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The group stage is almost complete with India looking to make it nine from nine against Netherlands

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-20236:27

Finch: Marsh and Smith’s form are good signs for Australia

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Top Story: Marsh’s 177* powers Australia to seventh straight win

Australia’s aversion to chasing has disappeared ahead of a semi-final with old foes South Africa after a statement innings of 177 not out from Mitchell Marsh at No.3 helped his side cruise to their second-successive record World Cup chase against Bangladesh in Pune, running down 307 with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare.Marsh made his highest ODI score and his first century at first drop, thumping 177 off 132 balls with 17 fours and nine sixes in brutal fashion.Australia had only chased more than 300 once in the last four years, but the rejigged batting line-up finally clicked with Steven Smith making an untroubled, unbeaten 63 at No.4 and sharing in a 175-run stand to guide Australia to their seventh straight win of the tournament.Click here to read the full report

Match analysis: Marsh owns the No. 3 spot with monstrous hitting

Australia head into the semi-finals high on confidence•Getty Images

Australia’s World Cup campaign has resembled a balls-in-a-maze puzzle. From catches going down in the first two matches, to Steven Smith having to adjust to a new role, to his vertigo, to Glenn Maxwell’s concussion on a golf course, Australia just haven’t been able to get all the balls in the innermost circle.One concern must have been how Mitchell Marsh, a big part of their plan to frontload their batting, didn’t quite respond immediately to moving down to No. 3 midway in the tournament. Against Bangladesh, in the final league match of the tournament, Marsh ticked that box with an innings full of power and intent that must sound a warning bugle for their opponents in the coming week.Read the full piece from Sid Monga

Match report: Stokes and Willey fashion a last hurrah for England

Fifty six of Ben Stokes’ 84 runs came in boundaries•ICC/Getty Images

England’s soon-to-be-deposed world champions bade farewell to the 2023 World Cup with a glimpse of their former domineering selves, as they marched to an emphatic 93-run win over Pakistan at Eden Gardens. The result means that Babar Azam’s men are officially out of semi-final contention.David Willey marked the final appearance of his international career with a sparky all-round display that included his 100th and final ODI wicket, and after Ben Stokes had underpinned an imposing total of 337 for 9 with his second forceful outing in quick succession, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid turned the screw on a spin-friendly surface to snuff out any pretence of a contest with four wickets between them.

Must Watch: Steve Harmison on Jos Buttler

2:12

Harmison: Buttler has to take ownership for the future

News headlines

• Ben Stokes says he will decide whether to re-enter ODI retirement after undergoing knee surgery, in a post-script to England’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
• Babar Azam is still learning as captain, and deserves to be backed. This is what Pakistan’s director of cricket Mickey Arthur said, after wrapping up an underwhelming World Cup campaign with a 93-run loss to England.
• Temba Bavuma has “showed an improvement overnight” from the hamstring strain that hampered him during South Africa’s World Cup match against Afghanistan on Friday.

Match preview

India vs Netherlands, Bengaluru (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT)1:29

Dravid: Shreyas’ temperament stands out under pressure

They’ve been occasionally tested, but otherwise, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of magical. Now on the day of the auspicious Indian festival of Diwali, they have a chance to gift their fans another dose of entertainment, and even though we know that anything can happen in sport, a defeat for the hosts is extremely unlikely.That’s because India have been absolutely dominant during their 8-0 run at this World Cup. Coming into their final league game, they face the least-fancied team of the tournament, Netherlands, even if they have performed better than expected. With a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday their next big game, Sunday also offers India a chance to rest key personnel should there be a need for it.Full previewTeam newsIndia (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav / R Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajNetherlands (probable) 1 Max O’Dowd / Vikramjit Singh, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Scott Edwards (capt), 6 Bas de Leede, 7 Teja Nidamanuru, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

On August 2, Shakib had posted on Twitter announcing his partnership with a company called “Betwinner News”

Mohammad Isam04-Aug-2022The BCB will investigate a recent social-media post from Shakib Al Hasan in which he announced his partnership with a company called “Betwinner News”. During a press conference following a board meeting on Thursday, BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that they will serve Shakib a notice for not informing them of the sponsorship deal.The existing laws of Bangladesh place stringent prohibitions on any gatherings or establishments that facilitate gambling. Allowing gambling businesses to function is in contravention to the law, as well as the country’s constitution.Shakib made the announcement on Twitter on Tuesday, shortly after Bangladesh lost the third T20I against Zimbabwe. Shakib initially deleted the tweet, but reposted it shortly afterwards.”Shakib’s latest sponsorship was discussed during Thursday’s meeting,” Hassan said. “We have instructed to serve him a notice, to ask him what’s happening with this. The board will not allow it if it is related to betting. He definitely hasn’t asked us for permission. Bangladesh’s law doesn’t permit it. It is a serious issue. We cannot however just rely on a Facebook post (sic), so we have to investigate to find out about it.”In an interview with the Dhaka-based Bengali newspaper , the BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury also said that they will still seek clarification from Shakib.”It is quite clear why these news portals are made,” he said. “We all very well know what these are. Shakib didn’t inform us about his deal. We heard about it today (Wednesday). We are looking at it legally, and want to settle the matter quickly.”It is not a direct contract with a betting site, but it is related to the betting site. It is a news portal. But since betting is related to it, we have to check the legal side of it. The law of the land doesn’t allow betting, so we will do what is legally necessary.”If he (Shakib) understands what it is, then it will be easy. If he doesn’t understand, it will be complicated. There’s a matter of our image being damaged. There are merits and demerits in everything. He probably didn’t think about the demerits.”Shakib was banned from all cricket for a year in 2019 after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code. He was charged for failure to report two approaches to engage in corrupt conduct during a 2018 tri-series, and for failure to disclose full details of approaches he received to engage in corrupt conduct during an IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab in 2018.

Fourth-wicket pair add 224 as Leicestershire experience chastening start to campaign

ECB Reporters' Network08-Apr-2021Contrasting centuries from James Vince and Tom Alsop saw Hampshire establish a dominant position in their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire at the UptonSteel County Ground, Grace Road.Hampshire skipper Vince was all power and timing as he took full advantage of some wayward bowling from Leicestershire’s inexperienced seam attack, hitting 17 fours and two sixes in racing to three figures off just 81 balls.Alsop, who had just reached his half-century when Vince came to the crease on the dismissal of Sam Northeast, was less fluent, but while his century came off 153 deliveries, and included 17 fours, it was no less valuable to his side.Together the pair added 224 for the fourth wicket before Alsop got a leading edge trying to turn a delivery from Alex Evans into the leg side and was caught at point. Vince, however, remained unbeaten, reaching his 150 off 140 deliveries before closing on 168 not out. It is the sixth time he has made a score of 150 or more in his first-class career.Vince started the day as well as he ended it, winning the toss and choosing to bat first on a slightly drier pitch than might normally have been expected for the time of year – Leicestershire have two spinners in their side.Ian Holland was the first man dismissed, edging a Chris Wright outswinger to wicketkeeper Harry Swindells, but Joe Weatherley looked in good order, stroking seven fours in going to 41 before top-edging a pull at a short delivery from Gavin Griffiths and skying a catch to Swindells.Northeast was dismissed shortly after lunch, leg before to Wright to make the score 127 for 3, and Vince edged his first ball from Wright towards Leicestershire skipper Colin Ackermann at second slip. It dropped an inch short, and that was as close as the Foxes came to dismissing the England international: from that moment on he was in complete control.

England compile solid second innings to be well in front despite late South Africa breakthroughs

The Report by Matt Roller05-Jan-2020Joe Root said in the days before England arrived in New Zealand at the end of last year that he wanted his batsmen to “be prepared to play some attritional cricket” after batting “in fast-forward” under Trevor Bayliss. On the third day of the Newlands Test, it appeared his top order had taken that message to heart, as they ground out a substantial lead thanks primarily to Dom Sibley’s unbeaten 85.England had seized the Test by the scruff of the neck during the dramatic end to the second day, when South Africa lost five wickets for 58 runs to turn 157 for 4 into 215 for 8, and James Anderson took the two remaining wickets in just 14 deliveries to finish with a five-wicket haul.And after Zak Crawley’s frenetic 25, Sibley went about blunting a lacklustre South African attack, putting on partnerships of 73 with Joe Denly and 116 alongside Root to give England an imposing 264-run lead by the close with six second-innings wickets remaining.Anderson made short work of the tail in the morning, removing Kagiso Rabada with a textbook outswinger with the first ball of the day and enticing Anrich Nortje into prodding at a ball outside his off stump to give England a 46-run lead.That dismissal was statistically significant, too: it gave Stokes his fifth catch of the innings, making him the first England outfielder to complete that feat, and put Anderson out in front of Ian Botham as the man with the most five-wicket hauls for England, with 28. Anderson’s now has 102 wickets at 20.67 since his 35th birthday, and was the first 37-year-old to take a five-for for England bowling seam-up since Freddie Brown in 1951.The early stages of England’s second innings were dominated by a fiery duel between Zak Crawley and Rabada. After overpitching twice in his first over and being punished by England’s rookie opener, Rabada began to steam in, as though he had taken the boundaries personally, and smacked Crawley on the helmet via the bicep in his third over having struck him in the ribs in his second.Two balls after that blow, Rabada appeared to offer some choice words on Crawley’s technique after a 91mph back-of-a-length ball which thudded into the splice, and did so again following his next delivery, a sharp bouncer which struck the batsman on the shoulder.And while Crawley clipped another full toss to the boundary, it was Rabada who had the last laugh, pushing an outswinger slightly wide of the off-stump channel and drawing an edge as the batsman looked to unfurl his cover drive.Joe Root steps out to reverse-sweep•Getty Images

But that battle aside, South Africa looked a shadow of the fit, fierce attack that got the better of England at Centurion, with Maharaj resorting to leg-theory early on in his spell and the seamers failing to extract much life from the pitch. It was suggested that the cooler, cloudier conditions meant the crack that had opened up outside the right-hander’s off stump from the Wynberg End had less effect, but Faf du Plessis’ uninspired captaincy contributed to the tameness of the effort.Sibley started slowly, playing primarily through the leg side and digging in to reach 29 off 93 balls before first bringing out his cover drive off Rabada in the 34th over. He found support in Joe Denly, whose innings of 31 was characteristically stubborn, albeit lacking in any real fluency.Denly again faced 100 balls – only Marnus Labuschagne (10 times) has done so more often than Denly (eight) since the start of 2019 – and set up the innings for England’s middle order. A lofted four down the ground off Maharaj aside, he was largely subdued as his partnership with Sibley sucked the life out of the hosts’ attack, and it came as something of a surprise when he swatted a Nortje bouncer down the throat of Dwaine Pretorius at long leg.Sibley batted with growing confidence alongside Root, as the pair started to score more positively after tea. Particularly strong off his pads and against anything short, Sibley crunched Maharaj for four through point to push the lead past 200 – given his struggles against left-arm spin in his career to date, it was the sign of a man starting to feel at home in an England shirt.Root was delicate, sweeping, paddling and nudging his way past fifty while looking in fine touch, and it took a ball that bounced sharply out of the crack and found his outside edge from Pretorius in the final half-hour to dislodge him; it was the third time in this match that the allrounder had struck with the new ball imminent.One wicket soon brought another, as Nortje removed Dom Bess for a pair. Nortje’s bouncer from round the wicket brushed the nightwatchman’s glove on its way through to Quinton de Kock, confirmed on review, to offer South Africa a flicker of hope, but seemed only to further expose the underuse of the fastest bowler in the match by du Plessis.

Australia’s pacemen have wasted no time plotting their first target of the Indian summer, after Nathan Coulter-Nile predicted a short-pitched barrage to be directed at Rohit Sharma

Daniel Brettig19-Nov-20182:41

‘Australia is the one place where we want to leave our mark’ – Rohit Sharma

Australia’s pacemen have wasted no time plotting their first target of the Indian summer, after Nathan Coulter-Nile predicted a short-pitched barrage to be directed at the opener Rohit Sharma as a way of testing what the fast bowler called a “compulsive” tendency to play the hook and pull shots.Speaking in Brisbane ahead of the first T20I meeting between the two sides at the Gabba on Wednesday night, Coulter-Nile stated that he and his fellow Western Australian Jason Behrendorff would look to replicate the sort of new ball success they had against Rohit in India a year ago, where he was twice dismissed cheaply.This time around, Coulter-Nile added, the bounce on offer at the Gabba would add to the tricks in the Australians’ fast bowling locker, with the ground’s expansive square boundaries – relative to a far shorter straight hit – providing further impetus for the fast men to drop short against batsmen still adjusting to unfamiliar climes.”[Rohit] is an unbelievable player, he’s got a good record all round the world, so he’s definitely a player to watch but we’ve also had success with the new ball as well,” Coulter-Nile said in Brisbane. “I think Dorff got him out the last time we played him, hit him on the pad, so we’ll look to do that again early. Big square boundaries here, so we might test him a little bit, he’s a good puller of the ball but he is compulsive as well so we’ll try to get him out there.”I think everyone knows [Behrendorff] is a fantastic option up front. He’ll swing it here, beautiful conditions today, so hopefully the same sort of conditions and we can hold our chances, because he’ll certainly create a few.”Rohit Sharma mistimes a pull•Getty Images

For his part, Rohit said that adaptation to Australian conditions was key to the challenge of performing, as India recognise the significance of their opportunity to win a Test series down under for the very first time. Their closest efforts previously were drawn encounters in 1980-81 and 2003-04.”It’s either Perth or Brisbane. India has always played at Perth or Brisbane and this time around we’re at Perth,” Rohit said. “Those two conditions are obviously very challenging. Australia has bowlers who are very tall and extract those conditions, use them to their advantage. Indian batsman generally are not that tall. Obviously it’s not that easy for us but all the guys are quite determined to change things around this time.”Of course, their bowling attack will challenge us no matter the format. But as a batting unit we’re prepared to face that challenge. The reason we came down few days early here is to get used to the bounce. Brisbane has always challenged us, so as a batting unit we are ready to accept it. This time we want to change our fortunes and come out with some exceptional performances. It’s not going to be that easy, we understand that. But we have quality in our unit.”It’s the one place that we want to leave our mark and do well. The last time we played a Test series here, although we lost two games and drew one, I thought there were a few close games being played. We want to make it count this time around. There’s a real good feeling inside the group in all three formats – the motivation of the team is to just try and seize all the moments and win tournaments. When you do well in places like Australia you feel good as a team.”Reflecting on the possibility of verbal provocation from India, given Australia’s relatively recent commitment to play the game with far less of an abrasive edge, Coulter-Nile pointed out that the shortest format did not necessarily grant as much time for players to get steamed up, either by circumstances or in an effort to motivate themselves.”I’ve never been sledged by them. T20 its a little bit hard to sledge, you don’t have that time in the field to really get angry, so I don’t think you’ll see too much of it during the T20s,” he said. “I don’t talk to any of the batters personally, in T20s I don’t think people have too much to say. If they get an opportunity I don’t think that’ll happen, it’ll just be talk with the ball, talk with the bat.”There has been plenty of criticism around Australian cricket of this summer’s schedule to date, particularly how much white-ball players have been required to jump from one format to another. But Coulter-Nile was happy to at least be playing a series of three matches against India, ahead of a Test series of four and then a further three ODIs in the new year.”I think we like a bit of continuity and so even if we don’t win the first game you can learn from your mistakes and try to build on that. If you do win you can try to hold it over them,” Coulter-Nile said. “But a one-off T20, especially a T20 game it can go either way. Three is a good number I think.”Confidence comes from wins so we’ve just got to find a way to win, scrap a win out, find a bit of luck. Once one happens, you get confidence and build it up. We’ve played these guys a lot so hopefully the confidence is there. We’ve all performed well against India and against their players, so hopefully guys can take that confidence into playing for Australia.”

Twenty wickets fell in a day to show how impressive Dom Sibley’s unbeaten 92 was with Hampshire left with a tough task to stay in Division One unless Middlesex help them out

Jon Culley at Edgbaston26-Sep-20171:46

County Championship round-up: Hampshire slip towards drop

After the washout on day one, the sun was warm enough for shirt sleeves at the Birmingham End, spectators settling into their favoured seats, willing the summer to last a little longer. Out in the middle, Warwickshire had the air of a team that could not wait for it to end.They are already relegated and sometimes in such circumstances the appetite for a fight can be a little diminished. At 28 for 5, a wretched year looked to be reaching an appropriate conclusion. By the close of a dramatic day in which 20 wickets fell, the picture would look somewhat different, with Hampshire in danger of joining them. At that moment, though, it all looked depressingly familiar.The senior batsmen, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, had both fallen without scoring to Kyle Abbott, the latter offering no stroke to a ball that came back to rattle his off stump. He looked back briefly to assess the damage and you supposed he was wondering how it could have happened. On the other hand, it might have crossed his mind that such misjudgements are no longer such a rarity. He has been out for no runs four times this season and, unless he can rectify matters in the second innings here, this will be the first English season since 2002 that has not witnessed a Bell century.Hampshire might have been equally keen to fast forward to Thursday but for the matter of needing to ensure they do not go down with Warwickshire. The combination of their defeat by Essex at the Ageas Bowl and Middlesex’s win over Lancashire had left them vulnerable, needing 12 points to guarantee they would finish ahead of Somerset.In that regard, the enforced day off had been kind to them. Somerset’s solitary batting point against Middlesex had cut the requirement to eight. Abbott suddenly went down in a heap, having gone over on his ankle in his delivery stride, courtesy of a damp foot mark. But then Fidel Edwards, working up a good pace at the Pavilion End, removed Matt Lamb and Tim Ambrose in quick succession, prompting groans among the sun worshippers.Warwickshire have some problems to address over the winter but they may have found the answer to one in Dominic Sibley, whose decision to leave The Oval last month left Surrey “bitterly disappointed” and with good reason.At 22, he is a batsman of rich promise, clearly, as he demonstrated, of course, in only his third first-class match in 2013 with that double-hundred against Yorkshire, having only just turned 18. He wanted an assurance from Surrey that he would play in the top order in all forms of the game but Alec Stewart, director of cricket at The Oval, was not prepared to give him that.Warwickshire have not said that he has such a guarantee in place now but after watching him carry his bat for 92 here, following two previous half-centuries in a position they have struggled to fill, his preference is not likely to meet any resistance in the immediate future.There was a maturity about him that Ashley Giles believes can be the foundation for a solid career, perhaps one in which he can aspire to an England place. His approach was always positive but only when he began to run out of partners did he begin to take risks.It was a shame for him that there was a moment of controversy towards the end, when he declined to take the word of Hampshire’s captain, George Bailey, over the legitimacy of a catch on the boundary off Mason Crane that would have seen him gone for 84.It was one of those that would have been settled by a third umpire had it happened in a televised match, Bailey sensing his momentum would carry him over the boundary after a running leap for the ball at long-off and opting to flick it back into the air one-handed. He then caught it cleanly with both hands but then there was the matter of where his landing foot was at the moment of the first contact.Jeff Evans, the standing umpire, turned towards his colleague at square leg and shrugged as Bailey claimed the catch and his Hampshire players ran to congratulate him. In the absence of an adjudicator, though, there was no way of removing the doubt and Sibley stayed, with six runs added to his score. Pointedly, as he took the applause of the home dressing room at the close of the innings, few of the Hampshire players joined in.There had been good support from Alex Thomson – a Staffordshire batsman looking to earn a contract at Edgbaston – and Chris Wright in bulking the total up a little. Hampshire have their three bowling points, though. Abbott had recovered from his mishap and Edwards, with 5 for 49, walked off with a swagger after dismissing nine, 10 and 11.Yet this apparent position of strength proved to be no such thing. On a pitch that was offering something to the spinners and seamers alike, the excellence of Sibley’s performance was only enhanced as Hampshire were dismissed for 116 in 34.2 overs of quite unexpected carnage in which only Bailey, ironically, could come anywhere near to matching him.His 55 off 57 balls, which ended with a thin edge to Ambrose off a superb ball by Oliver Hannon-Dalby, was the only score above 16. Hannon-Dalby, called up for his first Championship match since April in place of Boyd Rankin, finished with 4 for 29 – his best figures for seven years. Jeetan Patel took 3 for 19, ominously, on a surface that, from his point of view, is likely only to get better.The upshot is that to stay up Hampshire must leave here with at least a draw or bank on Somerset failing to beat Middlesex at Taunton.

Sam Hain was instrumental in Birmingham ending a run of three straight defeats and keeping alive their hopes of a quarter-final place in the NatWest Blast

ECB Reporters Network17-Jul-2016
ScorecardSam Hain continued his excellent limited-overs form•Getty Images

Birmingham put their NatWest t20 Blast campaign back on track after three straight defeats with a 28-run victory over Leicestershire at Edgbaston.The Bears’ 186 for four was built on an opening stand of 125 inside 13 overs by Sam Hain, who scored 79 off 52 deliveries, and Ian Bell, who made a 35-ball 57.While those two were together the Bears looked set to total over 200 but the Foxes, led by Clint McKay’s one for 16 off four overs, fought back well to leave a target around par on a good batting pitch.But though a string of Foxes batsmen got a start, none played the decisive innings the team needed as they fell short on 158 for nine.A Bears attack including Keith Barker for the first time in the competition this season kept taking wickets at important times to reassert their
qualification bid and extinguish the Foxes’.After the visitors won the toss, Hain and Bell began in measured fashion, with the latter still to score after two overs, before accelerating past 60 in the sixth over.The century partnership arrived in the 12th over, both openers having taken advantage of a short boundary to clear the ropes on the off-side.Hain was first to his half-century, from 36 balls, Bell’s following from 32, but the latter’s dismissal after striking four fours and four sixes in his 57, edging Rob Taylor behind, signalled a sharp drop in momentum.Bell’s wicket was quickly followed by that of Matt Wade, on his home debut, as the Australian fell lbw to his countryman McKay for five.When Hain sought another six – his third of the innings to go with nine fours – off Cameron Delport but found only the hands of Ben Raine at deep extra-cover, three wickets had fallen for 26 runs in 18 balls.Laurie Evans perished in similar fashion to Hain and although Rikki Clarke (24 not out) landed a couple of hefty blows, a skilful final over from McKay sent the Foxes into the mid-innings break in perky mood.The Foxes reply started briskly with Mark Cosgrove and Mark Pettini adding 36 in 27 balls before the latter pulled Oliver Hannon-Dalby to Jeetan Patel at deep mid-wicket.Delport’s 18-ball 20 included an audacious reverse-swept six off Josh Poysden but the South African perished attempting a repeat off Ateeq Javid.As the required run-rate rose, greater risks had to be taken. Cosgrove (42 from 29 balls) hoisted Patel to long off, Lewis Hill charged the same bowler, missed, and was adroitly stumped by Wade and when Farhaan Behardien lifted Clarke to long-off all that remained in the Foxes’ locker was some futile swishing.

A second successive innings of substance by Glenn Maxwell carried Yorkshire to a 32-run win under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in their Royal London Cup tie against Durham

ECB/PA02-Aug-2015
ScorecardGlenn Maxwell put in another impressive performance•Getty Images

A second successive innings of substance by Glenn Maxwell carried Yorkshire to a 32-run win under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in their Royal London Cup tie against Durham at Chester-le-Street.The Australian followed his 111 in the win at Worcestershire by making an unbeaten 65 as Yorkshire replied to Durham’s 43-over score of 224 for 7 with 130 for 2 in 24.3. The light drizzle which had been falling for some time grew heavier but Yorkshire were always well ahead under DLS after Maxwell raced to 50 in 36 balls.After morning rain delayed the start by 75 minutes Durham were put in by Alex Lees in the absence of Andrew Gale with a wrist injury. Liam Plunkett took 3 for 40 in his nine overs against his former team, for whom Graham Clark top-scored with 42.With 13 runs in three previous Royal London innings, Clark timed the ball as impressively as in scoring 91 in the Twenty20 clash at Headingley. But with ten overs remaining he became over-anxious to accelerate and skied a catch to point to give Plunkett his third wicket.Gordon Muchall’s unbeaten 35 off 26 balls was the second highest score, achieved through orthodox strokes while others tried to improvise.With Steve Patterson particularly miserly, Durham had only 13 on the board after five overs before Mark Stoneman picked up successive balls from Tim Bresnan over the leg side for six and four. The next ball was a slower one outside off stump and Stoneman steered a low catch to Maxwell at backward point.Plunkett, coming on second change, bowled just back-of-a-length round the wicket to left-handers Phil Mustard and Scott Borthwick and after conceding only six runs in his first three overs he removed both for 32. Mustard was caught behind when trying to steer to third man and Borthwick skied to deep midwicket.Paul Collingwood drove Adil Rashid for six before his next foray down the pitch resulted in an easy stumping for Andrew Hodd.When Yorkshire began their reply Lees risked a single to mid-off and failed to beat Ryan Pringle’s direct hit. When Durham gambled by bringing on Borthwick for the 14th over Maxwell went straight into overdrive, scoring most of the 36 the legspinner conceded in three overs, including two sixes over long-on.Hodd edged an attempted cut off Borthwick to depart for 20, but Gary Ballance reached 26 in keeping Maxwell company until the rain arrived.

Abdur Rehman, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, will again play for Somerset in 2013 having signed for the latter part of the domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2012Abdur Rehman, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, will again play for Somerset next season after spending the latter part of the 2012 season at Taunton.Currently, the exact dates of the deal are unclear but will include the final stages of the County Championship and the CB40. But the club are keen to try and extend Rehman’s stay to include the Friends Life t20 earlier in the season if his Pakistan commitments allow.Rehman played four Championship matches in 2012, taking 27 wickets at 14.18 which included nine wickets in an innings against Worcestershire. He also claimed nine wickets in three CB40 matches with a best of 6 for 16.But Rehman made the headlines for off-field reasons, too, and is currently serving a 12-week ban having tested positive for cannabis during his spell with Somerset.Guy Lavender, the chief executive, said: “The club in no way condones the use of illegal drugs. It was heartening to see that he admitted his mistake and has been punished accordingly. It is now time to move on and I am very confident he will do extremely well for us next season”.Rehman added: “I really enjoyed my time there last year and will look to play with the same intensity and passion, I would also like to thank the Somerset management and fans for their support in what has been a difficult period for me.”Somerset, who are still awaiting to appoint a new director of cricket, have Alviro Petersen, the South Africa batsman, joining them for the first part of the season.

Yusuf Pathan, the India and Baroda allrounder, is in doubt for the remainder of the Ranji Trophy season after suffering a knee injury

Siddhartha Talya27-Nov-2011Yusuf Pathan, the India and Baroda allrounder, is in doubt for the remainder of the Ranji Trophy season after suffering a knee injury. Yusuf hurt his knee while taking a diving catch off the bowling of Irfan Pathan during Baroda’s third-round game against Haryana.”We have lost Yusuf Pathan due to a knee injury. He might need around four to eight weeks of rest,” the Baroda coach Sanath Kumar told ESPNcricinfo. Yusuf hasn’t made an impact yet this first-class season. He has scores of 9, 10 and 23 so far in the Ranji Trophy 2011-12 and has picked up just one wicket.Baroda’s concerns don’t end there. Their opening seamer Murtuja Vahora, too, is injured and will be out of action for their next game against Delhi that starts on November 29. Vahora, who picked up a five-for against Haryana, injured his thigh while attempting a sweep.”It’s a big blow but the replacements are pretty good,” Sanath said. Replacing Vahora is allrounder Abhijit Karambelkar. “He’s done very well in the Under-22. He’s already scored a century and has two five wicket-hauls and is a good medium-pace allrounder,” Sanath said.The offspinning allrounder Utkarsh Patel has been called up in place of Yusuf.
Baroda, the runners-up in the Ranji Trophy last year, have had mixed results in the first few rounds of this Ranji Trophy. Their opening game against Tamil Nadu was virtually rained out, they beat Madhya Pradesh comprehensively in the second round and conceded a first-innings lead in the drawn game against Haryana.