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Short-ball plans trigger Australia collapse but visitors closing in on 2-0

Andrew McGlashan01-Jul-2023Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins put Australia within touching distance of a 2-0 Ashes lead as they cut through England’s top order during the final session of a day that had earlier been marked by the home side’s unprecedented short-ball plan, which reached reaped rewards but ultimately looked to have no bearing on the outcome.For periods of the fourth day the game almost game to a standstill as Australia ducked and swayed away from bouncer after bouncer, but overall they lost 8 for 92 which, given England’s recent history of chases, including one of 378 against India last summer, offered them a glimmer with a target of 371 in four sessions.However, those hopes were blown away by the brilliance of Starc and Cummins which left them 45 for 4 and the absence of Nathan Lyon, who had astonishingly appeared to bat at No. 11, likely not proving a factor. It appeared they were five down shortly before the close when Starc superbly caught Ben Duckett’s attempted upper cut at fine leg, but the third umpire ruled the catch wasn’t clean as the ball scraped along the outfield, much to Australia’s amazement and frustration.The first wicket of England’s innings was not among the memorable ones as Zak Crawley tickled Starc down the leg side. But Starc was finding movement with the new ball and produced a wonderful delivery which came back sharply into Ollie Pope and clattered middle stump.Cummins, who is no stranger to creating viral Ashes moments, then produced what may go down as the over of the series as he roughed up Joe Root with a delivery which struck his forearm before having him fending to slip. He then produced a ball to take Harry Brook’s off stump which matched the one Root received at Old Trafford in 2019.Australia were two wickets away from England’s bowlers and there was a chance the game could hurtle to a conclusion but Duckett, with his second half-century of the match, and Ben Stokes – who had earlier put his knee on the line with a 12-over bouncer-laden spell – forged a stand of 69 to ensure that there would be room for a few further mentions of Headingley, even though the task of 257 more runs remained huge with a long tail.After briefly trying to find the outside edge when play began, England soon resorted to short-pitched bowling and basically did not shift from it until Australia were all out. The two sessions on the fourth day record the highest number of short deliveries in ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball database going back to 2015. TV graphics showed that 98% of the deliveries England bowled in the second session pitched eight metres or shorter.It was a slow burn of a tactic and created much debate, particularly after England’s previous proclamations of entertainment, but wickets did start to fall. It began when Usman Khawaja’s fine innings, which took him to 300 runs for the series, ended with a top edge to long leg.Mitchell Starc roars after dismissing Ollie Pope•Getty Images

In what then became a frenetic period, Travis Head was dropped at backward point before he had scored by James Anderson – his second miss of the game – then next ball Steven Smith top-edged to deep square leg. Head soon fended a catch to short leg which was superbly caught by Root as Australia lost 3 for 10 to spark some life into England.Cameron Green and Alex Carey played carefully until lunch then the afternoon session was when the game hit a virtual stalemate, although Australia held a strong advantage the whole time. By and large the pair did not have huge trouble avoiding the short deliveries, although Green was struck on the badge of the helmet by Stokes and a few moments later pulled Robinson to deep square leg after a 13-over post-lunch period which brought 17 runs.Stokes was into one of those marathon spells which have dotted through his Test career – the most famous being at Headingley in 2019 before his batting heroics. Whether this time, with the state of his knee, it was a sensible approach remains to seen and he was clearly grimacing at the crease when he later batted.But he certainly played a role for England as wickets fell at the other end. Carey was another to bunt a catch to short leg – Robinson then ending with a spell of 9-6-7-2 – and Cummins fended to gully after being given a life when Stokes had overstepped.Stokes finally earned a wicket when Josh Hazlewood turned the ball to short leg but the innings was not yet done with its bizarreness. Lyon, unable to use a runner under ICC playing conditions, limped down the steps of the pavilion and hobbled to the middle with his badly damaged calf, which will surely rule him out of the rest of the series. Barely able to stand and unable to walk he helped Starc add 15 runs and managed one pulled boundary himself.Australia may have felt they needed every run available, but the new-ball bursts from their opening pair have meant it will take another extraordinary turn of events for this match to come down to such fine margins.

Players will start to arrive from the IPL but Trent Boult and Daryl Mitchell remain involved in the play-offs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2022New Zealand coach Gary Stead is confident that Kane Williamson will be able to bounce back from his IPL struggles in the Test series against England next month, but the first match of the series may come too soon for Trent Boult.Williamson left the IPL early to return home for the birth of his second child, ending a tournament where he scored 216 runs at 19.63 and a strike-rate of 93.50. It marked his comeback to cricket for the first time since last November having missed the entire home season with an elbow injury.He is expected to arrive in England around the time of New Zealand’s second warm-up match against a County Select XI which starts on May 26 ahead of the first Test at Lord’s on June 2.Related

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“He’s a bit disappointed he hasn’t got the runs he wanted during the IPL,” Stead said. “You don’t often see the great players often miss out perhaps as much as he has, but I think what we have to understand, coming back in to red-ball cricket, I think that will suit where he’s at with his game, his temperament as well.”Among New Zealand’s other IPL-based players, Tim Southee has now become available to join the tour after Kolkata Knight Riders’ tournament ended with their defeat against Lucknow Super Giants. Devon Conway’s campaign will also be complete in the group stage with Chennai Super Kings eliminated.However, Boult and fellow Rajasthan Royals player Daryl Mitchell will continue to be involved into the play-offs. Depending on how deep Royals progress into the final week, Stead said a call would then be taken on availability.”That’ll be something that’ll just play out in the next week or so,” he said.Mitchell could be in the frame for a spot in the middle order if Henry Nicholls does not recover from the calf strain he picked up shortly before leaving New Zealand. Nicholls has returned to light training but won’t feature in the first warm-up match against Sussex.Neil Wagner will also miss that game having stayed in New Zealand for the birth of his second child and he will arrive next week.

The New Zealand quick has shattered several records in his first year, but refuses to be drawn into stats

Deivarayan Muthu06-Jan-2021At the start of New Zealand’s home summer, Kyle Jamieson was just feeling his way into the side. The 6ft 8in quick towered over everyone else by the end of it, bagging 27 wickets in four Tests at an astonishing average of 12.25. Eleven of those wickets came in the final Test against Pakistan in Christchurch, where he had started his first-class career for Canterbury in 2014. Only Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori have better Test-match figures for New Zealand than Jamieson.”It’s kind of weird when you say it! Those two guys are legends of New Zealand cricket and I’ve just played my sixth Test,” Jamieson said at the post-match media conference. “I guess It’s nice to be in and around those names but I’m just happy to be part of this group and to help in some small way in us winning games. We set out the summer with the goal of winning four Tests and just happy to do that.”Related

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• NZ become No. 1 Test team after series sweep against Pakistan

In the absence of the injured Neil Wagner, Jamieson became New Zealand’s enforcer at the Hagley Oval, harrying Pakistan with pace, bounce, swing and seam. While his bouncing out of Fawad Alam in the first innings was pure theatre, it was his dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan in the second that showed he could be just as threatening by dropping the ball on a length and moving it. Having seen that Rizwan’s game is largely about hard-handed pushes that occasionally forces his bat to travel too far in front of his body, Jamieson disguised his inswinger as a ball potentially up there for the drive, only once it pitched it turned into something entirely different, storming through the Pakistan captain’s defences.”It’s not often you have six months where you can dedicate yourself to the game and there’s some strength and conditioning stuff which was really helpful,” Jamieson said. “The inswinger was kind of a product in the winter as well. That has come in handy a couple of times. I guess it’s a general thing. When you get such a big block of time to be able to work on your batting, bowling and strength and conditioning, it sort of comes out in ways like this.”Jamieson has shattered several records in his first year in Test cricket, but he refused to be drawn into stats, saying he still has a lot of work to do. He’s yet to test out his skills overseas and at home, he has had to deal with the fifth day of a Test match only once.”I still think there’s quite a bit [of improvement that can be done]. I still feel like I’m a long way off the cricketer I want to be,” Jamieson said. “I’m 12 months into my international career and it’s a long process. Hopefully, I’ve got another nine-ten years in this group and if that happens there could be a wee bit more to come.Kyle Jamieson’s 36 wickets have come at a miserly average of 13.3 apiece•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“There’s always things you’re trying to work on. It’s nice to be able to move the ball both ways and in different conditions that won’t necessarily always be helpful. In terms of different deliveries and different formats you got white-ball cricket and different variations there. There’s nothing specific but you’re always trying to improve your game and those things kind of pop up from time to time.”With Lockie Ferguson working his way back from injury, Matt Henry returning to the Test team and Jacob Duffy becoming the first New Zealander to take a four-wicket haul on his T20I debut this summer, New Zealand’s pace stocks have probably never been stronger. Jamieson credited their excellent High Performance system for his rapid progress as well as the overall health of the national team.”I went to the Under-19 programme, pretty much out of high school, so had about a year-and-a-half there. And winter training squads and those sort of stuff for about four-five years,” he said. “The time and effort they’ve put into my game has certainly helped me where I am now.”Without that, I’m definitely not sitting here, having experienced the things that I’ve, and I think our High Performance structure is probably one of the better in the world with not the same sort of money and resources that other countries have. So, that’s a huge credit to them and the powers that be there to put those plans and structures in place. “

The man who revived the art of legspin bowling passed away in Lahore from a cardiac arrest

Osman Samiuddin06-Sep-2019Abdul Qadir, the man who revived the art of legspin bowling in the 1970s and 1980s, has passed away in Lahore from a cardiac arrest.Qadir, an integral part of Pakistan’s most successful sides in the 1980s and a valuable mentor to Shane Warne and Mushtaq Ahmed, among others, was 63, nine days short of his next birthday.Qadir worked with Pakistan cricket in several capacities after his playing career was over and ran a private academy just outside Gaddafi Stadium. “PCB is shocked at the news of ‘maestro’ Abdul Qadir’s passing and has offered its deepest condolences to his family and friends,” the PCB tweeted.”We are devastated with the news of Abdul Qadir’s passing and on behalf of the PCB, I want to express my deepest condolences to his family and friends,” chairman Ehsan Mani said. “The PCB, like every Pakistani, is proud of his services to cricket and Pakistan. His contributions and achievements were not only limited on-field, but he ensured he transferred the art of leg-spin to the up-and-coming cricketers.”Apart from being a maestro with the ball, Abdul Qadir was a larger-than-life figure who was adored, loved and respected across the globe due to his excellent understanding and knowledge of the game, and strong cricket ethics and discipline. Today, global cricket has become poorer with his passing. He will be missed but will never be forgotten.”Qadir’s numbers have since been dwarfed by a number of modern spin greats but his impact on the genre is impossible to ignore. At the time he burst on to the international scene, late in 1977 against England, legspin was all but a forgotten art. But a six-for in only his second Test placed it right back on the map.That England were the opponents was significant, because it was through England that his legend burned brightest. So taken were the English by the exotic appeal of Qadir and what he bowled, Imran Khan advised him to keep a goatee for the 1982 tour to the country, to reinforce the image of him as some kind of strange mystic from the east.They proved to be profitable opponents as well. In 1987, he took 40 wickets in four Tests against England; ten wickets first in the final Test at The Oval in a draw that sealed a first-ever series win for Pakistan in England, and then 30 wickets in three Tests against the same opponents in Pakistan later in the year. Questionable umpiring took some of the sheen off his feats in the series win in Pakistan, but 82 wickets in 16 Tests was unquestionably good.England weren’t the only side to come up against Qadir at this finest, though. Some of Qadir’s best days came in Pakistan’s epic battles with West Indies through the mid-80s. In the two drawn series, in Pakistan in 1986-87 and then 1987-88, Qadir was decisive; his 6 for 16 in Faisalabad saw West Indies bowled out for just 53 and this, a line-up that included Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson and Larry Gomes.In the six Tests across those two series, Qadir loomed large, taking 32 wickets, batting out a final over to secure a draw and punching a spectator after some umpiring decisions went against Pakistan.If there was a blot, it was India, whom he could never quite convince of his genius. Across a clutch of series – he played as many as 16 Tests against them, in days when the two played regularly – but only took 27 wickets. The worst moment was to be dropped for the Bangalore Test in March 1987, a Test Pakistan famously won off the back of two spinners who weren’t Qadir – Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed. So ineffective had Qadir been that even his captain Imran was convinced – by Javed Miandad – to drop Qadir; there existed no bigger patron and supporter of Qadir than Imran.That mattered little, though, balanced against what he brought to the game and such was the case on other occasions. In Australia in 1983-84, for example, he only picked up 12 expensive Test wickets but few who saw him bowl forgot him.Indeed, two pioneering aspects of Qadir’s bowling were starkly evident on that tour. The first was the googly; some days he’d say he had six different ones and some days he said he had two but they were all hugely effective and equally indecipherable. And he wasn’t afraid to bowl them, not hiding them but using them as often as possible.The second was his ODI bowling. In a Benson & Hedges tri-series campaign in which Pakistan won only one of ten games against West Indies and Australia, Qadir took 15 wickets in eight games at just 18 apiece. He used that googly plenty in ODIs – just as legspinners have learnt again now how useful it can be – and in two World Cups, in 1983 and 1987, he was instrumental in Pakistan’s run to the semi-finals.One of his finest moments in that 1987 World Cup came with the bat – also against West Indies. An impish but brave hitter, Qadir somehow hit the 14 runs needed in the last over to steal a win, off no less a bowler than Courtney Walsh.Also Qadir, however, was loss in an ODI in Hyderabad, which prevented Pakistan from winning the ODI series 6-0. In attempting an impossible – and ultimately unnecessary – second run, Qadir ran himself out, leaving the scores tied and India winners by virtue of having lost fewer wickets. Had he not taken that single, Pakistan would have won on a tie-breaker of having scored more runs than India after 25 overs.He didn’t fade away once he had left the game, elbowed out ironically by Mushtaq, the man he mentored and whose action was a living, breathing tribute to Qadir – the curved run-up, the bounce in each step, a high whirl of both arms and mystery unleashed.His 1994 meeting with Shane Warne reminded a newer generation of how important a figure he was, though he was a regular and generous mentor. Imran Tahir was a protégé and despite not always seeing eye to eye with Shahid Afridi, he did help him rediscover his wrong ‘un not long before Afridi helped Pakistan to the World T20 title.That was also around the time Qadir was the PCB’s chief selector, a stint that didn’t last long and wasn’t without controversy. But through his academy, he continued to spread the word of the art he helped keep alive.

Azhar Ali on Somerset’s radar as counties look for late-season recruits

George Dobell27-Jun-2018Nottinghamshire are hoping to sign South African batsman Quinton de Kock as an overseas player for the final few weeks of the county season.De Kock is understood to be a target of the club and could join them after South Africa’s tour to Sri Lanka which finishes in mid-August. He is, however, understood to be one of two targets and nothing is finalised just yet.New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has been at Trent Bridge for the first half of the season but departs shortly. The club have signed Dan Christian, from Australia, and Ish Sodhi, from New Zealand, in their T20 side. De Kock is expected to be available for the final six Championship matches of the campaign.Nottinghamshire are currently second of Division One. They may, however, face a struggle to sustain an excellent start to the season due to international call-ups and injuries. They have also lost several top-order batsmen – not least James Taylor, Alex Hales, Brendan Taylor, Greg Smith and Michael Lumb – over the last couple of years.In the longer term, they are expected to compete for several out-of-contract county players including Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke and Zak Chappell, who has now had approaches from eight counties.Meanwhile Somerset are understood to be pursuing Pakistan’s Azhar Ali as an overseas player while, in domestic transfer news, Middlesex are emerging as favourites to sign Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory.Liam Plunkett, who is unsettled at Yorkshire, is also understood to have had interest from several counties while Jordan Clark is far from certain to leave Lancashire but seems to be wanted by other counties, including Warwickshire. Leicestershire’s Ben Raine is also coveted by several counties.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has identified batting as Sri Lanka’s foremost strength and said flat tracks would give the team the best chance to put the opposition under pressure

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-May-2017Sri Lanka may have often hankered for spin on foreign pitches, and the island may still the home of low-scoring one dayers, but this time around, they would love some nice, flat batting tracks at the Champions Trophy, if English groundstaff don’t mind.That, at least, is the view of coach Graham Ford, who, in sizing up Sri Lanka’s attributes, has settled on batting as the team’s foremost strength. Sri Lanka have lost six of their last seven completed ODIs, but did breach 300 in two of their five most recent innings.”I think in one-day cricket, we have some exceptional strokemakers, and some really talented batsmen,” Ford said ahead of their departure for the UK. “That’s why if the batting pitches are good, I think we can really put bowling attacks under pressure. Perhaps with some of our younger players who are still learning to construct innings, the challenge is to make sure we’re in a position to put attacks under a lot of pressure at the end. But if you do construct an innings well, we have some of the best ball-strikers in world cricket. They can really take a bowling attack down.”Ford said turning tracks – which Sri Lanka have historically prospered on, both home and away – are not necessarily going to be helpful. Sri Lanka begin their campaign against South Africa at The Oval, before playing India at the same venue a few days later.”I’m not actually sure we want it to spin much, because Imran Tahir is a real weapon for South Africa, and R Ashwin and the Indian spinners will be a factor,” Ford said. “We’re looking for good cricket wickets – good one-day pitches.”Having coached Surrey before taking the job with Sri Lanka, The Oval is a ground Ford knows well. Though no team has passed 300 at the venue so far in this year’s Royal London One Day Cup, scores have gradually increased as the summer has worn on.”From what I’ve seen, it’s been a particularly dry start to the summer, and the scores have been really high. That should suit us. If you look at the scores of the domestic one-day competition on now in England, the scores have been really high. Hopefully, those are the kinds of pitches that we can perform well on. You never know with the weather – a wet spell could come in. But for now, it’s all looking really promising.”On the bowling front, Sri Lanka are desperate for Lasith Malinga to return in good health and fitness, in order to stem the leakage of runs in the slog overs, which has been a feature of their limited-overs cricket over the past two years. Malinga is the only player in the squad who did not take part in the recent training camp at Pallekele, with the board having reasoned that he was better off gaining match practice at the IPL.”If we can get the old guard of Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara firing with their skills at the end of the innings, that probably takes 20-25 runs off the opposition score as well,” Ford said. “It’s a combination of finishing the innings off really well with the ball, and of course, setting ourselves up well with the bat.”Ford was philosophical about Sri Lanka’s prospects at the tournament. While he believed his team capable of lifting the trophy, he acknowledged Sri Lanka would be underdogs.”The Champions Trophy is a big ask, and recent results will tell you that. But the guys have shown talent, and they’ve worked extremely hard trying to improve their cricket. I think with us being a team that’s improving all the time, we’ve certainly got a chance of upsetting one of the other nations. It is a huge challenge, but one that we’re looking forward to.”

Sri Lanka Women defended 129 to register a crucial win – their first of the tournament – against Ireland Women in Mohali

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2016
ScorecardCaptain Chamari Atapattu set the tone for Sri Lanka’s win with a 22-ball 34•International Cricket Council

Sri Lanka Women defended 129 to register a crucial win – their first of the tournament – against Ireland Women in Mohali. Three run-outs and three wickets from Sugandika Kumari helped keep Ireland to 115 in the chase, thereby completing a 14-run win.Left-arm spinner Kumari, who returned career-best figures, removed Clare Shillington and Cath Dalton early before solid cameos from Cecelia Joyce (29), Isobel Joyce (24) and Laura Delany (29) took Ireland closer. With 43 required off the last five overs, a succession of wickets took the game away from Ireland. Kumari finished with 3 for 24.Earlier, Sri Lanka got off to a flying start after opting to bat. The openers – Chamari Atapattu (34 off 22) and Yasoda Mendis – added 45 in just 32 balls, of which Mendis contributed 9.Legspinner Ciara Metcalfe then dismissed both openers in the space of four balls to bring Ireland back into the contest. Metcalfe produced another double-strike in the 10th over to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 59 for 5. A 49-run stand between Prasadani Weerakkody and Eshani Lokusuriyage, who struck a 28-ball 35, resurrected Sri Lanka and helped them post a total of 129 for 7. Metcalfe also produced career-best figures to finish with 4 for 15.

Bruce Edgar, the former New Zealand opening batsman, has been named the country’s general manager national selection

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013Bruce Edgar, the former New Zealand opening batsman, has been named the country’s general manager national selection. Edgar will take up office next month, his primary role being aiding New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson in selecting the national team.New Zealand Cricket had advertised to fill the role, and Edgar was eventually nominated for the job after being interviewed by a panel that included former quick Richard Hadlee. Having played 39 Tests for New Zealand between 1978 and 1986, scoring 1958 runs, Edgar also has a background in commerce. He played 64 ODIs too, and has a wealth of domestic experience with Wellington: he played 175 first-class games in a 15-year span, aggregating 11,304 runs, in addition to 3893 List-A runs from 119 games. After retirement, Edgar also got himself certified in coaching in Australia, and has worked on New South Wales’ high performance programmes and coached batsmen in grade cricket in Sydney.David White, the NZC chief executive officer, expressed delight at Edgar’s appointment. “Bruce is highly respected within the cricket fraternity and he was a very successful player both on and off the field,” White said. “He is considered methodical and logical, with exceptionally good attention to detail. And while Bruce has been recently living in Australia, he’ll be supported in the role by the local knowledge of talent scouts and major association coaches.”Edgar spoke of his keenness to expose New Zealand’s next generation of cricketers to foreign conditions. “Players need to be given opportunities to bridge the gap between first-class cricket and the international stage,” he said. “I would like to see players given experience in the subcontinent and with local conditions in other countries.”NZC had announced last month that the national team’s head coach would have the final say in selection, forming a two-member selection panel with the general manager national selection. Edgar takes the job following Kim Littlejohn’s confirmation that he would not seek to extend his tenure in the role when his contract runs out in September. Edgar’s contract will run through till the end of the 2015 World Cup.Apart from the senior team, Edgar will also play a role in the selection process of the New Zealand A team and the Under-19 side.

Is there a cleaner striker of a ball in English cricket than Craig Kieswetter? Those who watched him make 112 not out on the second day of the England Lions game against Australia A at Edgbaston might find it hard to believe so.

Paul Edwards at Edgbaston16-Aug-2012
ScorecardCraig Kieswetter, seen here in his Somerset colours, brightened up the day with a marvellous century to rescue England Lions•PA Photos

Is there a cleaner striker of a ball in English cricket than Craig Kieswetter? Those who watched him make 112 not out on the second day of the England Lions game against Australia A at Edgbaston might find it hard to believe so. Others, of course, might advance the claims of Matt Prior, but that is merely where Kieswetter’s problems start if he wants to break into the Test side. Prior’s keeping and his ability to bat in the longest format make him something of a mighty oak door barring Kieswetter’s way into the dining-room where the world’s best cricketers enjoy five-day feasts.In the meantime, all he can do is bat in the gloriously dominant style he displayed to the pathetically small Birmingham crowd on Thursday afternoon. In company with the redoubtable Chris Woakes he shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 141 in 23 overs as Eoin Morgan’s side recovered from 99 for 5 at four o’clock to finish just 68 runs shy of Australia A’s first innings score when bad light ended play over an hour early. Indeed, rain and poor light meant that only 57 overs were possible on Thursday but the quality of the cricket on view made the reduction seem almost insignificant.The excellence of Kieswetter’s century was enhanced by the quality of the bowlers whom he ultimately took apart and by the situation of the game when he went in to bat. Replying to Australia’s declaration on their overnight 308 for 9, England Lions were 46 for 3 as Kieswetter strode out to join Morgan. When the captain lost his off bail to Nathan Coulter-Nile seven runs later the home side were imperilled by embarrassment, even in a badly rain-affected game.For the morning session was dominated by the tourists, although it comes as almost a disappointment to discover that Coulter-Nile is merely a Western Australian seamer. He sounds like the sort of character who wrestles tigers for a living and writes books with titles such as Twenty Years Down the Limpopo. In any event, he certainly explored the defensive techniques of some Lions yesterday morning and found them in distinctly under-developed territory. Of no one was this truer than Morgan, whose airy push into the off side was well beaten by Coulter-Nile’s nip back off the seam.he had also begun the clatter of wickets when he induced debutant Varun Chopra to top edge a pull to square leg, where Liam Davis caught the simplest of catches. The only player to bat with much poise in the first session was Joe Root, who hit three felicitous fours before he was caught down the leg side for 24 by wicketkeeper Tim Paine off Mitchell Johnson. That, though, was the second time in three innings that Root has fallen to Johnson in this fashion and it suggests a technical deficiency he must address if he is to make the most of his many talents.Root’s departure with the total on 30 was followed 25 minutes later by that of Samit Patel who was lbw for 2 when pushing half forward to Jackson Bird. All of which left the Lions’ looking distinctly woebegone at lunch. It was probably fortuitous for the home side that heavy lunchtime rain delayed the restart by 80 minutes.Initially, at least, Kieswetter was cautious as the three Australia A seamers continued to pose a threat in the afternoon session. His 46-run stand with Ben Stokes occupied nearly 17 overs, during which Stokes nearly ran himself out and the tourists made increasingly expert use of reverse swing. This latter stratagem was unintentionally kyboshed by Kieswetter straight driving a ball from offspinner Nathan Lyon into a puddle over the rope. The replacement ball did not help the trio of seamers half as much, even though Bird claimed Stokes’ wicket when he was caught at the wicket pulling too early.The rest of the day belonged to Kieswetter and also to Woakes, who once again made a valuable contribution to this short series. By the close, though, even his stylish 47 not out had been overshadowed by the Kieswetter’s explosion of strokeplay after he had reached a relatively circumspect fifty off 80 balls. Unbeaten on 71 at tea, Kieswetter drove Bird for two fours and smote him over midwicket for six in the over after the resumption, all off the front foot. Then Coulter-Nile was driven for two boundaries off successive balls, before a flat-batted pull off Bird brought up Kieswetter’s century off 116 balls, the second fifty coming up in 36 alarmingly violent deliveries.The Australian attack’s figures, which had looked so impressive at lunch, had taken on a more dismal aspect by the end of the day. Coulter-Nile’s 19 overs cost 70 runs while Bird went for 65 in 16. Special treatment was reserved for Lyon on whom the pair of England Lions feasted, taking 47 runs off his eight overs. Some might label such behaviour nothing more than cricketing cannibalism, but it was still magnificent entertainment.

Johan Botha showed his international pedigree at Derby to give Northamptonshire a rare Friends Life t20 victory

09-Jul-2011
ScorecardSouth African allrounder Johan Botha showed his international pedigree at Derby to give Northamptonshire a rare Friends Life t20 victory and end Derbyshire’s faint hopes of reaching the last eight.Botha conceded only 14 runs from his four overs of off-spin and than scored an unbeaten 54 from 48 balls as the Steelbacks cruised past the Falcons’ 133 for 5 to seal a seven-wicket win – only their second in the North Group.Derbyshire needed an unbroken stand of 82 in eight overs from Garry Park (50) and Ross Whiteley, who hit 39 from 26 balls, to give them a respectable total. However, Botha and Rob White, who weighed in with 51, ended the home side’s chances of victory.The Falcons had been struggling to reach three figures after thoughtful tight bowling restricted them to 66 for 5 after 15 overs. Martin Guptill drove the first ball to the boundary but that proved deceptive as the Steelbacks bowled straight and full to frustrate the batsmen.After Wes Durston was caught behind and Greg Smith was leg before wicket padding up, Wayne Madsen was run out backing up before Guptill failed to clear long-off. t the halfway mark, Derbyshire were 46 for 4 and when Chesney Hughes was caught behind in the 12th over, Northamptonshire were firmly in control.Derbyshire did not hit a boundary for 12 overs until Park drove Rob Keogh for six but that broke the shackles as Whiteley swept the spinner high over the midwicket boundary. Whiteley drove Jack Brooks for another six as 67 came off the last five overs, although Andrew Hall strangely ignored strike bowler David Lucas – who had conceded only eight runs from two overs.Northamptonshire were still only chasing a modest total and although they quickly lost David Murphy to a brilliant leaping catch at cover by Guptill, White and Botha steadily chipped away at the target.It might have been different if White had not been dropped by Hughes at slip before he had scored but Derbyshire were never able to exert any pressure on the second wicket pair – who added 109 to take the Steelbacks to the brink of victory.White drove and pulled Jon Clare for three consecutive fours to reach his half-century from 43 balls and Botha reached the milestone in style by pulling Whiteley over the midwicket boundary. White was caught behind cutting at Mark Turner, who then bowled Alex Wakeley. However, the fast bowler then sent down a wide to give the visitors victory with 10 balls to spare.