England rejects power Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire 182 for 5 (Patel 56) beat Lancashire 149 (Clark 44, Mullaney 4-46) by 33 runs
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A trio of discarded England batsmen saw Nottinghamshire to victory in their opening match of the NatWest T20 Blast at Trent Bridge.

James Taylor, Michael Lumb and Samit Patel - none of whom were included in the England limited-overs squads named earlier this week - thrashed 125 between them from only 84 balls to take the Nottinghamshire total out of reach of a Lancashire side that look painfully thin in terms of their batting.

If Patel, who made a 39-ball half-century, went on to record the highest score of the game, it was Taylor who most impressed. At one stage he hit James Anderson for three successive fours, before clipping Kabir Ali over midwicket for six. It was another reminder of his range of stroke and his power. Aged 24, and with a career T20 batting average of 35.16 and a List A average of 50.76, you would have thought he was exactly the sort of player the England selectors were looking towards for the future.

Indeed, Taylor could be forgiven for wondering what more he has to do. While he has spent the last few days giving positive interviews to every news outlet that was interested about the attraction of this competition, he has seen Michael Carberry, almost 10 years older and with an inferior record in all three formats of the game, recalled to the squad after delivering a scathing and not entirely accurate assessment on the team management.

Patel might wonder what more he has to do, too. Blessed with marvellous hand-eye coordination, he put away anything less than yorker length with power and skill in recording the 15th half-century of his T20 career. He later delivered four overs of gentle but well controlled left-arm spin, claiming his 100th T20 wicket in the process.

That Patel was not unbeaten was due to an outstanding boundary catch from Steven Croft in the final over of the Nottinghamshire innings. It appeared as if Patel had repeated the stroke of the previous ball - a six over long-on - but Croft produced a superb leap and held on to a catch that will have to be a contender for the best of the season.

By then the damage was done, though. Lumb and Taylor had added 54 in four overs, Patel and Riki Wessels a further 53 in 5.5 and, by the time Patel and Chris Read added another 39 in 24 balls, Nottinghamshire were out of reach.

Perhaps, had James Anderson bowled his full allocation of overs, Lancashire might have restricted Nottinghamshire to a more manageable total. The reason given by Lancashire for the seemingly odd decision was that they felt Wayne White was bowling better than Anderson.

Lancashire never threatened to get close to their target. While Jos Buttler, of whom a miracle is expected almost every time he bats, produced a few sparkling strokes - a scoop to fine-leg off his second delivery, a reverse sweep of remarkable power and a thrash over long-on - too much was required of him.

Jordan Clark, a 23-year-old with a large reputation in second XI cricket which included six sixes in an over last season, also hit the ball unusually cleanly in making 44 from 20 balls, but by then it was a question of how large the margin would be. Clark, who would be one of those players most at risk of losing his place should Andrew Flintoff make a comeback, was yorked by the impressive Andy Carter.

Almost the only fault Nottinghamshire made all evening was Taylor dropping a simple catch offered by Tom Smith at mid-on. But Alex Hales, earlier undone by a sharp short ball from Anderson, picked up the rebound and saw that Smith was run out with a fine, strong throw.

This was close to a perfect opening evening for the re-launch of the competition. On a fine pitch for this format, spectators were treated to fours and sixes, brilliant catches and hopeless drops, a couple of amusing run-outs and enough warmth to allow a crowd of 10,971 to sit in relative comfort until past 9pm. That is only just short a record for a group game on this ground and, after a home win and an entertaining evening, there is a good chance many will return.


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Styris still has what it takes

Leicestershire 197 for 4 (Styris 63, Cobb 38) beat Derbyshire 170 for 7 (North 90, Buck 3-26) by 27 runs
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Leicestershire made a winning start to their NatWest T20 Blast campaign on Friday as a half-century from Scott Styris helped them to a 27-run victory over Derbyshire at Grace Road.

The three-time winners, inserted by their opponents, recovered from the early loss of Niall O'Brien to post 197 for 4 in their 20 overs.

Styris was the star of the show, with an unbeaten knock of 63 off 31 balls that included seven fours and three sixes, while there were also important contributions from captain Josh Cobb (38), Greg Smith (35) and Ned Eckersley (33).

Marcus North then starred for Derbyshire posting 90 off 47 balls, in which he struck consecutive sixes three times and also hit six fours, but it was not enough as the visitors ended up on 170 for 7.

Things had begun in concerning fashion for Leicestershire, just the second ball of the match seeing Niall O'Brien go for a golden duck, caught by Tim Groenewald off Mark Footitt.

But after that, they soon got into their stride as Cobb - who struck three sixes - and Smith produced a fine array of shots to put on a second-wicket stand of 69.

Cobb then fell victim to Wes Durston, stumped by Gareth Cross but the Foxes continued to make decent progress before Smith looped a Chesney Hughes delivery to Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

It was at that point that Styris entered the fray and he lost his partner in the 16th over, Eckersley caught at mid-off by Durston off the bowling of Jonathan Clare.

Styris and Tom Wells (13 not out) then saw out the remaining overs unscathed.

It was not long before Derbyshire's reply was in trouble, Nathan Buck making the breakthrough in the third over by sending Hughes' (seven) middle stump cartwheeling.

Buck soon had his second wicket as O'Brien caught Stephen Moore (24) and Chanderpaul was gone for a duck in the following over, bowled by Anthony Ireland.

Derbyshire then stabilised a little, North and Durston (28) putting on 70 for the fourth wicket, before the latter was dismissed by a superb one-handed diving catch by Cobb off Buck, who finished with 3 for 26.

Cross (two) was then caught on the boundary by Rob Taylor off Jigar Naik, but North kept going and appeared set for a possible one-man rescue job until he was bowled by Ireland in the 18th over with Derbyshire on 153.

Groenewald was subsequently run out by Cobb in the final over as Leicestershire saw out the win.


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Glamorgan break their Hampshire duck

Glamorgan 161 for 7 (Rudolph 34, Wallace 33, Briggs 3-26) beat Hampshire 151 for 6 (Coles 42, Owen 3-32) by 10 runs
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Glamorgan claimed their first ever T20 win at the Ageas Bowl as they beat Hampshire by 10 runs in their NatWest T20 Blast opener.

The visitors posted 161 for 7 with several batsmen getting starts but Will Owen returned figures three for 32 in the reply as Glamorgan restricted their well-fancied hosts to 151 for 6.

Hampshire won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat with Jim Allenby hitting the first ball of the campaign behind square for a four.

Jacques Rudolph then dispatched Matt Coles for three consecutive boundaries before Hampshire turned to the spin of Danny Briggs and the decision brought quick results as Allenby was stumped by Michael Bates for 15.

The combination of Briggs and Bates produced results again as Rudolph was stumped for 34 off 21 balls and Mark Wallace was next to go for 33 as Liam Dawson took an impressive catch off Will Smith on the midwicket boundary.

Six balls later Murray Goodwin was gone for 14 with the veteran caught by Kyle Abbott off the bowling of Dawson and Ben Wright followed for eight as Dawson took a second catch of the night off Coles.

Jimmy Adams caught Chris Cooke at long-on as Briggs took his third wicket and Ruaidhri Smith had his leg stump removed by Coles for just 2 in the final over.

Michael Carberry, called up to the England limited-overs squads earlier in the week, was first to go in reply with Owen bowling the opener for 4. Adams was then caught by Cooke as Owen got his second wicket and Carberry was soon back on the field as a runner for Dawson, who had a leg injury.

Dawson soon retired hurt bringing Sean Ervine to the crease but skipper James Vince was next to fall, stumped by Wallace off Andrew Salter for 38. Coles then began to clear the rope as Hampshire pushed on, leaving themselves needing 51 off the last five overs.

Ervine cracked three consecutive boundaries but was bowled by Owen and when Smith was run out, the writing was on the wall with Coles bowled by Graham Wagg with the penultimate ball.


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Arafat pulls off last-ball win

Sussex 172 for 8 (Wright 56, Hamilton-Brown 30) beat Surrey 171 for 7 (Roy 57, Wilson 50, Zaidi 3-32) by two wickets
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Yasir Arafat was signed by Sussex for the third time to bring his considerable T20 experience to an attack that struggled last season. But his first dividend came in the form an unlikely cameo with the bat that saw him strike the last two balls for four to secure a breathless two-wicket victory for his side.

Sussex needed 16 off the last over and it all seemed to be going to plan for Surrey when Jade Dernbach conceded a single off the first delivery and then had Chris Jordan caught in the deep.

But Ben Brown sliced the third ball high over the extra-cover boundary for six then took a single and left the rest to Arafat. His first ball perfectly dissected the two boundary runners on the off side and the final delivery whizzed past Gary Wilson's despairing dive off a thick edge and down the slope to the third-man rope.

Sussex covet wins over their oldest rivals more than most so the celebrations that followed, as his team-mates ran from the dug out to engulf Arafat, were perhaps understandable.

On a two-paced pitch Surrey must have felt their score of 171 for 7 was defendable. But both attacks struggled for control at times. This was their first competitive run out with the white ball and at times the quicker bowlers in particular looked rusty while Dernbach's struggles at the end revived painful memories of his woes during the T20 World Cup.

Jason Roy (57 off 43 balls) and Gary Wilson (50 off 39) played well after they had got the measure of the conditions before Azhar Mahmood provided acceleration in that uncomplicated way of his at the end with 23 from 12 deliveries. For Sussex, Ashar Zaidi - whose most recent experience of this format was midweek hit and giggle for Accrington last summer - recovered from a poor first over to take 3 for 32 as bowlers who took the pace off prospered.

Matt Prior revealed earlier that he hopes to make his comeback in the Championship game against Middlesex on May 26, although he said it was too early in his recovery from an Achilles injury to say if he will be able to keep wicket as well.

In his absence Sussex are heavily reliant on Luke Wright's uncomplicated hitting and when he and Rory Hamilton-Brown added 55 in 38 balls for the third wicket they were in control. But debutant Tom Curran surprised Wright (56 off 31) with a change of pace before Kevin O'Brien picked up two wickets off successive balls in the 14th over to put Surrey in charge.

The hosts were further inconvenienced when Chris Nash needed a runner after hurting his hamstring but the mood of the crowd improved when, just as they had done in the first innings, umpires Ian Gould and Steve O'Shaughnessy penalised the fielding team with six runs for a slow over rate. Still, Dernbach would have fancied himself to defend 16 off the last over.

By the end the crowd had come to life but on the night T20 was re-launched amidst mch hype there was the sense at Hove that very little had changed.

On a warm late-Spring evening Sussex would have been disappointed had they not attracted the 5,000 who turned up. The ground was pleasantly full and the bars were doing a steady trade but apart from bursts of flames from on top of the scoreboard every time a boundary was scored it didn't feel much like a brave new beginning for a format which has always been popular in Sussex.


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MCA accepts conditions in bid to regain IPL final

The Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) managing committee has decided to adhere to all the conditions put in place by the IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal, in a follow-up to MCA chief Sharad Pawar's letter asking why the IPL final was taken away from Mumbai. While the MCA vice-president Ravi Savant said it will respect all the conditions imposed by the IPL authorities, Biswal clarified that the IPL has not set any riders on the MCA for the June 1 final to be re-allotted to the Wankhede stadium.

"The managing committee has decided to accept all the conditions, including ensuring seating arrangements for all franchise owners. Since a playoff is their match, they can invite whosoever they want. We can't have a say in it. The reply to that effect has been sent to the IPL chairman," Savant said after the MCA managing committee met for the second time in four days after the IPL authorities moved the final from Wankhede Stadium to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

However, Biswal told ESPNcricinfo that the question of re-allotting the final to Mumbai does not arise.

"Whether I will respond to the MCA letter or not depends on the contents of the letter," Biswal said. "But I can confirm that I had only explained the reasons for which the decision to move the final to Bangalore was taken. We hadn't put any riders in the last letter. Also, so far we have not received any formal request to re-allot the final to Wankhede."

After discussing the issue, the MCA managing committee has decided to put in a formal request to the IPL to not deviate from the tradition of letting the home ground of the defending IPL champions to host the final and not deprive fans in Mumbai from witnessing the marquee clash. "Once we have decided to fulfill all the conditions, we hope that the IPL would bring the final back to Mumbai," Savant said.

In his reply to MCA on May 13, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Biswal had cited 14 reasons to take the final away from Mumbai. The main reasons cited by Biswal included permission to be given for temporary hospitality structures or removal of seats in the Garware pavilion, 85% parking space to be reserved for the IPL, removal of restriction for any owners of IPL teams including Shah Rukh Khan, permission for sound and fireworks post 10pm until the presentation ceremony is completed and that the cost of police security should be in line with other locations at Rs 15-20 lakh per game (Mumbai police charge Rs 50 lakh per game).

If the final returns to Mumbai, the five-year ban imposed on Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh in May 2012 will have to be done away with. MCA had banned him following a spat with MCA officials after the game between Mumbai and Knight Riders at Wankhede on May 16, 2012.


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SC to announce IPL probe panel on Friday

The Supreme Court is expected to announce on Friday afternoon the committee that will investigate the IPL corruption issue. The order will be read out in open court and there will be no hearing of the case; the next hearing is scheduled for September, after the committee completes its investigation.

At its hearing on April 22, the court had asked Justice Mukul Mudgal, whom it had asked to carry out the original investigation, whether he would continue a more empowered and deeper probe into the matter. The Mudgal Committee report, submitted to the court on February 10, had included a sealed envelope that included the names of 13 people who, the committee said, should be investigated further, and this is what the court's new investigation will do. The committee said the identities of the individuals were not being disclosed because of the nature of the findings against them.

The Mudgal report formed the basis for the court's order on March 25 asking BCCI president N Srinivasan to stand down from his post to ensure a fair investigation. The court confirmed, on April 16, that one of the names in the sealed envelope was Srinivasan's, though it did not specify the context.

In agreeing to continue the investigation, Justice Mudgal listed specific agencies whose assistance he would require. They included the former CBI special director ML Sharma, one senior officer each deputed by the Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai Police, and a former India cricketer "of repute and integrity". He had also asked for further assistance from police authorities, the Sports Integrity Unit of CBI's anti-corruption branch and other departments or agencies of the central and state governments "as required".

The case dates back to June 2013, when the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of a conflict of interest in the BCCI's original two-member inquiry panel for the IPL corruption issue. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel "illegal". The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.

The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players.


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From club to country for captain Morgan

Eoin Morgan will be in England mode next week with the start of the series against Sri Lanka, but first his focus is on helping Middlesex make a double-quick start to the NatWest T20 Blast

The refrain that England's stars have become disconnected from the county game is a familiar one. The start of the season has been a welcome exception and, before England return to the international treadmill, their stars will help to launch the NatWest T20 Blast.

And in the shortest format no current England player rivals Eoin Morgan for star quality. He will lead Middlesex when their T20 season begins against Essex at Lord's on Saturday - and then do the same against Sussex a few hours later. It is the first such double header in county history. "Saturday for us is going to be quite a huge event - not only for ourselves but for English cricket," Morgan said. "I know Middlesex are having a huge push."

The challenge of back-to-back games will be an unusual one, including quickly moving onto the next contest whatever the result of the first. "Going into the second game, we'll already have had a chance to have a bat and a bowl. But does that equalise the fact that we might be a little bit tired? We don't know."

But while Middlesex's T20 campaigns will begin rapidly, the tournament is a slow-burning affair: finals day takes place exactly 100 days after the matches begin. "The idea of the format this year is to get more bums on seats throughout the whole summer, as opposed to it being sporadic," Morgan said.

Other T20 leagues take a very different approach, being completed in a much tighter block and which has left others, including England, playing catch-up. "You could say that the IPL and Big Bash have taken the initiative and sort of raced ahead of most other countries in franchise cricket and they've reaped the rewards for it."

This year, though, the IPL is far from Morgan's mind: it is the first time he has begun the county season in England since 2009. And his county have given him the responsibility of captaining, when England commitments allow, in all limited-overs cricket.

The development feels significant, with uncertainty over the captaincy of the national side in both limited-overs formats - and a shortage of viable successors to Alastair Cook in Tests. Morgan's initial forays into captaincy have been marked by serenity and unusual tactical imagination, perhaps reflecting that he is an essentially self-taught cricketer. Few would argue with Morgan's assessment of his own captaincy: "calm" and capable of "making good decisions under pressure".

With Stuart Broad injured, Morgan will be able to showcase those attributes in the T20 international against Sri Lanka next week having previously led England five times. "The opportunity to captain the side is one that I'm looking forward to."

The expectation is that Morgan could imminently succeed Broad on a permanent basis, whose role is in doubt after disappointing performances in the World T20 tournaments. Morgan says only that "it'll be something that I think of" if offered, while, tellingly, admitting that he "was interested" in the job when Paul Collingwood's reign ended three years ago.

"It's something that I've enjoyed because I've had something to offer," Morgan said, speaking like the unusually self-assured 27-year-old that is. "Guys like Ben Stokes who have come in - I was captain when he debuted and then to watch him come through and play in the Ashes series from afar was awesome to see. You take great pride in awarding someone that - although you only play a minor part you're still involved in it."

For all the bluster about England's "new era", uncertainty provides the backdrop for the international summer ahead. Mushtaq Ahmed and Graham Gooch have already lost their jobs, and the make-up of the new set-up is in flux. "We still haven't got exact clarity on what's going on or who's doing what," Morgan admitted. "The sooner that happens the better, and the calmer and the quicker things can move on."

 
 
David Warner is your typical example - he started in T20, got into the one-day side and the broke into the Test team. And the shots he was playing in the Test matches were unbelievable
 

In limited-overs cricket, Morgan's blend of calculation and panache make him immune from selectorial uncertainty. But in Tests the picture is rather more complicated. It is clear England have him in mind - Morgan would not have withdrawn from this year's IPL otherwise - and a century against Lancashire was "timely".

Whether that is enough to merit inclusion against Sri Lanka at Lord's on June 12 is a thorny question. Based strictly on first-class pedigree - Morgan averages under 35, and his previous first-class hundred came in August 2011 - he should not even be under consideration. Yet the notion of Morgan replicating his limited-overs brilliance in Tests evidently retains an allure for the selectors.

It has been 830 days since Morgan last played Test cricket. His 16 Tests, thus far, did not end happily: he mustered only 82 runs in six innings against Pakistan in the UAE before beginning ignominiously dumped. "It's professional sport - you're out of form or you're not performing you get dropped." With a middling career average of 30, Morgan did not have enough credit to fall back onto with the selectors: "I don't think it was harsh, looking back on it."

"If I played the series again I might have played a little bit differently. I could have been a lot smarter about how I played," he said. "Since I've played my last Test I'm a better cricketer for the fact that I've played more games and I've made more mistakes." He evidently believes that class transfers between formats, suggesting that Ian Bell could replicate Mahela Jayawardene's success in the shortest format if he returns to England's T20 side.

But it is an Australian that Morgan cites to show that cricketers can thrive in Test matches despite games that seem more suited to the short formats. "David Warner is your typical example - he started in T20, got into the one-day side and then broke into the Test team. And the shots he was playing in the Test matches were unbelievable."

If Morgan is able to imitate Warner's success dovetailing the demands of the three formats of the game, it will leave Ireland lamenting once more that they could have retained his talents. In theory, the ICC's new Test Challenge should help prevent a future Morgan from making the same decision. The reality, with a lack of scheduling space for any new Test nation, may be rather different. "Given the aspirations that I had as a kid, I'd probably still make the move."

Eoin Morgan was speaking at the launch of Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week. On 2-6 June thousands of Chance to Shine schools all over the country will enjoy a week of cricket-themed activities in the classroom and playground. Visit www.chancetoshine.org to find out more.


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Warner to miss Zimbabwe tri-series

David Warner will miss Australia's one-day tour of Zimbabwe in August and September as he and fiancée Candice Falzon prepare for the birth of their first child.

Warner is currently in India for the IPL and after a home Ashes series, a tour of South Africa and a World T20 in Bangladesh, he wrote in a column for Cricket Australia's website that his "batteries are slowly draining". As a result, Warner will enjoy the extra time at home when the team flies out for the tri-series with Zimbabwe and South Africa, although it will be a busy time as he prepares to become a father.

"Candice and I have our baby coming in September, so it's fantastic to be able to have that time off," Warner wrote. "Since Darren Lehmann came on board as coach he's told us all that family comes first, and that's a big thing because we're on the road for a long time. So that any time a major personal matter crops up - whether it's a family member being sick, getting married or having a baby - the exemption is there for you.

"With the World Cup coming up next year and the fact that it's an ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe, I would normally immediately put my hand up for selection. That's because playing for Australia is what I've always wanted to do since I was a youngster and you never want to miss an opportunity. But that's what happens in life - you settle down, you get married and you have children."

Lehmann said Cricket Australia backed Warner's decision to skip the tour. "We are 100% supportive of David choosing to stay home and await the birth of his first baby," Lehmann said. "It is an important time in anyone's life and I am a firm believer that family comes first."

The tri-series is Australia's first international engagement after a rare winter without touring duties. Their series begins with a match against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 25 and ends in early September. Warner's focus will be to be ready for Australia's series against Pakistan in the UAE in October.


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PCB says six-series deal signed with India

Pakistan says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BCCI to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. Four of those series will be hosted by Pakistan and the six tours - pending a legal agreement - will include up to 14 Tests, 30 ODIs and 12 T20s.

"We are working on chalking out a detailed FTP for eight years but meanwhile I can confirm that the MoU has been signed with India, according to which we will be playing six series," a top PCB official told ESPNcricinfo. "They will be hosting us twice while Pakistan will host them four times as a part of home series and further modalities will be confirmed later on."

There was no confirmation of this from the BCCI.

The move follows Pakistan's conditional support for the ICC revamp, which hinged on the promise of six series against India, including a 'home' series in the Gulf as part of an upcoming, reworked eight-year FTP cycle from 2015 to 2023. The change in the PCB's stance took place on the condition that Pakistan would be involved in bilateral series against all Full Members, including India. The first of these bilateral series could take place in the UAE in the winter of 2015.

India and Pakistan have not played a full series since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, which India blamed on militants based across the border. However, Pakistan visited India for a short limited-over series in December 2012, which was regarded as a stepping stone in reviving cricketing ties between both countries.

The teams last played a full series in 2007, in India. However, despite the latest developments, given the sensitive relationship between the governments of the two countries, a fresh government NOC will be required before each series. India has just completed voting in its general elections with the results out on May 16; the BCCI is unlikely to proceed without the new government's green signal.


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Sangakkara applies sleeper hold to Sussex

Durham 451 for 7 dec. (Sangakkara 159, Borthwick 84) drew with Sussex 505 (Wright 189, Brown 163)
Scorecard

Watching Kumar Sangakkara make a hundred could never be described as a chore, even though some prefer the more delicate strokeplay of his long-time Sri Lanka batting buddy, Mahela Jayawardene. Sangakkara has a little bit more of the streetfighter about him and, although Hove is perhaps not a cauldron of enmity for visiting opponents, his grit was of material value to Durham as they quietly applied the sleeper hold to Sussex for their fourth draw of the season.

Paul Collingwood, Durham's captain, was happy to allow Sangakkara an extended centre-wicket practice session, having declined Sussex's offer of an innings forfeiture to set up a run chase. That would have meant Durham attempting to get 369 in 96 overs but Collingwood was happy to pursue a few more bonus points and preserve his team's unbeaten record - even if that means the champions remaining uncomfortably close to the bottom of Division One.

Mark Robinson confirmed that Sussex "wanted to have a game" but he was respectful of the polite snub. He was a little more perturbed about not being able to field Chris Jordan for the second match running. Jordan was ruled out of last week's trip to Old Trafford due to his involvement in the Scotland ODI and the ECB asked for him to sit out this match as well due to a concern about over-bowling.

Sussex have back-to-back T20 games at the weekend, before England's players link up again ahead of the Sri Lanka series. Jordan took part in a 2nd XI T20 fixture on Wednesday, specifically to practise his death bowling, and Robinson described him as a rhythm bowler who performs better when he is playing regularly, although he was pragmatic about the situation.

"Peter Moores is the England coach, he's trying to protect an asset, I want my asset playing here to win a game," he said. "The county game needs its best players playing, where possible. At times it won't be possible."

In Robinson's words, Sangakkara was "the biggest winner out of the day". His 159, spread over six hours and many more minutes in the dressing room while the rain fell on Tuesday, was his highest first-class score in England, surpassing two centuries for Warwickshire against Durham in 2007 and 153 in a tour match at Chelmsford three years ago. His only Test hundred in this country also came in 2011, a match-saving 119 in Southampton, and this short-term spell in county cricket has been aimed at improving on a mediocre record here.

He has been keen to express his gratitude to Durham for their part in the deal and the brief time spent sharing knowledge with young team-mates in the dressing room will doubtless have been beneficial. This innings was also the main plank in securing Durham four batting points - though they fell short of the maximum haul during the 11-ball scramble for eight more runs that followed his dismissal.

There was much for a generous-minded crowd to applaud when Sangakkara finally fell on the stroke of tea, reward for Steve Magoffin, who had seen him dropped in the slips on 20 the previous day. Sangakkara had steadily grown in fluency, with his first fifty taking 116 balls (and being completed around 24 hours after his innings began); the next took 76 and the final 55.

Sangakkara now has a few grey strands in among his black tousled hair - perhaps that was why Scott Borthwick referred to him as a "cricket badger" after their century stand on the third day - and this was a wise old knock. Every time he was beaten, or dropped the hands to nullify an edge, he recalibrated his batting senses and got back on with the job at hand. Luke Wright was breezily flicked for six, Ashar Zaidi clubbed a little more ruthlessly over the short, leg-side boundary. His footwork was sure and his striking, for the most part, crisp.

His partnership with Collingwood was worth 144 in less than 30 overs as Durham hit the accelerator after losing Scott Borthwick, for his overnight 84, and Michael Richardson. Collingwood unpacked his boxfresh cover drive again, at one point hitting six boundaries in 11 balls, though he had no regrets about declining Sussex's offer. "I thought it was a bit early in the season to go hunting for victories," he said.

His mood was further improved by the suggestion that Graham Onions' back problem may not be as bad as first feared. He said that the "scans look positive", after Onions' trip to see a specialist, and the seamer could be fit to play again after an injection.

Although the poor weather that sluiced away much of the previous two days was chiefly responsible for condemning this game to a draw, the pitch was a willing accomplice. By the end, Ben Brown was having his first-ever bowl in senior cricket, with Michael Yardy filling in behind the stumps. Without the sight of Sangakkara to enjoy, most joined the surface in nodding off to sleep.


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Vince steers Hampshire top of Division Two

Hampshire 345 (Carberry 66, Dawson 64, Allenby 4-67, Wagg 4-105) and 68 for 4 (Vince 29*, Smith 3-38) beat Glamorgan 224 (Wallace 67*, Ervine 3-36) and 187 (Bragg 74, Tomlinson 3-40, Abbott 3-43) by six wickets
Scorecard

James Vince eased Hampshire's nerves with a careful innings to steer them past a target of 67 against Glamorgan and send them top of the Division Two table.

Hampshire were given a straightforward chase but lost three wickets to the new ball, leaving Vince - surely in the form of his career so far - to play a careful innings and wrap up the win before lunch.

Glamorgan came into the final day with a lead of 64 but could only add two runs to that before James Tomlinson wrapped up their second-innings by removing Tom Helm. That left Hampshire a simple enough task and, while four wickets fell as they struggled with the new ball, an unbeaten 29 from James Vince steered them home.

Hampshire needed just 16 balls to end the Glamorgan innings as Tomlinson got Helm to edge to slip where Liam Dawson took a smart catch.

A target of 67 was never likely to cause the home side too many problems but captain Jimmy Adams was gone for a duck off the fourth ball of the innings as he was bowled by Ruaidhri Smith.

Opening partner Michael Carberry, who was named to the England limited-overs squad on Tuesday, was next to go for 14 as Stewart Walters took a fine diving catch in the slips off Smith, who took career-best figures of 3 for 38; his third wicket two balls later when he trapped Dawson lbw and reduced Hampshire to 27 for 3.

Glamorgan opener Gareth Rees then claimed his first wicket in any format as Walters caught Will Smith at mid-on as he was trying to hit over the top but Hampshire now needed just 11 runs to win.

And they had them in the next over as Vince finished the game off with back-to-back fours through extra cover to keep his average above 100 for the season and hand Hampshire their first home win of the campaign.


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Murtagh lifts Middlesex again

Middlesex 459 for 8 dec (Morgan 103, Malan 92, Rayner 77*) and 31 for 0 beat Lancashire 266 (Buttler 59, Smith 59, Dexter 6-63) and 223 (Prince 86, Buttler 50, Murtagh 6-60) by 10 wickets
Scorecard

English cricket would love to see Steven Finn bowling Middlesex to victory, but on the final day at Lord's it was Tim Murtagh who put in the defining performance to set up a 10-wicket victory, their third home win of the season to leave them third in the table.

At one stage before lunch, with Lancashire 45 for 5, it appeared Middlesex would be reflecting on a job well done sooner rather than later, but it was not until shortly before the final hour that they were able to wrap up a 10-wicket victory.

Ashwell Prince and Jos Buttler had given Lancashire hope of salvaging a draw, adding 117 for the fifth wicket to show that conditions were still perfectly good for batting, but Murtagh refused to yield during lengthy spells from the Nursery End in an exemplary display of swing and seam to finish with 6 for 60.

It led to glowing praise from his captain, Chris Rogers, who lauded him as one of the best bowlers he has led. "I thought that was outstanding in the second dig," Rogers said. "To get six, and when the game looked like it was drifting to get three in a spell that's outstanding. It showed why he is one of the best bowlers I've ever been lucky enough to captain.

"Just to be able to give him the ball and they tell you when they are done: it's exceptional to have and I'm very privileged to have him. We missed him when he went to play for Ireland last week which was disappointing but that's the way it goes."

Murtagh already had one wicket to his name overnight and resumed Middlesex's task of taking nine more when he removed nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan with a beauty early on. However, it was two wickets in the space of four balls moments before tea which revived the victory push when he had Buttler caught a first slip, three balls after he was dropped by John Simpson, and then found Tom Smith's outside edge, leaving Lancashire seven down at the interval.

Another frustrating stand began to form between Prince, who had been given a tough time by Finn in the afternoon but attacked the same bowler after tea when he dropped repeatedly short, and Glen Chapple which took Lancashire into the lead and ate up valuable time.

Again it was over to Murtagh, who was not rested before the second new ball, although his fifth wicket was given a considerable helping hand by Prince's horrid slash outside off which undid nearly four hours of concentration. When Chapple played across a full delivery from Toby Roland-Jones, Lancashire's chances of salvaging a draw had all but vanished and Murtagh's sixth wrapped up the innings leaving Middlesex 19 overs to complete the formalities.

Apart from a few dropped catches, Rogers could not pick holes in the performance. "This was almost a perfect game for us; win the toss, put them in and bowl them out then go a long way past them then bowl then out again - that's a perfect game," he said. "But we can get better, we dropped a few chances, and I do expect a lot of the guys.

His more immediate concern, however, was ensuring Middlesex improve their away record when they travel to Northamptonshire on Sunday, after twice being heavily beaten on the road, and also juggling the rapid change in formats which will now come with the start of the NatWest T20 Blast.

"It's a tough job and I don't know how it's going to work to be honest. There's a lot being asked of these guys and we'll need to be quite understanding of their loads."

Overall, it was a familiar tale for Lancashire. Their top-order batting is a serious threat to their chances of staying in Division One. Their average total at five wickets down this season has been 99 and while on some occasions, such as at Wantage Road, there were some mitigating circumstances, having the top order fail on a warm, sunny day at Lord's highlights the weakness.

They did have to contend with some fine bowling in the morning, and not just from Murtagh. Roland-Jones trapped Karl Brown for a duck and Finn earned an lbw against Paul Horton although the ball may have been sliding. There was no doubt about Luke Procter's wicket, brilliantly caught low down to his left by Simpson during one of Finn's more impressive spells of the match.

For Buttler it at least allowed him another backs-to-wall situation in which to show his ability to grind out an innings with his second half-century of the match, although if he walks in too many more times with his side in strife he may pine for the days of watching team-mates at Somerset pile on the runs.

When his footwork let him down, playing away from his body against Murtagh, only for his opposite number to palm away a regulation chance it just started to appear that he may help Lancashire escape, but Middlesex's perseverance held sway.


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Taylor, Wessels pull Notts back

Nottinghamshire 259 for 5 (Wessels 78*, Taylor 78) lead Northamptonshire 248 by 11 runs
Scorecard

James Taylor and Riki Wessels hit half-centuries as Nottinghamshire claimed a first-innings lead over Northamptonshire but with more time lost on a rain-hit third day at Trent Bridge, the contest appeared destined for a draw.

At the close Nottinghamshire were 259 for 5, 11 runs ahead, with Wessels unbeaten on 78. That was the same individual score as Taylor hit in leading Notts' recovery from 30 for 3.

They had slipped into trouble after wrapping up the visitors' first innings for 248 within 19 balls of the resumption. Maurice Chambers and Azharullah were the last men to fall, both to Andy Carter, for the addition of just seven runs to the overnight total.

Alex Hales, Phil Jaques and Michael Lumb all fell cheaply as Notts began their response. But Taylor, overlooked for England's limited-overs squads but still in contention for a Test spot, changed the momentum.

He put on 91 for the fourth wicket with Samit Patel, who made 30, and brought up his half-century amid a flurry of four boundaries in five balls.

His partnership with Wessels was also worth 91 when he fell lbw to spinner James Middlebrook after a 151-ball knock that included 11 fours.

Wessels kept up the pressure and had hit 11 fours and a six in his innings when the latest of several showers during the day's play brought an early close. Captain Chris Read was also unbeaten on 17 at stumps.


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Hampshire make their title pitch

Glamorgan 224 and 185 for 9 (Bragg 74, Abbott 3-43) lead Hampshire 345 by 64 runs
Scorecard

Both Hampshire and Glamorgan have identical records from their opening four County Championship fixtures but the nature of the respective matches and Hampshire's control of this contest suggests the two sides are destined for different ends of the table. Barring outrageously cruel circumstances, Hampshire will complete victory on day four and move top of Division Two.

Having taken a 115-run first-innings lead, Hampshire rattled off three wickets in 11 overs before lunch and, after a 98-run fifth wicket stand, took 3 for 4 before tea. But for a lengthy rain delay that cost 18 overs of the final session, the match was likely to end inside three days.

Hampshire have assembled the strongest squad in Division Two, with a proven batting line up and a bowling group now led by Kyle Abbott, who could prove the attack leader to take Hampshire to promotion. One day three he took his 17th wicket in his just his third full match of the season (the Surrey fixture was a rain-ruined non-event). The attack also includes Liam Dawson's useful left-arm spin. He sent down 15 overs on day three, conceded only 16 runs and removed Will Bragg and Graham Wagg. Hampshire also have depth with the very capable seamers David Balcombe, Raul Brathwaite and left-armer Chris Wood not playing here.

Balcombe played the first match of the season, where he and Hampshire struggled on a lifeless pitch against Worcestershire. But since then, they beat Gloucestershire well at Bristol and were in control of a rain-affected match at Derby. Essex could prove the main challengers for the Division Two title but it is difficult to see two other sides bettering Hampshire this season.

Their main opposition last year were the pitches at the Ageas Bowl, where only three results ensued, one of those a contrived chase that ended in defeat against Gloucestershire. Given more result wickets at home, and the pitch for this match has been conducive to a fair contest between bat and ball - Michael Carberry called it "encouraging" - and Hampshire have the tools to return to Division One.

Glamorgan have somewhat drifted the wrong way after an impressive opening round victory at The Oval - a result that is gaining more context with each Surrey performance. Rain saved them from defeat against Gloucestershire and they were not too far away from losing to both Worcestershire and Leicestershire.

It is no startling analysis to reveal that Glamorgan have struggled for runs; a common occurrence early-season but with their bowling attack performing well - the highlight being shooting Surrey out for just 81 - their batsman have failed to work them into good positions when opportunities have been presented.

Jacques Rudolph, the former South Africa Test batsman with bags of county experience chiefly with Yorkshire, has so far been an abject failure. Here he collected his sixth single-figure score in four matches. His two half-centuries at Leicester were only modest efforts on a pitch where the home side put up 500 in the first innings. Rudolph has not been the answer to Glamorgan's struggles at the top of the order. His dismissal on the third day was similar to his first-innings wicket: a stroke of little confidence from the crease and an edge behind the wicket.

Rudolph's opening partner, Gareth Rees, also collected his sixth single-figure score of the season, a duck as a full James Tomlinson delivery speared past him. Murray Goodwin played a hideous stroke just before lunch, driving to edge to a diving Carberry in the gully. Goodwin is yet to find the form of last season that triggered a contract extension.

When Goodwin fell, Glamorgan had lost three wickets with the score on 9 and a three-day defeat was looming large. But at least one of their top-order players is in steady form. Bragg made a match-saving 91 not out against Worcestershire and here compiled a 75-ball half-century with 10 boundaries that was a nod to his slightly boom or bust style. He is a strokemaker. Hampshire bowled a little straight at him.

Bragg and the more obdurate Jim Allenby added 98 for the fifth wicket, making progress that suggested Glamorgan could set a tricky target. It was even healthier at 158 for 4 until Stuart Walters leaned much too far outside off for a defensive stroke and edged to second slip.

Tea came at the wrong time for them. After the interval, Allenby added only four before being trapped lbw by Abbott and Bragg made only two more before edging Dawson to Michael Bates. With both batsmen dismissed within seven balls of each other, Hampshire were changing up gears again and Abbott removed Mark Wallace for a duck - Glamorgan would have banked on their dependable captain to boost their lead which at just 64 is currently far too slender to cause Hampshire any problems in the fourth innings.


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Essex upset Sri Lankans on murky night

Essex 161 for 5 (Cook 71, Foakes 51) beat Sri Lankans 146 for 9 (Chandimal 3-31, Newby 3-36) by 22 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard

Sri Lanka were given a harsh introduction to the challenge of English conditions as they subsided to a 22-run loss on the D/L method on a damp night in Chelmsford.

In dank conditions that could hardly have differed more from those found in the sub-continent, Sri Lanka were undone by a second-string attack that included three man making List A debuts for Essex and, unlikely though it sounds, a fine catch by Monty Panesar.

Indeed, while Sri Lanka might have expected to struggle against seam bowlers in these conditions, they lost four wickets to the Essex spinners with Panesar, playing his first List A game since August 2012, taking two wickets as reward for a spell full of variation; not a description that could always be applied to him.

But perhaps his key intervention came in the field. With Dinesh Chandimal threatening to turn the game in his side's favour, Panesar held on to a sharp catch at long leg off a full-blooded hook to all but seal the match.

In truth, Panesar misjudged the chance a little, over-running the ball and almost seeing it sail well over him. But so impressive was his adjustment that he was able to cling on to the ball far above his head and end Sri Lanka's last realistic hope of victory.

It meant that an Essex side missing almost its entire first-choice attack beat the side crowned World T20 Champions just over a month ago in a match reduced by rain to 21-overs a side.

It would be wrong to read much into this defeat, though. After rain caused a five-hour break in play, Sri Lanka opted to give several part-time bowlers a run-out - Lahiru Thirimanne had previously only bowled 60 deliveries in his List A career - and conditions were probably on the borderline of acceptability with a slippery outfield and a pitch offering substantial help to the seam bowlers.

Oliver Newby, a loan signing from Lancashire, made the key inroads. After having Kusal Perera trapped leg before, he produced an unplayable delivery - one that pitched on middle and moved like a fast leg-break - to take the edge of Mahela Jayawardene's bat.

With Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled by what appeared to be a deliberate arm ball from Panesar - he changed his action often and appeared to push that delivery into the batsman with a lower arm - and Greg Smith holding one back to deceive Thirimanne and then seeing Angelo Mathews held in the outfield, Sri Lanka were never able to exploit an attack that included Matt Salisbury, a 21-year-old on List A debut, and Reece Topley, who was enjoying his first bowl of the season following a stress fracture.

Earlier Alastair Cook bludgeoned his way to a half-century to help Essex overcome a poor start. For a good portion of his innings, Cook mistimed the ball horribly, surviving near misses on 32 and 37 and barely managing a clean stroke. It took him until the 19th over of the innings to register his 50.

But he gained in fluency as his innings progressed and, having reached his 50 from 44 balls with a scooped sweep for six off Perera, he embarked on a run that saw him score 22 from five deliveries. If the highlight was another scooped six, he also demonstrated his growing range of strokes with a powerful pull for four and a drive down the ground.

But the most eye-catching batting of the innings came from Ben Foakes. The 21-year-old has been seen as a future England keeper for some time and here showed his batting class with a half-century from just 30 balls. He slog-swept successive sixes off Dilshan and timed the ball unusually well off his hips. It was only the second List A half-century of his career, but contained a good deal of promise.

Cook and Foakes added 82 for the fourth-wicket in nine overs to help Essex recover from the depths of 21 for 3 in the seventh over. After Mark Pettini was trapped in front, Smith's loose drive was beaten by a straight one and Ravi Bopara was caught on the crease by one that nipped back having been set up by one that nipped away by the impressive Suranga Lakmal. His first four overs cost only eight runs.

But while Sri Lanka conceded only 46 from their first 10 overs, the final 11 of the Essex innings cost 115. In tricky conditions, it was to prove too much.


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Borthwick learns from the master

Durham 137 for 2 (Borthwick 84*) trail Sussex 505 for 9 dec by 368 runs
Scorecard

This game seems destined to end in a draw, with more than 100 overs lost so far and Sussex, the only side with a puncher's chance of victory, requiring 18 wickets or some generous collusion in the time remaining. Three extra points will not be a great deal of help to either side at their respective ends of the table but, on a personal level, the experience at Hove on the third day may come in useful for the two batsmen who spent much of it dodging the showers.

Scott Borthwick's chances of retaining his place as England's Test spinner appear to be slim, with Moeen Ali favoured as a batsman able to turn his wrist over in a spare moment, but while Borthwick has only taken three Championship wickets so far this year, runs may be more important to his case. He scored 1000 of them after being promoted to No. 3 for Durham last season and this was his first significant knock of 2014.

Most of his unbeaten 84 came whilst batting alongside Kumar Sangakkara, who was able to offer the perspective of a Test No. 3 during their chats between overs. Borthwick could still find himself lining up against Sangakkara when the first Test against Sri Lanka begins next month but here the two shared in a 103-run partnership that was to the benefit of Durham, helping guide the depleted champions towards a safer promontory in this match.

Afterwards, Sangakkara said Borthwick's innings was "just what you want from a number three", which is quite a compliment from someone who has batted there 186 times in Tests. Borthwick, meanwhile, described Sangakkara in the more modern argot as an "absolute cricket badger", for his propensity to impart wisdom about the game during rain breaks or when taking his new team-mates out for dinner.

"He's fantastic to bat with, so relaxed and calm, always helping me along the way," Borthwick said. "It was an absolute honour for me to bat with him and get a hundred-run partnership. Hopefully we can double up tomorrow, and he gets in and I can stand at the other end and watch him blaze it everywhere."

Sangakkara joined Durham for two Championship games in order to ease him into English conditions - though he dutifully stressed his commitment to helping the club while he is here. After making 0 and 14 against Yorkshire last week, he watchfully made certain of a more extended outing this time. With the players on and off repeatedly during the morning and afternoon, this was the perfect warm-up for an acclimatising Sri Lankan - if only in the figurative sense.

He survived a couple of chances off Steve Magoffin, one an edge that flashed through the hands of Michael Yardy at slip when he had 20, and was struck a wince-inducing blow on the box by the same bowler. For the most part he confined himself to leaving, defending and nurdling, though there was a glimpse of something more flowing when he drove Luke Wright to the cover boundary to move into double figures. He might have had a moment of fond reflection when facing the bowling of Jon Lewis, whose only Test was Sri Lanka's last win in England back in 2006.

Borthwick also had his tougher periods against Magoffin, who extracted more bounce than either Lewis or James Anyon, and steered several thick edges either short or wide of the slips. There were plenty of pleasing strokes intermingled, however, including consecutive boundaries off Anyon to move to fifty and a pitching-wedge pull over the short, leg-side boundary that sailed into the members' stand and back out again.

While the skies around the ground looked ominously empurpled - to borrow a description usually reserved for Alex Ferguson's cheeks - for most of the day, initially the rain fell elsewhere. Sussex declared their first innings on 505 for 9 and Anyon took a wicket with his first ball before ten minutes were lost to a brief shower. The morning session was further curtailed as the pitch received another quick spritzing on the brink of lunch but it was only when they went off for a fourth time during the afternoon, with 45.2 overs bowled, that the rainfall was allowed to have won.

Durham's third-wicket pair came together after an avoidable run-out with the score on 34. Borthwick called for a second after pushing into the covers, before changing his mind upon seeing Wright rapidly collect and return his throw. Keaton Jennings was left stranded mid-pitch, casting reproachful glances in his partner's direction while haltingly continuing towards the dressing rooms, as Borthwick inspected the state of his shoelaces.

The running between Sangakkara and Borthwick early on was just as scatty: Durham's temporary overseas signing could twice have been dismissed by direct hits in the same Anyon over. Sangakkara only played four scoring strokes before lunch, one a leg glance to the boundary from his second delivery, prompting a Sussex member to query: "How many Test runs has this Sri Lankan fella got?"

The answer is 11,151 but only 520 (at 30.58) of them have come in England. He will be hoping to improve on that after this reconnoitre, whilst also further impressing his credentials on the Sussex membership.


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Vince matches sparkle with grit

Hampshire 330 for 8 (Carberry 66, Dawson 64, Vince 61) lead Glamorgan 224 (Wallace 67*, Ervine 3-36, Coles 3-39, Abbott 3-66) by 106 runs
Scorecard

James Vince has attracted attention for his natural stroke-making ability but he kept his instincts in check with a circumspect innings to steer Hampshire into a three-figure lead over Glamorgan. But Vince was the third player to go no further than the 60s as the visitors kept the game from racing away by fighting back with the second new ball.

Vince is a joy to watch, with his languid, fluid style producing effortless drives and flicks but there was little opportunity for such strokes on a day of showers that interrupted play regularly until after tea. It was during the final session that Glamorgan gained their rewards for not allowing Hampshire to find the progress of the first evening, taking 5 for 53 after a new ball was requested at the earliest opportunity.

Vince passed 500 County Championship runs for the season during his 61 - only Daryl Mitchell, with 532, has more in the country and he has faced almost double the number of balls - but this innings came at a strike rate 20 lower than his overall mark so far this season. It was difficult for the batsmen to settle, with four rain breaks before tea, and the new side to Vince's game was required to continue Hampshire's progress.

Vince has worked hard to tighten his technique with Hampshire first-team coach, Tony Middleton - who has overseen the majority of Vince's career - after recognising the need to become more consistent in four-day cricket. He has moved across his stumps slightly and resisted temptations outside off stump - in general selling his wicket dearer. His work was rewarded with over 1000 Championship runs last summer and selection on the England Lions tour to Sri Lanka.

The new season has seen his best form to date in four-day cricket, with a match-winning 144 against Gloucestershire at Bristol and 159 at the Ageas against Surrey. Runs at the right time, with England places available.

Here he demonstrated the vital characteristics for international cricket, temperament and discipline, while still finding time to please the eye; a straight-driven four of Graham Wagg just before lunch the pick of his eight boundaries. He also demonstrated smart batting against left-arm spinner Dean Cosker. Vince took him over mid-on, prompting the fielder to go back and Cosker to shift his line a touch wider, allowing Vince more space for his flowing blade, which sent a second boundary wide of mid-off.

But the first delivery of the second new ball saw Vince caught on the crease and lbw to Wagg for 61. It prompted a Hampshire slide, with Wagg also getting Joe Gatting to naively drive outside off stump and edge to Mark Wallace.

Vince and Liam Dawson had taken Hampshire to 196 for 2 and a position to build a match-winning first-innings lead - batting once would be preferable with the potential for more time to be lost. But a game Glamorgan attack, notably shorn of Michael Hogan who is in Australia with his wife and new-born child, persisted well and forced Dawson into an error, slashing off the back foot to a ball not short enough for the stroke and edging behind. It was a first Glamorgan wicket for Tom Helm, a loanee from Middlesex who only turned 20 five days ago and was asked to open the bowling.

Dawson went for 64 and followed Michael Carberry with a weak dismissal. Carberry's fluency of the first evening, where he helped Hampshire tick along at three-and-a-half an over, was completely absent on the second morning and he added just four runs to his overnight total. Jim Allenby is a dangerous bowler to drive off anything but a very full length; Carberry leaned out to play through the covers and sliced a catch to backward point.

Allenby later had Matt Coles dismissed fourth ball in exactly the same fashion and, in between, forced Sean Ervine to play on for another middling score that demonstrated how Hampshire had coughed up the chance to take a stranglehold on the match.


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Super Kings sign David Hussey as replacement

Australian batsman David Hussey will replace Dwayne Bravo in Chennai Super Kings' squad for the rest of the 2014 IPL season. Super Kings announced it on their official Twitter account. They also retweeted Hussey saying, "Just recd some amazing news!!!!! Can't wait until tomorrow.... Get in there!!!!"

The 36-year-old Hussey, who has played 69 ODIs and 39 T20s for Australia, has plenty of IPL experience, having featured in 23 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders and 36 matches for Kings XI Punjab in previous seasons. In all, he has scored 1206 runs at an average of 25.65 and a strike rate of 122.93, with four half-centuries.

Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, was ruled out of the tournament after injuring his shoulder while fielding against Kings XI Punjab during Super Kings' first match in 2014.


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Rejigged tour can help Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka may have their best chance of winning a Test series in England for many years. A schedule more sympathetic to their needs, an opposition in transitional mode and confidence gained from success in Bangladesh has given Sri Lanka an optimism not always shared by some of their predecessors.

The English leg of their tour begins on Tuesday. Sri Lanka will take on an Essex side including Alastair Cook in a 50-over game in Chelmsford, with further warm-up matches scheduled against Kent and Sussex ahead of the international fixtures which start in a week.

But while Sri Lanka's record in England is not encouraging - they have not won a Test in England since 2006 and have never won a series of more than one match in the country - circumstances are a bit different this time. On both their 2006 and 2011 tours Sri Lanka played the Test section of the tour ahead of the limited-overs section.

This time, however, they will have had a far greater chance to acclimatise to conditions. They will have been in Ireland or England for more than a month before the first Test and will have the opportunity to play their stronger suit - the limited-overs games - ahead of the Test series.

They also find an opposition lacking some of the pillars of its success in recent years - the likes of Andy Flower, Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott - and having just enjoyed a memorable double-success in Bangladesh, where they followed victory in the Asia Cup by winning the World T20.

"We have started training a bit earlier than usual because we know the English conditions are not going to be easy for us," Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, said on Monday. "If we can adapt ourselves as soon as possible, I am pretty sure the team will come good. The conditions and the weather are the main challenge we face.

"We are not trying to be complacent against an England team having made all of those decisions. Yes, they might be missing star players like Kevin Pietersen, but they still have enough potential to beat any team on any day, especially playing under English conditions. They will be very hard to beat.

"You know what happened in Bangladesh: they beat us quite easily in the sub-continent conditions, so you cannot be complacent and just have to go hard at them."

"The confidence levels are very high," the coach, Marvan Atapattu agreed. "This team comes with confidence and success."

Certainly if the batsmen play as straight as the tour management did when deflecting questions about Paul Farbrace's departure, they should fare well. Mathews did not believe the suggestion that Farbrace, who resigned the Sri Lankan coaching role to take the assistant coach's job with England just weeks before the tour, had any team secrets to impart and dismissed the idea that any of his squad resented the decision.

"We respect his decision," Mathews said. "He is a good coach and was part of our success. He was with us for a short period of time, not a very long period of time, but in those few months, he was pretty good. Everyone has his own choices. He has made his choice and we wish him all the very best.

"When it comes to an international cricket team, there are no secrets. You have so many videos of all the players, of the support staff as well. We had guys like Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga come into the team, but you cannot really hide them from playing international cricket.

"Everyone knows a little bit about the opposition, so I don't really think he has all the inside information."

But Sri Lanka hope that the appointment of Chris Adams, the former Surrey coach, might provide an insight into England's players and tactics. Adams joined up with the team on Monday and will spend the rest of the tour with them. Kumar Sangakkara will also join up with the squad on Wednesday or Thursday, having completed his short stint with Durham.

"Chris Adams is to give me the information I need to know, about venues and players, during this tour," Atapattu explained. "We will try to pick his brains to improve our game and lend our support to the players. Yes, we will try to get inside information from him."

Sri Lanka's record in English conditions probably still leaves them as underdogs going into the Test series. But Peter Moores and Co face a far from straightforward test at the start of England's new era.


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Craig, Davidson added to Australia umpires panel

Shawn Craig, the former Victoria batsman, has been promoted to Australia's National Umpire Panel and will officiate in state matches during the 2014-15 season. Craig and former New South Wales grade cricketer Greg Davidson are the two new additions to the 12-man group, replacing Tony Ward and Ian Lock from last summer's panel.

The panel provides the umpires for all domestic cricket played in Australia and does not include those Australians on the ICC's Elite Panel of Umpires - Steve Davis, Bruce Oxenford, Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker. Cricket Australia's senior manager of cricket operations, Sean Cary, said Craig and Davidson had earned their places on the panel through strong performances.

"Both Shawn and Greg have extensive involvement in cricket and long playing careers before progressing to umpiring," Cary said. "Their promotion is a reward for hard work and the critical role our state associations play in developing high-quality officials.

"Australia has a proud history of producing quality umpires who have gone on to international honours after coming through our state and development pathways. We believe there is significant potential in this group to continue that."

Craig, 40, played 20 first-class matches for Victoria from 1996 to 2001 and was a first-grade cricketer for St Kilda until 2006-07. Davidson, 43, played 21 seasons for Parramatta in Sydney's grade competition, before retiring after the 2007-08 season.

2014-15 National Umpire Panel Gerard Abood, Ashley Barrow, Shawn Craig, Greg Davidson, Simon Fry, Mike Graham-Smith, Geoff Joshua, Mick Martell, Damien Mealey, Sam Nogajski, John Ward, Paul Wilson.


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Kayes double ton puts South Zone on top

South Zone's Imrul Kayes lit up a dull day in Mirpur with his maiden double-hundred in first-class cricket. His 204 pushed North Zone virtually out of the contest on the third day of the BCL final.

South's lead has now swelled to 446 runs, and they are in position to dictate terms, with seven wickets and two days remaining. They batted out the entire third day, making 410-3 with Imrul's double and Mithun Ali's eighth first-class hundred.

Early morning rain delayed the start of play by 45 minutes, but it hardly deterred the South Zone openers. Anamul Haque fell after adding 57 for the first wicket, followed by an 80-run second wicket stand between Imrul and Soumya Sarkar, who made 41. The latter was needlessly run out in the 38th over, after Imrul called for a single and Soumya hesitated before he was caught well short of the crease at the striker's end.

Imrul batted with less patience than Mithun, who hardly put a foot wrong. The pair had to constantly tackle the in-form Taijul Islam and Sanjamul Islam, both left-arm spinners bowling in tandem in the afternoon session. Imrul smashed nine sixes and 20 fours in his stay at the crease, lasting one minute short of six hours, while Mithun struck 13 fours and five sixes in his unbeaten 111.

The 254-run stand between Imrul and Mithun hardly had a glitch, except for Imrul popping half-chances close to short-leg, cover and long-on. The last of those didn't make North Zone captain Nasir Hossain happy and he expressed himself quite loudly, with Imrul batting in the 190s at that point.

Soon, Mithun reached his hundred with a cover-driven four and Imrul tucked the ball around the corner to reach his first double-hundred. His previous best score was 138. Imrul said he always had a dream to reach the milestone, and that his team's dominance on the third day had taken them to a great position.

"I am feeling really good," Imrul told the media. "I had a target to score a double century for a while now. Actually, not being able to score a double-century in the current scenario, being a top order batsman, one isn't able to get that acceptance so this was required. When another batsman scores a double hundred, it feels bad. I tell myself, 'why can't I do it?'

"The match is completely in our hands. If we can bat for two sessions tomorrow we will give them the bat. We know that if we draw we will win the game."

Imrul's dominance of Taijul looked risky at times, but he was always in control with his shots along the ground, even when he struck them straight to mid-on or mid-off. He struck five of his nine sixes off this left-arm spinner, never letting him settle for too long. He struck two sixes off Sanjamul and one each off Subashis Roy and Nasir Hossain.

He explained that since the left-arm spinner was bowling with some flight, he took it upon himself to use his feet. "Actually I played to the situation," Imrul said. "If he gave me flight, any batsman will automatically go down the wicket.

"Taijul has been bowling well in the last year. There are many quality left-arm spinners so in four-day cricket if we get in an attacking mode and play him normally, we can easily negotiate him. First I saw that if a batsman stretches out to play him on the front foot it will be very dangerous for him. If you use your feet against him, it will be easier."

Taijul ended with figures of 1 for 109 off 27 overs while Farhad Reza took the wicket of Imrul late in the day, when the batsman hooked the ball straight to deep fine-leg.


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'Started pondering Test future after NZ series' - Sammy

Darren Sammy, the West Indies all-rounder who announced his retirement from Test cricket yesterday, has said his decision wasn't a fallout of his being replaced as captain by wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin.

Sammy, whose decision to call time on his Test career came hours after he was axed as captain, said he had been thinking about it for a long time. "After the New Zealand series [which West Indies lost 2-0] I sat down with the team management and the selectors and then told myself that we cannot continue like this. Probably my career is on the line. I was very serious about it," Sammy told ESPNcricinfo.

"It was a difficult decision. If you have been playing cricket as a kid, all you have been dreaming of is to represent your team in Test cricket and I have been fortunate enough to do it. But I thought it was the right time for me to move on. I feel it's time the West Indies Test team continues to move in a new direction, under a new leader."

Extending his support to Ramdin, who led Trinidad and Tobago into the semifinals of the regional four-day championship, Sammy had a word of advice for him as well. "Denesh has been captaining regional teams with distinction but it (leading West Indies) is a difficult job," he said. "Leading guys who come from different cultural backgrounds and getting the best out of them. I wish him all the best as he tries to the lead West Indies Test cricket forward into a new era."

Despite marking his Test debut with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings at Old Trafford or having been heckled as perhaps the slowest-ever West Indies new-ball bowler, Sammy, the first cricketer from St Lucia to play Test cricket, will be most remembered for having led the West Indies when a player revolt marred Caribbean cricket in 2010.

"When I was asked to lead the team when it was in disarray, it was the most challenging phase for me," Sammy said. "There was no way I could not have accepted the job. To get the bunch to play as a unit, earn their respect and then lead them towards a new direction has been a memorable journey. From what I have contributed, I hope I have done my bit and it's time for somebody else to carry on."

Sammy, who has had a moderate run in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad this year, stressed that his best as a limited-overs cricketer was yet to come. "I am sure we all have a part to play to take West Indies cricket forward in whichever format we are playing in," Sammy said. "I am pretty much available in one-day and T20 cricket and hope my services will be utilised. I have my best years of cricket ahead of me and look forward to contributing to West Indies cricket. I am still fit. Probably I might not look fit but I am fit. I wish I can keep on playing my role in West Indies cricket."

Sammy thanked the West Indies cricket fraternity and his family for their support. "I respect this great game a lot and I have always given my best, whether it was in the dressing room or when I have trained," he said. "I thank all my teammates and support staff and administrators for all their support. I would also like to thank all my friends and family for standing beside me, especially my wife Cathy."


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India to tour Bangladesh after IPL

India will tour Bangladesh for a three-ODI series during the window between the IPL final on June 1 and their departure for England on June 22. The three ODIs will be played in Dhaka on June 15, 17 and 19.

ESPNcricinfo understands India will have a new captain in all likelihood, with MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli unavailable for the tour. Dhoni has planned a family vacation and the BCCI is inclined towards resting the captain for a rigorous season starting with the England tour and culminating with the 2015 World Cup.

Similarly, Kohli, who led India during the Asia Cup in March in the absence of the injured Dhoni, has also indicated to the BCCI hierarchy that he would prefer a break going into the hectic season. The other three players who have led India in the recent past are Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina. None of them were part of the Asia Cup campaign. As a result, the selectors could be forced to choose a new captain, with Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin the main contenders to lead.

India's tour to Bangladesh was in principle agreed upon between the boards at the time of FTP negotiations in February, and the dotted line was signed on the sidelines of last month's ICC executive board meeting in April.

ESPNcricinfo had learned last week that the BCB was waiting to hear from the BCCI and also waiting to confirm the six-year TV broadcaster's deal, for which they had asked for bids from April 24. The main selling point for the BCB was the two India tours to Bangladesh during this period, including the series in June. The open bid to determine the broadcaster is on May 16.


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Wright latest to send England reminder

Sussex 441 for 5 (Wright 183*, Brown 152*) v Durham
Scorecard

With England seeking a new start under Peter Moores it is the opportune time for players to push their name forward. Luke Wright was the latest to do so with a century against defending County Champions Durham as Sussex moved into a strong position at Hove.

Having missed the first few rounds of the season to be with his wife and new-born child in Australia, Wright endured a low-key return for Sussex last week against Lancashire but here gave a strong reminder of his ability after a lean winter with England.

Wright closed the day five short of his first-class best and in league with wicketkeeper Ben Brown, who went past his career-best score, set a new record for the sixth wicket for Sussex and for anyone against Durham. The pair added 326 to haul their side out of a sticky patch at 115 for 5 to close well on top.

At that stage, Durham's decision to insert Sussex looked a good one as they chase a first victory of the season. Chris Nash was the first man to go, edging Chris Rushworth behind for 10, and Michael Yardy then fell for just five when he was caught by Kumar Sangakkara off the bowling off Graham Onions.

Wickets continued to tumble - Ed Joyce bowled by Usman Arshad for 21 before opener Luke Wells gave wicketkeeper Phil Mustard a second victim. And when Matt Machan also edged behind, Sussex looked in some trouble.

But little did they know by the close of play Wright and Brown would have guided them to 441 with no further wickets lost.

Durham did have a chance to snare Brown relatively early but Mustard dropped his fellow wicketkeeper. His misery was then compounded the following ball when Brown stole a single, Mustard shied at the stumps and conceded four overthrows, allowing Brown to reach his 50 in 76 balls.

By that stage Wright had gone to his own half-century, also in 76 balls, and the hundred partnership was raised in the 58th over. Wright went on to notch up three figures with a four off Usman Arshad and five overs later Brown was also celebrating his century.

The pair survived the second new ball and played out the remainder of the day to complete a remarkable turnaround and leave Durham wondering how it all slipped away from them.


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South take lead after Al-Amin four

South Zone toiled hard to take the first-innings lead against North Zone on the second day of the Bangladesh Cricket League final in Mirpur. Al-Amin Hossain's four wickets were crucial, but the sluggishness of the North Zone batsmen also contributed to the position of the two teams.

North Zone were bowled out for 235 runs in 97.5 overs, being set behind by 36 runs. According to the points system, South Zone have already collected five points, one ahead of their opponents.

Resuming the day on 15 for no loss, Junaid Siddique fell in the 11th over of the morning when he edged Al-Amin after making 25. The second-wicket stand between Maisuqur and Farhad Hossain put North Zone back in the game, as they took up more than 35 overs to add the 60 runs.

On a flat batting track, this approach, however, was ill-advised as Farhad and Maisuqur let go of several scoring opportunities as they looked to stretch the innings. The breakthrough eventually came just before lunch when Farhad was caught behind off Shuvagata Hom for 32.

Naeem Islam was quickly sent packing by Al-Amin who produced a snorter to make the batsman fend to gully, giving substitute Salman Hossain an easy catch. Maisuqur was also undone by a short-of-a-length delivery by the same bowler, falling for a painstaking 42 made in just over four hours.

Thereafter, captain Nasir Hossain held on to one end, making 69 off 110 balls with nine fours and a six. Towards the end Taijul made 29 off 24 balls but it could not quite earn North Zone a lead.

Apart from Al-Amin's four, Sohag Gazi, Abdur Razzak and Shuvagata took two wickets each.


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Shivam Sharma grabs his ticket out of obscurity

Last July during his first major coaching assignment, Sanjay Bangar, the Kings XI Punjab head coach, and three other experts spent three weeks with 20 talented youngsters at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. It was a camp for those who had impressed in the previous season's domestic Under-19 competition but were no more eligible to compete at the junior level.

Shivam Sharma, the little-known allrounder who made his debut for Kings XI on Friday, was one of them. Shivam had a superb junior record in that season, with a batting average of 82 and bowling average of 20, besides captaining Delhi Under-19.

Most of the other players from that camp in Bangalore went on to play in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy. But thanks to a chaotic selection policy in Delhi cricket, Shivam wasn't even picked in the Ranji probables or in the Delhi Under-25 side.

While Shivam was disheartened due to the lack of recognition, Bangar had marked him as one for the future. As a result, despite Shivam having only played Delhi club cricket all through the previous season, Bangar called him for a Kings XI selection trial in Chandigarh.

"That camp has been a turning point in his cricketing journey so far," Naresh Jain, Shivam 's coach, told ESPNcricinfo a day after Shivam marked his IPL debut with the prize scalps of Yuvraj Singh and Albie Morkel. "Having been sidelined from the bigger assignments for no fault of his, Shivam was very disappointed, but the Kings XI selection trials gave him the much-needed confidence that he was as good as anyone else of his age."

Hailing from a lower middle-class family in Delhi, Shivam has been training in the Vidya Jain Cricket Academy in the north-western suburb of Rohini. Jain was coach of Shivam's school and has been mentoring him since then. Jain stresses that Shivam is "a genuine allrounder". "You cannot conclude whether he is a better batsman or a bowler. He is special," Jain said. "He has a great ability to read the game and is a natural leader."

After Shivam was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs 10 lakh, Jain was constantly reminding his favourite ward to be patient. "Not that he needed to be told but we were just discussing that he needed to wait for the first opportunity to showcase his talent."

When the opportunity came, it was against one of the most destructive batting line-up, the Royal Challengers Bangalore. That too at one of the smallest grounds in India, which is not known to assist spin. But Shivam first foxed Yuvraj with a classical offspinner's dismissal - forcing a left-hander to edge one that goes away from him straight into slips - and then enticed Morkel into a false stroke to finish with notable figures of 4-0-26-2.

"You have seen how clean his action is and how skilful he can be with the ball. I am sure he will show his prowess with the bat in the coming days. Let's hope he gets an opportunity to show his worth."


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Bell must shape new England

Ian Bell's fifty against Scotland, and the match as a whole, will not linger long in the memory but calmness and maturity were just what England needed

Ian Bell's breakthrough innings did not come against South Africa. It did not come against Australia. It did not even come against Sussex. It came against Shropshire.

It was May 2004. Bell was 22 years old and, though his talent was undoubted, his lack of progress was beginning to frustrate the management at Edgbaston. John Inverarity, at the time the Warwickshire director of cricket, even considered dropping Bell from a strong battling unit that was struggling to find room for the abundance of talent the club possessed at the time. "It's all very well having talent," Inverarity said in exasperation at the time, "at some stage you have to shape games."

As it was, the team that contested that second round game of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy did not contain either Michael Powell or Jim Troughton and Bell was given another chance to prove himself.

He responded with a Man-of-the-Match winning performance. On a damp, two-paced wicket which reduced every other batsman to ugly swipes and ineffective heaves - Nick Knight, at the time arguably the most successful ODI batsman England had ever had, battled his way to an unbeaten 22 from 57 balls - Bell timed the ball with a grace granted to very few and made an elegant, unbeaten 58 from 37 balls. While he caressed 12 boundaries, his team-mates contributed just six between them. He looked a class apart.

With confidence - and position - restored, he went on to score an unbeaten 262 against a strong Sussex attack a couple of weeks later. It was an innings that gained the attention of the selectors and the media and, by the end of the summer, Bell was playing Test cricket. Sometimes, what seems trivial at the time can have far grander consequences.

There were echoes of that innings against Shropshire in Bell's half-century against Scotland. While the bowling was not especially demanding, the pitch conditions were. No-one else in the match made a half-century; no-one else timed the ball as sweetly. This was a situation that had all the ingredients for an upset - the shortened match, the damp pitch and sodden outfield, the tension of a team beaten more often than a snare drum finding their way under a new coach - but thanks to Bell's class and calm head, the accident was averted.

It says much for Bell's limited-overs career that he became, during his innings in Aberdeen, the second highest run-scorer in England's ODI history but that for most of that career, his place in the limited-overs teams has been questioned. Perhaps because of the apparent ease with which the runs have flowed, more is often expected of him. But since his return to the ODI side in the summer of 2012 his record - 1,451 runs at an average of 46.80 - is excellent.

We should not have been surprised by Bell's contribution in Aberdeen. The days when he might be considered a luxury player - pretty but inconsequential - are long gone. If he had not proved his backbone with defiant contributions in South Africa, he surely did so with his Man-of-the-Series winning efforts in the Ashes of 2013.

Bell would be the first to admit that his reputation was forged, in part, on the back of some pretty runs on flat tracks. As he put it following his Championship century against Sussex a few weeks ago: "In my early days, maybe I scored a lot of nice runs that looked good on the eye but really didn't change the course of the game. But in the last two, three or four years, I've started to score those [important] runs a lot more often. The way last summer went against Australia really gave me a lot of confidence - I came in at 20 for 3 a lot."

Now with most of the senior figures of the England dressing room gone - Andy Flower, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen - Bell will assume more responsibility. He will be expected to lead, on and off the pitch. He will be the man England turn to in trouble; the man who will shape games.

He is batting better than ever. It is not that he is timing the ball anymore sweetly or has discovered a new range of strokes; he had most of them anyway. And it is not that he is any more likely to make ugly runs; he is hardly capable of an ugly stroke. It is that he has fully embraced his role and responsibilities. He is prepared to graft and wait and work and fight.

It was a message he reiterated following Friday's victory in Aberdeen. Asked about the upheaval in the England camp over recent months, Bell responded with comments that showed much of the talk of coaches and team environment to be, to him at least, largely irrelevant.

"The players have to stand up and score runs and take wickets no matter who's coaching," Bell said. "That's the important thing.

"Giving responsibility to the players is going to be important. It's about the players standing up and winning games for England.

"In any sport the management can only do so much. They can get you ready but they can't do anything once you've crossed the line and responsibility comes down to the players. It's a big challenge for the senior players now helping the young guys come through and getting this team gelled. We saw with Australia how quickly a team can turn things around and we've got to believe we can do it, too."

It was the talk of a man who will not hide behind excuses, who will not hide behind potential and hope in the future. It was the talk of a man who knows that his own future and that of the England team is now entwined. If England are to prosper, Bell will have to shape a lot more game over the next few years. And he is revelling in the responsibility. Aged 32 and with a fine career behind him, it may well be that the best is yet to come.


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Mumbai's home streak ended at 10

Chennai Super Kings 160 for 6 (Smith 57, Malinga 2-15) beat Mumbai Indians 157 for 6 (Rayudu 59, Ashwin 3-30) by four wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Hattangadi: Pollard and Anderson not utilised well

It's a tight Saturday prime-time IPL match involving the two highest profile franchises in the tournament. Guess who delivers when it's a big game? MS Dhoni is perhaps the best finisher in the limited-overs game, and when Chennai Super Kings needed a big hit in the final over, he duly obliged, as he has so many times in the past. It came down to 11 off the last over, and Dhoni responded by calmly whacking a six over deep midwicket before wrapping up the victory with three balls to spare.

The last time Mumbai Indians lost an IPL game at the Wankhede Stadium was back in 2012, so long ago that their openers were Sachin Tendulkar and Herschelle Gibbs. The 10-game winning streak at home was built on muscular batting and depth in the bowling, neither of which were in evidence today.

After the peerless Lasith Malinga had produced another superb Twenty20 burst to drag them back into the game, Mumbai had to turn to Kieron Pollard for the final over. #BreachTheFortress Super Kings had been tweeteing all day, and when the fortress had to be defended from Dhoni in the final over by amiable medium-pace, there was only going to be one winner.

Mumbai didn't help their cause by again keeping their biggest guns in the holster too long - Rohit Sharma came in towards the end of the 12th over, Kieron Pollard got a look-in only in the 18th, and Corey Anderson even later. When Rohit walked in, the run-rate was still hovering around six. The inclusion of Lendl Simmons worked better than the ill-fated experiment with Ben Dunk, but they will still expect quicker innings than a run-a-ball 38 from their specialist overseas batsman.

On a surface where Super Kings brought in an extra spinner in Samuel Badree, and on which R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja got plenty of assistance, Mumbai's spin department featured only Harbhajan Singh. Though chances of qualification for the play-offs are becoming remote, there were a couple of heartening things for Mumbai fans - Praveen Kumar showed he can be venomous with the new ball, and Ambati Rayudu shrugged off a run of lean scores with a half-century that anchored the innings.

Super Kings looked to be in control for much of the chase, helped along by a stop-start Dwayne Smith half-century, though they were rocked by a couple of woeful umpiring decisions. Brendon McCullum was sent on his way though the ball was clearly headed down the leg side, and the third umpire decided Suresh Raina was stumped though the replays suggested otherwise. They were also helped by the umpiring in the 17th over, just as the nerves were beginning to jangle: Jadeja was dead plumb to a full slower ball from Malinga, but the umpire somehow thought the ball would miss the stumps. He wasn't misled by Jadeja waving the bat as if to suggest he hit the ball, and the call of leg-byes only made the decision even more inexplicable.

Before the late drama, perhaps the highlight of the match was the astonishing range of boundary catches and drops - Mithun Manhas put down a sitter at long-on, Harbhajan Singh misjudged the line and could only get one hand on a midwicket six at a crucial juncture of the chase, Samuel Badree judged the ball perfectly at third man but could only push the ball over for six early on, Jadeja caught the ball at deep midwicket but failed to let the ball go before crossing the line, Simmons juggled three times before pocketing the ball at long-on, Raina took a couple of difficult tumbling efforts at midwicket, and the biggest wow-moment was Faf du Plessis flying across to catch a brutal hit at long-on before releasing the ball mid-air as he headed for the rope.

While the packed house roared on all that athleticism, they had come to see a Mumbai win. They got the second best thing - seeing the biggest name in Indian cricket do what he does best.


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