Amin named Pakistan A captain

Batsman Umar Amin was named captain of the Pakistan A side for the three-day match against South Africans in Sharjah on October 8. The announcement of the national Test squad has been deferred until next week though a 28-man squad for a conditional camp has been named. The Pakistan Cricket Board, however, confirmed that Misbah-ul-Haq would remain Test captain despite their first loss to Zimbabwe in 15 years.

Misbah's captaincy came under severe criticism for Pakistan falling short in the first ODI before their loss in the second Test. In addition, Pakistan have won only one of five Tests this year - against the No. 9 ranked Zimbabwe - and are looking to remedy a 0-3 defeat in South Africa earlier this year.

Amin has not played a Test in three years after he was axed during the 2010 tour of England that was marred by a spot-fixing scandal but is widely regarded as a future captain. He was the leading run-scorer, with 767 in nine matches at 45.11 in the President's Trophy last season. He was subsequently called up to the limited over squad and has been in national contention for last eight months.

The 15-man squad comprises mainly of young batsmen - Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad while last season's top run-getter in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Akber-ur-Rehman, also found a place in the squad. With 986 runs in ten games, Rehman hit three centuries and three half-centuries, including highest score of 225. Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali who have been in the national side since 2010 have also been included in the squad, along with middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal.

Shafiq is battling a dip in form over the last year, scoring 242 runs at 24.20. Although his promotion into the Test squad looks imminent, the selectors have picked him in the A side to find some touch along with Azhar, who apart from one innings in the first Test against Zimbabwe has been found wanting with the bat.

Iqbal, 31, has played 26 Test matches since making his debut in 12 years ago and was the captain of the previous A team that toured West Indies in 2010. They drew both unofficial Test, lost T20 series and managed to secure unofficial three-match ODI series by 2-0. Though Iqbal's last appearance for Pakistan was in 2010, he has been part of the Test squad for past one year.

Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan and Taufeeq Umar are the major absentees from the probables for the preparatory camp. Gul, who suffered a knee injury earlier this year is not fit for the longer format and Irfan, also fielding questions regarding his fitness in Test match cricket, is seen as a limited-overs specialist.

Pakistan A squad: Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad , Azhar Ali, Umar Amin (capt), Faisal Iqbal, Asad Shafiq, Ehsan Adil, Ahmed Jamal, Akber-ur-Rehman, Usman Qadir, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood, Aizaz Cheema, Imran Khan, Muoammad Rizwan (wk).

Probables for camp: Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Adnan Akmal (wk), Abdur Rehman, Shan Masood, Khurram Manzoor, Ahmed Shehzad , Azhar Ali, Umar Amin (capt), Faisal Iqbal, Asad Shafiq, Ehsan Adil, Ahmed Jamal, Akber-ur-Rehman, Usman Qadir, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood, Aizaz Cheema, Imran Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah.

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Record-breaking Sibley shows Surrey the light

Surrey 572 for 4 (Sibley 220*, Amla 151, Burns 82, Solanki 51) lead Yorkshire 434 by 138 runs
Scorecard

Dominic Sibley provided a pleasant footnote to Surrey's torturous season by becoming the youngest player to score a double century in the County Championship. It was an extraordinary achievement for an 18-year-old who has to go back to school on Monday.

He batted for nine-and-a-half hours and faced 484 balls for his double hundred - concentration not often associated with the current generation of young players weaned on one-day cricket. Of Englishmen, only WG Grace has achieved the feat at a younger age in first-class cricket.

Supporters at The Oval have been demoralised this season by an unsuccessful side, the makeup of which has not reflected well on such a famous and wealthy county, but here they could rejoice in a fine young player who has been developed by the club's academy.

Sibley is the latest in a string of home-grown players to appear for Surrey. Their challenge is to ensure they are selected regularly and can develop into established first XI players at the club. Addressing the leakage of talent from The Oval should be high on the agenda of the new head coach.

Whoever is appointed will have a very talented young batsman to work with in Sibley, who will surely sign professional terms soon, having only been on a summer contract this season. When he was 15, he made a double-century for his club, Ashtead, and appeared for Surrey 2nd XI, pushed forward by Surrey academy director Gareth Townsend. Last winter he played for England Under-19s in South Africa and scored a century in the second Youth Test.

Sibley should have returned to Whitgift School to begin his final year studying Geography, English and PE but was given time off to play the final three fixtures of the season. How he would have cursed missing an innings on a wicket this flat.

A-levels will be no trouble for Sibley if he can knuckle down for his exams as he did batting in the morning session. During the first hour he patted back six maidens and found the "Yorkshire Wall" of six men catching in front of the bat impossible to impregnate - inspiration or desperation, it was certainly innovative from Andrew Gale.

After 70 minutes Sibley was finally able to play a shot in anger as Ryan Sidebottom took the second new ball and Sibley punched him off the back foot for three through cover. Fifteen minutes later his second aggressive stroke came with a cover drive off Jack Brooks. In total he needed 98 deliveries to take his overnight 81 to three figures, which arrived via a swept four off Adil Rashid.

"It was more relief this morning to get to a hundred," Sibley said. "I didn't get much of a chance to score, they bowled well at me and when I did get there I was quite emotional.

"I try to keep a familiarity with the way I bat; I always take my guard before each delivery. I keep everything the same and that keeps my tempo going.

"I felt good at Somerset and I was disappointed that I didn't get a big score but I'm pleased that I've got a big one before the end of the season. Doing it here at The Oval is great. I had my parents here and my dad came back from Singapore last night."

He loosened up in the afternoon and enjoyed his time with Hashim Amla, having told his mum he wanted to bat with Amla before he returned to South Africa. The pair added the highest third-wicket partnership for Surrey against Yorkshire which helped Surrey make their highest total against Yorkshire in a first-class match.

It was too easy for Amla. It was too easy for Vikram Solanki who made 51 in 54 balls. And it may never be easier for Sibley. However, his epic nearly didn't happen. He was dropped on just 8 on the second day and should have been held on 159 by Jonny Bairstow: a very simple chance from a thin edge. It was a bad lapse in concentration by the reserve wicketkeeper in England's Ashes squad.

Bairstow did not have a great birthday as he also suffered a nervous moment when he slipped near the pavilion boundary having chased a lost cause to fine leg. He fell awkwardly and Jason Gillespie came tearing down from the dressing room with a worried brow but after a few overs of gingerly movement, Bairstow could go back to worrying about his wicketkeeping.

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Westfield breaks spot-fixing silence

Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex cricketer, has spoken publically for the first time about the chain of events which led to him receive a prison sentence for spot-fixing as part of an anti-corruption campaign headed by the Professional Cricketers' Association.

Westfield describes in the PCA video how he was lured into spot-fixing by the former Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria. Kaneria was banned for life for his part in the affair in June 2012 and lost his appeal against the ban in an ECB hearing in July this year.

Kaneria's lawyers have since filed an appeal in the UK in the Commercial Court, with Kaneria stating that he wants his story to be heard by all. The Commercial Court deals with complex cases arising out of business disputes, both national and international.

Westfield tells in the PCA video how his four-month sentence in Belmarsh prison coincided with the discovery that his father had cancer and how he was shaken by the knowledge that he had let down his parents and that he was no longer a good role model for his two younger brothers.

"I first met Danish at the age of 18 in the second year of my professional contract," Westfield tells. "He was a very bubbly person. Everyone liked him in the dressing room. He was a role model for most of the people in our team.

"Basically I was at his house and he asked if he could speak to me outside… that's when he started first talking about it. He said it's hard for a young person to get money nowadays in cricket and that's how the conversation started.

"He suggested to me that a few people in the game were doing it as well. I felt confused because I didn't really understand where he was coming from or what he was talking about. Him and his friends kept on asking and asking and I felt pressured into it and I sort of had to do it. I just felt so confused what was going."

Westfield was asked to concede a pre-planned number of runs in a televised 40-over tie against Durham in Chester-le-Street in September 2009. He inadvertently failed to concede the number of runs agreed but after Essex returned home in the early hours of the morning he was paid anyway. He reveals for the first time that he resisted suggestions that he should repeat the sting against Somerset five days later.

"When I bowled my first over, I didn't even check the scoreboard to see if I went for 12 or more," he said. "All the emotions going through my head, I was just confused about what was going on.

"Because Danish lived next to me he always gave me a lift home. It was late, it was three o'clock in the morning or something like that. He had two friends in the car as well and they had a black bag and they gave it to me with money.

"The next couple of days we went up to Somerset and they tried to get me to do that game as well but I said no definitely not this time. I was worried obviously if someone finds out a what's going to happen to me and I love cricket and... I didn't want to lose my career and obviously that Durham game has cost me my career."

He also relates how he was summoned back to Essex's HQ at Chelmsford after a training session by the coach, Paul Grayson. Essex - in a meeting with Grayson, the chief executive David East and captain James Foster - initially told him that they intended to deal with the affair in house. The affair only became public knowledge six months later.

Westfield was banned from professional cricket for five years, and club cricket for three years. In recognition of his willingness to help the PCA with its anti-corruption education programme, an ECB appeal panel in June reduced his ban from club cricket by a year, meaning he will be able to play again next season.

He will also appear at the PCA's rookie camp, for new professionals, in February and at PCA pre-season meetings with each of the 18 first-class counties next March.

"I'm not trying to tell people to feel sorry for me… because what I've done is bad but not being able to play or coach any cricket is a massive shock for me," he said. "I just want to rebuild my life.. and try and get back on track. If I can give back to anyone - kids, older people it doesn't matter to me - as long as I can give something back."

Jason Ratcliffe, PCA assistant chief executive, said: "Mervyn recognizes that he did wrong and that the time is right to make amends within the cricket community to ensure nobody makes the same mistakes. His moving interview is the first step of the education process and should serve as a timely reminder to all, that cricket and other sports will not let up in the fight against corrupters."

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New Ryobi sets scene for World Cup

Having set his sights on turning out for Australia at the next World Cup, Brad Haddin believes the shift of the domestic limited-overs competition to a tight tournament format will enhance the national team's chances of contending when the 50-over game's major trophy is contested in 2015.

Haddin will lead New South Wales against Tasmania in the opening match at Bankstown Oval on Sunday, heralding an event played entirely in Sydney across four venues inside the space of a month. In this it reflects the intensity and rhythm of a World Cup or Champions Trophy, a marked change from the spreading of fixtures across the entire summer.

"I reckon the way they've set it out this year is outstanding," Haddin said. "It mirrors what you do with the Australian team and it gets guys used to being in a tournament and building towards a final.

"Tournament play is about getting better as you go along and I reckon this is a great way for state cricket to start in a tournament like this. I like that it's all compressed into a tournament so from that point of view it's good and we obviously should have a home advantage if it's played in Sydney."

New South Wales have been rejuvenated by a series of off-field changes since the start of 2013, starting with the elevation of the new chairman John Warn and then a fresh chief executive in Andrew Jones. Trevor Bayliss has returned as the coach, while Haddin has happily accepted captaincy duties whenever Australia commitments allow him.

"Leaving for the Ashes it wasn't a great place to be around," Haddin said. "But coming back with the work Andrew Jones and John Warn have done with NSW Cricket it's just been a fresh start. So it was refreshing to walk back in after the Ashes campaign and see the headspace everyone was at. The office is now buzzing, we've got everything sorted, so it's up to us to continue the momentum they've started upstairs and play some good cricket."

They will be helped in this pursuit by the limited-overs tournament being staged exclusively in Sydney, granting a major advantage to Australia's most populous cricket state. Haddin admitted his competitors had a right to raise eyebrows at the loss of home ground comforts for the duration of the event.

"I would ask some questions definitely [if from another state]," he said. "The one thing about playing for your state is you like to have the home ground advantage and make teams coming to your area as uncomfortable as you possible can. So a bit of luck the Sydney crowds will get out and make every team as uncomfortable as possible."

Among the anointed venues is the picturesque but small North Sydney Oval, a former favourite with limited-overs schedulers but now notable for how its small boundaries can be exploited by the spring-loaded bats of 2013. Last summer Victoria were set a distant 351 to win by the Blues, but David Hussey and Aaron Finch ran them down with 20 balls to spare.

"We're still looking for some balls Aaron Finch hit out there last year," Haddin quipped. "It's good for the crowd. North Sydney Oval traditionally was always a great place to start the tournament, we always used to play the first one day game of the year there, so it was a great event.

"It's a great ground to play at, as is out here [the SCG], but it is an interesting ground to play at now especially with the size of the bats. We won't hide from the fact we'd like to play at the SCG, but I like the way the tournament's set up, and these are the grounds we've chosen."

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Key keeps Kent in touch

Lancashire 284 (Prince 134) and 75 for 0 lead Kent 260 (Key 134, Harmison 59, Parry 3-51) by 99 runs
Scorecard

Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent at Canterbury. Lancashire reached the mid-point of the clash on 75 without loss in their second innings - an overall lead of 99.

Having dismissed Kent for 260 to claim a narrow first-innings advantage of 24, Red Rose openers Paul Horton and Luis Reece survived 21 overs through to stumps to dent Kent's hopes of notching a first home Championship win of the season.

Having started the day brightly by taking Lancashire's final two wickets for the addition of just 15 runs - Ashwell Prince failing to add to his overnight 134 - Kent's first-innings batting was again found wanting until their former captain Rob Key dug in for his fifth Championship century of the campaign.

Responding to Lancashire's 284, Kent suffered a miserable start and at 7 for 3 the follow-on looked a real possibility until Key saved face with a 118-ball century.

The hosts lost opener Sam Northeast for a duck after only 13 deliveries when the right-hander clipped firmly into the hands of midwicket against Kyle Jarvis. Eight balls later and with only a single to his name, Daniel Bell-Drummond then allowed one from Oliver Newby to squeeze through bat and pad and pluck out off stump.

Brendan Nash lasted three deliveries before he sparred outside off against Newby to be caught at the second attempt by Tom Smith at third slip as the procession back to the changing rooms continued.

However, Key then found a willing ally in fourth-wicket partner Ben Harmison as the pair batted on either side of lunch to add 158 in 35.1 overs - the highest partnership of the game by far. Harmison posted his fifth half-century of an improving campaign from 103 balls while Key looked comfortable throughout as he eased 10 fours and a six during his three-hour ton.

Harmison celebrated his fifty with a six off Newby but the bowler enjoyed revenge soon after by trapping the left-hander leg before for 59. The slide continued when Darren Stevens went in similar fashion to the lively Jarvis as Kent's last five wickets mustered only 41 runs.

Sam Billings was superbly caught one-handed at second slip by Andrea Agathangelou, Adam Ball also went leg-before and James Tredwell shouldered arms against Tom Smith to lose his off stump. Key then went for 134, snared by spinner Stephen Parry, who also bowled Kent's last man Matt Hunn to give Lancashire a narrow lead.

At the start of the day Kent required barely half-an-hour to polish off the Lancashire first innings. Debutant Hunn had Prince pocketed at second slip to give the rookie from Suffolk figures of 2 for 51, then Stevens bagged his 200th first-class wicket by having Parry caught in the cordon to deny Lancashire their third batting bonus point.

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Promotion seals golden year for Northants

Worcestershire 163 and 155 for 3 lead Northamptonshire 202 (Keogh 57, Richardson 5-70) by 116 runs
Scorecard

There may be a day or two left of the campaign, but Northamptonshire are already celebrating what may just be the finest season in the club's history.

Essex's failure to secure the bonus points they required to stand any chance of overhauling them means that Northants are assured of promotion to Division One of the County Championship whatever happens in the rest of their match with Worcestershire.

With the FLt20 already secured - only the fourth trophy in the history of a club that played its inaugural first-class game in 1905 - and the club assured of playing in the top division for the first time since 2004, it is easy to understand why the chief executive, David Smith, declared it "the best year we've ever had". They only missed out on a YB40 semi-final due to run rate, too.

Perhaps 1976 was better. That year Northants won the Gillette Cup and were second in the County Championship - long before the days of two divisions or a financial divide between the top and bottom sides - but, whichever way you look at it, 2013 will be remembered as a golden year in the history of a club that has generally been content to live in the shadows.

It is the contrast with last year that is so remarkable. Not only did Northants finish second from bottom of Division Two in 2012, they hardly won a match in limited-overs cricket. Across the three competitions, no side won fewer games. Spectators stayed away in their droves.

As a result, they changed their captain and their coach. David Ripley, the wicketkeeper when Northants last won a trophy in 1992, actually replaced David Capel midway through the 2012 campaign but it was only this year that he had the opportunity to instil his own values upon the side. Stephen Peters replaced Andrew Hall as captain of the first-class side and Alex Wakely became captain in the limited-overs formats, deputising in the Championship side when Peters was injured.

Hall, relieved of the burden of leadership, rediscovered his form as a player and emerged as their "standout four-day performer", in the words of Ripley. No one in the side has scored more runs than Hall's 909, while he has also taken 35 Championship wickets.

The club also recruited wisely. Steven Crook, arguably the signing of the season, was brought in from Middlesex to add pace with the ball and ballast with the bat, while Azharullah was signed from league cricket and Trent Copeland as overseas player. They have so far claimed 113 Championship wickets between them; only Lancashire have taken more bowling points than Northants in the division.

The batting was even stronger. No side in either division can match their 54 batting bonus points and, with 15 men having contributed half-centuries, there were times when a batsman as competent as Copeland, who has scored a first-class century and gone in as high as No. 7 in Australia, went in at No. 11.

But there is more to this improvement than strong batting and bowling. Northants have also instilled in their side a unity and spirit that has seen them overcome two defeats against Lancashire - the only side that beat them and the only side they admit were better than them - and the inevitable stresses and strains of a long county season. The split captaincy idea has resulted in all formats benefiting from increased energy and time for planning, and the momentum of success in all forms of the game has proved self-perpetuating.

Perhaps most pleasing is the emergence of some young players at the club - the likes of Olly Stone, Rob Newton, Rob Keogh, Ben Duckett, David Murphy and even Wakely - who could go on to form the basis of a strong team for a decade to come.

If you really want to pinpoint the change in fortunes of this club, you probably have to go back to January 2012. That was when a new chief executive, David Smith, was appointed and when the ambitions of a club that had seemed content with a supporting role were overhauled. It was Smith who sacked Capel and appointed Ripley and who had the energy and vision to see how the club could regain the relevance it once had in its local community. His job is not complete, but he has made a fine start.

Not only have Northants' on-field performances improved in the last 20 months, the club have bought the ground on which they play, improved their facilities and begun an economic development that will, in time, see their income grow by 30% or more. Only last Sunday, 13,000 people attended a Madness concert at the club, which will have earned Northants around £75,000.

Northants have come close to promotion before. In 2009 and 2011 they missed out by a single point and there were times over the first couple of days of this game when they feared history would repeat itself. Alan Richardson, hailed by Ripley as "still the best bowler in this division" produced a characteristically excellent spell of seam bowling in the morning to reduce Northants to 157 for 8 before Keogh and Murphy helped them secure a bonus point. Richardson, whose 14-over spell was a terrific effort for a 38-year-old, fully deserved his fifth five-wicket haul of the season and 23rd of his career.

In the end, though, Essex's shortcomings rendered the outcome of this game irrelevant to the promotion issue. Quite why Essex would invest in high-profile signings like Monty Panesar and Gautam Gambhir in the finals weeks of a season and then not select senior players such as David Masters, Reece Topley, Owais Shah and, though fitness was a factor, even Ravi Bopara for a game that could have earned them promotion, is anyone's guess. But the achievement means plenty to Northants.

"We're not Manchester United," Ripley said, "but to the 100 people who clapped us off the pitch and all the others following this game at home, this results mean a lot. I had plenty of doubts that we would get here so it's just a relief that we have.

"We know that it will be tough next year. But we've taken heart from the fact that Yorkshire have gone from runners-up in Division Two to runners-up in Division One in a season and the fact that we've been good in all formats and near the top of the Championship table since the first game shows we've deserved this."

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Allenby, Cooke keep contest even

Glamorgan 271 for 9 (Allenby 85, Cooke 50, Gidman 4-64) trail Gloucestershire 275 (Dent 84) by four runs
Scorecard

Honours were left even at stumps on day two of Glamorgan's Championship Division Two clash with Gloucestershire at Cardiff. Will Gidman starred for the visitors with 4 for 64, while Jim Allenby scored 85 for Glamorgan as they reached 271 for 9 in response to Gloucestershire's 275 all out.

Gloucestershire had resumed their first innings on 228 for 8 after only 82.1 overs had been possible on the first day because of bad light during the final hour.

Glamorgan had probably hoped to wrap up the visiting innings quickly but it took the bowlers almost 23 overs to claim the final two wickets during which Gloucestershire added 47 runs.

Tom Smith and Graeme McCarter rode their luck early on but stayed around to register Gloucestershire's second batting point. Slow left-armer Dean Cosker was twice lofted back over his head for fours by McCarter before Allenby trapped him leg-before .

From 263 for 9, Gloucestershire added 12 more runs before Allenby struck again when Matt Taylor was caught by Ben Wright at backward point.

Glamorgan suffered a setback in their reply as they found themselves reduced to 47 for 3. In the final over before lunch Gareth Rees edged McCarter to Chris Dent at second slip.

Glamorgan lost a second wicket in the third over after the interval as Wright was trapped leg before by Gidman. And the mini-collapse was complete when veteran Murray Goodwin, who had opened, edged Taylor the into Dent's hands at third slip.

But Chris Cooke and Allenby rescued the Welsh county from their shaky predicament, putting on 56 for the fourth wicket. Allenby played positively driving his first two deliveries from Taylor for four but he had a life when Ian Cockbain dropped him at third slip off Gidman.

Cooke also played well in completing a 64-ball half century but, shortly after, Taylor broke through his defences to leave Glamorgan 103 for four which became 130 for 4 by tea.

After the interval, David Lloyd perished when he edged to Dent at second slip off Gidman, who then had skipper Mark Wallace caught behind to leave the home side 147 for 6. But Allenby continued, completing an 68-ball fifty, before he lost Graham Wagg lbw to McCarter.

Ruaidhri Smith brought up the 200 but he lost Allenby, who edged Taylor into the hands of the busy Dent at second slip. Smith was the ninth man out before Cosker and Michael Hogan put on an unbeaten 27 for the final wicket by stumps.

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Essex bid ends in bafflement

Essex 207 (Coles 6-71) and 44 for 0 trail Hampshire 456 (Carberry 85, Wheater 122, Vince 82, Smith 5-58) by 205 runs
Scorecard

Essex's funny season produced one final baffling episode as they meekly surrendered their chance of promotion at the Ageas Bowl. Their prospects of overhauling Northamptonshire were slim but their effort betrayed the opportunity.

Far from mounting a convincing case for promotion, Essex were made to follow-on and it was evident that Hampshire were the more motivated of the two teams. Bowled out with only one batting bonus point, Essex failed to apply any pressure on Northamptonshire, easing the burden of their tricky task at New Road.

Did Essex genuinely believe they could win promotion this week? In announcing a weakened XI for this match, the club website - a medium where the view of Dr Pangloss is always aired - stated: "Although promotion is still a mathematical possibility, the likelihood is that Northamptonshire will retain their current second position." Far from eternal optimism.

Owais Shah - who has announced his retirement from first-class cricket - and Ravi Bopara - whose contract expires at the end of the season - would surely have given Essex a better chance to obtain maximum batting points, which became a requirement after Northamptonshire claimed a batting point of their own against Worcestershire.

David Masters and Reece Topley, with 99 wickets between them in the Championship this season, would also have been invaluable - particularly when James Foster chose to bowl first, hoping to extract the best out of a wicket with some grass left on it. Bowling first also denied Monty Panesar - and indeed Greg Smith who took 5 for 58 in Hampshire's innings - the chance to bowl in the last innings, although they will now do so if Essex can erase the first-innings deficit of 249. They made a solid start following-on but should have lost Gautam Gambhir, badly dropped at second slip shortly before rain arrived to curtail the day.

Essex's head coach, Paul Grayson, insisted he had a side capable of winning the game, which was true, particularly given Hampshire's poor record in the Championship this season. But a batting performance that lacked application did his comments no favours. They were bustled out by Matt Coles, whose 6 for 71 was the second five-wicket haul of his brief Hampshire loan spell.

The extra bounce he generated proved a fierce weapon; Ben Foakes gloved a lifter to first slip, Foster couldn't control a hook and was caught a deep square leg and debutant Kishen Velani failed to deal with a short ball and popped up a catch to cover on the stroke of tea.

It was the performance of a man playing for a contract and rebuilding his reputation. He was quick and at times hostile. He hit the gloves of Michael Bates hard - Bates enjoying a rare Championship match having stepped aside for Adam Wheater when he joined from Essex at the start of the season.

But further up the order, Essex were guilty of some loose strokes that were particularly irresponsible given their weakened line up. Jaik Mickleburgh played an overconfident straight drive and lost his middle stump; Gambhir flashed at a wide one to be caught behind and Smith totally lost patience with a probing James Tomlinson after lunch and pulled off the splice of the bat to mid-on.

With those three dismissals - for a combined 45 runs - Essex's chance of promotion disappeared and consigned them to a fourth consecutive year in Division Two. Is it the expected return from a season where they were bowled out for 20 in the Championship and booed off in a Twenty20 by their own fans? Or is it a disappointment from a campaign that included a trip to Friends Life t20 Finals Day and a strong run in the Yorkshire Bank 40? No county does chalk and cheese like Essex.

No county also sees so many players leave the club and progress. They can be forgiven for losing Adam Wheater - Foster and Ben Foakes are two fine wicketkeepers - but his run-a-ball 122 would surely have brought pangs of disappointment that they could not have persuaded Wheater to remain at Chelmsford as a batsman.

Indeed, Wheater's future at Hampshire could be purely as a batsman. Although Wheater makes few mistakes behind the stumps, to not utilise Bates is a badly wasted resource. It may even free Wheater up. He has failed to turn a good season into a great one, disappointing in favourable conditions. But the potential for him to develop into a top-order batsman is there, such is his range of strokes and timing shown here in zipping from his overnight 82 in the first hour of play.

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Hall's five puts Division One in sight

Northamptonshire 103 for 4 trail Worcestershire 163 (Shantry 55*, Pardoe 51, Hall 5-30) by 60 runs
Scorecard

It is remarkable how much can change in a year. Twelve months ago, Northamptonshire finished the season with fewer wins across the three competitions than any side in the land and their lowest Championship finish - eighth in Division Two - since 1978.

Now they are the FLt20 champions and about 150 runs short of promotion. They have, despite a modest budget and a far from glorious history, emerged as the most improved side in the county game and, like Durham, have proved that the cheque book is not the answer when trying to improve results.

Promotion is not yet guaranteed. They came into this game requiring five points to ensure they could not be overhauled by Essex. Now, with three bowling bonus points secure, they require a total of 250 - and the resultant two batting bonus points that will bring - to be certain of elevation. They have not played in Division One since 2004 and, before the FLt20 success, had not won a trophy since 1992.

They were not made to work too hard for their bowling points. Winning an important toss against a weak batting unit on a helpful wicket, they allowed only three men to reach double figures and only two to pass 12. David Willey, with a fine new ball spell, made the vital inroads, but Worcestershire will be disappointed at the lack of opposition they provided.

Northamptonshire were made to work harder with the bat. Though Stephen Peters and Alex Wakely both played some pleasing strokes, the former was beaten by one that nipped back and the latter by one that turned sharply to leave Northamptonshire reliant on their middle and lower order once again. Still 60 behind and 147 from a second batting point, there is plenty of work ahead for them on day two.

These are two clubs of contrasting fortunes. They are similarly financially challenged - Worcestershire actually have a larger cricket budget than Northamptonshire - yet while one club has vibrancy and ambition about it, the other seems prepared to drift into gentle irrelevance. While there is plenty of disgruntled chuntering among the Worcestershire membership, so long as tea is served on time in the Ladies Pavilion, it seems most will put up with the slide.

The continuing excellence of Alan Richardson - who with the wicket of Peters claimed his 250th first-class victim for the club in his fourth season - has masked problems at New Road for some time, but the failure of talented young players to develop as was anticipated suggests danger ahead. The likes of Alexei Kervezee, who cannot get in the first team at present, Richard Jones, who is on loan at Warwickshire, and Aneesh Kapil, who has been released, were, not so long ago, thought to be the future of the club. And while the failure of one such player might be put down to individual problems, the failure of all three suggests deeper rooted issues.

There is mixed news off the pitch, too. While the new facilities - conferencing and the like - built as part of the hotel development will provide additional revenue for the club, it is anticipated that Worcestershire will declare a financial loss of over £100,000 for the year. Bearing in mind they had the benefit of a tourist game against Australia this season and that is serious cause for concern.

Here Worcestershire batted - a ninth-wicket stand of 72 aside - with a fragility that explained their mid-table position in the Division Two table. While negating the new ball was tricky on a misty morning - Willey, nipping the ball around sharply, claimed two wickets in the opening over - it speaks volumes that three batsmen - Thilan Samaraweera, Tom Fell and Shaaiq Choudhry - were bowled leaving straight deliveries. While Daryl Mitchell could console himself in the knowledge he received a beauty, Ross Whiteley simply missed a straight one and Ben Cox was punished for playing slightly across the line.

The chief beneficiary of the weak batting was Andrew Hall, who claimed the 17th five-wicket haul of his career and passed 600 career victims on the way. His pace may be reduced but, he hits the seam, gains some movement and maintains a tight line and length. He will rarely have taken a softer five-wicket haul, though.

It could have been much worse for Worcestershire. From 76 for 7, they recovered somewhat through the efforts of Matt Pardoe and Jack Shantry. With Pardoe, an old-school obdurate opener, making one end safe, Shantry chanced his arm at the other and breezed to a 62-ball half-century with seven fours and one straight six against the offspin of James Middlebrook. It was not all text book, but the pair demonstrated admirable application, nous and fight.

Eventually Pardoe dragged his back foot and was stumped - a fine piece of work by the deeply impressive David Murphy - and the tailenders were blown away, leaving Shantry with a career-best effort with the bat.

There are some clouds on Northamptonshire's horizon, however. It appears they are unable to gain work permits for either Trent Copeland, the Australian seamer who made such an impact this season, or Cameron White, who was so influential in the T20 success. Neither will return in 2014.

It remains to be seen whether David Sales will be back. His dismissal here, slicing to point, leaves him 98 runs short of the 1,000 Championship run landmark that would automatically invoke a clause in his contract ensuring he will be offered a new deal. The smart money suggests he will be back whether he reaches the landmark or not and, for the first time in a decade, playing in Division One.

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Hogan reaches 100 wickets for the season

Gloucestershire 228 for 8 (Dent 84) v Glamorgan
Scorecard

Michael Hogan claimed his 100th wicket of the season as Glamorgan restricted Gloucestershire on the opening day of their LV= County Championship match at Cardiff.

It was Glamorgan's first game since they went down to Nottinghamshire in last Saturday's Yorkshire Bank 40 final at Lord's.

After Glamorgan won the toss and put Gloucestershire in to bat in helpful bowling conditions, Hogan struck at the start of the seventh over to reach the landmark by bowling opener Gareth Roderick.

Hogan now has 64 wickets in the Championship, 28 in the Yorkshire Bank 40 and eight in the Friends Life t20.

But from 12 for 1 Gloucestershire recovered either side of lunch with Chris Dent reaching his half-century from 77 balls shortly before the interval.

By lunch the visitors looked quite well set but in the afternoon they struggled, going from 90 for 1 to 176 for 6.

With the total on 90 Allenby bowled Alex Gidman and Dent, who had looked well set for a century edged slow left armer Dean Cosker into the Australian's hands at slip.

Cosker struck again next ball to have Iain Cockbain also caught at slip by Allenby from a turning delivery.

With the total on 156 Gloucestershire lost Hamish Marshall, who is 10 short of reaching 1,000 runs for the season, as he edged Wagg behind. In the penultimate over before tea Cameron Herring was trapped lbw by Hogan. Ruaidhri Smith struck twice bowling Benny Howell and then had Gidman caught behind.

Glamorgan took the second new ball, but with the cloud cover having increased, the light deteriorated and forced the players off with 13.5 overs left of the day.

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