392-run stand with New Zealand’s Will Young denies Somerset before rain

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2024

Joe Clarke and Will Young were denied the chance of a 400 partnership when heavy rain washed out most of the final day of Nottinghamshire’s Vitality County Championship First Division match with Somerset at Taunton.Only nine overs were possible at the start of the morning session, which began with the visitors 418 for 2 in their second innings, leading by 157 runs.Having already broken a Notts record for a third-wicket stand, which had stood since 1903, Clarke and Young added 22 runs, taking the total to 440 before the rain set in at 11.40am with their partnership extended to 392.No further play was possible before umpires Russell Warren and David Millns abandoned the game at the conclusion of a 1pm lunch period. Clarke was left unbeaten on 213 and Young on 174 as Somerset took 15 points from the draw and Notts ten.The early finish also deprived the pair of a chance to break the Notts record stand for any wicket, the unbroken opening stand of 406 put together by Darren Bicknell and Guy Welton against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2000.Related

Clarke, Young compile 370 unbroken runs to turn tables on Somerset

Overton's late hitting drives Somerset into dominant position

Overton signals return from back surgery as Somerset bowl Notts out

“We have to improve as a side because we have been putting ourselves in positions we don’t want to be in,” Clarke said. “We need to be in control and pushing to win games, so although it was good to get points from this one, we know as a group we have to be better.”This was Clarke’s third hundred of the season and he sits one run behind Warwickshire captain Alex Davies at the top of the run-scoring charts in Division One. “The partnership with Will was outstanding,” Clarke said. “We fed off each other well and kept each other going.”It was the first game this year with the Duke ball, but that made no difference to how I approached my innings. As always, I just tried to keep things simple and cash in on the confidence I am feeling with the bat at the moment.”Will Young just oozes class. He had not had many days in the country before we travelled down to play here after a long flight from New Zealand, so to fit back into the team so seamlessly was amazing.”Lewis Gregory, Somerset’s captain, said: “I would like to see pitches here offer a lot more to the bowlers than that one did. It flattened out much quicker than expected, but it’s not an exact science and that can happen here. Three draws is a solid start to the season for us. We have played some really good cricket and now need to build on it with a win.”

DPL Week 4: Shinepukur have reached the Super League for the first time

Mohammad Isam19-Apr-2024There’s no stopping Abahani Limited – they have now crushed their closest rivals, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, to win all 11 matches of the first phase of the Dhaka Premier League. It has left them just three wins away from claiming their 22nd DPL title as the top six teams head into the Super League phase.In the match billed as this season’s biggest fixture – between the two supposedly richest teams – Abahani bowled out Sheikh Jamal for just 88 runs, their lowest-ever score in the DPL. Then they chased down the meagre target in 10.2 overs without losing a wicket.Shinepukur Cricket Club, meanwhile, have finished second on the table with eight wins, ahead of Mohammedan Sporting Club and Sheikh Jamal on net run-rate. They beat fellow Super League qualifiers Gazi Group Cricketers and Mohammedan, before polishing off Legends of Rupganj this week. Significantly for them, Shinepukur have reached the Super League phase for the first time.Best battersIrfan Sukkur and Habibur Rahman Sohan scored crucial runs after the Eid break to take their respective sides, Shinepukur and Gazi Group, into the Super League. Left-hand batter Irfan struck an unbeaten 106 against Rupganj after his 84 against Gazi Group, both match-winning knocks. Young Sohan struck a 55-ball 81 against Brothers Union before the unbeaten 102 against City Club that sealed Gazi Group’s Super League spot.Parvez Hossain Emon finished the first phase with the most runs, 585 at 53.18 with three centuries. He is the only one to breach the 500-run mark, while Mohammad Naim, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Saif Hassan and Tamim Iqbal are among the top-five scorers.Best bowlersQuick bowler Nahid Rana, who recently made his Test debut against Sri Lanka, took 12 wickets this week, including a five-wicket haul against Mohammedan and a four-for against Gazi Group. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed took the other five-for this week.Left-arm quicks have ruled the DPL’s first phase. Gazi Group’s Ruyel Miah finished as the top wicket-taker with 25 wickets at 14.76. Abu Hider and Maruf Mridha, both left-arm fast bowlers, are among the top four, while Ifran Hossain, a right-arm quick, is in sixth place. Rishad Hossain, the legspinner, and left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam are the others in the top five.Nahid Rana is one of the big reasons for Shinepukur’s success this season•BCBBest matchAbahani came into the week with nine wins in a row but it would all come to nothing if they couldn’t dominate fellow big-spenders Prime Bank Cricket Club and Sheikh Jamal. They racked up 341 for 4 against Prime Bank, with Anamul Haque and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting centuries. Towhid Hridoy struck a breezy unbeaten 65 too. Prime Bank were all out for 283 in reply after Taskin Ahmed and Tanjim Hasan Sakib took three wickets each to kill off any threat.Shoriful Islam’s four wickets, with help from Taskin and Tanjim, bowled Sheikh Jamal out for 88.Points to ponderAn official of the cricket committee of Dhaka Metropolis, the body that runs the Dhaka leagues, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Gazi Tyres Cricket Academy, City Club and Rupganj Tigers will play in the relegation playoffs. They are all tied on four points along with Partex Sporting Club, who avoided relegation because of a higher net run-rate than Rupganj.Players to watchMridha stood out among the teenaged cricketers who debuted in the DPL this season. The left-arm fast bowler took 19 wickets for Gazi Tyres Cricket Academy. Among the others, 16-year old Nuhayel Sandeed became the first left-arm wristspinner to play List-A cricket in Bangladesh. Sandeed took two wickets on debut against Prime Bank, the DPL side coached by his father Mohammad Salahuddin.

Real Madrid have decided not to pay Vinicius Junior the same salary as Kylian Mbappe amid speculation that the Brazilian might not extend his stay at the Santiago Bernabéu beyond 2027. Contract talks between the player and the club have stalled for months now as the Selecao star is demanding a hike in his salary which the Spanish side are refusing to entertain.

• Vinicius Jr wants a pay hike
• Madrid refusing to pay the same salary as Mbappe's
• Current deal runs until 2027

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Vincius Junior currently earns €15 million (£13m/$17m) net per season at Real Madrid and according to , the Brazilian is demanding the same wages as Kylian Mbappe before putting pen to paper on a contract.

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• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The report adds that while Mbappe's basic salary is €15m net per season, after calculating his hefty signing bonus of €8m per year, the total figure stands at €23m per season. Los Blancos have refused to offer the same amount to Vinicius Jr as it would mean offering almost a 50 per cent hike.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The 25-year-old attacker's performance significantly dropped in the 2024-25 campaign as he scored only 22 goals in 58 matches across all competitions. His inconsistency in performance is also a major factor why Madrid are refusing to offer such a major pay hike.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

  has reported that club president Florentino Perez has identified Vinicius Jr's replacement, if he decides to exit Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid's first choice remains Manchester City star Erling Haaland as Perez wants to see the Norwegian goal machine being paired alongside Mbappe.

A DVD of the remarkable Edgbaston Test is being rush released to satisfy the remarkable public appetite for English cricket

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2005

In almost less time that it took for Andrew Flintoff to be proclaimed as the new Ian Botham, a DVD of the remarkable Edgbaston Test has been being rush released to satisfy the public’s burgeoning appetite for English cricket.In days of old it took months for highlights videos to find their way to the market, but modern technology, aided by the ability to bypass the cumbersome problems of nationwide distribution to retail outlets, means that within a fortnight the new DVD, entitled The Greatest Test was available.For once, the title might not just be marketing hyperbole. Few games – in fact, few sporting occasions – can match the ebb and flow of fortunes of Edgbaston. For three-and-a-bit days the two best teams in the world went head to head, and the action and drama never let up right to the last ball.The DVD is 95 minutes long and can be bought by clicking here

SK Sham pays tribute to Eknath Solkar

SK Sham26-Jun-2005

Eknath Solkar: the man who turned the high-risk job of close-catching into a fine art © Getty Images
As in the very hub of life, so in cricket, they also serve who only stand and wait. The game is not all about just the star performers at the batting or the bowling crease. The men who stand in positions in the field where few would dare, rarely catch the headlines, even as they make the difference between victory and defeat.Eknath Solkar, who passed away on Sunday in Mumbai, will ever be remembered as one who had turned the high-risk job of close-catching into a fine art. He was one player who could indeed command a place in the team only on his fielding. That he was a fair bat, tenacious at times, and more than an useful bowler, made him an allrounder in the truest sense of the term.Sydney Barnes, a member of the fabulous Australian team of the forties, led by Don Bradman, had his team-mates worried, as he posted himself fearlessly at forward short-leg and, when he was taken to hospital a couple of times, hit in the groin, the critics described the perilous field placing as a “suicide” position.Many years later, “Ekki,” as Solkar was fondly called by his chums, had revisited the suicide position and made a great success of it. It was his sharp-reflexes and daredevilry at forward short-leg that actually contributed to the success of Indian spinning quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, Bhagawat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivasan Venkatraghavan.Much of the credit for India’s first-ever Test-series triumph over the West Indies in 1971 was laid at the feet of the tremendous batting feats of debutant Sunil Gavaskar and the experienced Dilip Sardesai. Solkar, who barely made the playing XI then, was not exactly heralded a hero. Useful stands with Sardesai, in the face a impending defeat, helped the team turn the tide on more than one occasion. On that Caribbean tour, Solkar showed glimpses of what stern stuff he was made of when he stood barely a couple of yards from the bat, at forward short-leg. Although not much came to Solkar’s hand, the leading West Indies batsmen had been psyched into curbing their natural strokeplay.A couple of months later, Solkar was to come full bloom as world’s greatest a close-in fielder. He did not take, but made, catches at forward short-leg. He had opener Brian Luckhurst on no less than three occasions in the first two Tests. Caught by Solkar, Luckhurst said while walking, “Wait you blighter, the series isn’t over yet.” The same remark came from Luckhurst, the third time that he was picked by Solkar. It was the turn of the Indian to speak, “Mr. Luckhurst, is the series over now?.” Though he went on to play the next game, Luckhurst suffered further embarrassment, off Solkar’s bowling, when he was dismissed for 1 (c Gavaskar) in the first innings.Solkar’s close-catching in England was, on occasions, “out of this world.” I am not saying this, the English critics did that. “He created catches out of thin air, like some Indian magician,” said John Arlott, the doyen among the commentators.In India, Eknath Solkar was called “the poor man’s Garry Sobers,” which was just a manner of speaking. But indeed, he was a poor man’s son who made it big by sheer hard work and dedication. The Hindu Gymkhana at the posh Marine Drive area had a small hut attached to it. That was the abode of the humble groundsman who tended the pitch where the then leading players of the country came for practice. Amongst those who bowled at them was a little boy in shorts and a torn vest. Bombay and India stumper, Madhav Mantri, impressed by his enthusiasm, arranged to send him to school. An average student, Solkar was however an outstanding cricketer and it was not too long before he captained the Indian schools against the visiting English schools.A two-in-one bowler, left-arm seam and orthodox left-arm spin, and a reliable batsman in any position, Solkar saw his dream turn into reality when he was picked for a Test debut against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1969.He may not have had any outstanding performances, but he was undoubtedly the greatest utility player who the selectors found difficult to leave out. A loveable guy, he was a knowledgeable critic of the game. He spoke out as fearlessly as he stood at the dreaded forward short-leg position, sleeves rolled down and a grin on his dark, sweat-covered face. Many a batsman who have fallen to him, will surely remember that face.

Australia haven’t lost a Test at Brisbane since November 1988, winning 11 out of their last 16

S Rajesh02-Nov-2005

The Ashes memories just keep on coming as two more DVDs arrive for your viewing pleasure

Edward Craig28-Jan-2007

Another Christmas, another Ashes series andyet another Phil Tufnell DVD. Here, Phil, with anold twist to an old theme, trades on his loveablerogue image to string together another series ofcricket clips, linked with toe-curling one-linersand limp explanation from the ex-king of thejungle.This seems little different to Tufnell’s effortslast year, except he wanders round quirkylocations at Lord’s and The Oval as opposed toquirky locations at Arundel and the Rose Bowl(increase in budgets, no doubt) introducingclips of Ashes Geezers (Botham), Gaffes (Englandin 1989) and Greats (Keith Miller).In theory, this could make for an interestingretrospective, and some of the clips aremagnificent – Harold Larwood’s bowling action,Gooch batting at The Oval in 1985 – but youcould watch this footage through goggles filledwith ink and still enjoy them. Cutting themtogether with an irritating soundtrack and anirritating script only diminishes their value.That said, Tufnell is one of the better thingsabout the DVD. You know what he’s going todo, how he’s going to do it, you can see thejokes coming and, although it can be painful, hedoes it pretty well – he’s natural and energeticbut needs a better writer. Throw in somehorrendous editing and an awful “chat” withTMS commentator Henry Blofeld (he’s on radiofor a reason), you’ll do well to reach the end.

This is not an easy time for English people toview an Ashes DVD. The past seems very similarto the present. Australian victories, like a SteveHarmison over, just go on and on.Our famous guides, Ian Botham and AllanBorder, do their best, but Shakespeareannarrators they ain’t. In between Tests they faceeach other across the table and dissect. “AndAustralia went on their merry way,” says ABseveral times. Beefy nods and scratches theside of his nose in preparation for rememberinganother ad-lib.But what they describe is magnificent- lots and lots of great cricket. They begin onIllingworth’s 70-71 tour and the clips just keeprolling. John Snow getting menaced by theworld’s oldest hooligan. Lillee and Thomson;Tony Greig hitting, then signalling, a four. ColinCowdrey, aged 42, with no need for a chestprotector, getting one on the elbow.There are little moments of beauty too.Those Gower cover drives. How could aman stand so still when the ball was aboutto be delivered? And on disc two, enjoythe wicketkeeping of Ian Healy below, thebest Australia has had. Speaking of brilliantAustralians, there’s nothing like a Benaud bonmot. Bill Lawry, on the other hand, with 30 yearsin the comm box on his CV, may never knowwhether a swipe to the boundary will becomea four or a six.If you’re English, the fast forward button may be useful on disc two. A decade-and-a-half of Australian skill and English ineptitude. If only we’d known in 1989, when disc one shows Kim Barnett getting slogged to all parts by Merv Hughes, that – 2005 excepted – Australia wouldjust keep going on their merry way.

This is Australian sporting nirvana. Amazing Adelaide records the critical second Test of the 2006-07 Ashes at the Adelaide Oval, in which the hosts were 15-1 to win on the final morning… and went on to win. Each of the five days’ play, plus the post-match celebrations, have been put into one 115-minute highlight reel. The DVD, hosted by Michael Slater and Richie Benaud, is a compilation taken from Channel 9’s excellent coverage over the Australian summer.Features are few; there is no 5.1 stereo available for proper effect. There is only the one menu to navigate, though, and the image is represented well on any HD television or projector. A great gift and not to mention lesson. England should be sat down and made to watch the highlights again and again to learn just why it’s important to play the full five days out – and play them with total concentration.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan offers five reasons why India’s outing against Bangladesh may not be so easy

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan16-Mar-2007

Bashar the glue
With three half-centuries against India, Habibul Bashar has often stood alone amid the disappointing batting efforts. All three fifties have come in losing causes but Bashar’s calm presence is often reassuring. He can hold the middle order together, sealing up one end as his more flashy colleagues take on the bowling at the other. He’s no slouch, though, well capable of stepping it up when the situation demands.Shock power
Floating around Bashar are a group of dangerous batsmen, often veering from the sublime to the ridiculous but one heck of a threat when they come off. India don’t need any introduction to Mohammad Ashraful, not after Chittagong in 2004; neither do they need to be reminded of Aftab Ahmed’s powers, not after Dhaka in 2004. Then there’s Shahriar Nafees, who’s opening exploits include a Test hundred against Australia, Tamim Iqbal and Saqibul Hasan. All are young batsmen in a similar mould, all with oodles of promise.New-ball variety
In Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain, Bangladesh possess a more than handy new-ball pairing to hustle the best. Mortaza’s skiddy cutters will be complemented by Shahadat’s discomforting bounce, a prospect that could unsettle the best. India will remember Mortaza’s contribution on Boxing Day in 2004, when he winkled out Virender Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to help Bangladesh record their first (and only) triumph against India. Mashrafe has also chipped in with the bat, in the two games against India, and his recent exploits in the warm-up match against New Zealand suggest a handy allround talent. Shahadat is yet to play against India but nine wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka translates into a dangerous talent.Left-arm menace
Rahul Dravid feels this World Cup will be won by the team that manages the middle overs best. India are likely to face a slew of left-arm spinners in that period, with Mohammad Rafique’s darts complemented by Abdur Razzak’s loop and Saqibul’s accuracy. Razzak and Saqibul arrive with economy-rates of 3.5 and 3.7 respectively and India will need to find innovative ways to manoeuvre the ball around with the field spread.More youth, more agility
Bangladesh enter the game with a head-start in the fielding department. Aftab, Ashraful and Saqibul will form an agile inner circle and their enthusiasm could be infectious. India’s main worry has been the ageing nature of the side (Dravid even indicated that they’d need to hide a few fielders) and an efficient performance from Bangladesh would enable them to bridge the gulf. A couple of lucky breaks and they will dream bigger.

Captains keeping and scoring hundreds; and most runs scored in the first and last 10 overs

Steven Lynch23-Oct-2007The regular Tuesday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:

VVS Laxman has scored the most ODI runs for a batsman without a World Cup appearance © AFP
What is the Test batting average? I mean runs scored by batsmenin Test cricket divided by total dismissals. I’m guessing it’s around 30,but the idea has been pinging around in my head for a while and it needsto get out! And while you’re at it, what’s the overall bowlingaverage? asked Kieran O’Leary from Australia
Your guess was remarkably close: the overall Test batting average (runsscored divided by completed innings) is 29.84 since the first Test in1876-77. The overall bowling average is slightly higher – 31.43 – becauseof run-outs and the recent counting of wides and no-balls against thebowler.Who has scored the most runs and taken the most wickets without everappearing in a World Cup? My guess for the batsman is VVS Laxman – am Iright? asked Satyakant from India
There’s some fine guessing going on this week, because the batsman withthe most ODI runs who has never appeared in a World Cup is indeed VVS Laxman, who has made 2338.The leading wicket-taker is another Indian, Irfan Pathan, who has so fartaken 122 one-day wickets. He’s just ahead of Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Zoysa, who has taken 108wickets in 95 matches, and holds the record for the most ODIs playedwithout appearing in the World Cup.Was the Test between India and New Zealand at Hamilton in 2002-03 theonly one in which part of all four innings took place on the same day?asked Ashwin Sundar from India
The match you’re talking about is this one. India started the third day(the first was washed out) at 92 for 8 in their first innings, and weresoon all out for 99; New Zealand were bowled out for 94; India went in andout again for 154; and by the end of the day New Zealand, chasing 160 towin, were 24 without loss (they completed a four-wicket victory nextmorning). This was the second occasion that part of all four innings hadtaken place on the same day of a Test: it also happened on the second dayof the 2000 Lord’s Test betweenEngland and West Indies (one ball of West Indies’ first innings, wholeinnings by England and West Indies, then seven balls of England’s second).What is the highest number of ducks in an ODI? I only ask because therewere seven in one of the India-Australia matches … asked Ed Dixonfrom England

Michael Clarke was the first of seven ducks during the seventh ODI between India and Australia at Mumbai © AFP
The match you’re talking about was the seventh one of the recent seriesbetween India and Australia, at Mumbai last week, andthere were indeed seven ducks (three golden ones), four by Australia andthree by India. That was the sixth instance of seven dismissals for 0 inthe same ODI – but the record is eight, shared by England (5) and WestIndies (3) in the 1979 World Cup final at Lord’s. For a list of the othersevens, click here.Who has taken the most wickets against England in Tests and ODIs?asked James Hamilton from Dundee
In Tests it’s a familiar name leading the way: Shane Warne took 195 Englandwickets in 36 Tests. Another Australian, Dennis Lillee, lies second with167, just ahead of CurtlyAmbrose of West Indies (164). Overall 17 bowlers have taken 100 ormore wickets against England in Tests. In ODIs the leader is anotherfamiliar Aussie – GlennMcGrath, with 53 wickets. Next come Malcolm Marshall (41) and Shaun Pollock (40).Which cricketer called his autobiography Retired Hurt?asked Max Hayes from Brisbane
This was Roshan Mahanama, theSri Lankan batsman who played 52 Tests between 1985-86 and 1997-98scoring 2576 runs including 225 in the Test-record total of 952 for 6against India in Colombo in1997. Mahanama’s book was privately published in Australia in 2001, and hecalled it that because he was upset at his treatment by the selectors,especially towards the end of his career.And there’s an update on the recent question about thehighest score in the last ten overs of an ODI, from Sreeram in India
“I believe that the most runs scored in the final ten overs of an ODIinnings is actually 146, by South Africa against Pakistan at Centurion earlier this year. They were 246 for 4 after 40 overs, but finished up with 392 for 6 – Mark Boucher made 78 in 38 balls.” That just beats a match several other people notified us about, Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Multan in 2004-05 – in that match Pakistan were147 for 6 at the end of the 40th over but, with Abdul Razzaq and ShahidAfridi going ballistic, they finished up with 292 for 7.

An enjoyable stroll through 30 years of one man and his rubbish cricket team

Alan Tyers10-May-2008Not Dark Yet by Mike Harfield
(My Back Pages Press, 149pp) £7.99

This memoir celebrates 30 years in the life of an endearingly hopeless scratch side where the batting averages are a fraction of the waist measurements. The author and a ragtag group of mates, whose abilities range from the largely incompetent downwards, have played one fixture a year against the Oxfordshire village side of Clifton Hampden.The slapstick run-outs, the fights over lbw howlers, the litany of talked-up ringers who turned out to be useless, the desperate struggle to raise 11 players on a Sunday morning – anyone who has played pub or village cricket will recognise and enjoy plenty in this book.Harfield, the team’s captain, traces their triumphs and (mainly) disasters since the first game in 1976, tying the story loosely to current affairs and international cricket in the past three decades.The downside of the book is that the reader will recognise plenty of that material, too: “You guys are history”; Beefy, Lamby, Dickie and the mobile phone; “the bowler’s Holding, the batsman’s Willey”. Much the better stuff is the gentle, droll
evocation of the pleasures of cricket and friendship that endure despite the passage of time. encapsulates nicely the “it’s not the winning, it’s the pub after” mentality that keeps thousands of amateurs, and indeed one or two professionals, coming back year after year, convinced against all evidence that this will be the innings where they finally crack that belligerent, buccaneering 50.The book’s title, incidentally, is from the Bob Dylan song, whose opening line: “Shadows are falling and I’ve been
here all day” seems pretty much to sum up the feelings of the no-hoper hidden down at long leg, for whom this book will be as welcome as the thought of that keg waiting in the pavilion and the rest of the coronation chicken left over from tea.