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Hamish Bennett said being patient and waiting for the Bangladesh batsmen to make mistakes worked for him, on his return to ODI cricket after three years

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-20171:16

‘Didn’t expect another game after Hamilton 2014 – Bennett

It has been almost seven years since fast bowler Hamish Bennett made his ODI debut for New Zealand. In that series, he played two ODIs, against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, and New Zealand were humbled 4-0. Bennett remembers that series clearly, and was especially pleased that, on Wednesday, when he made his return to international cricket after three years – his previous ODI appearance was in January 2014 – New Zealand got the better of them.”It was a really good feeling,” Bennett said after New Zealand’s four-wicket win in the Ireland tri-series. “To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to get another game after Hamilton in 2014. But, especially good to win against Bangladesh after losing there 4-0, good to get one over them.”Bennett made his debut when he was 23, but had never managed to cement his place in the New Zealand first XI. Now, with a few first-choice players away at the IPL, Bennett slotted in and was simply happy to play with some of the friends he has made on the domestic circuit. “It was good to get out there. I’ve always wanted to play international cricket with Neil Broom, Tommy Latham and Ross [Taylor] as well,” he said. “So it was good to play a game for New Zealand with a couple of good mates.”That New Zealand had to chase only 258 was courtesy Bennett’s final two overs, where he conceded only three runs off the bat and took three wickets. His short-pitched deliveries against the Bangladesh middle and lower-order paid rich dividends, and he said that his plan to be patient and force his opponents to make mistakes held him in good stead.”You get lucky at the death sometimes – it goes one way or the another,” Bennett said. “It went my way today but my main job was to attack on that slower surface, it was just about trying to put the balls in the good areas. It was just about trying to contain them and get them to do something silly.”I think, in one-day cricket, you can afford to be a little bit patient with the ball because eventually the batting team will have to come at you. My mentality was just about trying to be patient and wait for them to make the play. I didn’t want to go searching too much, just wanted to keep building pressure.”Bennett, who was described by half-centurion James Neesham after the game as “one of the best death bowlers in New Zealand”, finished with figures of 3 for 31 and Bangladesh were kept to 257 for 9. But both players felt their team’s fielding effort was not up to scratch – the Bangladesh innings featured several misfields with players letting balls through or diving over them, overthrows that went to the boundary, and dropped chances – which left them chasing more than they should have been.”The target could easily have been a little bit less, we were a little sloppy, in the field,” Bennett said. “We should’ve kept them to about 230, but we never really had any run-rate pressure [in the chase], so it’s a fair reflection that 250-odd was a good score to chase.”Man-of-the-Match Neesham, whose 48-ball 52 shepherded New Zealand home with 15 balls to spare, said: “We bowled a bit better than 260-odd. If we’re honest with ourselves, our fielding let us down a bit, and 20-30 runs went abegging. You’ve got to chase the target you’re set and doing it with 12 balls to spare or whatever was ideal.”

Ireland head to Lord’s looking to atone for a heavy beating in their first ODI on English soil

The Preview by Andrew Miller06-May-2017

Match facts

May 7, 2017
Start time 1100 local (1000 GMT)1:08

‘We can’t play like that at this level’ – Porterfield

Big picture

With apologies to the County Ground at Bristol, enthusiastic hosts of Ireland’s (somewhat underwhelming) first ODI on English soil, this is the big one. A maiden international fixture against England at Lord’s – with its Long Room, honours boards, and anticipated 22,000 crowd – is the occasion that Ireland’s cricketers have been dreaming about for a decade.It’s a staging post like few others in a team’s journey up the pecking order (notwithstanding that Ireland played there against Sri Lanka during the 2009 World T20), replete with the sort of memories that cannot help but inspire any visiting side – Ireland might, for instance, take inspiration from Sri Lanka’s maiden Test appearance on the venerable old ground in 1984, when Sidath Wettimuny and Duleep Mendis ignited their country’s imagination with a brace of glowing hundreds.Or, in a nod to their shared ancestry, Ireland’s players might take a look up at the ranks of Australian names etched on the dressing-room walls, and remind themselves of how England failed to beat their oldest enemy in a Test match on this ground for a full 75 years between 1934 and 2009.However, for many of the players in Ireland’s ranks, the allure of playing at Lord’s stems from the familiarity that it offers, as much as the mystique. Tim Murtagh, their senior seamer, was a mainstay of Middlesex’s Championship-winning side, while Paul Stirling is another to ply his more regular trade at Lord’s. Andy Balbirnie was on their books for a while, while Ed Joyce was another central figure until his migration down to Hove.Having fluffed their lines rather chronically in Bristol, Lord’s offers home comforts for half the team, bucket-list allure for the remainder, and a chance to relaunch their England expedition for the whole. As William Porterfield, their captain, said in the aftermath of defeat: “You have to be able to get fired up for a game at the Home of Cricket.”None of the above, however, makes their challenge any less forbidding. As their senior players had been gently telegraphing in the lead-up to the tour, this is not a comfortable time for Ireland’s creaking squad, and the crushing manner in which England put them in their place on Friday was every bit as emphatic as the doom-mongers had been anticipating.From an England perspective, the only real disappointment about their seven-wicket win was the lack of game-time that it afforded to their hungry squad. Their bowlers enjoyed a decent run-out, not least the impressive Mark Wood and destructive Adil Rashid, but the batting was a cakewalk, albeit that Jason Roy failed to atone for his fallow workload at the IPL with a first-over duck.Joe Root and Alex Hales made such light work of a nominal target of 127 that, for all Eoin Morgan claimed he would have bowled first given the choice, you wonder if he’d rather take first use on Sunday, just to ensure the match has to go a longer distance.These are, however, Good Problems To Have™. Ireland, on the other hand, are the ones with the challenge of rustling up a response. There’s no better venue to find one than Lord’s.Defeat in Bristol provided a chastening experience for Ireland’s players•Getty Images

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland LLWWL

In the spotlight

With his reinforced bowling boot, and burgeoning confidence following a successful reintroduction to the England team on Friday, all eyes will be on Mark Wood as he attempts to back up his exertions with another telling performance. Although he was required to bowl just six overs at Bristol, it was notable how Wood grew into his spell, as he cranked up his speed and hostility with every new delivery. No one doubts Wood’s ability, or his importance to England both in this summer’s hunt for trophies and in the winter’s bid to retain the Ashes. Unfortunately, his susceptibility to injury is very much part of the package he offers. The challenge of coming through two internationals in the space of three days will be a vital indication of his readiness to lead the line at the Champions Trophy.For a fleeting five-and-a-half overs of the opening ODI, Ireland seemed to have settled into a very promising rhythm. They were 40 without loss and looking set for many more, when Paul Stirling gave himself too much room and was bowled by Wood to open the Irish floodgates. His 20 from 18 balls was a typically frustrating return from a player with talent to burn, but whose shot selection isn’t always as adept as his eye. Nevertheless, he is one of several Ireland players with intimate knowledge of the next venue – in fact, only last week, he clattered 71 from 60 balls as Middlesex racked up 341 for 5 against Sussex. What is more, he is the holder of the highest ODI score by a European batsman – his 177 against Canada in 2010. When he gets in, he has the ability to stay in.

Team news

If Rashid was a slight surprise as England’s solitary spinner in Bristol, he more than justified his selection with five skilfully worked wickets, as Ireland’s blind spot for legspin was ruthlessly exploited once again. Morgan had justified Rashid’s selection ahead of Moeen Ali by pointing out his ability to turn the ball both ways, which made him a more versatile weapon for the short boundaries in the first ODI. That aspect is less applicable at Lord’s, but he surely won’t be left out now.England: (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Sam Billings, 7 Adil Rashid, 8 David Willey, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Jake Ball, 11 Mark WoodIreland played the extra batsman at Bristol, but that didn’t exactly pay dividends, as they crumbled to 126 all out in 33 overs. The question is whether to stick or twist – keep the same balance in the hope that they’ll come up with the goods now that they’ve got their stage fright out of the way, or reinforce their bowling in a bid to rein in England’s ambitions. They may be forced into a change, with John Anderson added to the squad as cover for Niall O’Brien, who has a finger injury. Though Peter Chase provided a crumb of comfort with all three wickets at Bristol, it’s hard to see England’s batting line-up easing off the accelerator as they head for their most familiar venue. Ireland will simply have to keep up.Ireland: (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Andy Balbirnie, 5 Niall O’Brien (wk), 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Kevin O’Brien, 8 Stuart Thompson, 9 George Dockrell, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Peter Chase

Pitch and conditions

A brighter day is in prospect but cloud cover is still anticipated and that tends to be a more significant factor at Lord’s than the pitch, which is invariably flat and run-laden.

Stats and trivia

• England have had a mixed record in their recent ODIs at Lord’s. In their last 12 matches dating back to 2009, they have won just three, although that does include their most recent, a four-wicket win against Pakistan last August.
• Kevin O’Brien, who did not bowl in Bristol, but claimed seven wickets in his previous two ODIs against Afghanistan, needs three more to reach 100 ODI wickets.
• Joe Root, who finished unbeaten on 49 at Bristol, has scored 240 runs for once out in his last three ODIs, following scores of 90* and 101 against West Indies in Antigua in March.

Quotes

“You don’t become bad players overnight. It was one bad game, one bad day at the office.”
“It was probably up there – I’ve had a couple of other performances as well. I hope I can now carry it on into the summer.”

England have suffered a major setback in their preparations for Saturday’s Women’s World Cup opener against India at Derby, with the news that Lauren Winfield, their hard-hitting opener, will miss the match after sustaining a wrist injury

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2017England have suffered a major setback in their preparations for Saturday’s Women’s World Cup opener against India at Derby, with the news that Lauren Winfield, their hard-hitting opener, will miss the match after sustaining a wrist injury.Winfield chose to retire out on 27 during England’s final warm-up match against New Zealand at Derby on Wednesday, but it did not appear an issue at the time as England coasted to a seven-wicket victory with more than 22 overs remaining.She is set to undergo a further assessment next week, but the team management are already anticipating that she will have to miss England’s second fixture, against Pakistan at Leicester on Tuesday.In the meantime, her hand will put in a protective cast until further information is available to the medical staff.Winfield, 26, has been an integral part of the England team’s revival in the past 12 months, in the aftermath of a disappointing showing at the World T20 in March 2016.Lauren Winfield had been in good form in England’s World Cup warm-ups•Getty Images

Following the retirement of Charlotte Edwards last year, Winfield’s partnership with Tammy Beaumont at the top of the order has injected a new intensity into England’s one-day batting, and against Pakistan at Worcester last June, they both made centuries in a record opening stand of 235.Winfield followed that up with two half-centuries in a hard-fought 3-2 series win over West Indies in the Caribbean in October.It is the latest setback to England’s preparations, following the foot injury that Heather Knight, the captain, sustained in the build-up to the tournament. Knight sat out the New Zealand fixture, but confirmed she is back to full fitness with wickets and runs in England’s previous warm-up game, against Sri Lanka at Chesterfield.

Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy powered India to 265 and their bowlers put in a clinical performance to take India into the semi-final

The Report by Varun Shetty15-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy’s 108-run stand made the difference for India•Getty/ICC

Suzie Bates’ decision to bowl first in a virtual quarter-final seemed to work out perfectly for the first hour. But Mithali Raj’s sixth ODI hundred – a decidedly positive innings, formed on the foundation of two century partnerships, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy – lifted India to 265. It was a total that became increasingly daunting with every passing over of New Zealand’s chase.They found themselves three-down in the 11th over and after a brief, ineffective resistance from Amy Satterthwaite and Sophie Devine, they unraveled quickly to lose by 186 runs. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, brought in to replace Ekta Bisht after warming the bench for six games, finished with a career-best 5 for 15.Raj admitted that she too would’ve bowled if the toss had gone her way. But when she came out to bat, though, it didn’t appear like the conditions played on her mind despite India losing Punam Raut and Smriti Mandhana early. The wickets were more to do with New Zealand’s discipline than prodigious movement either in the air or off the pitch. In fact, the first signs of swing came when Suzie Bates came on in the 11th over. And even those gentle awayswingers didn’t cause Raj any trouble.She creamed drives all day long, to the covers ring for a while, but eventually through them. Raj’s conscious effort to keep her strike rate in the vicinity of 80 shone through. Her fifty against Australia on Wednesday – 69 off 114 – was called out for lack of intent, and it was clear she wanted to put it to rest. So, she did. This didn’t necessarily mean India were any quicker. In fact, the run-rate hadn’t even crept past four-per-over at the end of the 30th.Raj was the aggressor, but at the other end was the promoted Harmanpreet whose longest innings of the tournament up until Saturday was a 23-ball knock against Pakistan. When she middled them, they sounded sweet, but she struggled to find the gaps. And so, once again, it looked like India were falling to the old trap of relying too much on boundaries. And the feeling was amplified when they lost two wickets in the first two overs of the batting Powerplay. Harmanpreet, who battled through injured left hand to make a half-century, chipped one back to Kasperek, Deepti Sharma fell to a stunning Rachel Priest catch, and 153 for 2 turned to 154 for 4 in the space of nine balls.India set themselves up for 250, but losing quick wickets left them with the possibility of finishing around 230 again. Raj dropped anchor and Veda Krishnamurthy looked awkward, poking and prodded to 11 off 16, before two dominant hits off Amelia Kerr in the 43rd over injected momentum. Satterthwaite dropped her on 32 at the start of the 46th, Lea Tahuhu’s chest-high full toss offered her a free-hit soon after, and by the end of the over, she had motored to 46. The first ball of the next over was drilled flat over long-on and New Zealand were now visibly anxious. Fielders ran in from the boundary and let balls bounce over them and different varieties of length balls were served in the buffet.Raj hit one boundary after the 39th over, and it came in the last over. By then, she had trotted through to her sixth ODI century. Both her and Krishnamurthy fell in that last over, but India had put up 265. Both their innings were the deflating kind – Krishnamurthy’s an ungrateful butchering, Raj’s a controlled suffocation.And Krishnamurthy was there again, during New Zealand’s chase. Bates, looking to flick Shikha Pandey’s first delivery, found the leading edge to first slip. New Zealand couldn’t find a way back – Priest hit one back to Jhulan Goswami in the next over, but the old cricketing cliche of “chasing pressure” was upon New Zealand before they could get their eye in. The ball was swinging now. And drifting, and dipping, and turning. Satterthwaite hung in, like her role demands, but No. 4 Katey Martin looked out of place all along; she’d seen one too many dot balls, and was promptly down the pitch to hit one to Kaur at midwicket.New Zealand’s hopes rested on Satterthwaite and Devine; they seemed to know this as they decided caution would be the best way forward. Raj, sensing this, unleashed her spinners on the pair. India rattled through 17 overs in an hour. The score was 51, the required rate 6.51. Gayakwad swooped in on Satterthwaite’s vulnerability and got one to spin away from her after she had stepped down. That was the start of New Zealand’s crash.The nail found the coffin in the 20th over. Gayakwad switched to over the wicket, tied Devine down to three dot balls, then pushed one wide. It was meant to turn away from the big slash through the off side, and that’s exactly what Devine did. It was too far away. She sliced it, teasingly behind Deepti at extra cover. It was India’s day, and this wasn’t getting away from the 19-year-old. She got under it, reached for it with a dive and held on. New Zealand had nothing further to offer against Gayakwad.

After India’s spinners dismissed the hosts for 216, Shikhar Dhawan smashed an unbeaten 132 of 90 balls to finish the chase in 28.5 overs

The Report by Alagappan Muthu20-Aug-2017
2:04

Maharoof: Sri Lanka batsmen lacked a game plan

For half of their innings, Sri Lanka really did look like a side that wanted to bat first, as their captain had said at the toss. For the rest of it, each player was lapping the other back to the pavilion. From 139 for 1 in the 25th over, they careened to 216 all out, collapsing in a heap to the considerable wiles of… Kedar Jadhav. The part-timer – who has previously been brought on as a last resort – was indecipherable… bowling non-turning offbreaks. Considering only weird things were happening in this match, there was a fair shout that India would muck up a straightforward chase. But that’s when normal service resumed.Shikhar Dhawan struck his sixth successive fifty-plus score against Sri Lanka and carried on to make his fastest ODI hundred, off 71 balls. He alone hit more boundaries (23) than the entire opposition (20), pulling merrily, cutting anything he deemed short, and reverse-sweeping if only to feel the rush of a proper contest. He was the bulldozer and Sri Lanka were a helpless, dilapidated old building.At the other end was Virat Kohli, racking up 82 fairly soft runs to seal a nine-wicket victory with a whopping 21.1 overs to spare. The only mishap of the innings happened when Rohit Sharma, in his first innings as vice-captain, lost control of his bat and was run out for 4 because both his feet were in the air despite crossing the crease.As bizarre as that was, little that could compete with the antics of the Sri Lankan batsman. They had looked good to score 300, then promptly lost nine wickets for 77 runs.Jadhav took out the half-centurion Niroshan Dickwella and the captain Upul Tharanga and faded into the background so his team-mates could have a little fun. Axar Patel took the opportunity and in his first match of the tour picked up 3 for 34 in 10 overs.That meant a crowd of 14,514 in Dambulla – several wearing fancy dresses, more than a few sporting trumpets, all of them adding to a raucous atmosphere – kept scratching their heads, wondering how on earth fingerspin had become relevant in one-day cricket again.Kedar Jadhav pinned Niroshan Dickwella in front for 64•Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/ AFP

The Champions Trophy had proven a few things – wickets in the middle overs matter and wristspinners are an excellent source of them. And on Sunday too, the first one that came India’s way was the result of a legspinner’s work. A well-set Danushka Gunathilaka played a reverse sweep to the new bowler Yuzvendra Chahal to then be caught at cover. The flabbergasted look of the catcher KL Rahul summed up what a weird moment that was in the game.Fine, that’s only one man down. Sri Lanka still had Dickwella, playing a smart knock, typically moving around in his crease, whipping balls into the leg side like his mother had forbidden him from thinking about a straight drive. For as many as 15 overs, he scored only one run in front of the wicket on the off side. Some of that can be explained by his preference for the leg side. He played a couple of pick-up shots over long-on and midwicket that were jaw-dropping. India’s fast bowlers, too, didn’t really give him too many balls in his half of the pitch, sensing the new ball wasn’t swinging, and immediately resorting to tucking him up or messing up his timing with slower balls.Having weathered them all with admirable patience, he then fell lbw to a straight ball from Jadhav. It was an anti-climax of epic proportions. Not least because it came as a result of the lap sweep, a shot he plays superbly well, but on this occasion did not account for the quicker delivery. For good measure, he also burned the only review Sri Lanka had in the innings.Through it all, Jadhav could well have thrown his head and laughed. There is no mystery to him. He simply doesn’t give the batsman any pace to work with, and demands them to hit him, hard, if they want boundaries. That happens best with cross-bat shots. But the problem is he also makes balls keep relatively low, especially with his slingy action and that allows him to sneak under the bat swing. None of these nuances were necessary for the wickets he took though. Dickwella played a poor shot and Tharanga sent a high full toss into long-on’s hands.Axar troubled Sri Lanka the other way – with extra pace. He bowled Kusal Mendis, who looked the best of the batsmen, moving his feet decisively and working the field brilliantly, with a ball clocked at 104 kph, one the batsman never saw coming as he charged out of his crease. With the pitch just slow enough, and the boundaries large enough, hitting through the line was not a straightforward option. Axar capitalised on it with his clever changes of pace and steadfast accuracy. Most of his balls were fast, fullish and always at the stumps. He and Jadhav got through 15 overs for 60 runs and four wickets. India then blitzed through the tail, allowing no batsman below Angelo Mathews, at No. 5, to enter double-digits.On a night when the visitors’ second-string spin attack made sure they did not feel the absence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – or even Kuldeep Yadav who was their best bowler in the Caribbean last month – not one of the Sri Lanka bowlers could pick up a wicket. It was just that kind of day.

Gloucestershire’s website pronounced that Gareth Roderick was out for the season. With wickets falling at Bristol, it proved to be far from the case

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2017Not even a badly damaged finger could prevent Gareth Roderick from keeping Kent at bay on the final day of Gloucestershire’s Specsavers’ County Championship game in Bristol.The day began with Gloucestershire’s official website claiming Roderick would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a significant finger injury whilst keeping wicket on day three.However, when the host county found themselves in a spot of bother in mid-afternoon, Roderick reached for his pads, gloves and bat and duly held up Kent’s push for victory.By the time captain Phil Mustard declared, bringing the match to an earlier than scheduled end, Roderick was 78 not out, Gloucestershire were safe and Kent were left to wonder what might have been.It had been anything but a successful start to the day for Gloucestershire. Kent, desperate for early wickets, left an indelible mark on Gloucestershire’s top order, thanks to veteran all-rounder Darren Stevens. The 41-year-old sent back Chris Dent (41) with the very first ball of the day and then trapped captain Mustard lbw, three balls later. When James Bracey departed in the same manner, Gloucestershire were 91 for 3. With the news of Roderick’s likely no-show, that, effectively, was 91 for 4. Or so we thought.First innings batting hero Cameron Bancroft, and George Hankins, provided some respite and took the hosts to 146 before the latter edged Mitch Claydon to Sam Billings and though Bancroft and Jack Taylor survived to lunch and beyond, there was further trouble ahead.Bancroft departed for 72, at 186 for 5 and Taylor, who was dropped at second slip on 9, at 163 for 4, followed the Australian back to the pavilion a dozen runs later when Matt Coles had him caught behind by Billings for 27. It got worse, for Gloucestershire, before it improved, with Kieran Noema-Barnett, driving Stevens to mid off where sub fielder Imran Qayyun took a comfortable catch.From that juncture, the pressure fell on the shoulders of Roderick. With Josh Shaw providing solid support, the 26-year-old looked in precious little trouble or discomfort as Kent struggled for the break through.By the time Stevens helped himself to a fifth wicket in the innings, that of Shaw, for 2, Gloucestershire were just about home and dry at 249 for 8.
Roderick passed his 50 off 76 balls, with eight fours, and continued to help himself before the players shook hands with 26 overs still remaining.

Rory Kleinveldt claimed 5 for 50 as Sussex were forced to follow on by Northants at Wantage Road

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Wantage Road06-Sep-2017Sussex 172 (Kleinveldt 5-50) and 34 for 1 (Robson 10*) trail Northamptonshire 426 (Duckett 193) by 220 runs
They don’t do boring at the County Ground and day two was no different, as 16 wickets fell to rush this game along at such a rate that Northamptonshire, not for the first time this season, might have to find something else to do on day four. Not that they’ll mind: Sussex, following on, trail them by 220 runs, skittled out for 172 in the first innings after the hosts put on 426 in theirs.While it was a collective effort from all in maroon caps who took the ball, it was Rory Kleinveldt’s 5 for 50 – his first five-wicket haul of the season – that stands out as much on paper as it did on the pitch. Amid countless plays and misses, he was able to take six wickets across two sessions – he also nabbed the first wicket to fall in Sussex’s second innings – to leave Sussex skipper Ben Brown cursing two poor days in a row.It is easy to sneer at Northamptonshire and Kleinveldt. They know that, too, hence presenting themselves as the vanguard of English cricket: forever raging against the scoffing that unfairly comes their way. If it was up to some of the players, “Big Bellies, Big Sixes” would adorn the gates at the entrance of Wantage Road. There is a pride in the way they play their cricket here that others should heed.Kleinveldt personifies that approach. Where a strength-and-conditioning coach may see a lost cause, Alex Wakely sees a bowler whom he can call upon for 10 overs up top with the new ball. His trusted seamer did what Sussex didn’t: persist with a line that asked the batsmen to stay honest. Eventually he convinced Angus Robson to push at a ball he had left many times before and play onto his own stumps.The 27-over gap between his first and second spell were not spent hiding in the field: a settled cordon of Ben Duckett, Wakely and Richard Levi meant he was fielding in the ring as Northants fought to defend every run. His final 5.4-over burst was the telling contribution, as Sussex’s tail of more-than-capable allrounders was snuffed out with Kleinveldt taking four of them for just 15 runs. After a quick break, his four overs to start the follow-on innings saw him nab Luke Wells, too.It is worth noting that Sussex’s first-innings scorecard was more reflective of the bowling than the pitch, which encouraged and rewarded shotmaking throughout. Even as wickets tumbled, players were able to drive for boundaries. Jofra Archer even managed to take Simon Kerrigan downtown for back-to-back sixes. The scorecard doesn’t lie and the story it tells an accurate story: all of the top five got starts that should have been converted.The opening hour and a half was an extension of day one. Archer and Chris Jordan were wayward with the ball allowing Northamptonshire to tick along at around four an over. Ollie Robinson and David Wiese picked up their slack to finish with four and three wickets respectively.Josh Cobb, beginning his innings at the start of play, helped the hosts breeze past 350 for only the second time this season with a handful of shots he usually saves for the white ball. Danny Briggs was chipped down the ground for four and then Cobb set his sights on Wiese, skewing a few boundaries before hitting him out of the ground over square leg.Meanwhile, Luke Procter, on loan from Lancashire, played a more sedate hand, bringing up his first Championship fifty of the season from 94 balls.Procter was singled out for praise by Duckett at the end of day one, who found time when talking about his 193 from 200 balls to laud a nuggety left-hander who dug deep to stumps so that he could recommence today with Northants on 329 for 5. It is no coincidence they passed 400 and achieved full batting points for the first time this season. They have been crying out for someone to act as the glue in the middle order and Procter’s turn was Oscar-worthy. His dismissal underlined that.When he edged Robinson to second slip for 57 from 116 balls, it set about a collapse that went on to read 5 for 25, as Northants were bowled out for 426.Sussex started well, with a breezy opening stand of 46 from Robson and Luke Wells, built upon by Stiaan van Zyl and Chris Nash, at three and four respectively. Nash was bright and breezy, van Zyl skittish and streaky, but the team hundred was brought up with the pair’s fifty partnership. But 101 for 2 was as good as it got for the visitors.Nash nicked Azharullah behind for the bowler’s second wicket before Kerrigan, another Lancashire loanee, produced an inspired spell after tea. Who knows what his future might hold and whether it is still at Old Trafford, but his two dismissals in the evening session will have turned a few important heads here. He ripped one from well outside off stump and through a driving van Zyl to knock out leg stump. Then, he drifted one into Jordan and then spun it away sharply from the right-hander to take his edge through to Levi, completing a smart chance to his left.Kleinveldt then returned from the Wantage Road end to polish off the tail, taking a sharp caught-and-bowled chance from Robinson then bowling Wiese and Briggs to leave Sussex 254 behind. The collapse was a dismal eight for 71.By stumps, 34 of those runs were chalked off, with Wells falling for his second misjudged in the same session. Tonight, he and the rest of his team-mates will rue a promotion charge starting to run out of puff.

After his comeback series against England, Roach has responded well to the need to alter his lines and lengths on the slower and drier pitches in Bulawayo

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo30-Oct-2017Kemar Roach is enjoying his return to West Indies’ Test side. After 11 wickets at 29.81 in his comeback series against England, Roach has responded well to the need to alter his lines and lengths on the slower and drier pitches in Bulawayo as West Indies’ senior seamer. His control with the ball was vital to their success in the first Test, and he was equally disciplined in picking up 3 for 44 in the first innings of the second match.”England obviously has much easier conditions for fast bowling,” Roach said. “Coming here is much harder. You have to be patient and hope the batsman makes a mistake. It’s pretty tough on the mind to be running in for a couple of overs and not beat the bat or cause any problems for the batsmen.”The road back to Test cricket was a long one for Roach. Sidelined by an ankle injury during the Centurion Test in December 2014, he lost pace and penetration and was left out of the home Tests against India last year. His 23 wickets in the 2016-17 edition of West Indies’ domestic four-day competition prompted a recall, and now Roach is making up for lost time.”I’ve been working hard in the nets with Roddy Estwick, I think I’m in some good form now and I’m trying to realise that form as much as possible,” Roach said. “I’m not getting any younger now so I’m trying to get as many wickets as I can while I’m in form.”We had Curtly Ambrose as one of our bowling coaches a few months ago, and he always emphasises a good length and line. I’ve lost some pace, yes, but it’s about using more skill. I’ve been trying to adjust to become better at that.”Without the pace of old, Roach has been putting some of his newfound skills to good use in Zimbabwe. His use of the crease, delivering the ball from unlikely angles, presentation of the seam and a canny slower ball have all brought success. So has his consistency. “The pitch is very slow and there isn’t much carry, so it’s about being consistent and bowling in the right areas with some variations,” Roach explained.West Indies trailed Zimbabwe by 248 runs after the second day of the second Test in Bulawayo, but Roach backed his team’s batsmen to solidify their strong position. “There are a lot of runs in that wicket,” he said. “The new ball hasn’t been doing much, no major bounce or seam movement. I think once the guys settle and put their heads down to bat, I think we’ll be fine.”