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Durham stutter with bat in pursuit of small target to conclude disappointing campaign

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2023Birmingham Bears completed their buoyant Vitality Blast group campaign with a club record seventh successive victory, by eight runs over Durham at Edgbaston.Already sure of finishing top, the Bears rounded off their group games with an 11th win out of 14 despite an untidy batting display which saw them bowled out for 141 in 19.4 overs. Only Rob Yates, with 53 off 42 balls, lasted long against accurate bowling led by Australian pair Ashton Turner (3 for 20) and Nathan Sowter (2 for 23).Durham faced a moderate target but it was well beyond them as they mustered just 133 for 9, Henry Brookes taking 3 for 15. They finish one from bottom in the group and exit the tournament after a staccato campaign which included two ties and a no-result.The Bears, meanwhile, remain on a roll as they prepare for Thursday evening’s home quarter-final. Another satisfying day for them was clouded only by a worrying injury to standout performer Dan Mousley, who left the field after hurting a hand attempting to take a return catch from Turner.After the Bears chose to bat, their top order misfired except for Yates, who has scored 286 runs in his last five Blast knocks.Alex Davies blasted 19 from eight balls but then cut Turner to George Drissell at point. Drissell enjoyed an effective hour, adding another smart catch in the same position to remove the fit-again Sam Hain and bowling four overs of tidy offspin for just 23.The Bears big-hitters have powered their side into the last eight but this wasn’t their day as Chris Benjamin, Glenn Maxwell, Mousley and Jake Bethell each lasted fewer than ten balls. Yates completed a 38-ball fifty but then edged Turner behind and Dominic Drakes launched his Bears career with a golden duck when he slogged Sowter to long-on.Brookes landed a couple in the crowd but when Ben Raine castled Jake Lintott, it was nine down and the spectators had the unusual T20 sight of a No. 11 blocking out the 18th over to keep the innings alive. It concluded in fittingly messy fashion when Olly Hannon-Halby embarked on a single, Brookes didn’t and the former was run out by Alex Lees’ throw.Durham required a relatively modest run rate but appeared in a big hurry which cost them early wickets. Graham Clark skied Drakes to mid-off, Lees was bowled backing away to cut Mousley, Ollie Robinson played on to Brookes and Michael Jones swept Mousley to short fine leg. The Bears spinner delivered only two more balls before suffering his injury.Brookes came on to complete the over, immediately removed Turner lbw and followed up with the wicket of Brydon Carse, caught by Yates at long-on. Liam Trevaskis hoiked Lintott to deep midwicket before the fall of Raine pretty much summed up the Blast campaigns of these two teams. Sub fielder Ethan Brookes brilliantly retrieved a hit inches inside the rope and the batters, instead of celebrating four runs, found themselves together in the middle of the pitch when Brookes’ throw arrived.Jonathan Bushnell biffed a T20-best 40 off 34 balls, but it was too little too late to rescue his team.

Derbyshire survive a last-day scare to deny Middlesex an improbable victory

ECB Reporters Network03-Jul-2019Derbyshire survived a last-day scare to deny Middlesex an improbable victory in their County Championship Division Two match at Derby.After Dawid Malan’s 199 and John Simpson’s 115 had taken Middlesex to 520, Derbyshire were wobbling at 39 for 4, only 76 runs in front.But South African batsman Leus du Plooy followed his first-innings century with an unbeaten 64 and 61 from Harvey Hosein took the home side to 178 for 6, a lead of 215, when the teams shook hands on a draw.That was the most likely outcome at the start of the day as Malan and Simpson took their stand to 224, one short of the seventh-wicket record by any county against Derbyshire, before the Middlesex skipper pushed a return catch to Matt Critchley. He had batted just over eight-and-a-half hours, passing his career-best 182 not out, and was the 68th batsman in the history of the game to be out 199.With Fynn Hudson-Prentice falling one short of a hundred for Derbyshire, it was the only time in a first-class game in England that batsmen have scored 99 and 199.Simpson’s century and his stand with Malan was more significant for Middlesex, who had gone from a position where defeat was very much a possibility, to one where they could put Derbyshire under pressure.Billy Godleman and Luis Reece negotiated four overs before lunch while extending the lead but the position changed dramatically after the interval as four wickets fell for 16 runs. Godleman’s tentative push at Tom Helm resulted in an edge to Simpson and Hudson-Prentice was run out in the next over when he was sent back and failed to beat the throw from midwicket.Reece missed a sweep at Nathan Sowter and Alex Hughes bagged a pair when the leg-spinner found his outside edge to leave Derbyshire in trouble on 39 for 4.The advantage was only just past 100 when du Plooy edged Toby Roland-Jones but Sam Robson, stationed at a wide first slip, was unable to hold on.Middlesex employed spin at both ends but the runs began to come more freely and by tea Derbyshire were 163 ahead with overs running out.Sowter had Hosein lbw pushing forward and Malan beat Critchley’s defensive prod but the lead was now over 200 and it was no surprise when the draw was agreed with 20 overs remaining.

Michael Klinger’s T20 hundreds record is next in his sights after fifth century

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2023James Vince followed up becoming the Vitality Blast’s highest run scorer by chalking up his fifth T20 century as Hampshire Hawks annihilated Essex.Vince is now only behind Michael Klinger in Blast hundreds having overtaken Luke Wright in the run charts on Wednesday, and only Wayne Madsen has more than his 280 runs in this year’s competition.His supreme 103 laid the foundations for a huge 215 target for the Eagles, which Nathan Ellis’ three for 10, Scott Currie’s three for 21 and Liam Dawson’s four for 21 made sure was never chasable.Dawson flowed with praise for his teammate. “It is a huge win. Vince was exceptional and proved how good a player he is. That hundred is the difference in the game.”I think he is getting better. He has been so consistent in his run scoring over the last couple of years. T20 is a high-risk game and the amount of times he scores runs is more often than not. He is getting better with age and is brilliant to have in our team.”Defending champions Hampshire eventually won by 118 runs with 35 balls to spare – the Hawks’ highest margin of victory after bowling the hosts out for 96 – to hand Essex their first T20 defeat of the year.Vince continued from his back-to-back unbeaten 88s, and his record-breaking, by pumping Aron Nijjar for two massive sixes back over his head with his first two balls faced.Ben McDermott was adjudged caught behind while Toby Albert took nine balls to get off the mark but Vince was terrorising the crowd and local residents – his eventual eight sixes threatened the slate and chimneys of the houses at the Hayes Close End.He monopolised the run-scoring, including 60 of the 101 stand with Albert, who improved his hitting to reach 38 before he was stumped.
Vince was cleanly striking anything that was sent his way and brought up his century with another pulled maximum in 45 balls.He was furious when he slapped a Matt Critchley long hop to the deep midwicket boundary which began the fall of five wickets for 35 runs.
Joe Weatherley had made a well-compiled 29 before he was caught at cover to follow Ross Whiteley, Aneurin Donald and James Fuller’s short stays.But a tame finale was avoided when Liam Dawson slog-swept three successive sixes to take 21 off the final over and give Hampshire 214. Daniel Sams was the only bowler not to go at a double figure run-rate for his three for 28, although Simon Harmer also pilfered three wickets.Essex tried to swing their way to victory but plays and misses dominated. Adam Rossington, who pumped two early sixes, was unfortunate to be given caught behind after the ball appeared to clip a stump rather than his bat.Dan Lawrence was lbw after 22 off 14, Feroze Khushi yorked by Dawson, Paul Walter stumped, Robin Das swatted to long off, Tom Westley drilled to cover and Nathan Ellis bowled Harmer. It had been a spell of five wickets in 23 balls for 20 runs.Dawson pinned Nijjar before Sams gave Vince his third catch of the night and Ellis his third wicket to finish off the comprehensive away victory.

Chasing 317, Western Australia are 115 for 6 with the allrounder batting on 52

The Report by Alex Malcolm29-Nov-2018A top-order collapse from Western Australia has left them with a mountain to climb in a fourth-innings chase against New South Wales at Perth Stadium.The Warriors, who had successfully chased 313 against South Australia in their previous match, were set 317 to win. This time, though, their chase began diabolically with Will Bosisto lbw in the first over to Trent Copeland. Five balls later the dangerman Shaun Marsh was dismissed by Sean Abbott, caught at third slip on the drive, to leave the Warriors 2 for 1.Hilton Cartwright became Copeland’s second victim in the fifth over before WA produced a startling counter-attack. Instead of bunkering down, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis played aggressively to try and dig the Warriors out of a hole.They added 29 in 20 balls before Nathan Lyon bowled Mitchell Marsh through the gate for a run-a-ball 30 with a beautiful offbreak. Ashton Turner and Josh Inglis then fell within the space of six balls to leave WA 6 for 64 after 15 overs.Stoinis kept going, reaching a rollicking half-century off just 45 balls. It included six fours and a six. He remained 52 not out at stumps with Ashton Agar on 20, but the Warriors still need to 202 to win with just four wickets in hand.Earlier, Jhye Richardson claimed his maiden 10-wicket match haul in Sheffield Shield cricket, nabbing three second-innings scalps to go with his 8 for 47 in the first innings.But it wasn’t enough to prevent New South Wales from setting a fourth-innings target of more than 300. Kurtis Patterson, Moises Henriques and Jack Edwards all reached 40 but none could pass 50. Stoinis bagged three wickets and Mitchell Marsh two.

Rajasthan scored the first 200-plus total in the IPL in Jaipur to beat CSK for the second time this season

Hemant Brar27-Apr-20232:35

The change in technique that has unlocked Jaiswal

After losing their previous two games, Rajasthan Royals not only returned to winning ways but also the top of the IPL points table with a thumping 32-run win over Chennai Super Kings.After Royals opted to bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal attacked his way to 77 off 43 balls. Super Kings did stage a brief comeback in the middle overs but late hitting from Dhruv Jurel (34 off 15) and Devdutt Padikkal (27* off 13) lifted Royals to 202 for 5, the first 200-plus total by an IPL team in Jaipur.Matheesha Pathirana, despite nailing his yorkers at express pace, was unlucky to concede 48 in his four overs, as 28 of those runs came when batters were not in control of their shots.Super Kings didn’t get the start they were after. Adam Zampa and R Ashwin further stifled them while sharing five wickets. Shivam Dube was the only one to offer resistance but it was too little, too late.

Jaiswal leads the way for Royals

Even if it was an away game for Super Kings, they seemed to have more supporters in the stands than Royals had. It didn’t have any effect on Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, though, as they gave Royals yet another flying start. Jaiswal kicked things off by hitting Akash Singh for two fours off the first two balls of the match, followed by one more in the over. He was even more severe in the seamer’s next over, picking up three fours and a six. In between, Buttler hit Tushar Deshpande for two fours.With seamers going for plenty, MS Dhoni turned to spin, and Maheesh Theekshana bowled a three-run over. Buttler, though, took the spinner for two fours – both times hitting length balls off the back foot over his head – in the sixth over to take Royals to 64 for no loss.Ravindra Jadeja broke the opening stand with Buttler’s wicket but Jaiswal kept marching on. Coming into this game, Jaiswal had scored 81 off 70 in the middle overs. Tonight, there was no slowdown; he smashed 37 off 22 after the field restrictions were lifted.Yashasvi Jaiswal once again took a liking to the Chennai Super Kings bowling•Getty Images

Jurel and Padikkal pick up after a brief lull

Deshpande removed Sanju Samson and Jaiswal in the 14th over to briefly put the brakes on the scoring rate. From overs 14 to 17, Royals managed only 28 runs and lost three wickets along the way. It was starting to look like Super Kings might restrict them under 200 but Jurel and Padikkal, who came in at No. 6, threw their bat around. They didn’t always find the middle but the runs came thick and fast. Super Kings’ sloppy fielding also helped Royals, and left Dhoni visibly angry on more than once occasion, as they ransacked 56 in the last four overs.

Zampa, Ashwin keep Super Kings on back foot

With Trent Boult picking up a niggle, Zampa got an opportunity. And the legspinner made an impact in his very first over. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, he had Devon Conway hitting one to mid-off.Ruturaj Gaikwad was trying to make up for Super Kings’ slow start. He had moved to 47 off 28 balls when he tried to attack Zampa only to be caught at long-on. R Ashwin dragged Super Kings further back in the next over, the 11th of the innings, by dismissing Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu.

Dube, Moeen fight back

With 130 needed from nine overs, Dube and Moeen threatened a fightback. The pair hit four sixes and a four in the next three overs, reducing the equation to 90 needed from the last five. Samson once again turned to Zampa, and he didn’t disappoint his captain. Dube launched him into the stands, and Moeen too picked up a boundary, but with his fifth ball of the over, Zampa had Moeen under-edging one to Samson.Dube, however, kept the fight on. He hit Jason Holder for a six and two fours in the 17th over. In the next, Jadeja took Sandeep Sharma for two fours but scoring 46 in the last two overs was too much of an uphill task.

Former captain says preparation has to be intense at the start of a Test series overseas, then it can taper off

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2018Did India learn anything from the defeat in South Africa earlier this year? Did they not learn that match practice is the key to winning Test series, especially abroad? Was playing just a three-day tour match against Essex enough before a big clash with England? These are the questions raised by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who said the team management had erred by focusing on “simulated” training rather than playing actual cricket matches to prepare for an important five-match series.India lost the first of those games by 31 runs two days ago, with all of their specialist batsmen, barring Virat Kohli, showing weak technique and even weaker temperament. This led Gavaskar to question why the players were given five days off before the start of the England Tests, and took issue with India reducing the proposed four-day match against Essex into three days. He held that while Kohli might have the skills needed to adjust to Test cricket even after time off, the Indian captain and management needed to realise that the others could have benefited from more match practice.The white-ball portion of India’s tour ended with the third ODI on July 17, but there was only one practice game – against Essex – scheduled in the 14-day gap until the start of the first Test on August 1. India lost that Test, despite Kohli scoring 149 and 51.”See Virat Kohli is such an exceptional talent, he can take 15 days off and then score a hundred the next day,” Gavaskar told . “If he takes time off, no quarrel at all. But he has to understand, and the team management have to understand, that others need practice.”I understand the need to switch off, but it can’t be five days. The preparation should have been much more intense at the start of the series. You can taper off later, but not at the start. The last ODI was on July 17, and the Test series started on August 1. There were 14 days in between. And you play only a three-day match in that period? Why have you gone to England – to play cricket or something else? I agree, they have practised for long hours in those days, but like I said, you cannot get by with just practice. You have to play matches too.”Gavaskar also didn’t agree with the notion that arriving in England a month before the Tests began had been helpful, largely because India had spent that time playing one-day cricket.”They deluded themselves, and everybody, by saying they have been in England for a month. But in that time they were playing against the white ball. And the white ball doesn’t move as much as the red one, and the Duke ball particularly moves even more,” he pointed out. “They didn’t learn anything from the South Africa experience. [India lost 2-1 away to South Africa at the start of the year] They didn’t have much time there, but they did have a two-day practice match which they also cancelled. In South Africa, India played well in the third Test, only after playing in two Tests. We’re talking of five Tests here, if you start winning after two Tests, the series can be gone by then.”You can have as many match simulations, as many throw-downs, but it is never the same as a match situations. While taking throw-downs, you can get out, but you know you’ll still be batting the next ball. If a bowler bowls a no-ball in a match, he won’t get a wicket. In the match, if you get out, you’ll be sitting in the dressing room and watching someone else score the runs you should have.”Another error India had made, according to Gavaskar, was going in without an extra batsman. “If it was up to me, in the first Test of an overseas series, I would always go with six batsmen,” he said. “Then with a wicketkeeper and an allrounder like Ashwin, your batting depth increases. If after that, your top four hit form, you can go with five bowlers in the subsequent Tests. The need of the hour now is to strengthen the batting.”Analysing India’s batsmen in the first Test, Gavaskar said only Kohli made the mental adjustment needed. “Virat adjusted temperamentally. The bat-speed in one-day cricket is higher, because you’re looking to play shots. It’s not like that in Test cricket,” Gavaskar said. “The more you leave balls in Tests, the better for you, because the bowler tires. And if you keep leaving balls outside off, you will force the bowler to change his line. Virat made that adjustment, the others didn’t. See Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissals in both innings, Rahul in the first innings, Ajinkya Rahane in both innings – they all went at the ball with hard hands. The secret to batting in England is not to reach for the ball, but let it come on to the bat. If they can make that adjustment, the others can make runs in the next Test onwards.”

Kohli brought up yet another hundred, Pant dominated a beaten and bruised attack, and Jadeja walloped a maiden Test ton before West Indies’ top order crumbled in the heat of Rajkot

The Report by Sidharth Monga05-Oct-2018
2:29

Walsh: Kohli’s hunger for ‘every Test run’ amazing

It was like an afternoon stroll on a warm winter’s day. By the end of it, Virat Kohli had notched up another inevitable-looking hundred, Ravindra Jadeja had entertained his home crowd with a maiden hundred, a run-out where he walked from mid-on and threw the stumps down as if playing marbles, and a wicket off his first ball, Rishabh Pant had attacked his way to 92, India had registered their highest total against West Indies, and the visitors ended the day 555 behind with four first-innings wickets in hand. It seemed so easy you would be forgiven for forgetting they were actually playing in dry, 40-degree heat.The availability of loose balls and defensive fields meant the India batsmen had to barely break a sweat when they resumed play on the second day at 364 for 4. Sherman Lewis bothering Pant with the short ball for about one over, and Keemo Paul beating his bat as a result of that, was the most competitive period of play in this Test.With nearly 400 on the board, Pant kept playing his shots, and when they come off they looked amazing. The flick off the pads was the most productive against pace, and once West Indies went back to spin, Pant was all over them. Over midwicket, over mid-on, taking on long-off at the boundary. At one point, Pant threatened to beat Kohli to the century despite starting the day 55 behind. Eventually, there was one shot too many, as he failed to pick a Devendra Bisho googly and edged a hoick.There was no such uncertainty around Kohli’s hundred. It seemed like batting practice for him. He was hardly challenged by the bowling and the conditions. It was like a session where a batsman is trying to reinforce the basics in the nets. Leave wide balls alone; drive if it is too full; if it is a touch straight, close the bat face late. He ran hard. There were enough bad balls in between for him to not need to take any risks to put the bowlers under pressure. His century was his 24th, taking him past Virender Sehwag on the list of India’s most prolific centurions, and placing him behind only Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.When he off-drove the first ball he faced post lunch for only his eighth boundary, Kohli crossed 1000 runs for the third year in a row. He began to take risks now. Having survived a return catch before lunch, he picked a wrong’un and smacked it over midwicket for four. He began to walk down against pace, eventually getting a leading edge that ended his innings.Jadeja had by then established himself at the wicket, having added 64 with Kohli. As wickets fell at the other end, finally giving Bishoo some reward for his unremarkable toil that gave him 4 for 217 – the second-most expensive figures for West Indies, Jadeja grew adventurous. The half-century was uneventful, his sword-wielding promising that he had something special planned to celebrate a hundred.Thanks to their run rate, India had a lot of time to allow Jadeja a shot at the landmark, but they had lost eight wickets by then. However, Jadeja found support from Umesh Yadav as they added 55 for the ninth wicket. Jadeja showed the urgency required, hitting the second ball he faced after his fifty for a six back over Bishoo’s head. That was the first of his five sixes. He went from 50 to 98 in 34 balls despite refusing singles when batting with the No. 11 Mohammed Shami.That West Indies were a beaten lot showed in their captaincy. The first ball Shami faced was the 25th of the 10th-wicket partnership. The field didn’t change at all at the end of the overs, allowing Jadeja to take the single and retain the strike. Shami kept his end of the bargain, allowing Jadeja to get to the hundred. The celebration, it turned out, was joyous, involving a long look at the heavens above, but he didn’t add any variant to his sword dance.As India took the field, a seemingly flat pitch suddenly became venomous. Before he walked off clutching his side, Shami had removed the openers in a four-over opening spell. He bowled with a beautiful seam position, attacked the stumps, and benefited from the skiddy bounce he gets. R Ashwin soon got into the act, dismissing Shai Hope with an offbreak that didn’t turn. With the ball still new, and his seam parallel to the ground, it wasn’t entirely unintentional.Sunil Ambris and Shimron Hetmeyer went on to self-destruct. Hetmeyer and Ambris ended up at the striker’s end after Hetmeyer hit a shot a touch too well to Jadeja at mid-on. Jadeja teased him by walking slowly to the stumps and then throwing the ball on top of them. Ambris was teased by a flighted ball first up, which he looked to hit over mid-off but edged to slip. Shane Dowrich then tried to hit a big shot off Kuldeep Yadav, presenting him with a gate to burst through. Six wickets in 29 overs.

The selectors have left out Barry McCarthy and Craig Young from the squad that took part in the recently concluded tri-series in Deventer

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2018Joshua Little and Andy McBrine have been recalled to a 14-man Ireland squad that will take on India in two T20Is on June 27 and 29 in Malahide. Gary Wilson will continue to captain the side.Little, 18, is a left-arm fast bowler who has played only four T20s so far – two of them T20Is – and was part of the Ireland team in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January this year. McBrine, 25, is an offspinning allrounder who has already played 30 ODIs and 19 T20Is, though his last T20I was in March 2017.

Ireland squad

Gary Wilson (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell , Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson
IN: Josh Little, Andy McBrine
OUT: Barry McCarthy, Craig Young

Ireland have played only one T20I against India, back in 2009 at Trent Bridge during the World T20 that year. India won that game by eight wickets with 4.3 overs to spare, thanks to Zaheer Khan’s 4 for 19.The Ireland selectors have left out Barry McCarthy and Craig Young from the squad that took part in the recently concluded tri-series in Deventer, where Ireland won one match, lost two and tied one game.Before the series against India, Ireland will play a T20 against Sussex Sharks at the Arundel Castle Cricket Ground on June 24, which will also be Ed Joyce’s testimonial match. Joyce announced his retirement after Ireland made their long-awaited Test debut.Andrew White, the chairman of selectors, said the squad for the India matches had been chosen with a view to giving exposure to players for the future as well as being competitive, and the game against Sussex would help finalise Ireland’s XI.”The selectors have chosen what we believe to be a strong, in-form squad for this format of the game that balances experience with youth,” White said. “Our deliberations were around finding a side that was competitive now, but with an eye on the future.”Many in the squad will be either travelling to Sussex this weekend for the Ed Joyce Testimonial match on Sunday, or will be re-joining the senior squad from their English County sides. We had a good look at a number of players on the recent tri-series in the Netherlands and this weekend’s match in Sussex will firm up the decisions made on the final playing eleven for the first fixture on Wednesday.”White identified building a good group of players for the World T20 qualifiers as one of the aims.”We will continue our approach of providing opportunities for a wider pool of players to gain experience in T20 cricket on the international stage,” he said. “With around 12 months to go to the World T20 Cup qualifiers, we are looking to build a competitive squad for that qualification stage and hopefully propel us into the main tournament in 2020.”

Draw remains favourite, though there’s still ample time for final-day frolics

David Hopps13-Jul-2022In the land of the Kiss-Me-Quick hat, Yorkshire and Surrey have been squeezing each other slow. In the first 263 overs of the match, Yorkshire strutted their stuff with 521 and Surrey winked back with 515. Both sides have scored at around four an over and, although the draw remains favourite, there is still ample time for final-day frolics.Adam Lyth and George Hill set a more puritanical tone in Yorkshire’s second innings and seemed set to survive the final 20 overs of the day only for Jamie Overton to take two wickets in the penultimate over as he had Lyth caught off a glove with one that bounced and left him and added the nightwatcher, Dom Bess, lbw for nought to the second ball he received. A markedly inexperienced batting line-up still has a big job to do.This is another excellent Scarborough surface. It is more batter-friendly than some of recent vintage, but it offered pace and bounce on the first day and, as the sun has shone down, it has begun to offer a little grip for seamers and spinners alike.In place of Adam Lyth and Jonny Tattersall, Yorkshire’s providers on the first two days, Surrey offered their own opening batter and wicketkeeper combination in Rory Burns and Ben Foakes. Only Foakes was denied a hundred and he was unfortunate because he hardly put a foot wrong in making an unbeaten 86 from 156 balls.Burns began the third day on 94 and he reached 132 (260 balls) before Shannon Gabriel, the West Indian quick, squeezed the ball through the smallest gate from around the wicket to clip his off stump. Hashim Amla was beaten on the drive by Jordan Thompson, who also claimed Will Jacks to a dirty drag-on. At 303 for 5, still 218 behind and the second new ball only eight overs old, Yorkshire might even have imagined enforcing the follow-on, but Aaron Hardie and Overton hit about then on either side of tea to dispel the notion. A rumbustious last-wicket stand of 48 between Foakes and Dan Worrall then let Surrey back into the match.Yorkshire’s fight was led by Bess, who appears to be in his best rhythm of the season, and who was rewarded with 5 for 125, including three stumpings for Tattersall on his return to the side. There was also an excellent arm ball to Jamie Smith – a catch, on this occasion, for Tattersall – and perhaps a bit of fortune as Conor McKerr was ruled to be caught at the wicket as his bat scraped against the ground. He has had to fulfil a holding role for much of the summer and he adapted well to a surface offering some turn. He is beginning to look a more seasoned bowler after the disruption of his early England experience.There was also a brief moment of concern when Thompson injured himself in the field. No player embodies Yorkshire county cricket these days more than Thompson – Lyth perhaps? – and the Vitality Blast finals day is on Saturday at Edgbaston. There was every reason to sub him for a while and check him over. That is not Thompson’s way. He is as robust as they come and, after a once-over from the physio, he yanked his freshly-awarded county cap a little further down his head and tested his fitness by a dash and dive after the next ball.Down on the sea front, Scarborough was basking in one of its most golden days of the summer. On South Bay you could never give global warming and the cost-of-living crisis a second thought with temperatures a balmy 20C and stalls offering five doughnuts for £3; cash preferred. Even reports of gull muggings are down, although the giant ones hanging around malevolently outside a tattoo parlour were so menacing that they looked capable of stealing not just your fish and chips but your wallet.The Terror Tower offered the chance to TOUR THE FILMSETS OF THE CHILLER MOVIES, even though it was only a little place and it was difficult to believe that you could cram Pinewood Studios sets into somewhere so small. But then exaggeration is only to be expected in Scarborough. No less a staid body than English Heritage likes to claim that the castle has a 3,000-year-history on the grounds that someone once found a bit of ancient pottery on a site that is more accurately dated to Medieval times.North Marine Road needs no exaggeration. “Finest cricket ground in t’world,” White Rose loyalists regularly sigh, although Yorkshire’s long list of absentees might have contributed to thinner-than-normal attendances. Who knows, there might even be a bit of sulking going on about the off-field struggles that have bedeviled the club in the past year. Hampshire are along in a fortnight and it will be school holidays and they will hope for the stands to be better populated.At times like this, the appointment of Ottis Gibson as head coach seems to be a masterstroke. His geniality and authority bring hopes that a happier future – one built on equal opportunities for all – is achievable. Many Yorkshire players are out of contract at the end of the season and he deserves a young squad to pin their faith in his leadership. Some of them, even, before Yorkshire head for Finals Day.Before play began, old men watched him suddenly break off from his supervision of Yorkshire’s preparations to call over a young lad on the terraces for a couple of impromptu catching routines. When it was over, the youngster remembered to shout “thank-you”, Gibson signalled recognition of his good manners and the old men burst into slightly self-conscious applause.Surrey, with a 17-point buffer over Hampshire, in second, would leave the East Coast relatively satisfied with draw points, but with Hampshire seemingly destined to beat Warwickshire and Lancashire positioned to put Somerset under pressure on the final day, their nearest challengers are both capable of overhauling them as they seek to win only their second title in 20 years.

Pakistan played out 69 dots, hit four fours and limped to 72. It proved too little against the six-time champions

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2018ICC

With a direct entry into the final at stake, 69 dot balls, four boundaries and 72 for 7 is all Pakistan managed after electing bat against defending champions India. Four of the six frontline bowlers India employed till the halfway mark, claimed a wicket each in their first over. The outcome? Pakistan slumped to 36 for 4 and laboured to another 36 for 3 in the last ten. Then, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur sealed six-time winners’ seven-wicket win with a four, and Ekta Bisht bagged her third successive Player-of-the-Match award in as many appearances against Pakistan for her 3 for 14.Setting the tone of the marquee clash, Shikha Pandey bowled opener Nain Abidi for a duck before her quick-bowling, new-ball partner Jhulan Goswami propped it up with a maiden. Two overs of spin followed during which offspinner Anuja Patil and left-arm spinner Bisht removed Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan for four runs each. A second over for Goswami – the fifth in the innings – was to be the last of pace in the first ten as offspinner Deepti Sharma had Nahida Khan stumped in her opening over too.Pakistan struggled for momentum after the early collapse as wristpinner Poonam Yadav snaffled a return catch from pinch-hitter Nida Dar before Bisht completed her three-for off her remaining two overs. Pakistan’s only boundary since the fourth over came in the 20th over courtesy Diana Baig. The No.9 batsman kept Sana Mir company who farmed 20 off 38 balls in a bid to prevent her side from being bowled out.India’s chase weren’t without any hiccups, though. Left-arm spinner Anam Amin dismissed Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma for a duck each to leave India teetering at 5 for 2 inside three overs. A patient 65-run third-wicket stand between Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana took India to 70 for 3 before the other Pakistan left-armer, Nashra Sandhu, had Mandhana hole out for a 40-ball 38. Harmanpreet’s three fours in her unbeaten 49-ball 38 helped mop up the chase with 23 balls to spare.