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Surrey’s rookie skipper left with frustration as Gloucestershire keep hopes alive

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2022Tom Price was the tail-end hero with 38 not out from 34 balls as Gloucestershire pulled off a breathless two-wicket Royal London Cup victory against Surrey at the Kia Oval.Ben Geddes, Surrey’s 21-year-old Royal London Cup captain, had done his best to inspire his team by scoring 71 in Surrey’s 292 for 9, running out Tom Smith with a direct hit on the bowlers’ stumps during a tense finish and also juggling his rookie bowling attack with skill.But fast bowler Price, who came in at No 8 with Gloucestershire seemingly making a mess of a chase that had initially looked well on course, kept his head in an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 42 with Paul van Meekeren.Price pulled the winning four off Matt Dunn to clinch a win, with 2.3 overs to spare, that is Gloucestershire’s fourth Group A victory and keeps alive their hope of qualification for the knock-out stages.Earlier, Jack Taylor had followed up his 3 for 38 with five sixes in a 46-ball 51, but Gloucestershire kept losing wickets at vital times as a crowd of more than 3,500 lapped up the entertainment in warm sunshine.Related

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Taylor’s seven overs of leg breaks contributed to 34 overs of spin bowled by Gloucestershire, with Pakistan international Zafar Gohar not conceding a single boundary in his ten overs. Gohar also bowled five of those overs in the first powerplay, having Ryan Patel held on the deep square leg ropes for five and, in the end, impressing with 1 for 35.Gloucestershire’s chase did not start well, with Ben Wells bowled off stump for 12 by a beauty from Dunn and Australian Test left-hander Marcus Harris chopping into his stumps against Tom Lawes.But, from 34 for 2, they counter-attacked through James Bracey and Ben Charlesworth, who added 61 in nine overs with some sparkling strokeplay.Six of Bracey’s first seven scoring shots were fours, including extra cover driven and forced offside boundaries from the second and third balls he faced, from Lawes.On 34, however, Bracey lifted his 25th ball to cover off Cameron Steel’s leg-spin and, on 49, Charlesworth chipped a return catch to Yousef Majid, Surrey’s 18-year-old slow left armer, just out of Cranleigh School.Majid was then struck for three sixes in four balls by Taylor but Gloucestershire’s progress was checked when 21-year-old Oli Price, having batted commandingly to reach 45 from 33 balls with eight fours, was strangled down the legside by seamer Nick Kimber.Gohar made a useful 30 before reverse-sweeping Majid to short third man, and Taylor struck further legside sixes off Lawes and Majid before holing out to deep midwicket in the 39th over. When Smith was run out by Geddes in the next over, the game was in the balance at 252 for 8 – but Price and Van Meekeren were equal to the task in hand.Surrey’s innings was built upon a 102-run second wicket stand in 17 overs between Geddes and Steel, and then a further partnership of 51 for the third wicket by Geddes and Josh Blake.But that initial momentum stalled when Van Meekeren had Steel caught at the wicket for a fine 54-ball 61 with one that bounced and Oli Price’s off spin then dismissed both Geddes and Blake (31) during his excellent seven-over spell of 2 for 34 from the Vauxhall End.Smith’s left-arm spin accounted for both Nico Reifer, brilliantly caught and bowled with a diving left-handed effort for 11, and Sheridon Gumbs, who on 17 was unfortunate to pick out Wells at short third man with a sweetly-hit reverse sweep.Suddenly, 181 for 2 had become 222 for 6 in 11 overs of struggle against the two spinners and it took Lawes’ third successive Royal London Cup half-century to pull Surrey up to a defendable total.Lawes flipped Van Meekeren for an extraordinary six to fine leg when the Dutch international fast bowler was reintroduced for the 45th over, and then produced a similarly cheeky stroke to the next ball to flick it to fine third man for four.Kimber managed a few meaty blows before skying Taylor to square cover on 17 and Gloucestershire’s skipper – taking on the responsibility of bowling three death overs – then dived to his right to send back Conor McKerr for 2 with a smart caught and bowled.Lawes swatted Van Meekeren over deep midwicket for his second six and then reverse-slapped Taylor for four to reach his fifty in the final over before, on 50 from 40 balls, mis-hitting to short third man where Van Meekeren ran in to take a good tumbling catch.

Topley in doubt for early stages of Pakistan tour, Woakes and Wood to ease back during Lahore leg

Matt Roller17-Sep-2022England are in a transition phase in T20 international cricket and their historic seven-match series in Pakistan will require them to juggle a number of competing demands.Their selection meeting ahead of the tour lasted nearly four hours as Jos Buttler, Matthew Mott and Rob Key weighed up the importance of fine-tuning ahead of this winter’s World Cup, keeping key players fresh and testing bench strength with an eye on the 2024 and even 2026 editions.They have arrived with a squad of 20 players, of whom a dozen are in the World Cup squad and will travel straight to Australia in early October. There, they will meet up with Chris Jordan and Liam Livingstone who are missing this trip through injury, and Ben Stokes who has been rested after a busy English summer.Mott’s tenure as white-ball coach started in a hurry: a short tour to the Netherlands, then six ODIs and six T20Is in the space of 25 days against India and South Africa in the home summer. Results were a mixed bag – the Netherlands ODIs were the only series England won – and he spent the six weeks before this tour watching the Hundred on TV while settling his family into their new home in Cardiff.”I hate the word ‘rebuilding’ but we’ve got some work to do to get our stuff right,” Mott said. “It’s not just about the short term: we’re trying to build something and create a bit of a legacy with this team.”I probably got thrown in there a bit early and the series came really quickly but now we’ve had time to digest it and work out how we want to go forward. These bilateral series now have to be used really smartly: part of it is about the World Cup and some players returning from injury, but we’ve also looked to the future with this group of players.”Related

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Mott has already had to deal with Eoin Morgan’s decision to retire from international cricket at the end of June, while Buttler is in the early stages of his captaincy career. He laughed off the concept of ‘Mottball’ while speaking to the touring press but this series will be an important step in the creation of an identity.Brendon McCullum, whose ultra-positive philosophy has had such a transformative effect on England’s Test side, is a close friend of Mott’s and the pair caught up before Morgan’s testimonial dinner in London on Monday.”It’s bloody exciting,” Mott said. “He’s had an immediate impact. “I’ve got nothing but love for what he’s done. Rather than being jealous of it, it’s actually inspired me to be myself as a coach. We’ve assembled a magnificent support group now… I feel like there’s something special around at the moment.”England will start this series without several senior members of their touring party available, including assistant coach Richard Dawson who limped out of Saturday night’s training session with a hip injury. Buttler confirmed on arrival that he is unlikely to feature until the final two games of the series, with Phil Salt pencilled in as wicketkeeper in his absence.They will manage their fast bowlers carefully too, with nine seam options in the squad. Reece Topley is a doubt for the early stages with an ankle niggle, while Chris Woakes and Mark Wood will be eased back from their long-term injuries in the Lahore leg of the trip.”David Saker has come in and is managing them [Woakes and Wood] through,” Mott said. “Woody bowled pretty quick last night at training and if it was his choice alone, he’d be in sooner rather than later. But he’s such a valuable commodity for the World Cup. We’re going to be relatively conservative with him and build him up in this series.”They have spent a lot of time out of the game but the other side of this is they are really fresh. Sometimes coming out of a county season, it can be quite hard work. For a long time they’ve had the goal of being ready for this World Cup. They have been really clear on that… if we can keep them on the park then they are two world class-bowlers.”There are five uncapped players on the tour (Tom Helm, Luke Wood, Will Jacks, Jordan Cox and Olly Stone) and while Mott confirmed that the World Cup squad is locked in barring injuries, he is still looking to give opportunities to England’s brightest young players – and to win the series against a strong Pakistan side.”That’s the tricky thing, isn’t it?” Mott said. “Everyone wants to win all the time but if you’re only focused on that, you never build. If we want to build a team that can match the one that’s been there the last few years, we need to regenerate.”We have to make sure that new blood comes in – reward performance as much as we can but also look to the future. Time will tell, but I think there are players here who are going to be generational players.”

Change of ball precipitates home side’s collapse from security of 231 for 1

Paul Edwards05-Sep-2022Lancashire 272 for 8 (Jennings 119, Wells 84, Hill 6-26) vs YorkshireFrom one perspective, the Roses match has become a little shop-soiled this season. This, after all, is the sixth game between Lancashire and Yorkshire since mid-May and some of those sitting in the Emirates Old Trafford pavilion this afternoon could have told you that Lancashire have triumphed in three of them whereas Yorkshire have won none. For many others, Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings’ 180-run first-wicket stand counted for rather more than those victories in the Vitality Blast and the Royal London Cup because the runs were scored in the format that is the best test of a cricketer.Such divergent preferences are among the more benevolent reflections of cricket’s capacity to be shaped as time and structure require. They illustrate the richness of a game that is not simple and will never be made so, no matter how much advertising guff is thrown at it. Less than 72 hours before this match began, Tom Hartley and Matt Parkinson were skeltering around Lord’s and trying to bowl four overs as cheaply as possible. Over the next three days they will be charged with trying to dismiss Yorkshire twice on a pitch that should take spin.That plan and Dane Vilas’s decision to bat first were predicated partly on the home team’s ability to compile a substantial total and by the start of the evening session the confident belief was that Lancashire would amass so substantial a first-innings score that they might only have to bat once in a match for which they had selected two specialist spinners plus Wells. That conviction was strengthened as Jennings and Josh Bohannon added another fifty runs with Jennings becoming the first player in the honoured history of these games to make four centuries in consecutive innings. At 231 for 1, therefore, everything was more or less tickety-boo for Lancashire. Yet an hour or so later, tickety could hardly be glimpsed and boo was nowhere to be found. It all began when Bohannon cut Dom Bess into a puddle that was lying on the covers.That, of course, necessitated a ball change yet the oldest ball in the box offered to the umpires still had its gold lettering on it. Jennings would later say that he could see it “kick and zip” off the surface, so it was not surprising that the medium-pacer George Hill, who had earlier dismissed Wells for 84, was not bemoaning the change. Instead he seized the replacement ball and took five wickets for five runs in 41 deliveries to finish the day with 6 for 26, his best figures in any cricket, including school matches at Sedbergh, club games anywhere else and imaginary Tests in the back garden.George Hill celebrates success with the ball•Getty Images

Jennings, whose straight driving had been a delight, was bowled for 119 when he played fractionally across the line and lost his middle stump. Bohannon, having made 27, drove Hill to short extra-cover where the debutant Fin Bean took a low catch. Vilas fell for 2 to a brilliant one-handed effort by Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who dived to his left from first slip to complete the dismissal.Far more conventional snares by Kohler-Cadmore accounted for Steven Croft and George Balderson in the space of five balls and helped Hill complete his maiden five-wicket return in first-class cricket – his previous best had been 2 for 21 – and the session ended with yet more success for Yorkshire as Hartley and Tom Bailey fell to successive deliveries from Ben Coad.For a Yorkshire team still threatened with relegation Hill’s spell was greeted with a measure of delight that increased with every success. Before the ball was changed Jonny Tattersall’s players might have been anticipated facing a score in excess of 400 and their mood can hardly have been improved by the blow on the nose Adam Lyth received from a full-blooded clip to leg by Steven Croft which caused the opener to be led from the field. Deep in the evening session all the talk was of Jennings’ achievement in following his scores of 114, 132 and 238 with a fourth century and thus eclipsing Geoff Pullar and Herbert Sutcliffe, both of whom made three successive centuries in Roses games. Yet as Hill led his colleagues off the field he surely knew that the game is now evenly poised and that he was the player who had made it so.

“If it’s there, then remove the rule – as simple as that. The ones who have a problem, good for them; it’s fine”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2022India allrounder Hardik Pandya is fine with bowlers running non-strikers out if they stray out of the crease. Speaking on , ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup in Australia, Hardik also said he isn’t fussed about spirit-of-cricket debates around the mode of dismissal.”We need to stop making a fuss about this. It’s a rule – [as] simple as that,” Hardik said. “To hell with the spirit of the game. If it’s there, [then] remove the rule – as simple as that. The ones who have a problem, good for them; it’s fine.Related

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“Personally, I have no problem. If I am walking out [of the crease], and someone runs me out – fair enough. It’s my mistake, not the bowler’s. He is taking the rules to his advantage – [as] simple as that. That’ll not make a big deal.”The debate surrounding the spirit of cricket and fairness of such a dismissal was reignited last month when Deepti Sharma ran Charlie Dean out at Lord’s in the deciding ODI of the series between England and India. England were nine down and needed 17 off 39 balls before Deepti flicked the bails off to catch Dean short.Earlier this March, the MCC had de-stigmatised running non-strikers out by shifting the move of a player being run out by the bowler while backing up from Law 41 (which deals with unfair play) to Law 38 (which deals with run-outs) in its recent update. More recently Australia quick Mitchell Starc suggested umpires use on-ground cameras to make “short-run” calls if the non-striker tries to gain an advantage. Starc spoke after informally warning Jos Buttler about the England batter leaving the non-striker’s end before he released the ball. Starc felt that docking the batting side a run in such circumstances would leave “no grey area”.”Every time the batter leaves the crease before the front foot lands, dock them a run. There’s no grey area then,” he had said. “And in T20 cricket where runs are so handy at the back end and games can be decided by one, two, three runs all the time, if all of a sudden you get docked 20 runs because a batter’s leaving early, you’re going to stop doing it, aren’t you?”Bowlers like R Ashwin have been vocal about promoting the use of the dismissal, having run Buttler out the same way in an IPL game in 2019. Running a non-striker out has historically been one of cricket’s most controversial and opinion-dividing topics. In the past, bowlers who practiced running non-strikers out – like West Indies’ Keemo Paul, for example, at an Under-19 World Cup game – have taken a step back from doing so after receiving backlash over their decision.

“We know very well that if we win against India, it will be called an upset. We will try to play our best cricket”

Mohammad Isam01-Nov-20221:44

Shakib: ‘India one of the favourites – if we win, it will be an upset’

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has downplayed the team’s chances against India, who he feels are the “favourites”, but says he will try to produce an “upset”, when the two sides meet in the T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Wednesday. Shakib called on his young team to forget about India’s might and play with a “nothing to lose” mentality, as he feels Bangladesh are “not here to win the World Cup”.Asked what Bangladesh’s next target is after overcoming Netherlands and Zimbabwe, Shakib said: “We want to play well in the next two matches (against India and Pakistan), so if we can win one of them, it will count as an upset.Related

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“We will be happy to inflict that upset. Both teams, on paper, are better than us. If we play well, if it is our day, why can’t we win? We have seen Ireland beat England, and Zimbabwe beat Pakistan in this World Cup. A similar result will definitely make us happy.”As I said in Bangla before, India is the favourite team, they came here to win the World Cup. We are not favourites, we didn’t come here to win the World Cup. We know very well that if we win against India, it will be called an upset. We will try to play our best cricket.”These are usually not the words that fans would want to hear, particularly during a World Cup when emotions are high. India also have a better head-to-head record in T20Is, having won ten T20Is and lost only one against Bangladesh. Shakib feels India will be particularly dangerous at the Adelaide Oval, having played here 29 times compared to Bangladesh’s experience of playing in this venue only once.”I can’t say that (the day-night timing) makes it equally balanced (for both sides),” he said. “India have played plenty of matches in all formats in this ground [29 times, overall]. Only Taskin and I have played here from our team. Quite naturally, it is not the same feeling. We will try very hard to give our 100 percent, to get the best result for the team.”They have tied up teams below 160 in all their matches. We have to bat really well to get 160-170, which is a par score in this World Cup. We have to play really well against India’s bowling. They have some world class players.”He also praised his side for closing out tight matches, particularly the one against Zimbabwe in which Bangladesh were expected to struggle on the pacy and bouncy Gabba wicket. Instead, they defended 150 with consistent performances from the fast bowlers and won the game by three runs.”Most T20 matches are decided in the last two overs. It is important to hold on to the nerve,” Shakib said. “We are turning around from a time when we lost a lot of close matches. We are improving in that regard, by winning a couple of close games.”I am definitely satisfied (with our performance). We were playing well except for the game against South Africa. It can happen in T20s. We want to play well in the remaining matches, which is very difficult in different conditions and against different attacks. I believe our team is capable of playing well consistently.”He also hoped that Bangladesh’s 2015 World Cup memories at this venue, when their 15-run win over England took them to the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time, could inspire them.

“It’s time for the guys to rise up, time for myself personally to put my hand up and make a massive play for us”

Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-2022Dean Elgar has called on his batters to make a name for themselves, but is also willing to carry the burden of scoring runs on his shoulders as South Africa look to defy the callow statistics of their top order to continue a remarkable run in Australia – they have claimed the last three series there.Elgar and Temba Bavuma are the only specialist batters with previous experience in the country. A huge amount rests on them if South Africa’s strong bowling attack is to have enough runs to work with. But it’s Elgar’s fortunes that are likely to be critical to their chances. He has 13 Test centuries; among the rest of the touring squad there are four. His average of 38.83 is South Africa’s best whereas Australia have two batters – Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith – who stand at over 60.Related

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“All the batters have to stand up,” Elgar said. “It’s been a bit of a talking point that’s been surrounding our batting unit of late. Again, I’ve never shied away from that. It’s time for the guys to rise up, time for myself personally to put my hand up and make a massive play for us. We’ve got a really talented group, they are just a little inexperienced when it comes to Test cricket. They don’t have a lot of baggage coming into the series. They just need to take the opportunities when they come their way.”There has been some controversy around the absence of Ryan Rickelton. He was deemed unfit for the tour, with an ankle surgery at the end of the season provided as the reason, but has been churning out runs in domestic cricket back in South Africa. Elgar, however, remained diplomatic and backed those who had made it to Australia.Elgar was part of South Africa’s 2012 and 2016 series wins in Australia, though his personal contribution to the former was somewhat limited: he bagged a pair on debut at the WACA, albeit in a game South Africa won by 309 runs to decide the series. You only have to look at the names around Elgar in that game to recall the batting riches they did once have: Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis.Since then, Elgar has made two centuries against Australia, but there have been plenty of low scores as well, and his average of 33.55 is below his career level.However, some of his standout performances have secured victories: 83 in Port Elizabeth, 127 in Perth and carrying his bat for 141 in Newlands, an innings that could arguably rank as his best, although that became overshadowed by subsequent events. Five of his Test hundreds came during a stellar 2017 when his batting form peaked and the team need more than the 34.12 he has returned this year, though on some challenging surfaces.”I always carry the weight of scoring runs, I’m the senior batter,” he said. “With my external pressures of being the captain I’ve got to score runs. Very much aware of that. It’s always something I thrive on, think it brings the best out of me.”For the opening Test, the teams were greeted by a pitch that remained very green. Australia were taking it in their stride with the help of local knowledge, while Elgar took the glass-half-full view given where his team’s strengths lie, rather than the weakness.”The wicket does look a little friendly for our bowling unit which is nice, but in saying that the green colour doesn’t really scare us,” he said. “We come from South Africa where the wickets are pretty green and juicy. From a personal point of I don’t really shy away from that and I know our batters don’t either.”Since readmission, South Africa have only played at the Gabba once, on the 2012 tour, which turned into a high-scoring draw. But though Australia’s stranglehold on the venue was ended by India in early 2021, it has remained one of their favourite venues.”We don’t have any dirty laundry in terms of playing at the Gabba,” Elgar said. “The history here is obviously not in our favour and that’s okay. You’ve got to have the mindset of playing to win. Australia’s a really tough place to play cricket but also such a rewarding place if you get things right. You have to go beyond what you are used to and [you] have to savour the moment.”

Ecclestone’s 3 for 13 and Capsey’s 51 ensured England’s wobble didn’t cost them the win

Matt Roller13-Feb-2023England stumbled across the line against Ireland in Paarl, winning by four wickets with the better part of six overs remaining after Alice Capsey thrashed 51 off 22 balls.Capsey fell immediately after reaching a 21-ball half-century, the joint-fastest in Women’s T20 World Cup history, as England looked for a net run-rate boost in pursuit of 106. They stuttered after her dismissal, losing 5 for 33, but Ireland’s own collapse with the bat ensured there was never any scoring pressure on England.Ireland were aggressive with the bat after winning the toss. They reached 80 for 2 after 12 overs, with Gaby Lewis playing fluently after surviving a dropped chance off Lauren Bell in the first over. But they fell away dramatically, losing 8 for 25 in 35 balls. Sophie Ecclestone made the crucial intervention, dismissing Lewis in a double-wicket maiden which sparked a dramatic collapse.Ecclestone took a sharp, diving catch at mid-off in the following over to dismiss Louise Little and leave Ireland five down, before Sarah Glenn struck twice in her final over. Ecclestone yorked Ireland captain Laura Delany with her final ball to finish with 3 for 13, with Bell and Katherine Sciver-Brunt striking either side.Ireland needed early wickets – and got one, as Sophia Dunkley chipped to mid-on. But they bowled poorly with the new ball, with the nerves of a young team playing their first T20 World Cup fixture in four-and-a-half years.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Capsey was disdainful, swinging her way to England’s fastest fifty in this format – before lofting Arlene Kelly to long-off. Cara Murray took three wickets with her legbreaks after Danni Wyatt ran herself out to take the shine off England’s win, but they secured the two points with 34 balls to spare.

Gaby Lewis leads Ireland’s bright start

Ireland had not played in a Women’s T20 World Cup since 2018 but expectations were high after their victory against defending champions Australia in a warm-up fixture. They became higher still when they crashed four fours off the first nine balls of the innings, openers Lewis and Amy Hunter trading boundaries.Lewis, Ireland’s all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is, set the tone when she pounded the first ball she faced through backward point for four, though did benefit from some early luck. She cut her fourth ball straight to Wyatt, who shelled a straightforward chance at point.Heather Knight turned to spin in the third over on a dry, used pitch but Lewis continued to score fluently, reverse-sweeping and sweeping boundaries. Hunter holed out to deep midwicket off Charlie Dean, but Ireland raced to 42 for 1 off the six-over Powerplay.After two lengthy delays to fix a loose stump-camera cable, Orla Prendergast’s bright cameo ended when she was bowled by a ball from Glenn that kept low, but Lewis and captain Delany continued to tick over, reaching 80 for 2 at the end of the 12th over as they looked to build a platform for a late launch.

England’s spin squeeze

Ecclestone is Knight’s trump card, and she opted to play it in the 13th over, looking to break the burgeoning partnership between Lewis and Delany. It worked, as Lewis top-edged a sweep to Wyatt – who hung onto this low chance at deep backward square leg – and Ireland’s middle order was exposed.Eimear Richardson was trapped lbw, looking to paddle-sweep her first ball. Louise Little survived the hat-trick ball and lofted Dean back over her head for Ireland’s only six, but miscued her next delivery to Ecclestone at mid-off.Glenn struck twice in her next over. First, she trapped Waldron – playing her record 180th game for Ireland – lbw on the sweep and then crashed one into Leah Paul’s middle-and-off stump. Ireland had lost five wickets in 17 balls, and the game was over as a contest.

Murray sparks mini-collapse

England needed only 33 off 13 overs when Murray was introduced, and Delany must have rued holding her back so long. A wicket fell in her first over when Wyatt pushed to short cover and set off for a single that was never there, and Murray had her own first wicket with her seventh ball when Nat Sciver-Brunt holed out to long-off.Knight and Amy Jones both fell with the finish line in sight, Knight diverting a ball onto her own stumps via the glove and Jones chipping meekly into the covers. But Ireland never had quite enough runs to play with, and England’s implosion came a little too late to give Ireland any real hope.

WPL offers England sub-plots

Knight admitted before the tournament that the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction was “on everyone’s minds”, saying: “It would be naive to think it isn’t a slight distraction.” Before Monday’s game had started, three England players – Nat Sciver-Brunt, Dunkley and Ecclestone – had secured contracts, but Knight herself went unsold in the first round of bidding.By the innings break, three more players had deals: Capsey, Bell and Knight herself, with travelling reserve Issy Wong also picked up. The rest of the squad went unsold, and Knight will need to ensure players’ franchise contracts do not become a distraction across the rest of the tournament.

Vidarbha defend the lowest score in a first-class match in India to rise up Group D table

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2023Left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate picked up 6 for 17 to help Vidarbha bowl out Gujarat for 54 and defend 73 on a dramatic third morning of their Ranji Trophy game in Jamtha. It was the lowest target defended successfully in first-class cricket in India; the previous lowest was 78, defended by Bihar against Delhi in Jamshedpur in 1948-49.Jamtha is also the venue for the first India-Australia Test, starting February 9. That game, though, will be played on one of the centre pitches, while this match was played on a side pitch.On Wednesday, Siddharth Desai, another left-arm spinner, had taken 6 for 74 to limit Vidarbha to 254. At that time, a Gujarat win looked like a mere formality, even though they went to stumps at 6 for 1.Sarwate, however, had other ideas. Having taken a five-for in the first innings, he ran through Gujarat’s line-up once again on Thursday. He was supported by Harsh Dubey, also a left-arm spinner, who took 3 for 11. Siddharth, run out for 18, was the only Gujarat batter to reach the double digits.Sarwate was named Player of the Match for his career-best haul of 11 for 81.Vidarbha are now third in Group D. Vidarbha’s final game of the round is against second-placed Punjab, which could decide who make it to the knockouts.

Jack Leach chips away but England toil in the field after asking hosts to bat again

Alan Gardner25-Feb-2023New Zealand produced their best top-order batting performance of the series to push England back after being asked to follow on at Basin Reserve. Tom Latham and Devon Conway scored half-centuries during a 149-run opening stand, but Jack Leach made important breakthroughs to keep England on top as the Wellington Test settled into a more traditional rhythm.There were signs of some overdue New Zealand defiance during the morning, as Tim Southee climbed into the all-time top ten for Test-match six-hitting during a belligerent innings of 73 from 49 balls. His efforts weren’t enough to save the follow-on, but it perhaps provided a spark for the hosts as they were invited to bat again 226 runs in arrears.Latham and Conway then batted through the afternoon session to transfer further pressure on to England. An overcast start to the day steadily gave way to watery sunshine, and as conditions eased so New Zealand were able to begin plotting a route back into the contest.Although the pitch had settled down, there was still a hint of turn for Leach, who made the breakthrough shortly after tea when he had Conway snapped up at short leg via an inside edge on to pad. Joe Root’s offspin then accounted for Latham, whose lbw sweeping was upheld on review, and when Leach pegged back Will Young’s off stump with a precise piece of SLA geometry from round the wicket, New Zealand had lost 3 for 18 in short order.They were guided to the close by an unbroken stand between Kane Williamson, who was inching ever closer to Ross Taylor’s New Zealand Test run-scoring record, and Henry Nicholls. Williamson survived an England review when Root got one to turn sharply past his glove, and Nicholls at times lived dangerously, a pair of sharp bat-pad chances off Leach evading Ollie Pope at short leg.England had three overs with the second new ball and, despite being unable to make further inroads, will feel they remain in a position of strength with two days left in which to push for a series-clinching win.The bulk of the good work for New Zealand was done by the openers, who were rarely flustered on the way to a century stand. Latham was the more fluent, becoming the seventh New Zealander to pass 5000 runs in Test cricket. He was typically strong square of the wicket and picked off regular boundaries, although might have been dismissed on 62 had Leach managed to close his fingers around a sharp caught-and-bowled chance.Conway had needed to dig in at the start of his innings, with Ollie Robinson troubling him around off stump and short leg interested whenever he closed the face. Leach did find his inside edge, the ball evading Ben Stokes at leg slip, but he battled through a testing examination up to lunch and began to find his range thereafter, driving Stuart Broad for fours either side of mid-off in the same over.Leach was lofted down the ground for six, before the returning James Anderson had Conway fencing an outside edge, only for the ball to dip beneath the fingertips of Zak Crawley at second slip.Latham was the first to fifty, Conway emulating him an over later, with the pair beginning to play more expansively as New Zealand cut the deficit to double-figures. Such was their apparent comfort that Stokes elected to bring himself on after tea, but England’s captain delivered just two overs, in which he was twice no-balled for exceeding the permitted number of short deliveries above shoulder height and once for overstepping.Tim Southee reached his fifty with a six in an entertaining knock•Getty Images

The fight shown by Latham and Conway was of a different stripe to Southee’s cavalry charge during the morning, a fusillade of boundaries lifting home spirits before Broad claimed the last three wickets to enable England to enforce the follow-on midway through the session. Conditions remained favourable for seam bowling and the potential for the pitch to continue to improve for batting encouraged Stokes to have another crack.New Zealand’s first innings had an anaemic look, resuming at 138 for 7, but Southee duly showcased his six-hitter’s eye before falling four runs short of equalling his Test best score. His intent was clear as he charged at his second ball from Leach and just about got away with a toe-ended slog that cleared Stokes running back from mid-on.Another full-blooded mow down the ground brought four more in the same over, before Robinson was slapped through the covers. Leach then felt the full force of Southee’s world-class ability to hit sixes, three times going the journey in a single over as New Zealand’s captain raced to a 39-ball half-century.A Robinson was bumper was swatted for Test six No. 82, drawing Southee level with Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hayden, and another boundary off Broad brought him within sight of the 77 not out he made against England at Napier on debut in 2008. He was dropped at fine leg next ball, but immediately offered up another chance to midwicket as Broad ended the stand at 98.Tom Blundell still had designs on averting the prospect of the follow-on, but miscued an advance in Broad’s next over to be held by Leach at mid-on. Henry then spliced a catch to backward point to give England the option to enforce. The jury is still out on whether it was a wise move.

Brydon Carse records maiden first-class hundred before Durham take 15 wickets in day

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2023Brydon Carse gave the England selectors a quiet nudge ahead of the Ashes by scoring his maiden first-class century and taking three wickets to put Durham on the verge of victory in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire.Carse began the day needing 23 runs to reach his maiden ton and rocketed through the gears to secure his hundred from 113 balls before Durham declared on 452 for 9. The home side then ran through the Derbyshire line-up as Matthew Potts and Ben Raine reduced the visitors to 6 for 4. Luis Reece top-scored with 56, but his team were made to follow-on after being skittled for 165.Potts and Raine made further breakthroughs early on to leave Derbyshire in a world of trouble at 7 for 2 second time around. Durham maintained their patience to edge their way towards their second win of the season, reducing the visitors to 92 for 5 at stumps, still boasting a dominant 195-run lead at Seat Unique Riverside.Carse began the day 77 not out with his team positioned on 410 for 8, and he signalled his intent to get to three figures by dispatching Zak Chappell’s first ball of the day to the fence.Derbyshire skipper Leus du Plooy challenged Carse to penetrate the field, and the allrounder found the gaps to surpass his previous best of 91 made last week against Glamorgan before reaching his maiden ton with a nudge into the leg-side.Carse almost forgot to complete a second run in the midst of celebration, but comfortably made it back to acknowledge his delighted team-mates. He ended the Durham innings by clubbing Ben Aitchison over long-on for a huge six, securing maximum batting points.Durham declared 10 minutes before lunch to leave the Derbyshire openers with an awkward over to see out, but Raine made the breakthrough to remove Billy Godleman. Matters would only get worse for the visitors after the interval.Potts produced a sensational over to clean bowl Haider Ali and Wayne Madsen in the space of four deliveries before Derbyshire’s top order was left in tatters when Raine pinned Brooke Guest lbw for 2. Durham’s new-ball pair struck again as Matthew Lamb and du Plooy continued the Derbyshire procession.It was then the turn of Carse. He delivered a brute of a ball that rose sharply off the deck and Chappell could only fend meekly into the hands of Graham Clark at short-leg. Carse notched a second to remove Aitchison before Reece and Sam Conners offered a semblance of resistance with a final-wicket stand of 68, Reece top-scoring with 56 unbeaten. Matt Parkinson, on loan from Lancashire, claimed his first wicket to end the Derbyshire innings still trailing the hosts by 287.Scott Borthwick enforced the follow-on, and Godleman continued his day to forget as he collected a pair, lasting only two balls before he was pinned lbw by Raine. Potts was equally effective at removing Haider for the second time in the day as Derbyshire’s openers again failed to emerge beyond the second over intact.Madsen survived two dropped chances to put on 44 with Guest, but Carse produced another gem of a delivery to find his outside edge. In need of stability from their skipper, du Plooy gave his wicket away on 14, clipping a tame on drive straight to Potts, while Guest fell just before stumps for 35 to leave the visitors with a mammoth challenge to avoid an innings defeat after losing 15 wickets on day two.