Gayle blitz, Chahal guile reinvigorate RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore revived a stalled campaign with a morale-boosting 21-run win, their second in six matches

The Report by Shashank Kishore18-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:16

Hogg: Would be very surprised if Lions or RCB make the top four

Chris Gayle hadn’t made a half-century in 17 T20 innings. His strike rate among openers who had faced a minimum of 50 deliveries prior to this game was the slowest. On Tuesday, a spot opened up after AB de Villiers’ late pull-out because of an injury. It meant IPL’s most successful opening partnership of Virat Kohli and Gayle were reunited again. With the side desperately needing fresh energy to revive a stalled campaign, Gayle, who became the first batsman to score 10,000 T20 runs, unleashed mayhem – striking 77 off 38 balls – as Royal Challengers posted 213 for 2, the season’s highest total, on a slow Rajkot deck.Then Brendon McCullum came up with an astonishing display of six-hitting in a 44-ball 72 that should have been enough to give Lions victory on most nights. But conceding 35 off the last two overs with the ball – a majority of those plundered by Kedar Jadhav in his unbeaten 16-ball 38 – proved to be the difference as Royal Challengers won by 21 runs and arrested a three-match losing streak to lift themselves off the bottom of the points table.RCB start steadily


As early as the fifth over, midwicket was in business at least twice, trying to dive forward to try and catch a mistimed flick. On both occasions, the ball skewed off the top part of Kohli’s bat. These were early indications that the ball was gripping, which Dhawal Kulkarni, Basil Thampi and Andrew Tye exploited well early on. Lions conceded just 36 in the first five overs, with Gayle and Kohli far from set.Gayle storm unleashed

The template was set: bowl slower through the air and get the batsmen to force the pace. Royal Challengers had two left-handers in the top six. Gayle is a slow starter against spin and on a slow surface where shot-making wasn’t as easy as he later made it out to be, he had to content with Ravindra Jadeja as early as the sixth over.Jadeja started off by conceding just nine, but deviated from the template in his next over by bowling full, fast and straight. It was the fodder Gayle needed to swing through cleanly: he muscled two fours and two sixes in a 21-run over. One of those sixes could’ve been out had Brendon McCullum’s hat not been in contact with the rope as he flung himself across to take a catch at wide long-off. Gayle raced to a 23-ball 50 courtesy three fours and five monstrous sixes to turn a steady start into a spectacular one.Kohli, the accumulator

Kohli’s timing seemed off initially. This was no surface to punch through the line, so he tried to charge down the pitch and was beaten in trying to hit out. But the three successive boundaries he hit off Dhawal Kulkarni in the third over – to full deliveries – got him going.Having watched Gayle return to form, Kohli took over after Thampi ended a 122-run opening stand in the 13th over. Signs of recovery from a shoulder injury were evident as he swiveled and pulled without discomfort to bring up a half-century. It helped that Travis Head, replacing Samuel Badree, didn’t take long to settle in and finished with a 16-ball 30 not out. Kohli eventually fell to a slower delivery for 64, attempting a heave on the leg side.Jadhav thrives in finishers’ role

Kedar Jadhav showed how much his T20 game has improved since the 2016 season, where he played just four games. His anticipation, particularly to Tye’s slower deliveries and Jadeja’s darts, were particularly impressive. He hit two sixes and four fours in the last two overs, in which Royal Challengers smashed 35. The final over that went for 17 resulted in Jadeja finishing with 4-0-57-0, his most-expensive T20 figures.Negi’s flight, McCullum’s fury

Royal Challengers started with spin and had Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina out early inside four overs. Left with no choice but to play just one way, McCullum found his hitting range against in Pawan Negi’s second over. He raced to a 30-ball 50, but the pressure brought on by dot balls resulted in the wickets of Aaron Finch and Dinesh Karthik in the space of eight deliveries to set Lions back. Negi continued to trust his weapon – flight – and deceived Finch as Jadhav effected a smart stumping. He followed that up by conceding just one in his next over – to leave Lions needing 107 off eight overs. Under the circumstances, Negi’s figures of 4-0-21-1 were gold.Chahal’s guile seals it
With McCullum repeatedly favouring the leg side, Chahal threw the ball up outside off and induced a slog sweep that was pouched at deep square leg in his last over. The timing of that wicket – with Lions needing 77 off 32 balls – was significant given Shane Watson and Adam Milne’s five overs had cost 63. With Negi bowled out, Kohli had to turn to one of them or S Aravind in the end-overs. McCullum’s wicket, however, took the fizz out of the chase. By making 39 off just 16 balls, Ishan Kishan made his case to be promoted, perhaps even as opener in place of Dwayne Smith, once Dwayne Bravo returns from injury.

Heino Kuhn wins big at Titans' awards

Titans’ opening batsman Heino Kuhn swept his franchise’s awards ceremony as he claimed the franchise’s player of the year, first-class player of the year and players’ player titles

Firdose Moonda06-Apr-2016Titans’ opening batsman Heino Kuhn swept his franchise’s awards ceremony as he claimed the franchise’s player of the year, first-class player of the year and players’ player titles.Kuhn, who has played for the team for a decade, is currently top of the season’s first-class run charts with 999 and a match to play. Barring a pair in the final fixture in Paarl, he will become the sixth South Africa to rack up more than 1,000 runs in a season, joining Barry Richards, Zander de Bruyn, Rilee Rossouw, Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook on an elite list.At 32, Kuhn still harbours hope his numbers will earn him a national call-up, especially on the evidence of this summer. Cook, who is a year older than Kuhn, was rewarded with a Test debut after seasons of run-scoring on the domestic circuit.”Heino is one of the most decorated players for the Titans because he has won so many Man-of-the-Match-awards, and even received national accolades. His longevity is a hallmark of his career,” Titans’ CEO Jacques Faul said. “His attitude throughout the seasons, even when he was on the substitute bench, encapsulates the Titans family spirit. He doesn’t let you down, and he gives 110%.”The other big winner on the night was Titans’ limited-overs’ captain Albie Morkel, who was named T20 player of the year. Morkel led from the front in the franchise’s successful campaign with 10 wickets at 13.30 and 198 runs at 39.60. Titans won eight matches in succession in the league phase to qualify directly for the final, which they won. Morkel edged South African opener Quinton de Kock, who was the top-scorer in the T20 competition with 437 runs at 39.72.”Albie, like Heino, has been one of our long-serving stewards and he set standards of leadership and all-rounder’s excellence which has made us all proud. This season’s T20 campaign was a vindication of his exemplary style of captaincy,” Faul said. “We trust we can call on Albie for another season in which he will showcase his three-in-one blue-chip qualities as leader, fast bowler and hard-hitting middle-order champion.”

Hales secures Notts home semi

Alex Hales hit a match-winning 74 as Nottinghamshire beat Kent by five wickets at Canterbury to top Group A and earn themselves a Yorkshire Bank 40 home semi-final

26-Aug-2013
ScorecardAlex Hales ensured Nottinghamshire’s chase was always on course•Getty Images

Alex Hales hit a match-winning 74 as Nottinghamshire beat Kent by five wickets at Canterbury to top Group A and earn themselves a Yorkshire Bank 40 home semi-final.Hales and Samit Patel, who scored 59, put together the decisive partnership of 107 in 22 overs as the visitors overhauled Kent’s 40-over total of 195 for 6 with 10 balls to spare.Michael Lumb also helped to give the Nottinghamshire reply a confident start with 28 from 23 balls before being stumped off a legside wide from Mark Davies in the seventh over, with the total on 42.James Taylor could make only 6 in a scratchy 18-ball stay before being caught at the wicket off the accurate Davies, who bowled his eight new-ball overs straight through for figures of 2 for 33.But Hales and Patel, who came together at 57 for 2, were more than equal to the task of guiding Nottinghamshire to the victory which gives them the chance of silverware at the end of an often frustrating season.Hales included only three fours in a 55-ball half-century but kept the scoreboard ticking despite a sluggish surface which made expansive strokeplay difficult, and Patel also worked the ball around expertly to reach his own fifty from 60 balls to negate the efforts of a Kent attack in which James Tredwell did his best in a losing cause with an eight-over stint of one for 31.Patel fell in the 33rd over, clubbing Tredwell to long on after a 70-ball innings which included four fours and a driven six off Adam Riley, while a fine throw from deep square leg by Adam Ball finally sent back Hales in the 36th over, the England Twenty20 batsman run out after facing 90 balls and hitting four fours.Riki Wessels lofted Darren Stevens to deep mid-wicket on nine but David Hussey finished the match in style by straight-driving Ball for six to end on 19 not out.Sam Northeast, driving loosely on two, edged Harry Gurney to second slip in the second over of Kent’s innings but the home side, who won the toss, were steadied by Rob Key and Brendan Nash in a partnership of 76 in 18 overs.Key’s 62-ball 41 ended when he was beaten by a ball from part-time offspinner Hussey that moved the other way up the Canterbury slope to take the edge of his defensive bat on its way into wicketkeeper Chris Read’s gloves.Nash made 47 off 66 balls before skying an attempted pull at Jake Ball to mid-on and Stevens’ bright 27 from 32 balls came to a disappointing end for the predominantly Kent-supporting 4,500 crowd when he holed out to Steven Mullaney at long-off trying to hit Patel’s left-arm spin for six.Kent stumbled to 135 for 5 when Geraint Jones was hit on the boot by a full delivery from Patel and leg-before for one, and with Mullaney conceding just 25 runs from his eight overs, but youngsters Fabian Cowdrey and Ball hit out defiantly in a stand of 39 in five overs to boost the home total.Ball had just reached 22 with successive fours off Ajmal Shahzad, over extra cover and swung to mid-wicket, when he skied to wide mid-off, but Cowdrey produced some more inventive strokes to finish on an unbeaten 39 off 48 balls.

Netherlands hold nerve to win series

In a seesaw contest, Netherlands’ Peter Borren and Pieter Seelar held their nerve during a crucial 42-run partnership for the eighth wicket to edge out UAE in Deventer

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2012
ScorecardIn a seesaw contest, Netherlands’ Peter Borren and Pieter Seelar held their nerve during a crucial 42-run partnership for the eighth wicket to edge out UAE in Deventer and win the two-match series 2-0. Chasing 222, Netherlands were comfortably placed at 162 for 3 in the 36th over, but four wickets went down for 18 runs and UAE held the advantage. However, Borren and Seelar stayed ahead of the required rate without hitting any boundaries until Seelar smashed Khurram Khan for a six to take Netherlands past UAE’s score. The chase was set up by Michael Swart’s 48, which included three sixes, at the top of the order and Tom Cooper’s 46.After being put into bat, UAE lost their first wicket without a run on the board to bring back memories of the first game, when they were shot out for 96. However, their captain Khurram scored 71 off 85 balls and Haroon Iftikhar made 41 off 77, adding 119 runs for the second wicket. However, Seelar (3-44) and Swart (2-36) kept taking frequent wickets to restrict UAE to 221.

Somerset slide after Trescothick fifty

Somerset batsman Marcus Trescothick maintained his impressive form in the County Championship this season with a half-century against Sussex

18-May-2011ScorecardNaved-ul-Hasan was in the wickets as Sussex made a strong start at Hove•PA Photos

Somerset batsman Marcus Trescothick maintained his impressive form in the County Championship this season with a half-century against Sussex.The former England opener hit 63 before his county collapsed from 117 for 1 to 197 for 7 on a bleak day at Hove which was reduced to 50.1 overs by rain and bad light.Sussex captain Mike Yardy had put Somerset in to bat and it looked as though the decision was going to backfire on him when Trescothick and Arul Suppiah put on 71 for the first wicket. Suppiah, who overcame a painful blow on the gloves following a lifting ball from Amjad Khan, was leg before wicket to James Anyon in the penultimate over before lunch.However, there was no respite for Sussex when Trescothick and Nick Compton, fresh from his 254 against Durham in the previous Division One match, added 46 with a flurry of boundaries.
Then Sussex persuaded the umpires to change the ball, rain brought a 45-minute delay and the game changed dramatically.Somerset, without James Hildreth – who will captain the England Lions against the Sri Lankans at Derby tomorrow – and the injured Craig Kieswetter, lost four wickets for 15 runs in six overs.
Trescothick, who made 63 off 84 balls with 12 fours and a six, tried to fend off a short ball from Khan and looped a catch to Ed Joyce at gully.Compton, who struck four fours in his 19, tried to cut Rana Naved and was brilliantly caught behind by Matt Prior, diving to his right. Peter Trego, driving at Naved, edged straight to Yardy at second slip two balls later, then Jos Buttler was trapped lbw by Anyon.Alex Barrow, 19 and playing in only his third first-class match, then found some support from Lewis Gregory and Craig Meschede. Gregory, an 18-year-old all-rounder, had helped add 18 when Anyon plucked out his off-stump just before tea.Meschede, another 19-year-old making his first-class debut, joined Barrow in an eighth wicket stand of 47. The partnership ended when Meschede edged Rana, Sussex’s most successful bowler with three wickets for 74 runs, and Yardy took his second catch – this time at first slip.Bad light ended play soon afterwards with Barrow unbeaten on 37, his highest first-class score. He had faced 74 balls in the gathering gloom and hit six fours.

Lions on the verge of victory after tourists struggle

Steven Davies delivered a timely demonstration of his quality with an impressive batting display as the England Lions pushed Bangladesh to the brink of a crushing defeat at Derby.

20-May-2010
ScorecardSteven Davies made an important 80 to give England Lions a lead of 74•Getty Images

Steven Davies delivered a timely demonstration of his quality with an impressive batting display as the England Lions pushed Bangladesh to the brink of a crushing defeat at Derby.The 23-year-old wicketkeeper top-scored with 81 from 88 balls to earn the Lions a lead of 76 in front of the England selectors and then took five catches as the tourists folded feebly to 139 for 9.Liam Plunkett and Ravi Bopara each took three wickets to leave the tourists only 63 runs ahead and staring at a demoralising defeat ahead of next week’s first Test. Davies toured Bangladesh with England earlier this year and endorsed his international credentials in front of national team director Andy Flower and the other selectors who were meeting at the County Ground ahead of next week’s Lord’s Test.The Lions were in trouble at 148 for 5, still 72 runs adrift, two overs after Davies came in, but the Surrey gloveman batted confidently to take his side past the tourists’ first-innings total of 220.He hit nine fours to reach his fifty from 65 balls, and the Lions were 61 in front when he was superbly caught at wide long-on. The Lions had started the second day 95 runs behind and should have lost Andrew Gale before he added to his overnight 63 in the second over of a sunny morning but Rubel Hossain spilled an easy chance.However only 22 runs had been added in 13 overs when James Taylor was caught behind down the leg side when hooking after struggling for 82 balls for 12. Gale went two overs later for 74 when he pulled unconvincingly at Shafiul Islam and was caught at long leg, but Davies and Chris Woakes then shared what turned out to be a valuable stand.They added 84 for the sixth wicket before Woakes got a leading edge straight after lunch but Davies and James Harris put on 43 to give the Lions a decent lead that was turned into a match-winning one by their bowlers.Tamim Iqbal carved Steve Kirby for six off the hands off Gale at deep point but he started the slide when a skied pull landed in the gloves of Davies. Junaed Siddique was caught behind off Woakes for a duck and the Warwickshire seamer than had Imrul Kayes pouched low at second slip before tea.The collapse continued with Mohammad Ashraful caught down the leg side off a glove for one and Mushfiqur Rahim gave Davies another victim when he pushed at Plunkett with no foot movement.The weakness of the Bangladesh side was shown again when Mahmudullah fell to a wild hook at Plunkett with his team only 10 runs in front, and a two-day finish was on when Bopara took three wickets in an over. But Jahural Islam battled for an unbeaten 44 and Rubel Hossain resisted for seven overs to at least take the game into the third day.

Fletcha Middleton century drives Hampshire before Lancashire fight back

Late flurry of wickets boost hosts as Liam Dawson remains unbeaten on 46

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2024Hampshire’s Fletcha Middleton made his second century of the season but his team could do no better that share the spoils with relegation-threatened Lancashire on the first day of their Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.Middleton made 109 and shared a second-wicket partnership of 151 with Nick Gubbins, only for the home side to take six wickets in the evening session and leave the visitors on 330 for nine at the close.However, having asked Hampshire to bat first and using a Kookaburra ball on a pitch offering them little obvious help, Lancashire’s bowlers will surely be pleased to have fought back against opponents who had been 158 for one in mid-afternoon.Tom Aspinwall was the most successful of the quicker bowlers with three for 96 but leg-spinner Luke Wells matched his contribution with three for 69 from 19 overs.Opener Toby Albert was caught by George Bell off Aspinwall for six in the fourth over of the day but Hampshire’s second-wicket pair dominated the rest of the first session and came into lunch on 80 for one after 30 overs.Middleton and Gubbins continued to milk the Lancashire attack in the afternoon session. Gubbins reached his fifty off 122 balls with seven fours and Middleton the same landmark off 96 but with two fewer boundaries.Indeed, the pair looked set to threaten the second-wicket records for matches between these counties when Gubbins was caught at the wicket off Wells for 75 to end his stand with Middleton on 151.Hampshire skipper James Vince cover-drove his first ball for four but came yards down the wicket to Tom Hartley in the next over and skied a catch to Josh Bohannon at short-extra cover. Vince’s dismissal for five left the visitors on 165 for three and it was left to Middleton and Ben Brown to guide their side to 203 without further loss at tea.Middleton hit two fours in the space of four balls off Aspinwall and then tucked the next delivery from the Lancashire seamer backward of square for a single to reach his century off 173 balls with 13 fours.A quarter of an hour later, though, he inside-edged an attempted drive off Wells into his stumps and that began a poor half-hour for Hampshire, who lost three wickets for 14 runs in nine overs.Lancashire took the new ball as soon as it became available and Aspinwall struck twice in successive overs with it. Having made 40, Brown pulled the 20-year-old straight to Wells at square-leg and Tom Prest lasted just nine balls before he was caught by Venkatesh Iyer at backward point for one.Three overs from the close James Fuller was caught behind off George Balderson for 23 and Kyle Abbott was then leg before wicket for a three-ball duck in the same over. And next over there was even more success for Lancashire when John Turner was leg before to his first ball, thus giving Wells his third wicket of the day. Liam Dawson hit Wells for a six and a four off the last two balls of the day to finish on 46 not out.Lancashire left out Phil Salt, who is nursing a slight back injury, and also Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood, both of whom are “managing their workloads” after The Hundred and before next week’s T20 quarter-final against Sussex

Usman Khawaja condemns 'disrespectful' behaviour from MCC members

MCC issues apology to Australia and suspends three members pending investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-20230:59

Cummins suggests MCC members may lose memberships over abuse

MCC has issued an unreserved apology to Australia after some of their players were abused when walking through the Long Room on day five of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, following the controversial dismissal of Jonny Bairstow, with Usman Khawaja describing what was said as “pretty disrespectful”.Khawaja and David Warner were shown on TV footage getting into a heated exchange with MCC members as the Australians went to their dressing room at lunch, with the stewards having to intervene. MCC said on Sunday evening that three members had been suspended pending investigation.”MCC can confirm it has suspended three Members identified from earlier today,” a spokesperson said. “They will not be permitted back to Lord’s whilst the investigation takes place and were informed of this by MCC Chief Executive, Guy Lavender, this evening.”We maintain that the behaviour of a small number of Members was completely unacceptable and whilst there was no suggestion by Pat Cummins in the post-match press conference that there was any physical altercation, it remains wholly unacceptable to behave in such a way, which goes against the values of the Club. MCC condemns the behaviour witnessed and once again we re-iterate our apology to Cricket Australia.Speaking afterwards to Channel Nine, Khawaja said that it was “really disappointing” and that he “wasn’t just going to stand by and cop” abuse. “It was really disappointing,” he said. “Lord’s is one of my favourite places to come. There’s always respect shown at Lord’s, particularly in the Members Pavilion in the Long Room, but there wasn’t today. It was very disappointing.Related

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“If anyone asked me where the best place is to play I always say Lord’s,” Khawaja added. “The crowd is great, particularly the members are great, and some of the stuff that was coming out of the members’ mouths is really disappointing and I wasn’t just going stand by and cop it. So I just talked to a few of them.”A few of them were throwing out some pretty big allegations and I just called them up on it and they kept going, and I was like, well, this is your membership here. So I’m just pointing them out. But it’s pretty disrespectful, to be honest. I just expect a lot better from the members.”Tempers flared at Lord’s after Bairstow was given out when Alex Carey threw down the stumps with the batter having left his crease for the end of the over – but without the ball having been called dead. Loud booing was heard around the ground, and continued for the rest of the game, though Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, said afterwards that the dismissal was within the laws and “totally fair play”.”MCC came and apologised for the behaviour of some of the members,” Cummins added in his post-match press conference. “I think some of them might lose their memberships over the way they behaved. Other than that one time, they were fantastic all week. I think they were just quite aggressive and abusive towards some of our players, which I know the MCC weren’t too happy with.”Tempers ran high at Lord’s as Australia went 2-0 up in the series•Getty Images

Asked about the Bairstow dismissal, Khawaja said: “It’s is what it is. We copped the same thing at Edgbaston. Obviously, it’s a little different here. It’s disappointing, to say the least. You know, we always try to play the cricket, in our best spirits, and we’ve said since Patty has taken over, since Andrew McDonald has taken over, winning is as important as how we win.”The decision again was in the umpire’s hands. If the umpire deemed it a dead ball today, it was a dead ball. Just like yesterday’s catch [by Mitchell Starc, which was ruled not out]. We don’t fully agree with it, but you have to accept the umpire’s decision.”That’s why the umpires are there. So I mean, there’s always grey areas in cricket. And the way it played out I guess in some respects, is kind of disappointing. I love Stuey [Stuart] Broad. I think he’s one of my favourite cricketers. The way he plays, the way he’s always got a smile on his face and he was pretty riled up out there, which you don’t want to see. But yeah, it is what it is.”Both Cricket Australia and MCC released statements in response to events in the Long Room. A Cricket Australia spokesperson said: “Australian management has requested the Marylebone Cricket Club [MCC] investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members area during lunch on day five of the Lord’s Test.”It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted, as they made their way to lunch through the members area.” Cummins clarified in his press conference that he was not aware of any physical altercations.MCC’s initial statement said: “The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the pavilion is very special. After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members.”We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian team and will deal with any member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes. It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session.”

Ollie Pope shows the more things change, the more they stay the same

Surrey batter unbeaten on 113 as Hampshire struggle to make inroads at The Oval

Alan Gardner14-Apr-2022Surrey 312 for 3 (Pope 113*, Amla 73, Patel 58) vs HampshireQuite a bit has changed for Ollie Pope over the last couple of years. Since seemingly confirming himself as England’s next Test match batting blueblood with a maiden century in Port Elizabeth, he has struggled to achieve similar heights. In and out of the side, his technique picked apart by pundits and analysts, Pope’s princely returns had become ever more impoverished by the end of a torrid Ashes. Even the location of that first hundred has undergone a transformation: Port Elizabeth now going by the name of Gqeberha.But if there’s an opposition and a venue designed to help Pope feel comfortable at the crease, it is undoubtedly Hampshire at the Kia Oval. His status as the best young batter of his generation is unimpeachable on Surrey’s home ground, where he began the season with a first-class average of 99.94. And visualising the Hampshire team bus trundling up the M3 induces a state of tranquility in Pope that even Bradman would have envied.His record coming into this match was three hundreds from as many outings, and he duly made it four – only once in five innings has he ­not managed to reach three figures against Hampshire at The Oval, his average in such encounters now in excess of 200. Throw in the maiden first-class hundred he made at Southampton in 2017, and you might have a new way of defining a dead cert. Never mind, “Is the Pope a Catholic?” Is he going to score a ton against Hampshire elicits the same response.Pope’s winter ended in ignominious fashion, bowled behind his legs by Pat Cummins as part of England’s final, grisly collapse of 10 for 56 in Hobart; he was included for the tour of the Caribbean, carrying the drinks but not the can for another failure. But having warmed up with a half-century in last week’s high-scoring draw at Edgbaston, he duly peeled off his 13th first-class ton with the sort of crisp, busy strokeplay that marked him out from the start of his county career five years ago.Another change: Pope has apparently shifted to a middle-stump guard. While discussions of how a batter chooses to line himself up remain among the more arcane in cricket, many a sage observer had suggested last year that batting on off stump would only bring Pope trouble. Here he looked in almost complete control, his positioning and balance entirely at ease, and scoring at an even tempo throughout (his fifty came off 73 balls, his hundred 151).Related

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Noticeably, his runs came via soft hands either side of the wicket, repeatedly dabbed to third or whipped off the pads – the stroke that raised his century, met with rousing applause from a well-attended first day of the season at Surrey. Throughout the day, Pope only played five scoring shots in front of square on the off side, two of them in the penultimate over – indicative, perhaps, of his resolve in the channel. He top-edged a pull off James Fuller that flew somewhat fortuitously for six, while a delivery with the second new ball from Mohammad Abbas that jumped to take the glove before landing well short of slip was one of the rare instances of his equilibrium being disturbed.Pope’s innings was put into context by Hashim Amla, who made an uncharacteristically scratchy 73 and said afterwards that the scoreline didn’t fully reflect the efforts of Hampshire’s bowlers. “There was a lot in the wicket,” he said. “On another day we could have been six or seven down.”Hampshire came into this match as the early Division One pace-setters, off the back of a crushing win over Somerset in the opening round, but well aware of what happened on their previous trip to Kennington (Pope hundred included). James Vince’s team only lost three Championship fixtures last season, but one of those was a thumping every bit as brutal as that which they handed out last week, Surrey winning by an innings following a double-century stand between Amla and Pope and 10 wickets in the match to Kemar Roach.Having been inserted on that occasion, and promptly rolled for 92, Vince opted for reconnaissance on a warm April morning that, coupled with a greenish surface might, have promised some assistance for the seamers. But while Keith Barker began the day bowling to Rory Burns with four slips watching on hungrily – and Surrey’s captain was dismissed to a catch in the cordon – Hampshire were to enjoy little success. When Amla did flash at a delivery from Abbas, on 20, it burst through the hands of Liam Dawson at second.For Hampshire, it wasn’t quite déjà vu all over again (as Yogi Berra once had it). Surrey’s third-wicket stand between Amla and Pope was only worth 114 on this occasion – though Hampshire thought they might have had Amla much earlier, with confident lbw appeals on 0 and 8 turned down off Ian Holland. The first was perhaps a touch high, with Amla ostentatiously rubbing his right thigh to convey such an impression, while the latter could have sneaked down leg.It was Holland’s medium pace that did for Burns, another batter looking to change some perceptions after being discarded by England – but after a composed start, a full-blooded drive resulted only in an edge to second slip. Ryan Patel made a punchy half-century, his second in as many matches, only to pull Fuller’s second ball, a leg-side long hop, straight to Abbas on the rope; Amla, too, fell to a delivery he could easily have ignored, giving Holland a second. But the sledge that rang out from the crowd in the penultimate over – “300 for 3, James” – made plain Hampshire’s position at the close.

Roston Chase elevated to West Indies' Test vice-captain

Chase replaces Kraigg Brathwaite while Nicholas Pooran has retained the position in the T20I side

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2020Roston Chase has been named West Indies’ new vice-captain of the Test side for the series against New Zealand while Nicholas Pooran has retained the position in the T20I team.Pooran will be deputy to Kieron Pollard for the T20s, which begin on November 27 in Auckland, while Chase replaces Kraigg Brathwaite who was Jason Holder’s vice-captain for the Test series against England earlier this year.”He is an experienced player who is tactically aware and very purposeful in his approach to the game,” West Indies’ lead selector Roger Harper said of Chase. “He is readily willing to offer advice and discuss ideas with his fellow players and the coaches and I think will offer good leadership support to captain Jason Holder both on and off the field.”Chase has played 35 Tests with a batting average of 30.86 and a bowling return of 41.15.”I have been making strides in Test cricket since my debut back in 2016 and I see this new role as vice-captain as an honour,” he said. “It is just for me to try and carry on and try to achieve great things for West Indies. It is all about offering support to the captain, coach and other players as we try to plan strategy and put more wins on the board.”Chase was part of the advanced group of West Indies players who arrived in New Zealand earlier this month while Pooran will land on Thursday following the completion of the IPL where he was part of the Kings XI Punjab side.West Indies’ build-up for the tour was hit on Wednesday when they were barred from training for the remainder of their 14-day managed isolation period following breaches of protocol which included sharing food and mixing in hallways of the hotel.Cricket West Indies has launched an internal investigation headed by team manager Rawl Lewis although at this stage the initial squad members are still due to travel from Christchurch to Queenstown on Friday ahead of their first warm-up matches against New Zealand A.The players arriving from the IPL will complete their quarantine on the eve of the T20I series.