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There has been no Snicko available throughout the Test, to add to the lack of no-ball monitoring

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2021Malfunctioning technology has continued to hamper the officials in the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane with the absence of Snicko coming to the fore on the third day.The Snicko system, used to detect edges, has been unavailable throughout the match with Cricket Australia saying border restrictions prevented getting technical support to the venue to fix an issue. Both teams were kept aware of the situation by match referee David Boon who has ensured the DRS has been kept consistent throughout, but it has meant a less complete version is available.It was centre stage when Australia called for a review in England’s second innings against Dawid Malan, who was on 16, when they thought he had edged Josh Hazlewood. There was a suggestion of a faint mark on the bottom of the bat from Hot Spot but third umpire Paul Wilson did not believe it was sufficient evidence to overturn the on-field not-out decision.Australia thought they saw a mark on the bat but accepted that the lack of Snicko left the TV umpire no option.”I was at first slip, I didn’t hear a noise but the other four guys around me were adamant there was bat,” Marnus Labuschagne said. “For us on-field, obviously we are a long way away, it looked like it had hit the bottom of the toe. We thought there looked like there was a mark on the bottom of the toe when you pointed the toe more towards the camera. But when you don’t have Snicko that decision is never going to get turned over.”Malan was always confident he was safe. “I didn’t hit, I missed it by a mile,” he said.The absence of Snicko was first apparent on the opening day when Australia reviewed for a leg-side catch against Jos Buttler although on that occasion there was clearer evidence from Hot Spot that it had only brushed the thigh pad.Another key part of the technology missing throughout the game has been the camera system which allows the third umpire to monitor and call no-balls. That was revealed when Ben Stokes overstepped with his first three deliveries on day two, then claimed David Warner with his fourth only for it to be chalked off because the front foot was checked due to it being a wicket-taking delivery.This match is being played under the previous protocols where the on-field umpires call no-balls and only when a batter is dismissed is the front line checked.It is expected that the full complement of DRS technology will be available for the second Test in Adelaide. Queensland’s closed borders created challenges ahead of the opening game with the England squad and a significant number of Australia’s needing to quarantine ahead of the game, as well as officials and those involved in putting the match on.

David Warner has backed his young batsmen to come good, despite a collapse against RCB in their IPL 2020 opener

Sidharth Monga21-Sep-20202:04

Our team made some basic errors – Warner

You are 89 for 1 and 121 for 2 chasing 164 when the opposition feels there is so much dew the ball feels like a cake of soap. You find a way to lose from there. Sunrisers Hyderabad will not only be gutted about the two points lost against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the implications of it for the rest of the IPL 2020 season.They came into the season with a suspect middle order to address, which they would have been tempted to sacrifice a bowling allrounder for Kane Williamson. However, a quad injury to Williamson during training took that out of their hand. His replacement, Mitchell Marsh, injured his ankle into his first over of bowling, an injury that looked bad enough to cast a shadow over the rest of his IPL. There is no word on when Williamson will be available for selection, but what happened in their chase might leave Sunrisers desperate for his calm and his experience, especially given Dubai and Abu Dhabi won’t be offering up too many 200 pitches.ALSO SEE: RCB v SRH live score 20th September 2020The Sunrisers captain was left looking for answers, but he was more disappointed with the senior batsmen who were in rather than the rookie middle order. Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey both fell trying to hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a six. Bairstow did so in Chahal’s last over, giving the Royal Challengers a window of opportunity, which became a big gaping hole in no time at all.Vijay Shankar loses his stumps to Yuzvendra Chahal•BCCI

“I think everyone knows that,” David Warner told Star, the host broadcaster, when asked if the seniors should have played Chahal more smartly. “If they could go back and play that back again, I think they’ll just do that. At the end of the day, there are talking points but I think the guys know exactly what they have to do in the next game.”At the post-match press conference, Warner sought to give his inexperienced middle order of Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma a vote of confidence. “We wouldn’t have put them in the middle order if we didn’t feel they weren’t good enough,” Warner said. “If there is anyone who wants to criticise the middle-order batting, [they have got to remember] it is something I haven’t seen before. Three bizarre dismissals [a ramp into the helmet onto the stumps and a run-out after two batsmen collided mid-pitch].”Warner also made it clear he was not going to put undue pressure on the youngsters. “I have encouraged them to keep playing their way, and not think too much about the scenario or the situation,” Warner said. “We got to really rely on our senior players to guide them out in the middle. If it so happens to be two youngsters out there, my message is just to play their natural game. At the end of the day, that is the only way you can learn. It can be difficult at times. You know it is pressure environment, 100 million people watching this. Just got to keep it calm, keep it simple for them.”It will be a matter of interest how Sunrisers deal with this middle-order issue in the rest of the tournament. Possible reinforcements are spinners Mohammad Nabi and Fabian Allen. While Allen has hit a six every 10 balls in T20 cricket, Nabi carries the steady head they might need. If and when Williamson is available, he will be an option too, with Garg possibly making way for an Indian allrounder, like Abdul Samad. Another route is for one of the top three to drop down in the middle order, but that will have to be weighed against what they lose in the early overs by doing so.Whatever might be the case, on the evidence of Sunrisers’ opening match, no team will ever consider themselves out of the game against them.

The two teams are meeting for the first time since Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand was tragically cut short by the Christchurch terror attacks

The Preview by Saurabh Somani04-Jun-2019

Big Picture

London is a long way from Christchurch, and New Zealand will be meeting Bangladesh for the first time in more than two months. But the shadow of March 15 will still hang heavy, with Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand cut tragically short due to a heinous terror attack. There was grace and empathy shown by both sides that time, and both sets of players will doubtless have warm feelings towards each other, even if born out of tragedy. But this is a World Cup, and sentiment will be left at the boundary when the teams face off in what shapes up to be a crucial match.That New Zealand have begun this World Cup strongly shouldn’t surprise anyone. They fly under the radar at most times, but in spite of that, they’ve been a remarkably consistent team at World Cups, and a consistent presence in the later stages of the tournament.That Bangladesh, too, are among the teams in the top half of the table at this early stage will have surprised several people, though it shouldn’t. Since the 2015 event, Bangladesh have steadily grown as a one-day force, and they came into this tournament as one of the banana-peel teams. South Africa duly slipped up against them.But Bangladesh will believe, with justification, that they aren’t just here to upset teams, but are serious contenders. The scrum for the four semi-final spots is likely to be a close one, and the team that goes on a run of form will have the advantage over similar contenders. Bangladesh have taken a big step towards being near the front of that line. Another win against an established team and they will hold legitimate hopes.Bangladesh’s two weaker areas of late have been their opening pair and pace bowling. With Soumya Sarkar’s recent run of form, they’ve got one of them covered, while Mustafizur Rahman finding his rhythm again and Mohammad Saifuddin’s progress have ensured the second one isn’t crippling.New Zealand will be quietly confident, though, with a win against India in the warm-ups followed by a demolition job against Sri Lanka. Their pace bowling, in particular, looked in fine fettle. Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry looked a fearsome prospect in helpful conditions. If they get that help again, they could have the Bangladesh batsmen hopping.Traditionally, subcontinental teams have had their share of problems against accurate and hostile short-pitched bowling, so unless the pitch is flat, that could be part of New Zealand’s plans. Their batting is helmed by a powerful top order, with Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson the reassuring figures relied upon to steer the innings.

Form guide

Bangladesh WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWL

In the spotlight

Soumya Sarkar hasn’t always done justice to his enormous talent. He averages 36.80 in ODIs, but scores at better than a run a ball. The speed of scoring speaks of his ability to find the boundaries and the gaps, but the average says he hasn’t always made fast starts count. Since the start of 2018, though, despite a spell out of the team, Soumya has added consistency too. He averages 41.69 and rattles along at a strike-rate of 109.05 – both considerably above his career numbers. He has been a changed batsman since hitting his maiden Test century during the tour of New Zealand at the start of the year. His last four ODIs have brought scores of 73, 54, 66 and 42. Another good score at fast pace, and he will have set the platform for Bangladesh’s pedigreed middle order to take charge.Since the 2015 World Cup, Ross Taylor‘s ODI average of 68.85 is second only to Virat Kohli’s. He has quietly, efficiently and methodically piled on the runs. He made 71 against India in the warm-ups, and by almost any reckoning has been among the top few batsmen in ODIs in the last four years. That he’s still not spoken of in the elite category of batsmen says more about perception than his performance. But New Zealand know just how reliable Taylor is. And opposition teams know it too.Lockie Ferguson celebrates taking the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva•Getty Images

Team news

Bangladesh will likely stick with the XI that delivered victory against South Africa. Tamim Iqbal, Mustafizur and Saifuddin all have niggles, though nothing serious enough to prevent them from playing.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur RahmanNew Zealand are also likely to stay unchanged. Tim Southee and Henry Nicholls are not yet at 100% fitness, which makes the decision easier.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

In the two matches that have already taken place at The Oval at this World Cup, three innings have gone past 300. This match will take place on a new pitch, though. The weather could also play a part. The forecast is for a mostly cloudy day with some showers. Depending on when those showers arrive, it could force teams to change tactics midway through.

Strategy punt

• Bangladesh have been promoting Shakib Al Hasan up the order in recent times, and it’s a move they should stick with. His average at Nos. 3 and 4 is 43.4. From No. 5 to 7, it slips to 33.8. There is no big difference in strike rate, 80 in the upper middle order and 82.3 lower down. The reason for Shakib’s improved numbers up the order could lie in his respective records against pace and spin. Since 2016, he has averaged a stunning 60.5 at a strike rate of 96.5 against pace. The corresponding numbers against spin are 28.8 and 73.9 – making it a no-brainer, really, to push him up the order.
• Matt Henry might have got his opportunity partly due to Tim Southee being injured, but now that he’s in the XI, New Zealand shouldn’t hesitate to throw him the new ball. Henry has been among the most effective, and under-rated, opening bowlers in ODIs. He averages 19.3 in the first ten overs, better than Trent Boult’s 24.1. He also has a better bowling average against the top three (24.1) than he does against Nos. 4 to 7 (27.3), or even the tail (25.3) – further arguments for giving him the new ball. Finally, the clincher is Henry’s stats against Asian teams versus non-Asian teams – he outperforms on every metric, average (20.7 to 35.9), economy rate (5.0 to 6.4) and strike rate (24.6 to 33.8).

Stats and trivia

• Ross Taylor is set to play his 400th international match. He will be the third New Zealander, behind Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, to get to the landmark.
• This will be Shakib Al Hasan’s 200th ODI.
• Trent Boult needs two wickets to get to 150 in ODIs.

Quotes

“We played in their home conditions recently, but we are in a neutral venue for this game. There’s always pressure in a big tournament. They would be under more pressure if they are considered the favourites. We know each other well. We cannot underestimate ourselves, regardless of who we are playing against.”
“Last time Bangladesh were in our country, it obviously wasn’t ideal. It will be great to see them tomorrow. I’m sure both sides are looking forward to getting out there, and I guess getting back to the cricket field around what we love doing. You know they left pretty quickly, so we didn’t get a chance to, I guess, see them, but it will be great to get out on the cricket field tomorrow and do what we love doing.”

Afghanistan slipped to 54 for 5 in the chase, but eventually overcame a plucky United Arab Emirates, who lost their appetite for a fight on a stiflingly hot afternoon

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Harare20-Mar-2018
ScorecardAfghanistan overcame a plucky United Arab Emirates in their Super Sixes match at Old Hararians to win by five wickets. Rashid Khan’s 5 for 41 helped to bowl UAE out for just 177 in 43 overs, but Afghanistan slipped to 54 for 5 in their chase, and were put under serious pressure by UAE’s new-ball bowlers, Mohammad Naveed and Qadeer Ahmed. A 124-run partnership between Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran repaired Afghanistan’s chase, as UAE lost their appetite for a fight on a stiflingly hot afternoon. Both men passed fifty before guiding their team home with more than 15 overs to spare.While UAE have lost all of their Super Sixes matches, Afghanistan’s win takes them to four points, level with Ireland, whom they will meet in their final game on Friday. If they win that game by a big margin, and Scotland and Zimbabwe both lose their remaining matches, this victory will give Afghanistan a slim chance of making it into the final.

Naveed fined 15% of match fee

UAE quick Mohammad Naveed lost 15% of his match fee and picked up a demerit point for questioning the umpire’s not-out decision during his side’s five-wicket loss to Afghanistan.
Naveed was found to have violated Article 2.1.5 of the ICC code of conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”. No formal hearing was held, as Naveed pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.

It seemed that the match might be over very quickly when UAE were asked to bat on a helpful surface and were reduced to 18 for 3 inside the Powerplay. Opener Chirag Suri dug in tenaciously, taking 72 balls for his 22, but it was not until Shaiman Anwar arrived at the crease that UAE started to show some real grit.Fittingly, Anwar wore a a floppy sun hat, continuing a fine UAE tradition that started with Sultan Zarawani’s incredibly brave decision to bat against Allan Donald at the 1996 World Cup wearing only a wide-brimmed floppy for protection. Disappointingly, Anwar traded his hat for a helmet when Afghanistan’s quicks were on, but his knock was anything but disappointing.Mixing stolid defense with daring attack, he reached a 69-ball fifty with a fiercely struck six down the ground off Mujeeb ur Rahman. Naveed’s knock was even more adventurous, and he showed scant regard for Afghanistan’s attack as he plundered seven fours and two sixes in his 45. But theirs were the only innings of substance for UAE, and Rashid took advantage of the batsmen’s inability to read his variations to record his fourth five-wicket haul in ODIs. Rashid now has 96 wickets in this format, and needs just four more within his next nine ODIs to become the quickest bowler to 100 ODIs wickets in the history of the game.So dominant had Afghanistan been with the ball – Naveed’s 45 and Anwar’s competent fifty notwithstanding – that much of the lunchtime chat around the ground revolved around how quickly Afghanistan might want to chase down the middling target to boost their net run rate.But as Boycott’s third law states, one should never judge how good a score is until both sides have batted on the pitch. Mohammad Shahzad, in his second match back from a demerit suspension during the group stages, didn’t even last two overs before Qadeer Ahmed’s bustling medium pace trapped him lbw. Energy buzzed through UAE after the early strike, and it quickly became apparent that this chase could be a lot more tricky than Afghanistan might have hoped.Gulbadin Naib, elevated to No. 3, endured a particularly torrid time from Naveed. Naib struggled to lay bat on ball, repeatedly playing and missing, as Naveed found just as much lift and movement off the surface as Dawlat Zadran had earlier in the day.Importantly, though, he did enough to survive, while Rahmat Shah kept the scoreboard ticking over with flicked boundaries on the leg side. But just as the pressure brought about by the early wicket seemed to be dissipating, UAE struck again. Naveed burst a quick length delivery through Shah’s defensive push, tipping the bails off, sparking off a mini collapse. Naveed trapped Samiullah Shenwari lbw in the same over, and in the very next, Qadeer had a hooking Asghar Stanikzai caught behind as Afghanistan slipped to 43 for 4.Mohammad Nabi has pulled Afghanistan out of situations like these in the past, but the drinks break seemed to break his concentration, and he nicked Ahmed Raza behind first ball after the resumption. With Afghanistan tottering at 54 for 5, UAE had the game by the scruff of the neck.Naib, who had so obviously struggled against the new ball and watched wickets tumble from the other end, was joined by Najibullah, and despite a couple of early scares, they soon set about rebuilding the innings. Najibullah’s boundary-hitting ability was particularly valuable, each hit bringing the target a little closer and allowing Naib the time and freedom to grind his way into some sort of form.Najibullah was into double figures at better than a run a ball, his first boundary coming via a shimmy-and-swipe six over long-on off Ahmed Raza’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. Najibullah also put the reverse sweep to good use, particularly against Imran Haider’s legspin, and with his second six, he joined Naib in the 40s. Naib reached his fifty from 84 deliveries; Najibullah followed him to the milestone two overs later, from a more rapid 53 deliveries.With the afternoon sun lifting moisture out of the earth, enormous billowing cumulonimbus clouds built up around the ground, and the extreme heat seemed to sap UAE’s energy with the game slipping out of their grasp. When Rohan Mustafa let slip with a chest high no-ball, which was carted to the square leg boundary, and followed that up with a leg-stump half volley that was smashed to wide long-on, the white flag was raised. With the pressure off, Naib finally came into his own, lifting Naveed and Mustafa for massive leg-side sixes. His gritty innings won him the Player of the Match award, while Afghanistan’s win kept them in the competition. Just.

Though the final Test of the series is a dead rubber, both India and England have something to gain

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu15-Dec-2016

Match facts

December 16-20, 2016
Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)

Big Picture

England might feel like the guy sighing in relief when he hears the bar keep yelling “last call”. They’ve tried hard to keep up in unfamiliar surroundings, lost players to a schedule that packed five Tests into six weeks, given up their hold on the Anthony de Mello Trophy, and can’t be faulted if they are left with nothing more than the desire to go home. Counting the series in Bangladesh, they’ve been on tour since early October. With one win, four losses, debate over the quality of their captain, suggestions they have fielded lopsided XIs, injuries – James Anderson’s soreness being the latest – irritation from the coach over their tactics, and later at the media’s antics, this was one awful bender.India, on the other hand, may feel kinship towards those who go “boo” when told the pub is shutting down for the night. Virat Kohli is in such form he could start playing trick shots to each ball. R Ashwin can’t help but pick up wickets. The batting line-up stretches to No. 9. The bowlers are relentless. All of that has been amplified by home conditions. In Chennai, they stand a chance at equalling the most Tests they’ve ever won in a series – four, against Australia in 2013 – even a draw would take them to 18 matches without a defeat. No Indian team has reached such heights in 84 years of Test history.There is one more protagonist in play: the city. It was only at the start of this week that Chennai was laid waste by cyclone Vardah.

Form guide

India WWWDW (completed matches, most recent first)
England LLLDLStuart Broad is back in contention after his foot injury in Visakhapatnam•AFP

In the spotlight

Karun Nair has not had the kindest introduction to Test cricket. He has had to hang around on the fringes since the Sri Lanka tour last year, and his extended run in the XI may well be the result of Ajinkya Rahane – who spent a lot longer waiting for his first gig – and Rohit Sharma’s injuries. Scores of 4 and 13 – not to mention dropping a catch in the fourth over in Mumbai and then watching the reprieved Keaton Jennings make a century – indicate he has not made the most of his opportunity. He’ll be eager to set that right should he get another go in Chennai.Since his century in Rajkot, Moeen Ali has not made the kind of contributions that befit his talent. His strokes appear effortless, which look nice when the ball flies off the middle and particularly ugly when it is mistimed. His showing more care at the start of the innings might not be too bad an idea. He’s the kind of player who goes the extra yard as well. Took on a vicious workload in Mumbai, bowling 53 overs and then had to bat at No. 4. Can he sign off on a high?

Team news

India might play successive Tests with the same XI for the first time under Kohli, unless they take the call to play Ishant Sharma, who has rejoined the squad after his wedding last week.India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Karun Nair, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant SharmaEngland will likely hand a debut to left-arm spinning allrounder Liam Dawson. They are also waiting on Stuart Broad’s fitness – he injured his foot in Visakhapatnam and has not played since. He underwent a fitness Test on Wednesday and was scheduled for another on the eve of the Test.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Stuart Broad/Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jake Ball

Pitch and conditions

Can the behaviour of a pitch that has been through a cyclone and had to be dried by hot coals be predicted? Clearly there was concern over the amount of moisture there was in it. So the ball could seam around. It is Chennai though, the hometown of R Ashwin, so there will be plenty of spin. The rains have subsided, and it was sunny again on the eve of the Test before becoming a bit cloudy in the evening. Considering the work that has been put in by a dedicated groundstaff to make sure the match happens, the first ball could carry more far more meaning than the last.

Stats and trivia

• England have played eight Tests in Chennai, winning three and losing four. India, meanwhile, have won 13 out of 31 matches at the venue.
• Kohli has 640 runs from four Tests in this series, 135 more in Chennai would give him the record for most runs by an Indian in a series, beating Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 774 against West Indies in 1971.
• Ashwin has 27 wickets so far, with nine more he could record the best haul by an Indian bowler in a Test series. BS Chandrashekar took 35 against England in 1972.
• Alastair Cook needs two more runs to become the 10th batsman in Test history to 11000 runs.

Quotes

“This will be my 140th game and I’ve never played a in a game when we haven’t had nets before. But sometimes you do have to remember what happened in the cyclone, when people unfortunately lost their lives. So a net session the day before doesn’t seem quite as important after what people have gone through.”
“I don’t think we are looking at a collective series as 4-0. For us every game is separate from the other and the intensity and the motivation to win a Test match remains the same, whether we have won the series or haven’t won the series, or it’s drawn.”

Otago offspinner Josh Finnie has been named captain of the New Zealand squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which starts in Bangladesh from January 27

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2015Otago offspinner Josh Finnie has been named captain of the New Zealand squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which starts in Bangladesh from January 27. This will be Finnie’s second appearance at the Under-19 World Cup, after the 2014 edition in UAE where he played two matches.Finnie will lead a 15-man squad which includes Northern Districts pace bowler Zak Gibson, who was recently named the first recipient of the NZC Maori Cricket Scholarship, presented in conjunction with the 2015 Maori Sports Awards.The squad was named at the end of the National Under-19s tournament at NZC’s high-performance center in Lincoln, and comprises of five players from Auckland, three from Central Districts, two each from Otago, Wellington and Canterbury, and one from Northen Districts.The squad will travel to the UAE for a pre-series preparatory triangular tournament against Australia and Pakistan. They will play two warm-up games in Bangladesh – against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan – before their first Group D match against Nepal on January 28. New Zealand’s other group matches are against India (January 30) and Australia (February 1).New Zealand Under-19 coach Bob Carter said the players were working hard in their preparations and the side would be well prepared for their World Cup opener.”It’s an extremely talented group of young players and we’ll head to Bangladesh with high expectations,” Carter said. “These players are the future of our sport and they recognise the responsibility that comes with that.”It’s an exciting opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it. There’s still plenty of work to go into our preparation, but we’ll be ready to go come 28 January.”New Zealand U-19 squad: Josh Finnie (captain), Finnley Allen, Josh Clarkson, Zak Gibson, Christian Leopard, Felix Murray, Aniket Parikh, Dale Phillips, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Talor Scott, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Daniel Stanley, Ross ter Braak

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.

Somerset beat Middlesex by six wickets at Taunton

David Lloyd at Taunton08-Apr-2012
ScorecardVernon Philander may have been the talk of the County Ground for much of this match but friend, foe and neutral observer alike went away this evening singing the praises of spinner George Dockrell.Fast bowler Philander played a significant role as Somerset launched their latest attempt to win a first championship title by beating Middlesex by six wickets. But it was 19-year-old Dockrell who took centre stage – and looked an absolute natural under the spotlight – when his team needed a generous helping of magic today.Figures of 6 for 27 from 20.1 overs suggest a wizard at work. Well, there will be batsmen on the circuit who play him better than these visitors. And not all pitches are going to yield as much turn and bounce as this splendid early season offering from groundsman Simon Lee. But Dockrell’s left-arm weaved a spell which was a treat to watch – unless you were something like 22 yards away, of course.Dockrell, a tall, slim Irishman, has been gathering an army of admirers for a couple of years now, mainly while playing limited-overs cricket for his country. Indeed, people were purring about him when he appeared against England – as a 17-year-old – in the World Twenty20 tournament of 2010.This season, though, is Dockrell’s chance to play first-class cricket to his heart’s desire. With Murali Kartik having left Taunton for Surrey, the way is clear for young George to fill his boots. And fill them he surely will if he keeps bowling with as much control, flight and variety as he displayed during this match.Somerset were first alerted to Dockrell’s talent when he was just 15. Last year, with Kartik on board, he appeared in only one championship contest. But this summer his development promises to be rapid and, on the evidence of today, spectacular.Middlesex were looking more than capable of earning a draw when they reached 105 for 1 deep into the morning session. The first innings arrears had just been cleared and, with a fair amount of good fortune, admittedly, Philander had been seen off.But Dockrell changed the game from the moment he defeated Sam Robson’s attempted sweep to win a leg before decision. Chris Rogers followed, edging a cut, and the visitors knew a tricky afternoon stretched out before them.Even so, losing their last seven wickets for 40 runs in 20 overs to be hurried out for 175 was pretty remarkable. Philander did for Neil Dexter and Dawid Malan to finish with match figures of 7 for 81. But the Dockrell show resumed with John Simpson being undone by turn and bounce before Gareth Berg, lbw pushing forward, Ollie Rayner, stumped, despite at least one fumble from Craig Kieswetter, and Toby Roland-Jones, holing out in the deep, completed the collection.A match haul of 8 for 62 should have allowed Dockrell to sit back and relax while Somerset knocked off a victory target of 72 in 40 overs. Instead, he and a few others in the home changing room will have moved towards the edge of their seats as the hosts slipped to 44 for 4.Having one eye on approaching dark clouds probably did not help the top order. But just when some mild panic was setting in around the ground, James Hildreth and Jos Buttler settled matters with a few hefty blows – including Buttler’s reverse sweep off Joe Denly, to seal the deal.Having lost their opening match of the last two championship campaigns, Somerset deserve to feel good about themselves after this result. As for Middlesex, they fought so hard for so much of a match in which conditions generally conspired against them that defeat will be tough to take. But in the first division one bad session is usually fatal – and the visitors had a shocker after lunch today.No such worries for Dockrell, of course. “This should give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season,” he said. “Obviously I didn’t get many opportunities last year with Murali Kartik here so I’m pleased to have started well.”You have to go with what you’ve got. I’m quite tall and getting bounce seems to be a big thing for me at the moment. I’m still working on my action and I made a little change this winter while working with Ireland coach Phil Simmons and it seems to have helped because I’m getting a bit more spin.”

If Mickey Arthur were coach of Australia he would keep Ricky Ponting at No. 3 in the Test match batting order

Daniel Brettig31-Mar-2011No one is saying he is after the job, but if Mickey Arthur were coach of Australia he would keep Ricky Ponting at No. 3 in the Test batting line-up. Arthur, who has been informally sought by Cricket Australia as a potential consultant at the Centre of Excellence in addition to his coaching job with Western Australia, is adamant that Ponting should be left in his customary batting position after handing over the captaincy to Michael Clarke.”I’m of the opinion he should stay at No. 3,” Arthur told ESPNCricinfo. “I still think he’s the best in that position, we saw that in the World Cup game [against India], but it will be interesting to see where he ends up. If I was coaching I’d want him at three.”Ponting and Michael Hussey will travel to Bangladesh with the Australia squad on Monday despite their advancing years, and Arthur argued it was vital they both be retained in the Test team for the unenviable task of back-to-back Test tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa later this year. According to Arthur, Ponting will be unburdened by the absence of a leadership role.”I think it [not being captain] will free him up now. Australia still needs him to bat, they need Ponting and Hussey with a good crop of young players now,” Arthur said. “The time is right to look at those young players and to build a team for 2013 [the Ashes] and the next World Cup. Michael Clarke’s got an opportunity now to put his stamp on the team and he needs to do that.”But he can only do that with guys like Ricky and Michael [Hussey] giving the younger players some experience. Touring Sri Lanka and South Africa are two of the toughest tours you can have. That [back-to-back tours] is a very, very tough gig.”The long road towards Ponting’s abdication arguably began when the South Africa team coached by Arthur and captained by Graeme Smith toppled Australia in 2008-09, the first time Australia had lost any series at home since 1993. Smith regarded Ponting as his role model, something that became ever more apparent, Arthur said, the longer he led his country.”They were very similar in the way they went about it. Both always liked leading from the front, and I know Graeme towards the back-end of his tenure took a lot of inspiration from Ricky. Even though their battles were very fierce I know Graeme respected him highly and always regarded him as almost the ultimate.”I think Ricky will go down as one of the best ever. He had a fantastic time and was a fantastic leader, and I certainly know in the South Africa dressing room, he had a huge amount of respect. I think he’s done it well, the time was right for him and he’s gone out on his own terms.”

Hampshire’s winless early season run continued as they played out a high-scoring draw with Somerset on a flat pitch at the Rose Bowl.

13-May-2010
Scorecard
Hampshire’s winless early season run continued as they played out a high-scoring draw with Somerset on a flat pitch at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire, who had lost their opening five games in all competitions, at least managed to halt the damaging run, but with a draw all but sealed yesterday after Somerset’s batsmen filled their boots on a placid pitch, the final day’s play was tepid fare.Resuming on 441 for 6 and with debutant Jos Buttler, fresh from a maiden first-class century, still at the crease, the pattern of play was simple for Somerset – bat, bat and bat some more. Buttler was out for 144 in Somerset’s 524 and Hampshire reached 37 for 2 before the match was declared a draw.In partnership with Damien Wright, Buttler remained cool and composed at the crease, showing the same dogged determination and decent range of shots which characterised his fuss-free progression to three figures yesterday.Hampshire used 10 bowlers and were toiling. But with Somerset in sight of 500, the hosts claimed their first breakthrough of the final day’s play.
With the score on 499, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first
Championship wicket of the season, drawing a leading edge from Wright not long after the Somerset batsman had claimed a deserved half century.The game was low in intensity but Buttler continued to impress, breezing
towards his 150 with ease. But after tailender Ben Phillips chopped an attempted cut off Rangana Herath into his stumps, Buttler began to open his shoulders.With his score on 144, he chanced his arm once too often, holing out to Dawson at deep mid on to give Herath another scalp. And the innings was finally wrapped up as last man Charl Willoughby was cleaned up by a Herath delivery which kept low.Hampshire did their best to make the tie interesting, beginning their second innings in abysmal fashion when Jimmy Adams edged Willoughby to Marcus Trescothick for a duck in the first over and Michael Carberry followed in near identical fashion just two runs later.But even the most excitable of Somerset fans were unable to muster anything
other than lukewarm enthusiasm, as Dawson combined with the experienced South African batsman Neil McKenzie (20 not out) to prod Hampshire timidly to the close and a first positive result of the season.