The short gap between the Sri Lanka series and the South Africa tour has forced the team to get into a “game situation” as preparation for the tour, according to the India captain Virat Kohli

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur23-Nov-20171:19

Need to assess preparation time for overseas tours – Kohli

A packed international calendar has left India with ‘no choice’ but to get into a “game situation” for the upcoming South Africa tour by playing on seam-friendly pitches in the ongoing home Tests against Sri Lanka, according to Virat Kohli. The series against Sri Lanka, which also includes three ODIs and three T20Is, ends on December 24, 12 days before the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town. This only gives India time to play one two-day warm-up match, on December 30 and 31 in Paarl.”Unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over,” Kohli said, on the eve of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. “So we have no choice but to be in game situation and think of what’s coming ahead of us.”Had we got a month off, ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to make do with what we have. As usual, cramped for time, which I think we need to assess in future as well, because we very easily assess the team when we go abroad but we don’t look at how many days we have got to prepare before we go to a particular place to play.”And everyone starts judging players when results come after Test matches. It should be a fair game where we get to prepare the way we want to and then we are entitled to be criticised. So we thought this is an ample opportunity for us to challenge ourselves.”As I said, we want to embrace being in difficult conditions. I am not saying that everyone will go out and perform immediately but if we can feel comfortable about it, after one or two or three innings, someone will come good. And once you come good, you build on that confidence. It’s the same for the bowlers. Yes, we are looking at this as an opportunity.”In the first Test at Eden Gardens, a green pitch and overcast skies made for a rain-interrupted Test dominated by the faster bowlers. India’s spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, only bowled 10 overs between them across the two innings. Both are among the top five in the ICC’s Test bowlers’ rankings, but Kohli said India might find it difficult to play both in overseas conditions, despite their batting ability.”I can’t commit to that 100% when we play abroad, that we will be playing with two spinners, to be honest,” Kohli said. “Because we need to have a look at the balance of the side as well. Obviously, those two guys with their batting abilities are both contenders to start a Test match, but depending upon the batsmen we are up against in the opposition – when you play on tracks which don’t turn and bounce – it’s very important to understand if the left-arm spinner is bowling to five right-handers or the offspinner is bowling to four left-handers.”Just the angle the ball coming in makes so much difference against a spinner. And it can turn away from you at some stage in the Test match. Those are very minor factors that you assess before picking the first spinner in overseas conditions but that’s quite far away.”But yes, we count them as allrounders because they have proved themselves in different situations and they have made some very important contributions to the team. So they are not tail-enders anymore, they are proper allrounders. Their ranking does justice to that. They have really improved their games, it gives us good balance when we play both of them because when you play both of them, you can, if you want to, play an extra bowler as well. So that certainly gives us some cushion to play around.”Kohli stressed the importance of a seam-bowling allrounder in overseas conditions, and said India had picked Vijay Shankar in their squad for Nagpur to try him out as a back-up for Hardik Pandya, who has been rested.”He [Shankar] has been very consistent. He has earned his spot,” Kohli said. “We wanted to look at another allrounder keeping in mind that it’s a very important aspect of the team going forward. Obviously, Hardik is in our scheme of things as our first allrounder. But we need to, obviously, find out more people who have that capability and whom we can groom and make as back-ups for the allrounder’s slot, which is very, very crucial for us when we travel abroad.”That is the whole idea of bringing him in and keeping him in the set-up and making him familiar with what’s going on here and making him understand what he needs to work on and look at his game as well. He is a pretty balanced cricketer, he is very composed. He is handy with the ball – he can easily give you 10-12 overs a day – and he is very solid with the bat. I just saw him at the nets. Big moment for him. He has earned it, as I said.”BCCI

On the fifth day in Kolkata, India’s charge to an unlikely victory was halted by bad light, but also held up on occasion by Sri Lanka’s delaying tactics. Niroshan Dickwella, their wicketkeeper-batsman, was particularly adept, stopping Mohammed Shami in his run-up on a couple of occasions, and exchanging words with him. Asked about this, Kohli said he liked his competitiveness.”I like to see that character,” he said. “He is someone who takes a lot of pride in his cricket. Impressed with what I have seen so far from the last series as well. He has got great ability to do something very special for Sri Lankan cricket.”I like to see that competitiveness on the field. In the heat of things, I will do anything for my team to win. Afterwards we had a normal chat, and on the flight as well. Those things end on the field. When you are competitive as an opponent, we always respect that about any opponent. He is a very feisty character and that works for his game. Credit for him for maintaining that and I am sure he will do many good things in Sri Lankan cricket.”

The protective headgear – part helmet, part face mask – is designed to protect Warren Barnes from a possible injury due to his unique follow-through

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2017Batsmen and wicketkeepers have worn helmets for decades now, and with the evolution of power-hitting, especially in the T20 format, a few umpires and bowlers are also exploring the option of protective headgear to guard against injury. In Hamilton on Saturday, it was the turn of 25-year-old Otago fast bowler Warren Barnes to trial protective headgear while bowling against Northern Districts in a Super Smash T20 match.The headgear – part helmet and part face-mask – has been designed by Barnes and Otago coach Rob Walter, to protect the bowler from injury due to his unique follow-through. Barnes’ head goes down in his follow through, meaning his eyes are off the ball after release, which makes him vulnerable to straight drives hit back by the batsman. The headgear partially covers Barnes’ face but protects the crown of his head.Barnes is looking to avoid the kind of injury that Nottinghamshire bowler Luke Fletcher suffered during a Natwest t20 Blast match earlier this year. Fletcher was struck on the head in his follow-through, by a ferocious straight hit from Birmingham batsman Sam Hain. He was concussed, but did not lose consciousness and was attended to by para-medics in the dressing room before being taken to a Nottinghamshire hospital for further examination. Fletcher was ruled out for the remainder of the season and earlier this month was cleared to resume full training.

India women have not played ODI cricket since the World Cup final last July but Mithali Raj said the side is well equipped to tackle South Africa’s competitive brand of cricket

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai23-Jan-2018Much of India’s success at the World Cup in 2017 had revolved around the odd individual performance taking the team over the line. Until their virtual quarter-final win over New Zealand, India’s struggle to fire as a unit – with the exception of their tournament opener against England – was first and most debilitatingly evinced in their group-stage 115-run loss to South Africa. Pitted to face an opposition that almost immaculately played out their “always rising” motto to give eventual winners England an almighty scare in the semi-final, India ODI captain Mithali Raj acknowledged the test of character the forthcoming tour of South Africa will pose for the team and the each of the players individually.

India women coach Tushar Arothe on…

Fitness and fielding: What we found during the World Cup was the [inadequacy in the] fitness levels. We had a couple of fitness camps at the NCA around September-October and that really helped improve the standards. During the Challenger Trophy [the three-team domestic 50-over tournament], you must have seen the fielding levels have gone up.
Preparations for the T20I leg of the tour: During this [one-week] camp, we made some of the wickets a little bouncier, the centre wickets especially. During practice, we gave them [the players] some targets, like the first eight overs or ten overs, and then for the last few overs. Even for bowlers we had a few targets and they had been bowling according to that.

“It’s a very important tour. It’s not going to be easy because we’ve played South Africa before,” Raj said. “They are a very good side; you’ve seen in the World Cup, they almost made it to finals, so it’s going to be very competitive cricket and it will test each and every player and also as a team. It’s important that the girls need to be confident that they’re prepared well for the series.”It was not only at the World Cup that South Africa had brought India’s winning streak at the tournament to an end. The last time India toured South Africa, for the Quadrangular series in May, the hosts had robbed India the opportunity to complete a record 17 consecutive ODI victories, even though the visitors won the title subsequently. Despite the formidable nature of the opponents and the near-seven month “break” during which India played no international cricket, Raj exuded confidence in the preparation the team has had going into the three-match ODI series – their first of the second cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship – that will pave way for five T20Is and a packed home season, featuring back-to-back series against Australia and England.Mithali Raj and coach Tushar Arothe have a chat during a preparatory camp•PTI

“We had enough time to prepare for this series,” she said. “It’s again a beginning for us. We need to start afresh. The young girls have been in the match mould because they’ve been playing the domestic [tournaments]; and we had a week’s preparatory camp here [in Mumbai]. A couple of them [Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy] are coming from the WBBL, so pretty much everybody is into the mode of playing matches.”While the inclusion of three young, uncapped players in the ODI squad has piqued much interest around the up-and-coming lot of Indian cricketers, Raj sounded a note of caution while weighing in on any likely tweaking of a well-tested combination the team management may opt for early on in the tour to accommodate the newbies.”After the World Cup this is our first tour, so I wouldn’t be trying out too many things because it’s important for the core also to get confidence,” she said. So, I’ll be going in with the conventional batting order, so that we get the points because it’s also important we win the matches and, accordingly, whenever we get a chance where we can try out a few things, then probably we can look into changing a few things in the batting order or the combination of the team.The ODI series, starting February 5 in Kimberley, is also set to mark a first for both India and the hosts, in light of the new ICC playing conditions for the ICC Women’s Championship, which came into effect in October 2017: both teams will be required to use two new balls each. While India’s conventional practice with the ball – whether in the subcontinent or overseas – has been underpinned by their reliance on a spin-heavy attack, Raj voiced her disinclination towards trading the time-honoured template with employing a three-pronged pace pack.”It all depends on how the first few games go first – if the spinners are bowling well, why would I actually look in to the other combination?” Raj reasoned. “But again, if, say the spinners aren’t bowling that good then yes we try and look after another combination which can work for the team. But we try and have everything open for us – we have batters who can bowl a few overs. So we try and shape the team in such a way that we have a lot of choices tomorrow. But then it all depends on how the matches go for the first couple of games.”Raj also emphasised on the work put in by the coaching staff, led by head coach Tushar Arothe, in ensuring the bowlers are equipped to close out chases or get handy runs down the order – a shortcoming that played a part in India losing the World Cup final . Given 2018 also marks the year of the Women’s World T20, Raj harped on how India’s performance in the one-dayers could provide a practical groundwork for the T20I leg of the tour – to be led by Harmanpreet.”He [head coach Tushar Arothe] has been working really hard on the bowlers, so we get those lower-middle-order runs,” she said. “I think you know now it is [the ODI series] a start, a preparation for the T20 World Cup. Yes, it’s been a while playing T20 format but we as an Indian team are looking forward to the T20 games and we as a team need to work really hard in this format.”

South Africa’s young captain says he is richer for the experience gained in this series, and thinks the lopsided result will spur his team on and make future victories that much sweeter

Sidharth Monga in Centurion17-Feb-2018Over the last two weeks, South Africa’s young ODI captain Aiden Markram has wished that he had a normal introduction to ODI cricket, as opposed to sitting in the spotlight, trying to arrest a seemingly never-ending slide after being thrust into the captaincy role only two matches into his career. However, he is also glad that he has had this experience, learning important lessons.”, that sort of thought will always come, especially seeing how the last two weeks have gone,” Markram said, when asked if there were periods during the last two weeks when he had wished he had had time to fly under the radar and learn from some of the senior members of the side. “But, to be brutally honest with you, I’m happy it’s happened this way; not just for me, but for us as a squad.”It really gives us some points to learn on, and it’s going to make victories in the future much much sweeter. It’s going to make us work a lot harder. There’s a reason it’s worked out the way it has. We’re learning, and we’re growing. It’s going to get to a stage where we really know our games and who needs to do what for the side. It’s going to be an exciting 18 months coming up. The guys will be very hungry.”Asked about the biggest lesson he had personally learnt, Markram spoke of the importance of not letting captaincy affect his batting. “As a player, you still need to look after your performance,” Markram, who has experience of leading South Africa Under-19s, South Africa A and domestic franchise Titans, said. “As a captain, you can only control so much. At the end of the day, I’m still a batsman and I need to score runs. When I get into the middle, I need to be in that comfort zone and not let thoughts of captaincy get into my mind at that time.”Markram has seemed like a batsman going out of his way to impose himself on the game, possibly to tell himself that he deserves the mantle he has been given. After the defeat in Port Elizabeth, coach Ottis Gibson had said Markram wasn’t batting the way he had seen him bat before the captaincy.”I wasn’t playing the usual game I do play, and whether that be due to various pressures… or not being in the zone or in the moment is probably the reason,” Markram said. “He [Gibson] is spot on with what he says. We did chat about it, and today, when I was batting, I felt in a more comfortable space. I felt I was structuring my innings how I would if I was batting in a franchise game. It’s very late in the series, but it’s a positive that I was able to overcome that obstacle.”Markram admitted to there being extra pressure. “There’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “As an individual, I set high standards for myself, and not having done well this series, there was that form of pressure as well. So there are various forms of pressure; captaincy is just one of them. But, like I mentioned, it is pressure I enjoy, and I’d like to enjoy it more in the future.”When Markram was handed the captaincy, there were obvious comparisons with Graeme Smith, who became captain at a similarly young age. Smith had a wealth of experience to fall back on when he became captain, whereas it will be fair to say that Markram has been let down by the performance of the seniors he was left with. However, Markram said they had been helpful to him with their experience.”Plenty help to be fair,” Markram said. “I’m constantly checking in with them. They also understand the space I’m in as a young captain. It’s very nice to fall on them when I need to. Off the field as well. I know it might not reflect in our performances on the field, but in terms of getting me in a calmer space, a lot of credit must go to them.”Markram didn’t expect it to be all rosy, especially given the circumstances under which the captaincy came to him in. He can’t be sure that he will be in the next ODI side; if that doesn’t happen, it will be unfair on the youngster, who said that despite all the challenges and adverse results, he was richer for the experience. “It was always going to be tough,” Markram said. “It was something I was looking forward to, and a challenge that I enjoy. I can still say that sitting here having lost a series 5-1. It was a responsibility that I enjoy. I learned a lot, and at this stage of my career that’s not a bad thing. Going forward, I’m going to take the lessons I did learn. The experience of dealing with other pressures grows me as a player.”

The former India seamer has stepped down with immediate effect to avoid a potential conflict of interest as he is likely to take up a coaching role in the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Mar-2018Venkatesh Prasad, the chairman of India’s junior selection committee, has stepped down with immediate effect to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Prasad communicated his resignation to the BCCI on Friday morning.It is understood that Prasad is in the final stages of talks with an IPL franchise for the role of an assistant bowling coach. Had Prasad continued as chairman of the junior selection committee and taken up an IPL role, he would have been in violation of the conflict-of-interest rules laid out by the Lodha committee.Incidentally on Thursday, Prasad along with the other two junior selectors – Gyanendra Pandey and Rakesh Parekh – had picked the Under-16 and Under-19 squads for the national camp to be held at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, in the summer.Prasad had a successful tenure as the head of the junior selection panel. During his tenure India reached the Under-19 World Cup final twice, while winning the title last month. Prasad had worked closely with Rahul Dravid, the India A and Under-19 coach, to identify junior talent and hone their skills. The pair had also chalked out a plan where the junior players would get more exposure by playing overseas.Despite the success, Prasad was on the lookout for the next challenge. He had applied for the position of the senior selection panel and also was interviewed by the BCCI for the position of general manager, cricket. Saba Karim was eventually appointed to that position.Although it could not be confirmed, Kings XI Punjab is one of the franchises that Prasad is likely to join. Currently, Kings XI have only Brad Hodge as a head coach. Prasad was the bowling coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008 during the first season of the IPL. He then took the same role at Chennai Super Kings from 2009-10 before moving back to reclaim the same role with Royal Challengers between 2011-13.

The years of bowling for England’s leading Test wicket-taker are reflected in a new landmark

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2018Few would blame James Anderson if he was feeling a little weary. With the last delivery of his 17th over in New Zealand’s second innings in Christchurch he had bowled more deliveries in Test cricket than any another pace bowler: 30,020.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The previous record belonged to another fast bowler of great longevity, Courtney Walsh, and now ahead of Anderson are three of the greatest ever spinners: Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan.Anderson became England’s leading Test wicket-taker in 2015 and last year, against West Indies, he took his 500th Test wicket. With 531 to his name at the time of this latest record, he now has Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets firmly in his sights as the most by a pace bowler in Tests.Anderson carried England’s attack during the Ashes defeat with 17 wickets at 27.82, and has continued to bowl well in New Zealand.

For the first time at Lord’s, the floodlights shone in a Championship match – but they went off for bad light all the same

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2018
ScorecardMiddlesex batsman Max Holden dives to regain his ground•Getty Images

Middlesex’s batsmen fought back from a sticky start against Northamptonshire to reach 136 for 4 on a shortened opening day of the Specsavers County Championship at Lord’s.Inserted on a greenish wicket, the home side slumped to 63 for 4 before lunch, with Northants seamers Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton picking up two wickets each.But Sanderson squandered a chance to cement his side’s grip on the game, dropping John Simpson at fine leg before the Middlesex wicketkeeper went on to share an unbroken stand of 73 with Paul Stirling.Simpson (31*) and Stirling (40*) seemed well set when bad light halted play – despite the Lord’s floodlights being in use for the first time in a Championship fixture.Middlesex deployed an inexperienced batting line-up, with club captain Dawid Malan unavailable and Nick Gubbins, Eoin Morgan and Stevie Eskinazi all ruled out through injury or illness.That left 20-year-old Max Holden – who spent a successful loan period at Northamptonshire last season – to open alongside stand-in captain Sam Robson, with debutant Robbie White coming in at three.Holden managed just eight before he nudged Sanderson (2-30) to second slip – and White left the next delivery, which moved back to flatten his off stump.Australian Test batsman Hilton Cartwright, also making his Championship debut, went on the offensive with a couple of boundaries off Doug Bracewell and then pulled Hutton into the Mound Stand for six.But Hutton, who joined Northants on a permanent basis from Nottinghamshire during the winter, took his revenge with a slower ball that foxed Cartwright after a brisk 30.Having dropped anchor with a gritty 14, Robson also fell victim to Hutton as he was trapped leg before to compound Middlesex’s difficulties.After lunch, Simpson had made only three when his top-edged hook sailed towards the waiting hands of Sanderson, only for the fielder to spill what looked a regulation catch.Simpson made the most of that let-off, beginning to play his shots as the bowlers’ accuracy waned and carved Bracewell through the covers to bring up the 50-partnership with Stirling.Meanwhile, the Ireland international took advantage of the short boundary on one side, hitting seven fours, but Middlesex were unable to build on that momentum as deteriorating light forced the players from the field just before 3pm.They returned briefly towards the end of the day and Richard Gleeson found some movement during the 3.5 overs that were bowled, with Stirling adding a further four runs to the total before play was finally abandoned.

James Vince struck a half-century as Hampshire secured a five-wicket win to move closer to the knockout stages

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2018
ScorecardReece Topley bowled Hampshire to the brink of the Royal London Cup’s knockout stages as they beat Middlesex by five wickets at Merchant Taylors’ School.Topley, who committed himself to white-ball only cricket over the winter as he makes another injury comeback, made Middlesex regret their decision to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions following a delayed start.His 4 for 40 ensured the hosts were restricted to just 199 for 8 in their 45 overs, a target the South Group leaders made comfortably, despite a mid-innings wobble, led by 56 from England discard James Vince.Eyebrows were raised when Middlesex skipper Steven Finn opted to bat after winning a toss delayed for an hour by early morning rain.Deprived of club captain Dawid Malan on Test duty and England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan, ruled out with a cracked finger, much depended on openers Paul Stirling and Nick Gubbins. However, Gubbins perished early, caught in the gulley for 9 giving Topley his first wicket.Under murky skies and with an outfield too wet to afford batsman value for their shot-making, even Stirling with two centuries already in the competition struggled to break the shackles.He did hoist Topley for one huge six into the car park but trying to repeat the shot he fell to the next delivery, holing out at mid-off.This left Max Holden, making his List-A debut for Middlesex and the barely more experienced Stevie Eskinazi needing to entrench.The pair kept the scoreboard ticking but save for a huge straight six from Holden boundaries were scarce in a third-wicket stand of 62 ended by Vince who trapped Eskinazi lbw for 42.Topley then returned to the attack to have Holden caught behind for 38 just as the hosts were attempting to accelerate.
Overseas player Hilton Cartwright and wicketkeeper John Simpson attempted another rebuild before the former had his furniture rearranged by former Middlesex man Gareth Berg.And when Simpson lofted Mason Crane into Topley’s clutches at mid-off just three overs later Middlesex were 158 for 6.A few lusty blows from Tom Helm got Middlesex to the brink of 200, but Topley bowled him to complete his four-wicket haul.In reply, Rilee Roussow was caught behind to a reckless swipe off Finn, who also had Alsop caught by Eskinazi at short cover.But with Joe Weatherley providing solid support for the free-flowing Vince the visitors were seemingly cantering inexorably towards victory with even the competition’s leading wicket taker Ravi Patel – back on his old schoolground – unable to unsettle them.Vince’s 50 came in 64 balls, but with his team in cruise control the England man needlessly took on mid-on fielder James Franklin who promptly ran him out.When Weatherley holed out to Finn at mid-off from the bowling of Sowter six balls later, Middlesex briefly had hope.Sowter had Bradley Taylor caught behind for 11 to crank up the tension, but Jimmy Adams and Lewis McManus’ 60-run stand eased Hampshire home with 26 balls to spare.

Dan Christian’s 37-ball hundred was the second quickest in England and the seventh fastest of all time as Notts Outlaws ruled the roost at Wantage Road

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2018
ScorecardDan Christian struck the one of the fastest hundreds in the history of T20 to get Nottinghamshire off the mark at the second attempt in the Vitality Blast with a 58-run win at Northamptonshire.Christian’s 37-ball century with seven fours and eight sixes was the joint-seventh fastest in the history of the format and the second-fastest in the domestic game. It was Christian’s second T20 hundred and the third T20 hundred by a Notts batsman.His brutal hitting saw Notts rack up 219 for 6 – equalling the highest T20 total at Wantage Road only set on Wednesday – and despite Ben Duckett’s 88 from 45 balls, Northants were bowled out for 161.Northants’ captain Alex Wakely said: “I was pretty proud of the response after our defeat in the first game. We were a bit of a shambles on Wednesday but we were on the ball today and put them under early pressure before one bloke came out and played a pretty special knock.”Christian arrived at the crease with Notts 81 for 4 in the 10th over having been sent in and set about dismantling the Northants bowling with some of the cleanest hitting seen at Northampton. He struck three consecutive sixes off Graeme White’s left-arm spin – over deep midwicket, long-off and then a huge strike a long way back over long-on.

Download our T20 Blast Podcast

Dan Norcross and Jarrod Kimber preview the Vitality T20 Blast 2018
Listen on ESPN Radio
Subscribe on iTunes

He saved his biggest strike for Nathan Buck who was hammered over his head and onto the roof of the Ken Turner Stand among an over that cost 28 before the final over of the innings, bowled by Rory Kleinveldt, disappeared for 22 with two more Christian sixes. 80 runs came from the final five overs.Christian’s partnership with Samit Patel added 97 runs in 45 balls to take Notts to a total beyond their ambitions at the half-way stage. Patel skipped down to lift White over long-on and heaved him through midwicket for four in his 35 in 26 balls.Northants had removed their usual tormentor, Riki Wessels, for just 6 – bowled trying to pull Ben Sanderson – and also picked up Tom Moores for 15 and Steven Mullaney for 21 in a Powerplay that yielded 50 for 3 but Christian’s brilliance from there effectively won the game.Duckett kept Northants in the game for the first half of the chase, by flashing past fifty in only 17 balls. He took 30 from the third over, bowled by Samit Patel with a succession of sweeps. Three consecutive sixes preceded three consecutive fours. He swung Mullaney into the sight-screen at the Wilson End but trying to hit the same bowler over the off side, top-edged to Paul Coughlin who claimed a fine catch on his Notts debut.But Duckett was the only batsman to show for Northants who lost Richard Levi to a leg-side strange for just 3 and Josh Cobb caught at deep-midwicket for only 6. The chase suffered a huge blow when Alex Wakely was sent back by Duckett trying to come back for a second run and was run out for 11 after a diving save on the boundary by Will Fraine.After Duckett’s dismissal, Northants subsided and when Harry Gurney took out Buck’s leg-stump, victory was completed by a handsome margin to get the defending champions underway for 2018.

A career-best haul from Somerset’s England spinner saw Essex beaten by 45 runs in a close encounter at Taunton

Matt Roller at Taunton22-Aug-2018
ScorecardJack Leach looked every bit an England player as he bowled unchanged from the River End for the entirety of the final day at Taunton, 32 overs in all, for career-best figures of 8 for 85. He beat the bat time after time; his voice must have waned after going up for appeal after appeal. He was Somerset’s match-winner, and he had a bullish air about him.It seemed a far cry from the analysis of Chris Rogers, Somerset’s then captain, who suggested in 2016 that “emotionally he still has a bit of a way to go” when asked about Leach’s England prospects. “He is still a young guy, he has only ever been in Somerset and the challenges in international cricket are a lot more difficult,” Rogers said. “If they pick him then good luck to him but they’d better look after him.”Then, resembling a follicly challenged IT technician, Leach would celebrate his wickets as though he had surprised even himself by getting a Championship batsman out. He was a superb county spinner, no doubt, but it was hard to imagine him being anything more.”Looking back,” Leach has said of Rogers’ comments, “he was spot on”.Two of his wickets in Somerset’s hard-fought victory over Essex stuck out as crucial. On the stroke of lunch, after accounting for the dogged Nick Browne earlier in the morning, his arm ball shot through Dan Lawrence’s defences to knock back off stump. Leach celebrated with a roar, but with only 111 needed and six wickets in hand, Essex were still in pole position.Then, after the interval, he beat Ryan ten Doeschate once, twice, and a third time for good measure, but could not end his resistance. The Essex captain raised his bat for a second fifty of the game, and he looked primed for a match-winning contribution. Instead, Leach straightened one past his outside edge and into the stumps, and Somerset were halfway there.Ravi Bopara was the next to go, bowled chopping a wide one on to his off stump, before Adam Wheater, Peter Siddle, and Jamie Porter followed. Leach had eight, and the best figures in Division One this season.Things do not tend to come easily for Leach. After his remarkable form in the 2016 run-in, his action came under scrutiny at Loughborough, and he spent the winter undergoing remedial work. After impressing on Test debut in New Zealand, he missed out this summer by breaking his thumb the day before Ed Smith’s first squad was announced. After being told he needed bowl more overs to press his case for the India series, he suffered a concussion against Surrey, ruling him out of Somerset’s next game.He has admitted he found his non-selection for the ongoing India series tough, though his involvement on the winter tour of Sri Lanka looks increasingly likely.”He’s a world-class bowler in my opinion,” said Tom Abell, the man now captaining Leach at Somerset, “it’s so exciting what the future holds for him. We all know how good he is, and hopefully he’s now seeing how good he can be as well.”While it may be assumed from afar that the pitch turned square for Leach, as this Taunton track has tended to over the past few seasons, that was not the case. It was firm and dry, but flattened out as the game wore on.That much was evidenced by Dom Bess, who had a tougher time of it. He bowled flatter, without Leach’s unerring accuracy, and to defensive fields.His day was best summed up by a moment in the field during Josh Davey’s first over with the new ball. Bopara – who came out to bat despite being ill with shingles – had scratched around for 16 deliveries. Still itching to get off the mark, Bopara took a couple of strides down the wicket as the ball rolled to Bess at point. Bess aimed at the stumps, but his wild throw missed by some way, and a misfield backing up meant it ran away for four.Bess lay prone on the ground, surely feeling that this would be neither his nor Somerset’s day. Instead, it was unequivocally Leach’s.