Having not won a single match on their tour so far, Bangladesh will now face a formidable New Zealand bowling line-up on a green track at the Basin Reserve during the first Test

The Preview by Mohammad Isam in Wellington11-Jan-2017

Match facts

January 12-16, Wellington

Start time 11.00am (2200 GMT -1d)1:05

Isam: Pitch could be a headache for visitors

Big Picture

There has been significant interest around the pitch for the first Test at Basin Reserve. Two days before the match, Ross Taylor, too, was curious to have a look at it when he arrived for a press conference on the second floor of the grand stand. He couldn’t quite spot the track at first, quite natural when a pitch looks as green as the square around it.It is not a surprise that such a surface will be dished out for Bangladesh, who are playing their first overseas Test since September 2014. Most of the responsibility will rest on Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and the captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who has recovered sufficiently from a hamstring injury.Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah did well in the ODI and T20I series respectively and will have to show patience in dealing with balls outside the off stump. Sabbir Rahman is set to play at No. 7, a challenge for the batsman playing his first overseas Test match.There is some trepidation that New Zealand will find it easier to wrap up Bangladesh given the hosts’ bowling strength. Trent Boult, who had missed the second Test against Pakistan last year due to a knee injury, is set to return to the side, completing one of the world’s most effective bowling pairs with Tim Southee.Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme are a more-than-capable second string and, if New Zealand want to force home the point, including Matt Henry may be an option. It is likely, however, that Mitchell Santner will be retained to balance the bowling line-up.The green pitch will also be a challenge for the New Zealand batsmen but with someone as assured as Kane Williamson leading them, they should have less to worry. Still, Jeet Raval and Tom Latham will be expected to give them a good start, and with Ross Taylor back in the mix, New Zealand will have a stronger middle order that will focus on posting a large first-innings score.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWLLL
Bangladesh WLDDD

In the spotlight

Tim Southee was the Player of the Match in New Zealand’s previous Test against Pakistan, having taken eight wickets, including a six-for, in the 138-run win. He will be a persistent threat to Bangladesh, too, with his movement and pace.Tamim Iqbal will have to counter Southee and co first up, with a lot of responsibility. His 104 against England in October was one of his best Test knocks, and he is due for a big innings in New Zealand having scored only one fifty in the limited-overs matches on the tour.Tim Southee wiped out Pakistan’s line-up in New Zealand’s previous Test at home•AFP

Team news

There could only be one change in the New Zealand line-up with a fit Trent Boult replacing Matt Henry. Given their settled batting line-up, it seems Dean Brownlie would have to wait for his turn.New Zealand (probable) 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Neil WagnerBangladesh will make at least one change to their XI with Shuvagata Hom out of the Test squad. Taskin Ahmed is expected to debut, while Mehedi Hasan could be picked ahead of Taijul Islam to make room for Rubel Hossain. Subashis Roy has also made a case for himself and could be picked ahead of Kamrul Islam Rabbi.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mehedi Hasan/Soumya Sarkar, 9 Rubel Hossain/Kamrul Islam Rabbi, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Subashis Roy

Pitch and conditions

The green track could result in prodigious seam movement. The weather forecast predicts rain on the first and the fourth day with high winds swirling around the ground.

Stats and trivia

• Tim Southee is ten wickets away from becoming the fifth New Zealand bowler to take 200 Test wickets.
• Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim are the only batsmen in the current Bangladesh side to have scored more than 1,000 Test runs abroad. The other two are Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Ashraful.
• Ross Taylor has 16 Test centuries. One more hundred will help him draw level with Martin Crowe for the record of most Test centuries by a New Zealand batsman.

Quotes

“I am recovering quite well but I wouldn’t say I am 100% fit, because the hamstring [injury] often has a recurrence. But so far, I am fit for the Test match.”
.”It’s important we go back to the basics after a bit of white-ball cricket. Lot of transition is mentally, although the sides are quite different coming from white ball to red, but is important we make those adjustments early.”

Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper was hospitalised with a heavy concussion after being hit on the head by Jake Lehmann’s bat in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Aaron Finch struck a brisk 58 to push Victoria’s lead past 200•PA Photos

Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper was taken to hospital with a heavy concussion after he was inadvertently struck on the helmet by the bat of Jake Lehmann on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Lehmann was facing the spin of Jon Holland shortly before lunch when he tried to swat a short ball to the leg side and struck Harper as his bat followed through.Harper fell to the ground and was in considerable distress as he was treated by medical staff on the field of play. An early lunch break was called after he was assisted from the field and the resumption was delayed as several players were notably upset by the sight of Harper’s struggles, included dry-retching and issues with balance.”Harper was examined at Adelaide Oval by medical staff before being transferred to hospital for further assessment and treatment,” a Cricket Victoria spokesman said. “Harper underwent scans this afternoon which have not identified any bleeding or bone damage, but he will remain in hospital overnight for observation.”Under the Sheffield Shield playing conditions, replacement players are not permitted. In the event that a player is replaced, the match risks forfeiting First-Class status. Harper has been ruled out of the remainder of the match and Victorian Seb Gotch will travel to Adelaide to act as a substitute fielder.”Harper is the second Victoria player to be ruled out with concussion in as many matches, after the debutant Will Pucovski was struck by the ball during the previous fixture against New South Wales at the MCG. Pucovski, who has a history of concussion, is yet to resume training.Victoria, meanwhile, dominated day two despite Lehmann’s innings of 92, bowling the Redbacks out for 178 in reply to 184 before the visitors built their lead in the evening session. An unbeaten 58 from Aaron Finch carried Victoria to 4 for 198 at stumps, a lead of 204.

Canterbury clinched their third Plunket Shield title in four years despite suffering a seven-wicket loss to Wellington in Christchurch. The winners were decided after defending champions Auckland conceded a three-wicket defeat to Central Districts in Napi

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2017The winners of the Plunket Shield were decided in the last hour of the last round of matches as Auckland, who needed a win to lift the trophy, went down to Central Districts by three wickets and Canterbury clinched their third title in four years. Canterbury were leading the table with 101 points before the last round, followed by Auckland with 93 points. While Canterbury went down to Wellington by seven wickets, taking four points to finish on 105, Auckland’s loss meant they finished third with 98 points after being overtaken by Northern Districts, who beat Otago by three wickets.Auckland had a sniff of victory and the title by reducing Central Districts to 281 for 7 in the chase of 301 before an unbeaten 43 from Tom Bruce steered Central Districts home, in Napier. The chase was led by George Worker’s 130 off 144, his sixth first-class hundred, but they stuttered from 192 for 2 to 213 for 5, and soon 281 for 7, before Bruce’s rescue act earned them 16 points. Earlier, Auckland were restricted to 200 for 9, thanks to a five-for from Navin Patel, after a rain-affected first day. But they fought back by dismissing Central Districts for 181 as Colin Munro (3 for 22) and Tarun Nethula (4 for 49) disturbed the opposition’s top and middle order. With a slender lead, Auckland had a shot at victory by declaring on 281 for 7 after fifites from Michael Guptill-Bounce (52), Munro (56) and Mark Chapman (55) but Central Districts overhauled the 301 target in under 70 overs by scoring at 4.37 runs per over.In Christchurch, Canterbury began the final day leading Wellington by 59 runs with only four wickets in hand. Troubled by the Wellington quicks, none of Canterbury’s top five could score in excess of 15 in the second innings. Captain Andrew Ellis, however, stretched his overnight score of 34 to 110 – his ninth first-class century – while No. 9 Logan van Beek added an unbeaten 54 to his first-innings score of 66, pushing the lead past 200, prompting Canterbury to declare on 293 for 8.Chasing 227, Wellington secured the victory for the loss of only three wickets, piloted by an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 170 between Hamish Marshall (105* off 94) and Tom Blundell (63*). It was the second win in ten matches for Wellington, whose tally of 86 points earned them a fourth-place finish.Blundell had earlier anchored Wellington’s reply to Canterbury’s first-innings tally of 197 with a 113. He added 184 runs for the sixth wicket with Peter Younghusband, who fell three short of a maiden first-class century. The duo helped their side take a 67-run lead, before Canterbury medium-pacer Will Williams rolled them over over with a career best 4 for 37.Northern Districts, meanwhile, stole a three-wicket win against Otago, with heroic centuries from Daryl Mitchell (106) and Tim Seifert (151) in the fourth innings in Dunedin. Like Central Districts, Northern Districts were set a stiff target – of 347 – but the twin centuries meant three wickets from each of Michael Rae and Rhys Phillips went in vain.Northern Districts’ fourth win of the tournament was set up by 11 wickets from Ish Sodhi. Otago had earlier secured a first-innings lead of 157 after a double-century from Anaru Kitchen (207) helped them score 432 for 8. Northern Distrcits were bowled out for 275 in reply, only Dean Brownlie scoring a half-century, with Nathan Smith and Rae striking thrice each. However, Sodhi’s 7 for 59 in the third innings meant Otago declared at 189 for 8, despite strong contributions from the top order, and Northern Districts aced the daunting chase by losing no more than seven wickets.

The ECB have appointed John Neal as Head of Coach Development – a new role encompassing coaching strategies from grassroots cricket to the senior England teams

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2017The ECB have appointed John Neal as Head of Coach Development – a new role encompassing coaching strategies from grassroots cricket to the senior England teams.Neal has extensive experience both inside and outside sport as a performance psychologist, and faculty member at Ashridge Executive Education, in a range of roles in cricket, with the Rugby Football Union, and the Premier League.”We see this as a very significant and exciting appointment,” said Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s director, England cricket.”As our Head of Coach Development, John will have the opportunity to create a game-wide strategy to ensure that coaches have impact from the moment someone picks up a bat for the first time right up to the pinnacle in our England teams.”He is a well-known and respected figure in cricket, having worked previously with Middlesex, Somerset, Gloucestershire and as an advisor to the ECB, including in the assessment of our coach development programmes.”But coaching is about people development as much as technical intricacies, and it was John’s breadth of experience in sport and beyond that made him an outstanding candidate for this role.”Neal has been a director of the Sports Business Programme at Ashridge since 2001, and in that role he was director of the RFU’s World Class Coaching Programme from 2002-7, before joining the Welsh Rugby Union as National Performance Coach from 2006-08.He has been director of Sport Northern Ireland’s Elite Coach Programme since 2011, and academic co-director of the Premier League’s Elite Coach Apprentice Scheme since 2015.He has worked with teams at three World Cups across two sports and both genders with West Indies Cricket, England Women’s Rugby, and the WRU.”I’m delighted and very proud to have been appointed into a role where I believe I can make a real difference within a sport which is very close to my heart,” said Neal.”Coaches play a crucial role in the sport and especially ensuring young people love playing cricket and then follow their passion for a lifetime at their local club or through to international level. I am excited to have been given the opportunity to develop our coaches and make an impact on the future of English cricket and its cricketers.”

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.

Paul Stirling, with his maiden Championship century, and Sam Robson put Middlesex in control against Yorkshire

Tim Wigmore at Lord's19-Jun-2017
ScorecardOn Thursday, Ireland’s Test status is expected to be confirmed at The Oval. At London’s other great cricket fiefdom, Paul Stirling provided more welcome news for Ireland: his maiden County Championship century. With Sam Robson serene at the other end in an alliance of 187 which could be match-shaping, the upshot was a perfect day for Middlesex’s bowlers, who had no need to take the field in the scorching sun.Stirling has long been a curious case in first-class cricket. The talent that earned him two ODI centuries against Pakistan before his 23rd birthday has not been in doubt. Yet the discrepancy between his first-class and limited overs returns for Middlesex – before this innings, he averaged 27.77 for the county against the red ball, but 41.46 in one-day cricket – has been infuriating.He has been shuffled around the order, struggled badly when used as an opener in 2015, and suffered from the sheer strength of Middlesex’s batting. Ireland commitments, which have limited his availability and made it tricky for a fringe player to return to the side, have been another complication.He chose an opportune moment to transfer his formidable limited-overs record to the red-ball game. Middlesex have had a curiously underwhelming start to their Championship defence since beginning the season with a round off; their opening five games have brought one defeat and four draws. And at Lord’s they had to confront Yorkshire’s bowling attack with a slightly cobbled-together batting line-up. They were missing three of their normal top five – Nick Gubbins, who’s with England Lions; Dawid Malan, who’s with England; and Adam Voges, who’s with the physio.A good time, then, for Stirling to play a breakthrough innings. In these conditions – the green tinge on the pitch was deceptive, just as in Middlesex’s last Championship game here – he does not need to adapt his limited-overs game much to excel in the first-class arena. His timing, punching the ball through the off side while scarcely bothering to move his feet, was impeccable. This was a distillation of how Stirling can use his natural strengths in red-ball cricket: he greeted Adam Lyth’s offspin by thumping him over mid-on for six and then, with the man moved back, calmly pushed his next delivery to long on for a single.”There’s a lot of people competing. It’s a tough gig to get in,” said Stirling. “I need to score a bit more consistently but I don’t want to take away from my instinct of playing attacking cricket which is the balance that I want to find. James Franklin just told me to take my tempo from one-day cricket into the red-ball game.”A straight drive off Ryan Sidebottom, punched past his follow-through, was the shot of a man too good to be playing his red-ball cricket in the second eleven. His own form, combined with Voges’ injury, means that Stirling will now get the opportunity to prove as much once and of all.Just before Stirling had the joy of a maiden first-class century at Lord’s, Robson completed his tenth at the ground, on which he averages almost 50. It was an innings of typically understated excellence; Robson’s purring cover drives, precise late cuts and sumptuous clips to midwicket have long since been staples of the Lord’s summer. There could be more to come in this innings, too: Robson, spilled sharply by Jack Brooks off his own bowling on 31, ended unbeaten on 152, his gluttony undimmed.Yorkshire were relatively blameless, such is the quality of the Lord’s pitch. Curiously, given that Middlesex took lunch on 82 for 2, it is on their bowling performance in the morning session that Yorkshire will reflect on with least satisfaction. It was a little too easy for Middlesex’s openers to leave the ball alone – something the recalled Nick Compton did plenty of while taking 24 balls over his first run – and set up a position from which Robson and Stirling could flourish.

Key highlights from the second ODI between West Indies and India

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2017When West Indies won the toss, they looked at damp conditions underfoot and heavy skies overhead. It was atmosphere that called for length bowling to use the conditions: slowness, possible seam movement and variable bounce. However, the West Indies opening bowlers failed to get the length right, bowling either too short or two full. The result: eight fours, one six and 63 runs in the first 10 overs without even a half chance created.Ajinkya Rahane hasn’t had a great relationship with limited-overs international cricket. He starts off well, but hasn’t converted many of those starts into performances that guarantee him a spot in the XI. Before today he had crossed 50 19 times, converting them into hundreds only twice. Now, as KL Rahul nears fitness, this could be Rahane’s last chance in a while if he doesn’t grab it. He was predictably nervous as he neared his hundred before finally getting there in style.

High humidity, drizzle around, high pressure of bowling to Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, with floating yorkers as your weapon of choice, you leave yourself a low-percentage game as a bowler. Jason Holder realised that as three of his attempted yorkers at the death ended up as high full tosses. One of them was so slow Dhoni had time to rock back and pull it away for four. Another front-foot no-ball added insult to injury; fact that he got Kedar Jadhav out on that ball berated it further.Virat Kohli started off circumspectly but accelerated dramatically, scoring his last 50 runs in 25 balls. Hitting wasn’t that easy on a slow pitch with the humidity sapping players. There was an extra effort to set that solid base and concentrate on the swing of the bat and not the power. The head stayed down in all four of his sixes, none of which he over-hit.Wristspinners make the ball turn both ways legally, and the variation is harder to pick than the carrom ball – which is legal – from fingerspinners. That is why wristspinners have become an important part of limited-overs sides. Bowling for the first time in ODIs, Kuldeep Yadav – left-arm bowler to boot – showed what difference the variation could make, with West Indies left-hand batsmen failing to pick the one turning back into them

Kumar Sangakkara scored his third straight fifty, while Oshane Thomas took 3 for 31 to help the Jamaica Tallawahs beat the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 41 runs

The Report by Peter Della Penna31-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKumar Sangakkara scored his third successive fifty•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Chris Gayle’s return to Sabina Park was spoiled by Man of the Match Oshane Thomas, whose searing pace dismantled St Kitts & Nevis Patriots’ chase, as a spirited effort from Jamaica Tallawahs in the field resulted in a 41-run win. The defending CPL champions clinched their fifth straight playoff berth and moved one point ahead of Patriots to second on the CPL points table. Thomas took 3 for 31, including the wicket of Gayle for a three-ball duck.Another Tallawahs win in their final match against Guyana Amazon Warriors would put them into the opening playoff match against the Trinbago Knight Riders for a chance to gain direct entry into the tournament final.Tallawahs’ inauspicious startVictory was the furthest thing from the minds of Tallawahs supporters after Lendl Simmons was bowled off the first ball of the game. Pace bowlers have been sensational in the final week of the season and that trend continued on Wednesday night as Sheldon Cottrell swung one full and straight to castle the right-hander before halting his follow-through to stand at attention for his patented military salute send-off. It was the first of two wickets on the night for Cottrell.Sangakkara’s streak continuesWhile Sri Lanka’s fortunes continue to wane post Kumar Sangakkara’s international retirement, his form has been waxing lyrical all summer, whether in England with Surrey or in the Caribbean with the Tallawahs. Arriving in the middle for the second ball of the match, Sangakkara settled early nerves by forging an 81-run stand with Glenn Phillips.Sangakkara kickstarted the innings in the fifth over against Ben Hilfenhaus, riding a pair of streaky shots that fell safely as he carted the Australian for three fours and two sixes in a 24-run over. He routinely used his feet to combat the Patriots’ spin trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nabi and Tabraiz Shamsi. When he wasn’t charging forward, he got creative within the crease, shuffling back and across to disrupt their lines with a series of flicks and scoops. By the end of his innings, he’d racked up his third consecutive half-century.Powell’s prodigious powerWhile Sangakkara drove most of the Tallawahs innings, runs were trickling through at the other end. By the time he got out with eight balls left in the innings at 135 for 4, Patriots were looking at chasing an under-par total. That’s when Rovman Powell stomped down hard on the accelerator for a furious finish to the innings.Having smashed a free hit off Shamsi over midwicket a few overs earlier for six in search of his timing, Powell chopped an edge for four to fine leg to end the 19th. After nearly being run-out off the first ball of the 20th, he found his radar once more against Cottrell, creaming him over midwicket and long-off for consecutive sixes to take Tallawahs past 150 before falling on the final ball of the innings.Lightning strikes twiceJust as Simmons fell at the start of the match without scoring, so too did Gayle. The Universe Boss fell in somewhat more shocking fashion though. One of the most fearsome six-hitters in world cricket padded up to an inswinger from an amped-up Oshane Thomas. Gayle appeared to motion after the ball struck him as if he had failed to pick it up or something distracted him. The umpire disregarded the gesture and simply raised his finger to send Gayle on his way.Wonderboy tees off, then strikes outEvin Lewis shook off Gayle’s abrupt departure by scorching 40 of the next 43 runs in partnership with Mohammad Hafeez. Returning to the same ground he blitzed a T20I century against India earlier in the summer, Lewis targeted the leg-side boundary early and often with six fours and two sixes.He began the fifth over by smacking three consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Sami, then drove a moon shot over long-on for six off the fifth ball. That shot resulted in a broken bat. Just like Roy Hobbs in Bernard Malamud’s , Lewis was sapped of his powers without his go-to bat and promptly popped a tame return catch to Sami off the final ball of the over. Only two more batsmen reached double-figures in the Patriots innings as Thomas and Krishmar Santokie took three wickets each to bowl out Patriots for 116 inside of 18 overs.

Northants are well on top in Cardiff and, if results fall their way, they might just be heading for a pivotal clash with leaders Nottinghamshire next week

ECB Reporters Network13-Sep-20171:36

The latest shifts of fortune encapsulated in our Specsavers Championship round-up

Richard Levi completed an important century on the second day in Cardiff to keep Northamptonshire on course for the win they need to maintain hopes of promotion in the Specsavers County Championship.But Glamorgan fought back in the second half of the day, taking seven wickets for 69 then reducing their deficit to 40 for the loss of a single second-innings wicket.Levi’s 101 from 97 balls included 15 fours and a six and was his first in the Championship in a season in which he missed several weeks because of concussion. He received useful support from Rob Newton and Rob Keogh.After 16 overs were lost to rain in the morning, Newton and Levi made rapid progress against a Glamorgan attack, Michael Hogan apart, that lacked direction and bowled far too many “four balls”.It was no surprise that Robert Croft, the Glamorgan head coach, had his bowlers out on the outfield practising for 10 minutes during the lunch interval, and they did improve as Hogan trapped Newton leg before for 67, made from 119 balls with eight fours.The third wicket pair had added 104 in 21 overs, and with Levi ready to play an attacking role, the South African reached his century from only 95 deliveries. He was then out in the following over when he chased a wide ball from Lukas Carey and was comfortably caught by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.Richard Levi kept Northants’ ambitions high•Getty Images

Keogh made 45 from 98 balls although he had one escape when he was athletically caught by Craig Meschede off Andrew Salter’s off spin, but the umpire had called no ball for a delivery that was over waist high.Levi and Keogh had put on 88 for the fourth wicket, but Northants then lost four wickets for 19 runs on either side of the tea interval. After Keogh was leg before to Marchant De Lange, Alex Wakeley, the Northants captain, who batted at No. 7 after aggravating a finger injury, was bowled by Hogan without scoring.Rory Kleinveldt struck a breezy 23 before he was caught at cover, then Simon Kerrigan edged De Lange to Chris Cooke, and the innings ended when Richard Gleeson was bowled by Meschede. Hogan ended with four for 58 for Glamorgan, and de Lange three for 85.Glamorgan had 15 overs to face at the end of the day, and soon lost Nick Selman who was bowled by Gleeson’s ninth delivery – a sixth wicket in the match for the bowler. But Jacques Rudolph and Jack Murphy played out the remaining overs without any further alarms.

Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Oct-2017The eight IPL franchises are likely to be allowed to retain up to three players each before the player auction in the 2018 pre-season. Such a proposal was discussed by the IPL governing council in Delhi on Tuesday. The governing council will meet again next week to deliberate on the issue before making a final decision on November 14 at a workshop with all eight franchises.Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian. ESPNcricinfo understands that not all franchises have been keen on retaining players, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the two teams that are returning to the IPL after serving a two-year suspension, were “keen” to retain a certain number of players.If the IPL allows the retention of a certain number of players, both these franchises would be able to pick their choices from the two teams that replaced them in the last two editions of the IPL: Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions.MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith, Brendon McCullum and Faf du Plessis are some of the prominent names that featured for Supergiant and Lions in the last two years.It is understood that the IPL chief operating officer Hemang Amin met with representatives of the eight franchises in the last few months to gather suggestions before a final plan is laid out at the franchise workshop next month.It is not just the number of players that should be retained that the franchises have different opinions about – they are also concerned by the purse that will be made available to them.Some of the richer franchises are keen to have a maximum purse of INR 80 crore as opposed to some franchises which are happy with INR 75 crore. The IPL governing council is likely to take a final call at its next meeting.One franchise official pointed out that the richer teams might want a bigger purse in order to spend big money to retain marquee players. The official suggested the IPL should consider a smaller purse as well as sticking to the retention policy it had used in the past. In 2014, when the retention policy was introduced for the first time by the IPL, every franchise was allowed to retain a maximum of five capped players. Back then every franchise had a salary cap of INR 60 crore, out of which a fixed amount would be deducted for every player retained. The break-up of the deduction was: Player 1 – INR 12.5 crore, Player 2 – 9.5 cr, Player 3 – 7.5 cr, Player 4 – 5.5 cr and Player 5 – 4 cr.Simultaneously the franchises could buy back additional players through the right-to-match-card option in the 2014 auction. On Tuesday, the IPL governing council discussed the right-to-match-card option, but there was no clarity on the issue. The right-to-match card essentially gives a franchise the first right of refusal to its players, allowing it to buy its player back after other franchises have completed the bidding process for him.In 2014 the number of right-to-match cards available to each franchise was dependent on the number of players already retained. A franchise retaining between three and five players had one right-to-match card, while a franchise retaining up to two players had two right-to-match cards; those not retaining any player had three cards to play.