Tag Futebol

Kyle Jamieson, meanwhile, reckons Pakistan have a ‘par’ total on a pitch made for quick runs and quick wickets

Umar Farooq03-Jan-2021Azhar Ali believes Pakistan’s first-innings total of 297 is “decent and enough to build on”, given the grass cover on the pitch at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. That said, he felt there were runs to be had on the surface provided the batsmen stayed focused throughout, and left balls on length.Azhar fell seven short of scoring his 18th Test hundred, after anchoring two vital partnerships that revived Pakistan after they had stumbled to 83 for 4 shortly before lunch. First he added 88 with Mohammad Rizwan, who counterattacked with a brisk 61 off 71 balls, and then another 56 for the sixth wicket with Faheem Ashraf.Pakistan scored quickly throughout their innings, particularly in the post-lunch session when they made 130 runs at 4.33 per over.”I knew that the first couple of hours will be tough and obviously when you see this much grass on the pitch you have to focus for a longer time,” Azhar said at the end of the day’s play. “We were positive, especially when the ball is in your zone you must score off it, on these kind of wickets, because you’re going to get one good ball at some stage. You have seen the run rate was good so it’s a good enough pitch to score runs but obviously in between you need to leave on length, which was the key in my batting.”If you look at the pitch it’s a decent total, especially batting first. It’s been tough all day so we feel we have enough runs on the board and we can build on it tomorrow.”Kyle Jamieson was New Zealand’s most threatening bowler on the day, picking up his third five-wicket haul in just his sixth Test match. He had the top order reeling with a spell of 8-3-26-3 before lunch, and ended the innings with figures of 5 for 69 in 21 overs. He looked unplayable at times, especially when he dismissed Fawad Alam with a short ball that came back into the left-hander and reared towards his head.Azhar faced 37 balls from the 6’8″ Jamieson, scoring 26 runs including five fours.”The guy is quite tall and hitting good lines and lengths and swinging the ball both ways, so it was fun and tough as well,” Azhar said of his contest with Jamieson. “With this height we obviously needed to consolidate as much as we can. But when the ball is there to hit and whenever we got the opportunity we did score boundaries as well. But it was a tough spell to negotiate and at the end of the spell Rizwan got out when he was hitting the ball quite nicely but as far as that partnership was concerned we were very happy, especially the way we scored the runs during that period, it was fantastic.”Kyle Jamieson dismissed Fawad Alam with an unplayable short ball•AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 58% of Pakistan’s runs came in boundaries. Jamieson, who conceded 12 of the 43 fours struck on the day, said there had been more scoring opportunities for the batsmen here than during the first Test in Mount Maunganui because the pitch here had demanded fuller lengths from the bowlers, and consequently afforded them a smaller margin for error.”It was frustrating,” Jamieson said of the Azhar-Rizwan partnership. “I guess the difference between Bay Oval and here is, our natural length at Bay Oval was back a little bit, so when your natural variation is slightly fuller or slightly wider they don’t score as quickly, whereas at grounds like this, when your length needs to be fuller, it does provide scoring opportunities. It kind of felt like we were beating the bat a lot and they were also scoring freely, and that’s a tough one to get your head around. That’s two of probably their best batters, and it was I guess a pivotal time to pull them back and get one of them back in the sheds.”Jamieson said the pitch at Hagley Oval, over recent seasons. has usually lent itself to matches moving at pace, both in terms of runs and wickets.”I still think it’s down to the lengths you need to bowl,” he said. “We’ve seen in games gone by here and certainly in domestic cricket as well, that when your length is fuller, it’s pretty hard to nail that every time, and your natural variation, which is just either side of that, it does provide scoring opportunities. Through my five or six years I had playing domestic cricket down here, I guess that was certainly the case, where guys scored quicker but things happened quicker from a bowling point of view as well.”Going into the second day, Jamieson agreed with Azhar’s assessment about Pakistan having a decent total, but was confident his side could handle the tests thrown at them by Pakistan’s bowlers.”I think it’s a good one,” he said about Pakistan’s total. “I think it’s it’s probably par. I think they played well but like we saw, it was still good enough to to score and it wasn’t impossible to bat. So, you know, there’ll be challenges, I guess, in terms of the ball moving and potentially with bounce and and sideways movement, but it’s nothing new than what our guys have seen for four years and years. It’s a reasonable total and I think how we start will be pretty important.”

Both sides initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton

Peter Della Penna07-Aug-2019A player protest at the Global T20 Canada on Wednesday delayed a second round match between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers by two hours. Both sides initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton and ESPNcricinfo understands it was a protest over unpaid wages.A press release from the organizers said, “The game between Montreal Tigers & Toronto Nationals on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019, was delayed due to procedural issues between the players, the GT20 league, and the franchise owners. All the stakeholders had a meeting and addressed the concerns.”TV coverage of the match made no mention of the protest. Global T20 Canada made a statement via their Twitter account at 12:40 pm local time, also making no mention of the protest. Instead, the account stated that the match had been “delayed due to technical reasons” and announced that it had been pushed back to a 2:30 pm local time start from the originally scheduled 12:30 pm and that it would remain a full 20-over contest. A source confirmed that team buses eventually left the hotel at 1 pm.The protest is also significant due to the involvement of Toronto Nationals, led by Yuvraj Singh. Toronto entered the day in fifth place on four points and needed a win in order to advance to the play-off stage so abandoning the match via protest would have ended their season. But they were apparently willing to take that risk in order to ensure their players were paid. League organizers had hosted a fundraiser on Monday night for his YouWeCan Foundation.ESPNcricinfo understands the protest is not limited to these two teams. Sources have said other squads have told team and league owners Bombay Sports Limited that they will refuse to take the field for the playoff stage beginning on Thursday if their unpaid wages have not been fulfilled.”We’re not gonna play until we get paid,” one player from another team, who asked not to be named, told ESPNcricinfo.According to the league’s contract structure provided by multiple sources, 10-15% of the players’ salaries was supposed to be paid before the start of the tournament while the next installment bringing the total to 75% was due by the end of the first round, which concluded on Sunday. However, sources state that the majority of players across all teams have not been paid any money.It is believed that a protest had been planned by Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks before Tuesday’s second round match before owners managed to facilitate a 45% payment to some, but not all, players. The match wound up being abandoned without a ball bowled due to a wet outfield.It’s the latest in a series of pay issues to have affected the tournament. A number of Canada players are reported to have been furious when their reserve prices were suddenly capped at US$7500 on the day of the draft without any explanation from organizers. Canada captain Davy Jacobs, who had set his initial reserve price at $25,000, was drafted by Edmonton Royals but withdrew on the eve of the tournament, posting a Facebook message to say he had decided to focus on his construction business instead.Sources have also told ESPNcricinfo that some player payments from the 2018 Global T20 Canada tournament are also outstanding. Specifically, some players who were named player of the match over the course of the season have not received their award payments.Bombay Sports Limited, the owners of the league, are also the organizers of the Euro T20 Slam, which is due to begin on August 30.

Zimbabwe Cricket has named two 15-man squads, including most of their national players, to feature in a three-team 20-over tournament, including Kenya

Firdose Moonda08-Jun-2018Zimbabwe Cricket has named two 15-man squads, including most of their national players, to feature in a three-team 20-over tournament, including Kenya, as part of the build-up to next month’s T20 triangular series. Zimbabwe are due to host Australia and Pakistan but player threats to strike over unpaid salaries have put the matches in doubt, though it now seems ZC is taking action to ensure the games go ahead.ZC has paid one month’s worth of salaries after the cricketers gave the board an ultimatum to pay all outstanding monies by June 25 or face a player boycott. At the time of their demand, players were owed three months of salaries and match fees from last July’s tour to Sri Lanka and it remains to be seen if the part-payment is enough to cancel their protest.Sources have confirmed that players are assembling in Harare over the next two days, and will consult with their lawyer Gerald Mlotchwa, to decide their next steps. The players have engaged the services of a lawyer in a bid to resurrect their player association, which ceased to exist since 2015. At the same time, Zimbabwe’s interim coach Lalchand Rajput is also expected to arrive in the country at the weekend and the practice matches have been planned in order to for Rajput to get a first look at the players at his disposal.Despite ZC sacking all the coaching staff following their failure to qualify for the World Cup, it has re-engaged with some of them. Former national bowling coach Douglas Hondo will coach one of the teams, Zimbabwe Select, in the warm-up T20 matches. The other team, a Board XI, will be coached by Shepherd Makunura, a former A-team coach. Anesu Mupotaringa and Stanley Chioza, who worked as physiotherapist and analyst respectively for the national team, are back in those roles.The tournament consists of ten matches, two per day, from Monday until June 18. “This is a training squad which will, eventually, be trimmed before the final squad for the T20I series is announced,” Walter Chawaguta, convener of national selectors said. “The tournament involving Kenya will effectively allow the new coach an opportunity to get a glimpse of the players in action.”Some players, notably former captain Graeme Cremer, allrounder Sikandar Raza and fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani have not been named in either of the two squads. Raza and Muzarabani are playing at clubs overseas but there was no reason given for Cremer’s omission.Zimbabwe Select: Donald Tiripano, Kevin Kasuza, Brian Chari, Christopher Mpofu, Sean Williams, Ernest Masuku, Tarisai Musakanda, Kyle Jarvis, Brendan Taylor, Ryan Burl, Rugare Magarira, Liam Roche, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai ChisoroBoard XI: Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura, Prince Masvaure, Peter Moor, Tendai Chatara, Richard Ngarava, Ryan Murray, Brandon Mavuta, John Nyumbu, Nyasha Mayavo, Mohammad Faraz Akram, Natsai M’shangwe

The injury in the match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday was the third injury to the same shoulder in less than two years

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2017Chris Lynn’s IPL campaign appears in serious doubt after the Queensland and Kolkata Knight Riders batsman suffered yet another shoulder injury when diving in the field against Mumbai Indians on Sunday night.In what is the third injury to the same shoulder in less than two years, Lynn clutched the joint in obvious pain after attempting to claim an outfield catch to dismiss Jos Buttler. He was attended to by Knight Riders’ physio Andrew Leipus and was later seen with an ice pack strapped to his shoulder. On Monday, the franchise said Lynn had undergone an MRI scan and the results were due in two days’ time.Following the match, Lynn tweeted “Dear Cricket Gods, did I do something wrong?”. He had appeared set for a major impact at the tournament, having opened with a startling innings of 93 not out against Gujarat Lions, followed by a rapid 32 when Knight Riders batted first against Mumbai.Andrew McShea, the Brisbane Heat general manager, said the Big Bash League club were seeking further information about the extent of the injury to Lynn, who turned 27 on Monday. “We’ll stay in close contact through this initial process as we get an idea of what the extent of the injury is and what the options are for him,” McShea said.”It’s unfortunate for Chris to sustain another injury to the shoulder that has troubled him in the past. It’s not the sort of birthday you would wish for, and the best wishes of the club and our fans go out to him.”During the Australian summer, Lynn was a standout player in the BBL and also made his ODI debut for Australia. However it was also a season blighted with injury, with speculation growing that he may soon choose to opt out of playing first-class cricket and purely pursue Twenty20 roles to lengthen his career.

The Madras High Court dismissed a petition from Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd challenging the Lodha Committee order to suspend IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings for two years

PTI20-Jan-2016The Madras High Court dismissed a petition from Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd challenging the Lodha Committee order to suspend IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings for two years.The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice PS Sivagnanam, who had reserved their order on the plea on December 14, dismissed it as not maintainable. The bench also dismissed a PIL filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging the suspension of Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on the same grounds.Both teams were barred from playing the next two editions of the IPL after a three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court and headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha found top officials from both teams having engaged in illegal betting. Super Kings’ Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were banned for life from any match conducted by the board.Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd had sought a stay on the committee’s order issued in September last year, contending the order was against fundamental principles of natural justice and a fair hearing.Opposing the petition, the BCCI had argued that Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd was not a legal entity and hence could not file the case. Senior counsel AL Somayaji submitted that CSK Cricket Limited was only a brand name of the franchise owned by India Cements Limited. He submitted that the franchise agreement was between BCCI and India Cements and that the latter had no right to assign or delegate ownership and even if it did should be done so with prior permission from the BCCI.He had argued that CSK Cricket Limited was not the aggrieved party and hence the liberty given by the Supreme Court that the aggrieved could approach the appropriate forum for remedy would not entitle it to file the present petition.

Scotland improved their chances of World Cup qualification by defeating Kenya on Duckworth-Lewis

The Report by Callum Stewart in Aberdeen03-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNeil Carter claimed three wickets on the first day to help restrict Kenya•ICC/Donald MacLeod

Scotland improved their chances of World Cup qualification by defeating Kenya on Duckworth-Lewis in a match that was completed on the reserve day due to poor weather. The win moved them above Netherlands into second place in the ICC’s WCL Championship, with the top two teams gaining automatic World Cup spots for 2015.After a nail-biting 12-run victory on Sunday, Scotland’s second win over Kenya was just as close but under very different circumstances. Captain Kyle Coetzer made a half-century before another rain interruption meant Scotland’s target was revised down to 139 from 35 overs. They got there with eight balls to spare but not without a few scares on the way.After Tuesday’s rain delay, the match continued with Scotland openers Coetzer and Freddie Coleman on 22-0 chasing 184 for victory, Kenya having been reliant on Tanmay Mishra’s 59 to give them a competitive total. However, what looked to be a straightforward task became a little harder when Coetzer was bowled for 57 by one that kept low. Three of the top four were bowled under their bat, and Matt Machan was caught at mid-off trying to accelerate the run-rate.The flurry of wickets gave Kenya hope but with the fall of Calum MacLeod, leaving Scotland 106 for 4, the rain started to fall again. Scotland were ahead by nine runs after 28.2 overs on D/L. When the players came off at 1.20pm, everyone thought that was it but just over an hour later the covers and sheets were removed with the rain still falling lightly. By 2.45pm, the players were back out and the rain had stopped.Calculations were made, leaving Scotland needing another 33 runs off 40 balls with their remaining six wickets. Some thought it was safe and some thought it was madness to return with a damp outfield but Scotland nerves grew when Preston Mommsen was caught behind after managing only 5, the requirement having risen to 22 off the final four overs.Rob Taylor didn’t hang about as he hit a quickfire 16 off eight balls, including a maximum off Ragheb Aga into the sight screen that just about saw Scotland home. He was caught trying to hit the winning runs but two more singles wrapped up victory by four wickets.Kenya’s innings began the day previously, with Scotland winning the toss and electing to field. Duncan Allan opened the batting for Kenya after being left out of the side for the previous game but could only make 18. His partner, Alex Obanda, was trapped lbw by Neil Carter for the second time in as many matches.Carter also got rid of Morris Ouma and Kenya’s captain Collins Obuya, in at No. 4 and playing his 100th ODI, spooned a leading edge to midwicket for 25. That was to be the second-highest score of the innings and the last boundary came in the 27th over, as Scotland bowled tight lines and fielded well on long boundaries. Mishra was again the only player to offer a decent tally as he scored his second consecutive fifty but Kenya were bowled out with 21 balls to spare.Netherlands, who play WCL Championship leaders Ireland in two crucial qualifiers next week in Amstelveen, are a point behind Scotland in third, while fourth-placed Afghanistan can make up the four-point gap when they play Namibia next month. Scotland have played 12 games, two games more than the rest, and have to take on Ireland in the final round of fixtures in September. Kenya, in fifth, cannot finish in the top two but will seek a measure of revenge in the first of two T20s in Aberdeen on Thursday.

England are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive home one-day series victory

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan03-Jul-2012

Match Facts

July 4, Edgbaston
Start time 2.00pm (1300 GMT)Xavier Doherty is under pressure to provide control for Australia’s attack•Getty Images

The Big Picture

England are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive one-day series title at home and, if they achieve that at Edgbaston, it will also give them a new record of nine ODI victories on the bounce. Whatever problems exist overseas, they are tough to beat at home.Their wins against Australia at Lord’s and The Oval were impressive all-round displays and showed how England are becoming more confident, whether they bat or bowl first. They have gambled somewhat with five frontline bowlers, leaving Tim Bresnan at No. 7, but so far neither West Indies nor Australia have knocked over the top order to test the strength of what follows.There is no great secret to England’s success with at least one top-order batsman in every match making a sizable contribution. It was an area both Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur indentified as why Australia are struggling. Four of their batsmen have passed fifty so far in the series, but none have gone beyond Shane Watson’s 66.Australia are also in a muddle about their bowling attack. Mitchell Johnson’s poor comeback has added to the headaches, while Xavier Doherty is not close to matching Graeme Swann’s effectiveness. In this corresponding series two years ago, Australia left their revival too late to save the series and they will have to improve in all areas to keep this one alive into the weekend.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW
Australia LLWLT

Watch out for…

Craig Kieswetter has taken a couple of superb catches in this series to remove David Warner and Peter Forrest but there remain question marks around his place in the team. He struggled to time the ball at Lord’s – although Eoin Morgan’s onslaught meant it was not costly – and did not face a ball at The Oval so, for the longer-term benefit of the team, it would be useful if he was needed to play a substantial innings. Although, if he is not needed, it means England’s top order is still doing the business.In the absence of his brother, Michael, David Hussey is crucial to Australia’s middle order. He was worked over by the short ball at Lord’s, but was just starting to motor at The Oval when a brilliant piece of fielding by Steven Finn sent him packing. However, it would benefit him if he was not left needing to improve a flagging run-rate when he came into bat.

Team news

England will not risk James Anderson if any doubts remain over his groin strain so Chris Woakes, who has been repeatedly drafted into the squad this season, is set to play his first ODI since facing Ireland last August. Jade Dernbach has been ruled out of the series with a side strain, although both he and Stuart Meaker were always going to miss this match because of Tom Maynard’s funeral.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steven Finn.Australia may consider an all-pace attack – leaving the spin to David Hussey and Michael Clarke – and Mitchell Johnson could make way for either James Pattinson or Ben Hilfenhaus. There is not much they can do with the batting.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 George Bailey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Pitch and conditions

It rained on Tuesday and showers are forecast for match day as well, although it does not look like washout potential, which will be relief for Edgbaston after three abandoned days during the West Indies Test. After so much poor weather, the pitch could be on the slow side, while the day/night element may influence what happens at the toss.

Stats and trivia

• The teams have met eight times at Edgbaston, with England ahead 4-3 and one no result.
• That no-result was the most recent meeting, in 2005, when Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden went chest-to-chest ahead of the Ashes series.
• Jonathan Trott needs eight runs for 2000 in ODIs. Alastair Cook needs 49 for the same landmark.
• Brett Lee needs one wicket to become Australia’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs with 381, level with Glenn McGrath’s overall tally but one of McGrath’s came for the World XI in the 2004 tsunami fundraiser.

Quotes

“I’m sure they’ll fight back They’re the No. 1 team, so I’m sure they’re obviously going to come back strong – and we’re ready for that.”
“The exciting thing is we feel we haven’t played very good cricket yet, or as good cricket as we can. So that’s the opportunity we have for the next three games. The risk is you get on the bus and it’s a really quiet group and it’s down thinking ‘what do we do now’, but it’s really upbeat. There’s joking, there’s talking, there’s banter about what we can do differently, what we’re going to try, and that suggests to me there’s a team that certainly believes they can still come back and win this series.”

The ICC will look for sponsors for the DRS to overcome the financial hurdles that less wealthy cricket boards will face in implementing the cost-intensive referral system

Sharda Ugra in Hong Kong30-Jun-2011The ICC will look for sponsors for the DRS to overcome the financial hurdles that less wealthy cricket boards will face in implementing the cost-intensive referral system now mandatory in international cricket.”There is the possibility that we could raise a sponsor to cover the cost of the DRS,” ICC CEO, Haroon Lorgat, told ESPNcricinfo. The chief executives’ committee agreed on Monday to make a modified version of DRS mandatory in all internationals, with the use of the ball-tracking technology made optional, and Lorgat said he could see a situation “where we may well cover all costs of the technology”.The cost of the DRS is currently estimated at $5000 per day, with broadcasters, technology providers and home boards in a constant debate about who should bear the cost.The minimum requirements for the tweaked DRS are the expensive infra-red cameras and the audio tracking devices, and Lorgat said the resulting uniformity – which doesn’t exist in ball-tracking technology – was adequate to seek commercial support for the system. “It is still sufficient to be able to commercialise it and find a sponsor that would be interested.”The uneven acceptance of the DRS in the past, with the BCCI resisting its implementation in bilateral series involving India, had made financial backing for the system difficult, Lorgat said. “You cannot sell a product if there’s uncertainty around its use and that was a stumbling block in the past.”Lorgat said he did not believe that the new ruling, which omitted the ball-tracker technology from the list of mandatory requirements, would make the system inconsistent. The ICC, he said, had worked its way through a process that had begun with differences over an aspect of the review system and was keen to address the concerns of its doubters, in this case the BCCI. “It is incumbent on all of us who are trying to implement (it) and trying to find agreement to work towards getting there … if that means we have to convince certain people who are unconvinced about the accuracy and the reliability of the ball-tracking technology, that’s what we have agreed to do. But where we have got absolute agreement, we’ve all agreed to install that.”The question of using only one part of the ball-tracker technology, like the pitch mat to check where the ball had landed, was not raised, Lorgat said, “There wasn’t complete satisfaction with the use of the ball-tracking technology and we’ve just left that out.”The use of the ball-tracker based on bilateral agreements between boards, Lorgat said, would let those who believed in its veracity use the system. Over the next few months, he said the ICC would carry out an independent assessment to provide the back-up of the ball tracker’s accuracy and reliability. “I think we must just be patient for the next few months until we’ve done that exercise and hopefully we come to a point where everybody is satisfied with its accuracy.”The assessment, he said, would be thorough, because “if there are people who are happy or unhappy about the technology, we have got to disprove that and so I’m not keen to take (only) elements of it (the ball tracker) before we come up with a scientific evaluation.” He said there was no time-frame for this assessment of the ball tracker.

James Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century

29-Jun-2010

ScorecardJames Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century as his side took control of the game against Middlesex at Bristol. The New Zealand allrounder was caught off a top-edged pull shot for 99, his third score in the 90s this summer. But it set up a first-innings total of 404 for 8 and a lead of 168 going into the third day. Hamish Marshall contributed 68, Alex Gidman 61 and Chris Dent 53.It was a tough day in the field for Middlesex, who were without Owais Shah for much of it because of a back problem. Pedro Collins also suffered a back injury when diving for a ball, but was able to take the second new ball after treatment. Gloucestershire began on 81 for 2 and progressed sedately as overnight batsmen Marshall and Dent consolidated with half-centuries. Marshall was first to his fifty off 75 balls, with seven fours and a six.England Under-19 player Dent has played some valuable innings in his first season of championship cricket and the left-hander again showed good temperament in facing 112 deliveries for his half-century, which featured six fours and a six. The partnership of 126 was broken when Dent fended a chest-high ball from Toby Roland-Jones to Scott Newman at short square-leg.That brought in skipper Gidman, who helped take the total to 193 for 3 at lunch. Marshall then fell to the second ball of the afternoon session, bowled pushing forward to Neil Dexter without addition to the score. When Chris Taylor was also bowled, shouldering arms in Dexter’s next over it was 199 for 5 and Gloucestershire were still 37 behind.But Gidman was well set and reached his fifty off 86 balls, with eight fours as he and Franklin produced a partnership of 76 to put their side 39 runs ahead. It ended when the captain played across a topspinner from Dawid Malan and departed lbw. Middlesex immediately took the second new ball, but neither Collins nor Tim Murtagh could force another breakthrough.At tea it was 319 for 6, with Franklin on 45. Jon Lewis made a valuable 30 and by the time he was run out by bowler Tom Smith attempting a suicidal single Gloucestershire’s lead was 88.Franklin hit five fours in a composed 87-ball fifty and then added two sixes. He looked sure to reach three figures when miscuing a short ball from Dexter and watching in horror as Smith claimed a good catch at deep square. Gloucestershire still went on to maximum batting points and look well placed to boost their promotion challenge.

Sri Lanka captain and debutant revive team from early collapse, but England unbeaten at close

Andrew Miller21-Aug-2024England 22 for 0 (Duckett 13*, Lawrence 9*) trail Sri Lanka 236 (de Silva 74, Rathnayake 72, Woakes 3-32) by 214 runsDhananjaya de Silva justified his own decision to bat first with a gutsy 74 from 84 balls, while Milan Rathnayake followed his captain’s lead with a startlingly composed knock of 72 from 135 balls, the highest by a debutant at No.9 in Test history. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, however, even those exceptional efforts couldn’t quite atone for a dreadful top-order collapse that had handed England control of the first Test by stumps on day one at Emirates Old Trafford.By the time Vishwa Fernando was last man out, run out for 13 from 61 balls in an innings that echoed his famous tail-end defiance in partnership with Kusal Perera at Durban in 2019, Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 236 in gloomy half-light that had caused England to rely exclusively on spin bowling for the final hour of their bowling stint – an early challenge for Ollie Pope’s tactical acumen on his first day as Ben Stokes’ captaincy stand-in.And, even though that total was seemingly below-par on a hard and dry surface that Pope anticipated would stay true for the first half of the match at least, it was riches compared to what had been anticipated after the first half-hour of the contest. At that point, Sri Lanka’s innings had been in tatters at 6 for 3 after seven overs, with all three wickets falling in the space of ten deliveries to Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes.Related

• Dhananjaya: Sri Lanka wanted extra warm-up but were denied

• Pope vows to lean on Stokes as he begins stand-in captaincy reign

• Lawrence accepts his top billing even as middle-order wait goes on

• What does Bazball without Ben Stokes look like? We're about to find out

• Jayasuriya: 'Karunaratne is a strong-minded player. He can do something major on this tour'

The first blow was landed by Atkinson, who had limited Dimuth Karunaratne to a solitary scoring stroke in his first 17 deliveries, only for the batter to fluff his first shot in anger, a swish across the line to a well-directed lifter. Four balls later, Nishan Madushka’s early discipline also deserted him as Woakes served up a juicy outswinger that he could only scuff straight to Joe Root at first slip, who clung on in the heel of his palms.And with the final ball of the same over, Woakes had his second courtesy of a ghastly misjudgement from Angelo Mathews. The hero of the 2014 series win was gone for a five-ball duck, burning a review in the process as he offered no stroke to an inducker that was shown to be hitting the top of middle.Kusal and Chandimal showed some gumption in a limited counterattack, with the first five boundaries of the innings all coming in the space of 12 balls, four of them to Kusal off Matthew Potts, whose wide angle into the stumps offered the chance to free the hands through the off-side, and who would finish as the attack’s weakest link with 48 runs from his nine overs.But, after limping to drinks on 37 for 3, there was another challenge waiting for the second hour. Wood tore into his opening spell with typical gusto, and struck with his seventh ball – a gruesomely quick lifter to Kusal that crashed into his left thumb and looped to Harry Brook at second slip. Much like the snorter that broke Kevin Sinclair’s wrist in the West Indies series, Kusal left the crease wringing his hand, and looking in urgent need of an ice-pack at the very least.Out came de Silva to shore up the listing innings, but with lunch approaching, his measured stand of 32 in seven overs with Chandimal was undone in cruel and unusual fashion. Shoaib Bashir entered the attack for an exploratory pre-lunch spell, and struck in his second over with an unplayable daisycutter, reminiscent of Nasser Hussain’s viral moment against Carl Hooper in Trinidad in 1998. Though Chandimal gambled on the review, hoping against hope that he’d been struck outside the line, Bashir’s sheepish appeal and celebration could have told him everything he needed to know.That would, however, be the nadir of Sri Lanka’s innings. De Silva himself grew into his role either side of the lunch break, farming the strike well in between a diet of eight well-struck boundaries, each of them showcasing his sharp footwork and delicate balance, not to mention his pre-toss faith in the surface’s true nature.Though there would be some more guileless dismissals to come – with both Kamindu Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya snicking off with uncertain footwork after Woakes and Atkinson had varied their lines and lengths – Rathnayake would not prove quite so gullible in his shot selection.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Despite channelling a bashful schoolboy while being presented with his Test cap by Kumar Sangakkara before the start of play, Sri Lanka’s debutant was more than man enough to withstand England’s eager attempts to dislodge him. His first role was to act as de Silva’s doughty sidekick, which he did to superb effect, picking off the first of his four fours in an eighth-wicket stand of 63.And then, when disaster had seemingly struck just before tea, with de Silva fencing a Bashir offbreak to Lawrence at leg slip to leave his team on 176 for 8, Rathnayake took up the cudgels for his team with impressive results. Despite boasting a previous best of 59 in 52 previous first-class innings, he picked the perfect moments to cut loose, first with a lusty swing over long-on to reach his half-century, and then a sweet drill over long-off to move along to a new career-high.England did at one stage attempt to bring Wood back into the attack to break up his burgeoning 50-run stand with Vishwa, but with his jumper halfway over his shoulders, the umpires stepped in to insist that the light was too poor for the pace bowlers. And though it took a while, Bashir eventually did the needful, tempting Rathnayake into one lofted launch too many, as Woakes back-pedalled at mid-off to end his fun.With half-an-hour to the close, Sri Lanka also turned instantly to slow bowling as the reply got underway, with two spinners sharing the new ball in a men’s Test in England for only the second time since 1970. With Lawrence opening the batting in place of Zak Crawley, he and Ben Duckett showed the probable riches still on offer in the surface, in clattering along to 22 for 0 in four overs.Prior to the start of play, both sides lined up on the outfield for a tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, who died on August 4, aged 55. England will be wearing black armbands throughout the match in memory of an England great who averaged 44.66 in a 100-Test career, and went on to play a key role as a batting mentor to many of the current team, including Pope, Root and Stokes.