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'I might keep that one in the back pocket' – Starc wins bragging rights vs Head

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“That’s why you pay big money to big-game players,” Tom Moody says of Starc’s second-ball wicket of Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20241:33

‘That’s why you pay big money for big-game players’

Mitchell Starc has had a patchy IPL 2024, but he brought his experience and nous of playing in “some big games and big occasions” when it mattered by running through the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top order in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad.Starc bowled three overs in the powerplay and sent back Travis Head off the second ball of the game, and Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed, the last two off consecutive balls in the fifth over.”I guess I have played a fair bit of cricket so I have been fortunate enough to play in some big games and some big occasions,” Starc said between innings on the official broadcast after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had stopped SRH for 159. “Nine months ago [in the ODI World Cup final] we were here in front of a full stadium. It was nice to get the team off to a good start that we needed [today].Related

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“We know the powerplay wickets are very important. The way Sunrisers take on the powerplay, they have sort of matched us throughout the season in terms of getting off to good starts. It was great to get powerplay wickets and I think our bowling group was fantastic throughout.”Starc got the ball to seam from the outset and struck with his second ball, castling his Australia team-mate Head with one that shaped back in sharply. Vaibhav Arora then sent back Abhishek Sharma for 3 as SRH lost their big-hitting openers inside two overs. Starc bowled his third over inside the powerplay and first removed Reddy with a short-of-a-length ball that the batter skied with an attempted pull, and then hit Shahbaz’s middle pole off the inside edge.But Head’s wicket was one that Starc enjoyed the most, and one he wants to keep in his “back pocket”.”I might keep that one in the back pocket for when he starts to give me some niggle and I have to pull it out on him,” Starc said. “He’s been phenomenal through the tournament. But we knew he was going to be a big wicket.”Obviously Abhishek for them at the top as well. That partnership has been key for them, so to get both of them pretty cheap was great and we got set on our way today.”After the match, and after Starc had won the Player-of-the-Match award, Ravi Shastri brought up the fact that Starc had pulled his length back a bit in the early overs. “Yeah, spot on. Particularly with the way Trav and Abhishek have been playing throughout the series, they like the width [and to] free their arms,” Starc said. “So if we can get that ball swinging and keep it in line with the stumps and bowl a really hard length, which we really did in the powerplay, and that really got into their middle order…”Starc’s delivery to remove Head left Tom Moody impressed as well. “Class from Starc. We know that he has had a difficult three-quarters of the tournament, but that’s why you pay big money to big-game players,” he said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show.On asked about the conditions, Starc conceded there was dew, which started to appear about halfway through the SRH innings. He said he expected the surface to get better to bat on in the second innings.”There is certainly dew now. It started to pick up through probably halfway through our innings. The wicket has got a bit skiddier. There is some swing. Our spinners found a way to be effective and take wickets,” Starc said. “The wicket is going to get a little bit better just with the dew and the bit of skid but in turn, it is also going to swing a little bit.”

Nepal cricket board lifts suspension on Sandeep Lamichhane

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The update means that Lamichhane will be able to play the CWC League 2 tri-series matches against Namibia and Scotland this month

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2023The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has revoked the suspension on Sandeep Lamichhane, paving the way for him to play in Nepal’s upcoming Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at home against Namibia and Scotland.Britant Khanal, the CAN general manager, told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to remove the suspension and allow Lamichhane to play in the tri-series was with the condition that he would “respect the limitation prescribed” by the court that granted him bail in January this year. And if Nepal were to go on tour, Lamichhane’s participation would depend on whether the court gave him permission for it or not.Lamichhane, who was suspended in September last year after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Kathmandu over an alleged case of coercion of another person. He was granted bail for the equivalent of around USD 15,300 but was barred from leaving the country until the final verdict.The news of Lamichhane’s arrest warrant was made public on September 8, when he was in the West Indies as part of the Jamaica Tallawahs squad at the CPL. He returned to Nepal after that saying he would face the “baseless allegations” and was taken into custody by police in Kathmandu on October 6.A statement from CAN acting secretary Prashant Vikram Malla said at the time that the suspension would remain in place pending a complete investigation. For his part, Lamichhane had said he would “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence”.Lamichhane, 22, is by far Nepal’s most high-profile cricketer, and the only one to have played in T20 leagues in most parts of the world, including in the IPL, the BBL, the PSL, the BPL, and the CPL.He is also the world’s second-fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets and third-fastest to 50 T20I wickets, and last played international cricket in August 2022, in the T20I series against Kenya. He was also Nepal’s captain at the time of the arrest warrant, a position he lost following his suspension.

Monty Desai joins Nepal as head coach

Monty Desai, until recently the assistant coach with the West Indies men’s team, is set to take charge as Nepal head coach. Khanal said that CAN had recommended Desai’s name to the Nepal Sports Council, whose ratification is mandatory for all such appointments.Nepal’s next assignment is the ODI tri-series, to be played in Kirtipur from February 14 to 21.

NCL round-up – Dhaka emerge champions, Chattogram earn promotion

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Key takeaways from the final round of NCL 2021-22

Mohammad Isam24-Nov-2021Dhaka Division lifted the NCL tier-1 trophy after seven years when they beat the other domestic powerhouse Khulna Division by 179 runs in the final round. Dhaka has now won six NCL titles, level with Rajshahi Division, while Khulna is on top of the list with seven trophies.Chattogram Division bagged the only promotion spot from tier-2 after their drawn game against Dhaka Metropolis, taking their tally up to 31.60 points.Best batters
Barishal Division captain Fazle Mahmud finished as the tournament’s top-scorer, with 603 runs at an average of 60.30. His 188 and unbeaten 71 in the drawn game against Rajshahi Division took him to the top of the run-getters’ list ahead of Sylhet’s young gun Amite Hasan. Mahmud struck 17 fours and a six during his 356-ball effort in the first innings.Amite made a career-best 186 against Rangpur, taking his tally to 590 runs at an average of 59.00, with two centuries and two fifties. He struck 19 fours during his near nine-hour marathon in the final round.Dhaka’s title had much to do with Abdul Mazid, who was the other batter to cross 500 runs this season. Mazid made 521 runs at an average of 43.41, with a century and four fifties, including the half-century in their tournament-winning match against Khulna.In this round, Myshukur Rahaman, Zakir Hossain and Shahadat Hossain Dipu struck centuries while the veteran Farhad Reza missed out by just one run.Rangpur’s Myshukur made 157 off 316 balls with 14 fours against Sylhet. Zakir replied with 122 off 248 balls with 14 fours against Rangpur.Farhad struck ten fours and six sixes during his 111-ball 99 against Barishal while young Dipu, part of Bangladesh’s Under-19 World Cup-winning side, struck a career-best 159 off 306 balls against Dhaka Metro.Best bowlers
Chattogram’s promotion had a lot to do with left-arm spinner Hasan Murad and offspinner Nayeem Hasan. The pair took 33 and 32 wickets respectively to lead the NCL’s bowling charts. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam’s 32 wickets helped Dhaka to the tier-1 title.Among the fast bowlers, Al-Amin Hossain took the most wickets – 20 strikes at 19.60, including a nine-wicket match haul.In the final round, Shuvagata Hom picked up only his second ten-wicket haul when he took 7 for 48 and 3 for 66 against Khulna. Mohammad Mithun sprung a surprise with his seven-wicket haul in the second innings, having taken just six wickets in 109 first-class matches previously.Dhaka’s Taibur Rahman took 5 for 40 in the same game, while left-arm quick Ruyel Mia took 5 for 120 for Barishal against Rajshahi.Best match
The Dhaka-Khulna encounter was the only one that yielded an outright result in the final round. Batting first, Dhaka made 335 before bowling out Khulna for 213. Dhaka declared on 256 for 8 in the second innings, leaving Khulna with a mountain to climb on the final day. Khulna managed to bat out 89.1 overs on the final day, but were eventually bowled out for 199 runs.Points to ponder
Dhaka’s 179-run win over Khulna helped them leapfrog Rangpur who were leading the tier-1 points table for the last few rounds of the competition. But their drawn game against Sylhet cost them dearly.Chattogram got their promotion after their drawn game against Rajshahi. If Barishal had beaten Rajshahi, they, too, would have got close to promotion. Seven-time champion Khulna, however, are now demoted to tier-2 next season.Players to watch
Mahmudul Hasan Joy capped off his impressive NCL run with an 83 against Dhaka Metro. His strong form culminated in a maiden call-up to the Bangladesh Test squad.The selectors might want to consider the likes of Mahmud and Mazid for at least the Bangladesh A sides after their healthy returns in the NCL. Amite and Murad could also be on the radar of the selectors.

Asad Shafiq defies bowling conditions after Naseem Shah takes five

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Shafiq makes an unbeaten fifty for Team Green as Pakistan’s quicks continue to shine

ECB Reporters Network 18-Jul-2020Team Green 162 for 5 (Shafiq 50, Khan 3-42) trail Team White 249 (Rizwan 54*, Shah 5-55)Pakistan’s bowlers again dominated on the second day of the intra-squad match at the Incora County Ground, Derby. The ball seamed and swung under leaden skies and 17-year-old Naseem Shah took advantage to finish with 5 for 55 as Babar Azam’s Team White were bowled out for 249, Mohammad Rizwan top scoring with an unbeaten 54.Team Green also struggled as the impressive Shaheen Afridi dismissed captain Azhar Ali and it needed an unbeaten 50 from Asad Shafiq to steer them to 160 for 5 before bad light and drizzle forced an early close.The conditions favoured the bowlers from the start with the floodlights on and grey clouds scudding across on a cool breeze. Team Green did not take long to knock over the last two batsmen, both snared by the impressive Shah, who fully deserved his five wicket haul.Kashif Bhatti had signed off the previous evening by driving Yasir Shah over the ropes but he was quickly cleaned up by Shah, which left Rizwan in danger of missing out on a half -century. A wristy cut off Mohammad Abbas brought him his fifth four and an edge through the slips off Shah took the wicketkeeper to 50 before Usman Shinwari edged to second slip.There was little respite for the batsmen as Afridi probed relentlessly from the City End before lunch and his persistence may have helped Sohail Khan claim the wicket of Abid Ali whose glance only found the gloves of Rizwan.Some extra bounce from Shinwari took the left glove of Fakhar Zaman and Ali had to call on all his experience to survive until lunch. His concentration was disturbed by two rain stoppages after the interval but he and Asad were beginning to build a partnership when Afridi came back at the Racecourse End.Ali had shown sound judgement but Afridi drew him into playing at another good length delivery that shaped away enough to take the outside edge and spark wild celebrations from the tall 20-year-old fast bowler.He thought he had Iftikhar Ahmed first ball with an lbw appeal that prompted a humorous review sign from a team mate and Ahmed was badly missed on 7 off Shan Masood shortly before tea.The light deteriorated enough for the umpires to take the players off the field for 25 minutes in the evening session and when they returned, Ahmed was dropped again, this time at second slip, on 24. He celebrated by pulling behind square for four but in Sohail’s next over, he was lbw to one that ducked in and another full length swinging ball had Sarfaraz Ahmed caught behind.Shafiq completed a hard-fought half-century before the weather closed in with the batsmen hoping for sunshine on the last two days.

Surrey's Will Jacks hits 25-ball ton, six sixes in an over

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Jacks leads his side to 176 for 3 before Lancashire finish on 81 for 9 in pre-season T10 fixture

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2019Surrey’s Will Jacks smacked his way to a 25-ball century, including six sixes in an over, during a pre-season T10 clash with Lancashire in Dubai.Jacks hit Stephen Parry for six sixes in an over en route to his ton, which, had the match been officially recognised, would have beaten Chris Gayle’s world record for the fastest century in representative cricket, achieved in the 2013 IPL, by five balls.While it will not go down in the record books, Jacks passed the top score of 87 for the 10-over format achieved by Alex Hales last year.Jacks finished with 105 off 30 deliveries with eight fours and 11 sixes to lead Surrey to an impressive 176 for 3. Lancashire managed 81 for 9 in reply as Gareth Batty, who at 41 is more than twice team-mate Jacks’ age, took 4 for 21.Will Jacks struck his maiden Surrey century at the third attempt•Getty Images

“I didn’t think about the hundred until I was on 98 – it all happened quite quickly,” Jacks said. “Once I got to 98, I thought, ‘I’ll just knock it around for these last two and start again;.”Similarly, it was a little while before Jacks contemplated his sixth maximum off Parry. “After the fourth six I was thinking, ‘I’ve got a real chance here’, and when the fifth one just snuck over I gave it everything on the last one and that just snuck over too,” Jacks said.The 20-year-old Jacks made his debut for Surrey in first-class, List A and T20 last season, scoring 121 off 100 balls in a Royal London Cup match against Gloucestershire. He spent the English winter playing for University Cricket Club in Perth, Australia, before being called up to tour India with England Lions.

Doggett five-for hoists Queensland to top

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A five-wicket haul from the emerging paceman helped Queensland move well clear at the top of the Sheffield Shield table after a 118-run win over South Australia

The Report by Alex Malcolm28-Feb-2018Brendan Doggett finished with four wickets in the first innings•Chris Hyde/Getty Images

A five-wicket haul from emerging paceman Brendan Doggett helped Queensland move well clear at the top of the Sheffield Shield table after a 118-run win over South Australia.The Redbacks needed 384 to win on the final day with only six wickets in hand but did not shirk the monstrous chase. Travis Head set the tone with expansive strokeplay early. He was well supported by nightwatchman Joe Mennie before Doggett trapped Mennie in front.Head lost his off stump to an inswinger from Jack Wildermuth for 85. When Tom Cooper fell a short time later the game appeared over. But Alex Carey and Adam Zampa kept fighting and they put on 108 for the eighth wicket.Doggett claimed Carey only two runs shy of a century. He removed Daniel Worrall four balls later to claim his first five-wicket haul at Shield level. Matt Renshaw was named Man of the Match for his day-one century.The Bulls are now eight points clear on top of the table with two rounds to go and in a strong position to host the final.

Kohli tour de force earns India lead

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India’s captain batted through the third day to remain 147 not out to carve out a 51-run advantage over England on a turning pitch in Mumbai

The Report by Alagappan Muthu10-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:29

Ganguly: Monumental task ahead for England

An old cricket cliche is that batsmen regard poor deliveries as their bread and butter. Virat Kohli, however, seems to prefer it the other way around. He likes a challenge. He wants every bit of his considerable skill tested. It is almost as if he feels shortchanged when things are easy. At Wankhede stadium, Kohli rose above scoreboard pressure on a turning track to make his 15th Test century in front of a packed crowd. In doing so, he became the first Indian captain in 35 years to make 500 runs or more in a series and took his team into the lead.Mumbai has a history of being a very difficult place to bat in the third and fourth innings so even the slimmest of advantages can prove decisive. That was incentive number one. Incentive number two was the opportunity to make tough runs, Kohli’s favourite kind. There was quick turn and steep bounce. England’s spinners exploited them to pick up four wickets for 45 runs in the middle session. India, at that point, were 307 for 6 and 93 runs behind. Four good balls would have had them on the mat.But Kohli had his plans. Simple ones. He moved back and across to the offbreaks of Moeen Ali, knowing the bowler doesn’t use his wrong ‘un often. So he was always in a good position even when a few deliveries kicked up off a length. He would lean over the legbreaks of Adil Rashid and from that position his powerful wrists were able to do what they wanted. Those skills were bolstered by a new-found restraint.He was careful outside his off stump, even his leaves were characterised by a giant front-foot stride and the bat stabbing at the air above him, and was content despite scoring only 11 runs off 47 balls in the first hour after lunch. Kohli recognised that England had hit their rhythm and the sensible thing to do was to wait it out. He was having the time of his life doing it all, of course, winking at his partner after hitting boundaries and sticking his tongue out at the pitch when it misbehaved.It didn’t hurt that there were nearly 20,000 people at the ground chanting his name. Kohli draws from them. He did at Eden Gardens, where India became the No. 1 team in the world. He did in Visakhapatnam, where he produced a couple of masterclasses on a slow and low surface. At Wankhede, when he got his 100th run, he screamed in delight, leapt up to punch the air and spread his arms in triumph. The noise was deafening. He batted through the entire day and remained unbeaten on 147.M Vijay dominated England’s spinners as he brought up his eighth Test century•AFP

England had to deal with another Indian batsman showing his class on Saturday. M Vijay made 136 sublime runs. They were important runs too, with his partner Cheteshwar Pujara falling off the second ball of the day.Alastair Cook took a punt. He had a man with 467 wickets at the ready but chose the one playing his first Test since his debut in July to bowl the opening over. Jake Ball repaid that trust emphatically when he bowled Pujara neck and crop. The batsman had shouldered arms, having misread the line of a delivery that pitched on fifth stump and seamed in.At this point, India had a choice to make. It was very early in the day. They were 254 runs behind on a turning pitch. Their usual No. 5 Ajinkya Rahane, who averages 47, was injured. So their middle order comprised of Karun Nair, playing his second Test, and Parthiv Patel, recalled this series from an eight-year cryogenic freeze. But this team is probably allergic to taking steps back.Kohli guided Ball to the third man boundary twice in the fourth over after the breakthrough and then thumped a fist onto the face of his bat when Vijay hoisted Moeen Ali a straight six. India went from 150 to 200 in only 66 balls – after the wicket had fallen.Vijay reached his hundred off the 231st ball he faced, benefiting from an outside edge as Moeen tried bowling around the stumps and got one to hold its line. He celebrated pointing to his left shoulder, while looking at someone in the dressing room. Soon after, he took a perfectly good delivery from James Anderson and lofted it back over his head for four.It would sicken England that they had a chance to dismiss both of India’s centurions for a lot less. Rashid fumbled a tough return catch offered by Kohli on 68 and had watched the wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow miss a stumping off Vijay on 45 the previous evening.It was even more of a shame because England’s spinners had put in an impressive performance. They worked the rookie Nair over beautifully. Rashid beat the outside edge three times in a row before Moeen, bowling around the wicket, had him lbw with a good length delivery that straightened sharply enough to overrule the on-field umpire’s not-out decision when England went for DRS. They had their revenge over Parthiv, who questioned their quality last evening only to fall to part-timer Joe Root’s first over of the day. R Ashwin was then caught brilliantly by Keaton Jennings at short leg, the fielder staying in line with a full-blooded flick and being rewarded for it when the ball just stuck in his midriff.At that point, England had a sniff at securing a lead but handy cameos from Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav meant India pulled ahead. Their seventh wicket added 57 runs in 82 balls and the eighth an unbroken 87 off 145. However, England had their chances. Jayant was dropped on 8, by Root at second slip, when England had belatedly taken the second new ball in the 130th over then survived an edge down the leg side on 28 which the umpire did not spot only for England not to have any reviews left.

Heazlett hits debut ton but Tasmania ahead

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Twenty-year old Sam Heazlett struck a century on first-class debut after which Queensland declared their first innings despite a deficit of 104 against Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2015 ScorecardFile photo – James Faulkner took three wickets before stepping up with the bat•PA Photos

Twenty-year old Sam Heazlett struck a century on first-class debut after which Queensland declared their first innings despite a deficit of 104.Batting at No. 3, Heazlett made 129 came off 248 balls, with 17 fours, and was assisted by Jason Floros in a 76-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Although they could not push ahead despite batting 122 overs, the momentum from their lower-order resistance seeped into their bowling. Tasmania, in their second innings, slumped to 4 for 38 before unbeaten 30s from Jake Doran and James Faulkner redressed the damage and stretched their overall lead to 204 by stumps on the third day in Hobart.Earlier in the day, resuming from an overnight score of 2 for 117, Queensland lost Marnus Labuschagne for 8, by Xavier Doherty. Nathan Reardon was also undone by the left-arm spinner before Heazlett and Floros mounted resistance. Contributions from wicketkeeper Chris Hartley (46) and No. 8 Jack Wildermuth (19) took Queensland past 300. Doherty and Faulkner collected three wickets each while Andrew Fekete claimed a couple.

Rashid proves agreeable for Yorkshire

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Adil Rashid made an unbeaten hundred and proclaimed he and Yorkshire were ‘getting along nicely’ after a difficult period

David Hopps at Headingley07-May-2013Yorkshire 332 for 5 (Rashid 120*, Ballance 107) v Somerset
ScorecardAccording to Adil Rashid, he and Yorkshire have “come to an agreement”. That was something Ajmal Shahzad could never claim. Shahzad was packed off for what was perceived as a headstrong insistence on his right to be a free spirit. There is reason to anticipate that Rashid can write a happier ending.To keep faith with their talented production line of Asian cricketers, Yorkshire need that happy ending as much as Rashid does.”We have come to an agreement.” How many times have such words been uttered in Yorkshire cricket over the decades only for them to be worthless by the next morning? Perhaps they were more uncompromising times. There was something in Rashid’s unbeaten 120 on a gloriously sunny Headingley day that promised much, the conviction of his crouching, thou-shall-not-pass defence; the rasp of his cuts; his wristy working of the leg side, a most un-Yorkshire skill that one.Two England selectors were at Headingley, Geoff Miller and James Whitaker. Their interest will have primarily been in Gary Ballance, Rashid having long disappeared off their radar as his command of his legspin faltered, but they could not fail to be impressed by the sight of an allrounder seemingly more at peace with his game. A career that has involved three England tours and an experimental use as an attacking Twenty20 bowler might one day – although not imminently – have a second coming.”Yorkshire Are Ruining Me” was the headline last month, as Rashid complained that his captain, Andrew Gale, did not understand legspin, that he needed more faith in his ability if he was to express himself and that if he had another year like 2012 he would be “dropping down, down, down and gone”. The irony was that he had made the comments in January and by the time they became public knowledge, a better understanding was already in place.”Everything’s sorted,” Rashid said. “We’re all getting along nicely. This season my confidence has been quite high so I’m looking to carry that on and perform day in, day out. You have your good days and bad days but I’m in an okay place.

Yorkshire turns out for Yorkshire

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s new chief executive, happily accepted that it was a godsend that both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow will, in all likelihood, make their first Test appearances at Headingley against New Zealand later this month and give Yorkshire a chance to make a modest indentation in their £19m debts.
A cold winter has left the Headingley Test still 25% below budget but the presence of Root and Bairstow is quickening interest for tickets in a match which the chairman and outgoing chief executive, Colin Graves, accepted needed “a kick up the backside”.
Arthur, who has taken up the role of Yorkshire’s chief executive less than five months after he fell victim to a purge by the Kuwaiti owners of Nottingham Forest FC, preferred to put it differently. “Yorkshire is a unique brand and to have Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in the frame is a fantastic boost,” he said. “By supporting England, it could not be clearer that the public will be supporting Yorkshire cricket.”

“I was looking for a bit of freedom to play my game. It was about the fact that you know your game and you have been playing long enough to know what to do. It was about all about communicating with the captain and the coach and coming to an agreement.”Part of the problem was that when it came to Yorkshire stereotypes, Rashid could compete with the best in his ability to be monosyllabic. Such introversion hardly seemed the natural accompaniment for a player yearning to attack, whether he had a ball or a bat in his hand.At 25, he is looking – and sounding – more confident in himself. Batting conditions had not entirely eased when Rashid came in at 89 for 4 but he shared in a record Yorkshire fifth-wicket stand at Headingley of 207 in 62 overs with Ballance, whose own hundred, a pugnacious affair ended when he fell lbw to a full delivery from Steve Kirby, played a major part in reshaping the match by the close. This looks to be another belting batting surface and Yorkshire will be well aware that Derbyshire made 475 in their first innings here last week and lost.Batting Rashid at No. 6 should be part of the New Deal. “I haven’t batted at six for a long time. It was nice to have that responsibility,” he said. This was his fifth first-class century and his first for four years, an indication of lost time.Somerset had a fruitful morning. When Rashid came in, four wickets had fallen by the 26th over, Phil Jacques had just been pouched by Marcus Trescothick at first slip and, if Trescothick had held a low catch when Jaques was 22, the situation could have been direr. The first three wickets had fallen to wicketkeeping catches by Jos Buttler, the best of them a diving effort to dismiss Adam Lyth.Rashid and Ballance proved that the stability which Joe Root had brought to Yorkshire’s season with the two most domineering innings of his life – back-to-back hundreds to drive home victories against Durham and Derbyshire – had not necessarily departed with him. Somerset’s day became wearier by the hour and long before the close the disposition of the Yorkshire members was once again almost as sunny as the weather.

Essex warn of trying times ahead

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Essex returned to profit in 2011, but they have warned that trying times lie ahead.

George Dobell28-Mar-2012Essex returned to profit in 2011, but they have warned that trying times lie ahead. The club declared a profit of £333,368 for the year ending 31 December 2011, compared to a loss of £22,585 for the same period in 2010.Despite a disappointing year on the pitch – they struggled on their return to Division Two of the Championship, finishing 7th, and failed to progress beyond the group stages of either of the limited-overs competitions – Essex were rewarded, along with most other counties, with a large ECB payment for ensuring their ground has been developed to the required standards.However, Essex say they are more reliant upon gate income from their home Friends Life t20 matches than any other county and fear that this year’s reduction from eight home games to five will hit them hard. They are also investing an extra £100,000 into the squad this season in order to improve their on-field fortunes.”Our significant profit of £333,000 reflects a small operating profit of £13,000 supplemented by £300,000 of exceptional income from the ECB,” the club’s treasurer, Keith Brown, said. “The exceptional income is in respect of maintaining our ground to a specific standard and has been set aside to meet anticipated expenditure in the future.”We maintained our contribution from membership but match income was down. Our income from one-day games is 89% of gate income. Our reliance on Twenty20 income is greater than any other county and with the reduction in home games from eight to five in 2012 this represents a real challenge to our income.Nigel Hilliard, the club’s chairman said: “Last year’s failure in all competitions was especially disappointing as we appeared, on paper at least, to have an excellent squad. Unfortunately our performances on grass were not impressive and while we continue to be victims of our own success by producing players for England and the IPL, members have been used to better performances.”The club’s main aspiration is to still be successful in the county championship. We do accept that our present group of players are more suited to the shorter formats of the game and it was therefore disappointing that last year results went against us in the limited-over matches as well as the Championship.”