A career-best 243 from Jaik Mickleburgh plus a first Championship century for Ben Foakes enabled Essex to take a firm grip on their Division Two clash against Leicestershire at Chelmsford

19-Jul-2013
ScorecardJaik Mickleburgh’s double hundred left Leicestershire with a tough task to save the match•Getty Images

A career-best 243 from Jaik Mickleburgh plus a first Championship century for Ben Foakes enabled Essex to take a firm grip on their Division Two clash against Leicestershire at Chelmsford.Mickleburgh’s effort plus the 120 from Foakes saw their side to an all-out total of 521 and a first innings lead of 156. By the close, the visitors had slumped to 47 for 3 in their second innings and were still facing an uphill struggle to avoid defeat.Resuming on 261 for 4, Mickleburgh and Foakes made progress against a weak visiting attack with embarrassing ease. Seldom did the ball beat the bat as they negotiated the morning session and a large slice of the afternoon without alarm in taking the score to 421 with a partnership of 270 in 74 overs.They were finally separated by left-arm spinner James Sykes when he tempted Foakes to drive into the hands of Ollie Freckingham at long-off. Foakes laced his innings with three sixes and 15 fours in a 198-ball stay before Mickleburgh’s marathon occupation of the crease was ended when he was seventh out having been bowled by Freckingham.In all he batted eight-and-three-quarter hours, faced 434 deliveries and hit 28 fours and a six. But despite the punishment he inflicted on Leicestershire, it did not prevent the visiting players rushing to shake his hand as he made his way back to the pavilion.Graham Napier weighed in with a brisk 41 before he was caught on the deep square-leg boundary attacking Sykes who, on his Championship debut, toiled away for 43 overs while claiming 4 for 176.However, it was pace man Freckingham who was the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers as he finished with three for 60 from 27.1 overs. For most of the day, the visiting captain Matt Boyce could only watch his side being put to the sword from the pavilion, while Greg Smith took over, because he was suffering from back spasms.And he must have been suffering again when his side embarked on their second innings, Smith departing with only a single on the board when he was caught behind by James Foster off Tymal Mills.The introduction of Essex offspinner Greg Smith gained immediate reward when the bowler trapped first innings centurion Ned Eckersley lbw with his first delivery with the total on 31.Worse was to follow, Smith striking again in his second over by having Niall O’Brien caught behind but the visitors steered clear of further disasters before the close. The visitors will resume on the final day requiring a further 109 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Ed Cowan and James Taylor both enjoyed plenty of time in the middle on the final day in Hove, but only one of them has any real chance of playing in the third Test

Brydon Coverdale in Hove28-Jul-2013
ScorecardEd Cowan made his second half-century of the match but is unlikely to win a Test recall at Old Trafford•PA Photos

Ed Cowan and James Taylor both enjoyed plenty of time in the middle on the final day in Hove, but only one of them has any real chance of playing in the third Test at Old Trafford next week. Taylor’s unbeaten 121, scratchy though it was through its early stages, will give him some confidence as he travels to Manchester, where his fate will rest on the fitness of Kevin Pietersen. Cowan’s 77 not out, compiled with the help of some buffet bowling late in the afternoon, will boost his tour tally but won’t earn him a Test recall.As Australia’s three-day game against Sussex petered out to its inevitable draw, Cowan and Matthew Wade (30 not out) put on an unbeaten 61-run partnership before the players shook hands and play was called off at 5.20pm, the earliest possible stumps time. Cowan might have wanted to push on in pursuit of his first century in a first-class match since November but this game wasn’t about personal milestones so much as preparing players for Test battle.In that regard, it was Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes who most wanted a decent hit during Australia’s second innings, although Hughes had already made 84 on the first day. Alas, Khawaja edged to slip for 1 having been promoted to open and Hughes struck 38 during an innings that included a blow to the back of the helmet from Chris Jordan before it ended with a shuffle across the stumps to be lbw to Lewis Hatchett.Cowan brought up his second half-century of the match from his 73rd delivery with a cut for four off Monty Panesar and both he and Wade cleared the short boundary late in the afternoon as Rory Hamilton-Brown served up some full tosses. Cowan struck two sixes, as many has he has during his Test career, but it was the first-innings centurion Steven Smith who gained the most with the bat from this match for the Australians.Earlier, Sussex ended their innings at 368 for 7 after completing 100 overs, the maximum allowed for each team’s first innings under the agreed conditions of this game. Taylor had gone to lunch on 112 and added nine to his total after the break, as Australia’s ring-in player and first-class debutant Ashton Turner leaked a few boundaries during his maiden spell at this level.Taylor might not yet play in the Old Trafford Test but his innings was a timely way to celebrate his England call-up. Taylor brought up his hundred shortly before lunch with a cover-driven boundary off Nathan Lyon from his 233rd delivery, and it capped off a solid morning for his temporary team, as Sussex added 123 to their overnight total in the first session for the loss of two wickets.After the second day’s play, Jackson Bird described Taylor’s innings in underwhelming terms, declaring that although he had batted “quite well” he was “a bit scratchy at times” and had edged a number of deliveries through or wide of the cordon. That was a fair assessment at the time but Taylor looked more comfortable on the third day, especially when driving against the spin of Lyon and Ashton Agar.He also cut Lyon for an attractive boundary but was fortunate to reach his hundred after he lofted Lyon high over his head and was put down by Agar, who was running back with the flight of the ball from mid-on. It was one of two chances put down by the Australians on the third day – Smith’s difficult time in the slips continued when he missed an edge from Callum Jackson off the bowling of Agar.Jackson provided support for Taylor during a 55-run partnership but after he lofted Lyon over long-on for six, he fell next delivery when he played back and was lbw for 26. Lyon finished with 1 for 99 from 26 overs and while his bowling was not poor – he got some dip and turn at times – nor was it often threatening enough to worry the batsmen. He was far from alone on the third day, though, as none of Australia’s attack looked consistently dangerous.Mitchell Starc picked up the other wicket of the morning when he came around the wicket to Jordan (47) and knocked his leg stump out of the ground with a fullish delivery. However, Starc and James Faulkner both had trouble finding consistent lines, as they had on the second day. Bird beat the bat a few times and drew an edge from Jordan that narrowly evaded Khawaja at gully, but was unable to add to the two wickets he claimed on Saturday.

Cricket Australia plans to trial day-night first-class cricket with the longer-term aim of playing a Test in the country under lights

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2013Cricket Australia plans to trial day-night first-class cricket with the longer-term aim of playing a Test in the country under lights. The ninth round of the Sheffield Shield this season will be a day-night affair with pink balls in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.If these attempts are successful, CA will look to schedule more day-night first-class matches in the 2014-15 season to further trial playing conditions and equipment. The matches are the first step towards a potential day-night Test being played in Australia in 2015-16, according to a CA release, and the board has been in talks with New Zealand Cricket about the possibility, with the neighbours slated to come visiting towards the end of 2015.”There is a lot of work to be done and nothing is guaranteed but this summer’s trials are our first serious effort to make day-night Test cricket a reality,” CA CEO James Sutherland said. “We’ve also had some discussions with New Zealand Cricket to gauge their interest in the concept over the past few weeks given they are due to tour Australia in late 2015.”This is all about the fans. Cricket can’t afford to sit on its hands and must keep working hard to ensure Tests remain the most popular form of the game. There isn’t a major team sport in the world that schedules the majority of its premium content during the working week. At least three days of a Test are played when adults are at work and kids are at school.”No doubt there will be some resistance along the way but for the sake of growing the game in the long term, cricket needs to address the hurdles standing in the way of day-night Test cricket in a rational, mature way.”Sutherland acknowledged the challenges in the way, specifically those relating to developing a ball that works under lights for the long format and about the peculiar problems night conditions would pose. “We acknowledge that one of the critical aspects is how the ball wears, behaves and is seen over the course of an innings. There are also some concerns about dew on the ground at night. There may need to be some flexibility and compromise to get to the outcome.”The ICC last year approved the idea of day-night Tests, a decision which was welcomed by Sutherland, but left it to member boards to decide on the hours of play and the colour of the ball. Pakistan’s offer to Sri Lanka to play a Test under lights in January 2014 on their tour to the United Arab Emirates was turned down by the latter, which cited its players’ lack of practice with the pink ball as the source of their reluctance. Day-night first-class matches have been trialled before in Pakistan, South Africa, England, West Indies, India and Bangladesh.”In encouraging teams to trial Test cricket as day-night matches, the ICC has said it will take a positive and flexible view of any proposed amendments to playing conditions that will allow such trials to proceed,” Sutherland said. “CA’s commitment to Test cricket does not just extend to our men’s team being the best in the world. We also have a responsibility to help grow interest in Test cricket around the world. To achieve this, we need to try and find a way to schedule our premium content at a time when the most number of fans are able to attend and watch.”The game needs to continue to evolve to meet the needs of its fans. We are not proposing all Tests should be played at night in the long-term, however, there are certain venues and times of the year where day-night Test cricket can potentially enhance and further promote and support the game.”

Wayne Madsen, the Derbyshire captain, has been awarded the inaugural Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Elite Award

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2013Wayne Madsen, the Derbyshire captain, has been awarded the inaugural Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Elite Award, created by MCC and the BBC to acknowledge exceptional sportsmanship, for walking during a crucial County Championship match.The award is bound to reawaken the debate over whether “walking” is to be regarded as a preferable form of behaviour in the modern game or whether the MCC, by championing the issue, is in danger of pushing the Spirit of Cricket to a point where it risks alienating majority support.Walking has been uncommon in all forms of cricket in England for half a century or more, yet in a display of double standards which has long been accepted as inevitable, a failure to walk still ensures a batsman who remains at the crease is treated to ritual abuse.The issue came back into the public eye when England’s Stuart Broad failed to walk for an obvious edge in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, his “sin” looking worse than it was as the ball deflected off the gloves of the wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin and was caught at first slip.At Chesterfield, in July, chasing Yorkshire’s first innings total of 617, Madsen feathered a ball from bowler Steve Patterson to the wicketkeeper.With one lone appeal coming from the Yorkshire fielders, umpire Jeff Evans gave the Derbyshire captain not out, only for Madsen to walk back to the pavilion on his own accord. Saying that it was a matter of principle, Madsen went on to score a defiant 141 in the second innings, but his side still lost by an innings and 113 runs.MCC president, Mike Griffith, said: “MCC is passionate about its role as Guardian of the Laws and Spirit of Cricket, and it is instances like Wayne Madsen walking when his Derbyshire side was in real trouble against Yorkshire, which set an example for everyone in the game to follow and must be encouraged.”The winners of the youth award were Alton CC under-13 girls’ team who impressed the judges after lending their opposition players to field during a league match and also allowing some of the opposition to bat twice.”Deciding on the winner of the Youth Award and the school beneficiary was simultaneously challenging and heartening,” Griffith said. “We received so many wonderful examples of how the Spirit of Cricket is alive and kicking in the junior game at clubs and on school playing fields across the country. Congratulations to the Alton CC under-13 girls team who ultimately won the Youth Award. Their story really epitomises what the Spirit of Cricket means.Broad was pilloried in sections of the media for dishonesty and his actions, in return, were passionately supported by other critics as well as the vast majority of those involved in the game who said decisions should be left to the umpires.

England and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Ravi Bopara has said his up-and-down career was largely a consequence of never having a definite role in any team

Arun Venugopal24-Apr-2015England and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Ravi Bopara has said his up-and-down career was largely a consequence of never having a definite role in any team.”Yeah there have been a lot of stop-starts. I think a lot of that’s down to never having a consistent role in a side,” Bopara told ESPNcricinfo. “I am mainly a top-order batsman who bowls a little bit, and I may have been viewed as a middle-order batsman, finishing batsman, and someone who bowls a bit. So that maybe part of the reason.”Bopara’s international career has never found a rhythm. Even after 120 ODIs and 38 T20Is, apart from 13 Test matches, his place in the England team has not always been certain. “I wouldn’t say I am 100% satisfied so far,” he said. “I am still only 29 years old, so I have many years to play yet.”The IPL provided an opportunity for Bopara to upgrade his game, and he wants to make the most of it. “IPL is free-flowing cricket. It’s a lot of fun, great crowds, it’s a great experience as a cricketer. You don’t play in this sort of atmosphere anywhere in the world.”You can even learn from the young cricketers and you can learn from the best overseas as well. There’s guys like Murali, VVS Laxman, Tom Moody. It’s always good to speak those guys.”As for his role in the Sunrisers set-up, Bopara said his brief was to bat “any number from 3, 4, 5, 6 and bowl at least two overs every game.”I know I need to do my job as an allrounder. I have played under Tom Moody for a couple of seasons, and I think he knows what I am capable of and what my best role is.”The fastidious approach of some Indian cricketers to sharpening specific limited-overs skills impressed Bopara. “One of the things you learn as a T20 cricketer is being able to hit the ball anywhere in the park, whether it’s behind you or in front of you. It’s not a joke to be able to clear the boundaries. Even the fans watching know that you just got to be up to play 360 degrees.”From some of the Indian cricketers I have learnt about the way they bowl in these conditions. They are very adamant about changes of pace and being able to get your yorkers in, because if you miss your yorkers in India you generally go for six. And they are very specific on that so it’s nice to see that.”Bopara did not have a huge part to play in England’s failed 2015 World Cup campaign; he played one match, against Afghanistan, and didn’t bat but picked up two wickets. England’s outlook towards limited-overs cricket, Bopara said, was changing, and T20 was no longer deemed lowbrow.”When T20 first came around, it may have been viewed as a small competition and a just-to-have-fun competition,” Bopara said. “The crowds love it; it brings in money for the teams and for the boards, so we all know it’s very important.”I think England do view Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. I think a lot of cricketers still do. But things are changing rapidly. We have seen how successful T20 has been, how successful IPL has been, and I think slowly, slowly things will go that way. We obviously don’t want to forget about Test cricket. A lot of cricketers around the world love Test cricket; I don’t think that would change, but there will be more importance on T20 cricket.”Bopara had recently criticised the “institutionalised’ culture of English cricket, speaking of the need to develop braver players. “We need to change the culture and be freer as players, stop worrying about the consequences. We need at times to stop being so English,” he had said.Bopara agreed that neglect of cricket in state-run schools, something many observers of English cricket have railed against for some time, was a problem that needed remedying.”Not enough cricket played around in some of the state schools,” Bopara, who studied in a state school himself, said. “The schools I came from, you know, we didn’t play cricket. You had to create your own cricket team. It would help if we can bring more cricket to those areas.”There is a lot of talent in those areas. There are a lot of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi cricketers who love the game, and I am pretty sure there could be some superb cricketers coming over from those areas if we focus in there.”
Cricket, Bopara said, was instrumental in him being appreciative of a multicultural environment, which in turn was critical to his development as a person.”Coming from an area where I came from, you can be very boxed and live in a certain way. When you get out and you meet other people who do different things, you learn, you eat different foods. Before playing cricket, I never used to eat things like sushi and fish. But I have learnt so much away from the culture that I have come up in. I have developed a sort of multicultural way of living, and again I owe that to cricket.”

Tymal Mills grabbed his best T20 figures of 3 for 30 to help Sussex hold off a late charge by Gloucestershire for a narrow win at Hove

ECB/PA17-May-2015
ScorecardWill Beer took two wickets during a tight spell•Getty Images

Tymal Mills grabbed his best T20 figures of 3 for 30 to help Sussex hold off a late charge by Gloucestershire for a narrow win at Hove.It was Sussex’s first victory of this season’s competition, following their opening night defeat at Kent on Friday, but they were made to sweat near the end when Jack Taylor and Tom Smith took 32 runs from the 17th and 18th overs to bring the equation down from 51 required off four overs to just 19 off two.But seamer Ollie Robinson held his nerve with a fine 19th over, in which he had Smith caught in the deep for 16 and conceded only four runs. Fifteen were now needed from the last over and fast bowler Mills, called up to bowl it, fired a thunderbolt through Taylor’s desperate swing with his first ball and clipped the leg bail.Taylor had hit two sixes and three fours in 36 from 20 balls, but it was not quite enough to pull the game out of the hat for Gloucestershire, whose last pair of David Payne and Matt Taylor could only take eight runs from the final five balls of Mills’s over.

Insights

Ian Cockbain, James Fuller and Peter Handscomb faced 31 balls between them and scored 16 runs, hitting just one boundary. That’s a collective strike-rate of just 51.61. One of them was at the crease for every delivery between the second ball of the innings and the end of the ninth over – essentially half the innings. Hamish Marshall did score 45 off 26 balls in this period, which lessens the impact of the trio’s go-slow, yet at the same time suggests run-scoring wasn’t that difficult. Given the margin of Gloucestrshire’s defeat they will look back on those three innings and wish for just a little more proactivity.
Freddie Wilde

Gloucestershire lost Chris Dent to the first ball of their reply, leg-before to Steve Magoffin, and the same bowler had Ian Cockbain caught at mid-on, from a mistimed pull, in his second over. Hamish Marshall did his best to resuscitate the innings from 8 for 2 with nine fours in a breezy 45 off 26 balls, but the Sussex bowlers worked their way steadily through the Gloucestershire batting with legspinner Will Beer impressing with 2 for 26 from his four overs.Mills bowled James Fuller in his first over and later castled Geraint Jones for a spirited 25. Mike Yardy also took out Peter Handscomb’s middle stump and at 117 for 7 Gloucestershire looked out of it, but Taylor drove Robinson over the long-off boundary and Magoffin straight for another six. Smith also flicked Magoffin over midwicket for six as 19 runs came from the 18th over. Sussex, however, regained control of things just in time.Earlier, Sussex were given a decent start by Chris Nash and Mahela Jayawardene, who both scored quickfire 43s, but their later batting could not build on it. Luke Wright uppercut James Fuller to third man in the second over before Nash and Jayawardene added 81 in nine overs to set up Sussex for what should have been a challenging total.That they did not get it was largely down to Smith, with the slow left-arm spinner taking 3 for 23 against his former county, including a spell of three wickets for six runs in 10 balls. Jayawardene and Craig Cachopa were bowled through attempted slog sweeps and Nash well held by Marshall diving forward at deep square leg from another sweep that the batsman did not hit properly.Nash pulled David Payne’s left arm seam for six and picked up a good length ball from Matt Taylor for another six either side of taking fours from the same bowler, while Jayawardene lofted Smith over cover for six from the last ball of the batting Powerplay.Jayawardene also hit six fours in his 30-ball knock while Nash batted 33 balls and departing two balls after he had called for Wright to come out to act as his runner, due to a leg muscle strain.Cachopa had struck Jack Taylor’s offspin for two successive sixes and made it a third six in three balls, with a further maximum off Smith, before missing another violent stroke at the next ball.Ben Brown could only make 8 from 11 balls before being deceived and bowled by Payne’s slower ball in the 17th over but at least Beer pulled sixes off both Fuller and Payne as he as Matt Machan added 37 in the final few overs to give Sussex something to defend – and, in the end, just enough to see off Gloucestershire.

Daryl Mitchell continued his relentless domination of Hampshire’s bowling by reaching an undefeated 206, his second double-century in the County Championship, in a chanceless innings stretching to nine hours over two days at New Road

ECB/PA07-Jul-2015
ScorecardDaryl Mitchell carried his bat for the fourth time in his career•Getty Images

Daryl Mitchell continued his relentless domination of Hampshire’s bowling by reaching an undefeated 206, his second double-century in the County Championship, in a chanceless innings stretching to nine hours over two days at New Road.The statistics are now stacked up to an astonishing level in the last four meetings. Starting with 172 not out at the Ageas Bowl last season, he has batted for two minutes short of 23 hours, scoring 532 runs for once out while facing 1066 balls and striking 67 boundaries.Given the scale of Mitchell’s screw-turning, and there was no mercy in extending his team’s first innings to 478, Hampshire may have anticipated a rough passage to the close and so it proved as they struggled through to 86 for 3, still 392 behind.Sean Terry feathered the fourth ball from Charlie Morris to first slip but Michael Carberry was dropped at second slip off Joe Leach. As if to prove that Mitchell is not faultless in his dealings with Hampshire, the lapse was his. Leach did get a wicket, switching ends to have Jimmy Adams leg-before for 20, and Carberry, after reaching 36, also fell lbw during five overs for one run by Saeed Ajmal. This left James Vince as Hampshire’s main hope on 29 not out.In the meeting of the bottom two counties in Division One, Mitchell’s marathon – he carried his bat for the fourth time in a completed Championship innings – has put Worcestershire in the box seat. They can win the game but Hampshire, for now at least, can only aim to aim to avoid defeat. With four batting points, which in itself represents a mammoth recovery from 25 for 3 on the first morning, Worcestershire are now seven ahead of the bottom team.The downgrading of Jackson Bird’s bowling figures confirmed the damage done by Mitchell’s intransigence. When the Australian fast bowler dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore on Monday, he had taken 3 for 16. When last man Morris was caught behind on Tuesday, Bird had 4 for 146.In batting deep into the second day, Worcestershire’s last five wickets more than doubled the overnight score. Each of Mitchell’s partners made contributions, beginning with Ben Cox, who got to 23 out of 43 before losing his middle stump to the persevering Brad Wheal. The next threat to Hampshire was more punishing as Leach’s crunching drives brought ten fours in a stand of 123 until the allrounder was out for 59, caught at midwicket in a containing spell by Danny Briggs.The left arm spinner’s over-the-wicket probing of the leg stump area was mostly responsible for the 19 wides in the innings, but Worcestershire still pressed on a good rate as Jack Shantry, with 21 and Ajmal’s 16 helped Mitchell beyond his seventh Championship score of 150 or more.A couple of stumpings for Adam Wheater assisted in further wickets for Briggs and Will Smith, but nothing could break Mitchell’s concentration until he crossed the 200 threshold by cutting Briggs for his 25th four from the 408th ball he faced.”This was a special day for Daryl Mitchell, batting for 140 overs, carrying his bat for a marvellous double century,” Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes said. “If anyone deserves all the accolades, he does because he’s had a tough season himself. He’s had some tough times and now in typical dogged Daryl Mitchell fashion he has shown all his class.”He’s gone through some fighting innings and not been particularly comfortable at the crease but he has managed to be effective and score some runs. I think this game he has been far more fluent, better organised. He’s found his touch and that’s good news for the rest of the season.”Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein has held up Mitchell’s innings as an example for his team to follow. “If anything we can learn also learn from him,” he said. “That’s the sort of knock we are dying out for at the moment. We would like to have that because it sets up the whole game and people can bat round him. He’s getting better and better. He’s getting to that age where he really knows his game. He sticks to his game plan. This was a pretty chanceless knock really and you have come to expect this from him. He’s doing it quite consistently over the last few years.”

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott believes Bangladesh’s impressive series win over India is not enough “to send waves through the cricket world” since it has come in home conditions

Vishal Dikshit23-Jun-20152:48

Boycott: Don’t get carried away with Bangladesh’s win

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott believes Bangladesh’s impressive series win over India is not enough “to send waves through the cricket world” since it has come in home conditions. Boycott reckons Bangladesh, who had never beaten India in a series earlier and currently lead 2-0, need to win matches abroad, especially Tests against teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England.”They’re not quite minnows anymore, they’ve had one or two good performances but I think we are getting carried away a little bit,” Boycott told ESPNcricinfo’s . “Beating India occasionally, and Pakistan or Sri Lanka, doesn’t send waves through the cricket world. Sorry, I don’t want to put a damper on your excitement for Bangladesh but nearly all Bangladesh’s good performances are at home. That doesn’t make the world of cricket sit up until you go to Australia or South Africa or New Zealand, and beat them in their countries…that will be a huge step and we will all take notice.”Bangladesh have now won 10 ODIs on the trot at home, including series wins against Zimbabwe (5-0) and Pakistan (3-0) before hosting India. During the World Cup they qualified for the quarter-final for the first time by knocking England out with a 15-run win. They had finished fourth in Group A with three wins out of six and one match, against Australia, washed out.”I accept that one of their very best performances was beating England in Adelaide in the World Cup,” Boycott said. “I was there, Bangladesh were superb, I enjoyed their cricket and it’s the best I’ve seen from them. But Bangladesh can’t live on just an occasional or odd one-day performance win. They need to go abroad and start winning Test matches against the big boys. As I said, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England have all got much better Test sides in them in their countries. You’ve got to go and do that a bit.”Boycott emphasised that the one big advantage Bangladesh have is the hefty ICC funding they have been receiving, that other teams did not when they started out, and the television revenues they earn from the broadcasters. The Bangladesh Cricket Board sold its worldwide media rights to Gazi TV last year for US $20.02 million for a period of six years, and recently sold the team sponsorship rights to Top of Mind, a media planning company, for over $385,000.”Cricket lovers want Bangladesh to succeed, no doubt about that, but you’ve got to accept that lots and lots of ICC money has been poured into Bangladesh cricket for many years now,” Boycott said. “And quite honestly, we, the cricketing nations of the world, need to see more from them. Bangladesh have a huge cricket-mad population and I realise it takes time to be able to match the big countries. It’s always happened like that – it took time for West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan after partition, even India were not able to match England or Australia on equal terms in the early days. Now they are.”But none of these countries received a financial help or clout that Bangladesh have had over the years. They’ve had loads of money. These countries had to make a lot on their own, there wasn’t money around, there wasn’t television revenue for ICC, or whoever run world cricket, to pour in to India, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies when they were in their infancy.”And Sri Lanka, let me tell you. I’ve forgotten them but I shouldn’t because they’ve been wonderful…they’ve won a World Cup. I want them (Bangladesh) to enjoy their success but I don’t think you need to get carried away, you need to keep it in perspective because more is required. An occasional one-day is lovely but we need more.”

James Anderson has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge but is hopeful of being fit for a possible decider at the Oval, which starts on August 20

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2015James Anderson has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge but is hopeful of being fit for a possible decider at the Oval, which starts on August 20*. Anderson did not take any further part in the Edgbaston Test after being forced off the field with a side strain on the second day.Anderson was two balls into his ninth over of Australia’s second innings when he felt some pain on his left side. He bowled another one after that and ran in for the fourth but pulled up to then leave the field. The ECB had called the injury a “tight side” which was to be “assessed overnight”.Speaking after England had secured an eight-wicket win, Anderson said: “I’m not going to play the next game, unfortunately, but I’m hoping I can get myself fit for the Oval. It’s a bit sore, I felt something on one of the deliveries yesterday and Stuart Broad, who’s had experience of that sort of injury, said ‘Don’t bowl another ball and risk it’. I set off for another one and then thought, he’s right.”I’ve never had that sort of injury before. I felt a bit stiff, I just put it down to that and the next ball I could feel something so I came off.”The last 24 hours has been talking to the medical team and trying to figure out if it is realistic,” he said, of his chances of playing at The Oval. “They were pretty happy with me this morning, checked me over and were happy it didn’t look too serious, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”Mark Wood, who missed out at Edgbaston with an ankle niggle, might be considered first in line to replace Anderson for Trent Bridge. Liam Plunkett and the uncapped Mark Footitt could also come into consideration. Chris Woakes, who was in the Test side last summer, has been working his way back from injury, while Chris Jordan has not played since suffering a side strain in June.England captain, Alastair Cook, said it would be an opportunity for someone to come into the side and impress.”It’s obviously a huge miss because Jimmy is outstanding but it gives an opportunity,” Cook said. “We had an opportunity, at 1-1 in the series, to grab it and we’ve done it as a side, now it will give whoever is selected that opportunity to fill Jimmy’s boots. Yes, it’s going to be hard but it’s and opportunity for someone to stand up.”Anderson took a six-for on the first day at Edgbaston and was instrumental in restricting Australia to 136 to lay the platform for England to take a 2-1 lead. In the second innings he removed the top-scorer David Warner for 77 to finish with 1 for 15 from 8.3 overs.Whoever is selected will have a job to emulate Anderson’s impressive record at Trent Bridge, which reads 53 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.24. He picked up a 10-wicket haul in the last Ashes Test there, in 2013, and has six five-fors overall. In his last Test at the ground, against India in 2014, he also scored 81 at No. 11, his maiden fifty, in a record stand of 198.*5pm BST – This story was updated with Anderson’s quotes

All future bilateral series between India and South Africa, including South Africa’s forthcoming tour of India, will be called the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2015All future bilateral series between India and South Africa, including South Africa’s forthcoming tour of India, will be called the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series, the two boards have announced. The Test series, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa said, will be played for the Freedom Trophy.”BCCI, on behalf of every citizen of our country, is able to pay tribute to these great leaders by naming the series after them, and appeals to each and every citizen of our country to imbibe their ideals and follow the path advised by them,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.CSA chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said that naming the series after Gandhi and Mandela was “eternal news for our people and cricketers”. “For the people of both our countries there is no greater duty than to uphold the ideals of both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” he said. “As cricket-loving people we must fight hard to win on the field of play but never forget to do battle in the spirit of these two great men.”Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent freedom struggle, and had a South African connection as well, having practised law in the country. Mandela spearheaded the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and was the country’s president from 1994 to 1999. The announcement is significant in the context of ICC chief executive David Richardson’s recent concerns over the relevance of bilateral series that don’t have an “iconic, traditional status”.India will host South Africa for three T20Is, five ODIs and four Test matches between October and December this year.