Ageless Sidebottom warms to his task

Yorkshire 253 (Lyth 117, Finn 4-81) and 29 for 1 lead Middlesex 232 (Simpson 110, Malan 78, Sidebottom 7-44) by 50 runs
Scorecard

Ryan Sidebottom may be 36 and by the end of a steamy second day at North Marine Road he was feeling all of those years after bowling 17 overs in strength-sapping conditions, but he had also demonstrated his enduring class with a masterful display of left-arm swing bowling that ultimately regained the initiative for Yorkshire on a day of oscillating fortunes.

He finished with 7 for 44, his best figures since he took a career-best 7 for 37 against Somerset at Headingley in 2011. The holiday crowd of around 2,800 were willing him to claim an eighth and were baffled as Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, took him off after Tim Murtagh had become his fourth victim in the space of 30 deliveries in a superb third spell of the day.

By then, well into the final session, the temperature was probably higher than it had been all day and Sidebottom looked visibly shattered as he wandered down to fine leg. In the words of Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire's director of cricket, he was, quite simply, "shot".

What he had done to leave himself craving an ice bath perhaps as never before had been invaluable, ensuring that the partnership between John Simpson and Dawid Malan that rescued Middlesex from a calamitous start did not become the basis for a first-innings advantage in a match Yorkshire dearly want to win in order that the hiatus in the Championship programme that follows this week's games ends with them in front, rather than Nottinghamshire.

In reply to Yorkshire's 253, Simpson and Malan added 168 for the fifth wicket, transforming their side's position after an awful start that saw them in disarray at 11 for 4 and fortunate not to be 11 for 5, Malan getting a life on 7.

This was largely down to Sidebottom, whose willingness to push himself seems never to diminish, particularly when there is something in the conditions that he can exploit. That had been clear enough when Middlesex took the second new ball five overs into the morning session, delayed by 30 minutes because of overnight rain. It prompted the last four Yorkshire wickets to fall in the space of six overs, two of them taken by Steven Finn, who finished with 4 for 81 for a season's tally of 44.

Let loose on the Middlesex top order for three overs before lunch, Sidebottom delivered the first instalment in his masterclass with a classic dismissal of the left-handed Chris Rogers, caught behind without scoring as the ball, bowled full, drew the batsman to defend but swung away to take the edge, Jonny Bairstow taking the catch.

Steve Patterson, interestingly introduced for one over before lunch after Jack Brooks had begun with two overs bowled largely short at the Trafalgar Square End, struck the second blow when Nick Gubbins was leg before.

Two down for four at the interval, Sidebottom took up where he had left off as the afternoon began by dismissing Eoin Morgan, who also failed to score, in almost identical fashion to Rogers. Seven for 3 became 11 for 4 as Paul Stirling became victim number three for the maestro, deflecting a catch to third slip, where Kane Williamson took it well low down.

But it should have been 11 for 4 the over before, which contained the moment that would have changed the course of the day had it gone in Yorkshire's favour, rather than against. Brooks, back on at the Trafalgar Square End, had Malan nibbling outside off stump and was about to set off on his looping celebratory run as Bairstow moved to his right to take the catch. But it was grounded.

Had it stuck, then maybe Stirling's dismissal would have made it 11 for 5, a position, you would have thought, that might have been beyond Middlesex's redemption.

As it was, some of Yorkshire's momentum disappeared as the afternoon unfolded, and Malan, with Simpson settling after almost playing on with an inside edge off Brooks that went for four, began to play in the manner that had brought him centuries in each of his last two Championship matches.

It took Yorkshire another 43 overs, into the evening session, to take another wicket, although when it came it marked the start of another brilliant spell from Sidebottom, who at last had Malan caught at second slip for 78.

In the space of 30 more deliveries he had taken three more, trapping Ollie Rayner leg before with an inswinger, and having Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh caught by Lyth again at second slip - the latter parried first by third slip - either side of a splendid throw from Adil Rashid at cover to enable Bairstow to run out Simpson, whose fine innings contained 17 fours and a six and was as important to Middlesex as Lyth's had been for Yorkshire.

Yorkshire did not benefit from Lyth's 117 as much as they might have, losing their last seven wickets for 49 runs. Lyth perished for only 9 second time around, but Yorkshire have a lead they can build on.

Read More..

Farbrace defends senior players

Have to show the fight of Headingley - Farbrace

Paul Farbrace insisted England's senior players could not be praised highly enough despite recent results at the close of play on the fourth day of the second Investec Test at Lord's.

Farbrace, the England assistant coach, pledged full support for beleaguered captain, Alastair Cook, and said the "contribution" of other senior players had been "fantastic."

Farbrace has only been in the job a few months so it would be understandable if he felt he was not in a position to criticise his players. But his comments are sure to raise eye-brows after another disappointing day saw England facing a fight to avoid defeat against India.

Of particular surprise will be Farbrace's suggestion that the coaching team "can't praise the senior players highly enough" despite evidence that suggests they are the cause of the team's difficulties.

For while Cook has not scored a Test century for 27 innings and Ian Bell not for 17 innings, Matt Prior has conceded the equal most byes by an England keeper in a home Test since 1934. Stuart Broad looks far from fit while James Anderson has not taken a five-wicket haul since the Trent Bridge Test of 2013 and, in the 13 games since, has taken his wickets at an average of 35.59.

But Farbrace remains supportive and believes that the worth of such players cannot be rated by their on-field contributions.

"The great thing with all of our senior players is that their contribution in and around the dressing room, in and around practice, has been fantastic," Farbrace said. "It's been massive. We can't praise them highly enough.

"They're helping young players that we're trying to develop and we are trying to develop a squad and a team and trying to take it forward. Yes, we want to win games, but we're also trying to develop players at the same time as winning games of cricket."

While that does raise the question of the role of the coaches - you might think it was their role to help with the development of younger players - Farbrace did accept that the bowlers had failed to maintain the requisite lengths in India second innings and that Cook needed to produce more runs.

"They're not machines," Farbrace said. "They are trying hard to get the ball in the right places and sometimes it doesn't work.

"Absolutely, Alastair is aware that he needs to score some runs. He wants to do well for the team. He wants to score runs for them.

"He doesn't need telling. He's well aware of what he needs to do, and his commitment to the team is fantastic."

In truth, Farbrace's comments probably illustrate the absurdity of the post-play media conferences more than they do anything else. While he expressed his resolute support for Cook as captain, there really was nothing else he could be expected to say in the circumstances. The fourth day of a Test is hardly the time to suggest it is time for a change of captaincy.

"Nothing has changed whatsoever," Farbrace said. "Absolutely nothing has changed. We all want him to score runs and I think you saw today that everybody in the ground wanted him to score runs. We're all very much behind him. Everyone in the team is.

"He's feeling that a score is close, and you saw today that he fought and scrapped and worked as hard as he possibly could. There is absolutely no question that he is our leader. He's a very unflappable character and he's working very hard. His thoughts are very much on the team and the team doing well."

Read More..

O'Brien, Red Steel pile on to Hawksbills misery

Red Steel 152 for 1 (O'Brien 90*, Taylor 51*) beat Antigua Hawksbills 151 for 8 (Thomas 38, Cooper 3-34)) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Irishman Kevin O'Brien became the latest batsman to mete out a healthy dose of punishment to the Antigua Hawksbills as his unbeaten 90 off 49 balls ensured a thumping nine-wicket win for the Red Steel at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday in Antigua. O'Brien teamed with Ross Taylor (51 not out) to produce the highest partnership in Caribbean Premier League history, an unbroken 145-run stand for the second-wicket to comfortably break the previous record set by Raymon Reifer and Shoaib Malik in 2013 when they added 102 in tandem for the Barbados Tridents against Jamaica Tallawahs.

O'Brien and Taylor came together in the second over with the score 7 for 1 chasing the Hawksbills' 151 for 8 after Kennar Lewis yanked the gentle offspin of Rahkeem Cornwall to Ben Laughlin at deep midwicket for 2. It was the last bit of joy for the Hawksbills on the day as Taylor joined O'Brien at the crease and the pair spent the rest of the hot afternoon forcing the Antigua fielders to chase leather.

No one was spared from the onslaught but spinners bore the brunt of it from O'Brien. The Red Steel batsman had Bradd Hogg in his crosshairs from Hogg's first delivery when O'Brien stepped out of his crease to smash a six over extra cover to start the eighth over. O'Brien clubbed the gentle seam of Laughlin for a four and six to the same region in the 12th before bringing up his 50 off 29 balls with a single to square leg.

With the seamers not making any impact, Hawksbills captain Marlon Samuels tried going back to his tweakers but it made no difference to O'Brien. He continued using his feet to the slow bowlers, skipping down the track to launch Cornwell over the bowler's head for back-to-back sixes in the 14th. He came down the track once more to crunch Hogg over midwicket in the 16th for his seventh six before showing finesse to go with his power by executing a delicate cut past point off Hogg for his fifth four.

Taylor faced just three fewer deliveries than his partner, but unselfishly focused most of his innings turning the strike back over to the red hot O'Brien. He brought up his half-century in 44 balls by gliding a single to third man in the 17th and an O'Brien two through cover leveled the scores by the end of the over. Antigua's uninspiring performance in the field came to a conclusion when a sharp turning delivery from Hogg beat the keeper Devon Thomas to produce a bye for the winning run with 17 balls to spare.

The easygoing chase was set up by a solid performance in the field after Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo won the toss and sent the Hawksbills in to bat. With the exception of a 66-run stand for the fourth wicket between Thomas and David Hussey, the Hawksbills struggled to piece together solid partnerships. Neither batsman made the most of their respective starts with Hussey slogging Sulieman Benn to O'Brien at long off for 30 before Thomas backed away to Kevon Cooper and edged an attempted drive to Pooran for 38 two balls into the 18th to make it 119 for 5.

The loss of both set batsmen robbed the Hawksbills of their best chance for a strong finishing kick. Bravo kept the pressure on by taking two wickets in the 19th over, getting Carlos Brathwaite to top edge a slower ball to fine leg before Sheldon Cottrell was out in front of another slower ball and ballooned a chance that Bravo claimed for himself. The Hawksbills troubles with change of pace deliveries continued through the end of the innings when a Cooper slower ball fooled Cornwall to give Cooper match-best figures of 3 for 34 and set up a target that was well within reach of Taylor and O'Brien.

Read More..

Scars of the old era haunt England

It will take something remarkable for England to chase down their target and the more evidence that is displayed suggests more fresh faces need to brought into the team in place of mentally scarred seniors

Chappell: Bell has a few things to sort out

The new era is only four Tests old, but already it is fighting for its life.

To see Alastair Cook trudging back to the pavilion after that old weakness, the tentative prod outside off stump, had been exposed once again, was to see a much loved but sickly family pet being taken to the vet for a one way visit. Really, it might be kinder to let him go now.

It was Cook upon whom this new look England team was founded. It was Cook who was supposed to supply the runs to empower that team; Cook who was supposed to grow into the role of captain and lead this side for the next four or five years.

But, after a run of form so grim that it should be hidden from the young, the pregnant and those with heart conditions, it is becoming increasingly hard to avoid the conclusion that it is not going to happen.

Nobody doubts Cook's good intentions or his determination. But he is now averaging 14.33 this year. He has now gone nine innings since reaching 30 and 27 innings since reaching 100. Since the start of the 2013 Ashes, he averages 23.62. This cannot go on.

For every sign of improvement in his captaincy - and there were a few at Trent Bridge - there is a counter sign that reinforces concerns. Some of England's tactics here - the six men on the boundary for a No. 10 batsmen; the barrage of short balls on a green wicket - have been baffling.

While he has certainly been let down by his senior players, one wonders how effectively Cook is leading them. Would James Anderson, whose on-pitch snarling does nothing to improve his bowling, have found himself in a position where he could be charged with a Level 3 offence under a stronger captain; a captain who might have nipped the argument with Ravindra Jadeja in the bud; a captain who might have told Anderson to stop the posturing and allow his bowling to do the talking?

And might a stronger captain have taken his leading seamers to one side after lunch on the fourth day when their awful bowling was allowing India to build a definitive lead? Might a stronger captain have either take them out of the attack or make it clear that they had to pitch the ball fuller? Instead Cook retained faith in them. Faith that has, of late, been largely misplaced. Blind, even.

But perhaps it is not the new era that is struggling. Perhaps the problem is that fragments of England's old era remain and continue to impede the fresh team that is attempting to break through. Perhaps this era is not new enough.

The new, or recalled, players - the likes of Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett - are actually performing pretty well. It is the players of the old era who are failing. An old era that continues to decay.

	England won the toss in a situation where that should have provided a match-defining advantage. They are playing against an India team who have not won a Test away from home since June 2011; a team of which only two had played a Test in England before this series; a team which has only won one Test at Lord's; a modest team in a rebuilding phase of its own

Anderson's bowling after lunch on the fourth day here was wretched. Petulant, immature and self-defeating, it was inspired more by bravado and anger than professionalism. Despite overwhelming evidence that it is the fuller delivery that is causing batsmen trouble on this pitch, 83% of the spell was short as Anderson, desperate to avenge what he sees as the injustice Jadeja has done to his reputation, seemed to allow his temper to get the better of him. Jadeja feasted upon it and played the innings that might well settle the game.

Matt Prior, meanwhile, looks a broken man. It is not simply that he has missed several chances, it is that, in no home Test since 1934, has an England keeper conceded more than the 36 byes Prior has conceded here. In the four Tests this summer, he has conceded 77 byes in all. There are, as ever, extenuating circumstances, but England are deluding themselves if they conclude anything other than the time has come to move on.

Even Ian Bell, who might be considered an option as captain if his own form was better, is struggling. Since his wonderful Ashes series last year, he has played nine Tests, batted 17 times and averaged 25.87 without a century. To be fair to him, he received a brute of a delivery that kept horribly low in the second innings here. But this side require more from their senior players and Bell is currently struggling to deliver.

What does all this tell us? Might it tell us that it is the England environment that is partially at fault? That those players scarred by events in Australia, wearied by the relentless schedule and jaded by exposure to the England coaching regime are no longer able to perform at their optimum? Might it tell us that the answer lies in new recruits? In a truly new age?

Some context is required. England won the toss in a situation where that should have provided a match-defining advantage. They are playing against an India team who have not won a Test away from home since June 2011; a team of which only two had played a Test in England before this series; a team which has only won one Test at Lord's; a modest team in a rebuilding phase of its own. If England cannot win in such circumstances, it is hard to envisage any in which they can.

There are parallels between this match and the Mumbai Test of November 2012. Then, just as now, the home team won the toss in conditions ideal for them but were defeated. In Mumbai it was England's spinners who out-bowled their counterparts; here the India seamers have out-bowled England's. Worryingly for England, they were out-bowled by Sri Lanka's for part of the previous series, too.

It should not matter if England pull-off a miracle run-chase on the final. It would simply mask problems that have become too obvious to ignore. The old order has failed; a new one must be ushered in.

Read More..

Younis plays down ODI return

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has played down talks of him scoring plenty of runs in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

"Yes, it is true Sri Lanka has been a good team for me. I scored a hundred against them on my Test debut and also a triple-hundred," he said. "But this is a new series and this is going to be a much tougher series as they have been doing well in recent times.

"I will just try to give my best but yes, when you resume playing in any form of the game after a break, it takes a while to find your rhythm and timing."

Pakistan tour Sri Lanka in August to play two Tests and three ODIs. It will be their first Test in seven months after their home series against the same opponents in UAE in January.

Younis was also all praise for the new head coach Waqar Younis who has begun a second stint with the national team.

"I have worked with Waqar before when he was head coach and during his time, the team showed very good progress and won consistently. I am confident we will resume our winning ways and improve from where we left off last time."

Pakistan are scheduled to play at least 15 ODIs before the World Cup, against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.

Read More..

India encouraged by variable bounce

'We need at least 300' - Pujara

Since India lost at Cape Town in 2006-07 by five wickets, India have batted first 14 times in Tests outside Asia; this is the 15th. They have lost five of those, either by an innings or by 10 wickets. Others have either been drawn or won.

This has been a young trend, but if India compete in these challenging Tests, they do not end up losing. India have competed on level terms for three days, and are effectively 145 for 4 with three and a half batsmen to follow. There is cause for optimism, but Cheteshwar Pujara is looking at a score of at least 300 to feel comfortable while defending.

"We are looking at 350 if we can," Pujara said. "First thing's first, the first target is 300. If we can bat well and get somewhere around 350, it will be a very good total to defend.

"We can't think of what target we want. What we can focus on is to bat well. Vijay and MS [Dhoni] are batting really well at the moment. If they can carry on, with Binny and Jadeja to come, if they can score some runs - and we can't forget Bhuvneshwar Kumar's batting in this series - so we have a few batsmen who can bat well and score runs for us. Focus is to score as many runs as possible and then think about it."

The pitch seems to have eased out from the first two days, but there is still enough seam movement to be had to keep the bowlers interested. Added to it is the variable bounce now making an appearance.

"There isn't much grass on the wicket now, but the bounce is variable now," Pujara said. "When I was batting a couple of balls stayed really low, and a couple of balls kicked, which weren't bouncers but they just kicked off the wicket. So yeah, there is variable bounce."

Like Pujara, Liam Plunkett thinks the game is in the balance. If India have confidence to draw from having defended well, England also know the Lord's pitch can flatten out towards the end. Plunkett was part of the Yorkshire side that earlier this summer failed to defend 472 against Middlesex.

"I was here when we got 'Chris Rogered' earlier in the season, on a wicket that did a little bit early on - a bit like this one," Plunkett said.

He would not say what sort of target will make them uncomfortable, but felt confident of his side's chances batting last on this pitch. "It's a good wicket, and I think the sun's just going to make it a bit flatter. The match is bit even at the minute. But if we come out in the morning and get one or two, it quickly changes in our favour."

Read More..

Bhuvneshwar - Meerut's scissors

The small town in Uttar Pradesh is known for its assembly line of scissors and now, swing bowlers. While Praveen Kumar has fallen off the radar, the relatively humble Bhuvneshwar Kumar is made of sturdier metal

Highlights: Bhuvneshwar claims career-best 6 for 82

Things Meerut is known for -

• SG cricket balls and other sports-goods manufacturing. Generation after generation of workers are handed down the skill to make SG balls, the only hand-stitched ball used in international cricket.
  
• Revdi - the sweet with sesame seeds and lots of sugar.
  
• Crime rate, much higher than India's average.
  
• The closest thing to Tarantino in India - filmmaker and musician Vishal Bhardwaj, who also does a lot of Shakespeare adaptations, grew up playing with guns and musical instruments alike.
  

And the scissors. The famous Meerut Ki Kainchi, which has now got itself a Geographical Indicator tag to protect it from poor imitation. They are sharp, smooth, deft of movement, crisp with the 'kich-khach' sound tailors love. Saadat Hasan Manto, the great writer known for his short stories, wrote about this temptress in the 1940s Bollywood whom he didn't name. The book was called Meerut Ki Kainchi.

The two 'scissors' Meerut (a town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh) has given Indian cricket of late can swing the SG and Duke ball sharp. We might as well give the 'Kumar Scissors' a Geographical Indicator. Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are pretty deft, modest to the outside world, not willing to discuss their craft openly, and with their pace around 130kmph or 80mph and a drivable length they tempt batsmen fatally. Praveen is currently Indian cricket's big loss, due to a combination of fitness and attitude issues and poor luck, but this new pair seems to be built of sturdier metal.

A lot of nurture and care has gone into Bhuvneshwar. His family moved to Meerut from a village. His father was a cop and his mother didn't know the Meerut ways, although Meerut itself is a small town. Bhuvneshwar's sister was at times a friend, at times a parent to him. She would go to the parent-teachers meet at school, and make sure the parents didn't get a wind of all school complaints against him. Bhuvneshwar wasn't the brightest student, but he was pretty clever with the ball.

	Before his UP U-17 trials, Bhuvneshwar didn't even have a proper pair of boots. His sister used to work in Delhi. She rushed to the posh Khan Market, spent a fortune on them and reached home at 6.15pm. His train was to leave at 7pm

When the young Bhuvneshwar told his parents he wanted to join a cricket club, they just gawked. They knew cricket existed, they knew who Sachin Tendulkar was, but they didn't really know what cricket was. They still put together enough to get him in. He had to lug his kit bag one kilometre to the nearest auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk) stand for his 2pm games in those merciless north-Indian summers. When he returned by 7pm, his mother would be waiting there, and she would carry the kit bag on the way back.

Before his Uttar Pradesh Under-17 trials, Bhuvneshwar didn't even have a proper pair of boots. His sister used to work in Delhi. She rushed to the posh Khan Market, spent a fortune on them and reached home at 6.15pm. His train was to leave at 7pm.

Bhuvneshwar made it to the Uttar Pradesh Ranji team, a highly competitive and politicised environment, but also conducive for swing bowlers. Three of India's last four proper swing bowlers have come from there, RP Singh being the other. They were mentored by Ashish Winston Zaidi, a similarly wily swing bowler who knew how to take wickets on dead pitches and who ended four wickets short of being the most successful paceman in the Ranji Trophy. Bhuvneshwar's first big match involved Praveen, RP and Zaidi, and the only cricketer his parents had heard of.

Tendulkar played the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy final against UP. On the first morning, on a flat pitch, he bowled 13 dot balls to Tendulkar, setting him up with full outswingers before bowling an inswinger with the short midwicket taking a bat-pad catch. That was Tendulkar's first duck in domestic first-class cricket. In a TV show answering kids' questions, a modest Bhuvneshwar recently said he still doesn't know how he got the wicket. He was setting up the great batsman all along. Bhuvneshwar still talks similarly of international wickets today.

"I got sleep that night," Bhuvneshwar spoke of the day he got Tendulkar out, "but a little late."

Wonder what kind of sleep he will get tonight. He has followed RP and Praveen to the Lord's honours board. There is a nice symmetry to that, all three swing bowlers hailing from the badlands of UP, living in sports hostels, making their own decisions, learning by themselves as they go along (though Bhuvneshwar isn't a product of the hostels). Bhuvneshwar will likely tell you how he just bowled in the right areas to fetch six wickets at Lord's, but there was a proper method to his wickets.

Michael Holding on Sky Sports noted how he bowled in the old-fashioned manner of looking over his front arm just before letting the ball go, in the process putting a lot of stress on his back but getting enough action on the ball. With that thin frame, he needs all the action his technique can generate. Most bowlers nowadays go easy on their backs and look under their front arm. The ball danced to Bhunveshwar's tune. If he wanted outswing he drew outswing, if he wanted inswing he generated inswing. He got balls to go against the slope, waited patiently before pulling out the variation, but gave away no free runs and few easy leaves.

Alastair Cook got into a poker game with Bhuvneshwar. From the Nursery End Bhuvneshwar bowled a whole over moving the ball up the hill and away from him. Cook was mindful of the one that would eventually come back in, but Bhuvneshwar was prepared to wait. Cook jumped the gun on this one, and played at what he had been leaving alone. Bhuvneshwar showed more patience against Sam Robson, who was dropped once and who edged one through the cordon in the first 10 overs. Bhuvneshwar kept pegging away with no free runs again, and Robson eventually ran out of discipline, patience and played that loose shot. That was in Bhuvneshwar's eighth over on the bounce, but he was prepared to bowl more.

Bhuvneshwar was in his 15th over when India began the 32nd. The wicket of Ian Bell might look like a trick of the pitch, but Bell has shown a bit of edginess, a lack of certainty, a conflict between a dab and a leave when the ball has been short of a length and just around off. This one just nipped back and bounced at him, and Bhuvneshwar had three. The wickets had dried up, but runs didn't flow off Bhuvneshwar either. However, statistics were against him.

Before this series Bhuvneshwar had taken only one wicket after having bowled 20 overs in an innings. It was a cause of concern as England headed towards a lead after Gary Balance's century. At this point, Bhuvneshwar would be justified if he said he didn't know how he got the wicket, as he claimed Ballance against the run of play, caught down the leg side.

On the third morning, once he got another left-hand batsman, Ben Stokes, he was back to his patient prowl. On a length, around that off stump, taking one away, bringing another in. Did Stokes have more patience than Cook? No he didn't. Seven dots in a row and he went for a big drive on the eighth. The scissors were in the business again. The ball dipped a little, swung back in, would have had him lbw, but ricocheted onto the stumps anyway.

It seemed like someone reminded Bhuvneshwar he had got five, and he belatedly and shyly raised the ball the Aussie way, holding it in his left hand. He led India off the field, having kept the first-innings deficit down to 24. This Meerut Ki Kainchi will get sleep tonight, but it might be a bit later than usual.

Read More..

Could England nab Lyth too?

Yorkshire 211 for 6 (Lyth 117) v Middlesex
Scorecard

In the interests of their title challenge, the last thing Yorkshire want is to have the England selectors asking too many questions about Adam Lyth but it may be difficult to keep them off the scent given his consistent excellence this season.

Five first-class hundreds, four in the Championship; 1,134 first-class runs, 1,004 in the Championship (the first to do so in Division One): the numbers are impressive, as is the way in which he is making them, with an enhanced sense of care and responsibility.

Already deprived of three players - Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Liam Plunkett - even with Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan out of favour, you would imagine Andrew Gale might want to play down the credentials of another but the Yorkshire captain is inclined to do the opposite. After Lyth's 230 against Northamptonshire at the beginning of June, he boldly claimed that "compared with all the Yorkshire lads who have played for England recently, he has the most ability."

The selectors do not appear yet to be quite so keen. Since his 1,500 runs in the 2010 season earned him a trip to the Caribbean with an England Lions side managed by the recently appointed England selector Mick Newell he has not had a look-on. This is his best year subsequently - it may turn out even better - and there is no doubt he has moved to a different level.

He has scored 50 runs or more in more than half of his 17 Championship innings so far, the consistent theme of which has been his willingness, when the situation demands it, to be a patient accumulator. He remains a lovely batsman to watch, particularly when driving on the off, but he has become much more willing to bide his time, less inclined to follow his attacking instincts and nick off early. He has worked hard to eliminate vulnerabilities in his game and it is paying off handsomely.

As Yorkshire transferred operations to Scarborough, just along the coast from Lyth's home town of Whitby, he demonstrated again that he has acquired an ability to stick around even in difficult conditions, making a grafted 117 that acquired even more value as Middlesex fought back late in the day.

There were a few streaky moments, although nothing that constituted a chance until he had made 75, when he skewed a ball from Toby Roland-Jones that Eoin Morgan should have taken at gully. Lyth took in his moment of good fortune but then stomped away on to the adjoining pitch, swishing his bat angrily. He values his wicket highly now. He completed his hundred, too, with not his best shot, edging a ball from Steven Finn to the third man boundary for four.

There was plenty in this pitch, which had bounce and carry and a good covering of grass and the atmosphere remained humid after overnight rain. Had Middlesex bowled a little fuller in the morning session, the day might have unfolded differently.

As it was, their only success before lunch came when Roland-Jones produced a fine ball to remove Alex Lees, one that was pitched up and moved away late to take the edge as the batsman tried to defend.

Rain hastened an early interval, after which Finn, unlucky against Lees earlier, gained his reward when Kane Williamson, back with Yorkshire to resume in Aaron Finch's place as overseas player, was bowled by one that swung back.

It was after a second, longer stoppage in the afternoon, setting up a final session that would have extended to almost 45 overs but for bad light, that Middlesex began to gain rewards for deciding to bowl first, encouraging them to think that, notwithstanding Lyth's runs, they had done rather well.

Finn claimed a second success - his 42nd of the season - when Gale cut straight to Rogers at point for 30, then 20-year-old Tom Helm, preferred to James Harris as fourth seamer with the latter going back to Glamorgan on loan, ended a torrid 42-ball innings from Bairstow by bowling the deposed England wicketkeeper for 5.

With the ball doing plenty and batsmen perhaps struggling in the fading light, Roland-Jones bowled Jack Leaning with another full length ball before Helm made one bounce to end Lyth's wonderful knock - his first Championship hundred on the ground of his cricket upbringing - via a catch off the shoulder of the bat, taken at second slip.

Read More..

Pathirana stars in opening Sri Lanka A win

Sri Lanka A 240 for 5 (Gunathilaka 57, Rajapaksa 52 Pathirana 52*, Bulcock 3-26) beat Unicorns 237 (Burton 44, Rambukwella 3-18) by five wickets Scorecard

Sri Lanka A have opened their campaign in England with a five-wicket win over the Unicorns in a 50-over warm-up, as slow-bowling allrounder Sachith Pathirana made significant contributions in both disciplines.

Unicorns batted first at Gosford but despite a steady opening stand of 61, were hamstrung by the breakthroughs Sri Lanka A's spinners regularly effected.

Pathirana's left-arm spin and Ramith Rambukwella's offspin accounted for five scalps in total, including the top four, as Unicorns were reduced to 138 for 5 by the 34th over.

The seam bowlers took wickets through the middle overs, with legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna also taking one scalp. Unicorns were all out for 237 in the 48th over. Rambukwella finished with the innings' best figures of 3 for 34, and Tom Burton top scored with 44.

Sri Lanka A began their chase with a 95-run opening stand, driven primarily by Danushka Gunathilaka's 57 off 67 balls. Left-arm spinner Toby Bulcock turned that wicket into a mini-collapse - taking three of the four wickets that fell for 15 runs, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Pathirana were on hand to right Sri Lanka A's course.

Rajapaksa made 52 off 62, and though he fell with over 50 runs still to get, Pathirana's 52 not out saw Sri Lanka A over the line in the penultimate over.

Unicorns are a one-day outfit comprised of uncontracted players. They were part of England's one-day domestic competition until this year.

Read More..

Cook's descent into private hell

Eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Alastair Cook are wearing out

Chappell: England in dire straits but for Ballance

Had an undertaker taken measurements of Alastair Cook as he made his way back to the pavilion, the signs could hardly have been more obvious: after another poor display in the field on the opening day and another poor display with the bat on the second, time is running out for England's captain.

Cook's failure at Lord's was familiar in every sense. Not just because it extended his run of low scores to the stage where they can no longer be ignored by an England management desperate for him to succeed, but for the manner of his dismissal. Cook, as so often, was caught behind after poking at one just outside off stump without moving his feet. He has now gone 26 innings without a century to 26 and averages 13.37 this calendar year. Those are figures that can no longer be ignored or excused.

The groan that rose from Lord's upon Cook's dismissal spoke volumes. It spoke of a crowd desperately willing Cook to succeed; it spoke of a crowd that understood how hard he is working, how much he is struggling and of their empathy for a decent man descending into his own private hell.

He had looked in better touch. He left the ball well. His defensive strokes all hit the middle of the bat and, in general, went straight back to the bowler. There was a sense that this might be his day.

And it is true that he has enjoyed little luck. While Gary Ballance benefited from a reprieve in the slips early in his century, Cook had no such fortune. And while the ball that struck his thigh pad at Trent Bridge might usually have glanced away for leg byes, it instead cannoned onto his leg stump.

But only fools and losers continually blame luck for their failings. Eventually you have to accept that if a result recurs often, there is an underlying reason.

It has not been unreasonable to keep faith with Cook until now. His long-term record remains good - though his average has dropped to a fraction over 45 - and he is, at 29, young enough to come again. But eventually, with the run of low scores growing longer, it appears ever more as if the England management are desperate for him to succeed as much so save their own face as anything else.

They staked everything on Cook. They sacked Kevin Pietersen and decided to rebuild upon the rock of Cook's run scoring. But perhaps due to the pressure that decision added, he has been unable to sustain the form required for a Test opening batsman. The management's faith and continuity is starting to look desperate rather than loyal and sensible. Just as it is becoming impossible to deny the deterioration in Matt Prior's keeping, so Cook's problems have become impossible to ignore.

While Cook is batting ever more like Mike Brearley - who, speaking on Test Match Special, questioned whether Cook would survive his current malaise - he is no nearer to captaining like him.

After an improved performance at Trent Bridge, he chased the game in the field on Thursday and suggested that all the criticism he has attracted had started to distort his thinking. Just when England needed to patiently persist on an old-fashioned line and length attack, they experimented with three men out on the hook and a round the wicket bouncer barrage. It was, by any standards, poor captaincy.

And eventually, with the batting failures accumulating and his captaincy not compensating, the reasons for persisting with Cook are wearing out. If England lose this match, a match in which they won a crucial toss, Cook's future will be hanging by a thread. We may well be in the end days now.

If and when the end comes for Cook, he might well reflect on the lack of support he has gained from his senior players. For various reasons - fitness mainly - Prior has been unable to provide the support he might have done in previous years, while James Anderson and Stuart Broad let him down with their bowling both at Headingley and in the first innings here. Ian Bell's lack of runs is bringing no respite, either.

Cook is now clinging to his position by the flimsiest of reasons: the lack of alternatives. Neither the candidates for replacement opening batsman or the opening position spring out. If they did, Cook would surely have gone by now.

The most obvious alternative as captain is Bell. He has captained, albeit on a part-time basis, with some success for Warwickshire. He showed himself to be an imaginative leader whose own game seemed to improve with the responsibility.

But not only is his own form a nagging worry - nobody doubts Bell's class but it is now 18 innings since he registered a Test century and, since the start of the Ashes series in Australia, he is averaging 27.53 - but there is some doubt as to whether he can replicate those leadership characteristics at this level.

While at county level Bell is something of a giant, respected by his peers and confident in the environment, most insiders talk of him in very different terms in the England set-up. He is seen more as a follower than a leader and there are doubts whether he could control other senior players as required.

Captaincy might well prove the making of him, but it would constitute a risk.

Joe Root also has his supporters. But just as his premature elevation to the opening spot threatened to derail his progress, so the burden of captaincy might prove unhelpful for a 23-year-old whose game is still in its development phase. He has little experience in the role - his one game as captain of Yorkshire earlier this season ended in Middlesex chasing 472 to win in the fourth innings for the loss of only three wickets - and to promote him now might risk spoiling one of the more exciting prospects in the English game.

Cook has one more chance in the second innings. But if he fails again and England lose the game, his days may be numbered. He will be batting for his future in the fourth innings at Lord's.

Read More..