Mushfiqur ruled out with hamstring injury

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has been sidelined for at least two weeks due to an injury to his left hamstring. He will miss the remainder of the ODI series and the three T20s against New Zealand, and is a doubtful starter for the two Tests that follow as well.Mushfiqur had pulled his hamstring while batting in the first ODI on Boxing Day, while diving to complete a single. He had later retired hurt on 42.In his place, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan will make his ODI debut in Nelson on Thursday. He was travelling alongside the ODI squad, as part of the extended preliminary squad that trained in Sydney earlier this month. The 23-year-old has played six T20s for Bangladesh, having made his debut in January this year.Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said the Bangladesh set-up expects Mushfiqur to recover earlier than expected, which will allow him to play the Tests that begin on January 12. He also said they have confidence in Hasan’s ability with the bat, expecting him to fit into the lower-middle order.”At this stage Mushfiq is out for two weeks,” Hathurusingha said. “But he is recovering well. I saw him in the pool today. You know Mushfiq, he is very driven and thorough in his preparation. I am sure he will do the same thing with his injury. He will be ready sooner than we think.”If Mushfiqur was here, we would have had more options in selection. [Hasan] is coming in, and he is capable as anyone with the bat. He hasn’t played much international cricket but we are confident he can do a job.”Hasan will become only the 12th wicketkeeper to make his ODI debut for Bangladesh, and the fifth to replace Mushfiqur since his debut in 2006. The others were Dhiman Ghosh, Jahurul Islam, Anamul Haque and Liton Das.

Klinger, Paine in Australia's T20 squad

Michael Klinger is in line for an international debut at the age of 36 after being named in Australia’s T20 squad to take on Sri Lanka in three matches this month. Wicketkeeper Tim Paine was also picked, nearly six years after he last represented Australia in any format, while the uncapped fast bowler Jhye Richardson and allrounder Ashton Turner are also hoping for debuts.However, the selectors could not find a place for the Big Bash League’s leading run scorer for this season, the Adelaide Strikers batsman Ben Dunk, who plundered 364 runs at 52.00. Nor could they find room for the BBL’s leading wicket taker, Sean Abbott, who collected 20 victims at 16.15 for the Sydney Sixers.A number of first-choice T20 players were unavailable for this squad as they will be in India preparing for a Test series, which begins the day after this T20 series finishes. Thus Aaron Finch will captain a team missing Steven Smith, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell, among others.The selection of Klinger comes after he was the third-leading run scorer in this summer’s BBL; he is also the all-time leading run scorer in BBL cricket, with 1608 runs at 36.54. He will be Australia’s second-oldest debutant in any format in the past 30 years; only Bryce McGain was older on his 2009 Test debut.”With Australia currently ranked number six in this format and with a number of our frontline players preparing for the India Test series, we have chosen a squad with a good blend of experience combined with several younger players in an effort to improve our performance and therefore our ICC T20 ranking,” national selector Trevor Hohns said.”The influence of younger players in this squad also gives us the opportunity to look forward to the ICC World T20, which is being hosted here in Australia in 2020. The overall standards being set in the BBL are very high and many of these players are making a good impression, but consistency was key for the selectors on this occasion.”On Michael Klinger’s selection, he has been a very good player in this form of the game for some time now. He has a history of strong performances in T20 competitions in the UK and in the BBL, including the match-winning innings for the Perth Scorchers to secure this year’s BBL title.”Paine is another prolific BBL scorer – eighth on the all-time run list, though 14th this year – and this series will mark a long-awaited return to international cricket for him. He has not played for Australia in any format since the ODI tour of Bangladesh in April 2011, and his last T20 international had come against England in January of the same year.”Tim Paine has been included as the batsman/wicketkeeper, adding to the more experienced players like captain Finch, Henriques, Faulkner and Tye, all of whom have consistent success across multiple summers of the BBL, as well as experience on the international stage,” Hohns said.”Both Travis Head and Chris Lynn were exceptional with the bat this summer and Chris’s selection will depend on his fitness. He is due to see a specialist later this week and we will take into account that advice ahead of this series.”Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson and Billy Stanlake round off the bowlers in the squad, all maintaining a balance of excellent economy and wickets in this format, which is essential for a winning side.”Richardson, 20, has only one first-class match to his name for Western Australia, but impressed the national selectors with 11 wickets at 20.18 in the BBL this season. Turner, 24, is an offspinning allrounder who took only five wickets this BBL season and scored 123 runs.Hohns also responded to recent comments from Victoria batsman Cameron White, who this week expressed concern that the Australia team was at times being treated as a development side.”I’m a little bit surprised by those comments, to be quite honest,” Hohns told reporters in Adelaide. “The Sheffield Shield has been well-documented as being very important to us in Australian cricket – selectors, everybody.”And then younger players – I think he just needs to remember that he was a very young man when he was given his first opportunity in one-day cricket. I don’t think there is any disparity there at all, to be honest. Cameron has had plenty of opportunities … he has had plenty of opportunities in the past and it’s probably fair to say performed okay without being earth-shattering.”Squad Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine (wk), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake.

Jadeja, Ishant wrap up India's 208-run win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:27

#AskSanjay: How do you rate India’s pacers?

Ravindra Jadeja’s relentless accuracy and Ishant Sharma’s reverse-swing ensured India dismissed Bangladesh for 250 in an improbable chase of 459 and secured a 208-run victory in Hyderabad, extending their undefeated streak to 19 Tests.Bangladesh’s major source of resistance on the fifth day came via a Jekyll-and-Hyde 56-run stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, who made his first fifty since July 2015. Facing a target of 481 – 22 more than Bangladesh were set in Hyderabad – South Africa tried to block their way out to a draw in Delhi in 2015 but couldn’t. Chasing 475 in Indore last year, New Zealand attacked and collapsed dramatically. Bangladesh did a bit of both to play out 100.3 overs, and had lasted 127.5 in the first innings as well. Though they couldn’t win their first Test in India, they did bat more than 100 overs twice in a match for a sixth time.Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah showed sound judgement outside the off stump against the seamers but took on the spinners, sometimes at great risk. Mushfiqur charged at Ashwin’s second ball of the day – a non-turning offbreak – to cover drive a boundary all along the ground. Two balls later, he used his feet again, but hit over the top against the break to hole out to wide mid-off. While it is understandable that the Bangladesh captain wanted to upset India’s best bowler, he might just have taken it too far. Mushfiqur exposed the inexperienced lower-middle order to the opposition and added to the list of inglorious Bangladesh dismissals in the recent past.Ishant Sharma pinned Sabbir lbw for 22 in the fourth over after lunch. Mahmudullah, who had sent Jadeja over the top for back-to-back fours, continued to live dangerously against spin. But it was pace that undid him. Ishant tucked him up with a chest-high short ball on the leg stump and forced a top-edged pull to long leg.Mehedi Hasan and Kamrul Islam Rabbi saw off the second new ball with a partnership of 17 in 85 balls, but the re-introduction of Jadeja produced the breakthrough. He found extra bounce and turn to glance off Mehedi’s glove and into Wriddhiman Saha’s. Taijul skied a top edge and was caught at short leg though both KL Rahul and M Vijay went for it with neither one backing out.Ashwin completed formalities in bizarre fashion as the tea break was postponed. His slider beat No.11 Taskin Ahmed and India appealed, presumably for lbw. Umpire Marais Erasmus went across to his partner Joel Wilson and brought Chris Gaffaney, the third umpire, into play to check for a bat-pad catch. The replay showed the ball had clearly skidded past the inside edge, but Virat Kohli went for a DRS review that confirmed the lbw.Ashwin bowled only 14.3 overs on the last day as opposed to Jadeja who wheeled away for 29 overs and nearly bagged his second successive five-wicket haul in the second innings. Like a popgun, he kept firing into the rough in an interrupted spell this morning. His 14-6-31-1 included the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan, which summed up the enormity of negotiating a deteriorating fifth-day track in India. Jadeja got one to explode from the rough outside off, graze the top glove of Shakib and loop to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. Jadeja celebrated, sticking his tongue out and flashing a naughty little smile. It would only grow as the day wore on.

Ageing Islamabad United gear up for title defence

Inaugural season results
After initially looking like the poorest side in the competition in 2016, Islamabad United mastered that fabled Pakistani ability: peaking at the right time. Four heavy defeats in the first six games must have had Misbah’s men fearing the worst, but that indifferent start was followed by a remarkable turnaround in form. They edged a tight contest against Karachi Kings, and won their last five games in what ended up being a romp to the PSL’s inaugural title.Team assessment
Having retained 17 players from last season’s successful campaign, Islamabad United appear to want to stick to their winning formula. The aggressive English wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Duckett has been added as a supplementary player, who is likely to help not only with the strike rate, but, at 22, the average age as well. An aging team might be a concern, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin all over 35 years old. The wealth of experience they bring cannot be underestimated, but this is a team that wasn’t considered extremely dynamic even when they won the title last year.Moreover, the leading wicket-taker of last year’s edition, Andre Russell, has been suspended for a doping violation. While Steven Finn has been drafted in to replace him, the team from the capital are likely to miss the Jamaican’s explosiveness with the bat.However, Islamabad do possess a handful of exciting young players for whom this tournament represents an excellent opportunity to realise their potential. Sharjeel Khan is arguably the hottest property in Pakistan’s T20 side since his prolific PSL last year, a 62-ball 117 in the third-qualifying final showcasing the threat he poses. Rumman Raees, whose rise has been rather less meteoric, will also be looking to build on a stellar tournament in 2016, where he took eight wickets with a tidy economy rate of 6.79.Key overseas player
Sam Billings had a disappointing PSL last year, but he has become a fixture in England’s limited-overs squad (if not the playing XI) since. He represented the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash this season, playing just five games due to international duty, but of his four innings, he was the Sixers’ top-scorer in three. An international T20 strike rate of 154.65 owes much to a 25-ball 53 in Dubai in a Man-of- the-Match winning performance against Pakistan. This tournament will be played in the same conditions, on the same grounds. Pair him with Sharjeel at the top of the order, and we might find out what Powerplay really means.Under the radar local lad
Hussain Talat was in top form in the Regional One-Day Cup in January. The left-hand batsman scored 319 runs for FATA, including two centuries, at an average of just under 80 (despite one duck). According to one of Islamabad United’s managers Rehan-ul-Haq, Talat is rated highly by everyone at the franchise; people there are particularly impressed by his ability to make scoring quick runs look easy. With a solid T20 average (28.77) and a strike rate of 111.15, this PSL could be a stepping stone to bigger things for the 20 year old.After a slow start to the inaugural PSL, Islamabad United peaked at the right time•PSL

Availability
As previously mentioned, Andre Russell has been banned for a year due to a doping violation. He was replaced by Steven Finn. There are no injury concerns.Coaching staff
Dean Jones (head coach), Wasim Akram (team director), Tauseef Ahmed (assistant coach), Johan Botha (fielding coach), Rehan-ul-Haq and Hassan Cheema (managers)Squad
Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shane Watson, Steven Finn, Samuel Badree, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Saeed Ajmal, Asif Ali, Rumman Raees, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Hussain Talat. Supplementary players: Dwayne Smith, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Zohaib Khan

Cowdrey dynasty ends as Fabian calls time on career at 24

Fabian Cowdrey has brought the Cowdrey era at Kent to an abrupt halt by leaving the county by mutual consent less than two weeks before the start of the new season. His decision is expected to call time on his county career at the age of 24 as his life enters a new chapter.Cowdrey, grandson of Sir Colin Cowdrey, one of Kent’s most influential figures, and son of Chris Cowdrey, another former England captain, if briefly, will probably smile wryly that a story recording his farewell has barely begun without referencing his more famous relations.For all that, Cowdrey was a vital component of a Kent Twenty20 squad that has grown into one of the most respected in the country. His batting potential was apparent from an early age but he also responded to the demands of a Twenty20 age by turning himself into a more-than-capable left-arm spinner in the shorter format.Only those closely connected with Kent will recognise how demanding the Cowdrey legacy is, especially playing in front of an elderly Championship crowd which is easily tempted to explore its memories of a more successful period in Kent’s history.Cowdrey was a graduate of the Kent Cricket Academy and joined the professional staff in 2011 before making his first class debut the following year.”I’d sincerely like to thank Kent for allowing me to fulfil my childhood dream,” he said. “Through my darkest hours as a player, I will never forget the amount of pride and honour I felt walking out to represent the club that so many great players and family have done before me.”It was not an easy decision for me and I am sad to be leaving Kent; but I believe for the club and for my own well-being it is the right time to leave. I was proud to have followed in the footsteps of my father and grandfather and play for my home county.”Cowdrey scored seven half-centuries and took 34 wickets in 60 appearances in white-ball cricket, a record that underplays his usefulness in the limited-overs formats. He scored two half-centuries in 16 Championship matches.Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman of cricket and player in a more successful Kent era, said: “We always knew about his batting but his bowling has developed into a useful attribute in the shorter formats. It is sad to see him go and he leaves with our best wishes.”

All-round Kleinveldt gives Northants dream start

ScorecardRory Kleinveldt had an opening day remember•Getty Images

Rory Kleinveldt took three wickets and smashed a 23-ball fifty as Northamptonshire dominated the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season. Kleinveldt first helped fire out Glamorgan for just 101 before going to a rapid fifty as Northants closed 268 for 6, a lead of 167.Kleinveldt took 3 for 35 among a fine performance from the Northants seamers. Nathan Buck, on his Northants debut, and Ben Sanderson also took three wickets each as Glamorgan were bundled out in only 31.3 overs.Then late in the day, Kleinveldt was back, this time bat in hand, to smear the bowling all over Wantage Road, his seemingly effortless power on show. In just 23 balls he heaved away seven fours and three sixes – the pick of which was a flat slap over long-on to bring up his fifty – to push Northants towards a match-winning lead.With the ball, Kleinveldt set up the day with two early wickets before Buck produced a dream start to his Northants career. Buck arrived from Lancashire over the winter with the aim of reviving a career that began with much promise at Leicestershire but stalled during two injury-affected seasons in the North West. But back in more homely East Midlands air, he showed the ability that brought him England Lions selection.He struck second ball, drawing an edge from Colin Ingram to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington. Next over a full delivery trapped Chris Cooke lbw for a six-ball duck and Kieran Carlson followed with an edge to Alex Wakely, who took a sharp catch low down at second slip.The hat-trick wasn’t to be but Buck had plunged Glamorgan to 26 for 6 after Kleinveldt removed Nick Selman lbw for 10-ball duck in the third over of the day. David Lloyd shouldered arms and was also lbw, for a five-ball duck, in the following over.Sanderson was equally probing with the new ball and removed Jacques Rudolph caught at second slip for 9. He returned after lunch to induce an edge from Harry Podmore that was sharply held by Richard Levi at third slip.It took several heaves from No. 10 Marchant de Lange – one a wild edge that flew for six over the slip cordon – to nudge Glamorgan into three figures but de Lange was last man out, swinging wildly at Sanderson and losing his off stump. It rounded off a very poor effort from the visitors.Glamorgan tried to keep themselves in the game, reducing Northants to 27 for 3 before Wakely and Rossington shared 65 for the fourth wicket. Wakely fell to a top-edged pull for 38 – Rossington in the same fashion, but only after an attractive 84-ball fifty.Rossington made a rapid century against Loughborough MCCU earlier in the week and looked in good touch here. He pulled Podmore for six over square leg and lifted de Lange over midwicket for the third of his five boundaries. But his best stroke was a sumptuous straight drive off Craig Meschede.But his innings was completely overshadowed by Kleinveldt. He survived an early scare when he pulled to Carlson on the deep square boundary, only for Carlson to run out of room in trying to complete the catch. But thereafter used his power to brutal effect and put Northants into a match-winning position.

Malan 125* sees Lions crush South Africa A

ScorecardDawid Malan finished unbeaten on 125•Getty Images

Middlesex team-mates Steven Finn and Dawid Malan shared the individual honours as England Lions took the lead in their three-match series against South Africa A with a clinical team performance at Trent Bridge.Finn took three wickets in an eight-ball burst and there were two wickets each for Tom Curran, Craig Overton and Liam Dawson as the tourists were dismissed for 268 despite significant contributions from opener Reeza Hendricks, who made 79, and wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, with 81 not out.Then Malan stroked an unbeaten 125, his third century in nine one-day innings for the Lions, to secure a nine-wicket win with more than nine overs to spare. He faced 110 balls and hit 15 fours and a six.Ben Duckett, who had already taken a spectacular diving catch, gave the Lions reply a flying start with a 43-ball half century. The Northamptonshire left-hander fell lbw to the left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for 69 in an opening stand of 134 inside 18 overs.But Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond, who has been so consistent for the Lions in one-day cricket both in Sri Lanka in the winter and in last summer’s tri-series, joined Malan to maintain the momentum in an unbroken partnership of 135. Bell-Drummond ended with 62 from 76 balls with four fours, the third time in four one-day innings for the Lions he has passed 50.James Vince won the toss and chose to field on a fine Nottingham morning, and it was his early introduction of Dawson’s left-arm spin which broke South Africa’s opening stand. JJ Smuts was bowled swinging across the line at his third ball, and in the next over Overton dismissed the dangerous Theunis de Bruyn courtesy of Ben Foakes’s tumbling low catch to leave the tourists on 42 for 2.Hendricks and Temba Bavuma, who is due to join the senior South Africa squad for their Test tour of England later in the summer, responded with an intelligent third-wicket partnership of 95 for the third wicket.It was Dawson again who made the breakthrough, winning an lbw decision against Hendricks to dismiss the experienced opener for 79 from 73 balls. Again the Lions made it a double strike in the next over, as Tom Curran found some extra bounce to surprise the diminutive Bavuma, and Liam Livingstone caught his top-edged cut running towards the point boundary.That was a good catch but it was eclipsed by Duckett’s effort to dismiss South Africa’s captain Khaya Zondo 10 overs later, one-handed diving full length to his right to give Overton his second wicket. Then Finn took over, trapping Mangaliso Mosehle leg before and seaming the ball away to find the outside edge of first Sisanda Magala, then Shamsi.The Curran brothers, who had shared the new ball, then did likewise with the last two wickets, although they were separated by a stand of 44 between Dane Paterson and Kuhn, a 33-year-old with seven T20 international appearances.Tom Curran earned fine figures of 2 for 39 from his 10 overs, taking his tally of one-day wickets for the Lions to 24 in 12 matches, and Dawson ended with 2 for 41.

Philander misses warm-up match against Lions

Vernon Philander will sit out South Africa’s three-day warm-up match against the English Lions in Worcester as he continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained during a county stint at Sussex. However, South Africa are hopeful Philander will recover in time for the first Test at Lord’s, which starts on July 6.”Vernon is in the final stages of his rehab following the injury to his right ankle two weeks ago. He is building on to bowl at full pace by the end of the week to prove his availability for selection for the first Test match against England at Lord’s next week,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said.Philander’s unavailability takes the number of big names absent from the tour match to three. Test captain Faf du Plessis is in South Africa awaiting the birth of his first child and may not return to the UK in time for the opening match while coach Russell Domingo returned home for a family emergency and there has been no word on his return. This is set to be Domingo’s last series in charge as his contract expires at the conclusion of the tour and he is understood not to have reapplied for his job. Assistant coach Adi Birrell, bowling coach Charl Langeveldt and batting consultant Neil McKenzie remain with squad for now.South Africa have made contingency plans in case du Plessis is unavailable. Titans’ opening batsman Aiden Markram was included in South Africa’s Test squad as cover but Theunis de Bruyn played ahead of him in the warm-up match. Chris Morris was chosen over Andile Phehlukwayo in the bowling allrounder’s role, a suggestion that if Philander is not fit in time for the first Test, Morris could make a comeback. Dean Elgar will stand-in as captain.

Tsotsobe handed eight-year ban

Lonwabo Tsotsobe, once ranked the No.1 ODI bowler in the world, has been banned for eight years for his role in the 2015 corruption case during the Ram Slam, South Africa’s domestic T20 competition.He is the seventh player to be sanctioned under the CSA’s anti-corruption code after Gulam Bodi, Alviro Petersen, Thami Tsolekile, Jean Symes, Pumelela Matshikwe and Ethy Mbhalati received bans ranging from two to 20 years.Tsotsobe is thought to be the last guilty player after the independent chairperson of CSA’s anti-corruption unit, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, declared the probe closed in a statement. In its entirety the investigation, which started in November 2015, lasted 20 months.”The investigative team have completed a thorough and far-reaching investigation. I am satisfied that all the culprits have been duly prosecuted under the Code and, unless we receive or uncover any new or previously undisclosed information, we believe we can now bring this matter to a close,” Ngoepe said.Tsotsobe admitted to 10 charges in total: one charge of attempting to fix a match, two charges of failing to disclose details of an approach to engage in corrupt conduct, two charges of failing to disclose a breach of the code by another person, three charges of failing to or refusing to co-operate with the investigation and two charges of obstructing or delaying the investigation by destroying or concealing evidence.None of the players were found to have actually fixed a match in the tournament, something CSA has maintained throughout the investigation. There were, however, attempts to spot fix, including by Tsotsobe.”Mr Tsotsobe has ultimately admitted his mistakes in contravening the CSA Anti-Corruption Code and, whilst no fix actually took place, it is clear that he was active in plans to participate in spot fixing and hence the sanction imposed on him,” Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s CEO said.Tsotsobe offered an apology and cited financial difficulty. “I wish to apologise to cricket lovers all over the world. I was, at the time, in a very vulnerable financial state and this dilemma too easily persuaded me to participate in spot fixing. There are no words to describe the regret I have in relation to my actions and I hope that the cricket world could consider my apology and understand my deepest feeling of remorse.”Tsotsobe last played for Lions in December 2015 but was only provisionally suspended on April 24, 2017. He will not be allowed to participate in cricket activities which take place under the auspicious of any national cricket board in any capacity.The conclusion of the investigation comes at a particularly important time for CSA because this season they will launch the inaugural Global T20 league, a privately-owned franchise tournament which mirrors the IPL, Big Bash and CPL.The domestic franchise T20 competition, which was played without a sponsor last summer, is also expected to be take place but without the same high profile. In the 2014-15 season, when the attempted match-fixing took place, CSA sold the television rights for the domestic T20 to India for the first time, having had them bought in other territories the summer before. That significantly increased the interest and exposure of the tournament and also opened up the potential of corruption.Bodi admitted to being the go-between who approached players to manipulate the outcome of games. One of those players, Mbhalati, said in a radio interview on in May that he “didn’t take Bodi very seriously” and both “declined and laughed at him”, but admitted he “didn’t disclose anything” at the time. Symes and Matshikwe are understood to be in the same boat.Petersen, one of two former Test players to have been involved, initially said “he had been mandated to go undercover to try and expose Bodi” but later admitted to “not immediately reporting to authorities” the meeting he had had with Bodi and the alleged fixers.

West Indian batting unconvincing against Kent second-string

Shai Hope made a half-century•Getty Images

Rookie seam-bowler Charlie Hartley celebrated his Kent recall with career-best figures of 4 for 80 as the county’s second-string bowling attack made West Indies toil for runs on the opening day of their tour match in Canterbury.After losing four wickets in the morning session, the visitors re-grouped in the mid-session courtesy of half-centuries by Shai Hope and Jermaine Blackwood, only to slide either side of tea to a modest 265 all out in the face of some respectably tight county bowling.In the four overs through to stumps, Kent lost opener Daniel Bell-Drummond caught behind off the fourth ball of the reply from Alzarri Joseph to go into day two on 1 for 1.In praising the makeshift Kent attack Shai Hope said: “It was pleasing to get some runs under my belt but Kent bowled some pretty disciplined lines and lengths and didn’t give us much.”It wasn’t the easiest pitch to bat on either, is was a bit slow and you had to be as patient as possible especially during that period either side of lunch when they bowled really well.”There was a bit of seam movement and a bit through the air, but at different stages. At the start it was swinging then later in the morning it started seaming. As a batting side, we need to get bigger first-innings scores than this to set up games, but this is still good progress because we all want time in the middle to learn as quickly as possible before the Tests.”Hartley, clearly determined to enjoy only the third first-class appearance of his career and his first red-ball match in over three years, opened Kent’s bowling with gusto after the tourists elected to bat first.He sent back both West Indies’ openers within 10 overs. Kraigg Braithwaite, captaining in place of the rested Jason Holder, fell to Hartley’s 19th ball of the match, caught half-forward and late with his defensive push to an off-cutter that thudded into his left-pad.Then, with their total on 36, Hartley struck the front pad of left-handed Kieran Powell who looked distinctly displeased by the bowler’s send-off as well as the umpire’s lbw decision.The West Indies found runs and boundaries hard to come by, indeed, the ropes went unfettered for 13 overs as the home attack maintained a tight grip.Third-wicket partners and Bajan brothers, Shai and Kyle Hope, appeared content to bat time but, after adding 38 and just after pulling a short one for his fifth boundary, Kyle Hope dragged a full-length delivery from Ball onto off stump via the bat’s toe end and his pad. He trudged off a dejected figure having played-on for the third time on tour.Ball struck again in his next over having left-hander Shimron Hetmyer caught low down off a firm-handed push drive by keeper Adam Rouse for an eight-ball duck.The tourists displayed some much-needed resolve in the mid-session courtesy of a fifth-wicket stand of 70 between Shai Hope and Jermaine Blackwood. Hope, who looks set to play in this month’s opening Test against England, a day-night clash at Edgbaston, hit only four fours in his 107-ball 50 before he departed for 57.Kent offspinner Adam Riley, playing his first first-class game in over a year, got one to bounce and brush Hope’s outside edge for Ball to snaffle a regulation slip catch. It was Riley’s first first-class wicket since 2015.Blackwood moved to his 90-ball 50 with six fours just before tea but, two deliveries later, went back to a full delivery and became Hartley’s third lbw victim of the day and send the visitors in at the break on 178 for 6.Hartley was in the thick of the action again soon after tea when his throw from square leg ran out Shane Dowrich after a calling mix-up with Raymon Reifer.The West Indies’ tail wagged a little thereafter, but Riley bagged a second scalp when Reifer sliced high to mid-off then Will Gidman picked up his first scalp of the day by having Devendra Bishoo caught behind after prodding at a leg-cutter and Hartley returned with the new ball to win his fourth lbw appeal of the day to end the resistance of Joseph for 31.At the start of the day Zack Crawley, the 19-year-old batsman from Tonbridge School, was given a first-class debut and presented with his Kent 2nd XI cap by former Kent and West Indies player John Shepherd.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus