Hampshire escaped relegation lst season with a late-season flurish but an ageing squad will be hard-pressed to retain their First Division status

George Dobell31-Mar-2016Director of cricket Giles White. Head coach: Dale Benkenstein
Captain James Vince
Last season
In: Reece Topley.Out: Danny Briggs (Sussex), Yasir Arafat (Somerset, loan), Basil Akram, Tom Barber, Joe Gatting (all released). Sean Terry (mutual agreement).Overseas: Ryan McLaren, Shahid Afridi (T20) and Darren Sammy (T20).2015 in a nutshell
By winning three of their last four Championship matches – including a final day run-chase against Nottinghamshire – Hampshire pulled off a great escape that saw them finish two points above the relegation positions. Before that late run, they had won just once all season. They also made their customary appearance at T20 Finals Day – it was their sixth such appearance in succession – and made it to the quarter-finals of the List A competition.2016 prospects
This may be a transitional period for Hampshire. With several of their senior players – Jimmy Adams, Gareth Berg and Michael Carberry are 35, Fidel Edwards is 34, James Tomlinson, Will Smith and Sean Ervine are 33, even their overseas players are 33 (McLaren) and 36 (Afridi) – somewhat nearer the end than the start of their careers, the club need to see their younger players progress. Fortunately they do have a decent crop and, in Topley, they have recruited very well. But the next crop of batsmen – Lewis McManus, who scored heavily in pre-season, Tom Alsop and Joe Weatherley – have only four first-class games between them and if they lose Vince to England – and they could well – they look a little vulnerable. They are the bookies’ favourites for relegation.Key player
Liam Dawson may not be the most eye-catching player in the side but, with bat and ball, he will be vital in all formats. Increasingly valued as much for his ‘power hitting’ as his bowling, he can also block for hours as required in the longer format. His fielding is also excellent. Much will be required from Vince and Adam Wheater, too.Bright young thing
Mason Crane has only played three first-class games but, such is the excitement over his development, the club were prepared to allow Danny Briggs to leave and some thought he should have been included in England’s squad for the UAE. As a leg-spinner with impressive turn and control, he is undoubtedly an exciting talent. But he is also 19. Expectations should be tempered accordingly. Brad Taylor, a 19-year-old off-spinner, may yet prove to have the more serviceable to a county under pressure to avoid relegation.ESPNcricinfo verdict
The older players appear to offering diminishing returns and it would be a surprise to see them in the top half of the Championship table. Still dangerous in limited-overs formats but a period similar to the days when Crawley, Udal and Warne departed in close succession may loom.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 1: 18/1; NatWest Blast n/a; Royal London Cup 8/1

Two of cricket’s traditional rivalries will be on show in the 2017 Champions Trophy, with the hosts England and Australia being put in Group A, and India and Pakistan in Group B

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2016

Groups and schedule

• Group A: Australia (1), New Zealand (4), England (6) and Bangladesh (7)

• Group B: India (2), Pakistan (8), Sri Lanka (5) and South Africa (3)

• June 1 – Eng v Ban, The Oval

• June 2 – Aus v NZ, Edgbaston

• June 3 – SL v SA, The Oval

• June 4 – Ind v Pak, Edgbaston

• June 5 – Aus v Ban, The Oval

• June 6 – Eng v NZ, Cardiff

• June 7 – Pak v SA, Edgbaston

• June 8 – Ind v SL, The Oval

• June 9 – NZ v Ban, Cardiff

• June 10 – Eng v Aus, Edgbaston

• June 11 – Ind v SA, The Oval

• June 12 – SL v Pak, Cardiff

• June 14 – Semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff

• June 15 – Semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston

• June 18 – Final, The Oval

• June 19 – Reserve day

Two of cricket’s traditional rivalries will be on show in the 2017 Champions Trophy, with hosts England and Australia in Group A, and India and Pakistan in Group B. Group A also contains New Zealand, which means a trans-Tasman clash as well in the first round.The opening game of the tournament is between England and Bangladesh on June 1. Cardiff, The Oval and Edgbaston are the venues for the event, which comprises 15 matches in 18 days, with the final at The Oval on June 18.The ticket ballot opens on September 1 and closes on September 30. The remaining tickets will go on sale in October.The top eight sides in the ICC ODI rankings as of September 30, 2015 qualified for the event, with West Indies and Zimbabwe being the two Full Member countries that failed to make the cut. The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals in Cardiff and Edgbaston on June 14 and 15.India and Pakistan have met in the group stage of every ICC tournament – five of them – since the 2011 World Cup, where they had met in the semi-final. When asked if this was a coincidence, the ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said it wasn’t. “It’s no coincidence. The match schedule is done in consultation with the broadcasters. The bottom line is that a significant portion of the cricket world want to see that fixture. Time and time again, it is the biggest fixture in all our events. I don’t think it affects the competition’s integrity. Not as long as the groups are equal in strengths. It’s silly just to avoid it when you can fairly cater for it.”He added: “The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is not just an ODI competition, it carries a great deal of value since it is being played just three months before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 qualification cut-off date. As such, every point earned here could be crucial.”England are hosting the Champions Trophy for the third time; they made the finals of both the previous tournaments at home, losing to West Indies in 2004 and to India in 2013.

Avishka Gunawardene, Sri Lanka A’s coach for the tour of England, hopes to get an extended stint in order to work with players on a long-term basis to help them graduate to the national side

Sa'adi Thawfeeq22-Jun-2016Avishka Gunawardene, who was appointed Sri Lanka A’s coach for their tour of England in July, has earmarked a few young players for the senior side. Among them were Charith Asalanka, who led the country in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, fast bowler Asitha Fernando, who picked up 11 wickets at an average of 16.45 in the same tournament.”We have long-term plans and include them in the A team,” Gunawardene said. “Even if they don’t find a place in the eleven, being with the A team and training with them in the same atmosphere gives them some sort of experience.”Minod Bhanuka is another guy we are keeping an eye on. He is quite young and he’s been improving tremendously in the last couple of weeks.” The 21-year-old began playing first-class cricket last year and already has four centuries in 22 innings, including a top-score of 342.”There is also a left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, whom people have not seen much of because he has not played that much cricket,” Gunawardene added. “He plays for Colts Cricket Club and looks a very good prospect. His action and his temperament look good. He is getting a chance to go on his first A tour.”The Sri Lankan team is set to play two four-day matches against Pakistan A in England and a 50-over tri-series with the hosts joining in.Gunawardene said he was “appointed coach only for this tour”, but would prefer to have more time to help the next generation of Sri Lanka cricketers.”I am hoping that I can get a longer stint with the A team so that I’ll have time to work with these boys, whom I have long-term plans for. There are a couple of guys who are good enough to be in the A team, but have to work a little bit more towards getting into the senior side. Players like that need long-term [care]. If they give me a long-term plan, I will have time to groom some of the youngsters.”Although he considered it a point of pride to have broken into the Sri Lanka team in 1998, Gunawardene said he considers coaching more fulfilling.”Walking into the national side at the age of 20 with a team that had Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Asanka Gurusinha, Roshan Mahanama, Hashan Tillakaratne, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, I thought was a big achievement,” Gunawardene said.”At the moment, I am enjoying coaching [more] than playing cricket. I enjoyed my cricket also, but coaching has put me in a different direction where it looks like I give 200 percent.”It’s not that I didn’t give 200 percent when I was playing, but I feel I am giving more in the role of a coach. I enjoy the new challenges every day. When you are playing, disappointments are there, but in coaching, its more satisfaction than disappointment. You invest in a player, and later to see him going on to play for the national team and doing well sometimes gives more pleasure than playing.”Gunawardene’s love for coaching had, in fact, contributed to the decision to end his playing career. Gunawardene had represented Sri Lanka in six Tests and 61 ODIs from 1998 to 2006. He scored 52 fifty-plus scores in 129 first-class matches, and played 184 List A games.”By the time I stopped playing cricket, I had already started coaching at Sinhalese Sports Club and enjoying it. That made my decision also easy to stop cricket and straight away go into coaching. I have no regrets that I didn’t play for a longer period. I played nearly 200 first-class innings and ten years of national cricket, which I think is a big achievement.”At the SSC, Gunawardene played a hand in shaping the careers of Sri Lanka’s Test openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva, allrounder Dasun Shanaka, who made his long-format debut on the senior team’s tour of England in May, offspinner Sachithra Senanayake and top-order batsman Danushka Gunathilaka, who is part of Sri Lanka’s ODI squad for the series against England.”I saw them at the early stages of their careers and I took them to SSC when they were schoolboys. I groomed them and I am happy to see the returns when they are performing for the national team. It gives me a lot of satisfaction, more than anything.”Gunawardene is a Level 2 qualified coach and had been in charge of SSC for nine years after he stopped playing cricket in 2007. “Within those nine years, I was also head coach in five provincial tournaments conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket, head coach of Uva Province that won the Sri Lanka Premier League and director of cricket at Royal College for a year and a half before I took over as coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 World Cup team last year.”Speaking about the relevance of the A team tours ahead of their departure for England, Gunawardene said, “A team tours are about finding out players and grooming them to take the next step. There are also certain players when they go out of form and get dropped from the national side. A team tours are [what] they can make use to correct their mistakes and get back in form. The main objective of the A team is to make sure we groom the replacements to take the next step that is to the senior side.”

A second five-wicket haul from Chris Woakes – giving him ten in the match for the first time in Tests – provided the spearhead for England’s efforts to wrest back control after Pakistan had secured a valuable first-inning lead

The Report by Alan Gardner16-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Woakes claimed his tenth wicket of the match when he removed Sarfraz Ahmed•Getty Images

If there were any doubts about how well prepared Pakistan were to challenge England in this series, they should have now been dispelled. The progress made by Alastair Cook’s side has hinged on their ability to seize key moments in a Test but at Lord’s they have come up against experienced and skilful opposition who refused to buckle when the pressure mounted.A second five-wicket haul from Chris Woakes – giving him ten in the match for the first time in Tests – provided the spearhead for England’s efforts to wrest back control after Pakistan had secured a valuable first-innings lead on a pitch that was beginning to exhibit signs of variable bounce. Punchy 40s from Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed kept England at arm’s length, however, and they were facing a target approaching 300 and prolonged fourth-innings examination at the hands of Yasir Shah in order to win the first Test.Sarfraz was dropped on 36 by Jonny Bairstow, another unwanted entry on his wicketkeeping ledger, and his seventh-wicket partnership with Yasir, promoted up the order after taking 6 for 72 in England’s innings, took the score on by another 40 valuable runs. Woakes then chipped out Sarfraz and Wahab Riaz in his third demanding spell as stumps approached to leave the contest finely poised.England have won only one of their last five Tests at Lord’s and, with the sun beating down on basking MCC members, they had to fight tooth and nail to prevent another match drifting away from them. None of the five completed first-class matches on the ground this season had produced a result – no team had even managed 20 wickets – but that sequence is set to end.When Pakistan were 60 for 4 during the afternoon England had visions of inducing a complete collapse but a strange, staccato innings from Younis Khan nevertheless managed to hold things together. Frequently jumping into position, playing the ball with one or both legs in the air and appearing about as comfortable as a man trying to fight his way through a hedge, he survived two lbw reviews on DRS and battled his way to 25 from 95 balls before being the fifth man out, chopping Moeen Ali on to his stumps during the evening session.His 69-run partnership with Shafiq prevented Pakistan from being ambushed after they had lost 3 for 16, including captain Misbah-ul-Haq for a two-ball duck. Shafiq was by far the more fluent, although he needed some luck early on, seeing a delivery from Moeen miss everything after spinning inside a drive and then edging Jake Ball wide of a motionless James Vince at third slip. His next delivery was crunched more authoritatively through point for four more and he mixed attack and defence well until Woakes speared a delivery between bat and pad to hit the off bail.Woakes was curiously held back by Cook, despite taking six wickets in the first innings, but he made his first breakthrough after lunch with a well-executed plan to have Shan Masood taken at slip. Having bowled a series of deliveries coming back into the left-hander, then drawing him into the drive with one pitched up, Woakes shortened his length and pushed the ball across to take the outside edge.With Azhar Ali and Younis becalmed, Woakes struck again. For the second time in match, Azhar left the field shaking his head after a failed with a review against a tight lbw decision, Hawk-Eye siding with umpire Joel Wilson’s decision that the ball would have gone on to clip leg stump.Cook had brought Moeen into the attack without delay, perhaps as a show of faith in his spinner, and he even burned a review for a bat-pad catch against Azhar two balls before lunch. Moeen returned in the afternoon and he gained a measure of revenge for his first-innings chasing by Misbah when Pakistan’s captain attempted to impose himself again and sent his second ball high towards deep midwicket, where Alex Hales took a good running catch.Pakistan’s top order had been corralled into a corner, with England taking three wickets at a cost of 20 runs in 15 overs after lunch. They used their second review shortly after against Younis, who had succeeded in getting a bit of bat on a delivery from Ball to save him from being lbw; and it was then nearly 75 for 5, when Wilson eventually raised his finger to Younis, who jumped across to be hit in front of leg stump in Steven Finn’s third over. DRS overturned the umpire’s decision this time, with the ball shown to be going ever-so-slightly high and wide.The morning had been unquestionably Pakistan’s, after they gained a 67-run lead on first innings and then increased that beyond three figures for the loss of Mohammad Hafeez – whose ill-judged slash at Stuart Broad resulted in a sharp catch to second slip – in 17 overs against the new ball.England would have hoped to get closer to Pakistan’s first-innings total but Yasir took his tally to six wickets and Woakes was left stranded as the last three wickets fell 12 runs inside four overs.Misbah began with a combination of Wahab’s pace and Yasir’s wiles and the pair saw off England’s innings within 40 minutes of the first session. Broad struck one boundary off Wahab but was then worked over by a succession of short balls, before a brace of yorkers ended his stay. The first flew through past leg stump but Broad did not heed the warning and hung back again to be bowled off his boot next ball.Finn has been known to block up an end and Woakes was happy to let him have the strike but he fell to Yasir, trapped in front of leg stump by a ball that skidded on. That gave Yasir the first six-for by a Pakistan spinner in England since Mushtaq Ahmed at The Oval in 1996. It was also the 82nd wicket of his short Test career – the most by any player after 13 matches.Ball sliced a four off Yasir for his first Test runs but he was run out from the first ball of the next over, with Woakes pushing for two to retain the strike. Wahab completed the dismissal at the bowler’s end and Pakistan were congratulating themselves on a job well done before the third umpire confirmed Ball’s fate.

In his book, AB: The Autobiography, which launched in Johannesburg today, AB de Villers describes the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat as the “greatest disappointment” of his cricket career

Firdose Moonda01-Sep-2016AB de Villiers regards the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand as the “greatest disappointment” of his cricket career and believes there could have been “other considerations” in the selection of the XI that took the field for that match last March.The revelation that racial dynamics played a role in Vernon Philander being selected ahead of Kyle Abbott came in the aftermath of the tournament and was confirmed by CSA, who said transformation targets were part of pre-match discussions, but this is the first time any of the players involved in the match has spoken out.De Villers’ recollections of the events are published in his book, , which launched in Johannesburg today. The penultimate chapter, called “The Dream”, goes in-depth into the 2015 World Cup – revealing that South Africa kept a collective diary in which players made daily entries, and reiterating de Villiers’ conviction that South Africa could lift the trophy.Despite two losses in the group stage, South Africa advanced to the semi-final after achieving their first-ever win in a World Cup knockout match when they beat Sri Lanka in the quarterfinal in Sydney. De Villiers wrote that it was “generally assumed” the same team would play against New Zealand.That team included three players of colour in Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir. Throughout the tournament South Africa had played between three and five players of colour in their matches and had not received instruction on any specific number. At 5:30pm on the night before the semi-final, half an hour before South Africa’s team meeting, de Villiers got a call – he does not say from whom – to tell him that Philander had passed a fitness test earlier and would play instead of Abbott.While considering the reasons for the change in selection, de Villiers explains how he knew that an incumbent player who is injured “will automatically go back into the team when he returned to fitness”. Philander had spent some of the tournament on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, so if he was fully fit, it would be the norm to recall him. De Villiers also “sensed the selectors thought Vernon would thrive in New Zealand conditions”, given his ability to move the ball off the seam on tacky surfaces. All the same, it seemed to de Villiers that “there could have been other considerations”.In contemplating the possbility that there was a quota at play, de Villiers recalls the team’s understanding of the situation at that stage. “We had been assured that Cricket South Africa was the only national governing body in the country that had declined to set a target for the number of players of colour to be included in the national team but there was a delicate balance to be struck and it was generally understood that, as they chose the side, the national selectors would be conscious of providing opportunities for at least four players of colour.”So what had happened? Had Vernon, who was officially classified as coloured, been selected ahead of Kyle, who was officially white, to ensure there were four players of colour in the semi-final? Or had the decision been made for purely cricketing reasons?”De Villiers does not answer those questions himself. Instead, in the book, he details the effect it had on him.”It depressed me to think of my team-mates in these outdated racial terms,” he writes. “‘Would anyone really mind if there were three or four players of colour in our side?”At the team meeting, de Villiers did not address the issue either. He delivered a stirring speech using a line from a One Republic song to inspire the team: “We owe it to each other to promise each other that ‘with every broken bone’ we’re going to leave it out there tomorrow.”That night, coach Russell Domingo sent de Villiers a text “telling me how much the team needed my leadership” and former coach Gary Kirsten “also made contact, urging me to be calm and positive.” De Villiers did not sleep well, admitted he was “emotional” and regarded the situation as “unnecessary and unfair on everybody”.His first thought in the morning was, “I hope Vern will be OK”, but he vowed not to overreact because “I still don’t know for certain what happened”. De Villiers convinced himself to treat it as “just another obstacle to be overcome”.South Africa lost the match on the final ball and de Villiers blamed the defeat on their failure to take “five clear opportunities … three possible run-outs and two catches”, and not on the selection saga. “We didn’t lose because of the decision to replace Kyle with Vernon,” he writes.In the aftermath, de Villiers was devastated. He chided himself to “lose properly” even as he cried on the field and later in the change room when he saw his family.In broader terms, de Villiers is supportive of transformation. “I was certainly not blind to the wider issues and I regard the process of transformation in South African cricket not as something imposed on the game but as something that was morally the right thing to do.”He also maintains that “winning an official World Cup with the South African team had become my burning ambition”, which suggest he may play a fourth edition of the tournament, in 2019.De Villiers has already been part of three failed campaigns. He put South Africa’s semi-final loss in 2007 down to “simply trying too hard”. He does not offer many reasons for the 2011 loss to New Zealand but reveals that then-captain Graeme Smith warned them that, when they got home, “daggers and stones will be thrown”. Smith did not make the trip back with the team.De Villiers has also competed in six World T20s and captained in two. The 2016 one left its biggest mark on him. South Africa exited in the first round and de Villiers said there was “nothing new to say and nothing new to think” with regards to that, except that facing the media in such situations was no fun. “It will never be much fun until a Proteas team finally goes out and wins one of these ICC limited-overs tournaments. That will happen one day.”

India’s Test captain Virat Kohli hailed R Ashwin’s impact and Ravindra Jadeja’s relentlessness after India’s 197-run win over New Zealand in the series and season opener in Kanpur

Sidharth Monga in Kanpur26-Sep-20165:56

‘Tough phases within games will help us learn’ – Kohli

India’s Test captain Virat Kohli hailed R Ashwin’s impact and Ravindra Jadeja’s relentlessness after India’s 197-run win over New Zealand in the series and season opener in Kanpur. For a while now Ashwin has hovered around the top in the ICC bowlers’ rankings, trading it with Dale Steyn and James Anderson. He is the top-ranked Test allrounder. In India’s win he took 10 wickets for 225, including a six-for in the second innings. Jadeja, on the other hand, took a five-for in New Zealand’s first innings, scored 42 crucial runs with the tail in India’s first-innings and a quick half-century to set up a declaration in the second.”Ashwin has been outstanding for the Indian team,” Kohli said. “If you see all the impact players in the world, he comes in the top three-four easily. There are quite a few players making big impact for their respective sides, especially bowlers. Bowlers are the ones I feel that win you Test matches, and Ashwin is one of them. The rankings – I’m not a big fan of them – suggest that Ashwin is the best at the moment.”There’s no doubt that he’s been bowling wonderfully well for the last couple of years. He works very hard on his game. He’s a very keen thinker of the game. He likes to talk cricket. He understands the game very well, [he’s a] very smart cricketer, very intelligent. That shows in his batting as well. He understands the situation and plays accordingly. He knows when to get runs and when to play the situation out. So it’s priceless to have a cricketer like Ashwin in your Test team. He gives balance with both bat and ball. I would wish him all the best that he keeps nurturing his skill so that we can keep dominating Test matches and keep winning Test matches as much as we can.”With the quality of bowlers Kohli had at his disposal, he was confident New Zealand didn’t stand a chance to defend their way out for a draw on the final day. The visitors had lost four wickets on Sunday evening and resumed the final day on a score of 93 for 4 facing a target of 434.”Having batted on that wicket, and all the batsmen will vouch for this, you could not have defended your way out of the game,” Kohli said. “On a wicket that spins and bounces, you need to put the bowler under pressure. It is not so much as releasing your own pressure but it’s more to put the bowler under pressure and disrupt his lines and lengths. That’s a strategy all batsmen will use on a wicket like this.”It’s very similar to a seaming wicket as well. Whenever you get the opportunity you want to get a boundary and put the bowler under pressure [and tell him] that he cannot make a mistake. We knew that it was impossible for them to be defending all day, and we knew that the one odd chance will come. That’s all you look forward to. You have to be optimistic and have to be positive in that particular phase when a partnership is going.”The team’s confidence in Ashwin and Jadeja let India play with only four bowlers, Kohli said. “Well obviously if you have a bowler of his quality, along with Jadeja who is so accurate…” Kohli said. “We know Kolkata is a much better batting wicket, so we can afford to maybe play an extra bowler there, you never know. But a place where it will help the two quality spinners that we have, and reverse swing coming into play as well – you know two crucial wickets by Mohammed Shami in the second innings, first breakthrough by Umesh Yadav in the first – it makes a massive difference. Those things are also very important moments in the game.”You obviously have to strengthen your batting on a wicket that might go 50-50. You never know, the game can slip away very quickly. And the extra batsman helped. I mean Rohit got runs in the second innings, pretty solid with Jadeja. Both were able to play positively, and gave us an hour extra to bowl at them. Maybe we would have otherwise declared with our tail-enders batting one hour after tea. But that gave us the whole session yesterday and we got four wickets. So that makes quite a bit of difference. Again, having intelligent people in the change room obviously helps you make better decisions as you go on. You understand the game much more, you understand the combinations much better and you can afford to take smart decisions according to the wicket that you’re playing on.”Apart from possibly playing an extra bowler, India could make a change at the top of the order for the Test in Kolkata, which starts from September 30. After he was dismissed in the second innings, KL Rahul played no further part in the Kanpur Test due to a hamstring strain. Soon after the match, Shikhar Dhawan, the reserve opener, was seen having a lot practice session on the centre track. That could be a sign.

Bangladesh’s teenage offspinner, Mehedi Hasan, claimed figures of 5 for 64 as England were forced to dig deep into their batting reserves in the first Test at Chittagong

The Report by Andrew Miller20-Oct-2016 England 258 for 7 (Moeen 68, Bairstow 52, Mehedi 5-64) v Bangladesh

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBangladesh’s teenage offspinner, Mehedi Hasan, claimed figures of 5 for 64 on his first day of international cricket, as England were forced to dig deep into their batting reserves in the first Test at Chittagong. After stumbling to 21 for 3 in the first hour of the contest, England recovered their poise through the efforts of Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, who rode their luck to compile a pair of half-centuries, and on a surface offering both turn and variable bounce in abundance, it is possible that, in reaching the close on 258 for 7, they are not too far short of a very competitive total.Nevertheless, through the efforts of the 18-year-old Mehedi, who was handed the new ball in a strong show of faith and wheeled his way through 33 overs in a formidable day’s work, Bangladesh gave a strong indication that their recent upsurge in limited-overs cricket will be replicated in the longest form, notwithstanding the fact that this was their first day’s Test cricket in more than 14 months.With Shakib Al Hasan excelling in his role as senior pro, and picking off two big wickets including the prize scalp of Alastair Cook, Bangladesh confirmed that this leg of England’s winter will be a challenge in its own right – never mind a harbinger of trials by spin to come later this winter, with Ravi Ashwin and India awaiting for five Tests in six weeks from next month.But, if there had been any temptation to dismiss these opening contests as a warm-up act for the main event, then today’s exploits were a timely reminder to focus on the here and now.Mehedi, a star of Bangladesh’s exploits in the recent Under-19 World Cup but a bowler with just 12 first-class appearances to his name before this match, had been named as one of three debutants in Bangladesh’s ranks, alongside the batsman Sabbir Rahman, and Kamrul Islam Rabbi, a quick bowler. Bowling with purpose and purchase, he was thrown the ball for the second over of the match and responded to the responsibility with three wickets in his first 11 overs of international cricket.First in his sights was his fellow newcomer, Ben Duckett – Cook’s ninth opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss four years ago – whose form in last week’s ODI series, as well as a strong showing in England’s warm-up matches earlier this week, had earned him his opportunity ahead of the more traditionally moulded Haseeb Hameed.However, Duckett was skittish from the outset as he looked to translate his natural belligerence to the longer form. Mehedi might have bowled him twice in his first nine deliveries as he slid a pair of well-disguised arm balls slid past his off stump. But in the end it was the one that gripped that did for him, as he offered too much room in defence and lost his off stump for 14.Moeen Ali prospered after his move up the order•AFP

Then, in his very next over, Mehedi’s slider did for Gary Ballance as well. With only a fractional change in action, he first ripped a big offbreak past Ballance’s outside edge, then pinned him on the pad two balls later with one that ghosted in without spinning. The initial appeal was turned down, but at this stage of the day at least, Mushfiqur Rahim’s judgement of a review was spot on as the ball was shown to have been demolishing middle and leg.And in between whiles, Shakib struck with his second delivery of the match to land the big one. Cook had initially looked his usual unflustered self as he bedded into his first competitive innings of the trip, having missed the warm-ups to attend the birth of his second daughter. But facing up to Shakib in the 11th over of the innings, he dropped to one knee to sweep from outside leg, but was beaten by some extra turn and bounce. The ball looped off his forearm and crashed into his stumps as he over-balanced and, as the bails hit the turf, so too did his backside. It was an undignified departure for a man playing a record-breaking 134th Test, but Bangladesh were rightly cockahoop to have seen off the man who made 173 on this very ground six years ago.Joe Root, counter-punching with typical nerveless, launched England’s fightback by reaching lunch on 38 not out, but before he could build on his start, he too had fallen to Mehedi’s wiles – caught at slip two balls into his afternoon’s work as he too was suckered by the one that skidded straight on. Ben Stokes, the hero of the one-day series, resisted for a while but never looked anything like as comfortable against the spinners as Shakib ripped one through his gate to bowl him for 18, and at 106 for 5, Bangladesh were circling for the kill.Moeen and Bairstow, however, had other ideas – gradually finding their feet in a sixth-wicket stand of 88 that, given the conditions, hauled England somewhere close to the ascendancy. But Moeen, in particular, used up an entire reservoir of good fortune in the course of his 170-ball stay. He would have been sent on his way for 1 (and England would have been 34 for 4) had Bangladesh opted to review an early pad-strike from Mehedi , and with that precedent set, he went on to survive no fewer than five trials by DRS, including three successfully overturned lbws in the space of six balls either side of lunch.Shakib was the unlucky recipient of umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s itchy finger on all three occasions: first, Moeen managed to get a splinter of bat on a bottom-edged sweep, before his second life was shown to be missing leg stump and the third struck his pad outside the line. And, having already encouraged Bangladesh to use one of their own reviews earlier in his innings, he survived their second attempt on 29, when Mehedi’s lbw appeal was shown to have pitched outside leg.Bairstow, too, had a massive moment of good fortune on 13, when he was dropped at slip after pushed uncertainly forward against the left-arm spin of Taijul Islam. But he continued what has been a stellar year in Test cricket by moving along to his eighth half-century in 2016, and when he was finally prised from the crease by Mehedi – deceived, like so many of his team-mates, by the non-spinner to be bowled for 52 – he was within striking distance of Andy Flower’s record number of runs by a wicketkeeper in a calendar year. With a maximum of 13 innings to come this winter, he will be out of sight by January.Moeen, by this stage, had also succumbed – outfoxed by another superbly skilful piece of bowling from Mehedi, who found flight, dip, grip and bounce to take the edge through to the keeper – leaving Chris Woakes to marshall England’s fortunes in the closing overs with 36 not out. But, having read the conditions correctly and selecting their own three-pronged spin attack, including a recall for Gareth Batty for the first time in 11 years, England will be confident of turning their own screw when Bangladesh come out to bat.

A round-up of the opening day of Group A matches in the third round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2016The bowlers called the shots in Lahli where 17 wickets fell on the opening day between Gujarat and Railways in the third round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. After being put in, Gujarat were shot out for 187, before fighting back to leave Railways at 63 for 7.Gujarat were wrecked by left-arm medium pacer Deepak Bansal, who took his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat captain, top-scored with 61, but found support only from Chirag Gandhi (30), with whom he added 58 for the fifth wicket. Gujarat were also lifted by late contributions from Rush Kalaria, who scored 28 at No. 8, and Mehul Patel, who stayed unbeaten on 22. Bansal finished with 6 for 46 in 16 overs.Mehul Patel then ran through the Railways middle-order to finish with 4 for 22 after seven overs. Saurabh Wakaskar and Shivakant Shukla ‘s 20-run opening stand was the best partnership Railways could put together on the day, with three of their top-six dismissed for ducks. Karn Sharma, the Railways captain, stayed not out on 22.Sayan Mondal cracked his maiden first-class century to give Bengal a strong start against Punjab at the Lohnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur. Mondal struck 135, with the help of 22 fours, as Bengal scored 332 for 5 in 89 overs.Mondal offset the early loss of Abhimanyu Easwaran by putting on 102 for the second wicket with Sudip Chatterjee. He added 140 more for the next wicket with Agniv Pan before he was caught behind off Manpreet Gony. Pan added 39 more with Manoj Tiwary, the captain, before being caught behind off the left-arm spin of Vinay Choudhary. Tiwary contributed 45 and was dismissed 10 balls before stumps.Sandeep Sharma and Choudhary took two wickets each, and Gony took one.Half-centuries from Aditya Shrivastava and Rajat Patidar drove Madhya Pradesh to 239 for 2 against Mumbai at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. Shrivastava scored 87 and put on 54 with Mukul Raghav for the opening wicket. Raghav was caught behind off Abhishek Nayar, after which Patidar joined Shrivastava. The two batted almost 38 overs and added 126 for the second wicket. Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil ended the association by dismissing Shrivastava. But Patidar batted out the remaining overs and stayed not out on 83. He had batted 31.3 overs with Devendra Bundela, the MP captain, and added 59 unbeaten runs for the third wicket.Uttar Pradesh scored 207 for the loss of one wicket in 90 overs against Tamil Nadu at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Opening batsman Samarth Singh, playing in only his second first-class match, compiled a debut century and scored an unbeaten 115 off 247 balls. Samarth laid a strong platform with Tanmay Shrivastava, with whom he put on 109 for the first wicket. Shrivastava was caught off Washington Sundar, the offspinner. He had faced 182 balls for his 53. Umang Sharma and Samarth then got together and played 32.1 overs together, during which they added 98 runs.

Australia were caught out by Faf du Plessis’ early declaration of the South Africa innings, which meant Usman Khawaja had to open in place of David Warner

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide24-Nov-2016Australia have admitted they were sent into a lather by Faf du Plessis’ crafty declaration on the first evening of the Adelaide Test, a call that left Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja fuming as David Warner was unable to take his usual spot as an opener after spending time off the field.Warner complained of shoulder pain and went for treatment late in South Africa’s innings, but upon overhearing that the opener needed to spend a further six minutes on the field, du Plessis closed his innings. “I listened to the conversation he had with the umpires, one ear talking to the batter and one ear listening to him and then I heard he had six minutes left before he could bat again so I thought ‘let’s have a crack’,” du Plessis said.Warner and Smith both remonstrated with the umpires on their way off the field, with du Plessis’ closure the earliest in terms of overs in the first innings of a Test unaffected by bad weather. “He went off for some treatment towards the end and was off for too long,” Josh Hazlewood said of Warner. “So they messed their timings up and he couldn’t bat straight away. Uzzy had to bat and adapted pretty well and we got through.”The guys were a little bit annoyed, especially Smithy and probably Uzzy who had to go out and bat, but it’s just one of those things. It rarely happens, but it happened today and the way Uzzy adapted to the situation he did a great job for us today.”Hazlewood confirmed it was up to Warner to ensure he was not caught out in this way, and said the team would likely receive an apology from the vice-captain as a result. “It’s probably the player himself,” he said. “You know the rules and he was just off the field for too long. He’ll hold himself accountable, that’s how Davey goes, so he’ll know he did the wrong thing, apologise to the group and especially Usman, and he’ll learn from it and hopefully it won’t happen again.”As for du Plessis, Hazlewood could only doff his cap. “I think he might’ve had a rough idea, yeah,” he said. “He’s quite cagey like that, pulled the pin and declared and caught us out a little bit.”

Canterbury’s bowlers hunted in a pack and survived a late surge from Northern Districts to bowl their team to a thrilling nine-run win in their Super Smash clash in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2017
ScorecardTom Latham built Canterbury’s innings with 82 opening the innings that set up their narrow win•Getty Images

Canterbury’s bowlers hunted in a pack to bowl their team to a nine-run win over Northern Districts in their Super Smash clash at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Northern Districts were restricted to 152 for 7 in 20 overs. That, after Canterbury put up 161 for 7 after electing to bat, riding on opening batsman Tom Latham’s 57-ball 82.The win left Canterbury tied second with Auckland on 20 points. Their hopes of qualifying for the preliminary final rest on the match between Otago and Wellington (on 16 points) on Tuesday. If Otago win, Canterbury will be through, while a Wellington victory could result in the net run rate deciding the progress of teams.It would have been a much more comfortable win for Canterbury but for a sixth-wicket stand of 61 between Daryl Mitchell (33) and Scott Kuggeleijn. The duo’s 37-ball stay lifted Northern Districts from 73 for 5 – 64 of which had been scored by BJ Watling (37) and Tim Seifert (27) – in the 13th over. When Mitchell fell in the third ball of the 19th over, Northern Districts needed 28 off nine balls. Kuggeleijn fought hard, but despite his best efforts, Northern Districts could only score 18 more . Kuggeleijn stayed unbeaten on 38 off 21 balls that had come with the help of two fours and as many sixes.Canterbury’s bowlers shared the wickets around. Kyle Jamieson and Tim Johnston took two wickets each, while Ed Nuttall, Andrew Ellis and Todd Astle finished with a wicket apeice.When Canterbury batted, Latham carried them through almost the entire innings, staying at the crease for 19.1 overs of the side’s innings. He found support from Peter Fulton (36 off 31) with whom he added 77 for the third wicket that helped them recover from 27 for 2. None of the other batsmen made any noteworthy contribution, but Latham pinged seven fours and two sixes ensuring Canterbury maintained a decent run rate.All of Northern Districts’ bowlers, with the exception of left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira, who opened the bowling, found themselves among the wickets, with medium pacer Nick Winter (2 for 30) leading the way.