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Yorkshire’s final three wickets fell in just 40 minutes on day three, giving the hosts a manageable target of 158

ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2024Leus Du Plooy and Ryan Higgins steered Middlesex to six-wicket victory over Vitality County Championship Division Two favourites Yorkshire on an absorbing day three at Lord’s.Hungarian citizen Du Plooy and the Zimbabwean-born Higgins, shared a match-winning stand of 59 just as the Seaxes were wobbling at 77 for 3 in pursuit of 158 to win in this low-scoring encounter.Du Plooy fell eight short of 50 with victory in sight, but Higgins remained 33 not out when Stephen Eskinazi made the winning runs. Ben Coad’s 2 for 20 led a spirited attempt by the visitors to defend the tally, but in the end they didn’t have enough on the board.The chase came after Yorkshire, who resumed on 216-7 were dismissed in the first 40 minutes of the day for 244, George Hill last man out after extending his overnight 52 to 75 with several well struck boundaries, Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones finishing with 3 for 78.The win marks a significant moment for Middlesex. Relegated from the top tier last year after gleaning only five batting bonus points – three of those in the final game of the season – they had surpassed that total in the first two games of this against a Kookaburra ball rendered impotent by placid surfaces.This however was in many ways the acid test, a fourth innings run chase in a game where batting had proved difficult against just about everyone’s tip for the laurels.It should probably come as no surprise that Du Plooy, the man brought in over the winter to shore up the batting ranks, combined with Higgins, so often the sole contributor in 2023, to get Middlesex over the line.There was drama first ball of the chase when Shan Masood brilliantly fielded Nathan Fernandes’s cover-drive and shied at the stumps, the suspicion being the youngster would have been short of his ground had the throw hit, despite a full-length dive. Two balls later however, Mark Stoneman was trapped lbw to Coad for nought giving the visitors a dream start.A tense 75 minutes unfolded as Fernandes and Holden resisted against probing bowling. Holden calmed home nerves with a couple of glorious cover drives, before being given a life on 17 when gloving a short one from Mickey Edwards only for Jonathan Tattersall to spill the gift and allow the hosts to lunch on 40 for 1.When battle resumed it was just as tense, Fernandes and Holden, defiant in defence, getting a big stride in as often as possible to negate any swing. The partnership crept to 50 before four overthrows from a sharp Holden single added to the visitors’ growing sense of frustration.The tension though would tell on Fernandes, who, bogged down, hooked an innocuous short ball from Thompson down the throat of Hill at long leg. Du Plooy might have followed him a few balls later to an identical shot which to his relief carried a few yards further and cleared the rope.Coad returned to have Holden caught behind from one that bounced on him and was taken by Tattersall standing up, in the aftermath of which time seemed to stand still as disciplined bowling to a well-set field suffocated attempts to score.Boundaries for Ryan Higgins in successive overs from Thompson helped the hosts over 100, those blows seeming to break the shackles as the White Rose which had for so long promised to blossom amid adversity, slowly but inexorably wilted.Du Plooy slashed one from Moriarty to Adam Lyth at slip on 42, but victory came without further alarms 25 minutes after tea.Earlier Coad had edged his first ball of the day from Ethan Bamber into the hands of Du Plooy at slip to end an eighth-wicket stand of 62 and thereafter only the aggression of Hill pushed Yorkshire’s lead beyond 150.

Surrey seamers snare 15 wickets between them in comfortable win at Edgbaston

David Hopps29-Apr-2023If ever a day’s cricket warranted a trigger warning for the weather-ravaged occupants of the Hollies Stand, this was it. Expectations that Warwickshire could take the game deep into the final day were banished as Surrey took clinical advantage of ideal bowling conditions to brush their second innings aside in 40 overs, the match over with virtually a day and a session to spare.Five wickets for Kemar Roach brought him 8 for 67 in the match and took him past 500 first-class wickets; three for Dan Worrall took his tally to 7 for 93. Much is made of how much they enjoy bowling together and with these sorts of returns, it could hardly be a more satisfying alliance.”Kemar and Dan complement each other perfectly,” said Surrey’s coach Gareth Batty. “They are basic opposites which is great. They are highly-skilled, highly intelligent and with the experience to back it up. We have passed a few numbers their way and said, ‘look we just need to tighten up in certain areas, and the response has been through the roof.”Only Ed Barnard’s 49 saved Warwickshire from an innings defeat and even he bashed the ground in frustration when he was ninth out, nicking a rising ball from Worrall to the wicketkeeper. It all ended with a chucklesome tail-enders’ run out between Chris Rushworth and Oliver Hannon-Dalby with Hannon-Dalby’s series of indecisive, tiny steps down the pitch, after he had pushed the ball into the leg side, turning Rushworth’s brain to mush.Previous dispatches from Edgbaston might have intimated that Surrey and Warwickshire were the two most bloody-minded counties in Division One, both capable of soaking up considerable punishment yet still coming back for more. Well, they probably are. That is a measure of Surrey’s achievement in breaking the game in such startling fashion.Alec Stewart, their director of cricket, ably backed up by Batty and and skipper Rory Burns, have re-established the sort of Surrey dominance that was felt in the 1950s and again at the turn of the century. On and off the field, they are setting the standards. The Championship cannot be settled in April, especially by a side that has only won two matches in three, but it is already abundantly clear that they will take some stopping. Their sense of when to step up the tempo was another impressive element of their victory.Sixty-one runs in arrears with two Surrey wickets to get: for Warwickshire, the position at the start of play was ominous, especially in such a low-scoring match, but not quite irretrievable.In the Hollies, they settled in for the long haul, but things became ominous from the moment Worrall opened his shoulders and twice smote Hannon-Dalby heartily through mid-on. A pulled six against Chris Rushworth followed. A new ball that was only three deliveries old at start of play was becoming a little battered.Worrall made 35 from 24 balls before he perished at deep mid-on and by the time Jamie Smith was last out for 88 at deep midwicket, attempting an extravagant leg-side pick-up off one knee, 70 had been pummelled in 11 overs and Warwickshire’s deficit was 131. Batty dared to talk of Smith as a potential future England international.Surrey’s new-ball assault on either side of lunch was then of the highest order. By the time Roach and Worrall had drunk their fill, Warwickshire were 50 for 6 from 16 overs. A surface that had settled, but only slightly, when Warwickshire were bowling was still full of life, enlivened in part by a murky morning.Warwickshire’s coach, Mark Robinson, bemoaned: “We were on the wrong side of conditions for the first two days and did really well to stay in the game but then a bad hour costs us. We are an emerging team and an exciting team and it won’t be the only time we get beaten this season but we will have lots more wins to come, too.”Roach has had a wonderful game, a quality overseas player who seems to be utterly engaged with his task. He swung and seamed the ball throughout and nobody had more cause to rue that than Rob Yates, who was twice picked off in Roach’s second over. If Yates fell to a good delivery on the opening day, he received an unplayable one on this occasion, Roach attacking the left-hander from around the wicket and leaving him massively off the seam.Worrall’s addition of Alex Davies in the following over was also down to movement off the pitch, Cameron Steel holding on at third slip. Roach had soon befuddled Warwickshire’s batters so much that Sam Hain departed pushing at a wide one, and the left-handed Rhodes was lbw to one that failed to swing.Dan Mousley had resisted gamely in the first innings, but some discussion appeared to have taken place about a technique that Roach had dubbed “very different.” Worrall swung one very wide across him and he couldn’t resist, Dom Sibley holding the fourth slip catch in five.A run out would have been an ignominious addition, and Barnard narrowly avoided it, diving back into the crease to beat Worrall’s throw from mid on after Michaal Burgess had changed his mind over a single. Burgess soon fell, square cutting at Roach, who by then was threatening wickets no matter what he bowled.Surrey’s change bowlers had to settle for one wicket between them – Jordan Clark’s inswinger bowling Chris Woakes through the gate. But the clouds were darkening, the floodlights flickering into life and Burns, impatient to get on with it, even fashioned a change of ball. It was enough for the new-ball pair to return to enhance their figures.The 11 needed were meant to be secured by a collector’s-item opening pairing of Worrall and Tom Lawes. Why ever not? Apparently, neither of them has opened before at this level, and one of them hadn’t even dreamed of it, only for it to be all too much for Worrall who pulled one into the legside and fell for nought.

Hobart Hurricanes’ playoffs hopes hang by a thread after yet another poor show by their batters

Tristan Lavalette23-Jan-2023Steven Smith’s purple patch with the bat continued as Sydney Sixers seriously dented Hobart Hurricanes’ BBL playoffs hopes with a 24-run victory at Blundstone Arena. Sixers, meanwhile, tuned up for the playoffs with their sixth straight win.After being sent in, Sixers were led by an imperious Smith, who thrashed 66 off 33 balls marked by half a dozen sixes. Chasing 181, Hurricanes lost regular wickets to never seriously threaten despite a classy 49 from Zak Crawley.Seventh-placed Hurricanes are two points behind fifth-placed Sydney Thunder and play their final match on Wednesday against Brisbane Heat in Launceston. Sixers had already locked the second spot on the ladder and meet Perth Scorchers in a blockbuster qualifying final at Optus Stadium.

Steven Smith keeps up red-hot form

Smith entered the match with consecutive centuries after lighting a fuse under the BBL since his much-anticipated return. There were concerns a back niggle might rule him out of this contest, but Smith seemed unaffected at the crease.Amid an absolute onslaught, Smith appeared well on course to become the first player to hit three tons in a row in T20 history. He fell short of the record books, but once again provided a stunning exhibition of power-hitting.Smith started with a six off seamer Joel Paris on his fourth delivery, and took on spin, too, by smashing left-armer Patrick Dooley over square leg.There was nothing Hurricanes’ bowlers could do against a rampaging Smith, who clubbed Tim David’s part-time spin on to the roof over deep midwicket. Another boundary brought up Smith’s half-century in just 22 deliveries with almost every delivery zinging off the sweet spot of his bat.Hurricanes were out of answers as every Smith blow was putting their season further on the brink. But Smith fell rather tamely, lbw, when he missed a knee-height full-toss from seamer Nathan Ellis.Smith reviewed, and was crestfallen to have been dismissed in such tame fashion. But he once again proved a point to critics in his mission to regain a permanent position in Australia’s T20I team.Remarkably, Smith has hit 24 sixes in just four innings – six ahead of next best Tim David and Matthew Short, who have both batted in 13 innings.Patrick Dooley picked up three wickets•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Patrick Dooley’s knack for key wickets continues

Hurricanes were staring down the barrel of an enormous chase but fought back after Smith’s dismissal in the ninth over.Not for the first time this season, it was Dooley chipping away with key wickets starting with snaring pinch-hitter Hayden Kerr after a brilliant diving catch on the boundary from Ben McDermott. He then dismissed Jordan Silk and Ben Dwarshuis to finish with a three-wicket haul in his return from a groin injury.Dooley, a lawyer in his day job, has become something of a talisman for the attack, but an expensive 18th over paved the way for a sloppy finish by Hurricanes’ bowlers.

Jackson Bird justifies inclusion as Sixers’ quicks dominate

On a surface offering movement, veteran quick Jackson Bird found early swing and finished with 2 for 26 from three overs.It was a solid audition for him ahead of Sixers’ trip to Perth’s pace-friendly Optus Stadium, but he was left annoyed after claiming a forward dividing catch on the first ball faced by Faheem Ashraf that was eventually deemed not out.It failed to dampen Sixers, with quicks Kerr and Sean Abbott also bowling well under pressure to finish with two wickets apiece. Abbott’s dismissal of Faheem made him the first bowler to claim 150 BBL wickets.Sean Abbott picked up two wickets in a solid spell for the Sixers quicks•Getty Images

Hobart Hurricanes’ batting fails to fire again

It seems unfathomable that Hurricanes will miss the playoffs considering the batting firepower at their disposal. But it has mostly proven fool’s gold in a disappointing season and that proved the case again against an experienced Sixers attack.Such a powerhouse in previous years, McDermott has been off the boil this season and came into the match with four straight single-digit failures. But he quickly reached double-figures this time with three boundaries in his first eight deliveries before falling shortly after for 13.When skipper Matthew Wade fell for 14 in the eighth over, Hurricanes’ fortunes again fell on in-form Tim David, who has been a shining light this season. David cracked three boundaries in his first four deliveries before his dismissal in the 12th over.Crawley ended a form slump, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Holkar stadium’s small boundaries promise another run-fest

Shashank Kishore03-Oct-20223:44

Jaffer: ‘India won’t want to chop and change’ this close to the T20 World Cup

Big picture

From the far east in Guwahati, the caravan rolls to dead center in Indore. It’s a city that loves its cricket so much so that they packed the stands just to be able to watch Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh roll the clock back at a net session during the Road Safety Exhibition series two weeks ago.On Tuesday, they will make a beeline for the Holkar Stadium, to be able to watch Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma, and maybe Quinton de Kock and David Miller, when India and South Africa square off in the final T20I of the series.Related

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It may be a dead rubber, but that doesn’t mean much for India’s tier-two cities. They don’t get to see a lot of live cricket so every game is deeply appreciated. The (passion) is actually at an all-time high. Cricketers from the region are being recognised like never before. Two Indore residents – Venkatesh Iyer and Avesh Khan – have already made their India debuts. Next week, another one – Rajat Patidar – could well join the list. Madhya Pradesh, of which Indore forms a big part in terms of cricket, are also Ranji Trophy winners. So the interest couldn’t be higher. Throw in the backdrop of the T20 World Cup, and the lines between a dead rubber and a must-win get blurred even more.South Africa have been ambushed by India once with the ball and once with the bat. But they gave a good account of themselves in trying to scale Mount Everest when Miller’s breathtaking century took South Africa close to India’s 237 and Tuesday is an opportunity to get over the line and carry some confidence into Australia.India have continued to push boundaries as a batting unit, but with the ball, especially without Jasprit Bumrah, the pieces of their jigsaw aren’t yet fully settled. Tuesday is their opportunity to get the death-bowling spot on.Given the short turnaround time, the game will be as much a test of the player’s fitness as it will be of their skill. Over to the twenty-two players then. Can they put up another spectacle, less than 48 hours after the big bash in Guwahati?

Form guide

India: WWWWL (last five completed T20Is; most recent first)
South Africa: LLWWWTemba Bavuma is coming on the back of successive T20I ducks•Associated Press

In the spotlight

Four-ball duck in Thiruvananthapuram. Seven-ball duck in Guwahati. What does Indore have in store? Temba Bavuma’s T20 form and approach have been under much scrutiny. The debates rage on about whether he’s the best player to lead South Africa in this format. That he didn’t attract any bids at the SA20 auction last month has magnified his struggles even more. Some runs and confidence will be welcome heading into Australia. At Holkar stadium, a good pitch and small boundaries await. Can he turn the tide?Arshdeep Singh is just 13 T20Is old but has already seen different ends of the emotional spectrum. At the Asia Cup, he was at the centre of merciless trolling for a dropped catch in a tight game against Pakistan. He bounced back with superb final overs even though it didn’t translate into Indian victories. In Guwahati, he came in on the high of a three-wicket over that set up India’s win but got his radar wrong and was taken apart for 62 off his full quota. With a huge cloud over Bumrah, Arshdeep will want to do everything he can to stay in contention because there are a lot of options at India’s disposal.

Team news

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been given a short break to head home and recuperate before departing for the T20 World Cup on October 6. This could mean an opportunity for Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to get some batting time out in the middle. Shahbaz Ahmed, the batting allrounder, may also stand a chance of making his India debut.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Rishabh Pant (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Axar Patel, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Arshdeep Singh2:05

Rahul: ‘When batting first, we always try to be aggressive and take a lot of risks’

South Africa will want to win and may not want to experiment too much. Can they find a way to fit in Reeza Hendricks though?South Africa (probable): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Rilee Rossouw/Reeza Hendricks, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Pitch and conditions

Indore is known to provide batting belters. It’s also one of the smallest grounds in India. Is there more to be said? Expect a high-scoring encounter. There could be a hint of dew in the second half that could make it easier for the team chasing.

Stats and trivia

• Arshdeep’s 62 were the second-most runs conceded by an India bowler in T20I cricket.
• In T20Is, South Africa haven’t conceded more than the 237 they did in Guwahati
• On Sunday, Rohit became the first Indian to feature in 400 T20s
• The Indore T20I will be India’s 31st in 2022, the most-ever by a team in a calendar year
• Quinton de Kock is 36 short of being the second South African to 2000 T20I runs; Miller became the first in Guwahati

England captains past and present named in Yorkshire and Durham squads for latest round

Andrew Miller04-May-2022Joe Root and Ben Stokes, England’s past and present Test captains, will both return to action for the first time this season in the latest round of LV= County Championship matches on Thursday.Root, who stood down last month during an extended break following England’s series loss in the Caribbean, has been named in a 14-man squad for Yorkshire’s trip to Essex, where he is set to come up against his own predecessor as Test captain, Alastair Cook, as well as Essex’s attack-leading spinner, Simon Harmer – a player he can expect to face again at Test level this summer following Harmer’s successful return to the South Africa set-up.Stokes, meanwhile, has been named in Durham’s squad for their trip to face Worcestershire at New Road, having sat out the opening rounds of the season while managing a knee injury that he aggravated while bowling 99 overs during the three Tests against West Indies – the heaviest workload among England’s seamers.Related

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He was officially unveiled as England’s 81st Test captain during a round of media interviews at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, during which he confirmed that he would lean on Root’s support as he gets to grips with his new responsibilities.”Joe will be a senior player, he is a senior player in this group, and he always will be going forward,” Stokes said. “He will always be someone that I look to for advice, he’ll always be someone that players will turn to and look to for advice as well, because he’s captained the team for six years so it’d be stupid not to consider him as someone to go and ask for advice from.”Root himself returned to training last week, linking up with Yorkshire’s new batting coach, Ali Maiden, at Headingley during Yorkshire’s last home Championship game against Kent. After thriving with the bat in the Caribbean, with centuries in each of the two drawn Tests in Antigua and Barbados, Root may find Essex’s conditions similarly conducive to run-scoring after a pair of stalemates to open the season at Chelmsford.Maiden, who joined the club in February as an assistant to the new head coach, Ottis Gibson, told Yorkshire’s club website that he was already relishing the chance to work with Root, a man who was last month named as Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World for 2021, following his immense haul of 1708 runs at 61.00 in 15 Tests.”I had one session with Joe last week, and he was amazing really,” Maiden said. “I threw at him for an hour and we chatted about his batting. Then we had a competition, which he set, and the loser had to make a brew for the other person.”It was first to 10. If he gets one wrong or miscues one, I get a point. If he executes his shot correctly, he gets the point. He smashed me. I lost, and we sat together for about an hour again and chatted about batting. He was fantastic and just as enthusiastic about it as I was. He’s a legendary bloke and a legendary player.”Root’s mindset will nevertheless be under close scrutiny in the wake of his England resignation, which came after he had indicated a willingness to carry on in the role, in spite of a run of results – one win in 17 Tests – that has left England with their lowest ICC ranking since 1995.His support for his friend, Stokes, will be unequivocal, however. After the appointment was confirmed, Root tweeted a picture of the pair in a post-match embrace, with the message: “Always got each other’s backs. Congratulations mate, I’ll be right with you every step of the way.”Yorkshire are set to be without their international pair of fast bowlers, Pakistan’s Haris Rauf – who sustained a niggle during the Kent fixture – and Matt Fisher, who debuted in the Caribbean but has been sidelined for four weeks with a stress reaction in his back. Essex, meanwhile, will once again be missing Dan Lawrence following his hamstring strain.Neither James Anderson nor Saqib Mahmood will feature this week for Lancashire, as they take on Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford. Anderson is rested after back-to-back games while Mahmood is undergoing treatment after a shoulder injury he suffered over the winter. Chris Woakes might return next week after injury, but Ben Foakes is back for Surrey after missing the draw in Bristol with a minor back injury.Ollie Robinson, the England seamer who missed all three Tests in the Caribbean following a back spasm, is also expected to make his first appearance since the Hobart Test in January, after being named in Sussex’s squad for their home fixture against Middlesex. That match will also be notable for the potential clash between the Pakistani pairing of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan.

Confusion at Port Elizabeth as wicket is overturned following Joe Root’s declaration

Andrew Miller17-Jan-2020South Africa’s frustrations on the second afternoon at Port Elizabeth were exacerbated by a bizarre incident towards the end of England’s first innings, when Joe Root was permitted to withdraw his team’s declaration after an umpiring error.The incident occurred in the 149th over of England’s innings, after the apparent dismissal of Mark Wood who was caught at mid-on off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada.Root waved his batsmen in with the score of 467 for 9, only to change his decision when Rabada’s delivery was shown by the TV umpire to have been a no-ball.England were handed the extra run as the players returned to the middle, and went on to add a further 31 runs in 20 deliveries, before Wood was this time legally dismissed for 42, leaving Ollie Pope unbeaten on 135.According to Law 15.3, pertaining to declaration and forfeitures, a captain’s decision “cannot be changed” once he has notified the opposing captain and the umpires.However, an MCC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the “right decision” had been reached, given that the ICC’s playing regulations make provision for the use of replays to aid decision-making.”One should have some sympathy for Root,” the spokesman added, “because it is clear that, had the umpires not made an error in failing to call the no-ball, he would not have declared when he did.”Although the ICC’s playing conditions make no specific reference to erroneous declarations, clause 2.5.4 states that, in the event of a no-ball being called following a check by the third umpire, “the batting side shall benefit from the reversal of the decision, and the one run for the no-ball, but shall not benefit from any runs that may subsequently have accrued.”In other words, the state of the game resets to the point at which the error was made, therefore rendering the declaration void.There is one known precedent for a captain withdrawing his declaration – at Old Trafford during the 1921 Ashes, when England’s declaration was deemed illegal due to the match having been reduced to a two-day game due to a washed-out first day.The regulations in force at the time required the side about to go in to be given 100 minutes’ batting time before the close – a point that Warwick Armstrong, Australia’s captain, put to the umpires and his opposite number, The Hon. Lionel Tennyson, following an intervention from Hanson Carter, his wicketkeeper.Wisden’s match report called it “an unfortunate and rather lamentable incident”.

A round-up of the 10th day’s action from the Caribbean T20

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2012A hat-trick by Krishmar Santokie helped Jamaica roll over Netherlands at the Kensington Oval and book their place in the semi-finals of the Caribbean T20. Santokie took 4 for 13 to dismiss Netherlands for a paltry 116, before Jamaica coasted home by eight wickets.The Netherlands scorecard was dotted with single-digit scores, with only Stephan Myburgh (31) and Eric Szwarczynski (44) showing resistance. Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner, made early inroads with three wickets before Santokie took over. He removed Szwarcynski with the final ball of his third over and bowled Mudassar Bukhari and Timm van der Gugten with the first two balls of his fourth. Netherlands lost their last six wickets for only six runs.Nkrumah Bonner top scored with 35 for Jamaica and put his team on course for victory, sharing an opening stand of 49 with Danza Hyatt. Marlon Samuels and Shawn Findlay knocked off the remaining runs with ease to seal the win with more than two overs to spare.It was another one-sided affair at the same venue as Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) slumped to 76 all out against Barbados, who had already booked their spot in the semi-finals. Floyd Reifer and Yannick Ottley were the only two players to pass double figures for CCC. The wickets were shared among all the Barbados bowlers, with Suliemann Benn finishing with figures of 1 for 9 from four miserly overs. Kirk Edwards and Kevin Stoute hit unbeaten 30s to knock off the required runs in ten overs.

Leicestershire’s County Championship clash against Derbyshire is evenly poised after the bottom-of-the-table visitors staged a spirited fightback on the third day at Grace Road

05-Aug-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire’s County Championship clash against Derbyshire is evenly poised after the bottom-of-the-table visitors staged a spirited fightback on the third day at Grace Road.Derbyshire claimed the last four Leicestershire wickets for 16 runs and then converted a first-innings deficit of 94 into a lead of 144 by reaching 238 for 5 at stumps as they look for their first Championship win since April.Wayne Madsen led the way with 66 off 129 balls sharing an opening stand of 86 with captain Chris Rogers and another half-century partnership with Garry Park. But left-arm spinner Claude Henderson kept the hosts in with a chance of their fifth win of the season by dismissing Dan Redfern in the penultimate over of the day to complete a spell that brought him figures of three for 41. Leicestershire began the day on 260 for six, a lead of 64.But they failed to capitalise on the strong position they held, spending more than an hour scoring 16 runs in 16.1 overs for the loss of the last four wickets. Henderson had his middle stump uprooted by Steffan Jones in the second over of the morning and although Tom New reached a half-century – his sixth against Derbyshire – off 85 balls with five boundaries the runs then dried up.Wickets fell with New the last man out when he was beaten going for a single by a direct hit on the stumps from Greg Smith. Smith finished with impressive figures of 3 for 40 off 23 overs and there was also a three-wicket haul for Jones.Leicestershire did not make the best use of the new ball before lunch and both Rogers and Madsen were able to unleash a succession of boundaries as Derbyshire made a run-a-ball start in the first 11 overs. It was not helped by Madsen being dropped at slip off the bowling of Nathan Buck and the same player also survived a big lbw shout from Nadeem Malik.But Rogers, who looked in fine form, fell three short of a half-century with Matt Boyce making up for his earlier drop by taking a sharp low chance at slip off Malik. Madsen had some good fortune on his way to 50, playing and missing on several occasions before Henderson struck finding the edge against Park with a delivery that bounced on the batsman.Madsen’s 129-ball innings came to an end when he mistimed an intended off-drive at Henderson giving Paul Nixon a catch at mid off. Derbyshire’s run rate slowed in the evening session with Henderson keeping a tight grip on things before claiming the vital wicket of Redfern, leaving an impressive Chesney Hughes still there on 30 at the close.It gave Derbyshire a useful lead of 144 but with rain forecast for the final day it will need some enterprising play from both sides to produce a positive result.

The West Indies fast bowler has withdrawn from the Jamaica squad for the remainder of the regional first-class season

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell has withdrawn from Jamaica’s squad for the rest of the regional first-class season, according to Nehemiah Perry, the Jamaica Cricket Association’s chairman of selectors. Powell, who has managed just two wickets in two matches at 73.00 in the tournament so far, called Perry and cited “personal reasons” behind his decision.”He has some issues where he is not up to it [playing cricket],” Perry told the . “He is not giving 100% and he figures he should give someone else a chance. His mind is not there to really come out and train and play the game and he’s not motivated to perform at the highest level.”He has decided to take a break and won’t be available for the rest of the season. It’s not a situation where he got dropped or anything. He’s not enjoying cricket anymore as a person. The team spirit is good, but he has things to deal with and his mind is not there. He probably lacks confidence as well.”Powell, 31, last played a Test in March last year, at home against England, and has a modest career haul of 85 wickets from 37 matches at 47.85. He also has 71 ODI wickets from 55 matches at 31.73. Perry said the dimming hopes of a recall to the national setup could have also contributed towards his decision.”He hasn’t been getting a lot of wickets in any one innings and he’s over 30 and he probably isn’t motivated and doesn’t think West Indies’ [selectors] are looking at him anymore,” Perry said. “If you are 20-odd years old and running in hard and hitting the pitch then you would be motivated to train hard and work hard, but he’s been there and done that and people might be thinking he has passed his best.”Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert expressed surprise at Powell’s decision. “The team was a little bit surprised to hear that Powell has opted out,” he told the . “But having said that, people come and people go and everyone realise that we still have a job to do and we will just have to do it to the best of our ability. We cannot allow that to distract us from our goal.”He will definitely be missed as an experienced player. It was always good to have him around, having represented the West Indies and Jamaica on numerous occasions. He is a strike bowler and it was always good to have a player like that, who will bowl fast and get us early wickets.”He is someone that always gives 100 per cent. You can’t not notice a person like Daren when he is around.”

Alastair’s unbeaten half-century builds on Sam’s three wickets as hosts begin reply unscathed

ECB Reporters Network19-Jul-2023Essex 106 for 0 (A Cook 64*, Browne 31*) trail Kent 207 (Compton 47, S Cook 3-19) by 101 runsSir Alastair Cook notched the 123rd half-century of his bejewelled career as he steered Essex into a commanding position on the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Kent.Cook, still there at the close on 64, was joined in an unbeaten first-wicket stand of 106 by Nick Browne, who was painstakingly attempting to rebuild his flagging form after a run of three successive ducks. He was on the path to redempton with 31 from 117 balls.Earlier, Kent elected to bat on a green-tinged pitch under heavy grey clouds that required the use of floodlights after an hour. Their innings lasted just short of two sessions for 207 as the lower-order threw away their wickets with some abandon.Only a sedate 58-run fourth-wicket partnership between Ben Compton, who recorded an 81-ball 47, and captain Jack Leaning interrupted a regular clatter of wickets with nagging seamers Sam Cook and Jamie Porter sharing six of them equally.Twanda Muyeye survived a decent chance to Matt Critchley at third slip before he was beaten for pace to present Sam Cook with the first of three wickets for 19 in 11 overs.Next ball Joe Denly’s miserable season continued when he played down the wrong line and was caught behind for his fourth duck of this campaign.To compound Kent’s problems, Harry Finch faced 15 deliveries without scoring when he set off for a non-existent single to gully where Paul Walter swooped and hit the single stump he could see.Compton and Leaning settled in for a stand that needed 17 overs to put on fifty, and that despite Compton hitting Doug Bracewell for three successive boundaries, two through the covers, the other a flick off his legs.However, to the last ball before lunch Compton attempted to dig out a fuller delivery from Simon Harmer and only succeeded in chipping the ball back tamely to the bowler.Leaning followed soon after the break when he got a thick edge to one from Sam Cook that went away from him and wicketkeeper Adam Rossington took a fine diving catch to his right. Joey Evison went shouldering arms to one that came back late from Bracewell.Grant Stewart smashed Harmer for two straight sixes in a brisk, seven-over stand of 43 with Jordan Cox before Porter found a peach of a ball to remove Cox.Porter then set a short-ball honey-trap for Stewart who hooked straight to one of an army on the boundary, and two balls later Matt Quinn skied rashly to midwicket. Arshdeep Singh swept Critchley for a huge six and wafted lazily at the next ball and was stumped without bothering to look back.When Essex replied in the evening session, Alastair Cook slipped into imperious mode after a watchful start, showing an array of shots around the wicket in depositing Stewart for three successive fours, though he was put down off the same bowler to a sharp chance in the gully.Of the fifty partnership in 17 overs, hecontributed 38 with Browne playing second fiddle with a dozen; of the century partnership Browne had 27 and Cook 63, passing fifty for the fifth time this season when he swept Hamid Qadri for his 10th boundary.Essex, incidentally, will be reinforced with the inclusion of Dan Lawrence in their batting line-up on day two as he returns south after being the spare man in the England XII for the concurrent fourth Test at Old Trafford. He will replace Robin Das.