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Baartman successfully defended seven runs in the 20th over to give SA a stirring come-from-behind win

Madushka Balasuriya14-Jun-20243:06

Morkel: Nepal’s bowling made life difficult for SA

It was heartbreak for Nepal and their fans in Kingstown, as they fell short by only one run against South Africa in a nail-biting encounter.Fans and players alike were in tears since the result also eliminated Nepal from Super Eight contention at the T20 World Cup 2024. South Africa made a clean sweep of the group stage with four wins in four, riding on Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4 for 19 that dragged them back with a stunning 18th over.But for so very long, the game seemed Nepal’s to lose. Their spinners had spun a web to limit South Africa to a subpar 115 for 7 – even on a difficult, turning track – and then with the bat had brought the equation down to 25 needed off 30 balls, with seven wickets in hand.Related

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• Scenarios: How can Bangladesh, Netherlands still qualify?

Shamsi though, in for Keshav Maharaj, turned the game with a double-wicket 18th over, including that of the set Aasif Sheikh (42 off 49). The dots that followed raised the required rate, but two powerful late strikes from Sompal Kami and 18-year-old Gulsan Jha took the game down to two off two balls. But Ottneil Baartman bowled two dots as Nepal failed to get bat on the ball both times, and a desperate attempt at a last-gasp run left them inches short in the end.

SA’s overly cautious start

Possibly scarred by their earlier outings in the tournament, South Africa began the game a touch too cautiously, and in the process batted conservatively when conditions for batting were at their best.While their 38 for 1 in the powerplay was their best of the tournament, South Africa were guilty of waiting for loose deliveries instead of putting the bowlers off their lines early on. Nepal for their part, rarely strayed in their lines and lengths and once the spinners took hold, they never looked back.

Nepal spinners make SA crumble

Sandeep Lamichhane’s first delivery spat 6.2 degrees as it gripped and turned past Reeza Hendricks’ defence, and that set the tone as South Africa rarely looked comfortable against the turning ball from that point on. While Lamichhane would end wicketless, his probing spell went for just 18 runs in his first outing of the tournament in Nepal’s first game outside the USA. But in Dipendra Singh Airee (3 for 21) and Kushal Bhurtel (4 for 19), Nepal had enough overs of spin to exploit the conditions, with the pair accounting for all seven South African wickets.2:32

Morkel: South Africa need to have more intensity with bat

South Africa did their best to negotiate the conditions with a steady approach, but despite run-a-ball stands of 22 and 46 for the first two wickets, they struggled to up their gears. Only Tristan Stubbs, who scored 27 in 18 balls from No. 8, scored at a strike rate of over 100.In all, Nepal bowled spin for 14 overs, including the final over of the innings. There Bhurtel grabbed two wickets for nine runs, and Nepal had conceded only 58 runs in the back end for six wickets, after conceding only 57 in the first ten.

Sah, Aasif steady the chase

Nepal were provided an early reprieve when Kagiso Rabada dropped a catch. After that, Nepal opted for risk-free cricket as they lumbered to 32 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket. With spin playing such a pivotal role though, Shamsi’s introduction was always going to prove critical in the game and so it proved.In just his first over he disturbed the stumps of both Bhurtel and Rohit Paudel to bring South Africa roaring back into the game. After seeing out Shamsi’s next over, both Aasif and Anil Sah sought to rebuild. Sah was the first to raise the ante as a pair of boundaries off Anrich Nortje boosted their rate, before a six off Shamsi brought about genuine belief of a win. Sheikh joined in an over later taking Rabada for six and four, with the pair reaching their fifty partnership off just 36 deliveries.

Shamsi’s 18th-over heist

With just one frontline spinner in the XI, South Africa knew they’d have to time Shamsi’s reintroduction perfectly. Aiden Markram, with his part-time offbreaks, had ended the Sah-Sheikh stand, but Airee was determined to stick in with the set Sheikh.But enter Shamsi. His third delivery of the 18th turned down the leg side, but Airee’s attempted pull got a feather touch to Quinton de Kock. So light was the touch that Airee reviewed thinking he hadn’t touched it. Shamsi then grabbed the big fish off his final delivery, ripping one through Aasif’s bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. By the time he was done, Nepal needed 16 off 12.

Baartman holds his nerve

Shamsi’s over was backed up by Nortje, who bowled four consecutive dots to start the penultimate over – including one which took off the top of Kushal Malla’s middle stump. That left Nepal needing 16 off eight, with them needing at least one big hit before it got too late.Kami then unleashed a monstrous 105-metre pull that sent the ball sailing out of the stands to bring the equation down to eight off the final over. When the teenager Jha found a boundary over cover to make it four runs off three balls, the Nepal fans stood up, with their phones out, to capture a potentially historic moment.A hard-run two off the next delivery showed that Nepal understood the brief precisely, but a pair of expertly executed slower bouncers by Baartman off the final two deliveries proved too good to get away.A desperate run off a bye off the final ball might have led to a Super Over, but as the ball deflected off Jha, it was picked up by Heinrich Klaasen lurking near the stumps and he flicked to the non-striker’s end. Jha was short and Nepal were out.

A week’s holiday in Dubai gives batter chance to clear his mind after Test series in NZ

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2023Ben Duckett says that he is committed to taking every available opportunity to represent England across all three formats, after crediting the laissez-faire attitude of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in the Test team for his successful return to international cricket this winter.By his own admission, Duckett, now 28, “probably wasn’t ready for international cricket” back in 2016-17, when he made his Test and ODI debuts on England’s tours of Bangladesh and India. Seven years later, however, he’s so relaxed about the experience, he was even able to prepare for last week’s return to the white-ball set-up by spending a couple of days “on a sun lounger” in Dubai.That brief stint of R&R came as the Test squad disbanded after their thrilling one-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington, which was also Duckett’s first defeat in five appearances since his recall for the Pakistan tour in December. In that time he has averaged an impressive 56.44 at the top of the order, and was enthusiastic about carrying that same mindset into this week’s first T20I against Bangladesh in Chattogram.”It’s ridiculously different,” Duckett said of his experience in the Test set-up. “The way that they make everyone feel is something that I never thought would be the case in Test cricket. It’s almost like you’re playing a friendly, you’re actually going out and playing a Test match and it’s that relaxed, and that’s how you’re going to get players to perform at their best.”The first thing Baz said to me in Pakistan was: ‘Just enjoy it, you’re going to get a good run’. To hear that as an opening batsman before your first Test back makes you not nervous and you can go out there and play your way rather than looking for a score.”And I think the big thing in that dressing-room is – whatever the noise is outside that dressing room, no one cares. It’s everything in that dressing room and almost you’ve got that backing, it feels like there’s a squad of players now that seems like they’re going to keep for a little while, especially while things are going well. Previously, you’re fearing for every single game, if you get no runs, you might get dropped the next game.”Duckett took a similarly phlegmatic attitude to his innings of 20 from 13 balls in England’s six-wicket loss in the first T20I. “I tried to stick to my strengths. It went all right and then I missed one,” he said.”The one thing I’ve been lucky with is, because of how I play, it doesn’t really change throughout the formats. You see these guys who are whacking the ball out of the ground and then they’ve got to go and play Test cricket and it’s a massive difference, where my mentality in all three formats is to see ball, hit ball. And now against spin, sweeping it both ways in all formats – and I’ve got the full backing from all of the squads.”I’ve matured as a cricketer,” he added. “It’s realising what works for me, understanding what my strengths are. Seven years ago I might have tried to hit Shakib [Al Hasan] for six over long-on, now I know all I have to do is hit the ball in front of square leg and it’s four runs. The small taste I had back then, I was very young and probably wasn’t ready. I think that comes with age and most batters are at their best when they get to the age of 28, 29.”Related

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Duckett is one of only four England players to have featured in all three formats this winter, and it’s been quite the round-the-world trip – encompassing campaigns in Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand and now Bangladesh – which is all the more reason why he had no qualms about dropping everything for a week and lying low with his girlfriend in the UAE between red- and white-ball campaigns, rather than fretting about the challenge of switching formats.His long wait for a second chance with England was also a key factor in his decision to opt out of the big-money opportunities on the franchise circuit this winter – including the on-going Pakistan Super League, which caused a number of England’s players, including Alex Hales, to withdraw their availability for the Bangladesh series.”I spoke to someone a month ago about people resting and pulling out of stuff,” he said. “For me, the focus is on the chance to play all three formats for England. And that’s going to be my focus for as long as I’m in the squad.”Don’t get me wrong, if I’ve got a month next winter and I get offered a lot of money, I’m probably going to go and play in it, as most of us would. But you can play all these leagues around the world in a few years’ time, right now I’m solely focused on playing as much for England as I can. That break I had was potentially a good thing for me, and it’s made me so hungry now to take every single chance I get.”

The competition was originally scheduled for 2021 in Bangladesh but was deferred to 2023 owing to the pandemic

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2022Geoff Allardice, the ICC CEO, has confirmed that the inaugural edition of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup is “very much on the cards” and that the board will be seeking potential hosts for the tournament in the next few months. The competition was originally scheduled for 2021 in Bangladesh but was deferred to 2023 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.”The Under-19 Women’s World Cup is in the schedule for January 2023,” Allardice said. “Over the next couple of months, ahead of our April board meetings, we will be looking for potential hosts for that tournament with the hosts to be decided at the next board meetings. It’s very much on the cards for next year.”Allardice said that the qualification events for the same will be conducted this year and the process, which will be similar to the Men’s Under-19 World Cup, will be finalised before April.”We are looking at a similar structure to the Men’s Under-19 World Cup in terms of the number of teams and the opportunity for associate members to participate,” he said. “This has been discussed for a couple of years now and Covid has postponed when we were going to play the first edition of it. What that has done has given some countries more time to get their programmes in place and get their squad structures organised, so I think the qualification will take place during 2022.”The decision to introduce a Women’s Under-19 World Cup was made in October 2019, when Shashank Manohar was the chairman. The ICC release had stated that it was looking to conduct the global event every two years.

He took 2-19 and then slammed a half-century opening the batting to quell Guyana Amazon Warriors

Report by Saurabh Somani18-Aug-2020
17 overs per sideThere was rain, rustiness and a remarkable display by a bonafide T20 great, as Trinbago Knight Riders overcame a stumble to win the opening game of CPL 2020 against Guyana Amazon Warriors. With most players getting back to cricket after layoffs longer than they’ve ever had before, the cricket was patchy in parts – but that didn’t apply to Sunil Narine. With ball in hand he showed off new tricks, and with the bat, proved just how valuable he could be for a team with the license to go for it at the top of the order.Persistent rain meant the game began 90 minutes after the scheduled start, and was reduced to 17 overs a side. A cloudy sky and a shortened match made it a straightforward decision for Kieron Pollard to bowl first on winning the toss, but he and the Knight Riders would have hoped to chase a bit less than the 144 for 5 that the Warriors got, riding on the back of Shimron Hetmyer’s 63* off 44. However, Narine – who had taken 2 for 19 in four overs – came back out to slam 50 off 28 in the chase, which provided enough of a buffer to account for a late collapse as the Knight Riders won by four wickets, with two balls to spare.The return of Narine, the mystery bowlerHe has apparently spent the Covid-19 enforced lockdown perfecting new skills, because Narine unveiled a new bowling action in his first match back. He did away with any sort of load-up, instead hiding the ball behind his hip as he ran in to bowl and delivering from there itself. He had not been easy to read for batsmen in any case, and now proved even more difficult. Crucially, he didn’t lose any bite or accuracy with the new action. He bowled two overs in the Powerplay (reduced to five overs) and then two in the middle, getting the important wickets of opener Chandrapaul Hemraj and a resurgent Ross Taylor. Narine gave up runs at 4.75 an over, and no other bowler went below 7.Hetmyer carries WarriorsWarriors had a tepid start, with Hetmyer walking in to bat in the first over itself after Brandon King had fallen for a duck. He took his time settling in, preferring to knock the ball around rather than go for big shots. The pitch too wasn’t one where it was easy to start rapidly. Hetmyer assessed that and gradually started stepping on the pace, eventually finishing with a flurry that took Warriors to a more than competitive total. Taylor had provided the initial impetus after two early wickets, which allowed Hetmyer to bide his time. Importantly, he made it count.No rustiness for NarineIn the first four overs, Narine faced only four balls as Lendl Simmons ate up deliveries and was unable to get on with it. There was nothing to show that the mounting rate and not feeling bat on ball affected Narine in any way though, as he blazed merrily away once Simmons fell. As with several Narine top-order innings, this one had its share of balls not always middled, but it also had some amazingly struck shots. Narine gave the Knight Riders enough impetus with his half-century that despite some late strikes by Imran Tahir and an impressive Naveen-ul-Haq, they had the chase within reach at all times.

The shoulder injury is not as serious as earlier expected, and the middle-order batsman is likely to be fully fit in time for the team’s departure

Nagraj Gollapudi08-May-2019Kedar Jadhav’s IPL may have come to a premature end because of a shoulder injury, but his World Cup spot is likely to remain intact. ESPNcricinfo understands that the Indian selection committee, led by MSK Prasad, has been told that Jadhav’s injury might not be as serious as was earlier feared.With the ICC’s playing conditions for the World Cup allowing teams to make changes to their preliminary squads of 15 until May 23, it is believed that Prasad’s panel will wait till as close as possible to the Indian team’s departure before naming a replacement for Jadhav, if they are forced to.Last Sunday, playing in Chennai Super Kings’ final league match in the IPL, against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, Jadhav hurt his left shoulder while fielding in the deep. He left the field immediately and did not return.It was understood at the time that Jadhav’s IPL was likely over, and on Tuesday evening, Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the news to the host broadcaster on the sidelines of his team’s Qualifier 1 face-off against Mumbai Indians, which they lost.”Well, he is out for us, and then it is just about being accurate with that assessment,” Fleming said. “He was going through the scans and working with Patrick Farhart (the Indian team physiotherapist), so there’s obviously one eye now on the World Cup and getting him fit.”But from our point of view, he is certainly out of the tournament.”The selection panel is understood to have received an update from Farhart, which indicates that Jadhav is likely to be fully fit before the Indian squad departs for the World Cup on May 22. India play their first match at the World Cup on June 5, against South Africa.In case Jadhav can’t make the trip, the selectors will pick a replacement from the standby list of five players: Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, Navdeep Saini and Ishant Sharma. Incidentally, Saini is also part of the quartet of fast bowlers who will travel with the squad to the World Cup to function as net bowlers, the other three being Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.

A lack of big contributions from the line-up, a strong Australian attack and surfaces that are expected to be drier and more abrasive than usual may force the hosts to avoid thinking about a fourth fast bowler

Firdose Moonda07-Mar-2018South Africa are likely to keep their combination of seven batsmen for the second Test against Australia which starts on Friday. Though they had opted for a fourth fast bowler at the expense of a batsman in the previous series against India, a lack of big contributions from their line-up, a strong Australian bowling attack and surfaces that are expected to be drier and more abrasive than usual have forced the hosts to rethink their approach.St George’s Park is traditionally the slowest surface out of the big Test venues in South Africa, and is generally where spinners find some success. It is also where reverse swing has been a factor in the past and, with Mitchell Starc showing how effectively he could make use of that in Durban, the need for an extra batsman is apparent. “When you look at the nature of the pitch and the Aussie line-up, you feel like you need an extra batter,” coach Ottis Gibson said. “We bowled them out twice but we weren’t able to get enough runs, especially in the first innings. You can’t bat that badly in your first innings against a top team like Australia and expect to win the Test match. Even though we gave ourselves a chance of winning in the end, the poor batting in the first innings really cost us.”After being shot out for 162, with the big names not performing and the lower order collapsing, South Africa were behind the game from day two. Gibson said they simply had to “bat better” as the series moves on and the second innings in Durban showed they are capable of doing so. Aiden Markram led the resistance with a career-best 143, Theunis de Bruyn boshed an aggressive 36 and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock returned to form with a stubborn 83.With the places of seniors Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis secure, South Africa could go in with the same line-up, however they may give consideration to reserve batsman Temba Bavuma, if he has recovered from injury. Bavuma suffered a broken finger earlier in the year and has not played franchise cricket since January 17. He featured in a club match in a fitness test of sorts before this series, but was ruled out of Durban because he was not fully recovered.Gibson revealed Bavuma may be able to play in Port Elizabeth, but did not say at whose expense. “Temba is being assessed by medical staff. Last week he felt he wasn’t 100%. He’s had an extra week now and is hitting more balls in the nets. Hopefully he’ll be closer to playing.”Similarly, the extra quick in the squad, Lungi Ngidi may have to wait a little longer for his turn after an impressive debut against India. South Africa’s struggles to nip out the Australian tail has led to some calls for Ngidi to play but Gibson has faith in the current pack to do the job. “With regards to the lower-order bowling, they have got Starc and you’ve seen how he has bowled to our tail. He has been aggressive but he’s also pitched the ball up and hit the stumps. We have Rabada, even Keshav bowled well. We’ve got to find a way to get the tail out and it might be with the spinner coming into it to try and disrupt their tail that way.”

Islamabad United were off to a slow start in the inaugural edition of the PSL, but gathered momentum at the right time. The question is, can an aging squad defend their title?

Danyal Rasool08-Feb-20170:50

Islamabad United’s strengths and weaknesses

Inaugural season results
After initially looking like the poorest side in the competition in 2016, Islamabad United mastered that fabled Pakistani ability: peaking at the right time. Four heavy defeats in the first six games must have had Misbah’s men fearing the worst, but that indifferent start was followed by a remarkable turnaround in form. They edged a tight contest against Karachi Kings, and won their last five games in what ended up being a romp to the PSL’s inaugural title.Team assessment
Having retained 17 players from last season’s successful campaign, Islamabad United appear to want to stick to their winning formula. The aggressive English wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Duckett has been added as a supplementary player, who is likely to help not only with the strike rate, but, at 22, the average age as well. An aging team might be a concern, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin all over 35 years old. The wealth of experience they bring cannot be underestimated, but this is a team that wasn’t considered extremely dynamic even when they won the title last year.Moreover, the leading wicket-taker of last year’s edition, Andre Russell, has been suspended for a doping violation. While Steven Finn has been drafted in to replace him, the team from the capital are likely to miss the Jamaican’s explosiveness with the bat.However, Islamabad do possess a handful of exciting young players for whom this tournament represents an excellent opportunity to realise their potential. Sharjeel Khan is arguably the hottest property in Pakistan’s T20 side since his prolific PSL last year, a 62-ball 117 in the third-qualifying final showcasing the threat he poses. Rumman Raees, whose rise has been rather less meteoric, will also be looking to build on a stellar tournament in 2016, where he took eight wickets with a tidy economy rate of 6.79.Key overseas player
Sam Billings had a disappointing PSL last year, but he has become a fixture in England’s limited-overs squad (if not the playing XI) since. He represented the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash this season, playing just five games due to international duty, but of his four innings, he was the Sixers’ top-scorer in three. An international T20 strike rate of 154.65 owes much to a 25-ball 53 in Dubai in a Man-of- the-Match winning performance against Pakistan. This tournament will be played in the same conditions, on the same grounds. Pair him with Sharjeel at the top of the order, and we might find out what Powerplay really means.Under the radar local lad
Hussain Talat was in top form in the Regional One-Day Cup in January. The left-hand batsman scored 319 runs for FATA, including two centuries, at an average of just under 80 (despite one duck). According to one of Islamabad United’s managers Rehan-ul-Haq, Talat is rated highly by everyone at the franchise; people there are particularly impressed by his ability to make scoring quick runs look easy. With a solid T20 average (28.77) and a strike rate of 111.15, this PSL could be a stepping stone to bigger things for the 20 year old.After a slow start to the inaugural PSL, Islamabad United peaked at the right time•PSL

Availability
As previously mentioned, Andre Russell has been banned for a year due to a doping violation. He was replaced by Steven Finn. There are no injury concerns.Coaching staff
Dean Jones (head coach), Wasim Akram (team director), Tauseef Ahmed (assistant coach), Johan Botha (fielding coach), Rehan-ul-Haq and Hassan Cheema (managers)Squad
Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shane Watson, Steven Finn, Samuel Badree, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Saeed Ajmal, Asif Ali, Rumman Raees, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Hussain Talat. Supplementary players: Dwayne Smith, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Zohaib Khan

Allan Donald has backed his countrymen to come out on top in the battle of the pace attacks during the Test series against England

Firdose Moonda23-Dec-2015Having come off defeats in spin-friendly conditions, both South Africa and England will feel more comfortable in surroundings where their quick bowlers should prosper. The head-to-head between the two pace attacks will be one of the fascinating contests of the next month but, unsurprisingly, Allan Donald, South Africa’s former bowling coach, is clear which pack he is backing.For Donald, it is the support that South Africa have available to Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel which gives them the upper hand. They are missing Vernon Philander due to injury, but England are also likely to have their depth tested early in the series with James Anderson unlikely to be fit for Durban and Donald believes South Africa have greater firepower below the new-ball pair.”In their own conditions and when they are firing as a unit, the South African attack is the best out there,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s not just about what we know, that Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and James Anderson and Stuart Broad are world-class bowlers, it also about the rest of the attack. Steven Finn, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes have not played Test cricket in South Africa and so it will be up to them to show what they are capable of in these conditions.”Contrastingly, South Africa’s supporting seamers, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada have enjoyed significant success in their own conditions. Abbott racked up figures only his franchise coach Lance Klusener has bettered on Test debut when he took 7 for 29 in his first match against Pakistan while Rabada broke the first-class record last season for the best match figures when he took 14 for 105 for Lions against Dolphins.Although Rabada and Abbott have just eight Test caps between them, Donald believes South Africa’s depth will help them dominate. “They will definitely miss Vernon because in home conditions, when there is something in the wicket, he will find it and exploit it but Kyle Abbott has been consistent and applied pressure every time he has played and Rabada looks better every time we see him.”Even outside of the current squad, there are guys putting their hands up. Chris Morris has been good and we should not forget about Hardus Viljoen. He has pace and he a is a big, aggressive boy. There’s a lot of talent in the tank.”But Donald is under no illusions that the bowlers are not the only ones responsible for South Africa’s ability to compete in the series. After the way they were defeated in India, Donald knows that the onus will be on the batsmen to start the redemption. “Whatever England brings, South Africa must respond with the bat,” he said. “We’ve got to score big runs and make England work for every wicket.”That sounds similar to what South Africa did in 2012, when Donald was part of the coaching staff that oversaw the team’s rise to No.1. He revealed that then the idea was to target England’s premier pacemen. “We said we want Anderson and Broad to bowl a lot of overs,” Donald explained. “We want to wear the rest down so that they have to keep bringing their main bowlers back.”England would be wise to adopt a similar mindset in this series, trying to make sure that Hashim Amla has to keep returning to Steyn – who may still have to shake off rush post-injury – and Morkel. Steyn has not bowled competitively since the first week of November, when he sustained groin injury in the Mohali Test. That was the eighth injury Steyn has suffered since June 2013 and the second groin strain and there are fears he may be in decline but Donald does not think so.”I’ve heard some things about how it could be the start of the end and I don’t think that’s true. I think you will write him off at your peril. He will bounce back hard,” Donald said. “As much as South Africa missed him in India, I think it was a blessing in disguise because he is really fresh and hungry now I spoke to him a few days ago and he wants to make this series a big one.”Donald admitted Steyn’s inactivity over the last few weeks is not ideal but said quality would trump quantity of balls bowled. “It is a concern that he has not bowled in a while because you want overs under the belt and miles in the leg but a champion is always a champion.”And that is exactly why Donald thinks the South African team will be formidable foes for England over the next six weeks. “It’s not nice getting thumped 3-nil and they will be carrying scars,” Donald said “That makes it very important how they start because if they start badly it could be a long series but this team is too good not to stand up.”

Kent’s stand-in captain Geraint Jones breathed new life into the third day at Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl with a challenging declaration after the follow-on had been saved.

07-Jun-2013
ScorecardBen Harmison’s innings was essential in helping Kent save the follow-on•Getty Images

Kent’s stand-in captain Geraint Jones breathed new life into the third day at Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl with a challenging declaration after the follow-on had been saved.Hampshire ended the day on 98 for 3 in their second innings, a lead of 232 after Jones had declared 134 behind in a bold bid to end his team’s winless start to the season.The whole of the first session was washed out by heavy rain but play resumed after the lunch break with Kent on 149 for 4, still needing 157 to avoid the humiliation of following on. Their plight worsened seven runs later when Brendan Nash edged an outswinger from James Tomlinson into the slips where the reliable Liam Dawson pouched the opportunity.But that brought Darren Stevens to the crease and in a belligerent stand of 102 in 20 overs with Ben Harmison, potential embarrassment was averted comfortably.Stevens lifted Tomlinson for six while taking 14 from the over and Kent had no problems until at 258, Stevens played across the line to the fourth ball of James Vince’s first over. Stevens had made 60 and Kent were well on their way to safety even though Harmison departed five runs short of the follow-on target, driving David Balcombe to Danny Briggs at square cover.Harmison hit a six off Liam Dawson and nine fours from 121 balls during his innings of 63 and at 321 for 7, Jones called a halt to the Kent innings.Hampshire, not much better off with only one win in six matches, made a poor start to their second innings, losing James Adams and Michael Carberry with only 12 on the board. Adams went in the second over, caught behind by Jones off Matt Coles for his third duck in four innings and Charlie Shreck had Carberry leg before in the third.First innings century-maker Neil McKenzie carried on where he left off with six fours in his quick-fire 27 before chopping a delivery from Coles into his stumps. That saw Hampshire 53 for 3 but Dawson and Vince saw their team through to stumps with an unbroken stand of 45 to set up the prospect of an intriguing last day.

Yorkshire’s new Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc made a great impression on his debut with 3 for 28 but it was Gary Ballance’s 77 that propelled the home side to a seven-wicket win against Derbyshire at Headingley.

20-May-2012
ScorecardYorkshire’s new Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc made a great impression on his debut with 3 for 28 but it was Gary Ballance’s 77 that propelled the home side to a seven-wicket win against Derbyshire at Headingley.Ballance, in prime form at the moment, timed his innings to perfection as Yorkshire reached their 220-run target with 14 balls to spare. He faced 60 deliveries and thumped six fours and four sixes, putting on 69 for the third wicket with Phil Jaques and an unbroken 70 for the fourth with Joe Root.Ballance has now scored 121 not out, 76 and 77 not out in his last three innings and his last three partnerships with Jaques have seen them add 203, 149 and 69 together.All of Yorkshire’s five batsmen made telling contributions, skipper Andrew Gale (33) and Adam Lyth (31) sharing an opening stand of 56 and Jaques and Root later weighing in with 47 and 28 not out respectively. But it was Ballance and Root who made it look easy for Yorkshire in the end by cracking 41 off three overs to leave the scores level at the start of the 38th over.Ballance began the onslaught by striking Garry Park for consecutive sixes backward of square leg, following up by steering him for four to third man and Root joined in the spree with two successive boundaries off Tim Groenewald.Yorkshire’s target turned out to be a lot easier than appeared likely while Derbyshire’s openers, Chesney Hughes and Martin Guptill, were putting together a rousing partnership of 137 in 25 overs. But once they had been parted, Yorkshire tightened the screw to such an extent that Derbyshire could only add 82 from 15 overs, during which time they lost eight wickets.Hughes was first to go, bowled leg stump by Moin Ashraf for 50 from 73 balls with four boundaries, but it was Guptill who provided the real firepower with his 89 from 83 deliveries with four fours and five sixes, most of them coming from full-blooded drives.Guptill was third out when he tried to force Anthony McGrath outside off-stump and wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy held on to the catch.Confident batting by Hughes and Guptill had denied Starc a wicket in his opening burst of five overs but he came back strongly later on to claim 3 for 11 in his second spell. His first wicket for Yorkshire was that of Ross Whiteley who was held on the cover boundary by Lyth before Dan Redfern was caught behind attempting an audacious reverse paddle. Starc struck again with the final ball of the innings which knocked back Tom Poynton’s stumps as he went for a wild swing.Former Yorkshire all-rounder David Wainwright, who moved to Derbyshire in the close season, received a generous ovation from the home fans when he went out to bat and his unbeaten 13 included a cheeky six off Iain Wardlaw over the top of Brophy’s head. Wardlaw proved expensive, conceding 63 runs.Yorkshire omitted their out-of-form leg-spinner Adil Rashid but off-spinner Azeem Rafiq enjoyed only limited success in his place. He went for 44 runs from his eight overs and his only wicket came when he held on to a smart low return catch from Durston.