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Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2013
ScorecardHeather Knight and Laura Marsh put on a record-breaking partnership for the seventh wicket•Getty Images

Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley. Knight’s 157 from 338 balls was the seventh-highest Test score by an England woman and she was joined by the equally obdurate Laura Marsh in a stand of 156 – England’s best for the seventh wicket and one run shy of the Test record – that went a long way to staving off the threat of defeat to Australia.With six points on offer in these multi-format Ashes, the incentive to win was clear and evinced by Jodie Fields’ decision to declare with her team six down on the second day. But with the prospect of defeat coming at such a price – a draw will give each side two points – England have knuckled down in an attempt to make sure they don’t lose. Australia had extended their lead to 81 by reaching 64 for 1 by the close, making a draw the most likely result.Resuming on a perilous 172 for 6, still 149 runs behind, Knight and Marsh forged on in the same manner in which they had gone about their business on the on previous evening. The pair soaked up 73 overs of pressure before Knight was run out after being sent back looking for a single.Knight was dropped on 105, wicketkeeper Fields missing a chance down the leg side, but by then she had long-since surpassed her previous best innings, in her only other Test, of 19. She hit 20 fours in all and was particularly strong off her pads in making the third-highest individual total for England against Australia.Marsh, 13 from 114 balls at the start of the day, had progressed to 35 when she lost her partner and Katherine Brunt, who hit her first ball for four, went soon after. But Danielle Hazell stuck around for another 20 overs as Marsh went to her first Test half-century, eventually facing 304 balls for her 55. By the time Australia claimed the final wicket, Erin Osborne finishing with 4 for 67, the deficit was just 17.”I’m really pleased, I think when I went in we were pretty up against it,” Marsh said. “I was just really pleased to be able to hang in there with Heather and support her.”It was the job the team needed and I tried to stick in there and be disciplined with my decision-making. It was really helpful to have Heather at the other end for the vast amount of the time I was there because she just played brilliantly and we kept each other going.”I tried to be positive in defence and approach it that way and pick up runs when they became available.”With a slim lead and a potentially tricky couple of hours to negotiate amid rain showers, Australia’s openers began at a similarly watchful pace, reaching 40 before Jenny Gunn removed Rachael Haynes. First-innings centurion Sarah Elliott accompanied Meg Lanning safely to the close but it will take something special from the usually attacking Fields to force a result.

Graeme Smith believes his side can push for victory after battling through a difficult spell to post an ’emotional’ hundred in his 100th Test

Firdose Moonda at The Oval21-Jul-2012Graeme Smith is due to leave England before the second Test to attend the birth of his first child but, as he marked his 100th Test with a century, his wife, the Irish singer Morgan Deane, joked on Twitter that her waters had broken already.Smith, who will return in time to lead South Africa again at Headingley on August 2, laughed it off and said he tries not to read all her posts these days. “She’s very impulsive, I’m trying to calm her down a bit,” he said. “She’s been very supportive though, considering she is going to give birth so soon.”If there was doubt about Smith’s abilities as a batsman and leader, they have surely all been squashed. His 25th Test hundred was also his seventh against England, fifth in England and made him the seventh player to have scored a century on a landmark 100th Test.Having also brought up big scores on both South Africa’s previous tours here, combined with the fact that the team have never lost a Test when Smith has crossed the three-figure mark, his reputation is at its peak. The actual magnitude of what he has achieved hasn’t formed a solid memory quite yet but he is starting to grasp what significance it has.”It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It was kind of surreal at the time. A lot of thoughts and emotions went through my head,” Smith said. “It was a dream come true to come out and have the chance to do that. At one stage when Graeme Swann was spinning it past my bat, the hundred looked a long time away but once I fought through those tough times, it became a reality.”Smith said he expected a tough passage of play up front but knew that if he could see it through, there may be an opportunity to wrest control of the match. “It was a battle of attrition out there really,” he said. “There weren’t many scoring opportunities available to me so it was about being strong in my game plan. We expected that tactic from England this morning, that they would try and squeeze us as much as possible and cause us to make a mistake. We felt that if we could hold the game in that period of time we would be able to get a release somewhere.”After a cautious start, in which “the key factor was the way I left the ball this morning”, Smith and Hashim Amla took 72 runs off the 13 overs before lunch, which included Smith’s century. “When I got to 100, there was so many emotions: from the battle with Swann to knowing my wife is giving birth in three days’ time,” he said. “All those things were coming through. I don’t even think I realised how I was celebrating. It is a blank moment in my mind.”There is still work to do before he turns his mind to fatherhood. “The way we bounced back with the ball has been probably the biggest achievement of this Test match so far,” he said. “On day one, we were 50-50, we were solid without having an X-factor in our game. It’s so easy to let the game drift from that position and be playing the rest of the Test match under massive pressure but we were able to keep England under pressure.”Now, Smith wants to go for the kill. He has already considered South Africa’s strategy for closing out this match but was careful not to reveal too much. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ve got two guys, Amla and Jacques Kallis, close to milestones tomorrow and I would love them to get there,” he said. “It’s been a difficult wicket to push on and score greater than three runs an over but if we set up a good base, hopefully we can do that.”Although Smith expects a tighter effort from England, he was bullish in his assessment of whether South Africa has what it takes to win. “We need to respect our opponent, they have the ability to bounce back,” he said. “But we want to have a chance to push for a victory. I believe we have the ability to win, if we set the game up right. If we give ourselves the chance to bowl out England, I believe we’ve got the armoury to do that.”David Saker, England’s bowling coach, called the pitch “subcontinental” and expects it to deteriorate, which could set the stage for the legspinner Imran Tahir to ignite his South Africa career. Smith was hopeful that would be the case. “It is quite dusty and quite dry. There is a turn available and it will be a good opportunity for Imran to get in,” he said. “His form looks pretty solid. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him but, on day five, if we are bowling for the win, he will have to play a prominent role.”

Nottinghamshire spinners Samit Patel and Graeme White shared six wickets on the
second day of their Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at the
Rose Bowl

21-Jul-2011
ScorecardNottinghamshire spinners Samit Patel and Graeme White shared six wickets on the
second day of their Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at the
Rose Bowl.Patel recorded figures of 4 for 43 as Nottinghamshire dismissed their hosts
for 213, Neil McKenzie the mainstay of the innings with an unbeaten 97. Three wickets from Chris Wood, who had earlier made 34, then left the visitors 35 for 3 at the close.After rain washed out the first day, Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat
in overcast conditions, but were soon made to regret their decision as a flurry
of early wickets fell.Liam Dawson was the first man to go, getting stuck on his crease to a delivery
from Charlie Shreck which kept slightly low and trapped him lbw for just six. Fellow opener Jimmy Adams, promoted into the captain’s role because of Dominic Cork’s unexpected absence, was the next wicket to fall, bowled off his pads by former England quick Darren Pattinson for seven to leave Hampshire 13 for 2.Michael Carberry went for four, edging Pattinson behind to give Chris Read a
regulation catch as his side slipped into real trouble at 26 for 3. McKenzie and James Vince temporarily steadied the ship, with Vince the fortunate beneficiary of two dropped catches.But as Hampshire nudged past 50, Vince finally fell, looping a catch to
Pattinson off the bowling of Patel. Sean Ervine was next up, but after battling for 44 balls, the former Zimbabwe Test player was dismissed for 14, edging left-arm spinner White to slip to leave the hosts 86 for 5 at the lunch break.The impressive and resilient McKenzie brought up his 50 and Hampshire’s 100
with a nicely-timed drive after lunch, before combining in a 51-run partnership
with wicket-keeper Michael Bates.But medium-pacer Steven Mullaney struck with the last ball of his first over,
dismissing Bates for 24. A brief shower brought about an early tea before some big hitting from Wood saw him and the McKenzie rack up a half-century partnership.But after two big sixes had advanced the youngster to 34 – just one run short
of matching his highest first-class score – Wood fell to a sharp slip catch by
Adam Voges off the bowling of Patel.McKenzie looked to be moving towards his second Championship century of the
season, but was left stranded on 97 after Danny Briggs and Imran Tahir fell to
Patel in quick succession and David Griffiths was dismissed by White.Nottinghamshire were soon in trouble themselves at the start of their reply,
Wood removing opener Neil Edwards (eight) and dangerman Alex Hales (two) in just
his second over.And he secured Hampshire’s first bowling point with his third wicket in a
devastating opening burst, bowling Rikki Wessels for seven to leave
Nottinghamshire struggling.

Having relinquished wicketkeeping duties in Test cricket, Brendon McCullum is looking to reinvent his role in the New Zealand side by moving up the order as an unorthodox opener in the longest format

Cricinfo staff23-Jul-2010Having relinquished wicketkeeping duties in Test cricket in order to ease the strain on his body, Brendon McCullum is looking to reinvent his role in the New Zealand side by moving up the order as an unorthodox opener in the longest format.”I wouldn’t play conventionally. There are a lot of aggressive Test openers around now. It’s probably something we haven’t really looked at,” McCullum told the in Wellington. “I’m not saying it’s going to work, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to try and make it work.”McCullum’s ambition is not without precedent – batsmen such as Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle and Tamim Iqbal have reinvented the role of an opening batsman in Test matches with their attacking intent. McCullum has been a staple at the top of the order for New Zealand in the shorter versions of the game where he is recognized as a dangerous batsman, with averages of 29.01 in ODIs and 33.33 in Twenty20s at enviable strike rates. His Test record is less impressive with 2862 runs at 34.90 in 52 matches, most of the runs coming from the number seven spot.In recent times, the Test opening slots have been a major problem area for New Zealand, having tried 14 different batsmen at the top since 2005 without much success. They are likely to maintain the opening combination of Tim McIntosh and BJ Watling for their next assignment in Bangladesh. McCullum is not fixated on opening the batting and is confident of making an impact from the number three position too.”One, two or three are probably the same. I don’t mind where. It won’t be the stock-standard blunt the ball at the top of the order. I’ve got to stick to my strengths and if we’re totally honest it probably hasn’t worked in the past, the way we’ve been playing. Why not try something different?”New Zealand will be without McCullum’s services during the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving India. He will be missing from the starting line-up after 209 successive international appearances as he recovers from a clean-up surgery on his left knee. The break coincides with the birth of his second child.”The last time I missed a game was for the birth of my boy [Riley, in 2004]. This isn’t the reason I’m missing this tour but to have a girl and have an unbroken stretch in between is pretty cool,” McCullum said.

Kent prevail in final-over finish as hosts fall five runs short

ECB Reporters Network28-Jul-2024Rocky Flintoff became the youngest debutant in Lancashire’s 160-year history when he played against Kent in the Metro-Bank One-Day Cup but made just 12 in his side’s pulsating five-run defeat at Blackpool.Flintoff, who is 16 years 113 days old, faced 28 balls for his dozen runs before he was drawn forward by a legspinner from Matt Parkinson and stumped by Harry Finch. And the former Lancashire spinner Parkinson was Kent’s hero when he bowled last man Ollie Sutton in the final over to finish with 4 for 30 off 8.2 oversIt had seemed that Keaton Jennings’ third century at Stanley Park this season would enable Lancashire to get home but Kent battled ferociously hard to defend 209 on a tricky wicket and Beyers Swanepoel’s 3 for 26 off nine overs was another magnificent effort. Jennings finished unbeaten on 107 off 140 balls with 13 fours and a sixFinch had top-scored for the visitors with 48 and Jennings’ one-man effort revived his side after they been struggling on 96 for 5 in the 30th overKent managed only 46 runs in their ten powerplay overs for the loss of Swanepoel, who was caught at cover for 19 off Will Williams. Joey Evison and Ekansh Singh maintained this modest rate of progress until the 15th over when Evison was called for a single to mid-on by Singh and was run out for 22 by Jack Blatherwick’s accurate throw.Debutant Sutton then took a wicket with his first legal delivery for Lancashire when Singh attempted to cut a very wide delivery but only skied a catch to George Lavelle at point. However, Sutton’s joy was short-lived. Two balls later, he had to leave the field with a side strain.Sutton’s replacement, Josh Bohannon, bowled 5.3 tidy overs of offspin for 24 runs but left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard took the next wicket, his first in senior cricket, when Jaydn Denly lofted him to long- on and departed for a pleasant 32 that had included five fours.Moderately placed on 100 for 3 at the halfway point of their innings, Kent searched in vain for the substantial partnership that is so often concomitant with acceleration. Having made 24, Jack Leaning followed Denly’s example in lofting Barnard straight to Green, who then removed Charlie Stobo, caught and bowled for 5.Grant Stewart played on to Williams for nine and it was left to Finch and Parkinson to put on 33 in nine overs before Parkinson was run out for 19 and the innings ended in the 49th over when Green had Finch caught by Lavelle at deep midwicket for 48 and Nathan Gilchrist was caught by Jennings at point for 2. Green ended the innings with 3 for 38, Williams 2 for 41 and Barnard 2 for 47.Lancashire’s pursuit of 210 began poorly when Swanepoel removed both Bell, caught at slip by Stobo for 6, and Bohannon, brilliantly pouched by a diving Evison at cover for five, inside the first eight overs.Jennings and Balderson repaired the damage with a stand of 41 in 11 overs but any thought that Lancashire’s pursuit would be straightforward were removed when Stobo removed them both in the space of three balls to leave the home side on 65 for 4 after 19 overs.The Lancashire skipper then put on 31 in 63 balls with Flintoff and then 24 with Green before the Australian was leg before to Parkinson for 5. Jennings was then given stout support from Blatherwick, who lifted Kent skipper Leaning for two huge sixes, and the home side needed 47 off the final ten overs of a compelling contest.Swanepoel was recalled and almost immediately caught and bowled Blatherwick for 25 and Parkinson had Williams caught behind with 22 still needed off 26 balls. Lancashire needed 15 off two overs and Jennings then reached his century with a straight drive to reduce the target to ten off ten. But Barnard was run out for one and Sutton bowled second ball to spark joyous scenes among the visitors.

Jodie Grewcock fifty not enough as visitors breeze to small target

ECB Reporters Network01-May-2023Lauren Winfield-Hill maintained her remarkable Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy record with another commanding half-century to put Northern Diamonds back on track as they saw off Sunrisers by five wickets.The Diamonds opener passed 50 for the eighth time in her last 10 innings in the tournament to ensure the defending champions – defeated by Central Sparks on Saturday – responded with a comprehensive win at Chelmsford.Seam duo Lizzie Scott and Jessica Woolston laid the foundations with two wickets apiece before legspinner Katie Levick’s 3 for 23 ensured Sunrisers were bundled out for 157, despite Jodie Grewcock’s second half-century of the tournament.Winfield-Hill then top-scored with 51 from 43 balls and Bess Heath struck an unbeaten 32 from 25, as the visitors chased down their target with 21.3 overs to spare.Scott and Woolston, opening the attack after Diamonds had lost the toss and surprisingly been invited to bowl in overcast conditions, established control as they made the ball swing from the start. Woolston brought one back to uproot Cordelia Griffith’s off stump in her second over and then found movement in the opposite direction to clip the bails and pick up the prize scalp of Grace Scrivens for 11.Mady Villiers departed for a second-ball duck, clipping Scott to the diving Katherine Fraser at midwicket and, when Saskia Horley’s pull off Abi Glen flew straight to Hollie Armitage, Sunrisers were deep in the mire at 32 for 4.Grewcock and Jo Gardner dug in for a concerted rebuilding campaign during the middle overs, clawing their way back into the game with a spirited fifth-wicket partnership of 65. Gardner had just begun to open up, drilling Fraser back past the stumps for an isolated boundary, when she miscalculated a Chloe Tryon delivery and was bowled for 32 – after which Sunrisers’ innings hit the buffers again.Teenage left-hander Grewcock, having battled hard to complete her half-century from 91 balls, was then caught behind off the 93rd – the first of two wickets in three deliveries for Levick.Kate Coppack’s breezy unbeaten 16 at least hauled Sunrisers above the 150 mark before they were bowled out with four overs unused – but the total never looked like one they could defend with any degree of confidence.Winfield-Hill immediately set the tone for Diamonds’ response, slamming Coppack to the midwicket boundary twice inside the opening over as she and Sterre Kalis built a belligerent partnership of 53. Coppack’s luck seemed to be out, with Kalis edging her just over the stumps for four, and it was Sunrisers skipper Kelly Castle who eventually achieved the breakthrough, trapping the opener in front with a slower delivery.With Winfield-Hill striking the ball confidently and Armitage in no mood for caution, as she cracked Abtaha Maqsood to the rope three times in her first over, Diamonds appeared to be coasting towards their target.They were held up by Villiers, whose wily offbreaks brought her figures of 3 for 42 – the trio of victims including Winfield-Hill and Armitage, who until then had been highly effective against the slower bowlers in her knock of 30 from 32. However, Heath clubbed Villiers over long-on for the first six of the match – and then flayed the second off Eva Gray to seal Diamonds’ victory in style.

The injury-hit club have had their final bid for the Australia batter rejected

AAP28-Jan-2022Steven Smith will not play in the Big Bash League final after another request to make him available for selection was rejected by Cricket Australia.
Besieged by injuries and Covid-19 cases in their playing group, the Sixers made a third appeal for Smith to be able to play in Friday night’s final against the Perth Scorchers.However, AAP has been told that was knocked back late on Thursday, with Smith no longer on stand by for the clash and the Sixers having since moved on.It’s believed officials determined that there was adequate batting cover available for the Sixers in the local replacement pool, despite them being without three players through Covid and up to another two through injury.Josh Philippe, Mickey Edwards and Jack Edwards are all infected by coronavirus while Jordan Silk has been ruled out of the final with a hamstring injury.Related

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Daniel Hughes will need to pass a pre-match fitness test on his ankle to play, after missing Wednesday’s win over the Adelaide Striker due to injury.Captain Moises Henriques and retiring veteran Steve O’Keefe will both play through calf injuries in the decider, after being declared fit to play.It means the Sixers will again use a member of the player replacement pool and assistant coach Jay Lenton behind the stumps.Fellow pool member Jake Carder will play in the final, while a third replacement from the pool in Nick Bertus will also come into the side for Silk if Hughes is unavailable.Sixers had made an application to contract Smith before the finals last week, when he suddenly became available with the New Zealand ODI series postponed.However, that was dismissed by Cricket Australia and the clubs, after it was agreed mid-season new players could only come from the replacement pool set to deal with Covid-19 outbreaks.Steven Smith will not be part of the BBL final•Getty Images

A fresh request was made before the Sixers’ clash with Adelaide when Philippe contracted Covid-19 and Hughes was injured, but it was again knocked back.The spate of injuries from the mid-week match had then prompted a third bid, before its denial on Thursday spelled the end of any hopes of Smith playing.Several Sixers players have voiced their frustration on the issue, with Dan Christian posting a tongue-in-cheek tweet on Thursday asking if anyone could fill in for the club as long as they weren’t a Test player.Henriques admitted he was “clueless” about the situation on Thursday, while Perth captain Ashton Turner claimed he would have liked for Smith to play.Friday’s final will be contested on neutral ground at Marvel Stadium and across-town from Australian Open tennis, with Perth unable to host the BBL game in Western Australia.

The two teams are scheduled to play a World Test Championship series in Sri Lanka starting October 23

Mohammad Isam14-Sep-2020Disagreements over Covid-19 protocols continue to dog Bangladesh’s World Test Championship series in Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to begin in late October. Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that the Bangladesh players would need to be in quarantine for one week upon landing in the island, before being able to train.SLC has now increased the quarantine period to 14 days, and BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said it won’t be possible for his players to be confined to their hotel rooms for that long. Immediately after the BCB had spelled out its stance, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Namal Rajapaksa tweeted that he has asked the SLC to consult the Covid task force to reconsider the matter.After an emergency board meeting, Hassan said that they had been working on a schedule with a seven-day quarantine in mind. But a 14-day period would mean that the Bangladesh Test squad, all of whom haven’t played a competitive match in six months, will get just one week to prepare for the first Test scheduled on October 23.”We cannot play World Test Championships with these term and conditions,” Hassan said. “Until their letter yesterday, both boards were having discussions along the lines of a seven-day quarantine,” Hassan said. “But now their terms and conditions are nowhere near those discussions, and neither are they anything close to what other countries hosting cricket in the pandemic are doing. There are three or seven-day quarantines in those places where the players can either train among themselves or use the gym.Hassan said that the SLC’s limiting of their entourage, while at the same time refusing to give them net bowlers, would be further troubling for the touring side.”[SLC] have told us that our players can’t even step out of the hotel room. Not even for food. They have also chosen Dambulla as the venue for the initial training camp which would leave us isolated in any case. They can have the domestic league with so many players nationwide but we have to face such tough restrictions. I have found out that other teams haven’t faced such conditions. We are astounded.” When the tour was first agreed upon, the BCB had planned to send their High Performance team over as well so that they can play the Test team and help them prepare over the first two weeks of their tour. The BCB would bear all costs even if it meant at least a 60-member contingent traveling together from Dhaka, and then returning from Colombo, after both teams’ tour ends in mid-November. Bangladesh’s first two practice matches were also scheduled against the HP side, after which the SLC was supposed to take over and host one practice match before the Test series. But the SLC was handed these stricter conditions by the country’s health authorities this week, which they conveyed to the BCB.”Seeing that they started domestic cricket, we informed the SLC that we are coming with a big squad so that we can have our training camp there,” Hasan said. “But they will not allow us to train when our players have been inactive for seven months. They won’t even let us take net bowlers and neither are they going to provide us with any net bowlers. How can we play World Test Championship without any training? So it is not possible for us.”Bangladesh were scheduled to leave for Colombo on September 27, with the first Test slated to begin on October 23.

Beard grabs four top-order wickets with first 15 balls, Jamie Porter chimes in with five-for

David Hopps24-Jun-2019<Hampshire rounded up for 118 last week; Somerset sent packing for 131 this. Essex's bowlers have made such light work of the Championship's top two that the most optimistic phrase of all, "Fortress Chelmsford", was uttered around the ground on the second day. They have not seen off Somerset yet but if the muggy weather continues to favour the pace bowlers then a lead of 249 with four wickets left is a considerable one.It was an airless, decaf sort of day, but Essex claimed a sizeable advantage when their young pace bowler, Aaron Beard, grabbed four top-order wickets with his first 15 balls with Somerset crumbling from 63 for 2 to 73 for 6 in the process.Not since his eye-catching first-class debut against the Sri Lankan tourists as an 18-year-old three years ago has he had such a memorable day and he surpassed those figures with a career-best 4 for 23 in only five overs. Jamie Porter, not to be outdone by the young buck, dealt with the tail to collect 5 for 51, his best figures of the season, and Essex had an 85-run lead. Essex took the chance to announce that both had agreed new two-year contracts.Before bad light trimmed the last nine overs from the day, Essex consolidated well enough with Alastair Cook again the bedrock with 47 from 94 balls. Continuing a first-class career after international retirement does not suit everybody but he has looked addicted enough to batting in this match.Tim Groenewald produced a good delivery to dismiss him, turning him round with one that left him and having him caught at first slip. Ravi Bopara's dismissal eight balls from the end of the day as he clipped Jamie Overton forcefully to short midwicket gave Somerset just a glimmer of a chance.Fortress Chelmsford was a term coined by Ronnie Irani during his days as Essex captain. He was a gregarious soul and had probably been watching too many football matches, but it suited the rise of Twenty20 and somehow it caught on, even for those who uttered it with tongue firmly in cheek which was nearly everybody else.As Fortresses go, this one was a sedate one. The Essex and Somerset flags hung limply, gratefully even, at half mast, out of respect for Somerset's chairman Charles Clark, and during the tea interval a spectator twanged his braces so wearily that there was no certainty they would have the energy to hit his chest on their return trip.For the past four years, Irani has been chairman of Essex's cricket committee and, in the committee rooms, there won't be much talk of Fortress Chelmsford, which sounds a bit like a second-rate American actress or maybe a greyhound trailing in last on an evening meeting in Romford.But they are relishing the season in the committee room and in front of Anne's gourmet burger bar (aren't they all these days?) because if Essex go on to win it will be their fourth home win out of four. Can a side win the title without ever winning away? We might yet find out.Somerset, who appeared to be better equipped to deal with the offspin of Simon Harmer, who took remarkable match figures of 12 for 61 against Hampshire, instead capsized against swing and seam. The captain, Tom Abell, handled his promotion to opener well with 36 from 78 balls before Porter had him lbw – his 300th first-class wicket – but George Bartlett was the only other batsman in the top seven to reach double figures.That was largely down to the whippersnapper Beard, about 5ft 10ins but a little stockier these days with gym-toned biceps that bulge in defiance of his stature. He dashes in from a wide angle and achieves a decent amount of pace and was only playing because of a side strain suffered by Sam Cook in the previous Championship win against Hampshire, but if he keeps playing like this then A Change is Gonna Come.Beard's arrival tempted the nightwatchman Groenewald, who had resisted 52 balls for six, to fancy that a release might be at hand, but all he managed was an edged drive. In his second over he then picked up James Hildreth, a brilliant run and dive behind square by Nick Browne to retrieve a botched pull.Tom Banton should have gone to the fifth ball he faced when Ryan ten Doeschate dropped a straightforward in-out chance at short leg in Harmer's first over of the day, but he failed to take advantage and edged a wideish outswinger he had no need to play at.When a slower ball caused Steven Davies to pop up a catch to mid-off, Beard danced around with the delighted realisation that it was a day when he could do no wrong. But the daftest dismissal was that of Jamie Overton who was suckered by Porter into a pull to deep square. His late-order terrorising is always hit-or-miss but this was a waste.

The former Australia spinner has criticised the board’s decision to expand the Big Bash League next summer

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2018Former Australia spinner Shane Warne has criticised Cricket Australia, saying that “greed” is the main reason behind the board’s decision to expand the Big Bash League next summer.An extended BBL – with an increase in fixtures from 35 to 43 – is set to stretch into mid-February next year, with games played at four new venues. It has been reported that an expanded BBL, with more focus on the finals, would offer more value to broadcasters. Earlier this month, Channel Seven and Fox Sports clinched the broadcast rights to Australian cricket for the next six years, in a deal worth AUD 1.2 billion with CA.Warne took to Twitter on Saturday to express his displeasure, saying expanding the BBL would “dilute a wonderful product”.”Australian Cricket should be an equal partnership between the players & the board, then everyone would be on the same page, sure they won’t always agree – but if both parties attitude is what’s best for Australian Cricket & not themselves, then Cricket & the fans would b happy,” he tweeted.
The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), which was involved in a protracted pay dispute with the CA over last season, had also voiced concerns against the expanded season, saying such changes needed to find the right balance to keep all stakeholders happy.CA CEO James Sutherland meanwhile had told ESPNcricinfo that more fixtures had been added not with the intention of expanding the tournament, but to find the “right balance” and build up to the tournament’s climax properly.