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Pakistan have made significant gains in the next FTP schedule – they will now play at least 121 games, up from the 104 that were allocated to them last week

Osman Samiuddin19-Dec-2017The PCB made considerable gains in its scheduling for a new Future Tours Programme (FTP) during a workshop held in Singapore earlier this month. Last week ESPNcricinfo reported on a version of the FTP that Full Members took into the workshop, held on December 7 and 8.By the end of the meeting members produced an updated FTP in which there were minor adjustments to the total commitments of most members. The biggest gains from that meeting, however, were for the PCB. The earlier FTP showed 104 internationals scheduled for Pakistan between May 2019 and May 2023. The updated version has them playing 121 internationals – they have two Tests, five ODIs and 10 T20Is more than in the earlier FTP.That total puts them on a more even footing with countries such as Australia (123), Bangladesh (124), South Africa (122) and New Zealand (119). It is not yet clear who the extra matches have been arranged against. The FTP will likely undergo further tweaks – though not significant ones – as members aim to present a final version at an ICC board meeting in February.Not included in the PCB’s totals is a bilateral arrangement with Cricket West Indies (CWI), which will mean more limited-overs games in the four-year period. The PCB is also thought to be involved in discussions with members for limited-overs tri-series in the next cycle.Add to that Asia Cup matches (which are not included in the FTP total) plus the obligatory ICC tournaments and they could end up not far below the number of internationals they are scheduled to end with in the current FTP (from May 2014 to May 2019): 183. There is also the pending matter of 19 matches against India, from an earlier agreement, the fate of which rests on an ICC dispute resolution process.The PCB will play 30 Tests in the new FTP, a number that officials say could have been higher had there not been three ICC tournaments in the cycle that run through the Pakistan home season, as well as an expanded six-week window for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The World T20 in Australia in 2020 is scheduled for October-November that year, as is the Champions Trophy in India the following year (though neither tournament, traditionally, lasts that long), and the 2023 World Cup in India is across February-March. In fact, the latter will require a shifting of the PSL window for that year, likely to be brought forward.In any case, the PCB has been eager to emphasise that its engagements in the new FTP will be about quality of contest rather than quantity. Opponents have been classified on the basis of the value they provide to a broadcast deal – by the PCB’s working, 46% of their total home games in the next FTP will be against high-value opponents (Australia, South Africa, England and Bangladesh), 30% against mid-value opponents such as New Zealand and West Indies and the remaining against low-value teams such as Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan. Nearly half of Pakistan’s away matches, it calculates, are against high-value opponents.Once a version of the FTP is approved at the February meetings, it will go through a vote at the ICC’s annual general meeting in June.The four-year FTP is built around two cycles of a two-year Test league, with nine teams in it. Each team is required to play six series over two years, with the top-two sides meeting in a Test championship final in June 2021.The calendar also includes a two-year ODI league of 13 teams, which will lead into qualification for the 2023 World Cup. The Test league starts with the new FTP in May 2019, but the ODI league begins the following year (because of pre-existing commitments between sides that run from the current FTP into the start of the new one).

South Africa’s stand-in captain Faf du Plessis wants to see his boys also win the body-language battle ahead of the Test series

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2016In targeting a clean-sweep over Australia, Faf du Plessis has promised South Africa will assert themselves with more than just bat and ball in Cape Town on Wednesday. South Africa’s stand-in captain wants to see his boys also win the body-language battle ahead of the three-Test series in Australia starting November 3.”As a captain, its important the intensity we play at. That does not always mean verbally, it’s body language and the way you carry yourself on the field,” du Plessis said. “When there is a battle that asks for another battle to come their way, that will happen. We are a team that will stand up against that. If that’s required of us as a team, we will also go into that space, but its a very focused and channeled aggression; more of a body language thing.

Important to build a pool of pacers – Saker

Australia’s assistant coach David Saker has given a vote of confidence to the rookie bowlers who have come under attack on this trip. Chris Tremain, Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall are all on their first tour with the national side.
“I don’t think they’ve marked their card, it’s obviously a very hard place to come and bowl and their batting team has been amazing,”he said. “I think Chris Tremain has shown some really good things, Scott Boland the other day was really good.
“More the number of fast bowlers you’ve got, better it is, because of the injuries. they are one part of your team that does get injuries. So if you can add people to your fast bowling group all the time, it’s always very, very important.”

The only real needle in the ODIs so far came in Port Elizabeth when Matthew Wade and Tabraiz Shamsi had a verbal exchange that earned both of them a a 25% fine of match fee along with one demerit point. Talk became action when Wade took a single and made no effort to avoid running into Shamsi, who protested.Du Plessis took it up with the umpires but was proud of how Shamsi stood up. “It’s just showing the opposition you are here to play, no matter how many games you have played,” du Plessis said. “Shamsi has only played three ODIs but he showed he is there to compete, no matter who is on the other side. It was good to see we can also step it up in that department.”In the other departments, South Africa have exceeded expectation by dominating against the top-ranked ODI side, which is without their first-choice pace pack. However, du Plessis chose not to dwell on that, instead emphasising on how South Africa have out-batted Australia.”I am really impressed with the style of cricket we’ve played,” he said. “The first game set the tone for us where Quinton played one of the best one-day knocks you will see and then out-batting has been a level above what we’ve seen in the past. If you compare that to their batting, which is just as strong possibly on paper, maybe even stronger but they haven’t matched up with our batters at all. We haven’t allowed them to compete at times and even when they looked like they were going to compete, we stuck in and waited for the opportunity.”The third game in Durban was where Australia threatened their biggest comeback. Their only centuries came in that match as they piled on 371 for 6 before reducing South Africa to 217 for 5. Yet, South Africa found a way, which du Plessis was proud of.”In Durban, they were all over us and nine times out of ten, you should lose games like that. It took something magnificent for us to win and it’s happening more regularly in this team that guys are doing amazing things,” he said. “The style of cricket we have played has been a new level, hopefully that’s something we can drive forward. We need to make sure we keep playing like that because that’s the style I would like us to play.”South Africa started the season with a culture camp that addressed their dramatic slide from No. 1 to No. 6 in the Test rankings last summer and their early exit from the World T20. They decided on what they’ve termed a “different direction”, which is not about individuals but the collective, aiming to go “where no other South African team have been”.”We want to reach higher levels and achieve greater things than anyone else. From that perspective 5-0 is very important,” du Plessis said. “The fact that the Test series comes straight after this and 60% to 70% of both teams’ players are the same, the motivation of 5-0 will mean a lot to me.”

After 649 runs were scored at a rate of 7.77 to the over in the first ODI between South Africa and England in Bloemfontein, few would argue with Faf du Plessis’ assertion that “this series will be a series of the batting line-ups”

Firdose Moonda05-Feb-2016After 649 runs were scored at a rate of 7.77 to the over in the first ODI between South Africa and England in Bloemfontein, few would argue with Faf du Plessis’ assertion that “this series will be a series of the batting line-ups”. But there is more to the towering totals than aggressive approaches on flat pitches. The new faces in both attacks have also played their part in the run-fest.”Both bowling line-ups are not as experienced as they would like to be but the batting line-ups are explosive and you’ve got a lot of match-winners in both teams,” du Plessis said, referring specifically to the depth of England’s line-up. “It’s definitely not nice when you do your pre-match planning because every guy that you look at seems to be a good batter. It’s obviously why they are a stronger team now: they have got a better batting line-up.”

One eye on the IPL auction

Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar, Rilee Rossouw, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan and Sam Billings may go into the second ODI somewhat distracted. They are all in the IPL auction and by the time the game gets underway, will know their fate.
“I’d be lying if I say everything is on the game. You think about it. Fortunately for me I am already picked up so I will not be anxious to see about that,” Faf du Plessis, who is contracted to the Rising Pune Super Giants, said. “It’s great because this year there are England players as well. As a leadership group you try not to speak about it too much but let’s not lie, the auction is life-changing for some players. For me it will be interesting to see what the England players go for because we are used to playing an IPL without them.”
South Africa have 18 players in the auction including the still-injured Vernon Philander, and nine other players retained by franchises, while England have seven players in the auction. The numbers that matter, however, will be the selling price and du Plessis thinks those could even be the inspiration for some on-field banter. “Hopefully our guys get picked up for a lot of money and the English guys don’t so we gain a bit of confidence from that.”

All of England’s top six scored runs on Wednesday and all, except Joe Root, maintained strike rates of over 100, helped by wayward bowling from South Africa’s new-look pace pack. The opening bowlers, Chris Morris and Marchant de Lange, had only played 11 ODIs between them before the Bloemfontein game and their inexperience showed. They bowled both sides of the wicket in their first spells and could not find the right length, but got tighter as the innings wore on.AB de Villiers did not want to be too hard on them but du Plessis was willing to point out where they want wrong. “It was a good batting wicket but I felt we did make a lot of mistakes. We gave a lot of boundaries away. We were not as disciplined as we would want to be,” he said.As a result, South Africa’s other wicket-taking option, Imran Tahir, was forced into a role that did not make best use of his attacking skills. “For Immi to do really well, he doesn’t have to feel he has to have all the pressure on his shoulders to be a game-changer. In T20 cricket when he can just express himself, come on and do his tricks, that’s when he is best. I suppose any leggie is like that,” du Plessis said. “If he is just bowling defensively, like he had to do in Bloemfontein, it takes away all that armoury that he has got.”To ensure Tahir can concentrate on controlling the middle overs, du Plessis explained that South Africa’s seamers need to start better, especially in Port Elizabeth where the slower surface almost guarantees Tahir will be a factor. “Our bowlers need to be smarter. It’s important to try and do that from the beginning and not wake up 10 or 15 overs into the game. The smarter team on the day will win the game,” du Plessis said.South Africa will be bolstered by the likely return of Kyle Abbott, whose hamstring niggle healed sooner than expected and he should be able to provide some control. “Something we have missed this whole series is experience, Although Kyle is not a guy who has played 100 ODIs, he is someone who has played a little bit more. Kyle brings a bit of consistency. With someone like that you just know when pressure situations present himself, he will be a bit more equipped than someone playing their first few games,” du Plessis said.Abbott’s career is only 20 ODIs old but, as he showed at the 2015 World Cup where he had the lowest economy rate among South Africa’s bowlers, accuracy is his strength.That does not mean South Africa’s batsmen are off the hook. Du Plessis stressed the importance of showing the same care with the bat as with the ball on a surface that will test both line-ups more than Bloemfontein did. “The pitch will be slower. We can’t play the same style of cricket. We have to think faster on our feet,” he said, and that applies to himself as well.Du Plessis found some form in the 50-over game after struggling in Tests and feels a big score is, as clichéd as it sounds, just around the corner. “Things started changing slowly towards the end of the Test series for me. I was unhappy to not have played that last Test match and to have scored runs in the first ODI was very nice. I feel a lot better in the nets. I feel like I am hitting the ball as well as I can,” he said. “I would still like to turn those fifties into bigger scores. I’ve been getting a lot of fifties in the last year or two but not as many hundreds as I would like. For me it’s about turning that good performance into a performance that can make the team win.”

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been named captain of the A squad to play a three-day match against Bangladesh A in September

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-20153:07

Kalra: Jadeja not forgotten yet

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been named captain of the A squad to play a three-day match against Bangladesh A in September. Dhawan had been ruled out of the second and third Test in Sri Lanka last month after fracturing his hand during the first Test in Galle.Varun Aaron, who lost his Test spot to Umesh Yadav after a profligate showing in Galle, will get a chance to impress in the three-day game. Ravindra Jadeja, left out of both Test and ODI sides after having been a regular not too long ago, got a big break just before the start of the home season. His selection indicated he was still part of India’s plans, and if he can have a good early season, the third spinner’s slot could be his for the taking after a lukewarm performance from Harbhajan Singh.It has been a good pre-season for the young Karnataka batsman, Karun Nair, whose most notable performance was his second-innings century to save a four-day match against South Africa A. He was named in both the three-day and one-day sqauds, and should also play the other three-day game between Bangladesh A and the Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka.Nair’s captain in the one-day side will be Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand. Suresh Raina was the only India regular in the squad, but Kedar Jadhav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson – all named in this squad – were part of the contingent that won all the three ODIs in Zimbabwe. Legspinner Karn Sharma, who missed out on the Zimbabwe tour because of injury, was back too.Two promising young spinners, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and offspinner Jayant Yadav, were also handed a chance to stake claims for an international spot during a busy home season.The three one-day fixtures will be played on September 16, 18 and 20, and the three-day match from September 27 to 29. All the games will be held in Bangalore. Karnataka will play Bangladesh A from September 22 to 24 in Mysore.Three-day squad Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Aparajith, Naman Ojha, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Gopal, Abhimanyu Mithun, Varun Aaron, Ishwar Pandey, Sheldon JacksonOne-day squad: Unmukt Chand (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Karn Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, S Aravind, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rush Kalaria, Gurkeerat Singh Mann

This is a different kind of cricket

Krishna Kumar12-Jun-2013

This is a different kind of cricket. Not the soft artistry of VVS Laxman, not
the classical, streamlined beauty of Rahul Dravid, not the scientific art of
Sachin Tendulkar’s genius. This isn’t the moody strokeplay of Sourav Ganguly, nor the
muscular presence and timing of Yuvraj Singh. This is somehow a bit more
uninhibited. At times, it’s easier to define things by describing what
they aren’t. When you think of Sehwag, you first think of unrestrained,
unrehearsed, inscrutable. Everything seems instantly conceived.
Everything is very definitely original.It is easy to get carried away by the seemingly spontaneous flow of Sehwag’s
shotmaking. When hours of careful study of bowlers’ techniques align with
an unerring ability to pick line and, more importantly, length early, you feel
a batsman is playing purely by instinct. It is an instinct that has been finely
honed. Sehwag possesses a fine cricketing mind and he plays the ball very
late. Nearly always, he’s on tiptoe and, now and then, his feet are off the
ground. This is what allows him the freedom to improvise.Sehwag’s confidence in his abilities borders on cricketing swagger. It is a
different brand of arrogance. It isn’t the restrained confidence of a
Tendulkar. It’s a bit like Richards. With bowlers bowling to Tendulkar,
especially these days, it is an acknowledgement of mastery. With Sehwag,
it’s almost a fear of flogging. There’s a crucial difference with Richards
however. Viv was the master of machismo, of the exaggerated strut and the
flourish of the follow-through. It was muscular masculinity expressed
through sport. Where Richards’s arrogance was significant in its
exaggeration, Sehwag’s is apparent in its minimising.Sehwag doesn’t hold his pose after a flashing cover-drive, the bat is brought back down from the follow-through very quickly, as if it wasn’t such a big deal after all. He
might take a couple of short steps about the crease, look down the handle of
his bat held away from him at an angle, and then he’s ready again. His is
almost an oriental spunk. Viv’s cricket was also a statement of a people,
Sehwag’s is simply the sporting expression of a free-spirited individual.
To bowlers, both might appear the same.There are resemblances to Javed Miandad in his very streetsmart approach to
cricket. But the jauntiness is at variance with Miandad’s. He may assume his
stance well outside leg as he did to Stuart MacGill in Sydney. He might splay his
left leg and hit the first ball of a new spell for six over the bowler’s
head. But, the jauntiness isn’t in your face like Miandad’s. He very
rarely provokes, he generally only reacts.From a batsman who modelled some of his early batsmanship on Tendulkar,
Sehwag has blossomed quickly into a batsman with his very own range of
strokes. Not many now will mistake him for Sachin. That flick off his toes
that resembles Sachin’s in body balance has a table-tennis-like flourish,
you can feel the face of the bat turning on the ball. Sachin seems to use the
pace of the ball, Sehwag looks to give it a real whip. His vast array of
off-side shots are close to all his own. He might have initially borrowed
the upper cut from Sachin, but he plays it far more regularly than Sachin
these days. There is incredibly, at least one six over point every big
innings. There is a difference even in the way he ducks under the short
ball. He doesn’t necessarily follow the ball into the keeper’s gloves, it’s
as if he’s saying, the ball’s gone over my head, why bother looking.He has succeeded at opening because he has stuck to his game. Shrewdly, in
Tests, he gives the first hour to the bowler and then opens out. The
defence has tightened and he leaves a lot more outside off. His camaraderie
with Akash Chopra reminds you sometimes of the relationship between Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge. His acute cricketing alertness makes you feel he’s rarely rushed when taking those quick singles. Mostly, you see him ease to the striker’s end at a short,
light canter.The same alertness is why he’s a very good fielder and an
excellent catcher. Ajit Agarkar and Dravid were the architects of that famous
Adelaide win, but it was the brilliant, full-length diving tumble from
Sehwag to catch Simon Katich at the end of an exhausting first day that
provided the initial spark. Earlier in the year, he’d held a few very sharp
ones at slip to help Ashish Nehra run through England in the World Cup game at
Durban. His first movement to the ball is so well-timed that the rest seems
easy in comparison. To top it all off, he’s a half-decent offie as well.Often it is flippantly claimed that there’s a method to his madness. I beg
to differ. This is no madness. We see so much of what’s conventional that
we can’t seem to recognise celebration. It isn’t that he doesn’t respect
cricket’s time-tested techniques, it’s just that he’s very alert to its
intricacies. He can conceive attack when so many would defend. It’s not as
if he doesn’t understand the importance of footwork and getting behind the
line. He appreciates these for what they are. They are means to an end.
That of hitting a cricket ball consistently with the middle of the bat. He
does this by a wonderful combination of bat-speed and fine balance. This is
a celebration of rare talent. Not someone having a waft in the wind.

The second match of the evening too didn’t produce an evenly matched contest as Chittagong Kings’ 206 proved too much for Duronto Rajshahi

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2012
ScorecardThe second match of the evening too didn’t produce an evenly matched contest as Chittagong Kings’ 206 proved too much for Duronto Rajshahi. Nasir Jamshed smashed 56 while Mahmudullah and Jason Roy hit 43 each to bring up the first 200-plus score of the tournament.Jamshed smashed three sixes and five fours in his knock. England’s Roy hit the same number of sixes in his 25-ball knock. Both Roy and Jamshed departed before the 15th over, setting the platform for Mahmudullah and Dwayne Bravo to unleash their fireworks. Bravo hit a 19-ball 38 to go with his partner’s 18-ball unbeaten 43.Bravo was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 17. He truck twice in the first over of the innings and that set Rajshahi back in their chase. They failed to string together partnerships the highest being 60 for the third wicket between Abdul Razzaq and Junaid Siddique. The next highest stand was 27, for the seventh. Rajshahi also found it difficult to get on top of the spin duo of Enamul Haque jnr and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Left-arm seamer Harry Gurney will be leaving Grace Road for Trent Bridge at the end of the season after signing a three-year contract with Nottinghamshire

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2011Left-arm seamer Harry Gurney will be leaving Grace Road for Trent Bridge at the end of the season after signing a three-year contract with Nottinghamshire. Gurney, 24, will represent Leicestershire in the Champions League, the qualifying tournament for which starts on September 19, before completing the switch.Gurney was Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker in this year’s Twenty20 competition with 23 scalps. He missed Leicestershire’s Finals Day victory with a side strain but will recover in time to take part in the Champions League.”I’ve made my mark in limited-overs cricket but I think I can be more effective in four day cricket given the way the red ball swings at Trent Bridge and the carry in the wicket,” said Gurney. “Nottinghamshire have an excellent squad that is usually in contention in all three formats and I want to be part of that.”Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell suggested that Gurney would add left-arm variation to his pace attack. “Leicestershire tend to play two spinners in the Championship and Harry has found himself behind Matthew Hoggard and Nathan Buck which has limited his appearances,” said Newell.”He’s had success in twenty-over cricket and our batsmen were impressed by the pace he showed in the matches against us. Left-arm swing is a good option for us to have at our disposal and we’re pleased to have agreed this deal with Harry.”Gurney played club cricket for Loughborough Town before graduating through Leicestershire’s age group system and making his first class debut in 2007. He took three wickets in his solitary Championship appearance this season.

No play was possible on the first day of the County Championship match between leaders Durham and Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street because of rain

18-Jun-2011
Scorecard
No play was possible on the first day of the County Championship match between leaders Durham and Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street because of rain.It was a mixed blessing for both teams as the delay gave them some rest after travelling from Friends Life t20 matches last night, although neither will welcome the prospect of a draw.With five wins from eight games, Durham are 17 points clear at the top, while Yorkshire have not won since the opening match at Worcestershire and lie seventh with 62 points. A week after his 37th birthday Durham’s Dale Benkenstein needs 148 runs to break the county’s record first-class tally.Former captain Jon Lewis, now the second team coach, totalled 7,854 runs in 262 innings from the 1997-2006 seasons, while Benkenstein has scored 7,707 in 171 innings. He has hit four centuries and four half-centuries in 12 knocks this season in the County Championship, in which he has scored 856 runs at 77.72.While Yorkshire await Tim Bresnan’s return to full fitness, Durham are able to reunite Steve Harmison and Graham Onions for the first time since August 2009. They also have Liam Plunkett available for his first championship action since the win at Headingley in April.

The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Columbo will host the two World Cup 2011 warm-up matches that had been scheduled to take place at Pallekele in Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2011The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Columbo will host the two World Cup 2011 warm-up matches that had been scheduled to take place at Pallekele in Sri Lanka. The ICC said in a statement that it had also considered Hambantota as an alternate venue, but heavy rain in the southern Sri Lankan region ruled out that option.The two games, Sri Lanka versus the Netherlands on February 12, and Kenya versus the Netherlands on February 15, will be day games. This does not affect the three tournament fixtures scheduled to take place at Pallekele in March.The decision to move the games from Pallekele was made following a recommendation by ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson after he inspected the venue on Wednesday. Heavy rain in the region had affected the preparation of the pitches.

Stephen Peters fell one run short of what would have been the first
double-century of his career after batting for just over nine hours to put
Northamptonshire in a commanding position against Middlesex at Lord’s

06-Jun-2010

ScorecardStephen Peters fell one run short of what would have been the first
double-century of his career after batting for just over nine hours to put
Northamptonshire in a commanding position against Middlesex at Lord’s.He had faced 391 balls and hit 20 fours in the County Championship Division
Two match when he chipped a return catch to Shaun Udal, sprawling to his right. Peters looked crestfallen but he had done a great job for his side in sharing stands of 182 with Alex Wakely, 70 with Nicky Boje and 144 with his captain Andrew Hall.Hall went on to make 133 off 192 balls with 17 fours and when he declared at
581 for 7, Northamptonshire’s highest score against Middlesex, they were 234
ahead. Middlesex closed on 48 for the loss of Scott Newman.Northamptonshire had resumed at 280 for 4 in reply to Middlesex’s first innings
347 and Peters and Boje added 50 in 14 overs before Boje pulled Pedro Collins
straight to square leg. Peters, 115 overnight, was never in trouble as he went past his previous
highest score of 183 not out – scored in leading Northamptonshire to a
six-wicket victory over Middlesex at Northampton in April – but he became
increasingly tentative as he neared his milestone.In the end he could not get there but he had still made the highest score by a
Northamptonshire batsman against Middlesex and given Hall the perfect platform
to build his first century of the season.David Murphy, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Loughborough University who is
deputising for the injured Niall O’Brien, joined him in a seventh-wicket stand
of 107. Murphy made an unbeaten 50, his highest score in the championship, off 87 balls
and by the time Hall was bowled driving at Pedro Collins Middlesex were in
disarray.Udal, their captain, had his left hand strapped after splitting the webbing
between his thumb and forefinger, and Gareth Berg, their newly-capped
all-rounder, was off the field with back trouble.No fewer than nine bowlers were used with only Udal himself and Collins
emerging with any credit and the fielding was so poor that there were jeers from
a section of the small crowd. Their mood did not improve when Newman edged his third ball from Jack Brooks to first slip but at least Sam Robson and Owais Shah held out until the close.