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George Hankins’ resistance in vain as Worcestershire seal first victory of Bob Willis Trophy

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2020Worcestershire 428 for 5 (D’Oliveira 91, Mitchell 80, Libby 77) and 113 for 2 beat Gloucestershire 267 and 270 (Hankins 69, Dent 67, Leach 4-70) by eight wicketsJoe Leach took four wickets in a devastating five-over spell to propel Worcestershire to an ultimately comfortable eight-wicket victory over neighbours Gloucestershire in the Bob Willis Trophy Central Group.Afforded hope by George Hankins’ battling innings of 69, Gloucestershire were 73 runs ahead with four second-innings wickets in hand when Worcestershire’s captain took the second new ball.Sensing one final opportunity to force the issue, Leach took matters into his own hands, single-handedly eradicating the tail and finishing with figures of 4 for 70 as the home side were dismissed for 270.Set 110 to win in 35 overs, Worcestershire reached their target with 8.5 overs to spare, Tom Fell and Jack Haynes staging an unbroken stand of 53 for the third wicket after Daryl Mitchell and Jake Libby had given the chase a sound start.Commencing the final day on 135 for 3, still 26 runs behind, Gloucestershire were indebted to Hankins, whose patient four-hour vigil occupied 195 balls, yielded 69 runs and served to frustrate Worcestershire’s ambition. Together with nightwatchman Josh Shaw, who traded almost exclusively in boundaries in making 21, Hankins first helped Gloucestershire eradicate their overnight arrears.No sooner were the hosts back in credit though, than Shaw succumbed, trapped lbw by Josh Tongue. Undeterred, Hankins continued to apply himself to the business of steady accumulation, going to 50 via 147 balls, his innings a perfect template for what was required in the circumstances.No doubt encouraged by memories of Gloucestershire’s first-innings collapse, Leach continued to ring the changes, and his imaginative decision to call upon occasional bowler Daryl MItchell paid instant dividends when Ryan Higgins played at and missed a straight ball that rapped him on the back pad.Worcestershire certainly fancied their chances when removing the hitherto adhesive Hankins shortly after lunch, Tongue cleverly setting him up and then pinning him lbw in his crease for 69. With him went Gloucestershire’s best chance of staving off defeat.Leach took the new ball soon afterwards and quickly accounted for the unfortunate Gareth Roderick, who offered no shot to a ball which appeared to be going high. Set to join the Worcestershire staff next season, Roderick beat a diplomatic retreat having contributed a modest 9.When debutant Tom Price departed in identical fashion, pinned in his crease by Leach, Gloucestershire were 236 for 8 – just 75 in front – and deep in trouble. Worse followed, Jack Taylor offering a catch behind on 23 as the irrepressible Leach made it three wickets in as many overs.
Matt Taylor and David Payne hit out in a breezy last-wicket partnership of 31 to hold up the visitors, but their resistance was summarily ended when Leach uprooted the latter’s off stump.If Leach’s new-ball heroics caught the eye, it was fellow seamers Tongue and Charlie Morris who laid the foundations for victory, these two taking six wickets apiece in the match.

Jos Buttler has been rested for the remainder of the one-day series against Australia and will be replaced by Jonny Bairstow for the final three matches.

Andrew McGlashan06-Sep-2015England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has been rested for the remainder of the one-day series against Australia and will be replaced by Jonny Bairstow for the final three matches.Although Buttler’s glovework has continued to improve his batting has faded in the second part of the season against Australia. He made just 122 runs at 15.25 in the Ashes and fell for a third-ball duck at Lord’s on Saturday, lbw to Glenn Maxwell. That followed a score of 4 at the Ageas Bowl when he drove loosely to mid-off.Being England’s wicketkeeper across all three formats since the middle of last year, when he was promoted to the Test side following Matt Prior’s ultimately career-ending injury against India, has meant Buttler has had an extensive workload.He missed the last one-day international against New Zealand and the T20 earlier this season, having sustained a finger injury, but has played 43 internationals since making his Test debut against India, at the Ageas Bowl, last July. Only Joe Root, with 44 appearances, has played more for England during that period and he has been granted a rest since the end of the Ashes.Between the end of the Ashes and the start of the limited-overs leg against Australia Buttler appeared in the NatWest Blast finals day for Lancashire having also played the quarter-final between the fourth and fifth Tests. Barely 12 hours after picking up the trophy at Edgbaston, as Lancashire overcame Northamptonshire in the final, he was at a training session in Cardiff ahead of the T20 international.Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, said: “While we initially felt Jos would have enough left in the tank for this ODI series, it has become clear in the last couple of days that he will benefit from a break from cricket ahead of the winter tours. We know that for players involved in all formats finding periods throughout the year when they can rest is key and Jos has had a heavy workload throughout 2015.”Resting  players provide opportunities for others in the international arena and Jonny Bairstow now has a chance to build on the one day form he showed at the end of the New Zealand series earlier this summer.”Bairstow was unlucky to be omitted from the original one-day squad having made a matchwinning, unbeaten 83 against New Zealand, at Chester-le-Street, in June on his recall. He was then also recalled to the Test team during the Ashes at the expense of Yorkshire team-mate Gary Ballance although did not completely convince at No.5.England already had Sam Billings, the Kent wicketkeeper-batsman, in the squad but do not yet view him as an option for the gloves and have left him out of the first two matches against Australia after he played the series against New Zealand and the T20 against Australia as a batsman.While Bairstow’s call-up to replace Buttler means at least one change to the England side for the third match at Old Trafford on Tuesday they will have to consider further alternative options as they try to keep the series alive having gone 2-0 down at Lord’s.David Willey and Reece Topley, the left-armers, will come into the equation to provide the bowling attack with some variety.

‘I’d also like to be known as someone who led the team very well and created a legacy for himself’

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-2021The importance of becoming South African cricket’s first black African captain is not lost on Temba Bavuma, but that isn’t all he wants to be known for.”I understand the deeply rooted significance of it all,” he said. “In being the first black African (cricket) captain in our country – you don’t have to look too far in our history and our political situation in our country – so I can completely understand why people in our country would celebrate it for what it is.”I’d be lying if I said it does not make me think of where everything started for me, and how I’ve been able to go through a journey and get to this point. But combined with being known as the first black African captain, I’d also like to be known as someone who led the team very well and created a legacy for himself.”Bavuma was unveiled as South Africa’s white-ball captain and red-ball vice-captain on Thursday, two days after he was asked if he wanted to do the job by the powers that be and four days after he led his domestic franchise, the Lions, to a second T20 title in three years.”I was offered the position as captain and it came to me as a surprise, but it was a no-brainer,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people would turn down this type of honour and privilege.”Obviously there’s anxiety about not knowing what to expect but a lot of comfort comes from the fact that I know my players and the people who have entrusted me with the decision, I draw a lot of confidence from that because those are people of stature.”People like South Africa’s most successful captain, Graeme Smith, who is now Cricket South Africa’s director of cricket and was instrumental to the process of appointing Bavuma, alongside selection convener Victor Mpitsang.”We’ve always known about Temba’s leadership qualities.” Smith said. We wanted to provide a space of support and get behind Temba and get him playing well again.”We’ve noticed his leadership credentials, the way he’s been operating in the squad and experience he brings. The nature of his tactical captaincy at the Lions, and the feedback we’ve received from within the squad — from the managers and coaches — has been really positive around Temba.”Related

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The same cannot be said with as much confidence about his form. Mention Bavuma, and not far behind comes the trivia that his only Test century came five years ago, or that after 44 Tests his average is 32.26. There are reasons – South Africa’s batting overall has been so poor that he often runs out of partners, for example – and concerns, such as that he bats too slowly, for why Bavuma’s Test numbers aren’t better.But his new appointment should not be about that. It should also not be about the fact that he has only played six ODIs and eight T20s. Smith had only played eight Tests and 19 ODIs when he was made captain, so there’s precedent for appointing someone without reams of international experience.What it should be about is the form Bavuma has demonstrated when has captained.He finished the most recent CSA T20 Challenge as the second-leading run-scorer and in the 2018-19 season, when he captained the Lions to the same title, he was the third-highest run-scorer, his hundred in the final securing the trophy.”I’ve enjoyed the responsibility of leading the side. I’ve done it now for several years, particularly with the Lions. It’s a balancing act between your own ambitions as a player and the interests of the team,” Bavuma said. “And winning, that’s the other thing. Everything I do, the decisions I make, are geared towards what is best for the team. I’ve been able to get results that have been favourable. Being captain is something I enjoy. It comes with pressures, like anything in sport and the world.”Bavuma’s nous for taking teams on trophy runs – he also earned a first-class title with the Lions – is ultimately what led to his appointment, with World Cups in mind. There are three white-ball World Cups in the next two years – the T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 and the fifty-over World Cup in 2023 – and Bavuma will captain South Africa in all of them. That means there’s a lot of expectation on Bavuma, but he is used to it.He has been since he became the country’s first black African Test batsman and first black African centurion. Then, Bavuma spoke about the seriousness with which he took his position as a role-model to young kids. He has since started a foundation to address some of the socio-economic concerns in the country and provide opportunities for children to play sport, knowing the value it has in nation-building, especially in a country as fractured as South Africa.In a place where advantage and its opposite determine who has access to sports facilities and coaching, there is still a widening gulf between the haves and have-nots and in South Africa that divide is often along racial lines. That is what makes the demographics of its national teams so important and so topical.South Africa’s other major sports, specifically rugby (which has a similar history of white dominance) has already had a black captain who produced a fairytale result. In 2019, Siya Kolisi led the Springboks to a third World Cup trophy, under the mantra Stronger Together. That same year, the national cricket team became the first to crash out of the ODI World Cup and returned their worst showing at the event.In the aftermath of that tournament, South African cricket was plunged into a level of chaos from which they have yet to recover. At administrative level, they remain without a permanent board, or CEO and the restructure of the domestic game is ongoing. On the playing field, they won just one of five trophies available to them last summer and one of three this season and have finished seventh on the World Test Championship points table.In conversations about favourites for the next white-ball World Cups, South Africa are not considered among the front-runners. It would be unfair to expect Bavuma to change that, but he has been tasked with “shifting South African cricket into a positive space,” as Smith put it, and he seems up for the task.”It’s a scary, daunting prospect,” Bavuma said. “But there’s a lot of excitement as well. Whether I’m ready or not, time will tell. I’m super willing and committed to the whole process. I’d like to lead the guys to something special.”

Despite losing all seven matches so far, the stand-in captain is hopeful of turning things around in the second half of the tournament

Alex Malcolm09-Jan-2020The winless Melbourne Renegades have not given up on their BBL title defence just yet, with stand-in captain Dan Christian believing that the fifth spot in the revamped finals series is still within reach with just seven games left.The Renegades have lost their first seven matches to sit last on the BBL table. Every other side has won at least three matches so far this season. They face the BBL leaders, the Melbourne Stars, in the second local derby of the season on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.Christian, who will stand in as captain while Aaron Finch is in India with the Australia one-day side, was adamant the Renegades season is still alive despite the desperate situation.”We probably think that six wins might be able squeeze into that 5th spot,” Christian said. “Hopefully a few results go your way and a good net run-rate. We certainly haven’t given up the season at all. If we can scratch our way towards the back end of the season you never know.”He was at a loss to explain the Renegades woeful season-to-date.”We’ve been talking about it a lot,” Christian said. “Unfortunately it’s been one or two overs each game that just haven’t quite gone the right way. We’ve been doing lots and lots of good things.”It’s been tough. But that’s the nature of T20. You’ve got those one or two overs here and there where things, unfortunately, don’t go your way. We’d love to be winning of course. But all we can do is keep training well and keep trying to do things right on the field and hopefully turn things around.”He refused to blame the coaching disruption just prior to the tournament as a reason for their form slump. Michael Klinger was appointed less than a month out from the BBL season, starting after Andrew McDonald departed to join the Australian team.”No I don’t think that’s had an impact at all having Maxy Klinger in,” Christian said. “He’s done a fantastic job. He’s obviously been doing his best. It’s been difficult for us as well to not be able to get him that first win given it’s his first coaching job. He’s been really thorough. It’s certainly not as a result of the coaching staff.”Christian did identify that there was a need for the top order to covert their starts into bigger scores. Only one Renegades player, Sam Harper, has passed 70 this season despite six half-centuries being scored. Ironically, they scored just three half-centuries in their entire title-winning season with no player reaching 60.”Every successful T20 team, whether it’s over a season or just in a game, you generally have someone that gets 70-80 in that top order that bats all the way through,” Christian said. “Sam Harper did that really well the other night, got 73 and got us to a period where we could start really cashing in at the back end so we were able to do that, so that was nice. But that’s really been the first time we’ve had someone get a score that high this year.”Shaun Marsh will open in Finch’s absence with Christian expecting a big score from him soon.”Shaun Marsh will get to go back to the top, which is nice for him,” Christian said. “That’s where he’s had most of his success. (He’s) due to get some. He’s been fantastic, hitting the ball really well, but just hasn’t been able to get that 80-odd. We’re not far away.”The Renegades batsmen are preparing for Pakistan sensation Haris Rauf, who has lit up the BBL with some stunning performances, including a hat-trick against the Sydney Thunder.”He’s been really impressive hasn’t he,” Christian said. “He’s bowling fast, he’s swinging the new ball and he’s getting some reverse at the end. I came across him in the PSL early last year and it’s really exciting to see him come out and do so well.”He’s got a short run-up. He’s quite slingy and as the speed guns are saying he’s bowling 150kph, so he’s obviously a bit of a handful. I’m sure the guys have been looking at footage for those that haven’t faced him and hopefully we can get on top of him.”

Worcestershire’s bowlers bounced back in impressive style from their weekend semi-final mauling in dismissing Kent for 260

ECB Reporters Network19-Jun-2017
ScorecardJoe Leach’s early spell set an impressive tone for Worcestershire•Getty Images

Worcestershire’s bowlers bounced back in impressive style from their weekend semi-final mauling in dismissing Kent for 260 on day one of the Specsavers County Championship promotion battle at New Road.But then Kent responded themselves with the ball despite a boundary-laced cameo from England all-rounder Moeen Ali as Worcestershire closed on 95 for 3.The home side, who conceded 363 runs in the Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Surrey, may have feared the worse after Kent skipper Sam Northeast won the toss on a good batting wicket in the blazing heat.Skipper Joe Leach and 19-year-old Josh Tongue in particular impressed with the ball and Kent, despite lower order resistance from Matt Coles and Adam Rouse, would have been disappointed to be bowled out in 73.1 overs.All of their batsmen except openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson got into double figures but no-one went past 50.As well as Leach and Tongue bowled, some of the shot selection of the Kent batsmen was questionable and their score was below-par.Leach bowled an inspired opening spell and sent back openers Bell-Drummond and Dickson during an initial burst of 7-3-7-2.Bell-Drummond nicked through to Daryl Mitchell at first slip and then Dickson tried to work the ball on the leg side and the ball struck his pads and bounced onto the stumps.Joe Denly drove Ed Barnard straight to Brett D’Oliveira at point and then Tongue bowled a fiery spell after lunch which accounted for Northeast and Will Gidman.In between Joe Weatherley wafted at a wide Leach and was caught behind and then Darren Stevens flat batted John Hastings straight into the hands of deep extra cover.Kent were then 139 for 7 but resistance came at last from Coles and Rouse who opted to counter-attack in adding 79 in 16 overs.It needed the return of Tongue to break the stand shortly before tea as Rouse provided Mitchell with a third catch and then Coles played back to Moeen Ali and was lbw.Leach finished with 3 for 42 to take his season’s wicket tally to 36 and Tongue, in his first season of senior cricket, 3 for 56 to move onto 24 victims.The wickets were soon tumbling when Worcestershire launched their reply and D’Oliveira failed to trouble the scorers before he was pouched at second slip off Stevens.Moeen was ultra aggressive in his approach with nine fours in his 37 off just 16 balls, a mixture of glorious cover drives and edges which just eluded the slip cordon.But then he fell for the three card trick and was caught at deep midwicket off Coles who then had opener Mitchell taken at third slip.
The positive aspect for Worcestershire was Joe Clarke looking like he was returning to form during an unbeaten 34.He received good support from George Rhodes, in his first senior appearance of the season during an unbroken stand of 47.

The captain’s burst in the powerplay anchored a six-wicket win against Gemcon Khulna, while Gazi Group Chattogram thrashed Beximco Dhaka

Mohammad Isam26-Nov-2020
Minister Group Rajshahi made it two wins out of two with their six-wicket win over Gemcon Khulna. Their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s burst in the powerplay, which saw him hitting his first half-century of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, clinched the game for Rajshahi.Shanto struck three sixes and six fours in his 34-ball 55, as he added 47 runs for the second wicket with Rony Talukdar, who struck a six and three fours in his 26. Shanto fell in the 11th over, lbw to legspinner Rishad Hossain, but Mohammad Ashraful and Fazle Mahmud took them towards the target, before Nurul Hasan got them home with 2.4 overs to spare.Rishad took two wickets while Al-Amin Hossain, who bowled just two overs, and Shahidul Islam took one wicket each.Khulna made 146 for 6 after a late boost of runs from Ariful Haque, the hero of their opening-day win over Fortune Barishal. Ariful slammed two sixes in the penultimate over, in which young pace bowler Mukidul Islam went for 17 runs after bowling three wide balls at the start of the over. Ariful and Shahidul Islam added 42 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket, which spruced up Khulna’s innings that was mostly lackluster.Opener Imrul Kayes was the first to go, caught at short fine-leg after mistiming a sweep off Mahedi Hasan. Shakib Al Hasan, too, got caught playing across the line against Mukidul, at deep square-leg in the fifth over.The Khulna innings unravelled further when Anamul Haque, having made 26 with three fours and a six, was run out in the eighth over. Jahurul Islam and captain Mahmudullah fell in the next two overs respectively, as they slipped to 51 for five in the tenth over. Young left-hander Shamim Hossain revived the innings somewhat, with a 25-ball 35 that had three fours and two sixes. He fell to Ebadot Hossain’s bouncer shortly after hitting his second six, leaving Ariful to play out the last 4.5 overs with the tail.
Gazi Group Chattogram blew Beximco Dhaka away by nine wickets, after bowling them out for a paltry 88. Chattogram reached the target in 10.5 overs, making it one of the biggest wins in Mirpur in terms of balls remaining. Chattogram’s big win will worry the rest of the field in a tournament where the five teams have very little room to make changes to their rosters.Chattogram’s decision to bowl first was vindicated when left-arm quick Shoriful Islam had his Under-19 teammate Tanzid Hasan in the second over, caught at slip with a fine away-going delivery.It followed an infuriating period for Sabbir Rahman, who struggled for nine balls before skying Shoriful in the covers for a duck. But Dhaka had worse luck when their captain Mushfiqur Rahim, uncharacteristically, gave Soumya an easy grab at slip after his attempted reverse-sweep, off the first ball he faced, went awry.Mohammad Naim and Akbar Ali provided a brief respite with their 44-run fourth wicket stand but Mosaddek Hossain bowled both of them in the space of three deliveries. Chattogram hardly gave them an inch afterwards, bowling them out for 88 in 16.2 overs.
Apart from Shoriful and Mosaddek’s miserly figures, Mustafizur Rahman and Taijul Islam also took two wickets each while Nahidul Islam, who took the prized wicket of Mushfiqur, and Soumya Sarkar got one each.
Soumya and Liton played a range of attractive strokes, including lofted straight drives and punches through cover. They reached 51 in the Powerplay, before taking them to 79, when Liton got out for 34. Soumya remained unbeaten on 44 off 29 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.

Nepal legspinner set to play the entire BBL, after missing eight games last season due to BPL and international commitments

Alex Malcolm17-Sep-2019Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane has re-signed with the Melbourne Stars for the entire Big Bash League 2019.Lamichhane, 19, played eight games in the BBL last season, taking 11 wickets at 17.72 with an outstanding economy rate of 6.57, including bowling four overs in the final for just 16 runs. But the legspinner missed eight games mid-tournament to play in the Bangladesh Premier League and three T20Is for Nepal against UAE in Dubai, before return for the back-end of the BBL.The Stars have, however, secured his services for the entirety of the tournament this season, which Trent Woodhill, their list manager, believes is a huge coup for the competition.”We’re really excited to have Sandeep back at the Stars,” Woodhill said. “He’s a young, energetic and talented legspinner. To secure his signature for the entire Big Bash season is a great testament to the level of the competition and we can’t wait to see what he produces this season working in tandem with Adam Zampa.”He was definitely a fan favourite last season, so it’s great that fans will have the opportunity to come and watch someone so exciting for the entire Big Bash campaign.”Lamichhane was excited about returning to Australia after receiving huge support in Melbourne last year.”It was great fun and a great experience for me last year and I can’t wait to join the Stars again,” he said. “I would love to see all the Stars fans and especially the Nepalese fans supporting us again this year.”The Stars have made some significant changes to their list ahead of new coach David Hussey’s first season in charge. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Hilton Cartwright and Clint Hinchcliffe have all signed with the side, after leaving Perth Scorchers. But Jackson Bird has headed back to the Sydney Sixers after performing well in the Stars’ run to the final last year.

Faf du Plessis’ Paarl Rocks stuttered after opting to bat as three-wicket hauls from Shaun von Berg and Lutho Sipamla bowled them out for 121

The Report by Liam Brickhill05-Dec-2018This match was billed as a showdown between Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, who were at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool together in this very city, playing alongside each other there before moving on to be team-mates at Northerns, Titans and, of course, South Africa. In the end, it was de Villiers’ Tshwane Spartans who triumphed in a see-sawing, low-scoring thriller, chasing down Paarl Rocks’ 121 in the final
over.Spartans came into this match wanting not just a win, but a bonus point in order to keep their Mzansi Super League campaign on track. The end result doesn’t rule them out, but they are still in the fifth position on the points table and will need other results to go their way (as well as winning all of their remaining matches) in order to get to the playoffs.Spartans had only won two matches in this competition before the game, but they had also squandered some strong positions, and that was very nearly the case in this match. Needing to score at a run a ball to win, Spartans would also have had the potential bonus point – on offer for a victory in 16 overs or less – on their minds as they started their chase.All seemed to be going to plan when they had reached 63 for 1 midway through the 10th over, Andrea Agathangelou powering the chase with a flurry of boundaries to make up for Dean Elgar’s slow start at the top of the order. But when he was given out caught behind off the glove – somewhat contentiously – aiming a paddle scoop over short fine leg, Spartans started to slide.On a pitch that had plenty of cracks to encourage the spinners, Tabraiz Shamsi rocked the Spartans with two quick wickets in his third over, including that of de Villiers, bowled through the gate by one that gripped and spun in to him. Shamsi concluded by pinning a reverse-sweeping Eoin Morgan lbw for 4 as Spartans slipped to 82 for 5.While wickets were falling, the runs also dried up, and Spartans couldn’t find the boundary between the 11th and 16th overs. That put paid to any hopes they might have had of still securing a bonus point, but it also brought what should have been a straightforward chase to a nerve-jangling conclusion.Tony de Zorzi flat-batted David Wiese over cover to break the shackles, and then brought up the 100 in the 17th over with a shovel over Paterson’s head. With two overs to go, Spartans needed 15, and their job could have quickly become even harder when de Zorzi missed an attempted paddle at a Dwayne Bravo slower ball to be struck on the pad, but was very luckily not given out even though the ball would have cannoned
into leg stump.Bravo had his revenge three balls later, de Zorzi mistiming a heave at a slow bouncer to be easily caught in the deep, and Spartans went into the final over needing 11. Robbie Frylinck, who had nudged his way to 11 off 18, biffed the first ball over long-on for six, and the second straight down the ground for four more to draw level, before turning the third to fine leg for the winning run.While Frylinck was their hero with the bat, Lutho Sipamla was Spartans’ spearhead with the ball, operating as a one-over strike bowler and repeatedly returning to the attack to break through whenever Paarl threatened to lay a platform.First, he had a flat-footed Aiden Markram caught behind to snap the opening stand in his first over. With du Plessis scoring at a strike rate of 200 in the Powerplay, Sipamla returned to have him caught at cover by de Villiers for 38. After Dwayne Bravo hit three sixes off legspinners Jeevan Mendis and Shaun von Berg, Sipamla returned once more to remove him via a sliced drive, and he completed his bowling
work for the day by conceding just two runs in his final over, the 17th of the innings, to finish with figures of 3 for 19.Though they leaked runs early when du Plessis and Bravo were on the counter-attack, Spartans’ spin attack struck back superbly to deal with the lower order. Von Berg had Vaughn van Jaarsveld caught at long-on at the start of his spell, and then returned to repeat the treatment against Mangaliso Mosehle. In the same over, von Berg combined with Rory Kleinveldt to get rid of Fortuin via the outside edge, Kleinveldt
holding a stunning reflex catch at slip as Rocks slipped to 100 for 8.Paterson struck a couple of lusty blows, but Mendis returned to bowl the 18th over and brought the innings to a swift end. His googly caught the inside-edge of Tshepo Moreki’s bat, wicketkeeper Gihahn Cloete holding the catch between his legs, and Paterson mistimed a slog two balls later as Rocks were bowled out with more than two overs to spare. Had they scored just a few more, they might have won this game, but Rocks’ defeat mean they now have a slim lead of three points over Spartans, and the play-off race is still wide open.

Kent could only manage 137, but that was made to look a significant total as Northamptonshire’s batting was blown away

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2018
ScorecardKent pace bowler Matt Henry bagged 6 for 31 to leave Northamptonshire reeling on 71 for 8 when bad light and rain ended prematurely an action-packed opening day of Specsavers County Championship action.On a thrilling day when 18 wickets fell, Henry – the New Zealand Test paceman – took his season’s red-ball wicket tally to 56 as the Division 2 promotion hopefuls recovered from a poor batting display to leave the visitors punch drunk and still 66 runs in arrears by the time the umpires stopped the contest and took the sides off for bad light just before 5pm.Northamptonshire, who started their first innings response at 2.42pm, struggled to cope with the guile of Darren Stevens and the pace of Henry, the Championship’s leading wicket-taker.Henry, who went into the game with 50 scalps to his name at an average of 15.84, forced Ben Curran to play on to leg stump and then plucked out the middle and off stumps of Ricardo Vasconcelos after rushing one through the South African left-hander’s gate.Stevens snared Luke Proctor leg before with an in-swinger, Henry re-arranged Alex Wakely’s poles with a yorker and then Richard Levi scooped a rearing delivery from Henry to square leg to send the visitors in at tea on 31 for 5.Three overs after tea, Saif Zaib feathered an attempted leg-glance against Stevens through to the keeper then, three balls later, Henry sent Nathan Buck’s off stump cartwheeling to secure his fifth five-wicket return of the summer.Northamptonshire limped past their lowest ever score against Kent – 39 all out at Wantage Road in 1907 – but with their score on 44 Adam Rossington’s top edged pull against Henry skied to long leg.Henry gave way after 12-overs as did Stevens, with 2 for 26, allowing Brett Hutton and Richard Gleeson to add a precious 27 before the players went off for bad light.Batting first after an uncontested toss, Kent’s top-order were soon in trouble against the new ball and under leaden skies and had lost both openers within five overs.Zak Crawley, fending down the line of off stump, feathered a Hutton away-swinger through to the keeper, then, seven balls later, Sean Dickson went back and across his stumps to miss an off-cutter from Ben Sanderson and depart leg before.Experienced third-wicket partners Joe Denly and Heino Kuhn took advantage of the short St Lawrence boundaries to keep the board ticking over at a decent rate and raise the home 50 after 15 overs. But, with his score on 16, Kuhn played around a full, in-swinger from Buck to also go lbw.Having batted 76 minutes for his 14, Denly’s late decision to withdraw the bat outside off stump against Gleeson proved fatal as the ball glanced off the bat face and through to the keeper.Batting under floodlights after lunch, Kent’s position quickly became gloomier as they lost their last six wickets for 46 runs inside 18 overs.Sam Billings nicked off against Gleeson, Stevens prodded at Sanderson to become the third leg before victim and, having scratched around for 98 minutes for 23, Daniel Bell-Drummond edged behind.Sanderson ran one in off the seam to peg back Grant Stewart’s off stump, then Buck polished the job off with two wickets in as many balls. Henry heaved across the line to lose off stump then Ivan Thomas was caught on the crease and palpably leg before as Kent succumbed inside 47 overs with Gleeson, Sanderson and Buck claiming three wickets apiece.Gleeson suggested the pitch was nothing out of the ordinary.”To bowl them out for 137 you think ‘great start’ but they bowled tremendously in helpful conditions,” he said. “It’s not really brightened up all day, it’s stayed overcast and the wicket has been doing a little bit throughout.”When we turned up we felt the wicket looked quite flat and that we were in for a long toil, but it doesn’t look that way from the scoreboard. The pitch has done a little bit, but nothing out of the ordinary. They were just very tough overhead conditions all day.”

Glenn Maxwell had to quickly adjust to challenging conditions and produced an impressive half-century but it looked as though victory was slipping away

Varun Shetty in Visakhapatnam25-Feb-20193:01

Maxwell was very clear about his plans – Bumrah

Australia went from a feeling of “can’t believe we’ve stuffed this up” to utter relief during the closing stages of their win against India with Glenn Maxwell stressing the importance of holding their nerve to pinch a close win at the start of an away tour.Maxwell had been part of an 84-run third-wicket stand that had put Australia within 38 runs of winning the first T20I, before a combination of tight bowling and nervous batting put the visitors under tremendous pressure leaving Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson to scramble 14 off the last over.”A lot of the times when you come over here, or when you’re on overseas trips and you get close games, you lose them so often. The home crowd can get behind the home team and you can lose. It can just put your momentum in a different way and the days you’re stuck in the hotel become longer than they are,” Maxwell said. “To win a game like this – by the way we got ourselves in trouble by the last over, we probably should have lost and if it wasn’t for Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson pulling something out of the hat.”I did mention to Finchy – if anyone could go out there, face their first ball in the last over and get us 14, it’s probably Pat Cummins. He can do anything. He does it quite regularly. I think I remember him in UAE a few years ago. Think he came out and hit a first ball six. We only needed one to win and he hit it in the air. He got the job done tonight, but for him to keep a cool head, hit a gap on the off side against a guy who hits three out of six yorkers is just real good batting. And Jhye Richardson as well, at the end. For a young player to do that, I’m sure he’d have loved the opportunity to bat with Pat at the end. You see that little cuddle at the end. It was beautiful.”ALSO READ: Nathan Coulter-Nile and Glenn Maxwell make the difference in low-scoring thrillerAustralia endured a tough 2018 with their only series win with the white-ball coming early in the year after the Ashes, during the Trans-Tasman T20 tri-series in February. Following that, with the fallout of the ball-tampering scandal in March, they have suffered loses against England, Pakistan, South Africa and India.”It can just bring the whole group together. It’s been a hard eight or nine months of limited-overs cricket for us, and to have a result like this first game on tour is great for our confidence and something we can hopefully ride and gain momentum,” Maxwell said. “Winning momentum is great but losing momentum, as we’ve found out is pretty hard to turn around. Hopefully we can start off our World Cup preparations on a good foot.”Glenn Maxwell’s ultra-aggressive half-century put Australia on course•Getty Images

Maxwell had a crucial role in setting up the win, top-scoring across both teams with a measured 43-ball 56. But those numbers belie the situation he’d walked into. Marcus Stoinis was run out trying to steal a single that was his call, and – yet again – Aaron Finch failed to negotiate an incoming ball. Those wickets off consecutive deliveries and a red-hot Jasprit Bumrah at the top of his mark were the prelude as he walked out. Maxwell had some simple advice to himself.”Don’t go back! After seeing a bunch of balls keep low, [that was] probably my first thought. I just tried to get forward and stay as low as I could and try and cover my stumps. I think I played and missed three times the first four or five balls. It took a bit of getting used to.”On a two-paced track, Maxwell had to guard against any habits picked up during a lengthy season on bouncier surfaces at home. The focus, he said, was on creating a swinging arc rather than staying still and punching through the line. This was quickly on display in the fourth over against Umesh Yadav, where Maxwell skipped either side of the line to pick up two boundaries over mid-off and one down at fine leg.His innings would have only one other boundary shot where he had to expend effort – a slogged six against the turn to Mayank Markande – while most others were grateful acceptances of Yuzvendra Chahal’s largesse.But perhaps the most impressive part of it all, more so than the restraint, was that it was an innings constructed, in many ways, through smarts obtained by gauging how Australia’s bowlers pulled things back in the middle overs of India’s innings. The debate around Maxwell’s role in Australian cricket has been a regular topic in the last year, but since being implored by Steven Smith to “train smarter” he has shone in T20 recent won the Australian T20I player of the year award.For now, however, he said he has neither had a chat with Justin Langer about his batting positions in ODIs, nor given too much thought about a World Cup spot.”I have no idea if I’m going to be in that World Cup squad or what number I’m going to bat, so I suppose it just comes down to opportunity – if I can keep making most of opportunities like tonight,” he said. “It would have been nice to finish it off, but I chose that Chahal [over] as my time to go tonight and I still back that as the right decision. I found Krunal and Bumrah were very hard to get away. We decided that the two leggies were our best opportunities to score.”If I can turn those sorts of innings into not-out, 75-ish, and be consistent that way, I think I can probably go a long way in penciling my name for the World Cup and hopefully continue that job for the rest of this year.”