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Ryan Higgins left Middlesex for Gloucestershire in search of more white-ball opportunities and he put his Championship debut to immediate good use

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2018
ScorecardRyan Higgins bowling for Middlesex in 2017•Getty Images

Gloucestershire’s bid to complete a Specsavers County Championship win inside five sessions over Kent was scuppered when rain stopped play in Canterbury with the visitors 47 runs short of their victory target with nine wickets in hand.Chasing a modest target of 108 for victory over their Division 2 rivals, Gloucestershire had reached 61 for 1 after 15.5 overs when showers and bad light forced the teams from the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence to ruin west country hopes of wrapping up victory in this rain-delayed game with a day to spare.On a Canterbury pitch enlivened by heavy midweek rain that waterlogged the outfield and led to the loss of the game’s first four sessions, it was Gloucestershire’s seam bowlers who fared best in twice skittling the hosts for an aggregate match total of 174.

“Wicket suited me” – Higgins

Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire): “The wicket was suited to my sort of bowling, it was ideal for the slower, swing bowlers and the blokes who pitch it up there. The pitch was a little dryer today and wasn’t nipping about as much, but there was still plenty in it if you hit the right areas.
“I bowled quite a lot at Middlesex last year but am really enjoying this experience playing four-day cricket for Gloucestershire. We’re in a good position here but we still have to knock these runs off.”

Gareth Roderick’s gritty 51 helped Gloucestershire secure a valuable first-innings lead of 46, after which Ryan Higgins held a swing-bowling masterclass, taking 5 for 22 to dismiss Kent for 110 second time around.It was a great Championship debut for Higgins with Gloucestershire – a county he chose to join from Middlesex in search of precisely this sort of opportunityContrasting knocks from Daniel Bell-Drummond, who hit 61 from 63 balls with 10 fours and six, and a patient 32 in a shade over two hours by Zak Crawley, marginally saved Kentish face, but the domination of Gloucestershire’s bowlers continued thereafter as Dan Worrall and Matt Taylor claimed two wickets apiece in a controlled and skilled display of seam and swing-bowling in helpful conditions.Bell Drummond’s demise – his was the 11th of 15 lbw decisions in the match to date – sparked Kent’s second collapse in as many days as five wickets fell for 24 runs in 10 overs either side of lunch. Kent’s acting captain Joe Denly bagged a pair, Darren Stevens departed without scoring soon after then, with a single to his name, Will Gidman nicked to the keeper to complete a miserable performance against his former county as Kent succumbed in 48.3 overs.The visitors started the fourth and final innings of the match 30 minutes before Sunday’s tea interval and soon lost Chris Dent to a Matt Henry inswinger that rearranged the left-hander’s stumps.It proved a false dawn for Kent fans however, as Benny Howell (34*) and the visitors’ first-innings top-scorer, Gareth Roderick (11*), dug in after the interval to post an unbroken half-century stand that only the inclement weather could halt.As if to rub salt in Kent wounds, they also lost seamer Grant Stewart two deliveries into his third over of the afternoon with a recurrence of a hamstring problem that ruled him out of last week’s final pre-season friendly against Surrey.At the start of day three, Kent needed only six deliveries to mop up the final two wickets of Gloucestershire’s first innings.Henry, the Black Cap paceman snared Worrall leg before with a skidding first delivery of the day, then last man Taylor was well held low at first slip as Henry marked his county debut with 4 for 33.Stevens celebrated his 200th first-class appearance for the club with three for 19, while Stewart, Gidman and debutant Harry Podmore bagged a wicket apiece.Weather permitting, Gloucestershire appear destined to complete a deserved victory on day four, leaving Kent with plenty to ponder after their dismal showing in this opening fixture of the domestic season.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said fielding standards don’t change overnight after working with a coach, the solution needs to come from grassroots

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Mar-2017Sri Lanka’s fielding woes are deep-rooted, and will only be fully solved through long-term emphasis on fielding in junior and emerging cricket, coach Graham Ford has said.Once considered the best fielding side in Asia, Sri Lanka’s fielding standards have declined substantially through the last few years, across all formats. A lack of catching ability behind the wicket has been repeatedly exposed on the most recent tours of South Africa, England and New Zealand, and while Sri Lanka won the T20 series in Australia in February, several catches had been spilt through that series as well. Ground fielding standards have also deteriorated.”I think fielding, for quite a long time, has been a problem for Sri Lanka,” Ford said. “They’ve tried various coaches at the national team level. The board’s realised that you’re not just going to solve the problem by having a coach at the top, because the players coming through to the top are way off the required standard. No coach is going to turn someone into a star fielder if he hasn’t been coached for quite some time. It’s the old story of you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”You can’t just get a group of players and put them together with Jonty Rhodes and think that tomorrow they’re going to go out and field well. It is going to take some time.”Though Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket structure is ill-resourced and ill-equipped to invest meaningfully into fielding training, Sri Lanka Cricket has begun to emphasise fielding to the teams the board directly manages, Ford said. The top fielding coach in SLC’s employ – Nick Pothas – was recently deployed with Sri Lanka’s Under-19 side, for example, and the A team has had more attention from top coaches in the past few months as well.”I think the board should be commended on really looking and they’re trying to get a fielding program working with the Under-19s, the emerging players, and the A team players, so that by the time they get to the national level, they’re ready and fully content to field there,” Ford said.”Hopefully that project is pursued with determination and patience, and in time, I think Sri Lanka can become the best fielding nation in the world. I believe the Under-19 team at the moment is fielding pretty well. It’s just about getting those basics right at a young age. For some time now, we’ve had high quality fielding coaches working with the national team, but it’s almost too late.”The board has also recently strengthened its cohort of trainers and fitness coaches, which Ford said would have a positive effect on fielding.”Athletic ability, speed and ability is also important, so it’s not just the fielding coach – the conditioning coaches also need to be involved. I think with that project put in place, there will in time be a result. Credit to the board that they’ve looked into this and decided they will have a proper fix and a long-term fix.”

Scotland rode Kyle Coetzer’s powerful batting at the top of the order to a 37-run win over Hong Kong at Mission Road, earning a split of the two-match T20 series

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Man-of-the-Match Kyle Coetzer struck 70 for Scotland in the win, a career-best in T20Is•Peter Della Penna

Scotland rode Kyle Coetzer’s powerful batting at the top of the order to a 37-run win over Hong Kong at Mission Road, earning a split of the two-match T20 series. Man-of-the-Match Coetzer scored 70 off 40 balls, a career-best in T20Is for the opener, to propel the visitors to 161 after being sent in.It was a solid bounceback in particular for Coetzer after falling for a duck the day before in Scotland’s nine-wicket defeat. His opening partner George Munsey fell without scoring in the opening over of Sunday’s rematch but Coetzer and Matthew Cross were undeterred in their aggression during the Powerplay.Coetzer maintained a brisk pace early before Cross targeted Hong Kong captain Tanvir Afzal in the sixth, clattering a trio of fours through mid-off and a fourth behind point to take Scotland to 54 for 1. Their 71-run stand ended when Nadeem Ahmed had Cross caught off the left-arm spinner’s first ball in the ninth over for 27, failing to clear Nizakat Khan at deep midwicket.Coetzer kept cruising after Cross departed though and eventually brought up his fifty off 29 balls, striking the left-arm spin of Anshuman Rath for his fourth six over mid-off. He hit six sixes in all, every one driven between mid-on and cover, in an impressive display of orthodox strokeplay. After pulling Aizaz Khan for his fifth four in the 13th, Coetzer tried the shot again but top-edged to Nizakat at deep square leg.Scotland stuttered from there, losing their next five wickets for 17 runs as Nadeem and Haseeb Amjad prevented a late surge following Coetzer’s excellent platform. Nadeem in particular kept Scotland off balance with his variations of flight and pace to claim 3 for 23, and helped to hold Scotland to 161 for 9.Any momentum Hong Kong had in the final five overs in the field was wiped out by a double-barreled seam assault from Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Wheal, who reduced the hosts to 7 for 4 after 15 balls of the chase. Jamie Atkinson was squared up first ball and edged Sharif behind to Cross before Wheal got a slice of good fortune when Rath missed a full toss after charging down the track to start the second and was bowled for 1.Wheal nearly had Mark Chapman two balls later as an inside edge missed the stumps before going to the fine-leg boundary but on the final ball of the over managed to have the prized scalp – caught flicking a thin edge down the leg side to a diving Cross. Sharif had Babar Hayat poking unnecessarily at a wide delivery to send a catch to Preston Mommsen at second slip three balls into the third over and from there Hong Kong were virtually out of the game.Hong Kong slipped further to 34 for 6 in the ninth when Richie Berrington struck off consecutive deliveries. Nizakat was caught hooking to deep square leg for 17 while Kinchit Shah drove a full delivery flat and hard to Calum MacLeod at head height on the long-off rope for 7.Afzal made the final margin appear more flattering after striking the fastest T20I fifty for Hong Kong, off 20 balls, including four sixes in a 30-run over off Rob Taylor in the 17th when he drove the left-arm medium-pacer repeatedly over mid-on and mid-off. He had been dropped earlier on 22 off a sharp return chance to the left-arm spinner Mark Watt as a drive burst through the bowler’s hands toward mid-off but Afzal’s fireworks finally came to an end in the 18th when Wheal returned to the attack and forced a mistimed drive to Taylor at mid-off. Berrington ended the match one over later with his third wicket after Amjad sent a catch to deep square leg.Hong Kong now have two weeks to prepare for their Asia Cup T20 qualifying round against UAE, Afghanistan and Oman. Scotland will fly through the UAE on their way home for three matches, including T20Is against UAE and Netherlands on February 4 and 5 in their final scheduled action before their first match at the World T20 against Afghanistan on March 8.

Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset captain, has said he was “embarrassed” by his team’s performance against Sussex

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2013Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset captain, has said he was “embarrassed” by his team’s performance against Sussex where they crumbled to an innings defeat in little more than four sessions at Horsham.They were bowled out before lunch on the first day for 76 and only crept into double figures second time around with 108. It was their third Championship defeat in six matches and they are seventh in table without a victory just three points clear of the relegation spots.”It’s not an easy performance to take, and I’m quite embarrassed by what we’ve done,” Trescothick told BBC Somerset. “We’ve got to try and turn it around. That’s all we can do.”I’m devastated. It’s a hard situation to be involved in and I’m not understanding why we’re playing like we are. We’ve got to find a solution. It’s been going on for a couple of games and we’ve not been near what we expect.”But there’s no easy answer. If I knew that we could put our finger on it and go from there.”Following the two-day defeat the squad had an extra training session at Taunton on Friday and their coach, Andy Hurry, echoed Trescothick’s sentiments about the performance. “Our professional pride is hurt and we are fully aware that we have underachieved and haven’t performed at all with the bat,” he told the club website.”We know its only a matter of time before we put in a performance and dominate a side, but when it does turn around we are going to hit somebody very hard, so we are in the process at the moment of trying to turn things around.”Somerset have been without Nick Compton in recent weeks due to England duty and Craig Kieswetter who broke a thumb against Warwickshire in April. Alviro Petersen, their overseas player, will soon join the South Africa squad for the Champions Trophy as a replacement for Graeme Smith. His countryman Dean Elgar has been signed as cover.Jos Buttler will be on one-day duty with England from next week and Somerset will hope that will coincide with Kieswetter’s return.Their next Championship match is against Yorkshire, at Taunton, starting on May 28.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put on a stand of 132 to see England to victory at Lord’s

The Report by David Hopps21-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook took control of England’s chase with a solid half century before being dismissed two runs short of the target•PA Photos

West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord’s Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies’ expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.From 57 for 4, still 134 short of victory, Cook and Bell should have been under pressure, but they gambolled along at roughly four runs an over in a stand of 132. It ended with England two short of victory when Cook chopped Darren Sammy to gully. Ian Bell, who is already beginning to look like his old self again after a torrid winter, flicked Marlon Samuels through mid-on for the winning boundary in the next over.The sun that is now finally promised after a raggy-arsed spring will have been a relief for West Indies, but it shone upon on an England victory that has put them 1-0 up in the series with two to play.West Indies have now won just two of their 31 Tests since they dismissed England for 51 in Jamaica in 2009. They have only a few days to reassess before the second Test begins in Nottingham on Friday. All manner of theories will be bandied around about which absent players might have made them better, but the debate should not be about absent individuals, it should be about the reason most of them are absent – and that debate is about how the financial lure of IPL is threatening Test cricket, and Caribbean cricket in particular. There must be a window, a compromise, a solution. Instead what we have is a short-sighted flexing of muscles.Apart from Kemar Roach, no West Indies bowler was able to build much pressure. England will feel stronger for having to answer a few questions and Tim Bresnan, who does not much look like a lucky mascot, which tend to be cuddlier and fluffier, now has 12 Test wins in 12. Mascot or not, it is about the identity of their third seamer at Trent Bridge that England’s own debate will most centre.There were no 4am queues as there had been at Lord’s for the final day against India a year earlier but expectancy was high and there were officially 7,000 in the ground for a final day that many had assumed would not happen. West Indies had given England a fiery four overs on the fourth evening but they needed early wickets to stir the imagination a second time.

Smart stats

• England’s five-wicket win is their sixth in their last seven Tests at Lord’s, and their 14th in 25 Tests here since 2000. Their win-loss ratio of 4.66 is among their best in home venues during this period.

• For West Indies, the Lord’s defeat is their 43rd in their last 58 Tests in overseas or neutral venues (excluding Tests in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). They have only won two of those matches.

• The 132-run partnership between Alastair Cook and Ian Bell is the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for England in the fourth innings of a Test.

• Kemar Roach’s match haul of six wickets is his highest in an overseas Test. Only twice has he taken more wickets in a Test match.

• Cook’s 79 is his fifth 50-plus score in 23 fourth-innings efforts. For Bell, it’s his sixth half-century in 19 innings.

They got them too: Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen removed with the new ball still hard. On each occasion, a West Indies fast bowler responded to a boundary by delivering something better.Roach, West Indies’ main hope, set things moving in his third over of the morning. Trott steered him deliberately through the slips for four, and had a similar outcome in mind from the next ball, but this time it gripped up the hill and Darren Sammy took a good catch to his left at second slip.Pietersen had fulsome strokeplay in mind to get England out of a tight corner. He had memories of a big hundred in Colombo to sustain him, and the adulation of IPL. It was not long before he was met by a debutant, Shannon Gabriel, and the temptation to break his nerve immediately must have been high.Gabriel, a 24-year-old Trinidadian, dragged his third ball down short and wide and Pietersen pulled it haughtily to the midwicket boundary for four. The next ball was also short, but straighter, and Pietersen was cramped as he again sought out midwicket’s open spaces and succeeded only in bottom-edging to the wicketkeeper.At 57 for 4, even though one of the wickets was the nightwatchman Anderson, England were under the cosh. But the wicket was still sound and England accepted opportunities to press ahead quickly. Cook kept England’s innings moving forward with several controlled drives and West Indies turned to Samuels’ off spin. It was delivered at a saunter with no suggestion that a Test was in the balance and Bell’s late cut in his first over brought up the 50 stand in only 12 overs.Roach apart, West Indies’ attack offered little. Edwards was out of sorts, Gabriel’s accuracy wavered and Sammy lacked menace. Cook’s pull shot against Sammy, followed up by a crisp late cut against Samuels to bring up his fifty, smacked of restored England authority. England rustled up 121 runs in 28 overs in an enterprising morning’s batting with Cook, still to score at start of play, reaching his half-century in the penultimate over before the break.Quite why Samuels was still bowling after lunch was a mystery. The idea that in the absence of Shane Shillingford, who took 10 wickets in his last Test, Samuels might spin them to victory was a Caribbean fairy story.To turn to Roach was more appropriate but his threat had diminished. It was eight overs into the afternoon before Ian Bell advanced to drive Samuels for the first boundary of the session, but England had picked off 28 runs of the further 60 they needed in the meantime. Bell gloved a bouncer from Roach to fine leg for another boundary as victory became inevitable, Roach limped from the field at the end of a stout-hearted effort and it was not long before his team mates followed.

On a square turner, Kolkata Knight Riders out-spun Kings XI Punjab to move to become joint leaders on the point table

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga30-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIqbal Abdulla picked up two big wickets for Kolkata•AFP

On a square turner, Kolkata Knight Riders out-spun Kings XI Punjab to move to become joint leaders on the points table, although the other team, Mumbai Indians, have a game in hand. Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan took the big wickets – Adam Gilchrist, Paul Valthaty and David Hussey – for 43 runs in eight overs, exploiting the conditions to the fullest. Eoin Morgan and Gautam Gambhir, two of the best players of spin on show tonight, made sure the chase was smooth.It took Gambhir just the three overs to realise that there was no point offering the batsmen pace on this track. In fact it was a track where even medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia turned his slower legbreaks appreciably. Gambhir’s fielders complemented their slow bowlers, Punjab’s indecisive running compounded their woes. At 22 for 0 after three overs, Abdulla immediately started turning the ball at right angles. Valthaty succumbed to the pressure, hitting Yusuf straight to long-on. Gilchrist, pulled back from 18 off 14 to 26 off 26, looked to manufacture a pull off a length. This was the straighter delivery from Abdulla, and snuck through Gilchrist’s legs.Either side of Gilchrist’s dismissal, Shaun Marsh and Abhishek Nayar were run out: Marsh caught ball-watching when hit on the pad, and Nayar slow off the blocks when trying a tight single. At 53 for 4 in the 10th over, Gambhir’s captaincy shone through. He was not content with the early wickets. Almost every new batsman walked out to a slip and a silly point. Gambhir himself stayed under the helmet.While the wickets didn’t come, they always lurked around the corner. The cautious batsmen couldn’t do much about the poor run-rate. Bhatia cannily played the role of the third spinner, dealing almost exclusively in slower legcutters. The 18 runs off his four overs included four overthrows.A 33-run stabilising stand between Dinesh Karthik and Hussey threatened much, but Abdulla came back to end it in the 15th over. Three overs after he had survived a shout for a plumb lbw, Hussey was now given out to a delivery that could have perhaps slid down the leg side. Karthik nudged and swept his way to 42 off 42, but couldn’t provide that final kick. Only 33 came off the last five overs, which meant that the run-rate never crossed six an over after it slipped under the mark in the seventh over.It was a chase that could have easily gone wrong on a difficult track. Al least it threatened to when Jacques Kallis got out to the first ball of left-arm spin of Bhargav Bhatt, who opened the bowling. Morgan, however, took out whatever enthusiasm the Punjab side might have had. He judged lengths early, moved feet decisively, and his 15-ball 28 made sure there was no run-rate pressure on the rest.Gambhir negated the spinners expertly, showing off his version of quick footwork. Perhaps because he is the captain, he was less flashy than Morgan. He relied on pressing forward, then waiting for the bowler to bowl short for a nudge into the leg side. If the bowler didn’t pitch short, like Piyush Chawla tried, he chipped him well over the infield. With support forthcoming from Manoj Tiwary, the rest was an evening walk at Eden Gardens.

Glamorgan remain on course to achieve a third County Championship victory
of the season after James Harris took three of Northamptonshire’s second-innings
wickets on the third day at the Swalec Stadium

12-May-2010
Scorecard
Glamorgan remain on course to achieve a third County Championship victory
of the season after James Harris took three of Northamptonshire’s second-innings
wickets on the third day at the Swalec Stadium.Northants finished the day on 126 for 4 – still trailing Glamorgan by 71 runs. That was after the home side were dismissed for 450 having accumulated a 197-run advantage on first innings, the only blemish for Glamorgan being their failure to register maximum batting points.And when Northants batted again, Harris broke through to finish with three for
43 from 15 overs. Much now depends on David Sales if Northamptonshire are to
have any chance of saving the match on the final day tomorrow.Resuming the morning on 348 for 5 – a first-innings lead of 95 – Glamorgan
were eager to put more daylight between them and their opponents. Jim Allenby continued his good form by registering his fifth half-century of the summer, although he was dropped on 46 by Andrew Hall at slip and on 47 Stephen Peters at cover before reaching his half-century from 86 balls with six fours.After missing out on the fifth batting point by five balls, Allenby lost Mark
Wallace who went leg before to Hall leaving Glamorgan 402 for 6. And after a 20-minute rain break Northamptonshire broke through twice more – Hall getting another lbw decision to dismiss Harris before Allenby edged Jack Brooks to David Sales at second slip having made 76 – his highest score of the season.David Harrison came to the middle in positive mood, striking four boundaries as
Glamorgan went to lunch at 442 for 8. After 21 overs were lopped off the afternoon session because of a 90-minute rain break, Dean Cosker was trapped in front by David Lucas, who polished off the Glamorgan innings when Harrison chopped onto his stumps.Niall O’Brien and Stephen Peters made a good fist of shortening Glamorgan’s
lead as they reached 43 for one after tea, with Harrison particularly
expensive. But his new-ball colleague Harris broke through to have O’Brien caught down the
leg side by Wallace for 33.Peters looked as if he was going to reach his half-century but, two runs short,
he was caught by Harrison running in from deep square leg after a top-edged
sweep at Cosker.Northants slipped to 91 for 3 as Harris broke through for a second time to have Mal
Loye caught by Ben Wright at cover point. And his fine spell was complete when he had Rob White leg before, bringing nightwatchman David Lucas to the middle for the final six overs.