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Injuries to Healy, Vlaeminck make defending champions’ win bittersweet

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2024Australia 83 for 1 (Healy 37, Perry 22*, Sadia 1-17) beat Pakistan 82 (Riaz 26, Gardner 4-21, Sutherland 2-15, Wareham 2-16) by nine wicketsAn Australian side struck by two injuries marched to a third massive win over a depleted Pakistan team, who slumped to the lowest total of the tournament so far. The result leaves Pakistan all but out of knockout contention while Australia are now almost certain to qualify into the final four.Pakistan were without their captain Fatima Sana, after the passing of her father, and senior seamer Diana Baig, who has not recovered from the leg injury that saw her leave the field after bowling one ball in their tournament opener, and they missed the pair’s enthusiasm and experience. Only one of their batters, Aliya Riaz, scored more than 20, while there were five scores of single figures, two ducks and no partnerships worth more than 19.All that happened after Australia lost their quickest bowler, Tayla Vlaeminck – who was playing her first T20 World Cup match since 2018 – before she had even bowled a ball. Vlaeminck dislocated her shoulder while tumbling at short third in the first over of the game trying to cut off a boundary, and there’s a cloud over her participation in the remainder of the tournament.Her absence did not stop Australia from making run-scoring difficult for Pakistan. They found the other six bowlers tough to get away, only scored their first boundary of the innings in the ninth over, and hit just four fours in all. Australia had struck that many by the third over of their innings. Alyssa Healy was responsible for five of them and seemed set to take Australia to victory but retired hurt in the 10th over, as she hobbled to complete a second run off Aroob Shah. Healy gingerly headed to the dressing room with a foot injury.Related

• What do New Zealand need to qualify for the semi-finals?

• Alyssa Healy feels pain as Australia face World Cup depth test

• Nearly 24 years on, Sharjah set to rekindle love story with India

• Vlaeminck dislocates shoulder on T20 World Cup return

Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner polished off the total in 11 overs, which has taken Australia’s net run-rate up to 2.786, leaving them almost assured of a final-four place. Their last group match is against India in Sharjah on Sunday. Pakistan face New Zealand on Monday.Schutt shoots to the top Megan Schutt had an exceptional first two matches in Sharjah, where she established herself as the most economical bowler of the tournament so far, but was also able to take wickets on a surface that offered very little assistance. She’d have been delighted to get to more helpful conditions in Dubai and started with two testing overs as she shaped the ball away from Muneeba Ali and into Sidra Amin. Schutt was given a third over in the powerplay, where she played with her lengths, and eventually drew Sadaf Shamas into a drive and Healy was convinced Shamas had hit it. She reviewed, successfully, to give Schutt her 144th T20I wicket – which took her to the top of the overall T20I wicket-takers’ list. Schutt overtook one of the players in the opposition, Nida Dar, who had to come to the crease with Shamas’ dismissal. Pakistan were 18 for 2 after five overs and 23 for 2 at the end of six.Alyssa Healy hobbled off with a foot injury•ICC/Getty Images

Awesome Ash GardnerPakistan were starting to rebuild – but only slightly – between the 10th and 16th over courtesy a 19-run stand between Iram Javed and Aliya Riaz though they always looked close to being separated. Gardner should have had Javed stumped on 10 when she came down the track and swung at a length delivery but Healy missed the chance.It didn’t take too long for Gardner to get her own back. In her next over, she tossed one up and Iram could not resist going for a big one. She skied it towards deep mid-wicket where Georgia Wareham was completely unfussed by the ring of fire and took a good catch. Gardner’s final over was the innings’ penultimate and Pakistan had to go in search of runs. Off the second ball, Healy made no mistake when Tuba Hassan came down the track, swung, missed and was stumped. Aroob Shah hit Gardner’s second-last ball to Beth Mooney at mid-wicket and Nashra Sandhu was given out lbw off the last ball which turned past her inside-edge to hit her on the pad. Gardner finished with 4 for 21, her second-best figures in T20Is.Healy, Mooney race awayAustralia started their reply with eight runs off their first 11 balls, none of them boundaries. That was all they needed to see and began to cash in thereafter. Healy drove Dar through the covers to register Australia’s first boundary and the fours kept coming. Beth Mooney hit three off Sadia Iqbal’s opening over, demonstrating her strength through the offside and Healy followed up with two more off Sadaf Shamas. Australia were 36 without loss in the fifth over when Mooney hit Iqbal to Aliya Riaz on the edge of the inner ring at mid-off but the horse had bolted. They won with 54 balls remaining, and their excellent NRR means they’d have to lose by 61 or more runs against India to be displaced from No. 1.

Andy Burnham and Tracy Brabin question London’s right to three Tests per summer

Matt Roller21-Jul-2023The mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire have urged the ECB to reconsider its allocation of men’s Ashes Tests for 2027, which will see the north of England overlooked.Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said before the ongoing fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford that he was “devastated” that none of the five Tests would be staged north of the River Trent, with Lord’s, the Kia Oval, the Ageas Bowl, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge chosen as the host venues.Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester) and Tracy Brabin (West Yorkshire) have now written an open letter to the ECB, describing the allocation of venues as “remarkable” and criticising the fact that London “consistently hosts three Tests every summer”.Related

• Ageas Bowl to host its maiden Men's Ashes Test in 2027

• England players 'disappointed' at lack of northern venues for 2027 Ashes

“We are writing to you to express our disappointment at the English Cricket Board’s announcement of match venues for the men’s Ashes in 2027,” the mayors wrote. “As you know, there will be no men’s Ashes Test in the north of England in 2027 – meaning that this week at Old Trafford will be the last men’s Ashes Test played in the North of England until 2031.”Headingley and Old Trafford are two of England’s most iconic cricket grounds, and home to historic Ashes moments from Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981 to Ben Stokes’ own ‘Miracle of Headingley’ in 2019. Very few grounds attract support as passionate or indeed as diverse as Headingley and Old Trafford – as a number of England players themselves have acknowledged in recent days.”We understand that the ECB’s criteria for awarding Test matches includes maximising attendances and ensuring a geographic spread of matches. It feels even more remarkable therefore that an area so passionate about cricket, with a population of over 15 million people, misses out on a men’s Ashes Test in 2027 whilst the south hosts three.”It does not feel right that at a time when cricket needs to do more to spread interest in the game around the country that London consistently hosts three Tests every summer. Next year, for example, Lord’s hosts one third of England men’s Tests whilst Headingley doesn’t get any.”The rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire within cricket is legendary, but this is an issue that unites both sides of the Pennines. We urge you to think again and ensure people in the north of England get the opportunity to witness more iconic Ashes moments in 2027.”Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, rings the bell at Emirates Old Trafford on the third morning•Stu Forster/Getty Images

Stokes said on the eve of the Old Trafford Test that England tend to perform well in the north due to the level of support they receive from crowds. “I’m a bit devastated that there won’t be any Ashes cricket here in 2027 in the north. It’s a shame,” he said. “I don’t make those calls, but if I was involved, I would have said, ‘please keep at least one game in the north’. I think it’s always a loud atmosphere here. You know the crowds we get in the north – and I say the north quite bluntly there – is very good. We get a lot of support.”Mark Wood and Jack Leach had previously expressed their own “surprise” and “disappointment” around the choice of venues, with Leach suggesting that by playing primarily in the south, England were not making the most of their home advantage.Headingley is due to host a women’s Ashes Test in 2027, and both Headingley and Old Trafford are due to stage men’s Ashes Tests in 2031.Andy Anson, Lancashire’s chair, said that the club were “entirely comfortable” with the ECB’s process of awarding matches, as well as the opportunity host more women’s internationals in coming years.”We are entirely comfortable with the process that the club went through with the ECB regarding the major match allocation package for future men’s and women’s internationals between 2025-31,” Anson said. “The announced package provides the club with seven years of certainty for international match scheduling which will see 40 days of international cricket played at the venue. The package is the result of in-depth discussions between the counties and the ECB and has been a thorough and fair process.”As well as the men’s Ashes Test in 2031, we will also be welcoming India for four matches in five years, in addition to hosting international women’s cricket at Emirates Old Trafford for the first time in many years – which we all look forward to. We are grateful to the ECB and our fellow counties for the level of cooperation and communication in arriving at this schedule.”

Shakib also backs Mominul to continue as Test captain despite his woeful form

Mohammad Isam26-May-2022″We have to work on our mentality. I think there’s fear of failure among us”, Shakib Al Hasan said after Bangladesh slipped to 23 for 4 on the fourth evening, which seemed like a carbon copy of their collapse on the first morning, when they were 24 for 5.The collapse could be decisive, with Sri Lanka needing only six wickets on the final day to clinch the Test series. Although Bangladesh have Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das, the two first-innings heroes, at the crease, with Shakib due to bat, their plight remains exposed.Tamim Iqbal bagged the first pair of his Test career as the Bangladesh openers made it only the ninth occasion in Test history where the top-two batters got three ducks between them in a Test.Bangladesh have scored eight ducks in the match so far, for the second time in their history. The top four scored just 34 runs in the match, their second lowest in a match.Related

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• Shakib Al Hasan back as Bangladesh Test captain

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• Domingo: 'You won't win Tests from 24 for 5 and 23 for 4 in both innings'

• Litton: 'It helps knowing that the team depends on me to play a big innings'

Shakib, who spoke at a press conference after a while, was repetitively asked for the cause of Bangladesh’s frequent collapses. He claimed that it was their mentality, not the lack of physical fitness, which bogged them down.”I think we are one of the fittest teams in the world,” Shakib said. “We spend most of our time fielding in matches. I think we fielded around 400 overs [408] in this series. We are definitely fit, look at Litton who kept for 400 overs but came out and scored 141. Mushfiq made 175 [in the first innings]. I think we are physically fit, but we are behind mentally. We have to work on our mentality. I think there’s [a] fear of failure among us. If we think otherwise, we might get better results.””We weren’t able to handle the pressure, and it has been happening like this recently. It happened when I was not in the team, and now it’s happening when I am in the team. We are failing in the second innings in the recent past. We had a chance to improve upon it, but we failed today as well. But we shouldn’t call it ‘the end’ before it ends.”Shakib said that Najmul Hossain Shanto’s run-out, created by an unnecessary mix-up, was a consequence of the batters not being calm.”It is disappointing for us,” Shakib said. “Run-outs, at this stage of the Test, is quite dangerous. One needs to be calm in these situations. There will be nervousness, people will have fear. But it is important to handle pressure in these moments. This is where Test cricket gets interesting.”Shakib said that one way out of it is to remember how the player was successful in similar conundrums, and apply those learnings to overcome them.”We have all faced similar problems in the past. We have seen both sides – success and failure. What is important is to remember what formula helped us become successful. Since we are not used to such a state of mind, it is vital that we keep it in our memory.Shakib said that the remaining Bangladesh batters can save the game on the fifth day. But only if they can survive the first session without losing more than one wicket.”I can help my team by batting for at least three hours,” he said. “If the overnight unbeaten batters can see off the first session, I can bat for another three hours, it will help the team [get to safety].”It is hard to get batters out when they are set in this wicket. Their pacers will bowl five or six-over spells. We have to manage their threat. When the ball gets old and the bowlers get tired, the batsmen are set.”Mominul Haque, has had low returns since becoming Bangladesh Test captain•AFP/Getty Images

Shakib, however, had a better day than most of his team-mates, as he got his 19th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. There was concern around his match fitness, ahead of the Test series, when he came into the Chattogram game two days after testing negative for Covid-19.Shakib shrugged off those concerns by saying that he doesn’t need a long fitness camp at this stage of his career to get back into shape.”I am usually very confident with my bowling,” Shakib said. “I think I lost confidence only once or twice, but it is rare that I have worried about my bowling. The four [DPL] matches were enough. After playing for so long, a player doesn’t need 10 or 15-day camps. He needs three to five sessions.””When I am not playing, I need five or six sessions. If you have fitness, you wouldn’t need anything more. Training isn’t important after playing for so long, but whether you are doing it purposefully or not [is].”Shakib also backed Mominul Haque, who was dismissed for a single-digit score for the seventh innings in a row, to continue as captain.Mominul averages 16.20 this year, and 31.44 as captain since 2019. Before being appointed captain, he used to average 41.47.”It is a tough time for a captain but it is important for us to support him,” Shakib said. “We don’t have a better option that Mominul given our current situation in Test cricket. It is a matter of one inning, which will change everything.”

He will join as a third selector and will join former captains Minhajul Abedin, the panel chief, and Habibul Bashar

Mohammad Isam27-Jan-2021The Bangladesh Cricket Board has named left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak as the third senior selector, to join former captains Minhajul Abedin, the panel chief, and Habibul Bashar. Razzak, who played 200 international matches between 2004 and 2018 and, at 38, continues to be an active cricketer, will have to retire from the game to take up the new job.”My playing experience will certainly be valuable in this regard,” Razzak told ESPNcricinfo. “I used to play cricket, and now I have to help build the national team. I have been captaining in domestic cricket for a long time and I have often helped form teams. It has usually gone well. But the stakes are higher here, and the expectations are more. But still, I believe I can manage it.”I am pretty sure I have to (retire). I haven’t mentioned it yet since I am awaiting the appointment letter but certainly when I join this new job, I have to quit (playing).”Razzak was the first Bangladesh bowler to pick up 200 ODI wickets – he has 207 from 153 outings – and, despite not being a frontline batsman, is the holder of the record for the fastest half-century by a Bangladeshi in ODI cricket – 21 balls, joint with Mohammad Ashraful. He also made a comeback in the Test team against Sri Lanka in 2018 after a four-year break, which turned out to be his last international outing.Over the years, he has been a domestic giant, with 137 first-class appearances. He has taken 634 wickets in them with 41 five-fors. He is also the first Bangladeshi bowler to bag 600 first-class wickets and has won nine domestic first-class titles with Khulna Division and South Zone.

Nazmul Hassan also ducked questions on conflict of interest, and said the board would adopt a ‘wait and watch’ policy for the strike

Mohammad Isam22-Oct-2019BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said that they are open to talks with cricketers who have called for a strike, but not before accusing them of “conspiring against and tarnishing the image of the country”.After a 25-minute monologue which at times veered into the bizarre, an angry Hassan countered every question with “but why did they not tell us before?”When asked how the BCB would solve the problem of the players threatening to boycott the India tour, Hassan said that they are ready to talk to the players.”We are open,” Hassan said. “I don’t know if you listened to me. We have agreed to bigger demands. We have always given them a lot of money. We have solved each and every problem. We were focused on the World Cup, and now we are focusing on domestic cricket. They didn’t go for a strike when nothing was happening but the moment I started to do things, they did this. So these are not real issues. If they come, we are ready to talk.”ALSO READ: The events that led up to the Bangladesh players announcing strike actionHassan also peppered his answers with incidents in which he helped cricketers or their family members. He was then asked about how he would answer if the players pointed at the lavish travel options for Hassan or other board directors, while they had to find bus and train rides within BDT 2,500.”Let me tell you something,” Hassan said in reply. “We made [the travel allowance] BDT 2,500 from BDT 1,000. Nobody talked about it when it was BDT 1,000. They didn’t go to strike when it was BDT 1,000, so why don’t you find out about it? We pay the divisional authorities, and they manage hotel, bus, etc. We heard them, so we will improve it. But why stop the cricket? Why before the India tour? This can’t happen.”Hassan said the BCB was going to adopt a wait-and-watch approach for the next couple of days, when the strike action will come into effect. The NCL’s third round, in four venues, begins on October 24, while the India tour squad’s camp begins on the following day.”I want to see who goes to the [NCL] matches, or the national camp. I want to find out who is trying to stop the India tour. I am hopeful the camp will take place, and the India tour will happen,” he said. “Most of the players want to play, and want the best for Bangladesh. I can’t believe they will destroy Bangladesh cricket for 5,000 taka. But we will soon see what is going on.”Hassan then deflected a series of questions about the board’s conflict of interest problem, which was part of the issues the players had with the board. When asked how committed he was to reducing conflict of interest within the board, especially after the BCB ended franchise rights deals following Shakib Al Hasan’s move to Rangpur Riders from Dhaka Dynamites, which is owned by the same company where he and two other board directors are employed, Hassan had no answer.He also deflected questions about other conflict of interest points including that of the CWAB chairman Naimur Rahman also having the role of a BCB director, Khaled Mahmud holding eleven roles within the BCB and outside, and home broadcaster Gazi TV having a BCB director as its owner.Hassan finished the press conference saying that he had no idea about some of these conflicts, but he would find out.

Zaman shrugged off Sarfraz’s histrionics, suggesting that the team are comfortable under their captain and that, perhaps, a bit of sound and fury was what was needed to sharpen them up

Liam Brickhill in Harare04-Jul-2018Despite Pakistan overcoming Zimbabwe to secure their place in the tri-series final, their captain Sarfraz Ahmed was vocal in the criticism of his bowling attack. “The bowling was not up to the mark,” he said shortly after guiding his side to a seven-wicket win. “They have to work hard.”Sarfraz had been a loud and, at times, stroppy presence behind the stumps during Zimbabwe’s innings. The very first ball of the day seemed to set the tone, as Sarfraz let rip with a fearful ear-bashing at Fakhar Zaman when he was slow off the mark from midwicket, allowing Zimbabwe opener Cephas Zhuwao to get off the mark. There wasn’t much let up thereafter.But Zaman shrugged off Sarfraz’s histrionics, suggesting that the team are comfortable under their captain and that, perhaps, a bit of sound and fury was what was needed to sharpen them up on a particularly cold winter’s day in Harare. “Yeah, he’s the kind of person who does that sometimes,” said Zaman. “But he’s very good at getting us up on the field. We’re used to it and he’s our captain. And well, it works for us and it worked today.”Sarfraz also had some fiery words for his bowlers, ticking Shadab Khan off during an over when Solomon Mire hit him for two big sixes. Mire took the attack to Pakistan’s bowlers, and Zaman admitted that Zimbabwe had scored 20 to 30 more runs than they thought was par on this pitch.”We were expecting 130 to 140 on this pitch, but Mire played a very good innings,” Zaman said. “We knew that we have a very deep batting lineup – we have Shadab at no. 9 – so we were confident we could chase it.”As it turned out, Pakistan’s lower order wasn’t needed as Zaman and Hussain Talat cracked forties before Sarfraz finished things off with an ice-cold, unbeaten 38. While his tongue-lashing geed them up, Sarfraz’s batting was the picture of limited-overs sangfroid and provided a different sort of a lesson to his team. Zaman said that spending time under Sarfraz had helped him improve his own game, particularly in T20 cricket.”In the start in T20 I was hitting every ball in my striking zone, and after playing eight to 10 games I sat with some senior players like Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed, and spoke about my gameplans with them,” Zaman said. “I realised that I could play proper cricket shots and be successful, and that’s what I’ve been doing recently.”Pakistan’s win means they are assured of a place in Sunday’s final, though they have a dead rubber against Australia tomorrow. Bucking their recent trend in short-format cricket, Australia have won two in two in this tournament and they were buoyed by an opening victory against Pakistan which included Billy Stanlake’s 4 for 8.”We’ll just keep it very simple [against Australia],” Zaman said. “[Stanlake] bowled really well in the last match but every day is a new day. We’ll play him well.”

Imran Tahir’s four-wicket haul applied the brakes on Sri Lanka as they fell short by 96 in their chase of 300 at The Oval

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:41

Agarkar: Sri Lanka’s inexperience showed

Sri Lanka had lost five ODIs to South Africa already this year, but had hoped that months later, playing for a different trophy, they could apply the lessons learned during that walloping. It wasn’t to be. The gulf in quality between these teams was borne out by the margin of South Africa’s victory: 96 runs.In fact, South Africa may reflect that despite Hashim Amla’s velvet 103 from 115 balls, and Faf du Plessis’ efficient 75, they were not quite explosive enough during the death.They had begun indifferently with the ball too, allowing a pugnacious Niroshan Dickwella to unsettle them in the Powerplay, but soon, the middle-overs mastery of Imran Tahir took grip, and Sri Lanka’s chase of 300 lay all but scuttled, as they slumped to 155 for 6 in the 30th over. In wiping the remainder of Sri Lanka’s innings out in clinical fashion, South Africa have confirmed, if there was any doubt, that they are serious contenders for the trophy. Tahir’s final figures were 4 for 27, but his effect on the match was even more substantial than those numbers lay out.Meanwhile Sri Lanka, for whom it is now a compliment that only one important catch was dropped, gleaned only minor personal positives from the match. Dickwella set the chase off to a roaring start, Upul Tharanga contributed a half-decent fifty, Kusal Perera stood firm at one end while the lower order crashed around him, and Nuwan Pradeep showcased a slowly burgeoning range of skills with the ball. But these are not the kinds of performances that win matches.The defining periods of play were the middle overs in each innings: having picked the less-aggressive spin option in Seekkuge Prasanna, Sri Lanka allowed Amla and du Plessis to prosper too easily during those overs, and with the bat, lost five wickets for 66 runs from overs 11 to 30.For Amla, who had set South Africa on course for 299 – an imposing score, given the slightly slow nature of the surface – this innings may not rank as one of his best, but it did get him to the milestone of 25 ODI hundreds in 11 fewer innings than any previous batsman had managed it. He now also sits alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting to have 25 hundreds in both Tests and ODIs.He was cautious to begin with, as Sri Lanka delivered some exceptionally tight overs. Initially, he hovered in the crease, dabbing and squeezing his way into the innings. Not until the penultimate ball of the first Powerplay did he venture a boundary: a flick off Pradeep over the leg side. He made only 26 off the first 40 balls he faced.But following the departure of Quinton de Kock, whe nicked off to Pradeep, Amla playd with more ambition. There was a six over long-off, off Asela Gunaratne, in the 19th over, and in the 24th he slunk down the pitch to send Seekkuge Prasanna sailing over the deep midwicket fence. In between those two shots he had reached fifty, and suddenly, was scoring at close to a run a ball.His partnership with du Plessis was the most fruitful of the innings, and the pair hauled South Africa to a position of strength with their quickening 145-run stand. Amla, having provided the innings its thrust during the overs when du Plessis was feeling his way into the game, allowed his partner to make the riskier plays during the middle overs, saving for himself the role of turning the strike over. In fact, between the 24th and 43rd over – when he got out – he hit only one boundary. South Africa scored only 78 runs in the last 10 overs, thanks again to some tight bowling by Pradeep, with support from Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal. Of those runs, JP Duminy contributed 38 in the space of 20 deliveries.Sri Lanka will particularly rule the rate at which their innings crashed and burned, because by the end of the first Powerplay, they had scored 55 more runs than South Africa had managed at that stage of the innings. Dickwella led this charge, flitting about the crease to carve the quicks over the offside, then jumping across to leg to whip them over leg, during his 33-ball 41. With Tharanga also batting confidently through those overs, it seemed inconceivable that Sri Lanka would not at least mount a muscular challenge to South Africa’s total.In the end, Tahir became their downfall, just as he had been during that bilateral series earlier in the year. Dinesh Chandimal got himself run-out trying to get off strike in Tahir’s first over, before Chamara Kapugedara was trapped in front by a googly three balls later. Tharanga then launched a ball into the hands of deep cover, and Asela Gunaratne squirted a catch to square leg, and pretty soon, a rapid start had turned into a procession of wickets. Perera stuck around for 66 balls and hit 44 unbeaten runs, but Sri Lanka were already out of contention for most of his stay. Tahir came back to take the final wicket, and Sri Lanka were all out in the 42nd over.

Keaton Jennings produced a superbly hard-working hundred before three late wickets put Durham on top against Somerset

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street10-Apr-2016
ScorecardKeaton Jennings salutes the applause after falling for 116•PA Photos

At exactly eleven o’clock on the first day of this game umpire Rob Bailey dropped his arm to his side and, one may assume, called, “Play”. Behind him at the Finchale End, the Somerset seamer Lewis Gregory composed himself and began his run-up. The ball he bowled was of a good length and on middle stump; Durham’s Mark Stoneman played it easily to midwicket. No trouble and no run either, yet such moments matter a great deal. The very many cricket fans who measure their summers by the fluctuations of the County Championship could afford a quiet smile of collective contentment. Another season.By the end of the gorgeous spring day, when an evening chill was settling on the Riverside, Gregory had four wickets in his bag and these will certainly have increased his delight. Yet his satisfaction was far exceeded by that of Keaton Jennings, who had made his first County Championship century since June 2014, and by Durham’s players in general after Chris Rushworth and Graham Onions had removed Somerset’s openers and the nightwatchman Josh Davey in the first ten overs of the visitors’ reply.Chris Rogers, of course, already knew about the potency of Durham’s seamers; he will be in no doubt about the severity of the further examination ahead of himself and James Hildreth on the second morning of this match. The swinging yorker from Onions which bowled Marcus Trescothick off his pads mocked geometry.The second morning may also be the time when the value of Jennings’ hard work becomes even plainer. He lost both Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick, neither of them very culpable, inside twelve overs but that seemed only to stiffen his determination to play within his familiar limits. Pulling and cutting whenever the opportunity presented itself, Jennings was nevertheless content to score just seven runs in the hour before lunch as a Somerset attack lacking both Overtons but including the accurate Peter Trego suddenly forbade liberties.Partnering Jennings in a third-wicket stand of 79 in 33 overs was 19-year-old Jack Burnham, whose talent was recognised by his being promoted above both Michael Richardson and Paul Collingwood in the batting order. Burnham scored three centuries in the Under-19 World Cup and his tight technique was one of the most pleasing sights on offer to home spectators as they watched in the mellow afternoon sunlight. wrote Philip Larkin, and so it is with a young batsman as he becomes accustomed and easy in the crease and becomes ever more certain that this is a professional game he is able to play.But it was also a fine afternoon for Somerset’s bowlers. Davey produced one of the balls of the day to take out Burnham’s off and middle stumps when the he had made 33 in 123 minutes and Gregory then struck twice in two balls, both of which nipped back off the seam. The first had Michael Richardson leg before for nine; the second defeated Collingwood’s slightly tardy defensive push and removed his middle stump. Three overs later Pringle drove Tim Groenewald to Davey and Durham were 172 for 6, at which point this brave new toss-less world must have seemed a pleasant place for Rogers and his bowlers.However, Jennings redoubled his resolve and found an equally obdurate partner in Usman Arshad. The pair put on 72 in 24 overs, during which Jennings reached three figures off 201 balls with 13 fours. He has probably not had to work harder in any of his five other centuries, so perhaps it was simple joy that led him to become almost cavalier for the first time in the day. Whatever the truth of the matter, he perished on one of the few occasions when he took a liberty with the bowling, top edging Davey to Trescothick. It began a clatter of wickets, four of them in 19 balls in fact, as Somerset’s bowlers, Gregory and Groenewald in particular, collected just rewards for their labours.A first-innings total of 256 seemed modest enough, albeit that it allowed Durham to collect a couple of batting bonus points. Yet it soon appeared almost daunting as Rushworth and Onions set to work in the slightly thickening light. They did so in a manner that has won Championships and the home supporters cheered every late breakthrough. They, too, remember the glory days. Suddenly it seemed rather more than six hours since Gregory had stood at the end of his run at the Finchale End, a new cricket ball in his hand and all the summer before him.

Finally, at the twelfth attempt, Surrey have their first win of the 2013 County Championship, and one that keeps their fate in their own hands.

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Sep-2013Surrey 289 (Solanki 93, Footitt 4-50) and 218-6 (Amla 88) beat Derbyshire 219 (Linley 4-59, Edwards 3-29) and 286 (Madsen 59, Wainwright 54*, Batty 5-71) by four wickets
ScorecardGareth Batty, a captain in crisis, unrecognised by the Surrey Honours Board, finally had reason to celebrate•Getty Images

Finally, at the twelfth attempt, Surrey have their first win of the 2013 County Championship, and one that keeps their fate in their own hands.That they are battling at the foot of the table is purely down to an inability to win games rather than a propensity to lose them. There are only so many crumbs of comfort you can take from draws (eight in total) until you are left with the remnants of a whole biscuit, with none of its consistency.Nothing nourishes quite like a win, and this one that sees Surrey leapfrog Derbyshire, with a game in hand on those around them.Gareth Batty was certainly as satisfied as he has been in a tough season for him, personally. Taking on the captaincy in place of Rory Hamilton-Brown after the Tom Maynard tragedy last year and then again this season after the injury to Graeme Smith, he has lead the side for the best part of two years, yet you won’t see his name on the captain’s honours board in the Pavilion.Given the character he is, he probably could not care less, but he deserves recognition for his work behind the scenes and out in the middle, even if he is reluctant to take it.He finished off the Derbyshire innings this morning, taking all three wickets to give him five in the innings and 500 first-class scalps in his career. Not that it mattered as much as victory.”I think everyone in the changing room know that at some point they are going to have to put their hands up and win a game of cricket. Today was my day; it was just one of those things. The wickets are irrelevant – we got the twenty-odd points and that’s the only thing that matters for me, certainly.”We were the ones forcing the game all the time, so we knew if we batted time, they would have to take it on. We had a plan on how we were going to knock off the runs and it served us well.”We’ve played some very good cricket but we just couldn’t force the wins. We can take a lot of confidence from this win. You can see the look in the boys’ eyes and can see the determination to get the win. We will come out against Middlesex next week and start on the front foot – I truly believe we have the skills to start forcing results.”The difference was Hashim Amla, Surrey’s third overseas reinforcement and the number one ranked Test batsmen in the world. He has taken little time integrating himself into the club, even using a day off to come in and pass on words of wisdom to their young batsmen, who have been spoiled for choice for world-class mentors this season.It certainly wasn’t a classic Amla knock, and it could have been a different story had Alex Hughes not dropped a routine catch at cover that spared him when he had just 24.That was the second of three reprieves. The first came ten minutes before lunch when he was hit on the pads by Footitt without a run to his name. It looked to have a lot going for it, but not according to the standing umpire.He was then nearly run out at the non-strikers end later in the afternoon after some brilliant work from Wayne Madsen, who stopped a straight drive from Zander de Bruyn before managing to get in a throw while sprawled on the floor that just missed the stumps. It was rather sloppy from Amla, who had been dawdling back to his crease on a few occasions after walking in with the bowler. From then on, he was more cautious.It wasn’t so much of a masterclass, more of a taster session enticing you to sign on for more. Those here to witness the powerful shots through cover or the checked straight drives – all powered by those snappy wrists – may now subscribe to the idea that Surrey can avoid the drop. Derbyshire played their part in an engrossing encounter, but the hosts, as Batty said, were superior during vital periods.Every run David Wainwright and Tim Poynton added this morning was valuable and risk free, as their fifty partnership was brought up early on, as they continued their careful accumulation. They ran decisively, picking up a couple of threes on their way to taking Derbyshire’s lead passed 200.Poynton, who was the more fluent of the two, fell one short of a deserved half century when a delivery from Batty ballooned up off his glove, with Zafar Ansari under the helmet at bat-pad diving toward leg slip to take a smart catch. Wainwright survived through to the end of the innings to bring up his third first class fifty for the county.The chase was set – Surrey needed 217 off a minimum of 73 overs. It could not have got off to a worse start when just four runs in, Rory Burns fell in the third over thanks to a brilliant catch from Madsen at cover; Burns met it well, as he does, but the Derbyshire skipper managed to dive to his right and clutch on to the ball with his right hand, before landing safely on his side without losing it. Two balls later, Arun Harinath was also back in the dressing room when he nicked Higginbottom to Chanderpaul at second slip, for a seven-ball duck.A long-form specialist, Harinath played just two games in the YB40 and did not feature at all in Surrey’s FLt20 programme; instead, tiding himself over with 2nd XI cricket. The Championship break has done him no good, as his binary return of 1,0,1,0 in the last four innings indicates.But with Amla bearing the brunt of the run-scoring, all that was required were contributions around him. Vikram Solanki was the first to share the burden with 44 of an 84-run partnership before he was adjudged lbw.De Bruyn played well for 31 before needlessly swiping at a wide ball from Hughes, who was trying desperately to make amends for his costly drop. An 18 for Steven Davies took them to 200 leaving Ansari and Batty to pick off the remaining 17 runs – each greeted with cheers. When Ansari completed the run chase with a boundary off a Burgoyne full toss, cheers turned to song.By Batty’s calculations – he admits he is no mathematician – a win away to Somerset and one from games against Middlesex next week, Warwickshire or Yorkshire should be enough.Derbyshire travel to Taunton first, before meeting Durham who have emerged later as a big threat to Yorkshire at the top of Division One. Having shown immense character to beat Sussex and Middlesex, this defeat is a big setback and leaves them at the mercy of others. The fight-back, as impressive as it was, was probably too late. Surrey might have timed theirs just right.

Yorkshire or Worcestershire will make a first appearance at T20 finals day after the two teams were drawn against each other in the last eight of the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2012

Friends Life t20 quarter-finals draw

• Nottinghamshire v Hampshire

• Somerset v Essex

• Sussex v Gloucestershire

• Yorkshire v Worcestershire

Yorkshire or Worcestershire will make a first appearance at T20 finals day after the two teams were drawn against each other in the last eight of the Friends Life t20. Worcestershire, who qualified from the Midlands/Wales/West Group despite losing to Somerset, will travel to Headingley on either July 24 or 25, after Yorkshire secured top spot in the North Group. Neither side has previously reached the last four in nine seasons of domestic T20.The final round of group games saw several issues still to be decided, particularly in the Midlands/Wales/West Group, where four teams remained in contention for a quarter-final spot. In the end, Warwickshire’s defeat at home to Glamorgan cost them dear, as Gloucestershire grabbed second place with victory in a rain-ruined game at Wantage Road and Worcestershire’s net run-rate secured them third.Essex secured the other wildcard spot, as one of the two best third-placed sides, and a quarter-final at Somerset, despite not seeing a ball bowled in their game against Hampshire. Rain overnight in Southampton had left the pitch in a soggy, sorry state and the match was eventually abandoned at around 5pm. The point gained by Essex meant Durham had to beat Lancashire in the North Group and secure a turnaround in their net run-rate to progress – but they lost two wickets in the final over, needing six to win, as the match was tied.The West End washout denied Hampshire the chance of securing a home draw as the second-placed side with the best record – that reward went to their quarter-final opponents, Nottinghamshire, who crushed the deposed champions, Leicestershire, to amass 14 points in the North Group. Sussex suffered their first defeat of the tournament, at home to Surrey, but had already won the South Group and will therefore take on Gloucestershire at Hove. Finals day will take place at Cardiff on August 25.