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Former PCB chairman appointed to board of governors by Pakistan’s Prime Minister

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2023Former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has taken a step closer to regaining the post once again after he, along with Supreme Court lawyer Mustafa Ramday, was nominated by the country’s Prime Minister to join the PCB’s board of governors.The development occurred the day after Najam Sethi, who is heading the interim management committee that runs the PCB until June 21, withdrew from the running to become the board chairman.Traditionally in Pakistan cricket, it is the Prime Minister’s appointment to the PCB board of governors who usually becomes the board chairman for a three-year term, and Ashraf is the overwhelming favourite to be elected, with the election process usually a formality.While announcing his withdrawal on Twitter, Sethi had said: “I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances I am not a candidate for Chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.”Sethi’s tweet was referencing the political horse-trading over the chairman’s seat. Shehbaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, and also the PCB patron. Asif Ali Zardari, a former Pakistan president with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is a prominent coalition partner in the current government, and Ashraf is thought to be his party’s man for the post.Ordinarily, the PCB chairman would be a pick of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) party. But over the last couple of weeks, the PPP has insisted that as they are the ones in charge of Pakistan sports, through the ministry for inter-provincial coordination (IPC), it maintained the right to nominate a candidate of their choosing.Ashraf’s return after a period of nine years ends – for now at least – a repeat of the tussles that had marked the tug of war between him and Sethi between 2013 and 2014. The pair were involved in a protracted legal battle for the chairmanship at the time, with the position switching hands several times. That issue was seemingly settled when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – Shehbaz’s elder brother – finally ousted Ashraf and brought in Sethi. But after days of intense mediation between both parties, Sethi was compelled to make way for Ashraf.Sethi has been running the PCB on an interim basis since Ramiz Raja was removed as chairman, and the board’s 2019 constitution was scrapped last December. Sethi’s committee was initially given 120 days to bring back the 2014 constitution under which the PCB was run, and also reinstate the regional and department structure in domestic cricket. The committee was also given a mandate to form a board of governors and elect a chairman.That meant the dismissal of the six-team provincial model for domestic cricket which was formed with the backing of former premier Imran Khan. The domestic structure will now be based on 16 regions, marked by a return of departments. Among them, four regions and four departments are set to be given a board seat at the PCB for a term of three years.The 2014 constitution also requires the PCB to form a board of governors comprising ten members: four out of the 16 regional representatives, four representatives of services organisations, and two members directly nominated by the PCB patron.Over the last six months, Sethi’s management committee has also overseen the hiring of a predominantly overseas coaching staff for Pakistan, with former head coach Mickey Arthur appointed part-time director of cricket.One of the thornier issues that occupied Sethi during his short stint was Pakistan’s hosting of the Asia Cup and its link to Pakistan’s potential participation in the World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in October-November this year. Three days back, Sethi was talking about Pakistan’s participation at the event being subject to the approval of the Pakistan government. That will be one of the more pressing issues for Sethi’s successor to deal with.

He was was part of Bangladesh’s first two ODIs in 1986, in addition to featuring in the ICC Trophy in 1982 and 1986

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2022Samiur Rahman, the former Bangladesh fast bowler, has died aged 68 in Dhaka. He was suffering from brain tumor, which was diagnosed in January earlier this year.Samiur was part of Bangladesh’s first two ODIs in 1986, in addition to featuring in the ICC Trophy in 1982 and 1986. He enjoyed a more prolific career in the Dhaka Premier League, having played for Abahani, Mohammedan Sporting, Bangladesh Biman, Kalabagan Krira Chakra, Azad Boys and Brothers Union. He represented Barisal, too, in the National Cricket Championship. Notably, he also played basketball for Dhaka Spurs.After his playing career, Samiur served as an umpire and match referee. He is survived by his wife and two sons. His brother Yousuf Rahman, who is currently in the US, is also a former national cricketer.

Travis Head made 151 as for the second match running South Australia fought for a draw

Andrew McGlashan02-Nov-2020South Australia batted out the final day – and 160 overs in total – to secure their second backs-to-the-wall draw in consecutive matches. Travis Head made 151 but the hero was 19-year-old Liam Scott, in just his fourth first-class match, as he made 61 from 162 deliveries to see the Redbacks through most of the last session.Two vital moments came early in the final hour when Scott was brilliantly caught by Seb Gotch, when on 54, but Zak Evans had overstepped and next ball he struck a boundary to wipe out the 364-run deficit and knock off a few extra vital overs from South Australia’s task.He fell with the job not quite complete – a sixth wicket for the outstanding Scott Boland who hurled his body through 33 overs – unable to keep out a superb yorker, but Daniel Worrall and Wes Agar stood firm for eight overs.Scott, who mixed excellent defence with calculated attack in an innings that included four sixes, had come to the crease midway through the day when it appeared Victoria had made the game-changing incisions either side of lunch. Head had just gone past 150 for the second match running when he turned Jon Holland off the face of the bat to short leg, leaving South Australia 5 for 264 and the lower order exposed.Head and Henry Hunt had extended their third-wicket stand to 226 in 86 overs when Victoria finally broke through with the second new ball, Boland finding Hunt’s outside edge and then doing the same against Callum Ferguson who bagged a pair.Boland, in a herculean effort during the fourth innings, struck again in the first over after tea when he produced a beauty from round the wicket to bowl Harry Nielsen to break a stand of 66 in 23 overs with Scott and reenergise Victoria.Their victory push gathered steam when Will Sutherland claimed a much-deserved wicket as Chadd Sayers played onto his stumps with South Australia still 26 behind, but as they moved into the lead the clock turned against Victoria and Boland’s sixth wicket came too late.

Bangladesh come into the series as the more settled side despite missing a few big names, but they’ve never won an ODI at the Premadasa Stadium

The Preview by Madushka Balasuriya25-Jul-2019

Big picture

While all eyes will rightfully be on Lasith Malinga ahead of his final ODI, the Sri Lanka quick’s swansong also brings into the focus the journey both these sides have been on over the last several years.In 14 ODIs against Bangladesh, Malinga has tasted defeat just three times, and remains probably the last member of the Sri Lanka squad, barring maybe Angelo Mathews, to remember having played Bangladesh when a Sri Lanka victory was considered a mere formality.For the rest of the squad, though, these games have been much feistier affairs, spurred on by disputes over celebratory taunts, shattered dressing-room doors, and coach swaps.The last six completed ODIs between the two sides, meanwhile, have been evenly shared – which is why it was such a shame their game at the World Cup was washed out. As such it’s safe to say that this series is set to be the most competitive bilateral contest, ever, between the two nations.Even so, Sri Lanka come into the game with more problems than the visitors. A chronic inability to pick up wickets in the middle overs has left the team management with their fingers perennially crossed over the return to form of Akila Dananjaya, while the batting order’s instability has long been a point of contention. Malinga’s imminent retirement only deepens their woesBangladesh, on the other hand, despite their underwhelming finish in a World Cup that began with so much promise, have by far the more settled side. Even without stars such as Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Liton Das, they have built enough strength in depth to put out arguably the stronger of the two teams, and while captain Tamim Iqbal was keen to avoid the favourites tag in the build-up, the fact that the team will be disappointed with anything other than a win shows how far they’ve come.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLWL

In the spotlight

Shakib Al Hasan was unarguably Bangladesh’s star performer of the World Cup, but with him ruled out, Mohammad Mithun has a golden opportunity to stake his claim for a spot in an otherwise settled batting line-up. Likely to take up the coveted No. 3 role, Mithun could give Sri Lanka’s bowlers a tough time if he carries on the form he showed in the warm-up match.Lasith Malinga picked up 13 wickets at the World Cup, more than twice as many as any other Sri Lankan bowler. In his final game, expect him to push his ageing frame to the limit, and attempt to give himself a fairytale farewell.Mohammad Mithun gets creative•Getty Images

Team news

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Kusal Perera (wk), 3 Avishka Fernando, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dhananjaya De Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Nuwan Pradeep, 10 Akila Dhananjaya, 11 Lasith MalingaBangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Mohammad Mithun, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Mossadek Hossain 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Rubel Hossain

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at the Khettarama has the reputation of being high-scoring with ball coming on to bat, with teams putting up an average first-innings total of 313 in the last five matches here, of which four have been won by the team batting first. However, there’s an 80% chance of rain in the afternoon and evening, something the team winning the toss will have to take into consideration.

Stats and trivia

• Tamim Iqbal is 129 runs away from becoming the first Bangladesh cricketer to score 7000 ODI runs.
• No player taking part in this series from either side has scored a century at the R Premadasa Stadium. The highest score remains Angelo Mathews’ 97 not out.
• In eight attempts, Bangladesh are yet to win an ODI at the R Premadasa stadium.

Quotes

“Not too long ago we were in a similar situation and Sri Lanka came to our country and played a beautiful series. In cricket we’re like a family, and we need to help each other when these sort of things happen. Nobody in our team thought about not coming. We’re feeling very comfortable, and we’re only thinking about our cricket.”
“To be very honest I just heard from him just now, that’s the truth. So I haven’t even thought about it yet.”

The former Pakistan captain and coach has inked a two-year deal as head coach of Bangladesh Premier League franchise

Umar Farooq15-Mar-2018Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan captain and coach, has inked a two-year deal as head coach of Bangladesh Premier League franchise, Sylhet Sixers. He will replace Jafrul Ehsan in the BPL for 2018 and 2019.Waqar is presently working with Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United as director – cricket and bowling coach. Along with Dean Jones, he has led the side to the top of the table, the first team to make their way into the playoffs.”Bangladesh is a passionate cricketing nation and it really fun working in the circuit,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “Bangladesh has emerged among the top-eight countries now. They are playing top-class cricket and it’s really satisfying for you as a coach to help them grow.”Sylhet Sixers have been in transition since last year, with new owners among other changes. “We are honoured to have a legend in our team,” Yasir Obaid, their chief executive, said. “We had him as ambassador and mentor last year, and were always [keen] to have him in a full-time role. We couldn’t be happier that he finally agreed a long-term deal with us as head coach.”Waqar had two stints as head coach of Pakistan, which followed two stints as bowling coach after his international retirement in 2004. He had also worked as bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad during the Indian Premier League in 2013.

The Committee of Administrators has specified that an office-bearer who has completed nine years in a post either at the BCCI or a state association is ineligible to hold any post thereafter

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Feb-2017The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators has specified that an office-bearer who has completed nine years in a post either at the BCCI or at a state association will become ineligible to hold any official post thereafter.

The COA’s criteria which disqualifies individuals as office-bearers

• Is not a citizen of India;

• Has attained the age of 70 years;

• Is declared to be insolvent, or of unsound mind;

• Is a Minister or Government Servant;

• Holds any office or post in a sports or athletic association or federation apart from cricket;

• Has been an Office Bearer of the BCCI for a total period of 9 years;

• Has been an Office Bearer of the state association for a total period of 9 years;

• Has been charged by a Court of law for having committed any criminal offence

This directive was part of an e-mail sent to state associations on Wednesday, in which the COA has also sought compliance reports concerning the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations at the state level. The associations have been asked to submit these reports over e-mail by March 1. This is the first set of directives issued by the COA after it was appointed by the court on January 30.There has been confusion over the specifics of the nine-year tenure cap since the release of the Lodha Committee recommendations in January 2016. The original Lodha Committee recommendation regarding eligibility, which was passed by the Supreme Court on July 18 last year, had made it possible for an individual to serve nine years each at both BCCI and state level. A BCCI office-bearer’s cooling-off period could have been a three-year term at their state association, after which they could once again contest an election for a BCCI position. And if they won the BCCI post, the ensuing three-year term would serve as their cooling-off period from holding office at state level. An individual could therefore have spent 18 years in Indian cricket administration between the BCCI and his state association.On January 2, 2017, the Supreme Court stated in an order that, “A person shall be disqualified from being an Office Bearer if he or she has been an Office Bearer of the BCCI for a cumulative period of 9 years.” A day later, the Court, while modifying the order issued a day earlier, ruled that an office bearer would be disqualified in case he had completed a “cumulative period” of nine years at “BCCI or a state association.”The Lodha Committee’s interpretation of the Court’s modification of January 3 was that if an individual had finished nine years as an office-bearer, whether at BCCI or state level or both combined, that individual was ineligible to continue as an office-bearer at the BCCI or state level effective immediately.On January 20, the court said that its January 3 modification was likely “to create some ambiguity” and therefore it was issuing a fresh clarification on the tenure for an office bearer. It said an administrator would be disqualified if he “has been an office bearer of the BCCI for nine years or a State Association for the same period.”This fresh ruling was interpreted by the office-bearers as a reprieve and an indication that they could continue for nine years separately at BCCI and their respective states. Subsequently, senior administrators like BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhury and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry have continued at the board despite having finished nine years as presidents of their respective state associations. On Monday, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who has passed the nine-year cap as Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association president, attended the IPL 2017 auction as head of the league’s governing council.As an attempt to put an end to the confusion, the COA has now pointed out that it would stick to the Lodha Committee’s interpretation of the court’s order until a new directive is issued by the Supreme Court.The COA laid out its stand under the subhead: “Disqualification of office bearers/representatives/nominees/patron/advisor/committee member/council members of state/member association” in the e-mail to the sates on Wednesday.”The committee of administrators has been informed that there is lack of clarity on the exact scope and extent of the disqualification in terms of the order dated January 2, 2017, January 3, 2017 and January 20, 2017, passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the COA said. “The committee of administrators is of the view that until there is complete clarity on the exact scope and extent of the disqualification in terms of the aforesaid order the committee of administrators should proceed on a strict undertaking/interpretation of the same.”As per the advice received by the committee of administrators, this strict understanding/interpretation has the effect on disqualifying all persons who fail to meet the norms recommended by the Lodha Committee and accepted by Supreme Court for being office bearers/representatives/nominees/patron/advisor/committee member/council members of state/member association.”Consequently, the states have been asked to submit list of their existing office bearers along with each individual’s elaborate details. Importantly, all administrators would also need to submit a written undertaking that they conform with the eligibility criteria to the COA by the March 1 deadline.The COA has also asked the state associations that have complied with the courts orders dated October 7 and October 21 last year to submit their resolution in writing by March 1. Last October, the court passed two orders which asked the BCCI to “cease and desist” from supplying funds to the states unless and until they gave a written undertaking that they would comply with the Lodha Committee recommendations as approved by the court.

India broke past stubborn stonewalling from an AB de Villiers-led South African line-up to wrap up a 337-run win in the Delhi Test and take the series 3-0

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy07-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:40

Manjrekar: India spinners will finally get the credit they deserve

The scorecard will say South Africa were bowled out for 143, another low score in series where they only passed 200 once in seven attempts. It will say India won by 337 runs to complete a 3-0 series win. But for anyone who didn’t witness the Delhi Test, it will take a closer reading to appreciate the extent of South Africa’s fourth-innings defiance and India’s struggle to bowl them out. Between them, India’s four specialist bowlers sent down 136.1 overs, bowled 87 maidens against a set of batsmen who had made up their minds to block everything.In the end, South Africa simply had too much to do. AB de Villiers played out 297 balls, Hashim Amla 244, and Temba Bavuma and Faf du Plessis ate up a fair share of deliveries in a concerted effort of stonewalling. But to do so for more than five sessions was simply too much of an ask on a slow Feroz Shah Kotla surface that began deteriorating halfway through the final day.Having lost only five wickets in 138 overs until tea on day five, South Africa lost their last five wickets in the space of 27 balls. Umesh Yadav, bowling fast and reversing the ball appreciably, bowled Dane Vilas and Kyle Abbott, and had Dane Piedt caught behind by Wriddhiman Saha diving in front of first slip. But the big wicket was that of de Villiers, who had been at the crease since early in the final session of day four. Having defended resolutely and taken a series of painful blows on the glove, he wasn’t able to keep out an R Ashwin offbreak that spat at him from a good length. The ball popped off that much-battered glove and settled in leg slip’s hands.It was only fitting that Ashwin, the best bowler on either side right through the series, ended the match with another five-for, bowling Morne Morkel as he shouldered arms to a ball that drifted into him through the air and spun less than expected. He ended the series with 31 wickets and his fifth Man-of-the-Series award.Till his dismissal, de Villiers had been a picture of calm at the crease, his footwork precise but not extravagant, moving him into compact positions from where he watched the ball closely and defended at the last possible moment. He was not getting as close to the pitch of the ball as Amla had consistently done, and there were more edges as a result. However, his hands were impeccably soft, and the ball died a painless death a short distance from the bat and well away from the close-in fielders.If anything, his approach possibly made the pitch look better to bat on than it actually was. A number of deliveries misbehaved in one way or another over the course of the day, but De Villiers minimised their danger by playing almost impossibly late, and refusing entirely to go hard at the ball.The one bowler who consistently worried him was Umesh Yadav. In two overs close to the lunch break, he got the ball to rear at de Villiers three times. Twice he knocked his bat out of his hands, smacking his top glove once and his bottom glove on the other occasion. When he came back into the attack late in the second session, he hit his glove with another lifter, either side of balls that jagged in, kept low, and struck him on the unprotected part of the knee.India had a 72-over-old ball at the start of the day, and the first eight overs were shared among the two seamers – who tried, with little success, to unsettle Amla and de Villiers from around the wicket – the occasional leg-rollers of Virat Kohli, and the never-before-seen legbreaks of Cheteshwar Pujara. India were waiting to bring their spinners on when the second new ball was available. With the pitch slowing down considerably, they were banking on getting some life out of it with a harder ball with a prominent seam.Jadeja produced the wicket-taking ball in his third over, drawing Amla forward with flight, and getting the ball to drift into him and spin away sharply. For once, Amla’s front-foot stride was short and insufficient to get close to the pitch of the ball, which beat his outside edge and clipped the outside of his off stump.An air of expectation hung around the middle during the course of Jadeja’s next few overs, with the allrounder producing a loud lbw shout by beating du Plessis with a slider and then producing an edge that fell just short of slip.Eventually, du Plessis settled down, proving himself a worthy recipient of South Africa’s blocking baton. Amla had taken 46 balls to get off the mark, and de Villiers 33. Du Plessis bested both of them, taking 53 balls to get his first run, a pushed single into the covers off an Ashwin full toss.By then, Ashwin had tried everything – a fuller length to try and exploit footmarks outside the off stump, only to be stymied by the South Africans’ refusal to drive, legbreaks and carrom balls, and a switch to around the wicket.At the other end, Jadeja produced an unceasingly metronomic performance. He kept wheeling in, kept attacking the stumps, and the batsmen kept defending stubbornly. His figures at the start of the day were 23-16-10-0. At lunch, they were 35-28-10-1.Having last conceded a run in his 19th over, bowled during the final session of day four, Jadeja threatened Bapu Nadkarni’s 51-year-old record of 21 successive maidens until he sent down a short ball in his 37th; it sat up off the pitch, so slow it almost demanded that du Plessis punch it through the vacant mid-on region.By that time, though, the pitch was beginning to show increasing signs of wear. Turn and bounce from Ashwin produced an appeal for a slip catch off de Villiers in the 117th over, but the ball had lobbed off pad, not bat. In his next over, Ashwin spun one from wide outside off and across the stumps; de Villiers’ pad was in the way but the ball was clearly missing the stumps.Jadeja then ripped one past du Plessis’ outside edge. Perhaps this prompted his front pad to move a little further across in defence than normal, when Jadeja produced a delivery of similar line and length later in the over. It slid on with the arm, though, and struck that pad low, right in front of the stumps. For the second time in the day, Jadeja had been the irresistible force to dislodge an immovable South African.JP Duminy was the new man in. For the first time since the fourth over of South Africa’s innings, when he had dismissed Dean Elgar, Ashwin bowled at a left-hander. There was a tangible edginess to Duminy’s footwork while he faced Ashwin; he moved a fair distance sideways, but barely an inch forward or back.He shuffled all the way across his stumps twice in a row to balls bowled from around the wicket. The first slid on with the angle, past leg stump. The second one straightened just enough to hit Duminy’s front pad as he looked to play around it. All of the Feroz Shah Kotla appealed, and Bruce Oxenford slowly raised his finger. He was struck in line with the stumps, but it was a tight call on whether it straightened enough to hit the stumps; it would have probably hit some part of leg stump.

The lawyer of arrested cricketer Sreesanth has insisted his client is ‘totally innocent’ and that he will seek bail during the next hearing

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2013The lawyer of arrested cricketer Sreesanth has insisted his client is ‘totally innocent’ and that he will seek bail during the next hearing. On Thursday, a judge had remanded Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan Royals players to five days in police custody after they had been arrested by Delhi police on corruption charges.”I asked them what is the evidence you have against him, they failed to give any kind of paper against Sreesanth in the court,” Sreesanth’s lawyer Deepak Prakash said. “Please support Sreesanth, the person is innocent, we are doing a crime right now giving the wrong news about him. I clarified from him, he is never involved in this, he is totally innocent.”He never talked to any bookie,” Prakash said. “No money is received, no telephone call, nothing is established, he is innocent.”Police alleged Sreesanth had promised bookies that he would concede at least 14 runs in his second over against Kings XI Punjab on May 9 in exchange for Rs 40 lakh (US$73,024). The police alleged that Sreesanth made the appropriate signal, which was to ask for a towel that he would tuck inside his trousers before bowling the over. Prakash dismissed the charges. “A person can use a towel in any way, how is this evidence?” he asked. “It is a matter of luck. He can use a towel whenever he wants.”Sreesanth can only apply for bail after his time in police custody, which means he will have to wait at least four more days. The Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar had also suggested that the police could invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, offences under which are non-bailable.

A five-wicket haul from Derbyshire pace bowler Tony Palladino plunged Gloucestershire into trouble on a rain-interrupted second day at Derby.

03-May-2012
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from Derbyshire pace bowler Tony Palladino plunged Gloucestershire into trouble on a rain-interrupted second day.Palladino, the 28-year-old former Essex seamer who came to wider prominence as the whistleblower in the corruption case against former team-mate Mervyn Westfield, took 5 for 47 as the visitors collapsed to 172 for 9 before rain forced play to be abandoned for the day. Gloucestershire trail by 216 and still need another 67 to avoid the follow-on.It continues a remarkable few months for Palladino. Having gone through the drama of the court case against Westfield, he underwent a hernia operation in pre-season and then suffered a broken jaw on the club’s tour of Barbados. He made a remarkably swift recovery, however, and has now taken his season’s haul to 18 victims. Here he was well supported by Jon Clare’s 3 for 38, which followed a run-a-ball 48 out of Derbyshire’s first-innings 388.Gloucestershire lost Benny Howell to the third ball of their reply but then recovered well to reach 83 for 1 before the Derbyshire seamers put the home side firmly on top. They were backed up by keen fielding which was in marked contrast to Gloucestershire, who dropped two more catches before Derbyshire’s last wicket went down.Clare pulled Paul Muchall through the hands of Kane Williamson at deep midwicket for six and was dropped at long leg by Ian Saxelby off the next ball before he was bowled trying to bring up his fifty.Gloucestershire had to bat a lot better than they bowled to stay in the game and both Chris Dent and Williamson played positively before Clare defeated Williamson’s attempted drive just before lunch. Hamish Marshall had his off stump knocked out when Palladino beat his defensive push and Dent’s fine innings ended disappointingly when he edged to second slip for 55 in Palladino’s next over.When Ian Cockbain edged one that left him late from Tim Groenewald after a short rain break, Gloucestershire had lost 3 for 23 in eight overs and the slide continued with Richard Coughtrie edging Palladino down the leg side. The next ball bowled Ed Young to give him the sixth first-class five-wicket haul of his career and leave the visitors on the ropes at 159 for 7.Any chance of a fightback was ended by Clare, who removed Will Gidman for 21 with a ball that lifted sharply and then bowled James Fuller three balls later. Gloucestershire were spared further punishment by heavy rain, which ended play with 26 overs still to bowl but, even with more showers forecast, they face an uphill task to avoid defeat and deny Derbyshire a third victory of the season.

A century from Ian Blackwell gave Durham maximum batting points and a lead of 36 against Warwickshire, who slipped to 52 for 4 in their second innings on the third day at Chester-le-Street

28-Apr-2011
ScorecardA century from Ian Blackwell gave Durham maximum batting points and a lead of 36 against Warwickshire, who slipped to 52 for 4 in their second innings on the third day at Chester-le-Street. A high-scoring stalemate was looking likely until Durham brought on leg-spinner Scott Borthwick with eight overs left and he took three wickets.Borthwick struck with his second and fifth deliveries to trap William Porterfield and Mohammad Yousuf lbw. Porterfield was well forward, but Yousuf stayed back and tried to paddle around the corner. Unlike the first innings, when he was caught behind, the former Pakistan captain did not look too dismayed by the decision as he departed for a duck. Borthwick struck again in his fourth over when Ian Westwood was caught at short leg off bat and pad for 27.Blackwell showed uncharacteristic restraint when Durham resumed on 230 for 5, needing a further 50 to avoid the follow-on. He took 32 balls to add to his overnight five, while Dale Benkenstein scored only 10 in the first hour. The shackles were removed by the introduction of Paul Best.The 20-year-old student is making his Championship debut in place of fellow left-arm spinner Ant Botha who is out for four to six weeks with a knee injury, and that has given Warwickshire a problem after winning their first two games.Best did pick up two late wickets, but not before he had conceded 50 runs in eight overs. Blackwell got underway with a driven four and swept six in the same over and runs continued to flow when the new ball was taken.The stand was worth 161 when Benkenstein was bowled for 75 – his fifth half-century in seven innings – as Boyd Rankin produced a good spell after lunch. Despite his watchful start, Blackwell reached 50 off 79 balls and his only real scare came on 99.On 98 he scampered a single to mid-off and when the throw ended up at long leg he went back for the second. Andrew Miller hit the stumps and Blackwell was given the benefit of considerable doubt.There were 15 fours and two sixes in his 142-ball century, and he looked intent on turning it into a big one until he was run out for 125 in a mix-up with Callum Thorp. He was last out with the total on 465 when he was bowled for 15 by Best, the ball after driving him for a huge straight six.Warwickshire had 31 overs to bat after tea and lost Varun Chopra with the score on 19 when he pushed forward and edged Thorp to wicketkeeper Michael Richardson. They then looked like surviving without further mishap until Borthwick left them battling to avoid defeat on the final day.