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Leicestershire close in on victory that would sign off their Division Two title triumph in style

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Sep-2025Northamptonshire 189 and 120 for 5 (Keogh 42, Trevaskis 3-31) need a further 381 runs to beat Leicestershire 429 and 260 for 5 dec (Patel 76, Cox 51*, Budinger 50)Liam Trevaskis and Chris Wright sliced through Northamptonshire’s top order as Leicestershire closed in on a victory that would sign off their Rothesay County Championship Division Two title triumph in style.The Foxes, already confirmed as champions last week, declared and set Northamptonshire an improbable 501 to win at Wantage Road following Rishi Patel’s 76 and an unbeaten 30-ball half-century by Ben Cox.Left-arm spinner Trevaskis took three wickets, with seamer Wright – playing his final game prior to retirement – capturing the other two to reduce the home side to 120 for 5 before bad light halted play.Northamptonshire’s Rob Keogh top-scored with 42, passing 10,000 runs across all formats in the process, but his side’s slim hopes of staving off defeat largely rest on Saif Zaib, unbeaten on 20 at stumps.Leicestershire resumed with an overall lead of 326 and eight wickets in hand, but they were initially stifled by a tight spell from George Scrimshaw, who found some movement in both directions.However, it was a straight delivery from the seamer that removed Lewis Hill, leg-before for 38 and Patel then took command, punching a series of boundaries and bringing up his half-century with a straight drive off Stuart van der Merwe.Van der Merwe was also slog-swept for six by the Foxes opener, but there was success for his fellow rookie Nirvan Ramesh when Stephen Eskinazi reverse-swept the off-spinner and deflected onto his stumps.Although Patel’s hopes of another century to back up his 114 against Kent last week were dashed shortly before lunch when he nicked Zaib behind, the champions chose to bat on into the afternoon session.Yet Cox’s lightning half-century ensured that the innings continued for only five more overs – enough time for Leicestershire to pile up another 53 runs and extend their advantage to exactly 500.Cox bludgeoned the vast majority of those, scooping Scrimshaw for six and then flicking Ben Whitehouse over square leg and out of the ground before a booming four over the bowler’s head signalled both his 50 and the declaration.Logan van Beek and Wright gave away very little at the start of Northamptonshire’s second innings, with the ball rolling across the boundary rope just once during the first 11 attritional overs.Wright, bringing down the curtain on a 22-year professional career, dismissed both openers as Arush Buchake was caught behind pushing at a ball that left him before Lewis McManus drove straight to gully.Having edged Wright to the third boundary to reach his career landmark, Keogh gained a life soon afterwards when he nudged Josh Hull through the slips for four more, but settled down as he and James Sales steered their side to tea.The partnership progressed to 67, but Keogh’s good fortune ran out soon after the restart as he aimed an ambitious drive at Trevaskis and this time Patel safely pouched the chance at slip.Sales departed in the left-armer’s next over, caught behind off a bottom edge and Trevaskis then trapped Justin Broad lbw in a prolonged spell – partly enforced by the darkening clouds which restricted Leicestershire to slower bowling.Patel came on to deliver a single over of leg-breaks before the deteriorating light brought an end to proceedings, with Leicestershire needing five more wickets to wrap up victory on the final day of the season.

Pakistan captain says lack of rhythm upfront with the bat, and then again in the middle overs, cost his side against India

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-20241:47

Mumtaz: PCB needs to provide leadership skills to players

Babar Azam reckoned not utilising the batting powerplay well enough and then playing too many dot balls in the middle overs were the main reasons behind Pakistan not being able to chase down 120 in their T20 World Cup 2024 match against India in New York.”In our mind, we wanted to play normally, utilise the first six overs in the batting and [if we had done that] we win,” Babar said after Pakistan’s six-run defeat. “But one wicket down and we were not up to the mark in the first six overs. We were targeting like 40 to 45 runs in the first six overs, but we did not capitalise properly and yes after the ten overs also we made the same mistake.”Related

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Having restricted India to 119, Pakistan did not lose too many wickets upfront but also did not score many runs. They managed 35 for 1 in the powerplay and then moved 72 for 2 in 12 overs. Then, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya orchestrated a collapse. Hardik got rid of Fakhar Zaman with an excellent short of a length ball, before Bumrah breached Mohammad Rizwan’s stumps with the first ball of his second spell.

In the middle overs (6.1 to 15.6), Pakistan played 29 dot balls and scored 50 runs while losing three wickets.”We bowled well after ten overs and we would have taken 120. It’s a better total here. In the batting, we went run-a-ball but unfortunately, but we lost back-to-back wickets and then there were too many dot balls,” Babar said. “Tactics were simple, play normally, just rotate the strike and just try and play one boundary and be normal…get five or six an over. But in that period we had too much dot balls, the pressure was on us. And we lost back-to-back two to three wickets.”Having suffered back-to-back defeats to start this World Cup, Pakistan now find themselves struggling to make it out of the first round. Babar said they will just look to win their last two Group A games, and then take it from there.”Obviously we have to win the last two matches. We will sit and discuss our mistakes but we are looking forward to the next two matches.”Pakistan play Canada on June 11 at this venue and then finish the group stage against Ireland on June 16 in Lauderhill.

Shamar Joseph ensured the home side had to bat again then gave them a late injury scare

Andrew McGlashan19-Jan-20242:28

Malcolm: ‘A very one-sided match at Adelaide’

Australia wrapped up a 10-wicket victory before lunch on the third day in Adelaide as Josh Hazlewood claimed career-best match figures, but there was late drama when Shamar Joseph drew blood from Usman Khawaja with a bouncer when the scores were level, forcing him to retire hurt.Shamar Joseph again showed his batting prowess at No. 11, which will surely mean a promotion in the near future, as he and Kemar Roach added 26 for the last wicket to follow the 55 they put on in the first innings.It meant a brief second innings for Khawaja and Steven Smith. Oddly, Shamar Joseph, who claimed Smith with his first ball in Test cricket, was not given the new ball. He was eventually introduced in the fifth over with 14 needed and after being cut to the boundary first ball by Khawaja produced a lovely delivery beat Smith’s edgeRelated

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Then came a lifter that beat Khawaja before an awkward bouncer clattered into his helmet around the jaw area as he tried to sway out of the line. Khawaja had blood coming from his mouth and after a few moments left the field leaving Marnus Labuschagne to hit the winning runs. In more ways than one, Shamar Joseph had left an indelible mark on his debutWest Indies had resumed 22 behind with four wickets in hand after losing Justin Greaves to the final ball of the second day. They whittled the deficit down to 11 before Joshua Da Silva gave his innings away by falling for the well-telegraphed short-ball plan, top-edging a hook to deep backward square off Mitchell Starc.Alzarri Joseph showed a solid technique and played a brace of strong cover drives against Starc but got a thin edge from around the wicket. When Gudakesh Motie became Hazlewood’s fifth wicket, shouldering arms to one that was far too tight to leave, West Indies were still a run behind.However, that lasted just one more delivery as Shamar Joseph played a first-ball cover drive that would have pleased a top-order player, bringing huge cheers from a healthy crowd who had flocked in despite the risk of very little cricket.Each run added by the last-wicket pair was greeted by warm applause, while it added to Australia’s recent difficulties over getting through lower-order stands. The return of Nathan Lyon, who had started the day bowling a single delivery, ended the resistance when Shamar Joseph charged and missed.The second Test begins in Brisbane on January 25 and will be a day-night encounter.

Home side trails by 148 with five wickets down after Will Rhodes 82, Dan Mousley 45*

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2023Warwickshire 197 for 5 (Rhodes 82, Mousley 45*) trail Lancashire 327 (Balderson 116, Bailey 75) by 148 runsGeorge Balderson’s maiden first-class century illuminated a grey second day as Warwickshire and Lancashire grind towards a draw in their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.On a cloudy morning, Lancashire all-rounder Balderson extended his overnight 94 to 116 out of his side’s 327 all out before the home side replied with 179 for 5.On a slow pitch, diligence has been required throughout from batters and Balderson showed plenty of it, spending 44 balls in the nineties before reaching his richly-deserved ton. Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes then showed similar resolve to compile 82 from 168 balls.With time lost to the weather on day two and a forecast suggesting little or no play on the fourth day, this match appears doomed to a draw already with batters forced on to the defensive by capable seam bowling on a slow pitch.After resuming on 295 for 7 on the second morning, Lancashire lost Tom Bailey for 75 to the second ball, lbw to a big inswinger from Hamza Mir. That concluded a partnership of 145 in 45 overs between Bailey and Balderson and when Will Williams quickly fell the same way, Balderson still required five runs for his maiden ton with just last man Jack Morley for company.Unlike at Lord’s in 1895, when Sammy Woods generously served up a deliberate leg-side full toss so that WG Grace could reach his hundredth hundred, Balderson was made to earn every run towards his milestone before he edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to the boundary at third.Morley stuck around while 30 were added and doubled his previous first-class run tally of nine before nicking a slog at Danny Briggs.In reply, Warwickshire’s openers fell in the first seven overs, both deciding too late to leave the ball as Alex Davies played on to Williams and Rob Yates edged Bailey behind. Rhodes and Sam Hain then added 68 in 28 overs either side of a rain break, Hain arriving into double-figures after 69 balls before falling, strangled down the leg side off Balderson, for 15 off 79.At 82 for 3, further quick wickets would have moved Lancashire into a strong position, but Rhodes and Dan Mousley batted watchfully to add 77 in 22 overs. Bailey continued his impressive match by trapping Rhodes lbw and Ed Barnard tickled Balderson down the leg side to the keeper but Mousley, after a skittish start, settled to play with authority and reach the close unbeaten on 45.

Pollard reiterates demand for another T20 tournament, in addition to the CPL, to “unearth new talent” for West Indies

Deivarayan Muthu31-Aug-2022With Andre Russell joining Trinbago Knight Riders and Nicholas Pooran returning to the line-up, they are dripping with experience and pedigree. With captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Colin Munro also in the mix, Knight Riders can stake a claim for being the strongest T20 franchise side in the world. Pollard, though, refused to be drawn into comparisons with other T20 teams on the circuit, and pointed out that big names alone can’t guarantee success.”Yes, I’ve played for a lot of teams with a lot of great players, but obviously, when you look at the team on paper, we have world-class players and a lot of guys who have played around the world,” Pollard said. “Again, to say the strongest and go down that route, I don’t think we are looking at that.Related

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“We are looking at what we can achieve as a team and what we can do on the field as individuals, inclusive of what the team requires, and hopefully, with the experience of everyone, we can bind that together and show some sort of results when the time comes.”For the second time in less than a year, Pollard has called for a regional T20 tournament in addition to the CPL for identifying fresh talent. After West Indies had suffered an early exit in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pollard had said that a domestic T20 tournament would help expand their talent pool.”I’ve been advocating it. I’ve said it after the last World Cup campaign as well. That is how a lot of cricketers have been unearthed in the Caribbean – through the local tournaments,” he said. “There is the CPL, which is great for the Caribbean players and great for the viewership as well and great for everybody, but in terms of the development – five overseas players coming and four can play at a time, which leaves seven locals. I don’t think that is enough to see the emerging talent. But, at the end of the day, the franchise owners and sponsors are putting in a lot of money to see good cricket. I don’t think they are just looking at development; they’re looking to be known on the global scene.”So, I’ve said [it before] and I’m going to say it again, yes, I think we need another tournament so we can continue to bridge the gap of getting our players through. 6ixty was a good start, but it’s only ten-over cricket, so guys have to go from ball one. We want to unearth new talent not only for T20 cricket, but for 50 overs and Test cricket as well, so that we can have longevity in the sport and compete at the highest level on a consistent basis.”St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are the defending CPL champions•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Bravo: ‘We can also be a dominant force in the CPL’
After winning CPL 2021 and the inaugural men’s 6ixty, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots have now set their sights on defending their CPL title to do a three-peat and establish themselves as a dominant force in the region, their captain Dwayne Bravo said.”Yeah, I’m very excited. Last season I made the decision to leave TKR and try to challenge myself in a different way to keep myself motivated for the game and try and help others develop their game and their cricket,” Bravo said. “I think I made the right decision at the right time and luckily enough, we won the trophy last season, which gave St Kitts & Nevis Patriots their first-ever CPL title. Three days ago, we also won the first ever Universe Boss Trophy.”It’s a good foundation that we started to build, and we started to believe, as a franchise and as a team, that we can also be a dominant force in the CPL and that’s our challenge. That’s our aim and we’re looking forward to defending our title. Not only that, but we also look forward to playing a brand of cricket that entertains fans and makes our franchise owners and the island of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots proud.”Dominic Drakes, who has been Bravo’s project since last season, has grown in leaps and bounds as a T20 allrounder. Bravo is eager to give him the platform to take his game to the next level in the forthcoming CPL and also create a team environment that allows the other players to thrive.Dwayne Bravo played with Dwaine Pretorius in the IPL, and decided to bring him to the Patriots•BCCI

“I’m very impressed with him [Drakes] and very happy with his development in the last 12-18 months. It’s my responsibility to make sure that he doesn’t fall back and keep pushing him and encouraging him,” Bravo said. “Not only Dominic, but so many other players who are involved this season – I want to see Sherfane Rutherford be dominant again. I want to see Evin Lewis follow up from his last season – he was our best player with the bat. Young [Dewald] Brevis… want to calm him down a bit because he has so much talent but sometimes, I think, can be reckless.”Looking forward to seeing my brother [Darren Bravo] get back into some good form – it’s a move for him from TKR as well. I think that change might do well for his cricket and for his career.”Bravo also revealed how he played a role in bringing South Africa allrounder Dwaine Pretorius into the CPL after the IPL, where they played together for Chennai Super Kings earlier this year. Pretorius has a collection of slower balls in his repertoire and often fronts up to bowl the tough overs. Does Bravo see a bit of himself in Pretorius?”Yeah, when I was there in the IPL with him, I asked him if he would be interested in playing CPL and he said ‘yes’. And so straightaway I made a phone call and talked to the owners and got on to his agent and now happy to have him here,” Bravo said. “I’m looking forward to his season because he’s someone very experienced and he’s very eager to learn and obviously, he has international experience, so it’s a good combination to have someone like him who has the experience and is still willing to learn.”

England captain hammers 33-ball 66 before Malan sees them home in highest successful chase against Pakistan

The Report by George Dobell30-Aug-2020Eoin Morgan and Dawid Malan combined to help England make light of a record run chase in T20Is at Emirates Old Trafford, overhauling their target to beat Pakistan by five wickets.Despite Pakistan recording their highest ever T20I score against England, Morgan’s innings of 66 from 33 balls and Malan’s unbeaten 54 from 36 helped England seize victory with five deliveries in hand. As well as being a ground record, it was the highest successful T20I chase achieved against Pakistan. The result puts England one-up in the three match series ahead of the final game on Tuesday and offered suitably dramatic entertainment for the BBC; covering their first live England match this century.It seems extraordinary that Morgan gave any thought to retiring following England’s World Cup success. He currently appears to be in the form of his life, having passed 50 in four of his most recent seven T20I games. Since March 2019, he is averaging 59.37 in T20Is at a strike rate of 183.39.Here he survived a confident appeal for leg before he had scored – Pakistan’s review showed the ball would have hit middle stump, but Morgan survived on the basis of umpire’s call on impact – and then allowed himself a few balls to adjust to the pace of the surface, scoring 3 off his first six balls before accelerating.From the start of the 12th, England plundered 75 in five overs after appearing to target Iftikhar Ahmed, who was taken for 18 in one over, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was taken for 20 in another.Malan also sustained his impressive showing in T20I cricket. He has now made at least a half-century in seven of his 12 games – a record for any player in his first 12 matches – and averages 54.60 in the format.While he was content to play a supporting role to Morgan for much of their partnership of 112 in 10.2 overs, England were glad for his calm head once Morgan departed. There were still 18 runs required from 19 balls at that stage and, with Moeen Ali soon following, England could have wobbled.But Malan, whose ability to pace an innings must render him a strong contender to retain his place in England’s squad for the T20Is against Australia, showed why he is England’s highest-rated T20I batsman by seeing his side home.Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez produced his highest T20I score since 2013 to help Pakistan to their highest T20I score against anyone since June 2018.Hafeez has endured a frustrating wait to get into the action on this tour. His initial arrival in the UK – which was every bit of seven weeks ago – was delayed by a positive test for Covid-19 and, once he did arrive, he was obliged to spend a further period in isolation after posing for a photograph with a pensioner he met while playing on the golf course at the Ageas Bowl.But he vindicated his continued selection, at the age of 39, with his third half-century in four T20I innings, including a spell which saw him score 37 runs from 12 balls. Tom Curran, who at one stage bowled a waist-high full-toss that was pulled for six, took particular punishment in an over than conceded 23 runs.He was helped, though, by an opening partnership of 72 in 8.3 overs between Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman which gave Pakistan a strong foundation. Azam looked in particularly good touch, pulling the first ball of the match for four and looking very strong square of the wicket.In reply, England posted 65 without loss in their Powerplay. But the loss of Jonny Bairstow and Tom Banton to successive deliveries – both attempting sweeps of Shadab Khan – brought Pakistan back into the game. But Morgan survived a review on his second ball and was soon in his stride.Pakistan were not helped by an injury to Mohammad Amir. He looked in discomfort while bowling his second over and left the pitch after it. In his absence, Babar looked short of options in the field. Pakistan later confirmed Amir was suffering with hamstring pain rendering his participation in Tuesday’s game a doubt.England may not be entirely satisfied with their performance, though. The bowling attack appeared to wilt in the face of the assault from Hafeez, in particular, with Curran and Saqib Mahmood seeing their attempts to bowl slower balls and yorkers turn into full-tosses. Hafeez feasted on their attempt to utilise the long square boundaries by focusing on a short-ball attack.There were only 28 dot balls in the Pakistan innings and only two overs that did not include a boundary. Suffice to say, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer will not have seen anything that had them fearing for their selection.

The November 1 ODI has been moved to Thiruvananthapuram after leading voices in football including Tendulkar, the co-owner of the Kerala Blasters franchise, raised concerns over potential damage to the turf in the Kochi stadium

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-2018The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has decided to shift the November 1 ODI between India and West Indies from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram with the issue gaining a political dimension. The decision was taken after the southern Indian state’s sports minister intervened in the matter and asked the KCA to shift the venue.Last week the BCCI’s tours, programmes and fixtures committee finalised the itinerary for West Indies’ tour of India, which comprises two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is. One of the ODIs, scheduled for November 1, was to be hosted at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi.The Kochi ground has predominantly become a venue for football in recent years. It was one of the six venues for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October 2017 and is also home base for the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL). The last cricket match played at the venue, in 2014, was also against West Indies, a big win for the visitors.Since then, only one other international match has been played in Kerala, a T20I against New Zealand last November at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which India won. Critics of the KCA asked why the association was so keen to host the ODI in Kochi when another ICC-certified cricket ground was available in Thiruvananthapuram.As soon as the BCCI announced Kochi as the venue for the West Indies ODI, a number of leading voices in football including Sachin Tendulkar – a co-owner of the Kerala Blasters franchise – raised the red flag. On Tuesday, Tendulkar posted a message on his Twitter feed, saying he had “urged” Vinod Rai, chairman of the Supreme-Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) that is supervising the BCCI, to look into the matter.”Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World class Football turf in Kochi. Urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram) and Football (Kochi) can happily coexist,” Tendulkar tweeted.
Rai had already been made aware of the issue by another prominent voice, Shashi Tharoor, the Minister of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, who called the KCA move to play the match in Kochi a “suspect” and “bizarre” decision. Tharoor told Rai to review the decision only because the Kochi turf would need to be dug up to get the venue ready for the ODI, which would would prove detrimental to its footballing use.Since both the grounds in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are owned by the state government, the Kerala sports minister AC Moideen held a meeting with the KCA top brass on Thursday to chalk out a solution.According to Jayesh George, the KCA secretary, the state cricket body has signed a MoU with the government to get both the grounds on lease. Accordingly the KCA has invested money in uplifting the infrastructure at both venues and felt it has the right to choose the ground for cricket matches.However the MoU also states that both grounds, being multi-purpose venues, can host football too. “Till today we planned to host the ODI in Kochi,” George told ESPNcricinfo. “Since 2011 we had maintained the stadium in Kochi. But the government took possession of the ground last year for the Under-17 World Cup.”George said Moideen assured the KCA that the government would grant land to develop a cricket-only stadium to avoid such issues in future. “Since the government has intervened and advised us to conduct the match in Thiruvananthapuram, we are doing that.”

Jackson Bird capped off his remarkable debut Sheffield Shield season with a hat-trick that helped Tasmania secure a place in the final against Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2012
ScorecardJackson Bird has had a remarkable debut Shield season•Getty Images

Jackson Bird capped off his remarkable debut Sheffield Shield season with a hat-trick that helped Tasmania secure a place in the final against Queensland. The Bulls will host the Tigers after both sides won in the final round of matches, Tasmania by eight wickets having been set 20 for victory in their second innings.By that stage Tasmania’s quotient was so good that to be in any danger of missing out on a place in the decider had to lose at least six wickets in the tiny chase. Although the Tigers lost both openers Ed Cowan and Steve Cazzulino they reached their target with only two wickets down to give Tasmania a chance to defend their Shield title at the Gabba.The win was set up by wonderful bowling from Bird in both innings. He collected 6 for 63 in the second innings and 11 wickets for the match to finish the qualifying portion of the Shield season on top of the wicket tally with 48 at 15.75, an outstanding tally considering he missed three games and only made his debut in November.Bird’s hat-trick began with the wicket of Nathan Rimmington, who played on trying to cut on 28. The next wicket came from the first ball of Bird’s next over and was the lbw of Luke Ronchi, who top scored for the Warriors with 71 in what will be his last match for Western Australia having announced his decision to pursue a career as a local player in New Zealand next summer.Bird completed the hat-trick with Jason Behrendorff lbw for a golden duck and joined Peter Clough and Shane Jurgensen as the only men to have taken a Shield hat-trick for Tasmania. James Faulkner also picked up 4 for 50 in the victory.