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David Langford-Smith helped Ireland open their European Championships campaign with a 99-run win over Denmark, in Glasgow, as he scored 22 then took three wickets. The Irish batting didn’t really fire, but there were enough useful cameos to nudge the total over 200, which proved well above to capabilities of the Danish.Ireland were well placed on 100 for 2 but stumbled to 173 for 9 as Denmark’s bowlers fought back well in the middle overs. However, Ireland’s score was boosted by a final-wicket stand of 36 between Langford-Smith and Paul Mooney. William Porterfield, the 21-year-old left hander, was the top scorer with 42.Chasing 210, Denmark were never in the hunt and subsided in 32.4 overs. Langford-Smith followed up his runs with 3 for 27 and Andre Botha claimed the tidy figures of 2 for 14.Ireland’s next match is against Scotland on Saturday, followed by Italy on Monday then a full one-day international against Holland on Tuesday.

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The fading light at Sydney towards the end of the second day’s play did what Zimbabwe’s bowlers couldn’t – put an end, for the time being, to Ricky Ponting’s outstanding innings. When Ponting and Steve Waugh accepted the offer of bad light, Australia were 245 for 3, 63 runs behind Zimbabwe’s first-innings total of 308.Ponting, unbeaten on 137, dominated the last two sessions with an innings full of quality strokeplay. His precision and timing proved unstoppable, and any of his 19 fours or two sixes could have been the shot of the day. His strokes off the legs were punishing, while he used his feet well against Ray Price and Gavin Ewing, with spectacular results. One of his sixes was nailed absolutely straight and sailed high in the stands behind the bowler.His 50 came off 51 balls, and he brought up his century off the first ball he faced after tea when he cut Ewing to the boundary. It was his 18th Test century, and when he smashed a six off Price with his next scoring shot, it brought up his 5000th run in Tests.

Australia’s run-rate was better than a run a minute for most of the day, although Zimbabwe attempted to slow it down by their shabby over-rate. Had they not gone off for bad light, there was every chance that play would have extended well beyond the normal finish time.Zimbabwe’s day started well, though, as they reached 308, courtesy of some spunky batting by Andy Blignaut. Dropped by Damien Martyn at third slip off Brad Williams, he made Australia pay with some bruising blows. And Australia’s misery was compounded by another injury worry with Brett Lee leaving the field with an abdominal muscle strain. It was later revealed that the injury will keep him out of cricket for a month, preventing him from touring India.The rousing stand between Blignaut and Price put together 53 before Andy Bichel provided the breakthrough when Price was caught by Williams at mid-off for 20. Blessing Mahwire was then dubiously given out caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Bichel, giving him his fourth wicket and bringing Zimbabwe’s innings to an end.Blignaut, who finished with an unbeaten 38, then had an immediate effect with the ball. Justin Langer lobbed a drive off the splice of his bat to Heath Streak at mid-off (7 for 1), and Matthew Hayden came back down to earth when snapped up by Stuart Carlisle close to the wicket (51 for 2). But Ponting came out and showed his intent from the start, driving on the up through the off-side, and flicking off the legs when the bowlers strayed in line.Blignaut’s inconsistency of line and length was his downfall. While quite capable of bowling a wicket-taking delivery, he was also guilty of bowling too many loose balls. Heath Streak was still struggling for his rhythm and he rarely troubled the batsmen, conceding 58 runs from his 11 overs. Twice, though, mix-ups between wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu and first slip resulted in edges passing between them with neither attempting the catch.Price did manage to slow the free-for-all, and his dismissal of Damien Martyn – trapped lbw for 32 – was worthy reward for an accurate spell. He ended the day with respectable figures of 1 for 58 from 20 overs. But with Ponting on the attack, and Waugh efficiently accumulating runs, Zimbabwe have a tough day ahead of them tomorrow.

Andy Blignaut has announced he is determined to “give it my all” over the next three summers with Tasmania, after becoming the second of Zimbabwe’s 15 unwanted white players to sign with an Australian state.Blignaut will arrive in August to begin a three-year contract with Tasmania. David Johnston, chief executive officer of the Tasmanian Cricket Association, said Australian selection was not out of the question for the combative allrounder.”There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before that all occurs, but there is some thought that he would like to do that,” said Johnston.Blignaut is viewed by some, with a certain amount of wishful thinking, as the perfect replacement for Shane Watson who has moved home to Queensland. Watson is a genuine No. 4 at Pura Cup level; Blignaut’s main asset, by contrast, is his feisty pace bowling. His aggressive lower-order strokeplay can be considered a bonus. “I think he goes part of the way to replacing Watson,” was Johnston’s verdict.He remained coy about whether or not Tasmania would succeed in persuading Michael Bevan to move south from New South Wales. Bevan recently lost his Cricket Australia contract and a lucrative switch to Tasmania would make up for part of the drop in income.”We have been talking for two or three weeks now, so we are getting fairly close to the end of it,” said Johnston. “We are hoping to hear something from Michael’s management company in the next few days.”Michael Slater is also reportedly reconsidering his options with NSW. He played only three Pura Cup games last summer because of illness and is believed to be unhappy with the deal NSW have offered him. He could potentially give up on his playing career altogether and move permanently into the commentary box.Blignaut, who has taken 51 wickets and averages 24 with the bat in his 15 Tests, is one of four Zimbabweans expected to play in the Pura Cup this summer. Andy Flower is playing for South Australia and Murray Goodwin and Sean Ervine for Western Australia.

As colossal a failure as Pakistan’s unexpected and anti-climactic exit from the World Cup, after so much and ostentatious hype orchestrated by our cricket managers, is not susceptible to easy, simple or one-dimensional explanations. Explanations have to be equal to the magnitude of the failure, and it was no small failure.The defeat was caused by a complex of factors, not peculiar to one match, tournament or series. The problem, as I have said before, is endemic, structural and fundamental. And the responsibility for rectifying it must rest with those who run cricket affairs inPakistan.In the first instance, one has to recognise the problem in order to rectify it. But we have always been in a denial mode. First, what is this drum-beat about the “talent”? How do you define it? And how does talent define and express itself? Unless it manifests itself in a stable and sustainable performance it is hard to register its presence. Otherwise it remains, as they say, `a flash in the pan’.Of course anyone who in a nation of 140 million people makes it to the national team does have exceptional ability. And for that matter some basic ability is present in most cricketers to a varying degree, in any cricket team in the world. But since cricket is a competitive game, what matters most is really where our cricketers stand in comparison with others. And that is where the issue of talent acquires a whole new dimension. It becomes a relative and not absolute quality.Yes, we have had some very talented cricketers in recent years but their number has been smaller than generally believed. This is evident from the fact that we won some extraordinary victories that almost had a dreamlike quality about them because they were so improbable and magical. And the fact that many of them were won with narrow margins confirmed how much they owed to individual brilliance rather than any game plan. That, I am afraid, encouraged a false notion that somehow we had individuals of sheer ability and talent and that game plans were not necessary to the team’s success.Indeed, such individualism resisted coaching and worked against the culture of game plans and discipline as well as contributed to the endemic lack of cohesion in the team. And the absence of any credible domestic cricket structure mitigated against the emergence and solidifying of the spirit of competitiveness and mental toughness.With leaders like Imran Khan, supported by an exceptional cricketer and team man like Javed Miandad, such shortcomings were transcended, but after them it has been a different story. There has been no consistent pattern of achievement as the team continued to depend exclusively on individual brilliance or inspiration, which has its ups and downs, susceptible to the mood or emotion of the moment. It hastened the emergence of a few cricketing heroes but not a tough, hard-nosed and well-knit cricketing outfit.Our captains in this period have been either bowlers or wicket-keepers, and neither batting strategists nor great inspirational leaders. The team, therefore, on the batting side, particularly, has been entirely on its own – left to its wits. And there has been no good coach till we hired Richard Pybus who in my view is trying to do his best. But alone cannot reverse the inherited mental attitudes nor has he the full autonomy to deal with the players as he pleases.Players have been moving in different orbits and are pampered or spoiled by the cricket bosses who have tied their own survival and staked their reputation to the success of a few chosen players.This approach foments player power, besides fostering blue-eyed boys and big egos which is not, definitely not, an ideal situation for team cohesion and discipline. Players, instead of fighting the opponents fight with each other.Indeed cricket bosses are mainly responsible for the failure of the team, not just the contemporary ones but also successive administrations in the past.Current world cricket has become fiercely competitive because of huge sums of money involved due largely to TV rights and commercial sponsorship. No wonder only the teams which have perfected a methodical, organized and competitive way of playing the game are excelling.It has been such a delight to watch the Australian team exhibiting exceptional commitment to excellence, underpinned by an astounding sense of self-discipline, tenacity and brilliant team work. Other teams are now beginning to take their cue from them.Much of the money being earned by respective Cricket Boards is now being ploughed back into running cricket on contemporary competitive lines. That is why the gap between major teams is narrowing as evident in the current World Cup. India too, which suffered the same weaknesses as our team in the past has learnt its lessons.What has our Board done? I do not know the present Chairman of PCB General Tauqir, but I do know that players are not soldiers and nor is cricket all about laying down one’s life for the glory of the country. Cricket players are a special breed – sensitive, egoistic and often adolescent. They need special handling, best left to someone who has been a distinguished sportsman himself or has had a life long association with sports. And above all, one who can administer the game full time. The General has done some good things but the Board’s basic approach and inner workings in essence remain unchanged from the past.For years the heads of PCB have been appointed on a single consideration – they were all well-connected people who owed their plush and prestigious position to the personal relationship they enjoyed with the leadership of the country. And as long as the political leadership remained unchanged PCB heads enjoyed unlimited and absolute power and remained beyond accountability. So secure in their position they hardly had to perform to keep their job.Cricket affairs were left to their wits, as a ‘laissez-faire’ approach was followed that continued to encourage player power. And like everything else, when a government changed, all the plum positions also changed hands, and the new man in the PCB went about the business the same way as his predecessor.Of course statements would now be issued and some scapegoats too, as to what went wrong at the World Cup. Vacuous statements would continue to be made by the captain and others, that “so and so took away the game from us”, “our batting did not click”, “that was not our day”, “well such things happen in cricket”, “well that is the way it goes”, “let us look to the future”.No analysis, no attempt to learn from the experience. And the Board would of course talk about all those the academies being set up and team discipline being restored and the need for patience as cricket reorganization is a long term task etc. Does the last three-and-a-half year record inspire any confidence in the future?What was the need to announce such hefty rewards for the team before the tournament? Why the spectacular and colossal send-off to the team at the Gaddafi Stadium? Why were players, such as Shoaib Akhtar allowed to engage in hyperbolic bragging that he would do `such and such’ to `so and so player’? What was the consequence of this extraordinary hype?On one hand it put enormous pressure on the players to perform, especially the batsmen, and on the other it may have made them complacent as they came to rely so much on super-human performance with such self-magnification by our bowlers. How many such statements were made by McGrath, Hayden or Tendulkar?There are many reasons for the success of the Australian team, but if I were asked to choose one single factor, I would describe it as follows: There are no heroes in the team nor anyone treated as a hero. So their feet remain on ground. They are professionals who are being paid fabulously for their performance, and if they do not perform they are out and others would take their place. So their presence in the team has to be earned and maintained with performance. Nobody is considered indispensable. Even the best players can easily be shown the door. Look at what happened to Steve Waugh. Nobody is pampered. Of course if they perform they enjoy enormous amount of public support and acclaim but certainly no adulation.We, on the other hand, play by different rules. We like things to happen just as a matter of course, rely on the super-natural and heroics, and often want to blunder or gamble our way.Look at the batting. There is no commitment or desire to build a partnership. No communication between the players on the field with the possible exception of the match against India. There is no strategy as to what happens if wickets start tumbling. Pakistani team has never been good at regrouping after a collapse. And collapse has often triggered defeat as panic sets in.And there is no accounting for this mystery except the lack of a game plan, strategy and capability to regroup in the course of the innings and to dig-in and try for a partnership. And above all, not to throw away the wickets.Another vital shortcoming is match temperament. And this is because the players hardly play real competitive cricket at home. What passes for domestic cricket is an apology for the game. We need to reorganize it to make it genuine, more competitive, and we must force our national team players to participate in it. Competitiveness teaches mental toughness.There is therefore time, not only for serious soul-searching but also for hard-headed and honest analysis, if we want to learn proper lessons from the failure at the World Cup. The team still has more than average talent, but we need to harness it.Ed: Touqir Hussain is former Ambassador of Pakistan to Japan

Australia inflicted another crushing defeat over England in the firstCricinfo One-Day International at Derby today, winning by 99 runs with morethan three overs remaining.Set 239 to win after an entertaining batting performance from Australia’sKaren Rolton (79) and Lisa Keightley (75), England’s early overs were full ofpromise as debutante Hannah Lloyd and Arran Thompson set off confidentlyagainst Australia’s experienced opening attack.Lloyd survived an appeal to the third umpire for a run out in the fifth overafter the athletic Lisa Sthalekar produced a forward dive at square leg toget the ball in sharply to the stumps.The 21-year-old University student took her time to settle, while at theother end Thompson quickly got down to business striking three boundaries insix overs.But in the eighth over of the innings, Lloyd was leg before pushing forwardto pace bowler Therese McGregor and Australia had made their firstbreakthrough with the total on 22.The next three wickets all fell in quick succession as McGregor, anothermember of the Waugh twins cricket club in Bankstown, capitalised on theEnglish women’s fragile confidence and tentative stroke play.Thompson was brilliantly caught at cover for 17, having faced 37 balls, andcaptain Clare Connor was another lbw victim playing across the line toMcGregor.A drinks break rapidly turned into a 50-minute interval as the cloudslowered and the heavens opened, forcing scorers to bring out their sheets ofDuckworth-Lewis calculations but play resumed at 5.00pm making the full 50overs permissible.With the score on 48 for five, after Jackie Hawker was caught behind offLisa Sthalekar, the chances of England pulling things back looked unlikelyand while Sarah Collyer and Clare Taylor kept hopes alive with a seventhwicket partnership of 41, the requirement for 109 runs to be scored off thelast ten overs was too much for England’s young side.Taylor was bowled by a full toss from Sthalekar for 39 after hitting sixboundaries from 89 balls and Collyer was adjudged run out by the thirdumpire having made an impressive 20, with runs all round the wicket.”We are disappointed to lose by 100 runs, give or take a couple,” saidTaylor, who was voted Vodafone’s Man of the Match for England.”There are key areas to tighten up on. We bowled too many loose balls todayallowing them to get off to a quick start. We have to attack their top orderbatsmen and get them out as cheaply as possible and we need to startstriking the ball more cleanly.”We need to work out where our strongest scoring opportunities are and makethe most of them before the next match. Losing is always a disappointingexperience but we need to take as many positives away from this as possibleand learn as much as we can from the way Australia play their cricket.Exposure to this standard of cricket is the only way to toughen us up.”

ScorecardMichael Yardy’s farewell century was the proper way to go, unlike his T20 exit•Getty Images

Michael Yardy’s final white-ball appearance at Hove could not have gone much worse. David Willey’s onslaught in the NatWest Blast quarter-final meant he came within a few feet of the indignity of joining a club created by Malcolm Nash 47 years ago. A lucky escape, but you fancy 34 from the over amid a thrashing felt bad enough.His final Championship game here will be remembered far more fondly. Tuesday saw him add an emotional, fluent 40 to Monday’s doughty, important 60 before promptly getting out, his century achieved and job done, having taken Sussex past four vital bonus points, which Chris Jordan would turn into five not long after.Yardy’s was a necessary knock and Hove, to a man, stood in applause. When he fell for 104, pulling Peter Trego directly to deep backward square, the place fell silent before rising in applause once more, as Somerset players came over to shake his hand. By Yardy’s standards, the response was emotional, a violent bat wave to mark the century, and a point to all corners on the slow walk back.Over 16 years, Yardy had earned the right to be a tad teary. Little wonder a number of Sussex folk were emotional, too. Yardy has a mighty cricketing CV. He provides the last link to Sussex’s first ever Championship winners in 2003, and has won the title twice more, in 2006 (when they also won the 50-over trophy) and 2007. In 2009, he captained the club to a limited overs double.To say Yardy’s career has merely “coincided” a golden period for his county does him a gross injustice; his centrality, as player and bloke, cannot be overestimated. Likewise, few will forget his role in England’s World T20 triumph of 2010. He retires as one of just 11 Englishman to have won the final of an ICC event.You read this plenty but Yardy really is one of the good guys; just a normal guy. Softly spoken and kind faced, his dreams, it seems, were always about playing cricket for Sussex. He admitted to being nervous before play, emotional when he reached his century and when he says he will miss his team-mates most, you believe him.The moment, he said, was “very much up there,” in his career highlights, and “very, very special. I will cherish it in the future when I’m not playing cricket…. It’s a funny one because somebody just said how great it was to do that, and then you think after what happened in the T20 I was due a little bit!”Of the celebrations, he said bashfully: “That’s not really me. There was emotion there and I probably welled up a little bit. It meant a lot. When you’re 60 not out coming into your final innings at Hove, you know what you want and the goal is very clear. It was nice to get there.”Yardy has looked a man liberated since announcing his retirement in mid-July. Since then, he has visibly shifted some timber and relocated his smile. It is telling in his cricket; in fact he bows out with centuries in both his final two Championship games at Hove and even had to laugh off suggestions that his decision should be reversed.He lost the chancier Ashar Zaidi to Jamie Overton’s first ball of a day delayed by overnight rain, but was quickly away with a wristily pulled four. The double trigger and mighty crab were as exaggerated and the striking as clean as ever, but his nerves told with some slightly hare-brained running.He moved into the 80s with a straight drive, followed it with another four through mid-on, and into the 90s with a controlled edge to the third man fence. A beautiful cover drive then a dab to fine leg brought up the milestone at a canter.”I’ve played here all my life, from the age of 11,” Yardy said, “and even during that time I’ve loved watching the guys play here. It was always something I aspired to as a young kid: like everyone who plays county cricket, you aspire to play for your home county. It’s a bit sad that it’s coming to an end but nice to finish in a nice way.”After one Jordan heave-ho too many (Luke Ronchi did well to take a swirling skier), Somerset’s response was unfussy until a hefty band of rain came at 4.45. Tom Abell was wonderfully wristy but played on to a Jordan wide one and Tom Cooper flew out of the blocks before nicking through to Ben Brown.At the other end Marcus Trescothick was undefeated, and – considering the manner in which their England careers ended and the esteem they are held at their respective counties – comparisons with Yardy do not take much finding.After both Yardy’s moments, the third-loudest cheer of the day came with another Trescothick dab to third man for four to bring up his 50. He was typically strong in that area, and brutal on that trademark tiny-stepped drive.With rain forecast on Wednesday, this vital match’s value is likely to be seen in bonus points. Both teams to took full allocation in the first round; if the Somerset are to get full allocation in the second, Trescothick must stay put.

While one senior player returned to the national squad, another made an exit when India’s squad for the women’s Asia Cup was announced today. Neetu David, who had retired from international cricket in 2006, was included in the 15-member squad after she decided to reverse her decision one and half months back. Meanwhile Anjum Chopra, who won India’s highest sporting achievement award last year, was dropped in favour of younger players.”I had retired for personal reasons,” David told Cricinfo. “But many people told me that I should return to play, that I was needed by the team. I thought as well that I still had enough cricket left in me, so I am back.”David’s inclusion means Priti Dimri, the left-arm spinner who David had stepped aside for two years ago, has been left out. But young legspinner Thirush Kamini has been retained in the squad while offspinner Nooshin Al Khadeer has been replaced by debutant Seema Pujare.Other newcomers include Under-21s Priyanka Roy, Snehal Pradhan, Gouher Sultana and Anagha Deshpande. Asha Rawat returns to the side after last playing in England in 2006.The Asia Cup includes four teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh – this year and will be hosted by Sri Lanka.India squad:
Mithali Raj (capt), Jhulan Goswami, Jaya Sharma, Karuna Jain (wk), Amita Sharma, Devika Palshikar, Rumeli Dhar, Thirush Kamini, Neetu David, Seema Pujare, Snehal Pradhan, Gouher Sultana, Anagha Deshpande, Asha Rawat, Priyanka Roy.

Owais Shah says he is nearing his peak as a batsman following his recall to the England squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. After hitting 88 on his debut at Mumbai last March he was sent back to county cricket where his weight of runs – and a change of national coach – has brought him a second chance.”It has been frustrating but you have got to realise that the selectors are trying to do the best for Team England,” he told the Press Association. “I am somewhere near my peak as a batsman. In the last three or four years I have scored reasonably heavily in county cricket in both forms of the game and I like to be looked upon as a reliable batsman in the Middlesex line-up.”That’s something I strive to achieve and is my aim. That is something every top batsman at each county strives to do. I am just starting my Test career right now and who knows what will happen.”Shah is primarily in the squad as cover for Kevin Pietersen, but could also find a place in the side if England opt for seven batsmen. But whenever his next chance comes, Shah knows what to expect and doesn’t want to over complicate the situation.”I am 28 now. It would be wonderful if I could another Test and try to make myself into a regular Test player, whether I do or not time will tell, ” he said. “It is simple – I have just got to get out there and bat, face the ball, play tight and score runs.”Simple as that regardless of what shirt I am wearing Test cricket is still the same game, you just have one extra day. I’ve just got to back myself to get some runs. I don’t see it as a pressure situation. I just try to play every game is if it is my last and do my best whether I am playing for England, Middlesex or my club Ealing.”

A 16-member Zimbabwe squad left for South Africa today to prepare for the upcoming five-match series against Bangladesh that gets underway next Saturday.The side is captained by offspinner Prosper Utseya and contains four players who are yet to represent the country on the international scene – left-hand batsman Friday Kasteni, opening bat Tinotenda Mawoyo, wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Mufambisi and pace bowler Admire Manyumwa.Zimbabwe will play against the South African Academy and Highveld Lions with all the matches set for the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.The team returns home next Thursday, just two days before the start of series against the Bangladeshi Tigers. All those matches will be held at the Harare Sports Club.Zimbabwe squad Prosper Utseya (capt), Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Trevor Garwe, Ryan Higgins, Friday Kasteni, Blessing Mahwire, Admire Manyumwa, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tino Mawoyo, Tafadzwa Mufambisi, Tawanda Mupariwa, Piet Rinke, Vusi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor.

Zimbabwe Test player Gavin Rennie gave Matabeleland a flying start on the first day of their Logan Cup match against Midlands at Queens Sports Club on Friday.Rennie, in poor league form so far this season, scored a century in his first match for his new province as Matabeleland closed on 373 for seven from 100 overs on the first day. He found support from Andre Hoffman who fell seven runs short of a century.Matabeleland captain Mpumelelo (‘Pommie’) Mbangwa won the toss and opted to go for the runs first. The opening partnership of Rennie and Mark Vermeulen produced only 40 runs. The hard-hitting Vermeulen hit a quickfire 29 from just 15 balls, which included five fours, before he was dismissed by pace bowler Campbell Macmillan, caught at mid-off by Raymond Price.Rennie was joined by another hard-hitter, Charles Coventry, and the two put on 106 for the second wicket. Coventry was the second Matabeleland batsman to be dismissed when he fell to left-arm spinner Raymond Price, caught by Dirk Viljoen for 45 off 63 balls. The 19-year-old CFX Academy graduate had his moment of reckoning when he smashed a six off Price.Matabeleland went to lunch in the driving seat with 178 for two from 34 overs, with Rennie unbeaten on 83 while Barney Rogers was on 18. Rogers was to depart for 30 runs four overs after lunch when he nicked a Macmillan delivery to be caught behind by wicketkeeper Alester Maregwede.Hoffman joined Rennie in the hunt for the runs and the two put on 89 runs for the fourth wicket. Rennie in the process reached his century off 156 balls with 19 fours.Rennie was to be the fourth wicket to fall when he was given out leg-before wicket to right-arm spinner Douglas Marillier. This brought to an end a fine innings by the left-handed batsman which saw him smash 120 off 177 balls, which included 24 fours.Hoffman was continued with his heroics and together with Mluleki Nkala put 87 for the fifth wicket. Hoffman appeared on course for a century before he was given out leg-before wicket to pace bowler Travis Friend for 93 runs which came off 174 balls.Sean Ervine claimed his first wicket when he had Mluleki Nkala adjudged leg-before wicket, sending him back for 37 runs. Friend was to strike again when he had Gavin Ewing caught behind by Maregwede for four runs.Wisdom Siziba, usually a top order batsman, is surprisingly batting down the order. He was unbeaten on one at the close, while Mbangwa was on two. Friend and Macmillan were the pick for the Midlands bowlers with two wickets each.