All posts by n8rngtd.top

Opening batsman Meg Lanning blitzed a century off 45 balls to lead Australia Women to an emphatic victory in the third ODI against New Zealand Women

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2012
ScorecardMeg Lanning pulls during her record-breaking hundred•Getty Images

Opening batsman Meg Lanning blitzed a century off 45 balls to lead Australia Women to an emphatic victory in the third ODI against New Zealand Women in Sydney. The nine-wicket win, achieved in the 22nd over of the chase, ensured the Rose Bowl will remain with Australia, who led the four-match series 2-1.Chasing a target of 178, Lanning sped off in top gear while her opening partner Alyssa Healy complied a half-century that was nearly a run a ball. Lanning got to her half-century in 23 balls and her century in 45, setting new Australian Women’s records. The record for the fastest century was previously held by Karen Rolton, who scored 100 off 57 balls against South Africa in December 2000.The Australian openers added 146 runs in 17.1 overs before Lanning was dismissed by Nicola Browne, the solitary wicket-taker for New Zealand. She had scored 103 off 50 balls. Healy was unbeaten on 62 off 69 when the winning runs were scored.The victory had been set up by Australia’s bowlers, who dismissed New Zealand for 177 in the 46th over. The visitors had got off to a solid start, with the openers adding 53, before both fell off successive deliveries. New Zealand lost their third and fourth wickets in the space of one run, and from 75 for 4 they continued to slump. Erin Osborne was the best of Australia’s bowlers, taking 3 for 32 in ten overs. There were three run-outs in the New Zealand innings.

Lahiru Thirimanne anchored a comfortable chase on a tacky pitch as Sri Lanka levelled the ODI series against Australia in the second match at Adelaide Oval

The Report by Daniel Brettig13-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Angelo Mathews formed part of a tight Sri Lankan bowling unit at Adelaide Oval•Getty Images

Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford expected far better from his men after an abject display in the first ODI, and in Adelaide they duly delivered. A highly disciplined bowling ensemble laid bare Australian frailty against the seaming ball before Lahiru Thirimanne anchored a comfortable chase on a tacky pitch in the second match of the series at Adelaide Oval.The visitors lost Upul Tharanga in the first over of their chase but were largely untroubled thereafter, as the surface eased after earlier offering helpful seam movement for Sri Lanka’s bowlers. Thirimanne reached a deserved century by cutting Xavier Doherty backward of point for the winning runs with eight wickets and 59 balls to spare, having been accompanied for much of the pursuit by an uncharacteristically reserved Tillakaratne Dilshan.Particular praise was also due to Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews, who took the new balls and set Australia on the defensive by moving the ball just enough through the air and off the seam, while keeping the runs down. Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera then followed up with wickets of their own. Named in place of the injured Dinesh Chandimal, the debut gloveman Kushal Perera kept wicket neatly and held four catches.Besides their problems with seam friendly conditions reminiscent of England, Australia were discomforted further by Brad Haddin’s struggles with an apparent hamstring strain, which began to affect him during the latter stages of a rearguard innings of 50 and then forced a regular dialogue with the team physio Alex Kountouris in the early overs of the evening session.Eventually Haddin surrendered to the injury, leaving Phillip Hughes to take up duties as Australia’s makeshift gloveman for the second time this summer. The hosts can expect their team to be significantly reinforced when the national selector John Inverarity names the squad for the next two matches of the series, having started well in Melbourne but fallen away badly in Adelaide.After Tharanga’s early departure to a Clint McKay delivery angled across him, Dilshan and Thirimanne played with good sense and shot selection. Dilshan had one LBW appeal by Doherty referred to the third umpire, but the television evidence proved too marginal for an overturned verdict.

Smart stats

• Sri Lanka’s win is their 15th against Australia in ODIs played in Australia. Seven of their 15 wins have come in matches played since November 2010.

• The eight-wicket win is level with Sri Lanka’s best performance against Australia in ODI chases. Three of their four eight-wicket wins have come in ODIs in Australia.

• The number of balls remaining after the win (59) is the second-highest for Sri Lanka in ODIs against Australia played in Australia. The highest is 101 in Sydney in 2012.

• Lahiru Thirimanne’s century is only the fifth by a Sri Lankan batsman in a chase against Australia (second in Adelaide). Aravinda de Silva has scored two centuries in chases.

• The 137-run stand between Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan is the second-highest second-wicket partnership for Sri Lanka against Australia. The highest is 163 between Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in Sydney in 2006.

They were not to be separated until only a further 34 runs were required. By that point Australia had lost Haddin and also the bowling of the debutant Kane Richardson, who followed up a first ball duck with the bat by suffering the ignominy of being drummed out of the bowling attack for repeatedly running on the pitch in his follow through. It is a problem that will require some technical work to correct.The first indication that Australia were not at their sharpest came in the opening over when Aaron Finch clipped the ball straight to square leg and set off for a single – Phillip Hughes would have been out by yards had the ball found stumps or wicketkeeper. Fortunate there, Finch was to be out for his second low score in as many matches and again fell to a tentative stroke, pushing Mathews to short cover after he had nudged Ajantha Mendis into the wicketkeeper’s gloves at the MCG.Hughes struggled to find the fluency he had managed while making a century on debut, and was pinned in front of the stumps by Kulasekara, wasting Australia’s only review on a ball that pitched in line and would have taken middle and off. David Hussey and George Bailey briefly steadied the innings in a stand of 39, but the stand-in captain’s fortunate stay, punctuated by numerous edges, was ended when he pulled Malinga to midwicket where Thirimanne held a decent catch.Steve Smith, brought in for Usman Khawaja, hinted at fluency during his brief stay but drove loosely at a Perera delivery that seamed back into him and was taken behind. To this point Hussey had looked the most composed of the batsmen, but his run out in another mix-up and a neat Mathews leg cutter to remove Glenn Maxwell, put Australia in deep trouble.Cutting and Haddin resisted for 15 overs and 57 runs, the former showing glimpses of the batting skill he had demonstrated for Queensland over the past two summers. Eventually Malinga’s pace and unique angle drew an edge from Cutting, and next ball his fellow debutant Richardson was flummoxed by a dipping slower ball and pinned LBW.Clint McKay averted the hat-trick but then fell victim to a decision overturned for reasons known only to the third umpire Richard Kettleborough, for replays showed no solid evidence of an edge behind from Perera’s bowling, and HotSpot was no more revealing.The last man Doherty’s arrival moved Haddin to swing a mighty six into the Members Stand. He picked out midwicket when trying to repeat the shot from Mendis, leaving the hosts with a sorry total that would quickly prove to be inadequate.

Shane Warne has proposed an alternate reality for Australian cricket. It is one in which Mark Taylor is the generalissimo, Stephen Fleming the coach, and Ian Chappell the Godfatherly consultant for all players to lean on

Daniel Brettig30-Jan-2013Shane Warne has proposed an alternate reality for Australian cricket. It is one in which Mark Taylor is the generalissimo, Stephen Fleming the coach, and Ian Chappell the Godfatherly consultant for all players to lean on. Rotation does not exist following a players’ mutiny, captains are never chosen in advance of the team they lead, and sleep is a preferable form of recovery to the use of technology.Having drummed up a wave of hype for his suggestions about how to lift Australian cricket from the state of disarray in which he says it has fallen into, Warne delivered an excoriation of the post-Argus review network around the national team and suggested replacements for all of Cricket Australia’s major team performance roles.Warne had previously suggested on Twitter that the captain Michael Clarke needed better support than he was currently getting, and proposed that a new hierarchy be established that was comprised entirely of former international players. Taylor was nominated to replace the former rugby international, Pat Howard, as the team performance chief. The selection panel would be comprised of Rod Marsh as chairman, plus Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn and Glenn McGrath.Stephen Fleming, the ex-New Zealand captain, was Warne’s coach of choice instead of Mickey Arthur, with Darren Lehmann to be his assistant. Warne argued that the coach should not be a selector. The recently retired Michael Hussey and Michael Bevan were put forward as potential batting coaches, while Merv Hughes and Bruce Reid were posited as the men to mentor the bowlers. Chappell, meanwhile, would oversee it all as a consultant, on call as a source of advice and philosophy on the game.”All the above people are cricket people, not rugby, tennis or from any other sporting code,” Warne wrote on his website. “They all understand the game of cricket, they have lived and breathed the game for a long time and most importantly have the best interests of Australian cricket at heart, along with being super passionate and above all, they just love the game.”Cricket is a simple game; sure it has room and a place for scientific research and current technology, which can help [you] learn about an opponent, but not instead of using your cricket brain – they can work hand in hand. Technology can help in recovery, but so can sleep and a common sense approach to recovery.”As for the thinking behind selection, Warne said the most important element in his view was the fostering of a united team via the playing and winning of matches together. Critical for some time of the concept of rotation, Warne argued that the changing of teams for reasons other than the simplest of injury and form concerns bred mistrust, and he encouraged the current team to revolt against the concept.”A simple criteria is pick your best team and stick with it in all forms, then the players get used playing together and being with one another on tour, you get to know the person,” Warne wrote. “Too much chopping and changing leads to insecurity, players then start to look out for themselves and over their shoulder, this breeds selfishness.”It’s also why rotation and resting players will never work. I believe the players should be united, take ownership of this, it’s a very powerful and strong message to send to CA if the players’ message is ‘I do not want to be rested or rotated; I want to play every game, if I don’t perform drop me’. If this decision comes from the players then CA have to respect that and follow suit on selection accordingly, this will then mean someone is accountable.”We have the best batsmen/captain in world cricket at the moment in Michael Clarke and the spine of a good team with [David] Warner, [Shane] Watson, [Matthew] Wade, [Peter] Siddle and [Nathan] Lyon, the rest of the spots are up for grabs in my opinion. Opportunities for players now are there for the taking.”Warne said he planned to discuss his ideas with the CA chief executive James Sutherland, who had previously offered the former Test legspinner the chance for a meeting to air grievances that were aggravated by his own disciplinary problems during the Big Bash League and the Melbourne Stars’ exit from the tournament.

On the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has called on the world to stand with Pakistan and help revive international cricket in the country

Umar Farooq03-Mar-2013On the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has called on the world to stand with Pakistan and help revive international cricket in the country. “It was the tragic episode in the history of Pakistan cricket,” Ashraf, who is also a member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party’s central executive committee, told ESPNcricinfo. “We have suffered a lot in fighting against terrorism – a war that is the entire world’s and Pakistan is fighting as a front-line state. The whole world should stand with us in helping revive international cricket.”On March 3, 2009, the Sri Lanka team was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second Test against Pakistan, when gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at the bus, killing eight people at Liberty roundabout, one-and-a-half kilometres away from the stadium. The match was abandoned, Sri Lanka left the country the same day, Pakistan was stripped of its right to host the 2011 World Cup and there has been no international cricket in the country since. For the last four years, Pakistan have been playing their ‘home’ series mostly in the UAE.Youth development in Pakistan cricket is on hold as no team, even at the youth level, is ready to tour. The PCB has suffered a budget deficit for years, stadiums are getting rusty, fans have been deprived. Around two dozen players made their international debut for Pakistan in this period, but are yet to play an international game in their own country.The PCB is still haunted by the impact of the incident and doesn’t like to be reminded of what happened. The board is now waiting for a change in the political landscape in the country, hoping it will lead to greater stability.The PCB had tried to win back the confidence of players by organising the lucrative Twenty20 league, offering top players from around the world a chance to earn over $100,000 tax-free in 10 days. But the plan was hit by logistical arrangements and the board had to postpone it indefinitely. The PCB also tried hard to negotiate with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to commit to a tour of Pakistan but the series never happened, with Bangladesh withdrawing after committing twice. West Indies, in recent times, have refused to send their A team to Pakistan, proposing instead to play in the UAE.The PCB, in the meantime, is focusing on building cricket infrastructure in Pakistan, a chaotic process in a time of isolation. A new stadium, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Cricket Stadium at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Naudero, Sindh, was completed last year; another one has been sanctioned in the capital Islamabad with a lodging facility. Domestic cricket has been revamped, with the introduction of an additional Twenty20 national championship between eight top teams around the country to keep the stadiums active.

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Chaminda Vaas as national fast bowling coach for two years, after weeks of negotiations with the former left-arm fast bowler

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Feb-2013Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Chaminda Vaas as national fast bowling coach for two years, after weeks of negotiations with the former left-arm fast bowler. Muttiah Muralitharan has also come on board with the Sri Lanka coaching staff in an advisory capacity, and has already been working with the spin bowlers in the side, in the lead up to the upcoming home series against Bangladesh.Vaas had expressed an interest in taking the role when SLC approached him in January, but was underwhelmed with the pay the board had offered him. The parties eventually reached an agreement late on Wednesday evening.”We concluded successful negotiations with Vaas, where we discussed things like pay and his role in the coaching unit,” SLC chief executive Ajit Jayasekara said. “He will be the head fast bowling coach, with the present coaches Champaka Ramanayake and Anusha Samaranayake working under him. He has taken so many wickets for Sri Lanka, and we are very happy to have concluded our talks to get him into the job. Vaas will also oversee the country’s pace bowling academies.”SLC had hoped to sign Muralitharan as a full-time coach as well, but as he still plays in various domestic Twenty20 leagues, he could not commit to that position. Muralitharan is the most successful bowler in the history of the game, leading the Test and ODI wicket-takers lists, with 800 and 534 scalps respectively. Vaas is Sri Lanka’s most successful fast bowler, with 355 Test wickets and 400 ODI wickets.In addition to the coaching appointments, SLC also appointed Michael de Zoysa as the new team manager for one year, filling the position vacated by Charith Senanayake, whose deteriorating relationship with the board in recent weeks led to his replacement and resignation. De Zoysa has been involved in cricket administration with Sri Lanka’s premier clubs, most notably Sinhalese Sports Club, has been a radio and TV commentator, and was also a tea industry executive.This latest round of appointments came amid a slew of personnel changes at SLC, who also appointed two new captains and a new selection panel in the last month. A new cief executive will also come on board in April, and the positions of president, secretary and treasurer will be contested in the SLC elections late in March.

With conditions in Durban set to assist the swinging ball, the fourth ODI could be one for the bowlers

Firdose Moonda19-Mar-2013Durban could be forgiven for feeling anxious. It has not seen any international cricket this year and has only had a day’s worth of it this summer. Moreover, it has not yet hosted Pakistan after the first Twenty20 was washed out and the subcontinental fan base has missed out on seeing a team they will be keen to cheer for.If the weather forecast is to be believed, that will change on Thursday. Not a drop of rain is predicted as the coastal city finally decides to show off its sunnier side and temperatures are expected to soar. The late season in Durban is characterised by days like these where the air can be suffocatingly pregnant with humidity.That also means swing and a series which has not been kind to opening batsmen will get no easier for them. Even in Bloemfontein, where South Africa’s first pair put on 72 runs and Pakistan’s 42, facing the quicks was tough for both sides as the bat was regularly beaten. Since then, South Africa have managed first-wicket stands of 26 and 4 and Pakistan 29 and 15 as swing and seam movement have dominated the early exchanges.Hashim Amla, the only Durban-based player in the XI – although that could change if either David Miller or Kyle Abbott plays – does not expect Kingsmead to be too different. “We are becoming used to a difficult partnership upfront because of the two new white balls,” he said of himself and Graeme Smith.The pair struggled against Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan with the latter two causing the problems at the Wanderers. “They bowled really good lengths and the wicket itself was a bit tacky so the ball didn’t come on to the bat,” Amla said. “We knew that the first 10 would be difficult so we just kept reassuring ourselves to hang in, then maybe release will come.”The breathing room came through a massive, 238-run stand between Amla and AB de Villiers. The pair concentrated on more than just survival, according to Amla. “We rotate the strike well. I always enjoy batting with AB because when he comes in you know the game is going to go forward,” he said. “We complement each other and we keep each other motivated.”Amla will look to continue that way in Durban, despite the difficulties. The surface will not offer Irfan, if he is fit to play, much bounce but he may be able to get the ball to skid on awkwardly. Whoever plays of Junaid, Gul, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir can be guaranteed movement and Amla hopes South Africa will have a way of counterattacking with bat in hand as much as Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe can do with ball.”As much as the Pakistan bowlers are good, they are also inexperienced,” Amla said. “Irfan and Wahab haven’t played many games even though they are definitely all quality. But if we get partnerships going again, we can exploit that inexperience.”Pakistan’s pace pack will bank on exactly the opposite. Despite their lack of experience, they will hope to take advantage of conditions that should suit them. Kingsmead is traditionally a low-scoring ground with the average runs per over only 4.66. Totals above 250 are not all that common and it could even have something in it for the spinners.”I am interested to see what we get down there,” Amla said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve played there and I’m not sure if it is going to swing as much. If its turns, their bowlers come into play even more.” The international schedule means Amla rarely plays for his franchise the Dolphins so he has not featured at his home ground since last season.He has only played three ODIs there overall and has two fifties to his name but no hundreds in Durban. Having notched his first century of 2013 at the Wanderers, the world’s top-ranked ODI batsman is hungry for more. “I am always in the mood for a big one,” Amla joked. “With it being difficult upfront, I cement in my head, the idea of how I will play. I always try to understand in which context I am batting.”If the records books are correct and Pakistan’s bowlers are up for it, the context on Thursday will be a tough one again.

David Hopps at Taunton16-May-2013
ScorecardTim Murtagh called his day in Taunton among the best of his career•Middlesex CCC

There is something impressively businesslike about Middlesex. They came to Taunton with definite Championship credentials. They will expect to return to London by the weekend with that reputation enhanced.They look brisk, vigorous and confident in their good habits, the smart, well-drilled side down from the big city. Fifteen Somerset wickets in 56 overs tend to do wonders for your belief. Fifteen Somerset wickets in 56 overs : such things do not happen.Tim Murtagh, the leading Division One wicket taker with 28 at 15 runs apiece, so far has eight wickets for spit in the match. He has an insistent, all-brushed-up style, swings the ball and, at 31, is logically approaching his peak. He felt so good in himself that afterwards he even described the day as probably the best in his career.Victory against Somerset would take them to the top of the First Division with the LV= Championship not far short of midway and encourage hopes of winning their first title for 20 years when Mike Gatting was at the helm.Gatt would drink to that; in fact, he would probably eat to it as well. He should start tucking in his napkin now because on the evidence of the past two days they have a good shout. If there is disarray and dismay south of the Thames, there is organisation and stability to the north of it.When the West Country tyro, Jamie Overton, completed the opening day well on the way to a career-best 6 for 95, he had been the only Somerset quick to make much of an impression on a pitch which, although green, did not – as Overton related – do as much as Somerset expected. Then when Middlesex bowled, it presumably did considerably more than they ever imagined.Murtagh did not find as much swing as he can, nor Toby Roland-Jones as much bounce, nor James Harris as much fortune (certainly first time around), but backed up by committed fielding they took hold of the match within a few hours in a manner that Taunton crowds, more used to run gluts, have rarely witnessed in recent seasons.For a brief period, it seemed as if Middlesex might even win inside two days as they enforced the follow-on with a lead of 195. Memories of Somerset’s failure to beat Warwickshire when Marcus Trescothick failed to enforce the follow-on last month were still strong.Then Somerset had already bowled 65 overs and Trescothick insisted afterwards that he had no regrets: the bowlers were tired and the pitch was flat. On this occasion, it was a no-brainer; Somerset’s first innings had only lasted 45 overs so exhaustion did not come into it and there was enough encouragement to keep Middlesex’s bowlers interested.That prospect of a two-day finish was removed by a crisp half-century from Peter Trego, with Jos Buttler in subdued support, but they remain 83 runs in arrears. Even Tractor resorted to heavy irony as Trego’s flurry brought Roland-Jones falling to the floor in his follow-through. “On the way, on the way,” he roared. Trego had also put up most resistance in Somerset’s first innings before he was ninth man out, having a blast at Neil Dexter.Murtagh never let Somerset’s top order rest. After reaping 4 for 28 first time around, he followed up with 4 for 18 with the new ball to leave Somerset tottering at 35 for 5 by the 11th over.Arul Suppiah, was lbw without scoring and is yet to reach 20 in six knocks; Alviro Petersen, who will soon be heading off for the Champions Trophy, was averaging 82 in the Championship, but Murtagh has picked him off for 0 and 4 here. James Hildreth and Lewis Gregory also succumbed to Murtagh in both innings, Hildreth at slip, Gregory lbw, the same dismissals twice in a few hours.It was the sort of beautiful late afternoon that Taunton delivers as invitingly as anywhere on the county circuit, the sunshine and blue skies enhanced by the fraternal nature of the crowd, but two old Somerset boys had seen enough as they headed for the exit, walking sticks a swinging. “They should bring back Rosey,” burred one of them. If they weren’t exactly angry they were certainly, to resort to an old Somerset phrase, a bit begrumpled.Suitably, they were walking through the Brian Rose gates at the time, named in honour of their former director of cricket who stood down at the end of last season because he was weary of finishing second – or because he knew this Somerset side was beyond its best.If his replacement, David Nosworthy, is to gain the same affection, the old boys muttered, he would be advised to cut down on the management speak to explain what looks likely to be a rare Somerset failure in front of their own supporters. They don’t like too much of that around here.

England sentenced New Zealand to a morning of misery at Headingley as they increased their lead well beyond 400 and set-up a declaration on the fourth afternoon in Leeds.

The Report by George Dobell27-May-2013
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook brought up his 25th Test century and seventh as captain•AFP

England will nervously draw back the curtains in their hotel rooms on day five in Leeds. Having earned themselves a dominant position against New Zealand they will feel only rain can thwart them as they look to clinch a 2-0 series victory.For that reason there was, perhaps, a perverse pleasure for New Zealand as England extended their second innings beyond lunch on the fourth day. While New Zealand could have few realistic hopes of surpassing England’s target – they would have to set a new world record to do so and on a pitch offering turn and variable bounce to the bowlers – the tactic did perhaps present New Zealand with enhanced prospects of a draw.With rain forecast to curtail the final day of the Test, New Zealand may not need to survive three full sessions on the final day. So, as England plundered their bowling on the fourth day, New Zealand could, at least, take comfort in the thought that every ball they were forced to remain out in the field was a ball less they were required to survive with the bat.England’s tactics have taken some criticism. Some say they should have enforced the follow-on, some say they should have batted with greater urgency on the third evening and some say that, with an eye on the weather forecast, they should have declared far earlier. Having earned such a vast lead, the decision not to have attacking fields – there were three men on the boundary at times – was also puzzling.But the fact is that had bad light not brought an early close on day four – and at a ground with floodlights play may well have continued – they might have won this game in three days (the first day was lost to rain). For many years, England supporters would have been delighted with such a scenario. It perhaps speaks volumes for the progress they have made that more is now demanded.Bearing in mind New Zealand had only scored 449 runs in the series for the loss of 30 wickets, it did seem an abundantly cautious tactic. No side has ever made more than 418 to win a Test in the fourth innings and only four teams have ever made more than 400 to win in the fourth innings. New Zealand’s highest chase is 324, made against Pakistan in Christchurch in 1994. Perhaps, however, England also had an eye on exhausting the New Zealand attack ahead of the ODI series that beings later this week.If New Zealand are saved by the weather on day five, they will also owe thanks to Ross Taylor who produced a fine counterattacking innings to shore up his side just as it appeared they might suffer a familiar collapse and the game could end a day early. Demonstrating an application and technique that his team-mates would do well to emulate, Taylor cut and drove well and, by playing deep in his crease or using his reach to stretch a long way forward, negated Graeme Swann for much of the afternoon.He had some nervous moments. Not only did he take a thumping blow to the arm off the hostile bowling of Steven Finn, but he was given out by umpire Steve Davis on 60, caught behind off Swann by one that went on with the arm. The decision was subsequently overturned on appeal with replays showing the bat had brushed only the pad.Taylor apart, though, New Zealand struggled once again. Peter Fulton’s miserable series – 36 runs at an average of 9.00 – ended when a delivery from Stuart Broad reared from just back of a good length, took the shoulder of the bat and looped to gully and, later, Dean Brownlie’s stubborn innings was ended by a brute of a bouncer from Finn that followed the batsman and took his glove as he sought to protect his face. It was a delivery of which Curtly Ambrose would have been proud.In between Finn’s wickets, Swann struck twice. In his second over, Kane Williamson, moving right across his stumps in an attempt to get outside the line, was beaten by some sharp turn and given out leg before by Davis. Williamson called for a review but replays suggested the ball had hit him in line and would have just clipped the top of leg stump.Hamish Rutherford impressed for a while. He drove a couple of sweetly-timed fours off Broad – first off front and then back foot – before punching one back past Finn and then flicking Swann through midwicket for another four. But in attempting to play one that slid on with the arm, Rutherford was caught at short-leg via an inside edge and his pad by the alert Joe Root.Later, Swann had Martin Guptill edging one that did not turn, caught at slip off the outside edge, before Taylor’s fine innings was ended by a full delivery that may well have deceived the batsman in the flight, beat his drive, turned and hit the stumps. Swann became the first spinner to take eight wickets in a Headingley Test since Derek Underwood did so in 1972.Earlier England sentenced New Zealand to a morning of misery as they increased their lead well beyond 400. Upping the tempo noticeably after a ponderous end to the third day, England scored 133 runs in 29 overs (4.59 runs an over) in the session taking full toll of a New Zealand attack lacking the injured Trent Boult.Alastair Cook, who resumed on his overnight score of 88, soon completed his 25th Test century and seventh in 11 Tests as captain. Fluent on the drive, quick to cut and merciless off his legs, Cook added 134 in 41 overs with Jonathan Trott. No England player has scored more Test centuries than Cook and only Graham Gooch, with 11 in 34 Tests, Peter May, with 10 in 41, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan, with nine each in 50 and 51 Tests respectively, and Mike Atherton, with eight in 54, have scored more as captain.Trott’s acceleration was more noticeable. It had taken him 69 deliveries to score his first 11 runs on day three, but on the fourth morning he allowed himself to take more risks and was dropped on 40 when reverse-sweeping Kane Williamson. Later he whipped Tim Southee through midwicket and reverse-swept another four off the part-time spin of Martin Guptill. In all Trott scored 65 runs from 93 balls in the session but fell second ball after lunch chasing a wide one. By the time he was out, he had become the highest run scorer in Test cricket in 2013 to date.Cook eventually fell as he attempted to hit the off-spin of Williamson over the top, while Ian Bell fell in similarly selfless fashion as he mis-hit a slog-sweep. But it hardly mattered. Joe Root produced an outrageous reverse-sweep off the pace of Wagner that flew to the boundary and hit three fours in his first 13 balls before falling in the race to set-up the declaration.There was further good news for England on day four as Kevin Pietersen returned to the nets, beginning his comeback from a knee injury.