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Chris Woakes wasn’t the England allrounder who gained the most attention in the IPL auction, but he proved his value to England once again with a match-winning contribution in St Kitts

George Dobell in St Kitts27-Feb-2017
ScorecardJahmar Hamilton and Rahkeem Cornwall added 123 for the sixth wicket•Getty Images

Chris Woakes wasn’t the England allrounder who gained the most attention in the IPL auction, but he proved his value to England once again with a match-winning contribution in St Kitts.England, set 234 to win, were reeling at 177 for 7 in the 40th over before Woakes calmed the situation with a run-a-ball innings of 47 not out. It was the third highest List A score of his career and saw England to a two-wicket victory with seven deliveries remaining. He had proved the pick of England’s bowlers, too, claiming 2 for 37 from nine well-controlled overs.England were grateful for his contribution. With only Jake Ball, who had earlier been forced off the field with a knee injury, left to bat (England later confirmed that he would have batted if required), they were facing an embarrassing reverse against a modest-looking WICB President’s XI side hit by withdrawals with 55 required from the final 10 overs.But Woakes added 35 for the eighth-wicket with Adil Rashid and then an unbroken 22 for the ninth with Liam Plunkett to help England squeak home. Despite taking just one run from the 48th over of the innings – 10 were required from the start of it – bowled by Kyle Myers, he laced Ronsford Beaton for four from the next over to all but end the contest. He had earlier driven Myers for a straight six and produced a couple of sweetly-timed drives through the covers.But this was an unconvincing performance with the bat from England. With Sam Billings, caught off the shoulder of the bat by one that reared at him, again failing to take his opportunity at the top of the order, England were heavily reliant upon an innings of 86 from Jonny Bairstow to get them anywhere near their apparently modest target.Bairstow, thrust into the unusual position of opener, responded with his highest List A score since August 2014 and looked in fine touch. But when he fell, failing to time an attempted paddle and spooning a simple catch to leg slip, it exposed the lack of contributions from the rest of the top order.While Joe Root added 117 with Bairstow, Jos Buttler cut to point, Eoin Morgan missed a reverse-sweep and Ben Stokes was punished for being stuck in the crease when he was bowled for a second-ball duck. When Moeen Ali was beaten by some turn, it seemed England’s familiar nemesis – spin bowling – might be their undoing once more. But while Woakes may not be England’s most glamorous cricketer, he showed again what a reliable allrounder he has become with a match-winning contribution that revived memories of England’s tie against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge in 2016.To be fair to England, conditions appeared to become more difficult for batting as the day progressed. On the same pitch used for Saturday’s game, the ball both spun and appeared to stick in the pitch for the seamers as the match wore on. Chasing the sort of score that Jonathan Trott might have made look simple, they instead exposed a slight lack of sophistication by continuing to attempt to blast their way to success in conditions where accumulation was required. The pitches for the ODI series are expected to be similar.”It was the sort of pitch that got tougher and tougher,” Paul Farbrace, England’s coach, said. “Cricket out here tends to be four quarters: the first 25 overs is a lot easier to bat than the last 25 overs. I don’t want to make excuses, but it got tougher and the ball stopped.”But even so we made it a lot harder for ourselves than we needed to. If one bloke gets 130 not out you win the game comfortably.”Earlier the President’s XI were grateful for a stand of 123 for the sixth-wicket between Jahmar Hamilton and Rahkeem Cornwall. Coming together with their side on 55 for 5, they counter-attacked attractively, with Rashid hit for a series of vast sixes.Cornwall, in particular, is a fascinating cricketer. Standing at six feet, seven inches and carrying a significant amount of surplus weight – he looks as if he thinks of strength and conditioning coaches as a small snack between meals – he still manages to be a good striker of a ball and a more than decent offspinner. Despite his obvious mobility issues – he dropped Bairstow at slip on 46; perhaps a match-defining moment – he has bowled more overs than anyone in the regional four-day competition (and only two men have more wickets) and is a genuine contender for an international place.Those two apart, the President’s XI batsmen struggled against an impressive display from England’s bowlers. Plunkett, learning from the first game, delivered a series of cross-seam deliveries that stuck in the surface and claimed two wickets with catches at leg gully, while Stokes also claimed three wickets as reward for much improved control.When Root and Bairstow were ticking over in their century stand for England’s second wicket, it seemed victory would be straightforward. And had offspinner Andre McCarthy not been bizarrely withdrawn from the attack having just claimed two wickets in three balls, the President’s XI might have exploited England’s familiar weakness against spin. But Woakes held firm and ensures England head to Antigua on Tuesday with victories from both warm-up games.It remains to be seen who lines up in that team. Ball is one obvious injury doubt – Chris Jordan and Sam Curran appear to be the leading candidates to replace him – while it also seems that Alex Hales, who joins up with the squad on Tuesday, will not be considered for the first game or two. That means that Billings is likely to remain as opener and Bairstow may rue is failure to make his excellent start here count. Jason Roy, rested here due to a bruised hand, is deemed fit to play.

The fourth ODI between New Zealand and South Africa, which was originally scheduled to be played at McLean Park in Napier on March 1, has been moved to Seddon Park in Hamilton

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017The fourth ODI between New Zealand and South Africa, which was originally scheduled at McLean Park in Napier on March 1, has been moved to Seddon Park in Hamilton.According to an NZC release, the inquiry launched by the Napier City Council into the abandonment of the second Chappell-Hadlee ODI at McLean Park on February 2 “highlighted a need for urgent remedial work on the venue’s turf, drainage, and irrigation system.”Both NZC and the city council agreed it was “in the best interests of McLean Park’s cricketing future” to move the ODI against South Africa and avoid the “unacceptable risk” of another drainage failure. Fans who purchased tickets to watch the game at McLean Park will receive a full refund.”There have been shortcomings identified in McLean Park’s drainage and irrigation system which need to be remedied before we can be confident of avoiding what happened in the Chappell-Hadlee fixture,” Anthony Crummy, the NZC chief operating officer, said. “The investigation concludes that drought conditions in the Hawke’s Bay necessitated significant levels of watering in the days leading up to the match which, combined with a limited drainage infrastructure and rain on match-day, resulted in a worst-case scenario.”It’s true, several measures could be employed to help mitigate this risk ahead of the South Africa match but, even then, any period of significant or extended rain in the lead-up would likely result in the same outcome. NZC, the Central Districts Cricket Association and the NCC agree this risk is unacceptable.”The city council has committed to a $900,000 upgrade of the ground – which includes a complete replacement of the playing surface, drainage and irrigation system.”By doing this, we can look forward with confidence to McLean Park hosting next summer’s ODIs between the BLACKCAPS and England, and the BLACKCAPS and Pakistan,” Crummy said.Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said he was “bitterly disappointed on behalf of the fans, the players and the Council.”In essence, we have a fantastic ground in a superb location but the turf is old and has deteriorated dramatically in the face of the recent drought conditions in the Hawke’s Bay. There are issues with the organic matter beneath the surface of the ground – issues we didn’t know about and are now urgently dealing with.”The match against Australia was the second straight abandoned ODI at McLean Park – the same fate had befallen the ODI against Pakistan in January 2016. The ground took in far more rain on that occasion, however, than it did on the morning of the Chappell-Hadlee match.

A slew of former international and first-class players have been enlisted as consultants to work with USA men’s, women’s and junior players at a specialist preparation camp from April 6-9 in Houston

Peter Della Penna05-Apr-2017A slew of former international and first-class players have been enlisted as consultants to work with USA men’s, women’s and junior players at a specialist preparation camp from April 6-9 in Houston, Texas in an effort to give them a leg up on other teams in preparation for their respective ICC qualification events later this year. Among the new arrivals expected this weekend are former Australian Test spinner Beau Casson, former Sheffield Shield wicketkeeper Peter Anderson and former West Indies fast bowler Mervyn Dillon.Casson, 34, has been an assistant coach with New South Wales and Sydney Thunder since 2015 after being forced into early retirement in 2011 due to a heart condition. Dillon, 42, played 38 Tests for West Indies and ended his first-class career with Trinidad & Tobago in 2008. He has made regular appearances around the USA playing in private T20 tournaments in recent years and began pursuing a Cricket Australia Level Three coaching badge in Florida in 2012.Anderson, 55, has forged a successful career at Associate level after a 56-match first-class career with Queensland and South Australia. He coached Papua New Guinea for two years culminating in a fourth place finish at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand that secured ODI status for PNG. From there, he became the head of Afghanistan’s national cricket academy for two years. Most recently, Anderson took over as Cayman Islands coach and technical director last summer, and helped them defeat Argentina in a regional qualifier this February to gain a place at ICC World Cricket League Division Five, scheduled for September in South Africa.Specialist fielding coach Trevor Penney, who worked with USA’s senior players at a camp in Indianapolis last September ahead of ICC WCL Division Four, has been brought back for another stint with the USA men’s team. Unlike the other three consultant coaches, who are being utilized for this weekend only, Penney is expected to stay with USA as a consultant assistant coach until the end of May as part of their staff for ICC WCL Division Three in Uganda, working alongside head coach Pubudu Dassanayake and assistant Anand Tummala.Former India international Thiru Kumaran, who coached the USA U-19 squad in 2015 at the U-19 Americas Qualifier in Bermuda and U-19 World Cup Qualifier in Malaysia, has been brought back to continue working with junior players. Kumaran, 41, is currently based in Dallas, Texas where he runs a youth academy.Aside from the men’s team, who are targeting a top two finish in Uganda next month to move a step closer to the 2018 World Cup Qualifier, key tournaments for the women’s and U-19 teams are also coming up in 2017. This weekend’s camp is being used as a launching pad for each team’s preparations with six players from each squad coming to the camp to train alongside the entire men’s national squad.The USA Women were given a wildcard spot into the 2017 ICC Europe Qualifier where they will play Scotland and Netherlands this August for a chance to advance into the 2018 Women’s World T20 Qualifier. The USA U-19 team will head to Toronto for the U-19 Americas Qualifier in July as they attempt to qualify for the U-19 World Cup for the first time since 2010.

Darren Bravo appears to have rejected the chance of a return to the West Indies side by launching a claim for damages against the WICB

George Dobell21-Apr-2017Darren Bravo appears to have rejected the chance of a return to the West Indies side by launching a claim for damages against the WICB.Bravo, who has not played for West Indies since he was sent home from Zimbabwe in November 2016 following his criticism of board president, Dave Cameron, is claiming lost earnings of around USD120,000 based upon what he could have made from ODIs against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, BPL and PSL contracts, and regional Caribbean competitions.The claim has come as a surprise to officials at WICB who believed they were on the verge of a reconciliation with Bravo. They are also surprised at the suggestion he was prevented from playing in the BPL or PSL as no application for an NOC (no objection certificate) was made ahead of either tournament and, when Bravo did apply for such a certificate ahead of the IPL, it was granted immediately.”It is true that Darren has initiated legal action against us,” WICB chief executive Johnny Grave told ESPNcricinfo. “It has come as a surprise as I was under the impression we had agreed a way back for him. I’m very disappointed and yes, a bit frustrated.”Grave believed he had made significant progress towards resolving the stand-off with Bravo. Having inherited the disagreement when he was appointed at the start of this year, Grave gained agreement from Cameron over a partial apology to Bravo (the president is prepared to acknowledge he was wrong to suggest Bravo had ever received a Grade A contract from WICB). He also thought he had agreed on the wording of an apology from Bravo to the president with Bravo’s legal advisors. Indeed, he was hoping news of Bravo’s reconciliation could be announced during the ODI series against England with a view to him playing in the Test series against Pakistan.As things stand, though, Bravo’s tweet calling the president a “big idiot” has not been deleted and the apology has not been made public by Bravo. The launching of legal proceedings against the board on the eve of West Indies’ series against Pakistan suggest a conflict still exists.”I just want what is best for West Indies cricket,” Grave said. “And having the best players available is part of that. Of course a player of Darren’s experience would be an asset.”I thought everything was agreed with his legal advisors. We didn’t want this to play out publicly but yes, it is true, his attorney is asking for damages and West Indies supporters deserve an explanation as to why he is not in the squad in Jamaica.”There is still a lot of sympathy for Darren. He was frustrated at the time of that tweet and we understand that. We want to move on and we want to move on with him. But that issue does have to be resolved before he can play for West Indies.”We have a talented young side who are working hard and have a great attitude. They may lack a bit of experience right now, but we’re playing a lot of cricket this year and we hope that will help them progress. If Darren wants to be part of that, he is welcome. You’d have to ask him whether he does.”The door remains open for Darren. We would love him to be playing for us and we will continue to work towards that. But I am scratching my head at this point wondering what more we can do.”One of the causes of disagreement between the board and the players in recent times has been the insistence that they should be available to play in domestic cricket in order to be considered eligible for the West Indies sides. While there is yet to be any formal announcement of a change in that policy, both Grave and new director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, have hinted they are in favour of a more flexible approach and it is likely a change will be confirmed in October when the new central contracts are announced. It is also likely WICB will bring in separate red- and white-ball contracts.It is also understood there will be no clash between West Indies’ international schedule and the IPL in 2018 or 2019. That would allow players to sign contracts with the WICB (worth somewhere in the region of USD130,000) and appear in the most lucrative T20 league. Bravo has an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders worth around USD74,000 though he is yet to appear in this year’s tournament.

Pakistan will find time to address concerns about their middle order despite the joy of overcoming Sri Lanka to progress to the knockout stage

Andrew McGlashan in Cardiff12-Jun-2017Pakistan have little more than 36 hours before taking the field again in Cardiff for their Champions Trophy semi-final against England, but will find time to address concerns about their middle order despite the joy of overcoming Sri Lanka to progress to the knockout stage.Fakhar Zaman’s explosive entrance to the one-day side, with innings of 31 off 23 balls against South Africa followed by his 35-ball 50 against Sri Lanka, has helped overcome the sluggish starts which have plagued their batting, but there were a series of loose dismissals in the chase which left them needing a rescue mission of dramatic proportions from captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Amir in an unbroken stand of 75 in 15 overs.”If you look at the game we started well but after Fakhar Zaman got out we lost the momentum and then most of our dismissals were soft which definitely is an area of concern for us,” Sarfraz said. “We will sit tomorrow and talk about this and hopefully we will recover from this.”After the way we started we could have finished this game with six or seven wickets in hand but those dismissals really dented us. We should have won by a good margin but a win is a win. Yes, we need to sit and talk about it and realise that if we a settled that we should take the game to the end rather than leaving it for the upcoming batsmen.”On his own innings, an unbeaten 61 off 79 balls, he admitted things went his way especially with the first dropped catch by Thisara Perera but was delighted to see the chase through. “I played the shot in the air, I just said, ooh…as a captain, it’s very important innings for me. After this innings, I’m really boosted.”Before the tournament, Sarfraz spoke about how the team’s No. 8 ODI ranking meant there were no expectations on them – which looked justified after the woeful performance against India, who they have a chance of meeting again in the final – but now they have a semi-final berth he sounded a little more bullish.”Indeed it was very important for us as a team. Obviously nobody was rating us and they were writing us off, but once again I give all the credit to the team management for boosting us after the India game, especially our bowlers. The way Junaid [Khan] and Amir bowled was a turning point. I hope we can carry the momentum ahead and take a lot of confidence.”Sarfraz also promised his side would play “positive” cricket against England, the side they conceded the world record ODI total of 444 for 3 against at Trent Bridge last year. That one-day series ended in a 4-1 drubbing but the lone Pakistan victory did come in Cardiff as they chased down 303 in which Sarfraz made 90.”We chased down 300-plus runs and that is a good memory,” he said. “We have to play positive cricket as England have been playing positive cricket in the last two years. Obviously we have to play hard and we will try to replicate our last year performance to win them again in Cardiff. If you’re playing a world class team you play more positive cricket. So will definitely do that against England.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches that ended on June 2, 2017

Mohammad Isam02-Jun-2017Gazi Group Cricketers regained the lead in the Super League after beating closest rivals Abahani Limited by six wickets, courtesy Nasir Hossain’s all-round show – a three-for coupled with a half-century – at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. The victory puts Gazi Group Cricketers only one win away from clinching the 2017 edition of the Dhaka Premier League, with the final round of matches to be held on June 5.Gazi Group’s decision to bowl received validation, with their spin contingent accounting for eight of Abahani’s batsmen and skittled the side out for 156 in 41.2 overs. Abahani’s innings, however, received its first jolt as left-arm pacer Abu Hider trapped Saif Hassan in front in the first over of the game. Hossain Ali inflicted the second dent to Abahani’s effort the very next over, cleaning up Shadman Islam. With both the openers having been removed for a duck, offspinners Mahedi Hasan and Nasir denied Abahani any real chance of a consolidation, as they chipped away at the middle and lower order to finish with a three-wicket haul each. Among the Abahani batsmen, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Afif Hossain and Shuvagata Hom all fell between 23 and 32, with a 40-run fourth-wicket stand between Mithun and Liton being the only partnership of note during the Abahani innings.In reply, Gazi Group stuttered intermittently during chase, despite Anamul Haque having set the platform with a 54-ball 41. While he lost his opening partner, Munim Shahriar, in the third over to Manan Sharma’s left-arm spin, Mominul Haque couldn’t sustain his innings beyond a 25-ball 21, as Hom had him caught by substitute Kazi Anik. Subsequently, Mohammad Saifuddin’s dismissal of Anamul and Manan’s removal of Jahurul Islam had Gazi Group struggling at 84 for 4 by the 21st over. Gazi Group captain, Nasir, however, took charge of his side’s chase thereafter, notching up an industrious 56 off 92 balls to overhaul the target with 13.2 overs to spare, in the company of Nadif Chowdhury (26), with whom he put on 73 unbroken runs for the fifth wicket.Mehedi Maruf’s 127 headlined Prime Bank Cricket Club’s five-wicket win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar, as he made short work of a 243-run chase.Maruf set the tone for Prime Bank’s innings, with an array of confident strokes, negating the impact of the early breakthrough that Dhanmondi Club had garnered through opener Shanaj Ahmed’s dismissal off Rubaiyat Haque in the fourth over. Maruf, whose marathon knock lasted nearly 47 overs, anchored the chase with three crucial partnerships, including a 44-run third-wicket stand with Rafatullah Mohmand (24) and another worth 64 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Asif Ahmed (26). The most significant, however, was his 115-run second-wicket partnership with Zakir Hasan, who fell one short of a half-century in the 24th over.Maruf clobbered ten fours and four sixes en route to his 143-ball knock, before he holed out to Tanbir Hayder off Sohag Gazi. Ariful Haque and Arifur Rahman then closed out the chase for Prime Bank with two overs to spare. Five out of the seven bowlers Dhanmondi Club used finished with one wicket apiece.Earlier, Prime Bank’s Al-Amin Hossain and Taibur Rahman forged a potent partnership with the ball to restrict Dhanmondi Club to 242 for 7 in 50 overs. The duo scalped five out of the opposition’s top six, after offspinner Nahidul Islam made the first strike in the sixth over of Dhanmondi Club’s innings. Having lost half their side inside 21 overs, with 100 runs on the board, Tanbir Hayder (58) resuscitated the innings with captain Elias Sunny (57) by means of a 104-run partnership for the fifth wicket. No. 8 batsman Mehedi Hasan Rana chipped in with a 21-ball 20 to help Dhanmondi Club near the 250-run mark.

The Sri Lanka captain said his team expected the pitch to be good for batting from before the game began, and wanted it to be so, but failed to execute their plans

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle29-Jul-20173:15

Maharoof: SL selectors need to make serious decisions

Sri Lanka had specifically ordered the unusual batting-friendly Galle deck, on which India achieved their biggest ever victory in terms of runs. Rangana Herath did not reveal why such a request should be made when facing a team who have an outstanding top order. Instead, he laid the blame on his team’s execution of what he felt was a good strategy.Where India made 840 runs at a run rate better than 4.5 an over across the match, losing only 13 wickets in the process, Sri Lanka mustered just 536. They were without Asela Gunaratne in both innings, however.”I think we made this pitch because we had a plan,” Herath said. “I said before the match that it will be a track that’s good for batting. We should take the main responsibility for the nature of the pitch. We didn’t bat or bowl well on it. We shouldn’t blame anyone else. We have to resolve our own issues.”Chief among those issues, Herath felt, was the batting. Three India batsmen made hundreds in the match, including two – Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara – who passed 150. Sri Lanka’s top score, meanwhile, was Dimuth Karunaratne’s 97. Dilruwan Perera also hit 92 not out in the first innings.”A few of our batsmen got close to three figures and got out, but the Indian batsmen not only got their hundreds, they went further. That was a big difference too in the game, and an area that we have to work on.”Herath also felt Sri Lanka gave a poor account of themselves with the ball. This was the first time since March 2013 that Sri Lanka conceded 600 runs or more in an innings – the last occasion having been against Bangladesh in a high-scoring draw in 2013. They have since given away 524 for 5 in New Zealand and 575 for 9 in England, but have generally been more penetrative at home.”We are a better team than this,” Herath said. “We really are. I felt that it was after a long time that a team scored 600 runs against us. We should have bowled better.”Sri Lanka’s worst bowling in the match perhaps came on the first day, when Shikhar Dhawan hit 190 off 168 balls. Only Herath maintained an economy rate of below four in the first innings.”At that point, we had a few plans for Shikhar Dhawan, but we failed to execute them,” Herath said. “For example, we allowed him too much width. In the first session of the match itself the game started slipping away from us. We bounced back well but he had by then got off to a terrific start.”Unusually for a Galle track, the quicks outperformed the spinners on what is traditionally one of the most spin-friendly tracks in the world. Of the 31 wickets to fall in this match 16 fell to seam bowlers – 10 of those breakthroughs shared between the two Sri Lanka quicks. This was the first occasion since 2014 in which fast bowlers were more successful at the venue. And where the track typically begins to offer drastic turn on days four and five, this pitch had remained relatively good for batting throughout.”I thought that on the fourth or fifth day there would be something for the spinners,” Herath said. “But there wasn’t as much help for the spinners as I expected at those late stages.”The seamer-friendly conditions allowed Nuwan Pradeep to become the first Sri Lanka bowler to claim a six-wicket haul at home since Chaminda Vaas, in 2005. His 6 for 132 in the first innings was also a personal best for Pradeep, who had never previously taken five wickets in an innings.”I think it was after a long time a fast bowler has taken a five-wicket haul in Galle,” Herath said. “There’s so much pressure on spinners when we play in Sri Lanka, and Pradeep bowling so well and taking so many wickets will be a huge plus point for us moving forward. He was outstanding in this game and his effort was fantastic. That was one of the positives.”

Fast bowlers Charlie Stobo and Henry Thornton are the new additions to the New South Wales contract list for 2017-18, while Ben Rohrer and Josh Lalor have not been offered deals and wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Carters has retired

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2017Fast bowlers Charlie Stobo and Henry Thornton are the new additions to the New South Wales contract list for 2017-18, while Ben Rohrer and Josh Lalor have not been offered deals and wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Carters has retired.Rohrer, a veteran batsman who has played 55 first-class games during a decade of service with the Blues, has taken up a position as Tasmania’s new state talent manager, though he is expected to play for the Sydney Thunder this summer.Stobo burst on to the state scene last season with seven wickets on his first-class debut against South Australia, but injuries prevented him from adding any further matches in the second half of the summer.”Charlie Stobo has been very impressive in grade cricket and we identified him quite early as someone of huge interest for us,” New South Wales coach Trent Johnston said. “His line and length bowling is very good. He’s a huge talent.”The state’s new rookies are legspinner Dan Fallins and batsmen Param Uppal and Jordan Gauci. Gone from last year’s rookie group are offspinner Chris Green, allrounder Jonte Pattison, and Thornton, who has been upgraded to a full contract.New South Wales squad Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Ed Cowan, Pat Cummins (Cricket Australia contract), Ben Dwarshuis, Ryan Gibson, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Jay Lenton, Nathan Lyon (CA), Nic Maddinson, Arjun Nair, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu, Steven Smith (CA), Will Somerville, Mitchell Starc (CA), Charlie Stobo, Henry Thornton, David Warner (CA). Rookies Mickey Edwards, Dan Fallins, Jordan Gauci, Liam Hatcher, Jason Sangha, Param Uppal.

A Jeetan Patel century has kept Warwickshire in a contest at Headingley that Yorkshire need to win to calm their own fears of a drop into Division Two

David Hopps at Headingley19-Sep-20171:38

County Championship round-up: Kleinveldt puts pressure on Notts

Yorkshire 62 for 1 (Lyth 35*) trail Warwickshire 219 (Patel 100, Fisher 5-54) by 157 runs A freewheeling hundred by Jeetan Patel, which might have been designed to banish the frustrations of a relegation season in a single innings, has kept Warwickshire in a contest at Headingley that Yorkshire need to win to calm their own fears of a drop into Division Two.The decrepit old Rugby Stand might be about to be pulled down, but Yorkshire have no wish to go down with it. A hole at one end of the ground is one thing, a hole in the heart of every Yorkshire cricket supporter quite another. In fifth place at the start of this round, one point above Somerset and Middlesex, they wish to put an awkward transitional season to bed without further alarms.Patel ensured a few restless nights yet. Simplicity is the essence of his batting and the fact that Warwickshire’s relegation is assured uncluttered his mind even further. He clattered anything wide to the cover boundary with aplomb, turning 49 for 6 into 219 – unexpected riches. Patel and Ian Bell got a century and half-century apiece and the other nine batsmen managed 54 between them.Patel only has three first-class centuries and two have come against Yorkshire. He did not outstay his welcome once it was achieved, falling lbw to Matt Fisher’s next delivery as he tried to hit through the leg side. Fisher finished with 5 for 54 in his first Championship appearance of the season. From a single bowling analysis much good can come.”Get through the season” has been the gist of Yorkshire’s message to Fisher. If it had to be the 2nd XI then so be it. There is no point being the most highly-regarded young quick in the country if your hamstring is not up to the job. Three times it let him down last year, once while batting. He skippered England Under-19s in India, but regarded his own body suspiciously.For an enthusiast like Fisher, identified as a talent at an early age and eager to make his mark, to be regarded as a long-term project and asked to bowl within himself while his body strengthened, cannot have been easy. He looked a little down on pace, perhaps as a consequence, but the wickets came. He was on a few long lists for the 2019 World Cup and, if that is no longer the case, this was the first sign of better things ahead.Jeetan Patel batting for Warwickshire•Getty Images

Liam Banks, an England U19 on Championship debut, was Fisher’s first victim, edging a ball of challenging line which bounced and left him just enough. But Bell was his most prized wicket, a relief for Yorkshire after a stand of 96 for the seventh wicket.Bell, showing occasional silkiness while Warwickshire collapsed around him, reached 50 by edging Fisher wide of gully, but he fell in Fisher’s next over as he took the last four wickets at a time when Patel was causing growing disquiet. Chris Wright followed in Fisher’s next over, another lbw victim.Yorkshire conceded 142 between lunch and tea and it was a surprise that it only brought one plaintiff cry of “C’mon Yorkshire”. In the Rugby Stand, where the sun never intrudes, the diehards looked on with a critical air, as diehards have often done, offering corrugated opinions under the corrugated roof for the past 90 years.The morning had belonged to Yorkshire, prospering after Jonathan Trott took the chance to bowl first – unusual for a 10.30am start in September, especially when the home side needed a positive result. Yorkshire fielded five pace bowlers, as if uncertain which ones would rouse themselves to the task. Jack Brooks led the way with the first two wickets, Trott falling to an excellent diving catch by Adam Lyth at second slip, Ben Coad following up.Collectors of cricketing oddities would be disappointed that the chance of Ryan Sidebottom bowling to Ryan Sidebottom went begging because Yorkshire’s Ryan Sidebottom, whose name really should have been copyrighted years ago, had a hamstring strain. More pertinently, it has denied him a Headingley farewell and with the final Championship match of the season due at Chelmsford next week, it might deny him any sort of farewell at all.But he can be hurrahed here at any rate, 762 first-class wickets to his name, a model professional entering retirement at 39. A bowler who upped sticks and spent the middle period of his career at Nottinghamshire but who, even when he did, remained the very essence of a Yorkshire cricketer. It might have all ended with him looking exasperated and cursing a flat one at The Oval as Surrey made 592, resenting every run as always. Perhaps it was a suitable way to go.

Zimbabwe’s batting coach has said his team’s aggressive approach against West Indies’ bowlers was planned, but the execution was off

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo22-Oct-2017Zimbabwe batting coach Lance Klusener has blamed soft dismissals for his batsmen’s capitulation on the second day at Queens Sports Club and denied that the home side’s preparation of a spinning track had backfired.”There were about eight soft dismissals in our innings,” Klusener said. “Way too many soft dismissals, and the boys are upset with themselves. That wasn’t how we wanted to play.”But we saw it [the spinning track] as an opportunity to try and nail the first Test match. Had we applied ourselves a little better and got a little bit of a lead, that would have gone to plan. We played reasonably well in Sri Lanka and we’d like to think that going forward [playing spin] is a strength of ours. But it isn’t easy to bat out there. Having won the toss would have helped as well.”Zimbabwe were bowled out for 159 on day two, with Devendra Bishoo’s legspin and reverse-swing from a three-pronged pace attack doing the damage. Zimbabwe’s batsmen also continued to play their strokes, even as wickets started to tumble. Solomon Mire was caught slogging to deep midwicket, while Brendan Taylor reverse-swept to slip, Sean Williams was caught flashing outside off stump, and Sikandar Raza skied a drive to long-off.The shots were part of the plan, Klusener suggested, but Zimbabwe’s execution was off. “We do want to score runs, it’s how we want to play Test cricket. We want to be aggressive. We’d like to make smarter decisions, way smarter decisions than what we saw today.”Solomon plays a lot of one-day cricket, he plays attacking cricket, and we don’t want to change too much about the way he plays. Raza would be the first one to tell you that that wasn’t the greatest of shots or the greatest decision. We’re striving to make better decisions more often as a team, and if we do that then we won’t have as many soft dismissals.”Klusener also reiterated the need for Zimbabwe to play more long-form cricket in order to push for future success. This is Zimbabwe’s second Test this year, and just their sixth Test in the last three years.”I’d like to see us playing more Test cricket,” he said. “It’s not an excuse, but it is important. Our one-day cricket has been excellent, but we need to play more Test matches. The more we play and the more we get an opportunity to apply our plans, the better we’ll get. It’s about quality match-time, more Test matches, spending time in the middle.”We’ve come a long way in terms of playing spin, we’ve come a long way as a team. But it is international cricket, and it’s important that players do stand up and score a gutsy fifty or a hundred, whatever we need. So that’s the frustration the boys are feeling. They’re not proud of the way they played, but we’ve done a lot of work and we can play better. And we will play better.”