All posts by csb10.top

After restricting Haryana to 242 on the opening day with a fine five wickethaul, the Rest of India skipper Kashinath Khadkikar lead from the front asthey took the vital first innings lead on the second day of their MAChidambaram Trophy (Under-19) match played at the Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium in Rohtak on Thursday.Rest of India started their reply on a disastrous note losing openerGaganinder Singh (0) in the second over of the innings. Then Naman Oza (32)and Deepak Chougule (66) added 48 runs for the second wicket. Oza was thenext to be dismissed bowled by Gaurav Vashishta in the 19th over. Then YGnaneshwara Rao (43) joined Chougule and forged a 99-run third wicketpartnership. Both Gneshwara Rao and Chougule were dismissed in the space ofthree balls with Amit Mishra accounting for both in the 43rd over.Haryana then had Rest of India in a spot of bother as Mohanish Mishra andASK Verma were dismissed with out opening their accounts. Kadkikar andMohd Faiq steadied the innings with an unbeaten 98-run seventh wicketpartnership. Rest of India ended the day at 264 for 6 with Kadkikar on 74and Mohd Faiq on 38.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s good start to the CricInfo Championship continued at the weekend and he is sitting third on the county run aggregate list for both divisions at the moment.He followed his back-to-back centuries for Middlesex in Division Two of the championship by being unbeaten on 31 when the declaration was applied in the second innings against Durham on Saturday. The game ended in a draw.Fleming took his run total for the season to 363 in six innings, two of them not out.His average is now 90.75 which is sixth on the list for all first-class cricket to date in England this summer but he has played most innings of those with better averages.But his one-day record has not been as impressive and he was out in a fourth-ball duck in yesterday’s one-day league game with Durham. In six one-day games this summer he has batted five times for 121 runs at 24.20.It wasn’t such good news for Mathew Sinclair however.His batting run which included a double century, a 199 and two centuries, ended when he was bowled for 14 in Cleethorpes’ chase for Castleford’s 173/8.The Cleethorpes side were smarting after Castleford labelled their opponents as a “one-man side” after their defeat the previous weekend by Cleethorpe when Sinclair was not able to play.Cleethorpe fell well short in the chase to be all out for 96. They now face a double header with Harrogate and Yorkshire Academy at home next weekend.

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.

ScorecardMoeen Ali impressed last week for England Lions•Getty Images

Division Two promotion hopefuls Lancashire were frustrated by a fine century from Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali at New Road. Moeen hit 104 to help lift his side to 287 following a spirited fightback by the league leaders, who were boosted by a four-wicket haul by paceman Kyle Hogg.At the end of the opening day Lancashire’s opening pair of Glen Chapple and Luis Reece safely negotiated a maiden over from Alan Richardson before proceedings were brought to a close.Moeen’s eye-catching innings followed his brilliant 114 earlier in the week in a Yorkshire Bank 40 Group A match against his former county Warwickshire at Edgbaston. He also made an impression last week by scoring 61 for England Lions in a two-day game against the Australians at Northampton.Lancashire also found the 26-year-old difficult to dislodge in their opening Championship match of the campaign when he made 78 in a rain-hit draw against Worcestershire at Emirates Old Trafford.Moeen, whose knock today hoisted him well past the 1,000-run mark in the Championship this summer, reached three figures off 194 balls with 13 fours. It was the 11th first-class century of his career and his third in the Championship this term.Worcestershire made 38 in 13 overs before their opening pair were split up by seamer Tom Smith’s third delivery which accounted for Daryl Mitchell, whose outside edge was snapped up in the slips by Andrea Agathangelou. Mitchell’s dismissal for 22, following a string of impressive limited-overs scores, signalled the start of a half-century partnership between his fellow opener Matt Pardoe and Moeen.They put on 54 in 17 overs before the penultimate delivery before lunch, bowled by left-arm medium-pacer Reece, had Pardoe caught behind for 35 by Gareth Cross to leave the hosts 92 for 2 off 30 overs at the breakThilan Samaraweera struggled to get into his stride and suffered a soft dismissal when, after leaving alone a Hogg delivery, ambled out of his ground to allow the alert Cross to stump him for 6 off 32 balls. His careless departure failed to unsettle Moeen who instantly found a reliable partner in teenager Tom Fell. They joined forces to complete a half-century stand before the taking their side to 196 for three off 64 overs at tea.They went on to add 91 in 29 overs before another slice of carelessness resulted in Fell being removed for 43 when he turned Arron Lilley to square leg and wandered out of his ground to enable Reece to run him out with a smart throw in to Cross. Next ball Ross Whiteley, making his Championship debut for Worcestershire, was bowled by Lilley before the visitors continued their fightback by ousting Joe Leach.Moeen finally fell during the first over with the new ball when he nicked Hogg to Cross after facing 205 balls. Jack Shantry and Ben Cox both fell cheaply as Worcestershire lost six wickets for 37 runs in 15 overs before Richardson and Graeme Cessford topped up the home side’s tally with an entertaining last-wicket stand worth 35.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNathan Lyon removed England’s Nos. 3 to 6•Getty Images

As he wheeled away through 38 quite exemplary overs at Old Trafford for the reward of one wicket and the loss of the Ashes, Nathan Lyon must have wondered when fortune would deign to smile on him and Australia. The answer was not long in coming at Chester-le-Street, on a day when Lyon’s remarkably incisive contribution was central to England’s sharp decline from 149 for 2 to 238 for 9.Alastair Cook’s men may have the urn in their keeping but any sense of superiority is steadily eroding. They were guilty of profligacy at some times and paralysis at others, never finding the right gear for a pitch that was slow and nibbly but far from treacherous. Ian Bell in particular will curse his maddening choice of shot in the first over after tea, while Australia’s seamers ensured the blows applied to English confidence in Manchester were followed up in Durham.Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Shane Watson all contributed at various times, and Jackson Bird had a notable first day in Ashes matches, nagging away and capturing the prized wicket of Cook after England’s captain had set himself for the kind of stony occupation he trademarked in Australia in 2010-11. But the major plaudits were reserved for Lyon, who won a significant battle with Kevin Pietersen and troubled every batsman with his flight, drop and changes of pace from around the wicket. His omission from the first two Tests of the series increasingly appears an error as grievous as that committed by Bell four balls into the evening session.The early overs had lacked a certain energy, as Harris fought to relocate the rhythm and swing of Old Trafford, while Bird settled into a line and length that encouraged defensive dead bats but did not coax any edges into the Australian slips cordon. There was the merest hint of seam movement but the surface was otherwise slow, as was the outfield. Cook and Joe Root battled to find their timing, England’s captain leaving plenty outside off stump while also coping with the full length Australia have forced him to deal with throughout the series.Clarke again resorted to Watson before Peter Siddle, hoping for some new-ball movement, and after a somewhat wayward start it was the newly demoted allrounder – expected to bat at No. 6 in this match – who struck. Root was somewhat tardy getting forward to a ball sliding away from him, and the sound of the nick was clear to all except the umpire Tony Hill, who was soon crossing himself and raising his finger after Clarke’s referral showed up a noise, a deflection and even a Hot Spot.The wicket brought Trott to the crease, and he immediately showed signs of improved fluency after a poor third Test. His one boundary before the interval was an edge through the slips but there was also a more decisive flick through midwicket and a pair of confident strides out to drive. Clarke did not chance an over from Lyon during the morning, preferring to let his seamers push during a session that yielded them less than they might have hoped for.Trott and Cook were largely unhurried and unfazed in the hour after lunch, and it was a shock to many when England’s No. 3 squeezed a Lyon offbreak to short leg, where Usman Khawaja held a neat catch. Pietersen swung lustily at his very first ball and was fortunate to mistime it into the expanses beyond midwicket, but some better struck boundaries ensued and Lyon was withdrawn.It was not until he returned that England were troubled again, a ball looped teasingly from around the wicket drawing an edge from Pietersen and a fine catch by Brad Haddin up to the stumps. If that wicket had altered proceedings, that of Cook’s changed the complexion of the day completely, Bird finding just the right amount of seam movement to have the captain pinned in front of off stump with his bat never intended for use.Cook had underestimated Bird’s capacity to move the ball, and in the first over after tea Bell would pay for treating Lyon with contempt. Four balls into the evening, he advanced to drive at a flighted delivery, failing to get to the pitch and shelling a catch in the general vicinity of mid-off, where Harris clasped a sharp chance. It was a vainglorious stroke, and consigned Matt Prior and Jonny Bairstow to a major salvage task.They started well enough, working the ball around, but as Clarke and his bowlers tightened up in response both batsmen were rendered near enough to shotless. Only 34 runs had been added in a union nearing 20 overs’ duration when Prior was pinned in front of the stumps by Siddle. Aleem Dar declined the appeal, but Australia’s referral showed the ball to be striking enough of leg stump for the decision to be overturned.Bairstow fought desperately, denying his usual aggressive tendencies, but ultimately the pressure told. He went down on one knee to sweep Lyon from around the wicket and missed, Hill’s finger was raised and Bairstow’s anguished review showing the off break had straightened enough and would have clipped the top of the stumps. Stuart Broad soon followed, spooning Harris ineffectually to cover, and Graeme Swann picked out deep square leg.Tim Bresnan and James Anderson played the day out comfortably, adding 24 from 20 balls. It was a sight that cheered the crowd but had to discomfort England, given their earlier wastefulness.

Mohit Sharma revelled in a “dream” debut after he helped skittle Zimbabwe for just 144 in the fourth ODI in Bulawayo. Entrusted with the new ball, as he had been through most of the IPL by MS Dhoni, Mohit made the first incision for India with the wicket of Sikandar Raza and then returned to remove Malcolm Waller in the batting Powerplay to snap a stubborn middle-order stand.”Yeah, it all feels like a dream,” Mohit said. “But I have worked on my bowling and it is showing. I am ready to do well in whatever opportunity I am going to get. I was just focusing on keeping things simple and sticking to basics. I did not want to try too many things and it worked for me today.”It was that same formula that first brought Mohit success in the Ranji Trophy with Haryana and it also worked a treat at this year’s IPL, where he emerged as one of the most miserly and effective new-ball bowlers of the tournament. It was also noticeable that, during every Indian nets session on this tour, Mohit consistently impressed with his ability to hit a length on or around off stump with almost every delivery.A correct call at the toss by Virat Kohli supplied Mohit with almost ideal conditions this morning and, apart from a single wide probably brought about by nervous excitement, his first over in international cricket was exemplary. He beat Vusi Sibanda’s bat four times in that first over, and it wasn’t until his third that a run was scored off the bat.It was his stock outswinger that brought his maiden wicket, with Raza feathering one behind, and Mohit’s opening six-over spell yielded just 13 runs. After a brief turn in the middle overs, Kohli brought him back for the Powerplay, with a well-set Waller and Elton Chigumbura having taken 11 runs from the first over under the fielding restrictions. Sharma responded to his captain’s call with Waller’s dismissal, also via the outside edge. A battling 80-run stand was broken, and Zimbabwe quickly subsided.”It is difficult to bowl in Powerplays but we work hard in practice sessions,” Mohit explained. “We create match situations during training and bowl a lot and that has helped in matches. And that is why we don’t feel much pressure in matches. Playing under Mahi [Dhoni] and in pressure conditions has taught me a lot. I am just carrying that experience into the international level.”Everyone already knew that Mohit could do a job with the new ball, and such was the ineptitude of Zimbabwe’s batting that his ability to vary his bowling with slower balls – which, again was on prime display in the IPL – and yorkers has not yet been tested. He’s in no rush to add new strings to his bow, however, and given his successes so far that’s understandable.”After coming into the Indian team I have learnt a lot from bowling coach Joe Dawes. It’s just about sticking to the basics and working on your strengths and improving on that. As far as learning new things in bowling, I can do that later and not in match situations. Now I want to focus on the next game and doing well in that as well.”

ScorecardLuis Reece was unbeaten on 22 as Lancashire chased a small target to win inside two days•Getty Images

Lancashire have dismissed criticism of the pitch at Old Trafford after wrapping up a convincing eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire, their main rivals in Division Two, inside two days.The victory, achieved with three overs remaining after they took an extra half hour to finish the game, reduced Northamptonshire’s lead at the top of the table to 17 points having played a game more, but it was a triumph marred by controversy over the state of the wicket.Despite Jack Birkenshaw, the ECB pitch inspector, clearing the surface after concluding that high-quality seam bowling and average batting were the contributory factors to 18 wickets falling on the opening day, it was not a verdict that satisfied David Smith, Northamptonshire’s chief executive.Smith, who was at Old Trafford for the opening day, claimed the wicket was “akin to an out-ground and a poor one at that” in an interview with the . “What level of preparation went into this wicket?” he said. “We can only guess but it looked underprepared and the scorecard supports this view.”The controversial surface lies several away on the square from that being prepared for the third Ashes Test, which starts on August 1.Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s director of cricket, not surprisingly disagreed with Smith’s verdict, despite the same pitch being marked as sub-standard last year against Worcestershire. On that occasion Lancashire escaped with a warning because the square had only recently been turned as part of the ground’s re-development.”Jack Birkenshaw has been here on behalf of the ECB during preparation time for the game and for the entire match and in his opinion it has been swnging ball, climatic conditions and poor batting that has led to the wickets,” said Watkinson.”I don’t think there has been anything sinister from the pitch. We had the first day of a Championship match which was played 80 percent of the day under floodlights and the temperature at 25 degrees with extreme humidity and the ball swinging around corners.”Certainly conditions for batting had improved on the second morning, with the sun attempting to break through the cloud cover, enabling Tom Smith to hit an unbeaten 35 and secure a crucial 97-run first-innings lead.For long periods of Northamptonshire’s reply it appeared they would suffer a humiliating innings defeat well inside two days, with Glen Chapple’s new-ball partnership wtih Kyle Hogg once again proving productive. They combined to make an early breakthrough when Kyle Coetzer mistimed a defensive shot against Hogg that looped to Chapple at mid-on.Chapple followed up with a full length delivery that seamed back into David Sales and knocked back his off-stump and James Middlebrook fell to the next ball, shuffling across his stumps to fall lbw to Hogg. At that stage, Lancashire had claimed their last 26 Championship wickets for only 109 runs, with their in-form opening pair claiming all but two.At least Northamptonshire resisted long enough this time to force Lancashire into a bowling change for the first time in 59.1 Championship overs, when left-arm spinners Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry, both selected to try and exploit a dry surface, were finally utilised shortly before lunch.Instead of having a major impact, a new pair of Lancashire seamers effectively ended Northamptonshire’s resistance, with Luke Procter and Tom Smith inducing a mini-collapse of four wickets for 45 runs in 12 overs after lunch. Two of those dismissals were self-induced, with Steven Crook chipping Procter to midwicket and David Willey mistiming to mid-on.When David Murphy joined Andrew Hall at the crease for the start of Northamptonshire’s eighth-wicket partnership, they were still trailing by 17 runs but demonstrated that sensible batting could prosper by both scoring half-centuries and forging an 89-run stand, the biggest of the match on either side.They batted together for 31 overs but in sight of setting a potentially testing target for Lancashire to chase in the final innings, they lost wickets in a cluster once again, the last three falling in only eight balls to leave a modest victory chase of 73. Despite losing Procter to the third ball of the reply, edging Willey down the leg side, Lancashire sealed their victory with plenty of time to spare and close the gap on Northamptonshire.Their coach, David Ripley, was less critical of the surface than Smith but he wasn’t impressed with the performance of his batsmen on the second day when conditions eased. “My personal view of the pitch was that if it was a little below par on the first day, it was genuine,” he said.”On day one I had a lot of sympathy against two good bowlers in seamer-friendly conditions and it was tough. I was actually more disappointed today because I thought the wicket was a lot easier and we had two guys really dig in for us and make a substantial partnership but no other partnerships.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez scored his fifth ODI century but he was upstaged by Kevin O’Brien’s heroics•AFP

His fans have come to expect thunderous innings and Kevin O’Brien didn’t let them down, with his 84 off 47 balls seizing a tie for Ireland against Pakistan in the first of two ODIs at Clontarf.Ireland’s cricket resurgence was sparked by beating Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, when Trent Johnston and O’Brien saw them home at Sabina Park. The same pair were at the wicket with 13 needed off three balls here, when O’Brien hit Saeed Ajmal for six and two, before the last ball sped for four to leave them one run short of their Duckworth-Lewis-adjusted target.”It feels a bit like a loss to be honest”, a downcast O’Brien said afterwards, “we got ourselves in a position to win. You don’t go out to tie a game, you go out to win it.”O’Brien’s Man-of-the-Match knock, which included 11 fours and 2 sixes, overshadowed two masterful centuries of contrasting styles. A high-class, unbeaten 122 by Mohammad Hafeez warmed the hearts and hands of the large Pakistani contingent before Paul Stirling fired Ireland’s chase with a ton of his own.Hafeez, 32, made his first ODI century in 19 innings as Pakistan overcame difficult early conditions to post a formidable 266 for 5. The quality of Hafeez’s innings was all the more laudable considering it was interrupted four times by stoppages as the Dublin skies emptied rain and hail on the picturesque ground.In some ways the climate may prove as much a block to Irish ambitions as anything else. The many new fans the game has won in the country in recent years can’t have been impressed by the live experience, as almost all the marquee fixtures since 2007 have been interrupted by rain.The crowd were good-natured, however, and a carnival atmosphere obtained despite the chill. Eyebrows were raised when Pakistan opted to bat on winning the toss but, after fine opening spells by Tim Murtagh and Johnston there was little to concern the visitors.Nasir Jamshed hit as big a six as has ever been seen here but was forced to retire hurt on 15 and when first-change bowler Alex Cusack snapped up Imran Farhat the locals found their voice. But it was another 30 overs before they had anything to cheer about as Hafeez and Asad Shafiq found batting increasingly easy.Shafiq passed 1000 runs in ODIs, and his personal best, and was in sight of a maiden century when he spooned Cusack to Johnston at long-on. Their partnership of 188 was the second highest against Ireland for any wicket, dwarfed only by Brendon McCullum and James Marshall’s opening 274 for New Zealand against a virtual second string in 2008.Hafeez moved steadily to his hundred, finding gaps all round the wicket and reaching the milestone off 102 balls. There was a hiccup next over when the recovered Jamshed was well-taken by a diving Tim Murtagh and, next ball, Hafeez sent Misbah ul-Haq back, which he declined to do and was run out without facing. Kamran Akmal cracked three boundaries before O’Brien yorked him in the final over, and there was just time for Hafeez to sign off with a glorious cover drive to close as classy an innings as Dublin has seen in quite a while.With only 47 overs bowled, the target was revised up to 276 and Stirling set Ireland off in a fashion that has become his mark. Two years ago he made a century against the same opposition, which caused Waqar Younis to rave: “He is a fine player, he played proper shots and he is not scared of playing his shots against good bowlers.”Here he played classical drives and deft cuts whilst bludgeoning boundaries on the way to his fifth ODI hundred, in 101 balls. He and Porterfield put on 62, before the second large second-wicket stand of the day, with Ed Joyce. The Sussex man has been in fine form in England but was disappointed to miss a straight one from Hafeez. The pitch generally failed to turn as much as expected and Saeed Ajmal had a day to forget quickly, his ten overs going for 71. He frequently bowled short and O’Brien played some punching backfoot drives through extra cover. Mohammed Irfan, too, had a difficult day, not least in the field where he was tested frequently.”Ireland are a good side,” Misbah, Pakistan’s captain, said afterwards. “We will need to improve in all areas before Sunday’s game.” There were still a few hundred tickets left for that game but they may go quickly when word spreads about this remarkable result.

ScorecardTim Murtagh took 10 for 77 in the match•Middlesex CCC

The last time Somerset lost a Championship match at Taunton, the ground – not to mention the town centre hostelries – rang to raucous Lancastrian celebrations as the Red Rose celebrated their first outright title for 77 years. This time the ground was deserted as Middlesex unexpectedly escaped the showers to pull off a three-day victory after 7pm. But empty ground or not, 20 months later, the town might just have played host to another Championship winner.Middlesex went top, ahead of Durham, by virtue of this victory and with a third of the season gone the table is beginning to take an intriguing shape. Nobody looks more serious contenders than Middlesex. Durham are unexpected leaders, Warwickshire’s innings defeat against Yorkshire raised many questions about their ability to defend their title, and Somerset, so often nearly-men, will be grateful just to stabilise their season after this nine-wicket defeat.Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s director of cricket, is still awaiting his first win after five matches. After eight weeks, he will be wondering whether the job is bigger than he realised. It was never going to be a matter of ticking things along; it was a matter of rebuilding with very few players clamouring for recognition in the 2nd XI.”Middlesex played very well and outplayed us,” he said. “That is two games in a row where we haven’t pitched and we will have to reassess things. Yorkshire was disappointing and now this, but sometimes the biggest punch comes from the back foot and we’ll see what sort of characters we’ve got. The individuals need to pinpoint themselves.”We haven’t played terrible cricket but after five games we should have won two of them and that lingers in the back of the mind.”Middlesex look to be quite a strong outfit. They look a very balanced and a settled side and playing some quality cricket. At the start of the season I don’t think you could say who was going to win the thing – it was an open race – but they have shown some good early form.”Somerset could at least draw heart from the signing of Dean Elgar, who replaces his fellow South African batsman, Alviro Petersen, while he is on Champions Trophy duty. He is expected to make his debut against Yorkshire in their next home Championship fixture at the end of the month. Nosworthy called him a fighter – and he needs others to show similar resolve.The game was all but up for Somerset from the second afternoon when they collapsed to 35 for 5, still 160 behind. Peter Trego and Jos Buttler brought a veneer of respectability with a pair of 80s, Somerset adding another 143 to their overnight 112 for 5 as the clouds began to build.This was not a game when Tim Murtagh could be kept out of the picture for long. He had Trego caught at short midwicket and later he rounded up the Somerset innings by having Steve Kirby lbw to the first over with the second new ball to finish with match figures of 10 for 77 – the third 10-wicket haul of his Championship career.The resistance meant most for Buttler, whose chequered Championship career has been strewn with careless dismissals, but who not for the first time this season showed a growing inclination to play in a more considered fashion and who bedded down dutifully to make 85 in nearly four-and-a-half hours.Perhaps this innings, even in defeat, will one day be seen as a breakthrough in the longer format. He is such an innovative and exciting one-day player that one wonders if he can ever really enjoy playing in such a restrained fashion, but he is beginning to broaden his range.Beneath the helmet one imagined that he might have the baleful expression of a captured antelope pining for the great outdoors. Somerset will hope that his discipline was proof of his gathering maturity because they need all the talent at their disposal to rescue a disappointing start to the season.The longest delay on an afternoon of heavy showers ripped 35 overs from the day. There was a time when it seemed inevitable that Middlesex would be back tomorrow, but the umpires’ determination to stick around proved shrewd. There were a few wet areas in front of the Ondaatje Pavilion and when Trego slipped with 17 runs needed, it was enough for the captain, Marcus Trescothick, to have a word and the umpires to be forced into a confab.The extra half-hour was claimed at 39 for 0 with Middlesex 32 short and a comfortable rate of four an over ahead of them. But there was enough in the pitch for Somerset to take a prize scalp or two and Jamie Overton bowled Chris Rogers in the first over of overtime. Rogers has always been one of the doughtiest batsman on the circuit, but since his selection for Australia’s Ashes tour, his wicket has become a collector’s item; it was another happy moment in Overton’s eye-catching season.

After 18 years as an international cricketer, the world’s top-ranked Test allrounder Jacques Kallis, was finally named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year. It may seem surprising that it took so long for the publication to honour Kallis, but given that its awards are confined to performances in England, their time lag was justified.Until last July, Kallis’ record in England was modest. He averaged less than 30 and only had one century, scored in Manchester in 1998. He had done better with the ball, with 35 wickets at 27.51, but the 2012 tour improved those statistics dramatically. He scored 262 runs in three Tests, including 182 at the Oval, which saw his batting average in England surge to 35.33 and he added four crucial wickets to his tally, including Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell in the first Test.Kallis played an important role in South Africa taking the No.1 rankings off their opponents. For Kallis, to be included in the list was simply recognition for his role in ensuring the team finally summited after bubbling under for so long.”It’s a great honour, I had a pretty good season with South Africa and it’s nice to be rewarded for that,” he told Kolkata Knight Riders’ official website. “But I don’t play the game for those accolades. I play games to win for the team I am playing for. As much as it is a nice accolade, it’s nice that the team had a good year as well.”Kallis also contributed to South Africa’s series win in Australia with a hundred in Brisbane and at home against New Zealand and Pakistan. What is most noticeable is that he has begun to score at a quicker rate, playing the longest form of the game more aggressively.His continued ability to maintain standards of excellence has earned him praise from many quarters, including Brendon McCullum, his KKR team-mate. “I’d say he is probably one of the five cricketers of all time,” McCullum said. “He is a freak, so much talent and he is such a humble guy as well. He deserves every bit of the accolades he is getting because he is such a great guy, such a great team man and it’s a great privilege to play with him.”KKR are the most recent beneficiaries of Kallis’ skill. He opens both the batting and the bowling for them and Trevor Bayliss believes he will be vital to their title defence. “He just keeps doing it, batting and bowling. It’s incredible – the longevity he has shown at the very highest end of world cricket,” he said.With age creeping up on him, Kallis is being carefully managed by South Africa. His bowling loads are monitored and he no longer plays bilateral ODI series. While he knows he is in the twilight years, Kallis hopes to be able to keep going – not because he wants to continue to stack up achievements but because, to borrow from Cyndi Lauper, he just wants to have fun.”I’m getting on in life now but I’m still hungry; still enjoying it and there is still lots to achieve in the game. As long as I wake up in the morning happy to play this game and wanting to get results for the team I am playing for, I will carry on for as long as the body holds out,” he said.”I am not really one for setting personal goals. I prefer setting goals for the team. My personal targets would be to make the correct decisions for the team as many times as I can and hopefully Knight Riders will come out on top again.”