Darren Bicknell hit an undefeated 139 by carrying his bat throughoutthe day for Nottinghamshire against Sussex at Trent Bridge in theDivision Two County Championship on day one. The giant left handerfaced 308 balls to take Nottinghamshire to 336 for 8 in 104 overs.Bicknell was helped by Aussie Paul Reiffel (74 in 95 balls) who camein when the team were in deep trouble at 163 for 7. They both put ona partnership of 143 for the eighth wicket before Reiffel was outattempting to cut spinner Umer Rashid.The crucial stand was put on at a time when Notts slumped to 163 for7 from 100 for 2 at lunch with John Morris (18), Paul Johnson (0) andChris Read (0) being out in consecutive overs.Andrew Harris joined Bicknell as Notts got a fourth bonus battingpoint when they crossed 350. For Sussex, Jason Lewry took 4 for 85and James Kirtley 3 for 62.

Division One

Sixteen wickets fell on the first day, and now 19 on the second, as Durham and Hampshire hurtled towards a thrilling and high-speed denouement at Basingstoke. By the close of the second day, it was Durham who had snuck into the ascendancy despite being rolled over for 179 in their second innings. That was thanks largely to the efforts of Mark Davies in Hampshire’s first innings, who picked up in the morning session where he had left off on Wednesday evening, finishing with figures of 8 for 24 as the hosts were skittled for 96. Dimitri Mascarenhas resisted briefly with five lusty fours in a 24-ball 26, but the other six batsmen from Nos. 5 to 11 managed one run between them. Still, the best place to be in this match is in the field, and Hampshire struck back determinedly through the efforts of James Tomlinson and Imran Tahir, who claimed nine wickets between them to restrict the victory target to a stiff but assailable 240. By the close, their hopes were invested in Sean Ervine, unbeaten on 26. Davies added his ninth wicket of the match but Durham’s main man this time around was Callum Thorp, who took 3 for 27 out of a total of 108 for 5.Sussex’s dramatic collapse on the second morning at Hove allowed second-placed Nottinghamshire to reassert their authority, thanks largely to the efforts of Charlie Shreck with the ball, and Bilal Shafayat with the bat. Having been well-placed on 292 for 5 overnight, Sussex’s last five wickets tumbled for 21 runs in 11 overs, with Shreck starring in a spell of 4 for 14. Their total of 339 was a distinct disappointment, especially as they squandered valuable batting points in the process, and thereafter it was all about Nottinghamshire’s opening batsmen, Will Jefferson and Shafayat, who added 157 for the first wicket. Jefferson brought up his fifty from 78 balls with four fours and two swept sixes off Ollie Rayner, before being dismissed for 80 thanks to a cool leg-side catch from Andrew Hodd. Shafayat ploughed on, however, reaching his second century of the season with a straight six off Will Beer. Though he fell before the close for 118, Nottinghamshire were well placed to capitalise on the platform he had laid.For the second day running, Lancashire’s clash with Surrey was washed out at at BlackpoolClick here for John Ward’s second-day report from Scarborough, where Yorkshire are firmly in control against Kent.

Division Two

James Foster’s second hundred of the season, and a career-best 6 for 22 for Chris Wright, powered Essex to a thumping innings-and-74-run victory inside two days at Grace Road, as Leicestershire’s batting capitulated for the second day running. When Essex resumed on their overnight 144 for 4, with a slender lead of 37, there was still the prospect of a spirited fightback, but Foster, on 28 not out, scotched such a notion with a superb display. He struck 16 fours in an unbeaten 132, and added 128 for the fifth wicket with Jaik Mickleburgh, who made 60. Essex were all out on the stroke of tea, but their total of 335 was quickly put into context when Leicestershire slumped to 59 for 7 in reply. Wright was the beneficiary of a rash of dreadful strokes, and though Claude Henderson and Nadeem Malik salvaged some pride with 50 and 41 not out respectively, their humiliation was completed when Wright returned to wrap up the tail.Jonathan Trott boosted Warwickshire’s prospects of an immediate return to Division One with a superb 181, as Derbyshire’s bowlers were made to toil on the second day at Edgbaston. Trott batted for nearly nine hours, and struck 18 fours in a 363-ball innings, as Warwickshire eventually declared on a hefty 476 for 9. Such a total hadn’t seemed on the cards when Charl Langeveldt removed Andre Botha for a duck to leave the home side wobbling on 240 for 6, but Trott found a sterling ally in Ian Salisbury, who made a pugnacious 64, and then the England Under-19 seamer, Chris Woakes, who made 45. By the close, however, Derbyshire had recognised the conditions were good for batting, and their openers had not been separated in an 83-run stand.Niall O’Brien was teasingly placed on 99 not out at the close of the second day at Wantage Road as Northamptonshire recovered from some early wobbles to reach a steady 213 for 4 in reply to Glamorgan’s 287 all out. Johan van der Wath had needed only three balls in the morning session to dismiss Glamorgan’s No. 11, Adam Shantry, and so wrap up his five-wicket haul, but that set something of a precedent as Shantry struck back twice in his opening spell to remove Stephen Peters and Rob White for 1 and 8 respectively. Shantry later added a third, Riki Wessels, for 10, while Alex Wharf accounted for David Sales to reduce Northants to a shaky 103 for 4. But O’Brien and Lance Klusener ensured against further mishap, to leave the game delicately poised at the halfway mark.

Andrew Gale has relinquished the Yorkshire captaincy for all limited-overs cricket with immediate effect in the wake of a poor Twenty20 campaign which saw the county finish bottom of the North Group.Gale, 31, who has missed the last three Royal London One-Day Cup matches because of a wrist injury, will continue to lead Yorkshire in the LV= Championship, but his continued presence in one-day cricket is far from guaranteed. Yorkshire’s media release merely stated that he “will be available for selection for all other cricket as a batsman going forward.”Alex Lees has been given a short-term opportunity to prove himself in the role, but Yorkshire have delayed their decision about Gale’s long-term successor as the transition, which had been seen as a growing possibility at the end of the season, took place sooner than expected.Gale cut a frustrated, and somewhat exhausted, figure during Yorkshire’s T20 campaign as the high-profile signing of Australians Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell failed to deliver expected results and the county’s death bowling, in particular, became a glaring weakness.”After nearly six seasons of being club captain across all formats, I now feel the time is right to step down as List A and T20 captain and solely concentrate on captaining the Championship team,” Gale said.”I feel it’s beneficial for a fresh voice and new ideas in the shorter format of the game and with the current demands of the schedule I need to manage my body in preparation for Championship cricket. I still hope to play a large part in the club’s future success with the bat in the shorter format.”I’ve enjoyed every minute in leading the team: participating in the Champions League in South Africa was a highlight, along with reaching a One-Day semi-final. I would like to wish Alex Lees all the best in the short-term and whoever the club appoint in the long-term.”Director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, added: “Andrew has developed into an outstanding captain of Yorkshire. He leads from the front and is a very passionate and proud leader. To relinquish the captaincy of our one-day teams, therefore, has been a very difficult decision for him to make. However, the physical demands of the shorter format of cricket eventually take its toll and consequently affects the energy you require to lead the team in all formats.”Andrew will continue to captain the side in the LV= County Championship and I believe this decision will enable him to fulfil this role for many years to come.”

James Pattinson was a notable omission from Australia’s Test squad for next month’s tour of Bangladesh, but captain Steven Smith hopes he will be back in the mix once he has become more accustomed to his new bowling action. Pattinson played two ODIs on the recent tour of England but failed to claim a wicket, and he is expected to turn out for Victoria in next month’s Matador Cup.Two severe back injuries over the past two years contributed to Pattinson reworking his bowling action to be more side-on, and it remains a work in progress. He showed some encouraging signs on this year’s Australia A tour of India, but national selector Rod Marsh said when announcing the squad for the Bangladesh tour that Pattinson was down on confidence.”According to the reports I’ve got from [selectors] Trevor Hohns and Darren Lehmann in England is that he’s lacking a bit of confidence,” Marsh said on Monday. “It won’t hurt him to go back to Matador Cup and Shield cricket and find that form that made him a very, very hot prospect a few years ago.”Smith captained Pattinson in the one-day series in England and agreed that he would benefit from some more time refining his action with Victoria.”I think for Jimmy it’s just about playing a bit more cricket first,” Smith told reporters in Sydney after arriving home from the England tour on Tuesday night. “Hopefully he can get back and play in the Matador Cup and the first couple of Shield games.”He’s got a different action at the moment and he’s got to get himself comfortable with that, keep looking to get better with that and more consistent. I’m sure we’ll see him in the future.”Smith has a week and a half at home before flying out to Bangladesh for his first tour as Test captain, and he will be in charge of a squad with a vastly different look to the one that lost the Ashes in England. One of the most surprising inclusions was the Tasmania fast bowler Andrew Fekete, who has played only 18 first-class matches and is a mystery not only to the public, but to his captain as well.”I haven’t seen a lot of him bowl, to be perfectly honest with you,” Smith said. “I heard he bowled really well last year in the Shield season, and in India for the A stuff as well. I think the conditions are likely to be quite similar to what the A team faced in India, and he got the ball to reverse over there and bowled really well. I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes.”One man who Smith is pleased to see back in the Test squad is his New South Wales team-mate, the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who made his Test debut against Pakistan in the UAE last year. O’Keefe was overlooked for the Ashes tour but impressed on the A tour of India, where he claimed 14 wickets in the two first-class matches in Chennai.”Stephen O’Keefe has been the stand-out performer with the ball as a spinner in the first-class system for quite some time now,” Smith said. “He had a very good tour in India with the A squad, he bowled really well over there. It’s nice to have him back in the squad.”Australia will have a new opening combination in Bangladesh due to the retirement of Chris Rogers and the thumb injury suffered by David Warner, with the uncapped Cameron Bancroft in the running along with Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh. Bancroft and Burns are the least experienced of the quartet but Smith believes they could both turn out in the same XI.”I think it’s a good opportunity for both of them to come in and potentially play in the same line-up,” Smith said. “There’s going to be spots up for grabs. It’s a new team. But I think that’s really exciting for us going forward.”

Max Sorensen has been ruled out of the remainder of Ireland’s tour of Zimbabwe and Namibia due to a back injury.Sorensen, the 29-year-old allrounder, was slated to play the four-day fixture against Zimbabwe A starting in Harare on Saturday, but will now return to Ireland immediately. He will also miss the Intercontinental Cup clash against Namibia in Windhoek starting October 24.Stuart Poynter, the wicketkeeper who was to leave the squad after the Zimbabwe leg of the tour, has provisionally been named as Sorensen’s replacement, subject to an approval from the ICC’s technical committee.Sorensen, who last represented the country in a T20I against Scotland in June, did not play a part in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, which Ireland lost 2-1. His last ODI was against South Africa, during the 2015 World Cup in March.

by 133 runs
ScorecardFile photo – S Aravind displayed Karnataka’s fighting spirit•AFP

Karnataka have in the last two years as Ranji Trophy champions amply displayed the that has been the defining feature of Mumbai’s 40 title conquests. You could see that again in this game, in the fielders hurling themselves at the ball even when the going was tough, in the fast bowlers repeatedly flinging themselves at the crease despite little assistance from the surface.Take for example left-arm seamer S Aravind’s opening spell on the third morning. Accompanied by some hustling fielding, it was quite a demonstration of Karnataka’s version of cricket with flair and abundant mongrel. Aravind’s burst yielded figures of 5-4-1-3 which, despite Vidarbha captain S Badrinath’s (92 off 216 balls) stubborn resistance for five hours, set the tone for Karnataka’s 40-run first-innings advantage.Left-arm spinner J Suchith, in only his fourth first-class game, finished with a four-for, making two crucial strikes – including that of Badrinath – in an over to derail Vidarbha’s innings. Karnataka’s second innings seemed to serve as good batting practice for KL Rahul ahead of the South Africa series, as a drab draw appears inevitable save for a dramatic collapse.In the morning, Aravind took only two deliveries to dislodge a batsman Karnataka couldn’t remove for over five hours on Friday. Ganesh Satish, a member of the title-winning Karnataka side in 2013-14, poked at one that straightened after pitching. Four balls later, Aditya Shanware, who had made a century on debut two games ago, edged one behind where CM Gautam, who was taking blinders at practice before the start of play, dived low to his right and emerged with the ball.Six overs later, the Aravind-Gautam combine was in business again, after another delivery held its line and Gautam put in another dive to his right to send back Shalabh Shrivastava. This was looking way too easy; Aravind would just run in from round the stumps – his preferred angle of operation for the major part of the innings – and alternate between the one that cut back in sharply with the angle and the one that held its line.Badrinath, however, seemed to have worked out a way to quell Aravind’s threat. He decisively strode forward and across, away from the off stump, and stayed low to counter the movement either way. Runs were gathered from the other end, as neither Abhimanyu Mithun nor Vinay Kumar was as effective as Aravind. Badrinath also had good company from Jitesh Sharma, who, cast in the spunky wicketkeeper-batsman mould, attacked fearlessly. In fact, after the new ball was taken, Mithun was taken for 23 runs in his four overs.Their partnership had yielded 61 runs in quick time, and looked good for more when Jitesh’s back-foot punch off Suchith flew quickly to first slip, where Vinay took a fine reflex catch. Vinay was in action again just before lunch, as he made a one-handed grab to dismiss Shrikant Wagh after he edged legspinner Shreyas Gopal.Vidarbha, resuming after lunch still 82 runs in arrears, were still in the fight as Badrinath found another doughty ally in Akshay Wakhare. While Badrinath was bringing out some wristy drives and clever dabs, Wakhare managed to put the bad balls away, and a 40-run stand ensued. An hour after lunch, at 310 for 7 with Badrinath still there, Vidarbha looked threatening.However, Suchith had Badrinath caught behind, and four balls later trapped Swapnil Bandiwar in front before Aravind came back to induce an edge off Wakhare to give Gautam his fifth catch of the innings.

Andrew Fitch-Holland, the co-defendant in Chris Cairns’ perjury trial, has denied ever asking Lou Vincent to provide a false witness statement and said that the only thing Cairns was guilty of was “not keeping his trousers zipped”.Fitch-Holland, a barrister who previously represented Cairns, is charged with perverting the course of justice over his role in the 2012 libel case against Lalit Modi. The jury at Southwark Crown Court was told last month by former New Zealand international Chris Harris that Fitch-Holland had admitted Cairns was guilty of match-fixing.Although he could not remember the conversation at an exhibition match due to drinking alcohol, Fitch-Holland said he would have been referring to Cairns’ marital situation. Cairns left his wife Carin in 2008 for the woman he is now married to, Mel Cairns.”I would have said the only thing Chris Cairns is guilty of is not keeping his trousers zipped up,” Fitch-Holland told the court.Vincent, a former team-mate of Cairns in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), has given already evidence about his own involvement in match-fixing. This included a recording of Skype conversation in which Fitch-Holland allegedly accepted Cairns’ role, saying: “we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”.However, Fitch-Holland said he have never asked Vincent to lie on Cairns’ behalf and that his statement referred to the activities of other players at the ICL.”At the time of the Skype call, I had no idea that Lou Vincent had ever been involved in match fixing or spot fixing,” he said. “I had no reason to believe he was anything other than an honest, decent chap.”At the time of the Skype call, I had no reason, nor do I now, to believe that Chris Cairns had been involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing.”Fitch-Holland, who was involved with the management of Lashings Cricket Club, met Cairns in 2006 and subsequently advised him on contracts and business deals. He said that Cairns had described rumours that he was involved in fixing during the ICL as “pub talk and bullshit”.He added: “Not a single one of the many cricketers I know has ever suggested to me, by phone or to my face, that Chris Cairns has done anything corrupt.”He also described the moment when Cairns contacted him after Modi, the former IPL chairman, made claims on Twitter about his involvement in corruption.”My mobile phone rang and it was Chris, freaking out, saying ‘You won’t believe this, Modi’s f***ed me. I’m done, He’s tweeted I’m involved in match fixing’,” Fitch-Holland said.Fitch-Holland, who will be cross-examined by the prosecution next week, revealed that he advised Cairns to settle out of court with Modi, to avoid further damage to his reputation. However, the parties had been unable to agree on a sum, with Cairns’ mounting legal costs threatening to bankrupt him, Fitch-Holland said.The trial continues.

A third wicket partnership of 108 runs between Devang Gandhi andSrikkanth Kalyani enabled Bengal to draw their Ranji Trophy SuperLeague encounter at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Chasing a victorytarget of 310 in 46 overs, Bengal finished the day at 180 runs for theloss of five wickets. Earlier, Rajasthan had declared their secondinnings closed at 216 for the loss of eight wickets. Rajasthan managedfive points from the match. Bengal, on the other hand finished withthree and their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage nowappear slim as they have two tough matches against Karnataka andMumbai.It was a day when a number of personal achievements wererecorded. Utpal Chatterjee took five wickets in the second inningsonce more to have match figures of 10 for 160. It was the fourth timethat Chatterjee recorded a haul of 10 wickets in a Ranji Trophy gameand the 20th time that he had five wickets in an innings. Kalyanibecame the 27th player and fourth from Bengal to score over 5,000 runsin the Ranji Trophy. When he reached 40, square cutting left armspinner D.P.Singh, Kalyani had joined the elite ranks of Pankaj Roy,Arun Lal and Ashok Malhotra from Bengal.Bengal, aspiring for an outright win had two early successes in theday. Skipper Chatterjee sent back Nikhil Doru and off spinnerSourashis Lahiri accounted for Kuldip Singh to have Rajasthantottering at 96 for 5. However, a sixth wicket stand of 90 betweenSanjeev Sharma (54 with seven boundaries) and Saket Bhatia (48, 8×4)dashed their hopes. The partnership was finally broken by Lahiri whohad Sharma bowled as the batsman tried to swing him over midwicket. Shortly afterwards, the Rajasthan skipper Gagan Khoda declaredthe innings at 216.When Bengal batted, Sanjeev Sharma had Alokendu Lahiri caught behindand Singh had Rohan Gavaskar caught bat-pad at short leg to haveBengal tottering at 23 for two. But Gandhi and Kalyani with some finestrokes brought things under control. Gandhi had one huge six over midwicket of Jaykumar and eight boundaries in his 67. Kalyani who got hissecond fifty of the match also had eight fours in his 56. Most of themcame through pleasing drives in the `V’ between mid on and mid of. Atfinal draw of stumps Saba Karim (17) and LR Shukla (1) were at thecrease.

The forty or so groundsmen, who worked so hard in the morning to drythe ground this morning, will have been greatly relieved that theirefforts have proved so worthwhile for the Sri Lankan team. In the 39overs that were eventually possible, after heavy rains in thepreceding 48 hours, Sri Lanka quickly progressed to 164-1. Not a baddays work for a side that would have preferred to have started thismatch tomorrow and play an extra day at the end.The Zimbabwean’s will perhaps rue their insistence to play today aftera thorough mauling by Avishka Gunawardena (114*). In a quite brutaldisplay of batting, Avishka was completely undeterred by the bowlerfriendly conditions and continued in the same positive vein that hescored a hundred at Kurunegala and a 72 in the Colombo for the BCCSLXI.His 114 not out from just 132 balls was a dismissive innings, it wasthe innings of a man who has supreme confidence in his ability at themoment. The greatest threat to his wicket is surely hisoverconfidence. In fact this innings was neither as technicallycorrect nor as ascetically pleasing as the innings in Kurunegala lastweek . It made up for this in it’s sheer audacity and high classentertainment. Such is his confidence that he was prepared to uppercuta disconsolate Andy Blignaut over the slips in the early overs.Starting the innings with a flurry of boundaries square of the wickethis only moments of unease were an appeal for a catch behind and adropped catch. In the ninth over the Zimbabwean’s were certain that hehad been caught behind of the bowling of Blignaut. The umpire didn’tagree and he was allowed to continue. He was also dropped in the gullywhen he had made just 60, it was though an extremely hard one-handedchance.Zimbabwe, who had won the toss and elected to field, will bedesperately disappointed by the performance of the bowlers and thefielders. Have won an opportunity to bowl first on a pitch of greenishcolour, they wasted any assistance that there may have been byspraying the ball around. The bowling discipline of the previous matchcompletely deserted the opener pair, Andy Blignaut and DavidMutendera, who couldn’t find a consistent line or length. WhilstMutendera frequently pushed the ball into the batsmen’s pads, Blignautbowled far too short on a slow pitch.The exception was their aggressive skipper, Gus Mackay, who settledinto his best rhythm of the tour. Probably incensed by the performanceof his openers he charged to the wicket with a focus and intensitythat we had not seen on the tour. He pitched the ball up to thebatsmen and bowled straight. By doing so he was the only bowler tomove the ball off this moist pitch and the only real threat to the SriLankan’s.His deserved reward was the wicket of Hewage (27) who was caughtbehind: the victim of a perfect legcutter. The wicket brought to anend an opening partnership of 96 in just 22 overs. Mackay should havehad two wickets when Gavin Rennie put down a relatively simple chanceat first slip off Indika De Saram (18*). One suspects that theZimbabwean’s will be forced to pay for dropping someone as talented.Whilst the other batsmen played a supporting role Avishka continued toblaze away, eventually reaching his century off just 111 deliveries inthe 34th over.Zimbabwe now have their work cut out tomorrow if they are to get backin this match. Especially with Andy Blignaut looking as if he hasdamaged his back again. They will most probably have to resort to thesteadying influence of Daniel Peacock and Raymond Price.

It’s a sure sign of experience developing in any cricket side when the milestones begin to tumble with more regularity.That is the case for the New Zealand team which is emerging well and truly from the development phase it has been in for the last four or five years.Yesterday’s eight wicket win over Zimbabwe to complete a 2-0 sweep of the home team was the latest cause for changes in the statistic books.Stephen Fleming’s claim to being New Zealand’s most successful Test captain is unchallenged. Not only has he surpassed Geoff Howarth’s record of 11 Test wins, Fleming has done it in one less Test.His job has been a little harder than Howarth’s as he has also had to mould a team.That hasn’t always been easy for a player who is younger than many under his leadership and while attempting to look after his own batting. Now he has the record secured, and who knows where it will end, he has some batting problems to attend to.But there was also credit in becoming the first team to beat Zimbabwe in a home clean sweep. Given the nature of some of the opposition Zimbabwe has faced in the past that is not a bad record. Even considering the loss of Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson, the job still had to be done.And Guy Whittall and Heath Streak ensured some moments of concern for the tourists. But again, the developing experience in the side was reflected in the patience exhibited in getting through to the third new ball of the second innings.New Zealand’s containing effort was the more memorable given Chris Cairns’ injury, the absence of Daniel Vettori and the first serious bowling undertaken by Dion Nash on his road to recovery.The only blot on the win had to be the incidents involving wicket-keeper Adam Parore and Nash with Whittall at various stages of his innings. These seemed to be the only Kiwi reactions of a negative nature reflecting the pressure the Kiwi were under.Whittall especially tested the Kiwi bowlers and his innings must rank among the finest solitary innings in the quest to avoid defeat, if not in all Test history, then certainly in Zimbabwe’s brief time on the world stage.His penchant for attack is well known to the New Zealanders, who saw his double century on their last visit to Zimbabwe, while those who erred even slightly off line in this match were reminded of his ability.Streak’s was a fine captain’s innings and if nothing else he has set the tone for Zimbabwe’s climb off the bottom of the international rankings.New Zealand, upon reflection, has been tradesmanlike in its approach to success on the tour. It laid the foundations in its two warm up games and then it built on them to take two wins.Considering that most of the New Zealanders had the winter off and didn’t take up playing duties in England or the Netherlands this year, it is an even more outstanding performance.And, by virtue of their fighting recovery, the Zimbabweans have helped ensure the return contest in Wellington, starting on Boxing Day will be of more than passing interest.For New Zealand now though, there is attention to one-day matters. This is the next area of the game demanding attention with New Zealand’s success ratio lengthening too much on the loss side.With the three-game series with Zimbabwe, a fourth game at the International Cricket Council Knockout tournament in Kenya and six one-dayers in South Africa, there is the chance to pay some serious attention to this aspect of the game.