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Frizzell County Championship Division One

Surrey 245 for 3 v Kent at The Oval
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Mark Butcher led from the front with an unbeaten century as Surrey ended a stop-start day against Kent in a commanding position. Butcher, leading the side in the absence of Adam Holliaoke who withdrew when his father was taken ill, made an unbeaten 117 from in 191 balls. Graham Thorpe, pressing for an England recall, made 68 as the defending champions raced along at almost four an over until bad light ended play early.Essex 6 for 2 v Lancashire 218 at Chelmsford
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Essex’s Zimbabwe-born Australian Scott Brant (4 for 39) bowled them into a good position against Lancashire at Chelmsford. Lancashire won the toss and were soon regretting their decision to bat as they slumped to 34 for 4, Brant taking three of the wickets. Stuart Law, who left Essex in acrimonious circumstances two years ago, hit back with 80 but received scant support as Lancashire were dismissed for 218. It wasn’t over, however, as Peter Martin struck twice to reduce Essex to 6 for 2 when bad light stopped play. Paul Grayson was bowled first ball shouldering arms and then James Foster fell to a good catch by Jamie Haynes at short leg three balls later.Leicestershire 72 for 1 v Warwickshire 253 at Leicester
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Poor catching from Leicestershire and a maiden championship fifty from Waqar Younis helped Warwickshire to fight back at Grace Road, but bottom side Leicestershire still ended the day in a good position. Only Nick Knight (66) made any real progress as Warwickshire collapsed to 193 for 9 after winning the toss, David Masters claiming 5 for 53. Darren Stevens at slip put down Waqar before he had scored, and it was the most costly of several misses as Waqar went on to score 52, adding 60 with Alan Richardson for the last wicket. When Leicestershire replied Virender Sehwag started with a bang, smacking 30 off 21 balls before being bowled by Melvyn Betts.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire v Yorkshire 314 for 7 at Derby
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An unbeaten 102 from Craig White, playing only his second Championship match of the summer, spearheaded Yorkshire’s recovery at Derby after they had been struggling on 78 for 4. With Michael Lumb (93), who was yesterday named in the provisional Academy squad for the winter, he added 195 for the fifth wicket before Graeme Welch (5 for 74), who had done the early damage, returned to grab another two wickets.Northamptonshire 20 for 3 v Hampshire 125 at Northampton
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Hampshire were swept away in 53.1 overs in a day of showers and cold winds at Northampton, with only Robin Smith (41) showing any kind of application. Smith and John Crawley (21) took Hampshire to 83 for 2 before eight wickets fell for 42 runs. Northamptonshire’s celebrations were short-lived as Michael Hussey, Mark Powell and Jeff Cook all fell in the first five overs of their reply to leave Hampshire with a good chance of battling back.Somerset 100 for 2 v Gloucestershire 228 at Taunton
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Somerset took the honours on a pulsating first day of the west-country derby, bowling Gloucestershire out for 228 and then reaching 100 for 2 at the close. Somerset’s decision to field looked to have backfired as Gloucestershire reached 173 for 3, but their last seven wickets added only 56 as Nixon McLean, Aaron Laraman and Mike Burns finished with three scalps each. Somerset fared little better as they slumped to 12 for 2, and it should have been worse but Craig Spearman dropped James Bryant (29*) before he had scored. Bryant went on to add an unbeaten 88 for the third wicket with Jamie Cox (56*).Worcestershire 218 v Durham 100 for 8 at Worcester
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A day of 18 wickets at Worcester is bound to have pitch inspectors dashing up the motorway from Lord’s. Worcestershire paid for England’s decision to release Steve Harmison from the one-day squad – he took 4 for 50 as Worcestershire were bowled out for 218, only Ben Smith (73) offering any resistance. But Durham were brought back down to earth as Mark Harrity (3 for 35) and Matt Mason (2 for 42) ripped through their top order to put Worcestershire back in control.Varsity Match
Oxford 162 for 1 beat Cambridge 190 by 73 runs at Lord’s
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Jamie Dalrymple must wish he could play against Cambridge all the time. Less than a week after his double-hundred and six wickets in Oxford’s Varsity match victory, Dalrymple smacked an unbeaten 105 as Oxford romped to a 73-run win in the one-day match at Lord’s. Neil Millar grabbed 5 for 23, including two wickets in the final over, as Cambridge were dismissed for 190. Oxford were strolling home on 162 for 1 when bad light ended play. Oxford’s ladies completed a 1-2 for the dark blues, bowling out Cambridge for 56 in front of a good crowd on the Nursery ground and passing the score without losing a wicket.

It’s been a long wait, but at last New Zealand’s summer gets underway today in Brisbane.Circumstances have meant that it is not the start New Zealand expected to be making in Pakistan.But there is no doubt that it is the prospect of the Australian tour that has been whetting the appetites of Kiwis.The return of injured players, Daniel Vettori, Dion Nash and Shayne O’Connor, all of whom are playing in today’s opening game against the Queensland Academy of Sport, has been keenly awaited.Vettori is the key factor. He is clearly the best spinner New Zealand has, by the length of Auckland’s Queen Street.He offers skipper Stephen Fleming so much in terms of attacking options and, while still young by international spinning standards, his cricketing intelligence makes him a prime asset for the side.This four-day game is the first occasion since Zimbabwe last year that he has played anything other than limited overs cricket and it is an important test of the rehabilitation work he has done to get back into Test mode.Nash is a less clear case. His back has been an ongoing concern and while he has done so much impressive work in recovery, it is still to be put to the test, and there is more of a feeling of fragility over his return. New Zealanders are hoping for the very best for Nash because he has so much to his competitive nature, and backs that with performance, that he is an important part of the side.O’Connor too, is a big plus. He was just starting to settle into the role of front-line bowler last summer when he suffered a knee injury. He had increased his pace and was utilising more consistent swing to be a more complete bowler.His recovery has not been so daunting but his progress will also be watched closely as he is shaping as an important factor in New Zealand’s Test attack equation.Chris Cairns’ advance from knee surgery is being measured back at home in a match for the New Zealand Academy against their Australian counterparts, but if weather in Christchurch this morning is anything to go by, it may be another day of reduced opportunities for him.He is to join the New Zealand team in Canberra for its second game.CLEAR Black caps coach Denis Aberhart said: “The benefits of this tour opener not being a first-class match is that we can agree to play 12. This will allow us to give as many players as possible competitive cricket.”We have decided to play an extra seam bowler rather than an extra spin bowler or batsman because we expect hot weather and we can more easily manage the bowlers’ workload in what will be the players’ first outing on grass.”After a couple of days practice the players are really looking forward to getting the tour underway,” Aberhart said.

A week after Australia called off their tour to Bangladesh citing “security fears”, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has said the ICC needs to step in and coordinate security efforts. He also said he believed the decision might have been a “little different” had a similar situation arisen ahead of a tour to India.”The ICC and the cricket boards need to set up a committee, which has a security background,” he said on his bi-weekly show Chappelli Calls It on ESPNcricinfo. “It’s got to get information from all the countries and relevant parties but by doing that you are taking it out of the hands of the individual boards, who look at different situations differently.”Chappell said while it was easy to “say no” to a tour to Bangladesh, the prospect of “far greater ramifications” of a pull-out from India would make it “not so easy” to make a similar decision. “The obvious one is about India, they will be very reluctant not to tour India. If it was the IPL, for instance, and the decision was on the heads of the individual players, it would be interesting to see what decision was taken then.”I guess it’s very hard to ignore government advice on matters of security,” Chappell said. “The question I would ask is if the same situation was occurring on a tour to India, what would happen then? That makes me wonder if the decision might have been a little different. As long as you have the individual countries making that decision, whether we will or we won’t, you’re always going to have a situation where you are going to say for a tour to Bangladesh, it’s pretty easy to say no. For a tour to India, not so easy to say no, because the ramifications are far greater.”As the fate of the tour hung in the balance after Cricket Australia received specific information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about a possible security risk to Australian interests in the country, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan assured that Australia would receive “unprecedented levels of security” if they made the trip.Hassan went on to say: “Risks of untoward occurrences and threats are an unfortunate reality in today’s world and can happen anywhere. That is why we have placed utmost importance on preventive methods and action.” Chappell said he has sympathy for Hassan’s position and believes the episode should prompt the formation of a body that can make an independent assessment of a country’s security situation.”Whoever is saying that is quite right, we have had some terrorist incidents in Australia in recent times, that is the way of the world at the moment,” he said. “At the 1996 World Cup, Australia were reluctant to go to Sri Lanka. They were guaranteed head-of-state type security, it even got to the point where they talked about flying them in in the morning and flying them out in the evening, and still Australia refused to partake in that game.”

Almost everyone, either openly or secretly, had a good laugh when Kapil Dev called those who joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) “the cream of the country”. That was because the players picked by the ICL did not promise a competitive league. But now, at the start of the first-class season, looking at the situation in terms of the loss to the Ranji Trophy rather than the ICL’s gain, the impact of the exodus seems huge; and it is only natural that it dominates pre-season thoughts.Moving from one Indian domestic season to another has long been a seamless transition, with not many changes, or changes that place too slowly to be noticed. It is usually difficult to identify the start of one season from another, but the huge exodus to ICL – about 15% of the total workforce – means this time will be different. When in two days’ time Bengal play Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens, more than 10 regular players from both sides will be missing. Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Maharashtra, almost every team has been affected by the migration. The teams hit by ICL have never been too far from the semi-finals, which makes this one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.It will be interesting to see how they cope with the predicament they find themselves in. “Cricket doesn’t stop with a few players”, has been the general, outwardly brave attitude of the teams severely hit. But only on the first morning will we know if Railways can do without JP Yadav, if Bengal without Deep Dasgupta, Baroda without Rakesh Patel, Punjab without Dinesh Mongia and UP without Shalabh Srivastava. This season will test the resilience of Indian domestic cricket and the supply of talent from junior cricket.Not a pointless exercise
From this season, holding on to a draw will get teams a point. What used to happen earlier was once a side had conceded the lead, it would play devil-may-care cricket in the second innings and get bowled out, in turn handing four easy points to the leading team. That usually hurt other teams in the group competing to make it to the semi-finals.Another aspect the BCCI might want to look into is that the team is awarded no points for gaining a first-innings lead if it eventually loses the match. This keeps the teams from going for outright wins, once a lead is attained.Getting the order right
The decision to schedule the Ranji Trophy before the Duleep Trophy this season, has meant that Ranji will have an early start on November 3. It also means the best performers can be picked for the Duleep Trophy for playing in an inter-zone tournament should be an apt incentive for performing well in the inter-state tournament.

Ump, you are being watched
Lack of feedback and proper appraisal has long been the umpires’ grudge in domestic cricket. Starting this season, every decision made by them will be logged and there will be an appraisal for umpires based on reports from the umpiring officer, the match referee and the captains. The umpiring officer will be assisted by the video-feedback system.But that is not where the umpiring officers’ work ends. Off the field they will have to guide the umpires on the match management; communication and team work; professionalism; preparation; and fitness, diet and appearance.Welcome to the big league
Orissa and Himachal Pradesh (HP) are the teams promoted to the Super League this season. HP, the Plate League champions, and Orissa, the runners-up, have made it on the back of dominating performances last year. While HP conceded a first-innings lead once last season – trailed Orissa by 51 runs – Orissa’s record was unblemished. But they will know this is a different league and to stay here for more than one season they will have to considerably up their performance.**First-round matches
Himachal Pradesh v Saurashtra in DharamsalaMumbai v Karnataka in MumbaiTamil Nadu v Maharashtra in ChennaiOrissa v Uttar Pradesh in CuttackPunjab v Andhra in AmritsarBengal v Hyderababad in Kolkata*Delhi v Rajasthan in Delhi**The two matches will start on November 4.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) have announced a 20-member squad for three practice matches against international sides in the build-up to the group stages of the Champions Trophy. Nilesh Kulkarni, the left-arm spinner, will lead the side against New Zealand and South Africa on October 11 and 13 respectively while Wasim Jaffer, the Indian opening batsman, will be in charge against Australia on October 15.The squad includes promising middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma, who played in the Challenger Series in Chennai as well as Zaheer Khan, the Indian fast bowler, who has signed up for Mumbai this season. Fast bowler Kshemal Waingankar, who enjoyed a good stint with the Australian Centre of Excellence in the Emerging Players tournament earlier this year has also been included.The selection committee informed that the Mumbai probables for the Ranji Trophy would be named after the practice games. Mumbai’s opening Ranji Trophy game starts on December 1, against Hyderabad.Squad Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane, Nilesh Kulkarni, Rohit Sharma, Nishit Shetty, Bhavin Thakkar, Vinit Indulkar, Amol Muzumdar, Avishkar Salvi, Vinayak Samant, Zaheer Khan, Wilkin Mota, Abhishek Nair, Rajesh Verma, Omkar Gaurav, Praful Waghela, Kshemal Waingankar, Moondeep Mungela, Iqbal Abdullah, Aniket Redkar

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to send Shabbir Ahmed to Australia to evaluate his action before seeking a final clearance from the International Cricket Council (ICC).Shabbir was reported for the third time in his career in May against the West Indies and has not bowled in a representative match since then. After an initial delay when the PCB considered whether or not to send him abroad for remedial action, it was decided that Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, would work with him in Lahore.Woolmer has since reported an improvement in Shabbir’s action, telling the PCB recently that it now falls within the specified ICC regulations. But the PCB is keen to test his action one final time, before going to the ICC.PCB official Abbas Zaidi told Reuters, “We have decided to send him to Australia to work with experts. We will decide on the dates soon.”Zaidi added, “Woolmer has worked on his action and there is improvement but before seeking final clearance for his action from the ICC he will go to Australia.”Shabbir has been an integral part of the Pakistan team since being recalled in 2003, more than three years after making his debut. He was reported for the first time after his debut against the West Indies and then reported again in New Zealand in January 2004.Pakistani officials are eager to get the 29-year-old’s bowling action cleared before the vital home series against England in November.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the schedule for Australia’s tour, which takes place at the end of the year. Australia will only have one warm-up match in India after the Champions Trophy – a three-day match against a Board President’s XI.A BCCI committee will meet tomorrow and Monday (July 18 and 19) to finalise the venues of the matches, as well as those of the Test series against South Africa which follows the Australia tour. Delhi, which was slated to host one of the Tests against Australia, has now officially pulled out of the race after indicating their inability to finish the renovation of the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in time for the match. The Test is now likely to be shifted to Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Australia’s last tour of India, in 2001, was an epic confrontation between the world’s two leading teams, with India eventually winning 2-1.Australia in India, series schedule:
September 30 – October 2 v Board President’s XI
October 6-10 v India, 1st Test
October 14-18 v India 2nd Test
October 26-30 v India 3rd Test
November 3-7 v India 4th Test

On the eve of Pakistan’s departure for their short tour of England, Rashid Latif, the captain, has said that the trip will have major implications for the process of rebuilding which has started following their World Cup humiliation.Several senior players were left out in the aftermath of the World Cup and the policy of picking youngsters paid off when Pakistan acquitted themselves well in the Bank Alfalah Cup in Sri Lanka last month. “I am more than satisfied with the team’s performance since I took over," Latif told reporters, "but the England tour will test the skills of these youngsters because of changed conditions.”Despite being a short tour of three one-day matches, this tour will have long-term implications and results will guide us how the rebuilding process is shaping,” Latif continued. "We are the underdogs and a lot will depend on how our batting performs because our bowling is as good as England’s."Javed Miandad, Pakistan’s coach, said that he had been satisfied with the progress since he took over ten weeks ago, but the real test was about to come. “All the youngsters are hungry for success and want to take permanent positions in the team and I think with this kind of attitude the day is not far off that we would succeed against tough opponents."

If at the start of the season you told the members of the Piton Doverthey would make the Fire Shield cricket final they would have replied:Sure!If you told them their opponents would be MTW, they probably wouldhave replied: MT-Who?Well, that’s the case today at the Police Sports Club, Weymouth, inthe grand final of the Barbados Fire & Commercial Shield Cricket finalthe marquee tournament for lower division sides in the BarbadosCricket Association’s (BCA) competitions.Dover, with their many former Division 1 stalwarts, start asfavourites, but don’t tell MTW that. At stake is a bounty of $5 000,while the losers will pocket $3 500 not bad for a day’s work.The team that plays better on the day will win. We have beenpractising very hard both batting and fielding and we have beengetting some physiological advice to be better prepared for the game,said MTW skipper and leading batsman Geoffrey Padmore.This is MTW’s first Shield final after 11 years in the BCA competitionand allrounder Padmore is the reason why they are there.He blasted an aggressive 73 against Central in the semifinal after histeam was struggling on 70 for six. He promises a well-balanced team inwhat should be a very competitive game.Dover warmed up yesterday in style taking the last four Fustic wicketsin 15 minutes in their Premier League match to record an inningsvictory and the afternoon off.Dover, the 1992 champions, are confident of victory according to theircaptain Vibert Greene, the former Barbados and West Indies Ballrounder.We are confident of victory, he said. We met last year and we wonquite easily, but MTW, with some new faces, will be on a high and itwill not be an easy task. I think we have the best team in the lowerdivision, but cricket is still played on the day.The Dovermen showed their mettle in the semifinal with a four-wicketvictory over the Combermere School team. It was the depth ofexperience which pulled them through.Man for man, Dover have a big advantage.The batting is centred around Peter Clarke, Silverton Weekes, BernardKinch, Wilbur Bruce and Stephen Blackett. Allrounders Greene, JerryKirton and Richard Thornton were all household names of the past.The bowling department is based on mainly fast-medium. The Kirtonbrothers, Jerry and Levere, along with Greene and Thornton, will besupported by Litchfield Kirton, who completes a trio of brothers inthe team.MTW have Padmore and other batsmen include veteran Glendon Johnson,Anthony Burrowes, Testa Baker and Philbert Brathwaite. WicketkeeperPeter Blackman completes a reasonable batting line-up.Fast bowlers Peter Francis and Charles Ramsay will share the new ball,with support coming from Winston Gittens, Mark Bailey and left-armspinner Denis Payne can also do the job.It promises to be a big job, but as we have seen in the past Oh howthe mighty have fallen.

Match facts

September 13, 2015
Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)1:54

‘Having to fake experience’ – Maxwell

Big Picture

If there were fears the English international season would limp to a conclusion – first of all in the wake of Ashes victory and then with Australia taking a 2-0 lead in this series – they have been emphatically put to bed by England’s back-to-back victories, which mean there is a winner-takes-all match at Old Trafford.The weather has played ball and the pitches have been terrific for one-day cricket: pace to encourage the likes of Pat Cummins, but which also allows attacking batsmen to prosper, enough turn to not make the spinners redundant coupled with fast outfields that have provided value for shot. Three-hundred has proved the benchmark, but England’s chase at Headingley to level the series showed that it can be overhauled.For both the teams, it is the beginning of a rebuilding process in one-day cricket. It will be interesting to see how closely the sides at the 2017 Champions Trophy – to be played in England – compare to what is currently taking the field.But the here and now is about winning on Sunday. If England pull off the comeback job to take the series, it will give Eoin Morgan a complete set of limited-overs success this season. For Australia, it is their last chance to take something from a tour which began with such high expectations, but that will largely be remembered for batting collapses and retirements.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WWLLW
Australia LLWWW

In the spotlight

Jason Roy has looked a million dollars in this series. He was the only one of the top six not to pass fifty against New Zealand, but has made two stylish half-centuries and not fallen for less than 31 in the four matches. He was named, alongside Morgan, as the key England batsman by Pat Cummins. The ease with which Roy drives through cover and clips off his legs – the latter with more than a hint of Kevin Pietersen – means it looks like a waste when a soft dismissal crops up. England clearly like what they see, but a match-defining contribution would cap his summer.With Mitchell Starc having earned a rest at Headingley, it means Steven Smith will be the only Australian to play every international of the tour and there is precious little time before his next task, in Bangladesh. He has made runs in all three formats and will leave these shores knowing it is on his shoulders to help shape the future of the team. Does he have one major innings left in him for this trip?

Teams news

England’s one decision is whether to recall Steven Finn, who was rested for the fourth match, in place of Mark Wood who, while bowling quickly, has struggled to take wickets (four in six ODIs now) and has a high economy rate. Although David Willey proved expensive at the death, his new-ball burst of three wickets was valuable.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Taylor, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Steven FinnAustralia must decide whether to push out Starc for one more match on this tour, while they will most likely have to find room for Ashton Agar – probably at the expense of Marcus Stoinis. James Pattinson and John Hastings were both expensive at Headingley and one probably has to make way. Hastings offers more batting, while Pattinson has more of a future ahead of him.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 John Hastings, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Pat Cummins

Pitch and conditions

A day game this time, so some different considerations to the previous match on the ground which was under lights. It is also being played on a new surface. England exploited some early swing in Leeds with a 10.30am start, but the spinners will again expect some help. The forecast has improved with a dry day in the offing.

Stats and trivia

• If England win the deciding match, it will be their first bilateral one-day series win against Australia during an Ashes tour – as opposed to a tri-series or standalone series as in 2010 and 2012 – since 1997.
• Eoin Morgan needs one run to become just the second England batsman to score 600 runs in a home summer – Andrew Strauss made 745 in 210.
• If Pat Cummins takes two wickets he will equal the most scalps taken by an Australia bowler in a five-match one-day series. Clint McKay took 14 against Pakistan in 2009-10.

Quotes

“If momentum does exist then it is with us. We managed to steal a bit of it while we were in Manchester. I think confidence is a contributor to that. Going into Sunday the guys are full of confidence and we are really looking forward to it.”
“We really wanted to come here and finish off the series and give us some breathing space for Manchester.. We played it like a final, but the good thing is Sunday will be a final and we’ve played a lot of them and been quite successful.”