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James Vince rejuvenated his England one-day chances with a first century of the summer as Hampshire opened their Royal London Cup campaign with an 87-run victory over Sussex at the Ageas Bowl

ECB/PA27-Jul-2015
ScorecardJames Vince finally managed to score his first hundred of the season•Getty Images

James Vince rejuvenated his England one-day chances with a first century of the summer as Hampshire opened their Royal London Cup campaign with an 87-run victory over Sussex at the Ageas Bowl.Vince, who made his international bow in the washed-out match with Ireland in May, laid the foundations with an 89-ball knock of 103, which included 12 fours.Liam Dawson then starred with the bat and ball – scoring an unbeaten 73 and returning figures of 6 for 47 – to help Hampshire keep Sussex in check as the home side successfully defended an Ageas Bowl high 343.After Vince had won the toss and elected to bat first, Michael Carberry endured a second golden duck in under a week as he edged Ollie Robinson behind.Hampshire rebuilt well after the early set-back as Jimmy Adams gained some much-needed confidence with a six to the short leg-side boundary, before moving past 3,000 career List A runs.Just as Adams looked set to notch a season-reviving score he flicked Tymal Mills off his legs to George Bailey at square leg, who held on well as the opener departed for a run-a-ball 34 – after a 56-run stand with Adam Wheater.Wheater was unfortunate to pick out Ed Joyce at short extra cover off Chris Liddle after a fulsome 45 before Joe Gatting was farcically run out by Bailey.At the other end Vince was moving smoothly through his repertoire of shots and reached his fifty in 41 balls. He continued with his sensible yet classy batting and scored his first three-figure score of the season in 79 balls, his fourth format century.But he only added three more to his hundred before spinner Chris Nash bowled him, before Gareth Berg picked out Matt Machan on the mid-wicket rope – as Hampshire decelerated to 265 for 6.But a productive seven-over stand between Dawson and Chris Wood resulted in 78 runs being smashed. Dawson in particular impressed with his patient 56-ball fifty before he opened up with two sixes to finish with a flurry.Wood ended on 38 not out as Hampshire scored their highest Ageas Bowl List A score of 343 for 6.Sussex’s innings started poorly as Nash was leg before to Yasir Arafat – the batsman incredulous after attempting to flick over square leg.Machan and Luke Wright added 110 for the second wicket – with the latter taking a particular liking to Danny Briggs, smashing three sixes in one over against his former England one day team-mate. Wright reached a deserved half century in 39 balls before his partner-in-crime Machan followed him to the milestone in a more sedate 67 deliveries.Just as the pair had looked to have taken the game away from Hampshire, Wright flashed a Dawson full toss straight to Mason Crane on the long on boundary for 58.Former Hampshire batsman Bailey edged Wood behind as fast bowling returned in the 27th over before Scotland international Machan holed out to Gatting in the deep for 93 to give Crane his first List A wicket.Legspinner Crane added a second as Craig Cachopa skied to Dawson at cover as the visitors stalled in the middle overs. Luke Wells slogged Dawson for a six but found Gatting with the next delivery before Robinson was bowled and Sussex debutant Alfonso Thomas was lbw.And Dawson completed his first format five-for as he had Joyce lbw before he completed the rout as Mills offered a simple chance to Gatting as Sussex were dismissed for 256.

It shows how low expectations have sunk when taking a Test into a fourth day classes as something of a success

The Report by Andrew McGlashan13-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRobin Peterson claimed two wickets in New Zealand’s second innings•Associated Press

It shows how low expectations have sunk when taking a Test into a fourth day classes as a success. New Zealand showed more fight after inevitably being asked to follow-on in Port Elizabeth, but still closed 247 adrift on 157 for 4. South Africa could not quite conjure the quick finish, instead it was left to the supporting cast of Robin Peterson and Rory Kleinveldt to make the inroads.During the morning it had been Dale Steyn’s show as he finished with 5 for 17, his 19th five-wicket haul, but he could not quite repeat his venom second time around. New Zealand managed their first opening stand of any value, albeit still only worth 40, and having weathered the early challenge from the quicks it will have been galling to lose two to Peterson before tea. Kleinveldt’s two-in-two balls then set the platform for a three-day finish, but BJ Watling, following a first-innings 63, and Dean Brownlie added an unbroken 73 for the fifth wicket.Kleinveldt’s first success was Martin Guptill, who had been given out in the first over of the innings, as the openers faced four overs before lunch, but was easily saved by the DRS which showed Steyn’s bouncer only took arm and helmet, with no glove, to the keeper. Guptill, who has been a walking wicket in whites since the tour of Sri Lanka, did not suggest permanency early in his innings but steadily grew in confidence as he survived the initial spells of Steyn and Morne Morkel.He was given the occasional leg-side delivery to relieve the pressure and his straight-driving, often on show in limited-overs cricket, made a pleasing appearance. Graeme Smith reviewed an lbw appeal by Kleinveldt which was shown to have jagged back too much and was only clipping, then Guptill responded by crashing the next ball through the off side.However, when Kleinveldt returned for his second spell he won the battle. His third ball caught Guptill on the back foot and took the top of off stump. The batsman suggested the delivery had kept low, but he was let down by his footwork. The same can be said of Daniel Flynn who played a flat-footed drive to complete a desperate pair. He will be very lucky to retain his place, despite New Zealand’s slim resources.

Smart stats

• New Zealand’s 121 is their fifth-lowest total against South Africa in Tests since South Africa’s readmission. All five scores have come in Tests played in South Africa.

• The lead of 404 is the largest ever for South Africa against New Zealand surpassing the 352 in Wellington in 1953. Click here for matches when New Zealand have batted first and here for matches when they have batted second.

• BJ Watling scored 52.06% of the team runs in the first innings. John Reid holds the New Zealand record for the highest percentage of team runs in a completed innings (62.89%).

• Dale Steyn’s 5 for 17 is his 19th five-wicket haul in Tests. It is also his second-best bowling performance against New Zealand after the 6 for 49 in Centurion in 2007. Only Allan Donald (20 five-fors) is ahead of Steyn on the list of South African bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls.

• Among bowlers who have picked up 50-plus wickets against New Zealand, Steyn has the second-best average (17.85) after Wasim Akram (17.01).

• For the eighth time overall (against South Africa) and the fourth time since South Africa’s readmission, nine or more New Zealand batsmen were dismissed for sub-20 scores.

Guptill had been the main run-scorer early on because Brendon McCullum played another innings contrary to his natural instincts, this time so much so that he dug himself into a hole. Clearly the captain feels under pressure not to gift his wicket, and that is understandable, but he has yet to define what sort of batsman he will be while also leading the side.His 11 off 57 balls was his slowest Test innings over 10 (nudging ahead of his first-innings effort here) and was ended when he missed a straight delivery from Peterson which struck the back leg. Peterson settled into a probing, economical spell which allowed Smith to rotate his fast bowlers in short bursts. In the penultimate over of the session a ball skidded low and took the under-edge of Kane Williamson’s cut shot into the stumps.While New Zealand’s top four have, on the whole, struggled painfully over these two Tests, Brownlie and Watling will emerge with their reputations enhanced. Brownlie showed the same counter-punching style he displayed at Newlands and Watling was quick to pick off anything loose, although also escaped with two edges off Kleinveldt – one went through the slips, the other off the inside edge past the keeper. Their resistance led to Smith bringing himself and Alviro Petersen on for rare overs as the day finished amid loud renditions of the national anthem but a slightly more sedate feel on the pitch.During the morning New Zealand appeared to be hurtling towards another double-figure embarrassment as Steyn ripped through the lower order. However, Watling and Trent Boult added 59 for the last wicket, just three less than the other nine wickets beforehand.Resuming on 47 for 6, which soon became 62 for 9, Steyn helped himself to a cheap haul. Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner received testing, swinging, deliveries but Jeetan Patel again showed no stomach for the battle as he backed away to the leg side. That was too easy for Steyn.Watling stood tall amid the wreckage during a 75-ball half-century and Boult provided unexpected support at No. 11. In the main, Boult at least tried to stay in line and hammered a straight six down the ground which resulted in a smashed window. It is about the only significant damage New Zealand have caused in this series.

The fast bowler Pat Cummins might not play another Test this summer after being diagnosed with a bone stress injury in his foot

Brydon Coverdale in Hobart07-Dec-2011Fast bowler Pat Cummins is almost certain to miss the rest of Australia’s Test summer after being diagnosed with a bone stress injury in his foot. Cricket Australia’s medical staff face a challenge in working out how best to handle Cummins, one of several fast bowlers currently sidelined, and the team physio Alex Kountouris conceded managing workloads was an area that needed improvement.Cummins, 18, was a revelation during his Test debut in Johannesburg last month, where he took seven wickets, hit the winning runs and was Man of the Match. But it was during that game that he hurt his left heel, a problem that initially ruled him out of the series against New Zealand and now looks set to sideline him until mid-January.The lack of Sheffield Shield cricket in January, when the Big Bash League takes centre stage, means Australia would be taking an enormous risk if they reintroduced Cummins into the Test side for the end of the series against India, which finishes in Adelaide in late January. Australia’s physio, Alex Kountouris, said Cummins was unlikely to play any part in the India series.”To play Test cricket he needs to be bowling a lot and the problem is now he is not going to be bowling for anything between four and six weeks depending on how he is going, so to get his workload back up and he hasn’t got a lot of bowling under his belt in general,” Kountouris said. “He hasn’t got five years bowling under his belt like Mitchell Johnson, someone like him we could bring back quickly”It is going to be hard to get him back up for the latter start of the Indian series. It depends when he starts bowling and that is going to be monitored week to week but I wouldn’t imagine he is going to be bowling before the start of the new year.”Especially worrying for Australia is the way Cummins’ body has handled the longer form of the game. The Wanderers Test was only his fourth first-class appearance and in his previous match, the Sheffield Shield final of 2010-11, he bowled 65 overs, including 48 in the first innings, and struggled over the next few months with a back problem.”It is a concern because the last two first-class game’s he’s played in, which was the Shield final and this Test match, he has picked up an injury in both of them,” Kountouris said. “We thought he had a very good preparation because he has been working at New South Wales in conjunction with us since June-July and building up his workloads, everything was very strategic.”The injury he’s got … it’s hard to know. I haven’t seen a bowler get a stress fracture of the heel, I’ve seen them get a fat pad injury. It’s hard to know what’s caused it, we gave him the best preparation we thought we could give him but it still didn’t go well.”It’s from his heel hitting the ground. There’s a lot of things we’ve got to look at. Is it his foot biomechanics, is it bad luck, is it the hard wicket, is it the spikes, the shoe – they’re things we’re looking in to at the moment.”Cummins hurt his heel early in the Johannesburg Test but fought through the pain and had scans after the match that suggested a fat pad problem – a soft-tissue injury of the heel. However, further scans in Australia after he did not recover as expected showed what was believed to be the beginnings of a stress fracture.Australia must now work out the best way to handle Cummins, the latest in a string of fast bowlers to suffer serious injuries. Mitchell Johnson is out for the summer due after having foot surgery, Ryan Harris is on the comeback trail from a hip complaint, Ben Cutting is out for a month with a side strain, and the allrounder Shane Watson has missed two Tests due to a hamstring tear picked up while bowling. It has raised the issue of bowler workload, but Kountouris said there was no clear answer to the debate.”Workloads are an issue,” he said. “I’m not sure if it’s the be all and end all. Mitchell Johnson got injured batting, he just slipped in the foothole and hurt his toe, so whether that’s a workload issue or not is debatable. Ryan Harris is a 32-year-old fast bowler who has played a lot of cricket in the past and we’re managing little things here and there, so again I don’t think workload is an issue with him.”Most of the problems we have with workloads is they go up and down a lot, they can bowl four overs with Twenty20 cricket, they can go into Shield games and Test matches and it can be a problem. But that’s for us to manage. We’ve got to get better at that. All these competitions, IPL, Champions League, Big Bash, Shield cricket, Ryobi Cup, they’re all here to stay and we’ve got to get better at managing that.”

Younis Khan was pleased with his half-century on day three at the Basin Reserve as Pakistan went to stumps 11 runs ahead of New Zealand, having made 376

Andrew Fernando17-Jan-2011Younis Khan was pleased with his half-century on day three at the Basin Reserve as Pakistan went to stumps 11 runs ahead of New Zealand, having made 376. Younis’ 142-run stand with Misbah-ul-Haq formed the bedrock of Pakistan’s total as the pair ground New Zealand down for the best part of two sessions, scoring at less than three-an-over and batting out sixteen maidens between them.”I had a hundred against South Africa and now I have a good innings here as well,” said Younis. “Before the World Cup you need a couple of good innings like today’s one, so I’m happy about that.”He was also relieved to end his run of poor form on the tour, having made only 40 runs in five outings, which included three Twenty20s, a tour match and the first Test in Hamilton. “I needed an innings because I couldn’t make any runs in the Twenty20s and in the first Test I only scored 20 plus,” said Younis. “Today at the crease I just wanted to stay in, face more balls and play some shots.”Younis and Misbah batted patiently as the hosts toiled in the field, the pair happy to wait for the bad balls to put away rather than attempting to break the shackles, even with Daniel Vettori at his miserly best during the middle session. The partnership was cut short by a bad umpiring decision when Younis was given out, caught at short leg, after he had failed to get a touch on a Vettori arm ball. “We were a little unlucky because we were almost at 150 runs with the partnership. It’s in the nature of the game and the umpires are also human so I think you can’t blame anyone for that decision. In future I think we need referrals in Test games, in One Dayers and in Twenty20s as well.”The ferocious winds that buffeted the Basin Reserve on the first two days had eased on day three, and Younis was grateful at not having to battle the weather as well as a disciplined New Zealand attack. “It was my first time playing in these windy conditions. But as an international cricketer you’re supposed to do well in these conditions. I’ve already played eight or nine years in international cricket, so I should be used to it. The wind today wasn’t as bad today as it was in the last couple of days, so I was lucky.”Younis claimed that Pakistan’s performance tomorrow will crucial to the outcome of the match after the teams had little to choose between them at stumps on day three. “The match is quite even at the moment and whoever plays well tomorrow will have a good chance. The pitch is slow and it’s turning as well. It’s not a pacy one, so if you play proper shots at the crease you have a good chance to score good runs at the end.”

Rob Quiney’s second first-class century gave Victoria hope of victory against Tasmania after James Pattinson helped the Bushrangers snare first-innings points early on the third day

Cricinfo staff31-Jan-2010
ScorecardRob Quiney was in good form for Victoria•Getty Images

Rob Quiney’s second first-class century gave Victoria hope of victory against Tasmania after James Pattinson helped the Bushrangers snare first-innings points early on the third day. At stumps, Victoria had reached 8 for 321 with Quiney unbeaten on 139 and Pattinson on 1 and their 356-run advantage meant a hefty final-day chase for the Tigers.The Victorians began the second innings with a 35-run lead but the match threatened to turn in Tasmania’s favour when Luke Butterworth ran through the top four batsmen. Victoria were 4 for 65 when Quiney and Aaron Finch came together in a 98-run stand that ensured the visitors regained control of the game.Finch, who was playing his first Sheffield Shield match, was caught behind off Brett Geeves for 50 but Quiney continued to increase Victoria’s lead, helped by Matthew Wade (47). Quiney was in his 26th first-class appearance and was under some pressure to lift his output and he did so, passing triple figures for his state for the first time since October 2008.The battle for first-innings points in the morning was a short one – Tasmania began the day needing 48 runs and the Bushrangers wanted three wickets. The breakthroughs came via Pattinson, who finished with 4 for 52, and the former Tasmania fast man Damien Wright, who collected 3 for 52.