Carberry clanger highlights England muddle

A crucial dropped catch by Michael Carberry was just one example of England expecting things from players that they do not do a county level

It should never be a surprise when Michael Carberry drops a catch. For all his worth as a batsman and for all his fitness, he has never been a reliable catcher.

His drop of Thisara Perera when the batsman had scored 20 at The Oval defined this game and the muddled thinking that currently pervades in the selection of the England team.

It was a simple chance. It was simple like the chance Carberry missed at backward point in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide when Brad Haddin had 5 and went on to score 118; an innings that hammered a nail into England's Ashes coffin. This time Thisara helped Sri Lanka thrash 37 runs off the final 15 balls of the innings of which his share was 28 in 10. It changed the game.

It cannot be put down to 'one of those things.' It happens too often for that. While not exactly the norm - Carberry has taken some good catches in his career - it is not accurate to describe it as an aberration. He dropped chances on his ODI debut in Dublin and was untidy in the ODI series against Australia that followed. He has a reputation at county level for being far from a safe pair of hands.

Equally, England cannot be surprised that Ian Bell looked rusty as a T20 player: he had not played a T20 match of any sort since England last selected him in this format in January 2011. His class as a batsman is beyond doubt and he surely can develop in this role but to expect him to do it against the world champions is asking a great deal. And England only have three T20s in the rest of the year. If they really see Bell as part of their next World T20 squad, they will have to release him from other England duties to play some T20 cricket for Warwickshire.

Nor can they be surprised that Jos Buttler, for all the potential he oozes as a batsman, continues to make mistakes with the gloves. He was not first choice wicketkeeper at his county last season and, only a few weeks ago, was rested from the first game of the county season by the England management when offered a new opportunity to take the gloves full time with Lancashire. Here he missed a tough stumping chance offered by Kithuruwan Vithanage on 30 off Ravi Bopara.

And they cannot be surprised that Chris Jordan is struggling as a death bowler. He has never successfully mastered the art at county level and Sussex, his county, signed Yasir Arafat as an overseas player for their T20 campaign so that he would not be exposed in that role. Yet here was Jordan, bowling the penultimate over of the Sri Lanka innings and conceding 22 runs.

Even Alex Hales, who became the joint quickest man to 1,000 T20 international runs and top-scored in the match, might progress faster if county and country could agree on his role. Hales, who like Kevin Pietersen reached the landmark in 32 innings, has the ability to prosper in all formats of the game but, after a poor first-class season in 2013, is currently unable to command a place in the Nottinghamshire Championship side.

	It is the selection of Carberry that is most perplexing. While his T20 record is decent, it seems odd to select a 33-year-old at the start of the two-year cycle between World T20 tournaments

While that is understandable, if the county game is largely about preparing players for England, then Hales should surely be playing in front of a 35-year-old former Australia international, Phil Jaques, with a view to him learning the skills that could, in time, help England win World Cup and Ashes series. And the fact that it is an England selector, the Notts director of cricket, Mick Newell, who leaves him out just underlines the muddled thinking that continues to hold England back. The England selectors seem intent on asking their players to perform roles which they do not perform for their counties.

But it is the selection of Carberry that is most perplexing. While his T20 record is decent - though not as good as James Taylor's, who is almost a decade younger - it seems odd to select a 33-year-old at the start of the two-year cycle between World T20 tournaments.

The main reason for bewilderment at the selection of Carberry is not his age or the concern over his fielding. It is the rampant hypocrisy it represents. For while Pietersen was dropped from the team in 2012 for exchanging private correspondence with members of the opposition, Carberry has been recalled having publically lambasted the coach (at the time) of the limited-overs squads in a national newspaper.

And while Pietersen was told he would not be selected again because the England team needed "the full support of all players" with "everyone pulling in the same direction", Carberry was recalled despite criticising Ashley Giles in an interview in which he suggested he had been omitted from the England team for non-cricket reasons and giving a highly disputed version of events on the Ashes tour; so disputed that the ECB is understood to be deliberating whether to take further action over the piece.

And while Paul Downton watched two-and-a-half days of the Ashes and concluded that he Pietersen was "disconnected" from the rest of the team - a version of events that has been disputed by the vast majority of the rest of the Ashes squad - he had apparently not watched enough of the series, or of county cricket in the previous decade, to realise that Carberry's catching was an accident waiting to happen.

Yet it seems there is one rule for Pietersen and another for every other player. And it seems for all the strong words about "support" and "pulling in the same direction" some are allowed to be more opinionated than others.

The shame of this defeat was that England actually showed some admirable characteristics in this game. Harry Gurney, on T20 debut, demonstrated good composure and skill that might see him develop into the death bowler this side so urgently require, while Chris Woakes showed the extra pace and improved skills that could still see him develop into a quality allrounder in all formats. The batting of Buttler, Ravi Bopara and Hales was also impressive.

But if you drop simple catches against the world champions, they are going to punish you.

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Wood continues good impression

Durham 155 and 121 for 1 (Stoneman 60*, Richardson 57*) lead Somerset 234 (Petersen 78, Wood 5-37, Rushworth 4-70) by 42 runs
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"You wouldn't want to face Graham Onions on this," one supporter said as Durham tried to exploit an overcast start to the second day at Taunton. But, with Onions missing with a back injury, Chris Rushworth and Mark Wood provided a reminder of the depth of Durham's fast-bowling stocks.

England have already shown an interest in Wood, involving him in the Lions tour to Sri Lanka. Based on this compelling evidence - and a first-class haul that is now 60 wickets at 22 apiece - he may soon be the latest Durham bowler to earn a Test cap.

From an idiosyncratic start, beginning his run-up like a relay runner about to receive a baton, Wood generates distinctly sharp pace: his deliveries invariably arrived in Phil Mustard's gloves with a notable thud. His natural delivery, short-of-a-length, is a little reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff's, though it comes from a shorter and less stocky frame.

After pushing batsmen back, Wood possesses a yorker that can exploit any hesitation coming forward. Twice he earned the satisfaction of removing the batsman's middle stump; few players would have been able to resist the delivery that accounted for Craig Kieswetter. As spectacular as the sight was, most impressive of all was Wood's relentless line outside off-stump: 97 deliveries in the day yielded only 31 runs.

In Chris Rushworth, he had the ideal ally. With a fuller length and longer run-up, Rushworth's style is less distinct than Wood's. But his value to Durham is beyond dispute: he took 57 wickets in last season's championship victory, and a new contract retaining him until 2017 is recognition of his worth.

The scalp of James Hildreth, strangled down the legside to the first ball after lunch, transformed the trajectory of the day. Hildreth, driving with nonchalant ease and timing a pull off Rushworth so supremely that it went for six, had looked serene in adding 79 with Alviro Petersen. When Rushworth disposed of Peter Trego and Alfonso Thomas soon after, it left Somerset stuck in a rut at 154 for 7.

It fell to Petersen to prevent the work of his compatriot Thomas on the opening day going to waste. The judgment he displayed, switching from stern defence at the start of the day to controlled belligerence when Somerset were vulnerable after lunch, was befitting of an established Test player, and a pair of thumping sixes off Jamie Harrison threatened to test the resilience of the press box windows.

But it seemed apt that Petersen's wicket should eventually go to Harrison: Paul Collingwood, who had earlier spilled him in the slips on 30, did not repeat the mistake.

After the first day included the confusion of the Overton twins bowling from both ends, the second brought an even bigger challenge as they batted together. But Craig soon became identifiable by the distance he harrumphed the ball. Three sixes included an astonishing flat-batted pull, reminiscent of a tennis forehand, off Rushworth.

The upshot was that Somerset reached 234. While adding 80 for the last three wickets was commendable, the innings still rather reeked of missing an opportunity to gain a more decisive advantage.

That sense was added to as Durham enjoyed batting in the sunniest conditions of the match. Even with Scott Borthwick going to hospital - he was struck on his right-hand just a fortnight after chipping a bone, and his fitness to bat will be assessed in the morning - Durham lent the first innings scores in this match a new perspective.

Mark Stoneman and Michael Richardson had added an unbeaten hundred by the close - both had reached half-centuries, with Richardson twice dispatching George Dockrell for sixes.

Thomas, who claimed Keaton Jennings with a sharp catch at square leg by George Dockrell, was exemplary again, darting the ball both ways. He deserved more reward, but by the close Craig Overton's drop of Stoneman, 10 runs into his unbeaten 60, had the feel of being a pivotal moment.

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SL future glows brighter in victory

Encouraging innings from Kithuruwan Vithanage and Lahiru Thirimanne suggested Sri Lanka can handle the Jayawardene-Sangakkara succession issue

Sri Lanka had worked towards this match for some time. Not for the game at The Oval, in particular. Not for the foreign conditions, the opposition, nor even the tour as a whole. Sri Lanka have spent much of the last 18 months consumed in the quest to secure their future. A future beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

This reality is only one match old. Things happen quickly in cricket, including the unraveling of seemingly capable sides. The team may not even discover exactly how successfully they have regenerated until the end of next year's World Cup. But in this victory over England, they have suggested there is no cause for alarm. It is not that the seniors were not missed. It is just that even without the juggernauts in the top order, Sri Lanka possessed so much substance.

Sri Lanka's batting was a whirl of kinetic energy; a raw, writhing mass, lacking the shape and finesse Jayawardene and Sangakkara provided but forceful enough to bash through to a daunting score. As batsmen came and swung hard at the ball, the self-belief that had bloomed during the team's successful run in Bangladesh was evident. Kithuruwan Vithanage bludgeoned an important innings, spoiling the impetus England had gained from two early dismissals. He threw his heart at every ball, but used his brain as well, reading the field each over, and shaping only to hit to the open spaces, perilous though many strokes were.

It is too early to suggest this batting unit will achieve the success it had with Jayawardene and Sangakkara, but lately, the signs have largely been encouraging. Lahiru Thirimanne is being groomed as a like-for-like replacement for Sangakkara at No. 3, and his studious method has begun to pay off in 2014. He lacks the power of most of his team-mates, and that vector alone would have seen him left out of many international T20 teams. But he drives himself to collect the singles and twos efficiently, and possesses enough insight into his own cricket to discern the balls he can flay.

He has many mountains to scale before he can match Sangakkara's record - perhaps he never will. But at 24, Thirimanne has a wider range of strokes and a steadier temperament than a young Sangakkara did. The older man had said as much last year. Thirimanne has now been installed as vice-captain in all three formats, and his challenge will be to maintain his rise, as he shoulders more responsibility. Sri Lanka had appointed two young leaders last year as well and, of those, Angelo Mathews grew in stature, while Dinesh Chandimal seemingly regressed.

While Thirimanne held the innings together, others would begin their knocks with ambition. Perhaps it was the assurance they had batting down to No. 8 or maybe it is because even the batsmen had caught some of their new captain's fire. A 17th over formed entirely of slower balls revealed something of Lasith Malinga's soaring self-confidence. Alex Hales, England's best batsmen of the match, anticipated the offcutter and walloped the third ball to the midwicket fence, but Malinga was unperturbed. The next one, even slower, clattered into the stumps and sent Sri Lanka to touching distance of the win.

After the World T20, Malinga had returned to Sri Lanka with his swagger embellished, even suggesting on a television show that he should have been T20 captain a year ago. Sri Lanka fans value humility more than most but they will forgive him his ego if it continues to drive him to success. If his attitude affects the collective mood, then perhaps all the better; a fearless approach has rarely let Sri Lanka down in its limited-overs past.

Sri Lanka were far from perfect on Tuesday. On other evenings, they will have fewer runs off the outside edge. Most games, the opposition will hold their catches. It might have been tougher if they had been asked to chase a good score without the newly retired men there to guide the effort but, through pure white heat, Sri Lanka earned their first win outside Asia this year.

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McCullum has acted 'quite properly' - ICC

The ICC has said it will "urgently investigate" the leaking of evidence in its match-fixing inquiries and has confirmed New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is not under investigation and should be commended for his actions.

Details of McCullum's statements to the ICC's anti-corruption investigators were leaked to the media earlier this week, including that he had turned down offers of up to $180,000 to underperform in matches. Testimony given by former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent on alleged fixing around the world has also found its way into media reports.

Although the ICC's usual policy is not to comment on corruption investigations, the speculation has led the ICC's chief executive David Richardson to clarify that McCullum had done nothing wrong. Richardson also said the ICC "deeply regret" the fact that parts of McCullum's statements had been made public.

"Obviously the ICC considers any leak of any kind of information to be an extremely serious matter," Richardson said, "particularly, as in this instance, when the nature of the information that has found its way to the media is highly confidential and has been provided in tightly controlled circumstances by individuals to the ACSU as part of ongoing investigations.

"We are taking all steps available to us to urgently investigate how certain information in the form of statements has come to find its way into the media, so that we can provide reassurances to the stakeholders within the sport so that they can continue to place their trust in the hands of the ACSU and the anti-corruption units of the respective member boards in protecting the integrity of the sport.

"We wish to emphasise that Brendon McCullum is not under investigation in this matter. Whilst we have privately offered our full support to Brendon, we do so now publicly not only to confirm that, by assisting with the ACSU's enquiries, he has acted quite properly in accordance with his responsibilities as a professional cricketer, but also correct any misperception that he is somehow under suspicion. He is to be commended for his actions and we deeply regret that aspects of his statement are now in the public domain."

Richardson did not comment further on the investigations or whether it was likely that charges would be laid. However, he said Vincent had "co-operated fully with the ACSU's investigators" and that he could not expand on the situation surrounding Vincent at this stage.

Richardson said the ACSU had made "very good progress" since its inception and had received 472 intelligence reports in 2013, more than double the 222 it received two years earlier. He said he believed the increased number of reports made to the ACSU "indicates an increased awareness of the threat of corruption and how it can be addressed".

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Gloucs build commanding lead

Gloucestershire 252 and 213 for 4 (Alex Gidman 85, Marshall 66*) lead Kent 114 (Will Gidman 4-14, Fuller 4-32) by 351 runs
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Gloucestershire sensed a first Championship victory of the season after compiling an imposing 351-run lead at the County Ground against Kent.

Day two of the match saw Gloucestershire coast to 213 for 4 at the close of play, with Alex Gidman making 85 before succumbing to the bowling of Darren Stevens, while Hamish Marshall was not out on 66.

The match had looked well poised after the home side were restricted to 252 in their first innings, only for Kent to be skittled for a paltry 114. Kent started the day on 33 for 6, still 219 runs behind, having lost six final-session wickets in a humiliating collapse.

And while they faired moderately better when play resumed - resistance was offered by Sam Billings with 42 and Adam Ball's 37 - they still fell too easily. Apart from Billings and Ball, no player was able to reach double figures, with James Fuller and Will Gidman spearheading Gloucestershire's assault with four wickets each.

Early hopes of gaining something from the match rose when Kent sent Chris Dent and Michael Klinger back to the pavilion cheaply, but Gloucestershire soon steadied the ship.

William Tavare fired a rapid 27 before Gidman and Marshall began flailing Kent's struggling attack with Stevens, who finished with three wickets, their only genuine threat. A first win in six games now beckons for Gloucestershire, who have two days to wrap-up victory.

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Abbott, Tomlinson check Leics reply

Leicestershire 296 for 9 (Sarwan 60, Robson 54, Taylor 53, Abbott 4-55) trail Hampshire 332 (Buck 5-84) by 36 runs
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Division Two leaders Hampshire struck three times late on to snatch a modest advantage over Leicestershire on day two of their Championship clash at Grace Road. The home side looked to be on course for a first-innings lead as they reached 187 for 3 in reply to 332 all out, only for a late clatter of wickets to reduce them to 296 for 9 - a deficit of 36 runs.

South Africa seamer Kyle Abbott took 4 for 55 and new-ball partner James Tomlinson ended the day with 3 for 49 as Leicestershire paid the price for several of their top order failing to go on having played themselves in.

Leicestershire needed just 25 balls to clean up the Hampshire tail in the morning session, with Nathan Buck and Anthony Ireland swiftly getting rid of Abbott and Danny Briggs as Hampshire added just 11 runs to their overnight total of 321 for 8. Former England Lions seamer Buck was the pick of the hosts' attack as he finished with figures of 5 for 84.

The Leicestershire reply got off to a slow start as Abbott swiftly had Greg Smith caught by James Vince at second slip for 4. But Angus Robson, brother of Middlesex's England hopeful Sam, overcame a probing opening spell from Tomlinson before unfurling a string of boundaries to all parts of the ground.

He found a willing ally in Ned Eckersley, who rode his luck throughout the morning session - most noticeably when he was dropped by Sean Ervine at first slip off the unfortunate Tomlinson - as the home side reached 79 for 1 at the interval.

After lunch Eckersley was dropped again behind the stumps and survived two enthusiastic lbw shouts from Abbott, but it was Robson who fell for 54 when Tomlinson changed the angle by coming around the wicket and induced a thin edge through to wicketkeeper Michael Bates.

Eckersley's scratchy 34 was brought to an end when he was bowled trying to hit spinner Briggs square of the wicket, but West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan brought up a quick fifty and Josh Cobb hit Briggs down the ground for six as the home side made it through to tea without further trouble.

Leicestershire captain Sarwan inexplicably skied Abbott's first ball after the interval to Matt Coles at midwicket to depart for 60, and Niall O'Brien carved the same bowler to Will Smith at point for eight four overs later as the hosts slid to 195 for 5.

Part-time offspinner Smith became Hampshire's seventh bowler of the innings and had success in his first over when Cobb nicked one to Bates attempting a cut for 37. Tomlinson then took two wickets in an over with the second new ball - Jigar Naik playing one onto his stumps two deliveries before Ireland nicked through to Vince at second slip. And Abbott snared Rob Taylor for 53 as the left-hander's leading edge flew straight to Hampshire skipper Jimmy Adams at mid-off.

The visitors may have expected to wrap things up before close at that stage, but Buck and Charlie Shreck held out until stumps, adding a valuable 15 runs on a track displaying some variable bounce.

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Raj, Lanning set up win over MCC

ROW XI 283 for 9 (Raj 67, Lanning 59, Cross 4-48) beat MCC 242 (Edwards 70, Knight 51, Mir 4-36) by 41 runs
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Mithali Raj and Meg Lanning scored half-centuries before four wickets for Sana Mir helped ensure victory for a Rest of the World XI against MCC at Lord's. Charlotte Edwards' top-scored with 70 for MCC but they fell 41 runs short in the match arranged as part of the Lord's bicentenary celebrations.

The MCC team featured a majority of current England internationals, with the retired Claire Taylor, playing for the first time in three years, and Arran Brindle joined by Holly Colvin after a break from the game. Edwards and Heather Knight put on 98 for the first wicket but only two other players made double figures.

Knight fell for 51 and MCC struggled to keep up with the rate, with Edwards becoming the fourth wicket down in the 32nd over with the score on 150. Natalie Sciver struck a 48-ball 45 but Mir worked through the middle order and MCC were dismissed with two balls remaining.

The ROW innings did not get off to the best start, with Kate Cross dismissing West Indies' Stafanie Taylor for a golden duck. Raj and Lanning, the captains of India and Australia respectively, came together with the score on 41 for 2 and added 90 runs in 12.5 overs. Lanning's Australia team-mate Ellyse Perry stroked 49 before Cross came back to complete a four-wicket haul and the total of 283 for 9 proved beyond MCC.

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Cairns denies corruption allegations

Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder, has vehemently denied that he is 'Player X' mentioned in the recently reported testimonies of Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum in the ICC's investigation of spot-fixing and match-fixing allegations.

It has been reported that both Vincent and McCullum have named the same player in their statements to the anti-corruption and security unit but Cairns, in a statement released on Monday, said any suggestions that he was that individual were "a complete lie". Cairns won a High Court libel trial in 2012 against Lalit Modi, after the latter accused him of match-fixing.

Following the emergence of Vincent's claims last week, given as part of a plea-bargain with the ICC, which revealed the scope and scale of the matches implicated, the Daily Mail revealed details of McCullum's testimony where he explain how he was approached in India during the first year of the IPL and then in Worcester during New Zealand's 2008 tour of England by the same player and asked whether he would be interested in fixing cricket matches. McCullum said that player had been a "hero" of his.

"I am aware that Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum have made a range of allegations against a cricketer dubbed Player X," Cairns said. "It is well known that the ICC/ACSU has been investigating allegations of corruption and my name has been linked by others to these allegations. I am being asked whether I am Player X.

"Based on the limited information I have received during this investigation, I believe it is being alleged that I am that player. These allegations against me are a complete lie."

Cairns had, in April, confirmed that he had had a recent meeting with Scotland Yard investigators but refused to divulge the reasons for the meeting.

New Zealand Cricket reacted angrily to the leak of McCullum's testimony.

"New Zealand Cricket is dismayed that Brendon McCullum's testimony to the International Cricket Council has been leaked to the media," the board said in a statement. "We can confirm that Brendon is not under investigation by the ICC and his testimony has actually been applauded by them. NZC has 100% confidence in our captain and his role in tackling corruption."

McCullum's testimony is part of the ICC's ongoing investigation into allegations of match-fixing and spot-fixing. In December last year, Vincent confirmed that he was involved in an ICC anti-corruption investigation and in February, Vincent reported that he had been approached by an illegal bookmaker during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. Vincent is also reported to have told investigators of attempted fixing in England's Twenty20 Cup and Pro40 competitions.

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Dernbach summons perfect retort

Surrey 173 for 6 (Roy 64) beat Somerset 159 for 6 (Kieswetter 61) by 14 runs
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Jade Dernbach often feels like the most derided man in English cricket. After a winter of discontent that may have terminated his international career for good, Dernbach would have expected relief in the new NatWest Blast. Instead, he failed to defend 15 off the final four balls against Sussex during the competition's launch on Friday night.

So there seemed something rather cathartic about Dernbach's reaction after his final over clinched Surrey's 14-run win at Taunton. Never one to knowingly under-celebrate, he ran halfway towards the boundary, arms aloft in triumph.

He had earned it, too. Given the chance to defend 18 off the final over, Dernbach yielded only three runs. Fast and full and with Somerset unable to read his slower balls, it distilled the virtues that England identified in awarding him 58 caps across the two limited overs formats.

And there was another moment to savour earlier, as an athletic pick up and throw ran Marcus Trescothick out after hesitating over a single. In the county game, at least, you can't keep Dernbach down for long: his four overs yielded only 26 runs.

Somerset's record of four consecutive appearances at T20 finals day was ended by defeat at The Oval in last year's quarterfinal. And not just any defeat, either: Gareth Batty's raucous sendoff to Peter Trego earned him a two-match ban. Batty, who was injured, may have thought that he'd chosen a good game to avoid.

That was especially true with Craig Kieswetter smiting 43 off his first 22 balls, ruthless on anything wide outside offstump. As Somerset cruised to 92 for 2 off 11 overs, their pursuit of 174 felt probable. An element of revenge, though the word had no place on a sumptuous afternoon at Taunton, seemed certain.

While Surrey bowled well, there was a strong element of self-destruction about Somerset's demise, as four wickets were lost in five wickets. "We sort of threw the game away," Kieswetter admitted. "We lacked a little bit of nous with our batting."

Kieswetter himself contributed his second consecutive T20 half-century, to follow 517 runs, more than anyone else, in the tournament last year, but even he rather lost his way after the Powerplay.

No one has been more assiduous in accruing T20 specialists than Surrey. So it would have been a particular source of pleasure to see products of their academy contribute strongly to their success.

At the age of only 22, Zafar Ansari has almost acquired senior player status at Surrey. Three canny overs of left-arm spin, which yielded only 19 runs and included Kieswetter caught at long-on, confirmed what a loss he had been for Surrey at Hove on Friday. Tom Curran's afternoon did not start promisingly - 14 off his first over included five wides sprayed down the legside - but he justified Graeme Smith's faith with smart bowling thereafter.

Earlier, it was another dynamic product of Surrey's Academy who powered their innings. After announcing himself with Surrey's first T20 century four years ago, Jason Roy's talent has never been in doubt, but his aptitude for building innings often has. And while this was a T20 game, Roy trusted himself to play himself in - scoring only two from the first eight balls - before unveiling his repertoire.

His best shot, a six off George Dockrell which must have reminded him of the Dutch onslaught in the World T20 - and struck the outside of the press box - showed that Roy is at his best when he plays straight, and lets his timing and power do the rest.

At 94-1 off 9.1 overs, Surrey envisaged a total in excess of 200. Instead, exceptional bowling from the spin twins - Dockrell and Max Waller - reined Surrey in, with the help of Somerset's death bowling specialists. Dirk Nannes and Alfonso Thomas may have a combined age of 75 but their T20 acumen remains priceless.

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Mitchell just misses three in a row

Worcestershire 291 (Mitchell 97, Pardoe 45) lead Essex 52-2 by 239 runs
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As with the mushrooming housing estate and planned retirement home at Canterbury, so it will take some while to come to terms with a Premier Inn on the boundary at New Road. A lifetime - or more - in all probability. Still, all credit to Worcestershire for staging first-class cricket on a square that only 11 weeks ago was 11 feet under water. And to Daryl Mitchell, their captain, for batting so impressively on it that he now averages 125.80 this season.

Mitchell missed, by three runs, a third century in succession. Among a decent crowd - even if the architects who constructed the Premier Inn have missed a trick by not building balconies attached to numerous rooms overlooking the ground - was James Whitaker, the national selector, who would have been more concerned with how Monty Panesar was bowling for Essex. Yet Mitchell, who collects runs without ever seeming to become becalmed, can only have made an impression.

Given he will be 31 this year, Mitchell is a little long in the tooth to be selected for England for the first time. Yet there have been other openers before him who did not always catch in the eye in their 'twenties: Brian Luckhurst, for example, whose first Test cap came against Australia in 1970 at Mitchell's age.

Mitchell has now made 629 runs in seven innings this season, and this one was played after a 2 am return from Old Trafford following a floodlit match the previous evening. He would have been pleased not to have had to field all day after that.

Batting first was evidently the right decision, for there was some turn and low bounce which will only be accentuated come Wednesday. Mitchell and Matt Pardoe put on 117 in 27 overs against an Essex attack lacking three injured front-line bowlers in David Masters, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills. Matt Salisbury bowled briskly on his championship debut, taking one wicket, but it was an occasion for the overs to be evenly shared.

Panesar and Greg Smith took four wickets between them and Worcestershire were also stymied in mid-innings by the medium pacers. Mitchell himself fell through a leading edge to mid on off Graham Napier's bowling, his 97 including 17 fours, Alexei Kervezee again struggled to progress beyond a score in the 'twenties, Ross Whiteley launched himself once too often at the spinners and Ben Cox, who made 38, went to an excellent right handed catch by James Foster. Whitaker was right in line with this. Only some late hitting by Joe Leach, playing in his first championship match of the season, took the total to as much as 291.

Worcestershire, for their part, were without Gareth Andrew, who has been as effective this season as Masters has in the past at much the same pace for Essex. They struggled for a breakthrough until Saeed Ajmal came on and removed both Tom Westley and Salisbury, the nightwatchman.

There is no Alastair Cook or Ravi Bopara for Worcestershire to contend with on a pitch cut relatively close to the pavilion and flowering horse chestnuts that draw the eye away from anything unappealingly modernistic.

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