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The Women’s World Cup is set to begin on June 24 between hosts England and India, and the final scheduled to be played at Lord’s on July 23

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017Hosts England will open the Women’s World Cup against India in Derby on June 24, while defending champions Australia will begin two days later against World T20 champions West Indies in Taunton, with the ICC expecting “unprecedented” support for the tournament.New Zealand and Sri Lanka will also be in action on the opening day of the month-long tournament. A round-robin group stage will be followed by semi-finals in Bristol and Derby before the final at Lord’s on July 23. It will be the first time the final will be staged at Lord’s since 1993 when England beat New Zealand by 67 runs.There will be two weekend days when all eight teams will be in action. On Sunday, July 2, the four matches include the Trans-Tasman clash between Australia and New Zealand and India facing Pakistan. Saturday, July 15, will see all eight playing again as the round-robin stage comes to an end.Tickets for the group matches will go on sale at 12pm GMT on March 8 – International Women’s Day – with adult prices start at £10 and £5 for students (aged 17-23) and £2 for Under-16s. Tickets for the semi-finals start £15 for adults while the final begins at £30, with a silver band of tickets at £20 then students at £10 and Under-16s £5.”We are anticipating an exciting tournament and I know the players are looking forward to competing here in front of unprecedented levels of support,” David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said. “We’ve already sold 9000 tickets for the final at Lord’s which bodes well for the rest of the event going on sale today. I know we can always count on the British sport loving public to support big events.”India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka secured their places at the World Cup through the recent qualifying event in Sri Lanka.

Fifties from openers Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh to a promising 133 for 2 in response to Sri Lanka’s total of 494 on the second day

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle08-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:46

Fernando: Dickwella showed clarity of purpose

On another batting day at Galle, Sri Lanka swelled their score to a 494, before Bangladesh cruised to 133 for 2 by stumps. The bowlers were relentless in their attempts to shake this Test awake – Mehedi Hasan bowled aggressively to make dents in the Sri Lanka lower order, and Lakshan Sandakan delivered some ripping left-arm wristspin in the evening – but the pitch remained somnolent, and the teams more-or-less evenly placed.On the batting front, Kusal Mendis squandered his chance to complete a maiden double-hundred, Niroshan Dickwella cracked his way to 75, Tamim Iqbal hit a half-century before running himself out, and a charmed Soumya Sarkar saw out the day on 66 not out. Among the cricket’s redeeming features, meanwhile, has been Sri Lanka’s positive outlook at the crease (they scored their runs at 3.82 an over), and the emergence of first hints of big turn. If the Galle pitch continues to descend into its familiar cantankerous mood through the back end of this match, Bangladesh will have to bat very well.For now, it is the batsmen’s turn to hog the limelight, and no one has done that better than Kusal Mendis so far. He began the day on 166, but found his morning defined by two attempted sixes. The first, off Subashis Roy in the 95th over, was a hook shot gone awry – the mis-hit caught by Mustafizur Rahman at fine leg. The fielder, though, misjudged the position of the boundary, and trod on the rope while competing the catch. The umpire raised his arms to signal a six. Not seeing Mustafizur’s mistake, the bowler raised his arms in celebration. Dickwella, the non-striker, also raised his arms to suggest to Subashis that the ball had been carried over the boundary. Everyone had their hands up, and for a second they were standing around looking like bank tellers during an armed robbery.The second attempted six, however, would cost Mendis his wicket. He stepped down the pitch to Mehedi and sought to deposit him over long-on. He didn’t quite get to the pitch, however, and this time, the mis-hit was controlled by Tamim Iqbal, who kept the ball in play by throwing it in the air, while he himself momentarily stepped over the boundary. That stroke had been an attempt to get to his maiden double hundred with a six – a sign that for all Mendis’ seeming maturity at the crease, he is not immune to the impetuous flashes of youth. He was out for 194.While Bangladesh’s bowlers failed to muster the discipline they had managed in the first half of the first day, Mendis’ partner, Dickwella, was typically lively at the crease, launching the second ball he faced on the day over the leg side for six, and at times employing the reverse sweep that has recently served him well in the shortest format. He played the ramp stroke over the slips to hit the second of his successive boundaries off Taskin Ahmed in the 97th over, and brought up his second Test half century soon after, off the 52nd ball he faced. Mehedi eventually had him top-edging an attempted swipe over the leg side to dismiss him for 75. Dilruwan Perera then hit a brisk half century – largely in the company of the tail – to help propel Sri Lanka to the brink of 500.Tamim and Soumya would go on to register Bangladesh’s first opening century stand in almost two years, but their progress was not always smooth. Soumya should have been out for 4 in the third over, had his outside edge been snared by Perera at gully off the bowling of Suranga Lakmal. Perera then became the bowler to have Tamim Iqbal dropped – on 28 – when wicketkeeper Dickwella failed to cling on to a thick outside edge.Apart from those two errors, the openers were otherwise assured. They would often stride down the crease to knock the spinners down the ground, or launch them over the infield. Against the quicks, who were used in short spells, they rarely ventured a loose shot – Soumya lifting Lahiru Kumara languidly over the slips at one point.It was only once both batsmen had almost reached fifty that Sandakan was brought into the attack. He began to cause problems almost immediately, regularly beating the bat and drawing inside-edges. For the first time in the Test, there seemed to be some turn in the surface. He can claim some credit in the dismissal of Tamim, though on the score sheet it went down as a run-out. A stock ball clipped Tamim’s pad en route to the keeper – it perhaps collected some part of the bat as well – and though Dickwella took the ball cleanly, Tamim believed the ball to have dribbled away towards fine leg, and took off for a run. The wicketkeeper only had to take the bails off.Bangladesh will be disappointed that Mominul Haque got himself trapped in front only a few overs before stumps were drawn, but nevertheless, may feel they have plenty of batting left.

Steven Smith has challenged Virat Kohli’s suggestion that Australia broke DRS protocols repeatedly in Bengaluru, describing some of Kohli’s post-match statements as “disappointing” and “completely wrong”

Melinda Farrell in Ranchi15-Mar-20173:02

‘Saying we do it consistently, that’s complete rubbish’

Steven Smith has challenged Virat Kohli’s suggestion that Australia broke DRS protocols repeatedly in the second Test in Bengaluru, describing some of Kohli’s post-match statements as “disappointing” and “completely wrong”. Kohli, speaking ahead of the third Test in Ranchi, stood by his claims while remaining elusive about what those claims actually constituted.After the Test, the BCCI made a complaint to the ICC concerning an incident when Smith looked to the Australian dressing room when considering whether or not to use the DRS on an lbw call, before umpire Nigel Llong intervened. The BCCI withdrew the complaint later on the same day after a meeting between the BCCI and Cricket Australia.While more than a week has elapsed since India’s victory in Bengaluru, Kohli’s suggestion that he saw something similarly inappropriate on two occasions other than the Smith lbw has clearly left Smith concerned.Speaking publicly for the first time since Kohli’s press conference, Smith said: “It was a little bit disappointing. I think that obviously I made a mistake and I came out and said that. What I did was wrong and I know that.”But that was the first time it has happened. I know as a team we don’t do that. And I think his comments… I think he said that we did it twice while he was out there. I don’t think he was out there long enough for two appeals. He’s entitled to his opinion, but from my point of view he’s completely wrong.”Kohli refused to elaborate on the specific occasions he had referred to in his post-match remarks, insisting he wanted to move on and focus on the remaining two Tests without any lingering “bad taste”. But he was also adamant that his words were not emotionally driven in the wake of an often-heated contest.”I think about what I say,” Kohli said in Ranchi. “I don’t regret anything that I’ve said, but at the same time it’s very important not to be stupid and go on with the same things on a daily basis because there’s cricket to be played. There was a decent break in between, and we certainly don’t’ want to sit and think about one issue all the time.”We have two Test matches to play and that’s what we need to focus on. And I think it was a mature decision on everyone’s part to move on from that. We’ve seen instances in the past stretch too long and it just causes disharmony and there’s no outcome honestly.Steven Smith: ‘It was an error on my behalf. In regards to saying that we do it consistently, that’s complete rubbish in my opinion’•AFP

“We just need to focus on the games that are left. I think it’s good for everybody that everyone moves on because you’ll always have two sides of the coin; one side will say one thing the other side will say another and that just takes the focus away from the game that we all are sitting here because of. So I think it’s best interests of everyone that we move on and focus on the game.”In an exchange with a journalist, Kohli doggedly deflected questions on his post-match comments. As in Bengaluru, Kohli could not be pinned down on the specifics of what he saw on the field.When asked if it was “appropriate for an international captain make serious allegations like that and not produce evidence to substantiate it”, Kohli replied: “What were the allegations?” Pressed further by the journalist, Kohli wanted to know “what is the allegation called”, adding that since he was not charged with any violation, what he had said could not be termed an allegation. “Because it has to be called something for me to be questioning something about someone to call it an allegation,” he said. “If no charges were pressed against me, how are those allegations?”Asked once more if he stood by his statement that there were two instances when he was batting when Australia flouted DRS protocols, and told there was no evidence to back this up, Kohli said: “As I said, we need to move on and focus on the game tomorrow and we have two more Test Matches to go. As I said, two sides to the coin, I could be speaking about it again and things are not going to move forward. Everyone sitting here has their own interests and choose to ask what they want to. But our focus remains on the game and we need to look forward.”Smith said he would like to seek clarification from Kohli on his comments when the two captains meet jointly with match referee, Richie Richardson, before play on the first day in Ranchi. Specifically, Smith would like to know which two other incidents Kohli was referring to.”Perhaps, might be able to ask a few questions. We’ll see what the mood’s like at the time,” Smith said. “Virat obviously stuck by his comments. From my point of view I think they’re completely wrong. I came out after the game and said I made a mistake. It was an error on my behalf, I had a brain fade. In regards to saying that we do it consistently, that’s complete rubbish in my opinion. I think he was wrong in his statement.”Smith said he had already met with match referee Richardson personally, ahead of Australia’s final training session on match eve. He said Richardson made it clear he expected both sides to play within the boundaries of the game so that “cricket was the winner in this Test”.

Delhi Daredevils stand-in captain Karun Nair lauded the team’s fearless approach that reaped dividends as they gunned down a target of 186 with five balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2017Delhi Daredevils came into the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on the back of a five-match losing streak. The scars from their ten-wicket drubbing at the hands of Kings XI Punjab, when they were bowled out for 67, would have been fresh as well. But, like their mentor Rahul Dravid had said after that game, the only direction Daredevils could go was up.

‘Plan was to play till the 16th over and then attack’

Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Yuvraj Singh rued how expensive the team’s bowlers were in the Powerplay and said the lack of wickets in the middle overs cost them. “I think the dropped catch [of Karun Nair by Bhuvneshwar Kumar] was important,” he said. “All of their guys got 30-40 runs, so you need to pick up wickets in the middle, otherwise it becomes hard. Especially when the dew came in later, the ball was coming on nicely on to the bat.”
Yuvraj praised young seamers Mohammed Siraj and Siddarth Kaul, who picked up three wickets between them, and said the bowling would acquire greater menace once Ashish Nehra recovered from his injury. “I think we really rely on Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar] and Rashid. Hopefully when Ashish is fully fit, we will have a stronger unit [with] more confidence in the bowling. Siraj is a young guy, he’s got good pace, so he’s learning. It’s a good learning curve for Siddarth Kaul as well.”
Yuvraj had a productive outing with an unbeaten 71 off 41 balls, the first instance of him facing more than 20 balls since the opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. “It was important for me to get some runs. Last three-four innings, I didn’t get enough time in the middle. The wicket was a bit tougher in the first innings, the ball was gripping a little and I just thought that I will just try and play till the 16th over and then attack in the last four. [I] was lucky I got dropped [by Sanju Samson on 29] and I was able to cash in in the last four overs.”

One way of doing that, according to Daredevils’ stand-in captain Karun Nair, was to play the way a young team would – fearlessly. The approach paid off as all of their top five batsmen – with Corey Anderson the oldest at 26 – made useful contributions to gun down a target of 186 with five balls to spare.”I think it was a great win,” Nair told . “All we talked about is we, being a young team, should play like one. So, we just went out there and played fearlessly.”Nair, who was leading the team in the absence of the injured Zaheer Khan, had made only 89 runs from seven innings before this game. But his 20-ball 39 – with a little help from Bhuvneshwar Kumar who dropped him on 20 – set the tone for Daredevils’ pursuit.”It was just the intent and we just wanted to go out there and go after the bowling,” Nair said. “With the four of us being youngsters at the top of the order, [the idea was to] just go out there and smash the ball.”When Bhuvneshwar dismissed Shreyas Iyer off the last ball of the 16th over, Daredevils still needed 38 runs. However, Anderson blazed away to an unbeaten 24-ball 41 and closed out the match with Chris Morris.”Having Corey Anderson on the other side smacking the ball off the middle [of the bat] was quite nice,” Morris told . “We were confident and were saying that if it’s in your arc and if it was in your area, smack it. And that’s the way we like to play cricket – confidence and smack a cricket ball. So, yeah, I think Corey Anderson [came up with a] masterclass in how to chase that score.”It was far from a perfect performance, however, as shabby fielding could have cost Daredevils the game. While there were a few misfields, the costliest error came from Sanju Samson, who dropped Yuvraj Singh on 29. Yuvraj went on to smash 70 not out off 41 balls, as Sunrisers ransacked 59 runs in the last four overs. Legspinner Amit Mishra had no illusions about the fact that Daredevils needed to improve further.”We clicked today in batting and bowling. Fielding wasn’t up to the mark but we are doing a lot of things. We have all areas covered, but we have to be positive from here,” Mishra said. “You have very little time to think in this format. Even if you falter in one small aspect, you end up falling way behind. In T20s, especially, you will have to execute everything to perfection.”

The Indian captain was magnanimous in defeat and offered no excuses for his team’s no-show with the bat in the Champions Trophy final

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval18-Jun-2017In the end, Virat Kohli fronted up with a smile on his face. He had lost a match that India entered as favourites. India had a superior record over Pakistan at ICC events, including a win when the sides last met in the final of a global event, the World T20 in 2007. But it all came tumbling down in the final as Pakistan’s bowlers unraveled the Indian batting unit like a pod of green peas.India were that bad. Batting, bowling, fielding and intensity – they fell short in each of these facets of their game they had worked hard to improve in every subsequent match this tournament. Kohli was honest in defeat, gave credit to Pakistan for being the better team, but pointed that India should be proud to finish as the runner-up.”We can be very proud of that as a unit, and we leave here with our heads held high because we understand the kind of expectations and pressures we face as a team,” Kohli said. “Credit to everyone for standing up and showing that resilience and reaching the finals, and today we were outplayed in all departments.”They had to earn their win. They made us make those mistakes because of the way they were bowling and the way they applied the pressure in the field, as well. And we have no hesitations or shame to admit that we could not play our best game today.”Kohli did not hesitate to bowl first, perhaps because of India’s comfort factor in chases. He has done so Bangladesh in the semi-finals too. When it was their turn to bat, Mohammad Amir turned the match by removing Rohit Sharma and Kohli in his first two overs. Kohli admitted failure to stitch a partnership didn’t help matters.”Early wickets are never good, especially in a chase,” he said. “Then we kept losing wickets. One big partnership would have been the key to set it up nicely. It is always a bad feeling when you get out or the batting doesn’t work collectively. Not that we are not playing at our best, we tried our level best, but we just couldn’t make things happen today. But personally, yes, it does feel bad.”There were a couple of bright sparks, though: Bhuvneshwar Kumar walking virtually unscathed through the ring of fire and Hardik Pandya finally living up to the potential his captain had been speaking about throughout the campaign.Pandya was hungry to bowl throughout the Pakistan innings and was the second-most economical Indian bowler behind Bhuvneshwar. Bowling with intensity and hard lengths, Pandya bowled some tight middle overs. He showed the same attitude with the bat.India were down and out at 72 for 6 in 17 overs. Unaffected, Pandya smashed a 32-ball half-century to give India a glimmer of hope. “When Hardik started hitting, everyone started getting the feeling that we could take the game deep,” Kohli said. “That was a pleasant moment. If we can take the game deep, then we can probably get closer to the total. But again, a mix-up or an error at that stage, so these things happen on the field, you understand that as cricketers.”That mix-up was Pandya being run out after Ravindra Jadeja turned his back on him. Pandya bared his frustrations out in public, exchanging words with Jadeja and then grunting loudly all the way back to the dressing room. Kohli was clear Pandya did not need to be apologetic about letting his emotions get the better of him.”He felt he was in the zone today and he could have done something really special, and that’s why the disappointment came out. You’re so committed, you’re so motivated that when things don’t happen, and without even it being a mistake, it can get frustrating. You don’t understand why it has happening.”Earlier in the morning, Pakistan had plugged away as soon as their opening pair of Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali raised a robust 128-run partnership, which could only be broken through a run out. Kohli said it was Zaman who hurt India the most by his “high risk” strokeplay.”When guys like Zaman get going, he plays unorthodox shots, they’re really difficult to stop,” he said. “Eighty percent of his shots were high risk and they were all coming off. Sometimes you have to sit and say, the guy is good enough on the day to tackle anything. You can only do so much.”We certainly tried to make them hit in areas that we felt it would be uncomfortable, but we just didn’t have anything going our way in that partnership. Yes, they opened it up a little bit, but they kept going positive, which was something that could have upset the lines and lengths of the bowlers.”The one area Kohli felt they could have done better was with the extras. India conceded 25 on Sunday, which he felt was a bit too much. “That’s something that we certainly need to take care of in the future. Obviously the same bowlers are going to play, the same guys are going to be back. The more consistent you get in learning from games like this, it’s better for the team in the future. So yeah, that’s an area we certainly need to look at.”

Glamorgan’s trio of current and former South Africa internationals, David Miller, Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram, led their side to a 25-run NatWest T20 Blast win over previously unbeaten Gloucestershire at Bristol

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2017
ScorecardGlamorgan’s trio of current and former South Africa internationals, David Miller, Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram, led their side to a 25-run NatWest T20 Blast win over previously unbeaten Gloucestershire at Bristol.Miller marked his debut for the county with a 32-ball half-century, featuring four fours and three sixes, as the visitors ran up 176 for 5 after losing the toss. Rudolph contributed 51 off 46 deliveries, while Thisara Perera was the pick of the Gloucestershire attack with 2 for 25.Ingram then conceded just 18 runs from his four overs of legspin to help restrict Gloucestershire to 151 for 7 in reply. Michael Klinger top-scored with 52 and Michael Hogan claimed two wickets. Victory saw the visitors leapfrog their opponents in the South Group, drawing level with leaders Surrey on nine points.The Glamorgan innings had begun sketchily on a strange-coloured pitch that looked green in the main, but worn at the edges. After Aneurin Donald had departed early, Ingram had an escape on 1 when dropped by Jack Taylor at deep-square off his brother Matt in the fourth over.It looked like proving an expensive miss when the dangerous Ingram smacked the first six of the game off David Payne. But on 18 he top-edged an attempted pull shot and skied a return catch to Perera.At the end of the six-over Powerplay Glamorgan were 41 for 2. It was then that Miller went on the charge, hoisting consecutive sixes off Jack Taylor in what proved the offspinner’s only over.Jacques Rudolph top-scored in Glamorgan’s total of 176 for 5•Getty Images

Perera bowled well to keep a check on the scoring rate, but the 11th over, sent down by Matt Taylor, saw Miller strike a six and a four before Rudolph helped himself to successive boundaries. Miller went to his half-century in the 15th over, but the next delivery from Payne saw him well caught by Kieran Noema-Barnett at mid-on to end an impressive innings of 50.Rudolph moved to his fifty off 44 balls, with four fours and a six, but then drilled a straightforward catch to Benny Howell at long-off to give Perera his second wicket. The Sri Lankan bowled full in the closing overs and was unlucky to concede a couple of streaky boundaries. Chris Cooke fell cheaply to Noema-Barnett, but Graham Wagg and Craig Meschede ensured Glamorgan of a competitive total.It looked even better when Michael Hogan bowled Phil Mustard for 2 in the third over of Gloucestershire’s reply. But Ian Cockbain was in prime form as he and Klinger took the score to 48 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay.Cockbain’s bright cameo ended on 25 when Craig Meschede deceived him with a cutter and the ball went straight up to be taken by wicketkeeper Cooke. George Hankins soon followed for a duck, caught at short third-man attempting a reverse scoop off a gentle long-hop from Ingram, who then conceded only three from his second over.At the halfway stage of their innings Gloucestershire were becalmed on 65 for 3. Klinger went on the attack, hitting a straight six and a four to third-man off successive balls from Meschede.Another straight six from Klinger, off Timm van der Gugten, raised home voices in a 4000 crowd and a second maximum in the over took the Gloucestershire skipper to fifty off 33 balls, with four sixes. But the bowler responded with a slower delivery that bowled the experienced Aussie, a hammer blow to Gloucestershire hopes.Jack Taylor smacked a six and a four off Wagg, who then had him caught at long-off to claim his 100th T20 wicket, as Glamorgan closed in on a well-earned success.

Heather Knight led England to 220 on a slow surface before their bowlers strangled West Indies in the chase to set up a semi-final clash against South Africa

The Report by Akshay Gopalakrishnan15-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHeather Knight brought England back into the game with a well-paced half-century•Getty Images

West Indies threw away a top-class spin-bowling performance by showing a dismal lack of intent with the bat on a slow pitch in Bristol. Having shown little urgency in a tricky chase of 221, West Indies lost wickets in a cluster, and ended up ambling to 128 for 9 as England ended the group stage of the 2017 Women’s World Cup on top of the table.England had hardly been clinical themselves when they batted. They played all around the legspin of Afy Fletcher, who returned figures of 3 for 33. With Anisa Mohammed and Hayley Matthews playing more than just a supporting hand, the trio tied down England until their captain Heather Knight mounted a late fightback with a gritty 67.The cushion provided by those extra runs was all England needed. Unlike in England’s innings, it was a medium pacer – Natalie Sciver – that inflicted the bulk of the damage. With her team having already combined to reduce West Indies to 73 for 4, Sciver struck thrice in the space of 15 balls to push West Indies into a hole they never got out of.West Indies’ only period of stability came during an opening stand of 34 in 9.4 overs. Matthews and Kycia Knight employed great caution in playing out the new ball. By the end of the sixth over, West Indies had scored 16 with just one boundary.West Indies soon found their fluency. It began with Knight collecting a four with a trickle down to fine leg off Katherine Brunt. She then pulled Anya Shrubsole through midwicket before Matthews launched Laura Marsh for a monstrous six over long-on in the next over. Any signs of a shift in momentum, though, were snuffed out with a run-out the next over.England then swiftly seized control, helped by a 12-ball duck from Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies captain. Then, Matthews, after a brief period of solidity, was deceived by the angle of a straighter ball from Alex Hartley that she attempted to sweep.It wasn’t until the 27th over that the first signs of intent appeared, when Dottin swept Knight for a boundary. By then, the required rate had crept over six, which meant West Indies needed a sustained period of acceleration. Heather,however, denied them that when three balls later, Dottin perished lbw trying the same stroke.With West Indies on shaky ground, Sciver then produced a double-strike in the 32nd over to hasten the slide. First, Chedean Nation was caught brilliantly by Tammy Beaumont running to her right at deep backward square leg, before Merissa Aguilleira misread a straighter one to be trapped lbw. Sciver finished with figures of 3 for 3 in four overs, and West Indies managed all of 29 runs from the final 88 balls.It might seem strange that the turn had been sharper and a lot more vicious in the first innings when England batted, but that was down to the skill of West Indies’ spinners. Perhaps influenced by the overcast conditions, Taylor, surprisingly, chose to put the opposition in with the surface expected to get slower as the game progressed. Fletcher, in particular, got the ball to rip past the outside edge of right-handers, and reaped the benefits of looping it up and slowing it down.She struck in her second over, removing the well-set Beaumont, who scooped a full toss onto her helmet which then ended up a catch to the wicketkeeper. Two balls later, Sciver was sent back for a duck, bowled by one that spun from leg stump to crash into middle and off. Fran Wilson toe-ended a sweep to her body for the Merissa Aguilleira to snap up another catch behind the stumps and England had slid to 105 for 5.Knight then mounted a fightback in the company of the lower order. She did have her share of luck, surviving an lbw shout against Fletcher on 39, with replays showing that the ball would have hit middle and off. The legspinner should have had a slip, considering the purchase she got, but West Indies did not afford her one and Knight, on 45, benefited again. England’s captain enjoyed another reprieve when she had sprinted more than halfway down the pitch at the non-striker’s end after the ball had struck batsman Jenny Gunn on the pad. Aguilleira went after the ball to effect the run-out, but in her haste she couldn’t pick it up cleanly.West Indies also slightly slipped up with their fielding towards the end, letting a couple sneak through to the boundary. But the bigger mistake, perhaps, was their giving away as many as 24 wides on a pitch that was hard to score on.

Birmingham went top of North Group as Aaron Thomason held his nerve in the final over at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2017Aaron Thomason held his nerve to defend 13 from the final over as Birmingham beat Northamptonshire by just two runs at Wantage Road to go top of the North Group of the NatWest T20 Blast.20-year-old Thomason, playing just his 13th T20 match, was trusted with the final two overs of the game from the Wilson End when 27 were needed from 18 balls. He conceded only 7 and then Jeetan Patel presented the youngster with 13 to defend from the final six. Alex Wakely struck the second ball of the over for six down the ground but despite reducing the equation to 4 from 2 balls, Thomason held the game for the Bears.Aaron Thomason completes a last-ball run-out•Getty Images

Ian Bell, Warwickshire’s captain, said: “It was a great win to get over the line when we didn’t play our best, to come to Northampton is tough. Aaron didn’t shy away he wanted that last over so I’m really happy. He’s someone who works hard at his slower balls and yorkers and listens to the guys who have played around the world.”It was a chase that Northamptonshire were always well in touch with – and Wakely’s 52 from 34 balls appeared to be steering them home – but they could never kill the game and missed the chance to move to the top of the group themselves.Adam Rossington and Richard Levi took 78 from their previous Powerplay and here again got their side off to a flier with 51 from the first four overs. Rossington struck boundaries from the first three balls of the second over, two of them slapped wide of midwicket.Levi then flicked Colin de Grandhomme over square leg for the innings’ first six and drove four more past cover point. But having smashed Thomason for a huge six into a mobile bar over midwicket, the bowler exacted his revenge with a decent yorker.Patel then picked up Rossington, caught at deep midwicket for 43 from 30 balls, and Ben Duckett for 9 in successive balls to get Birmingham back into the innings. The wicket of Duckett was a beauty from round the wicket that turned and took the top of off stump.Richard Levi is at full stretch for Northants•Getty Images

The wicket of Duckett gave way to four cheap overs that left 64 needed from 42 balls only for Wakely to flick two fours off Boyd Rankin and cut another to ease the tension and when he skipped down the pitch to flick the first ball of Patel’s third over over midwicket for another boundaries, the hosts were back in charge of the chase.But de Grandhomme found a yorker to remove Rob Keogh for a run-a-ball 18 and Steven Crook holed out to mid-off second ball to leave 27 needed from 18 balls. Thomason and Patel then finished the game off.Birmingham’s 172 for 9 was a stop-start effort where they lost wickets regularly and four set batsman fell when set to cause greater damage.Having been sent in, they made 40 for 1 in a Powerplay that featured some seam movement on a fresh wicket and following afternoon rain. Ed Pollock played a remarkable flick over deep square for the night’s first six but, hurried by a Rory Kleinveldt back-of-a-length ball, was caught behind off a big top edge. Sam Hain slog swept Richard Gleeson for six over long leg and both he and Ian Bell, got inside edges for four to fine leg.Bell was notably scratchy, beaten outside off several times, and fell for 16 from 18 balls trying to reverse-sweep Keogh’s second ball and losing his off stump.Adam Hose, after 76 on his county debut on Sunday, shimmed down the wicket to slap Nathan Buck for four and then struck a might six that found the roof of the Lynn Wilson centre off Keogh. But when he clipped a low full-toss from Keogh to midwicket and Sam Hain was run out after a calamitous mix up with de Grandhomme, Birmingham had lose both set men and were 82 for 4 after 11 overs.De Grandhomme atoned for his part in the mix up by striking three fours and a six from the 14th over bowled by Sanderson that conceded 21 and an over later, Birmingham were well placed at 128 for 4 after 15 overs. But again, Northants picked up a useful wicket with de Grandhomme, after going dangerously to 37 from just 15 balls, picked out deep square. Patel struck a six in the final over to nudge his side to a score that proved enough.

The summer is looking up for Somerset’s young captain Tom Abell as his side hint at a September revival

Jon Culley at Edgbaston08-Sep-20171:35

Highlights from the final day of the Specsavers Championship

Somerset 282 (Abell 82; Singh 5-72) and 265 for 4 dec (Trescothick 119*, Hildreth 68, Abell 51) beat Warwickshire 146 (Barker 52; Leach 5-50, Overton 4-33) and 232 (Trott 74, Groenewald 5-58) by 169 runs. In the end, after a morning of frustration followed by a good many anxious skywards glances as a convoy of dark clouds loomed one after another over the roof of the pavilion, Somerset needed 85 uninterrupted minutes to finish the job and claim the win that had looked theirs for the taking ever since they won the toss, at once keeping their own survival prospects intact and killing off Warwickshire’s, in realistic terms if not mathematically.Dom Bess, whose penultimate over on Thursday evening had claimed the wickets of Jonathan Trott and Keith Barker to push Warwickshire to the brink, wrapped up what is only a second win of the season for last year’s runners-up by bowling the rookie spinner Sunny Singh just as the ground staff were preparing to power up the hover cover. In the celebrations that followed, the relief was palpable.”In the context of the season it is a huge win for us and we’re absolutely delighted,” their young captain, Tom Abell, said. “We asked for the effort and the character to come to the fore and we certainly saw that.”From the great start we were given by Tres (Marcus Trescothick) and Eddie Byrom on the first morning we performed well in all disciplines throughout the game. As a batting unit we established those partnerships we have been striving for all season and with the ball we were very patient. There was a bit in the wicket for all concerned and when we created chances we took them.”It still might not be enough, of course, to keep Somerset out of Division Two themselves next year. They remain second bottom, 30 points clear of their beaten opponents here but with still work to do if they are to catch Yorkshire or Middlesex and only three matches remaining. In their favour, though, two of them are at home, where Bess and Jack Leach, the most successful spin combination in Division One this year, can expect every bit of assistance possible from the wicket.”Yes, we still have a lot of work to do,” Abell added. “It is a boost to our confidence to get this win and play so well but we are still down there at the foot of the table and we have a massive three games ahead of us. We will be trying to win all three and if we could get two wins, that would be great. It is a very strong division with strong teams but we think we have enough in our dressing room to do it.”It has been the collective failure of the batsmen that has been Somerset’s downfall this year, putting them in a predicament few could have foreseen when they went so close to winning the Championship 12 months ago. No one has felt the weight of responsibility more than Abell himself, who had been so out of touch with the bat recently he had no sensible option other than to give up his own place in the side – winning it back, with some irony, only after the controversial move to Warwickshire of Adam Hose created a vacancy.Is the season turning for Somerset skipper Tom Abell?•Getty Images

Abell paid generous compliments to Trescothick, his second-innings centurion, James Hildreth, with whom the veteran opener shared the key partnership of the match to take the game out of Warwickshire’s reach, and to the 20-year-old opener Byrom, who played nicely in both innings. Yet his own contributions – a half-century in each innings on a difficult, turning track – were equally significant.”It has been difficult,” he said. “I went through a patch where I didn’t know where my next run was coming from and that spell in the Seconds trying to find some form did me the world of good.”Now I’m starting to find some enjoyment batting again and the confidence in my game that I had lost.”The key to winning here was that every passage of play saw one Somerset player or another produce a performance at a key moment, ensuring that Warwickshire were never on top, even briefly. After the combination of Leach’s left-arm spin and Craig Overton’s pace had bowled out Somerset for 146 in the first innings, it was the off-spinner Bess and the big-hearted Tim Groenewald who landed the blows second time around.Once the final exchanges began after a two-hour delay, Overton claimed his fifth victim of the match as Tim Ambrose was leg before and then Groenewald, with new ball in hand, bowled Chris Wright and saw Jeetan Patel brilliant caught by Bess at point to complete a deserved five-wicket haul, his first of the season.There seems no escape now for Warwickshire, whose relegation may well be confirmed next week, on live television, when the Sky cameras turn up in the hope of seeing Essex, the champions-elect, strut their stuff.It was a long time after the finish before anyone emerged from the home dressing room, where one can only assume that the atmosphere match the colour of the sky. The bowling coach, Alan Richardson, was ultimately designated to offer words of explanation for a performance that lacked conviction at the moment it was most needed.”It was highly disappointing,” Richardson said. “We had four massive games, starting with one against the team immediately above us, and to not really show up is hugely disappointing.”

Kagiso Rabada completed the third 10-wicket haul of his 22-Test career, became the fifth-youngest to 100 Test wickets and went past 50 wickets for the calendar year as South Africa completed an innings and 254-run demolition of Bangladesh

The Report by Mohammad Isam08-Oct-20171:21

Moonda: Bangladesh just not able to cope with SA quality

Kagiso Rabada completed the third 10-wicket haul of his 22-Test career, became the fifth-youngest to 100 Test wickets and went past 50 wickets for the calendar year as South Africa completed an innings and 254-run demolition of Bangladesh. Bangladesh folded for 172, following on from their first-innings 147, inside two sessions on the third day to suffer their heaviest defeat in Tests against South Africa.South Africa had used the short ball to tremendous effect in the morning session to nip out four wickets and the core of Bangladesh’s batting. It took them just over an hour after the lunch break to carve up the remaining six. Rabada’s 10 for 63 is second only to Dale Steyn’s 11 for 60 among the most economical 10-wicket hauls for South African bowlers.It was hard to tell which innings went worse for the visiting team. For a very brief period of nine overs following the lunch interval, Bangladesh found some respite when Mahmudullah and Liton Das struck nine well-timed boundaries and punched 43 runs. Liton struck two each off Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo, driving them through the covers twice and picking up the other two on the leg-side. Mahmudullah married grace with power and was partial to the cover region, where he collected five of his seven fours.But Phehlukwayo ensured it was short-lived when Liton Das, having misread the line, shouldered arms to be bowled. Next over, Rabada was back among the wickets when he had Mahmudullah slicing to be caught brilliantly by a diving Dean Elgar at gully. Sabbir Rahman committed a similar error and edged a catch to Faf du Plessis at second slip.Taijul Islam and Rubel Hossain lost their stumps to searing pace, giving Rabada his fourth and fifth scalps. Phehlukwayo then put Bangladesh out of their misery with his third wicket when Mustafizur Rahman’s leg stump was shattered.It was hardly a different story to what had transpired in the morning. South Africa unsettled Bangladesh with a barrage of short deliveries. Rabada found the outside edge of Soumya Sarkar when the batsman dangled his bat outside his off-stump and was smartly caught by a diving du Plessis at slip. He then struck Mominul Haque flush on the helmet before the ball deflected over the keeper. Two balls later, Mominul holed out to deep square leg off another short ball.So nasty were South Africa with the short stuff that in all three of Bangladesh’s batsmen were hit on the helmet. After Rabada, Duanne Olivier, who sent down a marathon 10-over spell, was responsible on two of those occasions. Mushfiqur was on the receiving end of the worst of those blows when took his eyes off one that climbed on him at pace, leaving him with little time to react. It forced a lengthy break in play with Mushfiqur receiving medical attention before he could get back up and resume his resistance. He was subsequently taken to the hospital during the break, where tests revealed that he was fine.South Africa, however, were relentless with the length. Imrul Kayes was strangled down the leg side when he tried to tuck a hip-high short ball from Olivier to be caught by Quinton de Kock. Imrul had made 32 that was characterised by some confident shots, but, for the most part, a lot of struggle.It was then the turn of Mahmudullah to cop a blow on the head, but he did well to steady himself and tackled the delivery better than the rest. South Africa would go on to strike one final time, at the stroke of lunch, when Mushfiqur misjudged Parnell’s line and offered his pad to a length ball that nipped in slightly to trap him in front of off. Mushfiqur opted to review, but replays showed that the impact was inside and the ball would have clipped off-stump, forcing the appeal to be withheld.As with the ball, South Africa were hardly pushed as a batting unit with four of their batsmen – Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla and du Plessis – cracking hundreds. What must have been most encouraging would be the manner in which Rabada led the attack in their first Test without Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander since January 2007.