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Cricket can be a cruel game. Only a few months after becoming one of the ten fastest men in history to 1,000 Test runs, Gary Ballance found himself unable to gain entrance to the pavilion at Lord’s.While the incident was soon resolved – team security staff assured the steward that the man waiting on the pavilion steps in full England kit was, indeed, a member of the team involved in the Test against New Zealand at the time – it provided a decent metaphor for the state of his career: from a position where he had scored four centuries in his first nine Tests, including one in each of his first two on this ground, Ballance’s form had deteriorated to the extent that two innings in the New Zealand Test brought him one run in total and he had become an unknown even at the home of cricket. A few weeks later he was dropped.

Balance shrugs off groin issue

Gary Ballance has confirmed he is fit and ready to take on Pakistan in the first Investec Test at Lord’s on Thursday, after overcoming a minor groin injury that caused him to miss Yorkshire’s NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Derbyshire on Sunday.
“It was just a precaution with Yorkshire having so much cricket in the last few months,” Ballance told ESPNcricinfo. “I thought it best to rest it up with a Test coming up now. But I’m absolutely fine now, I’m ready to go.”
“I didn’t expect the phone call, it was a bit of a surprise, but the motivation was there and I was so happy to be back in the squad and get another opportunity,” he said. “I’m over the moon to be back in the squad and back here at Lord’s. I can’t wait to get started.”

Ballance has admitted previously that, in the months that followed, he was “struggling mentally” with the setback. Stung by criticism of his technique, he concedes now that the experience left him “questioning my ability for a while”.It is not hard to understand why. Until the start of the English summer of 2015, Ballance had enjoyed a fantastic start to his career. He averaged more than 60 in Test cricket and more than 50 in first-class. It seemed he had the technique and temperament for a long career at this level.But then, faced with two excellent seam attacks from New Zealand and Australia, his career stuttered. While he contributed a vital 61 in the opening Test of the 2015 Investec Ashes at Cardiff, it was his only half-century in 10 innings. His method, playing unusually deep in the crease, attracted criticism and appeared to leave him vulnerable against the full, moving delivery.At first, in the weeks following his axing from the side, he experimented with an adapted technique. But it never felt comfortable or brought the desire results. So he reasoned that he would revert to the method that had served him so well previously.Whether that decision was wise or weak depends on who you ask. Some suggest Ballance has been stubborn in refusing to acknowledge the faults that betrayed him previously; others suggest it takes courage to stick to your own method in a system that has, at times in recent years, appeared a bit one-size-fits-all.He feels there is a middle path: it’s not so much that his technique required changing; it was more that it required better execution. He looks certain to play here. After sustaining a minor groin strain that obliged him to sit out a T20 game at the weekend, he trained on Tuesday and declared himself fully fit. He will bat at No. 5, below James Vince and above Jonny Bairstow.”I changed a bit and I stopped scoring runs,” Ballance says now. “There’s so much outside pressure, so much scrutiny when you’re not going well, that you feel forced to change. You go away from what you’re actually good at. You try different things in the nets and then you think: I’ll become a worse player if I do this.”So then I tried to go back to how I had played when I scored runs and how I did and what’s best for me. I knew I needed to work on a few things and tinker with a few things, but at the end of the day I’m trying to do what’s best for me and what’s the best way of scoring runs.”I know the way I play is not perfect, but hopefully it gets me runs. I feel as long as I’m balanced at the crease, my head’s still and I move early enough, that’s the most important thing. You have to do what you think is best for yourself. And if it’s not good enough, so be it.”It is not the first time Ballance has been faced with adversity. Half-a-dozen years ago, he underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix.There’s nothing unusual about that, of course. Except that six years before that, he had already had his appendix removed. But the symptoms reoccurred and, after 10 doctors failed to diagnose his stump appendicitis – a condition so rare that it is believed to occur in fewer than one in 50,000 appendectomy cases – Ballance’s condition had deteriorated so far that his life was jeopardy.”The odds weren’t good,” he says. “I was in hospital over a month and I’m lucky I came out of it alright.”But it could have been a lot worse. I mean, it was winter, so I didn’t miss much cricket.”That last phrase tells you a great deal about Ballance. It tells you how cricket has defined his life. While he went to university briefly – “I went to five lectures,” he says, “and thought about playing cricket all the time I was in them” – he was always going to be a cricketer and, having made his List A debut for Derbyshire aged 16, he made his first-class debut for Yorkshire aged 18. By the time he was 25, he had scored 1,000 Test runs in fewer innings than any England player other than Herbert Sutcliffe or Len Hutton.So, what can we expect from him in his second coming as a Test player?He will look very similar. He will still play unusually deep in his crease. He will still be strong on the cut and tend to duck the short ball. But he will, he says, be better balanced at the crease and more positive in his mental outlook.”Last year, I was playing and moving a bit too late,” he says. “So my weight was back when I was moving. Over the last six months, I’ve tried to move early enough so that, at the point of delivery, I’m absolutely still, my head is balanced and I’m in a neutral position. Every batter will tell you that if you’ve a still head and you’re balanced, that is the foundation.”And hopefully I can enjoy it a bit more this time. At times last year, I was so uptight and found the pressure massive. I maybe didn’t enjoy my success as much as I should have.”But this time round, hopefully I can just relax a bit more and just enjoy it. I’m going to appreciate it that bit more. And if it doesn’t go well, I’ll be more ‘so be it.'”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

ScorecardLiam Norwell narrowly fails to run out Steve Eskinazi•Getty Images

Benny Howell took his wicket tally in the NatWest T20 Blast South Group to 23 as Gloucestershire made sure of finishing top with a four-wicket victory over Middlesex at Bristol.The competition’s leading wicket-taker claimed 3 for 18 from his four overs to help restrict the visitors to 156 for 5 after winning the toss. John Simpson top scored with 40 not out, while spinners Tom Smith and Graeme van Buuren both bowled tightly.In reply, Gloucestershire reached 162 for 6 with three balls to spare, Jack Taylor seeing them home with an explosive 44 off 23 balls, including 4 sixes, after Ian Cockbain had contributed 42.Some of the edge was taken off the game by the fact that both sides were already sure of quarter-final places, in Gloucestershire’s case with home advantage. But it still produced a thrilling finish.

Gloucs look to Grieshaber

Gloucestershire skipper Michael Klinger admitted Gl;oucestershire are short on wicketkeeping cover after they drew Durham in the last eight.
“Durham creates a problem for us in terms of a wicketkeeper because Gareth Roderick and Chris Dent are injured and we won’t be able to play Phil Mustard, who is on loan to us from our quarter-final opponents.
“It is something we will overcome. Young Pat Grieshaber did well for us behind the stumps in our Royal London Cup win over Sussex at Cheltenham and showed he can bat as well in that game.”

Middlesex made a promising start to their innings as Nick Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi scored 52 off the first five overs before Gubbins, on 29, having hit 3 sixes, skied a catch to on-loan wicketkeeper Phil Mustard off Andrew Tye.James Franklin fell cheaply against his old club, stumped in Howell’s first over. But it was the all-rounder’s second over that proved most damaging as he had Eskinazi caught at short third-man for 29 and George Bailey lbw for one three balls later.The Middlesex innings got bogged down against Howell, typically effective with his pace-off-the-ball seamers, and the two Gloucestershire spinners, who shared seven overs at a cost of just 36 runs.Simpson and Ryan Higgins did their best to pick up the pace in the closing overs, while Toby Roland-Jones hit a four and a six off the last, sent down by Tye. But the Middlesex score still looked below par.Gloucestershire made a brisk start in reply, Michael Klinger and Hamish Marshall taking the score to 31 in the third over before Marshall, on 16, was run out attempting a second to third-man and failing to beat Roland-Jones’ throw to the keeper.That brought together two of the leading run-makers in the competition, Klinger and Cockbain, who soon overtook his skipper. An out-of-sorts Klinger was dropped on ten by Nathan Sowter at deep cover off Harris before falling for 13, caught trying to reverse sweep the relieved Sowter.Mustard was quickly bowled by Franklin and when Roland-Jones struck twice in the 15th over, having Cockbain caught at cover and bowling Howell as he advanced down the track, Gloucestershire looked to be in trouble at 101 for five.Taylor hit the first six of the innings as 14 came off the 17th over, bowled by Harris, and van Buuren followed up with a maximum off Ollie Rayner before falling next ball.With 24 needed from the last two overs, Taylor blasted successive sixes off Roland-Jones and nine were required as Steve Finn prepared to bowl the last six deliveries.The first was a no-balled bouncer costing two extras. Taylor missed the next one and smacked the next to mid-wicket where the diving Sowter failed to gather and let the ball slip through for a boundary.The scores were level when Finn was no-balled again for a bouncer and Taylor cut the next delivery for six over cover to end the game.

Bangladesh’s strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan has said that it will take Mustafizur Rahman one month to recover from the hamstring and ankle injuries he picked up during IPL 2016. Villavarayan said that his improvement will be assessed weekly.”Ideal [time to be fully fit] would be one month,” Villavarayan said. “But we will see how he does this week and take it from there. As of today, there’s marginal improvement. It was a long season for him, so we are working on him. We assessed him yesterday and he has improved, and we will assess him again next week and take it from there. He has responded well.”Mustafizur, who has already missed four Royal One-Day London Cup and five NatWest T20 Blast matches for Sussex, will be unavailable for another six T20s and rest of the group stage matches of the one-day tournament. He is expected to be available for three T20 games in the end of July, and will be available for the latter stages of both competitions if Sussex qualify.Last month, Mustafizur had informed those close to him of the fatigue he was suffering after playing continuously in the IPL.This prompted Sussex to give him some time off from his contract, at least until June 10, as well as abandon ambitions for him also to play some Championship cricket during his stay.Sussex have remained patient throughout and are hoping to have further conversations with Bangladesh representatives early next week. They have covered Mustafizur’s absence by extending the contract of David Wiese, but he is due to be with Barbados Tridents at the Caribbean Premier League by the end of the month, leaving Sussex with a potentially tricky period unless Mustafizur feels fit enough to begin his education in English conditions slightly earlier.Last week, Bangladesh’s physio Bayjidul Islam had said that he would be assessed for two weeks before any decision is taken on his stint with Sussex.

Match facts

Thursday, May 19, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big picture

On the eve of their second last league game, against Gujarat Lions, that can seal their playoff spot, Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a major blow with the loss of Andre Russell to an injury he picked up against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Apart from being a vital batsman in the slog overs, Russell is Knight Riders’ highest wicket-taker in the season so far, with 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.97. On what is expected to be a batting-friendly Green Park pitch, and against a line-up that contains Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo, Russell’s loss would be huge, especially while bowling in the Powerplay overs. Their batting, though, looks settled with an in-form Gautam Gambhir at the top, followed by a consistent middle order.Lions, on the other hand, will be boosted by the arrival of their captain Suresh Raina, who returns from paternity leave. After kickstarting their campaign with six wins in their first seven matches, Lions suffered four losses in their next five matches. The most harrowing of those came against Royal Challengers in their last game, in which they slid to a 144-run defeat, the largest margin in IPL history. The defeat had severe effects on their net run rate (currently -0.747), and their best chance of qualifying is by winning both their games. A loss to Knight Riders will still keep them alive, though.Another concern for Lions will be their failure to surge in the latter half of the innings. In this IPL, they have the second-fastest run rate in the first ten overs – 8.33 (behind Royal Challengers’ 8.36), but in the second half, they have been scoring at 7.66 – the worst among all teams. They are coming off quite a long lay-off – just one match in the last ten days – and will be eager to jump to second place with a win.

Form guide

Gujarat Lions LWLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders LWLWW

In the spotlight

Piyush Chawla‘s smart use of the googly, and a very quick quicker one have helped him overshadow the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine this season. Chawla has not let Narine’s poor returns affect his team’s fortunes, and – along with Russell – has led Knight Riders’ bowling charge with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.72.With 286 runs at a strike rate of 126.54 in 11 matches, Suresh Raina has had a quiet season so far. He will look to turn things around with two vital games ahead, and help accelerate the scoring in the end overs.

Team news

In all probability, Akshdeep Nath will make way for Raina. Barring any last-minute injuries, no other changes are expected.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum , 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Aaron Finch, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni, 10 Shivil Kaushik, 11 Pravin TambeWhile there is no like-for-like replacement for Russell, fellow West Indian Jason Holder is likely to get his second match of the season as his fast bowling and big hitting on a small ground could be key factors ahead of Chris Lynn and Colin Munro.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Robin Uthappa (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ankit Rajpoot, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

“I believe the batsmen will have the edge over the bowlers, and a score of 180 plus can be scored by the team batting first,” curator Shiv Kumar told the before the first ever IPL match at Green Park. The pitch, that wore a pale green look, was hard and full of runs for Thursday. Temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius have been forecast for the evening, with no rain expected.

Stats and trivia

• Raina has hit 142 runs off Chawla in the IPL – the highest by any batsman off a single bowler. He has been dismissed four times off 79 balls by the Chawla
• Thursday’s game will be the first ever T20 match at the Green Park

Quotes

“We just need to believe we can win from any situation. We just need to work hard on our game, work hard in our mind and hopefully everything will fall in place.”

New Zealand fast bowler Will O’Rourke faces at least three months on the sidelines after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back. Finn Allen also faces a lengthy spell out while Glenn Phillips will miss the T20Is against Australia and captain Mitchell Santner is doubtful.O’Rourke, who reported back stiffness on the third day of the opening Test against Zimbabwe, will miss the white-ball series against Australia, England and West Indies at a minimum and could also be a doubt for the three Tests against West Indies which follow in December. He will undergo a three-month strength and conditioning block before a firmer timeline is put in place for a return with coach Rob Walter hopeful it won’t develop into an injury that needs surgery.”We’re really feeling for Will at the moment and wishing him speedy recovery,” Walter said in an NZC release. “He’s had such an impressive start to his career and so naturally it is disappointing when an injury like this comes along, but he’s a resilient guy and determined to put the work in and come back stronger.”Related

• Santner ruled out of NZ's T20I series against Australia; Jamieson, Sears return

• Super Mariu stops by for lessons in Chennai on journey to great things

• Dale Phillips learns to stop worrying and start living as a 'player of interest'

• Kelly and Carter to lead young New Zealand A squad in SA

“We’re very hopeful for that [three month time frame]. Stress fractures are obviously almost part and parcel of the craft, really, but never nice when it does happen. At this stage, we will reassess after that three month mark, hopefully the healing process has gone really well and we can get into that return to play.”Allrounder Phillips, who was ruled out of the recent Zimbabwe tour with a groin injury, will miss the matches against Australia which take place on October 1, 3 and 4 in Mount Maunganui. Meanwhile, Allen has had surgery on a stress fracture in his right foot which will require three months recovery.However, Santner will be given every chance to feature against Australia after returning from the Hundred with groin pain which will require abdominal surgery.”Mitch is a world class player and a crucial part of our T20 side from a skills and leadership point of view,” Walter said. “With that in mind we expect to name him in our squad when we announce it in a couple of weeks’ time, and from there we can assess how his rest and rehabilitation progresses following surgery, before making a call on the eve of the series.”It’s disappointing to lose the services of Glenn and Finn who have played important batting roles in our T20 set up in recent times. Like in Zimbabwe, their unavailability will present opportunities for others to put their hands up in what’s going to be a hugely exciting and important series against Australia.”Fast bowler Ben Sears has recovered from the side strain that kept him out of the Zimbabwe tour and is expected to be available to face Australia.

Cordelia Griffith’s bustling knock of 60 from 35 balls laid the foundations for Essex to end their Vitality Blast campaign on a high by seeing off Durham at Chelmsford.The right-hander shared a second-wicket partnership of 66 from 44 with skipper Grace Scrivens (48 from 39) as the home side posted 164 for 3.Durham looked well-placed to chase that down after an opening stand of 78 from 57 between Suzie Bates, who top-scored with 45 from 39 and Emma Marlow – but the momentum shifted after the pair both departed in quick succession.Spinners Abtaha Maqsood and Sophia Smale, who both returned 2 for 26, squeezed the visitors further and their five-match unbeaten sequence came to an end as they fell nine runs short.With Lauren Winfield-Hill returning to Yorkshire at the end of her loan spell, Maddie Penna moved up to open with Scrivens and their partnership of 63 from 52 provided Essex with a strong start after winning the toss.Having pummelled Katherine Fraser to the fence twice in her knock of 25 from 29, the hard-hitting Australian was then given out leg before, but Griffith took up the baton with relish as she lifted Sophia Turner over long-on for six.Griffith’s positive running between the wickets, allied with aggressive strokeplay, propelled her beyond her partner as she raced to a 26-ball half-century but Scrivens narrowly missed out on that landmark, caught reverse paddling Sophia Turner.Durham finished strongly, with legspinner Katie Levick (1 for 24) removing Griffith and she and Sophia Turner gave away just 13 from the last two overs – six of those from the final ball of the innings, dispatched out of the ground by Jo Gardner.Like the home side, Durham progressed through their batting powerplay without shedding any wickets and Bates’ powerful striking kept the scoreboard ticking along as she thumped Kate Coppack for successive boundaries.Marlow (25 from 23) filled a capable supporting role until her miscued drive off Smale sailed into the hands of extra cover – and Durham lost their other set batter in the next over when Bates holed out off Maqsood.The legspinner also accounted for Hollie Armitage, bowled attempting a reverse sweep, but former Essex player Mady Villiers (28 from 22) and Bess Heath (24 from 18) kept the visitors in contention, adding a quickfire 40.However, the task of scoring 17 from the final over proved beyond Durham, who lost two wickets in three balls to stumpings by Amara Carr as Penna closed the game out.

Following his Ranji Trophy century for Delhi against Tamil Nadu on Sunday, batter Yash Dhull expressed his gratefulness to be back in action following a heart surgery in July. It was a “minor” issue, he said, but one that could have caused serious issues later on if not addressed.Dhull held Delhi together with an unbeaten 103 out of 264 for 8 in reply to Tamil Nadu’s mammoth 674 for 6 declared at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. This is Dhull’s first competitive tournament since his surgery.”This was a very important innings for me because this is after surgery,” Dhull said after the day’s play. “I have seen a lot. When you come back to playing on such a platform and start a new innings, this is good motivation and a positive sign.”Speaking of the issue that forced the surgery, Dhull, who will turn 22 in November, said: “I got to know it is minor and from birth [congenital]. [But] I am playing at the ground again, this is God’s doing. I am blessed.”I got to know [of the issue] during a camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. This is life. Something or the other happens.”This was a congenital problem. Normally the surgery happens after birth. Mine has happened very late. That we got to know was very important. Because after the age of 35, this would have harmed. Being back on the field makes me very happy.”Dhull, who has previously captained India’s Under-19 team, completed his sixth first-class century here, in his 25th first-class game. He scored 10 in his previous game, against Chhattisgarh, which was his first since February. He said he was just looking to go about his batting as usual. “I haven’t made any changes. I am focusing on doing what I have always done and I believe in that.”This was a very important innings personally. I told to myself that and visualised [what I would do].”With one day to go in the game, Delhi will be looking to hold Tamil Nadu off and prevent them from growing their lead at the top of Group D.

West Indies 176 for 3 (Pooran 65*, Hope 51, Athanaze 40, Baartman 2-30) beat South Africa 174 for 7 (Stubbs 76, Kruger 44, Forde 3-27, Shamar 2-40) by seven wicketsWest Indies pulled off the highest successful T20 chase at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba to go 1-0 up in the three-match series against South Africa.After deciding to bowl first, moments before heavy rain delayed the start of play by an hour, West Indies took control when they had South Africa 42 for 5 after eight overs. South Africa recovered thanks to a sixth-wicket partnership of 71 runs from 50 balls between Patrick Kruger and Tristan Stubbs, before Stubbs and Bjorn Fortuin shared a seventh-wicket stand of 60 off 25 balls to give the innings much needed acceleration. Matthew Forde, playing his third T20I, equalled his career-best figures of 3 for 27.West Indies were always in control of the chase. Shai Hope and Alick Athanaze put on 84 in 49 balls for the opening wicket before Hope and Nicholas Pooran’s 54-run partnership, off 33 balls, broke South Africa’s back. Pooran was particularly severe on an inexperienced South Africa’s attack and scored his fastest T20I fifty – off 20 balls – and finished unbeaten on 65 off 26.Without the core of their attack, especially as Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the series with a calf strain before the match began, South Africa’s depth was tested. They fielded their youngest-ever debutant, Kwena Maphaka, at 18 years and 137 days, and he picked up his first international wicket when he had West Indies captain Rovman Powell caught at extra cover. By then, West Indies needed just three runs to win and Roston Chase finished things off with a four off the next ball. West Indies won the match with 13 balls to spare.

West Indies’ early triple-strike

Powell’s decision to bowl first paid off almost immediately when, after an impressive three-run opening over from Akeal Hosein, Forde made the first incision: Ryan Rickelton reached to cut a short, wide ball and toe-ended to Pooran. Aiden Markram countered with a strong reverse sweep and pull off Hosein but then hit Forde straight to Gudakesh Motie at mid-on. Two balls later, Reeza Hendricks got a leading edge to Shamar Joseph’s first delivery, which swirled to Hosein at deep third and continued a miserable run for the opener. Hendricks has gone past 20 in only two of his last 11 T20I innings.South Africa struggled through their powerplay and ended on 33 for 3. Rassie van der Dussen was strangled down leg as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted and Joseph had his second.

Sensational Stubbs

South Africa were in trouble at 42 for 5 after eight overs with all their recognised batters, bar Stubbs, back in the dugout. Stubbs initially played out of character and had just 13 runs off his first 16 balls. His first sign of intent came when he sent Motie over long-on for the biggest six of the innings, but it was only after Kruger’s innings ended that Stubbs took control.Tristan Stubbs accelerated from 25 off 23 balls to finish with 76 off 42 balls•AFP/Getty Images

He took successive fours off full deliveries from Forde either side of the wicket, and then reached fifty off 33 balls when he hit Joseph over cover point. He scored 23 runs off the last six balls he faced, and was going for six more when he holed out to long-on on the penultimate ball of the innings. But with 174 on the board, he had given his bowlers something to defend.

Hope and Athanaze give West Indies dream start

It took ten deliveries before West Indies scored their first boundary, but when they did, the floodgates opened. Athanaze, opening the batting in his second T20I, swept Fortuin over long leg, then Hope deposited Ottneil Baartman over long-off and through deep-backward square-leg, but the real damage was done in the fifth over. Athanaze plundered 20 runs off Nandre Burger, including two sixes over deep square-leg, and a gorgeous late cut that went for four and forced South Africa to turn to a fifth bowler within the powerplay. Aiden Markram bowled himself but was even more expensive as he went for 21. Hope scored 16 of those runs off three balls – two of them down-on-one-knee sixes over long-on and long-off – to help West Indies complete an impressive 75-run powerplay.

Pooran’s four successive sixes all but finishes off

With 70 runs off 54 balls required for the win, Pooran saw an opportunity to end things quickly when Burger was brought back in the 12th over. After Hope got off strike, Burger tried a slower ball to Pooran, who had more than enough time to hit him straight over long-off for a 77-metre six. Burger’s next ball was also pace-off and ended up being a full toss and Pooran helped it over midwicket and into the stands. The next two balls were faster and still full and Pooran had his eye in. He hit Burger down the ground for two more sixes to take the equation down to 45 off 48 balls. West Indies lost a couple of wickets but reached the target comfortably in the end.

It didn’t quite reach the climax the third evening had promised, but the one-off Ireland vs Zimbabwe Test had most results possible for the best part of the morning session on the fourth day till Ireland killed off the contest. Ireland had been reduced to 21 for 5 after a fiery spell from Richard Ngarava on the third evening, which had left the small band of Zimbabwe supporters in Belfast delirious. But Lorcan Tucker’s second Test fifty and Andy McBrine’s third ensured Ireland silenced them quickly – and took away the match – with a 96-run stand on the fourth morning.That paved the way for Ireland’s first home Test win, and also gave them back-to-back victories in the format, after they had beaten Afghanistan for their Test first win this March.Play began on day four with the sun out, and conditions perfectly suited for batting. It was brighter than on previous days, the zip which the pitch had offered Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani the previous evening was missing, and Tucker and McBrine capitalised.Lorcan Tucker played positively from the start of the day despite the shaky position Ireland were in•Sportsfile via Getty Images

Zimbabwe maintained an attacking field to both batters for the best part of the first hour, filling up the slip cordon with three catchers. But that left vacant spaces in the outfield, and Ireland’s left-right combination didn’t hesitate to attack when the line was wide or the length too full. The first instance of that came as early as in the fourth ball of the morning, when Tucker reached out to a full ball slightly wide outside off, and drove for four to deep point.The first 13 overs of the day produced 61 runs, with a boundary virtually every over. McBrine was particularly impressive on the pull, with which he got two boundaries – the first off Ngarava to beat deep-backward square-leg to the right, and the second off Muzarabani in front of square, as Ireland chipped away at the target.Zimbabwe bowled Ngarava and Muzarabani for the first eight overs, in the hope that they would repeat their magic from the third evening. But, by then, Tucker had brought up the fifty stand by clipping Ngarava off his pads. It was a chanceless stand between the Ireland batters on Sunday, unlike what we had seen on the previous evening, when the extra bounce and movement had left their top-order batters searching for answers.There was a spot of the incredulous in the 18th over of the innings. McBrine and Tucker ran five runs despite there not being an overthrow. McBrine had punched Ngarava to beat Tendai Chatara to his right at extra cover off the second ball of the over. Chatara chased it all the way to the longer side of the ground, and pushed the ball back just in time. But he had overrun, crossed the advertising boards, and his momentum had taken him quite a way beyond. By the time he returned to throw the ball back, the batters had enough time to run five without really stretching themselves.Blessing Muzarabani picked up Zimbabwe’s only wicket on the fourth day•Sportsfile via Getty Images

Three balls later, Ngarava finally replicated the threat of the third evening. The ball kicked up off a length at Tucker and looped up off his gloves, but fell just short of the gully fielder.Sean Williams was then brought into the attack in the 20th over, but his left-arm spin hardly made any difference, as Tucker and McBrine ticked along steadily.Tucker brought up his half-century when he hit Muzarabani through the covers for three to start the 24th over, and that shot brought Ireland’s requirement to below 50. Muzarabani did clean Tucker up for 56 two overs later, even as McBrine was beaten on an attempted drive, a flash, and one that kept low to hit his front pad outside leg.Zimbabwe would have hoped Tucker’s wicket would give them scope for a late comeback, but there was no such luck for them. McBrine too got to his half-century – he finished unbeaten on 55 – and in the company of Mark Adair, who scored 24 not out with four boundaries, completed the job.It was the perfect end to what was a fantastic Test for McBrine. He picked up 3 for 37 and 4 for 38 in the two Zimbabwe innings, and had contributed 28 in Ireland’s first innings before the unbeaten half-century in the second, all of which made him the deserving Player of the Match.

Middlesex beat the Kent Spitfires by four wickets in Vitality Blast at Canterbury after a brilliant fight back in the field.Luke Hollman pulled Matt Parkinson for the winning six with four balls remaining, after Ryan Higgins 44 hit from 29 balls and Stephen Eskinazi made 40.Middlesex finished on 178 for 6 and the win followed a superb recovery with the ball: at one point they looked likely to be chasing a target of well over 200.Daniel Bell-Drummond made 60 from 38 balls but after plundering 118 from the first 11 overs, Kent were restricted to 173 for 8, Hollman taking 2 for 18 and Tom Helm 2 for 24.The visitors chose to field and Tom Helm got Zak Crawley for four when he drove the third ball of the innings straight to Martin Andersson at extra cover.Blake Cullen then sent Tawanda Muyeye’s leg stump flying for 12 but Bell-Drummond and Marcus O’Riordan countered with a rapid stand of 66 from 29 balls. Higgins had the latter lbw for 28 and Sam Billings was bowled for 10 by Hollman, trying to reverse sweep.The run rate dipped drastically after Bell-Drummond holed out to Hollman and was caught by Leus du Plooy. Joey Evison played on to Josh de Caires and was bowled for four and Kent couldn’t manage a single boundary in overs 15 to 17.The 18th went for 15 but the last two went for just 10 after Joe Denly skied Helm to Eskinazi for 28 and Beyers Swanepoel swiped Henry Brookes to the same fielder for eight.Kent reverted to their title-winning strategy of 2021 by throwing the ball to Denly and he took his 50th T20 wicket when he trapped Andersson lbw for a five-ball duck.Yet the visitors again rallied: Eskinazi hit the first sixes of the match and looked well set until he tried to ramp Swanepoel and played on.Kent’s hopes rose again when Xavier Bartlett pinned Higgins at the start of the 13th and three balls later he sent du Plooy’s off stump flying for 18.Max Holden hit Grant Stewart for successive fours but then ramped him straight to Matt Parkinson and was out for 17.Hollman, however, eased visiting nerves when he hit Parkinson for a six and a four in the 17th and Jack Davies dumped Bartlett’s first ball of the 18th over cow corner for six.Davies then chipped Bartlett to Evison and was out for 23, but by then Middlesex just needed 11 off the last two overs with four wickets in hand.De Caires straight drove Swanepoel for four to leave the visitors one blow from victory and with three needed off the last six, Hollman creamed Parkinson over cow corner.