Tremlett and Udal bowl out Lancashire

Chris Tremlett (five for 68) and Shaun Udal (four for 25) made it a poor first day for Lancashire at The Rose Bowl. The visitors were dismissed for just 183, with an innings of 66 from Alec Swann the only substantial contribution from the visitors.Hampshire welcomed back Adi Aymes for his first Championship match since his injury at Canterbury in April.Winning the toss at the Rose Bowl is not always an advantage, but Lancashire would have felt they had made the correct decision to bat when they reach 99-1 shortly after lunch. Alec Swann looked comfortable on the slowish wicket that had a certain amount of uneven bounce, but certainly not on a par with the much critisised wicket against India.Mark Chilton fell early being yorked by Tremlett, but after sharing a 78 run partnership the innings took on a different shape after David Byas was well caught in the slips off Alan Mullally.Three batsmen fell without scoring, two to the guile of Shaun Udal, and one more to Tremlett. A patient 22 from Stuart Law, and a end of innings flurry from former Durham all-rounder John Wood took the Lancastrians to a modest 183.It was never going to be easy coming in late in the day, and the Lancashire bowlers gave their all to try and fight back into the match. Giles White was first to go when Wood uprooted his middle stump, and then John Francis attempted to pull the speedy Anderson, and was adjudged to have been caught behind. Will Kendall meanwhile held the bowlers at bay his 80 ball stay had produced 18 runs, but it’s value was at that stage of the game was not the runs, but the patience.

Kendall century lifts Hampshire Hawks

An inspired century from skipper Will Kendall allowed the Hawks to leapfrog the Crusaders in the Norwich Union League Division Two basement battle, as he led the home side to a 24-run victory.However, at a precarious 6-3, it looked like another day of gloom for Hampshire as Jason Laney (0) was followed by a careless run-out which saw Neil Johnson also removed without scoring. And when James Adams attempted pull ended up knocking his middle stump out, the crowd must have been thinking is was going to be another of those days.But they had not considered Kendall’s heroics, mixing his natural correct posture with some tremendous hits as reached his first-ever limited overs century and stretched it to an undefeated 110 (118 balls, 10 fours and a six) when the overs ran out.He, alongside Shaun Udal, who was promoted up the order when John Francis (33) drilled the ball back to bowler Thos Hunt, added a blistering 103 for the fifth wicket as Udal smashed 58 from 55 balls including two monsterous sixes and three fours.From looking down the barrel at an early finish, Hampshire had recovered to record 241-7 in their 45 overs.Middlesex’s reply also faltered early on with Simon Cook and Robin Weston back in the pavilion with just 12 on the board. However, Ben Hutton, the grandson of famous England cricketing legend Len, was solely responsible for getting the innings back on track.His 63 (99 balls) was the mainstay of the innings, but his dismissal, shortly after stand-in captain Owais Shah’s looked like securing the end of the challenge.Ed Joyce, in great form at present was joined by James Dalrymple and they recorded an 89-run stand which looked like taking the visitors close.But when the latter charged Udal and was bowled and Joyce run-out backing up in quick succession, the rate was beyond the Crusaders, giving Hampshire a much needed victory, which moves them to seventh in the table – a place ahead of the beaten opponents.

Slater shines as England slip up again

Michael Slater and Michael Bevan have steered New South Wales to a resounding victory over the touring England XI at the Sydney Cricket Ground today by eight wickets after England set NSW a target of 206.At the start of his innings Slater was a lost man on the stage of Australian cricket, but he restored some pride to his dented one-day career. When he held his bat aloft to the ecstatic Sydney crowd, his year and half in exile appeared no more than an unpleasant memory.Slater played some extraordinary shots with confidence and exuberance. He crafted his innings, taking on Andrew Caddick, Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison – and winning. He eventually fell to Flintoff for 115, flicking the ball to Marcus Trescothick at mid-wicket. But after a 134-run partnership, England looked deflated instead of joyous at the wicket.Briefly tied down in the first few overs with Corey Richards, Slater soon went on to the attack. But Richards was left behind with Slater dominating the strike, and soon fell for seven to Harmison, giving a simple catch to Andrew Flintoff at mid-on.Bevan entered the arena but even this great one-day player was overshadowed by the brilliance of Slater. But the left-hander still showed what a talent he is, with a half-century off 70 balls, not matching the tempo of Slater but enough to defeat England.Steve Waugh promoted himself to number four ahead of Michael Clarke as the innings came to an end. Omitted from the final 30 for the World Cup squad and not in the selectors’ minds for the forthcoming one-day series, which begins next Friday, Waugh rattled out a reminder to the selectors with 24 runs from just 12 balls.With only 25 runs needed and the bulk of the work done, Waugh slashed Ronnie Irani three times into the stands. The first six went to the back of the Members’ stand and the second and third to the M.A Noble stand.With only one run needed Waugh decided to dismiss Irani one more time, and before the next six even reached the fence he began the walk back to the pavilion. The Steve Waugh chant echoed around the stadium, emphasising the Aussie captain’s popularity.

ECB name National Academy provisional shortlist

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today named a provisional list of 20 players who will be considered for the National Academy in Adelaide this winter.Hugh Morris, ECB Performance Director, said, “At this stage of the season wewanted to concentrate our minds on the kind of players who might be invited to the National Academy this winter. Creating such a list allows us to concentrate our resources and to film, study and analyse these players in-depth, which will enable the NA Staff to create individual programmes for them.”This is by no means an exclusive list and if other players perform well in the remainder of the season then they will also be considered for selection. The shortlist contains a number of players from the 2001/2programme. It isconsidered that these players would benefit from a further winter at the Academy.”The ECB National Academy squad will be announced with the England Senior Test Match and One-Day squads for the winter.The National Academy will again be based in Adelaide for 2002-3. Current plans are for the players to spend approximately nine weeks in Adelaide from early October before returning home for three weeks over Christmas. A post Christmas playing programme is currently being finalised.Provisional list of Academy players:Kabir Ali (Worcestershire)Gareth Batty (Worcestershire)Ian Bell (Warwickshire)Ian Blackwell (Somerset)Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)Matt Bulbeck (Somerset)Paul Franks (Nottinghamshire)Kyle Hogg (Lancashire)Simon Jones (Glamorgan)Ed Joyce (Middlesex)Michael Lumb (Yorkshire)Gordon Muchall (Durham)Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire)Chris Read (Nottinghamshire)Darren Stevens (Leicestershire)James Treadwell (Kent)Chris Tremlett (Hampshire)Jim Troughton (Warwickshire)Mark Wallace (Glamorgan)Matt Whiley (Leicestershire)

Fleming and Shah punish Durham

Owais Shah was unbeaten on 86, his highest championship score for two years, when heavy rain arrived at Chester-le-Street with Middlesex on 182 for two after 62 overs.On an excellent pitch, the Durham attack posed few problems for Shah or Stephen Fleming as they shared an unbroken stand of 133 in 37 overs.Shah’s top championship score was 76 last season, but recent signs of starting to fulfill his potential continued in a blemish-free innings.Michael Roseberry was largely responsible for running out Andrew Strauss in the third over then laboured until the 25th over against his former county. On a much better pitch than the immature surfaces he had to endure during his disappointing spell as Durham captain, Roseberry made 17 before he pushed forward and edged Neil Killeen to wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt.But Fleming followed his century at Bristol on Saturday by clipping the ball sweetly off his legs and cutting fiercely on his way to 63 not out.After slow progress in the morning, 97 runs were added in 25 overs before the rain arrived.

Warne riding wave of success with match-winning show

Shane Warne has pleaded for some recovery time on the beach in Durban after transforming his 100th Test into the most memorable match of his career.Warne figured in each of the four innings in the second Test in Cape Town, winning the player-of-the-match award in Australia’s four-wicket win.Captain Steve Waugh joked that Warne wrote the script for his milestone match after taking 8-231 from 98 overs and scoring 63 and 15 not out, but Waugh agreedAustralia would have been out of business if not for the leg-spinner.Australia and South Africa have just two days to recover from their gripping Cape Town battle before meeting again in the series finale at Kingsmead.”I’ll wake up and it will probably be a dream. I’ll probably get 0-200 in the next Test and come down to earth,” Warne said.”The way I’m feeling at the moment it probably does pip the (first Test in Sri Lanka in 1992) as my favourite.”From my own individual point of view this was probably my favourite Test but I’m very tired and I’ve probably dropped a couple of extra kilos.”But hopefully (coach) John Buchanan and Steve Waugh will give us some time at the beach in the next two days because otherwise I wouldn’t fancy having to bowlfor another day-and-a-half on Friday.”Warne has 37 wickets from eight Tests in a season which included a rough time against New Zealand’s adventurous batsmen.”After the first few Tests against New Zealand, Buck (Buchanan) asked me to talk to the team about how I was going because I was just feeling frustrated,” Warnesaid.”I thought I was bowling well but there were no results.”But it’s impossible to have a good game all the time. You’re going to go through the ups and downs.”It’s how you deal with that, and at times we’ve probably all made a few mistakes along the way.”In my situation there has been a hell of a lot of good times and not too many bad times.”

Botha leads South African under-19 charge

South Africa Under-19 are in a very strong position to win their opening New Zealand tour match outright, with an 236-run lead heading into the third and final day.Otago Under-19 were 21/0 overnight but soon found themselves in all sorts of trouble.A wicket off the very first ball of the day saw a slide begin from 21/1 to 60/7, at one stage losing five wickets for a mere nine runs during the collapse.Only Mark Joyce stood between the South Africans and the follow-on enforcement, putting on fine stands of 45, 27 and 25 for the final three wickets with Matt Adair, Ben Ryan and Jamie Murley. Number eight Joyce was last man out for 60.It was very much the old cricket story of the tail wagging, and in this case the vigorously wagging bottom order reduced the first innings deficit to 123.For South Africa Johan Botha had the incredible figures of 18 overs, 13 maidens, 10 runs, 6 wickets. He bowled very well and many of the Otago batsmen looked back in horror to see either stumps knocked out of the ground or catches spurting to the slip cordon. The poplars and silver birch trees may have watched in silence, but they couldn’t fail to have been impressed by his performance, on a day he could rightly call his overseas debut.Imran Khan, with figures of 18.2-4-62-2, came in for some punishment from Joyce, but otherwise bowled impressively with an unusual action that sees almost no use of his left arm.Craig Thysen (1-21 from 12 overs), Gerhard de Bruin 0-33 from 15 overs) and Monde Zondeki (0-20 from 13 overs) all bowled economically, with Zondeki looking very fast on occasions.The South African fielding overall was not as slick as Otago’s had been the previous day, exerting far less pressure to boot. They will have plenty of work to be done to get into shape before next week’s opening Youth Test against the New Zealand Under-19s.South Africa commenced their second innings with a lead of 123 runs and the knowledge that Otago had to bat last on the pitch which has yet to deteriorate significantly.James Schorn, who top scored with 94 in South Africa’s first innings, looked in fine touch in his second visit to the crease. Together with captain Rivash Gobind he set about cementing his side’s already strong situation.Both batsmen played some classic shots that suggested they had the ability to be players of the future for South Africa. They negotiated the final period of play very well and saw their team reach 113/1 with Schorn 47 not out and Gobind unbeaten on 56 at the close.

Through the Lens – keep your eyes open!

In the latest of a series of features on the domestic season in England, CricInfo’s Paul McGregor gives you a guide to the photographer’s kitbag, and some words of wisdom on what to look out for at the ground, even if play’s been disrupted by the weather.


Pitchtesting at Nottingham
Photo CricInfo

The cricket photographer can easily be recognised, even when set apart from the unusually long lenses he or she may be carrying around. You can tell from the often-hunched shoulders and bent back, formed after years of humping these lenses and cameras around the cricket grounds of the world.So what goes into the kit bag and why? Essentially the photographer carries the kit to cover every eventuality. The telephoto lens is the trademark, and the diligent photographer will “get this up” on the tripod as soon as possible after the shooting position is selected. This might be the case even if play is not imminent, as our shots on this page show. We’ve captured one of the peculiar rituals of “the summer game” even though there is no play. We have a member of the ground staff at Trent Bridge in Nottingham banging a spike into the pitch. Without a long lens you couldn’t hope to catch such a ritual.


Lewiswith the team sheet
Photo CricInfo

Umpire Palmer and Notts skipper Bicknell are paying particular attention to this attempt to find out how much moisture there is in the wicket. Perhaps a divining rod could be used instead?The long lens will also capture other rituals of the game. Durham’s Jon Lewis is in the field, exchanging team sheets with the umpire and Bicknell, before the toss. Such shots don’t compare with action images, but capture part of the event nonetheless and the photographer should not ignore this.The kitbag will also contain a variety of other lenses, far shorter than the telephoto. There are always things happening on the periphery. Sponsors will appear wanting “just a quick picture” in a corporate box. The club marketing department will ring wanting an image of a local celebrity watching the match. The players might want pictures for their brochures.


ThePenetrating Interview
Photo CricInfo

So the photographer will take a variety of lenses, 50mm, 17-35mm zoom, and normally something like an 80-200mm zoom to capture the required moment. A flashgun also goes with this. But sometimes events just happen and it would be odd if the photographer did not go equipped to capture the interview carried out by the TV company. Michael Vaughan has a wistful glance back at the camera as the interviewer searches for a penetrating question.So keeping your eyes open around the ground, and being prepared for a variety of eventualities as well as photographing the actual play, are all part of capturing the images of the game. It has even been known for photographers, a notoriously scruffy breed, to turn out looking nearly decent with a jacket and tie, prepared to do a job in the more august pavilions of the game. So in the photographer’s bag there may even be a tie. Whatever next?

England in tatters after Hussey sets up Australia

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Anderson can only look on as Ryan Harris celebrates Paul Collingwood’s last-ball dismissal•Getty Images

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris both struck in the final five minutes of play to finish with two apiece while other scalp, the key one of Kevin Pietersen for 3, went to the hardworking Ben Hilfenhaus as England lurched to stumps on 5 for 81.Those final few moments did huge damage to England who were already struggling. Jonathan Trott had played well for 31 before fencing at Johnson and, in a sign of how fortunes have changed, Ricky Ponting parried the ball at second slip only for Brad Haddin to snap up the chance. Ponting immediately left the field for treatment on a finger so missed the final-ball drama when the out-of-form Paul Collingwood edge Harris to third slip, the ball after nightwatchman James Anderson declined a single to take the strike off Collingwood.Hussey and Shane Watson, who fell five runs short of his hundred, were chiefly responsible for building Australia’s strong position as they extended their fourth-wicket stand to 113. After that, England staged a fightback with Chris Tremlett claiming his maiden five-wicket haul as the last six wickets fell for 55 but, despite the positive talk of a repeat of South Africa’s 414-run chase in 2008-09, history was always unlikely to repeat itself.Australia were mightily pumped up for the final session, knowing the quick bowlers could go full throttle. Ponting wasn’t afraid to switch the bowlers around and it was a change of ends for Harris that brought the first breakthrough when Alastair Cook was struck on the back leg. Cook asked Andrew Strauss if it was worth a review, but wasn’t supported by his captain. The ball would have clipped the bails.

Smart Stats

  • Shane Watson’s 95 was the fourth time he has fallen in the nineties in his career. He has two centuries and 14 fifties.

  • Michael Hussey’s century was his second of the series and the 13th of his career. He averages almost 61 in home Tests but just over 39 in away Tests.

  • The 113 run partnership between Hussey and Watson was the third century stand for the fourth wicket for Australia against England in Test matches at Perth.

  • In 11 innings since June 2010, Kevin Pietersen has scored 477 runs with one century and two fifties. He has scored less than 10 in five of these innings.

  • Of the ten previous occasions that Australia have set a target over 300 at Perth, they have gone on to win on seven occasions and drawn twice. The only loss came against South Africa in 2008.

Johnson had been brought on in the sixth over and offered a couple of boundary balls, then tightened up to off stump and found Strauss’s edge which flew comfortably to Ponting at second slip. Whereas Hussey had given a lesson in what to leave, England’s batsmen were far less certain.Pietersen also chased a wide delivery that he poked to first slip to give Hilfenhaus his first wicket since the third ball of the series. Pietersen had escaped a pair with a pull to fine leg but hadn’t settled when he hung his bat out, although it was nothing less than Hilfenhaus deserved for a probing spell. For Pietersen it was his lowest contribution when he has batted twice in a Test. Like his team, it’s been quite a comedown from Adelaide.Throughout the match it has been tough for batsmen when they first come in, which emphasises the importance of the lone hundred so far from Hussey. His latest masterclass made him the first batsman to hit six consecutive fifty-plus scores in a Ashes Tests, a run dating back to his futile hundred at The Oval in 2009. He also became the leading run-scorer in the series, overtaking Cook, and made this the most prolific series of his career. Not bad for a player who nearly lost his place before it all started in Brisbane.He brought up his hundred with a crunching pull, the manner in which many of his boundaries arrived as England maintained the plan of feeding his strength. He was barely troubled by any of the short-pitched offerings, which although working against some of his team-mates were a futile and wasted effort to Hussey.Hussey has an impressive conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, but the same can’t yet be said of Watson. He’d barely put a foot wrong during his innings, unfurling some thumping drives against Steven Finn as he moved carefully to 95 and within sight of his third Test century. Tremlett then got one to hold its line on middle which Watson missed, but the batsman called for a review thinking he’d hit the ball.It was a small window for England, which looked to have become a little bigger when Steven Smith was given caught at slip off an inside edge by Billy Doctrove, but this time the UDRS worked in Australia’s favour when no nick was detected and the ball was also heading over the stumps. It was a skittish innings from Smith, who could also have been run out, before Tremlett’s move to round the wicket worked as Smith gloved down the leg sideHaddin began with a sweep for six over midwicket against Swann, who only bowled five overs in the day and struggled, but got an inside edge into the stumps to give Tremlett a fourth. The lower order couldn’t offer Hussey much support as Johnson drove to cover, Harris pulled to deep midwicket and Siddle edged to third to slip to hand Anderson his 200th Test wicket.Hussey finally departed to the pull, when he picked out deep square-leg to give Tremlett a deserved five-wicket haul, but his innings had set up victory that will arrive on Sunday. And from the position Australia were in on the first afternoon, that’s an astonishing turnaround.

Hastings making up for lost time

As the cricket cliché goes, there’s never a good time to be injured. But some moments are especially unfortunate, as Victoria’s spinner Jon Holland is now discovering, having hurt his shoulder when he was working his way towards the fringes of national selection. His state team-mate John Hastings could tell him all about it.Hastings had just started to establish himself in Australia’s ODI and Twenty20 sides last year when he returned from the tour of Sri Lanka and suffered a serious injury at state training. Diving for a one-handed catch, Hastings felt a stabbing pain and his season was over, a shoulder reconstruction ruling him out of all cricket for nearly a year.Tours of South Africa, West Indies, England and the UAE were out of the question, as was any hope of him being part of Australia’s World T20 squad, and the injury to Hastings, a bowling allrounder, allowed batting allrounder Daniel Christian some breathing space to settle in to the side. Hastings also missed a full Sheffield Shield campaign, having been the competition’s second leading wicket taker two years earlier when he collected 36 victims at 26.13.But finally, Hastings is back, and he is looking on the bright side. The time away from the game gave him plenty of opportunity to work in the gym, and he believes his extra strength work has helped him gain a little bit of pace with his bowling. Whatever the case, he has certainly thrived on his return, having picked up 13 wickets in Victoria’s first two Shield games of this season – his first outings at first-class level in nearly two years.”The timing of it wasn’t great,” Hastings told ESPNcricinfo. “I pulled out of the South African series in 2011. It seems a long time ago now. It wasn’t a great time for me. I probably would have been on that tour and if I’d done well there, who knows, Tests might have been around the corner as well. But to have such a long time out of the game it’s going to take me a long time to gain the selectors’ trust again and get back in that side.”When I wasn’t bowling or batting I spent a lot of time on my fitness, working on my strength and conditioning in the gym with David Bailey, the now Australian strength and conditioning coach. We worked our butts off to try to get me back. I think a yard of pace has probably helped me get a few more wickets than I normally would have in four-day cricket, and a little more durability as well, so I can continually back up my spells.”So far this season, the results have been coming. Only James Pattinson, who demolished Queensland with 6 for 32 in the second innings in Brisbane, has more Shield wickets than Hastings after the first two rounds. In a Victoria attack featuring four fast and medium bowlers who have worn the baggy green – Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay and Andrew McDonald – that’s no mean feat.”I come on and I’m not as fast as the other guys, I think the batsmen think they can get after me and they just nick one to the keeper or something,” Hastings said. “For me to bowl at the other end to James Pattinson is just fantastic. He creates all the pressure. That spell at the Gabba was absolutely world-class, on a pretty flat third-day Gabba wicket, he extracted bounce and a bit of movement.”Hastings, 26, can also get plenty of bounce from his 195-centimetre frame. He will enjoy the challenge of bowling to the Tasmanians at the MCG this week. Last time he played a first-class match at home it was against the touring England team during Australia’s disastrous 2010-11 Ashes. Twenty-two months is a long time to wait.”Everything is going really well at the moment,” Hastings said. “It’s probably the best my body has felt for four or five years. Looking back I think I was lucky to have that 18 months to get my body right and get it where I wanted to be. It’s great to pull up well from games and hopefully that can continue.”

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