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Chris Gayle has been axed as the West Indies captain and replaced by the allrounder Darren Sammy in a shake-up that has also resulted in Brendan Nash being handed the vice-captaincy

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010Chris Gayle has been axed as the West Indies captain and replaced by the allrounder Darren Sammy in a shake-up that has also resulted in Brendan Nash being handed the vice-captaincy. However, Gayle has kept his spot in the squad for the three-Test tour of Sri Lanka in November, despite turning down a central contract with the WICB last month.The board has also demoted Dwayne Bravo, who was the vice-captain under Gayle but like his captain did not agree to a new WICB deal. The pair, along with Kieron Pollard, have forged lucrative Twenty20 careers in domestic tournaments including the IPL and refused central contracts which stipulated that they must make themselves available for the West Indies team at all times.That has paved the way for the Windward Islands captain, Sammy, to take over the leadership, despite not being a regular member of the Test side. He and the Australian-born Nash will be in charge of the Test squad until the end of the 2011 home series, ending Gayle’s three-year period at the helm of the team.Gayle led West Indies to three wins in 20 Tests as captain, and they sit seventh on the ICC Test rankings list and eighth in the ODI rankings. Sammy said he was looking forward to the challenge of leading the side, even though in Sri Lanka the squad will be missing several experienced men, including the now uncontracted Denesh Ramdin, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jerome Taylor.”Being appointed West Indies captain is an honour and distinction which I will treat with the highest regard and dignity,” Sammy said. “I believe my captaincy of the Windward Islands, a young team which I have been moulding into playing consistently competitive cricket, will stand me in good stead as West Indies captain as we work on building a team for the future.”I have always given my all when I prepare and play for the West Indies and nothing will change now. I know this will be a difficult challenge and I will take the torch from Chris and hold it high as we forge ahead. I have been playing for the West Indies since 2004 and over those six years I have built strong relationships with many players and I expect to have the full support of the squad.”The decision to appoint Sammy and Nash into positions of responsibility is indicative of the WICB’s desire to achieve stability in leadership from players whose availability isn’t in question. Ernest Hilaire, the board’s CEO, said: “Chris Gayle, the former captain, led the West Indies during a challenging period and the board thanks him for stepping up then but it is now time to past the mantle on as the West Indies rebuilds.”The squad picked for the Sri Lanka series features several players who didn’t play against South Africa at home earlier in the year, West Indies’ most recent Test assignment. Adrian Barath, the opener who burst onto the international scene with a century on debut against Australia in Brisbane last year, returns after hurting his knee in April.Carlton Baugh, who has not played a Test since 2004, will vie with Devon Thomas for the role behind the stumps, while there was also a maiden call-up for the Jamaica allrounder Andre Russell. The opener Devon Smith, who played his most recent Test in May 2009, is also back after averaging 61.50 while leading West Indies A in the first-class fixtures in England this year.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Brendan Nash (vice-captain), Chris Gayle, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh (wk), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Nelon Pascal, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas (wk).

The first priority of the umpire review system is to eliminate obvious mistakes but the man in charge of implementing the technology hopes it will also lead to a new generation of walkers

Peter English24-Nov-2009The first priority of the umpire review system is to eliminate obvious mistakes but the man in charge of implementing the technology hopes it will also lead to a new generation of walkers. Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket operations manager, believes an indirect benefit of the two-appeals-per-innings innovation, which was implemented full-time in New Zealand on Tuesday and Australia from Thursday, will be more batsmen not hanging around when they’ve edged behind.In the 11-Test trial Richardson said not only did the percentage of correct decisions improve by 6%, but they noticed the players, the only ones who can call for a review under this part of the system, were adhering more closely to the spirit of cricket. “I quite like the idea of putting a bit of responsibility on them, they are very quick to shake their heads and wave their bat around when they get an inside edge,” he said at the Gabba. “Let’s see how brave they are when it comes to actually taking that responsibility.”Initially when we spoke we thought a possible indirect benefit might be that batsmen, when they do edge a ball, won’t hang around and will walk anyway because they will be inevitably given out in the long run and they might be shown up as, not cheats, but certainly not playing within the spirit.”Richardson said there were fewer issues of dissent from the players and there was also less pressure being placed on the on-field officials by the bowling side. “We’ve found in the trials that the vociferous appealing, and appealing when you know it’s not out, just to try to convince the umpire has seemed to go out of the game.”What’s worse for the game, Steve Bucknor’s effigy getting burnt in India from a bad decision or the opportunity to rectify his mistake and hopefully improving the spirit by saying to the players: it’s your game, your responsibility. You hit it, you walk, if you don’t think it’s out, don’t appeal.”Nine out of the ten ICC members voted for the adoption of the system in internationals – England were not in favour because it is the players who generate the review – but it still relies on the host broadcaster having the technology, which can include Hawk-eye, pitch maps, hot spot and super slo-mo. Hot spot will not be available to the umpires during the Australia-West Indies series, but the third official will always have the same replays as the fans in their lounge rooms.”Unfortunately in this day and age the guy’s not out when the umpire raises his finger, he’s out when Ian Chappell or Mark Nicholas says he’s the out,” Richardson said. “The modern view is we need to use technology.”Simon Katich, Australia’s opening batsman, said the system worked well for the team in South Africa at the start of the year. “We tended to use it at the right time,” he said. “We certainly had no dramas on it.”David Williams, the West Indies coach, said it was good to know the decisions would be well-made. “If the technology is there and used properly then I have absolutely no problem with it,” he said.Richardson wants to make one thing clear: it won’t be perfect. While the human element is being downgraded, there is still scope for doubt. “It’s so important for the person at home watching on television to understand that we are still not going to get 100% of the decisions right, because there are going to be some decisions that aren’t conclusive from the technology point of view. The obvious ones we’ll eradicate.”

Afridi’s omission makes it unlikely that he will win his place back for Pakistan’s home Test series against West Indies in January

Danyal Rasool04-Dec-2024Shaheen Shah Afridi has been left out of Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series in South Africa in December and January. Afridi, who was released from Pakistan’s Test side after their defeat in the first Test against England in October, remains part of the white-ball squads for the tour. Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, who were released alongside Afridi after that first Test, return to the Test squad.Afridi’s absence specifically from the Tests, though, appears to signal a point in his career where the red-ball format has become less of a priority than it has before, a state that may even become permanent for him. When he was dropped in October, the belief was that the more pace-friendly surfaces in South Africa, where he played his second and third Test matches five years earlier, would suit him better as he tries to return to form in the format.Since returning from a knee injury he picked up during a Test in Sri Lanka in July 2022, Afridi has played just a handful of Tests, and been ineffective while doing so; in six games, he has 17 wickets at an average of 45.47. His omission from these Tests makes it exceedingly unlikely he will win his place back for Pakistan’s home Test series against West Indies in January, following which Pakistan have no Test matches at all till October 2025.There’s also a return for seamer Mohammad Abbas, who last played Test cricket for Pakistan in 2021. Abbas, whose metronomic accuracy and ability to seam the ball initially saw him come into the Pakistan side when they played their home Tests in the UAE, is the only fast bowler in the squad who was also in the side for Pakistan’s last Test tour to South Africa in 2018-19.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sajid Khan, meanwhile, has been left out of the travelling party, Alongside Noman Ali, Sajid was instrumental in turning the series against England around when Pakistan rejigged their pitches to suit the spinners, taking 19 wickets across the two Tests. But surfaces in South Africa will be vastly different to those, and Pakistan travel with just the one spinner, and have opted for Noman’s left-arm orthodox spin instead.That means Abrar Ahmed, at the start of this season considered Pakistan’s premier Test spinner, has also been omitted.Khurram Shahzad returns to the Test side for the first time since a recurring rib injury sidelined him following Pakistan’s home Tests against Bangladesh in August. Initially, he was thought to be out for just a few days, but it would turn into a much longer absence as he missed the entirety of the England Test series. Since returning at the end of October, though, he has been in sparkling form, taking 13 wickets in two Quaid-e-Azam trophy matches, and a further 15 in three innings against the Sri Lanka A side.It leaves Pakistan’s squad somewhat bereft of high pace, a quality more valuable in South Africa than perhaps anywhere else. Naseem is Pakistan’s only true fast bowler for the series, with Aamer Jamal, Shahzad, Abbas and Mir Hamza the others in the squad. This is likely to stand in stark contrast to South Africa’s Test squad, which currently possesses a battery of fast bowlers who can push into the high 140s and even beyond.There’s much less flux in Pakistan’s white-ball squads, with Pakistan opting to stick largely to the team that played the ODI and T20I series in Australia. Sufiyan Muqeem’s bright start in Zimbabwe has seen him rewarded, as he keeps his place for both white-ball teams against South Africa, while Omair Yousuf is part of the T20I squad.Pakistan play three T20Is and three ODIs in South Africa between December 10 and 22, and two Test matches in Centurion and Cape Town beginning on December 26 and January 7. South Africa is, statistically, Pakistan’s least happy hunting ground in Test cricket, where they have won just two Test matches, and never a Test series.

Pakistan squads for South Africa tour

Tests: Shan Masood (capt), Saud Shakeel (vice-capt), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan (wk)
T20Is: Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan (wk)

“We are just off our game at this moment… we are getting there,” Klaasen says as the losses pile up

Firdose Moonda11-Sep-2023At what point should a team that has lost five successive fixtures across white-ball formats start to panic? Or, if that sounds too extreme, when should that team, with the knowledge that a World Cup is less than a month away, begin to show some signs of concern?Not yet, according to Heinrich Klaasen.South Africa’s No. 5 put the team’s poor form (they lost the T20Is 3-0 and are currently 2-0 down in the ODIs against Australia) down to the simple – but not small – matter of not doing the foundational stuff well.Related

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“They [Australia] are doing the basics very well and we are quite far off on our basics,” Klaasen said in Potchefstroom ahead of the third ODI. “And the intensity they are playing at at this moment is far, far higher than ours. We need to raise our intensity a little bit.”He called it “a good challenge” for South Africa that they need to win the next three games to take the series, and even better that the gauntlet has been laid down in Potchefstroom, a venue Klaasen claims opposition teams “don’t particularly enjoy”.Marnus Labuschagne, who grew up 40 kilometres away from Potchefstroom in Klerksdorp and whose friends and family are expected to arrive in numbers, may disagree. But for Klaasen, the absence of distraction and South Africa’s strong record give them the upper hand.”We all stay in the [student] village. It’s nice and quiet here. We don’t give them the glamorous life that you get elsewhere in South Africa, so speaking to the guys, teams don’t particularly enjoy it,” Klaasen said. “But we love this venue.”South Africa have won seven of the eight ODIs they have played in Potchefstroom, including a six-wicket win when they blanked Australia 3-0 in 2020. Then, it looked like the team had turned a corner after a period of mostly administrative upheaval. Now, they will hope to do the same with only three competitive fixtures before the World Cup and, as Klaasen put it, at least a 20% improvement the need of the hour. “We’re performing at 60%, if we’re honest, perhaps even lower. If we can get that around 80% to 95% – I don’t think anyone gets it to 100% – we’ll be in a good position.”They will have to do that with three big questions to answer, starting with who is able to take the field.Anrich Nortje is out with lower-back spasms•MLC

Nortje’s fitness under the scanner

South Africa started the series without death-bowling specialist Sisanda Magala, who was nursing a knee niggle. He is available for selection for the third ODI but Anrich Nortje has been ruled out with lower-back spasms. Nortje also didn’t play the first match in the series, for the same reason, and only managed five overs in the second. He is undergoing scans in Johannesburg, which will have the medical staff holding their breath.It was in 2021-22 that Nortje was out of action for seven months with hip and back injuries that took longer than expected to heal. He is one of six quicks in the World Cup squad – South Africa are relying on their traditional strength – and, after missing the 2019 World Cup with a fractured thumb, Nortje will not want history to repeat itself.With concerns over both Magala and Nortje, it is likely that if South Africa need a replacement player, they will look to Wayne Parnell, which may also help the…

… balance of the squad

Currently, they have only one allrounder – Marco Jansen – in the World Cup 15, which is far fewer than most other squads. Australia, as a direct comparison, have five allrounders in their playing group, which lengthens their batting order and gives them several options with the ball.While Klaasen thinks “if we nail our basics, then our balance is perfect”, he need only look at some of the other squads to wonder if his statement should be taken with a pinch of salt. England have six allrounders, including two spin-bowling allrounders, New Zealand and Netherlands have five each, and India three. South Africa may consider Aiden Markram a second allrounder, and Magala, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj almost-allrounders, but even then they all need to step up to avoid the XI lacking something.That said, a fairly similar squad beat England earlier this year to give South Africa much-needed World Cup Super League points so it may just be a case of…

… shaking off the rust

South Africa were out of action for five months before Australia arrived, and though many of their players were active in T20 leagues over the southern-hemisphere winter, they may still be finding their feet as a group. Again, Klaasen didn’t agree but urged some patience with the playing group, which will look to get things right over the next six days.”We are professional cricketers and the majority of the guys have been playing around the world. We are just off our game at this moment,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time. Maybe we are trying a little bit too hard. We are getting there. Hopefully we’ll get it right tomorrow.”

Fast bowler Rusty Theron is also included after missing the Ireland T20Is due to injury

Peter Della Penna22-Jun-2022Former Melbourne Renegades fast bowler Cameron Stevenson has been included in USA’s T20I squad for the first time as one of several changes to the group headed to Zimbabwe next month for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B tournament, from July 10 to 17.Stevenson, 29, has played 12 ODIs for USA, including five during the recent tour of Texas, since making his List A debut for the national team in the CWI Super50 tournament at Trinidad in November 2019. However, he has not played a T20 match since suiting up for the Renegades on New Year’s Day 2017, when he took the wicket of Kevin Pietersen at the MCG in a seven-run win over Melbourne Stars.Stevenson effectively takes a spot made available by the absence of Ian Holland, who was USA’s standout player at the ICC Americas T20 World Cup Qualifier in Antigua last November when his team-leading 10 wickets in six matches propelled USA to a first-place finish and a spot in Zimbabwe. But Holland is unavailable to tour Zimbabwe due to his County cricket commitments at Hampshire.Fast bowler Rusty Theron is also included after missing the Ireland T20Is due to injury. It will be the 36-year-old’s first tour of the African continent with USA since making the switch in 2019 having previously played nine T20Is and four ODIs for his native South Africa from 2010 to 2012.The trickle-down effect of the Covid-effected T20I series against Ireland in December has also had an impact on USA’s squad for Zimbabwe. Sushant Modani and Yasir Mohammad have retained their spots in USA’s T20I squad after impressing as last-minute replacements against Ireland when four players – including Steven Taylor and vice-captain Aaron Jones – were ruled out in December due to Covid.Modani took advantage of his opportunity and scored a fifty on T20I debut in a win over Ireland. He was also one of USA’s most in-form batters in the recent ODIs in Texas, scoring three fifties and a maiden ODI century across the eight games. Teenage legspinner Mohammad also made his T20I debut against Ireland and played a crucial role in the two matches to maintain his spot for the Zimbabwe tour, effectively replacing left-arm spinner Karima Gore who was initially in USA’s T20I squad against Ireland before being ruled out with Covid.The arrival of Stevenson combined with the emergence of Modani and Mohammad – plus the return of Taylor, Jones and Jaskaran Malhotra, who also missed the Ireland matches with Covid – means a number of players make way. Ryan Scott, who made 8 and 11 in his two innings opening the batting against Ireland, has been left out. Xavier Marshall has also been dropped after scoring 4 off 11 in his only innings against Ireland. Teenage allrounder Ritwik Behera was also dropped after struggling in his pair of opportunities against Ireland, making a four-ball duck followed by 16 off 23 balls. Jessy Singh and Ali Sheikh were also left out after not taking the field against Ireland.USA’s squad leaves later this month to begin their preparation for the T20 World Cup Qualifier with four T20 matches in Namibia – two each against Namibia and Jersey – before moving on to Zimbabwe where they will play two more warmup matches against the Netherlands on July 6 and 7.USA have been placed in Group A of the Qualifier to be staged in Bulawayo where they will face Jersey, Singapore and Zimbabwe. The top two teams in each four-team group – Hong Kong, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Uganda are in Group B – will advance to the semi-finals where the two winners will advance to the T20 World Cup in Australia this October.USA T20I squad: Monank Patel (capt./wk), Aaron Jones (vice-captain), Marty Kain, Ali Khan, Jaskaran Malhotra, Sushant Modani, Yasir Mohammad, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nisarg Patel, Gajanand Singh, Cameron Stevenson, Steven Taylor, Rusty Theron, Vatsal Vaghela

Chennai clash will be first Test match on UK terrestrial TV since the 2005 Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2021Test cricket is set to return to free-to-air television in the UK for the first time in more than 15 years, after Channel 4 struck a deal with Star Sports, the global rights holders, to broadcast England’s Test series against India.The four-match series, which begins in Chennai on Friday, will be the first Tests to be shown by a terrestrial broadcaster in the UK since Channel 4 themselves hosted the fifth and final match of the 2005 Ashes.However, the broadcaster did make a return to cricket in a one-off capacity for the 2019 World Cup final, when England’s thrilling Super Over victory over New Zealand at Lord’s attracted 15.4 million viewers over the course of the day.Subsequent ECB research suggested that a third of that figure was watching cricket for the first time, and with the UK currently under national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Channel 4 are understood to be confident of attracting significant interest in a series that will be on air from 4am until past midday – and also features a day-night fixture that will begin at 9am UK time.Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer Ian Katz said: “This is fantastic news for all cricket fans in the UK. It’s been a long 16-year wait for the return of live Test cricket to free to air television but it couldn’t have come at a better time. What better antidote to the lockdown blues than an England Test series in sunny India.”Channel 4’s Head of Sport Pete Andrews and Penny Mills, Head of Sports Rights, led the broadcaster’s negotiations to secure the deal.Andrews added: “We’re delighted to be showing live Test cricket on Channel 4 again and given the recent performances of both sides this series is set to be a cracker. We’re thrilled to have struck this deal with Star Sports.”Aside from the last Ashes series in Australia in 2017-18, which was shown on BT Sport, this will be the first overseas England Test not to have been shown on Sky Sports since their coverage of England cricket began on the tour of the Caribbean in 1989-90.Channel 4 will take the world live feed commentary from Star, and is expected to announce its studio presentation team in due course.

The former India captain feels they can succeed in ICC tournaments provided they always think like a team

Sreshth Shah17-Oct-20192:55

I am like everyone else, but control emotions better – Dhoni

One of MS Dhoni’s defining attributes is his ability to stay ice cool when the spotlight is on him.We saw it early in his captaincy when navigated past the noise that came with the retirement of seniors such as Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. Then came Chennai Super Kings’ suspension due to misdemeanours outside the cricket field, and Dhoni – once again under the pressure of the public to react – offered pretty much nothing to the world while dealing with it. Now, with his final years approaching, the 38-year-old Dhoni has revealed the secret behind his mental strength, and it involves channelling one’s emotions correctly.”I am like everyone else but I control my emotions better than some of the other individuals,” Dhoni, making an appearance at a commercial event, was quoted as saying by . “I would say, I feel equally frustrated. I also feel angry at times, disappointed. But what is important is that none of these feelings are constructive.”What needs to be done right now is more important than any of these emotions. What is the next thing I can plan? Who is the next individual whom I can use? Once I get into it, I am controlling my emotions in a much better way.”Dhoni was making his first commercial appearance since the loss at the World Cup semi-final in July. Under his captaincy, India won three ICC tournaments, but since their triumph at the 2013 Champions Trophy, the team has been trophy-less. Ganguly, the BCCI president-elect, too brought up the issue of an empty cabinet even though the team had played in five ICC tournaments since then.India did make it to the semi-final of each event and are currently preparing for the T20 World Cup in October 2020. Dhoni felt success there will depend on the team thinking like a team, throwing back to a moment from the 2007 T20 World Cup win when he made a crucial but unconventional call to use two part-timers in Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag in the group stage ‘bowl-out’ victory over Pakistan.”What you want to achieve as a team is to win the tournament but that’s a long-term goal,” he said. “Ultimately, what you do is to break it into smaller things. And It’s not always about few of the individuals performing a lot better than the whole lot. What you want is for everybody to contribute. That one wicket at that right moment, that outstanding catch.”Ultimately, winning or losing comes to each and every individual who is part of the team. In a team sport, everybody has a role and responsibility. Throughout the [2007] T20 World Cup, the roles and responsibilities given to individuals was fulfilled to the best manner possible. That was the reason we won the tournament.”There was something particular about that World Cup. The ‘bowl-out’ was one of the things. I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice ‘Bowl Out’ before or after the warm-up. We said it very clear, it is for fun but at the same time, whoever hits the wicket most number of times, we will use him if the situation arises.”It has got nothing to do with I am a bowler, this is my job. It’s like a performance thing and we will keep doing it everyday and whoever has the best hit-ratio are the ones who will be used.”Dhoni has not been picked in any of India’s squads since they were knocked out of the World Cup and is unlikely to play in the upcoming T20Is against Bangladesh and West Indies either as the side looks to build towards their squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup. India are set to play an ODI series against West Indies starting December 15, but whether Dhoni will feature there, is yet to be known.

The Storm were guided home by England captain Heather Knight in a high-scoring match which also featured a century opening stand by Yorkshire Diamonds

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2018
ScorecardWestern Storm continued their march towards Kia Super League Finals Day with a fifth win from six matches, this time by seven wickets chasing 173 against Yorkshire Diamonds at Scarborough.The defending champions, replying to 172 for 5, were fired once more by Indian star Smriti Mandhana, with the 22-year-old continuing a sparkling run of form with 56 off 36 balls. She shared an unbroken opening partnership of 101 inside 10 overs with Rachel Priest.Mandhana added to scores of 48, 37, 52 not out, 43 not out and 102 last time out against Lancashire Thunder.The Storm, seen home with four balls to spare by captain Heather Knight’s unbeaten 45 off 37, are now level on 23 points with Loughborough Lightning at the top of the table, albeit ahead on net run-rate.Diamonds openers Beth Mooney and Lauren Winfield also shared 119 inside 14 overs, with Australian Mooney leading the way with 69 off 42 balls after the hosts won the toss. Winfield added 48 at a fast scoring North Marine Road.After conceding only four runs from the first two overs, bowled by Anya Shrubsole and Claire Nicholas, the Storm were punished by Mooney and Winfield as they erred in length.Mooney posted the Diamonds record individual score and Winfield backed her up as the hosts reached 100 in the 12th over before being bowled by Knight’s offspinners in the 14th.Mooney, who had earlier reached 50 off 34 balls, was then one of three batsmen run out going for two as the score fell to 128 for 2 in the 15th.Chamari Atapattu was another. In the last over, the Sri Lankan was run out coming back to the non-striker’s end following a direct hit from Shrubsole running around from long-on. The previous ball, Shrubsole had run out Thea Brookes from the same position to the striker’s end.That meant only Knight and left-arm seamer Naomi Dattani struck with the ball for the Storm.Priest and Mandhana flew out of the blocks in reply. Priest hit three fours off the first over from Beth Langston and hoisted Delissa Kimmince over deep midwicket for the first six of the match as the visitors moved to 41 without loss in the third over.Mandhana skied a tough return catch to Atapattu running back, which went down on 17, and you felt Yorkshire had to take any half opportunity to dismiss the left-hander.Later in the fifth over, Mandhana lofted two sixes over long-on and then pulled Katherine Brunt over wide long-leg as the score moved to 69 without loss after six.Mandhana reached her latest fifty in 29 balls immediately before the Storm reached 100 in the 10th, although Priest holed out off Katie Levick’s legspin later in the over.Mandhana had her share luck. Prior to being bowled around her legs by Atapattu’s offspin she had aerially landed a few balls short or wide of fielders.With the run out of West Indian Stefanie Taylor, things got tighter than once looked likely at 127 for 3 in the 15th. But Knight saw them home, needing four from the last over, as the Diamonds were hurt by conceding 18 wides.Yorkshire have now lost four of six and face an uphill battle to finish in the top three places to qualify for Finals Day.

Luke Wells continued his impressive start to the season with a second successive century at Hove as Sussex delighted their new skipper Chris Nash by dominating the first day against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2017
ScorecardLuke Wells continued his impressive start to the season with a second successive century at Hove as Sussex dominated the first day against Worcestershire.The visitors, who have won their first four games in the Specsavers County Championship, employed eight bowlers after putting Sussex in but Wells led a spirited response by a side still coming to terms with Luke Wright’s decision to step down as captain on Wednesday and who have lost three of their four matches so far.The left-hander followed up his career-best 258 at Hove a fortnight ago with an unbeaten 139 while Harry Finch (82) and Stiaan van Zyl (54) gave him excellent support as Sussex ended the first day on 339 for 3.Worcestershire bowled tidily enough but Finch blunted their efforts to make early inroads by compiling his highest Championship score before Wells and van Zyl took full toll of a tiring attack later in the day.Wright’s replacement Chris Nash has struggled this season but looked to have found some form as he helped Finch negate the new ball threat before tamely picking out mid-wicket when he mistimed a pull off Joe Leach on 22.But that was Worcestershire’s only success before lunch as Finch and Wells, cautiously at first before picking up the pace in the afternoon, added 125 in 35 overs for the second wicket.Finch’s 50 came off 90 balls and having made played few false shots it was a surprise when Josh Tongue drew him forward at the start of a new spell and found the edge to slip after Finch had struck 11 fours.Luke Wells helped Sussex get over the shock of Luke Wright’s resignation•Getty Images

But as the ball softened and neither swung or deviated much off the seam, Wells and van Zyl settled in to put on 137 in 37 overs either side of tea. Wells took two off Nathan Lyon, the Australia off-spinner, to reach the 15th hundred of his career and once past the landmark he went on the offensive, just as he had done against Durham.One short-armed jab from a perfectly respectable Leach delivery outside off stump that whistled first-bounce to the mid-wicket boundary was the shot of a player in prime form while South African van Zyl looked just as assured until he was bowled off an inside edge by Ed Barnard just after Worcestershire had taken the new ball.Wright pulled Barnard for six to get off the mark and a further four boundaries in an unbeaten 27 while the hugely impressive Wells has so far faced 255 balls and hit 20 fours.

Nick Browne rediscovered the form that brought him five centuries last season as he anchored Essex’s innings at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2016
ScorecardNick Browne made an impressive 154 not out•Getty Images

Nick Browne rediscovered the form that brought him five centuries last season as he anchored Essex’s innings at Chelmsford.Browne’s unbeaten 154 was not only his highest first-class score but it also more than doubled the 150 runs he had managed from seven previous innings.The opener equalled his previous best of 151 not out at Leicester last year with a straight drive off Shiv Thakor after more than six hours at the crease.At that point he had batted for 293 balls with 23 fours. His sterling effort put the Specsavers County Championship Division Two leaders in a strong position to dictate the course of this match.The left-hander was particularly strong off his legs and was textbook-style in his straight-driving. But he did allow himself one extravagant shot, pulling Thakor through midwicket when he was well past his ton.Browne gave one chance during his knock, and that in reaching his half-century off 78 balls. Chesney Hughes at slip got a hand to an edge, but could not stop the ball speeding to the ropes for Brown’s 11th boundary.He had faced another 125 balls when he punched Madsen through the covers to reach a century that included a further seven fours.The 25-year-old put on 111 in 41 overs with Ravi Bopara, their third-wicket partnership ending two balls after Browne passed three-figures. Bopara finished one short of a second half-century of the season when he was lbw to Thakor.Derbyshire took up the option of an uncontested toss and elected to bowl. It seemed a puzzling decision at the time, and by stumps it looked even more debatable.Essex started serenely with Browne and Jaik Mickleburgh putting on 61 runs in 19 overs before Tony Palladino took the first of two wickets in three balls.Mickleburgh was given a life on four when Matt Critchley spilled a decent chance at point. And he had added another 20 runs before being trapped to one high on his pads.He was followed by the in-form Tom Westley, who had scored 432 runs in his previous six Championship innings this year. He lasted three balls, without scoring, before he was pinned in his crease by a ball that swung in to him.It was an untimely duck as England batting coach Mark Ramprakash had travelled to Chelmsford specifically to check up on him.Derbyshire’s seam attack toiled but still restricted Essex to just 80 runs in an afternoon session that was alleviated by the introduction of spinners Critchley and Wes Madsen.Browne greeted Critchley’s arrival by rocking on to his back foot to punch another boundary through the offside. And Bopara punished the 19-year-old leg-spinner by thumping a wayward full-toss for four.If Essex had been reliant on boundaries in the first two sessions, Daniel Lawrence had Browne scampering singles, twos and threes as the Derbyshire visibly wilted in the field. Browne, however, still looked spritely.The giant Anguillan Hughes missed his second chance of the day when he was slow to react to Lawrence’s steepling miscue that landed two feet beyond him at midwicket. By the end the miss had cost Derbyshire 30 additional runs from Lawrence’s bat, including one sumptuous on-drive for four off Palladino.Lawrence also made it to fifty by the close, by which time the fourth-wicket stand was worth 103.