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Somerset 153 for 8 (Abell 50, Green 35) beat Hampshire 150 (Weatherley 71, Davey 4-34) by two wicketsIf Hampshire could have designed a pitch on which to put Somerset in their place, it would have looked something like this. Edgbaston was slow, grippy, inhibiting. Somerset might have been packed with audacious young strokemakers, but it was Hampshire who were capable at winning ugly.After five defeats in Edgbaston semi-finals, it seemed for all the world as if Hampshire would finally win one. Somehow, in a most unlikely twist, Somerset pulled off a stunning heist.Tom Abell, who has endured a disheartening few weeks as Somerset’s Championship captain – three thrashings in a row – must have wondered when his torment would ever end. When he was the seventh Somerset player to be dismissed, they were 48 short with 20 balls remaining.Abell’s half-century had glued Somerset together, although when he reached it, he offered the most token acknowledgment of the applause, bat raised and lowered in less than a second: impressive bat speed. When he struck Scott Currie to deep midwicket later in the over, the game appeared to be up only for Ben Green (35 from 18) and Josh Davey (11 from 3 to follow his four wickets) to turn the tables.It has been a packed season and the pitches on the international grounds are pleading for mercy, especially the pitches in line with the TV gantrys. This Edgbaston surface was sound enough but it invited speculation that batting could be even harder work by final time. What joy for Hampshire. They had defended 125 on a crabby Trent Bridge surface in the quarter-final and, with their own surface at the Ageas Bowl not exactly a batting haven, they were well versed in doing a dirty job well.With 150 in the book, they had assembled a defendable score – and Joe Weatherley carried their fight almost single-handedly. His 71 from 50 was an impressive finish to a strong T20 season and left him with 365 runs at 36.50 and a strike rate of 143. He has grown markedly as a player this summer and slog-swept well. When a slog-sweep went awry, he was savvy, too, winning a reprieve on 20 because of his own game awareness.Hampshire finished the Powerplay at 43 for 3. But they should have been 37 for 4. Weatherley’s top-edged slog sweep against Davey was pouched in the legside by the wicketkeeper, Tom Banton, but Weatherley is clearly a sharp sort and, as Somerset celebrated, he advised the bemused umpires that Somerset did not have enough players in the circle.Josh Davey’s four wickets were just the start of his day’s efforts•Getty Images

With the umpires off the pace, and third umpire Neil Bainton trying to study an aerial shot that would not have been a prototype on Google Earth, Weatherley’s protestations needed a fielder to fess up that he had been dozing and the suggestion was that Marchant de Lange did just that. Weatherley, by way of celebration, chipped Davey’s Free Hit straight for six.Hampshire have had a split personality in T20 this summer – abysmal in early season, yet somehow making a remarkable recovery to reach Finals Day. The old Hampshire turned up for much of their innings. Then, from 111 for 7, they roused themselves with 39 off the last three overs.Hampshire are a thin batting side and the loss of early wickets constrained them. Two teenagers, Toby Albert and Tom Prest, were both confounded by Davey. Albert, an 18-year-old from Basingstoke, and perhaps the youngest player to play on Finals Day (although Sussex’s Archie Lenham was about to trump him), perished to a ramp shot. Prest was bowled first ball by a good nip-backer.The prize wicket, though, was Vince, the prince, and his first attempt at aggression saw him caught at the wicket, cutting. It was a relief for the bowler, Craig Overton, who had dropped a simple return catch from Vince at the end of his first over.Hampshire’s innings hung in there long enough for James Fuller and Chris Wood to provide some power at the back end. Weatherley should have been run out as he took an uncertain single to reach his fifty but Lewis Gregory’s underarm throw was weak. De Lange, who bowled four overs at the death, found little to cheer him after his daydream in the field. Overton, oddly, did not bowl a final over. But Davey, the pick of the attack, added two late wickets to finish with 4 for 34. He knew it should have been five.Related

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Somerset’s Powerplay was as troubled as Hampshire’s, a grind to 30 for 3. Tom Banton, willowy and long-levered, gave deep midwicket catching practice. Will Smeed, who could audition for The Incredible Hulk (Early Years) charged a few and then picked out Vince at mid-off. The pinch-hitter at No 3, Roelof van der Merwe, fell there, too, a tougher catch, Vince diving forward, rightly confirmed as clean by the third umpire.When Lewis Goldsworthy was run out by Fuller from midwicket, sent back attempting an unlikely second, and the legspinner, Mason Crane, turned one to have the left-hander, Tom Lammonby, first ball, Somerset were 34 for 5 after 6.5 overs.Unlike Somerset, Hampshire had two quality spinners, in Crane and Liam Dawson, to squeeze the middle. In Dawson’s last over, Abell rallied spirits with a beautiful inside-out six over long off, but his contentment was shortlived as Gregory was bowled, pulling a shortish ball. By the time Hampshire’s spinners were done, Somerset were 91 for 6, still 60 needed from five, and Abell on 41. It was time to find out the truth and he probably sensed it would not be the answer he wanted. How wrong could he be.Green then turned the match on its head, taking Brad Wheal and then Wood for three sixes but holed out with seven balls to go.Somerset needed 10 from the final over, bowled by Wheal. Some of us wanted the muscular smiter, De Lange, to come in at no 10, but Davey drove the third ball over long-on before flicking off his toes for four to win it.

Pakistan might have ended up losing at Sabina Park on Sunday but bowling coach Waqar Younis said he is “proud” of the bowling unit that kept creating opportunities in a low-scoring Test.The match, which had one of the most thrilling finishes in recent times, was just the 15th instance of a one-wicket win in Test history. The visitors had taken some extraordinary catches but had dropped several crucial ones too – they dropped three in the final session, two of which involved Kemar Roach who later went on score the winning runs.”There was no better Test match than this to advocate Test cricket,” Waqar said in a virtual press conference. “Unfortunately we were on the wrong side as we should have won the game. But that’s the way it is.. one team had to lose and unfortunately it was us, and of course, it happens only when you commit mistakes and [dropped] catches played the big part. When you miss so many opportunities in such tense moments then that will definitely hurt you.Related

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“But overall if you analyse the bowling I must say all the bowlers bowled really well throughout the Test match. Despite the small target, they put in all the hard work, responded well, the way they fought in the game, and never let it go easily. Bowlers are meant to create opportunities. Yes, West Indies were 114 for 7 but then after that, there were three opportunities as well and if you are not grabbing them it won’t help you. They kept on taking wickets and creating opportunities so with all this I feel very proud of this bowling unit.”Pakistan were originally scheduled to play three Tests but both boards reworked the series to play two extra T20Is instead. This tour has been affected by rain right from the start, with three out of four T20Is washed out. The first Test was disrupted by rain too but the overcast conditions allowed fast bowlers to dictate terms.The second Test starts from August 20 at the same venue. Waqar wasn’t too optimistic about the weather but he expects help for the fast bowlers once again.”There was a lot of support especially for fast bowlers,” he said about the first Test. ” Ball was seaming, conditions were overcast at times and it wasn’t easy for batting. Bowler had more say on it hence it was a low-scoring Test match. One has to apply himself on such pitches and has to be positive as a bowler and as a batter.”Sometimes you have to take risks to score runs and whoever scored runs was taking risks to build up the board. So with the new ball, you have to remain positive, and going forward if the conditions remain the same it won’t be easy for batters. There was bounce and I don’t know what we will get in the next game and it’s hard to tell but looking around from the first Test expect grass on the pitch. The ball will seam around and expect us to play with the same spirit.”Waqar added that the experienced Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah were match-winners and have done well to stay relevant. Abbas picked up three wickets in the first innings with the new ball and though his tally dried up with the older one, he kept the scoring rate in check, giving away only 1.95 runs per over.”Abbas – I thought he bowled beautifully,” Waqar said. “On some days in cricket – especially in Test cricket – luck isn’t with you. Otherwise, the way he was bowling he should have taken a lot more wickets. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the edges and that’s part of the game. But I have no doubt that Abbas is a wonderful professional with the sort of effort he puts in but he was bowling great though the wickets tally isn’t what we were expecting.”Yasir’s track record against West Indies is great. He overall has 250 wickets and has tons of experience with him. His past performance is very good and he is a match-winner and you can’t really ignore him. Sometimes the pitch isn’t conducive enough for spinners in fact both sides haven’t got enough for spinners. Nauman Ali is a wonderful cricketer but the pitch wasn’t supporting a fingerspinner”

Carlos Brathwaite has been forced into isolation and is in doubt for Jamaica Tallawahs’ opening match of the Caribbean Premier League on Friday after a positive Covid-19 case was reported on his flight from the UK to St Kitts and Nevis.Brathwaite travelled from Manchester to Basseterre ahead of the CPL after captaining Manchester Originals in the Hundred. A fellow passenger tested positive for Covid-19 and he was told to isolate until further notice.”My tests have been negative as far as I know,” Brathwaite said. “We’ve been asked to be in quarantine. I still don’t know the full extent of it. I’ve just been told I need to continue to quarantine as opposed to being allowed to walk around the hotel as was initially allowed. So I’m just as much in the dark as you are, unfortunately.”Related

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Speaking from his hotel room following the announcement that he re-signed with Sydney Sixers for the upcoming BBL season later in the year, the allrounder said he was unsure whether he would be available for the Tallawahs’ opening clash with Saint Lucia Kings on Friday.”Not sure,” Brathwaite said. “I haven’t actually received anything official yet to know when day one is and how many days of quarantine, etc. So yeah, I’m just skipping in my room and doing sit-ups and hoping to be at least physically ready to go if I can.”Brathwaite was retained by Tallawahs along with Andre Russell after they were knocked out in last season’s semi-final by eventual champions Trinbago Knight Riders. He believes Knight Riders won’t have it all their own way this season.”The tournament is going to be interesting,” Brathwaite said. “I don’t think it will be an undefeated run to the finals as Trinidad had last year. I think it will be a little closer. I think all the teams are more evenly matched.”Brathwaite said runs from the top order will be key to Tallawahs’ chances given the quality of the allrounders and spin-bowling.”I feel as though we have a few potential match-winners. Myself, Russell, Rovman Powell obviously in the middle. Our spin attack, we’ve lost Mujeeb and we’ve lost Sandeep but we have Qais Ahmad, Veerasammy Permaul, and Chris Green. So when you look at it that’s a real balanced spin attack, left-arm orthodox, right-arm offspinner, leg-break bowler.”I think we just need to get some runs at the top of the ordr and middle order to provide a good platform. I think too many times last year we were 30 for 3, 40 for 4 and we didn’t really have a good platform to go on and get big scores.”So this year, setting a good platform and if we add the firepower that I know myself, Russell and Rovman can give, added with the spin stocks that we have and the whole bowling unit actually, I think we’ll do well.”

Ravi Shastri feels the frequent and recurring injuries to senior Indian bowlers is “unreal”, “ridiculous” and “frustrating”.Shastri’s comments came while discussing the latest injury to Deepak Chahar, who bowled just one over before pulling out of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL match against Mumbai Indians after picking up a left hamstring injury.”Let’s put it this way: there are quite a few in the last three or four years who are permanent residents of the NCA,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time:Out show ahead of Super Kings’s home match against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. “Soon, they’ll get a resident permit there to walk in any time they want, which is not a good thing at all. It’s unreal.”Related

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This was the second time in the last five months Chahar has had to leave a game without finishing his four overs because of hamstring problems. In the second ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur last December, Chahar pulled out after bowling three overs. He then returned to the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, his base for the majority of 2022 after he suffered a Grade 3 quadricep tear last February.A stiff back, which was diagnosed as a stress fracture, then delayed his comeback, frustrating both Chahar and the Indian team management, leading to Rohit Sharma saying that the team “can’t afford guys coming in here half-fit and representing the country”.Chahar is not the only Indian quick to have been sidelined for long periods because of recurring injuries: Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldip Sen, Mohsin Khan and Yash Dayal have all been out of action for varying stretches of late. Bumrah, in fact, attempted a comeback more than once after his back injury before eventually undergoing surgery recently.Shastri said that what bothered him the most was that most of these players’ workloads were not too big and despite being declared fit by the NCA medical team, they were still picking up injuries.”Make sure you get fit and come once and for all, because it’s damn frustrating”•BCCI

“Come on, you’re not playing that much cricket to be injured again and again,” Shastri said. “I mean, you can’t play four matches on the trot. What are you going to the NCA for? If you are going to come back and then three matches [later] you’re back there. So make sure you get fit and come once and for all because it’s damn frustrating. Not just for the team, the players, the BCCI, the captains of the various [IPL] franchises. It’s annoying, to say the least.”I can understand a serious injury, but every four games when someone touches his hamstring or someone touches his groin, you start thinking what are these guys… what are they training, what’s going on. And some of them don’t play any other cricket in the year. It’s just four overs [in the IPL], man, three hours. The game is over.”A day after the Mumbai Indians match, Super Kings said in a media statement that Chahar would undergo further scans before a call is taken on his participation in the remainder of the IPL.Chahar himself had said recently that it was never easy to come back from a major injury. In February, in a chat with PTI, he had declared himself “fully fit” and ready for the IPL. “I had two big injures. One was a stress fracture and one was a quad grade 3 tear. They are both very big injuries. You are out for months,” he had said. “Anyone who comes back after the injury, it takes time, especially for the fast bowlers.”

Ollie Robinson has “unreservedly apologised” after admitting posting “racist and sexist” comments on Twitter while a teenager.The tweets, sent between April 2012 and June 2013, included use of the ‘N’ word, comments suggesting Muslim people were linked with terrorism, and derogatory comments about women and people of Asian heritage. Robinson was aged 18 and 19 at the time, and representing either Leicestershire, Kent and Yorkshire in second-team cricket.”On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public,” Robinson said in a statement released shortly after stumps on the opening day of the two-Test series against New Zealand. “I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist.”I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport.”There was some irony in the timing of the discovery. Both England and New Zealand joined in a ‘moment of unity’ ahead of play in an attempted to show a collective stance against any form of discrimination in cricket. England also unveiled training t-shirts to be worn all summer which bear slogans declaring that ‘cricket is a game for everyone’ on the front and denouncing racism, sexism and religious intolerance among other things on the back.”I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support,” Robinson continued.”I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.”Ollie Robinson has apologised for offensive tweets posted as a teenager•PA Images via Getty Images

The tweets may also expose the ECB to allegations of a failure to conduct due diligence. Robinson has been close to the England team for some time – he has toured with the Lions and spent months in the senior team’s bio-bubble in recent times – so it may raise eyebrows that nobody at the organisation had noticed such comments. Questions might also be raised of Yorkshire, who are currently facing an enquiry into their attitude towards race and inclusivity. Robinson made his first-team debut for the club in August 2013.While the comments were made several years ago, it is possible Robinson could still face disciplinary action from the ECB. A statement from ECB chief executive Tom Harrison made it clear that a “zero tolerance” attitude to such behaviour will be taken and committed to “a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.””I do not have the words to express how disappointed I am that an England Men’s player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been,” Harrison said.”Any person reading those words, particularly a woman or person of colour, would take away an image of cricket and cricketers that is completely unacceptable. We are better than this.”We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.”Our England Men’s Team, alongside others from the ECB and our partners across the game, worked together today to create a moment of unity. Using today’s spotlight to reaffirm our commitment to driving forward an anti-discrimination agenda. Our commitment to that effort remains unwavering, and the emergence of these comments from Ollie’s past reiterates the need for ongoing education and engagement on this issue.”England players and staff stand for a Moment of Unity whilst wearing anti-discrimination T-shirts•Getty Images

Until the emergence of the tweets, Robinson had enjoyed a memorable day for almost entirely positive reasons. Having been presented with his Test cap by former Sussex colleague Jon Lewis, who is now the bowling coach with England, he impressed in taking two of the first three wickets on a flat pitch. Delivering an excellent probing length, he generated movement in both directions and looked to have the talent to forge a decent career at the top level.”Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this,” Robinson’s statement continued.While Robinson made no attempt to excuse his behaviour, he did suggest he had “matured as a person” since the tweets were posted. In a subsequent media conference, he also suggested they had been sent in a period of turmoil after his release from Yorkshire. While the tweets came to prominence shortly after lunch, it is understood that the England management did not tell Robinson until the close of play.”I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable,” Robinson continued. “Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.”Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.”Related

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It was not until July 2014 that Yorkshire terminated Robinson’s contract due to “unprofessional” conduct. The club’s coach at the time, Jason Gillespie, was quoted at the time as saying: “When a player consistently displays behaviour that isn’t professional, there has to be a point in time when you say, ‘look, this isn’t really working, you’re obviously not bothered about playing for the club’.”Robinson’s current club, Sussex, issued a statement saying they were “beyond disappointed to read these tweets when they were brought to our attention today” and that “their content was wholly unacceptable”.”We are pleased that Ollie has apologised unreservedly and taken responsibility for a significant mistake that he made as a teenager,” the statement said. “His age does not excuse the content of these tweets in any way and he will now suffer the consequences of his actions.”We know he recognises the severity of the situation and that he is devastated that what should have been a proud day has been overshadowed in this manner. We know also that Ollie will learn some very important lessons from this experience. We will be here to offer any support Ollie needs during that process.”There will be some who dismiss the tweets as the work of an immature young man and suggest Robinson should not be defined by them. Others will point out that we may all have once been young and foolish, but we have not all been young, foolish and racist. Either way, they will be an acute embarrassment to the individual as well as the ECB and do nothing to convince the doubters that the sport is inclusive and welcoming.In the longer term, though, Robinson’s tweets may serve to provide a reminder of where we are as a sport and a society on such issues. By doing so, they underline the importance of the England’s team’s current campaign in ensuring there is greater awareness and education in such areas.

Mumbai Indians allrounder Hardik Pandya on Saturday announced that his entire family, including brother Krunal Pandya, will donate 200 oxygen concentrators to help the rural areas of the country fight the raging Covid-19 pandemic.Talking ahead of his team’s match against the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Hardik said his family had been looking for ways to help those in need.”Gratitude to all the medical staff, frontline workers and all the individuals who have come out and held their hands at such times to fight out the battle,” Hardik said during a pre-game chat on Star Sports. “Krunal, myself and my mother – basically our entire family – we were finding ways at trying to help out. We decided to donate 200 oxygen concentrators to the rural parts of India where I feel the medical infrastructure needs more support.”Related

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India is reeling under the second wave of the pandemic with cases rising rapidly, the crisis compounded by shortage of some crucial medicines and oxygen supplies. The country recorded over four lakh cases since Friday.”We all understand it’s difficult, we want to show our gratitude, support and just want to tell everyone that they’re always there in our prayers,” Hardik said.Several cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan and Jaydev Undakat, Australians Pat Cummins and Brett Lee, and West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran also stepped up to help in the fight against Covid-19.IPL sides are also pitching in. The Rajasthan Royals have raised INR 7.5 crore (US$ 1 million approx.) while the Delhi Capitals contributed INR 1.5 crore ($20,2500 approx.) for the cause.