Somerset built on Matt Renshaw’s audacious hundred on the opening day to lift hopes of that elusive first title

ECB Reporters Network30-Apr-2018
ScorecardSomerset’s seamers bowled them to a 118-run victory over Yorkshire at Taunton and a second success in as many Specsavers County Championship games this season.Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory, Tim Groenewald and Tom Abell shared the final day wickets as Yorkshire were dismissed for 202, chasing 321 to win. Jack Leaning offered most resistance with 68.It is the first time since 1993 that Somerset have won their opening two Championship fixtures. They took 20 points to Yorkshire’s threeStarting the morning on 49 for 1, needing a further 272 to win, Yorkshire lost Cheteshwar Pujara to the first ball, caught behind off Gregory, and went on to struggle against some accurate seam bowling.

Coaches’ verdict

Andy Hurry (Somerset director of cricket): “The magic wand behind winning our first two games is all the hard work put in by the players and the coaching staff during the winter. It was a tougher game than our first win over Worcestershire and it took a real team effort to come out on top.”
Andrew Gale (Yorkshire coach): “The difference between the teams was our first innings batting. I thought our approach was poor and that we could have put more pressure on the Somerset bowlers. Matt Renshaw has come out and played like it was a T20 game for them. He couldn’t trust his defence on that pitch so he went on the attack. I can’t remember seeing a Championship innings in April like it.”

Adam Lyth, on 34, edged Groenewald to James Hildreth att first slip and Gary Ballance was caught by wicketkeeper Steve Davies pushing forward to Gregory. Matthew Waite could make only six before being caught and bowled by Overton off a leading edge and when Andy Hodd fell lbw to the same bowler for a single Yorkshire were in disarray at 103 for 6.The afternoon session began with a stubborn partnership between Leaning and Tim Bresnan, who put together a stand of 56 without looking troubled.It took Abell bringing himself on from the River End to break the partnership. The Somerset skipper bowled an impressive spell, swinging and seaming the ball.Bresnan fell leg-before for 21 to a delivery that nipped back at him after Leaning had moved to an impressive half-century off 128 balls, showing commendable technique and patience.Jack Brooks counter-attacked to also make 21 off just 16 balls. His entertaining cameo was ended when Groenewald took a sharp return catch, one-handed to his right.Abell struck again when Ben Coad edged a good delivery to Marcus Trescothick at second slip and at 191 for 9 Yorkshire were a beaten side. The second new ball was taken and Somerset completed a comprehensive win when Leaning was caught at square-leg, top-edging a pull shot off Overton.They are dreaming of a title challenge at Taunton•Getty Images

A day of bright sunshine, with a biting wind, ended with home supporters dreaming that this might finally be the year Somerset clinch the Championship title for the first time in their history. There is a long way to go, but it has been a hugely encouraging start for new director of cricket Andy Hurry and head coach Jason Kerr.The one negative for Somerset was that Josh Davey pulled out of his run-up after bowling five balls of an over with the total 103 for five and took no further part.

Lungi Ngidi bowled a fiery spell of 4 for 10 to keep Kings XI to 153 before a strong and changed CSK line-up changed it down

The Report by Sreshth Shah20-May-20184:37

Agarkar: Bizarre changes from CSK in batting line-up

The equation was steep but simple for Kings XI Punjab. They had to win by a minimum of 53 runs to leapfrog to the fourth playoff spot, but Lungi Ngidi’s brutal spell of 4 for 10, followed by a patient innings from Suresh Raina slashed Kings XI’s hopes and knocked them out of the IPL. The result secured Rajasthan Royals’ fourth place in the playoffs.The evening started with Kings XI on 12 points, but with a net run rate of -0.490. Royals – who finished their league stage on Saturday – were already on 14 points but with a much better net run rate (-0.250), forcing Kings XI to chase a big win against Chennai Super Kings.But that wasn’t to be as CSK recovered from 27 for 3 to thwart Kings XI’s challenge. After posting 153, Kings XI needed to restrict CSK to 100 or under, but were knocked out as soon as the hosts went past that score in the 15th over. Eventually, Raina steered CSK to a comfortable five-wicket win, and ensured they finished second on the points table.Sunrisers Hyderabad (first) and Kolkata Knight Riders (third) are the other two teams to join CSK and Royals in the playoff.Ngidi, Chahar rattle Kings XI with seam and swingAsked to bat, Kings XI needed a big total to stay alive, but lost Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and KL Rahul in their first four overs. It wasn’t the pressure that Kings XI were under, but fiery spells of fast bowling from Ngidi and Deepak Chahar that stalled the visitors.The surface at the MCA Stadium had both seam and swing on offer early on, and Ngidi struck early when Gayle gloved a leg-side delivery to MS Dhoni. Finch was squared up by Chahar next over, when he edged a delivery that was angling in, finding the safe hands of Raina at first slip. KL Rahul – Kings XI’s highest run-scorer of the season – was out to Ngidi at the end of the fourth over, when he shouldered arms to a short-of-length delivery, but the angle resulted in the ball clipping the top of off stump in spectacular fashion.Kings XI began a recovery in the form of a 60-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Manoj Tiwary (35) and David Miller (24), but Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo dismissed both batsmen in consecutive overs. Karun Nair fought on, scoring a 26-ball 54, but with no other batsman for company, all Kings XI could score was 153.CSK recover after early wobble; Dhoni does a BradmanKings XI weren’t going down without a fight, and that was on display when Ambati Rayudu edged Mohit Sharma to the keeper for his first single-digit score of the season. Ankit Rajpoot then delivered a superb double-wicket maiden that forced CSK to stay on their toes. His swing bowling made Faf du Plessis edge to slip and Sam Billings lost his off sump that put the hosts on the back foot. With CSK three down inside five overs, Kings XI were in with a sniff.But just how Don Bradman did in the New Year’s Ashes Test of 1937, Dhoni opted to shuffle his batting order, and chose to send his lower-order batsmen in before himself, Bravo and Jadeja.With Raina for company, Harbhajan Singh scored 19 and Chahar smashed a 20-ball 39 to take CSK beyond the 100-run mark. Chahar’s wicket in the 17th over brought Dhoni out amid loud cheers, and an unbeaten 45-run partnership with Raina took CSK home with five balls to spare. In classic Dhoni style, he finished the game with a six.

They played key roles in Sri Lanka not taking the field for two hours on the third day of the St Lucia Test and were hit with a Level 3 charge

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2018Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and manager Asanka Gurusinha have admitted to breaching the ICC Code that relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game” and could be suspended for two to four Tests, or between four and eight limited-overs internationals.They were charged with a level 3 offence by ICC chief executive David Richardson, after Sri Lanka refused to take the field on the third morning of the second Test against West Indies in St Lucia and delayed the start of play by two hours. Sri Lanka did this after the on-field umpires had informed them ten minutes before the start of play that they were changing the ball because they suspected its condition had been illegally altered.”This action was alleged to amount to a serious breach of the Laws of Cricket and to be contrary to the spirit of the game,” the ICC said.The ICC appointed Michael Beloff QC as the Judicial Commissioner to hear the case against Chandimal, Hathurusingha and Gurusinha to determine the appropriate sanction.Among the points the Sri Lanka camp is likely to make to Beloff is that the entire two-hour delay was not exclusively down to their reluctance to play. It is possible Sri Lanka’s team management believe that roughly midway through the scheduled morning session, they felt they had come to an agreement with the match officials, wherein although Chandimal would still have to face a ball-tampering charge at the end of the Test, the officials would refrain from imposing the five-run penalty and changing the ball. In fact, on the basis that there would be no immediate penalties, the Sri Lanka side did take the field at 10:50 am, an hour and 20 minutes past the scheduled start. However, to Sri Lanka’s surprise, the umpires changed the ball at this stage. It was at this point that the Sri Lanka team dug in its heels again. They left the field, returning only forty minutes later, to actually start play.It must be stressed, however, that there is strong disagreement about this sequence of events. There is another suggestion that no deal was actually struck; such a deal, it is felt, would effectively mean there was no charge to be laid, and that umpires were not following playing conditions. In this version of events, the false start is blamed on a misunderstanding between the match officials and the Sri Lanka team.When play did eventually begin on day three, Sri Lanka Cricket issued a release denying wrongdoing and said they were playing “under protest”. The Sri Lanka captain later pleaded not guilty to the charge of ball-tampering, but video footage suggested he had taken something from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and applied saliva to the ball only a few seconds later.The ICC match referee Javagal Srinath found Chandimal’s explanation unsatisfactory and gave him two suspension points – meaning he would miss the third Test against West Indies – and fined him 100% of his match fees. Chandimal, however, appealed the ball-tampering verdict and his case will be heard by Beloff on June 22.The ICC said Beloff would use Chandimal’s appeal hearing to “establish the procedural schedule on the Level 3 charges.” A person guilty of a level 3 offence could get between four and eight suspension points.

The 28-year old Sri Lankan legspinner has been punished for conduct that was in breach of his player contract

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2018

Sri Lanka have sent legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay back home from the tour of West Indies owing to conduct that was in breach of his player contract. A press release from the board said the team management had reported an “incident” following which this decision was taken.Sri Lanka have had a difficult time in the Caribbean. They lost the first Test by a huge margin, became the subject of a ball-tampering controversy in the second, and the penalties handed out mean they won’t have the services of their captain Dinesh Chandimal in the third.Chandimal along with the coach Chandika Hathurusingha and manager Asanka Gurusinha are awaiting sanctions on another charge, relating to their role in holding up play for two hours on the third day in St Lucia in protest against the umpire’s suspicions that they had altered the condition of the ball.

Pakistan have decided to stick with almost exactly the same T20I squad that beat West Indies 3-0 in Karachi earlier this year for the two-match series against Scotland. The only change is batsman Haris Sohail coming in for the injured Babar Azam.Batsman Asif Ali, left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi and allrounder Hussain Talat, who made their international debuts in the series against West Indies, come back into the side to play their first games away from home. Ahmed Shehzad also returns, while Mohammad Amir, who appeared to be suffering from stiffness in his right shoulder on the final day of the Leeds Test, has been named in the squad.The two games will be played on June 12 and 13 in Edinburgh to wind up a tour that has seen Pakistan play Ireland’s first ever Test match, in addition to two Tests against England. Pakistan beat Ireland by 5 wickets in Malahide, before drawing 1-1 against England.T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi

Wongpaka Liengprasert picks up five wickets and then keeps composure with Thailand needing six off the final over to seal a last-ball win

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2018
ScorecardACCAlready, the 2018 Women’s Asia Cup T20 has thrown up a number of surprises. If Bangladesh, coached by former India wicketkeeper Anju Jain, beating India for the first time was huge, Thailand’s victory over Sri Lanka may herald a new lease of life to women’s cricket in the country. Their four-wicket win off the last ball in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday was their first ever against a Full Member, the result all the more incredible because Thailand don’t even have international status yet and because they were, incidentally, coached by a Sri Lankan, Janak Gamage.Offspinner Wongpaka Liengprasert justified the captain’s call to bowl first by taking 5 for 12 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 104, of which openers Yasoda Mendis and Anushka Sanjeewani made 54. Eight others recorded single-digit scores in an innings that featured three stumpings and three run-outs. The only other notable contribution came from Oshadi Ranasinghe, who was unbeaten on 20.Liengprasert picked up her first three wickets in successive overs – the 10th, 12th and 14th of the innings. She then removed top scorer Sanjeewani for 32 in the 17th to reduce Sri Lanka to 93 for 7. Sornnarin Tippoch picked up the two other wickets to fall.In three previously completed innings in the tournament, Thailand hadn’t scored more than the 67 for 8 they made in the tournament opener against Pakistan. So to chase down 105 against the four-time runners up was always going to be a tall order.But they started well. The openers put on 43 runs in 7.5 overs, and another 34 were added for the second wicket. When Naruemol Chaiwai fell after updating her top score in the tournament from 20 not out to 43, Thailand were 77 for 2. For most sides, this may have been a cruise, but for an inexperienced outfit not exposed to top-flight cricket, needing 28 off 29 balls, even with eight wickets in hand, wasn’t going to be straightforward.Another wicket fell four deliveries later, in the 16th over, to turn this into a battle of nerves. Nattaya Boochatham, the No. 3, batted till the penultimate over to make 19, before being dismissed.With Thailand needing six off the final over, they lost the wicket of Tippoch, but weren’t going to be denied. Liengprasert, who did all the damage with the ball, kept her composure to make a crucial 13 off 9 balls to clinch a famous win.

Chelsea saw the best and worst of striker Nicolas Jackson as he fired in the opening goal against Brentford shortly after missing an open goal.

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• Jackson missed embarrassing open goal
• Redeemed himself with header
• First league goal since December

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Senegal international was ridiculed by fans after he found himself faced with an open goal but managed to send his shot tamely into the defender's path in an embarrassing moment. The attacker managed to redeem himself shortly afterwards, though, when he got on the end of a wonderful Malo Gusto cross and headed into the net. The Chelsea man then went on to 'ssshh' the Brentford fans in his celebration.

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• WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  Supporters mocked the Blues forward for his initial miss, accusing him of tackling himself and saying that it was easier to score than miss the target.

  "Nicolas Jackson is a clown", X user @EbukaMeansGreat wrote, while @Nkunkumehn said Jackson "literally managed to dribble himself".

  After Jackson managed to give Chelsea the breakthrough, journalist Kieran Gill gave a fair assessment, saying: "Saw a few sides of Nicolas Jackson in that first half. Tackled himself while trying some stepovers, should’ve scored after rounding the goalkeeper, but ultimately got his goal and celebrated by shushing Brentford supporters."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The goal Jackson did manage to score is his first in the Premier League since December, though he now has goals in back-to-back games after helping fire his team to a 3-2 win against Leeds in the FA Cup during the week. He now has 11 goals from 26 appearances for Chelsea.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  Mauricio Pochettino will hope his team can see out the win against Brentford and Jackson will be eager to go on a three-game scoring streak when they come up against Newcastle in the Premier League in their next match on March 11.

Wicketkeeper-batsman has been confirmed as overseas signing for four County Championship matches

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2018

Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batsman, has been confirmed as Nottinghamshire’s overseas signing for four Specsavers County Championship matches towards the end of the season.De Kock, who is expected to be in Sri Lanka with the South Africa squad next month, will be available for the trips to Hampshire and Surrey in August, as well as two home matches against Yorkshire and Essex in September.He has been signed as a specialist batsman, with Tom Moores now established as the county’s first-choice wicketkeeper since the retirement of Chris Read last season.De Kock, 25, made his Test debut in 2014 against Australia and has since gone on to amass nearly 2,000 runs at an average of 38.20, including a career-best of 129 not out against England.”I’m very excited about joining Nottinghamshire and playing at one of the best grounds in the world at Trent Bridge,” said de Kock.”I enjoyed playing in England during the 2017 tour with South Africa and I am looking forward to coming back over and putting in some good performances for Nottinghamshire.”The team has made a brilliant start to the season in the Championship and hopefully when I come over we can be challenging for the title in the final rounds.”De Kock endured a tricky time with the bat in the 3-1 Test series defeat against England last summer, averaging 23.12 in four matches with a top score of 68. However, his pedigree is not in question as he approaches his prime as an international cricketer.”Quinton is a fantastic player and we can’t wait to welcome him into our squad for the Championship run-in,” said Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell.”He’s one of the best batsmen in the world across all formats and he will add some further firepower to our Championship batting order.”Knowing that we only had Ross Taylor for the first three months of the season we have been working hard to secure world class replacement for the back end and Quinton certainly fits that bill.”He’s in the same mould as Ross in the fact that he likes to score quickly and play in an attacking style and I am sure he will enjoy the late summer pitches in England.”Overall in his first class career, de Kock has scored over 4,000 runs, with nine centuries and 27 fifties, and he is hoping to translate those numbers into further scores during his first county stint.

An opening stand of 189 inflicted Glamorgan’s fifth defeat in five Royal London Cup games this season and put Essex back into contention to move through to the knockout stage

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2018
ScorecardVarun Chopra and Adam Wheater put on a swashbuckling stand of 189 to inflict Glamorgan’s fifth defeat in five Royal London Cup games this season and put Essex back into contention to move through to the knockout stage.Until Wheater was stumped for 88 off 99 balls, it had looked like a race to see who would reach their century first. However, Chopra was left stranded on 98 when Essex passed the target of 201 with 18 and a half overs to spare.Chopra’s 84-ball innings, with nine fours and four sixes, took his season’s tally to 445 runs from five innings.Essex’s victory was set up by some accurate and parsimonious bowling, led by Jamie Porter, and supported by Matt Coles’s 3 for 41 in his first one-day outing since moving from Kent.Porter, who had been rested for the last three games, bowled his 10 overs straight through to record best List A figures of 4 for 27.By reaching their target so quickly, Essex improved their run-rate significantly, which could prove crucial if they win their remaining group matches against Sussex on Sunday and Kent next Wednesday and qualification goes to the wire.For Glamorgan, Chris Cooke marked his 32nd birthday with sixes off successive balls in a 75-ball 59, and shared a 64-run seventh-wicket stand in 12 overs with Andrew Salter that lifted the general lethargy surrounding the Glamorgan innings.Glamorgan, put in on a blameless wicket posted just 34 from the first 10 overs for the loss of their openers. Nick Selman epitomised the delusory pace with 10 from 22 balls before he nicked Porter low to Chopra at first slip. Aneurin Donald had already gone to the first ball he faced, edging a straight one behind in Porter’s second over.Ingram should have followed when he had 4 to another edge off Porter, but Chopra dived to his left, getting both hands to the ball but unable to hang on.However, the first time Porter went around the wicket he ended Ingram’s sequence of five successive one-day centuries against Essex. The left-hander was pinned on his crease as the ball slanted in, and he was out for 13.David Lloyd did not last long, driving Wagner forcefully square to cover point where Simon Harmer took a spectacular catch. Connor Brown, who had managed four fours in a debut 31, departed to a one-handed catch by Adam Wheater in front of first slip to give Porter his fourth wicket.Cooke and Wagg put on 42 for the sixth wicket in 16 overs before Wagg played all around one from Ravi Bopara and was bowled. Andrew Salter helped Cooke increase the rate and lifted Wagner over mid-on to put up Glamorgan’s 150 as late as the 43rd over.Salter hammered a second six over cow corner to dent Coles’s otherwise parsimonious figures, but when he went for another next ball, he was caught on the boundary. He had hit 43 from 47 balls, and shared in a 64-run stand with Cooke in 12 overs.Cooke passed fifty from 72 balls with a six flicked off his legs during the most expensive over of the innings which cost 17 runs. Bopara thought he had Cooke, on 59, caught off a head-high no-ball by Cook, but the South African swung at the next ball and Bopara took the return catch above his head.Coles wrapped up the innings with wickets in successive balls for figures of 3 for 41.Chopra showed the Essex intent. Ruaidhru Smith was twice deposited over the leg-side boundary ropes for six in his first two overs.With Wheater finding the gaps, the opening pair had 50 on the board inside eight overs, 100 up in the 16th. The wicketkeeper was first to his personal fifty from his 55th ball.Chopra’s half-century came from 45 balls and contained five fours and those two sixes.When he was 63, Wheater had a reprieve as a lofted drive flew through van der Gugten’s hands at midwicket. The 150 partnership came up in 26 overs before Chopra clouted Salter for a straight six, and then helped himself to four and another six in successive balls off the spinner.

Former Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta achieved yet another milestone in his career as he made his 1,000th career appearance in the UAE Pro League.

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• Iniesta made 1,000th career appearance
• Played for Emirates FC against Ajman
• Barcelona congratulated Iniesta

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Iniesta was included in Emirates FC's starting lineup as they took on Ajman in a UAE Pro League clash. The veteran midfielder spent 80 minutes on the pitch on the landmark occasion, although his team went down 2-0 in the game.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 39-year-old began his senior professional career at Barcelona in 2002 and spent the next 16 years at the club appearing in 674 matches across all competitions. He left them in 2018 for J-League side Vissel Kobe. On achieving the milestone, the Catalan giants took to X to congratulate their club legend.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  After his contract expired in Japan, Iniesta was linked with a move to MLS side Inter Miami where he could have reunited with Lionel Messi. He eventually moved to the Middle East where he signed for the UAE club.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ANDRES INIESTA?

  The former Spain international will be next seen in action on March 8 as Emirates Club FC take on Al-Bataeh in the UAE Pro League.