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Joe Burns has retained his place for the Boxing Day Test, with Shaun Marsh dropped after scoring 182 in Australia’s win over West Indies in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne25-Dec-20151:02

Shaun Marsh unlucky to miss out – Smith

Joe Burns has retained his place for the Boxing Day Test, with Shaun Marsh dropped after scoring 182 in Australia’s win over West Indies in Hobart. Usman Khawaja’s return after a month out with a hamstring injury meant that someone had to make way, and Australia’s selectors preferred to leave Marsh out rather than split up the opening partnership they believe is the future.Burns and David Warner began their opening partnership with three successive century stands against New Zealand, including a 237-run effort in the second innings at the Gabba, where Burns also registered his maiden Test hundred. However, since that innings Burns has made starts but failed to reach fifty, while Marsh helped Australia to victory with 49 in the second innings in Adelaide.Marsh followed that with a huge 449-run stand with Adam Voges in Hobart, the highest fourth-wicket partnership of all time in Test cricket. However, captain Steven Smith said the selectors had viewed the Burns-Warner partnership as important to stick with going forward, given the successful way they had started as a combination this summer.”That was a big part of it,” Smith said. “Joe has been playing quite good cricket. He scored a hundred only a couple of Tests ago so that was a big part of it. They average 80 as a pair and it’s pretty important to have a good opening stand. They’ve been doing a very good job so the selectors thought that was the right way to go.”We’re always talking about what’s coming up as well. There were a lot of conversations around it. Shaun is obviously extremely unlucky to miss out after scoring a brilliant 180 in the last Test match, and 49 under a bit of pressure in the Test before that. There were lots of talks about it but they believe that’s the best way to go, going forward.”The return of Khawaja will allow Smith to move back down to No. 4 after he filled the No. 3 position in Adelaide and Hobart. Smith sat out of the opening week of the BBL season to rest his sore knee and hip, and he said he was better for the time spent off the field.”It’s been good, actually,” Smith said. “My knee is probably feeling as good as it has all summer. That’s all good. The hip has settled down. I’m good to go.”Australia made no other changes to their XI, with Scott Boland the bowler to miss out, and Victorians Peter Siddle and James Pattinson to join Josh Hazlewood in the Boxing Day pace attack. West Indies are yet to confirm their XI and while captain Jason Holder indicated on Thursday that allrounder Carlos Brathwaite was the front-runner to replace the injured Shannon Gabriel, Smith would not be surprised to see legspinner Devendra Bishoo included.”I think there’s a possibility of them playing two spinners,” he said, “we’ll just see how it goes in the morning.”

Late collapse after Wolvaardt-Armitage stand leaves Superchargers needing a miracle to qualify

ECB Reporters Network26-Aug-2022They were singing ‘Hymns and Arias’ at Sophia Gardens in the end as Tammy Beaumont’s side came back from the dead to notch Welsh Fire’s first win in either the women’s or men’s Hundred this season, as they beat Northern Superchargers by 11 runs.Having set the visitors 124 to win, Fire seemed out for the count after Superchargers skipper Hollie Armitage and South African star Laura Wolvaardt put on 90 for the third wicket to leave their team needed 21 to win off the last 17 balls with eight wickets in hand.But then Wolvaardt, who took over from Beth Mooney as this season’s leading run-scorer, went for 41 and Beaumont’s side started to breathe fire. From 103 for 2, the Superchargers slumped to 112 for 6 as they lost four wickets in the space of 17 balls and added only 10 more runs.Related

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Nicola Carey was the star of the show for the home side with the ball as she removed Wolvaardt, Armitage, who reached her highest total in the tournament with 40 off 38, and Alice Davidson-Richards. “That win has been a long time coming,” she said. It was nice to get one over the line in front of a home crowd.”While Fire broke their duck for the season after four successive defeats to fall out of the running for the knockout phase, Superchargers are still in with an outside shot of reaching the top three but will need a huge win against unbeaten Southern Brave in their final game and for other results to fall in their favour.Beaumont won the toss and opted to bat first as her side chased that elusive first win of the season. She then went out to open with Scottish international Sarah Bryce and helped to steer her side to 32 off the 25 balls in the powerplay, but was bowled by Jenny Gunn.Annabel Sutherland’s late runs took Welsh Fire to 123•ECB/Getty Images

The experienced Rachel Haynes, returning to action after illness forced her to miss the last two defeats, didn’t last long, scoring four runs off her 10 balls to leave the Fire 56 for 2 at the half-way mark.While Bryce kept swinging, hitting four boundaries in her 36 in 30 balls, Annabel Sutherland also came good after Bryce and Fran Wilson had both departed within the space of 12 balls. Sutherland and Lauren Filer both hit sixes in a final flourish that same them put on 17 off the final six balls.Those runs, along with the 19 scored by Carey, proved vital as Fire reached 123 for 6. That gave them something to bowl at on a tricky wicket and they got off to a great start: Alyssa Healy and Bess Heath fell early to leave Superchargers struggling at 12 for 2 off the first 13 balls.Wolvaardt and Armitage took Superchargers close but when Wolvaardt, who had scored an unbeaten 90 in the win over Manchester Originals last time out, holed out at deep mid-on off, the late wobble was on. Beaumont’s team turned the screw and came up with that long awaited win – and celebrated with a sing-song with the crowd.

High Performance Review may yet scupper season’s aim, as lowly Leicestershire are routed

David Hopps07-Sep-2022Nottinghamshire 201 (Montgomery 43, Wright 3-26, Barnes 3-32) and 390 for 7 dec (Clarke 67, James 61, Hameed 60) beat Leicestershire 93 (Evans 50*, Fletcher 4-23) and 257 (Finan 58, Mullaney 3-29) by 241 runsJust as Mark Wood can ride an imaginary horse during a Test match, so Nottinghamshire fear they are again contesting an imaginary promotion race as they approach the winners’ enclosure. For the moment, they can do little else but hope. But at least in a Championship season which still has no confirmed denouement, and in a format that has no confirmed future, they have all but done what they can, stretching their lead in Division Two to 34 points with a thumping 241-run win inside three days against Leicestershire.Nottinghamshire’s nearest pursuers, Middlesex and Glamorgan, have three matches left to their two, but they play each other at Lord’s next week. Their next match, against Worcestershire at New Road a week on Tuesday, will be a promotion party. Presumably.Their latest win ended amid some drama as the players trooped out after six o’clock, the rain briefly relenting, Leicestershire nine-down, floodlights blazing, and the threat of a dodgy weather forecast on the final day. They grabbed that wicket within 10 balls as drizzle again began to fall. The Gods then are shining upon them, but the question remains as to whether they will be doubly blessed by the cricket authorities, who would have forced even Zeus to procrastinate and form another sub-committee.The bigger picture was that Nottinghamshire’s win came on the day when Andrew Strauss openly lobbied in a podcast for his oft-signalled preference for a future of three divisions of six and warned that if the counties did not accept a reduction in the amount of Championship cricket played, then more and more players would take the easy option and abandon county cricket for an ever-growing number of worldwide T20 leagues. Result: disaster.Basically, the High Performance Review message is that you old guys might want to watch wall-to-wall Championship cricket, but we young guys don’t want to play it, so you’d better get used to the idea before the walls come tumbling down.Strauss will officially unveil his proposals to the ECB Board next Wednesday, with Richard Thompson taking the chair for the first time. The Board will then decide what exactly to propose to the counties, and when, and there is every chance that a September deadline will not be met. There is also a growing sense that any changes might not come into effect until 2024. If that is so, Nottinghamshire, then your promotion might actually exist.Nottinghamshire would deserve as much. They finished fourth in the Conference system in 2021, a format introduced because of Covid-19, but when the counties voted to revert to two divisions this summer, that achievement was ruled irrelevant. Instead, they were demoted to the Second Division on the basis of their bottom-placed finish in Division One in the last pre-Covid season two years earlier.For all Strauss’s warnings, it is eminently possible that county cricket could opt to stare down the possibility of a talent drain (after all, they have suffered an ECB-approved talent drain for years) and calculate that a surfeit of short-form global tournaments will ultimately implode.But the contention that England’s professional circuit needs the best versus the best has more in its favour. One look at Leicestershire insisted as much. They can be grateful that Strauss is not trying to dismantle the 18-team professional system in the naïve belief that shrinking a game somehow makes it stronger, but their inadequacies are a powerful advocacy of a steeper pyramid system that three divisions of six would bring.They were largely dire on the third day at Trent Bridge, entirely lacking in conviction and application once their openers had departed, happy to tumble to defeat in fatalistic fashion until the merriment of a last-wicket stand of 83 put a gloss on proceedings that they did not deserve. Leicestershire’s last-wicket pair even survived a statutory extra half-hour to reach tea at 251 for 9, their stand worth 77 in 13.2 overs and the last man, Michael Finan, a 26-year-old triallist from Cheshire, finding himself the possessor of a maiden Championship fifty on debut – an innings that involved Nottinghamshire pounding the old ball at him from short of a length with a short leg and five fielders back for the catch, and Finan surviving through a mixture of luck, judgment and dropped catches.Related

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There followed a rain delay of more than two hours before the sides reappeared. Leicestershire had six overs plus an extra half hour to withstand. The skies were dark and the floodlights were on. From the 10th ball, Finan edged Dane Paterson to second slip where Matthew Montgomery held a low catch. Notts celebrated as if it matters, and let’s hope that this time it does.Leicestershire have not won a first-class game in 11 attempts and look as weak as when they failed to win a single match in 2013 and 2014. A threadbare squad not been helped by the absence of Wiaan Mulder, who has been called up by South Africa, and Ben Mike, who is bound for Yorkshire at the season’s end. They have competed more ably in white-ball formats, only missing a place in the T20 Blast quarter-finals when they were docked points, and reaching the Royal London Cup play-offs, but over four days they are again scraping the barrel. It is due to freakish circumstances that they are playing Nottinghamshire in this season’s Championship, but in the longer format the gulf in class has been apparent.Leicestershire’s director of cricket, Paul Nixon, sounds increasingly dismayed by their four-day failures. “There were too many soft dismissals, too many times we got ourselves out. It’s tough when the odds are against you, but that’s the mindset of a winner. You’ve got to believe that you’re the man who is going to take responsibility for your team and if people haven’t got that mindset, I don’t want them playing for Leicestershire County Cricket Club.”Their openers did resist the new ball gamely enough, albeit rendered largely strokeless. Sam Evans had batted through the first innings for 50 out of 93, no other player reaching double figures (extras contributed 17). His downfall, though, was disappointing as, foot planted a few inches down the pitch, he stretched for a drive at a wide ball from Paterson and edged to the keeper.With Hassan Azad also embedded, Notts appeared to be faced with a bit of a grind on a slow surface, only for their skipper, Steven Mullaney, to change the tone with a pre-lunch spell of 3 for 15 in four overs. He swung the ball prodigiously at times and offered subtle variations of pace. A straight one from around the wicket had Azad lbw; Louis Kimber, who has been promoted to No.3 on the back of excellent 50-overs form, checked a drive to mid-off; and a huge inducker did for Colin Ackermann, who was lbw.As Ryan Patel and Harry Swindells contrived to flick catches to midwicket, six wickets had fallen for 121. Ed Barnes, struggling for oxygen as high as No. 7, banished the doubters in a positive innings of 37, even if his eventual demise was slightly embarrassing as Brett Hutton, having loaded the legside field, banged one in that followed Barnes as he backed away, and he popped a catch to short leg in self-protection while falling on his bottom.Mullaney reckoned Nottinghamshire looked “rusty”. But only Leicestershire had disintegrated.

India will keep a close eye on the bowling workload of Hardik Pandya, who is set to play his first ODI in nearly a year

Ashish Pant11-Jul-20223:14

Giles: ‘Teams need to start thinking about the 50-over World Cup’

Big picture

If the three T20Is were any indication, the ODI series promises to be a thrill-a-minute ride. England have built a reputation of going hard from the get-go in both white-ball formats, and India, who have traditionally been known to build their innings methodically before going big in the death overs, also took the all-out aggressive route in the T20I series. Whether or not they continue with this approach in the ODIs remains to be seen, but conditions should assist quick run-getting, with surfaces at The Oval usually among the flatter ones in England.Both sides head into the series on the back of excellent ODI track records. England have lost just one of their last 10 ODIs and are fresh from amassing the highest ODI total in history against Netherlands. India, meanwhile, have won six of their last 10 games in the format, which includes a 3-0 sweep of West Indies at home earlier this year.The last time India came to The Oval, they took a 2-1 lead in the Test series last year with Rohit Sharma scoring 127 in the second innings. Rohit will hope to create more happy memories here, as will his likely opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, who in five ODIs at this venue has scored 443 runs at an average of 110.75, with three centuries and a fifty. In a squad that is otherwise full of young up-and-comers who have also been in and around the T20 set-up, Dhawan is an established name who remains an important cog in India’s 50-overs plans.Jos Buttler’s T20I captaincy debut did not quite go as planned, but with Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root back, England’s batting line-up will be at full strength in the ODIs. But the bowling looks a little thin, particularly in the spin department. Matt Parkinson wasn’t at his best in the T20I series, nor was Moeen Ali, and Livingstone’s mix of offspin and legspin was carted for 74 runs in his five overs across the three games. If the ongoing heatwave in the UK causes the pitches to dry out, spin could play a significant role in the series – as could cutters and changes of pace from the quicker bowlers.

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India WWWLL

In the spotlight

Hardik Pandya last played an ODI nearly a year ago, and India will keep a close eye on how he manages his workload in the format. Injuries had minimised his bowling output for a significant length of time, but he seems to have turned a corner in the last few months, bowling regularly both in the IPL and in his T20I appearances. Most recently, he played a crucial role in the first T20I against England, taking four wickets and scoring a 33-ball 51. But while he’s shown he can pull of his dual role with aplomb in T20 cricket, can he consistently bowl a full 10-over quota in ODIs?With scores of 0, 4 and 18, Jos Buttler had a T20I series to forget. But the England captain is coming off a superb run in the ODI series against Netherlands, where he made 162* in 70 balls and 86* off 64 balls in his two innings. The moving ball troubled him considerably during the T20I series, but it’s unlikely to be a factor when he resumes his middle-order role in the ODIs.Jos Buttler struggled during the T20Is, but he was in terrific form during England’s most recent ODI series against Netherlands•Getty Images

Team News

Suryakumar Yadav’s sensational century in the third T20I could get him the nod over Shreyas Iyer, if India opt for four frontline bowlers and two allrounders. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are likely to lead the pace unit, with a toss-up between Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj for the third seamer’s role. The former is likely to get the nod after a breakthrough series against the West Indies earlier this year. Yuzvendra Chahal will, in all probability, be the lone specialist spinner, with either Axar Patel or Ravindra Jadeja taking the spin-bowling allrounder’s mantle.India had an optional net session on the eve of the game, with only Ishan Kishan and Shikhar Dhawan as the specialist batters. Kishan had a long net session. Shardul Thakur, Siraj and Shami were the bowlers in attendance.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel/Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.England’s batting is set to be at full strength with Bairstow, Root and Stokes back in the white-ball mix. The composition of the seam attack will be an interesting question, with three left-arm quicks in contention in Sam Curran, David Willey and Reece Topley, with Brydon Carse’s extra pace also in the mix.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 David Willey, 10 Brydon Carse/Reece Topley, 11 Matt Parkinson.

Pitch and conditions

There was a greenish tinge to the surface at The Oval on the eve of the match, but that might not translate to a lot of help for the seamers given the heatwave that’s going around. The temperature is expected to touch the 30-degree mark on the Celsius scale, but batting – and running between the wickets – might become easier later in the evening, under lights. There could be some assistance for the spinners too.

Stats and Trivia

• David Willey and Sam Curran shared nine wickets in the last ODI played at The Oval, against Sri Lanka last year.
• Joe Root has the most runs at the Oval among active cricketers. He has scored 548 runs in 10 innings here, at an average of 68.50 with five fifties and a ton.
• Rohit Sharma has seven centuries in 24 ODI innings in England, the most by any visiting batter. He has scored 1335 runs at an average of 66.75 in the country.

Bangladesh Under-19 cricketer Nihaduzzaman, who had suffered injuries in a bus accident earlier this month, has been passed fit to play for Rajshahi Division’s first match of the of the National Cricket League 2015-16

Mohammad Isam17-Sep-2015Bangladesh Under-19 cricketer Nihaduzzaman, who was injured in a bus accident earlier this month, has been passed fit to play for Rajshahi Division in the side’s first match of the National Cricket League 2015-16 against Barisal Division on Friday. Nihaduzzaman had suffered head injuries and needed 12 stitches to his skull and forehead after a bus he was traveling in, from Bogra to Rajshahi, suffered an accident on September 9.According to the BCB’s chief physician, Dr Debashish Chowdhury, Nihaduzzaman’s CT scan did not show any reason for concern. “He stayed back in Rajshahi because he got the medical support there. The CT scan didn’t show anything of concern so he can resume playing,” Chowdhury said.Nihad’s stitches were taken off earlier this week and he resumed practice soon. Rajshahi manager Akbar Amin confirmed the left-arm spinner will be considered for selection.”He has made an excellent recovery after the horrific accident, and feels a lot better. He will be ready for selection tomorrow,” Amin said.

Pattinson hits back as Sussex slump; Pujara key to hopes of competitive first innings

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2022Sussex 94 for 5 (Pattinson 3-27) trail Nottinghamshire 240 (Mullaney 70, Slater 55, Robinson 4-44) by 146 runsEngland fast bowler Ollie Robinson took four wickets on his return to competitive action as Sussex bowled out Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire for 240. In reply, however, they sunk to 49 for five before closing on 94 for five on an eventful opening day of their latest LV= Insurance County Championship match.Robinson, whose problems in recent months have included a bout of Covid, a tooth infection and food poisoning in addition to a persistent back injury, dismissed the first four names on the Nottinghamshire scorecard to finish with four for 44 from 16 overs in his first appearance since May.He produced two particularly high-quality deliveries to bowl openers Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater, albeit 89 runs apart, the latter making 55 as one of two Nottinghamshire players to post half-centuries in an otherwise largely miserable-looking scorecard in which skipper Steven Mullaney’s 70 was vital in giving the innings some substance.James Pattinson added a useful 39 batting at nine before taking three wickets in his principal role as spearhead of the Nottinghamshire attack. Much responsibility will rest with Cheteshwar Pujara, captaining the side here, to build on his 34 not out if Sussex are to claim any advantage tomorrow, although the Indian Test star needed checking over late in the day after being struck on the helmet by a ball from Dane Paterson.”I had an injection and it took about 10 days to feel fully settled. I started my rehab slowly with a bit of gym work but two and a half weeks in I started bowling and could tell straight away it felt better,” Robinson said.”I would have liked to have bowled in a Second XI game but the fixtures just didn’t allow that, but last week I bowled 30 overs, the week before 24 and the week before that 18. So I was able to come into this match feeling I could give 100 percent. I felt a bit rusty as I suppose after a few months it is going to be, but the ball came out OK.”I’ve had a few conversations with the England coaches and said that I wanted to bowl as many overs as were needed by the team, with no restrictions, and they have allowed me to play this game to 100 percent. I’m hoping to play in a Lions game early next month after which the South Africa series comes up pretty quickly, so I’m hoping that with a couple of good games I can be back in the mix.”After Sussex won the toss and made the home side bat first on a wicket with a good covering of grass, Robinson quickly put Nottinghamshire on the back foot, dismissing Hameed with his 12th delivery.Hameed fell four short of a maiden 200 against Derbyshire last week but went for just five this time, offering no shot to a ball that came back a long way to clip his off stump.Slater put early runs on the board as a fast outfield added value to any attacking shot, particularly with a short boundary on the Bridgford Road side.But he lost partners in Robinson’s fourth and fifth overs as Ben Duckett clipped one straight to backward square leg and Joe Clarke nibbled outside off stump to be caught behind at 41 for 3.Nottinghamshire went to lunch at 87 for 4 after Lyndon James was caught at second slip off seamer Ari Karvelas for 7, having been dropped by the same fielder on the same score in the previous Karvelas over.Back after lunch, Robinson struck another blow by removing Slater for 55 with the ball of the day, pitching on middle and hitting the top of off.Tom Moores flailed at a wide loosener from 20-year-old left-armer Sean Hunt to be caught behind and Liam Patterson-White nicked a loose drive to second slip off Karvelas as Nottinghamshire slipped to 152 for 7.Mullaney was dropped at second slip on 26 and by the keeper on 53 but made the most of his opportunities otherwise, hitting eight fours and two sixes, helping Pattinson add 65 for the eighth wicket.After Pattinson nicked one behind, the last two wickets fell quickly as left-armer Brad Currie, who took 6 for 93 on his debut at Lord’s last week, picked up the final three, including Mullaney who was perhaps unlucky to be given leg before to the left-armer coming round the wicket, before Paterson was caught behind off an inside edge.Nottinghamshire missed out on a second batting bonus point but in the context of the match their 240 began to look a decent effort as Sussex stumbled to 49 for 5.Pattinson pinned Tom Clark leg-before, Paterson produced a beauty to beat Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s defensive push on his return from a stress fracture and then Pattinson took two in five balls, ending Ali Orr’s good start with a ball to match Paterson’s and squaring up Oli Carter for another lbw.Paterson then drew an edge to second slip from James Coles to leave Sussex with half their wickets gone and still 191 behind, but Pujara and Archie Lenham survived the last 18 overs to cut that deficit to 146.

Haider Ali’s enterprising 49 and Kamran Akmal’s attacking 41 not enough as Zalmi fall short in 200 chase

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2022Haider Ali’s enterprising 49 and Kamran Akmal’s attacking 41 weren’t enough for Peshawar Zalmi, as a whirlwind knock of 66 by Fakhar Zaman helped Lahore Qalandars to a 29-run win.After Shaheen Afridi bowled Hazratullah Zazai off the third ball of the 200 chase with no run on the board, Akmal and Hussain Talat added 62 as Akmal went for the boundaries while Talat struggled to get going. But Zaman Khan got them both off back-to-back balls in the ninth over, first having Talat caught at deep midwicket before getting Akmal to chop on to his stumps.Akmal’s 41 came off 24 deliveries, including 4, 4 and 6 off successive balls in the fifth over against Rashid Khan, while Talat couldn’t make the most of three drops to limp to 15 from 24 deliveries.But after Akmal fell, Haider ensured Zalmi didn’t lose the momentum, getting off to a rapid start after himself being dropped. With Mailk also gone and the required run rate up to nearly 15 with seven overs remaining, Rutherford also targeted Rashid, cracking 6, 4 and 4 off consecutive deliveries. However, Zaman Khan dismissed Rutherford for 21 from 11 balls, and despite Haider’s effort, Zalmi were left with too much to do in the end, as David Wiese nearly had a hat-trick for Qalandars with DRS reversing the umpire’s initial out verdict.And with the bat, Qalandars were set up by an aggressive 94-run opening stand between Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique. Initially, Fakhar Zaman was the one who went after the bowlers, scoring 26 off his first 13 balls after four overs. Shafique then upped the tempo, slamming Arish Ali for 6 and 4 off the first two balls of the next over. At least one boundary was hit every over until Usman Qadir got Shafique for 41 off the last ball of the ninth to break the partnership.But Fakhar Zaman pumped Qadir for two more boundaries – the ball drooping off Haider’s fingers at deep square leg facilitated the six – before Talat got him for 66 in the 13th over. That is when Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Ghulam and Rashid combined to provide the finishing touches to Qalandars’ innings, as they crashed 82 off the final seven overs, with Rashid hitting three sixes in an unbeaten eight-ball 22.

Duo share 182-run stand with hosts five wickets down and 15 runs behind Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network06-May-2022Glamorgan reached 305 for 5 at the end of the second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire, still 15 runs behind on first innings.The day started with Leicestershire still batting with two wickets in hand. A useful stand between Callum Parkinson and Chris Wright took them to 320 all out.The Glamorgan innings started with three early wickets but a fantastic partnership between Kiran Carlson and Sam Northeast took them to the tea break in control of this match.Carlson made 91 and Northeast 84 but both were dismissed in the last session with this game very much in the balance as it heads into the third day.Having resumed on 285 for 8 Leicestershire successfully passed 300 for the first time this seasons thanks to a ninth-wicket partnership worth 43 runs between Parkinson and Wright. That partnership was broken when Wright edged behind off the bowling of Michael Hogan before a third run out of the innings brought the Leicestershire batting efforts to a close.Leicestershire got off to the perfect start with the ball when Wright had David Lloyd caught behind for just 6 but a stand of 52 between Marnus Labuschagne and Andrew Salter steadied things for Glamorgan.Labuschagne was given a chance early on when Harry Swindells put down a leg side catch off Wright but the wicketkeeper couldn’t hang on. The Australian did not make the most of his good fortune, he was out for 17 off the last ball before lunch, attempting to hook a short ball from Ben Mike.Salter also departed shortly after the resumption to leave Glamorgan at 63 for 3 to bring together Carlson and Northeast who batted beautifully through the afternoon session as they shared a partnership worth 182, comfortably the best of Glamorgan’s season thus far. Both batters raced along, scoring at nearly five an over. They were aided in their quick scoring by the Leicestershire bowlers sending down 15 no balls with all their seamers guilty of overstepping.Wright was comfortably the best bowler on show for Leicestershire and it was he who broke the stand when he trapped Carlson lbw nine runs short of a century. Northeast was also dismissed lbw with Ben Mike claiming the wicket. There is still no hundred for Northeast at his new county, he has now been dismissed for 81, 85 and 84 in his fledgling Glamorgan career.Debutant Andy Gorvin and Chris Cooke saw Glamorgan to the close with bad light ending proceedings two overs early. If these two can bat for a significant part of the morning session on day three Glamorgan are well placed to claim a significant first-innings lead.

Ben Mike stranded on 99 as thrilling counter-attack fails to save visitors

ECB Reporters Network30-Apr-2022Ben Mike was left stranded on 99 as his thrilling counter-attacking innings failed to save Leicestershire from defeat in three days at the hands of Middlesex at Lord’s.Nottinghamshire-born Mike followed his 4 for 15 the previous day with a magnificent display of hitting, beating his previous career-best of 74, only to run out of partners one short of a richly deserved century.His efforts took the visitors to 272 second time around and ensured Middlesex, who were a bowler light due to an injury to Tom Helm, had to bat again.However, Toby Roland-Jones’ 3 for 67 meant the hosts needed just 52, a target openers Mark Stoneman and Sam Robson chased down in just over 10 overs to seal a second LV = Insurance County Championship win of the season.Sensing their hosts were understrength, Wiaan Mulder started aggressively, pulling a Roland-Jones loosener for four and driving the next ball to the cover fence. However,Ethan Bamber, so impressive the previous evening, made the early breakthrough at the Nursery End, finding a touch of away movement which caused Sam Evans to edge low to Peter Handscomb at slip.The 23-year-old deserved more from an opening spell where he beat the bat with monotonous regularity, but Mulder and wicketkeeper Harry Swindells survived not only that stint but Shaheen Shah Afridi’s opening salvo too. And when spin took over from one end, Mulder took toll of a rare loose ball from leg-spinner Luke Hollman to raise the 50-partnership.Fate then smiled kindly on Middlesex as Roland-Jones returned to have an lbw shout against Swindells upheld when it seemed the ball was going over the top.Mulder pressed on to reach 50 only to toss his wicket away soon after lunch hooking Afridi straight down the throat of Hollman at deep square.His departure was the cue for Mike’s thrilling counter-offensive. Afridi bowled him some short stuff in retaliation for being on the receiving end of the same the night before, but the all-rounder promptly hooked him over the ropes at long leg. What started as by-play became an ongoing contest with only one winner, Mike flailing the Pakistan international over cover for six as the 50-stand with Ed Barnes came up in 39 balls, forcing Afridi out of the attack.A punch through mid-on took him to 50 from 57 balls before a scare on 62 when Bamber got one between bat and pad which somehow missed the stumps.Barnes proved a great foil in a stand which reached 98, ensuring Middlesex would have to bat again, before he played too soon at one from Hollman and lobbed a catch to short mid-wicket.Mike though plundered on, passing his previous best of 74 and pulling a short one from Roland-Jones for six as the visitors inched ahead.At the other end Callum Parkinson, survived being struck by a return from the outfield, but perished, caught at slip off Roland-Jones, and Chris Wright clubbed Hollman straight into the hands of midwicket with Mike two short of his century.His mistake was to take a single, a decision he was to regret when last man Beuran Hendricks shouldered arms to Roland-Jones who sent his off-stump cartwheeling out the ground, cruel luck on Mike after a magnificent innings.

Yuvraj Singh has revealed that a piece of advice from Sachin Tendulkar keeps him motivated him to go through the grind of domestic cricket despite the loss of his India place

Amol Karhadkar at the Wankhede Stadium07-Oct-2015It’s been more than three years since he started his spirited recovery from a rare germ-cell cancer. Eighteen months since he was last seen in India colours. Intensely involved in Punjab’s training session on the eve of their Ranji Trophy game against Mumbai, Yuvraj Singh appeared to be at peace.He was at the Wankhede Stadium, the venue where he was presented with the Player of the Tournament award after India’s victorious World Cup campaign in 2011. But it seems unlikely that he will be part of such scenes again, given that he is 33, and hasn’t played for India in any format since the World T20 final in April 2014.Yuvraj, however, hasn’t ruled out a return to the India dressing room as he leads Punjab into their second match of the Ranji Trophy season.”Just want to play and enjoy my cricket,” Yuvraj said, when asked about his targets for the season. “If I get opportunity to come back and play for India I look forward to that. These are the games which will give me opportunity to come back, so I am trying my best. I had six weeks of good off-season training and practicing so hopefully it comes through in the games.”For someone like Yuvraj, who is used to playing in front of packed crowds, returning to domestic cricket is not easy. The quality of cricket is not as high, conditions aren’t as they are at the international level, and there is hardly anyone in the stands to applaud a sparkling drive or a diving catch.It can become difficult for someone who has seen the highs of international cricket to go through the grind of domestic cricket all over again. To motivate himself, Yuvraj keeps recalling a conversation he had last year with Sachin Tendulkar.”I was speaking to Sachin last year and he said that obviously the most important thing is to play for India but don’t forget to enjoy the game,” Yuvraj said. “As young kids we always played the game to enjoy it, we never knew that we were going to play for India. I enjoy playing cricket and it was always my passion as a young kid, so as long as I am enjoying it, I want to play.”The enjoyment certainly brought rewards last season, when he ended the Ranji Trophy campaign with 671 runs from seven matches at an average of 55.91, including three centuries in the first three games.While he has one eye on making the cut for the next year’s World Twenty20, since “it’s always an honour to play another World Cup”, his immediate focus is on leading Punjab in the absence of Harbhajan Singh. Punjab started each of their last three seasons on a high note only to fizzle out later on. The new season has brought another bright start – an innings win over Railways – and Yuvraj hopes the team can go the distance this time.”Punjab started really well last year and last three games we didn’t do well so that’s why we didn’t qualify [for the knockouts]. I think we started well [this year also], and we need to be consistent,” he said. “We always get to quarter-finals, semi-finals, but we are not able to win the finals. In 50-over and T20 we went to the finals, so I think that [consistency] is one area that we need to improve, to win a major tournament.”If Punjab can overcome a dispirited Mumbai over the next four days, they will have taken a step towards that aim.