ECB profit could be England's loss

The visit of India will swell the coffers of English cricket but there could be a greater cost in the long term

'Getting Kohli in early is key' - Broad

Cricket is no longer measured in terms of victories and defeats. Not predominantly, anyway. It is measured in terms of profit and loss.

How else could it come to pass that two middle-ranking Test teams would come to carve up the management of the cricket world? How else could it come to pass that, while the 2012 series between South Africa and England to decide the No. 1 Test spot was played over just three Tests, the world's fourth- and fifth-rated sides will now contest a five-match series in the space of 42 days? How else could it come to pass that the same business plan that has earned the ECB more money than ever before is also responsible for hindering the ability of its team to compete at their optimum level?

It is because cricket in England is about money, not merit.

The summer of 2014 will earn the ECB more money than any that has preceded it. Such is the value of the television audience that India generates, the season will earn even more than 2013, when England hosted an Ashes series and a Champions Trophy. That is despite one side having not won in eight successive Tests and the other having not won away in more than three years. If this were a boat race, you might expect both sides to sink.

There are many positive aspects of the ECB's wealth. It has allowed them to retain the services of their best players despite the threat of T20 leagues. It has allowed them to retain an army of support staff so large that, at times, they outnumber the playing squad. It has allowed the ECB to lead the world in the funding of disability cricket and to bring a new level of professionalism to women's cricket. It has allowed them to spend heavily on grass-roots cricket; building new facilities at clubs around the country and ensuring the continued existence of the 18-county domestic game.

But it also comes at a cost. By squeezing so many Tests into such a short window, the ECB is giving England's leading pace bowlers - the same bowlers that present the best chance of victory - little possibility of performing at their best. And, in the longer term, it risks those players in greatest demand leaving the game prematurely through burn-out (Jonathan Trott) or injury (Graeme Swann). In 2015, those players - and coaches - involved in all formats will spend around 300 days in hotels. Too much is asked of them.

Equally, the desire - an admirable desire - to ensure as little time off the pitch as possible has seen new drainage installed at most grounds. That has led not just to quick-drying outfields, but quick-drying pitches. The days of green seamers are largely gone and, with them, England's home advantage. India may not have realised it yet, but the pitches in this series may help their spinners more than England's seamers.

Across English cricket, decisions are taken which bring short-term financial gain but will cost in the longer term. From selling all live TV rights to a subscription broadcaster, to diluting the value of the Ashes by playing too many limited-overs series against Australia, the ECB is risking the long-term health of the game while claiming it is earning more than ever before. The administrators need to understand that sport, like schools and hospitals, cannot be judged purely on the bottom line.

Eventually there is a danger that, if England continue to play on low, slow wickets, if they continue to play jaded cricket, if they continue to be absent from free-to-air TV, if they continue to lose and play the same opposition, the value of broadcast rights and ticket sales will diminish. But, by then, the current management will have moved on and will be able to look back and say that all was okay on their watch.

They were points touched upon, albeit gently, by Stuart Broad as he looked ahead to the Test series. Broad, who looked weary by the end of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, expressed his concern at the schedule and the grounds' new drainage.

	"If the pitches are dry, I think India will be licking their lips with the two spinners, won't they?" Stuart Broad

"Back-to-back Test cricket does really tire you out," Broad said. "This schedule's got five Test matches in the space of probably three, so it is pretty hectic. We will have to look after our bodies, big time. Part of the reason we had a camp last week was to get a lot of cricket work in before the series started. Once we get underway there's just no training time really.

"The clubs have all spent huge money on all these drainage systems to make sure we can get out on the field. But I don't know how much research was done into what they do to the pitches. I know our players, three or four years ago, brought the theory up that they were making the wickets too dry, too early and it is quite hard to keep bounce in the wickets now unless you leave them really green, which Test match wickets just don't do.

"So it is a bit of an issue we're suffering, with pitches bouncing three or four times to the keeper. I think Test wickets should be flat, no doubt, because the crowds want to come and see runs scored. But if you catch the edge of a batsman it's got to carry to the keeper and the slips, that's the number one rule.

"It didn't happen at Lord's and Headingley. They turned out to be really slow and both really should have been draw wickets. It will be interesting to see how this series plays out. But, if they're dry, I think India will be licking their lips with the two spinners, won't they?"

It seems they may not. Perhaps influenced by Duncan Fletcher's previous experience of English pitches - which might prove to be somewhat dated - it seems India may select a side bursting with seamers and with only one spinner.

In the short term, England may retain the seam-bowling depth to defeat an India side who have not won a single Test away since June 2011. In the longer term, if they really want to enjoy a sustained period among the best teams in the world, they need the ECB to devise a new business plan that looks to the benefit of the whole game, not just the bottom line.

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Claydon takes five as 15 wickets fall

Kent 106 for 5 trail Leicestershire 217 (Robson 56, Claydon 5-77) by 111 runs
Scorecard

Mitchell Claydon claimed his best figures for Kent as Leicestershire were bowled out for 217 on a day when 15 wickets fell at Grace Road. Bottom-of-the-table Leicestershire hit back by taking five wickets in the final session to leave Kent on 106 for 5 at the close, still 111 runs behind.

It was certainly a day for the seam bowlers, with Claydon taking 5 for 77 in 21 overs before Leicestershire's attack put them back into contention as they seek their first Championship win of the season.

Rob Key and Daniel Bell-Drummond put on 40 for Kent before five wickets fell for 54 runs in 22 overs. The departure of Key began the collapse, with the Kent captain popping up a simple catch to midwicket off Charlie Shreck. Bell-Drummond was then trapped lbw by Ben Raine and Ben Harmison dismissed in similar fashion by Rob Taylor.

Brendan Nash chopped a ball from Nathan Buck back into his stumps and when Sam Northeast was brilliantly caught at slip by Greg Smith off Shreck, Kent were in disarray at 94 for 5 but Darren Stevens and Adam Ball saw them through to stumps.

On a green-looking pitch, Key had no hesitation in bowling first after calling correctly. And the morning session proved eventful and entertaining with 126 runs, five wickets and 22 boundaries.

The first ball of the day set the tone, with a delivery from Claydon thudding into the pads of Smith. But Indian umpire Anil Chaudhray, taking part in an exchange scheme, turned down the concerted appeal.

There was certainly enough in the pitch to keep the bowlers interested, but they were also helped by the shot selection of the Leicestershire batsmen, who seemed to be stuck in Twenty20 mode. It was almost a shot a ball at times and the boundaries flowed as regularly as the wickets fell, and by lunch Claydon had taken four for 47 in 13 overs.

Smith was caught behind off a loose drive for 16, all his runs coming in boundaries, Ned Eckersley edged a lifter, Josh Cobb nicked one to slip and Angus Robson top-edged an intended hook to give Billings his third catch. But by then Robson, younger brother of England opener Sam, had posted his eighth half-century of the season from 58 balls with 10 fours.

In between all that, Dan Redfern was brilliantly caught at mid-wicket by Bell-Drummond as he tried to pull a short ball from Stevens.

Claydon bagged his fifth wicket when he pinned Niall O'Brien lbw and it needed an eighth-wicket partnership of 54 - the biggest of the match so far - between Taylor and Jigar Naik to take Leicestershire past 200 for a batting point before Charlie Hartley picked up the last two wickets.

Leicestershire coach Ben Smith was not impressed with his side's batting and said. "I did not think there was much wrong with the pitch. It was a mixture of their bowlers putting the ball in good areas and our batters not showing the discipline needed for four-day cricket."

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Ansari heightens Surrey's persona

Surrey 400 for 5 (Ansari 112, Burns 97) lead Glamorgan 232 by 168 runs
Scorecard

Why do people dislike Surrey? Money and metropolitan envy might have something to do with it but there is surely little of which one can disapprove about their cricket at present. Gary Wilson's team went into this match against Glamorgan 20 points ahead of their opponents having played one game more; both counties have realistic promotion ambitions. Yet there is no doubt which has looked the stronger side in two days of mostly high clouds and high spirits on the North Wales coast.

The difference in the approach of the teams' batsmen has been particularly noticeable and it was epitomised on Monday by the slight yet substantial figure of Zafar Ansari. Whereas the Glamorgan batsmen had been more content to throw their bats and take their chances, Ansari preferred care and orthodoxy as he anchored his team towards a substantial first innings lead.

Beginning the day on 55 not out, Ansari, the 23-year-old Cambridge graduate, had faced 267 balls and batted for 339 minutes when a Will Owen misfield allowed him to scamper the two extra runs he needed to reach his second Championship century of the season. Ansari reached that landmark in mid-afternoon, by which time he had seen four partners dismissed, but the tempi of other batsmen's innings mattered little to him.

Rory Burns, for example, had faced 166 balls and was three runs short of his own century when he top-edged an attempted pull off Ruaidhri Smith to Jacques Rudolph at mid-off. That mid-morning reverse ended a first-wicket stand of 182 but it only brought in Arun Harinath who almost immediately began to score at a run a ball, hitting Dean Cosker straight for six and then sweeping the slow left-armer almost indecently.

Ansari looked on, chatted in mid-wicket and then returned to his own cocoon of concentration. In short, he batted with all the judgement and discrimination one would expect of a cricketer whose favourite television show is The West Wing.

Harinath, on the other hand, played as if intent on proving that there was far more to his game than his self-denying vigil at Chelmsford in May had shown. On that treasured occasion, he faced 231 balls in making 63; context is everything, of course, but against Glamorgan Harinath took 149 balls fewer to plunder 60 runs off an attack which buckled down rather more impressively than the home batsmen had managed.

The undisputed leader of Glamorgan's bowling cohort was Michael Hogan who had the left-handed Harinath taken at slip by Rudolph with the new ball before immediately inflicting the same fate on the right-handed Solanki, who pushed tentatively at his first delivery but could only edge it to third slip where Chris Cooke took a fine two-handed diving catch.

That fine piece of pace bowling left Surrey still prosperously-placed on 270 for 4 and a further 46 had been added, 37 of them in 47 balls by Steven Davies when the visitors' No. 5 played across a straight ball from Allenby. Still Ansari pushed, deflected and occasionally drove his way on.

Indeed, it took meteorology to remove him, albeit not permanently. It happened like this. On the first day of this game the wind turbines in Ormes Bay had been still as figures on a semaphore chart; by Monday morning they were waving like demented umpires in the latter stages of a T20 innings. At 3.15pm the breezes gusted a shower from the West and umpires Jeff Evans and Peter Willey made to depart. "Get on with it!" a bloke in the crowd yelled, as the rain briefly abated. The officials remained. "Oggy, oggy, oggy!" roared another chap helpfully, although whether he was in pain or ecstasy was unclear. No matter. The shower organised itself and 16 overs were trimmed from the day.

When the batsman returned Ansari added only six more runs, taking his tally to a career-best 112 before he chopped Allenby on to his stumps. But there was still enough time prior to a final shower for Roy to take heavy toll of both Smith and Owen in reaching a 55-ball fifty. By then, perhaps, Ansari was enjoying a well-earned shower and reflecting on another good day in what is proving to be an important summer for him.

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Last-wicket Hants repair after Norwell four

Hampshire 251 for 9 (Smith 45, Norwell 4-87) v Gloucestershire
Scorecard

Hampshire's last-wicket pair of James Tomlinson and David Balcombe repaired a middle-order collapse to thwart Gloucestershire on a day of fluctuating fortunes.

Hampshire raced to 69 for 1 and then 144 for 2 after being put in, only for Liam Norwell to induce a slide in which Hampshire lost seven wickets for 38 in 12.1 overs.

Norwell took four quick wickets with his medium pace before Tomlinson and Balcombe, not renowned as batsmen, came together in an unbroken stand of 69 for the last wicket as Gloucestershire ran out of ideas.

At the close, delayed by rain earlier in the day, second-placed Hampshire had made 251 for 9 from 80 overs with Tomlinson 33 not out and Balcombe unbeaten with 38, leaving Gloucestershire a chance to reflect on why they had been unable to finish off their good work on a helpful pitch.

The rain wiped out the entire first session, meaning play did not start until 1.10pm after an early lunch. Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman noted the green tinge to the wicket and the Ageas Bowl's reputation for aiding the bowlers and chose to field first.

Gidman must have starting to regret his decision quickly as Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams put on 69 in 21.4 overs for the first wicket without alarms. Benny Howell and wicketkeeper Adam Rouse, both former Hampshire players, combined to break the partnership when Carberry was caught by Rouse attempting leave.

Hampshire showed no signs of being slowed by the England batsman's dismissal as Adams and Will Smith took the score to 98 before Will Gidman got Adams to edge to Rouse.

At tea, Hampshire were in a dominant position at 106 for 2 with Smith and James Vince well set but the turning point came at 144 in the 50th over when Vince, who had struck five fours in his 25, was leg before to Norwell.

The Hampshire batting quickly subsided in his wake as Norwell bowled Smith for 45 and in rapid, unseemly succession Sean Ervine, Joe Gatting, Adam Wheater, Danny Briggs and Kyle Abbott all fell, six wickets going down for 25 in nine tempestuous overs.

Ervine gave Iain Cockbain a catch at short leg, Tom Smith deceived Gatting and Wheater edged Norwell to Cockbain at second slip. Briggs went to another slip catch by Chris Dent and Will Gidman returned to dismiss Abbott in identical fashion.

At 182 for 9, Hampshire were in disarray and the end looked close as Balcombe was joined at the crease by Tomlinson. Viewed as an old-fashioned No. 11, Tomlinson nevertheless put on 60 with Briggs against Surrey last time out and he and Balcombe defied Gloucestershire despite the many bowling changes made in a frantic last 18 overs of the day by Alex Gidman.

Neither batsman looked in any trouble as they complied their face-saving partnership and at the close Tomlinson was nine runs short of a career-best while Balcombe struck Norwell for successive boundaries on the way to his best score of the season.

Norwell finished the day with figures of 4 for 87 but they might have been better had it not been for the defiance of the last-wicket pair who plundered runs from him as play drifted beyond 7pm and the attack visibly tired.

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Fletcher, bowlers help WI draw level

West Indies 165 for 6 (Fletcher 62, Simmons 36) beat New Zealand 126 (Williamson 37, Cottrell 3-28) by 39 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Following their demoralising Test series defeat, West Indies found solace in the format they relish the most by squaring the T20s 1-1 with an all-round performance in Roseau. West Indies were guilty of not putting enough runs on the board on Saturday, but they addressed that issue by posting a competitive 165 in an uninterrupted innings. Their bowlers choked New Zealand, with the spinners and medium-pacers proving difficult to hit. Never at any stage did New Zealand pose a threat and the lack of lasting partnerships led to their downfall.

Unlike on Saturday, when West Indies struggled to gain traction either side of a rain interruption, the batsmen found momentum via a solid second-wicket of stand of 66 between Andre Fletcher and Lendl Simmons and in the last five overs, when 56 were scored. Simmons described the pitch as one with tennis-ball bounce, with a few balls stopping on the batsmen, but West Indies saw through an edgy beginning and ensured they kept wickets intact for a late surge.

Fletcher was lucky to survive early in his innings when he set off for a single from the non-striker's end and was sent back by Simmons; Fletcher had given up but the bowler Trent Boult missed the mark. After that, Fletcher charged down the track to the seamers and targeted the straighter boundaries Simmons regularly shuffled across his stumps to target fine leg and third man.

Given how the batsmen struggled on Saturday, the pair showed greater intent to get on with it. Simmons moved across his stumps to Corey Anderson and scooped it for six over fine leg and in the same over, played a glorious extra cover drive. Anderson had the last laugh against Simmons when he caught him at long-on. Anderson caught the ball and threw it up as he back-pedalled outside the boundary but managed to jog back in and take it on the second attempt.

Boult came up with a more spectacular effort later in the innings when he had Pollard caught at deep midwicket. He plucked it one-handed, threw it up and caught the ball again with a full-length dive from outside the boundary. Those two postcard moments were the only takeaways for New Zealand in the match. Their slower bowlers, Ish Sodhi and Kane Williamson couldn't impose themselves in the manner in which Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine managed later on.

In the first ODI, West Indies managed only a paltry 6.80 in the last five overs but a day later, they cranked it up to 11.20. Fletcher sped towards his third T20 fifty with a scooped six over long-off. He was yorked by Boult for 62 but his exit didn't slow down West Indies as Darren Sammy and Andre Russell took the score past 160.

New Zealand decided to rotate the captaincy by putting Williamson in charge and although he top-scored, he failed to anchor the innings. Brendon McCullum swung his bat around but his soft dismissal increased the pressure on Williamson. New Zealand's other power hitters, Jimmy Neesham and Anderson didn't make an impact. Narine and Badree applied the stranglehold by not going for more than five an over.

New Zealand needed a massive 91 off the last ten but even at that stage, they still had three more Narine overs to contend with. They also had the awkward slower balls from Pollard to negotiate, and with every desperate swing and a miss from the middle and lower order, the asking rate climbed. Sheldon Cottrell, brought in for this game, got the in-form Neesham early to give West Indies the first advantage and there was no looking back.

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Ireland strikes in astonishing final over

Leicestershire 144 for 5 (Smith 65*) beat Derbyshire 143 (Durston 89, Ireland 5-22) by five wickets
Scorecard

Anthony Ireland starred in an extraordinary final over which involved a banned bowler and the fall of four wickets to set up Leicestershire's victory at Queen's Park.

Ireland's 5 for 22 beat his previous best figures of 4 for 11, also against Derbyshire - but he might never have bowled the over - or at least part of it.

Three of Ireland's wicket, plus a run out, came in the last over after Charlie Shreck had been ordered out of the attack for bowling his second full toss above waist height.

Derbyshire's dismal NatWest T20 Blast campaign continued when they lost to Leicestershire for the second time this season to remain rooted to the foot of the North Division.

Wes Durston blazed 89 from 63 balls, the fourth highest individual score for Derbyshire in the competition, but Marcus North was the only other batsman to reach double figures in a below-par total of 143.

Leicestershire lost their openers cheaply but Greg Smith settled any nerves with a unbeaten 65 from 56 balls to guide his team to their third victory of the season with four balls to spare.

The Foxes' decision to put the Falcons in on a white pitch was rewarded when Ireland struck twice in his first two overs, with Chesney Hughes losing his middle stump to an inside edge and Gareth Cross missing a drive.

Derbyshire's position would have been even worse if Ben Raine had not spilled a low catch when Durston clipped Shreck low to mid-wicket with 39 on the board, and he made them pay by driving and pulling his way to 50 off 33 balls.

Wayne Madsen was lbw reverse-sweeping Scott Styris, who combined with Jigar Naik to concede only 45 runs in eight overs despite Durston swinging a full toss from the New Zealander into the crowd behind the mid-wicket boundary.

Durston and North added 56 in nine overs, but Derbyshire could not break free and Naik held a low return catch to remove North before Durston's fine innings ended when he drove Raine to long-off.

That sparked the disintegration of the innings in bizarre fashion as Ireland took full advantage of Shreck's misfortune by taking three wickets in four balls as Derbyshire lost their last four in five for two runs, Mark Turner run out off the last ball.

It left Leicestershire a relatively easy chase on a small ground but they lost Niall O'Brien in the third over when he drove North low to short extra cover and after pulling Chesney Hughes for six, Josh Cobb top-edged a cut to Alex Hughes at cover.

At 39 for two, Derbyshire sensed an opening but Smith and Eckersley mixed placement with aggression to leave their side needing 69 from the last 10 overs.

The pair added 52 in seven overs before Eckersley needlessly skied a big drive at North to long-on, where Alex Hughes made no mistake.

Smith and Matthew Boyce took the visitors to within 24 of their target before Boyce swung Durston into the hands of deep mid-wicket.

But Smith completed a well-paced 50 from 48 balls and although Styris pulled the first ball of the final over to deep mid-wicket, it was too late for Derbyshire.

Ireland said: ``I didn't expect to be bowling the last over when Charlie Shreck started it but that's what can happen. It was a good performance and Greg has been in good form for us with the bat this year so it was nice to see him get us over the line at the end.''

Derbyshire skipper Madsen rued the calamitous end to his side's innings - as well as the last-over drama, they lost Durston to the last delivery of the 19th and Scott Elstone two balls before that.

Madsen said: ``I felt we were probably 10 or 15 short. Wes played brilliantly but we weren't able to get those extra runs at the back end. I thought we bowled really well in the first six overs but ultimately we were short, another 15 runs and we would have won today.''

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Kieswetter still gives Somerset hope

Somerset 155 (Kieswetter 60, Petersen 38*) beat Hampshire 116 by 39 runs
Scorecard

Craig Kieswetter continued his superb form in the NatWest t20 Blast with a half-century to help Somerset claim a vital 39-run win over second-placed Hampshire in the South Division.

Kieswetter, who this week signed a new three-year contract with the county, passed 50 for the sixth time in 10 matches in this season's competition and his 60 guided Somerset to a score of 155 for 4 batting first at the Ageas Bowl.

That was less than the visitors looked like getting at one stage, but proved more than enough as tight bowling and good fielding helped them dismiss Hampshire for 116 with 22 balls to spare.

It was only Somerset's fourth win of the season but it still enabled them to complete the double over 20-over specialists Hampshire and move up to fifth in the standings.

Somerset chose to bat first on a blameless wicket but lost captain Marcus Trescothick in the second over, nicking Chris Wood to wicketkeeper Michael Bates for two.

Hampshire could hardly have wished for a better start, but Kieswetter then shared stands of 55 for the second wicket with Peter Trego (25) and the third with Alviro Petersen, who was 38 not out at the conclusion of the Somerset innings.

Kieswetter's 60 - which left him second only to Surrey's Jason Roy in the NatWest t20 Blast runscoring charts - came off 44 balls and included five fours and two sixes before perishing to Matt Coles while attempting another extravagant drive.

That left Somerset on 115 for 3 but Petersen and James Hildreth saw their side somewhat sedately through to the last ball of the innings at which point the latter was caught on the mid-wicket boundary to leave Hampshire needing 156 for victory.

The hosts would have fancied their chances of chasing that target down but suffered a nightmare start as captain James Vince went to the first ball he faced, playing around a Trego delivery to be trapped lbw.

The wickets then continued to tumbled as Hampshire's top order collapsed in an uncharacteristic panic, and midway through the eighth over they were 41 for 6.

Jimmy Adams fell to a catch at mid-on, Will Smith lifted Alfonso Thomas to Petersen at midwicket and then came a double run-out catastrophe in the sixth over to swing the match irreversibly Somerset's way.

First Glenn Maxwell was left stranded going for a second and then Michael Carberry, who might have been responsible for Maxwell's exit, went the same way, beaten by a throw from short fine-leg chasing a cheeky single.

When Sean Ervine strayed from his crease when facing leg-spinner Max Waller's third delivery and was stumped by Kieswetter, Hampshire were as good as finished, and so it proved despite a lower-order fight.

Coles and Wood battled bravely in an innings-best stand of 42 for the seventh wicket before Coles holed out to Waller, also at mid-wicket and Hampshire were 88 for 8 when Wood lifted Thomas to Dirk Nannes in the deep.

Abbott and Bates took Hampshire past the 100 mark but the end was not long in coming, to the dismay of a large home crowd, as Nannes wrapped things up with the wicket of Bates

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Flintoff turns up a crock of gold

Lancashire 229 for 4 (Prince 68, Buttler 55) beat Worcestershire 179 for 7 (Mitchell 46, Oliver 44, Flintoff 2-36) by 50 runs
Scorecard

On a glorious afternoon by the Severn, Andrew Flintoff pulled off a comeback that cricket never expected to see. Nearly five years after he succumbed to injury and played his last professional match, after nearly five years largely spent in TV adventuring and other forms of celebrity, he conquered a supposedly terminal knee injury and, however briefly, took to the field again.

Lancashire even celebrated with a team batting record and a victory to go top of the table.

The crock had turned up a crock of gold.

The clash of the top two teams in the North Division was always likely to be a crowd puller, with or without the presence of Flintoff. Nonetheless, his return to competitive cricket probably left a few at New Road wanting, particularly if they had been anticipating an explosive exhibition of big-hitting from the former England all-rounder.

In the event, they did not see face a single delivery, his ability to strike a cricket ball a very long way not required as Lancashire's established top-order made short work of some rather ordinary bowling to run up their record total since the short format was introduced.

Flintoff's presence may have reminded a few of them that the previous record of 220 for 5, set at Derby in 2009, had been largely down to him, with an individual innings of 93 from 41 balls. That match, in fact, would prove to be his last for Lancashire in T20 before injury forced him out of the game.

This time he had to bite back his frustration as Ashwell Prince with 68 from 43 deliveries, and Jos Buttler (55 off 28) built on the flying start provided by Tom Smith's 30 from 20 balls to set Worcestershire a daunting task, left to fidget in the Lancashire dug-out, ready to come in at six down, not even strapping on his pads until the 19th over.

But if there was a measure of frustration, therefore, for the 36-year-old, who looked in good physical shape, there was satisfaction later in the shape of two wickets from four improving overs with the ball as Worcestershire's efforts were stifled and Lancashire moved into the lead in the North Group with three matches to go.

Lancashire had been 61 for 1 after the Powerplay overs, but finished the innings even more impressively, adding 102 from the final seven overs as Buttler struck the ball cleanly and with power, hitting three towering sixes.

In the event, the Lancashire's total worked in Flintoff's favour, creating almost the ideal circumstances for him to bowl, some five years after he last played competitive cricket, in the final Test of the 2009 Ashes series at The Oval.

Worcestershire made an encouraging start to their pursuit of the target, scoring 50 without loss from the opening five overs, but it meant Flintoff could ease himself back without the pressure he would have felt in a low scoring match.

His first ball almost brought a wicket, Richard Oliver giving the treatment to a wide long hop but living dangerously. Steven Croft flung himself full length at point, getting fingertips to the ball as Flintoff looked on in hope. In fact, the ball kept going and went for four, to be followed by a six that landed deep into the crowd at long-on as the left-handed Oliver, the former Shropshire captain who has been a hit in this format in his first season in the professional game, looked to take an aggressive approach.

Croft's achievement in making his 96th successive T20 appearance - an English record - was almost adorned by becoming part of the Flintoff story. Instead, it passed by almost unnoticed.

No more was seen of Flintoff until the 13th over, by which time a tall order had become taller still for the home side. Oliver and Daryl Mitchell had made a strong start but once they had both fallen to Croft's off-breaks, the required rate began to creep up and wickets were lost.

Needing to keep the runs flowing, by then to make up lost ground even, the 19-year-old Tom Kohler-Cadmore enjoyed a moment he will not forget, pulling his first ball from Flintoff over the mid-wicket boundary for six. Three balls later, though, he had become the first comeback wicket, bowled swinging extravagantly at a straight one.

Victory was essentially in the bag, with half of Worcestershire's wickets gone and the target a near-impossible 63 off four overs, when Flintoff returned for his third and fourth overs, which were much tidier than the first two and brought a second wicket when Alexei Kervezee holed out to long-on.

Flintoff was detained signing autographs afterwards but regrettably declined to connect with the wider public by speaking to the media, although he later tweeted his pleasure: "It's a bit like sex, always better 2nd time!".

Buttler, himself a little awestruck after keeping wicket to one of his boyhood heroes, offered a more measured, if less colourful appraisal.

"It was tough for him at the start, because they were always going to go hard with such a big total to chase and he needed a few balls to loosen up," Buttler said. "But he came back well in the last two overs and pushed one or two through.

"I had to pinch myself a bit, to think I was in the same team as such a legend of the game. I'll never forget watching the 2005 Ashes and the way he played there and to be in the same dressing room as him is a great experience."

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R Sridhar appointed Andhra Ranji coach

R Sridhar, the former Hyderabad left-arm spinner, has been appointed coach of the Andhra Ranji side for two years.

Sridhar, who began his coaching career in 2001, has been part of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and was the India Under-19's assistant coach during the World Cup in February in the UAE. He has also worked with Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2014 as the franchise's fielding coach.

"I thank Andhra cricket for this wonderful opportunity to further my coaching career in Andhra, a state with which my relationship goes a long way back," Sridhar said in a press release.

Sridhar will be looking to guide the side to better performances in domestic cricket. Andhra finished seventh in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season, winning just one game. In limited-overs tournaments, the results were equally middling. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, they finished last in the South Zone group and failed to progress to the Super League. Although their Vijay Hazare campaign also ended on a similar note, Andhra were third on the South Zone table, behind Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Sridhar's first-class career spanned 12 years in which he played 35 matches, taking 91 wickets. In 15 List A games between 1992 and 1998, Sridhar took 14 wickets.

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Pragmatic victory for MCC on nostalgia-filled day

MCC XI 296 for 3 (Finch 181*, Chanderpaul 37*) beat Rest of the World XI 293 for 7 (Yuvraj 132, Collingwood 40)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In the end, there was no Sachin Tendulkar hundred, no Brian Lara classic. The sun did not shine until it had begun to set and Shane Warne did not bowl. The contemporary cricketers showed the old stagers that reputations count for little. Thomas Lord, a wheeler-dealer who considered moving his now-famous cricket ground for a third time during the 1800s and had to be bought out of his stake, might have approved of the lack of sentiment.

Tendulkar's MCC XI won the match, in honour of the Lord's bicentenary, though the Marylebone Cricket Club was always going to be the winner on this occasion. Warne, the Rest of the World captain who had been feeling the love all week during the build-up, felt something more acute on arriving at the crease to bat, his first delivery a beamer from Brett Lee, his old Australia team-mate, possibly a few clicks slower than in his pomp but still a dangerous prospect.

A broken hand kept Warne off the field during the chase, depriving a capacity crowd of one of the most tantalising of the many sights they came to revel in.

There were still flashes of genius, though the more prosaic business of scoring runs and taking wickets was largely carried out by those still plying their trade. Aaron Finch's unbeaten 181 guided MCC home, trumping a flowing century from Yuvraj Singh. Without Warne, the Rest of the World were quiescent, Paul Collingwood their most penetrative bowler. If Tendulkar had not decorously chosen to rest Saeed Ajmal after his initial burst of 4 for 5, the party may have ended early.

At the start of the MCC innings, having been set a target of 294 on an accommodating pitch, the concourses emptied. "Sachin is about to bat." One punch down the ground from a fractionally full Peter Siddle delivery confirmed the touch was still there. Silence descended when he played back to Muttiah Muralitharan, on 44 from as many balls, and missed. Murali cracked a mischievous grin.

When Collingwood removed Lara and Rahul Dravid with successive deliveries it was left to Finch and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to hammer out victory on the anvil of pragmatism. The romantics may have experienced just a touch of disappointment.

The players took the field in old-fashioned whites and MCC cable-knit sweaters, with only the colours of their caps - Tendulkar's XI in dark blue, Warne's wearing canary yellow - to distinguish sides. While the sky above was grey, Lord's itself was a palette of colour, from elderly gents in egg-and-bacon ties, young men in red trousers and tweed, to windcheater-clad families and numerous fans wearing India shirts.

Lord's is glibly referred to as the home of cricket but there was something especially welcoming about the atmosphere. After 200 years of hosting MCC matches, the doors were thrown wide open.

As exhibition fixtures go, this was one that promised much in the way of artistry. Warne had joked beforehand that he didn't much fancy having another bowl at Tendulkar or Lara - and Lee ensured sure he didn't have to - but a full house was keen to see famous rivals locking horns again, even if the pervasive goodwill inevitably diminished the intensity.

Lee charging in to Virender Sehwag was just the stuff; Finch tossing up his occasional left-arm spin to Collingwood perhaps less so. This was not so much getting the band back together as asking several different bands to recombine and try to master a diverse selection of hits. The innings of Yuvraj and Finch aside, it was not quite "All the Old Showstoppers" by the New Pornographers; but like the Rolling Stones - or the strolling bones - this gig was always going to pull the crowds in.

Before the match had even begun, people thronged the cordoned-off walkway from the Nursery Ground nets, smartphones held aloft in tribute. Lara's passage caused a palpable ripple, before vigorous chants of "Dravid! Dravid!" broke out at the appearance of Sachin's old mate.

The game was hymned by a contented buzz around the ground, the most intense applause reserved for any Tendulkar activity - though the two individual century-makers brought large sections of the crowd to their feet. It was Tendulkar who ended Yuvraj's six-studded stay, having brought himself on to bowl in the last ten overs. After the match, as Tendulkar signed autographs in front of the Tavern Stand, one of the advertising hoardings gave way beneath the press of bodies. No wonder he feels at home here.

There was also a warm reception for Kevin Pietersen, a batsman who craves full-house approbation but whose only England role nowadays is as a member of the The Expendables. A stroke-filled hundred may have caused embarrassment for the ECB on their own patch - even before Andrew Strauss' indiscretion in the Sky commentary box - but Pietersen walked past an Ajmal doosra to be stumped for 10.

As Ajmal ran through the top order, it seemed likely the MCC would have to hastily arrange a beer match to fill the time left in the day (at Lord's, it would of course be a champagne match). Tendulkar took pity and brought on Finch to bowl, easing Yuvraj and Collingwood into a stand that eventually yielded 131.

Lee began proceedings at a sedate 70mph, that winsome smile never far away. Adam Gilchrist's rapier-like flashes through the off side were accompanied by some firm punches from Sehwag - as well as the odd play-and-miss - and the fifty opening stand was raised inside seven overs.

Sehwag, wearing his now customary spectacles, was beaten through the gate as Lee warmed up to medium pace, before Ajmal's introduction triggered a slide to 68 for 5. This may have been a birthday celebration but Ajmal was in no mood to clown around, sinuously defeating each of Gilchrist, Tamim Iqbal, Pietersen and Shahid Afridi in the space of three overs. The situation called for something a little less starry; out strolled "Brigadier Block".

Collingwood was dropped on 29 by a substitute fielder - an MCC Young Cricketer named Jordan Price, who will always be able to tell his grandchildren that he shelled a dolly in front of the grandstand. Yuvraj, still short of his hundred, then survived a thin nick that Chris Read could not hang on to. When a Yuvraj top edge fell between a non-moving Finch and a slow-moving Lara in the covers, the sense that this was a glorified club match returned. But what is life without a little glory?

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