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South African batter to play county cricket for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2023Durham have pulled off a major transfer coup, signing South African batter Tristan Stubbs for the T20 Blast.Stubbs will be available for the majority of the competition following his commitments with Mumbai Indians in the IPL.He was part of the Manchester Originals squad that reached the final of the Hundred last summer, but this will be his first experience playing county cricket.”We are extremely pleased to have secured the signing of Tristan Stubbs,” Marcus North, the club’s director of cricket, said.”At 22, he already has experience playing for South Africa and in major T20 franchise leagues around the world where he has produced some world-class performances.”Related

• De Leede signs two-year contract with Durham

• Sowter signs one-year Durham deal

• Campbell named Durham coach on three-year deal

• SA20 auction: Stubbs the biggest buy

Stubbs was the most expensive player signed at the inaugural SA20 auction last year and was part of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad that won the title earlier this month, despite an underwhelming season with the bat.There, he played alongside his new Durham team-mate Brydon Carse. “He’s only had good things to say about the club,” Stubbs said.”I can’t wait to get over to Durham and meet up with my new team-mates,” he added. “Having played in England last summer I know how much the fans love their cricket so it should be a really fun and successful summer.”Durham are one of five counties who have never won the Blast, and last reached Finals Day in 2016. Last season, they won only three games as they finished second-bottom of the North Group.They have also brought in Ollie Robinson, Nathan Sowter, Brandon Glover and Bas de Leede over the winter and will expect a better showing under new coach Ryan Campbell.

Five players, all between 20 and 26 of age, have given the visiting side a rare day to remember in New Zealand

Mohammad Isam02-Jan-2022Bangladesh were desperate to have their batters go about their work in a (calm) way, and find some joy in the process after a tough 2021. Appropriately, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, with a patient 104-run second-wicket stand, did the needful in the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui.New Zealand are the Test world champions, especially formidable at home. Therefore, to bowl them out for 328 and then finish the second day on 175 for 2 – just 153 short – with the runs coming from two young batters means a lot for a struggling Test side like Bangladesh.”The younger guys today played phenomenally,” Neil Wagner, who has picked up both the Bangladesh wickets to fall so far, said after the day’s play. “I thought they played patiently. They didn’t really give too many opportunities. They hung in there. They were prepared to dig in. They left the ball quite a lot. It made us ask more questions, and take wickets. It gave them the opportunity to score.Related

• Miracle in Mount Maunganui (or how Bangladesh pulled off the mother of all upsets)

• Ebadot stings New Zealand with late-evening strikes, gives Bangladesh a whiff of something special

• Mominul wants to set 'small goals' for 2022

• Gibson proud Bangladesh bowlers 'kept going all day'

“I thought that they played really well. Full credit to them. I thought when the ball was there to be scored, they scored. They also left well and defended well.”But, to make it Bangladesh’s day, it needed more than just those runs. Shoriful Islam, the 20-year-old left-arm quick, added Rachin Ravindra’s wicket to the two he had on the first day to get Bangladesh going on the second morning, and offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, very experienced despite being just 24, got rid of most of the tail. This was the first time New Zealand were bowled out for less than 350 by Bangladesh on home turf.That put the onus on the batters. If they failed to build on the bowlers’ work, the pressure would be right back on the top four, who were woeful at home against Pakistan recently.Shadman Islam, older than the others at 26, 23-year-old Shanto and 21-year-old Joy were part of the top four that looked incapable of buying a run against the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali, and were expected to be under fire against New Zealand’s quicks. On the day, they were not.Shadman and Joy added 43 for the first wicket to set a platform, but Shanto batted like the ideal No. 3, mixing defence and attack smartly. He was the aggressor of the two during their big stand, driving beautifully – he hit Neil Wagner, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson for fours straight down the ground.Shoriful Islam picked up three crucial wickets•Getty Images

“Joy and Shadman gave us a nice platform. It was handy for me. When I joined Joy at the crease, we just focused ball-by-ball, over-by-over and then on to the number of hours,” Shanto said. “We didn’t want to force the issue. We didn’t set big goals, like runs or overs. Joy batted well, but I think it would have been a better day had I remained unbeaten at the end too.”Joy did survive a close lbw shout off Wagner – the New Zealanders thought he had inside-edged the ball, but a review would have sent the batter back. But otherwise, it was a chanceless 211-ball stay for Joy, who ended the day on 70. Shanto got out for 64, but he had done the job before that.Mehidy, who has come up through Bangladesh’s Under-19 system like Joy, Shanto, Shadman and Shoriful, said that the batting performance had given the team a lot of confidence.”It was a very good partnership,” he said. “Our top order wasn’t getting these partnerships recently, so this has given us a lot of confidence. We have to bat well in the first session tomorrow. I think we have a long way to go.”Mehidy was particularly effusive in his praise for Joy’s performance. “His innings is definitely a positive sign for our team,” he said. “His batting definitely helped the team. Joy batted well, took his time. He didn’t look like he was a new player. He adjusted well to the conditions and situation.”He is a member of the Under-19 World Cup-winning team [in 2020]. He did well in South Africa last year, and also made runs in domestic cricket before coming into the senior side. I think he has a lot to give to Bangladesh. The whole team has appreciated his batting.”

CSA has also made fresh appointments for bowling lead, academy lead and U-19 coach

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2020Neil McKenzie has been appointed South Africa’s “high performance batting lead” and will work across the men’s, women’s, Under-19 and academy structures. McKenzie, who resigned as Bangladesh’s batting coach last month was named alongside bowling lead Vincent Barnes, national academy lead Malibongwe Maketa and Under-19 coach Shukri Conrad, as CSA added to the number of employees under director of cricket Graeme Smith’s portfolio.The new appointments mean CSA is unlikely to make use of consultants in the coaching structures, thereby avoiding controversy over its affirmative action policy. Last week, CSA confirmed that they would look to engage people of colour in consultancy roles in an attempt to redress racial discrimination. Their stance attracted a complaint from the Institute of Race Relations, who wrote to the ICC alleging government interference in the running of the board. That letter has been received but has not been acted on yet and, since then, CSA has clarified that the policy is not set in stone and announced the appointment of two white coaches and three coaches of colour.On Tuesday, Dillon du Preez was unveiled as the women’s national team’s assistant coach and two days later, McKenzie’s new role has also been revealed. This will be his second stint with South Africa, after working with them under Russell Domingo for a year from 2016.While McKenzie will not work exclusively with the men’s national team, it is likely he will have a significant presence there because the side currently does not have a permanent batting coach. Jacques Kallis was in the job as a consultant over the 2019-20 summer but has not been re-engaged. McKenzie will also be involved with developing batsmen in the pipeline and believes his experience in the subcontinent will allow him to help more batsmen.”I was with Bangladesh for two years and went to the World Cup with Bangladesh, so I have come back more rounded as a coach. I’m looking forward to doing my bit,” McKenzie said.Barnes, who was previously South Africa’s assistant coach and has since worked in the High Performance Structure, will mirror McKenzie from a bowling perspective. Because Charl Langeveldt is permanently with the national men’s team as their bowling coach, Barnes is more likely to work with players in the national academy and with Maketa in the A team.ALSO READ: South Africa players demand CSA action before ‘the game we love may be irreparably damaged’Maketa, who is the only black African appointment, is also a former national assistant coach, having worked under Ottis Gibson between 2017 and 2019. When Gibson’s contract was not renewed, Maketa found himself out of a job too and was only brought back into the system when Smith asked him to work with the Under-19 side ahead of this year’s World Cup.That brings Maketa back to senior cricket where his international experience will be called on to help players prepare to make the step up to the national side. “Malibongwe is quite an experienced coach with a Proteas background and a high level of franchise experience, and it’s important that a guy like that is working across our next-best talent. He will also be assisting the national women’s team where and when his expertise will be required,” Smith said.At the Under-19 level, Conrad, who has coached the Cobras and the Lions franchises, the National Academy and the Uganda national team, takes over from Lawrence Mahatlane, who in turn has left for Uganda. Under Mahatlane, the Under-19 team finished eighth at this year’s World Cup, a dizzying fall from winning the tournament in 2014.”I like Shukri’s style – he’s old-school, he’s to the point and gets the job done,” Smith said. “I think at that level, his coaching expertise and knowledge of the game are going to be key. The other thing is talent identification, I think that’s a real strength of Shukri’s ability as a coach and he’s got good support in the form of scouts.”The only outstanding role left to be filled is that of national convenor of selectors. Interviews were conducted in April and the incumbent Linda Zondi is among the candidates who are being considered.

Mushfiqur Rahim picks up a forearm injury in the nets courtesy a Mustafizur Rahman short delivery

Mohammad Isam in Taunton15-Jun-2019The Bangladesh batsmen had a major homework to get through in the lead-up to their next game, against West Indies in Taunton: deal with the short ball. Looking at the way the West Indian pacers have gone so far at the World Cup, Bangladesh are expecting a barrage of short balls, particularly with the newish ball.West Indies took seven wickets with short or short-of-good-length deliveries against Pakistan and five against Australia. In the abandoned match against South Africa, both their wickets came courtesy short balls.ALSO READ: Does Mashrafe Mortaza deserve the criticism?It’s not something Bangladesh are unaware of. Back in the Caribbean in July last year, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder mixed the short and length ball brilliantly in the Test series to blow them away. Only five wickets came from the shorter deliveries, but it forced the Bangladesh batsmen on to the back foot, leaving them expecting bouncers, and 15 wickets fell to full and length deliveries.While Bangladesh handled the short ball better in the ODI series that followed as well as last month in Ireland, the pitches were far slower than what is expected in Taunton.So, two days off from the contest, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan first, and then Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar, were given a roughing up by the net bowlers as well as batting coach Neil McKenzie, who had the side-arm thrower.Mostly it was ducking and weaving, and getting behind the line of the ball. Soumya was aggressive, hitting a few out of the ground as well as top-edging some. Shakib, Tamim and Mushfiqur, the most experienced men in the line-up, handled it with a mix of aggression and solid defensive play. Mahmudullah tried to get behind the line, before choosing to either duck or drop it near his feet.They paid a price too, thankfully not too big – Mustafizur Rahman struck Mushfiqur on the right forearm with a shorter one, forcing the batsman to walk off and not return.Tamim also felt the full brunt of McKenzie’s hurls, as he got little time to react. But the South African also sent in a few full tosses and half-volleys, which Tamim laid into with relish. After all, as Tamim pointed out, while the West Indians would go for their throats in the first 15 overs or so, there are likely to be some loose deliveries too.Mushfiqur Rahim walks off after being hit by a Mustafizur Rahman delivery•Raton Gomes/BCB

“We normally try to simulate in the nets what our opponents are likely to do,” Tamim said. “They usually target us with the short ball but they do the same against all sides in the first ten to 15 overs. They also give run-scoring opportunities. We have to prepare for both, that’s why we are working hard in practice. We want to make sure it is not a surprise for us.”We have an idea about their batsmen and bowlers, but I have noticed their different planning in the World Cup. It is not the same thing that we faced in Ireland or West Indies. They are focusing heavily on the short ball, but if you handle it well, there’ll be opportunities to score runs. They have been bowling this way against all sides.”Tamim said that the familiarity with the West Indies fast bowlers would give Bangladesh a bit of an edge, although conditions might have a say in the way things pan out.”The first three bowling attacks I played against in this World Cup [South Africa, New Zealand and England], all were more or less equal,” he said. “West Indies have pace, three bowlers who bowl above 140. The good thing is we have played all three in the last year-and-a-half.”So there won’t be anything new for us. Yes, if the conditions are different then that might be something. But if we can bring our A game day after tomorrow, then we have a good opportunity to win.”Tamim was also prepared to call Bangladesh “favourites”, particularly due to their recent record in ODIs. Bangladesh have won seven out of their last nine games against West Indies, having won two bilateral series as well as the tri-series in Ireland where they beat West Indies on all three occasions.”Of course, why not? We have won more than them in the recent past. We can be favourites, of course,” Tamim said in response to a question. “In Ireland, we won all three matches against them. It does not matter to me who are favourites and who are not. Cricket is such a game that whoever brings the A game has a chance on that particular day. That is the case for any team in this World Cup.”It is not important who has that tag, it’s about whoever plays well. If you see West Indies’ first two matches, they looked a different side than what they were six months back. Then again, if you look at how we played our first two matches, we also looked a different side. We were challenging the top teams in these conditions. One went in our favour, one didn’t. It will be a good match I think; we just need to see who brings the A game on the given day.”For that A game to really take shape for Bangladesh, they will need to have their best anti-bouncer plan in place and execute it right.

Stokes picked up a back problem during the one-day series, which was his return to international cricket, and was unable to bowl in the first Test at Eden Park

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2018Ben Stokes has been “frustrated” by his back injury in New Zealand but has also been heartened by the pace he has been able to achieve off a shortened run-up.Stokes picked up a back problem during the one-day series, which was his return to international cricket after missing the Ashes and one-day series in Australia, and was unable to bowl in the first Test at Eden Park. In Christchurch he sent down six overs in New Zealand’s first innings and is hopeful he will be back towards full tilt in a couple of weeks.”It’s been frustrating. I had a few injections into an injury I had when I was a kid,” Stokes told . “At the same time it’s getting slowly better. It’s a patience game, a day-to-day thing. Hopefully in a week or two times it will be good to go.”Stokes has been working with Chris Silverwood, England’s bowling coach, on trying and get his delivery stride into a straighter line to ease the pressure on his back.”I’m working alignment…it’s more a long-term plan,” he said. “I think if I can cancel out my dip-in, which obviously loads my lower back where I’ve had the pain recently, that will do me good in the future”When I was looking at my paces off that [short run-up] I was bowling as fast as I normally do. I don’t think I’ll resort to that short of a run-up but it proves to me that I don’t need to over-try. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of that.”Stokes most significant performance so far in the two Tests was his second-innings 66 in Auckland which gave England hope of saving the game before he fell to ill-judged hack at Neil Wagner in the over before dinner. Stokes batted at No. 5 in that match, a position coach Trevor Bayliss sees as a long-term option, though he was back to No. 6 in Christchurch.”I won’t look back on the dismissal with too much pleasure but I had time at the crease which was a pleasing thing,” he said. “Going forward it’s a template I can use, I have the game to push games on but also the patience to survive.”Stokes will head to the IPL at the conclusion of the New Zealand tour to join Rajasthan Royals before returning to England ahead of the Test series against Pakistan which starts on May 24.

Lancashire have turned to one of their own to try and bring success to the county with the announcement of Glen Chapple as head coach

Andrew McGlashan17-Jan-2017Lancashire have turned to one of their own to try and bring success to the county. Glen Chapple, who has been involved with the club for more than 25 years, has been named as head coach to replace Ashley Giles.Chapple, who worked as a first-team coach under Giles, will be assisted by Mark Chilton, the former Lancashire opening batsman who had a 14-year career, after he was promoted to assistant head coach having worked with the second team over the previous three seasons.Both were named in an interim capacity in December when Giles returned to take the director of sport role at Edgbaston and it came as little surprise that they were confirmed in the positions.There are few who have worn the Red Rose with such distinction as Chapple – who took 985 first-class wickets and 320 in the one-day game during a career that began in 1992 – and though that does not automatically mean a successful coaching career is assured, Lancashire have appointed someone with a intimate knowledge of the club and the demands it brings.”I would have been ready to take this job whenever,” Chapple said. “I’m still reasonably young in coaching terms but I have I feel I have a lot of experience.”Between the pair of us we’ve worked with a lot of international coaches and also have a lot of experience of this club and how it operates, the members and supporters and what they want us to achieve. We are aware of all that.”Chapple called the current Lancashire squad “exciting” but acknowledged that top of his to-do list over the next few weeks, as well as preparing the players for the pre-season tour of Dubai, is recruiting some experience to help competitiveness in all formats. In 2016 they narrowly avoided relegation in the County Championship and failed to get out of the group stages in the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup.In recent times the runs from Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen have been lost, while the club are unlikely to see much of Jos Buttler in the first half of the season due to IPL and England commitments. Haseeb Hameed will be available while England are in white-ball mode, but from July will likely be away with the Test side.News of a signing is expected in the coming weeks and that could indicate heading down the Kolpak route, although both Chapple and Chilton stressed the importance of continuing to nurture local talent.”We do need to make additions to the squad, we need to make sure we can compete in all forms,” Chapple said. “This particular squad at the moment is exciting, it has a lot of young players. Some who were blooded last year and took their opportunity well. So it’s certainly exciting times. But we are a young squad and we have to understand that it will develop.”We want to build a team who are aggressive, ambitious – I think the squad needs some experience to go with it, we’ve lost a lot of players in recent years through retirement, injury and players not coming back. We have some areas we need to develop, but to work with the young players we have here is exciting.”Over the coming months we’ll be looking to balance the squad. When you get into the season there are challenges that come, but we want to go into the season with a chance in all three competitions. You are looking to help a team develop, but it’s results driven as well. To say you can win three is a bold statement, but we aren’t focusing on one over the other.”Chapple said he will draw on his experiences with Giles and Peter Moores – he made specific reference to his time as captain under Moores, during which Lancashire won their first County Championship title in 77 years – but said it was important the new coaching structure went about things their own way.”I had a particularly good time with Peter Moores because I was captain and it was six years long. But at the same time you go into a job and do it your way, we’ve been around the game for 25 years now so aren’t just looking at other coaches. We’ll work on things that we think are important, you have to do things your way otherwise it won’t look right.”As a final piece of housekeeping, it was worth noting that Chapple has never officially announced his retirement as a player. He last appeared in 2015 but remained registered. Is that, now, officially it? “Let’s just let that slip into the background and not mention it, possibly,” he said.

There were a few names among the overseas players picked on day one of the Pakistan Super League draft that might have had you asking, “Who?” Here are brief answers to that question

Mohit Shah21-Dec-2015Jim Allenby
Australia-born Jim Allenby played one first-class match for Western Australia towards the end of the 2006 season but has earned his name in county cricket, chiefly for Glamorgan. The 33-year-old, a medium-pace bowling allrounder who can strike the ball powerfully, was a potent force in the Glamorgan side that reached the final of the Yorkshire Bank 40 in 2013. He shifted to Somerset at the beginning of the 2015 season to get a taste of First Division cricket.Cameron Delport
The 26-year-old South African is a big-hitting left-hand batsman who is also capable of bowling solid medium pace. He has played in the Big Bash League (Sydney Thunder) and the Caribbean Premier League (Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel), and slammed 34 off 9 for Dolphins to briefly threaten Chennai Super Kings during a massive chase in the 2014 Champions League T20 – he finished that tournament with a strike rate of 280.Kevon Cooper
Another pace-bowling allrounder, Kevon Cooper is a T20 specialist who plays around the globe – he has already plied his trade in the IPL, the Bangladesh Premier League and the CPL. The 26-year-old Trinidadian has played 122 T20 games and only two first-class games. He was recently a part of the Barisal Bulls squad that finished runners-up in the BPL, and was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 wickets at an average of 9.31 and an economy rate under six. Cooper can also whack a few big sixes down the order.James Vince
Hampshire captain James Vince is a stylish, classy batsman who recently made his T20I debut for England against Pakistan, a few months after debuting in ODI cricket. He showed flair and considerable nous in making scores of 41, 38 and 46 in the three-match T20 series and finished as the highest scorer from either side. Former England coach Duncan Fletcher once compared Vince’s batsmanship to that of former England captain, Michael Vaughan.

Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said more than his innings, India earning a bonus point was more satisfying

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Virat Kohli, in his second match as captain, smacked an 83-ball 102 to power India to a tall score against West Indies, but he said that earning a bonus point was more satisfying than his innings.India were in a difficult position in the tri-series before the start of the match because they had lost their first two games – the second against Sri Lanka being one of their heaviest defeats – and needed to win this match to keep their chances afloat. India’s much-vaunted batting line-up had struggled for fluency at Sabina Park, but at Queen’s Park Oval the openers responded with a 123-run opening stand to set an ideal platform. Kohli, despite limited support from other middle-order batsmen, ensured it wasn’t wasted.”We got a good start. It’s a bit of a tricky situation if you go in after a good start,” Kohli said. “You don’t know whether to play yourself in or go after the bowlers. To get a hundred in my second game as captain, I am pretty happy. I was getting good starts, but hitting that one shot straight to the fielder, so I was waiting for this big innings. But more than the hundred, I am happy we won with a bonus point.”Darren Sammy credited Kohli for lifting India’s score beyond 300, but said that West Indies’ bowlers could have bowled better. The fast bowlers were expensive and even Sunil Narine wasn’t able to control the flow of runs, giving away 35 in his five overs.”We have to give credit to Kohli and the Indians for the way they played. We did not bowl as well as we know we can,” Sammy said. “That is one area where we went wrong today. India played really well. They knew they had to come hard at us, to get a win and stay in the tournament, and they did just that.”Chasing 312, West Indies lost Chris Gayle early to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who struck again in his next over to dismiss Darren Bravo. A rain disruption added to West Indies’ woes as the target was readjusted to 274 off 39 overs, but none of the West Indian batsmen stayed long enough to put up a challenge.”The way Kohli played just goes to show what can happen when a set batsman stays in to the end of the innings,” Sammy said. “We had two very good innings in Jamaica when Chris [Gayle] got a hundred against Sri Lanka and [Johnson] Charles got 90 against India to win those two matches for us, but we did not get any real big partnerships going today.”West Indies are still placed at the top of the table with nine points and need to win their next match against Sri Lanka to confirm their entry into the final.”We are still very much in the tournament. Today we lost but there is need to panic,” Sammy said. “We are still at the top of the points table and we have all to play for when we face Sri Lanka on Sunday. We still believe we can win this tournament. We will regroup and look to bounce back when we meet Sri Lanka on Sunday and look to move into the final.”

Hampshire’s Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell produced another explosive innings to carry Hampshire to victory in the Twenty20 South group clash against Essex at Chelmsford.

30-Jun-2012
ScorecardGlenn Maxwell produced another explosive innings to carry Hampshire to victory in the Twenty20 South group clash against Essex at Chelmsford. The 23-year-old Australian smashed an unbeaten 60 from only 24 balls as the visitors overhauled their opponents’ total of 176 for 4 with six wickets and 12 balls to spare.Thirty of those came in one over against left-arm spinner Tim Phillips, the 17th of the innings. Maxwell smashed him for three sixes, all of which went out of the ground, and he was to win the match with his fourth, a mighty blow over mid-wicket against Graham Napier.Keeping him company during the blitz which also included six fours, was Simon Katich. He stroked the ball around in a more orthodox manner while scoring 42 from 38 balls and taking part in an unbroken stand of 83 in six overs.Maxwell’s explosion of shots came a few days after he struck a match-winning 66 from 32 balls in the victory over Kent and leaves Hampshire well on course for a place in the quarter-finals.Essex had looked set for a much bigger total as openers James Franklin and Mark Pettini scored at around 10 an over during an opening stand of 83, brought to an end when slow left-armer Liam Dawson had Pettini caught in the deep for 38.Pettini’s effort off 26 balls contained three sixes but it was Franklin who went on to play the starring role with an innings full of quality. His 78 from a 49 deliveries included five sixes and he was looking set for a century when he drove Sean Ervine into the hands of James Vince at long-on.James Foster predictably added momentum late on with a quickfire unbeaten 30 from only 14 balls, striking two sixes in the final over of the innings sent down by Maxwell. But Maxwell was to have the final word.

Hampshire Royals made it five wins from five in the Friends Life t20 with a nine-run victory over winless Gloucestershire Gladiators at Archdeacon Meadow

10-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Hampshire Royals made it five wins from five in the Friends Life t20 with a nine-run victory over winless Gloucestershire Gladiators at Archdeacon Meadow.Neil McKenzie led the Royals to 165 for 4 with an unbeaten 89 from 53 balls, while left-arm spinner Ed Young took 2 for 14 in his four overs.Home captain Alex Gidman top scored with 43 not out in the Gladiators’ reply of 156 for 6, and there were useful contributions from Hamish Marshall (33) and Kane Williamson (28), but they still fell short of their target.After being put into bat, the Royals lost the wickets of Michael Lumb, run out by Marshall’s direct hit, and James Vince, bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan, in struggling to 10 for 2 in the third over.
James Adams and McKenzie revived the innings with a partnership of 51 in six overs, which ended when the former, on 22, reverse-swept Young to Ian Saxelby at short third man.Sean Ervine struck Williamson for six over midwicket during a stand of 56 in eight overs with McKenzie. But the Zimbabwean all-rounder departed for 21 in the 17th over when he holed out to Ian Cockbain at long-on to give Young his second wicket.McKenzie’s 33-ball half-century contained seven fours and the South African struck a further four fours and two sixes, both over midwicket, in his impressive innings. Dimitri Mascarenhas weighed in with an unbeaten 17 off 12 deliveries, but Hampshire’s total was no better than average on the small King’s School ground.Ireland World Cup star Kevin O’Brien got the Gladiators’ innings off to a rapid start with 22 from 12 balls before he swung across the line and was bowled by Chris Wood. Marshall cracked 33 from 26 deliveries, including two sixes, but then fell leg before to Royals skipper Dominic Cork in the 10th over with the total on 78.The game started to swing Hampshire’s way in the next five overs as the scoring rate slowed and left-arm spinner Danny Briggs accounted for Cockbain, lbw, and Williamson, who hit a full toss to Vince on the midwicket boundary.Alex Gidman put the outcome back in the balance by striking three fours and a six in the next two overs, which realised 30 runs. His brother, Will, fell lbw to Cork and Young was caught at long-on off Wood in the 19th over. That left the Gladiators needing 17 to win off the last over, but Cork bowled it superbly to concede only seven runs to Gidman and Jon Lewis.