All posts by csb10.top

Women’s cricket sides from five schools and four clubs are to take the field on Saturday (March 31) at Westridge High School, where the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association will be holding trials.The HMCA are looking to choose a squad for the women’s inter-provincial tournament which is due to be held in Kwekwe from April 20 to 24.Eaglesvale, Girls’ High School, Hatfield, Roosevelt and hosts Westridge have already confirmed their participation in the school’s section while Glen View, Harare Royals, Kuwadzana and Takashinga will be competing in the clubs’ category.Interest in the women’s game has been on a steady incline ever since the Zimbabwean national women’s team made it through to the final round of qualifiers which will be in Pakistan later this year. The Zimbabwe ladies created history last year after winning the prelims in Kenya in their first international outing.Commenting on the growth of women’s cricket in the country, coordinator Chiedza Mafunga said the interest has been “overwhelming”. She continued: “The response we are getting is just awesome. Even recently-affiliated provinces like Mashonaland West have come up with cricket programmes for the ladies. Generally, there has been an upward trend in playing numbers ever since the successful performance in Kenya last year.”

Mark Vermeulen is poised to make the unlikeliest of international comebacks a little more than two years after he burnt down Zimbabwe Cricket’s academy and tried to set fire to the ZC boardroom.He was cleared on grounds of mental illness by a Harare court a year ago after it was revealed he suffered from a serious depressive illness.Although he resumed playing club cricket, few believed he had any hope of returning to the national side given his many problems. Shortly before the attacks in October 2006, he had been banned from playing club cricket in England for ten years – later reduced to three – after an incident where he clashed with spectators in a league match.In May 2008, Vermeulen publicly offered to help rebuild the academy if he was handed a central contract, but nothing came of it.However, Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, confirmed to Cricinfo that Vermeulen would be offered a chance of rehabilitation. “We have allowed Mark to participate in our leagues. There was actually no ban on him, but relations were restrained after the two arson attacks.”In a separate interview with the local Independent newspaper, Bvute said: “He approached us with a desire to play in our leagues. Having weighed various issues we decided it was in his best interest to be allowed to play since he indicated that cricket was the only thing he lives for.”Should he make the grade, he will be selected [for the national team]. The decision was driven by a desire to help rehabilitate him, taking into account that he served Zimbabwe well when he first played for the national side. Life is such that everyone deserves a second chance.”Vermeulen played 32 ODIs and eight Tests between 2000 and 2004 but was no stranger to controversy. In 2003, he was sent home from the tour of England because of disciplinary problems, and as schoolboy he was once banned for walking off with the stumps after receiving a poor lbw decision and locking himself in the changing room.Nevertheless, on his day Vermeulen, who is still only 29, is a good top-order batsman and if he can regain his form then he is likely to be pressing for a recall in the near future.

The USA Cricket Association will not receive any payments which it was due from the ICC while it was suspended from the organisation.In the normal course of events, USACA would have been entitled the annual Associate grant of US$90,000 as well as other funding relating to participation in ICC events such as the World Cricket League and the Under-19 World Cup.When USACA was suspended for the first time, it received all backdated grants as soon as it was reinstated. However, the ICC explained that as it and not USACA had paid for all the costs associated with the involvement of the WICB and Chris Dehring in drawing up a new constitution and resolving the impasse between squabbling factions, the situation was different.Aside from the lost money, USACA’s suspension means that the USA resumes at the bottom of the pile as far as additional grants and participation in ICC events is concerned, and that will have additional financial implications.

Twenty fours and four sixes were struck between them, but “smart cricket” was the cornerstone of the searing opening stand between himself and Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson said.The pair hit a world record 171 in each other’s company, to make light work of Pakistan’s 168 for 7. Williamson said it had been he and his partner’s ability to account for the asymmetrical dimensions of the Hamilton ground, and the particular strengths of Pakistan’s bowlers, that allowed the stand to flourish.Damage to the Seddon Park square during the recent Test match featuring Sri Lanka had meant a surface towards the eastern end of the block had to be used for this T20. This in turn brought the eastern boundary to 52 metres, while the square boundary on the other side of the pitch was lengthened to 75 metres.Williamson in particular targeted the short side of the ground during his career-best 72 off 48 balls, memorably shuffling towards the off side to hit consecutive legside fours off Mohammad Amir, in the fifth over.”No T20 is the same, and here at Seddon Park you’re not just taking the opposition into account, you’re very much identifying the dimensions of the ground, the pitch and using that as part of your planning,” Williamson said. “That comes into your thinking as a bowling unit and a batting unit.”With one boundary very small, naturally there’s going to be the odd boundary hit there. Then there’s the wind going to the long boundary which also helps hit to that side of the ground.”New Zealand hit 59 from the Powerplay, but were unusually reticent against Shahid Afridi in that period, scoring only 11 off his two overs. Williamson said there had been purchase and turn for Afridi on the pitch. Afridi was also generating significant drift.”Afridi is a world class legspinner,” Williamson said. “Today on that surface it was holding and turning a little bit, so for us it was making sure that there’s smart cricket at times amongst Guptill’s sixes and fours.”All Pakistan’s bowlers are danger men – they are all very good bowlers. Depending on the surface, some more than others. It was important that Guptill and I communicated and played some smart cricket. I think we were a bit better at doing that today than we were in the last match.”Williamson and Guptill’s stand surpassed the 170 made by Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith against England. New Zealand’s highest T20 partnership before this game had been the 137 against Zimbabwe by the same pair in 2012.”Records are not something that we set out to do,” Williamson said. “We set out to lay a platform and play to the gameplan. If records come that’s nice, but more importantly, we got across the line to set up a nice finish to the T20 series.”Corey Anderson had played as a specialist batsman during the Sri Lanka series, as he continues to recover from a back injury. He has now begun bowling in matches, and was effective for New Zealand on Sunday, taking 1 for 26 from his four overs. He had been cheap with the new ball, conceding only 12 from his three Powerplay overs.”The likes of Corey standing up after not playing much cricket, and opening the bowling as well, was a superb effort from him,” Williamson said. “He bowled some tough overs at the top.”

It’s hard to remember when last a team was in such disarray before a must-win Test match. Pakistan’s injury problems began as a bothersome aside but have now taken centre stage as they have only three fit bowlers going into the Kolkata Test. India, on the other hand, are sitting pretty, with their one doubtful starter, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, having recovered fully from a twisted ankle. An SOS has been sent to the Pakistan selectors, but with flight connectivity to Kolkata not being the greatest, it will be a challenge to get someone in with enough time to spare to take the field in the second Test.More than a few experts have been surprised by the rise of Sohail Tanvir, who with his unorthodox action, delivering not quite off the wrong foot but releasing the ball before his leading foot lands, was a novelty in Twenty20 cricket before sneaking into the one-day team. Now, with one Test under his belt, he is likely to lead Pakistan’s pace attack, with Umar Gul out, and Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami struggling with chest infections and illness. Tanvir has Danish Kaneria and Abdur Rehman as his only fully fit bowling partners.Although India must be secretly boosted by Pakistan’s troubles, Anil Kumble insists his team are not thinking of the composition of the opposition side. “Ideally we should look to control what we can control. The team is raring to go and that is a good sign,” said Kumble a day before the game.It’s not a bad approach to take, for Pakistan could just be at their most dangerous if Shoaib or Sami, or both, are somehow fit when play begins on Friday, though that seems desperately unlikely. Pakistan now truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and this will mean that any relief they get is a positive and should boost them going into the game.India, meanwhile, have a choice of their own to make, with a thought to bring in a third spinner in Murali Kartik. However, in order to do so, they will have to do some significant juggling, either using one of the middle-order batsmen as an opener and leaving out Dinesh Karthik, who has scored heavily in Tests this year, barring the last game, or play just one fast bowler and use Sourav Ganguly as a medium-pace option. Both seem unlikely, though Ganguly did play a significant part with the ball in the first Test.”I think Sourav has done well in the last game, and I don’t think he should change whatever he has been doing to satisfy your definition of success,” said Kumble when asked about Ganguly’s effort with the ball. “I think his role in the team, as a bowler it was very important for us in Kotla. I am sure he will get a bit of bowl here as well. I hope he will be more successful here than in Kotla.”Either way, the decision on the playing XI will be made late in theday, after consultation with Dilip Vengsarkar, who is expected to arrive in Kolkata on the eve of the match. The only thing that could tempt the Indians into playing three spinners is the pitch, but it’s tough to say if there are strong enough indications that the pitch will crumble. The curator insists it will begin to take turn on the third day, but such predictions are dangerous.”It seems to be a decent wicket and it should play well,” said Kumble. “But it is for us to take the momentum from Kotla and ensure that we turn the screws on early. We need to bat to our potential, and we should not let them off the hook as we had done in the first innings in Kotla.”What makes it harder to believe that the Indians will play three spinners is the fact that Harbhajan Singh was quite significantly under-bowled in the first Test. He bowled 15 overs in the first innings and 17 in the second, and on both occasions even Zaheer Khan had sent down more overs.It’s too early to judge Kumble the captain, after just one Test match, but already he appears to be a man in control of his team. He’s been playing the game at the highest level for 17 long years and there’s little he has not experienced first hand.Malik, however, barely portrays the same picture. Again it would be unfair to slate Malik without inside knowledge of how he interacted with his team, but on the field he has not looked a leader. He has looked like just one of the boys, and with the results not coming, and the runs also reducing to a trickle, the pressure is fairly and squarely on Malik. One thing’s pretty clear, though, if he gets through these testing times unscathed, things are only going to get easier for him.Teams
India (probable): 1 Dinesh Karthik, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Munaf Patel.Pakistan (from): Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Yasir Arafat, Faisal Iqbal.

Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lankan captain, and allrounder Upul Chandana have earned recalls to the Test and one-day sides respectively for a three-of-each home series against Bangladesh later this month. Uncapped left-hand batsman Malinda Warnapura and left-arm pace bowler Sujeewa de Silva have also been included in the15-man Test side.Atapattu makes a return to the Test side after 18 months. He last played against India at Ahmedabad in December 2005 before a recurring back injury saw him undergo surgery and miss out on a long spell of international cricket. Atapattu replaces Sanath Jayasuriya, rested for the Test series but included in the one-day squad. Jayasuriya will spend his time playing for Lancashire, where he will replace Muttiah Muralitharan, who returns home for the Test series.Chandana, 35, gets a national recall after two years during which period his place has been occupied by another legspinner, Malinga Bandara, who has also been named in the one-day squad.Warnapura, 27, has been in fine form for Sri Lanka A, the highlight of which was a career -best double century against Bangladesh A last month. De Silva has also shown good form with the ball in the recently concluded domestic season with 44 wickets at just 19.77 to help Colombo Cricket Club lift the Premier League title.Prasanna Jayawardene will continue to keep wickets in the Tests providing Kumar Sangakkara the opportunity to concentrate on his batting at No. 3. Sangakkara, Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas are presently in England playing county cricket. Vaas and Muralitharan will play only in the Test series before going back to their counties.Jehan Mubarak and Chamara Kapugedera, who are expected to tour to England with Sri Lanka A have been named for the one-day series against Bangladesh.Selection committee sources said that both players will be recalled from the England tour when the one-day series commences on July 18.Mahela Jayawardene retains the captaincy with Sangakkara as his deputy and Sriyan Samaratne, a former Air Force cricketer and administrator, has been named manager of the Sri Lanka team. He takes over from Michael Tissera, who quit at the end of his contract last month.Sri Lanka Test squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Malinga Bandara, Malinda Warnapura, Sujeewa de Silva.Sri Lanka ODI squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jehan Mubarak, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof, Upul Chandana, Dilhara Fernando, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

For the clearest indication of just how schizophrenic Bangladesh’s World Cup has been, all you had to do was see the run-out of Tamim Iqbal and the shot of a Bangladeshi fan in the crowd, mouth cupped in shock even as tears ran down his cheeks, seconds after the madness. This was just the way it was for Bangladesh on an ultimately disappointing day that saw them win the toss, stifle an unmotivated West Indies to 67 for 3 after 25 overs, and then let a gettable target of 231 end in another batting disaster. It all added up to a 99-run loss to West Indies on a gorgeous afternoon at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, and a record of 9-4-6 in their greatest tournament, of any capacity, yet.As for the hosts this was their first win in the Super Eights, but many local fans would’ve shaken their heads in the first over. Corey Collymore got Tamim to stand and nick one to Brian Lara at second slip, who pouched it in his lap. He seemed to have full control of the ball but it slipped from his grasp as he turned to congratulate his bowler. The sight of an uncertain Lara, who picked up the ball and looked to the umpire with his arms raised in question wasn’t enough to convince anyone, and Tamim was called back.Tamim probably hasn’t read Horace, and so failed to seize the day. Javed Omar dabbed one to the off side and both batsmen set off. Dwayne Bravo swooped in from point; suddenly, Tamim froze and turned back. Omar continued with the run and passed Tamim as both batsmen were stuck at the non-striker’s end. Picture the shot of that poor fan again.West Indies cashed in on that break, and then made further inroads. Collymore dismissed Aftab Ahmed with one that lifted off a length, shaped away and drew the edge into Denesh Ramdin’s gloves. As Collymore celebrated with his signature three-fingered salute, Lara made sure he was the first man to reach him. It just got better for West Indies when Saqibul Hasan was dismissed for a duck at 23 for 3 after 11 overs.Mohammad Ashraful pulled Daren Powell to square leg, Omar edged him to Chris Gayle at first slip and at 35 for 5 the game was over as a contest. When Lara dropped Habibul Bashar at a wide slip – his third of the day – you had to wonder why there weren’t more slips in place. Two more were added and sure enough, Bravo plucked a sharp catch over his head at third slip to get rid of Bashar as Bangladesh slipped to 52 for 6. Bashar, undoubtedly due for a roasting from fans when he gets home, failed to end his tournament on a personal good note. Mushfiqur Rahim (38 not out) and Mashrafe Mortaza (37) delayed the inevitable with a 58-run seventh-wicket partnership, but did little to take the gloss off a poor day at the shop. Mohammad Rafique, nine years and two days to the match in which he scored Bangladesh’s first ODI half-century to set up their first win, fell for a duck and a much-needed West Indian victory was wrapped up soon after.The abysmal batting was in stark contrast to the way Bangladesh bowled. Mortaza and Syed Rasel, were brilliant after Bashar decided to field and once the openers were knocked off early, the spinners piled on the pressure as they quickly found assistance from the bare pitch. There was swing early for Mortaza, who adhered to a fabulous line, and there was evidence of the extra bounce as every batsman hopped up and lunged forward, played and missed and withdrew the bat. Devon Smith joined Chris Gayle up the order and made no impact. Against a controlled Mortaza, swinging it both ways, he got a fuller one that pitched on middle and off and moved away to remove his off stump.

At the other end Rasel kept it simple which was more than enough to keep the batsmen guessing. Doing a Nathan Bracken, Rasel pitched it on a good length, slanted it across the right-handers and dried up the runs. Of all the things West Indies anticipated for the World Cup, Gayle being so ineffective was nowhere on the list. The horrors continued today as Gayle, already undone by a bouncer from Mortaza, fell to one from Rasel that was full on pitching. As it straightened, it caught him lunging half-cock forward, and he was struck in front of off stump.The famed left-arm spin troika, Abdur Razzak, Rafique and Saqibul bowled well too, keeping it flat and quick, but were let down by Bashar’s field placings which, after three quickets before 25 overs, looked more like he was playing for damage control rather than ramming home the advantage.It was easy fodder for a hustling Ramnaresh Sarwan, the only batsman to show an appetite for a scrap. With Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who plodded along in what has become standard fashion to an 85-ball 50, Sarwan added 81 in 16.1 overs for the fourth wicket, his contribution being 46. Where the first 25 overs yielded just 67 runs, against a very disciplined new-ball attack, the last 25 brought 167, thanks to Sarwan and Lara’s enterprising 60-run fifth-wicket stand. It was a typical Sarwan innings, keeping with his tournament form. He struggled at the death due to exhaustion, but still ran the twos and found the gaps to finish unbeaten on 91 at better than a run-a-ball. With his imminent one-day international exit, and the rumours that that he will not be selected for the tour to England next month, Lara treated the partisan crowd to a 27-ball 33 cameo, with two fine sixes.In the end, it can be said that Bangladesh allowed West Indies to get too many. It can also be said that they were the second-best Asian side in the tournament, they carried that mantle with a respectable amount of professionalism and that they showed once and for all that they are minnows no more. West Indies have one game left, against another side already knocked out, but they have far less to take from a tournament billed as the greatest thing to happen to West Indian cricket than Bangladesh. It’s been that kind of World Cup for them.

Spinner Paul Harris was named as one of five South African Cricket Annual Cricketers of the Year in Johannesburg on Monday night. Also named were Gulam Bodi, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt and Morne van Wyk.The award was a late birthday present for Harris, who turned 29 on Friday. The tall Titans left-arm bowler made a highly impressive entry into Test cricket when he played in home series against India and Pakistan last season. Both teams contained renowned players of spin bowling but Harris claimed 11 wickets in four matches at an average of 28.54.All five nominees were first-time winners of the award in line with a new policy that players will only be recognised once by the Mutual & Federal Annual. Titans batsman Bodi was recognised for his outstanding achievement in finally earning international one-day colours more than six years after missing out on a tour of the West Indies because of injury.Bodi, 28, was selected as a wrist spinner in 2000-01 but was injured the day before he was due to depart for the Caribbean. In recent seasons he has shone with the bat, making his international debut as a batsman against Zimbabwe in August. He was also included in South Africa’s squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in September.The big-hitting Kemp, who was appointed vice-captain of the one-day team for the recent tournament in Pakistan, confirmed his reputation as one of the most exciting batsmen in the world game during the past year. Among several fine performances was a thrilling, match-winning maiden one-day international century against India in Cape Town.Swing bowler Langeveldt was a consistent performer for the Proteas in one-day internationals and was joint leading wicket-taker for South Africa during the World Cup in the West Indies with 14 wickets at 25.78, including 5 for 39 in the win against Sri Lanka.van Wyk was honoured for his outstanding run-scoring efforts for the Eagles in domestic cricket. He was the leading run-scorer in both the MTN Domestic Championship and the Standard Bank Pro20 and topped the averages in the SuperSport Series. His feats earned him a recall to the national one-day team for the tour of Ireland.

England 87 for 2 (Vaughan 44*) trail New Zealand 470 (Taylor 120, How 92, Vettori 88, Sidebottom 4-90) by 383 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

England ended a rather subdued second day in Hamilton on 87 for 2, still 383 behind New Zealand’s first innings of 470. On a pitch which remains slow and unyielding they appeared to be making sedate progress until two late wickets – admittedly one of them nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard – underlined that they still have plenty to do.The day was dominated by Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori, whose seventh-wicket stand of 148 extended midway into the afternoon. Taylor, whose off-side driving was a delight, completed his maiden Test hundred while Vettori looked set for his until he perished to Paul Collingwood. England might have believed they were in the ascendancy at the start of play, after the in-form Brendon McCullum had been dismissed late on the first day’s play, but Taylor and Vettori beat them back in a stand that occupied half the day.Taylor’s innings was a triumph of the will. He has built his entire international reputation of the strength and speed on his one-day strokeplay, and in two previous Test matches he had returned a highest score of 17. There was nothing frenetic about his approach to this innings, however. At the close of the first day, his colleague Jamie How remarked that he had never seen Taylor play so straight or with such determination, and having batted for almost three hours to reach stumps on 54 not out, there was a certain inevitability about his progress today.Taylor was aided and abetted by a docile pitch and an even more docile attack. Both Ryan Sidebottom, the pick of England’s seamers on the first day, and the off-colour Matthew Hoggard served up wide half-volleys in the opening ten minutes that Taylor slashed gratefully for four, and the left-handed Vettori was also allowed to settle quickly with a pull for four and a punched drive behind point. From 282 for 6 overnight, Taylor brought up the 300 in the fourth over of the day with another thumping drive, as England searched in vain for some inspiration.It didn’t come from Steve Harmison, unsurprisingly. He entered the attack in the 12th over of the morning, but was gloriously square-driven by Taylor as he too overpitched outside off stump. Collingwood was also called into the attack for an early burst, and though he found a genuine edge off Vettori that flew through the vacant second slip for four, both batsmen soon grew accustomed to his lack of venom.Taylor eased into the 90s with a crisply driven half-volley from Collingwood, but was made to wait for his big moment as England finally sensed an opportunity to apply the pressure. Monty Panesar kept him pinned on 98 with a timely maiden, but when Harmison dropped short four balls later, Taylor climbed into a cathartic pull shot, and instantly raised both arms in triumph. His hundred had come from 185 balls with 16 fours, and had taken him a shade over four hours. Vettori congratulated him with an embrace and a handshake, and no doubt a quiet reminder that, with New Zealand still shy of their par total of 400, his real task was still ahead of him.The breakthrough came when Michael Vaughan, almost in desperation after three hours of frustration, threw the ball to Kevin Pietersen. Taylor looked to carve his second ball over midwicket and a top edge was gratefully held by the bowler. Vettori, who until then had unfussily moved towards his own hundred, then fell to another part-time bowler, looking to run a ball angled across him to third man but only succeeding in steering it straight to Andrew Strauss at wide slip. Not much went right for England but their catching could not be faulted.The end came soon after, Sidebottom polishing things off in three balls of a new spell. Jeetan Patel nicked one angled across him to Strauss at slip and then Chris Martin lived up to his reputation as a non batsman by missing a straight one, the only time an England bowler managed to hit the stumps in a day and a half.Vettori would have noted with anticipation the increasingly frequent puffs of dust blowing up from the bone-dry surface. And yet Vaughan and Cook were rarely troubled in an opening stand of 84, although Vettori and Patel did enough to suggest that batting against the twin-spin attack in the fourth innings of the game will be a far tougher proposition.Just as it appeared that England would finish the day with all their wickets intact, Cook contrived to get himself out, miscuing a pull off Martin, and upholding the old adage that one brings two, Hoggard edged to slip in Martin’s next over. That brought in Strauss for a rather fraught couple of overs but he survived.

Yorkshire 194 for 6 (Gale 69, Wood 50) beat UAE 190 (Lawson 3-36) by four wickets
Scorecard

Yorkshire have won the Pro ARCH Trophy after their four-wicket defeat of UAE put them level on points with Somerset and Lancashire, but the fact they wrapped up victory inside 25 overs gave them the best net run-rate of the three.Andrew Gale and Greg Wood launched Yorkshire’s chase of 191 in a hurry as they had to chase down the runs inside 25 overs to pip Lancashire to the title. They smacked 94 for the opening wicket before Wood was caught-and-bowled by Saqib Ali for a 39-ball 50. Gale cruised to 69, cracking nine fours in his 61-ball knock, but fell to Obaid Hameed. Jasim Suwaidi then chipped away at Yorkshire’s middle order with 3 for 17, but it was too little, too late, and Adam Lyth and Mark Lawson saw them home with five balls to spare.It was Lawson who did the damage with the ball, too, picking up 3 for 36 from nine economical overs. He was especially well supported by David Wainwright who conceded just 19 from his 10 overs as UAE were restricted to 190, laboured over 48.1 overs. With Gale and Wood going for their strokes from the off, Yorkshire were always up with the asking rate.