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Jonny Bairstow hit a ferocious 80 and Joe Root added a watchful 62 as lowly
Yorkshire clinched a six-wicket win against bottom side Worcestershire at
Headingley in their final Clydesdale Bank League Group A match

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Jonny Bairstow hit a ferocious 80 and Joe Root added a watchful 62 as lowly
Yorkshire clinched a six-wicket win against bottom side Worcestershire at
Headingley in their final Clydesdale Bank League Group A match.Bairstow plundered his runs from 67 deliveries, with six fours and four sixes,
as Yorkshire chased down their target of 231 with 11 balls to spare. The wicketkeeper-batsman has notched a century and two half-centuries in his last three matches in the competition, and he and Root took the game away from Worcestershire with a rousing third-wicket partnership of 122 in 19 overs.They came together at 51 for two after Joe Sayers, captaining Yorkshire for the
first time in a limited-overs match, and Adam Lyth, had both fallen to paceman
Nick Harrison.Root was perfectly happy to play the supporting role while Bairstow launched
himself into a series of stunning shots, thrashing Gareth Andrew high over
mid-wicket for six and taking a six and two fours off consecutive balls from
Harrison in an over which cost 17.A cheeky reverse sweep by Root went for four before Bairstow cracked Moeen Ali
for a mighty six over mid-on and drove with great power a boundary off leg-spin
debutant Brett D’Oliveira, the grandson of Basil and son of Damian. Another four and six for Bairstow off Aneesh Kapil put Yorkshire well ahead of the asking rate, but Bairstow perished when he sliced the same bowler to D’Oliveira at backward point.Root continued to look solid until he became D’Oliveira’s maiden victim, caught
at slip by Daryl Mitchell for 62 from 77 balls with three fours.Yorkshire also had a debutant in 18-year-old left-hander Alex Lees, and he got
off the mark second ball by driving D’Oliveira to the ropes, before leaving Gary
Ballance to end the match with a six off Jack Shantry.Put in to bat, Worcestershire were given a fine start by Moeen and Jack Manuel
with a 56-run stand in nine overs, but they sagged in the middle and were guided
to a respectable total by skipper Mitchell.He finished unbeaten on 81 from 80 deliveries with eight fours – three of them
in the final over from Moin Ashraf. Sayers made some inspired bowling changes with three different bowlers each claiming a wicket in the first over of spells.Ajmal Shahzad, returning from an ankle injury, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, were
given the new ball but Moeen and Manuel shared three boundaries in
Hannon-Dalby’s initial over and runs continued to come so freely that 53 were on
the board from 40 balls, Moeen hitting five fours and Manuel four.The breakthrough was made when Ashraf came on and had Moeen cutting his second
ball into Bairstow’s gloves for 26, and Manuel soon followed for 32, caught on
the cover boundary by Root off Steven Patterson.Left-arm spinner David Wainwright also enjoyed a second-ball success as James
Cameron lofted a catch to Hannon-Dalby at mid-off, and in the following over the
first ball of a new spell by Hannon-Dalby pinned Alexei Kervezee lbw.Mitchell and Kapil helped Worcestershire recover from 90 for four and although
Kapil struck Root for a flat six over mid-wicket the off-spinner bowled tidily
in tandem with Wainwright who enticed Kapil into sweeping a catch to Shahzad to
end a 57-run.Andrew drove Shahzad to long-on where he was well caught low down by Lyth to
leave Worcestershire on 170 for six in the 34th over, but Ben Scott gave
valuable support to Mitchell in the closing overs, the seventh-wicket pair
putting on an unbroken 60.

The West Indies Cricket Board has announced the complete list of all approved cricket within its jurisdiction, with a view to protect the integrity of cricket in the region

Cricinfo staff07-Aug-2010The West Indies Cricket Board has announced the complete list of all approved cricket within its jurisdiction, with a view to protect the integrity of cricket in the region.”The WICB takes very seriously it’s responsibility in overseeing cricket in the West Indies and as such we are making public the list of approved cricket so that there can be no doubt by any stakeholder as to what matches or events are approved by the WICB,” the board’s chief executive Ernest Hilaire said. “There is a complete list of not only approved cricket but what is deemed ‘pre-approved cricket’ and we have worked closely with all the territorial boards to put together a thorough listing for all stakeholders to be with.”As the custodian of cricket in this part of the world, the WICB – like other boards around the world – must be proactive and exercise diligence in protecting the integrity of the game and one way to do this is to ensure that all the information pertaining to the approval of cricket is widely available.”Applications for approval of a cricket match or event – outside of what is detailed in the List of Approved and Pre-approved cricket – must be made in writing to the WICB at least 30 days prior to the start of the event.”We certainly expect that there will be applications forthcoming and we look forward to working with all those who have the best interest of West Indies cricket at heart in an effort to improve the quality of the game in the region,” Hilaire said.The approvals, effective from August 1, are in accordance with applicable ICC regulations.

The Australia legspinner will play his 100th game in the format at Trent Bridge

Andrew McGlashan17-Sep-2024Adam Zampa admits the ODI game faces an uncertain future, but he believes the format remains a priority for young players coming through despite the congested calendar and increasing amounts of franchise cricket.Zampa will play his 100th ODI in the opening match against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday having established himself as Australia’s most important white-ball bowler. He reiterated how, for him, international cricket will always mean more than franchise T20 and, although not putting a definitive timeline on his career, has his sights set on winning “many more” World Cups.Related

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A survey earlier this year by the World Cricketers Association (formally FICA) showed that the gap was closing in terms of which men’s World Cup title was viewed as the most important, with now just 50% saying the ODI version and 35% picking the T20 edition.”There’s been a lot of questions about the ODI format and what that looks [like] going forward,” he said. “In terms of playing for Australia and that drive, I think every young guy coming through still thinks that’s the be-all and end-all.””There’s obviously those other opportunities in terms of franchise cricket and that’s good,” Zampa said. “There’s been a lot said about how it’s a saturated market but all these different competitions give other guys opportunities, whether it’s guys who have just played a little bit of BBL or a bit of Blast, there’s opportunities to go and improve yourself at different franchise levels, even if they are going on at the same time which seems to be the case at the moment.Adam Zampa was Australia’s leading wicket-taker at the 2023 ODI World Cup•Getty Images

“But feels like playing for your country is still the priority. I agree with you, don’t know what it’s going to look like in the next few years, particularly with this format, but I feel like ODI cricket’s still a really good format, I still enjoy playing it and think a lot of young guys coming through still see it as a good opportunity to play for your country.”Zampa, who is without doubt Australia’s second-greatest white-ball spinner after Shane Warne, was their leading wicket-taker in both their 2021 T20 World Cup title success (13 wickets) and the 2023 ODI World Cup (23 wickets). Australia have come up short at the last two T20 World Cups in 2022 and 2024 but Zampa will again be key in the 2026 edition in India and Sri Lanka.”The feeling of playing for your country and still winning for your country beats playing franchise cricket and winning franchise cricket,” he said. “I experienced the Hundred, it was great, I loved playing it, and winning at the end is a bonus but it hits different when you play for your country, when you win World Cups. Still got that drive to win many more.”Zampa will have his wife, Harriet, and baby boy present at the 100th ODI along with his parents. “It means a lot to me,” he said. “I never thought I’d play this much for Australia.”

Pakistan A rode on Tayyab’s century to post 352 before Muqeem’s three-wicket burst broke India A’s back in Colombo

Shashank Kishore23-Jul-2023Tayyab Tahir, a seasoned 29-year-old batter, and Sufiyan Muqeem, a rookie left-arm wristspinner, combined to help Pakistan A beat India A and defend their ACC Men’s Emerging Cup crown in Colombo.Tayyab, for whom it has already been a dream year, added another chapter to his 2023 fairytale. He started with a dazzling half-century on PSL debut for Karachi Kings in February and made his T20I debut against Afghanistan in March. Four months on, he struck an aggressive 71-ball 108 to power Pakistan A to 352 for 8 after they were sent in to bat by Yash Dhull, on what he felt was a dry surface.Then, with India A’s chase in the balance, Muqeem, who made his List A debut earlier in the tournament, made a telling contribution with his ripping wrong’uns from the over-the-wicket angle. That he mixed it up with sharp legbreaks added to India A’s challenge and they folded for 224 in 40 overs.That the game fizzled out towards the end was because Muqeem prised out the massive scalps of Abhishek Sharma, India’s top scorer with 61, and Dhull, for 39, to crack open the game in Pakistan’s favour. Muqeem finished with figures of 3 for 66 in his ten overs, thriving on support from fellow spinners Mubasir Khan and Mehran Mumtaz.The Pakistan team management did not play Muqeem in the league game against India, possibly to shield him from the batters’ view. In the grand finale, they were caught unawares by a supremely talented spinner who made heads turn with his control and guile, seldom taking the defensive route, not even when he was under attack early on by Abhishek.Pakistan A players celebrate after winning the Emerging Cup•SLC

India’s lower order hung around to try and defy the bowlers in a late effort to take the game deep, but at 194 for 8, they were merely delaying the inevitable. Mohammad Wasim fittingly finished the game off with a searing yorker to send Yuvrajsinh Dodiya’s stumps.The win would be all the more satisfying for Pakistan, not least because they were handed a pounding by India A in the league fixture. Tayyab, who like Muqeem did not play in that game, walked in at 146 for 2 in the 22nd over after openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub put together an aggressive century stand to lay down the marker.But he soon saw Omair Yousuf and Qasim Akram fall off successive deliveries to Riyan Parag’s right-arm everything in the 28th over. Then in the 29th, when Mohammad Haris, the captain, was trapped lbw by Nishant Sindhu’s left-arm spin, Pakistan A had lost 3 for 4 in ten deliveries.At 187 for 5, India A had just found their footing and were beginning to tighten the screws courtesy their spinners. This is when Tayyab decided he wasn’t going to let the game drift. At the first sign of the Indians switching off, he cashed in. What began as a burst of aggression turned into a full-blown counterattack.Tayyab had a slice of luck when he was dropped on 51 in the 37th over when Rajvardhan Hangargekar circled around a ball he misjudged at the long-on boundary. That was the only blemish in a knock where he showcased oodles of maturity in manipulating the fields, milking runs, throwing bowlers off their lengths and also playing some cheeky reverse paddles, all without making it look like he was taking risks.He was superbly supported by Mubasir, who occupied the crease to help the lower order rally. Without their 126-run seventh-wicket stand, Pakistan A may have been bundled out for a much smaller score.Abhishek Sharma’s 51-ball 61 was not enough to get India A close•Asian Cricket Council

India A’s chase began on a sprightly note as Abhishek and Sai Sudharsan played authentic shots and matched each other stroke for stroke in an enterprising first ten overs. Sudharsan’s wristwork was particularly impressive as he whipped and worked the ball to different parts of the leg side with ease, but his undoing was an Arshad Iqbal short ball that he couldn’t quite get out of the way of, top-edging a pull to the wicketkeeper to break a 64-run opening stand.Nikin Jose was a tad unfortunate to be given out caught behind when replays confirmed the ball had brushed his right hip on the way through to the wicketkeeper. Dhull steadied the innings but found no support once Abhishek was out playing an uppish cut to Muqeem.Pakistan A profited from having the crafty Mubasir operate from the other end and he struck with the big wicket of Sindhu, who was promoted up the order. Mubasir got the ball to dip on Sindhu, who popped a return catch. When Dhruv Jurel and Parag followed suit, the end was nigh.

Yorkshire lose last five wickets cheaply before Essex comfortably bat out the day

ECB Reporters Network08-May-2022Alastair Cook recorded a century in both innings for the first time in his illustrious career as Essex and Yorkshire fought out a sluggish LV= Insurance County Championship draw. Cook, England’s leading Test run-scorer and a veteran of 19 years at first-class level, had never previously reached three figures twice in a match – but he rectified that omission on his career record with an unbeaten 102 in the dying embers of this Chelmsford stalemate.Any outside prospect of a positive result evaporated on the final morning as Yorkshire – needing to build quickly on their overnight advantage of 22 – lost their last five wickets for 39 and were dismissed for 465. That left Cook, who had scored 107 first time around, and opening partner Nick Browne under little pressure in their second innings and the pair eased comfortably past the deficit with an unbroken partnership of 167 before the captains agreed a draw at 4.50pm.Resuming on 425 for 5, fast scoring appeared to be a necessity for the White Rose – but they displayed little attacking intent, garnering only three runs from the first six overs of the day.Dawid Malan’s hopes of converting his 87 into a century disappeared when he clipped his first ball of the morning, a Shane Snater half-volley, into the hands of square leg, while Harry Brook showed none of the fluency that had already brought him a hundred. Brook eventually fell for 123, caught behind wafting at a short delivery from Sam Cook, who was also unlucky not to claim the wicket of Harry Duke when he struck off stump – yet the bail refused to budge.Cook had to be content with figures of 3 for 78, while Snater finished off the innings with his third by having Dom Bess caught behind, leaving Essex with a deficit of 62 and half an hour to negotiate before lunch.They might have gone in a wicket down, with Jordan Thompson finding the edge of Cook’s bat in his third over but Duke, diving across in front of the slips, was unable to cling onto a difficult catch.After that, the former England captain looked completely in command and, while Browne’s progress was more sedate, he gave only one chance en route to his 50 not out, a stumping opportunity off Adam Lyth that Duke failed to execute. It was Cook who took centre stage and he brought up his 72nd first-class hundred from 178 deliveries, pulling a long hop from Joe Root to the fence shortly before stumps were drawn.

They absorbed all the pressure from the spinners and finished off the game in calculated manner

Sidharth Monga06-Nov-20202:33

Gautam Gambhir: RCB didn’t deserve to qualify for the playoffs

Two Test captains saw a jittery Sunrisers Hyderabad chase of 132 through, and their shirts and hair had sweat to show for it. Brought into the side after they failed to chase 127 against the Kings XI Punjab, Kane Williamson and Jason Holder absorbed all the pressure from the spinners on a turning pitch, saw the asking rate of eight when they came together nudge 10, but finished off the game in calculated manner with two balls to go. This was the Sunrisers’ fourth straight win in a must-win game, and the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fifth straight loss after an excellent start to their season. The Sunrisers set up a virtual semi-final with the Delhi Capitals for the right to play the Mumbai Indians in the final.Having recovered successfully from the injuries during the season to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Marsh and Vijay Shankar, the Sunrisers were now missing the man significantly responsible for their comeback, Wriddhiman Saha. The Royal Challengers had to contend with their talisman Chris Morris’ absence, out with a quad injury. They made wholesale changes, punting on two legspinners and also getting Moeen Ali and Aaron Finch in.On a pitch that offered both seam and spin, the bowlers from both sides were on top of their games. Eventually, only AB de Villiers and Williamson rose above the conditions, and they had to score their runs without taking risks because they didn’t have batting cover behind them.If Sandeep doesn’t get you, Jason willSandeep Sharma came into the match with nine wickets in the powerplay this IPL, and Jason Holder none. Opening for the first time this IPL – perhaps he wanted to try it sooner but his side couldn’t seal the playoff spot befire their last match – Virat Kohli was watchful in the first over, keen not to fall to Sharma an eighth time. Holder, though, got a glove from him down the leg side with his extra bounce. He then cramped up Devdutt Padikkal on the pull, making it a third Padikkal dismissal to a short ball this IPL. Padikkal has scored just 46 off 50 such balls.AB plays himself in, others play themselves outIn as early as the fourth over, de Villiers had no choice but to eschew any risk. He would go 20 balls before hitting his first boundary and reaching a run a ball. It was imperative that Finch take the pressure off, but life at the pitch was a struggle for him. He struggled to adjust to the pace of the surface, and was stifled by the accuracy of the Sunrisers bowlers. The first 10 overs featured just four boundaries, the joint-fewest in the tournament, all off the bat of Finch.Just as he looked like he might be turning a corner with a big six off Rashid Khan, Finch holed out to deep cover with Shahbaz Nadeem defeating him with a wide one as he backed away early. Ali walked out with a red carpet of a free hit rolled out for him, but he patted it to extra cover and ran himself out thanks to a Khan direct hit. The Royal Challengers were 62 for 4 in 10.4 overs.AB masterclass loomsBetween the Sunrisers and a facile chase stood the genius of de Villiers. Having scored 20 off 22 so far, with one edged boundary, de Villiers was just entering the genius phase of the innings. Without taking risks – he couldn’t afford to – de Villiers still managed to score 36 off the next 21 balls he faced. However, the Sunrisers were excellent against the others – Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar – bowling 19 balls to them without a boundary. The Royal Challengers were 111 for 5 in 17 overs.AB de Villiers – feeling the weight of single-handedly carrying RCB?•BCCI

The Natarajan masterclassThere was still time for de Villiers to do damage. Teams know he can still win matches even from here, especially when he is 40-plus balls into an innings. T Natarajan then had an unenviable task to bowl overs 18 and 20. He has had an unenviable task all season, bowling the really difficult overs for his side. He came into the playoffs with 14 wickets to his name, 10 in the death overs. In the 18th he made it 12. Sundar was regulation, timing a chip too well and getting caught at deep cover.The next one was one for the ages. A cross-seam yorker, dipping and beating the master and ripping the middle stump out of the ground. This just brought the total crashing down with just 20 runs coming off the last three.Warner is sent offMohammed Siraj removed Saha’s replacement, Shreevats Goswami, in the first over, but David Warner and Manish Pandey staged a recovery after playing themselves in against the seaming ball. Pandey broke free first, and in the final powerplay over, Warner, too, cut Siraj for two boundaries. Then he survived an appeal for caught behind. Or so he thought. The Royal Challengers took the matter upstairs. Replays showed this delivery pass the bat and pad at the same time, and there was a spike on UltraEdge. In a decision bound to cause controversy, the third umpire felt it was conclusive enough for him to overturn the on-field call. The Sunrisers 43 for 2 in 5.4 overs.The spin choke is onThat Warner wicket was huge not only because of Sunrisers’ middle-overs troubles, but because of the Royal Challengers’ attack composition. Warner feasts on legspin: he averages 61 and goes at 9.1 an over against legspin. Now they could unleash both their legspinners at right-hand batsmen. Pandey soon fell to the pressure created. Fourteen bowls of legspin for seven runs later, he played an ambitious late-cut and toe-ended to de Villiers. Priyam Garg faced 14 balls of legspin for seven runs himself. Then tried to drive over cover but holed out to the boundary rider. Six overs, 20 runs, two wickets.Test captains come togetherWith 64 required off the last eight overs, came together Williamson and Holder, two of the calmest players in international cricket, two players used to carrying their sides with them. They kept picking the singles, not worrying about the rising asking rate. Kohli had to eventually take the legspinners off. With 59 required off 38, Williamson tried to hit his first boundary, slog-sweeping Sundar as he overpitched. That took him to 19 off 25.Back came the legspinners. Back came the boundary drought. Back it went to 41 off 25. Out came the slog sweep again as Chahal overpitched this time. Williamson reached a run-a-ball 32 with this. Now Kohli had to go to pace. The dew began to play its part too. Navdeep Saini and Siraj took the high-risk route of bowling yorkers with both third man and fine leg up. While it provided them cover down the ground, a deft batsman such as Williamson kept finding the boundaries and twos behind square to never let the asking rate go past nine. And Holder then killed it off with two fours in the last over. The 65-run partnership comprised just two sixes and five fours.

“There’s a little bit of cricket left in this old body” says Paine, who admits he has “a couple” of regrets about the defeat at The Oval

Matt Roller15-Sep-2019Tim Paine says he has “unfinished business” as Australia’s Test captain after defeat at The Oval allowed England to draw the Ashes series, and that he has “a little bit of cricket left” in his body.Despite Matthew Wade’s counter-attacking innings of 117 – which Paine surprisingly described as “one of the great Ashes hundreds” – Australia fell to a 135-run defeat after failing to chase 399 in their fourth innings, and their celebrations were notably muted.While they celebrated as usual with champagne when the urn was presented, Justin Langer looked on with a scowl, and Paine admitted that defeat had put “a bit of a dampener” on their achievements in the series.ALSO READ: Paine train’s uncertain final destination“There’s some mixed emotions,” Paine told Sky. “But I think from where this group has come from, to come to England and retain the Ashes is still a huge deal. It hasn’t been done for 20 years, so we’ve got a lot to be proud of.”I think we’ve got some improvement, some learning to do, and that’s a great thing for us.”About his own future, Paine denied that there was a feeling that retaining the urn represented an “endgame” for him.”I didn’t see it as a beginning, or see it as an option all that long ago. As I said before this Test match, I’m loving the job I’ve got at the moment. I feel like there’s a little bit of unfinished business with this team and where we’re heading.”I feel like I’ve got a little bit of cricket left in this old body, but I’m not looking too far down the track to when exactly that is.”Paine said that he had “a couple” of regrets about the Oval Test, but conceded that England had “outplayed” his side over the course of the four days.Paine became only the second Australian captain to lose an Ashes Test in England after winning the toss and choosing to bowl, after Ricky Ponting did so at Edgbaston in 2005, and joked that he is “always 50:50″ before the toss.”I can’t read a pitch that well,” he said. “We’re trying to get to the stage where the toss isn’t that important to us. You’ve got to win games of cricket when you lose a toss, and whether you bat or bowl first is a bit irrelevant.”The stats do not particularly back Paine’s claims up. Since 1997, Australia have lost the toss 16 times in Tests in England, and won only three of those games, drawing three more and losing ten; out of the 20 games in which they have won the toss, they have won ten, drawn five and lost five.Paine also bemoaned Australia’s inability to take their chances on the first day.”I feel a bit sorry for our bowlers,” he said. “They were fantastic all series, created plenty of chances on day one and we just didn’t back them up. England got ahead of the game, and then they took it away from us.”

Leigh Kasperek takes five wickets to finish campaign on a high at Grace Road

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2018New Zealand 224 for 6 (Devine 117*) beat England 219 (Jones 78, Beaumont 53, Kasperek 5-39) by four wickets

ScorecardA brilliant century from Sophie Devine secured New Zealand a consolation victory in the third and final ODI at Grace Road, as England were outgunned in a low-scoring contest, after a five-wicket haul from the spinner Leigh Kasperek had derailed their ambitions of a clean sweep.Devine made light of the early loss of her new opening partner, Jess Watkin, as well as a steady drip of mid-innings wickets, to steer her side to a four-wicket victory with 117 not out from 116 balls, sealing the deal with a massive six over square leg. Alongside her at the end of an intermittently anxious chase was the 17-year-old Amelia Kerr, whose mature 12 not out completed a memorable campaign that of course had earlier included a world-record 232 not out against Ireland.After winning the toss and batting first, England might have had ambitions of 300-plus while Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones were in harness. The pair compiled their second century stand of the summer, inside the first 20 overs, as New Zealand’s seamers were once again neutered as they ploughed a wide line and relied on errors that did not materialise.Pace off the ball, however, would prove to be a different challenge for England, and having reached 104 for no loss, they proceeded to lose all ten of their wickets for a further 115, with no-one outside of the openers managing more than Danni Wyatt’s 18 from 22 balls.The wrecker of the innings was Kasperek, who had Beaumont caught behind, somewhat carelessly, on the reverse sweep for 53, before adding the scalp of Lauren Winfield for 5 soon afterwards. Winfield, back in the side as Sarah Taylor took a break, holed out to deep midwicket where Maddy Green took a fine low catch.Jones, looking good for her elusive maiden ODI hundred, once again gave her innings away when she charged at Watkin to be stumped for 78, while Hayley Jensen produced a superb spell of full-length inswingers, bowling Heather Knight with a slower ball.Nat Sciver was then unluckily run out at the non-striker’s end, as Kasperek brushed her fingers on a straight drive from Wyatt, and England’s usual turbo-charged finish petered out. Kasperek deservedly bagged the final two wickets to complete her maiden five-wicket haul.In reply, Katherine Brunt pinned Watkin lbw for a duck in her first over to lift England’s spirits, but Devine was not to be put off her game. She rattled along at more than a run a ball to break the back of the chase in partnership with the steadfast Green, who rather surprisingly galloped down the track straight after the drinks break to be bowled for 23 from 52 balls.Suzie Bates, lurking down the order for a change, came and went cheaply for once, as Laura Marsh bowled her for 1. But Devine eased past her fifty from 54 balls, then brought up her hundred from 101 with a drive back past the bowler.England’s spinners lacked their usual impact, but even with Ecclestone off the boil, her team weren’t quite finished. When Brunt returned to bowl Amy Satterthwaite for 25 and overtake Jenny Gunn as England’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs, there was a chance of a late twist. However, Katey Martin provided sturdy support until she ran herself out for 23, and thereafter Devine would not be denied.

England Lions captain Keaton Jennings began to put a lean run behind him with 87 in Bristol

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2017
ScorecardKeaton Jennings got his season together in Bristol•Getty Images

Keaton Jennings gave the England selectors a timely nudge as Durham enjoyed the upper hand against Gloucestershire on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at Bristol.Although he missed out on a second successive hundred, the left-handed opener top-scored with 87 as Durham, replying to the home side’s first-innings 303, reached the close on 270-4.Gloucestershire’s bowlers staged a mini-revival in the final session, but the visitors trail by 33 runs and, with ? wickets in hand, are still handily-placed to forge a meaningful lead lead and apply pressure on the third day.In need of reassurance in the wake of heavy defeat at the hands of Nottinghamshire, Durham’s top-order batting restored lost pride against a Gloucestershire attack that lacked penetration on an essentially true pitch.Eager to further press his international credentials after registering a hundred on debut for England against India in the fourth Test in Mumbai in December, Jennings took centre stage, sharing in a progressive opening stand of 114 in 32.3 overs with Stephen Cook.South Africa opener Cook appeared supremely secure in raising 50 from 80 balls and a hundred appeared to be his for the taking when he inexplicably lost concentration and, pursuing a delivery outside off stump from Chris Liddle, edged to Cameron Bancroft at first slip.Demonstrating sound temperament and technique, Jennings carried on regardless, ruthlessly exploiting Greame van Buuren’s slow left arm spin and punishing anything short or wide from seam bowlers who lacked consistency.Intent upon earning a place in the England squad for this summer’s Test series against South Africa, the 24-year-old has improved his defensive game, and it came as a surprise when he succumbed 13 runs short of what would have been his second hundred of the season.Last year’s top run-scorer in Championship cricket and the Cricket Writers Club’s player of 2016 was undone by a Liddle delivery that left him and was held by wicketkeeper and former Durham team-mate Phil Mustard via the finest of thin edges. He may have missed out on three figures, but his early-season form will surely not go unnoticed at Lord’s.Losing their momentum thereafter, Durham slipped from the giddy heights of 183-1 to 214-4, Graham Clark and Cameron Steel falling to Craig Miles in quick succession as the home side fought back after tea.Charged with the task of repairing the damage, experienced campaigners Paul Collingwood (28 not out) and Michael Richardson (25 not out) displayed a clear understanding of what was required in staging a restorative unbroken partnership of 57 for the fifth wicket as Gloucestershire’s bowlers sought atonement for their earlier shortcomings by applying belated pressure. Watchful in the extreme, these two safely negotiated 24 overs, eight of them against the new ball, to reach stumps without further mishap.Finally afforded an opportunity after a blank first season on the county staff, former Sussex paceman Liddle adhered to the tenets of line and length without luck, proving the most consistent of Gloucestershire’s front-line bowlers.Durham’s seamers made good use of the new ball to mop up the last three wickets for 38 runs in 15.2 overs after Gloucestershire had resumed their first innings on 265-7.Jack Taylor and David Payne added 36 for the eighth wicket, but once the former edged Rushworth to second slip three runs short of a half century, the innings unraveled rapidly.No sooner had Gloucestershire banked a third batting bonus point, than fellow England bowlers Mark Wood and Graham Onions took care of business, removing Payne and last man Liddle in quick succession

Dale Steyn will lead South Africa’s World T20 attack, subject to his regaining full fitness

Firdose Moonda10-Feb-20161:47

Moonda: Morkel brothers’ exclusion not surprising

Dale Steyn will lead South Africa’s World T20 attack, subject to his regaining full fitness. Steyn sat out six of South Africa’s eight Tests this summer and broke down in the two that he played, first with a groin injury and then a shoulder niggle from which he is still recovering. He has not played any part in the ongoing ODI series against England and will not play the T20 series either, but should return for the T20 series against Australia in the build-up to the tournament.The rest of the pace pack has a fresh look about it with Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott the frontline quicks and Morne Morkel, who has not been part of the T20 set-up since the series against New Zealand last August, missing out. Chris Morris and David Wiese provide the two seam-bowling all-round options. Albie Morkel, who was part of South Africa’s last T20 squad in India, was also left out.Albie Morkel was being primed for the allrounder’s role and took 3 for 12 on international return in Cuttack last October. He was due to play in South Africa’s ongoing ODI series against England but was ruled out before he could be included in the squad with a back problem. At the time there was some suggestion he would recover in time to play some part in the series, although it was never clarified. Morkel has since stated that he is “certainly not injured, not picked. that’s all.”There are two specialist spinners in Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso, who was preferred over Eddie Leie, and eight batsmen including two wicket-keeping options in AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock. De Villiers was tasked with opening the batting and keeping in South Africa’s most recent T20 matches against India even though de Kock was also in the squad. De Kock sat out those matches but, having regained form in recent weeks, is certain to be included in starting XIs at the World T20.That may mean South Africa’s plan of using de Villiers in the top two and behind the stumps is scuppered and de Kock will assume that role with de Villiers moving down the order. An experienced middle-order made up of captain Faf du Plessis, de Villiers and JP Duminy will likely leave room for only one of Farhaan Behardien or Rilee Rossouw, with an allrounder to follow.Albie Morkel was being primed for that role and took 3 for 12 on international return in Cuttack last October but has since suffered a back injury that has kept him out of the England ODIs. Morris, the IPL’s newest dollar millionaire, and Wiese will compete for a spot with Rabada, Steyn and Abbott forming the core of the attack. There may only be space for two of them at a time if South Africa play both Tahir and Phangiso, although they may also call on Duminy’s offspin as an additional slower bowling option.Phangiso was not part of the squad that played T20s in India but he did play in the ODI series there, which South Africa won 3-2. He made headlines for his behaviour on the way home when he was prevented from boarding a flight from Dubai to Johannesburg because he had insulted airline personnel after overindulging in alcohol. News of Phangiso’s indiscretions only broke mid-January in the Afrikaans newspaper . CSA confirmed they had sanctioned Phangiso, although they did not make public what his punishment was, but said it did not involve leaving him out of national squads.Russell Domingo, South Africa’s head coach, hoped South Africa could build some momentum ahead of the World T20 with their performances against England and Australia.”We take some confidence from our T20 series wins against Bangladesh and India and kept relatively the same players who have had success on the sub-continent,” Domingo said. “We have been playing good T20 cricket of late and this is our opportunity to showcase our skills at a World event. The upcoming T20 series’ against England and Australia will be the ideal platform for us to fine-tune some combinations and to hopefully gain some winning confidence ahead of the tournament next month.”We are in a tough group in the tournament with England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and a qualifier. All of the top six teams on the world rankings have the skill and ability to lift the trophy so it’s a completely open competition with high stakes.”Du Plessis reflected on South Africa’s past heartbreaks at ICC events, and said the team was hungry to “lift that elusive ICC trophy”.”The ICC World T20 is the competition that we have been working towards over the last 18 months,” he said. “We have had disappointments in the past and this year is another great opportunity for us to lift that elusive ICC trophy. We have been playing together as a squad for some time now and are really hungry and motivated to put in the performances to bring us success. I’m really excited about the group of players who will be representing the country and hope we can make everyone proud.”South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese.