All posts by n8rngtd.top

A magnificent 190 for Hampshire and the misfortune of a few others has put James Vince back in the frame

George Dobell10-May-2019A few weeks ago, James Vince was all but resigned to watching the World Cup on TV. His form was decent but, with England ranked No. 1 in the world and a batsman as accomplished as Alex Hales assured only of a place as first reserve, Vince had been left among the also-rans for a spot in the squad.But then Hales was dropped. And while Vince was still not sure of elevation in his place, he has since seen Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore – both of whom represented the Lions recently – suspended, Dawid Malan injured and Jason Roy suffer a back spasm that has taken too long for comfort to shrug off. All of a sudden, Vince isn’t just in danger of making it into the squad, he’s in danger of making it into the team.That’s not to say he owes his call-up simply to the struggle of others. In every conceivable way, he timed his best innings of the season so far – a record-breaking 190 in the Royal London match against Gloucestershire; Hampshire’s highest List A score – perfectly. It came on the day news of Hales’ drug-test failure emerged and ensured he was in the forefront of selectors’ minds.”It was pretty good timing to get 190 that day,” Vince said at training ahead of the second ODI against Pakistan. “If Alex was here I don’t think I’d be here now. It has given me an opportunity. Now the plan is to get a game or two and get some runs and push my claim ahead of the World Cup.”In the white-ball stuff, I’ve been in and out and covered when guys have been injured. I’ve not really had a huge amount of games in a row but that’s the nature of international cricket.”It’s the nature of the way the white-ball side has gone over the last three or four years, too. They’ve played some magnificent cricket and got to No. 1 in the world, so it’s been a tough team to break into. When I have had opportunities it’s been to pop in for a game knowing that when the main guys are fit I’d be out of the side again unless I did something remarkable.”All I can do is my best when I do get an opportunity to wear the shirt and try to force my way firstly into becoming a regular in the squad and then taking opportunities whenever possible. It only takes an injury or something and I could get a run of games. My job is to be as ready as I can.”He is unlikely to get much of a chance to push his claims on Saturday. Unless Roy suffers a reaction to training on Friday, he will return to the England side in place of Vince who will have to be content with playing in Hampshire’s Royal London semi-final on the same pitch on Sunday.But there is every chance that, before the season is out, he could have regained his place in both England’s Test and ODI side. Noting the difficulties England have had filling the hole at the top of the order in Test cricket, he has opened for Hampshire in this season’s County Championship campaign. And while the big scores are yet to come, his willingness to embrace the role may have sent a positive message to the selectors.”I had a chat with Joe Root and Ed Smith before the summer started to try to see what would give me the best chance of getting back into the Test side,” he said. “And the feedback I got, especially from Ed, was the higher up I batted for Hampshire the better. I think they’re more comfortable moving guys down the order than up it.”Having already played 13 Tests, though, there may be those who feel Vince has been given every opportunity to show what he can do. But he hopes a minor technical change might have helped his footwork. On the evidence of his batting for England over the last week or so, when he made 18 in the ODI in Dublin and 36 in the T20I versus Pakistan, he looks in sublime form.”I have gone slightly narrower with my feet to try to get them moving a bit more rather than being stuck,” he said. “But apart from that I haven’t changed too much.”I have aspirations in all formats. First and foremost, I want to do well for Hampshire and then be as ready as I can to take any opportunities with England. It’s been a bit stop-start for me in international cricket, but if I can get a big score hopefully I can kick on from there.”

Veteran fast bowler steps down ahead of this summer’s Ashes after decorated career

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2023Katherine Sciver-Brunt, the most prolific bowler in English women’s cricket, has announced her international retirement after a 19-year career.Sciver-Brunt, who made her England debut in 2004, played the last of her 267 international matches against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semi-final at Newlands in February.In all, she claimed a total of 335 wickets across formats for England, comprising 170 in ODIs and 114 in T20Is – both record hauls for the country – and a further 51 in 14 Test appearances, the most by any bowler this century.In the course of her career, Sciver-Brunt won three World Cups – including a Player-of-the-Match performance in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2009 – and four Ashes series.Her announcement means that, having retired from Test cricket last summer, she will now play no part in this summer’s Ashes, which runs concurrently with the men’s series in June and July.Sciver-Brunt said: “Well here I am, 19 years later, at the end of my international journey. I thought I’d never be able to reach this decision but I have and it’s been the hardest one of my life.”I never had any dreams or aspirations to do what I’ve done, I only ever wished to make my family proud of me. And what I’ve achieved has gone way beyond that.”I have so much to be thankful for, cricket has given me a purpose, a sense of belonging, security, many golden memories and best friends that will last a lifetime. Of the trophies and titles I could have wished to achieve, I have reached them all, but my greatest achievement is the happiness that I have found in [wife] Nat.”It has been a huge honour representing England for so long and I’d like to thank all of the England cricket family past and present for making my time a special one. The supporters – you are awesome, without you we wouldn’t be able to do what it is that we love and the atmosphere you guys create is irreplaceable.”The biggest thanks I have though goes to my family, they are my biggest fans and greatest support without which I wouldn’t have made this journey at all.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Clare Connor, the ECB’s deputy CEO and England Women’s Managing Director – who was also Sciver-Brunt’s first England captain – said: “Katherine has done so much for the game of cricket and for women’s cricket in particular. She has been an unbelievable role-model, giving us everything she has for nearly 20 years.”When cricketers retire, we rightly celebrate their skill, their runs and wickets, their records and accolades. But what Katherine has given the game of cricket extends far beyond those things. Her most powerful impact has been through her human qualities – through her passion to take our sport forward, her care for her teammates, her desire to always come back better and stronger despite significant injury setbacks.”Through the time she has spent with fans, signing autographs, having her photograph taken with so many girls and boys who have been inspired by her. Many of those children will have watched Katherine play over the years and will have been inspired to start playing themselves. That’s an incredibly powerful legacy of which she should be so proud.”Katherine began her career in a completely different era from the one we are in now and we owe her a debt of gratitude for the part she has played in progressing our game, raising standards and bringing a new audience to women’s cricket.”She is quite simply a legend of our sport and I’d like to extend my thanks and the thanks of everyone at the ECB and across the game to her. We wish her all the best as she steps away from a remarkable international cricket career.”Sciver-Brunt had already announced her retirement from regional cricket, but she will continue to play in the Hundred.

The axed India opener said the selectors had not spoken to him after he was dropped from the Test squad, but MSK Prasad refutes the claim

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2018Batsman M Vijay is the latest India player to speak about a lack of communication between the selectors and players who have been dropped from the squad.Vijay had made 20, 6, 0 and 0 in the first two Tests of India’s five-match series in England. He was not picked in the XI for the third Test and was dropped from the squad for the last two matches.”Neither the chief selector nor any other person spoke to me in England after I was dropped from the third Test,” Vijay told . “None of them have spoken to me since. I did have a conversation with the members of the team management in England and that’s it.”Vijay was also not picked for the ongoing two-Test series against West Indies at home. His comments came in the wake of Karun Nair saying in the past week that he had “no conversations” with the team management or selectors after he was dropped from the squad without playing a Test in England. Former India offspinner Harbhajan Singh had slammed the MSK Prasad-led selection committee and questioned their methods.”I tend to agree with what Harbhajan Singh has said about parameters of selection,” Vijay said. “I think it is important that a player is told about the reasons for keeping him out so that he knows where exactly he stands in the team managements’ and selectors’ scheme of things.”As a player it is very important that you are going to get more than just one or two games, so that you can plan better. Stability keeps doubts away. Ultimately, one has to perform and contribute to the team’s cause.”Prasad, however, rubbished Vijay’s claims, saying that Devang Gandhi, his fellow selector, had spoken to the opener after he was dropped from the squad. “All these are baseless reports,” Prasad told PTI. “With regard to the non-communication with Murali Vijay after dropping him, I am equally surprised why he has said this while my colleague and selector on call Devang Gandhi had clearly informed him about the reasons why he was dropped.”Prasad also said he had spoken to Nair after leaving him out of the 15-man squad for the West Indies Tests, and told him to keep scoring heavily in the Ranji Trophy and for India A. India captain Virat Kohli , meanwhile, distanced himself from the issue when he was asked about it on the eve of the first Test against West Indies.After being axed from the Test squad, Vijay signed up with Essex to play in the County Championship, and made scores of 56, 100, 85, 80 and 2.India’s next Test series after the one against West Indies is in Australia, and Vijay hoped to make a comeback. “I will be preparing for the Australia series too in my own manner,” he said. “I know the conditions there well, having scored close to 500 runs during the 2014-15 series. I wish to be ready if the chance comes. Ultimately it’s the runs that matter when you are trying to make a comeback.”

Decision follows the independent review, conducted after West Indies’ early exit from the T20 World Cup last year

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2023Following the independent review after West Indies’ first-round exit from the men’s T20 World Cup last year, CWI has decided to go the England route and appoint separate red- and white-ball coaches for the senior men’s team. The review, CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams said, “included a closer look at the roles of the current head coach position”.”We believe it is now necessary to split the role and engage separate coaches for red and white ball formats,” Adams said in a statement. “The increased frequency of back-to-back multi-format tours combined with the specific demands of the respective formats no longer provides enough time for one individual to adequately plan, prepare and review across bilateral series and franchise itineraries that are so condensed.”The recruitment process for both head coaches is expected to commence shortly, CWI said, adding that the red-ball coach would also be in charge of the West Indies ‘A’ team.Related

• SA, WI switch to white-ball mode seeking fresh starts

• Badree named assistant coach for white-ball leg of SA tour

• Review panel urges CWI and players to find 'middle ground'

Adams explained that the decision to have two separate head coaches was made based on the recommendation by the review group – comprising Patrick Thompson Jr (chair), Brian Lara and Mickey Arthur – that it would help improve preparation for all the teams.”Separating the roles will also provide the head coaches with more time to oversee players’ ongoing development away from tours directly, and through increased engagement and planning with suitable high-performance programmes and coaches,” Adams said.

No full-time coach since Phil Simmons left

Phil Simmons was the last full-time head coach of the West Indies men’s team, and he announced his decision to resign after what he called was the team’s “unfathomable” performance at the World Cup, though he stayed on to oversee West Indies’ Test tour of Australia soon after.In their opening match of the World Cup, West Indies were bowled out for just 118 chasing 161 against Scotland before managing to defend 153 for 7 against Zimbabwe, but Ireland easily overhauled their 146 for 5 to move into the next round.Then in Australia, they lost both Test matches, and after beating Zimbabwe away 1-0 in a two-Test series, they have gone down 2-0 in South Africa. They haven’t played white-ball internationals since the World Cup. Nicholas Pooran, their white-ball captain at the World Cup, has also since stepped down. Shai Hope and Rovman Powell have been named captains for ODIs and T20Is respectively, while Andre Coley has served as the interim head coach.

Bangladesh women bowled out for their second sub-100 score as they go 3-0 down in the five-match series

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2018
ScorecardGetty Images and Cricket Australia

Bangladesh women are yet to bat out 50 overs on tour in South Africa. On Wednesday, they were bowled out for their second sub-100 score after which the dominant hosts, riding on an unbeaten 51-ball 44 from Lizelle Lee, cruised past the target of 72 in just 14.4 overs. The victory gave South Africa an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-ODI series.Barring Nigar Sultana, who occupied the crease for 122 minutes to make an unbeaten 97-ball 33, none of the other Bangladesh batsmen made much of an impression. Panna Ghosh’s 12 at No. 8 was the second-highest score of the innings that lasted 36.5 overs.The top four were blown away inside four overs by the new-ball pair of Ayabonga Khaka and Marizanne Kapp, who picked up two wickets apiece in their first spell. The 23-run stand that followed between Jannatul Ferdus and Sultana was the highest of the innings.Khaka, who was in line to record her ODI best, finished with her second successive three-for, while Kapp didn’t add to her first-spell tally. There was a wicket apiece for Masabata Klaas, Chloe Tryon, debutant Zintle Mali and Raisibe Ntozakhe.Bangladesh struck in the seventh over of the chase when left-arm spinner Nahida Akhter removed Andrie Steyn, but that would be their only consolation on the field. Trisha Chetty finished 15 not out to Lee’s 44, which contained five fours and a six.The fourth ODI will also be played in Kimberley on Saturday.

Six wickets for Mohammad Abbas has left a tense third day ahead at Grace Road between two sides in the top four

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-20181:43

Moeen and Mitchell leave Yorkshire feeling Toxic

ScorecardMohammad Abbas took 6 for 48, his best return for Leicestershire, as the bowlers continued to hold the upper hand in a Specsavers County Championship match against promotion rivals Kent that ended the second day very much in the balance at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road.The Pakistan international seamer, who was named Man of the Series after his country’s two Tests against England earlier this summer, took full advantage of the heavy cloud and used pitch to move the ball both in the air and off the seam, with only Joe Denly standing firm as visitors were bowled out for just 195 in their first innings.Kent struck back strongly however, with Ivan Thomas taking 4 for 50 as the Foxes ended the day on 126 for 5, a lead of 151 with five second innings wickets in hand.Resuming with Kent on 53 for 3, Denly and Sam Billings were made to work hard for their runs as the ball continued to swing and nip off the pitch. Abbas had beaten Billings on numerous occasions before he found the edge of the Kent captain’s bat and Ned Eckersley held a outstanding low catch diving to his right behind the stumps.Zak Crawley went the same way, feathering a thin edge off Abbas to give Eckersley a more comfortable catch and reduce the visitors to 100 for 5, but Denly was joined by debutant Ollie Robinson in building a substantial partnership for the sixth wicket, helped by frontline seamers Abbas and Ben Raine coming to the end of their spells.Denly broke the shackles by hitting four boundaries in one over from Gavin Griffiths, bringing up his half-century with a fine straight drive to the rope off the same bowler, but Raine returned to the attack to pick up three quick wickets before lunch.Robinson, on the back foot, edged an outswinger to Eckersley, and in the same over Darren Stevens glanced down the leg-side only for Eckersley to pull off another brilliant catch flinging himself to his left. In the over before the break Denly, having battled his way to 62, missed a full inswinger from Raine and was plumb leg before wicket.Abbas returned after the break to bowl Harry Podmore off the inside edge before Grant Stewart was caught at cover driving.Kent picked up an early wicket of their own when Horton was leg before to a Stewart in-swinger, but Dearden in particular was batting positively, and he and Colin Ackermann added 69 for Leicestershire’s second wicket before Ackermann went leg before to a Thomas delivery that seamed back in.Mark Cosgrove, going through a bad patch by his high standards, nicked off to Thomas without scoring, and though Dearden passed 50, he lost two further partners, both to Thomas, as Ateeq Javid was caught down the legside by Billings and Eckersley fell leg before before rain and bad light saw play close 13 overs early.

England batter says less-packed schedule would allow time for players to improve games

Matt Roller29-Sep-2022Dawid Malan has become the first England player to publicly declare his support for the proposals outlined in Andrew Strauss’ High Performance Review, suggesting that “less cricket at a higher intensity” would have a number of benefits for English cricket.Strauss’ review proposed a 15% reduction in the total volume of men’s domestic cricket played in England and Wales, which would be achieved by cutting the number of games in the County Championship and the T20 Blast. Any changes would require 12 out of 18 counties to vote for them and would be implemented in time for the 2024 season.The proposals have gone down badly among county members and several chairs have already suggested that they will vote them down, but players have pushed – via the Professional Cricketers’ Association, their trade union – for a reduction in the number of games in the domestic schedule.Related

• 'Puts you in tough situations' – Malan questions emphasis on Tests in ECB contract system

• Joe Root puts golf before Yorkshire, in symptom of system in crisis

• One of the great county rivalries, stripped of all that's good about the game

• Six-team Championship Division One and Blast reduction among recommendations of High-Performance Review

• Rebellion in the shires as counties consider response to Strauss Review

England players have kept a low profile since the review’s publication but Malan, speaking at Lahore’s Pearl Continental Hotel during England’s T20I series in Pakistan, said that its proposals would avoid marginalising four-day cricket and were a step towards recognising that cricket has become a “12-month-a-year game”.”It’s about creating a schedule that keeps players wanting to play all formats,” he said, “instead of going, ‘well, I’m playing three tournaments in the winter, and there’s the Hundred, and there’s the Blast, so something needs to give.’ If you can create something that’s going to encourage people to keep playing all formats of the game, that’s going to be the winner for English cricket moving forward.”Malan said that the relentless nature of the existing schedule risks making county cricketers feel as though they are “going through the motions” rather than improving as players. “[We need] a structure and schedule where you can actually prepare properly for games and actually work on your game,” he said.”If you’re a player that is trying to get better at your game, there’s no time to work on your game and you’re burning yourself out. With less cricket at a higher intensity and the ability to actually train and prepare for those games, I think your bowlers will be fitter, they will be able to bowl quicker for longer periods, it will be more challenging for batters and you can actually improve your game.”Malan has played in the majority of T20 franchise leagues and said that the growing number of tournaments staged in the English winter – with South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s ILT20 the latest to launch – means that the domestic schedule needs to adapt accordingly.”Look at young players like Will Jacks who has come in and done so well in the Hundred and the T20 Blast,” he said. “He’s getting a lot of opportunities this winter. I know he’s got Test ambitions but if he starts doing really well and gets into the England white-ball stuff regularly and he’s playing around the world in the winter in three or four tournaments, by the time it comes to April, if he doesn’t get picked up in the IPL then he is probably knackered after playing three or four [Championship] games.”Something has to give for players like that. It has to make it appealing for players, to still want to play four-day cricket, scheduling-wise, so there is a bit of time between games for them to rest, recover and work on their games. You don’t want to lose a lot of cricket but you don’t want to get to the stage where people are saying ‘it’s too much, and I’d rather play XYZ.'”He cited the fact that England have only ever spent 12 months as the No. 1-ranked Test team by the ICC. “We can’t argue that the county system is working if we’ve only been No. 1 in the world for X amount of time,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s not working but if you’re looking from a pure stats point of view, you’d say it isn’t producing as well as you’d like.”We’ve produced some world-class cricketers but it’s how the English system can produce cricketers that are going to be playing cricket similar to Test cricket and testing them in all conditions, so that when they do make the step up, you’re not having to learn on the job.”Malan also revealed that he is in the process of agreeing a new contract with Yorkshire (his existing deal expires at the end of 2023) and that he does not intend to give up red-ball cricket in the near future. “There will come a time,” he said, “but I still enjoy four-day cricket. I still have a massive drive for that.”I’d still love to play Test cricket. Whether that’s done or not, it’s not up to me. I think it’s pretty much done, but we’ll find out and see how that works out. I still want to win trophies and have some goals that I want to achieve in terms of amount of runs and hundreds.”

An innings clock will be introduced for the BBL, while the Power Surge is set to come into the WBBL for the first time

Alex Malcolm29-Sep-2022The BBL and WBBL will finally have a Decision Review System in place for the coming season, while the Bash Boost point and X-Factor have been scrapped with the Power Surge set to come into the WBBL for the first time.Cricket Australia announced a raft of changes to the BBL and WBBL competitions on Thursday with an innings clock also to be introduced for the BBL only. The teams will need to bowl their 20 overs inside 79 minutes, minus some allowances, or else incur a penalty of only having four fielders outside the circle for the remainder of the innings.The BBL had long hoped to have DRS in the competition to bring it in line with the major T20 leagues around the world. But an attempt to introduce it last season was scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with constant state border closures and scheduling changes preventing the necessary ball-tracking technology from being installed at the various venues around Australia.Under the DRS rules, the teams will be given one unsuccessful review per innings and 15 seconds to review any decision. Reviews will be retained for a decision that remains ‘Umpire’s call’.Related

• WBBL warned not to be complacent as T20 leagues grow

• Melbourne Renegades sign uncapped Sri Lankan spinner Ruwantha Kellapotha

• Lanning to miss WBBL as break from the game continues

• 'Look after local players' – Smith wants better BBL deals for Australian cricketers

• BBL overseas draft: Livingstone to Renegades, Boult to Stars, du Plessis and Russell unpicked

DRS will be in place for every BBL match this coming season but only in 24 of the 59 WBBL matches because of the broadcast arrangement. Only 24 WBBL matches will be produced by the host broadcaster Channel Seven with the rest of the matches being streamed online and simulcast on Foxtel. The streamed matches will not have the necessary technology available and will be played without DRS. CA released a statement saying “the league will continue to strive towards greater DRS coverage for future WBBL seasons” with the hope that the next broadcast deal, likely to be in effect in 2024-25 will mean that all WBBL matches will be televised and have DRS.WBBL has never had a Power Surge before with Tahlia McGrath likely to be a major beneficiary•Getty Images

The WBBL will feature the Power Surge for the first time in the competition’s history, with the traditional six-over powerplay to be reduced to four overs with a two-over surge introduced. The surge will be called by the batting team in the final ten overs of the innings with just two fielders outside the circle for those two overs. The surge has been a popular introduction to the BBL in recent seasons and CA has decided to add the innovation to the WBBL despite it not being part of international cricket.The Bash Boost and the X-Factor were not as popular innovations and CA has decided to scrap both after listening to feedback from teams and fans.Teams will now return to naming a standard playing XI, with only substitute fielders and concussion substitutes available as per normal, while competition points will revert to two for a win, one for a tie or no result and zero for a loss.Big Bash Leagues General Manager Alistair Dobson was pleased that DRS could finally be introduced to the BBL and WBBL.”The league is delighted to introduce DRS to every BBL game and the 24 simulcast Weber WBBL games, in line with the very best cricket competitions in the world,” Dobson said. “Implementing DRS has been a challenging task for the BBL, which is the most logistically complex T20 league in the world. That, plus the impact of the pandemic on travel and movement, has meant the technology has not been possible to introduce until this season.”Additionally, the league is pleased with the outcomes of the wider Playing Conditions review process, with the introduction of the Power Surge to WBBL and the BBL innings clock both major wins for fans.”We retain a clear desire to innovate and drive our leagues forward but are also willing to review decisions that have not realised the intended positive impact, such as the Bash Boost point and X-Factor substitution.”The WBBL gets underway on October 13 while the BBL will commence on December 13.

Somerset slump to 55 for 7 before salvo of late hitting takes them past west country rivals

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2022Roelof van der Merwe was the match-winner as Somerset recovered from a shock start to win a rain-affected Vitality Blast clash against arch-rivals Gloucestershire by three-wickets (DLS) at Bristol.After the visitors had won the toss, Miles Hammond smote four sixes off the opening over of the game, bowled by Tom Lammonby, on his way to making 29 off just 12 balls. By the time rain interrupted play after five overs, Gloucestershire had raced to 61 for 1. A resumption at 8.45pm saw the game reduced to ten overs per side and the hosts went on to post 101 for 5.Somerset’s revised target was 112. They slumped to 55 for 7 before van der Merwe hammered an unbeaten 48 from 15 balls, with four sixes and four fours, to see them to an unlikely victory with three balls to spare.It was an extraordinary end to a game Gloucestershire had dominated. With a very short boundary on one side of the ground, the last thing Somerset could afford was to bowl too straight from the Ashley Down Road End. Left-arm seamer Lammonby erred in that respect and saw his second, third, fifth and sixth deliveries effortless lofted over the leg side by left-hander Hammond.Hammond and James Bracey took the score to 46 off 3.5 overs before Josh Davey made a breakthrough, having Hammond caught at short third man off an edged drive. Bracey was undeterred, taking a boundary off Siddle’s opening delivery of the fifth over, which also saw new batsman Ian Cockbain strike two fours.When rain sent the players off, Bracey was unbeaten on 21 from 14 balls. He added only a single to his score before being caught at cover off a leading edge in the first over of the resumption, bowled by left-arm spinner van der Merwe.Somerset opted for spin at both ends. Lewis Goldsworthy’s first ball was dispatched for a straight six by Cockbain, who fell to the second, caught at deep cover to leave Gloucestershire 72 for 3.Jack Taylor hoisted Goldsworthy for another straight six. But van der Merwe completed two canny overs for 14 and when Glenn Phillips skied a catch to wicketkeeper Tom Banton off Lewis Gregory, Gloucestershire were 90 for 4. Gregory’s over cost just five runs. The final one was delivered by Ben Green, who sent back Taylor, caught at deep midwicket in conceding only a further six.Now it was Gloucestershire bowling with a wet ball. David Payne used it to good effect, having Banton caught a short third-man off his second delivery in an opening over costing eight. When Rilee Rossouw was caught in the deep attempting to pull Josh Shaw over the longer square boundary and Tom Abell tamely cut Zak Chappell to backward point, Somerset were 15 for 3 in the third over.Will Smeed skied a Shaw full toss to be caught on the leg side and Gregory drove Benny Howell to long-on where Hammond took a fine diving catch.Lammonby had quickly cleared the ropes twice, the second time with an audacious reverse scoop off Shaw. But when he tried to reverse sweep Tom Smith and guided the ball straight to extra cover it was 50 for 6. Smith accounted for Green in the same over. But van der Merwe kept things interesting by hitting the left-arm spinner for 6-6-4, in the eight over.Somerset needed 27 off the final two. That became 12 off the last when van der Merwe hit Payne for a six and a four.Ryan Higgins, bowling for the first time in the innings, saw his first ball swept for four by van der Merwe. The second, a slower delivery was dispatched over deep square for six and the third through the off side for four.

The board, however, is yet to enter into talks with the South African Cricketers’ Association, despite the current MoU expiring at the end of April

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-2018Cricket South Africa has committed to maintaining a revenue-share model with its players as it enters negotiations over a new memorandum of understanding with the South African Cricketers’ Association.The current MoU, which has been in place since 2014, expires at the end of April and is redrafted every four years and has always included a revenue-share model But, in December last year, acting CEO Thabang Moroe and president Chris Nenzani told journalists they might consider rethinking the structure of their player contracts.At the time, Moroe made several suggestions of how CSA could shake up contracts including awarding them across different formats and mentioned that the revenue-sharing model would be re-examined. However, at a board meeting on Saturday, CSA backtracked from that and resolved to keep the financial model, which will go some way to easing player concerns over their financial futures.”We remain committed to the revenue share model,” CSA president Nenzani said. “We are a big employer with many constituencies and have sought over the past few months to engage with them with a view to preparing for the negotiations with SACA. The collective agreement ends in April this year. We will be ready to commence negotiations in advance of that date.”However, that does not mean the situation between CSA and the players has been completely resolved. ESPNcricinfo understands that CSA have yet to hold an official meeting with SACA over the status of the MoU and have delayed talks by at least a month. Usually, meetings between CSA and SACA take place in the first week of February but, to date, there has been no sit-down between parties.A concern for SACA is that the window for contracting franchise players opened on March 1 and will close at the end of April and a delay in talks could hamper the process of completing these contracts. Franchise players were believed to be so unhappy with the lack of clarity over the MoU that they were considering boycotting some parts of the first-class competition, which is in its final three rounds, unless some progress was made.CSA has appointed a four-man task team to deal with the negotiations for the MoU. Franchise CEOs Jacques Faul (Titans), Nabeal Dean (Cobras), Greg Fredericks (Lions) and provincial CEO Thando Booi (Border) will look into how a collective agreement with SACA can be reached.