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Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Lewis Gregory claim two each against floundering Warwickshire

Paul Edwards29-Apr-2022
No county’s home is woven more lovingly into its immediate environment than the County Ground. Even those of us who already knew this so well are surprised by the intimacy of the place and the gentle intensity with which the game is followed here. The Wickets remains the best café on the circuit and this morning Em and Barbs were providing their customers with bowls of porridge or massive bacon barms while still finding time to ask why Peter Siddle isn’t playing. The regulars joked with them and agreed that it had been a good first day for Somerset although wasn’t it about time an’ all. On the walls, signed shirts evoked Somerset’s past, present and perhaps its future, too: Marcus Trescothick, Jack Brooks, Tom Abell.So imagine the conversations tomorrow morning when the locals reflect on a second day that Somerset dominated, first by making 458, in their own eccentric style, of course, and then by reducing Warwickshire to 197 for 9 with Craig Overton’s dismissal of Nathan McAndrew for 47 a few overs before the close topping things off very happily. The follow-on looms for Warwickshire and Somerset’s first victory of the season late on Saturday would be something to celebrate, a triumph to be shared with cricketers that the people of Taunton know, much as they know their butcher, their grocer or their children’s teacher. How many county clubs can claim a comparable affinity?Somerset’s players, you see, are more than names on shirts and have always been so. Before a match or on a training day you might see them strolling into town on an errand. The club’s business connections are more likely to be made with local companies than multi-national airlines. Even the ground sponsors, Cooper Associates, are based just across the way in James Street.On the excellent live stream this morning they mentioned the 85th birthday of Terry Barwell, who played 44 first-class matches for the county, almost all of them in the sixties, when a team featuring Bill Alley, Mervyn Kitchen and other solid citizens more than held its own in an age that suddenly seems almost medieval in its remoteness. In those summers Somerset’s players had to take care not to get splinters in their feet from the old pavilion’s wooden floor.Which is not to say that Somerset’s current cricket is in want of eccentricity. They still take the long route to most winning posts, something in evidence this morning when they lost four wickets lickety-split. Andrew Caddick, a player from a later generation than Barwell and Kitchen but whose strike rate was often impressive on this ground, arrived in the press box and watched three wickets fall in four balls, all of them bowled.Related

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Craig Miles jagged a couple in, one to Tom Banton, who didn’t attempt a stroke, and another to Overton, who jabbed forward but left a gate open. Next over, Lewis Gregory’s loose drive gave Oliver Hannon-Dalby his fourth wicket and Somerset were eight down. Immediately, the gloom-junkies wondered whether 373 was anything like enough, but Josh Davey and Jack Leach showed good sense in adding 44 for the ninth wicket and Brooks showed a good eye in clouting 32, thereby delaying lunch.Someday, a statistician, probably Andrew Samson, will work out the impact of last-wicket stands on openers. Somerset’s eighth wicket fell at 11.40, at which time Alex Davies and Dominic Sibley probably began their mental preparations for beginning Warwickshire’s innings. But it was another hour before the ninth wicket fell and a further 30 minutes before Brooks’ cheery assault was ended. Then we had lunch and so it was not until 1.50 that Davies and Sibley marched out with their pads on.Too much can be made of such relatively simple analyses. “Post hoc ergo propter hoc,” some of you may be saying, and wisely, too. Warwickshire’s loss of four wickets inside the first 20 overs of their innings owed more to the bravery and excellence of Somerset’s bowlers than the top order’s mental fragility. Brooks tested Davies with a couple of short ones and was hooked; he pitched it up and had his man caught at slip by Overton. Four overs later Davey replaced Brooks and had Sibley leg before in his first over, although the batter perhaps thought the ball was tailing down leg. Rob Yates followed ten minutes later when he inside-edged Davey onto his pad and Overton swooped from third slip.This was turning into one of those unexpectedly glorious afternoons for Somerset supporters and their delight was deepened when Will Rhodes’ ugly and barely describable aborted pull off Gregory shovelled a catch to Lammonby to mid-on. All the dismissed batsmen had hit boundaries but Abell posted at least two slips all afternoon and Matt Lamb nicked a catch to the second of them, Matt Renshaw. Michael Burgess replaced him and someone noted that the Warwickshire keeper had made 348 runs in his two innings this season. Another fair point but a bowler’s target is his opponent in pads rather than his statistics or his reputation. Burgess nicked Overton to Steve Davies and Warwickshire took tea on 92 for 6.The evening session could barely have gone any worse than the afternoon for the champions but it still began badly when Danny Briggs was leg before wicket to Jack Leach’s fourth ball of the day. That brought McAndrew out to join Sam Hain, who had been exhibiting the self-denial which Jonathan Trott, his mentor and current coach, probably admires. The pair added 76 and the balance of the day was shifting a little when Abell brought himself on at the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End and had the Warwickshire batsman caught behind for 54. Abell leapt high with delight and if they had been capable of such athletic larks, one or two spectators would have joined him. As it was, they joined him in spirit and Abell, who is much-loved down here, probably felt their pleasure. It is the Somerset way.

Kane Williamson fifty in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad get knocked out in Qualifier 2

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Nov-20205:13

Were Sunrisers out of the chase after Warner’s wicket?

The Delhi Capitals came into Qualifier-2 having won just one of their last six games, and another defeat here would have left everyone writing their campaign off as a squandered opportunity. But here they are now, in their maiden IPL final, one win away from glory.Their performance in this Qualifier was like their season in miniature: they flew out of the blocks, then stuttered, but they kept themselves in the game and won the key moments. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had won their last four games on the trot, began poorly – with ball and bat as well as in the field – and made up ground later on, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Iyer urges Capitals to ‘play freely’ in the final

Making it to their maiden IPL final is the “best-ever feeling” for the Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer, who now wants his team to play freely against the Mumbai Indians in the final on Tuesday.
“The journey has been a roller-coaster,” he said at the post-match presentation. “The emotions keep going high and low, so you can’t have the same set of routines. Have to keep chopping and changing.
“Hoping that in the next game as well, against Mumbai, the biggest team, we’re able to play freely.”
Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Iyer said, they were wary of the threat posed by Rashid Khan: “We were going at 10 run per over, but we know Rashid can be lethal in the middle. The plan was to not give him wickets.
Speaking of the decision to open the batting with Stoinis, he said: “We were lacking with the opening partnership, needed a rocket start. We thought if Dhawan goes [on without taking risks] and plays maximum deliveries, he [Stoinis] can give us a good start.”

Two key tactical moves paid rich dividends for the Capitals. They opened with Marcus Stoinis for the first time in the season, and he, along with Shikhar Dhawan, rewarded them with their best powerplay of the season. They also brought Shimron Hetmyer back into their side, and his late hitting ensured the Capitals put up a challenging total despite a significant slowdown through the second half of their innings.Stoinis contributed heavily with the ball as well, taking two wickets in the fifth over of the Sunrisers innings, and then coming back to remove Kane Williamson just when he seemed set to pull off his second chasing masterclass in two games.Stoinis and Dhawan set the toneThe Capitals’ run of poor form coming into this game had included three games where they had lost by 59, 88 and 57 runs. They didn’t want to be chasing again, and the toss went in their favour. And at one point it seemed as if everything would go in their favour.Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder kept the Capitals’ openers to just 11 from the first two overs, and the pressure produced a chance in the third over. Sandeep had bowled inswing to Stoinis with a 5-4 leg-side field, initially achieving an immaculate line, and an attempt to break the shackles led Stoinis to hit in the air, within range of Holder stationed at an unconventional short mid-on, only for the ball to burst out of his outstretched right hand.Then Sandeep lost his line, strayed too straight, and conceded back-to-back boundaries either side of deep square leg. Stoinis then went after Holder and smacked three fours and a six in the fourth over. Dhawan joined in the fun too, picking up three fours – one of them courtesy a misfield at short fine leg from T Natarajan – and a slog-swept six in the next two overs, and the Capitals ended up with not just their most productive powerplay of the season, but also only their third wicketless one, ending it 65 for 0.See off Rashid, feast on Nadeem, slow down at the finishRashid Khan hadn’t bowled a single powerplay over this season, coming into this game, and he didn’t bowl one here either. Perhaps it was a missed opportunity from the Sunrisers, who instead used the already smarting Sandeep and the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem in the fifth and sixth over.Rashid came on immediately after the powerplay, and struck in his second over, bowling Stoinis with a quick legbreak that ripped past the closed face of his bat. But while he continued to test the batsmen, they didn’t look to go after him, and he ended his four overs with figures of 1 for 26.The Capitals wouldn’t have minded that, given their start, and they made up against the unfortunate Nadeem, whom the Sunrisers ostensibly used to target the right-handed Stoinis and Shreyas Iyer, but who ended up running into the left-handed Dhawan instead. By the time he bowled his fourth over, Hetmyer had replaced Iyer and there were two left-handers at the crease, but the Sunrisers didn’t have a sixth bowling option to turn to. Nadeem struggled for control right through, and he finished with figures of 4-0-48-0, with Dhawan tonking him for 29 off 14 balls.At the 16-over mark, the Capitals were 145 for 2, and 200 seemed on the cards when Natarajan and Holder conceded a combined 31 from the 17th and 18th overs, with Hetmyer rampaging his way to 34 off 15. But Sandeep and Natarajan came back strongly in the last two overs largely by nagging away in the blockhole, with the left-armer Natarajan more or less nailing six yorkers in the final over. Only 13 came off the last two, and no boundaries. The Capitals had made 102 in their first 10 overs, but only 87 in their last 10.Rabada and Stoinis strike earlyBy the end of the powerplay, the Sunrisers seemed almost out of the contest. Kagiso Rabada struck with his first ball, a full inswinger that moved late, to bowl David Warner off his pads, and Marcus Stoinis struck twice in his first over – the fifth of the innings – to remove Priyam Garg and Manish Pandey after a brief flurry of boundaries from the second-wicket pair.At the six-over mark, the Sunrisers were 49 for 3, already needing more than 10 an over. This was a far more challenging task than the one Williamson and Holder had pulled off against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator.Williamson’s last standBut the game wasn’t over yet, not as long as Williamson was in the middle. He kept finding ways to hit boundaries, picking up minor errors in line or length and creating scoring opportunities with his footwork. He shoveled Rabada over midwicket after stepping across his stumps, hit Axar Patel and Praveen Dubey for straight sixes after stepping out to them, and helped Stoinis over backward square leg with an impudent flick over his shoulder.The departure of Holder in the 12th over – when the equation was 100 from 50 balls – didn’t stop the Sunrisers either, with Williamson now joined by Abdul Samad, who tore into Anrich Nortje in the 15th over, pulling him for a disdainful six before cashing in on width to pick up back-to-back fours. With 10 coming off the next over from R Ashwin, the Sunrisers needed 51 from 24.Then Stoinis came back, and made Williamson lose his shape for once, with a full, wide slower ball that he carved into the hands of deep cover. The game wasn’t completely safe yet, as Rashid Khan showed with a six and a four off Ashwin in the 18th over to bring the task down to 30 off 12. But the batsmen simply had to keep swinging, and after another six from Samad – off a borderline high full-toss – the big hits kept ending up as catches on the boundary, with Rabada picking up three such wickets in the 19th over to wrench the Purple Cap off Jasprit Bumrah.The eventual winner of that contest will be known on Tuesday.

There was arguably not a single player in England’s batting lineup in his optimal position at Lord’s – and it showed

Andrew Miller at Lord's15-Aug-2019In case you haven’t noticed, England’s Test batting line-up is in an absolute maelstrom. You used at least to be able to rely on it for perversity – for the top half to sink without trace (not much change there then, admittedly…) before that gloriously stacked lower-middle order would come rampaging into the breach, blades whirring like vengeful ninjas as they boshed and hacked their way out of a hole to achieve something north of 300 and place their side firmly in the contest.But right now, the components of this England team don’t seem to know where to bat, let alone how to bat in the Test format. An auto-completed innings on some late-1990s cricket captaincy simulator couldn’t have generated a more random route to England’s eventual 258 in 77.1 overs – a few fits here, a few starts there, a collapse, a recovery, a fade. It might prove competitive. It probably won’t.Either way, it left an awful lot of opportunity squandered, on a day when Nathan Lyon admitted that Australia had not been at their best. For, with the honourable exception of Rory Burns at the top of the order – whose latest display of Test-calibre yakka did owe a considerable amount to a terrible drop in the gully on 16 – there was arguably not a single other member of England’s 11 who was batting in his optimal position, and it showed in the final analysis.Jason Roy – too high! Joe Root – too high! Joe Denly – Too low! Jos Buttler – Too high! Ben Stokes – too low! Jonny Bairstow – too low! And so the spiel goes on, right down to the retention at No. 11 of a man who made 92 on his last visit to Lord’s. If England’s innings had been an episode of Play Your Cards Right, then Bruce Forsyth’s catchphrase “didn’t they do well?” would have been a bare-faced lie.Take that period, in the early afternoon, when a typically even-paced (okay, flat…) Lord’s pitch had lost any suspicion of venom under gently breezy blue skies, and Burns and Denly were chugging along with suspicious ease, at a perfectly acceptable rate of 2.9 an over, in a 66-run third-wicket stand.It was the sort of passage of play that ought, by rights, to have caused Tim Paine’s brow to furrow just a touch, as he considered the possibility that his decision to bowl first might have been a little bit impetuous. But, of course, by then Roy and Root – two of the men best equipped to take advantage of such conditions – had already been chopped down before they could get going.Now, you shouldn’t be surprised to suffer a few early casualties in a Test innings, especially when Josh Hazlewood is bearing down on you like a sweaty-toothed attack hound unleashed from a summer in purgatory. But seeing as the primary virtues displayed by both Denly and Burns were caution, judgement and a straight bat at the point of impact (irrespective of where Burns may have waved it before the ball was released), it seems strange not to have deployed both when survival against the new ball was the primary aim.And moreover, if Denly really does have a future in this England Test team, then surely he needs to be that man to bite the bullet, and front up alongside Burns and revert to a role that he has played for Kent in the past (and on far more occasions that Roy has ever done). If he soaks up some new-ball overs, job done. If he gets out cheaply, then at least he’s not a more prized scalp. Either that, or England need to start to accept that their quest for a reliable opening partnership is a simple case of damage limitation, and that Leach should be handed the nightwatchman role on a permanent basis. Harsh though it sounds, the same principles apply in both cases.It is time for Joe Denly – who again flattered to deceive – to front up and prove his worth•Getty Images

Instead, England have opted to expose a batsman of proven international pedigree in the one-day game, not least against Australia, against whom he averages 49.64 in 17 ODIs, including an England-record score of 180 at the MCG in 2018, but who is finding the transition to red-ball cricket as problematic as Hazlewood himself predicted on the eve of the series.According to CricViz, Roy’s false-shot percentage is 28.7 percent, the second-highest among all batsmen in the past 12 months – and though Burns is lurking fifth on that list, at 21.1 percent, his game is at least built to factor in the inevitability of new-ball hardship. Roy’s hand hands and pro-active mindset, by contrast, appear to be inviting more trouble than his talents can currently compute.As for Root, his reluctance to hunker down at No. 3 doesn’t even qualify as an open secret – he now averages less than 40 there in 43 innings, compared to 48.00 at No. 4 in 60. But he took one for the team in this series because there were no better alternatives, and his scalping against the new ball, pinned lbw by one that Hazlewood jagged back up the slope, was a classic example of why he’d prefer not to be exposed so early in a Test innings.ALSO READ: Lyon critical of Australia’s standards at Lord’sAnd the upshot was, that even at 92 for 2 half an hour after lunch, Australia knew that England were just one wicket from sinking into genuine peril, given that what remained of their counterattacking middle order was now pre-programmed to be trapped in two minds. Enter Buttler, exit Buttler – a man looking more frazzled by his role in England’s World Cup glory than perhaps any other player, and that’s saying something.
If there was a silver lining to England’s four-wicket capitulation in the third hour of the day, it was that Bairstow at the very least was reacquainted with the middle of his bat, after one of the most extraordinary collapses in Test form imaginable.Do you remember the days when Bairstow was without question England’s most accomplished Test batsman behind Root? At times in the past 12 months, you wonder if he remembers it either, but there it is – plain as day in his career record: 1470 runs at 58.80 for the calendar year in 2016, with four centuries including a career-best 167 not out on this ground against Sri Lanka.The discussion back then was whether Bairstow had it in him to become a genuine Test batsman, rather than a Gilchristian counterpunching No.7 … but as we all know, his preference has always been for the security that comes with his dual role of wicketkeeper, even it if means pinning him squarely to the lower-middle order, with all the jeopardy that that entails.His hard-earned half-century was at least the beginnings of a typical Bairstow riposte to criticism, though seeing as it began at 136 for 5 (soon 138 for 6), it never had enough road to develop into a full-blown screw-you-all performance. But either way, his form in the intervening period had been nothing less than shocking – eight single-figure scores in his previous ten on home soil, with a best of 18 and five ducks to boot.In such circumstances, allowing yourself to be typecast as a not-really batsman looks nothing like an insurance policy, more an invitation to be dropped. But that is rather the problem all the way up and down the order at present. Not really is as good as it is getting at present. And it’s not looking like being good enough to withstand an Australia team with as singular a focus as they’ve displayed on these shores in a generation.

Few would have imagined that Middlesex would come to Leicester in mid-June down in seventh, with only one win from five matches

David Hopps at Grace Road20-Jun-2018
Scorecard”In many ways, it’s been enjoyable to see grounds we don’t normally see,” said one good citizen of Middlesex as he reflected on life in Division Two of the Championship. What he politely left unspoken, though, as he gazed upon the hushed setting of Grace Road was the thought that one season would be quite enough. And, for Middlesex, an immediate return to Division One is not remotely the sure-fire thing that many pundits assumed it would be in April.Few would have imagined that Middlesex would come to Leicester in mid-June down in seventh, with only one win from five matches, to face a Leicestershire side, perennial whipping boys for longer than they care to remember, in third.Middlesex, already 28 points off a promotion place, need their spurt to begin soon. But a polished, unbeaten 150 by Colin Ackermann, once billed as the future of South African cricket, now seeking in his third season to be the future of Leicestershire, has ensured it must wait a little longer. The first day ended in the Foxes’ favour at 353 for 8.The South African was playing with a protective cast on a finger in his right hand, but he was not inhibited as he reached his hundred with a huge six over midwicket off the left-arm spinner Ravi Patel, whose inclusion ahead of Ollie Rayner did not pay immediate dividends, and collected 150 off the final ball of the day. He survived another blow, too, on 54, this time when a return drive from Neil Dexter struck the boot of Hilton Cartwright and flew up into his face. He remained down on the floor a worryingly long time before responding in redoubtable fashion.For Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, the phrase emblazoned on the back of his sponsor’s shirt – Perfect Smile – was hardly encouraged by the unfolding of the day. Until the league table improves he will just have to rely upon a few tips on how to fake one, such as the Tongue Touch Trick (place your tongue on the roof of your mouth), the Close and Open Eyes Trick (avoids awkward expressions brought on by dropped catches) and the Clamp and Smirk Trick (which in itself might not guarantee promotion but will apparently make him look cool and mysterious.The redoubtable county performer, Toby Roland-Jones, is out for the season, but three seamers – Tim Murtagh, James Harris and Hylton Cartwright have 53 wickets between them at a decent average and only one win has so far fallen their way. Two gun batsmen, Dawid Malan and Nick Gubbins, have been absent because of England and injury respectively and Sam Robson has barely made a run. Malan is back here with a big task ahead.Murtagh was again a great provider. To finish with 5 for 52 from 23 controlled overs and still be behind the game will have been a frustrating outcome. He made the first breakthrough of the day, producing a fine delivery which seamed back in to hit the top of Horton’s off and middle stumps.Two more wickets soon fell, but the cloud began to clear and Ackermann, in company with Neil Dexter, took advantage on a pitch which had been used the previous day for a one-day match between Leicestershire and India A.Dexter’s 50 against his former county came off 73 balls, but shortly after he was dropped by Middlesex captain Malan, a tough low chance diving to his right off James Harris, Murtagh beat an attempted drive and wicket-keeper John Simpson took an easy catch.Murtagh had Lewis Hill caught at first slip by Robson, bowled Zak Chappell and bounced out Callum Parkinson, but Ackermann found support in between times from Ben Raine and even Gavin Griffiths dug in for a career-best 18 not out.

Gary Wilson marked his first-class Derbyshire debut with an impressive half century on a day of fluctuating fortunes against Northamptonshire

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Gary Wilson made a handy start to his Derbyshire career•PA Photos

Gary Wilson marked his first-class Derbyshire debut with an impressive half century on a day of fluctuating fortunes against Northamptonshire in the Division Two County Championship match at Derby.Wilson, the former Surrey wicketkeeper batsman, showed excellent judgement to score 72 from 104 balls but three wickets from Nathan Buck ensured the honours were shared when rain forced an early close with Derbyshire 219 for 6.”It was important that we fought hard and I think it was a pretty even day,” Wilson said. “It will be an important first hour in the morning and if we can battle on and get as close to 300 as possible, I think we’ll be in a good position.”When I came to the wicket they had just gone ‘bang, bang’ so we had two new batters at the crease but we knew that if we absorbed some pressure and could counter a little bit we would be in a good position if we managed to come through that.”It could have been better for both teams as the initiative changed hands several times on a cool, overcast day when the County Ground floodlights were needed from the start of play.The overhead conditions probably persuaded Northants to bowl first and there was certainly enough to suggest it was the right decision as the seamers went past the bat numerous times.Ben Sanderson was the pick of the attack and was unlucky not to dismiss Luis Reece early on when the former Lancashire batsman, one of four Derbyshire debutants, edged just short of Ben Duckett at first slip.Both Reece and skipper Billy Godleman displayed good temperament to bat deep into the first session before Sanderson deservedly broke through when he got one to lift on Reece who was caught off the shoulder of the bat at fourth slip.Reece made only 19 but importantly for Derbyshire he batted for 95 minutes to take the sting out of the bowlers although Sanderson gained another reward for his morning’s work when he moved one back just enough to trap Godleman lbw for 33.The game appeared to have taken a significant shift towards Northants when two wickets in six balls early after lunch reduced Derbyshire to 114 for 4.Rory Kleinveldt had struggled for a consistent line in the morning but he found enough away movement to have Wayne Madsen caught at second slip for 12 before Buck pinned Shiv Thakor lbw with the first ball of the next over.For the next 25 overs it was about Wilson and Daryn Smit who also played soundly on his debut before he was squared up by Buck who then had Wilson lbw playing across the line before bad light and rain ended play.”I thought we bowled well as a unit and put the ball in the right area although maybe a bit too short but we’ll be happy if we bowl them out under 250,” Buck said.”It did a bit this morning but it still swung all day, we kept the ball in good condition, and we caught well again today. Four quick wickets in the morning and we should be alright.”

Jos Buttler’s fourth ODI hundred was also his slowest but it nevertheless provided England with the central pillar of their total of 399 for 9 in Bloemfontein and paved the way for them to go 1-0 up in the series

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2016Perhaps it was the nerves. Jos Buttler’s fourth ODI hundred was also his slowest but it nevertheless provided England with the central pillar of their total of 399 for 9 in Bloemfontein and paved the way for them to go 1-0 up in the series.Buttler’s role in South Africa up to the start of the ODIs had been to understudy Jonny Bairstow as Test wicketkeeper. It had been two months since his previous competitive involvement, during the limited-overs leg of England’s UAE tour, although he might have taken confidence from the fact his last ODI innings was a 46-ball hundred in Dubai, the fastest ever by an Englishman.That put him on the radar of IPL franchises and, with the auction set to be held in Bangalore on Saturday, another blistering century – this time from 73 balls – will have done his chances of being picked up no harm. Perhaps the thought that he is on the verge of joining a select group of England players to be invited to the IPL party added to the sense of trepidation.”I was really nervous,” Buttler said. “Usually, I feel quite calm having played a few games with the experience. But I was really nervous when I got out there and I think that nervous energy showed in my innings. At times, I was trying to tell myself to hit the ball along the floor and take my time and then I’d play a big shot without really realising it. I think it was just the nerves that was making that happen. When your first big shots come off, I think that really settles you down and you immerse yourself in the game and the situation.”I haven’t played for a while,” he added. “I finished well in Dubai but that is a long time ago and you’re never sure if you can carry form forward. I’ve batted a lot in the nets but being in the middle is a completely different kettle of fish.”The quicker Buttler gets into the middle, the better for England, it seems. Buttler was again promoted to bat at No. 4 in Bloemfontein and having scored back-to-back hundreds in the position he now averages 115.00 at a strike rate of 172.93 there. Under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, England have adopted a more flexible – not to mention aggressive – approach and it certainly seems to suit Buttler, who has scored three centuries in less than a year.He was ably supported by Alex Hales, Joe Root and Ben Stokes, who all scored fifties, as well as Jason Roy’s pulsating 48 from 30 balls that helped set the tempo as England racked up their second-highest total in one-day internationals, and their highest overseas.Jos Buttler muscled his way to his fourth ODI hundred•Getty Images

“We got off to such a great start,” Buttler said. “The way Jason and Alex set up the innings, that allowed for Morgs to tell me to get my pads on. As soon as I was ready, we lost a wicket without really the thought about what to do and how I was going to play. When you get the promotion, you feel the expectation. You’ve been put up the order to continue the momentum of the two guys who started it and Rooty took on as well. You feel like you want to keep that going. That’s the role I had to play after being moved up the order.”It happened in Dubai as well. We got off to a good start and I was told to be ready to go in earlier. The great thing for our side is that we have flexibility. It might be we need a left-hander and Stokesy can go in and chance his arm. I think that is another strength of the side we are developing. Everyone is flexible and we have guys who can go in and play different roles in different situations.”Although South Africa were still in contention to chase down 400 when the rain arrived on Wednesday evening, it is England who are 1-0 up and looking to continue a freewheeling run in limited-overs cricket that has seen them smashing through self-imposed barriers in the wake of their World Cup exit.”It gives us huge confidence to score nearly 400,” Buttler. “This group of players, we’ve been challenging ourselves and pushing ourselves for a number of months. At times, we’ll get it wrong and probably be all out for 280 in 40 over.”But today is another great step forward for everyone to start this way in a series overseas against a very good team. It’s brilliant, and we’ll take this confidence forward. It’s a shame the weather intervened, in what looked like it was going to be a really close match.”The IPL auction will be getting underway when England take on South Africa in the second ODI on Saturday. That might be another cause for nerves but Buttler is confident he will be able to tune out the noise until afterwards. “Obviously, I have no control over anything that is going on there. I’ll be interested to know what happens but I think it will be pretty easy being involved in a full-blooded one-day international. That needs all the attention it requires.”

Australia took firm control of the Ashes Test, reducing England to 159 for 6 on the second day, but Heather Knight kept the home side fighting and on track to avoid the follow-on

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013
ScorecardHeather Knight held England’s floundering innings together•Getty Images

Australia took firm control of the Ashes Test, reducing England to 172 for 6 on the second day, but Heather Knight kept the home side fighting and on track to avoid the follow-on after the middle order had been removed by Erin Osborne and the 17-year-old Holly Ferling.Australia had made an bold declaration shortly before lunch on 331 for 6 – there is an incentive to win the Test with six points on offer in the new-style multi-format Ashes concept – after Sarah Elliott had reached a maiden Test hundred having been unbeaten on 95 overnight while Alex Blackwell contributed 54.Ellyse Perry clubbed 31 off 24 balls and then struck an early blow when Arran Brindle was lbw in the ninth over. However, England formed themselves a decent platform as Knight and Sarah Taylor came together, but Taylor’s dismissal for a sparkly 33 prompted a collapse.Taylor became a maiden Test wicket for Ferling, who then claimed the key scalp of Charlotte Edwards lbw although the England captain was far from impressed with the decision. Substantial damage was then caused by offspinner Osborne as she claimed three wickets in the space of four overs to leave England tottering on 113 for 6.England, though, resisted stoutly through the remainder of the day as Knight and Laura Marsh compiled a 36-over partnership worth 59. Knight hit 10 boundaries in her 225-ball innings while Marsh blocked through 114 deliveries to remain unbeaten on 13.”It’s a pretty good pitch out there and with Laura we managed to put together a partnership,” Knight said. “Our team bats really low down the order so hopefully we can go out tomorrow, score a few more runs and then come hard at them with the ball.”I decided to concentrate on what I was doing at my end and not worrying too much about the wickets we were losing other end. I feel good about my cricket at the moment. Whatever I’m doing is working so it’s just about carrying that on. I think it’s going really well.”However we still need 10 more to avoid follow-on so that is our first objective and then there’s the new ball in six overs so hopefully that will bring a few more runs.”

Ian Saxelby took two wickets as Gloucestershire booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life T20 with a rain-affected eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire.

08-Jul-2012
ScorecardIan Saxelby took two wickets as Gloucestershire booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life T20 with a rain-affected eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire.In their first match since the departure of head coach David Capel, Northamptonshire were reduced to 31 for four before rain curtailed their innings, with Saxelby taking two for six from two overs.The Gladiators were given a revised target of 23 from five overs and, unsurprisingly, this did not prove difficult as they took just 14 balls to reach it.It allowed them to overtake Warwickshire in the group standings after their defeat to Glamorgan to qualify alongside Somerset and Worcestershire.The result also means Northamptonshire finish bottom of the group with just a solitary win and they have now gone two years without a home victory in the competition.Gloucestershire won the toss and chose to field and they claimed the wicket of Northamptonshire captain Alex Wakely (two) in the second over when James Fuller took out his off stump.David Willey (five) followed by launching Saxelby to Gladiators captain Hamish Marshall at mid-on before Cameron White (four) edged the same man to wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty with the very next ball.The players were then taken off for rain at the end of the fifth over with the Steelbacks struggling on 14 for three and their hopes of a first home t20 win since July 2010 fading.Play resumed 45 minutes later with no overs lost but Rob Newton soon departed for 12 when he was caught and bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan.Rain again forced the players off, only this time it was more persistent and this meant the end of the hosts’ foundering innings.Chasing just 23 from the minimum five overs, Gloucestershire lost former New Zealand international Marshall from the first ball when he was trapped lbw by Willey.Willey then ran out Australia batsman Ed Cowan from point after an aborted single off David Burton in the second over.But the winning run came with the second ball of the third over via a leg bye from the thigh of Ian Cockbain off the bowling of Lee Daggett.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws continued their relentless run towards the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals with their fifth win in five home matches as Northamptonshire Steelbacks were beaten by 23 runs

18-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Nottinghamshire Outlaws continued their relentless run towards the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals with their fifth win in five home matches as Northamptonshire Steelbacks were beaten by 23 runs. Overseas batsman Adam Voges was again the star, as the competition’s leading
scorer hit 49 from 32 balls to help the hosts reach 183 for 6. Fellow Australian international David Hussey contributed 33 while David Willey took 3 for 31 for the visitors.In reply, the Steelbacks never got to grips with the Notts bowling attack and although Alex Wakely struck an enterprising 61 from 36 balls with three fours and two sixes, they eventually finished on 160 for 6, with former Notts batsman Bilal Shafayat making 37. Samit Patel kept things tight to claim 2 for 29 with his left-arm spin and fast bowler Darren Pattinson, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, took 2 for 32.Notts have hit upon a winning formula at Trent Bridge in the past two seasons of batting first and defending a big target, and skipper Hussey had no hesitation in continuing the trend after winning the toss. Opening batsmen Alex Hales and Riki Wessels put on 46 in the first six overs
before Wessels was bowled by Willey for 29, having hit six fours from 19 balls.Willey also removed Hales four balls later for 17 but Voges and Hussey kept up the momentum with a partnership of 50 off 35 balls. Hussey launched James Middlebrook for six and two fours before he was adjudged lbw to Johan Botha, with Willey returning to bowl Patel, while Voges and Steven Mullaney were victims of Andrew Hall in the closing overs.Pattinson has made a habit of picking up a wicket with the new ball and his offcutter was too good for Rob Newton, who lost his off-stump. Shafayat and Niall O’Brien could not find the boundary in the early stages and although Northamptonshire reached the 10th over before losing another wicket, they were well behind the run-rate.The visiting batsmen were forced to hit out but only Wakely managed to reach the boundary, with O’Brien pulling to midwicket for 26, Shafayat caught at deep midwicket off Patel and the middle order subsiding under the pressure.

Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, has said a victory for England in the final ODI at Lord’s on Saturday will give them a definite advantage leading into the Ashes later this year

Cricinfo staff03-Jul-2010Steve Waugh, the former Australia captain, has said a victory for England in the final ODI at Lord’s on Saturday will give them a definite advantage leading into the Ashes later this year.”Australia would certainly like to be 3-2 rather than 4-1,” Waugh said during a press conference for the MCC World Cricket Committee. “At 3-2 neither side can say they had a big advantage, but 4-1 and England will walk away thinking we have got it over Australia.”They will think: ‘We won the Twenty20, we won the one-day games 4-1,’ and although Test cricket is a different game, momentum plays a big part in sport so this game coming up is important for Australia.”Waugh admitted England had grown more determined over the last year and will not be intimidated when they defend the Ashes this year. “I have noticed a bit of a change in the England side,” he said. “In the last 12 months they have escaped three Test matches. At Cardiff last year they were nine down and then the same happened in two Test matches in South Africa. That tells me they are a tough side to beat and fight all the way. They will go to Australia and will not be intimidated.”England had regained the Ashes in 2005, after a gap of 18 years, before being thrashed 0-5 when they toured Australia next year. However, they beat Australia 2-1 in 2009 under Andrew Strauss. The lessons learnt from the defeat in Australia on their previous visit, Waugh said, will stand England in good stead in their trophy defence.”I think they will learn from the last series, where they prepared poorly and were still thinking about the previous win in England [2005]. They got carried away but they won’t have the same complacency this time around. Eoin Morgan has brought a new element to the English side as well with the way he plays.”He has not lost in Australia, and it is really important whenever a side goes to Australia they have a lot of cricketers in there who have not been there before and experienced defeat. They go with fresh eyes and are not too worried about what has happened in the past and play on the present, so he [Morgan] will be an important part of the team.”