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ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Pakistan and England

The Preview by Andrew Miller16-Nov-2015

Match facts

November 17, 2015
Start time 1500 local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

As in the first Test, so too in the one-dayers. After an inauspicious start in Abu Dhabi, England’s bouncebackability has ensured that this contest will now go down to the wire. If Eoin Morgan blamed his batsmen for their shortcomings in the six-wicket defeat in Wednesday’s opening fixture, then the voracity of their response was a delight for the skipper to behold. A maiden ODI hundred for Alex Hales that included a century stand with his opening partner, Jason Roy; a serene example of mid-innings run-harvesting from Joe Root, and another probing display from a young seam attack who shared eight wickets between them were plenty reasons to believe in the continuing development of an upwardly mobile squad.A change of venue beckons for Tuesday’s third ODI, however, and if the lessons of the Test series are anything to go by, then the surface in Sharjah is likely to favour the slower bowlers on both teams, which in turn should play comprehensively into the hands of Pakistan. That said, England’s neutering of the legspinner, Yasir Shah, was a major factor in Friday’s 95-run win – his nine overs were milked for 70 runs – and there is some concern about his fitness for this match. However, with Shoaib Malik still displaying the confidence with the ball that led to seven series-sealing wickets in the third Test earlier this month, the onus will surely be on England’s spin twins, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, to at the very least match the control and penetration of their Pakistani counterparts.Nevertheless, England do appear to be the more settled of the two teams at present. The reverberations of Younis Khan’s surprise retirement are still being felt by Pakistan’s squad. Their coach, Waqar Younis, echoed the sentiments of the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan in criticising the timing of Younis’s departure, and the plugging of that sizeable hole in the middle order has led to all manner of upheaval elsewhere in their line-up. Neither Bilal Asif nor Babar Azam, who played a vital role from No.6 in the opening victory, has looked comfortable as a makeshift opener, while Azhar Ali, the captain, has seemed devoid of intent at the top of the order. Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s in-form Test opener, was bagged for a duck by David Willey from No.3, arguably the decisive moment in England’s victory push on Friday.If there was an area of concern for England in the second match, it centred around the failure of their own middle-order to build on the start provided by Hales and Co. At 165 for 1 in the 30th over, conventional wisdom suggested that a score well in excess of 300 was on the cards. However, thanks in no small part to another supreme spell from Wahab Riaz, England were forced to settle for 283. It proved, on this occasion, to be more than enough, but with Jos Buttler in particular still struggling for the form that he had been displaying at the start of the English summer, England’s line-up is still some way short of full efficiency.

Form guide

Pakistan: LWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: WLLWW

Players to watch …

His twin failures in the Sharjah Test match undermined his status as the world’s No.1 batsman, but Joe Root’s ability to translate his talents across formats is currently unrivalled among England cricketers. If Hales’ hundred rightly took the plaudits on Friday, then Root’s fuss-free strike rotation was every bit as vital to England’s finished article – no fewer than 46 of his 77 deliveries were nurdled away for singles, a skill that his compatriots have so often lacked against spin bowling on slow, low Asian pitches.His stated aim, in the aftermath of his Test retirement, is to play in the 2019 World Cup, and Shoaib Malik is so far making a tidy case to be selected as a front-line spinning option. England’s early-summer wickets may not be quite as conducive to his angular offspin but, right now, it is the second string to Shoaib’s bow that is justifying his presence in Pakistan’s line-up. Nevertheless, he was averaging exactly 100 in ODI cricket since his recall after the World Cup, and his Test-best 245 is not yet a distant memory. In light of Younis’ absence, Shoaib’s experience with the bat takes on an extra significance.Alex Hales celebrates with Joe Root after his maiden ODI hundred•Getty Images

Team news

No qualms about Pakistan’s pace attack – Wahab’s class allied to Mohammad Irfan’s cloud-scraping angle of attack, plus Anwar Ali’s consistency with the new ball – means that their seam options are plentiful. There is, however, a concern over Yasir’s fitness. He sustained a knee injury during practice on the eve of the match and may be forced to sit this one out. Bilal would be the obvious stand-in. At the top of the batting order, Ahmed Shehzad could become Azhar’s third opening partner in as many matches.Pakistan (probable) 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad Irfan.No reason for significant tinkering to England’s balance or line-up. The top five looks as solid as anything that the selectors have conjured up since the pre-World Cup panic that unseated Alastair Cook, while Buttler’s struggle for form is no reflection on his obvious class. Not for the first time this tour, the role of Moeen is raising some eyebrows – he is arguably under-utilised in the lower middle-order – while the temptation to play an extra paceman in Liam Plunkett must be strong. But if Rashid’s legspin is to develop as a one-day threat, with next year’s tour of India an obvious staging post, then these are the fixtures in which he needs to play.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 James Taylor, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley.

Pitch and conditions

England fielded three spinners at Sharjah during the Test series and there’s a strong likelihood that this surface will be conducive to slow bowling as well. It is the same surface that was used for the third Test in Sharjah a fortnioght ago and still has significant scarring.

Stats and trivia

• Sharjah is set to host its 219th ODI, already a world record for any ground in the format. However, this will be England’s first one-day fixture at the venue since April 1999.
• Root requires three more runs to pass 2,000 runs in all formats for the calendar year.
• After going wicketless in the second match, Malik still needs one more wicket to reach 150 in ODIs.

Quotes

“”England bounced back and bounced back well. We probably were not thinking that they are going to play that well and now we have to play out of our skins to make it 2-1.”
“I have to maintain a positive mindset. If I don’t, things go wrong and it’s not the way I play.”

Amid much nostalgia for a bygone era of West Indies cricket, Australia are only thinking of making life difficult for the beleaguered tourists

Daniel Brettig06-Dec-2015Amid much hand-wringing and nostalgia for a bygone era of West Indies cricket, Australia’s players are not allowing themselves to think of anything other than doing their very best to make life as difficult as possible for Jason Holder’s beleaguered tourists.While Cricket Australia’s administrators deal with the dual issues of a poorly opponent and a problematic Hobart Test match likely to be watched by a disconcertingly small crowd, the players arrived in Hobart with their minds on matters of a more micro nature.Not for them the high-minded questions of how to improve Caribbean cricket or draw a big gate to Bellerive Oval; simply the task, as Peter Siddle stated, of keeping West Indies down after they were well beaten by a modest CA XI in Brisbane. Playing and winning matches is Siddle’s living, and the loss of his CA contract earlier this year – something he will now regain after resuming in the Test team – has left him very aware of what he must concentrate on.”They have some strong weapons with their bowling attack,” Siddle said on arrival in Hobart. “They can blast teams out when they bowl well. So I think that’s going to be the big part. We’re going to have to bat well against them I think. That’s going to be their key, their bowling. And then we try and exploit their batting which won’t be quite as strong.”I haven’t really taken too much notice [of the tour game]. The young Aussie side played a bloody good game up in Queensland, did well. You can’t look too much into a tour match there, it’s their first experience of getting on the shores and having a hit out. No doubt they’ll come down here a lot more switched on and a lot more competitive side in the Test-match arena.”Though the series victory over New Zealand was welcome, this remains a transitional Australian side under a new captain in Steven Smith, with a bowling attack now relying very much on reserve strength after the retirement of Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson plus a foot injury to Mitchell Starc. Siddle was recalled in Adelaide, and after shrugging off a jarred back during that match is still striving to make his place secure again.”I think at this stage, I’m still essentially playing for my place,” he said on arrival in Hobart. “I guess being out of the side for so long and having a couple of games here and there makes you feel like that. At the moment it’s just taking it game by game, which is what I was doing when I wasn’t playing. Just making sure I prepare well and be ready to go and get out on the field and perform well.”At the moment that’s all it’s about, just performing well this week in preparation, getting everything right, get the body right and be ready to go on game day. The West Indies are going to be a lot more competitive in the Test-match arena, so it’s about getting through this first game and seeing where we end up after this.”Australia prospered by building pressure on New Zealand’s batsmen in Adelaide, having struggled to do so earlier in the series in Siddle’s absence. There will likely be more of the same in Hobart, against West Indies batsmen well known for showing a lack of application when denied plentiful scoring opportunities. As Siddle observed, what was good enough for Glenn McGrath will certainly work for his Australian successors.”Glenn McGrath is probably the perfect example, I reckon,” Siddle said. “He has been our greatest fast bowler. So I think that’s a good example to go by and I’ve spoken to him a lot and tried building my game a little bit on him. How he was consistent, his patience and being able to work batsmen over.”I think that’s what I’ve shown over the last little bit, that’s what I can do. I think it was a good example in Adelaide how the team as a bowling unit did that against someone like Kane Williamson who they thought wouldn’t crack under the pressure of building pressure and patience. And we got him cheap both innings doing that and he’s one of the class players in the Test arena over the last little bit. I think it’ll work and it’s shown it can work.”

Poor record keeping, huge delays in bill payments, defunct sub-committees and mismanagement are some of the numerous issues listed as “deficiencies” of the DDCA in a damning report prepared by Mukul Mudgal

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Jan-2016Lack of transparency, poor record keeping, huge delays in bill payments, defunct sub-committees, mismanagement, rampant ad-hocism are some of the numerous issues listed as “deficiencies” of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) in a damning report prepared by Mukul Mudgal, the former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.On Monday, Mudgal submitted the 27-page report to a two-judge bench of Delhi High Court which had appointed him on November 18 to oversee the conduct of the fourth Test of the India-South Africa series from December 3-7 at Feroz Shah Kotla.Immediately upon commencing their job, Mudgal and his four-member team that also included IP Singh, a former deputy Comptroller & Auditor General of India, found that the DDCA had never maintained any records pertaining to various tenders, work orders, and all finance and accounts related activity. In addition, no minutes of the meetings were recorded and senior office bearers flaunted their power to pass approvals orally.”For the previous matches, no records were available to indicate how quotations were invited, how the vendors to whom work was allotted were selected, how the competitiveness of the rates was ascertained,” Mudgal noted. “There were no minutes, or record of the tender committee or committees set up for different tasks. There were no agreements with the selected vendors in the past available for perusal.”Absence of records “hamper transparency,” Mudgal pointed out. He also repeatedly highlighted that vendors were aggrieved due to the delays in payments. “Many vendors complained that their bills for earlier matches organised during the last 2-3 years were not cleared,” he wrote. “This resulted in a large number of vendors not bidding and others quoting higher rates to cover the risk of huge delays in getting payment.”The report revealed the DDCA was yet to file the balance sheet for 2014-15. Not just delays, the DDCA was missing out on making profits. Mudgal cited the example of renewing the contracts for having the corporate boxes in the ground. “DDCA had long term agreements with corporate houses for corporate boxes allotted to them, which gave substantive revenue every year. These agreements have expired and need to be renewed or fresh proposals be invited from corporates for future matches.”Mudgal noticed that although the DDCA, for the “smooth functioning of the Test” had formed a lot of sub-committees – 12, they had remained “non-functional.” As an example, he pointed out that the members of a special sub-committee, formed to look after the East stand where school children were permitted for free on each of the five days, remained absent.”A separate Committee was formed for managing the Stand where the 8250 School Children were to be seated. However, not even a single day of the match were all the members of the said committee found to be present supervising the Stand where the Children were to be seated. After much persuasion, few members did visit the stand however one particular DDCA official even after being personally told to be present in the stands was not found to be there,” Mudgal said.Similar lethargic attitude was shown by the hospitality committee and the legal committee, the latter, Mudgal stressed, was formed “belatedly” on November 28. The only committee that was Mudgal found to be “most active” was the Ticket Complimentary Committee.”This Committee wanted all the Executive Committee members to have 5 Accreditation passes each having access to all gates and stands. It was conveyed that this is due to complimentary meals which can be availed of by such card holders,” the report said. But Mudgal said that only one pass would be issued to each executive member. “This ensured that persons without any duty or function being assigned did not enter the restricted areas.”Equally chaotic was the ticketing segment. According to Mudgal, the DDCA had given the contract of sale of tickets to an agency Ticket Genie. However Mudgal’s team found there were a lot of discrepancies: the online ticketing suffered snags as the vendor had blocked tickets in advance thereby restricting the number of tickets fans could book online.A fan then brought to the notice of Mudgal that the vendor was selling the tickets at bloated prices at one of the designated kiosks. Lack of security at other ticket selling centres, improper infrastructure at the ticket window outside the ground were some of the other issues the report highlighted.Another area where the DDCA office bearers faced a lot of criticism dealt with the facilities provided to the broadcasters and the media. “The broadcasters also complained that the room allotted to them was infested by pests and that appropriate measures should have been taken prior to the match, to eliminate such infestation. This issue was neither brought to our notice nor was appropriately addressed till the end,” Mudgal wrote in the report.He might have been scathing, but Mudgal did not want to paint all DDCA officials with the Same brush. According to Mudgal DDCA could easily change its way if it desired. “DDCA management must review its internal controls, adequacy of the systems and procedures being followed and its information and monitoring systems. DDCA has a lot of potential and some very dedicated officials who are capable of achieving excellent results if DDCA is run in a more professional manner.”

Even though England have already won the series against South Africa, AB de Villiers has declared them “not unbeatable” in a feisty press conference ahead of the final Test

Firdose Moonda21-Jan-2016Even though England have already won the series against South Africa, AB de Villiers has declared them “not unbeatable” in a feisty press conference ahead of the final Test.De Villiers referred to cracks in England’s batting, with three of the top five potentially playing for their places in Centurion. He also suggested that some of their bowlers “have lost pace” – a comment widely interpreted as an attack on James Anderson, England’s attack leader who has so far only managed to take three wickets in two Tests.”There’s no hiding from the fact that they seem to know what they are doing. But there’s also no doubt that there are weaknesses there, and we’ve exposed some of them – but not enough and not for long enough,” de Villiers said. “Their batting is not 100% best-in-the-world material. The bowling line-up is very experienced but some have lost pace over the years but they’re very smart and very skilled. They’re not unbeatable.”With words like that, Alastair Cook warned that de Villiers may be asking for trouble from the England attack. “He’s obviously trying to wind everything up and if Jimmy reads it he’ll have a word,” Cook said. “I actually think his speeds have been quite good in this series. It’s a brave man to call Jimmy Anderson out but I guess it will spice up the match a little.”That does not bode well for South Africa’s batsmen, who have had a torrid time of it in the last two months. They have managed only two scores over 300 and slumped to their two lowest totals since readmission – something de Villiers is not running away from. He admitted their performances were not good enough – “it’s time for us to wake up a little bit now and start playing proper cricket” – but did not say whether much had changed behind the scenes to enable that to happen just yet.For now, he offered fighting talk: “There are no dead rubbers in Test cricket. The game has got way too much tradition and culture and history for us just to rock up and think it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a huge game for us. We’d hate to lose 3-0. I think 2-1 sounds a lot better. It would be great to win a Test. We haven’t won a Test for 12 months.”But in the near future, he hopes there will be more technical improvements, including the involvement of a batting coach. “We’ve been a bit naive in believing we can go on the way we have been,” de Villiers said. “We need to get advice and help, not only from a batting coach – in a few other areas as well. That will be discussed after this series. There are a few names already in the hat.”One of those names might be former captain Graeme Smith, who was roped in to assist before the Newlands Test but could not commit more time than that because of his commentary commitments. Instead, Smith has been vocal in his criticism of the current set-up and he is not the only one. Other players including Barry Richards and Daryl Cullinan have also aired their views but the most noteworthy naysaying came from within.Ashwell Prince, who is on the selection panel, questioned the wisdom of de Villiers’ comment that “all hope is gone” after the Wanderers defeat, and said the captain needed to send out more positive messages to the youngsters. It seems de Villiers has heard that, even though it may have hurt him.”It’s funny, because when I used to play with these guys they would talk about past players criticising them, and [saying] they can’t believe it and they’ll never become like that. So it’s pretty funny and it shows you how quickly things change,” de Villiers said. “But I’ve got no one to blame. We haven’t won for a while and we deserve a bit of criticism. It’s disappointing, but there are no hard feelings. We’ve got to move on as a team and try and win games.”And de Villiers remained confident that they will start doing that again, even if it takes some time before they really turn things around. “Before our run of four or five very good years, just before that there was also a patch when Graeme was captaining when people were talking in exactly the same way about us. I’m hoping we can make that turn quicker than people are expecting us to do. I’m optimistic. I’ve seen a lot of talent come through. We just need to get some experience and to get a few smart heads involved, and I believe we will move forward as a cricket team.”

Kent have signed New Zealand opening batsman Tom Latham for the 2016 English season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2016Kent have signed New Zealand opening batsman Tom Latham for the 2016 English season and he will be available for all formats.Latham, 23, is Kent’s second significant recent signing after they brought Kagiso Rabada to the club for a month in mid-season.

New Zealand internationals in county cricket

Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner (Worcestershire), Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan, Hamish Rutherford (Derbyshire), Jesse Ryder, Adam Milne (Essex), Ross Taylor (Sussex), Neil Wagner (Lancashire), Kane Williamson (Yorkshire), Tom Latham (Kent)

Latham currently averages close to 40 in Test cricket with three centuries and also provides an extra wicketkeeping option should the need arise. In first-class cricket he has a career-best of 261.”I’m delighted to have joined Kent for the season. Playing county cricket has always been a goal of mine,” he said. “I’ve heard great things about the playing group and coaching staff, so I can’t wait to get started and help the boys push for some silverware.”Kent’s head coach Jimmy Adams said: “We’re delighted to have Tom playing with us this season. He brings valuable experience gained from playing at the international level across all formats.”We are confident that he will play a big role as the club pushes for County Championship promotion and white-ball success.”

New Zealand gambled with three spinners, leaving out Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and the ploy worked so well that they toppled tournament favourites India by 47 runs

The Report by Alagappan Muthu15-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:40

Chappell: India didn’t adjust to low-total mentality

For a long time, this New Zealand team was under the charge of a man who loved a gamble or two. But would even Brendon McCullum have been funky enough to go up to his two best bowlers, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, on the team’s opening match of a World T20 and say, ‘Pick up the bibs, lads. You’re out.’? Kane Williamson did. He saw a dry Nagpur pitch, heard how the ball had turned during the qualifier games at the venue and asked Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi to clock in for duty. The first of those three spinners is in the twilight of his career, the other two had played only five T20Is each. And India had no answers against them.No one expected it to go down like this. MS Dhoni and his men came into the tournament on a seven-match winning streak. They were back home now, just as New Zealand were in alien territory. They had not played in the subcontinent for two years, and their batting had all the symptoms of it to put up only 126 for 7.An early wicket was vital and New Zealand looked to a McCullum for the magic touch. Nathan, who will join his little brother in retirement after this tournament, trapped Shikhar Dhawan lbw fifth ball. Minutes later, Rohit Sharma was undone by a superb delivery, this time from Santner. The batsman had trotted down the pitch but made the mistake of closing the face. Normally it wouldn’t have been a fatal one, considering Santner specialises in non-turning darts. But on this pitch he was given all the help he could ask for. The ball turned square, and bounced so much that the wicketkeeper couldn’t collect it cleanly. But Rohit had lunged so far outside his crease that Luke Ronchi had enough time to recover.India might not have been nervous at this point, but New Zealand began believing.Virat Kohli was the reason why the hosts held hope. For much of his 27 balls, he looked in control of the situation because he was in control of himself. On a track that was turning square, batsmen needed to play close to the body and trust in proper cricketing shots. He managed it for 26 balls before Ish Sodhi broke down his discipline. A beautiful legspinner was pitched up for the drive, Kohli went after it and feathered an edge to the wicketkeeper. India were 39 for 5, and definitely nervous now. Not long after, they were 79 all out and rather red-faced. “We lacked a bit of adaptability,” Dhoni admitted.New Zealand couldn’t cope with the ball not coming onto the bat either. They tried to smash their way to supremacy – Martin Guptill hit the first ball of the Super 10s for a straight six and Colin Munro began with a jaw-dropping switch hit – but got through to the end of the Powerplay with 22 dots and 33 runs on the board.Corey Anderson was their top-scorer with 34 runs, but his 42-ball innings encapsulated New Zealand’s struggle. Should we hit out? Should we hunker down? They did something in between and it wasn’t pretty. Only hindsight proved it was effective. And the fact that Santner, Sodhi and McCullum kept pitching the ball at the stumps and allowed a rank turner to do the rest. After all, only when a batsmen is pushed to play can he give his wicket away.After the first innings, it looked like India should have had plenty of match-winners. R Ashwin struck in the first over of the match. Jasprit Bumrah, who excels at the death, came away with 1 for 15. Suresh Raina instigated a superb run-out to dismiss Ross Taylor for 10 and had Williamson stumped for 8. That’s New Zealand’s backbone sent packing by the 12th over with the score only on 61.But as willing as Raina the bowler was, Raina the batsman could not handle the fight. He strode in during the third over, offered a tame catch to midwicket and was back in the dressing room before the over was done. Soon after, Yuvraj Singh popped a return catch to McCullum and four of the India’s top five were gone for single-digits.Meanwhile, Santner was bowling like a dream and despite him finishing as the highest-wicket taker on the night, it was Sodhi who extracted the most turn. His legspinners ripped past the outside edge regularly and his control had never looked so good. He finished with 3 for 18 – all of which were characterised by defeating the batsman in flight. Kohli was caught behind, Jadeja closed the face too early after coming forward and Ashwin was dragged out of his crease to be stumped.New Zealand trusted in a set of bowlers capable of exploiting a raging turner. Santner, McCullum and Sodhi delivered them a win against the tournament favourites.

Chris Rogers feels that “life has come full circle” as he settles in the south-west of England for the first time since he left Australia to pursue his cricket career as a fresh-faced 18-year-old

David Hopps08-Apr-20160:38

Can a county compete in all competitions?

Chris Rogers feels that “life has come full circle” as he settles in the south-west of England for the first time since he left Australia to pursue his cricket career as a fresh-faced 18-year-old.Twenty years on, the Somerset captaincy might have been a challenge designed for him as Rogers seeks new inspiration following his retirement from international cricket at the end of last summer’s Ashes series.That circle, though, has not quite been joined up. Mark Overton provided early guidance as skipper of North Devon at a time when his sons – Somerset’s fast-bowling twins Craig and Jamie – were still in nappies.But when Rogers leads Somerset for the first time in the Championship against Durham at Chester-le-Street on Sunday the fast bowlers he expects to light up his season will be conspicuous by their absence.Rogers was already braced for the absence of Craig Overton as he completes a two-match suspension for an alleged racist outburst and now Jamie Overton will also miss Somerset’s opening Championship match of the season against Durham at Chester-le-Street because of a slight hamstring tear suffered on a pre-season tour to Spain.It is an unfortunate start for two quick bowlers who spent time with England’s senior squad last summer – although neither made a debut – and who Rogers expects to be at the heart of Somerset’s youthful pace attack.Craig Overton, in particular, is regarded by Somerset’s head coach Matt Maynard as “one of the most consistent bowlers in England in the last couple of seasons” and both Maynard and Rogers will be anxious for him to achieve his international potential this summer and become potty trained as far as sledging is concerned – he fell foul of the umpires three times last season.It all culminated in an alleged outburst to Ashar Zaidi, then at Sussex, now with Essex, to “go back to your own f******* country.” The ECB only charged him with a Level One offence after receiving reports from all parties, but his third transgression of the season brought an automatic two-match ban – a punishment immediately condemned as inadequate by Kick It Out, sport’s anti-racism pressure group.Without the identical twins, Somerset’s pace attack will be stretched. Josh Davey, the Scotland seamer, could make his Championship debut for the county or 18-year-old Ben Green could earn a first-class debut on a ground where, especially in April, seam bowling can be expected to dominate.Rogers is aware of the possibility that this might turn out to be his farewell season and, if so, he yearns for a happy ending. If he fulfils the prediction of Maynard, that he can develop the side “like Viv Richards” – Maynard played under Richards’ captaincy at Glamorgan – then all will be well.”I don’t think I’ve ever been compared to Viv before,” Rogers laughed. He has built a career on dependability – cautious drives and shrewd nudges – so if he charges a fast bowler on Sunday in an effort to whack him over midwicket it could have expected consequences.Rogers has averaged more than 50 in first-class matches at all four English counties he has represented – Derbyshire, Northants, Leicestershire and Middlesex – and if he wants a lesson in how to maintain commitment after calling time on Australia, he only needs to consider the example of the man he has replaced, Marcus Trescothick, who is beginning his 10th county summer since a stress-related illness brought his England career to a close.His Somerset finale only became a possibility when Middlesex decided to look elsewhere. “They wanted their overseas player to be involved in T20 and my hope was to finish my career at Lord’s, so that was a bit disappointing,” he said, “but completely understandable.”The south-west, though, is a wonderful consolation. “I came here as an 18-year-old at North Devon and had three years there and a year at Exeter,” Rogers said. “I love the south west – it is as close as you can get to Australia in the UK.”When I got the chance to sign here it was in many ways like coming full circle. It would have been nice in many respects to finish at Middlesex but in many ways this was equally a great opportunity.”It’s a new challenge and that is something to look forward to as an older player. Coming as a captain that is as important as anything. Our pride is on the line. So that is going to drive me. I think it is part of my make-up to want to compete all the time. I want to lead from the front not just with the captaincy but with the runs.”

Ben Stokes has undergone surgery to address a cartilage tear in his left knee after pulling up injured during the first Test against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-20162:03

Stokes undergoes surgery for torn knee cartilage

Ben Stokes has undergone surgery to address a cartilage tear in his left knee after pulling up injured during the first Test against Sri Lanka.The ECB said that “full details on his rehabilitation will be confirmed in due course” but if the problem has not developed into a more serious injury then it should be around six weeks. That would leave him on track to return for the Test series against Pakistan which starts on July 14.Stokes felt his left knee lock up while bowling on the second afternoon of last week’s Headingley Test, and though he returned to the field to bowl four more overs, he played no part in the closing stages of England’s commanding innings-and-88-run victory.With Stokes suffering a knee problem – which he tweeted last night that he has managed to play through until now – it will bring back uneasy memories of the latter stages of Andrew Flintoff’s career. It was a torn meniscus in his knee that hampered Flintoff and, while there is no indication that Stokes’ injury is as serious, it will be a concern for England that such a young player has been hit by such an injury.The second Test against Sri Lanka will be the first that Stokes has missed since being recalled against West Indies in April last year and is a blow to Durham, his county, who have struggled to sell tickets for the match and would have still been hoping for some late interest with the presence of a local star although the club tweeted on Tuesday that it was experiencing a rush of interest in tickets.Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been called into the squad to replace Stokes and is now likely to slot straight into the team having taken 9 for 36 for his county yesterday before leaving to join England in Durham.

Hamish Marshall remembers last year’s Royal London Cup final at Lord’s, where Gloucestershire nicked a six-run victory against Surrey, as “one of the best days of cricket” he’s experienced but knows that it will be a tall order to defended the title this

Andrew McGlashan03-Jun-2016Hamish Marshall remembers last year’s Royal London Cup final at Lord’s, where Gloucestershire clinched a six-run victory against Surrey, as “one of the best days of cricket” he’s experienced but knows that it will be a tall order to defend the title this season.The title was Gloucestershire’s first piece of silverware since 2004 and was secured in tension-filled scenes after Surrey had started the last over needing seven off six balls with 17-year-old Sam Curran playing a fine hand. But Curran fell to the first ball of the last over and two deliveries later Gareth Batty found deep midwicket.”I remember I could feel my heart beating, thinking we were so close,” Marshall told ESPNcricinfo. “I was very nervous but David Payne had been bowling well for us so confident in him. When that catch went down Benny Howell’s throat I thought we had a really good chance. Then Jack [Taylor] took that catch – I didn’t know what I should do – I just chased the other lads. One of the best days of cricket I’ve experienced.”A man on the opposition that day, Jason Roy, remembered being left astonished as to what had happened after Surrey had subsided from 143 for 2, with Kumar Sangakkara in control before clubbing to mid-on, to being left with the last-over scramble.”Heartache. It was crazy,” Roy said. “It was one of those days when you walked off the pitch and said ‘what the hell has just happened?’ But do you know what, it was great for the game, great for Gloucestershire, they played well and were the better team on the day and that is what sport is all about.”Recalling the team’s progress through the tournament – which was anchored by Michael Klinger’s 531 runs at 106.20 before a duck in the final – Marshall picked out a run chase early in the competition against Derbyshire where the team felt events could be going their way. They needed 20 off the last over from Chesney Hughes, who bowled a no-ball off what should have been the final delivery – for having too many fielders on the leg side – and the next ball was dispatched for the match-winning boundary by Howell.”We needed 60 off four overs, then there was the no-ball. Some things went our way, but guys played good cricket,” Marshall said. “Michael was outstanding and the guys feed off that. Our two spinners, Tom Smith and Jack Taylor, played really well – Jack with the bat as well – guys played good cricket. Although Michael was outstanding others played really important roles.”Marshall knows, though, that Gloucestershire will need to keep improving to have a chance of retaining their title – and have been hit by the blow of the Man of the Match from the final, Taylor, being suspended for a suspect action – but they will trust in the methods that proved successful for them last summer.”As a group we’ll stick to what worked for us last year. Hopefully guys will have improved over the winter, but winning last year will give us a lot of confidence. But we know teams will be after us, and they’ll know us a little bit better. Like last year we’ll need a lot of guys in good nick.”As proud sponsors of the One Day Cup, Royal London is giving away match tickets to see the action live. Visit royallondoncricket.com to enter.

There may be more impressive individual performances and more action-packed days in the next two or three months but, in the context of this Pakistan tour, this was an almost perfect start.

George Dobell at Taunton03-Jul-2016
Scorecard2:10

‘Good to start the tour on a high’ – Younis

There may be more impressive individual performances and more action-packed days in the next two or three months but, in the context of this Pakistan tour, this was an almost perfect start.On a benign pitch, in front of a good natured crowd, Pakistan were able to ease their way into a tour that promises some tough moments on and perhaps off the pitch, with a low-key day – a wonderfully low key day from a Pakistan perspective – of gentle cricket.It wasn’t like this the last time they were here. The last time Pakistan were in Taunton, in September 2010, they were besieged. It was only days after the story had broken and, as helicopters hovered over their hotel and journalists waited in the car-park, the atmosphere inside the squad was anything but low key and gentle.The Pakistan camp remain nervous, probably unnecessarily so, about the reception that awaits them on this tour. So to have started this trip with three weeks training out of the spotlight and then enjoy a relatively uneventful day during which nearly all of their top six enjoyed a decent amount of time in the middle represented an ideal start.Not for the first time, Pakistan were grateful to the composure and class of Younis Khan. The 38-year-old, who missed the 2010 tour having fallen out of favour with the team management, finished the day unbeaten on 99 having added 179 for the fifth-wicket with Asad Shafiq.It was not a flawless innings. Younis was reprieved on 20 (a tough chance wide to Marcus Trescothick’s right at second slip) and again on 75 (when Alex Barrow was unable to cling on to an even tougher chance offered via the inside edge). But, in between times, he began to settle into the pace of pitch and the movement in the air and unveiled many of those familiar strokes – the devastating sweep, the flamboyant cut and the pleasing drives off front and back foot – that have already brought him more than 9,000 Test runs and 31 centuries.”It’s not easy for any team when they come to England,” Younis said afterwards. “But we have come to the country very early and we are very well prepared. I think this may be the first time that Pakistan have batted well at the start of a tour. We nearly all had 50 or 60 balls in the middle.”It would be fantastic for me if my performances helped the team do well. It would make me the happy man of the earth.”Shafiq was no less impressive. Joining Younis with the side on 132 for 4 and in just a little trouble, he survived an early run out chance but then was admirably compact and watchful in steering his side into a safer waters. While he may reflect he squandered an excellent opportunity to register a century – he sliced a somewhat wild drive off a wide one that turned a little – he will have taken confidence from this start.The one man to miss out was the captain. Misbah-up-Haq felt for his second ball, a delivery some way outside off stump, without any foot movement and edged to slip.Tougher challenges remain, of course. The days when county teams looked upon these matches as an opportunity to make a name for themselves are largely gone, especially for bowlers. So here Somerset, resting the Overton brothers and Lewis Gregory, fielded an attack that included three men with one Championship cap for the club between them including a first-class debut for 18-year-old off-spinner, Dominic Bess, who moved from Sidmouth to Exeter a couple of years ago to ensure him of more opportunity at club level.They bowled tidily enough. Paul van Meekeren, a Dutch international who has been playing club cricket for Benwell Hill near Newcastle, has just signed until the end of the season and did himself no harm with a whole-hearted effort. After Mohammad Hafeez missed a straight one, van Meekeren produced a beauty that draw a stroke from Azhar Ali but left him to take the edge.Tim Groenewald also finished with two wickets. Two balls before Misbah’s departure he had seen Shan Masood fall across a straight one as he tried to whip the ball through the leg side.But Josh Davey, the Scotland international, was less fortunate. After dropping a relatively simple caught and bowled chance offered by Masood on 17, he was also the unlucky bowler on both occasions that Younis was reprieved. On another day, he might also have won a leg before shout against Hafeez before the batsman had scored.Masood, especially efficient off his legs, and Hafeez, who pulled successive sixes when the medium-paced Davey dropped short, may both feel they missed out on the chance to cash-in against this inexperienced attack. But, in terms of gaining time at the crease ahead of the serious business part of this tour, this was a pleasing start for Pakistan.