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Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu is confident his team will be able to put aside the 5-0 defeat they suffered in India and bounce back in the seven-match ODI series against England.

Sa'adi Thawfeeq24-Nov-2014Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu is confident his team will be able to put aside the 5-0 defeat they suffered in India and bounce back in the seven-match ODI series against England.The whitewash in India was just Sri Lanka’s third loss in their last ten series and Atapattu insisted the trip was not as bad as the scoreline suggests.”The best thing that happened to us in the three weeks in India is that although we went through a very bad period losing one match after another we had a very positive dressing room,” Atapattu said.”The players kept motivating each other, contributions were coming from every corner and the players wanted to do well although the execution was not right there. I’ve been in dressing rooms especially in India where things had gone wrong and I’ve seen worse than what I have experienced with this team.”We want to think that this is a new series and India is just a bad experience. Teams will go through such periods. We are a team that has done so well in the past few months or so winning six of our last ten one-day series and lost only three to Pakistan, South Africa and now India. For a team that has lost very few series we are a unit that is quite capable of bouncing back.”I am quite confident of the boys doing well especially in their preparations, practices, meetings and the efforts they are putting in. At the same time we got to know there are a few areas we need to brush up the bowling for instance. Lasith Malinga is nursing an injury and Sachithra Senanayake hopefully will come back very soon. We won’t be at full strength at least till mid-January. But the ones that we are working with are giving their 100 percent.”Atapattu said the team had started to show signs of playing the kind of cricket they are capable of during the fifth and final ODI at Ranchi, which was only lost by three wickets in the penultimate over.”The last game we really played to a plan that we are renowned for and if we had played the series that way it would have been more competitive. I wouldn’t guarantee victories but happier knowing that we had done something we are capable of doing without worrying about what the Indians can do.”Does that mean that Sri Lanka were under prepared going into the Indian series?”In a sense yes. It’s a known fact that this tour was not in our calendar but we were informed and people who had to take a decision took a decision. I am not going to debate on that. If this tour ended on a positive note it would have been a different story.”The Indian series was Atapattu’s first after being officially appointed full time head coach. He compared the beginning of his two-year tenure as head coach to the start of his international cricket career.”I see no difference to the start of my coaching career to the way I started my international cricket career,” Atapattu said. “I would’ve liked to have started on a better note but it has not gone that way. It cannot get any worse than this I can only see myself getting better and see the good side of it from here.”Atapattu began his Test career with a pair against India at Chandigarh in 1990 and his first six Test innings comprised five ducks and a single before he was able to break the hoodoo by scoring 25 against New Zealand at Dunedin seven years later.He went onto become one of the most successful opening batsmen the country has produced, scoring 5502 runs from 90 Tests at an average of nearly 40 and 8529 runs in ODIs.The upcoming seven-match one-day international series against England provides Atapattu with a chance to put the record straight. He described England, even without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, as a “very competitive side”.”The ODI teams around the world come with different strategies to adapt to the new rules that are implemented. They are two huge names that have made huge impact for England.”The bowlers they have brought on the tour are quite capable of disturbing some of the best batsmen on their day. It’s about respecting the ball not the bowler. England are a very balanced and strong side and they are also trying to figure out their best 15 for the World Cup. They are going to be very competitive no doubt about it.”

The American Cricket Federation (ACF), the unofficial governing body of cricket in America, has struck another blow in the on-going battle for relevance and authority within the country

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2014The American Cricket Federation (ACF), the unofficial governing body of cricket in America, has struck another blow in the on-going battle for relevance and authority within the country.While the official board, USACA, stumbles from crisis to crisis and is weighed down with crippling debts, the ACF have announced a major sponsorship deal with British kit manufacturer Newbery.The five-year deal will see the ACF’s 40-over competition rebranded as the Newbery American Cricket Champions League and will see all teams supplied with custom-designed kit at no cost. Shirts will also be supplied to umpires in the league.The timing of the news is intriguing. The ICC meets in Melbourne in the coming days to discuss, among other things, what to do with USACA and documents seen by ESPNcricinfo reveal they will be put on notice which gives them one year to comply.Under the ICC’s rules for membership, it is necessary for a nation to prove that it has only one governing body. But, over recent months, USACA has seen about a third of its league members pledge their support to the rival ACF instead.While it is still recognised as the governing body of cricket in America, USACA has recently seen its CEO quit in frustration at an inability of the board to accept governance reform, while a former board member, Brian Walters, has urged the ICC to take “strong action” against it. It is at least $3m in debt and, without the ICC’s funding, worth around $400,000 a year, its financial situation would be strained further.The fact that the ACF have managed to attract sponsorship to their league may remind ICC officials of the potential that exists within America, however, and contrast sharply with the continuing failings of USACA.ACF CEO Jamie Harrison said: “We see this as a tremendous boost for cricket in the United States, as Newbery’s sponsorship of the national domestic 40-over league will do much to raise the competition’s stature and professionalism.”

Former West Indies batsman Gordon Greenidge has urged the West Indies cricket set-up to refrain from judging Clive Lloyd, the new convener of the selection panel, on short-term results

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2014Former West Indies batsman Gordon Greenidge has urged the West Indies cricket set-up to refrain from judging Clive Lloyd, the new convener of the selection panel, on short-term results. Greenidge also wanted Lloyd to be given the liberty to establish his methods, to help improve the performance of the West Indies team.Lloyd was appointed head of the selection panel earlier this month on a two-year contract along with former fast bowlers Courtney Walsh and Eldine Baptiste who replaced Clyde Butts and Robert Haynes as selectors. Comparing the situation in the West Indies to the football club, Manchester United, which have been struggling since the departure of long-time manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Greenidge stressed that Lloyd would need time to transfer his inputs to the team.”It is a bit like what’s happening at Manchester United,” Greenidge told . “Everyone’s expecting the new managers there to just pick up where Alex Ferguson left off – that’s impossible. The new man needs to transfer a serious input of his thinking to his team and the way he wants them to go. He needs to build a team and explain how he wants them to go forward.”It’s the same thing with Clive Lloyd. Unfortunately his job will be measured in terms of how successful the West Indies team is, that’s always been the case, but I think a change around is necessary and he needs to do that straight away.”Llyod recently said that his main focus as a chief selector would be to “harness talent from the regional Under-19 tournaments” by using the High Performance Centre in Barbados to instill skills and retain them in West Indies cricket. He had also stated that former players would be brought in to fulfill different roles. Greenidge, who played 59 Tests and 57 ODIs under Lloyd’s leadership, hoped the former West Indies captain would be appreciated by the board and given the resources he needed.”The powers-that-be need to accept Clive, appreciate him and look upon him as the person he is, someone who can get the job done,” Greenidge said. “I feel in recent times there has been a lot of disrespect shown to players who have played in the past and there has been more dictatorial behaviour happening around cricket in the Caribbean.”I haven’t been involved for a while which is a damned shame because a lot of players who played in the past have got so much to contribute and have not been given a chance to do so.”I just hope they recognise Clive’s contribution to the West Indies and give him the necessary tools to work with. I don’t see a problem at all with Clive but it may be a problem with the people he’s working with or the people he reports to.”The West Indies side has also had to cope with the departure of coach Ottis Gibson, who parted ways with the WICB before the ODI series against Bangladesh. Greenidge stressed that the board would have be patient with the new coach in the task of uniting the team.”People are going to expect the new coach to bring an immediate turnaround and I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” he said. “It’s going to take time for whoever takes over. I just hope that whoever it is can mould the group into a better fighting unit. It’s been very fragmented over the years and hopefully the new coach can make a difference and we can get away from the insular thinking.”

Matt Dunn spearheaded one of Surrey’s best days of the season as they took control against Gloucestershire

Press Association09-Jun-2014
ScorecardMatt Dunn spearheaded an excellent Surrey day•PA PhotosRory Burns and Zafar Ansari shared an unbeaten opening stand of 186 as Surreytook complete control on day one of their Division Twomatch against Gloucestershire.Matt Dunn took 4 for 37 while Jason Roy recorded career-best figures of3 for 9 from just four overs as Surrey dismissed their hosts for 112before lunch at Bristol.Burns (98 not out) and Ansari (84 not out) then set about putting their teamfirmly in the driving seat, guiding them to 186 without loss at the close atBristol, a lead of 74.Gloucestershire won the toss and decided to bat but lost their first wicketwith just the 11th ball of the innings as Dan Housego, making his firstChampionship appearance of the season, was bowled by Chris Tremlett without arun scored.Skipper Michael Klinger (4) soon followed with Gary Wilson taking the catchoff Dunn behind the stumps and Alex Gidman (11) was removed in the same overwith Jason Roy taking the catch.Tremlett had taken 6 for 59 against Gloucestershire earlier in the season andwhen he had Hamish Marshall caught behind for just one, the hosts were 17 for4.That became 25 for 5 when Ian Cockbain, another man making his firstfour-day appearance of the season, went for a duck, caught behind off Dunn.Geraint Jones and Will Gidman (19) put on 32 for the sixth wicket before thelatter was trapped lbw by Jason Roy and the part-time bowler was on a hat-tricktwo overs later as he removed Benny Howell (eight) and Tom Smith in successiveballs.Matt Taylor ably supported Jones before the former England wicketkeeper wascaught by Hashim Amla off Dunn for 28.Lunch was delayed with the home side nine down and Taylor (24) was the finalwicket to fall, caught behind off Jade Dernbach.The afternoon session would then belong to the visitors with Burns reaching2000 first-class runs and bringing up his half-century off 90 balls.Surrey trailed by just 14 at the tea break and were soon in credit withoutlosing a wicket with Ansari registering his 50 in 125 balls.The duo continued their progress and Burns ended the day just two runs short ofa century off 187 balls.Despite not taking a scalp on Monday Will Gidman, who leads the Division Twocharts with 31 wickets, was the pick of the bowlers, surrendering just 16 runsin 13 overs.

Opener Stephen Moore impressed with an unbeaten century as Derbyshire piled on the runs on the second day against Hampshire

Press Association21-Apr-2014
ScorecardStephen Moore helped Derbyshire respond strongly•Getty ImagesOpener Stephen Moore impressed with an unbeaten century as Derbyshire piled on the runs on the second day against Hampshire.Moore, the former Lancashire batsman, was unbeaten on 106 by stumps as the home side reached 203 for 2, trailing by 125 runs after Hampshire were bowled out for 328 in their first innings.Starting the day 231 for 5 after a weather-affected first day, the visitors lost Kyle Abbott for a duck after he was bowled out by Mark Footitt in the first over of the day but recovered thanks largely to a half-century from Joe Gatting.Sean Ervine fell five overs later – caught by Richard Johnson off Tim Groenewald – leaving Hampshire on 248 for 7 as Derbyshire continued to attack.Gatting, who began the day on 25, passed the fifty mark and continued to cause problems before he was sent packing, caught by Chesney Hughes for Wes Durston’s first wicket of the match. Footitt bowled Matt Coles lbw for 9 before Moore caught last man out Michael Bates, who managed 31, to leave Hampshire with a total of 328.In reply, Derbyshire lost opener Billy Godleman early on to leave his side 4 for 1 in the third over, but Moore began to pile on the runs, reaching his ton off 178 balls in 227 minutes. Wayne Madsen shared a 106-run second-wicket partnership with Moore before he was stumped for 36 off Liam Dawson.That brought Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the crease and, alongside Moore, he reached 35 not out as Derbyshire saw out the second day in a strong position.

R Ashwin has said he is in the “best frame of mind” and has not been thinking too much about his recent lack of wickets

Abhishek Purohit in Hamilton27-Jan-20140:00

‘Tie could be the turnaround for us’ – Ashwin

When he bowled Corey Anderson in Auckland, it was the first wicket R Ashwin had taken for close to 80 overs. The previous one had come seven weeks earlier, on December 8, when he dismissed Quinton de Kock in the second ODI against South Africa in Durban. Thereafter, he had gone wicketless in the Centurion ODI, the Johannesburg Test and in Napier and Hamilton on the current tour of New Zealand.It was not as if he was being taken apart each time he went without a wicket, but such a run can easily play on your mind. But Ashwin said he was in the “best frame of mind” and was not thinking too much about the lack of wickets. He had been dropped in favour of Ravindra Jadeja for the Durban Test after his failure to break through in Johannesburg, and said he had learned a lot from that tour.”Honestly I was not reading or looking into anything,” Ashwin said. “This is probably the best frame of mind I have been in. I have locked away a few things. I had a tour of South Africa which was quite a learning curve for me. I have decided if I am giving my best that is all I can do. I cannot go back reading articles and what people are saying about me. It does not make sense. I just locked myself out. I spoke to Dhoni about a couple of things, to the coach, had chats with a few people I trust. I thought things were going alright. It can happen, you cannot keep taking wickets or making runs all the time. The frame of mind I was in helped me perform the way I did.”Ashwin said he was feeling satisfied with the way he was bowling and had worked out how he had to go about the job away from home. “I have sorted out what length and what kind of bowling needs to be done. There are certain ways you need to construct a spell abroad. I have learnt that and put that into practice.”R Ashwin: “I had a tour of South Africa which was quite a learning curve for me”•BCCIThe new fielding restrictions have made it harder for bowlers in general. With lesser help available for spinners in overseas conditions, Ashwin said it had become difficult to look for wickets even if the batsmen were playing their shots and taking risks. “That particular thing falls out of the window with the current scenario. If there is spin and you are playing with the conditions helping you, then of course there is an opportunity to look to get a wicket but if it is stacked against you then you are fighting against something which is like a wall. You cannot box against a wall. You cannot fight against the conditions and go head on and take it on.”You definitely tend to be targeted as a spinner away from home. With the five-fielder [within the circle] rule you can only look to give a single. You cannot err on lengths. The batsman knows if you have your sweeper up you are not going to err on the shorter side so you are giving away some cues to the batsman in terms of what field you are setting, and you cannot be foolish enough to try and fool the batsman. They are going to look for boundaries. You have to be really smart and try and make sure you do what the team requires. It is easy to say wickets are not coming so I will look for wickets, but you end up giving 20-30 runs extra and you have to get it back at the end of the day.”Before the Auckland game, Dhoni had said one also had to look at what stage of the innings India were making Ashwin bowl. “I am using him in the Powerplay, in the slog after the 40th over also. You have to see all these things,” Dhoni said. “If you keep saying he is not getting wickets, then that will put pressure on him and in turn what may happen is he will be bowling the 42nd or 43rd over and look for a wicket and it may add another 6-10 runs. I am quite happy with how he has been bowling. If I try to use him upfront, he will be slightly less expensive. As of now both spinners are doing their job quite well. Looking at the conditions, I am practically judging them.”

David Warner has said that he likes getting involved in a sledge to spur him on at the crease, and sometimes he starts the banter to get himself going

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town04-Mar-20140:00

‘I love it when there’s banter in the middle’

Throughout their long and legendary careers, it was a common dictate of bowlers and fielders not to sledge Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. In the case of Tendulkar, the verbals seemed to have no effect. In the case of Lara, they often served to rouse him to feats of batsmanship that may not have been seen had the opposition kept their mouths shut.David Warner is still a long way from emulating either man in terms of run-making, but he too can be added to the ‘do not sledge’ ledger. Following the ball-tampering allegation he raised on Australian radio, Warner was not only fined by the ICC but warned by South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith to expect a hot reception at Newlands. His response has been definitive, twin centuries in a dominant Australian display to cap the finest series of his career thus far.David Warner: “If they are not going to talk to me when I am out there I will try to niggle them, I will try and say something when I bat.”•Getty ImagesWhile tempering some of his earlier excesses of quote-ability, Warner was frank in expressing his delight in making himself a target, then backing his ability to fight off his assailants, no matter how riled they may be. So much does Warner thrive on confrontation that he admitted to looking to start one if it was not already there.”You don’t always want to play like that but when there is a little bit of pressure on I do find another gear,” he said. “It does help me sometimes but I think the other thing is that when I get out there and they start giving me a little bit of banter I love that I am in the contest then.”If they are not going to talk to me when I am out there I will try to niggle them, I will try and say something when I bat. I’ve ventured away from that because now I have given ammo out in the media or in previous games. I love it when they come at me it is a challenge.”Sometimes I think when I do deliver something in the media I probably do say it in a way where it does get misunderstood. But I’ve been brought up to be honest, I’m always going to continue to be honest and not cross that line. I’ve got to keep working on my ability to do that, and not give you guys ammo to write things.”It will never be forgotten that Warner made his start via Twenty20, having been held out of the New South Wales Sheffield Shield team long after his talent was apparent. On the advice of Virender Sehwag and the initiative of Greg Chappell, Warner was pushed towards longer form priorities in 2011, and after periods of adaptation and indiscipline is now taking up the lofty perch Sehwag had imagined for him.”It goes back to that conversation I had with Virender Sehwag. He said to me I’d be a better Test cricketer than shorter format because all the fielders were in close,” Warner recalled. “If you’re going to take on fast bowling and the best bowling in the world you have to try and score runs and with my game I look to attack first before I’m defending and that’s the way I’ve always played my cricket and that’s how I will always play my cricket.””I do feel respected, and the other thing is they know if they miss their mark that I’m going to start going after them as well. I’ve still got to be careful and respect the bowler in the conditions that we face. With the conditions that we’ve had here, the wickets have probably been batter friendly, but I’ve known my game and trusted my game [so] I can go after the bowlers.”Asked whether he could now consider himself the world’s best opening batsman, Warner smiled, but for now allowed modesty to rule his ego. “I’ll let you answer that question,” he said. “I’m just elated that I’m in good form, I’m probably playing the best cricket I have in my career so far. It’s fantastic to feel like you know when you go out there you can take on the world’s best as I have so far. It’s an amazing feeling but it’ll be even better if we win this game.”

Neeraj Kumar, the former Delhi police commissioner, has called for a strong anti-fixing law to be instituted in India to act as a deterrent for corruption in cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2013Neeraj Kumar, the former Delhi police commissioner, has called for a strong anti-fixing law to be instituted in India to act as a deterrent for corruption in cricket. It was during Kumar’s watch that the Delhi police unearthed the spot-fixing scandal involving three Rajasthan Royals cricketers – Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila – in the 2013 season of the IPL.”A strong anti-fixing law will act as a deterrent. It should be a penal law. The fixers and those who get ‘fixed’ should both be sent to jail,” he told . “Is banning three cricketers the end of the matter? Isn’t there a need to look further? Could there be an in-house investigation, brain-storming which ensures that it doesn’t happen again, and the IPL too gets its credibility back? Is it happening? It is not.”Kumar said the police had evidence on the cricketers, who were charged under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. “If the evidence we have is properly pursued in a court of law, it may end in conviction,” he said. “However, sometimes, trials go on and on, new police officers come and they aren’t that keen that the investigation is done properly. The nature of our criminal justice system is also such that it can be time-consuming.”

South Africa’s domestic one-day title will go the way of either the Titans or the Cobras in a north-south derby that, if recent records are to be believed, will be closely contested

Firdose Moonda14-Nov-2013There have been 31 matches. Seven were decided in the last two overs and three others finished with a result margin of one or two runs. And now there are two teams left.South Africa’s domestic one-day title will go the way of either the Titans or the Cobras in a north-south derby that, if recent records are to be believed, will be closely contested. They’ve already played each twice in the tournament, the Cobras winning both matches, once by two runs and the second time in the final over.”We’ve had two great battles already so whatever happens, I think we’ll have another one on Friday,” Rob Walter, the Titans coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “Of course, it would be nice to be on the right side of things if we do.”In his first season as a franchise coach, Walter has already had his fair share of nerves. After losing four of their first seven fixtures, the Titans seemed destined to end in the lower half of the table. They needed wins in their last three pool matches and pulled them off. Then, they needed a win against the team Walter described as the “best side in this competition”, the Dolphins, in the play-off and pulled that off too.In the process, they lost their captain Henry Davids to national duty, their senior-most player, Jacques Rudolph, to a broken hand and yet, still, three of their batsmen are in the top five run-scorers of the season.Leading the list is Heino Kuhn, the wicketkeeper-batsman who has made five Twenty20 appearances for South Africa but has since been overlooked. He is followed by Davids, who won’t be able to finish what he started because he is in the UAE with South Africa’s T20 squad and another national discard, Farhaan Behardien. Walter believes all three are ready to stake a claim for regular places in the national team.”We had discussions about developing their games to put them in positions where they could compete for places at international level,” he said. “With Heino, it was about going from being a keeper who can bat to showing he is a high-quality batsmen. With Henry, it was about taking good starts with beautiful shots and then getting out to having the responsibility to bat deeper; and with Farhaan it was also about conversion.”Kuhn has handed the gloves to Mangaliso Mosehle and is focused on his role as an opening batsmen. He scored back-to-back hundreds in the last two matches to put the Titans in winning positions. Behardien, who Walters said “stands out as a leader”, has taken over the captaincy in Davids’ absence and blossomed under the burden. He has a century and two fifties so far and has been working on the things that saw him dropped from the South African side, such as his shot selection.While moulding men who can turn out on the international stage, Walter has also had to concentrate on filling a trophy cabinet that remained empty last summer – a rare lack for the Titans. He has had Roelof van der Merwe to help in that mission. The left-arm spinner is the team’s leading wicket-taker and fourth overall. “He knew he had to go from being a containing bowler to an attacking one,” Walter said. He has taken nine wickets in the last four games as proof.All that individual brilliance will come up against a Cobras unit that have played like a team. Only the veteran Charl Langeveldt, who is likely to recover from a hip injury to play the final, is among the top five bowlers in the competition while none of their batsmen feature on the corresponding list.”It was never one individual getting us home. We’ve had performances spread all around,” Paul Adams, Cobras coach, said. “And I think it’s really shown in our fielding, where we’ve picked up a lot of run-outs. In pressure games, the younger guys have learned to step up and the more experienced ones have shown their quality.”Justin Ontong top-scored with 97 in their second win against the Titans, Langeveldt took four wickets at the death when they beat the Lions, Andrew Puttick scored a century against the Warriors to set up a win but it was up to the newer players like Dane Piedt and Lizaad Williams to bowl the Cobras to victory. Adams said tense situations like those helped ready the team for a final. “Guys are really focused now, they know what to expect.”This is the second successive season in which Cobras will feature in the one-day cup final. Last summer, they shared the trophy with the Lions, after two washouts. This time, the Lions finished bottom of the table while the Cobras have maintained their impressive run.”The most important thing is to have a big crop of players to call on and then managing them well so they can pace themselves through the competition,” Adams said when asked how he was able to continue that run. Those stocks will be added to with the inclusion of Vernon Philander and Robin Peterson for the final game.Adams, who is in his second season in charge admitted “the nerves are always there” but said he does his job by “looking for ways to inspire people”. And the ones he wants to influence ahead of the final are the fans.Despite the high quality of cricket, stadiums have been starkly empty throughout the tournament. Matches on school-nights and late finishes are the main reasons for the dampened interest but with no New Year’s Test at Newlands, Adams hopes people will go and watch their domestic team tussle it out on Friday.

David Hussey’s entertaining innings and some late order fireworks have put Nottinghamshire’s noses in front

David Lloyd at Taunton02-Aug-2013
ScorecardSteven Mullaney continued his profitable time opening the batting•Getty ImagesMarcus Trescothick demanded a “big performance” from his relegation-threatened team in the build-up to this match, and the home captain may still get one. For the moment, though, David Hussey’s entertaining innings and some late order fireworks have put Nottinghamshire’s noses in front.Despite a short boundary on the Somerset Stand side of the ground, batting seldom looked like child’s play – at least not until Ajmal Shahzad and Luke Fletcher added an unbeaten 57 for the ninth wicket without too much bother. Even then, a used pitch offered home spinner George Dockrell springy bounce and slow turn and seemed a bit two-paced for the quicker bowlers.As is usually the case on days when neither side has gained an undeniably clear advantage, wise folk wait until both first innings have been completed before putting their penny on the end result. Without doubt, though, Hussey played a good hand just when the hosts were threatening to take command and was understandably cross with himself for drilling a return catch to Dockrell.Having replaced Ed Cowan as Nottinghamshire’s overseas player, Hussey is continuing where his countryman left off. Between them, the pair have reached 30 on ten occasions in 18 Championship innings this season without once going on to three figures. In fairness to Hussey, he is responsible for only five of those knocks but was still annoyed to fall short after reaching 68 from 87 balls with the help of a pulled six off Dockrell as well as 12 fours.Until Hussey started to find the boundary, Steven Mullaney had made the most significant contribution. Promoted to opener earlier this campaign, he scored a century against Surrey last month and looked perfectly capable of adding another here until he was fourth out, for a well compiled 75.It was that sort of day, really. Half a dozen players threatened to take the contest by the scruff of the neck but not one of them could quite manage to put their name up in lights. None of that was for lack of effort, mind you, and if the cricket lacked a stand-out performer then no spectator can have left the ground feeling short-changed in terms of enjoyment.Jamie Overton, Somerset’s highly regarded young paceman, struck twice during a good spell after lunch. The wicket of James Taylor, who had proved surplus to England’s requirement at Old Trafford, was fortunate, admittedly – a leg-side ‘strangle’. But he found a genuine edge to finish Mullaney’s 159-ball stay.Overton spoiled his work towards the end of the day with a wild and woolly spell, including an accidental high full toss at Hussey, and conceded 26 runs in just three overs before being taken off. And neither Peter Trego, who delivered an excellent spell with the first new ball, nor Dockrell, who picked up three wickets in all, could quite take charge of proceedings.But if Somerset, and their supporters, were looking for the sort of gutsy, never give up performance that will be needed every day for the rest of the season if the side is to avoid relegation then Steve Kirby provided it.How the fiery fast bowler walked off tonight without a wicket to his name is a mystery. He put his heart and soul into four spells, beat the edge on a good many occasions, failed with a couple of lbw appeals, saw Taylor all but play on and then watched in disbelief as Craig Meschede completely misjudged a potential catch, off Chris Read, at long leg.Somerset did hold a couple of blinders with keeper Craig Kieswetter and second slip Trescothick accounting for Alex Hales and Michael Lumb respectively. But, overall, the hosts, with Kirby to the fore, were left wondering what might have been – especially once Shahzad and Fletcher had put a coat of gloss on Nottinghamshire’s earlier graft.