Brooks secures status but not victory

Somerset 252 (Petersen 54, Trescothick 53, Bresnan 4-76) and 61 for 6 (Brooks 4-22) drew with Yorkshire 505 for 9 dec (Rashid 180, Ballance 107)
ScorecardSteven Patterson claimed two second-innings wickets after replacing Jack Brooks•Getty Images

For a short while this evening Jack Brooks, the “Headband Warrior”, and Steve Patterson breathed life into what looked like a dead contest, and even hinted at another remarkable Yorkshire victory. Almost repeating his feats from last week against Derbyshire, Brooks took four Somerset wickets in his first four overs as the visitors followed on.In Brooks’ fifth over he injured his left thumb fielding a drive off his own bowling and left the field immediately. Patterson replaced him and wasted no time in adding to the pressure on Somerset by taking two wickets of his own.But Marcus Trescothick stood firm while his side crumbled around him and a match in which 120 overs were lost to rain and bad light ended in the draw that seemed the most likely result at the start of a day in which the first two-and-a-half hours were washed away.When play finally got under way at 2.10pm, Andrew Gale gave the ball to Patterson at the Football Stand End, and he struck with his second ball. Jos Buttler hung his bat outside off stump to give Andy Hodd a simple catch behind the stumps. James Hildreth didn’t last much longer. He looked promising, whacking Rich Pyrah’s first two balls to the off side boundary, but then authored his own demise by flat-batting Pyrah to Adil Rashid at point.Peter Trego stayed for 40 minutes but then tamely steered a Patterson ball to cover. Alfonso Thomas and Steve Kirby set about restoring some order, while Gale set attacking fields for Tim Bresnan and Rashid. The batsmen made it through to tea, but didn’t survive long afterwards. Thomas brought up a second batting bonus point with a top-edged cut to the boundary, but immediately afterwards Bresnan struck. He has bowled excellently throughout this match, and was very quick on Friday. First Kirby edged a fast-rising ball to slip and the next delivery was simply too rapid for Jamie Overton.Yorkshire enforced the follow on with 25 overs left in the day, reduced to 23 by a shower. Brooks’ wicket celebration has already become legendary at Headingley, and the crowd were treated to it four times in a few minutes. He had Nick Compton and Alviro Petersen snaffled by Adam Lyth at second slip – Compton for a duck – then removed the off stumps of Hildreth and Arul Suppiah, who completed a pair.When Brooks retired to the pavilion nursing his thumb, with a wicket-taking spell of 4 for 22 in 25 balls behind him, Patterson proved a more than adequate replacement, finishing with figures of 2 for 4. Buttler played a loose shot and was caught at first slip, then Trego was lbw to a ball that shot through. But throughout the mayhem, Trescothick stood firm, never looking in trouble, and guided his team to safety.Yorkshire’s coach, Jason Gillespie, was full of praise for his side at the end of play. “I thought our seam bowling was excellent all game. Our batting, after being 75 for 4, to finish 505 for nine was brilliant, the way they went about it.” Gillespie is big on positivity and “intent”, telling his players that someone arriving at the ground who hasn’t yet seen the scoreboard should look at them and assume they’re on top.These sides meet again in the YB40 on Saturday. If there is such a thing in sport as momentum, then it’s with Yorkshire but, as Gillespie stressed, Somerset are a very good side, and the one-day game is different to Championship cricket. Brooks will almost certainly not be playing as he was sent to Leeds Royal Infirmary for an X-ray.2200BST, May 10: This story was correct to amend the ends of the ground

Waitrose named as new England sponsor

The ECB has announced that the supermarket chain Waitrose will become the England team’s primary sponsor from 2014. The three-year deal, reported to be worth around £20m, will see Waitrose’s logo replace that of Brit Insurance on all England kit.Brit had confirmed its intention not to renew its sponsorship arrangement last year and there had been a possibility that a new commercial backer could take over before the contract expired. However, Brit will remain associated with the England team throughout back-to-back Ashes series in 2013 and 2014, with Waitrose featuring on shirts for the visit of Sri Lanka next year.The move to a high street sponsor, rather than from the financial services industry, is aimed at increasing exposure among the general public. Waitrose, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, has 291 branches throughout England, Wales and Scotland and the ECB chief executive, David Collier, said the deal would help English cricket to “engage further with a mass, family audience”.”We are delighted to welcome Waitrose as the new sole sponsor of our England teams,” Collier, said. “The organisation begins their relationship with the sport with one of our marquee partnerships, and as a brand with a rich history synonymous with quality, they are a perfect fit for the ECB and our values.The ECB’s commercial director John Perera added: “This partnership is especially pleasing for us as we welcome another high profile, high-street brand into our ever-expanding commercial partner family. I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Brit who has been an excellent and valued partner of the ECB since 2010, and will remain as Team Sponsor until April 2014.”Waitrose have invested in sports marketing previously and currently sponsor the Premier League football club Reading. They will be the fourth commercial name to appear on England shirts, after Tetley Bitter, Vodafone and Brit. “We currently export our products to a quarter of the world’s countries and associating Waitrose with this great national and international sport will enable us to build our brand globally,” Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, said.

Denly leads MCC fightback

ScorecardJoe Denly struck an unbeaten century to bring an element of competition to the Champion County match against Warwickshire in Abu Dhabi. After being made to follow on, Sam Northeast and Peter Trego also added half-centuries as MCC closed 123 runs behind with six second-innings wickets standing.Having resumed in a parlous state on 73 for 7, MCC were dismissed for 130. Denly returned after retiring with illness earlier in the innings and top-scored with 47, putting on 52 with James Middlesbrook, before Oliver Hannon-Dalby took the last two wickets to fall in consecutive deliveries. Denly was quickly back out in the middle, as Jimmy Adams departed for 4, but a 156-run partnership for the second wicket with Northeast helped ease MCC away from total embarrassment.”It’s been a good day,” Denly said. “I was disappointed to get out in the first innings the way I did, but I was very happy to spend some time out there second time around and get some runs. I didn’t really notice any change in the conditions during the day. Under the lights it skidded on a bit quicker, but this actually helped it to come on the bat quite nicely. In terms of the ball moving sideways or swinging, it was pretty consistent all day.”Chris Wright, who claimed 5 for 35 in the first innings, removed Northeast on the brink of tea and Dale Benkenstein fell to the first ball after the resumption but Denly batted gamely on and was involved in an unbroken stand of 79 with Trego during the evening session. The MCC batsmen were not unduly troubled second time around, although they still have some work to do to avoid defeat after conceding a first-innings deficit of 431.”If we can get another couple of big partnerships tomorrow to keep them out in the field for a bit longer, hopefully we can come away with a positive result,” Denly said.Warwickshire were forced to bring on Peter McKay as a substitute wicketkeeper after Tim Ambrose sustained a strain early in MCC’s second innings, while left-arm spinner Paul Best also left the field with a back injury after bowling just eight overs and taking the wicket of Adams.

Ankle injury puts Wade in doubt for third Test

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is in doubt for the third Test after hurting his ankle while playing basketball in Chandigarh on Saturday. Brad Haddin has been placed on standby for Wade and is a strong chance to fly to India, pending the result of scans on Sunday morning, four days before the start of the Test.”Matt Wade sprained his right ankle playing basketball yesterday afternoon,” Australia physio Alex Kountouris said. “His ankle is subsequently swollen and painful so will have a scan this morning to help determine the extent of the injury and how we manage it. He will not take part in today’s training session.”This is the second consecutive Test in which there has been doubt surrounding Wade’s fitness, after he suffered a minor fracture to his cheek while facing throwdowns in the nets on the eve of the second Test in Hyderabad. Wade played that match and scored 62 in the first innings batting at No.6, which has been his position since the final Test of the home summer.There was no backup wicketkeeper in the group in the lead-up to the second Test and Phillip Hughes, who has occasionally stood in at state and international level, was in line to take the gloves had Wade been ruled out. But the longer break ahead of the third Test means there will be plenty of time to fly Haddin to India if required.Haddin has played four Tests in India, all during the 2008 tour, and scored 163 at an average of 27.16. However, he has been in strong Sheffield Shield form this summer and has made 468 runs at 52 including two centuries. Haddin has not played a Test since the end of the home series against India in January 2012; Wade became the preferred gloveman in all formats on the West Indies tour later that year.Both Wade and Haddin are likely to be part of the squad for the Ashes tour but if Haddin was to play in India and succeed with the bat and gloves it could raise questions over the first-choice man for the start of the Ashes. Wade has performed well with the bat at Test level, scoring a century at No.6 in the Sydney Test against Sri Lanka, but his glovework has been shaky at times.”I don’t know the extent of the injury but with Matty I definitely think he’s a chance of carrying it through if it’s only something minor,” the allrounder Moises Henriques said on Sunday morning. “I haven’t seen him since it happened. He won’t be training with us [today], but he’s as tough a little character as there is, so if there’s a chance of him playing he certainly will.”The Australians arrived in Chandigarh on Thursday but the players have had two days off since following their innings defeat in Hyderabad. The squad will train at the Mohali ground for the first time on Sunday.

Ponting ton makes it Tasmania's day

ScorecardRicky Ponting’s hundred arrived at a fair clip•Getty Images

Ricky Ponting clattered his third Sheffield Shield century of the summer as Tasmania maintained their late push to reach the competition final with a confident batting ensemble against Victoria on day one at the Bellerive Oval.Aside from Ponting, Mark Cosgrove, Jon Wells and Jordan Silk all passed 50, making it a largely barren day for the Bushrangers, who entered the final round as narrow leaders of a tightly bunched Shield table.Ponting’s hundred arrived at a fair clip, John Hastings in particular facing heavy punishment although Fawad Ahmed again held his own with two wickets, including James Faulkner from the final ball of the day, and reasonable economy.The Tigers attacked in the closing overs, perhaps with an overnight declaration in mind given rain is forecast for the weekend. Silk and Cosgrove had given the hosts an ideal platform by adding 120 for the first wicket, and their partnership of contrasts has looked promising since debuting against the Bulls in Brisbane last week.

Bates leads New Zealand to series win

Scorecard
New Zealand Women won comfortably against Australia Women to take the T20 international series 2-1. Australia were asked to bat, and they managed a competitive score thanks to Jess Cameron’s 48, off 34 balls including four fours and two sixes. There was support from Lisa Sthalekar, who made an unbeaten 24, and Australia reached 134 for 5. The pick of the bowlers for New Zealand was Morna Nielson, who conceded just nine runs in her four overs.New Zealand’s successful chase was set up by a century opening stand between Lucy Doolan and captain Suzie Bates, who struck 10 fours in her 67, brought off 44 balls. Though both fell in quick succession after adding 101, the rest ensured the target was successfully achieved with 11 balls to spare.

Bowlers set up big win for Karachi Blues

Scorecard
Karachi Blues skittled Peshawar in the second innings within 22 overs to complete a 10-wicket win and take the top position in Group I with 12 points. After taking an 86-run lead in the first innings, Karachi fast bowlers Tanvir Ahmed and Tabish Khan ran through the Peshawar batting on the second day to bowl them out for 95. The batsmen took less than two overs to overhaul the target and pick up nine points for the win.Tanvir triggered the collapse when he picked up Peshawar opener Mohammad Fayaz off the first ball of the innings. There wasn’t much resitance after that, as the two bowlers shared five wickets each. The five wickets took Tanvir’s tally to eight for the match.Karachi, after choosing to field on the first day, had run through Peshawar in the first innings too. The batsmen weren’t allowed to settle as regular wickets tumbled. Only two Peshawar batsmen – Sajjad Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan – scored more than 30 and the team folded for 166. In response, Karachi collapsed to 119 for 7 and were in danger of conceding a first-innings lead. But an unbeaten 96 by Akbar-ur-Rehman helped them take a decisive lead. Waqar Ahmed, who took 5 for 56, and Riaz Afridi, 3 for 99, were the successful bowlers.
ScorecardWith Atif Maqbool’s 13-wicket haul, Karachi Whites handed Abbottabad a crushing defeat by an innings and 145 runs in Karachi. Trailing by 313 in the first innings, Abbottabad lost all their wickets for 168 in the second innings, out of which seven were scalped by Maqbool.When Whites started the third day, they already led by 218 runs and Saeed Bin Nasir and Fawad Alam scored another 95 runs together before declaring the innings. Abbottabad openers put on 41 together, but once the opening partnership was broken, they lost their last eight wickets for 98 runs as Khalid Usman was reported absent hurt.Karachi Whites picked up nine points from the win which takes them to top of the table in Group II.
ScorecardA first-innings batting lapse proved costly for Hyderabad as Rawalpindi coasted to a six-wicket win at the Niaz Stadium. None of Hyderabad’s batsmen, besides Mir Ali, were able to withstand Rawalpindi’s bowling, led by quick Sadaf Hussain, as they were bowled out for 177 in the first innings. Although they pulled up their socks to match their opponents thereafter, and batted responsibly in their second dig, a target of 196 was overhauled without much trouble by Rawalpindi.Rawalpindi cemented their dominance in the game by gaining a 125-run first innings lead. Opener Awaiz Zia and middle-order batsman Adnan Mufti scored half-centuries, but three innings of over 30 each by other top-order batsmen were also crucial in pushing their score towards the 300.Hyderabad, with decent contributions from the top order, were easily able to erase the deficit. But none of the batsmen scored more than 64 runs as seamers Sadaf Hussain and Nasir Malik shared seven wickets between them to bowl them out for 320. They sniffed an opening when an early wicket had fallen in Rawalpindi’s chase, but captain Babar Naeem and Umar Waheed struck a 98-run stand to help close out the game.
ScorecardA century from Umair Khan and knock of 82 from Fahad Iqbal took Islamabad to a 136-run first-innings lead that helped them gain three points in a draw against Lahore Ravi. Islamabad could have won the game had here been more time, as Ravi were 42 runs ahead with two wickets in hand when the match was called off.Ravi struggled from the outset, managing to score 216 due to half-centuries from Adnan Akmal – who was their rescuer in both innings – and Jahangir Mirza, in an otherwise indifferent batting effort. Shehzab Azam was the chief wicket-taker, with four wickets.Islamabad replied strongly, and a 198-run stand between Umair and Iqbal fortified their strong position. From 289 for 3, however, they fell to 352 all out. Akmal’s knock of 71 on the final day saved his team from an imminent defeat, as Ravi limped to 178 for 8 before the match as declared a draw.
ScorecardOnly 27.4 overs were possible, owing to foggy conditions and rain, in a drawn match between Bahawalpur and Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.

Southee happy to hunt wickets with Boult

Unlike Sri Lanka’s attack, New Zealand’s has supported their spearhead effectively at the P Sara Oval. Their spearhead, Tim Southee, has claimed another heavy haul in Colombo, after his four wickets in the first innings in Galle, and he has attributed this to the others in the attack. Southee had removed Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara on the second evening, and he dismissed Angelo Mathews and Tharanga Paranavitana the next day, claiming figures of 4 for 51.Southee said left-arm seamer Trent Boult had been especially helpful to his success in Sri Lanka. The bowlers not only complement each other by testing batsmen against different angles of attack, but also specialise in swinging the ball in opposite directions. Southee largely takes the ball away from the right-hand batsmen, while Boult moves it in.”Trent Boult has got a massive role to play in the wickets I’ve taken,” Southee said. “He’s helping out by putting pressure at the other end and I am sure his turn to take wickets is just around the corner. It’s tough conditions at the moment, but I’m going through a period where it’s coming out nicely.”New Zealand were only able to remove three batsmen in almost 70 overs on the third day, and despite having worked their way to the start of Sri Lanka’s tail, they were unable to dismiss the hosts for less than the follow-on mark. Thilan Samaraweera and Suraj Randiv resisted with an unbeaten stand of 97 towards the end of the day, but Southee’s efforts leave his team still in the hunt for a win as, having lost six wickets, Sri Lanka still trail by 187 runs.Southee said wickets in the first hour of the fourth day would be crucial to New Zealand’s hopes of levelling the series, particularly as the pitch offers little for bowlers once the ball gets old. New Zealand will begin the day with a ball that is only 4.2 overs old.”Massive hour tomorrow morning, if we can pick up a couple of wickets and run through them then who knows,” Southee said. “It’s definitely a new-ball wicket, and if you can grab a couple with the new ball, then it makes it easier to make inroads into the batting line-up. It’s not as easy when the ball gets older, and that can affect the team.”Southee said New Zealand weren’t displeased with their day’s work, given the number of good batsmen in Sri Lanka’s ranks. “It’s a tough batting line-up and there are some world class players here who have scored a lot of runs. They keep coming one after another and it just shows their great batting depth is. It would have been nice to have a couple of more [wickets] today to really get into their tail. Hopefully in the second innings, the spinners come to play.”

England batsmen tighten grip on game

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jonathan Trott made his first substantial score of the series•BCCI

The feeling of helplessness that enveloped much of India’s horrendous tours of England and Australia descended again on MS Dhoni’s side on the third day at Eden Gardens, as two of the most bloody-minded batsmen in world cricket, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, set about grinding down toothless bowling in the morning. After lunch, India managed to dismiss both of them, but that didn’t alter England’s dominance of the match as Kevin Pietersen and the lower order stacked up some quick runs to stretch the lead towards a comfortable 200.The moment typifying India’s ineptness was Ishant Sharma putting down an absolute dolly off his own bowling when Cook was on 156. A rare Cook mistake sent the ball looping towards Ishant at waist height and at slow pace, but Ishant contrived to fluff that chance, the ball missing his palm and hitting the wrist. Ishant was left scratching his head in disappointment, while MS Dhoni maintained his famously expressionless demeanour.Neither the old ball nor the new one swung, and though there was some uneven bounce – Cook was once surprised by a lifter from Ishant that struck the bat handle – the batsmen weren’t tested much by the quicks as they wiped out the deficit.India’s spinners turned in a much-improved effort after Thursday’s disappointing show, bowling accurately with the old ball in the first hour before getting some bounce and turn with the shiny one. In the second session, they got some help from the pitch as well, spinning the ball past the outside edge several times, and asking questions of the well-set Cook and Trott.Nothing took the shine off Cook’s golden tour, though, as he completed 26 hours of batting in the series, the longest day for India’s bowlers. As usual there was no extravagance from him; he patiently blocked or left countless deliveries, before cashing in on those that were over pitched or on his pads.Trott had missed out in the first two Tests, but not this time. He was cautious early in the morning, but soon helped himself to the gifts offered by India’s bowlers, especially Zaheer Khan and Ishant. Zaheer gave him several deliveries on the pads to put away, while Ishant bowled plenty short and wide. Before long, Trott was calmly dispatching R Ashwin’s variation, the carrom ball, for four, and walking out of the crease before driving.

Smart stats

  • It is only the fourth occasion (third against India) that England have had 150-plus stands for the first and second wickets. The last such occasion for England was against Australia in Brisbane in 2010.

  • Alastair Cook’s 190 is the second-highest score by a visiting batsman at Eden Gardens. The highest is Rohan Kanhai’s 256 in 1958.

  • Cook’s aggregate of 547 runs so far is the third-highest for an England batsman in a series in India after Ken Barrington (594) and Mike Gatting (575). The number of balls faced by him (1160) is also the third-highest for an England batsman in a series in India.

  • Cook has now scored 1234 runs so far this year. Only Michael Clarke, with 1358 runs, has scored more in 2012. Cook is also one of only four players to score four centuries in the year so far.

  • Cook hit two sixes in an innings for only the second time in his career. The previous occasion was against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2010. The run-out dismissal was also the first for Cook in Tests.

  • England’s total of 509 is their highest ever in Tests in Kolkata. Overall, it is the third-highest by a visiting team at the venue.

  • The 173-run stand between Cook and Jonathan Trott is England’s second-best second-wicket stand in India after the 241-run partnership between Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler in Chennai in 1985.

When England’s tailenders were out in the middle practising their batting during the lunch break, one wondered why they bothered, given how bleak India’s chances of prising apart the Cook-Trott combination looked. The stand finally came to an end on 173 when Pragyan Ojha managed to get a flat delivery to spin away and take Trott’s outside edge to Dhoni.Trott fell 13 short of a hundred, but Cook seemed set for a double, given his massive powers of concentration, and unquenchable thirst for runs. However, Cook too fell short of the milestone, run-out on 190 after a brain-fade. After Pietersen clipped a ball to square leg, Cook took a few strides before turning back. The ball went to India’s best fielder, Virat Kohli, who scored a direct hit after Cook jumped back and lifted his bat to avoid the throw. Cook hadn’t grounded his bat, so there was no question of him escaping on account of evasive action, and he was run-out for the first time in his Test career.Though India had removed both of England’s accumulators, they still had to deal with the more aggressive threat provided by Pietersen. The Barmy Army, which had boisterously cheered the dogged-but-effective scoring of Cook and Trott, was treated to some flamboyant shots from Pietersen, who nonchalantly whipped balls from outside off to the leg-side boundary. With less than 10 minutes to tea, he launched Ojha for a straight six, and began the final session with three successive boundaries.He was toying with the attack, dispatching the ball where he liked and galloped to yet another half-century. However, he missed a sweep soon after was trapped lbw for 54. Even that didn’t lead to a slowdown as Samit Patel capitalised on a tiring attack, and crashed a brisk 33. His chance of making it into a sizeable innings ended when he nicked a catch to slip, where Virender Sehwag juggled before holding on.On what was a depressing day for India fans, one of the most disappointing phases was the hour before stumps. After Samit Patel was dismissed, India needed just one more wicket to get into England’s bonafide tailenders. Instead, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann pummelled 56 runs in the final 13 overs, the highlight of which was a majestic pull for six by Prior off Ishant.India have not lost two home Tests in a row since early 2000, a streak that looks set to come to an end over the next couple of days, unless their faltering batting order finds someone to replicate Cook’s marathon efforts of this series.

'Cricket is not played on laptops' – Mohammad Akram

Mohammad Akram, Pakistan’s new bowling coach, has said his low-profile CV won’t be a drawback as he had learnt a lot from his playing career and believed that “cricket is actually played on ground [and] not on laptops”.Having earlier been rejected after applying for the job, he managed to convince the coach-hunt committee to recruit him for a one-year deal. He played nine Tests and 23 ODIs for Pakistan between 1995 and 2001. Since his last first-class appearance in 2007, he has been involved in cricket through the Lashing cricket club and commentary. As a former Test cricketer based in England, he has been engaged with various colleges and universities as a consultant.”I have played ample cricket, and learnt a lot from the ground and sitting out on the bench,” Akram told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket ultimately can’t be played on laptops; it can only be played in ground, so talking a lot can’t help if they want my services and I will do my best to make a difference.”In my playing days I’ve worked with the likes of Graham Gooch, Steve Rixon, Javed Miandad and learnt a lot from their coaching techniques and strategies. I [have a lot missing] from my CV but I have something that others don’t have – I am a Pakistani, have played cricket around the country from Rawalpindi to Bahawalpur and all over, understand the cricket, know the problems and what has to be done. I need a little time to adjust and 12 months is a lot of time.”Pakistan have been without a bowling coach since former fast bowler Aaqib Javed resigned to take over as UAE’s head coach in March, and the PCB was expected to bring in a replacement of Aaqib’s stature. A short-term deal was eventually struck with Akram, who takes charge from the Australia series in the UAE. “I didn’t ask for a lengthy contract but let’s see how this goes with both of us. I will obviously try to use my experience to train the boys and if things don’t go well I will walk away.”I have been following Pakistan cricket keenly for long, and understand we have always had talent. I have plenty to offer to them. Aaqib had done a great job to keep the chain moving and now my emphasis will be to strengthen the bench and ensure we have bowlers who are always ready to have a go.”I don’t think there is any need for a massive stir though things aren’t all well with Umar Gul. He needs to return to his best quickly and I think I can make it happen as he needs confidence. I am not going to make it complex, it is always better to have it simple.”Akram is aware of the challenges the job brings but he remains optimistic. With three days left for the Australia series, Akram is ready to join the professional coaching staff headed by Dav Whatmore though he is yet to finish the formalities with the PCB which are expected to be completed in due course.”The series will be a diagnostic series for me to observe and understand things. I am privileged to have Whatmore, who is a complete institution himself, in charge,” said Akram, who debuted against Whatmore-coached Sri Lanka in 1995.

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