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Gloucestershire trail by 117 overnight after ex-England opener posts 195, his Durham best

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2023Durham 433 for 8 (Lees 195, Clark 82) lead Gloucestershire 316 by 117 runsAlex Lees gave the England selectors a gentle nudge after scoring his third century in as many innings to guide Durham into a strong position against Gloucestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.Lees anchored the innings with a flawless knock of 195, posting his highest score as a Durham player since his move to Seat Unique Riverside in 2018. Graham Clark provided the perfect complement with 82 as the two shared a stand worth 195 after the hosts were reduced to 109 for four in reply to Gloucestershire’s 316.The two batters rebuilt the innings and propelled Durham ahead in the game, having skittled the visitors’ tail within the first half-hour of day two. It allowed Brydon Carse to tee off late in the day to push the hosts into a 117-run lead at the close with two first-innings wickets remaining.Resuming on 280 for six, Gloucestershire put their foot down before the arrival of the new ball. Zafar Gohar smashed three boundaries off Carse’s first over, while Josh Shaw cleared the rope with a huge strike over long-on against Parkinson to earn a second batting bonus point.Durham answered fire with fire as Carse responded with a hostile spell to make the breakthrough. Shaw could only glove behind to Robinson down the leg-side and the next ball was too good for Matt Taylor. Zaman Akhter survived the hat-trick ball and another barrage from Carse before the arrival of the new ball.Ben Raine then wrapped up the innings within three deliveries with the new Kookaburra in hand by bowling Gohar and pinning Dominic Goodman lbw, securing maximum bowling points for the hosts.Shaw made quick inroads for the visitors to remove Michael Jones, but Lees responded by taking the attack to the Gloucestershire bowlers. The left-hander shared a stand worth 67 with Scott Borthwick before the Durham captain picked out substitute fielder Jack Taylor as he aimed to clear the short boundary, presenting Shaw with his second wicket.Lees worked his way to his fifty from only 56 balls, but Durham had issues at the other end when David Bedingham emulated his captain’s dismissal falling three balls before the lunch break. Ollie Robinson continued the procession after the interval as fell caught and bowled to Goodman, leaving Durham in trouble at 109 for four after losing three wickets for 32.The home side required patience at the crease and Lees duly delivered without taking any risks on his march to three figures. He showed composure in a slow grind through the nineties before bringing up his third hundred of the term after striking Gohar straight down the ground to the fence.Clark offered a useful foil at the other end to support the former England opener. After a period of consolidation, the two batters upped the ante and cranked up the pressure on the Gloucestershire bowlers.James Bracey turned to a variety of options, but could not stop the onslaught from the fifth-wicket stand, especially from Lees who powered his way to his highest score of the season by passing 150 with three-straight pulls to the boundary against Akhter.Ben Charlesworth took the ball in the 70th over and finally broke the stand for 195 when Clark drilled the ball straight to Chris Dent at short mid-wicket, falling narrowly short of a deserved century. Carse and Lees guided the hosts to their third batting bonus point before the new ball.Matt Taylor found his rhythm from the off with the new ball to end Lees’ brilliant knock for 195 and then Raine first ball to give the visitors hope of skittling the hosts late in the day. But, Carse stamped his authority in the final hour, reaching fifty from 45 balls and smashing three sixes in the process, ensuring Durham ended the evening in command closing in on maximum batting points.

Career-best 114 has hosts in box seat but needing big bowling effort to force victory

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2022Worcestershire 368 and 59 for 1 (Libby 17*, Lakmal 1-19) trail Derbyshire 565 for 8 dec (Dal 114*, Masood 113, Guest 77, du Plooy 62, Thomson 54) by 138 runsA career-best unbeaten century from Anuj Dal put Derbyshire in complete control of the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Worcestershire at Derby.The all-rounder made 114 from 177 balls before Derbyshire declared on 565 for 8, their highest ever score against Worcestershire, and a lead of 197.Leus du Plooy scored 62 and Alex Thomson 54 while 18-year-old left-arm spinner Josh Baker took 3 for 150 in 44 overs.Worcestershire were left with 16 overs to negotiate and they lost Ed Pollock to Suranga Lakmal before closing on 59 for 1, some 138 runs behind.They had reeled Derbyshire back in the previous evening so it was vital they kept up the pressure from the start of play but a dropped catch in the third over of the morning handed the home side the initiative.Luis Reece was on 22 when he skied Josh Baker into the covers where Pollock circled under the ball and then dropped a simple catch.It was a big moment as Reece and du Plooy proceeded to bat for another nine overs, adding 41 more runs, before the second new ball broke the stand.Worcestershire had delayed taking it for six overs, a decision which looked even more puzzling when the first delivery from Charlie Morris lifted and moved away to have Reece caught behind.By the time Ed Barnard trapped du Plooy lbw with a full-length delivery, Derbyshire were only two runs behind and Dal and Thomson turned that into a healthy lead with a seventh-wicket stand of 78 in 26 overs.Worcestershire’s attack got little out of the pitch although Baker bowled with control in only his 10th first-class game and deserved better figures.It was an impressive performance from a young bowler who eight days ago was being dispatched to various parts of New Road by Ben Stokes.Before this game, he had never bowled more than 30 overs in an innings so he can look back on this day with some satisfaction when he celebrates his 19th birthday on Monday.It was Baker who broke the stand, having Thomson lbw as he played back but Dal and the tail put Derbyshire firmly in the box seat.Sam Conners stayed with Dal for 15 overs before he was stumped charging Baker in the last over before tea and Derbyshire piled on the runs in the final session.When Dal pulled Ben Gibbon for four, it was the first time in Derbyshire’s history they had posted two scores of 500 or more in a season at Derby.Dal cut Gibbon for his ninth four to reach his second first-class century and with Ryan Sidebottom, batting with a runner because of a calf injury, added 72 before the declaration cameAlthough Derbyshire were a bowler down and the pitch remains a good one for batting, Worcestershire have to overcome scoreboard pressure to save the gamePollock took three fours from the first over by Conners but was comprehensively bowled when Lakmal cut one back in the sixth over.Derbyshire were unable to make further inroads and with Sidebottom out of action, will need a big effort from Lakmal and the rest of the attack to force victory on day four.

‘We thrive on those situations when we’re a little bit behind and it’s up to us to change the momentum of the game’

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2020In trying to assess the hectic events that saw Australia effectively wrap up the first Test against India in Adelaide in the space of one session that scooped nine Indian wickets, Josh Hazlewood sounded as much like a shocked onlooker to a major hurricane as he did like the triumphant scooper of 5 for 8 in one of cricket’s most miserly five-fors ever.The sheer speed of India’s collapse for 36 all out was largely to blame for Hazlewood’s daze, which left him unable to add too much to the essential notion that this was “just one of those days” for an Australian bowling attack that, when it gets it all right, is as destructive as any ensemble in the game’s history.Grasping for a comparison, Hazlewood recalled the 2019 Headingley Test against England, when the hosts were obliterated in their first innings before the Ben Stokes-comeback-special allowed them to win the match. This Adelaide episode, however, was far more definitive in deciding the course of the Test match and, perhaps the series now that Virat Kohli will be heading home.Related

• Shami out of rest of Australia Test series with fractured forearm

• Josh Hazlewood breaks into top five, Virat Kohli narrows gap at the top with Steven Smith

• Australia's perfect storm catches India in the wrong place at the wrong time

• Paine lauds Hazlewood, Cummins but Australia weren't 'anywhere near our best'

• Virat Kohli says lack of intent and dropped catches led to Adelaide defeat

“I think it was pretty similar to maybe Leeds looking back to the Ashes when we bowled them out for 60,” Hazlewood said. “It didn’t change a great deal from the first innings, we just bowled a touch fuller and maybe a touch straighter. But I thought Cummo [Pat Cummins] set the scene beautifully and I just followed suit. Everything got nicked and everything went to hand, so just one of those days.”We’re probably a bit stunned, but probably a bit more stunned when we came off from bowling. The mood didn’t change too much throughout the whole game to be fair. I know we were behind by 50 [53] after the first innings, but there was a calmness amongst us. I can probably speak for the bowling group in saying that we thrive on those situations when we’re a little bit behind and it’s up to us to change the momentum of the game, and that’s what we did today.”Cummins had set a strong tone for the Australians from the moment his captain Tim Paine chose to give him the new ball on the second evening. And after his initial breakthroughs – including the prized wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck – Hazlewood followed up with a spell that bettered Tim May’s storied 5 for 9 against West Indies in 1993 as the least expensive five-wicket return in Tests at the Adelaide Oval.3:12

Michael Hussey: The pitch did less but it did it quicker

“I can’t put a finger on when [I knew it was special], but it might have been when I looked up and it was 6 for 20 or something, and Cummo had Pujara and Kohli both out and we just had the tail to come,” Hazlewood said. “I think around that time you know you’ve got something special going, and I just felt like if we kept bowling in those areas that nicks were going to keep coming.”We just didn’t let up really. It was just one of those days when everything went to plan, we kept putting it in on that spot and the nicks kept coming. It happened so quickly, it was over before we knew it.”Asked if he had felt anything like May did – when he at one point of his spell had remarked to the captain Allan Border “this is scary AB, they’re just coming out so good” – Hazlewood was a little less spellbound by his complete mastery of the Indian middle and lower order, but not by much.”It certainly was coming out nice,” he said. “Rolled in first ball and happened to get a wicket. It gets you in a good frame of mind and pretty confident, I guess after my first over, and just took it from there really. I kept seeming to be bowling to a new batter whether I was getting the wicket or Cummo was, so that’s always nice as well to come up against someone fresh and facing their first delivery. It’s certainly coming out nicely and hitting a good length. There were really no plays-and-misses to be honest, they all seemed to catch an edge and that can happen sometimes.Josh Hazlewood celebrates one of his five wickets on the third morning•Getty Images

“Even when you talk to our batters, the pink ball when it’s a bit fuller is probably a different story than the red ball. Whether it’s at night or the day time, I think quite a bit of grass was left on this track here, so the fuller you could bowl without bowling a half-volley, it seemed to be working a treat. That’s the challenge [while] trying to bowl that full length without bowling too full and we sort of nailed that today.”So we probably [were] a touch straighter at certain times as well, so talking to all the batters it just seems the toughest ball to be honest.”As for the effect on India, Hazlewood acknowledged from his own experience – not least being part of the team bowled out for 60 by England at Trent Bridge in 2015 – that such an event can take a bit of time recovering from.”I’ve been in their shoes before in different series,” Hazlewood said. “I mean getting bowled out for 36 is going to leave a few headaches here and there, and their best batter leaving is going to leave a bit of a hole. But they’ve got plenty of class batters on the sidelines to come in, obviously not of Virat’s class but in terms of the series, I think it’s obviously great to be one up – better than being 1-0 down as we found out last time they were here [in 2018-19].”But in terms of the red ball, it’s a fresh start [come] the next Test. [It’s] going to be a different wicket [in Melbourne]. Red ball, so [it will be a] fresh start for bat and ball, I think. They’re obviously going to have a player come in for Virat. They’ve obviously got some class players on the bench, so a good player will come in and we’ll have some plans for him no doubt.”

Linsey Smith seals winning runs off last ball, but Vipers advance to semi-final

ECB Reporters Network25-Aug-2019Jemimah Rodrigues’ magnificent unbeaten 112 from 58 balls guided Yorkshire to victory, secured off the final ball by Linsey Smith, against Southern Vipers in York on Sunday.But the Diamonds knew only a bonus-point victory would keep their chances alive. To secure that, they needed to chase 185 inside 16 overs. Despite Rodrigues’ efforts, Suzie Bates’ 47 and a rapid 42 from Danni Wyatt helped the Vipers to a total that was only chased down on the final ball.The Vipers will now face Loughborough Lightning in the semi-final for the chance to take on Western Storm in the final.The Diamonds lost their openers inside the Powerplay at the start of their chase – both to Tash Farrant – as Lauren Winfield departed for a second-ball duck and Alyssa Healy was caught for 22. India star Rodrigues was aggressive from the outset, hitting eight boundaries in her first 20 balls to reach 42. Her half-century came from 26 deliveries and her partnership with Hollie Armitage stretched to 90 from 54 balls to take Yorkshire to 118 for 2 in the 13th over.But the Diamonds quickly fell to 121 for 5. Amanda-Jade Wellington trapped Armitage for 23 and also dismissed Bess Heath two balls later for a duck, before Fi Morris had Alice Davidson-Richards caught behind.Rodrigues was undeterred, striking cleanly to all parts of the ground. She guided her team to within striking distance, needing 17 from 12 balls. Her century came from 51 balls and included 16 fours and one six.There were ten runs needed from the final over, and Smith’s single off the final ball clinched victory.Earlier, Wyatt continued her sensational form by blasting 42 from just 20 balls inside the Powerplay – taking her to 267 runs in her last four innings. She launched her second ball for six, taking seven fours and another six before skying one to Davidson-Richards as Leigh Kasparek made the breakthrough.Opening partner Bates allowed Wyatt to provide the acceleration, pacing her innings perfectly. She steadily began to build momentum, on several occasions placing the ball perfectly down the ground.Tammy Beaumont’s innings was full of ingenuity, punctuated by a string of sweeps and scoops. It was her wicket, dismissed by Davidson-Richards for a 29-ball 33, which ended the partnership at 76 from 51 balls in the 15th over.Davidson-Richards struck again three balls later as Bates fell for 47 from 39 balls and Yorkshire began to claw back at 127 for 3.Thea Brookes came and went for a run-a-ball seven – a third for Davidson-Richards – but a superb partnership of 43 from 20 balls between Maia Bouchier and Wellington guided the Vipers to 184 for 4.The Vipers’ final group game is at home to Loughborough on Wednesday, with the Diamonds away at Western Storm.

Australia’s vice-captain says his side are always chasing the game against an England team that is setting the benchmark in ODI cricket

George Dobell at Chester-le-Street22-Jun-2018Australia have been left with “nowhere to hide” in their ODI series against England, according to their vice-captain, Aaron Finch.Another defeat, this time in Durham, left Australia four-down with one to play in the Royal London series, and Finch admitted it felt as if his side was “always chasing the game”.And although Finch scored a century in the match, he accepted that his failure to build on that platform cost Australia, while the inexperience in his side’s attack resulted in them making “the same mistakes”.”I probably left a heap of runs out there,” Finch said as he reflected on his dismissal one ball after becoming the first man to register six ODI centuries against England. “I had a good partnership with Shaun Marsh but for me to get out just past 100 was disappointing.”It would have been nice to cash in and get 140 or 150 and put the pressure on them to take risks in the middle overs. We could have really kicked on and put foot the foot down in that last 12-13 overs. I take full responsibility for us not getting 330-340.”Finch also admitted he “could have been more aggressive” against the bowling of Joe Root. Root, a part-time off-spinner, came on in the first Powerplay and bowled his entire allocation of overs – only the second time he has done so in a 112-match ODI career – straight through with Finch and co. only managing two boundaries against him. In all, Root conceded just 44 runs.”We could have been more aggressive, no doubt,” Finch said. “But the way we wanted to structure things is to be a bit more conservative with wickets in hand.”The way the wind was blowing, even if you took him on and hit it in the middle, I still couldn’t get the ball over the ropes. He was bowling round the wicket, angling the ball across, using the breeze and getting a bit of spin. So sweeping was high-risk, and trying to hit over the top was ultra high-risk. He bowled very well.”I struggled with the timing for the first 10, 12, 15 overs and couldn’t get them away as I like.”Despite his own regrets, Finch felt Australia’s final total of 310 was “probably around the mark”. But he also suggested the inexperience of Australia’s attack – and the excellence of England’s batting – was rendering it hard to defend even apparently high totals. This was, after all, England’s second-highest successful ODI run-chase.”The bowlers are still learning,” Finch said. “They are a young and inexperienced attack and in the past few games we’ve made the same mistakes. That’s something we need to look at. We need to commit to our plans for longer.”But the way England are playing with the bat is putting a lot of pressure on our young attack. They’re coming hard. And it’s showing a little with our bowlers being a bit too wide or a bit too full at different times. And not hanging in there and making them hit really good shots off really good balls for long enough.”We are always chasing the game at the moment and it is tough for them. There’s nowhere to hide in this game. We are playing the best in the world.”The tone England are setting in one-day cricket is the benchmark in the world. They’re playing like the No.1 side in the world for a reason. They’re full of confidence and have a lot of depth in their batting. They have confidence to know that their Nos. 6, 7, 8 or 9 can get the job done even if things don’t go well at the top of the order. They’ve a pretty good blueprint.”We have to stick to our strengths and find a way to stick in contests for longer. Once we find the formula I think it’ll turn for us pretty quickly. These lessons will be valuable going forward.”

Luke Wells’ career-best 258, which included hitting 32 off a single over, helped Sussex into a dominant position against Durham

Tim Wigmore at Hove22-May-2017
ScorecardOn Friday, Luke Wells returned from a knee injury to play his first match for eight months. He was greeted by one of the worst sights for a batsman in cricket: a 90 mph inswinging yorker from Kagiso Rabada down the slope at Hove. As he trudged off for a golden duck, Wells laughed at his own ill fortune in receiving such a delivery. The sport can be cruel like that.But it can also give generously, enough to make up for all the fallow and infuriating times. For Wells, this was such a day: the best of his cricketing career yet, and the sort that he might never repeat.It was not merely about the runs he scored, all 258 of them. It was about the manner in which he scored them. Wells, a batsman with a reputation for adhesive defence, was transformed into a hitter of brutal belligerence.Consider how he handled the 87th over of the day, from Ryan Pringle’s offspin. First, Wells used his huge stride to gallivant down the wicket and heave an emphatic straight six, a shot of such dominance that Graham Clark, at long-off, was reduced to applauding. Then, he pulled Pringle over square leg for another six. Next, staying in his crease, he again launched him straight, this time into the hospitality seating at long-off for a third consecutive six.The fourth ball scuppered hopes of an encore of Garry Sobers’ feat at Swansea in 1968, but it brought no relief for Pringle – Wells’ late, precise square cut still went for four. So did a slog-sweep the following ball. In the circumstances, Pringle could be forgiven for delivering an egregious full toss, which Wells launched over midwicket for another six and, with it, brought up his maiden 250. As if that was not bad enough for Durham, the final delivery was a no-ball to boot. Wells, almost repentant for inflicting such misery upon his opponent, defended the extra ball into the off side, promoting sarcastic cries of “Get on with it” from a few heady supporters.Thirty-four runs had come from Pringle’s over, and 32 from Wells’s bat: not bad for a player ordinarily considered a first-class specialist, and whose top score in 50-over or Twenty20 cricket is just 23.So imperious was his batsmanship that Stiaan van Zyl was reduced to the role of incidental extra even as he scored an undefeated 141; at one point, Wells scored a full fifty, to progress from 157 to 207, while van Zyl faced a solitary ball.If the carnage was not expected of Wells, capitalising on his start was: this was his 36th first-class score over 50, and the 14th time he has converted it to a century. And it was built upon familiar foundations: the assiduous leaves against the new ball; the impeccable straight bat; the driving, especially straight, interspersed with cuts and leg-side flicks. Then, like a gawky teenager discovering alcohol for the first time, Wells experienced a new and thrilling sensation; as he flicked Chris Rushworth over fine leg with no discernible effort, one of his seven sixes, he must have felt a man intoxicated.All the while, van Zyl carried on too. If his century was forgettable set against carnage at the other end, it contributed to history: a partnership of 376, the highest ever third-wicket stand against Durham. The previous highest? That would be Trevor Penney and Brian Lara in 1994, when Lara was en route to his 501. In the closing stages of his innings, Wells felt almost as dominant.By the time he scythed Paul Coughlin to Keaton Jennings to be dismissed, Wells had also made family history, usurping his father Alan’s career best: “I’ve always wanted to beat him in something.”Intriguingly, he credited his red-ball best to intensive training in limited-overs cricket, in an attempt to force his way back into the side. “The white-ball practice that I’ve been doing with Mike Yardy and the other guys has really been paying off – especially against the spinners I feel a lot more dynamic. I can score at a better rate now without taking any undue risks – just natural batting.” It is a window into how the norms of modern batting are being peeled back, and even batsmen renowned as austere are capable of pyrotechnics.Though van Zyl was altogether more restrained, he gave evidence of why he had earned 12 Tests for South Africa. He used his feet dextrously against Pringle and late cut exquisitely against seam to record his maiden Championship century for Sussex. Only just after reaching the landmark, when edging Pringle to Paul Collingwood, who shelled a tricky catch at first slip, did he offer a chance. Wells was chanceless throughout; Sussex utterly imperious.It seemed an age ago that Graham Onions had found away movement to snare Chris Nash with the morning’s fourth ball. His back injury, rendering him unable to bowl, was a cause and symbol of Durham’s dreadful day.

South Africa’s World Cup-winning rugby captain Francois Pienaar has been appointed to a CSA four-person panel to conduct an independent review of all national teams

Firdose Moonda09-Apr-20163:53

‘SA stars will feel this missed opportunity’

South Africa’s World Cup-winning rugby captain Francois Pienaar has been appointed to a CSA four-person panel to conduct an independent review of all national teams. Pienaar, whose team won the trophy in 1995, will be joined by former Test batsman Adam Bacher, chairperson of CSA’s HR committee, Dawn Mokhobo, and sports physiologist Dr Ross Tucker. There is no deadline for the committee to reveal their findings.Under particular scrutiny will be the post of Russell Domingo, South Africa’s national coach, who faced a volley of questions over his future when the team exited the World T20 in the first round. On their return, CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat said the organisation intended to undertake a review, as it does every year, before making any decisions. However, Lorgat emphasised that “with every passing ICC event that we come back from below expectation, the reviews should get tougher,” and the unveiling of the new panel is proof of that.But the review will not focus solely on one man. It will examine both the men’s and women’s teams and Under-19 side, who all struggled in a summer of discontent for South African cricket. The men’s Test team lost back-to-back series against India and England and with it their No.1 ranking. While they earned ODI series wins against the same opposition, that meant very little considering their World T20 failing.The women’s team made history by beating England and West Indies for the first time in T20s but could not take that form into a major tournament and the U-19s looked out of their depth at the World Cup in Bangladesh, where they could not defend their title and lost to Namibia and Zimbabwe in the process.”Our recent performances resulting in early exits for all our national teams at the World T20 and the Under-19 World Cup is clearly not acceptable,” Haroon Lorgat, CSA CEO said. “This calls for us to conduct a clinical review into the national set-up and performances of the various teams. While we plan to do this as soon as practically possible, we do not intend to place a deadline on this important piece of work as we presently have capable people and contracts in place. We have time to do a thorough review before the board makes any decisions about the future.”South Africa do not play any cricket until June, when they have a triangular series in the Caribbean also involving Australia, and they do not play Test cricket until August, when they host New Zealand. With the domestic season drawing to a close this weekend, CSA has also begun a review of that set-up, which has undergone recent change. The 2015-16 summer was the first in which the transformation targets (six players of colour of which three must be Black African) required half the team to be non-white.CSA has previously turned to rugby experts to assist. Henning Gericke, for example, was the Springboks’ psychologist and accompanied the cricket team to the 2011 World Cup while former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis, who was also the team manager of the 1995 team, was tasked with taking Herschelle Gibbs through a life-skills program in 2001, after Gibbs’ repeated breaches of discipline.

Alan Richardson’s hat-trick and Thilan Samaraweera’s 99 gave Worcestershire the edge against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

29-Aug-2013
ScorecardAlan Richardson took the first hat-trick of his career•PA Photos

Alan Richardson and Thilan Samaraweera were the stars as Worcestershire gained the edge against
Leicestershire at Grace Road. Veteran seamer Richardson claimed the first hat-trick of his career and Sri Lankan Samaraweera hit an unbeaten 99 as Worcestershire closed the second day nine runs ahead of the hosts.With 38-year-old Richardson taking their last three wickets in three balls, Leicestershire were bowled out for 274, having added only four runs to their overnight score. Then, despite losing their first three wickets for 55 runs, Worcestershire recovered to close the second day on 265 for 5, with Samaraweera one run away from completing his second century against Leicestershire this season.There was another excellent innings as well from 19-year-old Tom Fell, who earlier this month signed a two-year professional contract with Worcestershire. He was out for 84, just 11 runs short of posting his Championship-best score.Fell and Samaraweera shared a fourth wicket stand of 181 in 56 overs and, at 236 for 3, Worcestershire looked to have a stranglehold on the game. But Shiv Thakor, the seventh bowler used by Leicestershire, brought them back into the match with two wickets in two overs. Fell, having faced 167 balls and hit 14 fours, edged behind to wicketkeeper, Niall O’Brien, and Joe Leach was brilliantly caught at slip by Greg Smith when Thakor again found the edge.It meant the day started and ended with a flurry of wickets. Richardson, who had already picked up two wickets on the first day to take his total for the season past 50, struck with the last ball of his 24th over and then the first two of his next, to bag the first hat-trick of his long and successful career. He had Ollie Freckingham caught at slip and then nailed both Matthew Hoggard and Alex Wyatt lbw to finish with figures of 5 for 57.Three more wickets fell before lunch – all of them lbw decisions. Openers Daryl Mitchell and Matthew Pardoe were Hoggard victims and Moeen Ali was trapped in front by Ben Raine. But Samaraweera and Fell dominated for the next three-and-a-half hours as the home attack toiled on a slow pitch.Samaraweera reached his 50 off 98 balls with eight fours and Fell brought up his half-century off 97 balls with seven boundaries. Then Thakor’s two late wickets gave Leicestershire a glimmer of hope again.

Lancashire will hope Ashwell Prince has provided the springboard for one of their most outstanding victories of the summer

Myles Hodgson at Aigburth03-Aug-2012
ScorecardAshwell Prince scored an outstanding hundred to haul Lancashire back into contention•Getty Images

It may have become tiresome to watch South African batsmen play long, patient and match-winning innings in recent weeks, but Lancashire will hope their own version of old-fashioned style batting may have provided the springboard for one of their most outstanding victories of the summer.While England followers grew weary of Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis during the one-sided opening Test at The Oval, Lancastrians will raise a glass in celebration towards Ashwell Prince, their South African overseas batsman, if his stunning century at Aigburth sets up a result that helps avoid relegation.Shortly before lunch on the third day, Prince was joined by Kyle Hogg with Lancashire facing a defeat that would have underlined relegation as a serious prospect. They were 50 for 6 at the time, leading Somerset by just 86, but by the time he was finally dismissed as Lancashire’s last man at 5.46pm he had transformed the game.Dropped on 6 after offering a sharp return catch at knee height to Alfonso Thomas, Prince played with eye-watering discipline on a slow pitch that made timing of shots difficult. He batted for over five hours and his 129 represented more than half of Lancashire’s second innings total, enabling them to set a testing victory total of 279.Somerset battled through 11 testing overs before the close to reach 22 for 1, but the very fact the match has even reached a final day is through Prince’s outstanding innings, although his reaction to the attention was typically pragmatic. “To me it will mean a lot more if we win the game,” he said. “I am happy to get us into a good position, but the runs always mean more to a player when you end up winning the match.”Starting the third morning only 36 runs ahead, Lancashire quickly slumped into trouble in a match they can ill afford to lose if they are to maintain their slender lead over the relegation places in Division One. Two run outs did not help their cause, but there were also reckless shots on such a wicket, which was underlined by three Lancashire batsmen playing on trying expansive drives.Prince offered a different method and was happy to bat time. At one stage he went 29 overs between boundaries and allowed Kyle Hogg, a taller man with greater reach, play more aggressively during a crucial 98-run seventh wicket stand that turned the game. Hogg perished trying to hit Jack Leach, a left-arm spinner on his Championship debut, down the ground, but by then Lancashire’s fight back was well set.Given useful assistance by Glen Chapple and Ajmal Shahzad, Prince only began to accelerate during a 38-run last wicket stand with Simon Kerrigan. He infuriated Thomas with a Dilshan scoop for four, one of nine boundaries in his innings, and then claimed another four with a leg glance off the next ball.”If you’re only batting with tail-enders, you probably want to take a few more chances but I had every confidence in them all,” explained Prince. “I knew I didn’t have to try and slog every ball, I knew I had some partners that could hang in and that probably suits my game anyway.”If they win this game it will take a good batting effort in the last innings, but the last thing we would have wanted was to let them have 120 or 150 to win. We’ve given ourselves a chance, which is all we can ask for.”Prince was last man out, lbw to Peter Trego, and fully deserved his standing ovation from the small crowd and opposition as he left the field. Demoralised by his efforts over the previous five hours, it was little surprise that Somerset lost an early wicket with Chapple winning an lbw decision against Arul Suppiah in the 11 overs available before the close. It has set up a tense final day for both sides as Somerset chase a victory that would keep them in the title race while Lancashire have concerns at the opposite end of Division One.

Kent look set to wrap up a convincing County Championship win over Division
Two rivals Essex with a day to spare, but may yet pay the price for preparing a
below-par pitch for this end-of-season encounter at Canterbury

02-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Kent needed barely 90 minutes of the third day’s play to wrap up their six-wicket win over County Championship Division Two rivals Essex – but they were later docked eight points after the Canterbury pitch was rated “poor”.Needing 70 to secure a championship and Twenty20 double over their neighbouring county, a nervy Kent side lost four top-order wickets inside 12 overs, only to be steered home by acting captain Geraint Jones with an unbeaten 28 from 14 balls.Martin van Jaarsveld, batting with a runner due to a groin strain, defied the pain to add an equally useful 21 not out to see Kent to a fifth win of the campaign with more than five sessions to spare. It would have earned them 21 points but pitch liaison officers John Jameson and Tony Pigott reduced that to 13 after deeming that the surface “demonstrated excessive unevenness of bounce”.The third day began with Essex struggling in their second innings and only 64 ahead with one wicket intact. That wicket fell to the 14th delivery of the day when on-loan David Balcombe had Tom Craddock caught behind for one, leaving James Foster high and dry on 49 not out.It gave Balcombe career-best match figures of 10 for 102 – his first 10-wicket match haul in county cricket. With a day and 91 overs to pursue their modest target of 70, Kent lost Daniel Bell-Drummond to a loose drive to short extra cover then Sam Northeast, pinned leg before on the back foot, with both wickets going to Graham Napier.Bell-Drummond soon returned to run for the injured van Jaarsveld, but wickets continued to fall as Darren Stevens edged behind to give Napier three for 42 and Joe Denly fell lbw for 17 to a shooting off-cutter from David Masters. It proved the final success for Essex, however, as Van Jaarsveld combined with Jones to see the hosts over the winning line.Jones played a captain’s cameo that included six boundaries, while Van Jaarsveld, batting virtually on one leg, plundered a six and four off Napier to secure Kent’s victory just before 12.30pm. Just under three hours later, though, their celebrations were tempered by a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board which read: “An ECB pitch panel comprising John Jameson and Tony Pigott (pitch liaison officers) was convened to consider the pitch used for the County Championship match at Canterbury commencing on 31 August 2011 between Kent and Essex.”After interviewing the umpires, the captain and coach of both teams and the Kent head groundsman, the pitch panel determined that the pitch had demonstrated excessive unevenness of bounce and should therefore be rated ‘poor’.”As a consequence and according to regulations, Kent are penalised eight points which will be deducted from their aggregate of 2011 County Championship points.”Uneven bounce as early as day one aided Masters’ haul of six for 78 in Kent’s first innings, and Essex’s Maurice Chambers and then Denly fell to vicious shooters in their sides’ respective second innings. Essex’s Jaik Mickleburgh, meanwhile, required X-rays after shouldering arms and being bowled via his hand on Wednesday. Kent have confirmed that they will not appeal against the decision.