Quantcast
Channel: ECB Latest News
Viewing all 7281 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Jets soar above Falcons

June 30, 2014, 2:44 am
$
0
0

Watch highlights of Durham's innings

Fine performances from John Hastings, Phil Mustard and Ben Stokes helped Durham Jets beat Derbyshire Falcons by eight wickets with 40 balls to spare in their NatWest T20 Blast match at the Emirates Durham ICG.

In seaming conditions, man of the match Hastings bowled straight through his four overs at the start for career-best T20 figures of 4-26 after Derbyshire were put in and twice had their innings interrupted by rain.

Despite Chesney Hughes hitting 30 off 16 balls, they slumped from 47 for two to 83 for eight in the 14th over and needed a sensible innings of 43 not out from Alex Hughes to achieve respectability.

Greg Cork, the 19-year-old son of Dominic, helped to put on 32 in five overs for the ninth wicket on his senior debut as Derbyshire reached 125 before they were all out with five balls unused.

Cork was brilliantly caught by Stokes, running in from deep cover, as the England all-rounder made a big impression in Durham’s third Blast win, which came against the North Group’s bottom team.

He took two wickets and finished the match by lifting the first two balls of the 14th over, bowled by David Wainwright, over midwicket for his second and third sixes to finish on 49 not out off 26 balls.

Cork, a left-arm seamer, came on for the fourth over and succeeded in bowling Mustard into form.

After a lean run, Mustard scored only one off the first nine balls he faced, but had just turned Mark Turner behind square for four when Cork came on.

The first delivery was fiercely smashed down the ground, then two more fours were driven and one pulled before the last ball was deposited over the rope at long-on.

When an edged four off Turner took him to 50, the last 49 of Mustard's runs had come off 16 balls. He was going for another big hit over midwicket when he was bowled by Turner for 54.

Without addition Mark Stoneman was bowled trying to cut Wes Durston's off spin, but with only 58 needed off 12 overs it was a simple task for Stokes and Calum MacLeod.

Stoneman, Durham's one-day captain, said: "We haven't done as well as we would have liked at the top of the order, but when the Colonel (Mustard) hit his first four it seemed to flick a switch.

"When he's in that mood he's a very destructive player and can take anyone down. It was very unfortunate for young Greg Cork."

Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen said: "We've had a few off-the-field difficulties but we knew about those on Friday night and played brilliantly to beat Warwickshire, so this was disappointing.

"When Chesney got going we thought 150 was going to be about par, but after he was out we were guilty of going at it too hard until Alex Hughes steadied things down. He played really well."

See the best bits of Derbyshire's dig

↧
Search

LV=CC, June 29: As it happened

June 30, 2014, 2:44 am
$
0
0

Follow the latest round of LV= County Championship fixtures, with Alex Hales, Tom Fell, Paul Horton and Jason Roy all compiling centuries. 

By Glen Robertson & Callum Dent

Follow ECB_cricket on Twitter 

7.04pm - As promised, here is the state-of-play after another intriguing day of county action: 

Division One

Alex Hales compiled a stunning 183 and Phil Jaques hit 77 in Nottinghamshire’s397 for seven as Warwickshire’s decision to field backfired at Edgbaston.

Having opted to bat first, Lancashire made 221 for six courtesy of Paul Horton’s 140 versus Somerset at Taunton.

Chris Rogers, Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan hit half-centuries, the latter’s unbeaten, to lift Middlesex to 280 for three at home to bottom-placed Northamptonshire.

Division Two

Tom Fell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, with career-best scores of 133 and 60 not out respectively, shared a sixth-wicket stand of 168 as Worcestershire reached 266 for five after winning the toss against Glamorgan at an emotional New Road.

Jason Roy’s unbeaten 114 led Surrey to 382 for five on a second rain-affected day of their clash with Division Two leaders Hampshire at the Kia Oval.

Essex are well placed on 75 without loss in reply to Gloucestershire's first-innings 224 following Reece Topley's 5-53 at the Essex County Ground. 

6.40pm - Stumps are drawn at the Kia Oval and Taunton. When all games are finished for the day, we will round-up the scores for you. 

6.25pm - Warwickshire snare another late in the day at Edgbaston. Chris Wright ousts Peter Siddle for a single to leave Notts 397 for seven at stumps. 

Jason Roy makes the fourth century of the day. The in-form right-hander needs just 102 balls to complete the milestone. 

Gregory forces another breakthrough, this time trapping Horton in front for 140. Can Somerset clean up Lancashire's lower order with the new-ish ball. 

6.16pm - Hales is gone for 183. The right-hander's 224-ball knock ends when Boyd Rankin traps him in front. Nottinghamshire are four runs away from securing maximum batting bonus points with four wickets remaining. 

Horton and Tom Smith take their stand past 50 to frustrate Somerset. 

6.02pm - Dawid Malan becomes the third Middlesex player to raise his bat today, his fifty coming from 75 deliveries. 

At New Road, stumps are drawn with the hosts 266 for five. 

5.49pm - Northamptonshire strike shortly after the resumption, Andrew Hall bowling Eoin Morgan for 27 to reduce Middlesex to 230 for three. 

Fell's superb innings ends on a career-best 133 when he is bowled by Glamorgan seamer Michael Hogan, ending a partnership of 168 with Kohler-Cadmore. 

5.42pm - Play at the Kia Oval and Lord's is not far from resuming following rain delays. 

5.34pm - Wessels moves to a half-century but then departs to Keith Barker for 53 to leave Nottinghamshire 338 for five at Edgbaston. 

Lewis Gregory bowls former team-mate Jos Buttler for 18 before Lancashire batsman Paul Horton moves to three figures, his first century of the campaign, from 209 balls.

Gloucestershire are all out for 224 as Graham Napier claims his first wicket, removing Matt Taylor for 26. His last-wicket stand with David Payne, left stranded on 48, was worth 66.  

At the Emirates Durham ICG, England international Ben Stokes smashes an unbeaten 49 from 26 balls to help Durham secure an eight-wicket win over Derbyshire Falcons in their NatWest T20 Blast North Group encounter. 

5.05pm - Alex Hales and Riki Wessels help Nottinghamshire secure a third batting bonus point at Edgbaston. Warwickshire are in need of a wicket fast!    

4.46pm - Middlesex and Surrey's progress with the bat is stopped by the wet weather again. 

4.41pm - Gloucestershire are on the brink at the Essex County Ground. They are reduced to 158 for nine as David Masters snares a fourth scalp, accounting for Jack Taylor for 40 with the help of James Foster. That is the wicketkeeper's sixth take of the innings. 

4.37pm - Skipper Gary Wilson continues his fine recent four-day form, raising his bat for a half-century. Surrey are 345 for five against Division Two leaders Hampshire. 

Fell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore's 108-run stand takes Worcestershire past 200 at New Road. 

In the NatWest T20 Blast, Derbyshire Falcons were dismissed for 125 in 19.1 overs by Durham Jets. 

4.24pm - Tom Fell completes his second successive championship hundred. The 20-year-old shows Worcestershire's top order how to do it by moving to three figures from 177 deliveries. 

The rain stops in the capital so play restarts at the Kia Oval and Lord's. 

4.15pm - Reece Topley has five wickets for Essex. The left-arm seamer reduces Gloucestershire to 123 for eight by bowling Tom Smith for 17. 

Tea is taken at Taunton with Lancashire 130 for four. 

3.49pm - We have the day's first hundred! Alex Hales - who had scores of 96 and 94 in his last-but-one championship appearance - reaches the milestone from 134 balls. 

Gloucestershire have a team hundred, but Adam Rouse soon falls. Reece Topley takes his fourth wicket and James Foster his fifth catch behind the stumps.

George Dockrell has Steven Croft caught behind, leaving Lancashire 112 for four, which brings Jos Buttler to the middle against his former county. It's tea at Edgbaston and Lord's.

3.42pm -  The Surrey duo are forced to wait for their landmarks as the falling rain forces tea to be taken in the capital. The players also head off for a snack at New Road, where Fell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore add an unbeaten 78 for the fifth wicket.

3.35pm - There are plenty of wickets in the NatWest T20 Blast game at the Emirates Durham ICG, but they've dried up in the red-ball stuff today. Surrey's Jason Roy and Gary Wilson put on 100 for the sixth wicket at the Kia Oval. Roy is closing in on a ton, with Wilson - who hits Kyle Abbott for three fours in the 86th over - approaching 50.

3.27pm -  The umpires call an early tea at the Essex County Ground, which has seen less than two overs since lunch.

3.11pm -  Fifties and weather updates. That's pretty much all we've had this afternoon and we've got some of both for you now. Tom Fell reaches 50 for Worcestershire, while the players are off at Lord's again. It's better news at the Essex County Ground where play will resume at 3.30pm.

3.06pm -  Yet another fifty is scored, this time at Taunton where Paul Horton reaches the landmark in 115 deliveries. Nobody has gone on to a hundred yet, though. Who will be first?

2.48pm - Middlesex opener   Chris Rogers can't complete a third century in four championship games - in the first innings, anyway - as he is bowled by Steven Crook for 86. Rankin now has two wickets in the space of five balls at Edgbaston. Samit Patel returns to the pavilion after lasting just three deliveries.

Play resumes in the game between Surrey and Hampshire.

2.43pm -  They're off at the Kia Oval now as well. Meanwhile, James Taylor - the hero in the Blast game against Yorkshire Vikings yesterday - can't add another fifty as he nicks Boyd Rankin behind when on 36.

2.31pm - It was just a brief shower at Lord's and they're soon back underway, but they're off again at the Essex County Ground.

Play has started in the day's NatWest T20 Blast game between Durham Jets and Derbyshire Falcons. You can follow events either live on Sky Sports 2 or via the official Twitter

2.25pm -  The players head off at Lord's due to rain, with Middlesex 148 for one. Michael Hogan has a second wicket to his name at New Road. He ends the fifty-partnership between Tom Fell and Alexei Kervezee by having the latter caught behind for 21.

2.20pm -  Lancashire lose an early wicket as play resumes at Taunton after lunch. Alfonso Thomas accounts for Usman Khawaja, leaving the Red Rose 51 for two.

Meanwhile, play will resume at the Essex County Ground in five minutes.

2.08pm -  Finally, Northants have a breakthrough as Gubbins is dismissed by Muhammad Azhar Ullah for a career-best 54. Danny Briggs has a third scalp and it's an important one, removing Dilshan for 69 to leave Surrey 223 for five.

2pm -  We're going fifty-crazy this afternoon. A third man has reached the landmark, but while Hales and Tillakaratne Dilshan have managed it plenty of times before, this is Nick Gubbins' maiden first-class half-century.

1.44pm - Steven Davies won't be going on to a big score, though. He's ousted first ball of the second session by Brad Taylor, leaving Surrey 180 for four.

Notts' Alex Hales completes a half-century, while the resumption at the Essex County Ground is delayed by rain.

1.40pm - Play resumes in the five games that took lunch at 1pm. There are a couple of batsmen who will be looking to go big this afternoon.

1.30pm -  And that's lunch at Taunton, where Lancashire  won the toss and made 47 for one  in the first session against Somerset .

1.05pm - That's lunch everywhere but Taunton, where play did not start on time. It's been a good morning for the batsmen in Division One and the bowlers in the second tier.

Here's the current state of play:

Division One 

Middlesex are 105 without loss having been put in to bat by Northamptonshire at Lord’s. 

Nottinghamshire , having been inserted by Warwickshire , are 146 for two at Edgbaston. 

Division Two  

Surrey are 180 for three on day two of their meeting with Hampshire at the Kia Oval.

Essex put Gloucestershire in to bat and took six wickets for 56 runs, but the visitors to the Essex County Ground have recovered to 94 for six . 

Worcestershire have been reduced to 56 for three against Glamorgan  after winning the toss at New Road.

12.59pm - Jonathan Trott makes a telling contribution on his return to the first team at Warwickshire! Given three overs before lunch, the part-time bowler has Jaques caught behind for 77.

Lancashire lose a wicket, too, as Peter Trego removes Alex Davies for eight. The Red Rose are 30 for one.

12.55pm -  Rogers drives James Middlebrook through cover for four to pass 50 - his 102nd first-class half-century. It's been a very good morning for the hosts, with bottom-club Northants being made to toil. Adam Rouse, fresh from his NatWest T20 Blast heroics , and Tom Smith have settled things down for Gloucestershire, with their seventh-wicket stand currently worth 35.

12.50pm - We are 10 minutes away from lunch and the batsmen are digging in. Chris Rogers will be looking to knock off the two runs needed to complete a fifty before the interval. His Middlesex side are 92 without loss at present.

12.25pm -  And yet another wicket at the Essex County Ground! Topley removes Will Gidman for his third scalp, though - for a change - the edge was taken at second slip and not by the wicketkeeper. Gloucestershire are 56 for six! 

Phil Jaques has a fifty for Notts, who are going along nicely on 93 for one.

12.06pm -  Moeen Ali can't replicate his England heroics at New Road today as he skies Ruaidhri Smith to Chris Cooke, who ran back from short-leg to complete the catch. Two balls later Smith adds the scalp of Daryl Mitchell, leaving Worcestershire 39 for three. Play starts at Taunton.

12.01pm -  If this was a game of Cricket Captain, I think Gloucestershire would 'accidently' be restarting their computer. They are now 37 for four after just 14 overs on day one. Ian Cockbain is the man out, with Masters taking a second wicket and Foster a third catch.

11.52am -  Hampshire strike again at the Kia Oval and it's Solanki who perishes for 57, bowled by Briggs. Nottinghamshire's opening stand is ended on 55 as Rikki Clarke ousts Steven Mullaney for 21.

11.45am - There's good news from Taunton, where play will start in 20 minutes. Lancashire have won the toss and will bat.  Surrey lose their first wicket of the morning and second of the innings, Rory Burns lbw to Danny Briggs for 36.

11.30am -  Another one down for Gloucestershire! Topley has a second scalp as Hamish Marshall is pouched at point. And we have a first wicket of the day away from the Essex County Ground, with in-form Michael Hogan accounting for championship debutant Richard Oliver at New Road.

11.20am -  It looks a very important toss to have won for Essex. They have Gloucestershire two down in the opening four overs. Chris Dent falls victim to Reece Topley, with Foster taking a superb catch behind for his second dismissal.

11.05am -  Not exactly the start Gloucestershire had in mind. David Masters strikes with the third ball of the contest, finding Will Tavare's edge and James Foster does the rest.

Vikram Solanki started the day unbeaten on 44. Two fours from the first three deliveries he faces this morning sees him raise a fifty.

11am -  We're still awaiting an update from Taunton, but the other games are getting underway. 

10.35am -  We have news from the middle! Warwickshire, who include Jonathan Trott, elect to field against Nottinghamshire, while Northamptonshire and Essex do likewise at Lord's and the Essex County Ground respectively. Going against the grain, Worcestershire will bat first at New Road.

10.25am - Some sad news from   Worcestershire, who have announced the passing of academy director and former batsman Damian D'Oliveira at the age of 53 following a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer .

10.10am -  While we wait for the tosses to take place, read our previews for the games in Division One and Division Two .

10am - Hello and welcome to another round of LV= County Championship action. We have five games starting today, with the tussle at the Kia Oval going into its second day. 

Here's what we have to look forward to over the next eight hours.

Division One

Middlesex v Northamptonshire , Lord's. 

Somerset v Lancashire , Taunton.

Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire , Edgbaston

Division Two

Surrey v Hampshire , Kia Oval. The hosts are 68 for one following a rain-hit first day.

Essex v Gloucestershire , Essex County Ground

Worcestershire v Glamorgan , New Road

↧
↧

Leyland and Blackpool in charge

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Leyland and Blackpool continued their charge at the top of the Chorley Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League incorporating Readers Cricket Balls with Darwen starting to fall away.

Blackpool defeated Darwen by 100 runs at Birch Hall, Paul Danons team bowled out for 170. Alex Smith top scored with 45, Steven Mercer with 30 and Stephen Twist with 32 while Kamran Anwar returned figures of 4-55.

In reply Darwen had no answer to Richard Gleeson and Chrisiti Viljeon, as Gleeson returned figures of 5-31, with Viljeon taking 4-31. Darwen were all out for a low score of 70 in 25.3 overs.

Fleetwood overcame  Preston by 10 runs at Broadwater. Preston put up a very good display despite their troubles this season. Fleetwood were bowled out for 180, Saeed Bariwala returning stunning figures of 7-41. Fleetwood were thankful to Adam Parker (31), JP De Villiers (34), Mike Clinning (35) and Tom Wilsons unbeaten 21.

Preston in reply were bowled out for 170, JP De Villiers 4-60, and Adam Parker 3-37, Prestons Soyeb Dukanwala top scored with 50.

A hat trick by Stu Parkin wasn't enough as Kendal lost by 3 wickets to St Annes in action packed encounter at Shap Road. Parkin left St Annes in a hole on one for three with Andy Kellett, Lukman Vahaluwala and Matthew Taaffe all falling.

St Annes did recover, despite losing Nanthesh Kiruparen for 23. Toby Bulcock for 6 and Nathan Bolus for 20. However the unbeaten 21 by Mitchell Bolus and unbeaten 7 by Mikey Harling saw St Annes over the line closing on 109 for seven in 36.3 overs.

Earlier Kendal were bowled out for 108, with Matthew Grindley 4-24 and Toby Bulcocks 4-47. Adam Cowperthwaite made a useful 23 runs whilst Darren Moore started the innings off in positive fashion with 21 before falling victim to Lukman Vahaluwala,

Leyland remained top of the League after coming out on top by 9 runs in a close encounter with Netherfield. The hosts did well to win after being earlier bowled out for a low total of 144. Nathan Chambers with a spell of 5-24. Henry Thompson was top scorer with 86 off 117 balls.

In reply Netherfield fell short as they were bowled out for 135, returning 4-41 for David Makinson and 4-31 for Tayyab Afsar. Marc Browns 38 and John Hucks 36 kept the visitors in touch before the collapse.

Sam Dutton hit a top scoring 86 off 113 balls, as Barrow had to settle for a Winning Draw at Morecambe. The visitors set the hosts a chase of 208 for nine, Dutton making 86 and Graham Dawson 30.

In reply Morecambe closed on 170 for nine, Ikram Ullah finishing with 35 and Dawson taking 4-49.

Penrith made light work of Lancaster defeating them by 9 wickets. Lancaster were all out for 120 in 32 Overs, Paul Hindmarch returning figures of 5-45. Michael Barry the top scorer for the visitors with 36.

In reply, Penrith knocked the runs off in 16.2 Overs, Ryan Carruthers with an Unbeaten 77, Karanjit Bansal with 51 off 95 balls, John Huck with 42 off 76 balls. Saliya Saman hit an unbeaten 29 off 45 balls seeing the game home for the hosts.

↧

North Devon collapse to leaders

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

North Devon's six-wicket defeat by Devon League leaders Sidmouth has dropped them into the bottom half of the table.

North Devon were all out for 66 in the 30th over with only two batters – Barney Huxtable and Max Curtis – reaching double figures.

Aussie Dan Babula cut down the prime of North Devon batting on his way to 5-23 and there were two wickets for Will Murray as part of the mopping-up exercise.

North Devon were 55 for two in the 20th over, which demonstrates the extent of their collapse.

Tom Allin (3-20) made life uncomfortable at times for the Sidmouth batters, but Anthony Griffiths (28 not out) and Matt Cooke (20 not out) got them there after a scare or two.

“The last two weeks have been pretty dispiriting for us, losing heavily to Sidmouth and Exmouth one after the other," said skipper Matt Westaway.

“We have seen the level we need to aspire to if we want to achieve anything and the aim for the rest of the season is to consolidate and work on improvements that will make us stronger over the next few seasons.”

Plymouth slipped up against Exmouth who raced to a seven-wicket win chasing a rain-reduced target at Mount Wise.

Plymouth got to bat all their overs and were 170 for nine when time ran out – skipper Matt Hooper top scoring on 35.

Plymouth’s batting was in all sorts of disarray after an early pummeling from Ollie Dawe (3-28) and Trevor Anning, which left them an unimpressive 21 for four in the 12th over.

Steve Luffman (24) and Joe Hagan-Burt (21) stopped the rot with a stand of 38. Hagan-Burt and Hooper added 43 them Rob Bennett (22) and Hooper rattled ip another 44.

A rain break meant Exmouth were only going to get 33 overs in reply and their target was reduced to 113 to win.

With the threat of more rain around and worries over getting enough cricket in for the result to stand, Exmouth raced to victory inside 18 overs.

Devon’s Sandy Allen went cheaply – he was in and out for nine – but Richard Baggs (38) and Bob Dawson (18) made a 66-run dent in the deficit.

Spinner John Kerridge (2-24) picked off Dawson then Baggs, but Exmouth cruised home with Seb Benton and David Lye at the wheel.

Exmouth are winning again after a mini-blip which saw them lose three in a row and drop down from second to fourth.

Plymouth have now lost three of their last four and have dropped from second to fifth, where they trail leaders Sidmouth by 62 points.

Cornwood’s game against Exeter failed to go distance as rain stopped play after 12 overs at Oak Park after Exeter reached 36 for one. The matches between heathcote and Sandford and Bovey Tracey and Torqay were also affected by rain.

↧

St Just eke out win

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

St Just were made to fight for a three wicket win over Camborne in a low scoring match at St Just.
 
Put into bat Camborne made 134 all out with Matthew Rowe making 35 and Liam Weeks 23 but support elsewhere proved elusive. St Just then lost seven wickets for 96 in another lame batting display before Mark George made 26 not out to see them over the line though extras proved top scorer in the St Just innings.

Grampound Road won by two wickets at Falmouth, who were bowled out for 130 with Jeffery Vandersay taking 6-40. Grampound Road made 132 for eight in reply with Anup Revandkar taking 5-32.

Truro won by 103 runs at home to Redruth after making 185 for seven with Tom Sharp hitting 55. Neil Ivamy then took 5-15 as Redruth were scuttled out for 82.

↧
↧

Plums beaten to a pulp

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Plumtree started their top of the table clash with leaders Cuckney as second place and that is where they finished after a comprehensive 114 run defeat in the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

The Plums found themselves second best in most departments, which made winning the toss little consolation.  Having been asked to bat first, the Cuckney innings moved steadily to 100 for three, with Adam Burgess making 45.  William Butler made a solid 50, partnering with Nick Langford (34) in stand of 56, then Lewis Bramley to add 52 for the fifth wicket.  

Bramley finished 61 not out from just 34 balls as Cuckney closed their innings on 258 for six.  Muhammad Usman led the Plumtree bowlers with 3-64.  Plumtree’s reply never got going, and was in disarray early as only Joseph Tetley, batting at three, was able to offer any resistance.  He finished 55 not out as they were dismissed for 144 in 37 overs.  David France finishing with figures of 4-24 and Lewis Bramley 3-50.

Clifton Village sat third in the table at the start of the days play at Lady Bay, where there NCB Academy hosts won the toss and opted to bowl.  After a solid opening stand of 55 and a fine 42 from Caleb Mierkalns, the Villagers found themselves 94 for one. 

From here the innings became the Tillcock and Tong show.  Adam Tillcock first reducing the innings to 105 for four, before Jake Tong joined in the fun, both bowlers finishing up with five wicket hauls as Clifton were dismissed for 184 in 49 overs, Tong taking 5-34 and Tillcock 5-55.  

The Academy’s opening pair also put on 50 for the first wicket, but the side had an altogether more serene passage in their run chase.  After a minor flutter that saw them 94 for three, Brett Hutton joined opener Anuj Dal at the crease and the pair combined in an unbroken stand worth 92 to see the County side home by seven wickets with nine overs to spare.  Dal finished with 64 not out and Hutton 60 not out.

Fourth visited fifth at Caythorpe as the West Indian Cavaliers came calling. Caythorpe won the toss and chose to bat first, openers Martyn Dobson and James Hawley combining to frustrate the Cavs attack as they compiled a patient stand of 169 before Hawley was first to go, caught, for 81.  

Dobson followed 45 runs later for 86.  Cavs would pick up two further late wickets as Caythorpe finished on 226 for four, Usman Afzaal finishing with 3-39.

The reply got off to an interesting start as Akhil Patel made a first ball duck off the third delivery of the innings, the first two were wide.  By the time skipper Bilal Shafayat joined Paldip Sidhu at the crease, the Cavaliers were three down for 51 and looking in trouble.

Shafayat went on the offensive, making 67 from 63 balls as the pair added 91 for the fourth wicket and looked to be leading their side to the win.  Jim Hindson felt it was time to intervene, removing Shafayat with another superb caught and bowled. 

Sidhu went shortly after for a patient 47, before another caught and bowled saw Gada come and go first ball.  The tail then folded as Caythorpe secured the 34 run win that lifts them into second in the table.

Welbeck Colliery travelled to Radcliffe-on-Trent with an undefeated away record and looking to continue Radcliffe’s winless run but Eddie Torr and David Lucas had other ideas and in a torrid opening spell, reduced their visitors to 19 for four, a perfect start having invited them to bat.  

Jonathan Ball teamed with Richard Stroh to attempt a salvage operation, and having added 73, looked to be doing the job.  Both would feature in another flurry of wickets, Ball having reached his 50.  Jake Ball made an unbeaten 40 as he marshalled the tail, Welbeck reaching 139 all out with eight overs unused.  

Eddie Torr finished with a haul of 5-42, supported by Usman Muzaffars 3-33.  Radcliffe found themselves in their own spot of bother as Jake Ball’s three early wickets helped reduce them to 25 for four.  Ball finished with 3-46 as no further wickets fell, Josh Mierkalns (53) and David Lucas (64) compiling a match winning, unbroken stand of 118 to secure the home side their first win of the season.

Rolls Royce Leisure made the journey to Ordsall Bridon looking to get their season back on the rails after a run of winless matches dropped them down the table.  Reducing their hosts to 94 for four after inviting them to bat first would have looked like a solid step on the ladder but debutant Sufian Munir and James Brice had other plans, the pair adding 111 for the fifth wicket, before Munir fell for 91.  

Brice went on to combine with Henry Appleyard (35 not out) to add a further 66, before he fell for 67.  Ordsall’s 273 for six looking like it would be a stiff target.  That it proved ultimately not to be the case was largely down to one man.  Dan Birch capitalised on an opening stand of 50, to join Shaun Levy at the crease, adding 123 for the 2nd wicket, Levy being run out for 68 with the total 176 for two.  

Birch carried on and despite the loss of a further three wickets in taking the score to 219, finally partnered with Michael Millwood to add the required 55 further runs for victory.  Rolls won the match by five wickets with six overs to spare and Birch finished unbeaten on 131 from just 95 balls.

Mansfield Hosiery Mills travelled to Kimberley Institute still in search of a first victory this season.  It seems the 2bm Ground was the cure for what ails them.  Having been put into bat, the Millers found it slow going as they lost wickets at regular intervals on their way to 112 for five.  

Keshara Jayasinghe provided some impetus to the innings, his 27 balls faced producing an unbeaten 40 to go with the 78 runs Matt New compiled in carrying his bat through all 50 overs in an innings that closed with the score on 196 for five.  

The Kimberley reply was dominated by one man but sadly for the home side, that man was an escapee from the Institute.  Matt Wright took wickets early and often on his way to figures of 7-42 from 13.5 overs, with four maidens.  George Bacon with 42 the only batsman to provide any major resistance, alongside Alex King with whom he shared in a stand of 58 for the eighth wicket.  Kimberley were all out in the 45th over for 133. 

↧

Tantalising clash ends in washout

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

The mouth-watering top of the Birmingham Premier Division table clash between joint leaders Berkswell and West Bromwich Dartmouth had swung in Berkswell's favour when the weather intervened to bring the game to a premature end.

Batting first, after losing the toss, Dartmouth were shot out for 117 with former Leicestershire and Warwickshire all-rounder Darren Maddy taking 5-30 on his return to the side following coaching commitments at Solihull School.

Current Warwickshire seamer Tom Milnes continued his rehabilitation from a long-term shoulder injury with 3-5 and ex-Leicestershire paceman Dave Brignull took 2-21. Without 34 from Dan Bassett and 33 from Basit Zaman, the Dartmouth card would have been far worse!

In reply, Berkswell were waltzing to an easy victory on 80 without loss from 18.2 overs when the rain arrived to prevent any further play.  Mark Best was unbeaten on 54 and James Neale was 25 not out but instead of being 24 points clear of Dartmouth, Berkswell only lead by virtue of the four bowling bonus points they earned.

It was a similar tale, elsewhere, apart from at Walsall’s Gorway ground, where reigning Champions Shrewsbury showed a glimpse of their real capabilities by crushing the hosts by 147 runs. Ed Foster (64), Anthony Parker (47 not out), Rob Foster (42) and Stephen Barnard (40) helped Shrewsbury to 225 for eight, in 55 overs, with Walsall’s Paul Byrne taking 4-74.

In reply, Walsall slumped to 10 for three but Byrne held firm with 30 before Sam Griffiths stepped up to take 4-16 as Walsall crashed to 78 all out with Stephen Barnard snapping up 3-19. This victory lifts Shrewsbury out of the bottom two but bottom club Himley were unable to follow them as they came away from a rain affected match at Barnt Green with a losing draw.

Worcestershire’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit 65 as Himley scored 171 for nine in 38 overs with three wickets each for Josh Poysden (3-29) and Simon Mugava (3-30). In reply, after further overs were lost to rain, Barnt Green were faced with a target of 110 for a winning draw and cruised to 120 for five thanks to the efforts of Will Baker (36), Sam Cheshire (29 not out) and Nathan Newport (27).

Danny Smith was the most successful Himley bowler with 3-27. At Station Road, the match between Knowle & Dorridge and Kenilworth Wardens was reduced to 49 overs per side and K & D raced to 249 for three before declaring after 45 overs.

Alex Phillips (83), Michael Hill (81 not out) and Richard Johnson (35) were in the runs but the Wardens reply was halted after just one over with the total on 8 without loss. The weather, also, had a major say in the game between Walmley and Brockhampton, even though it started on time.

The first stoppage came after 18 overs and, after a lengthy delay, a further 18 overs were possible which resulted in a Walmley total of 118 for five from 36 overs. Navdeep Poonia was unbeaten on 46 and 16 years-old opening batsman Jamie Harrison scored 37 on his League debut.

Chris Boroughs picked up a couple of wickets for Brockhampton before rain won the day. The match between Kidderminster Victoria and Dorridge was abandoned without a ball being bowled after a torrential storm prior to the start.

↧

Grimsby bowlers revel in the damp

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Damp weather made it a bowlers’ weekend in the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League – with the exception of the game at Sleaford where three players hit half centuries in a game that produced only seven wickets.

Leaders Bourne were skittled out for 131 by Lindum but Colin Cheer hit back with five wickets as the visitors were all out for only 66.

It was a similar story in the bottom of the table clash at Augusta Street, though this produced a much closer game as Grimsby’s 50 overs ended on 145 for nine.  Market Rasen reached 55 for two then 106 for three, at which point a first victory of the season looked a real possibility.

But the Grimsby bowlers stuck to their task and the final Rasen wicket fell on 132 as David Carr returned the day’s best bowling figures of 7-29.

This moved Grimsby up to 10th place, 21 points above Rasen and 11 up on Billingborough who turned in a good bowling and fielding performance to restrict a strong Woodhall Spa side to 172 for five.

Nathan Mill struck with the score on five and Joe Braithwaite claimed the valuable wicket of Malinga Bandara to make it 35 for two.  Jonny Cheer hit 25 and Ben O’Brien 24 but the combined attack of slow bowlers Steve Scott and Angus Youles made batting hard work.

On 125 for five, Woodhall were looking at a total around 150 until Jack Hughes joined skipper Jack Luffman in a partnership that took the final score to 172 for five, Luffman making 44.

Connor Parsons then took two wickets and a run out made it 27 for three.  From here the Billingborough batsmen had little answer to the Woodhall bowling, only stand-in skipper Scott with 32 putting up much resistance.  The final wicket fell on 70, O’Brien taking four wickets and Bandara three in a victory that moved Woodhall up to fourth in the table.

At Spalding, Bracebridge Heath won with just four balls to spare, having made the top score of the day with 192 for nine despite losing their first two wickets for 14 runs. Brett Houston hit 36 but it was the fifth wicket partnership of 76 between Hymie Bentley (46) and Stuart Fraser-Cattanach (28) that set the visitors on the road to victory.

Spalding were 40 for three when Chris Dring joined Josh Newton to add 43 and Newton and Charlie Kearns added 35 for the sixth wicket but when Newton became Matt Bradley’s third victim, stumped on 44 with the score on 137 for eight, only 12 more runs were added, Bradley finishing with 5-24.

Bracebridge are now in second place, just one ahead of Market Deeping for whom Mehul Adatia took three wickets at Sleaford, including Tim McIntosh for 44.  Skipper Oliver Burford made an unbeaten 60 to take his side to 187 for five only to see Deeping race to 156 without loss thanks to Chris Jones and Jamie Morgan.

Morgan was run out for 86 but by the time Jones was bowled for 59, only 12 runs were needed for victory which came with 10 overs to spare.

Skegness made it two wins in succession to move away from the bottom three, as Louth were unable to defend a low total.  A run out and two victims for Tom Cuthbert reduced the visitors to 37 for three and the introduction of Umar Farooq (5-24) to the attack saw wickets continue to tumble, the final one falling on 101.

Skegness then suffered two early losses but an unbeaten 41 from skipper Norman Brackley saw the seasiders home by seven wickets.

↧
Search

Hartley dazzle in the storms

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Swathes of the county were hit by some of the worst summer storms imaginable on Saturday and put paid to any conclusion in three matches in the Kent Premier League.

But some areas escaped including Sandwich where Hartley produced some sparkling cricket to secure a seven wicket victory.

The home side elected to bat and all their top seven made a few, Alex Smith, 59, the only to reach fifty but with 37 by Daniel Evans and 31 from Stuart Smith, Sandwich posted a respectable total of 226 for nine, with Dan Redwood and James Hockley both taking three wickets each.

The Sandwich total however was to prove well below par as Shane Deitz scored a rapid 90 from 88 balls and helped by 37 from James Hockley, an unbeaten 56 by Scott McKechnie and 37 from 18 balls by James Thomson, Hartley breezed home with eleven and a half overs to spare.

The only other match to reach a conclusion was at Lordswood where Bickley Park's batting problems re-emerged and after having been asked to bat, Bickley struggled early against the pace of Adeel Hussain and Dan Masters, and with Lordswood bowlers sharing the wickets around, Bickley were all back in the hutch after 50.2 overs for a disappointing 147, with only Dan Magin, 33, and Mick King, 30, adding some respectability.

Lordswood made light work of the chase achieving victory in just 31.3 overs, Palash Joshi scoring 38 and Matt Green wood a useful unbeaten 51 from 40 balls. This leaves Lordswood in third place in the table and Bickley struggling at the bottom, now 39 points away from the relegation safety zone. They have some hard work to do now to avoid Division 1 next season.

The weather ruined what looked set to be a tight encounter at Bexley. Bexley, with the rare appearances of Kent CCC regulars Adam Ball and Adam Riley invited their visitors Canterbury to bat, and they found runs very hard to come by as with Adeel Malik taking 4-32 and Adam Riley 3-26 they slid to what seemed a disappointing total of 119 all out, Justin Macvicar 33 and Sam Lowry 29 the only major contributors.

However, Bexley also found batting problematic. Once George Wells had gone for 28 with the score becoming 84 for four a collapse ensued thanks to Stuart Drakeley taking 3-20 leaving them on 93 for eight when time ran out due to weather interruptions. Imran Qayyum also took 3-15 in an exciting low scoring game.

Sevenoaks Vine remain three points behind leaders Blackheath as they took eight points form an incomplete game at the Vine whilst Blackheath also took eight points in an abandoned game at Beckenham.

A century by Dan Christian, 115, and 74 by Freddie Wilson enabled Bromley to set Sevenoaks Vine a target of 277 but rain delays and time restricted the Vine to only 8.2 over ending on 24 for one at the close. Nicholas Sale was the pick of the Vine bowlers with 4-70.

At Beckenham, after a delayed star by an hour due to a late morning storm, Blackheath chose to bat and had reached 106 for two after 30 overs, including a useful 51 not out by Tanweer Sikandar 51, when the storms returned and sadly no further play was possible in what looked set to be a good contest.

↧
↧

Grappenhall go second

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Grappenhall were the big winners on Saturday when they were the only club in the top six to come away with a win, which lifted them up to second place in the ECB Premier League table, 28 points behind leaders Hyde at the season’s half-way mark.

Rain hit the region again and many games were reduced in length, such as at Urmston where a maximum of only 70 overs’ play was possible. Urmston scored 180 for four off 35 after being inserted, Lewis Jackson 61 not out.

To which Grappenhall replied with an impressive 181 for three in rapid time, James McCoy 65, Liam Parkinson 44, plus a key unbeaten 29 from skipper Richard Green. Grappenhall have now won as many games (six) as the leaders.

Up at the top, meanwhile, Hyde failed to take the 10th wicket at Marple and had to be content with 11 draw points, opting to bat first and totalling 177, Rob Brierley 55, Dave Fitzsimmons 50, Andy Greasley 4-36, Andy Wylie 4-43.

Marple replied with 155 for nine, Mark Bennett 36, Andy Mummery 34, number nine batsman Matt Whittaker holding out for a match-saving 28. Jason Whittaker claimed 4-55 and Matt Hanna 4-72.

Toft leaped up to third place with an impressive five wickets home win in a high-scoring game against Alderley Edge, who posted an impressive 236 for nine, Alan Day 85, Calum Rowe 47, James Drummond 3-19. The in-form Rob Jones lad Toft’s charge after tea to reach 237 for five off 51 overs with an unbeaten 85, aided by James Drummond 55.

Inconsistent Chester Boughton Hall came near to their fifth defeat and need to pull their socks up in the season’s second half if they are to successfully defend their title. They were roundly outplayed by bottom club Oxton to the tune of 14 – 4 points in a rain induced draw over 70 overs.

Oxton posted 159 for six, Saaiq Choudhry 88, Alex Money 44, to which CBH responded with 84 for eight, top scorer Steve Ogilby with 29. Their batsmen had little answer to the experienced attack of Glenn Querl, 4-34 and Gayan Fernando, 4-35.

There is no respite for Neston, whose performances resolutely fail to improve to the concern of skipper David Hurst et al. They lost by 71 runs at home to Bramhall in a 74 overs game, their visitors knocking up 207 for six, Matt Begbie 88, Matthew Jamieson 41. Neston started well at 76 for one, but two disastrous run outs changed their fortunes and they were all out for 136. Richard Wilkinson top-scored with 36, while Vishal Tripathi took 3-39 and Simon Wilkinson 3-50
 
Nantwich are moving smartly away from danger with an improved run of form, illustrated by a seven wickets home victory over Bowdon. Only Oliver Newby, 60 came off in Bowdon’s below par tally of 142, Jimmy Warrington 5-41, Ollie Griffiths 4-44.  Man of the moment Liam Livingstone stroked a lively unbeaten 89 as the Dabbers coasted home by seven wickets.  
 
 

↧

South North and Lyons take flight

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

A yawning gap opened up between the leading two sides and the chasing pack as both South North and Hetton Lyons won convincingly against their nearest rivals.

It was always going to be a day of reckoning for Benwell Hill and reigning champions Stockton in their quest to alter the shape of the championship, but neither could prevent their opponents from securing the victories that take them into the second half of the season with a massive advantage that will be difficult to haul back.

Benwell Hill did reasonably well to hold the Bulls batting in check, only Karl Turner, with 81 from 117 balls really getting away from them, although his second wicket partnership of 128 with the rock solid Adam Heather (44) provided a springboard which a late 43 from 30 balls from Stephen Humble utilized.

A declaration on 221 for eight after 61 overs dangled the carrot for Hill, but when they slid to 46 for four it became an uphill battle, and one they ultimately lost when a defiant skipper, Phil Nicholson (41), was last man out with the total on 157. Former Hill man Dave Rutherford shared eight wickets with Lee Crozier as the only remaining unbeaten record in the top flight went out of the window.

Stockton’s hopes of retaining their crown took a nosedive with defeat at the hands of Hetton Lyons. And there was cause for a double celebration in the home dressing room as Allan Worthy became the first man in NEPL history to crack the 9000 league runs barrier.

The Teessiders were pinned down by an accurate home attack who restricted them to 210 for nine in 60 overs, with Lal Kumar once again in form as he claimed 4-49 from a 20 over stint. Richard Waite was the man giving Stockton some hope as he made 85 from 125 balls, but he was unable to work his magic with the ball as Worthy hit the milestone with 56, sharing in a second wicket partnership of 81 with Ryan Pringle (54) as Lyons clawed their way to a six wicket success.

Blaydon leapt up to third spot with a fourth successive win, Durham Academy their victims on this occasion. New Zealander Ken McClure cracked 15 fours and 3 sixes in a 163-ball 118, and with Graeme Bridge adding 43 the home side pulled the plug at 260 for six after 60 overs. Gary Stewart (3-38) then led a five-pronged attack who had the Academy back in the shed for 146 in the 53rd over.

Newcastle were unable to defend a total of 258 for nine at Whitburn, losing in the final over of the match as Durham’s new starlet, Paul Coughlin, hit 70 in 80 balls before allowing skipper Andy Turns (42 not out) the joy of hitting the winning runs. Earlier Jacques du Toit had excelled with 82, although Craig Smith’s 20 over spell of 6-55 proved the crucial contribution.

Gateshead Fell gave arguably their best performance of the summer, holding Chester-le-Street to a draw, and almost pulling off a sensational win.

The Cestrians were so confident of a positive result that they declared after 50 overs on 240 for five, and when the Fell slipped to 46 for three it looked like a familiar story was about to unfold, but first Adam Whatley, with 71 from 74 balls, and then Sam Roseby, 86 not out from 117 balls, stretched the game out, and an unbroken last wicket stand of 30 ensured Street ended in a cul-de-sac with their opponents on 223 for nine after 66 overs.

There were two centurions in Tynemouth’s 139-run mauling of Sunderland, Andrew Smith (101 not out) and Matthew Brown (105) the double ton up merchants, while in the First Division South Shields, for the second week running, scraped the narrowest of wins, five runs being the margin this time as they defeated Washington to maintain a healthy advantage at the top of the table.

↧

LIVE: LV= County Championship

July 2, 2014, 12:12 am
$
0
0

Follow the latest LV= County Championship action, with Northamptonshire and Warwickshire fighting back at Lord's and Edgbaston respectively. 

By Rob Barnett, Callum Dent and Tom White

Live Scores / Follow ECB_cricket on Twitter

5.52pm - Gloucestershire's Ian Cockbain and Will Gidman have so far put on 60 to see their side to 188 for four against Essex.

Lancashire opener Alex Davies is rattling along nicely with 26 from his first 30 balls - 38 for no wicket, with Usman Khawaja on seven.

5.32pm - Ravi Patel bowls Maurice Chambers for 20 and, with Rob Keogh absent hurt, Northamptonshire are 384 all out and concede a first-innings deficit of 104.

Jonathan Trott is at the crease for Warwickshire after that wicket of Varun Chopra.

Worcestershire lose Joe Leach and are 250 for seven against Glamorgan, a lead of 305.

5.21pm – Lancashire's first-innings centurion Paul Horton retires hurt following the aforementioned blow from Thomas at Taunton. 

Crook's stunning 131 from 124 balls ends when he is stumped by John Simpson off Ravi Patel. His innings brings Northamptonshire back into the game at Lord's, where they are trailing by 109 on 379 for eight. 

4.53pm – RESULT! Surrey (474/8 & 13/0) draw with Hampshire (354) at the Kia Oval -  Since the visitors avoided the follow-on this afternoon this game has been drifting. Accordingly, there are only eight overs of Surrey’s second innings before the teams shake hands. Hampshire remain top of Division Two for today at least.

Chris Woakes completes outstanding figures of 5-35 by removing Andre Adams. Notts have slipped from 119 for two to 225 all out. Warwickshire need 289 to win.

Thomas becomes Kerrigan’s fourth victim, for 54, as Somerset take a first-innings lead of 218 thanks to an imposing 484.

Dean Cosker traps Kervezee in front for 21, making Worcestershire 227 for five.

4.47pm – Crook goes to three figures shortly before Northants avoid the follow-on. They still have plenty to do to challenge Middlesex’s score.

Somerset’s Alfonso Thomas brings up a rare fifty.

A calling mix-up with Alexei Kervezee sees Tom Fell run out for 40, but Worcestershire remain in a strong position.

Topley strikes for a second time since tea, having Marshall caught behind for 43 to deepen Gloucestershire’s trouble.

4.34pm – Heartbreak for Craig Overton, who falls to Simon Kerrigan for 99, therefore missing a first senior hundred! Still, Somerset lead by 201 with one first-innings wicket in the bank.

4.26pm – Steven Finn makes an important breakthrough, bowling Andrew Hall for 75 to end a stand of 144 with Steven Crook, who is 15 away from a ton versus his former county. More importantly, Northants trail by 176 with three first-innings wickets left.

Warwickshire’s Jeetan Patel has Peter Siddle stumped before Chris Woakes ousts Samit Patel on 34 to leave Notts nine down and 271 ahead.

Essex’s Reece Topley cleans up Alex Gidman for 53 as an alliance of 95 alongside Hamish Marshall comes to a halt. Gloucestershire are 192 behind with seven wickets in hand.

4.01pm  – Worcestershire's lead stands at 240 at tea, with Tom Fell and Alexei Kervezee at the crease. 

Tea is called at the Kia Oval, where Tomlinson becomes Solanki's second scalp and Hampshire are dismissed for 354, conceding a first-innings deficit of 120. 

An excellent session for Northamptonshire ends with Hall and Crook unbeaten on 75 and 85 respectively. They trail Middlesex by 176 with four wickets left. 

Nottinghamshire take tea on 208 for seven, a 271-run advantage over Warwickshire at Edgbaston. 

3.47pm  – Jeetan Patel's second wicket, that of Chris Read, leaves Nottinghamshire 192 for seven, a lead of 255. There could be an exciting fourth-innings chase at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire are fighting back admirably. 

3.44pm  – Hampshire avoid the follow-on courtesy of an unbroken last-wicket stand of 35 between Danny Briggs and James Tomlinson. A draw looks inevitable now at the Kia Oval, meaning the visitors will stay top for a day at least. 

Moeen falls 20 runs short of a century, losing his wicket to Cosker. Worcestershire are 177 for three and leading by 232 at New Road. 

Gidman raises his bat for a fifty on the stroke of tea at the Essex County Ground, while the interval arrives at Taunton also with Overton and Thomas unbeaten. 

3.34pm  – After Masters' early double strike, Alex Gidman and Hamish Marshall steady the ship by taking Gloucestershire into three figures at the Essex County Ground. Their third-wicket stand is worth 73.

3.26pm  –  Overton, on 75, and Alfonso Thomas are building a huge lead for Somerset. The hosts are 157 ahead with two wickets remaining. 

3.06pm – Andrew Hall is again on a rescue mission at the heart of Northants' middle order. The veteran South African moves to a half-century from 109 balls and is supported by former Middlesex player Steven Crook, who is 44 not out. 

Oliver departs at New Road, bowled by Dean Cosker for 65, to end a second-wicket stand of 123 with Moeen.  

3pm – Hampshire are on the brink at the Kia Oval. Dilshan pins Brad Taylor lbw for a single to leave the visitors nine down for 294. 

2.56pm – Moeen, an unbeaten centurion in England's last Test against Sri Lanka, follows Oliver to a fifty at New Road.

Nottinghamshire, leading by 215, slip to 152 for five when Boyd Rankin dismisses Jaques for 79, the Australian's last innings before leaving the county. 

2.46pm – Is there a twist in the tale at the Kia Oval? Part-time bowler Vikram Solanki snares Abbott and Tillakaratne Dilshan accounts for Ervine for 80. Hampshire are eight down and still 38 short of the follow-on target. 

Worcestershire's Oliver and Somerset's Overton both reach half-centuries, the former's his first in four-day cricket. 

2.34pm – Championship debutant Richard Oliver and England's Moeen Ali, with 43 to their name each, move Worcestershire into three figures and a lead of 156. 

Sean Ervine and Kyle Abbott continue to frustrate Surrey, while Somerset's lead at Taunton is past 100. 

2.23pm – Craig Overton is taking the attack to Lancashire, hitting spinner Simon Kerrigan for two sixes in three deliveries. Somerset are leading by 91.  

2.16pm – Masters strikes again at the Essex County Ground. Chris Dent edges the veteran behind to James Foster to depart for 24 of his side's 30 for two.

As you can see from the tweet below, Graham Onions makes a welcome return to action following injury for Durham's second XI. 

2.08pm  – Chris Woakes is trying his best to limit Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. The seamer claims his third scalp by bowling Hales for 31. The visitors are 182 in front on 119 for three. 

1.59pm – Essex make a fine start with the ball. That man David Masters traps Will Tavare in front to leave Gloucestershire, trailing by 292, 25 for one in their second knock. 

1.54pm  – After taking Nottinghamshire past 100 alongside Alex Hales, Phil Jaques moves to a half-century from 89 deliveries. 

Steven Finn snares another at Lord's, having championship debutant James Kettleborough caught by Eoin Morgan for 73. Northamptonshire are in trouble at 168 for six, 320 runs behind. 

1.10pm – On a morning where four Smiths featured heavily, here are the lunch scores:

Division One

Nottinghamshire are 92 for two in their second innings, 155 ahead of Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Somerset , having today lost Marcus Trescothick for 128, are 301 for seven in reply to Lancashire’s 266 at Taunton.

Northamptonshire , with championship debutant James Kettleborough unbeaten on 71, are 165 for five , responding to Middlesex’s 488 for nine declared at Lord’s.

Division Two

Hampshire are 254 for six , needing 70 more to avoid the follow-on versus Surrey on day four at the Kia Oval.

Worcestershire are 27 for one in their second innings, leading Glamorgan by 82 at New Road.

On the back of Ravi Bopara’s 147, Essex were dismissed for 541 , 317 ahead on first innings, to herald lunch against Gloucestershire at the Essex County Ground.

1pm – Gloucestershire’s Smith gets David Masters and Monty Panesar falls to Taylor as Essex are dismissed for 541 to herald lunch. We’ll soon round up all the scores.

12.52pm – Essex are stumbling a little at the end of an outstanding innings, Smith now removing Graham Napier and Taylor dispatching Ben Foakes for 34.

Somerset’s Craig Kieswetter goes lbw to Wayne White and Worcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell is caught behind off Glamorgan’s Smith.

12.41pm – Somerset move ahead of Lancashire on first innings and Ervine registers a half-century for Hampshire.

Phil Jaques and Alex Hales are digging in for Notts, who are in a decent position versus Warwickshire.

12.36pm – It’s getting interesting at the Kia Oval as Garth Batty ousts Matt Coles caught and bowled. Hampshire are six down and need 87 more to avoid the follow-on.

Essex lose another wicket as Taylor traps Ryan ten Doeschate in front.

12.25pm – Two big wickets fall in quick succession with two Tom Smiths striking!  Trescothick is well held at point by Steven Croft off Lancashire’s Smith to depart for 128 and Bopara is bowled by Gloucestershire’s Smith for 147.

12.20pm – Essex may not play as the ‘Eagles’ in championship cricket but they are flying at 501 for four with Bopara unbeaten on 140.

Surrey, who have an outside chance of victory, are boosted by two wickets in as many overs. Zafar Ansari snares Smith lbw for 72, breaking a stand of 66 with Ervine, and Tim Linley bowls Adam Wheater first ball, leaving Hampshire 227 for five, still 247 behind on first innings.

12.07pm – A belligerent last-wicket alliance of 68 between Michael Hogan, who hit Moeen Ali for two sixes in an over, and Andrew Salter is ended by Ajmal cleaning up the former for 36, leaving Salter unbeaten on 25. They hauled Glamorgan up to 297, a first-innings deficit of 55 . Ajmal returned 5-106.

11.58am – Tom Smith pins James Hildreth in front for 10, making Somerset 236 for four, and Middlesex’s Steven Finn has Ben Duckett cheaply caught and bowled.

11.39am – Glen Chapple has Alviro Petersen caught behind for 73, breaking a partnership with Marcus Trescothick worth 168. How Lancashire needed that!

Half-centurion Will Smith and Sean Ervine see Hampshire to a first batting point as they seek to bat out the last day against Surrey.

11.32am – Toby Roland-Jones has Rob Newton lbw for 35, putting Northants in further trouble as they reply to Middlesex’s healthy score.

11.16am – Chris Woakes cheaply bowls Notts nightwatchman Luke Fletcher while Northants’ James Kettleborough raises a fifty on championship debut.

Saeed Ajmal strikes twice in an over, snaring Mark Wallace and Dean Cosker, to leave Glamorgan nine down.

Gloucestershire’s Taylor accounts for James Foster on 54, ending a stand of 104 with Bopara.

11.06am – Ravi Bopara, on 98 overnight, goes to three figures with a six off Jack Taylor in the day’s first over at the Essex County Ground.

In the opening over at New Road, Worcestershire’s Joe Leach traps Ruaidhri Smith in front.

10.45am – Hello and welcome to our LV= County Championship blog. Here’s how this round of matches stand:

Division One

Marcus Trescothick's unbeaten century helped Somerset to 193 for two in reply to Lancashire’s 266 at Taunton.

Dawid Malan hit an unbeaten 154 as Middlesex declared at 488 for nine and in response Northamptonshire were 89 for three when bad light and rain hit Lord's.

Warwickshire were indebted to a 108-run ninth-wicket stand between Chris Woakes and Chris Wright to ensure they not only avoided the follow-on against Nottinghamshire, but also limited their deficit to 63 runs after being bowled out for 343. Notts were one without loss  after negotiating two overs.

Division Two

Jesse Ryder hit a blistering 133 while Ravi Bopara is two runs short of a century as Essex piled on 425 for three to lead Gloucestershire by 201 runs.

Saeed Ajmal claimed two wickets and ran out Jacques Rudolph for 88 as Glamorgan closed on 222 for six – 130 runs adrift of Worcestershire’s first-innings 352. 

Hampshire are 167 for three as they set after Surrey’s first-innings 474 for eight declared at the Kia Oval.

↧

MacLeod blow hurts Jets

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

Durham’s leading run-scorer Calum MacLeod is unavailable for the Jets’ NatWest T20 BlastNorth Group trip to face Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley tomorrow night.

The 25-year-old is currently on international duty with Scotland, who play the second of three 50-over matches against Netherlands in Glasgow tomorrow.

MacLeod has been one of Durham’s key performers in the North Group this season, blasting 274 runs.

However, the Jets will still have plenty of firepower on show in Leeds in the form of destructive duo Phil Mustard and Ben Stokes.

Mustard, at the top of the innings, played himself into form with a blistering 54 from 27 balls during Sunday’s convincing victory over Derbyshire Falcons at the Emirates Durham ICG.

England international Stokes also excelled with the bat, smashing five fours and a trio of maximums in a powerful unbeaten 49 from just 26 deliveries.

Seamer Chris Rushworth was rested for the Jets’ last three matches, including last Friday’s washout against defending champions Northants Steelbacks, but returns to Jon Lewis’ 14-man squad along with Michael Richardson.

Scotland international Calum MacLeod has struck 274 runs for Durham Jets in the NatWest T20 Blast so far this season

Paceman Graham Onions made his comeback from injury for Durham’s second XI today and is not considered.

Jack Brooks is expected to be rested once again for the Vikings’ fourth match in six days.

The former Northamptonshire seamer has been given a week off from Twenty20 action in order to recuperate for the club’s remaining LV= County Championship matches.

England trio Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Liam Plunkett are unavailable.  

In the South Group, Surrey can close the gap on leaders Essex Eagles to two points with victory over Kent Spitfires. 

In Jason Roy, who has scored the most fours in the competition to date, they have a batsman at the top of his game.

The 23-year-old followed up his brutal 63 off 25 balls in last Friday’s impressive victory over Hampshire with a four-day century against the same opponents.

Surrey also have Kevin Pietersen, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Azhar Mahmood and Robin Peterson at their disposal.

Destructive Surrey batsman Jason Roy, who has hit the most fours in this term's Blast to date, is in the form of his life

However, Jade Dernbach is unlikely to feature due to a hamstring strain.  

Kent have opted to rest key paceman Doug Bollinger at the Kia Oval.

The Australian, who is the second top wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 victims, has a sore shoulder.

A hamstring injury sees David Griffiths join Ivan Thomas and Mark Davies on the sidelines, meaning Ben Harmison is elevated to the squad.

Spitfires head coach Jimmy Adams told the club’s official website: “We’ve had a few games recently where we haven’t quite made it over the line. 

“The tie with Glamorgan and loss to Gloucestershire were disappointing. 

“To make the play-offs we need to beat Surrey, who have been in great form, so it’s as straightforward as that.”

↧
↧

Dibble undergoes shoulder surgery

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

England Women’s cricketer Jodie Dibble underwent surgery this morning to help address symptoms associated with pain in her left shoulder.

Dibble will now begin a rehabilitation programme and has been ruled out of selection for England Women’s internationals against India and South Africa in August and September.

England women's cricketer Jodie Dibble will miss the summer internationals against India and South Africa in August and September

↧

Episode 134

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

Skipper MS Dhoni and India's coach Duncan Fletcher look forward to facing England in the Investec Test Series.

Gloucestershire's director of cricket John Bracewell finds that when there are two Wills, there's a way forward as he considers two of his players, Will Tavare and Will Gidman.

Nottinghamshire's Andre Adams looks at the history of connections between Trent Bridge and New Zealand, starting with Sir Richard Hadlee, and how his association is coming to an end. At this stage last season Nottinghamshire were struggling for runs, but as Chris Read explains, the same could not be said this season.

MCC president Mike Gatting gets excited at the prospect of the players involved in the forthcoming MCC v Rest of the World match

Greig Stewart is Hampshire's Cricket in the Community manager and he explains what they are trying to achieve at the Ageas Bowl - beyond the boundary.

↧
Search

Double injury setback for Northants

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

Northamptonshire have received a double blow with the news that David Sales and Rob Keogh will be occupying the sidelines for some time due to injury.

Sales suffered ankle-ligament damage after slipping on the greasy outfield during Northants Steelbacks’ abandoned NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Durham Jets at Wantage Road last Friday.

And to make matters worse for Northamptonshire, who are currently 68 points adrift at the bottom of LV= County Championship Division One, Keogh broke a finger at Lord’s on Sunday afternoon.

The 22-year-old suffered the injury attempting to catch Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan and is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. 

Northants head coach David Ripley told the club’s official website: “David’s injury has been scanned and is a grade-three tear of his ankle ligaments so that’s a good length of time on the sidelines.

“We really can’t be sure when he will be fit again but it will be a while.”

Ripley added: “Rob had a catch burst through his hands and he dislocated a finger, which has shown to be broken.

“At this stage it doesn’t look like an operation will be needed, but it’ll probably be at least four weeks before we can consider him again.” 

↧

Kieswetter extends Somerset deal

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

Wicketkeeper-batsman Craig Kieswetter has signed a new three-year contract at Somerset.

The 26-year-old, who made his Somerset debut as a teenager in 2007, will have racked up a decade of service at Taunton by the end of his new deal.

“I am absolutely over the moon for this opportunity to be able to commit myself further to SCCC.

“From the very beginning of my career the club has helped and guided me to achieve levels of performance I am proud of.

“Throughout every corner of the county there are people passionate about the club, and so to be able to be part of something that has such a loyal following it's extremely humbling.”

Craig Kieswetter is "over the moon" at signing a new three-year deal at Somerset that will extend his service at Taunton to a decade

Kieswetter was confirmed as Somerset’s first-choice keeper following the departure of Jos Buttler for Lancashire at the end of last season.

He has has scored almost 5,000 first-class run for Somerset, including eight centuries, and has 305 dismissals.

At international level he has made 71 limited-overs appearances for England and was a part of 2010 World Twenty20-winning side, although more recently he has seen Buttler preferred in the short formats.

“I have had plenty of ups and downs throughout my professional and international career, but there is always one factor that remains a complete positive for me - and that is being part of this club,” Kieswetter added.

“I love playing for Somerset. It's my home and I am so excited about the next three years. I believe there is a lot exciting talent coming through and I'm looking forward to helping develop the personnel and the club to even higher success. We are Somerset.”

Somerset director of cricket Dave Nosworthy added: “With the amount of ability and the track record that Craig has, any team would be delighted to have signed him - and so naturally so are we.

“Craig is one of the more naturally talented players around who has the ability to turn a game on its head, both with bat in hand and with the gloves.

“He is a natural striker of the ball who in my mind still has much more ability which we have not yet even seen. He is a quality wicketkeeper with added agility, and is also a member of the team who shows some leadership traits.

Nosworthy added: “The new deal is good news for the club and I am sure that like us he will be very pleased to be able to continue his prolific career here at the County Ground."

↧
↧

Foster stars in Essex win

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

James Foster equalled his county's record for the most dismissals in a match by a wicketkeeper for the second time as Essex beat Gloucestershire by 10 wickets in LV= County Championship Division Two at the Essex County Ground.

By coincidence, it was against the West Countrymen that he joined David East (1983) and Kenneth Gibson (1911) at the top of the list when he bagged nine victims at Bristol five years ago.

On this occasion, he took three catches in the second innings to go with the six victims claimed on the opening day to pave the way for Essex's first championship victory since the opening match of the campaign.

Foster collected his ninth catch in the first over after lunch when Jack Taylor was stuck on the back foot as Jesse Ryder found the edge.

Gloucestershire had resumed the day on 194 for four, still requiring a further 133 to avoid an innings-defeat, and needing something spectacular and substantial from the last of their recognised batsmen, Ian Cockbain and Will Gidman.

But such hopes were quickly extinguished as both were sent back to the pavilion during the first dozen overs of the morning.

Cockbain departed when Ryan ten Doeschate found enough outswing and lift to have him caught at first slip by Ryder, and Gidman was undone by Monty Panesar as the left-arm spinner found just enough turn to beat his tentative push.

After that, it was only a matter of time before Essex were able to celebrate their first championship success since beating Derbyshire in April.

With David Masters missing from the attack on the final day with a foot injury, Gloucestershire's tailenders did at least make a fight of it. Adam Rouse and Tom Smith added 40 in nine overs, a partnership that was brought to an end when Smith was bowled shouldering arms.

It was Ryder who then struck with successive deliveries in the first over after lunch.

Firstly, he had Jack Taylor caught by Foster to give the Essex captain a share of the wicketkeeping record and, with his next delivery, he bowled David Payne.

That brought together Rouse and Matt Taylor to provide dogged resistance as they added 52 runs and in doing so both registered career-best efforts.

Essex used six bowers in an attempt to break the stand but the pair, amid dogged defence, also produced a few sweetly-timed drives before ten Doeschate at last broke through by trapping Rouse lbw when he was one run short of what would have been a deserved half-century.

Matt Taylor was left unbeaten on 32, leaving Essex with the formality of scoring nine runs to bag a maximum haul of 24 points from the match.

Tom Westley and Nick Browne needed just nine deliveries to reach the winning post as the visitors were left with just two points for their efforts.

Essex head coach Paul Grayson said: "It was a good team performance and shows what we are capable of.

"It certainly gives us a great deal of confidence going into our next championship game with Derbyshire at Chesterfield next week."

Gloucestershire director of cricket John Bracewell added: "It was one of those games where the toss was quite important but, having said that, I thought it was a very good wicket for four-day cricket.

"We should really have got 350 in our first innings but you can't lose the first two days and expect to fight back successfully."

↧

Awesome Ajmal sends Worcestershire top

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

Saeed Ajmal posted match figures of 12-140 as Worcestershire went 12 points clear of Hampshire at the top of the LV= County Championship Division Two table with a crushing 249-run victory over Glamorgan at New Road.

Initially inspired by pace bowler Charles Morris' opening spell of 3-14, they turned to their Pakistan off-spinner to wrap up their fifth win of the season and open up a gap of 28 points over third-placed Surrey with a game in hand.

Taking the last four wickets in seven balls without conceding a run, Ajmal finished with 7-34, his sixth return of five wickets or more in eight championship appearances this season.

A victory target of 355 was never seriously on the agenda as the Welshmen were routed for 105.

They added only 12 runs from 14 overs in the first hour and in the process impressive young seamer Morris fired out the overnight pair.

Tom Lancefield edged to third slip in the former-Oxford Brookes student's first over of the day and a stubborn effort by Andrew Salter ended when he tried to fend off a lifting delivery and saw the ball loop high to Jack Shantry in the gully. 

Morris signed off with the key wicket of Jacques Rudolph, driving low to short midwicket, and that was the signal for Worcestershire to call on Ajmal. Glamorgan, as they may have feared, became puppets dancing to his tune.

In his third over Ben Wright became his 50th scalp of the season, lapping to deep square-leg, and soon after number 51 was in the bag with Chris Cooke's loose drive to mid-off.

With half the side gone for 32, Glamorgan could already smell defeat, but Will Bragg, as he had done for nearly eight hours in rescuing his side in the first meeting at the SWALEC Stadium in May, was ready for a fight in the one troublesome stand with Jim Allenby.

The pair held off Ajmal for an hour, putting on 52 in 16 overs, before Allenby, having hit seven fours in making 35, fell to the spinner.

The left-hander attempted to clear the square-leg fence but was brilliantly caught by Tom Fell, running out towards the boundary and taking the ball over his shoulder.

Bragg's patience was finally broken when a big heave across the line resulted in a thin edge to the wicketkeeper. That opened the door and before Glamorgan could blink they were all out after batting for little more than three hours. 

Ajmal's wiles were too much for Ruaidhri Smith, Mark Wallace and Michael Hogan, two of the last three bowled, and Wallace given out lbw.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said it was a victory dedicated to Damian D'Oliveira, the county's former player and academy director who died on Sunday.

Rhodes said: "At the start of the game we addressed the players and told them about Damian. There were a lot of sad faces and it almost became a mission to win this game for him.

"It was a great effort all-round. Even though Saeed Ajmal got plenty of wickets, he couldn't do it on his own."

Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford said: "We came today knowing it was going to be tough facing Saeed Ajmal on a turning pitch but would have hoped for a better fight than that.

"We still want to be learning as a side and keep developing. We have to learn from playing against someone like him."

↧

The Hogg Blog

July 3, 2014, 12:22 am
$
0
0

In his latest NatWest T20 Blast blog, Matthew Hoggard talks about some staggering catches by his former team-mates, seagulls doubling as fielders, and Ravi Bopara's red-hot form for Essex Eagles.

The Killing Fields

For once the major talking point this week has been some of the astonishing fielding we’ve seen, starting with the unfortunate case of the seagull that denied Ryan Higgins a certain six for Middlesex Panthers at The BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground on Friday. 

I can remember Jacques Rudolph killing a pigeon five years ago when he was playing for Yorkshire. It made me think of the Rory Bremner commentary when he was asked what was going to happen to the bird and he replied it was going to end up in a pie. Before anyone thinks I’m making light of animal cruelty, I’m not (though I am partial to a decent pie). No cricketer wants to kill or injure a bird, although I reckon Sussex Sharks' Will Beer will be slightly happier to see the pigeon recover than Ryan might have been - given that his delivery went for a two rather than a six!

Cricket’s always been a dangerous game for players, as well as birdlife, and Tim Bresnan took an incredible return catch to dismiss Alex Hales at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

There’s no margin for error with something like that. If you don’t get your fingers up in the right place, a ball travelling at that speed will break them. I was once hit in the throat by Mahendra Singh Dhoni out in India and I was lucky. He absolutely smashed one back at me and it hit me in the side of the neck. It absolutely killed me but in hindsight I was fortunate that it only hit a fleshy part of my throat because if it had hit bone it would have broken it.

The fact is that people break fingers and other bones all the time in cricket. Fielding is instinctive and if you can’t get your hands to the ball you’ll try to get something - anything else - in the way rather than think about the danger, meaning you could get a ball smacking you in the shin, which, let me tell you, is sheer bloody agony.

Colly's no wally

It’s not an accident that Paul Collingwood remains one of the best fielders in the game. You may have seen the tumbling catch he took at the Emirates Durham ICG to get rid of Gareth Cross, where he dived full length and grabbed a wet, greasy ball.

Colly makes that look natural. It isn’t. It takes special skill, but Colly's like the great Jonty Rhodes in that he spends hours each week working on his fielding and that catch showed exactly why. It wasn’t luck; it was a reward for the dedication he’s shown all through his career. He's one of the best professionals I played with and he's earned every bit of success through sheer hard work. 

As spectacular as that catch was, it was still nothing compared to the trick Adam Lyth and Aaron Finch repeated for Yorkshire Vikings against Leicestershire Foxes last night.

As a cricketer you dream of producing one-handed catches on the boundary, but for them to do that for the second time in a month is incredible.

It isn’t even something that’s easy to recreate in training because it’s so difficult to actually hit a ball so that it dips exactly two feet over the rope and 99 times out of a hundred a shot like that will go for six. 

You need an absolutely perfect ball and then fantastic athleticism and anticipation. For long-on and long-off to have the foresight to be able to do that is one thing. For one of them to then be able to catch and throw a ball back to the other in mid-air is nearly superhuman. Adam Lyth should stick a cape on next week. 

On Ravi Bopara, Matthew Hoggard said: "He’s been in a rich vein of form and his qualities as a finisher could be crucial to Essex."

Bopara flying high for the Eagles

The game I’m most looking forward to this week is the sell-out at the Essex County Ground between Essex Eagles and Surrey, although as a bowler it’s one you wouldn’t mind missing out. You've got short boundaries, a dry wicket and some of the best batting talent in the competition. On one side there’s Jesse Ryder, Ravi Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate and on the other Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kevin Pietersen and Jason Roy, meaning it’s likely to be raining sixes.

For me, Ravi could be the key player. Things can go two ways after you get dropped from the Test side. You can sulk or you can fight. When I was dropped I had mixed feelings because I wasn’t in a good mental state but I wanted to fight to get my place back. I thought there’s no way I’m giving it up easily and if you don’t fight it’s a worrying sign.

Ravi has reacted by becoming one of the best and most stylish batters we’ve got in this country. He’s been brilliant recently. He’s been in a rich vein of form and his qualities as a finisher could be crucial to getting Essex over the line on Friday night. 

Hoggy's Top Three

My top performers of last week are:

1. Adam Lyth (Yorkshire Vikings). Quite simply he produced one of the greatest pieces of fielding I've ever seen. World-class. And a nod to Aaron Finch too. Big Aaron's a decent-sized unit but that one-handed grab was like Gordon Banks.

2. Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire Outlaws). Talking of big units, Luke put in a monstrous performance with the ball for Notts Outlaws last week. Every single yorker was spot on. When you combine deadly accuracy with his height and power, it's a nightmare for batsmen.

3. Jason Roy (Surrey). I talked the Surrey opener up a couple of weeks ago and he showed why against Hampshire last Friday. Brutal hitting. No one queues up to bowl against him on this form.

↧
Viewing all 7281 articles
Browse latest View live
Search