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England rounded up Australia’s tail on the second morning of the third Ashes Test on a noticeably quickening WACA Ground pitch

The Report by Daniel Brettig14-Dec-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland rounded up Australia’s tail for the addition of 59 runs on the second morning of the third Ashes Test on a noticeably quickening WACA Ground pitch.Stuart Broad and James Anderson pursued a fuller length than that of the first day, and were rewarded with a series of edges that either found the slips cordon or squeezed through gaps – very few runs were found anywhere else.Mitchell Johnson was out to his second ball of the morning, snicking a beautifully pitched delivery from Broad that curved subtly in before seaming the other way and going through to Matt Prior.Steve Smith could add only eight to his overnight 103, getting the faintest of inside edges to an Anderson ball that moved back at him. The umpire Marais Erasmus declined the appeal, but the evidence of HotSpot and Realtime Snicko was enough for the decision to be reversed under the DRS. Smith walked off shaking his head.Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle also perished to edges though not before he and Nathan Lyon added a pesky 31 for the last wicket, leaving England with 25 minutes to bat on a morning where temperatures at the ground soared past 40C.

Live updates of the eighth round of the Ranji Trophy

Devashish Fuloria22-Dec-2013

Playing their final 20-over game before the World T20, New Zealand look to close out the series against a patched-up West Indies side

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Jan-2014Match factsWednesday, January 15, 2014
19:00 local (06:00 GMT)Moments like this have been a rarity in Andre Russell’s international T20 career•Getty ImagesBig PictureHaving looked the better team for most of the ODI series, New Zealand ended up having to share the spoils after losing the final match in Hamilton. Brendon McCullum, their captain, spoke of how that loss hurt the players, and how they will need to start closing out series “if we’re serious about trying to win big tournaments”.Wellington offers New Zealand another opportunity to close out a series. If they don’t do that against a makeshift West Indies outfit, cobbled together in the absence of its biggest names, it makes their task in the World T20 in Bangladesh that much harder.Averages aren’t supposed to matter that much in T20 cricket, but they certainly do show the difference between the two teams playing this series. New Zealand have three batsmen averaging over 35, while West Indies have no one with an average higher than Dwayne Bravo’s 28.80, if you ignore Nikita Miller’s average of 43 courtesy four not outs in five innings.West Indies are without Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, but questions can still be asked of their selectors, considering the fact that their team in Auckland contained three wicketkeeper-batsmen (and their squad contains a fourth, Denesh Ramdin). Clearly, the lack of specialist batsmen is hurting West Indies, and that might continue in Wellington.West Indies, however, possess a decent bowling attack. A heavy defeat in Auckland might cause them to reconsider playing three spinners, but that, apart from a rare off day for Sunil Narine, wasn’t the reason they conceded 189. Narine, Samuel Badree and Miller could well prove their best hope of restricting New Zealand at a venue where spinners have an economy rate of 6.34 and seamers 8.04.What West Indies might need to reconsider is their seam attack. Tino Best and Andre Russell were ineffectual in Auckland, and the team management will wonder if they should field Jason Holder in place of one of them.Form guideNew Zealand WLWWL(last five completed matches)
West Indies LLLWW
In the spotlightAdam Milne averages 172.00 with the ball in ODIs and 78.50 in T20Is. He’s only just starting his career, though, and the number everyone’s looking at right now is the one on the speedgun. In Auckland, Milne consistently clocked speeds of over 145kph and twice crossed 150 while taking 1 for 15 in four overs. New Zealand are blessed with a talented group of fast bowlers; Milne could yet prove the most exciting of the lot.West Indies picked three spinners in the first T20I, and the presence of two seam-bowling allrounders made their attack look balanced on paper. In reality, one of their two allrounders is yet to justify the billing. Andre Russell will want to forget Auckland in a hurry; he was taken out of the attack after going for 23 in one over and was out for a second-ball duck. It wasn’t just a one-off. With a highest score of 23* in 16 matches, a bowling average of 237 and an economy rate of 10.77, Russell will quickly need to show West Indies what exactly he brings to their table in this format.Team newsRavi Rampaul flew home with a thumb injury, leaving West Indies short in an area they are struggling in. Best was expensive in Auckland. Holder, who was impressive during the ODI series, might replace him and make his debut.West Indies (probable) 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Andre Fletcher (wk), 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Chadwick Walton, 8 Nikita Miller, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best/Jason Holder, 11 Samuel BadreeNew Zealand are likely to stick to the same XI that played in Auckland.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Jesse Ryder, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 James Neesham, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Adam MilneStats and trivia Teams batting second have won the last four T20Is at the Westpac Stadium Sunil Narine’s figures of 0 for 46 were his worst, by a distance, in T20IsQuotes”At the top of the order, we need to put more thought and emphasis into the game. We have nothing to prove to anyone and we just have to focus on what we have to do. “

“I’d love to be able to get to 160 [kph], but I’m not sure if that’s in my realm.”

Papua New Guinea carry four points forward into the Super Sixers, the only team to do so, and have a good chance of making their first World Cup. Hong Kong seek the same accolade, but are on two points

Peter Della Penna25-Jan-2014A thrilling last day of the group stage provided a jolt to the World Cup Qualifier standings: while Canada’s demise to Scotland was consistent with their overall form over the last few years, Netherlands’ failure against Kenya was shocking and could have seismic consequences for their semi-professional structure.Finishing outside the top six for Canada and Netherlands may result in a significant reduction in ICC development funding from the governing body’s high performance programme. Another ripple effect is the potential loss of sponsors due to the lack of exposure from not advancing to the World Cup, something each team had accomplished on three straight occasions.Thursday’s results also open up a strong possibility that there will be at least one and perhaps two first-time participants at the 14-team event in Australia and New Zealand next year. Each of the six teams advancing will now play three games in the Super Sixes phase beginning on Sunday.The three teams in Group A will play crossover games with the three that advanced from Group B. All teams carry forward points from the group stage that were gained against the other teams that have advanced with them to the Super Sixes. Here is a look at each of the remaining six teams’ chances of qualifying for the 2015 ICC World Cup.Lega Siaka has led PNG’s batting with two centuries and a fifty•ICCPapua New GuineaThe Barramundis look quite set to lock up their first ever World Cup berth and the first one for a team from the ICC’s East Asia-Pacific region. The catalyst for success has been opener Lega Siaka, who has two hundreds and a fifty to go along with a tournament average of 147.PNG carry four points forward from group play, the only team to do so. They also have the best net run rate of the six teams advancing at +1.983, including a massive +1.521 advantage over the next best team, Scotland. If they sweep their Super Six games against Scotland, UAE and Hong Kong, they’ll automatically clinch a World Cup berth. Even if they win two out of three, it will probably still be enough considering the net-run-rate tiebreaker advantage they enter with.ScotlandAfter a first-day loss to Hong Kong, Scotland rebounded impressively to go 3-1 in Group A, culminating in a 170-run stomping of Canada. Opener Calum MacLeod is the tournament’s leading scorer with 345 runs in four innings, including a pair of centuries.Of the four teams on two points entering the Super Sixes, Scotland enjoys the best net run rate with +0.462. That puts them +0.512 ahead of Hong Kong and +0.859 ahead of the UAE. At the very least they’ll need two wins to give themselves a chance of advancing to the final, while three wins would almost certainly clinch a spot.Hong KongThey were 3-0 in Group A before losing to the UAE on Thursday. Had that result been reversed, Hong Kong would have carried four points forward to the Super Sixes and restricted UAE to zero moving into the next stage. Instead, they essentially conceded what could have been a sizeable advantage on everyone except Papua New Guinea and now sit third on the Super Sixes table. They are sandwiched between Scotland and UAE on two points, with a net run rate of -0.050.Fast bowler Haseeb Amjad is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 13 at 12.92. UAE have also had excellent contributions from allrounder Irfan Ahmed with a century and two fifties, making him the team’s leading scorer with 265 runs at 132.50. Arguably, they match up better with Namibia, PNG and Kenya than Scotland do and are capable of producing the heavy wins needed to stay in the hunt to reach their first World Cup.UAEUAE would still have advanced into the Super Sixers had they lost to Hong Kong, but the 22-run victory ensured they moved into the next stage with points on the board and simultaneously diminished Hong Kong’s advantage. With both teams on two points each, that victory could prove crucial to their progress in the tournament.UAE’s net run rate is now -0.397, not an insurmountable difference to make up with Scotland and Hong Kong but not an easy one either. Khurram Khan, 42, has had a profitable tournament with the bat, notching three half-centuries in four innings. The UAE captain must keep up that scoring pace in the Super Sixes to give his team the best chance of securing a World Cup berth.Khurram Khan’s three fifities in four matches has kept UAE in the hunt•IDI/GettyNamibiaGerrie Snyman’s impact on the tournament cannot be understated. After a year out of the national team, he scored a run-a-ball 74 on his return in a 91-run win over Netherlands in Namibia’s first match of the tournament. That result went a long way towards securing Namibia’s qualification for the second round, and preventing Netherlands from advancing further.On the flip side, Namibia’s final-day loss to PNG produced a double-whammy. Not only did it prevent them from carrying four points forward to the Super Sixes, but with PNG overhauling the target in 25 overs, Namibia’s net run rate plummeted and now sits at -1.125. They are significantly behind not only PNG but also the three other teams who carried two points forward and will need to register three convincing wins to have any chance of finishing among the top two and qualifying for the World Cup.KenyaThey may be on the wane, but for at least one day Kenya turned back the clock to the country’s golden era with an audacious chase on the final day of group play against Netherlands. With their backs to the wall, Kenya not only beat the pre-tournament favourites but won the race against time to reach the target of 266 with enough overs remaining to pass Netherlands on net run rate, keeping their World Cup qualification hopes alive while eliminating the Dutch from contention.Regardless of how the stage goes for them, Irfan Karim has shown Kenya is still capable of developing talent. The 21-year-old spearheaded the chase against the Netherlands with 108 while former captain Collins Obuya has played with more freedom since relinquishing the reins and currently is the highest scorer for the team in New Zealand with 215 runs including one century and a fifty. Kenya’s chances of finishing in the top two are remote with zero points carried forward from the group stage. They will need wins over Scotland, UAE and Hong Kong plus several favorable results in the other games in order to somehow finish in the top two.

Following their 61-run defeat in the second ODI, a frustrated Mushfiqur Rahim has said Bangladesh’s players don’t listen to instructions

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur20-Feb-2014Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim is unsure whether his team is willing to listen and learn. He cut a frustrated figure while attending the post-match presentations and the press conference and later as he walked back to the dressing-room.The home team conceded the ODI series to Sri Lanka with the last match still left to play. The fielding once again let them down. Nasir Hossain dropped Ashan Priyanjan when his partnership with Kumar Sangakkara had just started, with Sri Lanka struggling on 65 for 3. There were three other dropped catches over the course of Sri Lanka’s innings.The 290-run chase never got off the ground, despite the batsmen always maintaining a healthy run-rate. The trouble was playing one shot too many, and it was pretty much the same problem for every batsman in the line-up.Mushfiqur felt let down by his teammates, and he drew an example from the Chittagong Test from earlier this month, to point out exactly how communication falls through in the Bangladesh team.”I tell them but the results are different than when other captains tell their players to do things in certain ways,” Mushfiqur said. “I will give you a simple example. Al-Amin [Hossain] played a shot towards the end of the first innings of the Chittagong Test, and was dropped at long-on. He had [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai at the other end telling him to not play big shots. [Shamsur Rahman] Shuvo and I were shouting at him from the dressing-room prior to that shot, but he still played the shot.”Now when [Kumar] Sangakkara bats with Mendis and Lakmal, he says the same things. If someone is not willing to listen, then it is not the fault of the person telling him. It will depend on him, whether he wants to listen or not. He came back and told me that my bat automatically goes when I see a ball like that. I think we are very slow learners. We must learn as fast as possible.”Mushfiqur said his team’s inability to win crucial moments and the poor form shown by some of the senior players were the main reasons for the defeat.”I think the environment outside the field is the same [as before],” he said. “It is the mistakes in the crucial times which have affected us. The senior players and performers are going through a bit of off-form, which might be a problem.”As a whole team, we are a bit low on confidence and mentally weak. We need a win to get out of this phase. But to get that one win, the work that we did in the last one and a half years, we have to work doubly hard. A win against any team will be difficult. We have to give more than 100 per cent in the last game.”Despite the form shown by the players, what has also undermined the team has been a spate of injuries. The team have also stuck with Mahmudullah, despite his poor form.He bowled three overs, dropped a sitter and was run out for just one in this game. He was out for a two-ball duck in the previous game, and also dropped an easy chance at slip. Naeem Islam made two crucial fifties against New Zealand in November but hasn’t played since.Mushfiqur explained that he needed an allrounder at No 7, but said he wouldn’t drop players without giving them a proper run. “Naeem [Islam] generally bats at No 5 and in that position now we have Shakib,” he said. “We need an allrounder at No 7 and we need an input from there, whoever it is, be it [Sohag] Gazi or Mahmudullah.”As a Bangladesh captain, dropping a player without giving him another chance is something that I am not in favour of. Even if someone goes through a bad patch, I will try to back him. We did a similar thing in the case of Marshall Ayub. Although it didn’t work out today, I believe that in the near future a player receives at least this much of support.”

The South Africa Women’s team that participated at the World T20 had never played a televised match before their semi-final against England

Firdose Moonda08-Apr-2014The South Africa Women’s team that participated at the World T20 had never played a televised match before their semi-final against England. For the first time, people at home could “see that we can also play cricket and what we can do” as Mignon du Preez said.They had also never been to a hostile press engagement before they arrived home from Bangladesh. Du Preez and coach Hilton Moreeng were seated next to Faf du Plessis and Russell Domingo at the teams’ arrival and their eyes grew wider with anxiety as they heard their male counterparts being grilled.Domingo had to explain his use of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn and respond to criticism from former players while du Plessis was just another captain who returned empty-handed. Sympathy was in short supply and the ladies had reason to be nervous. Du Preez quickly played down the team’s television debut given the nature of their defeat. “Unfortunately we didn’t have our best game but hopefully we’ll learn. This is just the start.”Despite five run-outs and their hefty nine-wicket defeat in the knockouts, the women were forgiven much quicker than the men and with good reason. Not only had they never been to a World T20 semi-final before but they are working off a base which has only just started to accumulate resources.Just six months ago, the team received corporate sponsorship which allowed for six members of the squad to be contracted and a full-time coach to be brought on board. Du Preez is one of the half a dozen on the books but explained that even some of those with contracts have to maintain other jobs.What the financial backing has done is allowed for more game time. Instead of going an entire winter without a fixture or, as they did between 2009 and 2010, a full 12 months without playing, the team went through a rigorous program in the lead up to the World T20.They hosted Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the beginning of this season in September and October, and then spent January in Doha playing in a triangular tournament against Pakistan and Ireland. Of those matches, they won three ODIs and three T20s against Bangladesh, two ODIs and two T20s out of three each against Sri Lanka and three out four ODIs in the Doha tournament, including the final and three out of five T20s before they lost the final to Pakistan.”It was a very good season for us. The players improved and we were ready for the World T20,” Moreeng said. That was evident when South Africa got their own back when they beat Pakistan by 44 runs in the tournament opener. “We were not even spoken about as a team that could challenge but then we showed we mean business.”A big win over Ireland and victory over a much-fancied New Zealand side meant set up a place in the final four but they had earlier come unstuck against Australia. Following their semi-final defeat to England, it is obvious where South Africa lie as far as the global women’s game is concerned.Du Preez recognised that the professional set-ups in Australia and England have created a gulf between them and the rest but believes South Africa could catch up on the back of their World T20 success. “They started the processes [of contracting players] a little earlier so I think we are now where they were two or three years ago,” she said. “Hopefully this will start things for us. We also want to be in a position where we can compete and do it full time.”Although South Africa’s defeats to both finalists were by substantial margins Moreeng said he saw the team could “compete even against the top teams, who we only play once every few years.” South Africa last played England in a home series in 2011 but they have never had a bilateral engagement against Australia. They are due to visit England again this September for three T20s which will all be on television.Far from that being a potential source of stage fright, Moreeng welcomes it as a chance to embrace the spotlight. “We will improve with more games, especially where there is an opportunity to have televised matches because we never play in front of those kinds of crowds. It’s good for us.”And they may even start to get recognised by a few more people. “We can see women’s cricket is starting to become a little more serious. When we were on the flight home we had people saying they’d seen us play and asking us questions,” du Preez said. “There were some people who didn’t even know a women’s cricket team existed. So these are very exciting times for South African cricket.”Even those still stewing over another trophy-less tournament would agree.

As always, it was the most criticised component coming into the tournament. And not as always, India’s bowling has clicked so well in their first two World T20 matches

Abhishek Purohit in Dhaka23-Mar-2014As always, it was the most criticised component coming into the tournament. And not as always, India’s bowling has clicked so well in their first two World T20 matches, they have even been able to let a misfiring batsman get some practice in the middle.As surprises go, it could not have come more pleasantly for the Indians. Three of the frontline bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin, have gone at less than a run a ball against two dangerous opponents in Pakistan and West Indies.The conditions have been a huge help to the spinners, of course. But they have also stuck to their strengths – Ashwin using his carrom balls and bowling largely fuller lengths and tight lines, barring overdoing it into the pads at times.Mishra has been a revelation. When you use so much flight in a T20, you often get carted for six, but Mishra has used it the old-fashioned way – to get wickets. There has been turn available, but Mishra has made the most of it by fooling batsmen in the air.About an hour earlier, even Saeed Ajmal was finding it hard against Australia and Glenn Maxwell and before that, Pakistan had roughed up Brad Hogg. What were the Indian slow bowlers doing differently? Darren Sammy said they had been able to, and also been allowed to, settle down enough to bowl what they wanted to.”They bowl wicket to wicket,” Sammy said. “Normally if you let a spinner settle he will get his line and length and pace and variation at which he wants to bowl. In both games they have settled into a nice rhythm. They controlled the pace of the innings from there.”That they did so against a side that boasted explosive batsmen of the calibre of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels was what pleased MS Dhoni.”I am really happy to see how the spinners are bowling,” Dhoni said. “Yes, there is a bit of help for them but at the same time you have to execute your plans well, especially in this format. You have got some of the big hitters in the opposition that you will have to carefully plan for and innovate at times. So I was really happy that our spinners so far, along with the part-timers and the fast bowlers, have done really well.”With the limelight on the spinners, Bhuvneshwar has quietly gone about his job at the start of the innings. For a while now, the swing had more or less gone missing for him, and Bhuvneshwar without much movement in the air is not even half the bowler with it. But he has been making it dart around in Dhaka and the way he toyed with Dwayne Smith is not a sight one usually sees in T20s, where batsmen usually fall on their own because they play too many shots. In this case, to put bat to ball against Bhuvneshwar was proving difficult for Smith, as he took several away before bringing the odd one back in. A spell of 3-0-3-0 in a T20 is pure gold for a captain.Sammy praised Bhuvneshwar when asked about West Indies’ crawl of a start. “I think credit must go to the opening bowlers,” Sammy said. “Kumar swung the ball both in and out and he bowled good areas. We know they were bowling to the two most dangerous openers in this format of the game. They kept them quiet.”Bhuvneshwar was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket, because he seemed to be on the verge of breaking through almost every ball. His role is to make good use of the new ball, Dhoni said, and that is exactly what he did, bowling some big away swingers.”Make sure he does not give too many loose deliveries,” Dhoni said. “The batsmen have to go after him to play the big shot. That will be like a winner for him and today there was a bit of help and he made sure he was bowling in the right areas. That is how he will contribute throughout. Especially in this game I thought he bowled brilliantly. His length was very crucial and he was able to swing the ball.”

South Africa international Kyle Abbott picked up 4 for 84 as Hampshire frustrated Derbyshire’s attempts to build a sizeable first innings advantage on day three in Derby

Press Association22-Apr-2014
ScorecardKyle Abbott picked up four wickets•PA PhotosSouth Africa international Kyle Abbott picked up 4 for 84 as Hampshire frustrated Derbyshire’s attempts to build a sizeable first innings advantage on day three in Derby.The hosts had hoped to establish a commanding position as they resumed following a morning wash-out at 203 for 2, in response to Hampshire’s first innings of 328. But Abbott used the second new ball to excellent effect as Derbyshire slumped from 273 for 2 to 312 for 7 before a timely unbeaten 56 from Tim Groenewald helped the hosts build a lead of 71.Early signs had been better for Derbyshire once play finally got underway, with Stephen Moore adding a further 22 to his overnight total before falling to a Sean Ervine catch off Abbott on 128.Overnight partner Shivarine Chanderpaul departed three overs later, caught by Ervine off James Tomlinson for 82, and Abbott went on to add the wickets of Richard Johnson, Wes Durston and Tony Palladino.But Groenewald, who slapped a rapid half-century against Essex in defeat last week, continued his good form with the bat to swing the momentum back the visitors’ way. Groenewald finally ran out of partners when Mark Footitt fell lbw to Liam Dawson for no score, giving the hosts a useful, rather than formidable, first-innings advantage.Hampshire responded by making a solid start to their second innings, Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams making it to the close unbeaten as the visitors finished the day on 20 for no wicket, a deficit of 51 runs.

It has taken him 44 Championship matches and 69 Championship innings, but William Porterfield provided a reminder of the reasons Warwickshire wanted him in the first place with a maiden Championship century for the club.

George Dobell at Edgbaston27-May-2014
ScorecardWilliam Porterfield made his first Championship century for Warwickshire•Getty ImagesWhen William Porterfield joined Warwickshire from Gloucestershire ahead of the 2011 season it was seen as a major coup.The club had tried and failed to lure so many other players to Edgbaston. But much as people accused Ashley Giles, the Warwickshire director of cricket at the time, of exploiting his position as an England selector, the likes of David Sales, Alex Gidman, Dawid Malan, James Taylor, Graham Onions, Steve Kirby, Jon Lewis all said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ when approached. Giles often laughed when people criticised him for taking advantage of his dual role.So Porterfield’s acquisition in the face of competition from other clubs was celebrated. Much was expected from him.But life has not progressed as planned for the 29-year-old from Londonderry. Instead of accumulating runs in great quantity, Porterfield has found himself relegated to the 2nd XI at times and, in his fourth season with the club, averages only 26.62 in first-class cricket for Warwickshire. After starting with two half-centuries in T20 cricket for his new club, he has not managed another since 2011 and seven of his last 11 scores in the competition have been under 10.Contributions cannot be measured purely in such terms, of course, and Porterfield has proved to be an exceptional catcher (at gully, in particular), a popular and positive presence in the dressing room and a more than useful List A player. He averages 36.41 in the format for Warwickshire and also made a polished first-class century against the MCC in Abu Dhabi in the curtain-raising fixture ahead of the 2013 season. Such is the high regard he is held by the management of the club, that his contract was extended until the end of the 2015 season.Now he has a Championship century for Warwickshire. It has taken him 44 matches and 69 innings, but he provided a reminder of the reasons the club wanted him in the first place. He pulled well, particularly in the early part of his innings, drove nicely and, even if he became somewhat becalmed against spin at times, battled through to ensure his side averted the danger of the follow-on and, as a consequence, surely made the game safe. It may have been a grim, grey day for most at Edgbaston, but for Porterfield it will always be remembered with a warm glow.It was the seventh first-class century of his career, his third in the championship and his first in Division One. He has scored three first-class centuries for Ireland as well as six ODI centuries, of which two – against England and Bangladesh – were against ICC Full Member nations.He survived two or three nervous moments. One edge, off Craig Overton, flew between a slip cordon spread too wide when he had 29, while when he had 62, an edged cut evaded Craig Kieswetter. He was also beaten for pace by the distinctly sharp Jamie Overton on 82 and was fortunate to see his inside edge miss the stumps and run to the boundary. Jamie Overton may be raw – seven no-balls and an economy rate of seven an over tell their own story – but he hurried and troubled the batsmen like no-one else.Porterfield added 163 for Warwickshire’s second wicket with Ian Westwood. Westwood, producing arguably the most fluent batting of his career, looked set for his first Championship century since August 2012 but, edging an attempted cut, became the third man in the match to be dismissed in the 90s.Both Porterfield and Westwood were in need of runs. The news that club captain Jim Troughton will return to 2nd XI cricket next week following back surgery will only increase competition for places. Jonathan Trott is not expected to be far away from a similar return, while Laurie Evans is too good to linger at that level for long.Once Porterfield was dismissed, leg-before to one that swung back into him from the impressive Craig Overton, Warwickshire lost three wickets for four runs before the rain that had flirted with the match all day finally settled in. Sam Hain mishit a pull and was caught at midwicket, before Ateeq Javed poked at a good one and edged to the slips.The forecast for the final day is not good, however, and this pitch holds no fears for batsmen. It will prove hard for either side to conjure a result from this positionIt did not help that play was halted by the lightest of rain on several occasions. While pensioners sat, bare-headed and without umbrellas, in bewilderment at the delays, the players and umpires sat in the pavilion. And people wonder why more children are not brought to such games during their half-term break. One day, with the grounds empty and the game crying out for support, the authorities will reflect that they treated the most loyal of paying customers – the county member – with something approaching contempt and regret such foolishness.

Test spinner Nathan Lyon will have a chance to put into match practice some of his recent work with Muttiah Muralitharan after being added to the Australia A squad to take on India A in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2014Test spinner Nathan Lyon will have a chance to put into match practice some of his recent work with Muttiah Muralitharan after being added to the Australia A squad to take on India A in Brisbane.Lyon was already in Brisbane training at the National Cricket Centre and Australia’s selectors decided he would benefit from some game time ahead of the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October.”Nathan has been added to the squad to give him the opportunity to play some first-class cricket in preparation for Australia’s upcoming tour against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October,” Darren Lehmann, the national coach and selector on duty for the Australia A matches, said.Lyon has been added for the second four-day match at Allan Border Field, which starts on Sunday. In the first match at the same venue, Queensland legspinner Cameron Boyce was Australia’s only specialist spinner and finished with four wickets for the game.Lyon recently returned from Sri Lanka, where he had been working with Muralitharan, who has been named as a coaching consultant for Australia for their series against Pakistan.