'New ICC regime trying to sideline BCCI' – Thakur

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said the board is being “arm-twisted” on two fronts: as a result of the Lodha committee’s recommendations for structural reform, and due to the change at the top of the ICC, where Shashank Manohar has taken charge as the independent chairman. Thakur also took exception to Manohar’s remarks that his priorities lay with the ICC and not the BCCI. Manohar had suggested that it wasn’t his responsibility but that of the BCCI representative to look after the board’s interest at the ICC table.”I think these [Lodha] recommendations and [the] change in ICC [regime] are arm-twisting BCCI both at home and at the ICC which is not good for Indian cricket,” Thakur said. “The situation of BCCI – a global leader till the recommendation of the Lodha committee… now with the new ICC regime they are trying to sideline the BCCI, one of the most important stakeholders in global cricket today. Just [because of] one recommendation, we are not taken seriously.”Thakur, who is in Greater Noida to watch the final of the Duleep Trophy, told reporters that the BCCI, by virtue of being a “global leader”, had an obligation to look after the interest of smaller boards. He reiterated the BCCI’s concerns over the budget for next year’s Champions Trophy in England, which the Indian board felt was three times as much as what was allotted to India for the World T20 earlier this year.”Yes, BCCI should look after its interests, but BCCI does not only limit itself to look after BCCI’s interests,” Thakur said. “If he [Manohar] is saying that he has got nothing to do with the BCCI, BCCI is one of the 105 members and one of the most important stakeholders of the ICC today. And, that is why we have raised the issue – when the others kept mum – that we want to go through the Champions Trophy budget.”Compare the World [T20] Cup with the Champions Trophy – we had 56 matches, Champions Trophy has close to 15 matches; we had eight venues, they had only three venues; it was a 49-day event and the Champions Trophy is only a 20-day event. So the per-match cost is three times higher. Every single penny saved is every single penny earned, not only for BCCI but for 105 countries.”When you talk about the two-tier Test system, BCCI could have got benefits by joining hands with those associations like Australia and England, but we stood by countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and to an extent like West Indies.”Thakur questioned Manohar’s motives for amending the ICC constitution, which played a part in his being elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the world body. He contended that Manohar hadn’t taken all members into confidence before the amendments were made.”Mr Shashank Manohar was on the board to make certain changes, amendments. As the president of the board he should have taken into confidence all the BCCI members which he did not,” he said. “The amendments were made and he became the independent chairman. Once he has become the independent chairman, he left the BCCI when BCCI needed him the most.”

'Pakistan deserve to be No. 1 side' – Waqar

Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has said captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s positive intent and calmness were the principal factors in Pakistan’s rise to No. 1 in Tests. He added that this was a time when every Pakistani could rejoice and feel proud of the team’s achievements.Pakistan recently squared their four-match Test series in England – even as Australia were whitewashed 3-0 by Sri Lanka – to move into the No. 2 position and put the heat on India. After India’s fourth Test against West Indies ended in a draw, Pakistan assumed top spot with 111 points, with India slipping to second place with 110.”It’s a proud moment for the whole nation,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a huge moment for Misbah and for the entire team, as all the hard work finally paid off. It’s always the ultimate dream to become the No. 1 team in the world, and there is no team other than Pakistan that deserves to be at the top. They suffered a lot in last seven-eight years but they have played outstanding cricket all along.”There were a lot of problems in the background – those controversies and especially cricket not being played in the country and the boys being always on the road and away from home. So that is the major part I feel the team should be proud off. We kept moving forward after every hurdle, never stayed down and kept on fighting against all odds. That struggle makes this a remarkable moment for the country.”Waqar had two stints with Pakistan as head coach. Between March 2010 and August 2011, he oversaw five series, of which one was won, one was lost and three were drawn. During his second spell, between May 2012 and April 2016, the team won four series, drew one and lost one, results that laid a solid foundation in the team’s run to the top. Waqar was replaced as head coach by Mickey Arthur, who joined the team 10 days before the recent England tour.”I am honestly touched and, no, it’s not about taking credit for what I have done. I would rather give full credit to Misbah-ul-Haq, who has shown resilience against his critics and never spoke a harsh word when things were going wrong. People were crushing him down because of his style of play, but now I think those people should be proud as Pakistanis. What else could you want from him? He did everything in his own way and, whether or not people like his way, it is working for the country and has taken us to the top of the world. What else do you want to achieve?”It was Misbah’s honesty and good intent that made a huge difference. His positive intentions and his characteristics are outstanding. His calmness – I have never seen him cursing his critics. Even though former and current players let him down, he never responded. But look what he has achieved. This is the kind of thing that made him the best. Pakistan is the team that deserves to be the No. 1 side.”Pakistan, in the 1990s, had bigger names on paper, many of whom went on to achieve great individual feats for the country. Apart from Waqar himself, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar and Shoaib Akhtar were among the biggest names Pakistan has produced in its cricketing history. But that Pakistan side still did not achieve what the present lot has done – climbing to the pinnacle of the Test rankings.”We were very good individually and were different,” Waqar said of the teams that he had played in. “It’s not like we didn’t win much, but we were not the No. 1 team. That is why I feel more proud of this present team. Because this team is more gelled, know their role and are very well settled. Of course, these are not yet great players – none apart from Younis Khan has reached that mark – but they have done what we in the ’90s were not able to do. This team could easily have fallen short of greatness, but they have achieved it with their hard work and unity.”We struggled to step up in limited-overs cricket, which has a reason as well; we didn’t change ourselves to adapt to modern cricket. But in Tests it is relatively easier to rise, because it hasn’t changed that much. Test cricket has been played for 150 years and it has always been played in one spirit and one style of game. It was easy and of course our experienced players like Younis Khan, Misbah, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq in the last few years have all contributed really well.”In recent times, there are so many players who have come through my era. Players like Saeed Ajmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Yasir Shah have done a great job to take Pakistan to certain level and it gives me immense happiness for them as I feel like a father figure to them. It gives me goosebumps thinking about what they have achieved. I hope they continue this for long, and keep the country’s name up and alive at the top of the world.”

Ashwin seals India's first innings win in WI

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
An Ashwin-inspired India ran through West Indies after lunch on day four to bring up their biggest Test win outside Asia•AFP

It took more than four sessions coming, but once R Ashwin found his rhythm he ran through the West Indian line-up to seal India’s first innings win in the Caribbean, and their biggest one outside Asia.After lunch on day four, with India needing eight wickets to finish the match, Ashwin found dip and drift. Simultaneously, he cut out the loose balls to earn a five-for and a hundred in the same Test for a second time, the most by an Indian. West Indies couldn’t offer much resistance and folded in 78 overs. They had lasted only 12.2 overs longer in the first innings.Before Ashwin struck, Marlon Samuels and Rajendra Chandrika had managed to hold India up for 22 overs, which did frustrate India a little. Especially after an umpiring decision got India’s goat. After Umesh Yadav had removed Darren Bravo in the first over of the morning – a repeat feeble push to a wide delivery from the first innings – Mohammed Shami, in his first over of the morning, hit Samuels’ glove and offered a low chance to Wriddhiman Saha’s left. The wicketkeeper claimed immediately.Coach Anil Kumble, watching from the balcony, lifted his finger after the first replay. However, the replays – understandably not adequate in terms of angles or quality for financial reasons – didn’t return a verdict beyond reasonable doubt, nor was there a soft signal made by the on-field umpires. So the benefit of that doubt went to Samuels. His bat obscured the front-on replay somewhat, and there was nothing else to go by. The third umpire erred on the side of caution.Virat Kohli wasn’t amused. He was seen having an animated conversation with Ian Gould, who had irritated the Indian captain on day two as well. Kohli was trying to get in an extra over before stumps, but Gould, conversing on a walkie-talkie, had denied them.In a glimpse of what makes him a frustrating batsman to watch in Tests – a superb stroke-maker with an average under 35 – Samuels drove and cut gorgeously to take 23 off the 19 balls after his reprieve. Rain arrived, 40 minutes before lunch, and several players walked straight to a laptop and sat around it, perhaps watching the replays and wondering how Samuels had survived.India lost 15 minutes because of the rain. When an early lunch was taken, Ashwin had only bowled 22 overs in the match. He had offered too many balls to cut and was the only wicketless Indian bowler at the time. On a pitch that didn’t assist spin, and against batsmen who were happy to sit back, he was made to work hard.Ashwin’s rhythm, however, returned immediately after the break. He beat Samuels in flight, with the ball dipping and hitting him on the pad. The next ball didn’t turn as much, and took a soft outside edge for two runs. That was followed by another probing over, replete with a leading edge. You could sense Ashwin was building up to something.He had Chandrika believing he was driving at a half-volley, but the dip created distance, and Saha juggled a low catch off the batsman’s pad. Replays weren’t conclusive vis-à-vis the inside edge, but Chandrika didn’t protest at all. Next up was Jermaine Blackwood, for a pair. Once again, Ashwin created the distance with drift and dip, and the offbreak was driven to short midwicket.Samuels became the victim of drift. As it is, he likes staying beside the line, but this one from Ashwin drifted away, and then didn’t turn as much as he expected, hitting the top of off stump. The ball kept dipping on the inexperienced batsmen, who were arguably facing this quality of spin bowling for the first time, and debutant Roston Chase soon fell to forward short leg because his intended block didn’t reach the pitch of the ball.Amit Mishra broke the Ashwin streak with a topspinner that trapped Shane Dowrich, but Ashwin finished his first five-for outside Asia with another beauty. Jason Holder thought he could drive at a seemingly full offbreak, but the ball drifted away to create the bat-pad gap, and turned through it to hit the leg stump. Ashwin had taken five wickets in 51 balls.A win seemed only a matter of time but India got fancy with bowling changes, and Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo made them wait 24.1 overs for their ninth wicket. After West Indies forced the match past the tea break, Ashwin came back to end it with the wickets of Bishoo and Shannon Gabriel in one over.

Carberry to undergo tests amid illness concern

Hampshire and England batsman Michael Carberry is to undergo tests this week amid concerns over the condition that six years ago caused potentially life-threatening blood clots to form in one of his lungs.Carberry had felt unwell last week and has been left out of Hampshire’s current County Championship match against Warwickshire so that he can see a specialist as promptly as possible, with his county unwilling to take any chances with his health.”He has had a problem that has not cleared up in the way we had hoped so his going to have some tests done,” the Hampshire first-team coach Dale Benkenstein said.”We are hoping to have him back for the T20 matches later in the week but in view of what has happened to him in the past we do not want to take any risks with him.”It is a little bit worrying but hopefully the tests will show that everything is fine.”Carberry has to take medication to control the condition, which emerged after he had suffered attacks of breathlessness while fielding and batting. He was diagnosed with two blood clots on a lung in November 2010 and did not play again until July of the following year.

Case filed against Goa Cricket Association president

A first information report (FIR) has been filed against Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Chetan Desai for fraud. PTI reported that the economic offences wing (EOW) of Goa Police filed the FIR, relating to fraud amounting to Rs 3.13 crore.Reportedly, GCA life member Vilas Desai complained against Chetan Desai, as well as the association’s secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla, for allegedly forging signatures and opening bank accounts to siphon off money.The police, PTI said, registered a case against the accused under sections 408, 409 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 463, 464, 468 (forged documents), 471 (fraud), 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Nehra undergoes knee surgery in London

Ashish Nehra has undergone surgery on his right knee in London, to repair a high-grade tendon injury he sustained during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad*. Nehra, 37, sustained the injury during the match against Kings XI Punjab on May 15, when he pulled up while running in to bowl.While the extent of his injury was unknown then, Nehra was advised to consult Dr Andrew Williams, an orthopaedic specialist in London, and the surgery took place on Tuesday night. Nehra also missed four matches in the first half of IPL 2016 with a groin injury.The left-arm pace bowler was one of Sunrisers’ key players, with nine wickets from eight matches at an average of 22.11 and an economy rate of 7.65.

Imam-ul-Haq sends Pakistan reminder with 159 for Yorkshire

Pakistan international Imam-ul-Haq struck a superb, classy 159, his highest List A score to set up a comprehensive Yorkshire victory over Northamptonshire by 202 runs in the Metro Bank One Day Cup at Wantage Road.Imam, 29, averages 47.04 across a 75-match ODI career, with nine hundreds, but has been overlooked for Pakistan’s three-match series against West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, which starts on Friday night. His 159 was a reminder of his talent to their selectors.His innings propelled Yorkshire to a mammoth 374 for 5, their highest ever team total against Northamptonshire in List A cricket – and just five short of their highest against any first-class county. It also helped inflict the highest ever home defeat on Northamptonshire by any team in List A cricket.Facing 130 balls, Imam hit 20 fours and two sixes, passing 5,000 career List A runs and beating his previous highest score of 151 against England in 2019. It follows his half-century to steer Yorkshire to victory against Warwickshire at Scarborough on Tuesday.While Imam cashed in against a frequently wayward Northamptonshire seam attack, his innings was full of delicate timing, perfect placement and silky cover drives before growing more aggressive. He was well supported in stands of 83 with Will Luxton (41), 158 with James Wharton (66) and 75 with a belligerent Matt Revis who smashed 69 from just 33 balls, his highest List A score. Liam Guthrie’s bowling figures suffered in the run-fest but he picked up 3 for 87.In reply, Northamptonshire were never in the chase, a tight spell from Yorkshire opening bowlers Matt Milnes and Ben Cliff setting the tone. While the hosts will count themselves unlucky to have lost two early wickets, they scored at just 4.4 an over throughout the innings. While George Bartlett (30) and Justin Broad (24) forged an enterprising partnership of 49 in eight overs, no-one else contributed anything of substance. Dan Moriarty was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 38.Earlier, Guthrie struck quickly when Adam Lyth slashed straight to cover, but Northamptonshire’s seamers strayed in line and length, allowing Yorkshire to rattle along at over six runs an over, Luxton driving consecutive wide deliveries from Guthrie for boundaries.Imam played a beautiful straight drive and a couple of stylish backfoot punches, but Northamptonshire missed a chance to remove Luxton when Luke Procter dropped a sharp catch at point.Bowling in tandem, spinners Rob Keogh and Yuzvendra Chahal stemmed the flow of runs but the breakthrough came via a mix-up between the batters. Imam cut square and started to run before sending Luxton back, Bartlett and Keogh affecting the runout.Imam reached 50 off 58 balls before playing two silky cover drives off Dom Leech to take Yorkshire to 142 for 2 at the halfway stage. A pull off Leech perfectly bisected the field as he moved into the nineties before reaching 100 off 95 balls.Dan Moriarty (file photo) was the pick of the Yorkshire attack•Getty Images

At the other end Wharton grew becalmed, his first boundary not arriving until the 53rd ball he faced when he hooked Guthrie for six. Shackles released, he made up for lost time, powering Guthrie down the ground, while Imam went through the gears too, slog-sweeping Chahal for six. Chahal finally broke the stand, tossing one wide, Wharton reaching for it and slicing to cover.Imam targeted Leech, taking 15 off one over including six down the ground. Revis was severe on former Yorkshire bowler Leech too, garnering two legside boundaries off short balls and swinging Procter for six.Imam’s long innings finally ended thanks to a stunning bit of boundary fielding off Guthrie when Tim Robinson held a brilliant boundary catch, throwing it up before he crossed the rope and holding on as stepped back in.Revis tucked into Guthrie, smashing two sixes over the infield before carving square for six more. His wicket was scant consolation for Guthrie when he holed out in the deep.Northamptonshire’s first powerplay was positively sedate, just six boundaries shared equally between Ricardo Vasconcelos (23) and Lewis McManus (25) as they reached 41 after 10 overs.The hosts then lost two wickets in an over as McManus was adjudged caught behind off the inside edge off Ben Cliff, although the ball looked to have hit his pads. Next Aadi Sharma’s List A debut ended in a runout at the non-strikers’ end, Cliff deflecting the ball onto the stumps in his delivery stride.Yorkshire picked up a third when Moriarty beat Vasconcelos, bowling him as he advanced down the pitch, attempting to force the pace. George Hill then nipped one back sharply to knock back Robinson’s stumps.With the required rate above 10, Bartlett and Broad looked to score against the spinners, Bartlett striking a straight six off Dom Bess. But the drinks break brought two wickets, Broad chipping Bess to Revis at mid-on after the resumption, before Bartlett skied Moriarty to long-on.Rob Keogh and Luke Procter both made starts, but after Procter was bowled by Bess, Moriarty had both Leech and Guthrie caught in the deep, while Keogh (23) was bowled by Cliff.

Kusal 124 forms the centrepiece of Sri Lanka's series victory

Kusal Mendis crashed 124 off 114, Sri Lanka’s seamers took three wickets apiece, and Sri Lanka surged to a series win, defeating Bangladesh by 99 runs in the deciding ODI.The centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s batting was the 124-run partnership between Kusal and Charith Asalanka, who made 58 off 68. Bangladesh’s bowlers did well either side of that partnership, particularly at the death, conceding only 62 off the last 10 overs.But Sri Lanka’s 285 for 7 was too much, and Sri Lanka’s bowlers too penetrative. Bangladesh never really seemed to be on top of the chase, 20 for 2 in the fourth over, then 62 for 3 in the 14th. Towhid Hridoy made a half-century, but the required rate kept climbing, and Bangladesh could not mount a substantial enough partnership. They were all out for 186 in the 40th over.Asitha Fernando was again the best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, finding three wickets for 33 runs off seven overs, as he continued to target the stumps, as he has done all tour. Dushmantha Chameera attempted the shorter lengths, but found success with the fuller ones, bowling Hridoy with an especially memorable seaming delivery. He finished with 3 for 51 off eight overs. Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage took two apiece.Bangladesh will be proud of their bowling to the top order – they had Sri Lanka 100 for 3 at the end of the 21st over. And they also claimed four wickets in the last 10. But in between, Kusal and Asalanka put serious meat on the bones of this Sri Lanka batting effort.Towhid Hridoy top-scored for Bangladesh with 51•AFP/Getty Images

The highlight of Kusal’s innings was his severity on length. Anything short was punished, and though the seam bowlers tried repeatedly, they could not get their bouncers high enough to really test him. He used his short-arm-jab pull to devastating effect, hitting both spinners and quicks through square leg with spectacular timing. Seven of his 18 fours came behind square on the leg side. And all up 82 of his runs (66%) came on the legside. Sweeps of various description – the hard flat one, the paddle, and the slog sweep, were also productive shots for him.There was never a time in the innings when Kusal seemed to be in discomfort. He eased through the powerplay, hitting 25 off 26 in that period, and though there was a little slowing down as he approached fifty, the same cannot be said of his getting to triple-figures. It took him six balls to scamper through the nineties. He got there off the 95th ball he faced.Asalanka was not in such good touch by comparison, but nevertheless found ways to make runs. He manufactured sweeps against the spinners at times, and used his feet to find lengths that he could score off. He too was stronger on the legside, finding six of his nine boundaries in that direction.Bangladesh’s bowlers hit back nicely after that partnership, though. It was Taskin Ahmed that separated them, even if not with an especially good ball. He sent down a low full toss, and Asalanka miscued his attempted six over wide long-on, sending it into the hands of Mehidy Hasan Miraz at mid-on instead. Kusal hit one more boundary, and was out playing a tired hoick off Shamim Hossain in the 46th over.Sri Lanka’s bowlers hunted as a pack in the chase. Asitha had Tanzid Hasan caught behind in the third over, Chameera got Najmul Hossain Shanto playing on to his stumps with one that jagged in the fourth, and then the spinners imposed themselves. Wellalage and Hasaranga took two wickets apiece, making breakthroughs through the middle overs. Sri Lanka had Bangladesh 124 for 5 at the start of the 28th over.The spinners having exposed the lower order, Sri Lanka’s quicks came back to wipe out the innings. Aside from Hridoy, no Bangladesh batter crossed 30.

Sudharsan, Jitesh and Rana added to India's squad for first two T20Is against Zimbabwe

B Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana have been drafted into India’s 15-member squad for the first two (of five) T20Is in Zimbabwe starting later this week. They will replace Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal, all of whom will return to India with the rest of the T20 World Cup-winning squad before flying out to Zimbabwe for the last three games.The victorious T20 World Cup squad was expected to land in India on Monday, but their arrival has been delayed because of Hurricane Beryl, which led to the airport in Barbados being shut down. ESPNcricinfo understands that Samson, Dube and Jaiswal will be part of a felicitation ceremony in India before they travel to Zimbabwe.Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed, who were part of the reserves for the World Cup, are likely to join the squad in Harare directly from the Caribbean. Shubman Gill, who has been named captain of the squad in Zimbabwe, is set to join the squad directly from the USA, where he was on holiday after being released from India’s touring reserves at the end of the group stage.Sai Sudharsan, who made his international debut on the tour of South Africa last December, is currently playing for Surrey in Division 1 of the County Championship and is likely to join the squad in Harare on July 4 after the conclusion of Surrey’s ongoing fixture against Essex. Sai Sudharsan had re-signed with Surrey last month after an impressive maiden stint with the team last year. It’s Sai Sudharsan’s first call-up with the India T20I side.For Jitesh, the call-up is a lifeline of sorts after he fell out of favour with the selectors following a disappointing IPL 2024, where he scored just 187 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 131.69.Rana, for whom this is a maiden India call-up, was part of the victorious Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at IPL 2024. Rana had been at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy till late last month as part of a conditioning camp for rising fast bowlers. He was the joint-second-highest wicket-taker for KKR (19 wickets at an average of 20.15), the same as Andre Russell and only behind Varun Chakravarthy, who had 21.The series kicks off on July 6, followed by matches on July 7, 10, 13 and 14. All matches will be played at the Harare Sports Club.

India’s squad for 1st and 2nd T20Is vs Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harshit Rana

Tom Alsop condemns Surrey to first defeat despite unbeaten 99 from Ollie Pope

Sussex 213 for 7 (Alsop 68, Hughes 65, Curran 3-23) beat Surrey 177 for 7 (Pope 99*, McAndrew 3-32) by 36 runs Sussex Sharks handed Surrey their first defeat in this season’s Vitality Blast with an impressive 36-run success at the Kia Oval.Tom Alsop’s 36-ball 68 and 65 off 42 deliveries by left-hander Daniel Hughes helped power Sussex to 213 for 7 after they had been put in – their biggest score in the format against Surrey.Skipper Ollie Pope led Surrey’s response with an unbeaten 99 in a total of 177 for 7, but Sussex bowled with more discipline on a used pitch. Their spinners sent down eight overs and both Archie Lenham and James Coles picked up important wickets while Australian seamer Nathan McAndrew took 3 for 32.It was an excellent performance by Sussex, whose decision to shunt Alsop down from three to six in their order paid off handsomely.He added 47 in four overs with Hughes when the Australian fell for 65 in the 12th over to a well-judged running catch by Jason Roy.But Alsop maintained Sussex’s momentum with McAndrew as they thrashed 68 in six overs for the sixth wicket.Alsop passed 50 in T20 for only the eighth time in his career as all of the Surrey seamers struggled with the exception of Tom Curran, who finished with 3 for 23 despite conceding 17 off his final over.Hughes helped himself to four boundaries in one over from Gus Atkinson while at the start of the innings Coles, promoted to No3, had taken Jordan Clark for three successive fours before walking across his stumps to Clark’s leg-stump yorker.It was one of three wickets Sussex lost in the powerplay, but they were still progressing at more than ten an over and even when Curran picked up John Simpson in the eighth over to leave them 68 for 4 they kept on swinging.Hughes played proper shots on both sides of the wicket in a controlled display while the outstanding Alsop hit eight fours and three sixes, the second of which – a pull from outside off stump off Gus Atkinson – took the left-hander to a 25-ball fifty.McAndrew’s cameo at the end of 29 from 15 propelled Sussex past 200 and the question then was whether their varied attack could blunt Surrey’s quality batting unit.Both openers had gone inside four overs. Ollie Robinson’s nip-backer was too good for Laurie Evans and Dan Lawrence was well caught by the diving Fynn Hudson-Prentice at deep third off a thick outside edge.Roy and Pope rebuilt in a stand of 73 but Sussex were more disciplined with the ball as Coles, 20, and 19-year-old Lenham prevented Surrey from accelerating.The required rate had climbed to 15 an over when Roy, starved of the strike, holed out to long-on off Lenham in the 13th over. The leg-spinner was then taken for three sixes off the next four balls, but he’d made a crucial breakthrough.Smith briefly threatened before toe-ending a drive to wide long-on and 77 off the final five overs proved beyond even Pope’s capabilities, although he did have the consolation of reaching his maiden century in the final over, from 60 balls with ten four and three sixes. Sussex, though, thoroughly deserved their second win from three games.

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