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If Warwickshire, or more realistically Sussex, do end up missing out on the Championship title by a handful of points, they may well reflect on this match as the defining moment of their campaign

George Dobell at Edgbaston31-Aug-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Rory Hamilton-Brown scored an attacking half-century but the game petered out•Getty Images

If Warwickshire, or more realistically Sussex, do end up missing out on the Championship title by a handful of points, they may well reflect on this match as the defining moment of their campaign.In a situation described as “farcical” by Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Dougie Brown, this match ended with third-rate bowlers bowling to tail-end batsmen as the sides could not agree a fair fourth-innings target. It was the sort of day that gives county cricket a bad name.Who you blame probably depends on which team you support. Warwickshire supporters were upset that Sussex failed to declare, but Sussex supporters could claim, quite reasonably, that on such a flat wicket, with such a short boundary and without a credible spin threat, such a scenario would have left them on a hiding to nothing. And Warwickshire could have engineered a target by serving up some ‘declaration bowling’. They declined to do so.Besides, this result is not quite the end of Sussex’s Championship hopes. With three games left, they trail the leaders, Yorkshire, by 29 points. Crucially, all three of their remaining games are against the top two sides; two against Durham and one against Yorkshire. By drawing this game, they feel they have all but ended Warwickshire’s hopes – they are 46 points off the top of the table – and left “a three-horse race” for the title in the words of their cricket manager, Mark Robinson.Still, the manner in which the game ebbed out its life left a sour taste in several mouths. Warwickshire utilised nine bowlers as their aim turned more to saving energy for games to come and, while Ian Westwood’s first first-class wicket since 2009 clearly gave him considerable joy, it was not shared by the glum spectators who stayed in the hope that a run chase simply had to come sooner or later.”We did approach the subject,” Brown said. “But Sussex weren’t interested at all. It’s quite surprising, really. If we’d been in that position, I’d like to think we would have tried to win. Even if they had set us 260 in 40 overs we would have had a go.”Robinson countered: “It wasn’t a wicket that was good for cricket. It was slow, there was a 45-yard [actually 49] boundary and we have a young spinner, so it would have been very hard to set a declaration. Early chats between the teams didn’t go well and it seemed anything we agreed would be a bit one-sided.”Robinson also accepted that Sussex had squandered their chances to win the game on the first couple of days. “We went from 156-1 to 311 all out,” he said. “And then we dropped Laurie Evans before he had 50. We missed opportunities and we didn’t back up our seamers, who were exceptional.”We’re outsiders for the title now, but it’s a three-horse race now and, if Warwickshire had won, it would have been a four-horse race.”This was a scenario that also raised new questions about the return of the heavy roller in Championship cricket. Combined with the dry summer, the use of the heavy roller – banned from the start of games for the last three seasons before this – has taken much of the life out of pitches. While the logic for its return – that international cricket is played on flat tracks – is sound, pitches as slow as this serve little purpose for anything. Both Brown and Robinson mentioned as much in their post-game conversations.There were still some admirable performances here. Rory Hamilton-Brown, who may well not have played had Luke Wright been available, provided a welcome reminder of his undoubted talent with a selfless half-century that appeared to preface a declaration and Jeetan Patel passed 50 Championship wickets in the season to underline his value to Warwickshire. Brown described him as “one of the best offspinners in the world at the moment” afterwards.Both teams have some tricky challenges ahead. While Warwickshire hope that Chris Woakes and Rikki Clarke may be fit to return for the game at Trent Bridge, the news on their captain, Jim Troughton, is far less encouraging. There are even whispers that his back injury may threaten his future in the game.Of more immediate concern is who will keep wicket next week. With Tim Ambrose having sustained not just a fractured thumb while batting but broken a finger while keeping, there is no way he can play in the game starting in Nottingham on Tuesday. But his replacement, Peter McKay, also has a broken finger and the window in which loan players can be brought in has now closed. Ben Scott and Jon Batty were considered in such a predicament earlier in the season.Sussex also have concerns. They will be without Ed Joyce, Matt Machan and Chris Jordan – all on international duty – for their next game, as well as Wright.Looking further ahead, they also need to decide who to bring in for next season. While Steve Magoffin has been exceptional, he does not feature in white-ball cricket, leaving the club to decide whether to look for a limited-overs replacement for next season. They will also look to bring in a spinner, with Robin Peterson among the Kolpak options and, perhaps, Gary Keedy (from Surrey) or Stephen Parry (from Lancashire) two possibilities.”Warwickshire have the best squad we’ve played against,” Robinson said. “They’ve been hit by call-ups, but they are still a tough, resilient side. And for us, this is life after Monty Panesar. He would have been helpful on this pitch. But he’s not here. We’ll be looking to bring in a finger spinner before next season.”So we’re outsiders for the title. But if someone had offered us this position in February – one of three teams in with a chance with a few weeks to go – we’d have bitten their hands off.”

David Warner called for continuity in Australia’s Test batting line-up during the forthcoming Ashes series, after the unsettling changes swung in England by the new coach Darren Lehmann and the captain Michael Clarke

Daniel Brettig25-Sep-2013As he set aside last year’s acrimonious exit to return to the Sydney Thunder franchise, David Warner called for continuity in Australia’s Test batting line-up during the forthcoming Ashes series, after the unsettling changes swung in England by the new coach Darren Lehmann and the captain Michael Clarke.While England maintained the same top six until the series was won, Lehmann preferred a constant shuffle that seemed only to rest on a productive combination in the fifth Test at the Oval after all other avenues had been exhausted. Warner was tried as a middle-order batsman before returning to the top alongside Chris Rogers, and said he was hoping for a clear path forward in the home series.”You just want some clarity,” Warner told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a word that’s been popping up the last 12 months with us in the Australian team, and I think now they’ve found the right combination. I thoroughly enjoyed batting with Chris out there, he’s a quiet guy, he kept me going. If I played a false shot he didn’t come down and say, ‘Don’t play that’. It was more like, ‘Alright mate, next one, wait for the right one’ and we’d feed off each other very well.”Darren’s the new coach, and he knows how we all play, but under different situations of the game and scenarios it gave him an insight about where you can bat and how well you can bat. So it’s good for him to see what our batsmen can do and our bowlers, and hopefully they’ve got everything set in stone come the first Test.”Warner referred to the hype around the visit to England as something of a distraction, quite apart from the misadventures in Birmingham – labelled “despicable” by the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland – that cost him his place until the third match in Manchester. While quipping he was glad to see Joe Root making the tour, Warner acknowledged the height of England’s chosen pace battery as an area requiring preparation.”Leading into this Ashes series hopefully the hype’s not as big as it was in England, because we know we just lost the key moments,” he said. “We know that over here, we’ll be right on top of those key moments. Hard wickets, home advantage, they’re not going to be as slow as they were over there, and with our bowlers being fresh going into that first Test, I’m pretty sure we’ll be ready to go.”They’ve got some tall bowlers and some bounce there definitely. They’ll use it to their advantage. We’ve just got to go to our training sessions. For the last 12 months, a lot of us have been training with a guy standing on a big board and getting throw downs. We’ve got some tall fast bowlers as well, which get up around the ears and you’ve got to play it how it is. We’re not scared at all.”The sight of Warner again modelling a Thunder shirt at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium was not a possibility many would have predicted a year ago, when he quit the Big Bash League team after falling out with the general manager John Dyson. Warner’s reservations about the organisation of the team were to be backed up at summer’s end, when the team’s poor performance and questionable administration resulted in a complete overhaul by CA and Cricket New South Wales.Dyson has been replaced by Nick Cummins, a widely experienced corporate operative, while the team’s highest profile signing is no longer the flashy Chris Gayle but the consummate team man, Michael Hussey. “Obviously there were a bit of personal issues with me and John, nothing to do with the coaching staff,” Warner admitted. “But that’s how it is and now we look forward to this season. I always said I was going to come back to the guys here, so I’m looking forward to the challenge again.”Led by Huss, the guys who aspire to play at the top level and get that baggy green, he’s one guy who you can just look up to, the way he trains and goes about things, his character’s going to be fantastic for the guys in that team. I know when I was first here guys were rocking up late to training, just doing little hits here and there and not progressing. I know with Huss and his work ethic and experience, he’s going to lead by example.”

A sixth Test hundred from Joe Root helped England to a position of increasing dominance in Grenada, as they wore down West Indies during an extended day in the field

The Report by Alan Gardner23-Apr-2015
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:20

Dobell: Root’s run of form continues

A sixth Test hundred from Joe Root helped England to a position of increasing dominance in Grenada, as they wore down West Indies during an extended day in the field. Almost 50 overs were lost from the match over the first two days but with cloud cover and swinging conditions replaced by unbroken sunshine and a flat, if slow, surface, England were approaching a position from where they could bat once and then push for victory.England’s old guard had set the tone at the start of the day, then left it to two of the youth corps to press home their advantage. Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott both recorded fifties during a century opening stand – England’s first since 2013 – and although Cook fell short of reaching three figures himself, another strong showing from Root and Gary Ballance in the middle order helped England to a 74-run lead at the close.Going back to last summer, Root has now made six consecutive 50-plus scores, equalling England’s Test record. Cook is one of four other batsmen to have achieved the same feat, along with Patsy Hendren, Ken Barrington and Ted Dexter – no one has more than seven in a row.Increasingly, Root is the bundle of energy, the dog chasing a piece of silver paper, who sets the tempo for England in the middle order. In partnership with his Yorkshire team-mate Ballance, he helped add 165 for the fourth wicket in little over 40 overs, taking the game away from West Indies with every impish stolen single, not to mention the odd blow for six. Since being dropped for the final Ashes Test in Sydney last year, he has scored more than 1000 runs at an average of 103.70.Devendra Bishoo wheeled away, bowling 22 overs in succession and doing a much better job of keeping things tight than Sulieman Benn in Antigua, but when he returned in the evening session, his first over was taken for 16 by Root and Ballance. Bishoo did claim his first Test wicket since in 2012, removing Trott with a hard-spun legbreak, and then picked up Ben Stokes, caught on the boundary in pursuit of quick runs late in the day, but figures of 2 for 124 spoke of West Indies’ toil.Ian Bell was the only member of the top five not to pass 50, although West Indies did hit back to take 3 for 35 in the final session. Moeen Ali made his first Test duck when running himself out after calling Root for a single that wasn’t there, while Stokes also fell for a single-figure score – and got a salute from Marlon Samuels to send him on his way.This match may be taking place on the Spice Island but there was something reassuringly bland about England’s approach in the first session. With play starting 15 minutes early, 34 overs were possible and 69 runs were scored. Cook and Trott, then Cook and Ballance were content to accumulate balls faced, in the knowledge that laying a strong foundation was the most important task.Joe Root past 50 for the sixth consecutive innings on the way to his hundred•Getty Images

England’s second fifty had taken Cook and Trott 145 balls, as they methodically re-scratched their groove from the previous evening; the fifth and sixth, with Root and Ballance in full flow, came off 61 and 65 respectively. At one point, Denesh Ramdin delayed taking the new ball and called upon Jermaine Blackwood’s part-time offspin – his single over disappeared for 14. England added 120 during the evening and will begin with Jos Buttler at the crease alongside Root on Friday.The sight of Cook and Trott batting together was something England once took for granted. The two have scored almost 2700 Test runs in partnership, their successes redolent of England’s march to No. 1 in the Test rankings between 2009 and 2011. This was the 10th time they had racked up a century stand together and the first since the Headingley Test against New Zealand in 2013.It was also England’s first century partnership at the top of the innings since Cook and Nick Compton put on 231 in Dunedin in March 2013. Trott’s half-century was a poignant milestone. His previous Test fifty came at The Oval during the 2013 Ashes; many thought the following Test, in Brisbane, would be his last after he left that tour, burned out and uncertain of his professional future.Cook has also had his struggles over the last two years but he was creeping to within sight of a 26th Test hundred when Shannon Gabriel struck for the first of two wickets in seven balls. On a slow pitch, cross-batted strokes can be perilous and, cramped for room, Cook only succeeded in cutting the ball on to his stumps. Bell fell in almost identical fashion in Gabriel’s next over, this time off stump removed from the ground. On St George’s Day, it was a warning: here be drag-ons.Trott’s had been the only wicket to fall during the morning session, though he had acquitted himself during a spell of short-pitched bowling from Gabriel that topped 94mph. West Indies were without their best bowler, Jerome Taylor, and conditions were benign but the 125-run association between Cook and Trott was a bit like seeing the old gang back together. Then came Root and Ballance and another prolific double-act with plenty of time to run.

Chris Rogers, the Australia opener, has confirmed he is set to retire after the Ashes in England this summer

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2015Chris Rogers, the Australia opener, has confirmed he is set to retire after the Ashes in England this summer. Rogers said finishing his international career in the country where he had played a lot of county cricket would be a fitting end.”I’m very happy, I’ve been pretty fortunate to have this second go at it and have loved every moment of it, but time calls on everyone and I think it’s nearly up for me,” he told Fox Sports. “I think to go out in the Ashes and in England where I’ve played a lot of cricket is pretty fitting.”Rogers, 37, had indicated in November, when he was selected for the home series against India, that the Ashes would be his finishing line. Before the Ashes, however, Rogers will travel with the Australian squad to the Caribbean for two Tests against West Indies in June.He has played 20 Tests for Australia in a career than began in 2008, scoring 1535 runs with four hundreds at an average of 39. He’s played 289 first-class matches for various state sides in Australia and counties in England, making 23,796 at an average of 50.

Saeed Ajmal’s three wickets at Chester-Le-Street against T20 North Group leaders Durham led Worcestershire’s captain Daryl Mitchell to proclaim: “The wizard is back”

ECB/PA12-Jun-2015
Scorecard15:37

Dan Norcross and Mark Butcher discuss the latest happenings in the NatWest Blast

Saeed Ajmal pulled off perhaps his most encouraging bowling display since the ruling that his action was illegal threatened to end his career as Durham Jets, seemingly well placed for victory, found their lead disappearing in the NatWest T20 Blast North Division.It looked as though Durham would make light work of their target of 160, but the early dismissal of Mark Stoneman and a middle order collapse ensured that Worcestershire Rapids’ 159-5 was sufficient to take the points, Durham losing by three runs.Ajmal, who returned 3 for 16, was the most successful bowler on view, including the Durham captain Phil Mustard among his wickets before stifling the tail in a manner that left Mustard boiling with frustration.Warwickshire have drawn level with Durham at the top of North Group, and they have three games in hand – a position similar to many in the chasing pack.Daryl Mitchell, Durham’s captain, said: “Credit to the lads to show some spirit to fight back, helped by a little bit of magic from Saeed Ajmal. The wizard is back and that was a fantastic spell from him.”

Insights

The start of each of Saeed Ajmal’s three spells slowed Durham as they looked to be chasing comfortably. Stoneman took a six and three consecutive boundaries off four balls from Ed Barnard immediately prior to Ajmal’s initial introduction. The Pakistani served up a maiden to Mustard and the wind was taken from Stoneman’s sails as he fell to Shantry immediately after.
After a seven over break, Ajmal returned and immediately dismissed the settled Mustard before deceiving Pringle later in the over. Four overs later and Ajmal was back again, leaving Durham with a near impossible task by dismissing Usman Arshad. Well managed by Mitchell, brilliantly executed by Ajmal. – Will Macpherson

Mustard said: “It’s a very disappointing result. We were in pole position. We needed 54 with seven wickets in hand and for a team of our stature we should never get beat from that position. We should have never taken it down to the last two overs – that’s the biggest disappointment in the dressing room.”Ajmal returned to begin his third spell for Worcestershire against Northants the previous week, without success, but, having remodelled his action, faces the challenge of regaining his potency as many pundits believe that his Pakistan career is over.Worcestershire remain adamant that his career is far from spent and he can conjure up reminders of his success of last season when he helped them to promotion in the Championship as well as the Blast quarter-finals.Winning the toss, the Rapids’ innings was held together by Mitchell, who led the way for the visitors with 56 from 49 balls, while Tom Kohler-Cadmore carried his bat for 53.England all-rounder Moeen Ali opened up for Worcestershire and looked in good nick until being caught by Keaton Jennings at the legside boundary in the sixth over off Chris Rushworth. Ali’s innings included three fours and a six, after he had survived an appeal for lbw in the first over. Richie Oliver followed Ali in the seventh over, caught behind at short third man by Rushworth off Paul Collingwood’s fifth ball.Saeed Ajmal passed the test – this time on the field•AFP

But Worcestershire settled down with the introduction of Kohler-Cadmore, alongside Mitchell the partnership yielded 76 for the third wicket, easing to 74 for 2 at the halfway mark.However, Durham tightened up and Mitchell was dismissed in the 17th over courtesy of Usman Arshad, Calum MacLeod taking the catch, before the Durham bowler trapped Ross Whiteley in the same over for a duck.Colin Munro was let down heavily by Kohler-Cadmore after his partner dropped his bat in between the wickets in allowing the batsman to be run out in the 19th, before Kohler-Cadmore brought up his 50 in the final over.Durham’s reply got off to a perfect start as Mark Stoneman eased the hosts to 40 without loss after three overs, notching up a magnificent 18 runs from one Ed Barnard over.But the Durham opener – after Ajmal bowled a maiden- was dismissed off the first ball of the fifth over off Jack Shantry when he toe-ended a lofty drive, caught at mid-off by Kohler-Cadmore.Mitchell proved to be a thorn in the hosts’ side with two wickets in two balls, dismissing MacLeod for 13 and sending Collingwood back to the dugouts for a duck as Durham progressed to 87 for 3 at the halfway mark.Phil Mustard gave Durham a fighting chance with his 43, which included two fours and two sixes, but was caught at long point in the 14th over after miscuing a reverse sweep.Ryan Pringle followed after he was stumped by Ben Cox after he came down the wicket from an Ajmal delivery but fluffed his lines as Durham teetered on 112 for 5.Hastings was run out for four in the 16th over before Ross Whiteley caught Usman Arshad at the boundary off Ajmal’s delivery in the 18th.Durham finally found the boundary from their last two balls courtesy of Gordon Muchall, but it was too little, too late as the hosts fell short.

A rapid 82 from Kieron Pollard was not enough to dig Barbados Tridents out of a hole from 14 for 3 as the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots held on for a one-run win

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCarlos Brathwaite’s late hitting proved crucial in the end•Caribbean Premier League

A rapid 82 from Kieron Pollard was not enough to dig Barbados Tridents out of a hole from 14 for 3 as St Kitts & Nevis Patriots held on for a one-run win at Kensington Oval. Needing three off the last ball, Navin Stewart managed only a single before Pollard was run out on the second run in a chase of 144 as Patriots edged Tridents for their first win.Pollard produced a fighting effort, with his score far and away the biggest contribution of the match from either side. Pollard started the final over on strike with his side needing 19 to win and proceeded to hit a four and six off the second and third balls of the over, bowled by Orlando Peters, breaking the equation down to nine off three balls. After a bouncer that sailed over the head was signaled a no ball, it became eight off three.A single off the fourth legal ball put Stewart on strike, who had yet to face a ball after entering one ball into the 19th over at the fall of Robin Peterson.Stewart sliced a four over short third man to bring his side within one stroke of an unlikely win. Peters bowled a shin-high full toss, but Stewart could only flick it straight to Sheldon Cottrell at deep square leg. Cottrell charged in and fired a throw to the striker’s end where Pollard was run out halfway down the pitch, coming back for a second that would have tied the game and sent it to a Super Over.Tridents would have prevailed had the third umpire given Pollard a four off the third ball of the penultimate over bowled by Sohail Tanvir. Pollard jammed a yorker towards the boundary and despite Shahid Afridi touching the ropes, it was only called two, leaving Tridents ruing.Patriots had been inserted after the start was delayed by rain. Peters proved crucial in the first innings as well, top-scoring with 27 at No.4. Patriots got off to a strong start on the back of Martin Guptill’s 23 off 15, finishing the power play at 41 for 1, but struggled for momentum thereafter as Tridents struck at regular intervals. Carlos Brathwaite then cracked an unbeaten 22 off 10 balls, including a four and six off the final two balls of the first innings, to give Patriots some late impetus.The visitors appeared to have made a costly error on the first ball of the third over of Tridents chase when Evin Lewis spilled Dwayne Smith at deep square leg on eight off the bowling of Cottrell. Tanvir took the first wicket when he removed Dilshan Munaweera in the fourth over for two while Cottrell dismissed Smith for 10 the next over.A ball later, Cottrell induced a leading edge off Jonathan Carter to make it three wickets in seven balls, reducing Tridents to 14 for 3 in five overs. Pollard and Malik came together to hit back with a 93-run stand spanning 12 overs to put Tridents in with a shot at victory. They were left needing 37 off three overs with six wickets in hand when Malik was stumped charging down the wicket to Afridi. In the end though, the early deficit was too big to dig out of.

Australia’s strong position in the Lord’s Test was overshadowed on the fourth morning by the worrying sight of Chris Rogers retiring hurt after an apparent dizzy spell as he stood at the non-striker’s end

Daniel Brettig at Lord's19-Jul-2015Australia’s strong position in the Investec Test at Lord’s was overshadowed on the fourth morning by the worrying sight of Chris Rogers retiring hurt after an apparent dizzy spell as he stood at the non-striker’s end.Rogers had added five runs to his overnight score to reach 49 not out, and then watched David Warner play out a maiden from Mark Wood in the second over of the day. At the completion of the over he kneeled down in the middle and expressed his distress.Warner was quickly at Rogers’ side, before the Australian team doctor Peter Brukner and the physio Alex Kountouris ran onto the ground. After a few minutes’ consultation Rogers was helped from the field and the No. 3 batsman Steven Smith walked out in his place.It was an unsettling sight, given that Rogers had been struck in the helmet during his first innings of 173. The blow on the second morning had caused a cut above his right ear, though Rogers continued to bat after treatment.A Cricket Australia spokesperson said Rogers suffered a dizzy spell on the ground and was being monitored in the Australian dressing room. He had not left the ground, nor gone to hospital.Earlier on Australia’s overseas double tour of England and the West Indies, Rogers had been struck in the helmet by the Dominican net bowler Anderson Burton and missed the two Caribbean Tests due to concussion.He was also struck in the helmet last summer while fielding at short leg against India in Brisbane, a hit that Rogers admitted had briefly caused him to consider his future.Cricket Australia has introduced more rigorous procedures for dealing with concussion for the summer of 2015-16, adopting the sorts of policies used in the AFL and NRL competitions in Australia.The new policy states in part: “Under the concussion policy a player who shows symptoms of concussion is obliged to leave the field for a full concussion assessment by the most qualified medical officer present. If an assessment of concussion is suspected the player must leave the field for a full concussion test and can’t return until they are cleared by a medical officer.”Rogers had to this point enjoyed his final Lord’s Test, and had spoken widely of his plans to end his international career at the conclusion of this tour.

Samit Patel picked up four wickets to help Nottinghamshire into the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup after defeating Durham by 49 runs on DLS

ECB/PA25-Aug-2015
ScorecardAlex Hales reached his half-century off 46 balls before the rain came•Getty Images

Samit Patel picked up four wickets for the second day running to help Nottinghamshire into the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup after defeating Durham by 49 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.Patel, who helped spin his county to a Championship success over Warwickshire a day earlier, produced figures of 4 for 11 to end Durham’s reign as domestic one-day cup holders. The visitors had been set a target of 194 but they lost their way once pace had been taken from the ball and were bowled out for just 144 in 21.2 overs.Earlier in the day Notts had reached 94 for 1 in 17.2 overs, after being put in, before deteriorating conditions forced the players from the field. After a stoppage of almost five hours, the contest was then reduced to 24 overs per side. The home team managed to advance their innings to 170 for 4, with Alex Hales making 62 and Dan Christian blasting an unbeaten 48.

Semi-final draw

Nottinghamshire v Surrey or Kent
Essex or Yorkshire v Gloucestershire or Hampshire

Hales and Riki Wessels gave the Outlaws a perfect platform as they posted 55 for the first wicket, making the best of any width offered by Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth.The introduction of John Hastings into the attack accounted for Wessels, who pulled the Australian straight into the hands of Scott Borthwick at short midwicket for 25.Dan Christian, promoted to No. 3 in the order, punched Onions down the ground for four from his first delivery and repeated the dose two overs later. Hales moved to his fifty in spectacular style, slog-sweeping Borthwick for the first maximum of the match, with his half-century coming from 46 deliveries, seven of which were struck for fours.When play resumed after the rain interruption Hales hit another six before holing out to Ryan Pringle at deep midwicket. James Taylor wasted little time in finding his range, striking Borthwick for three consecutive sixes on his way to 29 from just 15 balls. Taylor fell in the final over of the innings and was followed back to the pavilion by Patel, who hit the last delivery into the hands of Rushworth at third man.Mark Stoneman and Phil Mustard gave the northeast county a flying start to their reply by putting on 63, but the contest swung back again when three wickets fell in six deliveries. Christian enticed Stoneman to hit to midwicket for 36 and then Steven Mullaney picked up two wickets in his first over. Mustard lofted to long-on for 24 and then Paul Collingwood drilled his first delivery straight back into the waiting hands of the bowler.Calum MacLeod and Graham Clark shared in a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket but Durham collapsed dramatically as the required run rate soared. Patel’s introduction saw off both players and he then removed Hastings and Pringle in quick succession, having also caught Gordon Muchall off Mullaney’s bowling.Rushworth was run out and Onions had his stumps knocked over by Jake Ball as Durham’s reign came to an end. Notts progress to the last four, where an away trip to the winners of the Surrey versus Kent quarter-final awaits them.

Alastair Cook has dropped a strong hint that Moeen Ali will open the batting alongside him during England’s Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-20151:35

Cook suggests openers could change after UAE

Alastair Cook has dropped a strong hint that Moeen Ali will open the batting alongside him during England’s Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month, with Alex Hales set to front up for the tour of South Africa in December and January.Moeen and Hales are competing for the vacancy created by Adam Lyth’s failure to cement the role during the Ashes, in which he scored 115 runs at 12.77 in the course of the five-Test series.Moeen, who has been picked primarily as a spinner throughout the summer, is being considered for a promotion on the slower surfaces of the UAE, partly in order to make extra room to include an extra slow bowler.Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire legspinner, could make his Test debut against Pakistan, although Samit Patel, a renowned player of spin, is also considered a strong option, having been belatedly added to the squad following a thumb injury to Surrey’s Zafar Ansari.”The conditions are quite unique and I think we have to cover our bases quite a bit,” Cook told Sky Sports News. “We might have to do a short-term option; it might be that Mo opens the batting in this series and doesn’t open in South Africa, or Alex takes his chance in the warm-up game and we go with that balance of the side.”We have options, we’ve got to be pretty clear early on in the tour what we’re going to do. We have got our ideas but we haven’t chatted with the lads.”Moeen, who has batted at No. 8 since the Lord’s Test against New Zealand in May, admitted he would love the chance to open alongside Cook, a role he has performed with some success in one-day cricket.”I’m pretty happy wherever,” he said. “I’d love to open in the UAE if I got the opportunity, but I’m happy at eight. If the captain and the coach wanted me to open I’d be happy to do that.”Whoever gets the job will become Cook’s seventh opening partner in three years, since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, following on from Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott and Lyth.”It’s a little bit frustrating,” said Cook. “The guys all had a really good taste of it and all did okay without anyone grabbing it and making it their own, and that’s the chance for whoever gets it next.”It’s a big step from county cricket to international cricket and opening the batting as well, you’re playing against the best bowlers with the new ball. It’s a pretty tough job. No one has quite nailed their opportunity.”

Geraint Jones, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning wicketkeeper, has backed Jos Buttler for a swift return to form in next week’s first Test against Pakistan

Andrew Miller02-Oct-20152:09

‘Buttler will come back stronger’ – Jones

Geraint Jones, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning wicketkeeper, has backed Jos Buttler for a swift return to form in the first Test against Pakistan, following his much-needed break during the recent ODIs against Australia.Buttler is expected to make his return to the fold in England’s opening warm-up game against Pakistan A in Sharjah on Monday, having handed the gloves over to Jonny Bairstow following a third-ball duck in the second ODI against Australia at Lord’s in September.Buttler, like Jones a decade ago, has been England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in all three formats since taking over from the previous Test incumbent, Matt Prior, during the 2014 home series against India.He started the triple role brightly, with scores of 85 and 70 in his first two Test innings at the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford, and is also the scorer of England’s two fastest centuries in one-day cricket – an astonishing 61-ball onslaught against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in 2014, and a no-less-remarkable 66-ball effort against New Zealand at Edgbaston in June, in which England passed 400 for the first time in an ODI.However, the burden of being on constant duty appeared to have taken its toll during the Ashes, in which Buttler made 122 runs at 15.25, with a top score of 42 coming in the fifth and final Test at The Oval.Until his break, Buttler had missed just two of England’s 45 matches since his Test debut in July 2014, both through injury. Only Joe Root, who was also rested during the Australia ODIs, had made more appearances in that time and Jones warned that the pressures on modern-day wicketkeepers were so intense that careful management would be needed in the future.Jos Buttler will return for England in the UAE after a break during the one-day series with Australia•Getty Images

“Don’t underestimate how taxing it is being a wicketkeeper in all three forms,” Jones told ESPNcricinfo. “The pressure when he goes out there, the expectation to hit the ball to all parts. He’s such a fantastic player, the public want to see all the shots he can play and he’ll want to do that himself.”It’s good that he got a rest towards the back-end of the summer because, without doubt, he’s the best we’ve got, and will be for the foreseeable future. I can see him playing for as long as he wants.”Jones, who retired from professional cricket last month following his starring role in Gloucestershire’s Royal London Cup final victory over Surrey at Lord’s, endured incessant scrutiny in the course of his 34-Test career, not least because his opposite number in Australia’s ranks, Adam Gilchrist, broke the mould for modern-day wicketkeepers with his flawless glovework and aggressive, counterattacking strokeplay.”Everyone blames Gilchrist but blaming is the wrong word,” Jones said. “He moved the game forward like you wouldn’t believe and now it’s the standard you have to get to. Your keeping has to be impeccable and you have to score regular hundreds, and the game can only be good for that.”That’s where Jos fits in so well because he can do both fantastically well. Batting at six and seven is such a crucial role because of your weight of runs. It means getting sides to a good total or getting them out of a bit of trouble.”Having succumbed to the offspin of Nathan Lyon on four occasions during the Ashes, Buttler knows his technique will be challenged on the slow, spin-friendly surfaces of the UAE. Jones, however, believes his talent will shine through in the end.”It’s been a tough summer but that’s part of international cricket,” Jones said. “But he’ll be better for it and, going forward, I expect him to play really well and contribute strongly.”