Yorkshire’s dominance of the second day at Trent Bridge will have been watched with unease at Lord’s, Hove and Chester-le-Street

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge22-Aug-2013
>ScorecardSteve Patterson, Yorkshire’s unsung pace bowler, took five wickets in a Nottinghamshire collapse at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s dominance of the second day at Trent Bridge will have been watched with unease at Lord’s, Hove and Chester-le-Street. For those who still doubted as much, it amplified the fact that they are the team to beat for anyone with title aspirations.At some point on day three, barring unexpected defiance from a Nottinghamshire side that has thus far offered little, Yorkshire will add 23 points to their total and open up a 33-point gap between themselves and Sussex, who began the week in second place.That, in turn, will put pressure on Middlesex, who may struggle to save a draw at Derby, and Durham, who will need to beat Surrey to stay in touch, given that they travel to meet the leaders at Scarborough next week without their most potent fast-bowling threat, Graham Onions.Yorkshire need six wickets to secure an innings victory in what has been a performance befitting champions-elect. They have batted and bowled better than Nottinghamshire by a considerable margin and might have been heading back to Leeds already but for Andre Adams and one of their former players, Ajmal Shahzad, delaying the follow-on.Their top-order comprehensively demolished by Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson, Nottinghamshire were 65-8 and threatened with the embarrassment of their lowest all-out total since Yorkshire dismissed them for 59 here in 2010 before the two bowlers began to out bat to ball, aided by a sloppy four-over spell from Liam Plunkett.Plunkett, the former Durham and England fast bowler has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes following his winter move to Headingley but not every day can go his way. Either side of a brief downpour, he bowled four overs for 46, teeing the ball up nicely for Adams to swing the bat, at which point Shahzad decided to do likewise.Adams hit three sixes — one of them caught, but out of bounds, by Adil Rashid — in his 39 off 17 balls. Between them, they propelled Nottinghamshire to 150 all out, which was still 257 runs fewer than Yorkshire had achieved but which at least was less embarrassing.Sidebottom, who knows the terrain here as well as anyone, took the key wickets, dismissing both Alex Hales and Michael Lumb without scoring and setting a trap into which Samit Patel obligingly fell when he chipped a catch to one of two short mid-wickets, taken above his head by Phil Jaques.Patterson, as ever the unsung workhorse in the Yorkshire attack, finished with a career-best 5 for 43. With 43 wickets at 19.6, he is the county’s leading wicket-taker in the Championship.Nottinghamshire did a little better following on, although the England trio of Hales, Lumb and Patel have already been and gone. Hales, who still cannot match his one-day-form with anything resembling progress in the red-ball game, was caught behind for the second time in the day, and Lumb somewhat tamely gave Plunkett a return catch. Patel might be counted as slightly unlucky, having fallen victim to a brilliant one-handed catch, falling backwards on the boundary, by substitute fielder Richard Pyrah when he hooked Plunkett.Sidebottom accounted for Steven Mullaney with a ball that the makeshift opener played all round and needs only one more wicket to equal the career first-class aggregate of 596 achieved by his father, Arnie.If they were lame with the bat, Nottinghamshire had also performed fairly dismally with the ball in the morning, when Jonny Bairstow risked following his omission by England with a cheap dismissal here but was rewarded for his boldness.His 62 from 80 deliveries, supported manfully by Patterson with the bat, steered Yorkshire to a fourth batting point. Indeed, they were not far from snatching a fifth, which would have been no mean feat for a side invited to bat first on one of the most taxing squares in the land.

Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent

25-Sep-2013
ScorecardRob Key made his fifth Championship century of the season to rescue Kent•PA Photos

Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent at Canterbury. Lancashire reached the mid-point of the clash on 75 without loss in their second innings – an overall lead of 99.Having dismissed Kent for 260 to claim a narrow first-innings advantage of 24, Red Rose openers Paul Horton and Luis Reece survived 21 overs through to stumps to dent Kent’s hopes of notching a first home Championship win of the season.Having started the day brightly by taking Lancashire’s final two wickets for the addition of just 15 runs – Ashwell Prince failing to add to his overnight 134 – Kent’s first-innings batting was again found wanting until their former captain Rob Key dug in for his fifth Championship century of the campaign.Responding to Lancashire’s 284, Kent suffered a miserable start and at 7 for 3 the follow-on looked a real possibility until Key saved face with a 118-ball century.The hosts lost opener Sam Northeast for a duck after only 13 deliveries when the right-hander clipped firmly into the hands of midwicket against Kyle Jarvis. Eight balls later and with only a single to his name, Daniel Bell-Drummond then allowed one from Oliver Newby to squeeze through bat and pad and pluck out off stump.Brendan Nash lasted three deliveries before he sparred outside off against Newby to be caught at the second attempt by Tom Smith at third slip as the procession back to the changing rooms continued.However, Key then found a willing ally in fourth-wicket partner Ben Harmison as the pair batted on either side of lunch to add 158 in 35.1 overs – the highest partnership of the game by far. Harmison posted his fifth half-century of an improving campaign from 103 balls while Key looked comfortable throughout as he eased 10 fours and a six during his three-hour ton.Harmison celebrated his fifty with a six off Newby but the bowler enjoyed revenge soon after by trapping the left-hander leg before for 59. The slide continued when Darren Stevens went in similar fashion to the lively Jarvis as Kent’s last five wickets mustered only 41 runs.Sam Billings was superbly caught one-handed at second slip by Andrea Agathangelou, Adam Ball also went leg-before and James Tredwell shouldered arms against Tom Smith to lose his off stump. Key then went for 134, snared by spinner Stephen Parry, who also bowled Kent’s last man Matt Hunn to give Lancashire a narrow lead.At the start of the day Kent required barely half-an-hour to polish off the Lancashire first innings. Debutant Hunn had Prince pocketed at second slip to give the rookie from Suffolk figures of 2 for 51, then Stevens bagged his 200th first-class wicket by having Parry caught in the cordon to deny Lancashire their third batting bonus point.

England’s outgoing bowling coach David Saker has been appointed coach of Victoria for the next three seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2015England’s outgoing bowling coach David Saker has been appointed coach of Victoria for the next three seasons. Saker has replaced the long-serving Greg Shipperd, who had led the Bushrangers since the death of then coach David Hookes in January 2004 but was moved on at the end of this summer despite Victoria winning the Sheffield Shield.A former fast bowler, Saker played 49 first-class matches for Victoria and also represented Tasmania. It was reported in March that Saker would leave his position as England’s bowling coach – a job he had held for five years – to take the reins at the Melbourne Renegades, and the state coaching job has now been added to his remit.Cricket Victoria CEO Tony Dodemaide said: “There were many high quality applicants for the role but with David’s growing reputation as a world-class coach, built through his previous assistant role with Victoria and advanced during his time on the world stage with the England team, the board had no hesitation in endorsing the appointment.””We look forward to David building on the success we had in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as producing players for Australian squads. We would also like to thank the England and Wales Cricket Board, who have allowed David to end his contract with them earlier to enable him to take up this career progression opportunity and start his tenure with Victoria at the end of the month.”The state’s coaching department will also feature David Hussey, who has been named as the batting coach, along with bowling coach Mick Lewis. Saker is due to begin his new role when he arrives from England in two weeks.

Middlesex have signed New Zealand left-armer Mitchell McCleneghan as a mid-season replacement for Kyle Abbott in the NatWest Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Middlesex have signed New Zealand’s left arm paceman Mitchell McClenaghan, as an overseas replacement for Kyle Abbott in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign after Abbott’s spell with the club expires at the end of June.McClenaghan is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League, where he is among the leading wicket takers in the competition, with 14 at an average of 22.50.He will be in contention to make his NatWest T20 Blast debut for Middlesex against the Sussex Sharks at Lord’s on July 2 and will be available for the final six group matches of Middlesex’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign.McClenaghan did not have an impressive stint at Lancashire in T20, but his stock has risen on the back of some skilful, wholehearted displays with Mumbai Indians and his figures have given Middlesex additional confidence that he can answer their needs.Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, Angus Fraser, commented: “Replacing one high quality overseas fast bowler with another was not easy but we have managed to do this with the signing of McClenaghan.”Mitchell’s style, left arm fast, gives him a point of difference and his skill has allowed him to take wickets wherever he has played. We look forward to welcoming him to Lord’s at the start of July, for what we hope will be six important and exciting games.”

After turning likely defeat into a comfortable win in their last LV= County Championship match at Worcester, Durham brought about another transformation at home to Somerset.

ECB/PA08-Jun-2015
ScorecardJohn Hastings biffed a half-century to give Durham a fighting chance of victory•Getty Images

After turning likely defeat into a comfortable win in their last LV= County Championship match at Worcester, Durham brought about another transformation at home to Somerset. From 101 for 6 in their second innings, leading by 65, they recovered to reach 314 through the graft of Paul Collingwood, the fearlessness of Paul Coughlin and the might of John Hastings.The big Australian thrashed 79 off 68 balls, dominating stands of 46 in 9.5 overs with Coughlin and 72 in 8.4 with Chris Rushworth, who weighed in with 43 before he was last out in the day’s last over with the lead on 278.Until late afternoon Somerset’s policy of playing five seamers and no spinner paid rich dividends as they all exploited helpful conditions through accuracy and swing, helped by some variable bounce. But the ball was almost 50 overs old when Collingwood’s exit for 58 paved the way for Hastings to use his considerable frame to maximum effect in clubbing nine fours and two sixes.He slowed down after reaching 72 off 57 balls and finally edged Tim Groenewald to Marcus Trescothick, who will have noted that Durham have knocked off 260-plus when batting last in their two home wins this season.In the day’s first 54 overs 12 wickets fell. On a cloudy morning Somerset declined from their overnight 147 for 4 to 225 all out, a lead of 36. Johann Myburgh, who resumed on 57, left as many balls as possible in the first three overs but when forced to play at one by Hastings he edged it to wicketkeeper Michael Richardson.Jim Allenby fell for 20 when he edged a drive to Collingwood at first slip to give Rushworth his fourth wicket. That was a straightforward catch, but the captain’s next effort showed remarkable reflexes and agility for a 39-year-old as he leapt high to his left to hold Lewis Gregory’s edged drive off Hastings. Coughlin chipped in with a couple of wickets, clinging on to a sharp return catch from Trego and having Overton caught at mid-on.In Durham’s second innings a ball of low bounce in Groenewald’s first over forced Keaton Jennings to play on and three of the next five wickets resulted from steep bounce.While defending doggedly, Collingwood remained alert to opportunities to put away bad balls and was starting to look comfortable when he advanced to meet a ball from Jim Allenby, which he worked wide of mid-on for his eighth four to reach 50 off 93 balls. Although he became the fourth victim of extra bounce when he edged Overton to the wicketkeeper, there was no doubt that his vigil had paved the way for Coughlin’s run-a-ball 50 and Hastings’ onslaught.

Tim Anderson, the ICC global development manager, believes there needs to be a drastic change in mindset from administrators in the USA if cricket is to ever become professionally run in the country

Peter Della Penna19-Jun-2015Tim Anderson, the ICC head of global development, believes there needs to be a drastic change in mindset from administrators in the USA if cricket is to ever become professionally run in the country. Anderson recently toured the USA as part of an ICC task force headed by the chief executive Dave Richardson to produce a comprehensive report on the state of cricket in the country.The report will be presented next week at the ICC annual conference in Barbados, and Anderson felt it will be hard for the sport to move forward as long as a battle for control continues between the USA Cricket Association (USACA) and the American Cricket Federation (ACF).”For us it’s not about one or the other,” Anderson told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s not what this process is. But we just don’t think in principle it’s a healthy situation for the development of the sport for a relatively large proportion of people to be aligned to one group, a relatively large proportion to be aligned to another group, and a relatively large proportion not giving much care or thought to either of them and then just going on playing.”It doesn’t provide an environment where leadership can come in and take the game to the next level. You’re not going to do that in this environment. Philosophically, that needs to be changed if cricket is going to take a step in this country.”USACA was put on administrative notice at the 2014 ICC annual conference in Melbourne for being in violation of Associate governance statute 3.1, which at the time said that the respective ICC member must be the sole governing body in the country. The statute was amended in January to state that a member no longer had to be the sole governing body, but had to prove it was the one “responsible for the administration, management and development of cricket in the country.”USACA has also fallen in conflict with the ICC for its failure to hold elections on time, and for not having a full-time paid chief executive since the resignation of Darren Beazley in March 2014. However, Anderson kept mum when asked whether the report was being organised in preparation of a third possible administrative suspension for USACA since 2005.”What we want to find out is what is happening in the USA in cricket,” Anderson said. “That’s the general sentiment. If as part of that process, the ICC board then takes the report and says, ‘This guy is good and this guy is not so good,’ that’ll be a decision they have to come to.”The bottom line for us is that USACA is our member, there is another association that has a large number of leagues in the country that is also doing things and we want to speak to everybody. So our thought process is not about get rid of one and bring in the other one. That’s not really what it’s about at all.”As part of the information gathering process, Anderson said the ICC has facilitated face-to-face and phone interviews with more than 100 stakeholders, including various league administrators from both USACA and ACF. The ICC has also sought the opinions of leagues which are not aligned with either group, as well as of players and coaches, as part of an all-encompassing survey.Anderson denied the ICC’s task force initiative was spurred by USACA’s failure to ratify sweeping governance reforms at the November 2014 AGM which had been championed by himself and Beazley. As part of the proposed reforms, term limits would have been introduced for USACA’s executive board while the board’s voting power would have been cut in half and redistributed to independent directors based on recommendations from a review conducted by TSE consulting.”Governance reform is difficult,” Anderson said. “The ICC is a good example in terms of the process of the Woolf Report. Ultimately it was decided that some of those things were good and should be changed and some of those things wouldn’t be changed.”Obviously you still have to go through a process of consulting your stakeholders in whatever organization you’re with and those stakeholders and members have to determine whether they want those changes or not. I think the same thing has happened here.”One of USACA’s main governance problems has been their failure to hold elections on time according to the USACA constitution, both in 2011 and in 2014. The most recent delays have meant the ICC has levied financial penalties against USACA in the form of withholding their quarterly Associate funding grants.Anderson said the ICC’s interest in commissioning the task force report now, as opposed to three years ago in the wake of the delayed controversial elections which saw 32 out of 47 voting members disenfranchised, was that the ICC’s Full Member representatives have recently developed greater interest in Associate development.”The chairman of the ICC is now the chairman of the development committee and there are three Full Member directors on the development committee,” he said. “Previously, nearly all members of the development committee were Associate and Affiliate member representatives or other stakeholders but not full members of the ICC.”The bottom line for us is that USACA is our member, there is another association that has a large number of leagues in the country that is also doing things and we want to speak to everybody”•Peter Della Penna

“That’s really positive that that’s happening. I think what has manifested itself out of that process is even though a lot of the Full Members on the board have been aware of the importance of US cricket, I don’t think it has really hit their radar that cricket could be doing more here and therefore I think that was the spark to answer your question about ‘why now’, that our board has greater interest than it had in the past which I think is really positive.”In a letter from ICC chairman N Srinivasan to the USACA board of directors dated January 28, Srinivasan outlines several areas in which the ICC claims USACA has failed to meet its membership obligations and is in danger of being suspended. Aside from delayed elections and a failure to pay back a $200,000 loan to the ICC, Srinivasan blasted USACA for its “failure to produce an internationally competitive and properly prepared men’s team.”In the time since, USACA canceled a pre-tournament preparation camp in Jamaica ahead of the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 in Indianapolis in May. A subsequent camp scheduled for June 19-21 in Jamaica to prepare USA for the World T20 Qualifier has also been ditched. As a result, five players have taken it upon themselves to fund their own way to Barbados and train with Barbados Tridents in a personal effort to get prepared for the qualifier. Anderson said the task force review will include a more in-depth look into why USA has not delivered consistently positive results on the field.”With all the opportunities that are available to ICC members to play international cricket, it would be our hope that a country that we think has a huge amount of potential like the USA would be going up as opposed to going down,” Anderson said.”I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’d all like to see the USA cricket team playing better. At the same time, we don’t necessarily have a great understanding of what happens within the high performance programs or preparation and selection and these types of things that might impact on the team not going so well.”

Bilateral Test series outside iconic ones like the Ashes and big-ticket tours involving India could be endangered in the future if they are not properly nurtured and marketed

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Jul-2015Bilateral series outside iconic ones like the Ashes and big-ticket tours involving India could be endangered in the future if they are not properly nurtured and marketed. The alert has come from ICC chief executive David Richardson, who says the success of domestic Twenty20 leagues like the IPL, Big Bash and the growing Caribbean Premier League have made them more attractive to cricket fans and broadcasters.To arrest the decline of bilateral series, cricket’s administrators are discussing the creation of qualifying leagues for both Test and ODI cricket as a possible solution.”Apart from series such as the Ashes – which has an iconic, traditional status – and series between India and the top Full Members, many bilateral series are perceived as having little relevance,” Richardson told ESPNcricinfo in London. “Attendances in most series, especially for Test cricket, have fallen and the revenues generated from these series are not growing.”Richardson said the issue was once again high on the agenda at the ICC annual conference in Barbados in June and would take precedence at the next ICC Board meeting in October.”The international cricket landscape has changed over the years and even more significantly in recent times with the advent and success of domestic Twenty20 leagues such as the IPL, the Big Bash and the CPL. These events are attracting widespread support from fans and hence the interest of broadcasters, sponsors and other commercial partners.”Similarly the interest in and value of ICC events such as the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and World Twenty20 has grown significantly over the last eight years or so. The increase in interest in ICC events and domestic Twenty20 leagues effectively provides competition for the interest in bilateral international cricket series (FTP series).”How can the ICC enhance the appeal of bilateral series that are part of the FTP and an important source of revenue for the Full Members? Providing context to these contests has been the popular response in the past, and Richardson offered the same solution to begin with. He also felt that sometimes countries were responsible for their own plight.”How can we grow interest in bilateral series – bigger crowds, more people watching on television, following the series on their phones, tablets and computers? For this to happen bilateral series need greater context, a clear narrative, improved marketing and a more certain and coordinated schedule,” Richardson said. “What’s the use of scheduling a series in the monsoon season or how can you expect to grow the fan base or attract attendances if series are scheduled or changed at the last minute?”To make bilateral series more relevant, Richardson said countries needed to opt a less-is-more formula. Instead of an irrelevant seven or five-match series, Richardson suggested a better substitute to be a tri-series scheduled at an opportune time.Richardson revealed a possible solution the administrators were thinking about was creating qualifying leagues for both Test and ODIs, an idea that had the support of all the powerful members of the ICC Board. “Scheduling more tri-series, creating a brand around the FTP and around individual series, creating a fresh brand for the ODI format itself (World Cup Cricket for example, as Wally Edwards is proposing), creation of Test or ODI World Cup Qualifying leagues. These are all ideas that need to be considered and discussed. They have been mooted before, but now with the involvement of Mr Srinivasan as Chairman, the BCCI, ECB, CA and the other Members, these issues are being seriously looked at.”We are just in discussions at the moment. Michael Holding has spoken about a Test league of two divisions, others have previously suggested a six-and-four teams format. But first the principles and then the detail needs to be debated and agreed. I think it is achievable if all the Full Members think it is worthwhile and want it to happen.”According to Richardson, any such league system would be independent of the ICC ranking, similar to the qualification leagues in football. “The debate on leagues is still in the drawing board phase, but even if leagues were introduced, the rankings would still coexist. The ICC rankings will always be there. Take international football, for example, they have qualifying leagues for the FIFA World Cup and Continental tournaments, separate to the world rankings.”

Sussex fans in the NatWest Blast quarter-final at Hove were told by an ECB official to stop protesting about the possibility of T20 city franchises – and the possibility is receding in any event

David Hopps13-Aug-2015Sussex fans in the first NatWest Blast quarter-final were ordered by an ECB employee to take down a banner protesting against the possibility of a city-based T20 tournament in England as unease over the future direction of the English game spilled onto the terraces for the first time.Perhaps the banners can be stored away for the time being, in any case. Traditionalists on the terraces can relax – a huge rise in attendances for this season’s NatWest Blast has begun to counter calls for revolution.The banner stating Say No To City Franchises was smuggled into Hove and displayed at times during the first Blast quarter-final between Sussex and Northants, but when the protests continued at the after-match presentation, an ECB official politely intervened. Although no reason was given, disrupting the post-match coverage was presumably seen as an act too far.Tension among traditional county fans about the future direction of T20 cricket in England has been an underlying theme of the summer as the ECB has undertaken a summer of private consultation in its search for a way to rid the professional game of joint debts of around £110m and reports have surfaced of a possible eight-team city league.But the panic, for the moment is overstated. County chief executives and chairmen have been assured by the ECB heirarchy that there will be no rush to make changes before the broadcasting deal ends in 2019.Strong resistance among the counties was partly responsible for that, as those eager for change, such as the new ECB chief executive Tom Harrison, recognised the futility of his revolutionary zeal, but there are other reasons too.There are two major international tournaments in England in that time – a Champions Trophy and a World Cup – and to damage those by internal wrangles would be unforgiveable. The commercial landscape is also changing rapidly and the argument over some form of free-to-air coverage is still raging.This year’s NatWest Blast has also made great strides – attendances have risen by around 20-25% with some counties, Birmingham and Yorkshire among them, showing particularly marked rises.Sky, who already pay more than £260m over four years for broadcasting rights to English cricket, were reported last month to favour a deal for an eight-team city-based Twenty20 competition intended to rival IPL and the Australian Big Bash. The proposed deal would have seen the new Twenty20 league shoe-horned into a compact July window, with assurances that centrally-contracted England players would be freed to take part by a reduced international schedule.Counties could potentially be around £2m a year richer if such an outcome came to pass. This would effectively more than double the annual share-out from the ECB, but the suggestion caused trepidation among many counties that under such a scenario they could be left with a lot of money but reduced credibility.A proposal to run two T20 tournaments – one involving city franchises, one retaining the 18-team structure – would also entail the slashing of the Championship to 12 matches and could render the county tournament a second-class citizen and, as such, risk its eventual collapse.All that encouraged whispers of a rebellion against the new ECB power brokers, not just Harrison, but head of commercial Sanjay Patel and chairman Colin Graves, leading Harrison to write to the counties to seek to appease the most implacable opponents.Graves, who has repeatedly said that county cricket needs to pay its way, is thought to favour a city-based T20 series which would be played in a block with nightly TV matches and aim to attract the biggest international stars.The term “franchise” is misleading, however. Even under the most radical English model, teams would be owned by the ECB, or the counties hosting the matches, not by private companies, so ensuring that money remained in the game for the general good.One compromise still being pushed in some quarters is simply to adopt two divisions of nine with promotion and relegation and market the First Division far more aggressively, but even that compromise might not necessarily be adopted if the rising attendances this summer continue into next season and empower those who argue the current system can succeed.A switch to two divisions carries an assumption that the counties with larger international grounds would eventually come to the fore, but there has been little sign of that this season, with only three of the eight qualifiers for the NatWest Blast from the Test match counties.More will become clear when a working party under the chairmanship of the Warwickshire chief executive, Colin Povey, reports in the autumn – perhaps one of the last acts before Povey stands down as Warwickshire’s chief executive.This story was updated at 1700 on August 13 with additional information

The West Indies Cricket Board has offered professional support services to West Indies’ young captains Jason Holder and Stafanie Taylor

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-20150:51

Holder has what it takes to be a good leader – Walsh

The West Indies Cricket Board has offered professional support services to West Indies’ young captains Jason Holder and Stafanie Taylor. The board made the offer as Holder, who was the ODI captain already, was also named Test captain and Taylor replaced Merissa Aguilleira as the women’s team captain.”The directors and the management of the WICB recognised that being captain of a West Indies team is a unique challenge and carries an enormous burden of responsibility,” WICB director of cricket Richard Pybus said. “We have written and offered them access to whatever support systems they believe is necessary for them to handle their responsibilities in a purposeful manner.”The men’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour is fairly inexperienced with only two members having played over 50 Tests and Holder, 23, is West Indies’ second-youngest Test captain. He replaced Denesh Ramdin and has led West Indies in 12 ODIs, including seven World Cup games. In Sri Lanka, the squad will play two Tests followed by three ODIs and two T20Is.Clive Lloyd, the chief selector who had said it was the “right time for a change” when Holder was named Test captain, has already been mentoring the new captain.”As a legend of the game, a successful international captain and in the role of Convenor of Selectors, Clive is uniquely placed to give valuable insight and we have encouraged Jason to lean on his wisdom, so he can manage the transition to the leadership position,” Pybus said.Earlier, Holder’s promotion to captaincy was also welcomed by former West Indies captains in Brian Lara and Viv Richards.Taylor, on the other hand, is only 24 but has played 84 ODIs and 62 T20Is since her international debut in 2008. Her first assignment as captain of the women’s team will be a home series against Pakistan Women, comprising four ODIs and three T20 internationals in October.”Clive is also available to Stafanie, but we will also work with her to identify a suitable mentor going forward,” Pybus said.The WICB has also offered both captains an option of employing an “executive coach” to help them with their personal development.”The WICB is committed to their long-term development and success in their new roles, and we believe this will help Jason and Stafanie to focus while they settle in,” Pybus said. “We have full confidence that Jason and Stafanie will lead with courage and conviction, and do a wonderful job of moving their respective teams forward, so we have taken steps to help them to plan and manage their time effectively.”

Hosts Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 125 in the first innings of their Group B game against Baroda on a turning pitch in Chennai. In reply, Baroda were 33 for 1 at stumps on the first day

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai 01-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Bhargav Bhatt and Yusuf Pathan picked up eight of the 10 Tamil Nadu wickets•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Baroda’s attack thrived on a helpful Chennai pitch, rolling Tamil Nadu over for 125. Aditya Waghmode, the Baroda captain, had called the pitch a “turner” a day before the game and their spinners delivered. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt and allrounder Yusuf Pathan found sharp turn and bounce, sharing eight wickets between them. Baroda then capped the day by bringing the deficit under three figures.Some balls zipped and kicked off the pitch, a few kept low, while others went straight on. There had been some juice for the pacers too amid overcast conditions after rain had delayed the start of play by two hours.Tamil Nadu lost their captain Abhinav Mukund, who was featuring in his 100th first-class match, in the third over of the day when Sagar Mangalorkar seamed a full ball in and hit the off stump. Murtuja Vahora also showed good discipline, maintaining it in the channel of uncertainty before Baroda’s spinners asserted control. Vahora then came back for his second spell and removed a settled Baba Aparajith for 44 before tea. By then, the hosts had lost half their side for 95.After having blunted the new ball with some stability from opener Bharat Shankar, Aparajith gave it away as he did not get close to the line of a full ball outside off and drove loosely only to nick it behind. Aparajith had taken 22 balls to get off the mark, he then survived a caught-behind appeal on 5, but soon found his groove. He hit a brace of slog-sweeps and pretty-looking drives, none more good looking than the inside-out six over wide long-off off Bhatt’s first over. The run-rate, which mostly hovered around one, was nudged past two. At the other end, Bharath, who was reprieved on 9 at second slip, built his innings with an amalgam of dabs and bunts. The 65 run-partnership, the only stand of note in Tamil Nadu’s innings, ended when Bharath played back and missed a cut to an arm-ball from Bhatt.Four balls later, Bhatt bowled Dinesh Karthik for 1 as Tamil Nadu slipped to 68 for 3. The hosts slipped further when newly-appointed vice-captain Baba Indrajith prodded at a biting Yusuf offbreak, inside-edging it to debutant Hitesh Solanki at short leg. Aparajith soon followed his twin and then the lower order folded meekly. The last five wickets tumbled for 30 runs and the last nine for 59. The scorecard, though could have looked a lot worse if not for R Prasanna’s resistance.He showed decent application, pressing forward to smother the spin but got very little support from the other end. He was the last man out, 51 minutes into the final session.It was not long before spin struck again: left-arm spinner Rahil Shah ripped one through the gate to dismiss Solanki for 5. The ball pitched on a fourth-stump line and spun viciously to tip off the leg bail. Shah almost picked his second wicket when Kedar Devdhar edged him, but replays showed that the ball had not carried to first slip.Offspinner Malolan Rangarajan employed loopy flight and teased Devdhar and Waghmode but both batsmen hung on till stumps. With the pitch expected to spin more viciously going into the next three days, an outright result looms, according to Aprajith. “There is a lot of assistance and I think a lead of 20 or 30 runs doesn’t matter much,” he said.