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Roddy Smith, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland, has expressed his disappointment at the fact there is likely to be no television coverage of this summer’s ODI fixture between Scotland and England.Smith, who has been working with the ECB in an attempt to secure a TV deal for what he describes as the “biggest match” in his organisation’s history, at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh on August 18, is now almost resigned to the prospect of the game being ignored by broadcasters, in much the same fashion as Scotland’s newly-completed rugby tour of Argentina.”Sky had first refusal, but they have a lot of other cricket commitments in August, so have decided not to pursue their interest in the game, whilst the BBC are dedicating so many resources to their coverage of the Olympic Games [in Beijing] that they are not able to fit us into their schedules,” said Smith, who further revealed that the cameras will be absent from his country’s meeting with New Zealand in Aberdeen next month.”We are still talking to [satellite company] Setanta, but the SPL will have started again by the time the England team come up here, and the chances in that direction are receding. It is disappointing, because there is obviously an awful lot of interest from the public on both sides of the Border over the Scotland v England contest, and, as matters stand, the only people who will see the game are the [6000] spectators who come to the Grange on the day. We appreciate, though, that the BBC have a massive commitment to the Olympics, and they will be covering all the action on radio, in the shape of Test Match Special, but clearly, it would have been good if they could have shown it on television too.”Smith, ever the diplomat, is entitled to be quietly furious at this turn of events. After all, the BBC screened full coverage of last year’s meeting between Ireland and England, and it seems frankly absurd that they have ruled out any involvement in a match which is certain to generate significant attention from the cricketing sphere and also the wider world. It isn’t even as if the match will clash with any major weekend pursuits, because the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and possibly Andrew Flintoff will lock horns with Ryan Watson on a Monday, but the decision appears to be cut and dried.Smith also confirmed that the Scotland squad for the triangular series involving Ireland and New Zealand will be announced at the end of this week and he is hopeful that the Scottish trio, Kyle Coetzer, Navdeep Poonia and Calum MacLeod, will be released by their counties (Durham and Warwickshire) to participate in the brace of ODIs.

Whatever the personnel when the sides are announced prior to the start ofthe second Ashes Test in Adelaide, Australia will start the match as firmfavourites to go two-nil up in the series. England’s plans have been throwninto disarray by a succession of injuries, while Australia could put theirsecond eleven on to the field and still be favourites to win. Australia Acould not force a win in Hobart in the tourists’ last match, but theycertainly did nothing to restore England’s confidence.Before dwelling on England’s misfortunes, it should be said that Australiathemselves are not completely free of injury doubts. Jason Gillespie isstill feeling the effects of his calf strain and is being given as long aspossible to recover. If he cannot do so, Brett Lee will come back into theside.Lee has taken 21 wickets for New South Wales since being dropped from theside for the first Test in Brisbane and has recaptured the speed that madehim such a fearsome proposition until his recent dip in form. If Gillespieis fit, Lee might have to wait until Perth before regaining his place as hehas said himself that his replacement, Andy Bichel, has done a perfectlygood job for the side.England would dearly love to have a problem like that of the Australians. Atthe start of the tour, captain Nasser Hussain said that his side stood achance of regaining the Ashes provided fortune smiled and he could call on afull complement of fit players. The decimation of the party and their dreambegan before they left England. That was when Graham Thorpe dropped out ofthe original selection to be replaced by Robert Key.A damaging blow, but at least Key was fit and raring to go. The same couldnot be said for the rest of the party. Darren Gough (knee), Michael Vaughan(knee), Mark Butcher (knee), Andrew Flintoff (hernia), and Simon Jones (rib)were all travelling with injuries of varying degrees of seriousness toovercome.Vaughan and Butcher came through without further mishap. Gough never tookthe field before returning home to seek further career-saving medical help.Flintoff has simply failed to get over his hernia operation as expected andis now said to be out until the fourth Test. There was no problem aboutJones’ rib, but then he suffered that horrendous knee injury on day one atBrisbane and is out for the rest of the tour and into the foreseeablefuture.Add to that casualty list the shoulder scare concerning Marcus Trescothick,the shin splints suffered by Steve Harmison, and a bout of concussion, thebruised hip that makes John Crawley doubtful for Adelaide, and the fracturedwrist sustained by Ashley Giles, and it is no wonder that the Englanddressing room resembles a casualty clearing station. Of the 16 namesannounced by the selectors on 10th September, only six have not featured inmedical bulletins.Hussain has criticised some of the medical advice that was furnished beforethe tour started, but coach Duncan Fletcher has been philosophical about it."Medical advice isn’t a perfect science so it’s difficult," he admitted."Some of the advice we’ve been given has been pretty close but everybody’sgot to get involved in this and the players have to make sure they carry outthe procedures given to them."In any team you have certain people who look after their own fitnessproblems and there are other people who need just a little bit moreguidance."Vaughan was spot on and we realised that Gough was a risk and Flintoffwould be ready about a week before the Test, but it’s not a perfect scienceand suddenly he was probably about a week too late."Talking about the situation at the end of the first Test, Fletcher pointedto the appointment of a specialised medical officer for English cricket asbeing a step in the right direction."Once he is appointed that will centralise everything which is veryimportant. At the moment I believe our physiotherapists are being treatedlike doctors and they’re not medical people at all."It will be a huge advantage once that Academy is set up at Loughboroughbecause we’ll be able to send guys along there while we’re away on tour andwe’ll have one central place where people can take control of thesituation."However, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, former England captain MichaelAtherton was rather more scathing about the current medical back-up."For some time I have felt that the medical side of England’s cricket ismore amateurish than it might be, lagging behind the increasinglyprofessional set-up as a whole,” Atherton wrote. “Flintoff’s case clearlyillustrates thepoint."Atherton then pointed out that Flintoff should not only have missed theHeadingley Test against India to have the operation as soon as possible, butthat he was not given proper rehabilitation advice."After the Headingley Test, Ian MacLennan, a highly regarded groin andhernia specialist in Manchester, operated on Flintoff. For the first fewdays after that he was given some gentle rehabilitation exercises, but therewas little communication between the England and Wales Cricket Board and theplayer, who, after the initial exercises, had no idea of the more strict,day-to-day rehabilitation he should have been undertaking. In the followingfortnight Flintoff saw the ECB medical staff only once, during the last Testat The Oval, to have his stitches removed."Atherton continues: "At the end of the season, with England off to theChampions’Trophy in Sri Lanka, Dean Conway, the England physiotherapist, rangLancashire to ask them to take charge of Flintoff’s rehabilitation.Lancashire were playing at Canterbury and Taunton and Flintoff remained inManchester, when his rehabilitation finally got under way. After six daysFlintoff was taken out of Lancashire’s care and instructed to go toLilleshall for two-and-a-half weeks. Initially he was told that he was notto be booked in and he would be expected to drive there and back each day,although eventually common sense prevailed and a room was found. From thispoint until arriving in Perth, Flintoff did not see anybody from the ECB."It is not suggested for a minute that any individual is to blame for thissorry state of affairs. All concerned have strained every sinew of theirbeing to do a good job for England, but somewhere along the way the systemhas failed and needs attention. Perhaps the appointment of the medicalofficer will achieve that, as Fletcher has suggested.That is all history. What matters now is that England manage to restore somepride and make the most of what they have available. Whatever the result, abattling performance in which team and individuals do themselves justicewouldgo a long way towards bolstering credibility. And a little bit of luck wouldnot go amiss.As for the Australians, they must be really worried. Consider the dilemmathat is occupying them even once they get the Gillespie situation sortedout. How do they resolve the problem of getting Martin Love – the man whoaverages 451 in two innings against the tourists – into the Test side. Nowonder their selectors have furrowed brows.

The Somerset players are in no doubt about how important the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi final match against Kent at the County Ground is to them.Success will ensure that they have a Lord’s final to look forward to at the end of August. If they fail however, they will spend the rest of their season trying to rescue themselves from the relegation that threatens them in both the county championship and the NUL National League.Skipper Jamie Cox told me: "This is a game that we just have to win. We have done well in the C and G this season and will expect to beat Kent. I have never lost a semi final in this competition in the time that I have been at the club, and we have got a good record against Kent, having beaten them twice in similar situations."Last year in the semi final of the competition Somerset squeezed home against Warwickshire thanks to an heroic partnership between wicket-keeper Rob Turner and Keith Dutch, who rescued the Cidermen when all seemed lost.All rounder Dutch told me: "The match against Kent brings back good memories from last year for me and the rest of the team. The C and G is the one competition that we seem to be doing well in this season, so we will be looking to go one step further and get back to Lord’s for another memorable day."Big hitting Ian Blackwell told me: "We are all looking forward to the match against Kent. This is a really big game for us and we will be going out there to win and have a Lord’s final and another day to remember."Welshman Steffan Jones who will no doubt be bowling `at the death’ of the Kent innings told me: "This is a big day for everyone, the club and the players and a chance to enjoy some success after we have struggled in the other competitions nthis season. We haven’t lost a semi with Jamie and we are feeling confident even though we wont be at full strength."Richard Johnson, who is one of the players who will have a late fitness test in the morning told me: "Of course I hope to be playing, and I am quietly confident that I will be out there.I wanted to play in the quarter finals but I wasn’t quite fit. Hopefully the two weeks since will have worked in my favour, and I’ll be in the start line up."The Somerset coach Kevin Shine who will delay his final selection until the morning told me: "This is the biggest game of the year so far for us, and we will be looking to retain the trophy that we won at Lord’s last year."Chief Executive Peter Anderson who was outside on the ground helping to put 1000 additional chairs round the boundary edge told me: "I cannot stress the importance to everybody to come to the match early. The gates will be open at 8.30 am."He concluded: "In the quarter final people who arrived 30 minutes before the start complained that they had to queue to get into the ground. This is the semi final and it is a sell out so people really do need to get here early."

It was here at Colombo, at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground just down the road, that a youngster shyly accepted the Under-19 World Cup winners’ trophy two years ago.He’s still young, not as shy, but once again he claimed the limelight after a brilliant match-winning 111 that led India to a 14-run win against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions’ Trophy today. For Mohammad Kaif, Sri Lanka really is paradise.Zimbabwe on the other hand, have little to thank this country for. The last time they were here, the marauding Sri Lankans used them as whipping boys. Today there was frustration too, despite a heroic hundred from Andy Flower that carried the Africans to the brink of a famous victory.Zimbabwe had grabbed the initiative in the morning, as Douglas Hondo, a loping medium-pacer who knocked the stuffing out of India’s top-order not long ago in a clash in Kochi, blew a hole in the Indian innings, removing four Indian batsmen in his first spell.After electing to bat, Sourav Ganguly (13) guided Hondo into the waiting hands of Alistair Campbell at slip, who then pouched similar chances off Dinesh Mongia (0) and Yuvraj Singh (3). Sachin Tendulkar, strangely reticent, knocked his way to seven before playing a wild slash against the first ball of the medium-pacer Shaun Ervine.As only he can, Virender Sehwag continued to plunder runs. For fans it’s a treat to watch. No matter what the situation is, what the ball is doing, or, indeed, what is best for the team, Sehwag attempts to hit the cover off every ball bowled at him. On the day, his attitude was a godsend to India. Despite having lost Ganguly, Mongia and Tendulkar in just 9.5 overs, the run rate was a healthy 6.7.This helped the in-form Rahul Dravid. Fluent from the first ball he faced, Dravid punched the ball through the off-side both off the back and front foot, to keep the scoreboard ticking over. It bears repeating, that Dravid is in the best form of his life. His machine-like efficiency has bored many, but as Dravid himself would tell you, it’s better to be boring and win than to be a flash talent and end up on the losing side.Fans, however, sometimes do not subscribe to this opinion. The trickle of Indian fans who came to the cricket on this cloudless summer’s day threatened to go quiet, or worse leave, as the boundaries dried up and India were forced to consolidate. Dravid and Kaif added 117 before the former was needlessly run out. Dismissed for 71, Dravid showed his disappointment at himself when he walked off the field, even before the third umpire could make up his mind.Kaif then showed how you can combine a cool head with the cheekiness of a brat, taking apart the Zimbabwean bowling. It was not pretty, it was not classical, but it was enough to take India to the mountainous total of 288/6.When he drove on the up, Kaif teased the man at cover, sending the ball just inches over outstretched hands. The heaves over mid-wicket were attempted only when it was possible to place the ball well away from the fielder. When neither was possible, Kaif cottoned on to the fact that fine leg was up in the circle to Ervine and scoop-swatted the ball away to the fine leg fence.No wonder then, that Kaif, unbeaten on 111 (112 balls, eight fours, one six), was the Indian hero on the day, totally justifying his inclusion as the seventh batsman in the side. Even sceptics of the Indians’ tactic of using Dravid as stumper to play an extra batsman would have to grudgingly grant the think-tank its due.The Zimbabwean response to this mammoth total was a handsome if not successful one. No team has ever successfully chased such a tall score at this ground. Andy Flower gave the impression he didn’t care two hoots about this particular product of the statistician’s computer.And despite the venue being Sri Lanka, where Andy Flower averages less than 25, he drove the Indian bowlers to despair. Knocking up his fourth ODI ton – apparently oblivious to the disappointing batting at the other end – he kept the Indians worried, and punters interested till the 49th over of the Zimbabwean chase. The southpaw, who has taken more than 1000 ODI runs off India in his career, brought up his first century against the team, adding to the three he has in the longer version of the game.There was, however, nothing forthcoming at the other end. A steady stream of wickets, with no one making as many as 35 runs, made the task at hand too hard for the lone ranger.The innings Andy Flower played though was worth more than the 145 (164 balls, 13 fours) he eventually ended up with. Thanks to this innings Zimbabwe reached 274/8 in 50 overs.Shirt drenched in sweat, beady eyes popping out in the strain of concentrating for so long and so hard, legs not responding as they had earlier in the day, Andy Flower dared to go where no other Zimbabwean could. His innings, an epic, almost makes you wish he was playing for a stronger team, where his efforts would reap more just returns.Just three days ago, however, this man said, with a steely look in his eye: “Before Zimbabwe got Test status, when I was starting off as a cricketer, I seriously considered moving elsewhere. But I wouldn’t go elsewhere just to play first class cricket because the money was better. That can never match playing for your country.”That’s enough to tell you why this man is so successful, so feared by opponents, and so respected by his peers.

The Somerset Playing for Success Centre has just completed the first series of tenweek courses for young people from four primary and four secondary schools in the Taunton area.The Playing for Success Centre that is located in the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground was the first of its kind to be officially opened earlier in the autumn, and the first ten week courses have been very well received by the students.Centre manager Simon Lowe told me: "The ten weeks were hugely successful, and at the end of the course we presented eight students with their Junior Sabres memberships for their outstanding performances."He continued: "I would like to thank everybody who has been involved in this venture for their help in making it such a success, especially the Somerset coaches who performed the awards ceremony for us."For the last five Wednesday mornings Simon has been running an ICT course at the Centre for several members of the Somerset staff, including several of the players and chief executive Peter Anderson.The Centre manager told me: "I want to give something back to the people at the club who have all gone out of their way to help me, especially the chief executive who has been inspirational."Simon Lowe is now in the process of recruiting for his next intake, and is spreading his net a little wider, to include schools from Bridgwater, Wellington and Wiveliscombe.The Centre has been such a success that Simon Lowe is looking to recruit a Senior Learning Mentor to work alongside himself.The post is for 20 hours per week (3pm to 8pm – Monday to Friday) and is for 38 weeks of the year.Further details of the post are available from The Recruitment Team, Education Personnel, County Hall,Taunton, TA1 4DY.Details can also be obtained by telephoning 01823 356292 quoting reference R/10532/MLT.The closing date for applications is noon on December 19th.

On Thursday 30 May 2002, the 1st day of the nPower Test Match between England and Sri Lanka, the stand will be re-opened by Jackie Rawlinson, the daughter of the late Eric Hollies. At around 10.20 am, before the start of play at 11.00 am, Mrs Rawlinson will be invited by Club Chairman, MJK Smith, to unveil a plaque and declare the stand officially open.The redeveloped stand has a dramatic new roof and an extra 1300 seats in what is the most popular spectator area of the ground. This increases the capacity at the ground to 21000 and further enhances Edgbaston’s position as the premier test venue outside of London.The innovative design by architects Bryant Priest Newman and engineers Price & Myers, both firms were part of the team that designed the award winning new indoor cricket centre, provides spectators with a variety of new facilities. These include new stair access, increased concourse space, new toilets including provision for the disabled, a new covered area for food, drink and merchandise, increased seating under cover, much improved disabled access and new tip-up seating.The work has been carried out by locally based Interserve Building and the contract administered by Birmingham company, Francis Graves Limited. Financial. Financial support has been received from Sport England in the form of a £200,000 `Safer Sports Ground Programme’ grant towards a total cost of £2.1 million. "This refurbishment is part of a programme of major improvements at Edgbaston which will ensure that we can provide the very best facilities for our members and cricket followers to watch domestic and international cricket in Birmingham." " With interest in international cricket increasing all the time this development will enable us to cater for greater crowds in increased comfort and safety. The additional capacity will give a wider audience the opportunity to experience the thrill of international cricket here at Edgbaston."

A Pakistan ‘A’ team will visit Sri Lanka on a three-week tour next month, official said. The team will tour between the second week of June and first week of July during which it will play three four-day games and as many limited overs matches, the director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Brig Munawwar Rana said.Rana said players currently under guidance as Lahore’s National Cricket Academy would be considered for selection while admitting that there would be no age restricts. He said all the youngsters who have either excelled for the junior teams or those who have performed at the domestic front, have been taken under the fold of the academy.But he left the option open while saying any other player with an excellent record would definitely be considered for selection. Pakistan’s junior string last visited Sri Lanka in the early part of 2000 when the Under-19 team participated in the Youth World Cup. The team finished as losing semi-finalists.Rana said the itinerary of the tour would be finalist soon which would confirm the venues and the dates. He, however, agreed that the tour would be a tight one because in three weeks, the team would have 17 days of competitive cricket.In the recent past, the PCB has rightly started giving importance to youth cricket. Last month, a junior team visited Kuala Lumpur for a four-match series while before that, another youth team took part in the ICC junior tournament at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pakistan’s present crisis of not having skill-ful and polished youngsters to replace the ageing veterans is chiefly because the youth cricket programme has been abruptly halted a couple of days ago.The emphasis on youth cricket provided Pakistan current multi-talented players like Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Mushtaq Ahmad and Moin Khan etc who were in the same batch of players who played together at the junior level a decade ago.

The overnight announcement of Worcestershire’s recruitment of New South Wales paceman Stuart Clark now ensures that at least 12 Australians will play as overseas professionals in the forthcoming English county season.Worcestershire, coached by former Western Australian stalwart Tom Moody, has moved to sign Clark to a short-term deal at the start of the English summer as a means of providing cover for the unavailability of fellow Australian pace bowler Andy Bichel.Clark, 26, has played only 18 first-class matches in a five-year career with the Blues but has made a big impression on his way to becoming the Pura Cup’s leading wicket-taker to this point of the Australian summer. The tall right armer was also a key figure in his state’s ING Cup title win.He will fill the role as the county’s import player until Bichel returns from international commitments in early May.In the process, he will become one of a dozen Australians recruited as overseas professionals at county level for 2002.Bichel (Worcestershire), Michael Di Venuto (Derbyshire), Martin Love (Durham), Ian Harvey (Gloucestershire), Andrew Symonds (Kent), Mike Hussey (Northamptonshire), Jamie Cox (Somerset), Murray Goodwin (Sussex) and Darren Lehmann (Yorkshire) are all returning to their county positions of last year.After a number of seasons with Essex, Stuart Law is moving to Lancashire while Michael Bevan will play with his third county when he accepts a post at Leicestershire.Clark is the only Australian import without previous experience in English domestic competition.

Events in other sports over the past week have highlighted a phenomenon in cricket that is surprisingly accepted, seemingly without complaint.It is to do with the ball.Soccer teams in the World Cup have been complaining about changes to the ball which has been used in the Cup, with problems in flight and accuracy resulting from the lighter nature of the ball.Similarly, a change of ball for the New Zealand v Ireland rugby series, has resulted in a torrent of complaints, from both teams, over the changed qualities of the new ball being used.Irish rugby coach Eddie O’Sullivan made a pertinent comment when saying if it was good enough for soccer and basketball to have a standardised ball for use around the world, then why couldn’t rugby? Other sports also play to similar requirements.Why should cricket be any different?It was only the last World Cup in 1999 when controversy broke out over the nature of the ball to be used for the event.You could beg the question: If equipment used, read the ball in this instance, is not the same the world over, why should records be taken seriously?If one make of ball swings more prodigiously than another, does that make one batsman’s effort against one ball, much more significant than for the batsmen who didn’t have to deal with swing? And is one bowler more advantaged because his feats have been achieved by a ball that swung more than one used by his rivals.Similarly, for batsmen who were required to face spin from the ninth or 10th over of the innings as opposed to a batsman who scored runs against an all-pace attack.Admittedly conditions do vary from country to country, and for many reasons this is why different balls have been developed in different countries.But part of the challenge of succeeding in cricket is about being able to play in all conditions, whether batting, bowling or fielding.The sight of Sachin Tendulkar batting in full flight in Australia, England, India or the West Indies is one of the marvels of the game, just as watching Richard Hadlee achieve his feats on all kinds of surfaces was another. Both they, and all the other stars of the game, have managed their feats using different balls in different conditions.So does it really matter whether a uniform ball is used around the world?There is no doubt it would result in quite a different mindset from players and administrators.Having the preferred choice of balls for home conditions has long been regarded as an advantage for playing at home. But why should it be?That advantage could be said to be immediately countered by the wildly risky notion of tossing a coin to allow one side to bat or bowl, depending on their preference.There would be immediate consequences for the ball-making industry, although some of the ball makers could well become local makers for the successful tenderer for the ball contract, working to that company’s specifications.It could also be that the preferred maker of balls for Test matches, is not the preferred maker for the one-day variety of ball with its different colour and less lasting characteristics.Given the requirement to use the same type of ball around the world, there would be less chance of one team manipulating the make of balls available between one Test and the next. And this has happened in the past.The International Cricket Council has been working hard in recent years to regulate in some previously shady areas of the game, is it time for them to consider the use of a standardised ball?With the requirement that lights now be used where they are available when conditions are regarded as too dark to continue, is it time to entertain thoughts of a revolutionary new-coloured ball so that more Test cricket can be played in day-night situations?The ball is central to the game, yet it can have remarkably different qualities around the world. Does it have to be that way, or is one of those features that make cricket different?

Derbyshire 28 for 3 trail Essex 245 (Napier 52, Wainwright 4-64) by 217 runs
ScorecardDavid Masters helped Essex fight back against promotion favourites Derbyshire after a four wicket haul by spinner David Wainwright had secured maximum bowling points for the Division Two leaders at Derby.Wainwright took 4 for 64 and Mark Turner two wickets as Essex were bowled out for 245 but the visitors hit back by reducing the home side to 28 for 3 at the close.Masters followed a season’s best of 35 with the bat with 2 for 3 in seven overs on his return from a side strain and Graham Napier, who top scored with 42, also claimed a wicket to leave the game in the balance.Derbyshire dominated the first part of the day after their decision to put Essex in was quickly justified as Tony Palladino struck against his former county by having Jaik Mickleburgh caught behind for five in the fifth over. It was the seamer’s 49th Championship victim of the season but he was kept waiting for his 50th as Essex subsided to the spin of Wainwright and two needless run-outs.After Tom Westley had played down the wrong line at Tim Groenewald and Owais Shah had been beaten for pace by Turner, Wainwright got a ball to spit at Mark Pettini who was caught off his glove by Wes Durston at first slip.Ryan ten Doeschate has played some explosive innings against Derbyshire in the past and he briefly threatened to leave his mark on them again when he drove Wainwright over long on for six.But he made a misjudgement on 29 when he went back to Wainwright and was lbw to the arm ball and although James Foster was dropped by wicketkeeper Tom Poynton and saw a top edge hook carried over the ropes by Palladino, he did not make Derbyshire pay.The Essex captain had moved to 31 when he pushed Wainwright to mid on, set off for a single which was never on and was run out by yards thanks to Wayne Madsen’s direct hit.When Adam Wheater was lbw to a full length ball from Turner, Essex were 151 for 7 but Napier and Masters at least earnt their side a batting point with a stand of 74 in 19 overs. Napier fell to Wainwright when he edged a big drive to slip and Maurice Chambers’ attempted slog ended in the hands of backward point, leaving Masters to drive the spinner for six before he was run out going for a second run.Masters continued the Essex recovery when he bowled Madsen, who made a double century in the previous game, for two and had Usman Khawaja well caught low down at second slip by Westley for a 14-ball duck.Palladino was sent in as night watchman but Napier trapped him lbw in the penultimate over to end an absorbing day’s play on a high note for Essex.