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Headingley produced another of the extraordinary days that has littered its history as Australia were blown away for a paltry 88 before Pakistan built a lead of 60 with seven wickets in hand

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan21-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMike Hussey was lbw to Umar Gul on a dramatic first morning at Headingley•Getty Images

Headingley produced another of the extraordinary days that has littered its history as Australia were blown away for a paltry 88 before Pakistan built a lead of 60 with seven wickets in hand. Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, who was on a hat-trick straight after lunch, were again outstanding with devastating late movement, and were well supported by Umar Gul, after Ricky Ponting decided to bat first. In reply Pakistan moved to 148 for 3 when bad light ended play.Four days after having to install a new captain following Shahid Afridi’s shock Test retirement, the new man handed the debatable honour, Salman Butt, probably made his best move of the day by losing the toss. Ponting took a brave call after torrential overnight rain, and with heavy morning cloud cover, putting faith in his top order to weather the challenge. But the gamble backfired in startling fashion as Australia crumbled to their seventh lowest first-innings total of all time.Headingley is another venue where, like Lord’s, overhead conditions are as important as the surface and Pakistan’s frontline pace trio were often unplayable as they made the ball move late off the seam. In scenes reminiscent of the days of Wasim and Waqar, the bowlers didn’t need much help from the fielders with seven wickets either bowled or lbw as Australia failed to combat Pakistan’s full length.Conditions remained favourable for bowling throughout, but Australia looked shell-shocked when they took the ball barely halfway through the second session and Pakistan’s openers virtually wiped off the measly total with a stand of 80. Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson were erratic, but Hilfenhaus – who dropped Butt on 42 – eventually made the breakthrough when he swung one between his bat and pad three runs later.Shane Watson returned to make two late incisions with Imran Farhat (43) beaten by late swing and Azhar Ali (30) sending a thick edge to Tim Paine as the light started to fade, but Umar Akmal gave a indication of Pakistan’s mindset in the final over of the day by slogging Steven Smith’s legspin over long-off for six. The lead has already grown and Australia will need some Sydney-style inspiration to turn this game around.The initial six overs of Australia’s innings were a false dawn and the opening stand of 20 would remain the best partnership of the innings. Simon Katich departed when his strength became a weakness as he shuffled across the crease against Aamer and Watson followed in the next over when he was plumb in front to Asif. Ponting and Michael Clarke were often playing at fresh air as they tried to rebuild with both batsmen regularly squared up by late movement.Aamer was rested after a five-over opening burst but his replacement, Gul, maintained the pressure and he quickly located a full length. He ended Clarke’s struggle when the vice-captain played all round a straight delivery after beginning the over with two flat-footed wafts.Asif was given an extended spell and the move paid huge dividends when he nailed Ponting lbw for the second time in a row. He found late movement into Ponting, who lunged onto the front foot, and the ball was heading for middle and leg as Pakistan’s bowlers continued to leave the fielders redundant.Mike Hussey has rescued Australia from many a hole – often against Pakistan – but this time he was powerless to arrest the slide as Gul brought one back into his front pad, although subsequent replays showed Rudi Koertzen, standing in his final Test, had erred on this occasion and leg stump would have been missed. Even at 41 for 5, Australia would have expected someone in the lower order to haul them beyond three figures, as happened in Sydney earlier this earlier, but this time Pakistan refused to release the pressure.A fielder finally became involved when Kamran Akmal gloved an excellent catch to remove Marcus North as Umar Amin’s introduction proved a masterstroke from Butt. Amin had only six first-class wickets to his name, but his gentle medium-pace found North’s outside edge and the dismissal summed up the early fortunes of both teams.Australia’s hopes of reaching anything like a respectable total were ended with the first two balls of the afternoon session when Aamer produced his latest impression of Wasim Akram with a brace of cracking deliveries. The first, to Smith, snaked back between bat and pad but the next was even better as Johnson lost his off stump to one that curved away past his outside edge.To compound Australia’s woes Hilfenhaus was run out from third man by Amin before Paine’s wild thrash at Asif ended the innings. Paine’s top score of 17 was the joint fourth-lowest highest individual effort in a completed Australian innings and the lowest since the 19th century. That statistic alone sums up the remarkable nature of the demise.

Alan Butcher, the new Zimbabwe coach, is banking on his team to pull off an upset during the opening round of World Twenty20 matches in West Indies

Cricinfo staff16-Apr-2010Alan Butcher, the new Zimbabwe coach, is banking on his team to pull off an upset during the opening round of World Twenty20 matches in the West Indies. They have been grouped with New Zealand and Sri Lanka for the opening phase of the tournament and Butcher believes the nature of the format gives his side a chance.”We could have been in a worse group, I tell you,” Butcher said. “We have to try and match the standards of at least one of these two teams, if we do that we can make it. The nature of Twenty20 cricket, however, is that teams can be upset by a single heroic achievement. One catch, fifty or one good over can turn things around for any team; we have to take every half chance and catch we can get, that’s all there is to it.”In an aim to give themselves the best chance of success, Zimbabwe are arriving in the Caribbean ahead of many other teams for a warm-up schedule that includes a four-day and one-day matches against West Indies A, plus a one-dayer against West Indies before the official World Twenty20 practice matches.The squad has recent experience of conditions in the Caribbean – including Guyana where they will play their group matches – after the recent tour where they lost the one-day series 4-1 having started with victory in the Twenty20 international.Zimbabwe’s tactics throughout that series were based around their spinners, with the new ball given to Ray Price. Butcher joined that trip late after his appointment to the coaching role, but is set to continue with a similar style of play on what is likely to be a slow, low wicket at Providence in Guyana.”We had a game plan in the last West Indies tour that would have really worked if we had batted better,” he said. “I will work with a similar strategy. My overall strategy will unfold as we go through our four day match and two ODIs, and its details will become more refined after that.”We are working hard to make sure that there are enough good options and combinations to force people to get out there and bring the best out of themselves.”

Worcestershire fight back through Taylor, Libby but face uphill struggle to avoid defeat

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Sep-2025Worcestershire 123 and 270 for 6 (Libby 72) lead Sussex 350 (Simpson 129*, Taylor 4-106) by 43 runsJohn Simpson’s unbeaten 129 and six second-innings Worcestershire wickets kept Sussex in command on day two of the Rothesay County Championship clash at Visit Worcestershire New Road.A glistening fourth century of the season from the away side’s skipper saw Sussex add 122 runs to their overnight score, before they were bowled out for 350.With a deficit of 227, Jake Libby and Rehaan Edavalath added a century stand for the first wicket to throw the Pears a lifeline.Six wickets across the second half of the day however saw Worcestershire cling onto a slender lead of 43 runs heading into the third day with just four wickets intact.A resplendent morning at Visit Worcestershire New Road saw the home side land the first blow of the day when Tom Taylor bowled Jack Carson in the first over of the morning.A 53rd wicket of a remarkable season followed soon after for Taylor as Danny Lamb feathered a nick through to Rob Jones at second slip, to check the visitors progress at 245 for 7.Simpson registered his fourth hundred of a memorable Division One campaign, reaching the milestone in 138 balls and scoring 18 boundaries in the process, shortly after Ollie Robinson had departed for a brisk 24.Simpson kicked on as the visitors reached 350 and strengthened their grip on the match, before Matthew Waite’s introduction into the attack saw him take two wickets in four balls as he dismissed both Ari Karvelas and Jayden Unadkat, with Sussex all-out for 350 possessing a healthy lead of 227.Simpson finished unbeaten on 129, with his 19th first-class century the standout innings of the game.Libby surpassed 1000 first class runs for the season in the Rothesay County Championship early into the afternoon session as the Worcestershire reply got off to a cautious start.The shackles were freed by Libby however, as he moved through the gears with some dismissive pull shots through midwicket as Sussex’s opening bowlers grafted to no avail in the sunshine.Libby pressed on in fine style, reaching a third Division One half-century of the season in just 63 deliveries, as he and Edavalath added 113 for the first wicket on a pitch showing signs of flattening.Edavalath made 45 and Libby a superb 72, before the pair were dismissed inside four overs of one another, with Edavalath first lbw off a straightening Unadkat delivery and Libby following soon after having edged a ball behind to James Coles at slip to give the Indian seam bowler his second of the innings.Robinson collected his first wicket of the innings when he hurried Isaac Mohammed with a short ball to dismiss the teenager for 4.First-innings top scorer Dan Lategan and number five Rob Jones came together midway through the afternoon to add 63 for the fourth wicket with the hosts working hard to find a foothold in the game.Despite making it to the tea interval unscathed, Tom Haines ended the partnership in the 46th over of Worcestershire’s reply, as he pinned Lategan lbw for 30, with the hosts still 40 runs in arrears.Jones produced a gritty knock of 46, with Worcestershire heading towards the close at parity, but his wicket and the dismissal of Ethan Brookes handed Sussex back the initiative late on.

Table-toppers maintain unbeaten start to Blast campaign with five-wicket win at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay19-Jun-2025Nottingham-based The Blaze maintained their unbeaten record in the Vitality Blast women’s competition with a five-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, making her first appearance in English domestic cricket for almost two years, made 31 from 25 balls with former England international all-rounder Georgia Elwiss top-scoring with an unbeaten 43 off 30 as The Blaze won with 10 balls to spare.Scotland international Ailsa Lister rescued an otherwise sub-par effort from Lancashire, thundering nine fours and three sixes in a 38-ball 79 – the highest individual score for Thunder in this year’s women’s Blast, helping her side from 47 for three after 10 overs to 150 for nine, regaining second place in the points table.Australia all-rounder Heather Graham took three for 36, Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon picking up two for 24.The scheduling had been tough on Thunder, who were in action at The Kia Oval only 24 hours earlier; the Blaze, by contrast, had enjoyed a six-day hiatus between fixtures, although the break had allowed both Surrey Women and Bears Women to overtake them in the Blast table.Put in, Thunder struggled to 29 for two in the powerplay. Emma Lamb was run out at the non-striker’s end when bowler Sarah Glenn deflected Eve Jones’s drive into the stumps, Jones falling to the last ball of the sixth, well taken by Gordon at mid-on. Lister had an escape when she was dropped at mid-wicket on three but Thunder still faced a big task to post a meaningful score at 41 for three after Elwiss had Ellie Threlkeld caught behind for six.They were four down for 65 in the 12th, but the fifth-wicket pair almost doubled the total before Morris hit Graham straight to backward point, sparking a rush of wickets. King holed out to mid-on next ball before Gordon took two in two deliveries at the end of the 19th as Kate Cross was stumped and Tara Norris found long-on.Lister – dropped again on 62 – could not be shifted until slicing Graham to third man off the last ball, having cleared the rope off the Australian for the second time at the start of the final over.The Blaze lost Tammy Beaumont, leg before playing across the line to Kate Cross, and Kathryn Bryce yorked by Tara Norris, but were 48 for two from six thanks mainly to Sciver-Brunt hitting four of her first 10 balls to the boundary. Marie Kelly stepped right across her stumps to be bowled by Australian leg-spinner Alana King at 55 for three. Nonetheless, the home side looked comfortable at the halfway point, needing 78 to win.They would have felt less so eight balls later when Sciver-Brunt missed a straight ball from Grace Potts that hit the top of off-stump. The departure of one England player ushered in another in Amy Jones but after adding 29 in 19 balls with Elwiss, Jones miscued to mid-on for 16.The departure of the in-form Jones gave Thunder brief hope but three fours from Graham regained momentum for the home side, Elwiss thumping her seventh four down the ground off King to win the contest.

Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan are also likely to be retained by the franchise

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Oct-20245:23

IPL 2025 retentions: Shami a risky retention for Gujarat Titans?

Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, leaving them with one right-to-match card (RTM) option at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.While the amounts for each player are not yet known, GT will have at least INR 51 crore deducted from their purse of INR 120 crore for retaining three international players and two uncapped players. If they pay more than INR 51 crore to retain five players, then the higher amount will be deducted from their purse.October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their list of retained players to the IPL ahead of the mega auction. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals and two can be uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained – INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, INR 14 crore for the fifth, and INR 4 crore for an uncapped player – the franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts to their retained players.Gill and Rashid were picked by GT before the auction in 2022, when the franchise had just entered the IPL. While Rashid got INR 15 crore (USD 1.807 million approx. then), Gill got INR 8 crore (USD 963,000 approx. then). While Rashid remains their lead bowling allrounder, Gill was given the GT captaincy for IPL 2024 after Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians.Related

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• IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

While the retention of 23-year-old Sudharsan ahead Mohammed Shami and David Miller might be a surprise, GT believe the left-hand batter from Tamil Nadu is a long-term player who can perform a key role in the top order. Sudharsan, who was bought for INR 20 lakhs in 2022, was sixth highest run-maker in IPL 2024 with 527 runs with an average of nearly 48 and strike rate of 141. He is considered as a potential future Test player too by India’s selectors and the team management lead by Gautam Gambhir. It is learned Sudharsan was discussed as a candidate for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Tewatia and Shahrukh, both uncapped allrounders, were among the most expensive buys for GT and have been retained for their power-hitting ability in the lower-middle order. Tewatia, who was bought for INR 9 crore ($1.084 million approx. then) in 2022, has played several impactful knocks as a finisher and has been a key sounding board for GT’s leadership group with his knowledge the domestic Indian players. Shahrukh, who is also a part-time offspinner, is among the strongest hitters in domestic cricket and was bought in 2024 auction for INR 7.4 crore ($891,000 approx. then).

Rob Jones half-century was also pivotal to Worcestershire success against Kent

ECB Reporters Network07-Aug-2024Captain Jake Libby continued his superb form in the Metro Bank One Day Cup to inspire Worcestershire Rapids to a three-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Libby struck his fourth half-century in five knocks in this summer’s 50 over tournament to lead the Rapids to a fourth win and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. His 75 off 68 balls was largely instrumental in Worcestershire reaching a 259 target with seven balls to spare.Libby has now scored 287 runs at an average of 143.50 and this after being his side’s leading One Day Cup run-getter in 2022 and 2023.Rob Jones’s half-century was also pivotal to another Rapids success with a side missing nine senior players through illness and injury.A three-wicket blast from 18-year-old Charlie Home had been largely responsible for reducing the Spitfires to 70 for 5.Kent were indebted to List A best batting performances from Charlie Stobo and Grant Stewart as they recovered to 259 all out.Australian overseas signing Stobo surpassed his previous best score of 32 not out in making 72 off 79 balls and he dominated a partnership of 91 with Stewart for the seventh wicket.Stewart then took over the mantle of chief aggressor and he went past his previous highest of 57 before being last out for 78 off 60 deliveries.Home has taken 12 wickets in just three appearances in the One Day Cup and again confirmed his promise although he was latterly on the receiving end of the Stobbo-Stewart onslaught and will learn from the experience.The Kent seamers then bowled a disciplined line and length to put the home side behind the required rate.But Jones dug in to keep them in the hunt and then Libby paced his knock to perfection before he was run out with 26 needed and then Hishaam Khan cut Stobo for the winning boundary.Libby won the toss and put the Spitfires into bat on a slowish pitch previously used for the Vitality Blast game against Lancashire Lightning.Sturgess took the new ball from the Diglis End and struck with his fourth delivery when Marcus O’Riordan went for an ambitious drive and was bowled via an inside edge.Hishaam Khan shared the attack from the New Road and he also made an early breakthrough when Beyers Swanepoel went for a pull and was caught down the legside by keeper Gareth Roderick.Jack Leaning and Joey Evison attempted to rebuild the innings but after adding 41 the latter cut Home, who had taken six wickets against Derbyshire on Friday, straight to Ethan Brookes at backward point.Home then struck twice in an over to reduce the visitors to 70-5.Harry Finch was undone by a delivery which nipped back and became the second player to be bowled through an inside edge.Then four balls later Evison (23) fenced at a delivery and edged through to Roderick.Spinner Tom Hinley came into the attack and he accounted for Jaydyn Denly who was bowled through the game from a delivery which turned.Stobbo went on the offensive against Home when he returned to the attack and pulled the 18-year-old for three boundaries in an over. He and Stewart played sensibly on a pitch where the occasional delivery stopped in the surface.Stobbo completed a 55-ball half-century and the partnership was worth 91 from 15 overs when he was stumped after aiming a big blow at Singh down the ground. He hit one six and six fours.Stewart struck successive sixes on his way to a half century off 49 balls before Singh picked up two wickets in the space of three balls.Hamidullah Qadri was pouched at deep mid wicket and then Singh bowled Matt Parkinson after he pushed forward to claim his third scalp.But Stewart struck two more sixes on the trot off the spinner before being bowled by Khan in the final over after hitting five maximums and six fours.When Worcestershire batted, Ed Pollock despatched Stewart for 6-4-4 in the space of four balls but then nicked a ball of extra bounce from the same bowler through to the keeper.Gareth Roderick and Rob Jones added 49 but they were kept in check by a disciplined Kent attack.Roderick briefly opened out to pull Stobo for six backward of square but then was lbw to a ball of full length from Gilchrist.Jones has struggled for runs in his first full season at New Road but dug in to complete an 80 ball half century with a cut for four at Stewart’s expense.But he fell to a return catch in his next over after adding 70 with Jake Libby.Brookes was soon into his stride with a ramp shot for six off Stewart although he then holed out to deep mid-wicket off Stobo at 177 for 4.Libby completed his half century with successive scoop shots for four from Stobo before Rehaan Edavalath top-edged a return catch to Gilchrist.The game took another twist when Libby turned Stobo on the on side and was run out attempting a risky second run.Singh then drilled Stewart to Gilchrist at cover with 21 required but Khan and Tom Hinley kept their nerve to see the Rapids home.

USA were the sixth team to qualify after the washout against Ireland in Florida

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2024Six out of 20 teams have progressed so far to the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, with India (A1), Australia (B2), and Afghanistan (C1) in Group 1, and USA (A2), West Indies (C2) and South Africa (D1) in Group 2. The teams are assigned A1, B1 and so on not on the basis of where they finished in their group but according to pre-tournament designations.After USA confirmed their Super Eight berth from Group A following the washout of their game against Ireland, England and Bangladesh are the frontrunners to take the two remaining spots, B1 and D2 respectively, though there are other teams still in the running. The first round ends on June 17, and the Super Eight stage begins on June 19.The first match of the Super Eight round will be between South Africa and the USA, in Antigua. West Indies take on the second team that qualifies from Group B in St Lucia on the evening of June 19, before India and Afghanistan begin their Super Eight fixtures against each other on June 20 in Barbados.Australia take on the second team to qualify from Group D in Antigua on the evening of June 20, while South Africa will play the second Group B qualifier on June 21 in St Lucia.The full Super Eight fixtures can be accessed here.There are no points or net run-rate advantage carried forward from the first round into the Super Eight stage, where all teams will start on a level footing. The top two teams from each Super Eight group will qualify for the semi-finals.The first semi-final is in Trinidad on June 26, and the second semi-final is in Guyana on June 27. If India make it to the semi-finals, they will play in Guyana. The final of the T20 World Cup is scheduled for June 29, in Barbados.

Colin Ackermann, Rishi Patel, Rehan Ahmed give valiant chase but fall just short

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2023 Derbyshire 189 for 5 (Madsen 109*) beat Leicestershire 187 for 5 (Ackermann 59*) by two runsA career-best unbeaten 109 by veteran campaigner Wayne Madsen set up Derby Falcons for a first win of the Vitality Blast season over East Midlands neighbours Leicester Foxes, who ran them close but ultimately fell three runs short of their target.The 39-year-old’s brilliant 61-ball innings, which contained 12 fours and four sixes, was his third hundred in the T20 format and his second in consecutive seasons after he made 100 not out against Durham last season.It helped the Falcons post 189 for five after being put in, Tom Wood making 37 from 24 balls and Brooke Guest 25 from 20, spinners Rehan Ahmed (2 for 20), Callum Parkinson (2 for 36) and Colin Ackermann (1 for 16) sharing the wickets for the Foxes.The Foxes, who have lost all of their opening four matches, put up a decent fight in the circumstances, Colin Ackermann (59 not out) and Ahmed (28) scoring 58 off the last 31 balls after Rishi Patel’s 44 but it wasn’t quite enough.Left-arm spinner Parkinson dismissed both openers in his first two overs, Luis Reece leg before and Haider Ali bowled, both attempting to sweep, yet it was the Falcons, at 52 for two, who came out of the powerplay on top after being put in, despite the return to the Foxes attack of Naveen ul-Haq after his successful stint in the Indian Premier League.Madsen’s timing was immaculate as he dispatched Ahmed, Will Davis and Parkinson in turn for sixes out of the middle of the bat before cleverly reverse-sweeping Ahmed for four to bring up a 29-ball half-century – his fourth in as many innings this season – as the Falcons reached halfway at 96 for two.Wood, after his uncertain start, was beginning to find his range when the Foxes at last managed to stem the flow, Wood reaching for one outside off stump and unable to control his shot, Sol Budinger pouching the catch at deep point.That ended a 95-run partnership for the third wicket, after which the Falcons suffered a wobble as Ahmed struck twice in the space of five deliveries, having Leus Du Plooy caught behind down the legside for a second-ball duck before Anuj Dal fell leg before to the googly, 117 for two replaced by 120 for five on the scoreboard.None of his colleagues could match Ahmed’s economy on a night when the Foxes were sloppy in the field. Naveen conceded 23 off his final two overs as the last four of the innings saw the Falcons’ total swell by 50 runs, Madsen lifting Davis over deep midwicket for his fourth six before driving Naveen through the covers to reach his hundred from 56 balls.After a slow start to their reply in which Budinger lobbed tamely to mid-on as Zak Chappell claimed a wicket against his former county, the Foxes found some momentum in the second half of the powerplay to be 48 for one as Patel and Nick Welch began to find regular boundaries.They lost Welch when the opener clipped a ball from left-armer into the hands of deep square leg and Patel had an escape on 33 when Zaman Khan spilled a chance on the legside off Du Plooy, but skipper Ackermann was into his stride with two fours and a six off George Scrimshaw as the home side reached 90 for two from 10.Patel’s second six, launched over long-on off Mark Watt, and two reserve sweeps for four by Ackermann off Wood kept the scoreboard moving nicely but after Patel holed out off Watt’s left-arm aiming for another maximum the required rate was above 10. Wiaan Mulder thin edged behind off Chappell and the Foxes needed 55 from the last five overs.Lilley fell for three, slashing Scrimshaw to deep backward point, but Ahmed uppercut his first ball for six to keep the Foxes interested and after a generally tidy over from Khan stretched the target to 39 from 18 balls, the sixth-wicket pair innovated nicely and ran well between the wickets to leave the Foxes needing 14 off the last over and put the pressure on Scrimshaw, who conceded a boundary to Ahmed from his first ball but the tall seamer held his nerve to avoid conceding another and the Falcons prevailed by two runs.

Craig Overton bags five-for before hosts build on imposing lead over Northants

ECB Reporters Network22-Sep-2022Somerset will go into the final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Northamptonshire at Taunton in a strong position, knowing that victory will guarantee First Division survival.With a lead of 401 and nine second-innings wickets still in hand, the home side can feel confident of at least a draw, which would put them 17 points clear of second-from-bottom Warwickshire.Having bowled out Northamptonshire for 265 from an overnight 184 for 6, Craig Overton finishing with 5 for 38, Somerset built on a first innings lead of 124 by posting 277 for 1.Unbeaten centuries from skipper Tom Abell, his second ton of the match, and Tom Lammonby led the way, while Imam-ul-Haq contributed 52. Abell hit 112 not out and Lammonby 101 not out to effectively bat Northants out of the game.If Somerset can complete victory, it will open up a 25-point gap on Warwickshire and lift them to a comfortable sixth place in Division One, with the final round of fixtures next week.They began the third day against Northants in perfect fashion when Josh Davey had Saif Zaib well caught low down at second slip by Overton off the first ball of the morning.But Tom Taylor, unbeaten on 19 overnight, moved to an impressive fifty off 69 balls by cutting his tenth four off Kasey Aldridge.Another Taylor boundary off Abell took Northants past the follow-on figure at 240 for 7 and Somerset’s attack, lacking the injured Lewis Gregory, were looking frustrated as Lizaad Williams helped add 63 for the fourth wicket.That changed with a needless run out. Taylor played Sajid Khan into the leg side with no intention of taking a single, but Williams, on 23, charged down the pitch from the non-striker’s end and was sent packing by Josh Davey’s throw to the bowler.Aldridge had Ben Sanderson caught at mid-on and Overton wrapped up the innings when Jack White was caught behind, backing away towards square leg.By lunch, Somerset had extended their lead by 12 to 136 and the afternoon session saw Lammonby and Imam build further without undue alarm.Imam was first to his half-century off 74 balls, having hit four fours and a straight six off Rob Keogh, a shot which took the lead to 200.The Pakistan Test opener fell shortly afterwards, allowing a ball from off-spinner Keogh to run up his pad onto a glove before being taken by wicketkeeper Ricardo Vasconcelos, running in front of the stumps.By then the lead was 225 and Lammonby soon followed his opening partner to fifty, having faced 115 balls and hit five fours.By tea, Somerset had progressed to 118 for 1, with Lammonby on 54, and arch-rivals Gloucestershire were on the verge of doing them a huge favour by beating Warwickshire.The final ball at Bristol was shown on the screens down the M5 at the Cooper Associates County Ground to relieved applause from Somerset fans, as in front of them, Lammonby and Abell built a half-century stand from 70 balls.Abell launched a six over mid-wicket off Keogh as his side accelerated towards a declaration in the morning. His fifty occupied 49 deliveries and also featured five fours.Successive Abell boundaries off Keogh took the lead past 350, while another four in the off-spinner’s following over took Somerset’s captain past 1,000 first class runs for the season.A swept single off Keogh completed Abell’s fifth hundred of the summer off 87 balls, with 14 fours and a six.Lammonby lost nothing by comparison, curbing his natural attacking instincts to strike just eight boundaries in his patient 221-ball century. By stumps the stand between the pair was worth 176.Abell left the best till last, a swashbuckling six over extra cover off Josh Cobb in the final over of a Somerset-dominated day.

Rahul Dravid has held this position till now and he can apply again if he chooses to

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2021The BCCI has advertised for the position of head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The position was till now held by former India captain Rahul Dravid, whose two-year term has come to an end. Dravid can apply again should he be interested in getting an extension.The job mainly involves development of emerging and youth cricketers not only at the NCA but also India A and age-group teams, working in close co-ordination with both men’s and women’s national coaching teams and captains to ensure a seamless supply of talent, assisting selectors of both men’s and women’s sides at senior, age-group and India A level, and developing all coaching programmes at the NCA.The qualifications required for the job are an experience of representing India in at least 25 Tests and having coached for at least five years at international level or at India A, India Under-19, India women or IPL. Candidates must be under 60. The last date to apply is August 15.If Dravid does apply for the job, it will end, for the time being, any speculation around his becoming India’s next coach. The current coach, Ravi Shastri, and his team of B Arun, R Sridhar and Vikram Rahour, end their term with the T20 World Cup later this year.Dravid’s term began in July 2019. India’s feeder systems have come in for praise after a severely depleted Test side beat Australia in Australia earlier this year. India were able to send a second-string side to Sri Lanka when all the first-choice players were in England this July. They won the ODI series, but lost the T20I series. They had lost the services of eight players during the last two T20Is of the series because of Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp. Dravid travelled to Sri Lanka as the coach of this team.