Derbyshire skipper Chris Rogers steered his side to an eight-wicket victory over Glamorgan before lunch on the final day at Derby

24-Apr-2010
ScorecardDerbyshire skipper Chris Rogers steered his side to an eight-wicket victory over Glamorgan before lunch on the final day at Derby. Rogers made 51 not out as Derbyshire reached their target of 121 with few alarms against an attack which badly missed the experience of offspinner Robert Croft.Glamorgan knew they needed early wickets to have any chance of defending such a modest total but although they removed Paul Borrington in the sixth over of another sunny morning, they could not build on that breakthrough.Derbyshire had lost Wayne Madsen shortly before the close on Friday but they went into the fourth day needing only another 95 to secure a second County Championship win of the season. There was some turn and occasional lift for the spinners but although Dean Cosker caused some problems for the batsmen, Glamorgan could not exert any sustained pressure.It might have been different if Croft had been playing against the county he has tormented down the years but he was controversially left out for the second game running. Croft’s only appearance on the ground where he captured his 100th first-class wicket against Derbyshire last year was when he came onto the field in the morning with water for the players and then as a late substitute for Mark Cosgrove who hurt a hand.Glamorgan must have wished they could have called on him in this game which was finally taken away from them by Rogers and Garry Park who wrapped up a 21-point haul before lunch. Rogers was the wicket Glamorgan had to take if they were to have a chance of pulling of a shock win but the Australian was determined his team would not falter in sight of the finishing line.Borrington proved to be the only casualty, lbw for 8 to Cosker’s left-arm spin as he pushed forward with 40 on the board but Rogers and Park then slammed the door shut. Rogers approach was illustrated by the fact he faced 73 balls before he hit his first four and there was only one more in his 50 which he completed off the last ball of the game, a misfield by Croft.Park followed his first-innings half century with another assured display and left his mark on Gareth Rees who was struck on the grill of his protective helmet at short leg. The South African straight drove Cosker for the four which took Derbyshire past 100 and was unbeaten on 43 when Rogers sealed a richly-deserved triumph just over 20 minutes before the interval with 68.1 overs to spare.

Glamorgan secured their first Championship victory at Lord’ s in 56 years after mopping up the last six Middlesex wickets in just over two hours to win by 78 runs and with 62 overs to spare

18-Apr-2010
ScorecardDawid Malan’s 115 could not prevent Middlesex slipping to another defeat•PA Photos

Glamorgan secured their first Championship victory at Lord’ s in 56 years after mopping up the last six Middlesex wickets in just over two hours to win by 78 runs and with 62 overs to spare.It was former Middlesex all-rounder turned Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple
who proved they key figure in securing his county’s first win of the Division
Two campaign, leaving the hosts to contemplate their second defeat in as many
starts. It was Dalrymple’s off-spin that accounted for Middlesex top-scorer Dawid Malan
for an excellent 115, a dismissal that ultimately exposed the Middlesex tail to
the second new ball and made the result a foregone conclusion.Resuming on his overnight score of 94, 22-year-old left-hander Malan rocked
back in the fifth over of the day to crack a rasping back foot force to the
ropes at cover to move to 99. Three overs later, he squirted the 16th four of his 212-ball stay off an open bat face and through the gully to third man to post his second first-class
hundred.It was Malan’s first four-day ton since he scored 132 on his Middlesex Championship debut against Northamptonshire at Uxbridge in June 2008. His fifth-wicket partner, night watchman Iain O’Brien, enjoyed a let-off with his score on 13 when Dalrymple downed a regulation chance at second slip off Huw Waters, but O’Brien obligingly edged the very next delivery to third slip where Mark Cosgrove this time pocketed a sharp, low chance.Malan’s vigil ended after four hours to a rare lapse of concentration. Moving back on his stumps and aiming to cut a ball that turned back into him, the left-hander bottom edged and wicketkeeper Mark Wallace did the rest.Four balls later Malan’s fellow left-hander, John Simpson (12), pushed at a
tuning delivery from left-arm spinner Dean Cosker to be caught at slip by who
else but Dalrymple.Glamorgan took the new ball shortly afterwards, sparking a counter-attack from
Middlesex all-rounder Gareth Berg who clubbed six fours in a cameo 28 before a
leaden-footed drive at a Waters away-swinger brushed the edge to give Wallace
another victim.Home captain Shaun Udal (23) then carved a wide one from Waters into the hands
of cover point and, 13 balls after lunch, last man Steve Finn was held at second
slip by Dalrymple off the excellent Waters to wrap up a historic win for the
Welsh county as Waters, the pick of their attack, finished with 4 for 39.

orkshire recorded their highest score in a home match against Essex of 516 before astute bowling changes had the visitors in all sorts of trouble on the second day of their Championship encounter at Scarborough

05-May-2010

ScorecardJonathan Bairstow continued his good start to the season with another fifty•PA Photos

Yorkshire recorded their highest score in a home match against Essex of 516 before astute bowling changes had the visitors in all sorts of trouble on the second day of their Championship encounter at Scarborough.Essex closed on 159 for 5 which meant they still required a further 208 to avoid the possibility of the follow-on and they have a lot of hard work in front of them if they are to prevent Yorkshire from strengthening their position at the top of the First Division table.Billy Godleman and Alastair Cook began the Essex reply and they appeared in little difficulty against some rather erratic new ball bowling from West Indian Tino Best and Oliver Hannon-Dalby.But a double bowling change by Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale paid immediate dividends as Cook was lbw to Steven Patterson’s second ball and Cook suffered a similar fate off the final ball of leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s first over.Essex were 32 for 3 at tea and Best returned straight after the interval for John Maunders to slash his second ball to Richard Pyrah at backward point. Jaik Mickleburgh and Mark Pettini began to get Essex out of their difficulties but at 74 for 4 in 24 overs Gale called up Hannon-Dalby again and Mickleburgh leaned into his sixth delivery to become the third lbw victim of the innings so far.A stand of 61 between Pettini and James Foster was brought to an end in dramatic fashion by Best who took Pettini’s off-stump out of the ground. Yorkshire began the day on 313 for 3 and when their innings eventually closed it had overtaken their previous best in a home match against Essex of 512 for 9 declared at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane in 1928.Anthony McGrath (112) and Gale (89) resumed their fourth wicket stand of 163 but McGrath failed to add to his second consecutive century, being lbw to David Masters in the first over. Gale never wavered on his way to a faultless century off 168 balls with 14 fours and a six and partnered by Jonny Bairstow he guided Yorkshire to 354 for 4 and a fourth batting bonus point but at 370 for four in 110 overs they still missed out on a fifth point.The fifth wicket pair put on 76 in 17 overs before Gale was neatly stumped by Foster for 135 to bring left-arm spinner Tim Phillips his 100th dismissal in first-class cricket. Yorkshire were able to press on to a formidable score through well constructed half-centuries from Bairstow, whose 62 came off 112 balls with 11 fours, and Pyrah, who was last out for 61 from just 73 deliveries with six fours and a six.All five of Essex’s bowlers had the consolation of picking up at least one wicket, Chris Wright enjoying the best return of 3 for 97 but Ryan ten Doeschate also worked hard for his three for 117.

Richie Berrington struck a responsible 82 as Scotland overcame a top-order scare to move into the ascendancy on the second day against Netherlands in Deventer

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2010
ScorecardRichie Berrington struck a responsible 82 as Scotland overcame a top-order scare to move into the ascendancy on the second day against Netherlands in Deventer. Netherlands’ bowling attack stuck to their guns in the early part of the day to reduce the visitors to 61 for 4 before the recovery began, and the lower order finished the day with a lead of 63, with three wickets left.The wickets were shared around, with Mark Jonkman and Adeel Raja picking two apiece, while Berend Westdijk, Peter Borren and Ruud Nijman scalped one each. Raja was getting into his groove, having accounted for Simon Smith and Qasim Sheikh when Berrington began the rescue act. Neil McCallum provided the perfect foil, as they regained ground through patient cricket. Berrington struck nine fours in his 82, and the pair had raised 133 when Borren dismissed him with the first-innings lead in sight. Gregor Maiden who came in next ensured the lead was duly achieved, before McCallum departed having reached his fifty. Matthew Parker worked his way to an unbeaten 28, and his stand with Maiden dispirited the hosts further before Nijman intervened, but the advantage remained well and truly with Scotland at stumps.

A controversial turning point helped Nottinghamshire consolidate top spot in
the northern group of the Friends Provident Twenty20 Cup as they defeated Durham
by 11 runs at Chester-le-Street

20-Jun-2010

ScorecardA controversial turning point helped Nottinghamshire consolidate top spot in
the northern group of the Friends Provident Twenty20 Cup as they defeated Durham
by 11 runs at Chester-le-Street.Chasing the visitors’ 186 for 4, Durham were 134 for 4 when Dale
Benkenstein pulled the first ball of the 16th over to deep square leg. Alex Hales held the catch off Darren Pattinson but staggered backwards over the rope and threw the ball back into play before regaining his balance to complete the catch.After much deliberation, Benkenstein took it upon himself to accept Hales’ word
he was still inside the rope when he threw the ball up. The batsman departed for 40 and although Durham, on 158 for four after 18 overs, were two ahead of Nottinghamshire’s score at the same stage Ryan
Sidebottom virtually settled it by conceding only five off the 19th over.Phil Mustard and Ian Blackwell had 39 on the board after three overs of
Durham’s reply, with Blackwell pulling two sixes in his 23, although the second
should have been caught by Samit Patel on the backward square leg boundary.Benkenstein was also badly missed on 17 by Pattinson at long-off and would have
been run out for 25 had the bowler, Steven Mullaney, hit the stumps.Benkenstein and Ross Taylor appeared to have everything under control in a
stand of 46 in six overs, but it all began to go wrong for Durham when Taylor’s
bat handle broke as he square drove Paul Franks for four to reach 33.He took a swing at the next ball with his new bat and skied it for wicketkeeper
Bilal Shafayat to take a comfortable catch. Benkenstein maintained the required rate in the next two overs, but then drove to extra cover and called for a single.Albie Morkel was unable to beat David Hussey’s throw and when Benkenstein
departed in the next over it left the inexperienced Ben Stokes to try to
complete the task with Gareth Breese. Nottinghamshire scored 61 in the first 10 overs and 125 in the second, helped by 19 off the last over from the previously frugal Morkel.Hussey, dropped off a skier in the 19th over, hit Morkel’s last two balls for
four and six, the latter soaring high into the crowd over backward square leg
off a full toss. In fact, it was judged to be the second full toss above waist height which
Morkel had bowled, forcing him to be withdrawn from the action.As it was also a no-ball Breese had to come on for the final ball, off which
Hussey was caught at deep square leg. Alistair Brown made only 14 in the first 10 overs of Nottinghamshire’s innings but finished unbeaten on 73, while Patel hit a 36-ball half-century in a
third-wicket stand of 112.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has said the team needs to maintain a level of enthusiasm even if the results don’t always go their way

Cricinfo staff16-Jul-2010Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has said the team needs to maintain a level of enthusiasm even if the results don’t always go their way. With the World Cup early next year, Bashar felt it was important for the team to build self belief in the coming months, and that could translate into better results. He added it was a good decision by Shakib Al Hasan to give up the captaincy when he was struggling for form on the tour of England.”I think the level of satisfaction should go up,” Bashar told the . “People always talk about too much expectation, which I think is not a good thing but if there’s no expectation, it does no good to the team. It is time we shed the habit of being happy when we are ‘playing well’. You must have some belief if you are looking for the right results.”Bangladesh recently recorded their first ever win against England, in Bristol, but they failed to convert it to a rare away series win when they lost the deciding ODI by 144 runs at Edgbaston.”I am not saying the win (against England) was insignificant,” Bashar said. “It is a huge achievement to win against England in their home conditions.”Bashar also threw his weight behind the struggling batsman Mohammad Ashraful, who for a long time hasn’t repaid the faith shown by the selectors.”You cannot question [Mohammad] Ashraful’s quality and I’m confident that Ash will make his comeback in the World Cup, but now he’s badly out of form,” Bashar said. “I think he needs a break to do well in the coming months. That will make sure of his return to form as far as I’m concerned.”Mashrafe Mortaza regained the captaincy after regular captain Shakib struggled to combine the roles of leading allrounder and leader. Mortaza only recently returned from a long-term knee injury, and he was the automatic choice to take over from Shakib. Bashar, however, felt Shakib would do better when given a second chance.”Shakib must feel better now that Mashrafe has the captaincy,” Bashar said. “I think it was too much pressure on him. I always felt that he was made captain too soon for his age. He can be the country’s best captain, but only in the future.”Bashar doesn’t expect wholesale changes to the squad for the World Cup, and felt it would be worth investing in the current group. “I see very little chance of that happening because in the past two years, player production hasn’t been too good and backups are not in place. We have a few options but I still think this current team is good enough and talented enough to produce the goods in the World Cup.”

A round-up of games from the Clydesdale Bank 40

25-Jul-2010A Jim Allenby half-century and 4 for 33 from Dean Cosker helped Glamorgan towards only their second Clydesdale Bank 40 victory of the season with a three wicket success over Sussex at Swansea. The defeat is a setback to Sussex’s chances of reaching the competition semi-finals and was not the best way to warm up for Monday’s Friends Provident t20 clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Alex Hales returned to haunt Durham by smashing an unbeaten 96 in Nottinghamshire’s five-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 triumph at Chester-le-Street. On his last visit to the ground, 21-year-old Hales held a controversial boundary catch which turned a Twenty20 match in his side’s favour. He insisted the catch was clean and Dale Benkenstein, who was on 40, took his word for it when a six had been signalled.Ravi Bopara put his England snub behind him by hitting a superb half-century as the Essex cruised to a nine-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 victory over the Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Young opening batsman Rob Newton blasted his first half-century in senior cricket, making 66 off 78 balls, but some indifferent batting from his team-mates meant the Steelbacks could only reach 198 for 9 off their 40 overs.Veteran seamer and Hampshire captain Dominic Cork held his nerve in a last-ball finish in Canterbury to clinch a tense two-run win over Group C rivals Kent. Chasing Hampshire’s par-for-the-course 40-over total of 238 for 7 on a tricky St Lawrence pitch, Kent needed 13 off Cork’s final over of the game with six wickets still intact. Home opener Joe Denly chipped a single from the first ball to reach a 107-ball century – the first by a Kent player in this year’s competition – but it was Cork who kept his cool.Mike O’Shea hit 90 to help the Unicorns pull off a shock three-wicket victory over stunned Worcestershire in a thrilling match at Kidderminster. Needing 278 to win, they reached their target with two balls to spare. O’Shea was the hero with his best one-day score which included five sixes and seven fours off 62 balls. He put on 115 in 13.3 overs for the fourth wicket with Keith Parsons who made 47 to leave embarrassed Worcestershire still searching for their first Group A win of the season after seven attempts.Ajmal Shahzad marked his selection in the England Test squad with a four-wicket haul as Yorkshire maintained their 100% winning record with an eight-wicket win over Middlesex. The 24-year-old, selected in the 12-man Test squad to face Pakistan on Thursday, took 4 for 34 as Yorkshire coasted to a comfortable victory. Shahzad’s efforts together with a fine unbeaten innings of 86 by Jacques Rudolph means Yorkshire top Group B with five wins from as many games.A Marcus Trescothick cameo helped Somerset maintain their 100% record in this season’s Clydesdale Bank 40 with a crushing 94-run victory over Surrey to stay top of Group A after six matches. Batting first on a magnificent pitch at The Oval, the Sabres posted a massive 303 for five thanks to a whirlwind 69 off 47 balls from Trescothick and a stand of 145 in 19 overs between Zander de Bruyn and James Hildreth – a Somerset record for the fourth wicket in one-day cricket against Surrey.Warwickshire strengthened their grip at the top of the Group C table with a 25-run victory over Leicestershire, despite a brilliant unbeaten century and career-best bowling figures from James Taylor. Warwickshire opener Neil Carter laid the foundations for the Bears’ win with the third limited-overs century of his career, scoring 101 out of their challenging total of 272 for 8.

Derbyshire will have to rewrite the county’s record books to deny promotion-chasing Northamptonshire victory at Chesterfield

11-Aug-2010

ScorecardDerbyshire will have to rewrite the county’s record books to deny promotion-chasing Northamptonshire victory at Chesterfield. Half-centuries from Rob Newton and James Middlebrook led a spirited fightback from the lower order that carried the visitors to 469, setting Derbyshire a target of 352. Derbyshire’s highest fourth-innings total to win a County Championship match is 350 for 3 – coincidentally against Northants – at Derby in 1982 and by the close they were 30 without loss.Newton made 82 and Middlebrook 84 but young pace bowler Gavin Baker also played a valuable innings on his debut, scoring 36 as the last three wickets added 167. Such a strong position had seemed unlikely early in the day, when Derbyshire looked firm favourites after overnight pair Ben Howgego and David Sales fell in consecutive overs from Steffan Jones.Sales was first to go, eight short of his second century of the season, when he played across the line and Jones then beat Howgego’s attempted drive to bowl the opener for 80. When Andrew Hall pulled Jon Clare to square leg, Northants were only 103 in front with five wickets down but Newton and Elton Chigumbura set the tone for the defiance that was to come. They added 60 in 13 overs before Chigumbura shouldered arms and was bowled by Jones on the stroke of lunch, but the rest of the day belonged to the visitors.Derbyshire rotated their bowlers but could not polish off the tail as Newton and Middlebrook started to take the game away from the team that are propping up the championship. They shared an eighth-wicket stand of 69 in 12 overs and Newton was in sight of a century in only his second first-class game when he pulled Greg Smith’s offspin into the hands of midwicket.But there was more frustration for the bowlers to come as Middlebrook scored his first Championship fifty of the season and, with Baker, put on 74 in 27 overs. By tea, Northants were already 292 in front and another 35 runs were added before Middlebrook tried to hit Robin Peterson over the top and was caught by Clare running back at mid-on.Baker and Lee Daggett took the lead past 350 and Derbyshire had 16 overs to negotiate but should have lost skipper Chris Rogers shortly after he completed 1,000 runs for the season.
The Australian was on six when he edged Chigumbura to second slip, where Sales put down the chance. Rogers and Wayne Madsen battled through to the close to leave Derbyshire requiring a further 322 on the last day.

A five-wicket haul by Henry Osinde and a strong second-innings start anchored by Zubin Sukari helped Canada dominate most of the second day in Toronto, but Ireland struck towards the end to reclaim control

Cricinfo staff02-Sep-2010
ScorecardA five-wicket haul by Henry Osinde and a strong second-innings start anchored by Zubin Sukari helped Canada dominate most of the second day in Toronto, but Ireland struck towards the end to reclaim control. Andre Botha and Kevin O’Brien did most of the damage, picking three wickets each as Canada slumped from 151 for 2 to 190 for 8, giving them a lead of 49 over Ireland’s first-innings effort.Ireland began the day 70 runs ahead and it was due to Osinde that the six wickets remaining barely doubled the advantage. George Dockrell and John Mooney did not last long, and when Trent Johnston left the field retired hurt soon after, Canada would have hoped to run through the tail. Andrew White, however, ensured that Ireland retained the upper hand with a fighting 84 before he was the eighth man out, the last three wickets falling for the addition of only one run.Canada’s top-order began their reply with far more purpose than in the first innings, openers Ruvindu Gunasekara and Nitish Kumar adding 30 for the first wicket. Gunasekara played cautiously in the company of Surkari, and their second-wicket stand of 106 put Canada in sight of the lead.Things quickly went pear-shaped for the hosts starting with Gunasekara’s dismissal, bowled by Botha. Surkari was dismissed similarly and with Canada just 10 runs ahead it was left to Ashish Bagai to build the lead. Unfortunately there was no support at the other end as five wickets tumbled for the addition of 19 runs, O’Brien accounting for three of them. Bagai remained unbeaten on 31 at stumps.

New Zealand’s first warm-up match on their tour of Bangladesh has been cancelled because of unplayable ground conditions at the Bangladesh Krira Shikka Protisthan Stadium (BKSP) near Dhaka

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2010New Zealand’s first warm-up match on their tour of Bangladesh has been cancelled because of unplayable ground conditions at the Bangladesh Krira Shikka Protisthan Stadium (BKSP) near Dhaka.”The region has been hit with 15 days of heavy rain and the outfield is completely sodden,” New Zealand’s manager, Michael Sharpe, said. “Groundsmen had the super sopper out but could only go a few metres before it needed emptying. The officials had no choice but to call off the match with the match on Sunday, October 3, also in doubt.”The BKSP stadium is two hours from the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, where the five one-day Internationals will be played. The two 50-over games against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI are New Zealand’s only warm-up matches ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh on October 5.