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ScorecardSam Robson’s impressive start to the season continued•Getty Images

Chris Rogers and Sam Robson set a new record for the highest ever first-wicket stand for Middlesex against Surrey on a day that saw the home side wrestle back the initiative from their south of the river rivals. It was in the 69th over that the record set by Pelham Warner and James Douglas in 1907 at The Oval was passed, and owed as much to the openers’ pro-active start as it did to a pitch that became much easier to bat on.In an elongated afternoon session, Rogers and Robson compiled 161 runs in 48 overs, in a determined yet comfortable manner. They continued on their merry way in the evening with such nonchalance that the passing of Surrey’s total was met with nothing more than a cursory glance at the scorecard from the spectators. While their hundreds were reached at the same pace – both took 185 balls – the nature of their innings bore the imprint of their respective personalities.Robson displayed his aptitude for driving before bringing out his dabs behind square on both sides of the wicket. If you’ll allow the typecasting, he is the evolving opener; growing into his innings through a well-rounded attacking game rather than bitty accumulation. Obviously that comes with its own pitfalls – his conversion rate of fifties to hundreds may never get above the one-third it stands at now – but he is an exciting prospect who should be encouraged to play his game. His decision to try and hook Zander de Bruyn cost him his wicket, but he had played a fine hand.”Been there – done that – did it again” would be the pithy 1990s subtext to Rogers’ first century for Middlesex against Surrey. The majority of his runs against the seamers came through third-man with a deliberateness that Jade Dernbach couldn’t quite believe; anything on his legs was greatly received. Even when he was driving crisply yet straight to the fielders at the end of the day, he would wryly walk away from his crease, before returning to push the next ball around the corner for a couple. It was his career in a nutshell; trial and error – hold the error.The day started with Surrey taking the one remaining wicket before Tim Murtagh and Corey Collymore could add the 28 runs needed to avoid the follow-on. Unsurprisingly, with his bowlers well rested and rain predicted for Sunday, Graeme Smith put Middlesex back in. There was rain in the air; a light drizzle greeted spectators upon their arrival before the start of play and a bigger, longer downpour came with Middlesex 29 without loss.A 40-minute delay and an early lunch later, in muggier conditions, Dernbach drew the first false shot with Rogers edging a difficult chance to Wilson at second slip, which had the Irishman diving to his right and slightly forward, but failing to hold on.At the other end, Chris Tremlett looked strong and quick, bringing his length forward and hitting the bat hard. Watching him the previous day from square of the wicket, the 6ft 7 inch bowler had a notable stop after delivery; an unusual hop, seemingly dissipating any kind of forward momentum. Today he bustled through the crease with greater fluency – the hop making way for a couple of ferocious strides. However, Rogers used this extra pace to slap a couple of fours behind point as he and Robson took Middlesex past fifty with minimal fuss.The springiness of the surface on the opening was a faint memory as the pitch played with more conventional bounce which Robson in particular thrived on. He didn’t have to force the issue, instead timing the ball well on the front foot and, as he moved into the 30s, working the ball through cover-point and in front of square leg off Tim Linley and Dernbach.He moved past fifty for the fourth time this season with his ninth boundary and Rogers soon joined him in the fifties, though not before a little scare when he edged again to second slip, this time well short, off the bowling of Linley. Save that moment, Linley was ineffectual and at times looked like he was returning a favour to Robson.As both players motored on in the evening session, Smith got creative in the field. When Robson was startled by a short-ball from Dernbach, Smith encouraged his bowler to persist and supported him with five men on the leg-side; a wide mid-on, midwicket, deep square leg and two behind square – one of whom was a leg-slip.Considering the circumstances and the protagonists – an Australian batsman in the process of qualifying for England and a South African-born English bowler obeying the orders of his pugnacious yet affable skipper – it was very much Bodyline-lite, and when Dernbach was slightly wide with his short-ball, Robson gleefully moved to 96, and past 3,000 first-class runs.Rogers was not keen to play the short ball, choosing to duck and dive, which only infuriated Dernbach further; he thought he might have had Robson caught off an inside edge but it wasn’t given. The 200 partnership came up with both batsmen on 98 and the only question was who would get there first. In the end it was Rogers with a punch through cover, before Robson followed with a scampered single to midwicket.With an overnight lead of 111, Middlesex’s middle order have the chance to make amends for their earlier misdemeanours and give their bowlers enough runs and – importantly – time to push for a win. The corresponding fixture, albeit on a less accommodating pitch, produced a thrilling finish in Middlesex’s favour, and history suggests it may not just dribble to a draw.If the Sunday of a long weekend has you at a loose end, look no further than Lord’s – where adult tickets £5 and it’s free for over-65s and under-16s – for the finale of what has been a compelling encounter.

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, is in an induced coma in hospital after being assaulted twice late on Wednesday evening in Christchurch. Ryder, 28, is in intensive care after suffering a fractured skull, which Christchurch Police believe happened in the second of the two attacks.The first assault took place at about 12.30am outside the Aikman’s Bar in a Christchurch suburb Merivale, where Ryder had been out with Wellington team-mates and friends following their loss to Canterbury to mark the end of the season. The second attack occurred minutes later at the entrance to the car park of a McDonald’s across the road, where the other Wellington players had gone to order food.”An altercation has taken place on the footpath outside Aikman’s involving Jesse and a group of at least two other males. The altercation was brief,” Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer told reporters in Christchurch. “Following that incident, Ryder and two other persons walked across the road towards McDonald’s, where his Wellington team-mates had been purchasing some food. A second altercation has taken place at the entrance to the McDonald’s car park, involving one of the males from the earlier group.”In that incident it appears Jesse has been the victim of a serious assault and has suffered head injuries as a result. Ambulance and police were called about at 12.44am. Jesse was taken to hospital where he remains in intensive care.”The hospital advise that Jesse is in a critical condition, he is in an induced coma as a result of suffering multiple injuries. He is still being assessed for a number of injuries and we are not prepared to discuss that any further.”Archer said that while police had “positive lines of inquiry”, they had not yet identified Ryder’s attackers. CCTV footage from Aikman’s and McDonald’s is being reviewed, he said. “We believe at least 10 or more people have witnessed some of the events, and we’ve been speaking to witnesses throughout the day. There are CCTV cameras in the area and we’re going through the process of downloading and reviewing that footage.”At the moment we have not identified the people involved in the incident, but we do have positive lines of inquiry, and we will be focusing on identifying and finding those people, and speaking to them.”Although the Wellington players had been at a licensed premises during the evening, at this stage there is no evidence that alcohol was a contributing factor to the assault. We are asking any witnesses to contact police and calling for people involved to come forward and speak to us about it.”Merivale McDonalds, where Jesse Ryder was found by police and taken to hospital•Getty Images

Ryder, who played 18 Tests for New Zealand before going into a self-imposed exile from international cricket for the last year, was due to leave for India on Friday to join the Delhi Daredevils ahead of the start of the IPL season on April 3. In January, he ruled out a return for New Zealand, despite his impressive domestic form.Before embarking on his sabbatical from international cricket, Ryder had been dropped from New Zealand’s ODI side after breaking team protocols concerning alcohol. In 2008, again in Christchurch, he injured his hand when putting it through a glass window after a drinking session.Peter Clinton, the Cricket Wellington chief executive, said Ryder was not in breach of his contract by being at the bar, and also that no team rules had been breached over the course of the night.”It was not a violation of his contract, no,” Clinton said. “There are some alcohol protocols around the team, as there are with other sports. My understanding of the events as described by the police was that those protocols were met last evening, so from that point of view we don’t have any direct concerns that Jesse was with his team-mates last night.”Heath Mills, chief executive of the New Zealand Players Association, said numerous cricketers around the country were in shock at the news of the assault, and Ryder’s serious condition.”Obviously the cricket community’s very shocked at what’s happened to Jesse. He’s obviously in a serious condition,” Mills said. “It’s a sad day for us, a number of players around the country are in shock, our focus now is on Jesse and his well-being.”The Daredevils’ team director, TA Sekar, called the incident “very unfortunate”. He had spoken to Ryder two days ago. “He was looking forward to come, and he was supposed to board the flight for Delhi tomorrow,” Sekar said. According to him, the franchise had bid for Ryder because he was a worthy batsman to replace Kevin Pietersen who, before he got injured, was contracted to play 11 matches in the season. Sekar said the franchise would seek a replacement soon.David White, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, expressed his sorrow at events via a statement: “We are all shocked by what has occurred and extremely concerned for Jesse. New Zealand Cricket’s thoughts are with him and his family.”New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor added: “Thinking of you mate [Jesse] Ryder.” Ryder’s manager, Aaron Klee, wrote on his Twitter page: “Thanks for the calls and msgs of support for Jesse. Just heading to [Christchurch] to see him.”

Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka have tough work ahead of them on day four if they are to avoid an embarrassing score line on a Premadasa pitch that is becoming difficult to bat on. Bangladesh finished the third day 52 runs ahead with six wickets in hand, as the surface grew handier for the slow bowlers with each session.Sri Lanka had two opportunities to have the visitors at least five down at stumps, but shelled two catches late in the day to help keep Bangladesh in the match. Nuwan Kulasekara grassed a chance at mid-on when he parried an aerial stroke from Mominul Haque, before Angelo Mathews dropped a low catch off Mushfiqur Rahim at slip soon after. Both chances came off the bowling of Rangana Herath, who took three of the four wickets in the innings.”It would have been brilliant to have them five down,” Sangakkara said. “We had the opportunities, though a close decision also didn’t go our way towards the end. We’ve got ourselves to blame. One was quite an easy chance, and one not so easy. It’s important, because we want to go into a fourth or fifth day in the last innings with as little to chase as possible. Rangana Herath did a great job again, and the fast bowlers held their own – especially with the slightly older ball. I think they bowled quite good, but a lot of work [still needs] to be done, and chances to be held, if we want to really get on top tomorrow.”The pitch is not too bad for batting at the moment, but there’s a bit of inconsistent bounce and the wicket’s a bit two-paced, with the outfield quite sluggish. All of that makes run-scoring a bit difficult. Maybe the bowlers will fancy themselves a chance of tying a batsman down, and then building pressure to try and get him out.”Sangakkara said Sri Lanka’s spinners would be the key to knocking over the final six wickets cheaply, and singled out Herath as the man most likely to inflict damage. Bangladesh have one more recognised batsman in Nasir Hossain, who is yet to take guard, but Sohag Gazi at no. 8 and Abul Hasan at no. 9 are also capable of playing significant innings.”If there’s more turn tomorrow, I think both Dilshan and Rangana will be important for us,” he said. “You saw that even in the first innings when the wicket was supposed to be seaming around, it really wasn’t. It was Rangana that got us those five important wickets, so he’s always going to be an important bowler.”Sangakkara also gave credit to Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, although they have taken only five wickets in the match among the three of them. On day three, the pace attack was largely disciplined, with only Shaminda Eranga threatening to take a wicket.”The fast bowlers I thought bowled well in partnerships, and as they keep playing – they’re quite an inexperienced attack – they’ll get a lot better. It’s about bowling in partnerships on this track. It’s not a wicket that you can come in and blast the opposition out. You have to bowl tight lines, set tight fields, and stop the batsman scoring.”Sangakkara was dismissed, somewhat controversially, in the morning, having made his third consecutive hundred in the series. The third-umpire referral took almost six minutes, as officials attempted to determine whether Sangakkara had edged a ball from Abul Hasan, before eventually giving him out. Sangakkara was philosophical about his demise, but said he was satisfied with his 139.”It was a strange five minutes, from the delivery to the referral, to [then] being given out. But that’s the way cricket goes. Some go your way, some don’t.”Every hundred I score is equally special. I really don’t judge if this was better or that was better. Whatever the situation the team is in, you [have to] go out there to score some runs. That’s the way to get the team out of a bad situation. My thinking pattern was just to go out there and bat. It was not a wicket or an outfield when you can go out there and play your strokes. All I thought was that I’m just going to wait and make sure the bowlers get tired, and that I’m still hanging around when they do.”

Match facts

January 22, 2013
Start time 2.30pm (1230 GMT)James Franklin got New Zealand over the line in the first one-dayer•AFP

Big Picture

“Beware of the kiwi” may not sound like the most threatening of warning signs but New Zealand once again showed that their bite is often a lot worse than their bark in winning the first match of the ODI series by one wicket in Paarl. Even during a largely dismal run over the last year or so, New Zealand have managed Test upsets in Hobart and Colombo, while an eight-wicket T20 win in East London before Christmas came just a couple of days after a defeat of the same magnitude. Though they won the decider and then cruised in the Tests, South Africa should have taken note.Victory in the opening ODI gave New Zealand only their third such win in South Africa but it has left them eyeing an unexpected – and unprecedented – series success in the country. For South Africa, a failure to take three tail-end wickets with more than 100 runs still required invited a reprise of questions about their temperament that will perhaps be of more concern than the defeat itself.With a light Test schedule in 2013, South Africa will have plenty of time to focus on their perceived shortcomings in limited-overs cricket. But the planning process for the Champions Trophy in June, as well as the 2015 World Cup, has already been disrupted by the suspension of captain, AB de Villiers, for the rest of the series. With Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy missing from the squad, de Villiers’ ban will also put further pressure on a batting order that was tested by Mitchell McClenaghan’s left-arm seam and swing.Faf du Plessis, who led with the bat in Paarl, will now take over the captaincy, rather than the vice-captain Hashim Amla, and will hope he can rally the team to victory as he did in the T20s. The No. 1 ODI ranking is out of South Africa’s reach, for the time being, but there are places to play for and pride to be restored. Having been viewed as a punch bag walking into the one-dayers, however, New Zealand will fancy landing a few more shots of their own.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed matches only)
South Africa: LWLLW
New Zealand: WLLLL

In the spotlight

A star of last year’s Under-19 World Cup, Quinton de Kock has been quickly elevated to the position of South Africa’s limited-overs gloveman in order to reduce the demands on de Villiers. While there has not yet been much opportunity to judge his batting, there was criticism of his failure to react quickly enough to a crucial chance as New Zealand closed in on victory on Saturday and, with a disciplinary hearing due this week and the the possibility of suspension for the final ODI, de Kock will want to assert his credentials.There is often confusion about James Franklin‘s role in the New Zealand set-up, having progressed from a new-ball bowler and tailender to middle-order bits-and-pieces man. The merits of such a strategy can be debated elsewhere but Franklin’s experience showed through in his management of the New Zealand chase from such a dire position, particularly as he attacked to winning effect at the end. In these times of flux for New Zealand cricket, a steady, responsible presence with bat and ball might be just what they need.

Team news

With the suspension of de Villiers will come a change to the batting order. David Miller has been called up to the squad but may have to take his place in the queue behind Farhaan Behardien. Morne Morkel, South Africa’s leading ODI bowler in 2012, could also return to the side.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 Farhaan Behardien/David Miller, 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Ryan McLaren 8 Robin Peterson, 9 Rory Kleinveldt, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo TsotsobeJimmy Neesham and Grant Elliot bowled just five overs and made one run between them in Paarl, so Colin Munro might be considered for an ODI debut. Alternatively, New Zealand could trust their lower-order to acquit themselves again and bring either Neil Wagner or Trent Boult into the attack.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Rob Nicol, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 BJ Watling, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt/wk), 6 James Franklin, 7 Colin Munro, 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

The Kimberley pitch has a reputation for being flat and, with the temperature expected to stay in the 30Cs on Tuesday, batsmen are the more likely to prosper. South Africa failed to defend 299 against Sri Lanka on the ground almost exactly a year ago and, although Kimberley has been used infrequently, only twice has the chasing side failed to reach their target – Namibia and Kenya losing heavily to Full Members during the 2003 World Cup.

Stats and Trivia

• New Zealand have played twice before at Kimberley, losing to South Africa in 2000 and beating Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup.
• Graeme Smith needs 94 runs to overtake Gary Kirsten and move third on South Africa’s leading ODI scorers list.
• Mitchell McClenaghan’s 4 for 20 were the best figures for a New Zealand bowler on debut and the 11th best overall.
• If South Africa lose all three ODIs, they could slip as low as joint-fifth in the rankings.

Quotes

“It’s a nice pressure that we have, to win both games. Maybe we were a little bit relaxed in that first game, now we know we have to play very close to our full potential to beat them. It’s a nice little challenge for us.”
“It was pleasing to get the win when not playing up to our full potential. Hopefully this is a turning of the corner for us.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWarriors needed just 106 to beat Knights in the Momentum Cup fixture in Port Elizabeth, but a dramatic collapse meant they fell embarrassingly short, being bundled out for 46. Knights’ unbelievable win was crafted by seamers Johan van der Wath and Ryan McLaren, who combined to claim seven wickets and secure the 59-run victory on a surface that assisted the quicks. While it was Knights’ second consecutive batting failure (they were bowled out for 94 in their previous game), Warriors’ 46 was the second-lowest total in the history of the one-day competition.Makhaya Ntini and Andrew Birch led the Warriors pace attack and didn’t allow Knights to settle after they batted first. Half the side was dismissed by these quicks, with Knights struggling at 59 for 5 in the 19th over. The remaining wickets did not take much longer to fall, with another seamer, Ayabulela Gqamane, joining in to claim three.But Warriors began their chase equally poorly, losing opener Ashwell Prince in the opening over. At 26 for 1, they looked to have settled down, but the game turned completely: they lost five wickets for a run, courtesy van der Wath and McLaren, to be left reeling at 27 for 6. Spinner Nicky Boje and seamer Maliusi Siboto then took care of the tail, as Warriors’ slide culminated in a whopping defeat in the 21st over.Van der Wath claimed figures of 4 for 26, and and McLaren 3 for 11 – those three scalps were enough to propel McLaren to within touching distance of the top of the tournament’s wickets chart after six games.

Kieron Pollard, the West Indians’ stand-in captain for the warm-up game against BCB XI in Khulna, has said the new playing conditions for fielding restrictions in ODIs were challenging for bowlers and captains. West Indies and Bangladesh will be the third and fourth teams to experience the amended playing conditions when they begin the five-ODI series on November 30.”It was very challenging,” Pollard said, after winning the warm-up match with the new playing conditions. “The bowlers have to mind their Ps and Qs. They can’t let it stray because there are not many guys outside [the circle].”Having said that, the rules have been set and players have to just follow, so I think it is something that we have to get used to. I hope we can get the right combination and have the right tactics to counter the restrictions.”Under the new conditions, only two fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the first ten overs, and three during the Powerplay. At other times, a maximum of four fielders can be placed outside the circle, a reduction from the earlier five.The one-day series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand earlier this month was the first with the new restrictions and Mahela Jayawardene said they were harsh on the spinners. That sentiment was shared by left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jnr, who played for BCB XI against West Indians and Bangladesh, and had to bowl without that extra fielder outside the circle for the first time in his career. Enamul took 3 for 31 and 0 for 58 in those games.”I think it is going to have a negative impact on Bangladesh’s cricket on the international stage,” Enamul told ESPNcricinfo. “We depend mainly on spinners but with this new rule it will become very difficult to cut out the runs. Today we conceded 12 boundaries from the one gap that couldn’t be filled during those non-Powerplay overs. I think these extra runs will hurt the chances of Bangladesh because of the higher number of spinners we usually pick in limited-overs cricket.”The introduction of two new balls in one-day internationals was supposed to be a disadvantage for bowling attacks like that of Bangladesh, which depend heavily on spin, but Enamul said it wasn’t as damaging as the new fielding restrictions.”Spinners have been more adaptable to the new balls than the fielding restrictions. What this new rule does is it takes out the security of an extra man in the deep,” he said. “The only thing to do is bowl as straight as possible and to think about using variations with a lot of accuracy. Otherwise runs will be leaked.”Pollard said the powerful batsmen in the West Indies line-up will enjoy the larger gaps in the outfield, but cautioned against playing over-ambitious shots. “It can be good and bad,” he said. “If you want to hit the ball outside, being too eager because of the four fielders, you can still find one of them. We have a lot of power-hitters so clearing the boundary and the ball falling in gaps is important for us. Hopefully we can capitalise on it until there’s any further changes.”I think captains will have a hard job in setting the fields and bowlers will have an even tougher job trying to restrict the batsmen. You’ll see a lot more 300-run games in place of the 270-280 games because of that extra guy inside.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Manoj Tiwary claimed his best List A figures – 4 for 61 – to help set up India’s comfortable victory•AFP

Virat Kohli was once again the architect of a successful Indian chase, one that clinched the ODI series for India – they took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match competition. Kohli anchored India’s response to 251, and was helped along by Suresh Raina, who struck his third half-century of the series, each of which came in an India win. Both had their moments of fortune, just when Sri Lanka had fought their way back, but once set, they approached the target confidently, never allowing the required-rate to go above six and often being imperious in their shot-making. A game that promised to be close at one point eventually produced a comprehensive winner.Sri Lanka had edged ahead when Manoj Tiwary was trapped in front trying to sweep Jeevan Mendis to make it 109 for 4. Kohli had survived a run-out chance when on 19 and after he lost Tiwary, it was Raina who went through some jitters. An appeal for caught-behind was turned down when on 2, a run-out was missed when he was on 19 and Mahela Jayawardene dropped a sitter at slip two balls later. Kohli then survived a close shout for lbw while on 77, and was put down after his century – though, by then, India’s task was all but complete. Sri Lanka’s fielding, though occasionally impressive, was below-par for the bulk of the game – they leaked at least 11 runs in overthrows.Those lapses could have been decisive but were rare incidents of discomfort for the two batsmen. On a track favourably disposed to batting, such moments of anxiety were easy to put behind, as both Kohli and Raina drove assuredly through the line, used their feet well against spin and found it easy to step up and go over the top when a victory seemed within striking distance. Kohli played the supporting role when Virender Sehwag was going strong, was an equal contributor in a rebuilding stand with Tiwary and took the lead in the company of Raina. The transition from one role to the other was seamless.

Smart stats

• India won their third consecutive bilateral series in Sri Lanka. Their last loss in a bilateral series in Sri Lanka came in 1997, when they lost 3-0.Since 2006, India have gone on to win all five bilateral series against Sri Lanka (home and away).

• The six-wicket win is MS Dhoni’s 22nd against Sri Lanka in 38 matches. He goes past Imran Khan on the list of captains with the most ODI wins against Sri Lanka.

• Virat Kohli’s century is his eighth in chases and 13th overall. It is also his fifth century against Sri Lanka. Among India batsmen, only Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have more centuries against Sri Lanka.

• Only Tendulkar (14 centuries) has more hundreds than Kohli has (13) before turning 24. Chris Gayle is a distant third with nine centuries.

• Kohli’s average of 61.02 is the best among batsmen who have scored 1000-plus runs in chases in ODIs. He is already joint-sixth on the list of batsmen with the most centuries in ODI chases.

• The 146-run stand between Kohli and Suresh Raina is the third-highest fifth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka. The highest fifth-wicket stand of 223 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja also came at the R Premadasa stadium.

• The partnership run-rate of 7.82 during the stand is the second-highest for a fifth-wicket stand (100-plus partnerships) and the seventh-highest overall for India against Sri Lanka. The same pair holds the record for the best run-rate (13.09), which came during their 120-run stand in Hobart earlier this year.

Kohli began his innings with an audacious pull off Lasith Malinga but in a partnership of 49 with Tiwary, after India were 60 for 3, struck just one boundary. Both ran well between the wickets, pressing for twos with the field spread out and Tiwary appeared to be in the groove, flicking a couple of fours through the leg side. His first batting stint this series was preceded by the loss of Sehwag and Rohit Sharma in quick succession. Sehwag, after appearing set for a long knock, was caught smartly at extra cover off a leading edge and Rohit, nervous from the outset and fighting for his place in the XI, was lbw when playing across to debutant seamer Nuwan Pradeep. The umpire’s call to double-check for a no-ball only prolonged his anxiety, but he knew soon he’d fluffed another chance.Raina was shaky to begin with but a generous dose of length deliveries gave him several opportunities to free up. After being dropped, he gradually settled in by picking off singles as Kohli was becoming increasingly dominant at the other end and eventually, in the batting Powerplay, accelerated with a sliced boundary over point off Pradeep before dispatching him for a straight six. At the start of that over, India needed 78 off 14 overs. After Raina had kick-started India’s race to the finish, Kohli made the rest of the innings a one-man show.With the fielding restrictions still on, Kohli entered the nineties, smacking Thisara Perera over midwicket, followed by a six over the sightscreen. He reached his 13th ODI century with a pull off Malinga before thrashing Rangana Herath to different parts of the ground for four fours in an over to all but seal the game. Extra cover, square leg and deep midwicket were his preferred scoring areas, the bowlers having no answers against his powerful, and skilful, wristwork.Though Sri Lanka finished on a high in their innings, they would, presumably, have fallen short of their desired score after choosing to bat. India’s decision to leave out a frontline bowler in Rahul Sharma – instead of the struggling Rohit – to make way for Tiwary raised eyebrows but, as it turned out, Tiwary played a crucial role in restricting the hosts.Dinesh Chandimal was going along fluently but his knock was cut short when he swung a Tiwary long hop straight to deep square leg. The innings began to stagnate when Jayawardene miscued a sweep off Sehwag shortly after and India’s part-timers proved so effective that Zaheer Khan, their best bowler, bowled just six overs. Angelo Mathews consumed 32 deliveries for his 14 before holing out, Mendis was bowled playing the reverse-sweep and Perera was caught in the deep – all off Tiwary. This slide undermined an opening stand of 91 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, and India’s non-regular bowlers picked up five wickets in 22 overs, conceding 112. Tiwary was an unlikely bowling hero for India; the stars with the bat had already built a solid reputation.

ScorecardJames Taylor made 46 as Nottinghamshire made sure of a draw at Taunton•Getty Images

Despite a push that took the game into the last hour, Somerset couldn’t force a win over Nottinghamshire. The game was hindered badly by the weather and, with the ECB launching more consumer research into the domestic game, attention among members turned to the makeup of the fixture list in the future.A healthy crowd was in to enjoy the sunshine, highlighting Somerset’s good membership and the support for Championship cricket. The county also boast a big following for Twenty20 and the balance between all the competitions gives the chief executive, Guy Lavender, plenty to ponder for his wishes of the schedule.”We’re lucky here; we’re extremely well attended for County Championship cricket,” Lavender told ESPNcricinfo as Notts batted out for a draw on the final afternoon. “We’ve got a very strong membership base and we attach importance to the Championship as the premier competition. But there are different views about it around the country so there are certain things we have to do to make the structure more sustainable.”Number one: the fixture list has to be easy to understand; number two, it has to be interesting; and number three, it has to be at a time where people can come and watch the games. If we just descend into ‘how many matches’ or ‘how many counties’, it misses the point. You don’t need detailed debates, we’ve got to say, ‘What works? What type of structure is attractive to the customer?’ That is what drives the game.”When the counties decided more T20 would drive the game there was a general downward trend in overall profit. Somerset were one of few that thrived. They can make more matches work and saw takings fall back this season with the reduction in games.”We’d like to see the number of T20 games increase,” said Lavender, who wasn’t pleased to see the Morgan Report rejected. “As a club we have the capacity to increase the number of fixtures and not only make them pay but make them good experiences for the supporters. We would have a preference for matches to be spread out across the course of the season because it provides the best opportunity for more people to come and watch. If you schedule T20 at the right time – as with CB40 – then people will turn up. It’s not rocket science.”But finding regularity in the calendar is hampered by broadcasting demands, with Sky keen to screen a match every night of the week – reducing the capacity for T20 to be staged on a regular evening and the scope for matches to be spread out.”Of course there are broadcast demands but I don’t think that drives all of the decision-making about the schedule,” Lavender said. “If we want cricket to thrive then we have to give people the best opportunity to come and watch and I think there is recognition from the ECB and Sky that that needs to happen.”With the Gloucestershire T20, because of the rivalry and locality, that match will sell out whenever it is played but others won’t. So we need to provide something that, perhaps as a not-as-keen follower of Somerset, you can go to every other Friday. It creates regularity and it fits into the way people live their lives and I think that’s really important. And that holds true for other formats of the game.”The problem is every county is looking at the structure of the game through their own lens and it’s the responsibility of the ECB to work for the greater good of the game.”That greater good is being worked out through further consumer research. What it should find – given the backlash the proposed cuts received from players and supporters – is that the County Championship is just fine; and at Taunton both teams lost ground to Warwickshire in the title race that has four more rounds to produce another thrilling climax.Nottinghamshire will be the happier of the teams from this draw. They keep Somerset at arm’s length and survived what could have been a tricky afternoon on a pitch that began to show signs of invariable bounce and some turn. Pete Trego was also getting some deliveries to tail into the right-hander – it was an inswinger that ended James Taylor’s attractive 46. He also had Michael Lumb superbly caught one-handed by Jos Buttler – keeping wicket in place of Craig Kieswetter and suggesting Somerset have enough depth to stay the distance in search of a first County Championship success.They have hung on to the title race despite a host of injuries, their squad so depleted they had to cancel a second-XI match earlier this season. But they now have the chance to make another run for a maiden title and three of their remaining four matches are at Taunton, against Sussex, Surrey and Worcestershire.

Match Facts

Sunday, July 1, 2012
Start time 1045 (0945 GMT)

The Big Picture

Victory at Lord’s was extremely important for England. Many would have cast off their improved ODI fortunes as nothing much having beaten Pakistan at the end of a tour in which the opposition had already got the job done in the main series – Pakistan swept the Tests 3-0 – and then against West Indies, who were always going to struggle in bowler-friendly conditions.The win in the first ODI was against top class opposition – Australia are the World’s No. 1 ODI team – who were fresh, prepared and motivated for the series. More wins against these type of teams will make people look more favourably on England’s chances for the 2015 World Cup – which is what this series in particular is geared towards. Another England victory would also have them dreaming of claiming the No. 1 spot from Australia, which a 5-0 whitewash would achieve.The only issue for the hosts is whether James Anderson is fit to play. Surrey’s fast man Stuart Meaker has been called up as cover. Anderson was rested when fit for the Edgbaston Test so any sign of injury will surely see him whisked out of the side.For the tourists, they didn’t do too much wrong at Lord’s but where their problems could lie is in the middle order. David Hussey looked troubled by the pace of Steve Finn – pace which will be accelerated by a hard Oval pitch – Steve Smith is yet to convince at No. 6 and Matthew Wade is perhaps batting too low for his talent and could often be coming in under pressure with the two players above him struggling to contribute.

Form guide

England WWWWW
Australia LWLTL

Players to watch

Consistently above 90mph at Lord’s Steve Finn will have a firmer deck to get through at The Oval which will help him even more. He has been England best bowler in the last few ODI series and is England’s answer to the young quicks that Australia are bringing through. Finn has the firepower to take out Australia’s big hitters and is key to providing a sharp edge to England’s attack.A harder, flatter pitch might help the quicker bowlers but it will also provide a perfect platform for David Warner. He hits the ball so hard and has a marvellous ability to hit cleanly through the line and use the pace of the ball to cut, again with immense power. He will enjoy The Oval.

Team news

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson/Stuart Meaker, 11 Steve Finn.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 George Bailey, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 David Hussey, 6 Steven Smith, 7 Matthew Wade, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Clint McKay, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Pitch and conditions

The weather at Lord’s was nearly the Australian’s 12th man, with the ball zipping around at the start of England’s innings. No such advantages should be experienced at The Oval with the forecast fine with period of sunshine expected. The wicket looks brown and hard and should be quicker than Lord’s.

Quotes

“It’s nice as a captain when you can keep pulling on bowlers of that quality, take one off and another one keeps following up, and keeps the pressure on. That’s the idea anyway. We’re being really harsh on ourselves, I don’t think it was a perfect performance in the field or close to it, so that was encouraging.”
“We weren’t outplayed at all yesterday, I just think that we lost our wickets in clumps, the Powerplay cost us and that little back part of the innings where they got 40-50 runs from the last few overs, they’re the crucial moments that win it or lose it for you. We’ve got to fix those things up and then I reckon we’re in good stead for the next four games.”

James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman, has been added to England’s Performance Squad after being left out of the initial 26-man selection.Taylor captained the Lions over the winter and despite apparently missing out on the 2012 EPS he led the side against the touring West Indians at Northampton, in the build up to the first Test, scoring a hundred from the middle order. The selectors are able to name up to 30 players and make additions at any point in the season, giving a clear indication of who is in their plans.

England Performance Squad 2012

Andrew Strauss (Middlesex) Alastair Cook (Essex) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) James Anderson (Lancashire) Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire) Ian Bell (Warwickshire) Ravi Bopara (Essex) Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire) Danny Briggs (Hampshire) Jos Buttler (Somerset) Steven Davies (Surrey) Jade Dernbach (Surrey) Steven Finn (Middlesex) Craig Kieswetter (Somerset) Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Stuart Meaker (Surrey) Graham Onions (Durham) Monty Panesar (Sussex) Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire) Kevin Pietersen (Surrey) Matt Prior (Sussex) Ben Stokes (Durham) Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire) James Taylor (Nottinghamshire) James Tredwell (Kent) Chris Tremlett (Surrey) Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

“James is a talented young player and we feel that his performances this season, including an impressive innings for England Lions last week, merit inclusion in the England Performance Squad,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “The EPS is designed to allow the selectors to monitor the development of international players and better prepare them for the demands of the international game.”Taylor, who has played in one ODI for England, moved from Leicestershire to Nottinghamshire over the winter but, despite making a hundred against Loughborough in his first appearance, he is yet to set Division One alight, with 225 Championship runs at 28.12 and a highest score of 46.