing all their last four wickets to Onions for 21 runs. Their surprising decision to send in two debutants to open backfired as 18-year-old Sam Kelsall could have been out three times before Onions had him caught behind for 11.He got off the mark by edging the sixth ball of the innings for 2 via Paul Collingwood’s left hand at first slip, then was almost run out twice. When Riki Wessels played back to a good length ball and lost his middle stump Onions had taken wickets with the last two balls of an over. Then off the third and fourth of the next over Thorp had Durham Academy product Karl Turner lbw for nine before PhilMustard took a fine catch diving to his right to send Steve Mullaney packing. Read played Thorp’s hat-trick ball confidently through mid-wicket for three and scored the first 25 runs in his stand with Voges.The Australian survived another chance to Collingwood off Onions on 5 and went on to make 80, one more than his previous best of the season. Ian Blackwell bowled poorly in his first spell, with Read cutting him for three fours in his first over to race past 50 off 69 balls.After 47 overs without a wicket, Thorp made the breakthrough when Voges shaped to turn the ball in front of square and lobbed a catch to Dale Benkenstein at straight midwicket. Thorp also troubled Read after tea, but when he dropped short the visiting captain punched his 15th four through the covers to reach his second century of the season off 158 balls.Blackwell improved and was handed a wicket when he bowled Paul Franks through a reckless slog. Onions swiftly cleaned up the tail, although the first victim, Graeme White, indicated that he had hit the ball when given out lbw.Andre Adams sliced a steepler to deep backward point after completing his own five-wicket haul in the morning, also reaching 50 championship wickets for the season.Earlier, Durham resumed this morning on 272 for 7 and Mustard and Thorp scored 30 off the first four overs, mainly off Mullaney, before Adams bowled Thorp. Mustard was left stranded on 88 when Durham were all out for 351, but would have been happy with four bonus points after going in at 197 for 6.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws blasted their highest ever score in the Friends Life t20 as they thrashed Yorkshire Carnegie by 53 runs

05-Jun-2011
ScorecardSamit Patel hit four sixes then took four sixes•PA Photos

Nottinghamshire Outlaws blasted their highest ever score in the Friends Life t20 as they thrashed Yorkshire Carnegie by 53 runs thanks to rapid half-centuries from Adam Voges and Samit Patel.Despite losing two wickets in their first four overs, Nottinghamshire still racked up 215 for 6 with Voges hitting 74 from 46 balls, including 10 fours and a six. Voges innings looked pedestrian in comparison to Patel, who smashed 52 from only 23 balls, including three sixes in four deliveries from Joe Root, as the pair shared 94 for the fourth wicket in just eight overs before both were dismissed by Anthony McGrath.In reply, Yorkshire’s hopes of chasing down their target evaporated in the 13th over, with Andy Carter removing Adam Lyth (43) and McGrath in successive balls.Nottinghamshire chose to bat first but lost opener Riki Wessels third ball to Adil Rashid’s leg-spin, while former Notts star Ryan Sidebottom had Alex Hales caught at point in the fourth over.But Voges combined with fellow Australian David Hussey to up the run-rate, with Rashid’s second over going for 18 before Hussey was caught at long-on off David Wainwright for 28. Voges and Patel found the boundary at will, with Root’s one over of occasional off-spin despatched for 22, Patel hitting three sixes over cover.The partnership was ended by McGrath, who had both batsmen caught off a leading edge, but Chris Read thumped three more sixes in the last three overs to finish unbeaten on 34.Yorkshire began well with 33 coming off the first four overs before Ben Phillips yorked Andrew Gale, but found the going tougher once Nottinghamshire took the pace off the ball through Patel’s left-arm spin and the medium-pace of Steven Mullaney.Patel conceded just seven off his first two overs and had Jonny Bairstow caught at long-off for 31 and once Carter removed Lyth and McGrath, Yorkshire sunk rapidly. Four more wickets fell in the closing stages, with Scott Elstone’s stunning boundary catch to dismiss Gerard Brophy off Patel a particular highlight.Patel finished with 2 for 27 to collect the man-of-the-match award as Nottinghamshire made it two wins from two matches in the North Group.

A primer to the 2011 IPL auction to be held in Bengaluru on January 8 and 9

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Jan-2011The IPL auction, though scheduled to be held over two days, will see the biggest names – the 27 “marquee” players – going under the hammer first, a process that could end within an hour. These players, picked according to a combination of their valuation and star power, will be put up for auction.The players are: Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Tillkaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, Zaheer Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Rohit Sharma, Graeme Smith, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Johan Botha, Chris Gayle, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa and Daniel Vettori.That makes great television viewing but the random order in which the players will be presented for auction will leave the franchises scrambling for a workable plan. In the absence of a known sequence of players, franchises will have to work out an alternative approach to make the best buy. Say, for example, Franchise A wants players X, Y and Z, but those players come in last in the auction list; by the time they come up for auction the franchise runs the risk of losing out on other good players who may be going cheap. “Most of the strategies that teams have worked out might not work and they will need to take a quick decision on a buy,” one franchise official explained.

The 2011 IPL auction

WHEN
The auction will take place on January 8 and 9 in Bengaluru, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. It’s a proper two-day game, with 90-minute lunch breaks from 1 p.m. and half-hour tea breaks at 4 p.m. And the occasional “strategy break”, aka the time out.

WHY
The player auction is the only opportunity for the franchises to sign up overseas and capped Indian players for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, barring those who have already been retained. Uncapped Indian players will be signed up through a different process.

HOW MUCH
Each franchise has an auction purse of $9 million, less what they have already spent on retaining players.

HOW MANY
Each franchise can have on its books a maximum of 30 players including no more than ten overseas players.

The players on the auction list – around 350 at last count, grouped into several price bands from $20,000-400,000 – range from the biggest current stars, the best young talent and a few big names from the past, and represent 11 countries. However, no more than about 130 players are expected to be bought, with each team picking around 13 and then beefing up the squad by signing uncapped Indian players who can be bought relatively cheap.Each player will be individually presented at the open auction – handled by veteran auctioneer Richard Madley, the Englishman who normally deals in antiques and occasionally keeps wicket – where the highest bidder will be the buyer at that price. Bidding will start at the player’s reserve price and, unlike last year, there is no limit to what can be bid for a single player. Franchises will not be able to make a bid for a player that would take them beyond their balance remaining on the salary cap. The players will be arranged into “sets”; initial sets will comprise the marquee players, and then players with the same core skills (batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders, wicket-keepers).The order of these subsequent sets, and the order that players will be presented for auction within each set, will be determined by random draw. The bidding increments will be $5,000 for bids up to $100,000; $10,000 for bids from $10 0,000 to $300,000; and at the auctioneer’s discretion for larger bids. Players for whom no bids are received when they are initially presented for auction may be re-presented for auction once all of the initial sets have been concluded. The auction is over when each franchise has either (a) no balance left on its salary cap or (b) no further available slots for overseas players or (c) filled its maximum squad of 30 players or (d) indicates that it will not be bidding for any further players.

The three Pakistani players provisionally suspended by the ICC on allegations of spot-fixing have filed appeals against their suspension

Osman Samiuddin and Nagraj Gollapudi14-Sep-2010The three Pakistani players provisionally suspended by the ICC on allegations of spot-fixing began the process of clearing their names by filing replies to the game’s governing body on Tuesday.”Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have filed their replies to the notice of charge that the ICC had placed upon them,” Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB’s legal advisor, told ESPNcricinfo. Though the trio are back in Pakistan, the replies were filed through their London-based lawyer Elizabeth Robertson.The three players were served notices on September 2 after the ICC felt they had “a case to answer” and had two weeks – till the coming Thursday – to respond.ICC officials, however, offered no comment on receiving the replies from the three Pakistan players. “The ICC will not rush into any sort of decision,” a source close to the investigation said. “It might take a lot of time and nobody really knows how much before anything is decided,”ESPNcricinfo understands that the players have entered a plea of not guilty and have asked for the provisional suspensions to be lifted. It is likely that the players are seeking both extra evidence and time on the matter; the request for more time is a result of the PCB and players’ concern that the Scotland Yard investigations are still on and if the ICC pursues the investigation as well, the players may end up being punished twice.Since the players have filed their replies, the ICC can go ahead and form its tribunal to hear the case. Otherwise the governing body would have had to wait until the actual charge sheet was placed before the disciplinary committee and punishments were handed out. The three-member tribunal is chosen from the members of the Code of Conduct Commission, and generally includes the chairman, currently Michael Beloff QC.The three players were questioned twice by police in London before returning to Pakistan, firstly in the immediate aftermath of the original story breaking then again a week later at Kilburn police station in north London. No charges were brought at any stage and the three flew back to Pakistan on Friday , but with an agreement with Scotland Yard that they would return at any time for further questioning.

Teams from Nepal, USA, Italy, Cayman Islands, Argentina and Tanzania will participate in the World Cricket League Division Four, to be held in three venues in Italy in August

Cricinfo staff12-Jul-2010Teams from Nepal, USA, Italy, Cayman Islands, Argentina and Tanzania will participate in the World Cricket League Division Four, to be held in three venues in Italy in August. USA and Nepal secured a promotion to Division Four after finishing in the top two in the WCL Division Five last year, while Cayman Islands and Argentina were relegated after finishing poorly in Division Three in 2008-09.The teams will gear up in the hope of qualifying for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in 2013, the tournament that will determine which four teams make it to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. The top two sides in Division Four will win promotion to WCL Division Three, to be staged in Hong Kong in 2011.The teams arrive on August 12 and the tournament ends on August 21.Itinerary
August 12 – Arrival
August 14 – USA v Nepal (Pianora); Italy v Cayman Islands (Medicina); Tanzania v Argentina (Bologna)
August 15 – Italy v Nepal (Pianora); Argentina v Cayman Islands (Medicina); USA v Tanzania (Bologna)

August 17 – Italy v Argentina (Pianora); Nepal v Tanzania (Medicina); USA v Cayman Islands (Bologna)
August 18 – Cayman Islands v Tanzania (Pianora); Italy v USA (Medicina); Nepal v Argentina (Bologna)
August 20 – USA v Argentina (Pianora); Cayman Islands v Nepal (Medicina); Tanzania v Italy (Bologna)
August 21 – Final (Pianora); third/fourth place play-off (Medicina); fifth/sixth place play-off (Bologna).

Fast bowler insists Test cricket is “still at the hearts of West Indian cricketers”

Andrew McGlashan23-Jan-2024Kemar Roach has encouraged Shamar Joseph to “build his own legacy” after bursting onto the Test scene last week in Adelaide but knows there will be distractions for him along the way.Joseph struck with his first ball in Test cricket when he removed Steven Smith, then finished with 5 for 94 and also showed his prowess with the bat to suggest he won’t be staying at No. 11 for long.His rise to Test cricket has been remarkable on the back of just five first-class games, having grown up in the village of Baracara in Guyana, which could only be reached by boat. He has now shot to global prominence and is being talked about as part of West Indies’ future as they look to rebuild their Test cricket, but Joseph already has an ILT20 deal and more such offers are unlikely to be far away.Related

• 'I'll take a picture, and post it up' – Shamar Joseph on dream first-ball wicket of Smith

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• How many players have taken a wicket with their first ball in Tests as Shamar Joseph did?

“The best advice I can give him is to build his own legacy,” Roach said. “Understand what you want from cricket. That’s up to him to determine, if it’s monetary, or if it’s just stats and statistics or whatever. There’s going to be a lot of distractions… he’s a hot commodity right now. So he needs to choose what he really wants and what he thinks is best for his career going forward. So it’s up to him, as a young man, but I definitely give him that advice.”Roach, the senior figure in West Indies’ attack with 80 caps to his name, is happy to take on a mentor role having had similar players to feed off early in his career.”I had that when I started. Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards [were] some guys around to help me when I started my career,” he said. “I took knowledge and learning from it. So obviously for me now, it’s all about passing on the mantle now to the youngsters. He’s got a very good career ahead of him. At this stage, he’s willing to learn. We have a lot of conversations. So, I think once he keeps doing that, not just coming from me but anyone who he thinks can help him in his career, he can take a lot of knowledge on board and become a better cricketer.”Roach himself is towards the latter stages of his career but has put no end point on his Test career. “Day by day,” he said with a smile, “let’s see how it goes.” He made a big impression on his first tour of Australia when he forced Ricky Ponting to retire hurt in Perth but has found the country the toughest place to take wickets with 10 at 77.90 from eight matches.”As a bowler coming to Australia you are bowling against some of the best batters in the world so there is always a good challenge,” he said. “I love a good challenge. I have lived for that my whole career so for me coming here is just about expressing yourself, enjoying and relishing the moment and giving it a good go. Be confident in yourself and your skills and let’s see how the day goes for you.”Kemar Roach has the fifth-most wickets (267) in Tests for West Indies, but averages 77.90 with only ten wickets in Australia•Associated Press

Roach only briefly dipped his toe into the franchise world of T20 – his last game in the format was in 2018 – although that did include a stint with Brisbane Heat, who will play the BBL final against Sydney Sixers on Wednesday. The last time Heat won the BBL was in 2012-13, when Roach claimed 3 for 18 against Perth Scorchers at the WACA. “I saw my picture on the wall, so good memories,” he said of his return to the Gabba, the home ground of Heat.Test cricket, where he ranks fifth among West Indies’ all-time wicket-takers, has remained his No. 1 priority and Roach firmly believes that is the case among many young players in the Caribbean.”I love Test cricket,” he said. “Honestly, I love the red-ball format. I’ve played one-dayers and the T20 format as well but I think my heart was always a part of the red ball. I just wanted to be a part of those mega cricketers back in the days. The Joel Garners, the Malcolm Marshalls, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, I just want to be a part of those names.”And I think for me, obviously, I didn’t grow up much in the franchise era. So I had Test cricket at heart, and it has stuck with me throughout. I just think it is different times now. So for me, it’s just about these youngsters, what they want to achieve from it. And they make the right decisions and they go forward [in their] careers.”The franchises are a big distraction,” he added. “But guys still want to relish red-ball cricket. Test cricket is still at the hearts of West Indian cricketers at home. It’s just about us to provide support around it. To keep those guys interested in red-ball cricket. Discussions will be had. I’m not part of it. They take Tests very seriously still. They are very proud to be a part of the red-ball team for the West Indies.”

Zafar Gohar stars on spinning deck as rain at Edgbaston provides vital safety net

David Hopps27-Sep-2022Relegation is what many critics wished upon Yorkshire as the Azeem Rafiq racism allegations were at their height a year ago. That sanction never came from the ECB, or at least it hasn’t yet, so it would at least quell the argument if they went down anyway.That relegation still cannot be discounted. The best news on the second day for Yorkshire was that it was raining in Birmingham. They are approaching the end of the season in forlorn mood. If Warwickshire don’t beat Hampshire at Edgbaston, they will remain in Division One. But if Warwickshire somehow manufacture a 18-point win in a rain-hit game, then a Gloucestershire win at Headingley would send them into Division Two.If this Championship summer has been disappointing on the field, it has been a colossal public relations failure off it. What should have been a summer of healing, with the promotion of a united new vision for a confident, multi-racial Yorkshire, has been instead been a taciturn summer that allows resentments to fester. Disrepute charges announced by the ECB against the county and seven individuals in June, and due to be considered this autumn, hang heavily.A new coaching staff has done well to hold body and soul together in a young dressing room. But they will not rest easily with Gloucestershire holding a second-innings lead of 211 with five second-innings remaining. The pitch might be flattening out a shade, but a target beyond 270 will be a stretch, especially considering the frailty of a top six which possesses only two seasoned batters, one of whom, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, is heading to Somerset at the end of the week and whose gung-ho batting approach in the first innings did not give the perception he is mentally attuned to a backs-to-the-wall relegation fight.Koher-Cadmore would contend that that is how he plays and that his 46 from 45 balls represented Yorkshire’s top score in a sub-standard batting display. Jack Taylor’s adventure also served Gloucestershire well as he made 67 from 78 in a sixth-wicket stand of 124 from 34 after Gloucestershire had lost half their side for 74. But Kohler-Cadmore, who came in at No 4, has pretensions as an opening batter. It is safe to assume he does not model his game on Geoffrey Boycott.He did have the decency to sound a little guilty afterwards. “How I got out today, it was annoying. I thought it was a bad ball, but I top-edged it and it went straight up,” he said. “I want to leave the club on a high and finish the season with a good positive result. It’s quite slow and hard to take wickets. We have should have put ourselves in a better position with the bat. It wasn’t a 180 or 190 pitch, or whatever we ended up with. It’s a decent surface.”On a chilly day, the sense among a meagre crowd was that the cricket was to be endured, not enjoyed. There is little conviviality around Headingley, no light-hearted sense of optimism. No wonder romantic souls prefer to finish the season at places like Worcester and Canterbury. For all the constant stream of world-class talent for England, until such ingrained attitudes change, cricket will never be entirely here, unless trophies are being won. Jason Gillespie managed both pleasure and trophies – an extraordinary feat.Positions on the Rafiq affair are entrenched. Stances on both sides are too often based on general prejudices. If anything, Yorkshire have allowed attitudes to harden. Most of the 16 summarily sacked after signing a confidential letter privately questioning Yorkshire’s handling of Rafiq’s allegations have won out-of-court settlements for unfair dismissal, with only Wayne Morton’s medical group still involved in a legal process.All this led the to carry a headline last week advising Yorkshire’s chair, Kamlesh Patel, to “Clear Your Desk”. That would rather assume he has filled his desk in the first place. Patel set the initial tone, and how, but since then he has been an occasional presence and he has hinted that he will stand down soon after Yorkshire finally get round to appointing a chief executive. Meanwhile, those in charge of day-to-day operations – supposedly bearers, however temporary, of the New Yorkshire flame – prefer to remain low key.Zafar Gohar, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, and arguably the best pound-for-pound overseas player in the Championship (not that the pound is worth very much anymore), claimed five of the seven morning wickets as Yorkshire subsided from 80 for three overnight to 183 all out. He now has 43 Championship wickets at 29.44, a shrewd signing whom Gloucestershire would do well to retain.Related

• Yorkshire come to grief over Azeem Rafiq affair, but acceptance is a way off yet

• Sacked staff seek legal action after racism crisis prompts Yorkshire purge

• ECB charges Yorkshire and individuals over racism allegations

• Warwickshire sinking in the showers as relegation fears grow

Gohar struck with his first ball of the second day, interrupting Kohler-Cadmore’s shoot-the-breeze approach when he mis-pulled a short ball to midwicket on the way to figures of five for 40 from 14 overs. Thirty-two runs had come in less than four overs, but that was the height of Yorkshire’s success.Gohar then picked off the ingenue, Harry Duke, lbw as he pushed forward. Jonny Tattersall, whom Gloucestershire respect as a fine player of spin after his loan spell last season, edged an excellent delivery to slip off the back foot on 33. Jordan Thompson looks deadbeat after a long season – lacking finesse with bat and ball – and was also caught at slip. Ben Coad was a No.10 out slogging down the ground when a highly capable batter, Matthew Fisher, needed more intelligent support, a criminal abdication of responsibility.At least Steve Patterson, a captain who has not been retained, got a deserved guard of honour from Gloucestershire for a career well lived when he came out at No.11. He is a competitive soul who has drawn every ounce of talent from himself and he had a right to pass through his honour-guard cursing.Coad impressed more with the ball as Yorkshire again took control, removing Chris Dent and Miles Hammond with excellent deliveries. Briefly, Dom Bess’ offspin threatened to do for Yorkshire what Gohar had achieved for Gloucestershire – four wickets falling for 18 in six overs with Bess defeating Ben Charlesworth with turn and James Bracey with flight. But Taylor, in particular, hit Bess from the attack in the post-tea session as both he and Ollie Price reached what could turn out to be vital half-centuries.

Sussex show fight in reply but face a long haul to reach first-innings parity

ECB Reporters Network27-Sep-2022Chris Cooke and Shubman Gill both made impressive hundreds as Glamorgan put themselves into a strong position in their must-win game against Sussex.Gill scored 119 – his first LV= County Championship hundred – and Cooke 141 as they piled up 533 for eight declared on the second day at the 1st Central County Ground.Sussex responded positively and were 86 for one when bad light forced the players off with 13 overs still to be bowled at Hove after there had been two short rain delays earlier in the day.Glamorgan need to win to have any chance of overhauling Middlesex and claiming the second promotion place from Division Two and although Sussex bowled well in the morning session when they took three wickets, their bowlers suffered thereafter with Cooke leading the charge as he made his tenth first-class century.Earlier it had been Gill who went on the offensive. He quickly added the nine runs he’d needed overnight to lodge his seventh first-class hundred before greeting Jack Carson’s arrival by hitting the off-spinner for three boundaries in his first over.But Carson had his revenge in his next over when he tossed another one up and Gill picked out long-on, having faced 139 balls and hit 16 fours and two sixes.Left-armer Sean Hunt had already broken through when he yorked Billy Root and Carson picked up a second wicket when he gave the ball air again and Andrew Salter was also caught at long-on.When Sussex took the new ball Brad Currie soon had James Harris caught behind for 34, after Harris had added 77 with Cooke. Timm van der Gugten helped the South African put on 41 for the eighth wicket before van der Gugten was held at long leg off Tom Clark.Acceleration came either side of tea as Cooke and Ajaz Patel thrashed 96 in 13 overs with Patel hitting an undefeated 51 from 37 balls including three sixes, two of them hit over long-on in an over from Carson.Cooke hardly played a false shot before edging Hunt to wicketkeeper Oli Carter after making his second Championship century of the season. His 141 came off 165 balls with 14 fours and two sixes. Carter was one of two substitutes employed by Sussex after Charlie Tear and Fynn Hudson-Prentice went down with food poisoning overnight. The Glamorgan total was also swelled by 50 extras.Sussex began their reply needing 384 to avoid the follow-on and they made a positive start, Ali Orr and Tom Haines laying into some wayward new-ball bowling from Harris and Mick Hogan.They added 69 in 11.2 overs before Hogan’s nip-backer struck Orr on the back leg and he was lbw for 45. Haines and Tom Alsop saw their side through to the close but Glamorgan will still feel they can claim their first Championship win at Hove since 1975, even though the pitch shows little sign of deterioration.

Kent opener carries his bat as Parkinson leads visitors’ charge at Canterbury

Paul Edwards16-Apr-2022When this Championship season began nine days ago, Ben Compton had played ten first-class matches in his life and had scored two hundreds, both for the Mountaineers in Zimbabwe’s Logan Cup. He was 28 years old. He had been signed on a two-year contract by Kent, whose director of cricket, Paul Downton, praised the new recruit’s tenacity. Fortunately, Downton knew whereof he spoke. Compton had played second-team cricket for Kent in 2019 and had scored 613 Championship runs for Nottinghamshire IIs last season. All the same, he was a bit of a punt and he probably knew he wouldn’t get another chance.Now, if you will, turn your attention to this third afternoon at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence. The weather is pure Arthur Ransome but nobody notices it. Kent are in the toils, just as they will be for the rest of the day. Replying to Lancashire’s 506, the home side are 240 for 7 and Compton is unbeaten on 99. Tom Bailey is bowling to him from the Pavilion End and the Lancastrian’s disciplines never waver. Having made 129 in the draw against Essex last week, Compton searches for the single that will take him to his second successive century. It isn’t there. Lancashire’s fielding is unobtrusively outstanding, the product of hours of practice. The cricket is gripping and, please note, .Suddenly, George Balderson, who is bowling from the Nackington Road End, dismisses Matt Milnes and Nathan Gilchrist with successive deliveries. Jackson Bird, Kent’s last man, scores eight runs from his first four balls but Compton is still facing Bailey and tries to drive the 22nd ball he has received when 99. He misses and berates himself. Then Bird plays out a maiden and Lancashire’s skipper, Dane Vilas, brings on Matt Parkinson. Immediately allowed a little width, Compton works the ball through third man and takes a single. He has batted 395 minutes and was on 99 for 28 minutes, 21 seconds. It has been a triumph of desire, concentration and will, much like the rest of Compton’s cricket career.And almost certainly it will not be enough to save the game for his side. Having become the first Kent batsman to carry his bat since Daniel Bell-Drummond at Trent Bridge in 2017, Compton was out there again some twenty minutes later after Vilas had taken the almost unexpected decision to enforce the follow-on. That decision was immediately justified in the fourth over when Zak Crawley edged Balderson to Phil Salt who completed a superb one-handed diving clutch to his left. Eight overs later Bell-Drummond was caught down the leg side by Salt off Danny Lamb for 9 and Kent were 20 for 2.Related

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In the evening session things got worse for them. Tawanda Muyuye, who sometimes seems to have more shots than his temperament can handle, played a short-arm pull to a barely short ball from Bailey, only to see Steven Croft pull off a superb diving catch to his right. Next over, Jordan Cox gallivanted down the wicket and was bowled when trying to hit Parkinson to Chartham.Compton was joined by his captain, Ollie Robinson, and the pair dug in. The flow of runs, which had been a respectable three-an-over in the first innings, became a gentle rivulet. The bounce got lower, too, which was hardly a pleasant augury for Kent’s slim chances. Half an hour before the close, Robinson was lbw for 11 when he couldn’t jab down on a rapid inswinger from Hasan Ali. Darren Stevens arrived and was greeted by a variety of comments. They will have had no effect; Stevens was probably sledged by the Wife of Bath. What mattered more was the straight ball from Parkinson that rapped Stevens on his front dog and left Neil Bainton with a fairly easy judgement.But at least those late wickets allowed one to reflect the collective will of this Lancashire side and a fine day for Hasan, who had taken his first wicket for his new county in the morning session, when Cox played no shot to a ball that nipped back and ripped out his off stump. The bowler’s reactions were also entertaining. Hasan began with a fist pump to the ground, progressed to an arms-aloft bellow of triumph and concluded with another clenched mitt, this time in the direction of the heavens. He was, we may conclude, quite pleased.Lancashire supporters should enjoy Hasan’s celebrations when he plays at Emirates Old Trafford this summer. Then again, one suspects they might enjoy quite a lot of things about their side’s cricket this season. That will be a strange experience for some of them and one hopes they don’t find the adjustment too upsetting.Compton finished the day on 20 not out. He has so far batted nine hours 42 minutes in this match and faced 421 balls for his 121 runs. Nobody has ever carried his bat for Kent in both innings of a first-class match.”I’m just exhausted, so I’m not quite sure how well I’m coming across here,” he said. “But to follow up my innings at Essex with my first century at Canterbury is very important to me. I was just trying to watch the ball as closely as I can.”They aren’t terrible batting conditions and there’ll be other days when you find yourself on the wrong end of things but I’m just grateful I could spend a long time out there and just try to do my job as well as I can. It was a bit weird being stuck on 99. I don’t think that’s happened to me before and they were quite smart about it. They just put the ball there and I had to try to be patient. Thankfully I got there in the end.”