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Their 232-run stand helped Saurashtra recover from 92 for 3 and go into day four trailing by just 43 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2023A fourth-wicket partnership of 232 between centurions Sheldon Jackson (160) and captain Arpit Vasavada (112*) spearheaded Saurashtra’s charge in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Karnataka in Bengaluru.After scoring 407, achieved mainly due to Mayank Agarwal’s marathon 248, Karnataka had Saurashtra wobbling at 92 for 3 half hour into play on the third day. Then, they ran into Jackson and Vasavada, who battled for a better part of the day to run them ragged. Saurashtra ended day three on 364 for 4, trailing by just 43 runs.Vasavada has Chirag Jani (19*) for company in their quest to take the lead. With just two days remaining, Saurashtra will fancy their chances of entering their second final in three seasons given they bat till No. 10. The pitch hasn’t deteriorated as much as Karnataka’s bowlers would’ve liked, and the swing and seam movement that was on offer for much of the first day has given way to easier batting conditions since.Harvik Desai fell in the fifth over of play when he was struck plumb in front by V Koushik for 33. That was the only bit of joy for Karnataka in the first two sessions as Jackson counterattacked at every available opportunity. At the other end, Vasavada, who was hit on the helmet on nought and then had to be cleared for concussion, took his time to get his eye in before opening up to play some wonderful shots, especially against spin.Particularly impressive was his ability to step out and hit against the turn off Gowtham. Jackson fell for 160 with an hour to go for stumps when he played back to a sharp-turner from Gowtham that kept low to strike him in front of middle.By then, he’d defied Karnataka’s attack, scoreboard pressure, serious sledging, a bump-catch appeal that the hosts celebrated and some cramps on a moderately hot day to put Saurashtra in a commanding position.

Seamer moves north after building impressive record over four seasons in Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2022Yorkshire have made their first domestic signing under new management after Matt Milnes agreed a three-year deal which will see him join from Kent.A number of players will leave the club this year: Steven Patterson announced on Thursday evening that he had been told he would leave at the end of the season and stood down from the club captaincy, while David Willey and Tom Kohler-Cadmore have already confirmed moves to Northamptonshire and Somerset respectively.But the signing of Milnes, who has impressed across formats for Kent since his move from Nottinghamshire in 2018, serves as a vote of confidence in Yorkshire’s new regime. That has been led by Ottis Gibson, who was brought in as head coach ahead of this season after the mass staff sackings which followed Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of an institutionally racist culture at the club during his time as a player.”We are delighted to have signed a top-quality player in Matthew Milnes,” Darren Gough, Yorkshire’s interim director of cricket, said. “He’s a very skilful fast bowler who will add some great competition to the group of seamers that we have here at Yorkshire.”He’s shown what he can do with a red ball, and we are confident he will be a force within our Championship side, as well as offering another great option to our white-ball teams.”We have seen this year the importance of having a good group of fast bowlers, with the schedule meaning rest and rotation is required for them at times to keep everyone as fresh as possible and avoid injuries.”Milnes said: “I have had four happy and successful seasons with Kent, and I will always be grateful to Paul Downton, Matt Walker and my team-mates for their support over the years.”It was a tough decision, but this feels like the right time to embrace a new challenge. I am excited by the prospect of joining Yorkshire and working with Ottis and his coaching staff. Hopefully, this will help me improve and push on to higher levels.”

ECB eager to end club-versus-country dilemmas with new FTP in the pipeline

Valkerie Baynes03-Sep-2024England players will miss the latter stages of the WBBL, due to a clash with their tour of South Africa.To avoid a repetition of the situation which occurred earlier this year, when the end of the WPL overlapped with England Women’s arrival in New Zealand for a bilateral series, causing players to have to choose between club and country, the ECB has told players that they are expected in South Africa, if selected, on certain dates regardless of any overlap with WBBL games.The ECB informed players and their agents of the requirements before they entered the WBBL draft, which was held last weekend.”If a player is selected in the T20 squad, we’re expecting them into South Africa on November 17 and if they’re named in the ODI squad we’re expecting them into South Africa on the 27th,” Jonathan Finch, Director of England Women’s Cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s been reflected in everyone’s availability when they’ve gone into the draft.”This year’s WBBL starts on October 27 and there will be 11 regular-season matches remaining out of a total of 40 from November 17 before the knockout stages. England are due to play the first of three T20Is in South Africa on November 24, followed by three ODIs from December 4 and a Test starting on December 15.England had seven players signed in the WBBL draft, with Danni Wyatt-Hodge joining Hobart Hurricanes, Sophie Ecclestone retained by Sydney Sixers, and Heather Knight retained by Sydney Thunder, all at platinum level, worth up to $A110,000 (£56,000) depending on availability.Alice Capsey will join Melbourne Renegades from cross-town rivals Stars and Amy Jones returns to Perth Scorchers, both on gold $A90,000 (£46,000) deals. Hollie Armitage and Georgia Adams, who will both tour Ireland from this week while England’s senior squad prepares for next month’s T20 World Cup, joined the Sixers and Thunder respectively in the bronze price bracket for $A40,000 (£20,000).Sophie Ecclestone has been retained by Sydney Sixers for this year’s WBBL•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

The ECB took similar stance during last year’s WBBL with Bess Heath and Danielle Gibson both missing the final to join England’s squad in Mumbai for a T20I series against India starting four days later.The WPL announced their 2024 fixtures in January with the March 17 final falling two days before England’s first of five T20Is in New Zealand on March 19. New Zealand Cricket had confirmed the tour schedule, which also included three ODIs, the previous July and turned down an ECB request to move the dates.Knight, England’s captain, and seam bowler Lauren Bell opted out of their WPL deals to join the New Zealand tour from the outset, while Nat Sciver-Brunt, Wyatt-Hodge, Capsey and Ecclestone linked up with the squad for the fourth and fifth T20Is. Armitage, meanwhile, earned her only England cap to date in the third T20I before she and Linsey Smith made way for the WPL contingent.With the current Women’s Future Tours Program ending in 2025 and the next edition being worked on now, Finch is confident major clashes can be avoided in future.”What we have to get better at is having indicative dates when the tournaments are taking place,” he said. “That’s difficult because you’ve got broadcast complexities and all that kind of thing, but I think if we can get that pretty much nailed on, we shouldn’t have that problem.”I’ve got a responsibility to England and we think that’s fair – five or seven days out from a start of a tour – to come in, really focus in on what we’re trying to do from that tour and go from there.”Now where we’re looking at our FTP for after the next 50-over World Cup and I think everyone is sensitive to not wanting to have any clashes. Even if we don’t have the exact dates of the WBBL for instance, or the WPL, we have some indication of when they are so we can work out what that looks like.”Related

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A problem national boards have faced is that the WPL in particular offers leading players a chance to make life-changing amounts of money for the first time in their careers. Sciver-Brunt was the joint-highest-earning overseas player in the inaugural WPL player auction when she went to Mumbai Indians for £320,000.Finch conceded that denying a player the chance to earn that sort of salary, especially later in their careers, was difficult. As a result, there would be some scope for discussion with players on an individual basis, and he said bringing England Women’s international match fees into line with those of their male counterparts also went some way towards easing the tension.”You know when you sign a central contract that you’re signing a contract that says, ‘my main focus is England,’ so that’s the starting point,” he said. “It’s not an exact science, things change – workloads over a period of time – as to whether we would want to have players exposed to that depending on what the lead-up looks like, but when you sign a central contract, that’s what you’re buying into.”I think we’re still in a space where we can manipulate or cultivate times of the year where it’s not going to have a massive impact.”The ECB is also in talks with the England Women’s Player Partnership, which has a number of current players on its committee, about introducing multi-year central contracts, which Finch said would give some players a greater level of security while protecting the ECB’s resources.”You’ve got a welfare perspective for players so the thing that was sticking out for the New Zealand one was I wasn’t willing for a player to get on a plane at the end of their competition, fly in and play within 24 hours,” he said.”People might say, ‘that’s not your choice to make.’ Well, I think it is. We’ve got a responsibility to ensure that we’re not asking too much of them and that’s why we put that period of time leading into a series. Not only does it give you time to get the players up and running for that series, it also allows you to build in a bit of decompression time if you need to. That’s something that I’m quite strong on.”The panacea will be that our players are available without worrying about whether they’re available for the whole tournament or not. I’m never going to take that [case-by-case discussion] away but we’re hopeful that we won’t get to that point.”

Afghanistan were 95 for 2 at stumps, staring at a mammoth 491-run deficit

Sreshth Shah27-Dec-2024Bulawayo was buzzing on the second day of the Boxing Day Test as the home fans celebrated one landmark after another, with Zimbabwe creating history against Afghanistan by getting to their highest Test score of all time. Overnight centurion Sean Williams posted his personal best in Tests, the captain Craig Ervine scored his fourth Test ton in a 13-year career, and Brian Bennett struck a dramatic maiden hundred, taking Zimbabwe to 586.Williams set the tone early with a cut through point to pass 150. He looked to be aggressive to the leg side but mistimed a pull off Naveen Zadran to deep midwicket, adding only nine to his overnight score before departing for 154 in the day’s sixth over.The No. 7 Bennett, playing only his second Test, then looked busy upon arrival. His early strokes allowed Ervine, starting overnight on 56, to get his eyes in, and together they put on 82 in only 20.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Ervine showed off his ease against spin to dominate square of the wicket. He reached triple figures with a flick towards backward square leg in the 109th over, took off his helmet, and revealed a smile that bore a feeling of satisfaction.Left-arm spinner Zia-Ur-Rehman had Ervine nicking to the keeper for 104 two overs later, followed by Brandon Mavuta’s dismissal for 0 in the same over, those two wickets did not bring any respite for the inexperienced Afghanistan bowling unit. The turn was predictable, the pacers were ineffective, allowing Bennett and the lower-order to score freely.Bennett, a few streaky boundaries aside, peppered boundaries through the covers, and after lunch the message was clear that the remaining batters would also play positively. Teen debutant Newman Nyamhuri, known for his left-arm seam bowling in the domestic circuit, showed he can also contribute with the bat. He was out on 26 to Zahir Khan, but not before bringing up Zimbabwe’s 500 with a big six down the ground. It ended a 21-year wait for Zimbabwe to breach that mark in Tests.Naveed Zadran celebrates the wicket of Sean Williams•Zimbabwe Cricket

The mystery spin of AM Ghazanfar didn’t have much impact either, with Bennett and Blessing Muzarabani (19) crunching sixes off his overpitched deliveries. As Zimbabwe pushed towards their previous highest score of 563 for 9, achieved against West Indies in 2001, errors crept into the Afghan fielding effort too. Fumbles and misfields allowed singles to become doubles, and Muzarabani survived a dropped chance at deep midwicket too.However Muzarabani fell with Zimbabwe at 550 for 9, earning Azmatullah Omarzai a maiden Test wicket, and with only the No. 11 remaining, Bennett, on 82, moved to fifth gear. A six off Zia-ur-Rehman through midwicket took him to 89, and back-to-back twos in Trevor Gwandu’s company got him closer to triple digits. His 96th run also took Zimbabwe to 564, a new high in their 32-year history in the format.But that was not enough for the crowd. Only a Bennett century would make the innings perfect, and it arrived in cinematic fashion in the 135th over. Zadran had set up a short-ball ploy with two sweeper fielders in the deep on the leg side, but Bennett went for the pull anyway. The fielder in the deep took the catch, only to see that he had stepped into the boundary line, and Bennett roared “come on” in the direction of his family on the grass banks, which included his father and twin brother. He would pin another six next ball over the same region before Ghazanfar picked up his third wicket by removing Gwandu, leaving Bennett unbeaten on 110.”[It is] not just my first Test century but my first century for Zimbabwe, so it’s a great feeling,” Bennett said after the day’s play. “To get a Test match hundred at Queen’s [Sports Club] with my family watching, with Sean Williams and Craig Ervine also getting hundreds and putting on a record score for Zimbabwe in Test matches. I don’t think there’s any better feeling to that. So, yeah, I’m just very proud.”At first, when I saw it going, I thought it was six, but when I saw it coming down, I was like, oh shucks, I’m in trouble here,” he recalled the drama. “But you know what? You create your own luck in cricket. And when it stepped over the boundary there, I was lost for words, actually.”It wasn’t too much about me getting to my hundred. It was more about us getting a big score and getting the Afghan guys out on the field for as long as possible. So credit to the tail-enders as well. They did a good effort for me to get my hundred but also, I think we were six down, and with our tail, we added 120 [121] runs.”Afghanistan’s reply to 587 began in overcast conditions after tea, and Sediqullah Atal lost the battle of the debutants to Gwandu trying to flick across the line in the second over. Gwandu got a ball to swing in and shape away late to gain his maiden Test scalp. The seamer would bowl four overs before an injury while fielding ended his day early.Muzarabani was metronic from the other end, bowling in the channel around off stump, and challenged Abdul Malik’s bat on occasion. It needed someone of Rahmat Shah’s experience at No. 3 to get the runs flowing. His strong off-side play earned him four fours in the space of as many overs bowled by Gwandu and Nyamhuri. Malik, instead, offered soft hands when possible, with his only boundary a gentle glance towards fine leg.With the pitch still good for batting and the effects of the new ball wearing off, both batters milked the Zimbabwe bowling, but looking to make something happen Ervine brought Muzarabani back and the idea worked. Malik, who had mostly offered defensive shots, was proffered a short ball by Muzarabani and the rising delivery forced the error, straight to Ben Curran at fine leg.Hashmatullah Shahidi, at No. 4, battled against the fading light to face some tricky overs of spin from Williams and part-timers Mavuta and Bennett. He struck three boundaries in 24 balls, while Rahmat moved to 49 after surviving one catching chance at slip. Bad light stopped play three overs before close, with Afghanistan on 95 for 2, staring at a mammoth 491-run deficit.

Veteran seamer has taken 11 wickets at 24.09 across three County Championship appearances

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2022Stuart Broad has “found his rhythm” ahead of England’s upcoming Test series against New Zealand, according to his Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores.England confirmed this week that Broad – along with his long-time new-ball partner James Anderson – had been recalled to their squad for the first two Tests against New Zealand after their shock omission for the series defeat in the Caribbean.He has eased himself back into bowling after a long break following the Ashes, playing three games in the County Championship for Notts in the last month, all of them at Test grounds – two at Trent Bridge and the other at Lord’s, the venue for the first Test on June 2.Related

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Broad has taken 11 wickets at 24.09 and chipped in with some quick lower-order runs, and Moores said that he will go into the Test series “in great shape”.”Stuart has done really well in his three matches for us,” Moores said. “He has done what you would expect from an international bowler. He gets better with every innings he plays, he has found his rhythm, which always takes a little bit of time – and he hasn’t played since January.”He has done what Stuart does: he leads the attack, he’s great to have around the lads, he’s a brilliant team man. I think he goes into those Test matches in great shape.”He has got some overs under his belt, he has bowled on flat pitches, which is what Test match pitches are like, and he will go along to the first Test feeling he can start his summer off, and England’s summer off, with a real bang.”

“I’ve never seen tactics shift so dramatically on the back of a decision,” Australia coach says, but admits that his batters “should have been able to navigate that”

Andrew McGlashan02-Aug-20231:43

McGlashan: Bazball puts oppositions under such pressure

The ball change which took place during Australia’s second innings at The Oval continues be a significant talking point, with Australia head coach Andrew McDonald saying he had never seen a replacement ball have such an impact on a game.When Usman Khawaja was struck on the helmet by a short delivery from Mark Wood in the 37th over of Australia’s chase, umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson ruled that the ball had been damaged enough to warrant being replaced. The ball that was chosen looked considerably newer (England had been trying to get the previous one to reverse swing) and, after play had been curtailed on Sunday by rain, provided the quicks with considerable assistance on the final day.Khawaja and David Warner were both removed by Chris Woakes after an opening stand of 140 while Wood claimed Marnus Labuschagne. However, Steven Smith and Travis Head got Australia down to needing 120 with seven wickets in hand when the defining collapse occurred after a two-hour rain delay.Related

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“I’ve never seen tactics shift so dramatically on the back of a decision,” McDonald said. “Went from catchers in front of the wicket to behind the wicket, and there’s no doubt in some ways changed the shape of the game and the tactics within the game.”So I will say that ball change did have a significant bearing on the tactics, the way that England went about it. But in saying that, I think we still should have been able to navigate that.”There were two clumps where we lost 3 for 30 and 5 for 50, and that’s part of us owning it. The umpires are out there to make a decision and they had a box of balls to choose from, and they made the best decision at that time from what they saw was there.”It ultimately meant that Australia had to settle for a 2-2 Ashes scoreline for the second time in four years, which allowed them to retain the urn but left them short of the ultimate ambition of a first series win in England since 2001.”We didn’t quite achieve what we set out to achieve,” McDonald admitted. “We clearly wanted to come here and win the Ashes but the cricket we played, the cricket both teams played was fascinating.”I think the whole series was fascinating. People should be proud of what they’ve been able to achieve, even if we didn’t quite get to where we wanted to in winning the Ashes.”McDonald stood by the team’s preparation and planning for a tour that included six Tests overall, including the World Test Championship final where Australia claimed the title with victory over India.”There’s no doubt in some ways [the new ball] changed the shape of the game and the tactics within the game”•AFP/Getty Images

There was some rotation among the quick bowlers with Josh Hazlewood held back for the Ashes – where he played four games out of five and sat out at Headingley – but captain Pat Cummins was part of all six and Mitchell Starc, who was named Australia’s Player of the Series against England, appeared in five.Australia had a great chance to close out the series at Headingley when England were still significantly behind at lunch on the second day with only three wickets in hand. But England fought back, won that game by three wickets, then dominated at Old Trafford before two days of rain. The Oval Test was closely fought, but missed chances in the field by Australia and the lack of a sizeable first-innings lead was another opportunity squandered.”We felt as though we were as fresh as what we could be,” McDonald said. “The mental and physical toll of this tour, before we got here, what we were in for. And to have guys still running in and still hitting top speed late in the series I think was a true reflection we got that side of it right. And I wouldn’t say that we dropped off.”The Manchester [Test], we owned that result but Leeds and [The Oval] I think everyone was in the game and both teams had their chances, and we had a really good look at winning this series.”And that’s probably the part when we sit back and reflect, once we let it all settle down and go back through it, there was definitely some opportunities for us to win. And I think England can equally say the same. As it settles, two-all seems about right, and I think everyone’s said that.”

Behrendorff claimed 3 for 14 and Richardson 2 for 32 as Victoria were bowled out for just 107, with WA chasing it in 23.4 overs to claim a bonus point

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2023Jhye Richardson made a successful return from injury as Western Australia crushed Victoria by six wickets in their Marsh Cup match at the WACA Ground.Player of the match Jason Behrendorff snared 3 for 14 off five overs on Monday and Richardson chipped in with 2 for 36 as Victoria were skittled for 107 in 21.1 overs.In reply, WA raced to victory with a whopping 158 balls to spare, giving them a bonus point and a perfect 3-0 start to their title defence. The Marsh Cup ladder-leaders have now won 12 straight matches in the 50-over competition and again loom as the team to beat having won the last two titles convincingly and three of the last four overall.Sam Whiteman (38 not out off 51 balls) and D’Arcy Short (39 off 39) made light work of the run chase in an easy win for the hosts.WA captain Ashton Turner’s decision to bowl first proved a masterstroke as Victoria crashed to 22 for 3. Richardson, playing for the first time since hamstring surgery last summer, got the ball rolling with the early scalps of Sam Harper and Campbell Kellaway.But it was Behrendorff’s spell that truly ripped the heart out of Victoria’s batting line-up. Behrendorff trapped opener Tom Rogers lbw before having Jonathan Merlo caught at gully. The 33-year-old then produced the ball of the innings to knock over Peter Handscomb for 7. Handscomb simply had no answer as Behrendorff’s delivery swung back sharply to crash into the top of leg stump, leaving Victoria reeling at 45 for 5.Jason Behrendorff took 3 for 14•Getty Images

AJ Tye and Lance Morris joined in on the fun to leave Victoria at 62 for 8 and in danger of not passing their lowest score in the competition, 65 against Queensland in 2003.Tailenders Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy ensured Victoria avoided a new nadir. O’Neill top scored for the innings with 22 while Murphy scored 20 all in boundaries but the total was never going to be enough against a stacked WA line-up.Victoria’s insipid display came just a day after Jake Fraser-McGurk, who moved from Victoria to South Australia for greater opportunities, scored a 29-ball century for the Redbacks in their loss to Tasmania. Fraser-McGurk’s final score of 125 off 38 balls comfortably eclipsed Victoria’s team total on Monday.The heavy defeat capped a bad few days for Victoria, who lost to WA by an innings and 53 runs in the Sheffield Shield on Saturday.Richardson, who has been plagued by shoulder and soft tissue injuries in recent years, is aiming to produce a strong summer in order to work his way back into the international arena. His performance on Monday was an important first step, though it remains to be seen when WA will unleash him in red-ball cricket.

Worcestershire trail by 392 runs as Ben Raine adds 71 for hosts before showers force early close

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2023Worcestershire 96 for 2 (Pollock 41, Libby 19*, Potts 2-41) trail Durham 425 for 9 dec (Bedingham 118, Raine 71, Lees 70, Gibbon 4-92) by 329 runsTwo wickets from Matthew Potts allowed Durham to make inroads into the Worcestershire batting line-up before rain ended day two prematurely in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at Seat Unique Riverside.The home side posted 425 for 9 declared in their first innings after Ben Raine scored an impressive 71 to build on David Bedingham’s century and Alex Lees’ knock of 70 from day one, securing four batting bonus points to the total.Ed Pollock got the Worcestershire reply off to a blistering start, scoring 41 from just 26 balls before he was bowled by Potts. The England seamer produced a timely peach to remove Azhar Ali just before the close, signalling that he is well prepared to fill the void of Chris Rushworth’s departure. The visitors will resume day three 329 runs behind with eight first-innings wickets in hand.Resuming on 363 for 7, Durham were in need of further runs to shore up their exploits from day one. Raine continued his rich vein of form against Worcestershire following on from his century in the contest between the two sides at the Riverside last season. He sent a cut through backward point to the boundary to register his 14th fifty in first-class cricket.Raine and Paul Coughlin tormented Worcestershire with a record-breaking stand of 213 last season, and proved to be a thorn in their side again by reaching their century stand, securing the fourth batting bonus point for Durham in the process. There was no repeat of their mammoth effort as Coughlin fell for 42 and Raine was caught on the fence before Scott Borthwick declared.Pollock displayed no appetite to see out play until lunch as he unleashed an assault against the new ball. The left-hander bludgeoned nine boundaries to bring up the visitors’ fifty in the sixth over. The ferocity of Pollock’s innings fired up Potts and the England seamer took delight in dismantling his stumps for an entertaining 26-ball knock of 41.Azhar and Jake Libby were more sedate in their approach as the sunshine was gradually replaced by cloud cover. The elements allowed Potts, Raine and Coughlin to control the run rate while beating the bat on several occasions. It appeared as though Durham’s search for a breakthrough would end in frustration as the rain closed in.Azhar was put down by Ollie Robinson for 29 down the leg-side in a rare error from the gloveman. However, his reprieve lasted only two balls before Potts pinned the former Pakistan international lbw just before rain ended the day’s proceedings early.

Twin spinners undo resistance of Lammonby, Goldsworthy as Somerset face tough final day

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2024Half-centuries from Lewis Goldsworthy and Tom Lammonby could not prevent Surrey from squeezing Somerset into near-submission at the Kia Oval, where the champions will be pressing for a first win of the new Vitality County Championship season on the final day.Goldsworthy made 58 and Lammonby 51 to add to his first-day century, but at stumps Somerset were only 61 runs ahead at 204 for six in their second innings, with Dan Lawrence picking up three for 45. Surrey had earlier reached 428 in their first innings, after resuming already 73 runs to the good at 358 for six.It was the spin of Lawrence and Cameron Steel which did the initial damage for Surrey, with Lawrence having Sean Dickson well held behind his pads by keeper Ben Foakes for nought with just his second ball after being given the new ball alongside Jordan Clark in a three-over pre-lunch mini-session.Lawrence’s offspin also accounted for Matt Renshaw, leg-before for 16 as he aimed a sweep from well across in front of his stumps. And, after a 58-run third wicket stand between Lammonby and Goldsworthy, the legbreaks of Steel provided further breakthroughs for Surrey in a lengthy spell by the 28-year-old from the Pavilion End either side of tea.First he had Lammonby leg-before as he propped forward defensively and then Tom Banton, on 11, top-edged a cut to lob up a comfortable catch to Lawrence at backward point. Steel took two for 53 from his 21 overs.It was Lawrence again who claimed Somerset’s fifth wicket, turning one to take the edge of James Rew’s bat to have the young left-hander superbly-held at boot level by Jamie Overton at slip for 22.Goldsworthy’s 131-ball resistance was finally ended by Gus Atkinson’s pace and a thin edge through to Foakes and Somerset might have lost a seventh wicket when Kasey Aldridge, on nought, was dropped by Overton at slip off Lawrence despite a juggle with the ball after it had hit his wrist as he dived to his left.At stumps, however, Aldridge had moved on to 20 and Somerset captain Lewis Gregory was also still there on 23 not out. The seventh-wicket pair have put on a creditable 42 so far, although Surrey remain heavy favourites to wrap up victory.Surrey had earlier taken 24.2 overs to add a further 70 runs to their overnight score, with the whole-hearted Aldridge picking up three of the last four remaining wickets to finish with deserved figures of five for 64.Clark was unlucky to be strangled down the legside on 13, in the day’s sixth over, and Steel – who resumed on 35 – was brilliantly held by a leaping Lammonby at gully as he cut hard at paceman Aldridge.Overton and Atkinson added 40 for the ninth wicket before Atkinson (15) was caught off Migael Pretorius aiming something violent and Overton’s useful 35 came to an end when he under-edged a pull into his own stumps.

Visiting side build commanding lead after Leicestershire stutter despite Lewis Hill’s 93

ECB Reporters Network09-Apr-2022Opener Ed Pollock smashed a maiden first-class century to put Worcestershire in complete control of their LV Insurance County Championship fixture against Leicestershire at the UptonSteel County Ground.The former Warwickshire player, who moved to Worcestershire with the aim of playing red-ball cricket, hit ten fours and two sixes as he raced to three figures from 113 deliveries during a protracted final session that closed shortly after 7pm with the visitors leading by 369 runs, and an overnight declaration expected from captain Brett D’Oliveira.Pollock and fellow opener Jake Libby put together a stand of 163 when they began Worcestershire’s second innings, scoring at over five an over after Leicestershire had been bowled out for 213, allrounder Joe Leach taking 4-37 to go with his first innings 70.Resuming on 42 for 3, Leicestershire suffered a big early blow when captain Colin Ackermann, having added only four to his overnight score, was given out leg before when he left a delivery from Leach that came back and hit his back pad, though replays suggested it had not done nearly enough to hit off stump. Lewis Hill battled on, reaching his 50 with a cut to the point boundary, but had an escape when another attempted cut came off the top edge and flew high to first slip, where Pollock got both hands to the ball but could not hang on.Hill and Harry Swindells raised a 50 partnership for the fifth wicket before Swindells was bowled by a swinging delivery from Ed Barnard, and the Worcestershire seamer struck again soon afterwards, Ben MIke checking an on-drive and giving Azhar Ali a simple catch at mid-on.When Hill himself was bowled for 93, chopping a wide delivery from Dillon Pennington into his leg stump, the prospects of the Foxes saving the follow-on looked remote, the more so when Callum Parkinson (somewhat unluckily) and then Ed Barnes (plumb) went leg before, to Charlie Morris and Joe Leach respectively.Another 34 runs were still needed when last man Beuran Hendricks joined Chris Wright at the wicket, but the two played sensibly against the ageing ball, and when D’Oliveira tried spin, Wright hit the young left-armer Josh Baker for three fours down the ground to ensure Leicestershire at least avoided that particular humiliation.They were soon chasing leather, however, as Pollock and Libby thrashed the bowling to all parts, Pollock hitting 16 off the very first over, bowled by Wright. Libby was eventually bowled off the inside edge by MIke, who went on to pick up a flattering 4 for 27 as Worcestershire’s batsmen chased quick runs, Pollock holing out to midwicket.