India went down by five wickets in the second T20I after another poor performance with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20192:35

We’ve made a shift in how to play T20s – Winfield

India needed a big effort, especially with the bat, to level the three-match T20I series against England, after losing the first game comprehensively.It didn’t quite materialise, as they only put up 111 for 8 in the face of a strong bowling performance led by Katherine Brunt, before going down by five wickets with five balls to spare as Danielle Wyatt struck an unbeaten half-century.Asked to bat, India started strongly with Smriti Mandhana hitting Anya Shrubsole for two sixes in the second over, while Harleen Deol played her part too. But Mandhana fell in the third, with the team total on 24, and in no time, India were 34 for 3.ALSO READ: Anger, guts and glory – a day in the life of Katherine BruntThough Deepti Sharma and Mithali Raj tried to rebuild, the paltry total India eventually put up was unlikely to test the English much, and it didn’t, though the Indian spinners did their best to make a match of it.Wyatt dominated a 28-run opening-wicket stand with Tammy Beaumont, and remained in control even as Beaumont’s dismissal to Radha Yadav in the fifth over triggered a slide. From 28 for no loss, they were 56 for 4 in under six overs, raising hopes of a come-from-behind win for Mandhana’s team.But Wyatt was on song, and in Lauren Winfield, she had the perfect ally to chip away at the small target.Earlier, Mandhana’s twin sixes had raised hopes of a big Indian total after they managed only 119 for 6 to lose by 41 runs in the first game. But once Mandhana fell, caught behind off Brunt, India fell apart as Brunt accounted for Jemimah Rodrigues too, and Linsey Smith took out Deol.There was a fightback, a 35-run fourth-wicket stand between Raj and Deepti, and after they fell for 20 and 18 respectively, debutant Bharati Fulmali chipped in with a 20-ball 18. But with Brunt returning 3 for 17 and Smith 2 for 11 in a clinical England bowling performance, the odds were very much in England’s favour at the halfway mark.There was a period during England’s chase, when Radha, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht picked up four wickets without giving too much away, but Wyatt was supreme, coming good on her pre-match promise of performing as often as possible for England. She ended unbeaten on a 55-ball 64, exploding at the top, adopting a more cautious approach when the wickets fell, and then pacing her innings well when she paired up with Winfield.Winfield was impressive too, hitting four fours to Wyatt’s six in her 23-ball 29 before falling to Deepti with the target just nine runs away. Wyatt finished it off without any fuss.

Their resignation came hours before the Mumbai Cricket Association ad-hoc committee meeting on Friday that was to decide their fate

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2019In a bizarre move on Friday, Mumbai’s entire five-man selection panel resigned hours before the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) ad-hoc committee meeting on Friday that was to decide their fate. Chairman Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues Nilesh Kulkarni, Sunil More and Ravi Thakkar emailed their resignations to the ad-hoc committee and the MCA CEO CS Naik on Friday afternoon. The resignations came after the conclusion of Mumbai’s domestic season even though there had been moves to end their stint mid-season.Creating further chaos, the former Mumbai pair of Amol Muzumdar and Sahil Kukreja, two of the four members on the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) that picked the selection panel, are understood to have tendered their resignations on the same day. The MCA, however, has not made any public statement yet on whether it has accepted the resignations.It is understood that Agarkar told the MCA that he did not wish to continue next season as he wanted to focus on personal commitments. The CIC is scheduled to meet on March 19 to decide on the next step.Although the resignations appear to be a sudden development, the pressure on Agarkar’s selection panel had been simmering for months. It eventually boiled over at a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the MCA in February, where some of the members – the clubs – passed a resolution directing the CIC to remove the selectors. The members said that they had “lost confidence” in Agarkar’s panel, who they accused of not watching enough club games.The CIC, which is headed by former Mumbai and India fast bowler Raju Kulkarni, overruled the resolution “unanimously”, saying the selectors’ commitment was beyond question.This was an unprecedented situation. On one hand, the MCA members were now calling for the selectors to be removed; on the other, the CIC, set up by their own managing committee, was against questioning their commitment. In a bind, the four-member ad-hoc committee, comprising Naik, MCA secretary Unmesh Khanwilkar, Shah Alam, Naveen Shetty and Ganesh Iyer, is believed to have taken legal advice before Friday’s meeting. It is understood the ad-hoc committee conveyed to the selectors they couldn’t set aside the SGM resolution.It is understood the selection committee has not been popular with the MCA members. Parsee Gymkhana vice-president and secretary Khodadad S Yazdegardi sought the removal of selectors through an SGM back in July 2018, but didn’t succeed. The matter also died down as Mumbai began the season by winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The move against the selectors regained momentum when Mumbai failed to make the quarter-final of the Ranji Trophy this season, which led to the meeting in February where the resolution to sack them was passed. Mumbai, however, bowed out of the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a win against UP in the last Super League game on Tuesday, which wasn’t enough to ensure them a berth in the final.

Mahmood follows six-wicket haul against Northants to become first Lancashire bowler to take five wickets in successive List A games

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2019Saqib Mahmood became the first Lancashire bowler to take five wickets in successive List A games as his side overwhelmed Leicestershire by nine wickets in a one-sided Royal London One-Day Cup match at Emirates Old Trafford.Following his six-wicket return against Northamptonshire on Wednesday, Mahmood bagged 5 for 14 against a visiting team which contained five former Lancashire players. Leicestershire were bowled out for 80 in 37 overs, their lowest List A total against Lancashire, with only Harry Dearden and Ben Mike reaching double figures.Lancashire took only 19 overs to secure their facile victory, Haseeb Hameed making 29 not out and Steven Croft finishing unbeaten on 37 after the pair had put on an unbroken 73 for the second wicket. The only Lancashire batsman dismissed was Keaton Jennings who drilled a back-foot drive off Dieter Klein to the right of Mark Cosgrove at cover-point, only to see the Australian take a brilliant reflex catch.The conclusion of a game which had featured a dozen maidens but only one six was in sharp contrast to the beginning of the contest four-and-a-half hours earlier.Bowling straight and very quickly, Mahmood took his first wicket in the fourth over when he brought one back off the seam to have Cosgrove leg before wicket for a single. Next over he extracted enough bounce from the Old Trafford wicket to take the edge of Paul Horton’s bat and Jennings pouched the catch at first slip.Colin Ackermann was the next to go when he was bowled through the gate for two and Dearden followed for 20 in the twelfth over when he fished at a ball outside the off stump but only succeeded in giving a low catch to Jennings.Liam Hurt joined the party to reduce Leicestershire to 42 for 5, although Lewis Hill’s wild slash was not a shot he will recall with much fondness. Lancashire’s Dane Vilas was not complaining, though; he took the catch behind the stumps and decided to keep Mahmood bowling from the Statham End.Hurt then had Arron Lilley, another returning Lancastrian, caught down the leg side for a single, although the batsman’s disappointment at Paul Baldwin’s decision was evident. At that point Leicestershire were 46 for 6 and Mahmood was removed from the attack with figures of 7-2-12-4.Jimmy Anderson enjoyed his only success when Callum Parkinson edged him to Vilas but the England seamer clutched an outstanding one-handed diving catch at mid-on to give Mahmood his fifth wicket when Lewis Hill miscued a pull after batting 52 minutes for 18. That wicket fell three overs after the departure of Klein, who was caught at slip off Glenn Maxwell and the innings ended in the 37th over when Rob Jones bowled Gavin Griffiths for four to end his last-wicket partnership of 12 with Chris Wright.Mahmood, who took a career-best 6 for 37 against Northamptonshire, said he felt he needed to capitalise after Anderson had given him the choice of ends.”There was a bit in the wicket up top and I felt we put the ball in the right places,” Mahmood said. “I thought Jimmy would bowl from his own end but he gave me the choice, so I felt like I had to pull my finger out.”I’m just in that little bubble where games are coming thick and fast. Even when I was on four wickets, I wasn’t thinking about the fifth but when I got that I was thinking, ‘hang on, I could get another CB here,’ but that was the only time I looked forward. It was a good day all round.”The only gloomy note for the home side was struck when Matt Parkinson was forced to leave the field with an injured finger after stopping a fierce return drive from Mike. Parkinson damaged the webbing between the thumb and first finger on his left, non-bowling, hand and the injury was to be assessed over the next two days.The first innings of the match was watched from the balcony of the Hilton Garden Hotel by the Chelsea players, Eden Hazard, Gonzalo Higuain and Pedro Rodriguez, who had stayed overnight at Old Trafford before their game at Manchester United.

Hosts dominate with bat, ball and in the field despite resistance from Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam

The Report by Danyal Rasool19-May-2019The lead-up to the World Cup, if it means anything at all, has gone spotlessly for England. The final ODI at Leeds was the most comfortable win in a series that has, one washout excepted, consisted only of victories against a Pakistan side which will rue slow starts with both bat and ball in the final fixture as they fell to a 54-run defeat.While the batting for England has been relentlessly brilliant over the series, and indeed since 2015, it was Chris Woakes’ performance that stood out at Headingley. Three wickets in his first two overs reduced Pakistan to 6 for 3 and in a chase of 352, that was the game just about done. For good measure, he would return to clean up the tail, too, ending with impressive figures of 5 for 54.Pakistan had brief hope while Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam put on a massive fourth-wicket stand, contributing 146 while together, but found all hopes dashed by an incredible spell of fielding that yielded three wickets in six overs. Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler were at the centre of it all, Rashid completing a remarkable no-look run-out on the turn to find Babar well short of his ground. He would follow that with an outstanding left-handed catch off his own bowling, and Buttler would add to Pakistan’s misery with the best of the lot.Sarfaraz cut the ball away to third man – or so he thought – and stepped out of his crease before the ball had quite passed Buttler. The wicketkeeper stuck a leg out, and saw the ball hit his boot and roll back to him. Quick as a flash, he had dislodged the bails, and Pakistan were 193 for 6, still 148 runs adrift.Until then, the Pakistan captain’s performance only raised further questions about his reticence to bat in the top five, given how effective he has been higher up the order and his struggles lower down. One of the best in the business at rotating the strike, he came together with Babar to regroup expertly and when the ante needed upping, he took the attack to the spinners, bludgeoning Adil Rashid for two fours and a six off consecutive deliveries as he raced towards what would have been a well-deserved hundred.But the most decisive blows had already been struck in the first fifteen minutes. If you’ve seen Fakhar Zaman get out this way once, you’ve seen them all. Woakes, who found early swing, bowled just outside the off stump, forcing Fakhar to play towards extra cover. The left-hander’s edge went to Joe Root at second slip, almost a carbon copy of his wicket in the first game of the series. That was followed by two lbws where England used every bit of the wood on the wickets, the umpire’s call going their way both times as Woakes toyed with Abid Ali, playing his first game this series, and Mohammad Hafeez, curiously promoted up the order in defiance of recent trends and statistical form.It had been the same for Pakistan in the first innings, after Eoin Morgan had won the toss and decided to set the target for a change. The first two balls from Hasan Ali were wide of the off stump and dispatched for four and from ball one, Pakistan almost appeared disinterested. Inaccuracy was rife and more than once when the ball went down the leg side, Sarfaraz failed to collect effectively, inflating the extras and gifting England needless runs. It allowed the batsmen to plunder 95 from the first 10 even though both openers failed to convert starts, and the platform had been set for Morgan and Root to do the sort of damage they would go on to inflict in the following 20 overs.For the best part of 35 overs, England seemed destined for 400, and, depending on how obnoxiously brilliant Buttler chose to be, potentially well in excess of that mark. Then Imad Wasim, who had started off indifferently, struck twice in three balls to remove Butler and Moeen Ali, and with Root and Morgan having departed not long before, England found themselves down to Ben Stokes and the lower order for the second time in as many games.There wasn’t a century in the whole innings, something England may point to for their inability to post the type of score they had looked on course for throughout the innings. James Vince began with the picturesque elegance that has become as much a blessing as a curse for him, what with his now infamous struggles to kick on. He flattered to deceive once more, top-edging Shaheen Afridi once he reached 33, but with Pakistan never really hitting their straps in the first Powerplay, England were well on their way to a big score.With fellow opener Jonny Bairstow also failing to covert, Root and Morgan accumulated the meat of the England total with a classy 117-run partnership across the next 18 overs. It combined modern belligerence with almost risk-free classical fluidity, not letting three or four quiet overs panic or rush them, capitalising on almost every loose delivery and many tight ones. After seven overs without a boundary following Bairstow’s departure, England found at least one in every one of the following eight. Morgan was the chief aggressor during this period, smashing Fakhar, Shoaib Malik and Imad all out of the attack as Sarfaraz used seven bowlers across the fifty overs.At the time, it seemed churlish of Root to look so disconsolate when he found the deep fielder at 84, England’s Test captain smashing his bat and leaving in something of a huff. In hindsight, though, it was that moment when things went downhill for the hosts. Buttler took his time settling in, and with Imad having found a tighter line and the ability to keep to it consistently, the runs began to dry up. It was perhaps what hurried Buttler as he attempted to put away a rare long-hop from the left-arm spinner straight into backward point’s hands, while Moeen was trapped in front off his second delivery. For the first time, the insouciance with which England normally bat had to be reined in as surviving the fifty overs became a priority.Perhaps the most delightful spell of the series was a throwback 47-run partnership between 18-year old Shaheen Afridi and 19-year old Mohammad Hasnain. Hasnain – who had never scored a professional run before – tormented an agitated David Willey, striking four fours and a six during a breezy innings. It brought temporary smiles on the faces of Mickey Arthur and several Pakistan fans, but they will know there remains plenty of work to be done if they are to seriously challenge teams of England’s ilk at the World Cup. England’s time, without tempting fate, may well be here.

They’ve already met in eight ODIs this year, and Australia’s captain says coming back from 2-0 down to win a series in India ‘was really important for the confidence of the side’

Osman Samiuddin at The Oval08-Jun-2019It’s not quite the new India-Sri Lanka, but if auditions were being held for India’s new go-to opponent, it’s fair to say Australia would be a shoo-in. All that’s needed is for India to postpone a series, or pull out of one and rope Australia in as a last-minute banker. It will happen soon enough.The two sides have already played eight ODIs across both countries this year alone, and without looking it up, if you can remember how the two series panned out, you’re welcome to take over Statsguru.A lot has been made of the ICC’s desire to ensure India and Pakistan play at every one of their events. But the two teams that have actually played against each other most often at ICC events? India and Australia. And the punchline to this is that New Zealand and Sri Lanka are the two other teams who have played each other most often at ICC events (both rivalries, 20 games young now).But it’s not just those eight ODIs – and Tests and T20Is. It’s also about how the IPL is a virtual home for Australians, opponents to and team-mates of the players they take on at The Oval on Sunday. For the degree of familiarity, if the two teams combined to put out one team at an ICC event, nobody would bat an eyelid.Yet the overkill has served a purpose for Australia at least. It was the ODI series in India earlier this year where they turned around their ODI form, form which now is accompanied by all those murmurs that this (like five others) is Australia’s World Cup.Now it’s not as if they are genetically wired to win cricket tournaments, but you can see why people are thinking it. They’re winning games – and the win over West Indies was exactly the kind of win that’s not going to dial this talk down.Steven Smith and David Warner are back, with runs. It’s Australia. They’ve a way to win an early tough game. Their captain believed, even without Warner and Smith, and back when they couldn’t win a backyard game, that he had the side to win this World Cup. Watch out. This is a trope that endures as much as the one around Pakistan at these tournaments.But that familiarity with India will help them on Sunday in, for example, knowing what to expect when Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal come on. On that last tour, Australia picked up quick on how to play each and controlling Kuldeep was instrumental in turning a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 win.”Yeah, I think winning them last three games is really important for us in India, to one, get some self-belief that we can beat this Indian side in their home conditions,” Aaron Finch said. “For that, I think when you look back, it comes down to taking them key moments in games and making sure that no matter what the situation of the game or the series or the tournament, whenever you’re playing India, you have to believe that you can beat them because they’re a world-class side.”So to be able to beat them in their home conditions three times in a row was really important for the confidence of the side, especially going into a game like this.”The problem with this India attack – and side – is that it isn’t just the one or two. There’s difficulties everywhere. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to see off, there’s Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to see the backs of. There’s Hardik Pandya to account for. Even late-career MS Dhoni, nowadays modelling the Misbah-ul-Haq approach with the bat.And as much as Australia have the confidence of beating them recently, and playing with and against them a lot, one-off tournament games are unforgiving. Before you know it they’re over and if you learnt something in the way you were dismissed, or how one batsman played you, there’s no immediate point: this isn’t a bilateral series.”We saw in the latest series we played against them that regardless of what the scoreline might be, whoever turns up and produces their best on the day will win,” Finch said. “It’s about everyone chipping in and contributing as best they can to help Australia win tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team management awaits a scan report which will tell them the extent of Mahmudullah’s calf injury

Mohammad Isam in Southampton24-Jun-2019Soon after leading his team to victory against Afghanistan with an all-round performance, Shakib Al Hasan said that Bangladesh will give their “best shot” against India, their next opponents, despite facing a stiff equation to qualify for the semi-finals. He said that beating India would be a tough proposition, but one that the side is looking forward to given their run in the tournament so far.Bangladesh are currently in fifth place after their 62-run win against Afghanistan in Southampton, while India, who still have two matches before their Bangladesh clash on July 2, are placed third with nine points from five games.”We have a very important match coming up against India who are a top side,” Shakib said. “They are looking at the title. It won’t be easy but we will give our best shot. Experience will help, but it is not the end of the world. We have to play our best cricket to be able to beat India. They have world-class players who can win matches on their own. We have to be at our best, and I think we are a capable [enough team].”WATCH on Hotstar – Shakib’s five-wicket haul (India only)Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach, and former India bowler, Sunil Joshi, said that since he had seen the Indian team “very closely”, he knew “where to bowl to them”.”We have quality spinners, the same as India,” Joshi said. “How do you deal with them? Facing them and bowling to them it is the same. You think of it one ball at a time.”Every team has their strengths and weaknesses. I have seen India very closely when we have played them. We know where to bowl to them.”We have shown in the white ball formats here and before this how we are a good side. We won in Ireland, we have beaten West Indies home and away and come close to beating India three times in the past three years.”Shakib also said that it is also not realistic to think England, who are currently on fourth place, just above Bangladesh, will slip up in a big way.”England need to win one out of three, we have to win two out of our two remaining matches,” Shakib said. “It is difficult, mathematically, but anything can happen in cricket. We have to look at the other results as well, but we have to play two important matches, and get results. It is all we can do.”Shakib, who became the first player to score more than 400 runs and take ten wickets in a World Cup campaign, said that the rest of the team is also contributing although he has carved a different level for himself.”Mushfiq [Rahim] , [Mahmudullah] Riyad and Tamim [Iqbal] have made important contributions, especially playing on this wicket. [Mohammad] Saifuddin and Mustafizur [Rahman] have already taken nine or ten wickets each in this tournament but within their limitations, they have done plenty. Matches are won with these contributions, [no matter] how small those are,” he said.Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team management awaits a scan report which will tell them the extent of Mahmudullah’s calf injury. The 33-year old allrounder couldn’t take the field in the second innings of the match, although he scored 27 and batted through a crucial 56-run fifth-wicket stand with Mushfiqur.But Mahmudullah was clearly struggling from the sixth ball onwards he faced, needing the physio’s attention after pulling up while taking a single in the 34th over. He limped for the rest of the innings, but it looked like he was risking further injury to his calf. He is already unable to bowl after suffering a shoulder injury in New Zealand in February.

The ACB has sanctioned him for breaching a code-of-conduct policy that requires players to seek the board’s permission before travelling abroad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2019Mohammad Shahzad, the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman, cannot play “any form of cricket” for a year. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which had earlier suspended Shahzad indefinitely for breaching the board’s code of conduct, has fixed the term of his suspension.Shahzad’s suspension comes after he breached of a policy that requires players to seek the board’s permission before travelling out of the country. ESPNcricinfo understands that Shahzad is based in Peshawar, Pakistan, and was recently seen training there.”ACB has well-equipped training and practice facilities within the country and Afghan players do not require to travel abroad for such purposes,” the ACB said in a statement on Sunday.Last year, the ACB had fined Shahzad and asked him to relocate to Afghanistan permanently or risk having his contract terminated.Shahzad spent his early years in a refugee camp in Peshawar, but his parents are originally from Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Like many of his Afghanistan team-mates, Shahzad grew up near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; he also got married in Peshawar. A significant number of Afghans, once refugees, now reside in Pakistan, mainly in Peshawar, registered in the country as temporary residents.Shahzad has been in the news a fair bit in recent times. He was sent back home from the World Cup because of a knee injury but told media in Kabul soon after that he was fit to play and hinted that the team just didn’t want him with them. “If they don’t want me to play, I will quit cricket,” he had said at the time.The senior cricketer, an integral part of Afghanistan’s rise up the ranks to Test status, had also served a retrospective one-year ban in 2017 for “inadvertently” consuming a banned substance.

He had been given a no-objection certificate to play the entire tournament but it has now been revoked by the PCB with the aim of bringing the 19-year old back to play the Quaid-e-Azam trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2019Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been asked to return home from the CPL immediately. He had originally gone to the West Indies with a no-objection certificate that said he could play the entire tournament for Trinbago Knight Riders but it has now been revoked by the PCB with the aim of bringing the 19-year old back to play the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.Hasnain shot to prominence earlier this year, when he was picked up by the Quetta Gladiators even though at the time he had played only two first-class games. The reason for that became immediately apparent as the teenager started hitting speeds of 150 kph consistently and ended up with 12 wickets in 28 overs with an economy rate of 7.5. That led to a maiden call-up to the Pakistan one-day team in March and a World Cup spot in July (even though he didn’t get to play any games).Considering that, it was unsurprising that TKR came calling but the fact that one of Pakistan’s most promising bowlers was missing the first round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy to play T20 cricket abroad became a talking point, especially in light of other senior Pakistan bowlers doing much the same. Mohammad Amir retired from Test cricket earlier this year and Wahab Riaz has also chosen to take an indefinite break from first-class cricket. These events – and perhaps a Test tour of Australia in November – prompted the PCB to call Hasnain back home so he can hone his long-form skills.

Somerset fight back after disastrous morning as Keshav Maharaj claims another five-for against them

Paul Edwards at Taunton10-Sep-2019
It is all too easy for folk in the West Country to fall in love with Somerset cricket and all too tempting at times to think their heroes have spurned such devotion. It is not so, of course; the players share that love, but as Yorkshire’s bowlers took six wickets for 85 runs and seamers’ cloud gave way to batsmen’s sunlight on this first morning many spectators at the County Ground feared this would be another September in which their hopes of a first title would founder.They may yet do so, of course. Yorkshire are only 129 runs behind the home team’s 199 and still have seven wickets in hand. But the day finished rather more evenly poised than had seemed likely when Somerset were in their lunchtime doldrums. Moreover, supporters have enjoyed unforgettable occasions at Taunton in recent years and few are more clearly printed on the mind than the morning four years ago to the day when Tom Abell reached his maiden first-class century. So perhaps it was fitting that it should be Abell, now Somerset’s captain, who rescued his team against Yorkshire with a patient innings of 66 which revealed all the nous the young skipper has picked up during four years in which his own resources, both mental and physical, have been tested to their limit.On a pitch offering slow turn and help to seamers who adhered to their disciplines, Abell eschewed the rashness which brought the downfall of Steve Davies, who was caught at point off Steve Patterson for 11 in the ninth over of the day. He also exhibited little of the technical looseness which caused James Hildreth to be bowled through the gate for a single by Duanne Olivier. Instead, he played late and watchfully, rarely driving through the V, wisely preferring to wait for the balls that were either too short or too wide.Somerset needed Abell’s vigilance. This is a game the home side may need to win if they are to sustain their dreams of the title. It is certainly a match Yorkshire must win if their own slender chances are to be anything more than arithmetical. So imagine the glee with which Abell and his players greeted the news that slow left-armer Keshav Maharaj would be available for this game. It may be compared to the joy likely to be felt by Andrea Leadsom were she to be told that John Bercow was dropping round for a cuppa and a chinwag. Maharaj, you see, took eleven wickets when playing for Lancashire in the tied match at Taunton last year; he then took another ten for Yorkshire in their innings victory over Somerset in July. And on this first day, he remained true to form by picking up another five, thus taking his total against Abell’s team to 26 in five innings at an average of 10.88.After the seamers had taken the first four wickets Maharaj was summoned to bowl at the River End ten minutes before lunch. His first wicket was something of a charity donation when George Bartlett decided it would be a good wheeze to reverse sweep the second ball after lunch. He duly edged a catch to Adam Lyth at slip. Young cricketers perceive reverse sweeps and scoops very differently to the old pro’s. They are part of their stock in trade. But it is still fair to ask whether the risk against reward equation worked in Bartlett’s favour on this occasion.In truth, Abell had little help until Jamie Overton joined him in a 51-run stand for the ninth wicket. Six of the first eight batsmen dismissed by Yorkshire’s bowlers reached double figures but none could manage more than the 15 notched by Dom Bess before he carelessly drove Maharaj to Tim Bresnan at short cover in the same over in which he had hit two fine fours. Bess was the seventh batsman dismissed but the fourth to be complicit in his departure. Overton, on the other hand, selected the ball to hit and celebrated the award of his county cap, after 153 games in all formats if you please, by clumping six fours in an unbeaten 40. Maharaj, of course, had the last word, removing both Abell and Josh Davey leg before wicket in the space of three balls to leave Somerset one run short of a batting point.Yorkshire began their innings as if intent on taking a first-innings lead this evening. Lyth hooked and pulled Davey for two sixes in the same over, thus taking him past 10,000 first-class runs for Yorkshire. But both he and Will Fraine were caught behind in the first six overs and after Gary Ballance had accumulated 35 runs in a little less than an hour, Dom Bess had Yorkshire’s top scorer leg before wicket ten balls before the close. We are thus set for a close contest, although no one is betting it will last into a fourth day.

Can the bottom two teams from last season make a push for the title?

Alex Malcolm08-Oct-20191:01

Six young guns to watch out for this Shield season

Tasmania

Last season Fifth (League stage: 3 wins, 5 defeats, 2 draws)
Captain Matthew Wade
Coach Adam Griffith
2018-19 statsOverviewGeorge Bailey stepping away from the captaincy early last season and the shoulder injury he sustained during the BBL certainly disrupted Tasmania’s attempt to try and go one better than 2017-18. They started the season with a superb win in Queensland but were very inconsistent thereafter. There was a heavy reliance on Matthew Wade in the middle order. He had an extraordinary season scoring over 1000 runs and moved from No. 6 to No. 4 midway through the year to firstly try and arrest Tasmania’s batting issues but also push his Test case. He did the latter but could do nothing about the former and his potential absence during the Tests this summer will severely challenge Tasmania’s young players. Jordan Silk and Alex Doolan battled manfully at the top of the order on a difficult new-ball pitch at Bellerive. Charlie Wakim announced himself at No.3 last year but they need the likes of Jake Doran and Ben McDermott to take the next step in the middle order. One of those two is likely to keep wicket when Tim Paine and Wade are unavailable while Silk is set to captain. The attack will be strong again. Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell are a formidable new-ball duo in the heavy Hobart air and Riley Meredith adds speed at first change. Tasmania opted to go without a specialist spinner quite often last year, particularly at home, but young offspinner Jarrod Freeman could well get further opportunities after debuting last season.Player to watchJordan Silk made a century in Tasmania’s last Sheffield Shield final triumph back in 2012-13. He was the youngest of the six players that season to make multiple Shield centuries at just 20, and he achieved it in just three games. He was selected to play for Australia A on a tour of England in 2013, but after 50 first-class games, and 97 innings, he’s only managed to score four more centuries. Bellerive Oval has been a very difficult place to open the batting and so his overall average of 31.67 is better than it appears. At 27, he is stepping into the captaincy when Wade is absent and Tasmania would love for that added responsibility to help him thrive with the bat.Young gunThere is a lot of hype around Riley Meredith in white-ball cricket but Tasmania are excited about his development in all three forms. At 23, he is still arguably a little while away from becoming a fully-fledged international prospect but he has shown a lot of promise. He had a good Shield season last year as the first change option behind the new ball pairing of Bird and Bell as he took 27 wickets at an average of 28.96, without a five-wicket haul. Tasmania have some solid bowling all-rounders which allows Meredith to be used in shorter bursts to maximise his pace. His development will be interesting to follow.Alex Carey cuts the ball watched by wicketkeeper Peter Nevill•Getty Images

South Australia

Last season Sixth (League stage: 0 wins, 6 defeats, 4 draws)
Captain Travis Head
Coach Jamie Siddons
2018-19 statsOverviewSouth Australia are desperate to improve this season after two disastrous years. They failed to win a game last season after winning just two the year before. There were some injury issues with 2016-17 Player of the Year Chadd Sayers missing half the season due to a knee injury, Ashes hopeful Daniel Worrell played just four games due to back and hamstring problems and Alex Carey missed eight games due to national duty. But coach Jamie Siddons is desperate to see his established players like Callum Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Jake Weatherald and Jake Lehmann step up. Captain Travis Head will also be eager for big runs to regain his Test place after failing to post a century last year despite reaching 50 five times in 13 Shield innings. The batsmen are still coming to terms with the new drop in surface at Adelaide Oval, which has become a seamer’s playground after previously being a batsman’s paradise. The bowling depth will be tested again. Sayers is still working back to full fitness, Worrall will miss the first part of the season and Joe Mennie, who took 37 wickets at 19.72 last season, is also sidelined. Young legspinner Lloyd Pope got a taste last year and may well play a little bit more this season depending on Adam Zampa’s availability depending on T20I selection.Player to watchAlex Carey only played two matches last season and it remains to be seen how much he plays this season but at this stage, he is guaranteed to play three of the first four matches and looks set to be available for five of the first six. He broke the record for the most dismissals in a season in 2016-17 and is all but inked in as Paine’s successor in the Australia’s Test team, but the selectors will want more runs from him. He made a Shield century last season but he only has two first-class hundreds in 55 innings. He is a better player than that and some continuity in playing a string of first-class games should give him the chance to prove it.Young gunLloyd Pope has developed a cult following after bursting onto the scene in the Under-19 World Cup, but he found his first experience in Shield cricket difficult, as many young legspinners do. Western Australia’s Shaun Marsh took a liking to him in a fourth-innings run chase last season and Pope learned some valuable lessons from the experience. He is expected to continue to develop over the coming seasons but patience will be required from all involved.