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Round-up of the second day of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2010Group BManish Pandey’s 144 and his stand with CM Gautam has given Karnataka an excellent chance of batting Orissa out and forcing an innings win•Sportz SolutionsKarnataka and Orissa appeared to be heading towards a closely-fought contest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore but the pair of Manish Pandey and CM Gautam ensured it was one-way traffic at stumps. The Orissa seamers, led by Alok Sahoo who picked up three wickets, had rattled the hosts, reducing them to 54 for 5 at one stage. Karnataka were replying to a score of 191 and seemed to be struggling to even manage a first-innings lead. But Pandey and Gautam smashed centuries, ensuring the pressure was off early by scoring runs quickly. Pandey’s unbeaten 144 was laced with 12 fours and five sixes while Gautam, who took even less time, made as many runs with 21 fours and a six. The stand is worth 294 and looks good for more as Karnataka now target an innings win.There was no play on the second day of the contest between Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, due to rain.A combined batting effort from Baroda propelled them to 416 on the second day at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara against Punjab. Keen to recover from the shocking collapse that proved their undoing against Uttar Pradesh in their previous Ranji Trophy game, Baroda’s top and middle-order batsmen stepped up, with four of them scoring half-centuries. Opener Connor Williams scored a patient 73, Kedar Devdhar supported him in a 126-run stand for the second wicket, Ambati Rayudu top scored with 79 and wicketkeeper-captain Pinal Shah chipped in with 63. Legspinner Sarabjit Ladda bagged a five-for, while Karan Goel complement that effort with offspin that fetched four wickets. In reply, Punjab lost opener Ravi Inder Singh early and finished on 10 for 1 at stumps.Group AS Badrinath and Abhinav Mukund have had an excellent Ranji Trophy thus far and they made sure their enjoyment continued, scoring hundreds for Tamil Nadu against Railways at the Indian Institute of Technology Chemplast Ground in Chennai. Mukund followed up his double-ton in the previous game with an unbeaten 108, while Badrinath scored his third century of the tournament, the pair adding an unbeaten 208 for the third wicket. Both approached the game steadily to help their team recover from 36 for 2 and end the day on 244 for 2.On another rain-affected day at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Gujarat steered themselves to 162 for 3 against Bengal. Opener Priyank Panchal helped the hosts recover from the loss of an early wicket by top scoring with 63, and Niraj Patel backed him up in a 94-run stand for the second wicket. Seamer Ranadeb Bose was the pick of the bowlers, taking all three wickets. Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel was unbeaten on 23 at stumps.Rain continued to mar the contest between Mumbai and Assam at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. However, there was another disappointment for Mumbai fans as well. Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain now playing for Assam, was dismissed for just 1 on his return to his former home. Assam were on 81 for 3 at stumps.Saurashtra and Delhi were left with no choice but to confine themselves to the dressing room as play was washed out for the second consecutive day at the Khandheri Cricket Stadium in Rajkot.

Jack Russell, England’s wicketkeeper at the 1996 World Cup, believes that Matt Prior’s aggression, maturity and vocal presence behind the stumps make him the right man for the job

Andrew Miller01-Feb-2011Jack Russell, England’s wicketkeeper at the 1996 World Cup, believes that Matt Prior’s aggression, maturity and vocal presence behind the stumps make him the right man for the job as the team prepares to return to the subcontinent for another tilt at a trophy that has eluded them for nine tournaments and 36 years.Prior had not been part of England’s limited-overs setup since the tour of Bangladesh in February 2010 when he was last month named as the surprise inclusion in England’s World Cup 15, at the expense of the Surrey wicketkeeper, Steven Davies.He overcame the embarrassment of back-to-back ducks in his first two matches of the one-day series in Australia to produce a hard-hitting 67 from 58 balls in their 21-run win in the fourth game at Adelaide, and he is expected to open the batting alongside Andrew Strauss when England’s World Cup campaign gets underway in Nagpur on February 22.Russell, who spent much of his own England career vying for the wicketkeeping duties with Alec Stewart, believed that Prior’s time away from the team and his determination to reclaim the role would stand him in good stead for the tough campaign that awaits.”I think the period out of the one-day side probably helped him, and it got his appetite back,” Russell told ESPNcricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “It made him realise it’s not a given that he’s in this team, so he went away and worked hard, and he’s a very fine all-round cricketer now. He’s an aggressive character who takes the game to the opposition, he’s got that freedom mentally, and the belief that he can go out there and do his stuff with bat and gloves.”While Russell sympathised with Davies, who had seemed a shoo-in for the World Cup after performing competently throughout the one-day series in England last September as well as the first ODI against Australia in Melbourne, he believed that, at the age of 24, the younger man still had plenty to learn at the highest level – particularly when it comes to the cajoling in the field that is the duty of the man with the gloves.”From a wicketkeeping point of view Prior is more of a driver, a leader in the field than the lad Davies, who’s a little bit younger, and is still searching for his game if you like,” said Russell. “Davies hasn’t quite crossed those mental bridges yet, which allow him to feel he is running the show in the field. He is more quiet, whereas Matt will be in your face a bit more, and drive and push things forward, and you need guys like that when you’re playing at that level, especially in a place like India.”Russell’s own career was notable for his vocals behind the stumps, not least during his final years with Gloucestershire in the early 2000s, when he and Mark Alleyne were the heart and soul of their trophy-hoarding one-day side. “It was the last third of my career when I really worked out my game,” he said. “I’d done my apprenticeship, and Matt’s in that situation now. It’s his job now to start pushing and shoving everyone else.”Prior produced a near-faultless performance in the Tests against Australia, in which he claimed 23 catches and rounded off the series with his maiden Ashes hundred. “You are running the show in the field, so it’s hard to kick other people’s backsides if you’re not doing the job properly yourself,” said Russell. “The bottom line is you never lose sight of the fact that you’ve got to catch every ball, and if you do that you can start bawling and shouting at everyone else.”At the minute young Davies is still finding his feet at international level, but he needs to go up another gear in terms of adding a bit more aggression to his game with the bat and the gloves.”Fifteen years have now elapsed since the last World Cup in the subcontinent, and as was the case in 1996, England go into the tournament on the back of an arduous winter campaign, rounded off by a heavy and humbling one-day series defeat. Russell, however, believes the current squad will be strong enough to shrug off the indignity of their ODI setback, in the manner that he and his team-mates were unable to do when they were crushed 6-1 by South Africa all those years ago.”I think this team could well be a stronger group mentally to deal with the fact we’ve lost the one-day series,” said Russell. “Playing in Asia [compared to Australia] is like playing on another planet, so if you make a good start you can draw a line under what’s gone on before and take it as a fresh start. I’m pretty sure there’s enough mental strength in that group and the back-up staff will make sure the attitude is spot-on. I’d like to think there’s no reason why we can’t win the World Cup.”Jack Russell is compiling a book of paintings of English county grounds, due for publication by 2012

Wolves have been rather impressive in terms of their defensive output in the Premier League this season with just 20 goals conceded in 25 games, leaving only Chelsea and Manchester City with a better record in that department.

Despite this, it seems as though the Midlands club have identified one player that could come in and potentially strengthen their defensive depth.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, Wolves are one of the clubs interested in making a move to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £22k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

As a product of Spurs’ youth academy, the 24-year-old has had loan spells at clubs such as Sheffield United, Ipswich Town, Swansea City, Stoke City, Luton Town, AFC Bournemouth and Celtic, where he currently is.

Having played the second-highest amount of minutes in the SPFL this season out of any outfield Celtic player, the centre-back has earned himself an impressive overall performance rating of 7.33/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated player at the Scottish club to have started more than five league games.

As well as his impressive overall performances, the centre-back, who has been described as “mature” by Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou and “incredible” by Graeme Jones, has also shown what a capable defender he is by racking up more clearances in the league than any other player at the Parkhead club with an average of 4.7 per game.

From a Wolves point of view, only Romain Saiss (5.3) has managed to rack up a higher average of clearances in the Premier League this season, showing that the Spurs player would be capable of slotting into the Old Gold’s backline.

In addition to this, if the Midlands club were to make a swoop for Carter-Vickers in the summer when his Celtic loan ends, this could give Jeff Shi the chance to finally get rid of one of the current centre-backs at Molineux that hasn’t been a particularly prominent figure for Lage this season.

At 31-years-old, Willy Boly – who has played 137 total games for the club – has not made a single appearance in the Premier League this season due to some injury issues, which have apparently left the defender “frustrated” according to Lage, as well as the solid form of Saiss, Conor Coady and Max Kilman.

With that in mind, it could be worth Wolves bringing in the 6 foot 1 Tottenham loanee in the summer as a potential long-term replacement for Boly if they think it’s the right time to bring his time at the club to an end.

In other news: Forget Hwang: “Phenomenal” Wolves gem who won 77% duels was Lage’s shining light v AFC – opinion

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has now dropped an exciting Newcastle United summer transfer claim on Lucas Paqueta.

The Lowdown: On the radar

As per The Chronicle, the St. James’ Park faithful are thinking about whether to make a move for Paqueta in the summer, amid competition from fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal.

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They already signed another Brazilian midfielder from Lyon in Bruno Guimaraes in January, who has quickly become a fan favourite on Tyneside.

Now, there is a possibility that Paqueta could join up with his former teammate once more.

The Latest: O’Rourke claim

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke has claimed that Bruno could now help lure Paqueta to the North East:

“Obviously, it would help make things easier considering Newcastle and Lyon have dealt with each other quite recently.

“It also helps Paqueta, knowing that he’s got a fellow Brazilian and a fellow former team-mate at St James’ Park. It’ll be something that might encourage him to make the move like Bruno Guimaraes did and would definitely help him settle in if he were to make the move.

“Paqueta is a top player who has done well for Lyon and it just shows the way that Newcastle are looking to strive.

“They’re ambitious targets that they’ve got in the transfer market and I think Bruno seems like he’s fitted in nicely at Newcastle as well. That is definitely something that will encourage Paqueta to join him at St James’ Park.”

The Verdict: Exciting

It is an exciting prospect for the Toon Army to see both Bruno and Paqueta playing in the same Magpies team next season.

The former has already won over their hearts, with four goals, one assist and three man-of-the-match awards already to his name in the top flight (WhoScored), and the resurgence of Joelinton means that they could form an exciting Brazilian trio in the centre of midfield.

Paqueta is enjoying a brilliant campaign himself with Lyon, ranking as their best performer in Ligue 1 with eight goals and six assists to his name so far (WhoScored), and so the chemistry he has already built with Bruno could make them a formidable partnership next term, should he move to Tyneside.

In other news, find out who NUFC are now readying a summer offer for here!

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Tomas Soucek to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report by The Express, who claim that Antonio Conte is keeping a very close eye on the situation of the West Ham United central midfielder ahead of a potential summer swoop.

The report goes on to state that David Moyes’ side have informed Juventus – who are also believed to be keen on the 27-year-old – that it would require a fee of around £40m in order for them to part with the Czech Republic international.

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Finally, it is suggested that both Spurs and Juve could look to take advantage of the fact Soucek is yet to agree a new deal at the London Stadium, with the midfielder demanding an improvement on his current £70k-per-week wage, and talks between the player and club expected to be resumed at the end of the current campaign.

He’d be a “monster” for Conte

Considering just how impressive Soucek has been for West Ham following his £15m move to east London back in 2020, it is easy to see why Conte is said to be a huge admirer of the 27-year-old.

Indeed, over his 38 Premier League appearances in his first full season with the Hammers last time out, the £42m-rated midfielder was one of Moyes’ standout performers, scoring ten goals, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

The former Slavia Prague star also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, 2.7 clearances and winning a whopping 9.6 duels – at a success rate of 54% – per game.

These returns saw the player who Deji Faremi dubbed a “monster” average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as the Irons’ second-best player in the top flight of English football.

The 27-year-old has also played a key role in West Ham’s run to the semi-final of the Europa League this term, making an average of 1.6 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 2.5 clearances and winning 5.3 duels per fixture over his ten appearances in the competition – with these metrics seeing the 48-time capped international average a SofaScore match rating of 7.04.

As such, it is clear to see that Soucek is exactly the sort of hard-working player Conte loves to have in the heart of his side, leading us to believe that Fabio Paratici simply must stump up West Ham’s £40m asking price in order to get a deal for the midfielder over the line this summer.

AND in other news: Conte now plotting THFC bid for “refreshing” £34m-rated gem, he’d be a “great signing”

Mary Earps congratulated Manchester United loanee Grace Clinton after the 20-year-old marked her Lionesses debut with a goal.

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Earps sends message to Clinton on debut 20-year-old bags goal in Austria United keeper benched as Hampton given chance GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The goalkeeper had an unusual vantage point for England's 7-2 thrashing of Austria in Andalusia on Friday night with manager Sarina Wiegman opting to give Chelsea's Hannah Hampton some international experience.

But Earps was delighted by what she saw from the sidelines, in particular with Clinton, who earned a call up after some impressive performances on loan at Tottenham Hotspur this term.

AdvertisementWHAT MARY EARPS SAID

"So buzzing for you Grace Clinton. What a debut," posted the England number one.

Instagram @1maryearpsGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

While Earps sat out Friday night's romp in southern Spain, Wiegman made it clear that she will keep the gloves when England return to competitive action.

After a stellar year during which Earps swept up a bewildering number of individual trophies, England's number one has regularly paid tribute to Wiegman, emphasising the role that Dutch manager played in restoring her confidence after being dropped by the previous management team.

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WHAT NEXT FOR MARY EARPS?

The Lionesses face Italy in another friendly on Tuesday in Algeciras. Fans will be keen to see if Wiegman picks another experimental team or goes back to something resembling a full-strength line up.

A wrap of the third day of the third round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Manoj Tiwary’s occasional legbreaks got the crucial wicket of Parthiv Patel just before stumps•ESPNcricinfo LtdBengal closed in on their first outright win of the season through a nine-over burst between their declaration and stumps to remove all three Patels. Both their opening bowlers struck once each, their captain Manoj Tiwary celebrated his 191 earlier in the day with the scalp of his opposite number, and Gujarat’s last six were left to erase the deficit of 248 runs to avoid an innings defeat.Tiwary began the day at 102 not out, and Bengal were 40 runs behind Gujarat’s 260. With Anustup Majumdar, Tiwary took Bengal into lead, and with Laxmi Shukla he piled on the misery for Gujarat. Shukla scored 113 off 117 to give Bengal a total they would feel safe with.Given nine overs to survive before stumps, Gujarat faltered. Priyank Panchal was run out in the second over, Niraj Patel fell to Ashok Dinda in the third, and Smit Patel was bowled by Sourav Sarkar in the fourth. Just before stumps, Tiwary accounted for the most important Patel, Parthiv, getting him to edge to Wriddhiman Saha.
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The highlight of a shortened day in Bhubaneswar was that Railways managed to get Uday Kaul out for the first time this season. Otherwise, Punjab, who had taken a lead on day two, couldn’t find a way through Railways’ batting a second time around, and the match headed towards a draw.Uday added four to his overnight 96 before he fell to Sanjay Bangar, but Punjab managed a lead of 109. Amit Paunikar responded with an unbeaten century, but that only took the match towards a draw. However, if Railways manage the draw, they will take away one point from the game.The concern for Punjab was that Manpreet Gony bowled only 3.5 overs.
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Saurashtra, who had taken a lead on day two, surprised observers by not asking Hyderabad to bat for what could have been a tricky period before stumps. Saurashtra already had a lead of 344, and Hyderabad, a fragile line-up, are missing VVS Laxman in this match.Their approach on the third day, though, was surprising. They batted out the whole 90 overs for just 270 runs. Sagar Jogiyani scored 69 off 195. While wanting to secure the match might have been behind their go-slow in the morning, it was hard to find reasons for not declaring, especially after Jaydev Shah’s 55 off 67 balls had provided them momentum.
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In another match headed towards a draw, Madhya Pradesh’s Naman Ojha struck a century after Ishwar Pandey finished his second five-for. However, Rajasthan all but ensured three points despite a solid second-innings response from MP.Rajasthan began the day at 306 for 6, and batted 26.4 overs for just 73 runs. When they were eventually bowled out for a lead of 123 runs, the only possibility of a result was if Rajasthan could bowl MP out. That didn’t happen, and the teams were headed towards a drab final day.

Steven Smith is on the verge of becoming Australia’s newest Test spinner but his captain Ricky Ponting believes Smith’s bowling still has plenty of room for improvement after a disappointing tour match in Derby

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's12-Jul-2010Steven Smith is on the verge of becoming Australia’s newest Test spinner but his captain Ricky Ponting believes Smith’s bowling still has plenty of room for improvement after a disappointing tour match in Derby. Although Ponting is confident Smith can put in a strong performance at Lord’s, he had some concerns after the legspinner was handled with ease by Derbyshire’s batsmen last week.Smith collected 1 for 87 from 24 overs and his only wicket came late in the innings, after he struggled to find the right line and length for much of Friday. Pakistan have given Australian spinners plenty of wickets in recent years – Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill and Nathan Hauritz all have lower averages against Pakistan than overall – but it will be a big challenge for Smith to replicate those results.”Smithy has got a bit of work to do with his bowling yet,” Ponting said on Sunday. “He probably didn’t get out of the [Derby] game what he wanted the other day. He was a little bit off the mark there but you can understand that with a young guy playing his first game for Australia, a bit nervous and wanting to impress and wanting to do everything right.”We’ve worked a bit with him today on that, mainly on just the line that he bowled. I thought he bowled a little bit too straight to the right-handers down at Derby and got picked off through the leg-side a bit too much, so we’ve worked on that today [and on] a few other little things that will hopefully help him out.”Although Smith will be chosen primarily as a bowler, he will offer some serious batting depth at No. 8 and should provide a spark in the field. Ponting doesn’t believe Smith will be overawed by the occasion of becoming Australia’s 415th Test player – Tim Paine will be regarded as the 414th – despite his below-par bowling in the warm-up game.”He’s a great kid to have around,” Ponting said. “He’s very aggressive and you can see in the way he bats that’s pretty much the attitude he has with all of his cricket. If he does get that opportunity to play I think he’ll acquit himself nicely.”Shane Warne is another who believes there is much room for improvement in Smith. Warne would have preferred Smith to gain greater first-class experience before making his Test debut, but he is confident that Smith has all the deliveries a legspinner needs.”I think he has all the toys,” Warne told the . “But he is pretty raw and is a work in progress is nowhere near the finished product. He will almost certainly have some good days and some bad days. He will have to learn his craft on the run, while playing Test cricket. That is pretty difficult to do. But as long as he is patient with developing slowly I am okay with that. “Regardless of how Smith is handled by Pakistan, Ponting expects to draw on his part-time spinners for plenty of overs during the two Tests. It’s rare to see Simon Katich send down many deliveries in the nets but at Lord’s on Sunday he was given a long stint with the ball, and had his New South Wales team-mate Usman Khawaja noticeably perplexed.Katich’s left-arm wrist-spin has been used sparingly in recent years, but he has a knack of collecting wickets and since the start of 2009 has taken eight at an average of 17.25, having been called on in only six Tests. Given Pakistan’s poor record against Australian spinners over the past couple of decades, Katich could be a useful weapon.”The only reason he hasn’t bowled much in the last couple of years is he’s had a bad shoulder ,” Ponting said. “But since he’s been here in England he’s actually bowled a bit more than normal and his shoulder feels good, so whenever he’s feeling good we’ll try to get what overs out of him that we can.”I think him and [Marcus] North will both bowl quite a bit in the series, just for the sheer fact we’ve got a lot of guys coming back from [injury]. Mitch has come back from a pretty long lay-off and Hilfenhaus from injury, so we’d better look after the quicks and be mindful of how much they are doing through the series.”

The partners of the newly formed entity Cricket Holdings America are hoping to start a Twenty20 league in the USA for the summer of 2012 according to USA Cricket Association President Gladstone Dainty

Peter Della Penna22-Dec-2010The partners of the newly formed entity Cricket Holdings America – New Zealand and American cricket boards – are hoping to start a Twenty20 league in the USA for the summer of 2012, the USA Cricket Association President Gladstone Dainty has said. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, Dainty said the group is hoping that more Twenty20 matches played by New Zealand in Florida during 2011 and 2012 will provide the platform to kickstart a successful domestic league in the United States.”We are looking at the schedules, looking at the room, looking at the ICC’s Future Tours schedule,” Dainty said. “We’re certainly looking at playing games in 2011 and leading up to the T20 league in 2012, but they’re going to be different fixtures. The commercial company is anticipating that’s going to be the year [2012], somewhere in between June and August, to have that T20 league going.”The number of teams has not been finalised, but, according to Dainty, it will be a minimum of four and a maximum of eight. The cities that each team will be based out of also remain undecided but Dainty said that New York is a key destination for the league to bring in fans and that other cities, including Fort Lauderdale in Florida, will be utilised.”The New Zealand games initially I think are going to be in Florida, but the for T20 type games I think they are looking at different locations. New York is very high on the radar.”Currently, the only ICC approved stadium venue is at the Central Broward Regional Park in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Lauderhill. It will be difficult to build and upgrade venues to get them up to ICC standards in time for 2012, but Dainty said that they will make do with what they have available for the time being.”I don’t think the standards [for Twenty20 leagues] are as high as Test cricket or ODI cricket. And especially with T20 games evolving and professional teams, not international teams, playing, I don’t know if that strict standard applies.” Asked if the investors are considering playing league games outside of Florida on artificial wickets, Dainty said, “A decision has not been made on that, but I think that whatever they do, they’re really not going to try to give a fake product. It’s going to be an authentic product.”I don’t think any of them are suitable right now but I’m sure there are lots of venues out there which we can make suitable with alterations.”As for the ownership stake in Cricket Holdings America and the money that it will generate for USACA, Dainty said the contract was signed for 10 years with the first three years guaranteed. USACA will get US$2 million per year in licensing fees for the first three years.”After three years, USACA will negotiate to see if the money is going up or down.” Another source reported that USACA also received an additional US$3 million at the start of the deal in guaranteed share sales, meaning the organisation has US$5 million at its disposal heading into 2011. USACA will also be able to collect profits for other rights deals signed as part of its ownership stake in Cricket Holdings America.”USACA has 31% of the company. So in the case of any profit shares, USACA is getting 31% of the deal. USACA also has the majority of members of the board under the corporation, the LLC.” There will be seven board members for Cricket Holdings America, with four of those seven representing USACA. How those four will be appointed has not been decided. USACA also has an option to buy out the other stakeholders in Cricket Holdings America after 10 years.

Middlesex’s bowlers hit back after their batsmen collapsed in spectacular fashion on a day when 21 wickets fell at Derby and only one player scored fifty

27-Aug-2010
ScorecardMiddlesex’s bowlers hit back after their batsmen collapsed in spectacular fashion on a day when 21 wickets fell at Derby and only one player scored fifty.The visitors lost their last seven wickets for 22 to be bowled out for 263 but Derbyshire were then skittled for 182 with Pedro Collins and Shaun Udal each taking four wickets.That gave Middlesex a first innings lead of 81 but they then lost Scott Newman for the second time in the day and Mark Footitt struck twice in successive overs to reduce them to 71 for 4 at the close, a lead of 152.There was certainly nothing in the pitch or the overhead conditions to blame for the dramatic clatter of wickets which began when Newman pulled Robin Peterson to deep midwicket after adding only seven to his first day 119. The rest of the Middlesex innings was a procession with five batsmen failing to register double figures as the Derbyshire bowlers preyed on poor shot selection.Three wickets fell with the total on 245 and Collins’ wild carve to third man to bring the innings to a close summed up what had been a lamentable display by the visitors. Derbyshire fared no better despite Chris Rogers making 75, his highest Championship score since early June, and they were two wickets down by lunch with Collins bowling Chesney Hughes with the penultimate ball of the session.The home side lost their last six wickets for 60 runs with at least four batsmen contributing to their downfall as the game advanced rapidly despite the loss of four sessions to rain. Derbyshire’s hopes of getting close to Middlesex’s total disappeared when Rogers was bowled by Udal for 75 and only some lusty blows from Steffan Jones, who hit the veteran spinner for two sixes in an over, gave them a measure of respectability.Udal had the last word when Jones was stumped giving him the charge but Middlesex were soon back in familiar territory as Tim Groenewald and Graham Wagg trapped both openers lbw in the first eight overs of their second innings.Owais Shah and Dawid Malan brought up the fifty before Footitt tempted them into rash strokes to leave both teams with a chance of winning a game that had looked destined for a draw after the loss of so much time to bad weather.