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When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed

Tim Wigmore at Hove01-May-2013
ScorecardVarun Chopra matched the class of Jonathan Trott•Getty Images

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed, featuring an England spinner with 164 Test wickets against two of the most reassuring sights in England’s Test batting line-up – and another man who might, in time, join them there.Jonathan Trott is often depicted as a dour Mr Dependable, but his unbeaten 87 included several shots that, had they come from any other bat, would have elicited purrs. A respectable off-stump delivery from Andrew Miller was emphatically dispatched over long on for six; the next ball, a refined late cut went to the boundary too. It was not a sight that Sussex’s skipper Ed Joyce, who had shelled a hard, but eminently catchable, chance in the slips when Trott had 1, would have relished.Trott had a familiar ally in a 131-run stand with Ian Bell, who was captaining Warwickshire in place of Jim Troughton, missing with a shoulder injury. Grown men may still have nightmares about Bell’s shot first ball in Ahmedabad – caught at mid-off attempting to harrumph the ball out of the ground – but it would seem that Bell is not one of them: he shimmied down the wicket to his seventh ball, from Chris Nash’s offspin and lofted him over mid-on for four. There were a few further examples of graceful footwork later against Monty Panesar.While Bell and Trott are two Test batsmen of the highest order, it was to Varun Chopra’s great credit that he looked barely less assured at the crease. Playing attractively, especially on the offside, it was a matter of considerable surprise when Chopra fell for 87 attempting to cut Chris Nash’s useful offspin, and was so denied a century to go with his match-saving effort at Taunton last week. But he had still made his mark, becoming the first man to pass 500 runs for the season, and must have eyes on the batting Holy Grail of a thousand before the end of May.Nick Compton, the man who almost passed that landmark last season, is now an established Test player, and it looks eminently possible that Chopra, 25, will become one too: an extra cover drive off Panesar was timed with the crispness one would associate with an international player. There are legitimate questions over whether elements of Chopra’s game – principally his tendency to play with his bat away from his body and occasional dalliances with driving uppishly – would be a hindrance at Test level, but if he continues to score with such proficiency an opportunity will be forthcoming.While a knee injury cost Sussex their premier fast bowler, Australian Steve Magoffin, Chopra still had to encounter a highly disciplined attack: even on a flat track in near-perfect batting conditions, Sussex limited Warwickshire to under three runs an over.Panesar was typically probing but endured a disappointing day, seldom threatening his England team-mates and, attempting to find the rough outside legstump, even delivering two leg side wides in one over. He has now claimed only one wicket for 238 runs so far this season.That Sussex ended on near-parity, despite the serenity with which England’s Test batsmen played, owed to Chris Jordan. Jordan may have begun his Sussex career with 6 for 48 at Leeds but, if anything, he was even more admirable here, consistently hostile throughout the day. A fiery spell with the second new ball earned the rare distinction of claiming Bell fending off a short ball and he promptly claimed nightwatchman Chris Wright too. Bell later said “it’s certainly a different game if you hit the pitch that bit harder”, suggesting that Warwickshire intend to replicate the method that earned Jordan his success.Jordan should have had another wicket, too, but Mike Yardy shelled Tim Ambrose in the slips in the day’s final over. No one begrudged him a quick visit to the beer festival after play.

In a further shake-up of Glamorgan’s structures, Matthew Maynard has resigned as the county’s director of cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2010In a further shake-up of Glamorgan’s structures, Matthew Maynard has resigned as the county’s director of cricket after learning that Colin Metson, an ex-county wicket-keeper and current committee member, was to be brought in above him to head Glamorgan’s coaching staff. It was believed that Maynard would then have been demoted to a lesser coaching role, but instead he opted to tender his resignation with immediate effect.”I believe my position at the club has been made untenable with the recent situation,” said Maynard, who played nearly 750 matches for the club between 1985 and 2005 and took up the role of cricket manager in 2007. “I would like to thank everyone involved with Glamorgan cricket over the last three years for their help and support. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and would like to wish the club and the players all the very best going forward.”Maynard’s resignation comes in the same week as Jamie Dalrymple’s replacement as captain by South African batsman Alviro Petersen at the county. It has emerged that Petersen did not discuss his position with Maynard before signing his contract, and it is unclear whether Dalrymple – or indeed Tom Maynard, Matthew’s son – will remain with Glamorgan.”Decisions about overseas players and captains should be made by the cricket manager and obviously this decision [to appoint Petersen] has not been made by Matthew Maynard,” former Glamorgan captain Steve James told on Tuesday, before Maynard had announced his resignation. “I’m not sure [if Maynard will leave]. I’d be very surprised if Jamie Dalrymple stays now.”

Ryan Harris, the injured fast bowler, is desperate to prove his fitness for the India one-day series in October so he can enhance his Ashes credentials

Peter English18-Aug-2010Ryan Harris, the injured fast bowler, is desperate to prove his fitness for the India one-day series in October so he can enhance his Ashes credentials. There were fears for Harris when he left England in July for knee surgery less than a year after a previous operation, but he has already started running and plans to be bowling in the next fortnight.”I’m definitely aiming for India,” Harris told Cricinfo. “I was hoping to be up for selection for the Test series but I’ve been told that’s a bit soon. I won’t have had the volume of bowling I’d need to go into a Test match, so I’m aiming for the one-day series.”Harris transformed into a dependable international bowler during a highly successful six-month run and is one of a core of fast bowlers on the comeback trail. Ben Hilfenhaus returned from knee tendonitis against Pakistan in England last month and Peter Siddle has been picked in Victoria’s Champions League squad for the upcoming event in South Africa.If Siddle goes well in that tournament he could also be a contender for a spot in the one-day squad for the three ODIs in India, which begin after the two Tests in the first half of October. Harris won his initial promotion due to Siddle’s injury but quickly became a valuable member of the limited-overs side, as well as appearing in his first two Tests against New Zealand.The knee injury was poorly timed, coming just before the Pakistan Tests, and he knows where he now stands in the pecking order. “At the moment, [Doug] Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, [Mitchell] Johnson, Siddle, I’m definitely behind those four and me and Clint McKay are vying for that next spot,” he said. “I always said I was in there as a replacement for those guys who were injured and those guys were doing pretty well before they were injured.”After the unscheduled lay-off Harris is “refreshed and ready to go”. He is pleased he got a longer break following a busy campaign, while being disappointed that the cartilage in his right knee forced him to give up his Test spot. “I really wanted to try and push through those Tests [against Pakistan] because I saw those as leading into this series against India and into our summer,” he said. “I guess when I look back now it has been good, but I look back to Christmas last year and I hadn’t played any cricket. So I was fresh and keen to play as much as I could.”Harris entered with consecutive five-wicket hauls against Pakistan in January and remained in form until the injury intervened following 10 wickets in the England series. In between those ODI engagements he collected nine victims in Tests at Wellington and Hamilton, an initiation which included bowling into a 100kph wind at the Basin Reserve.”That was probably the hardest spell of bowling in my career,” he said. “I wouldn’t take it back though. If it means bowling in a Test, I’ll do it.” The gutsy contribution earned him more respect than the batch of wickets.Over the past couple of years Harris has gained a couple of kilograms and a few kilometres of pace, putting him in the mid-140s. Add in some late swing and seam and he is an extremely tricky prospect. He will definitely be considered for the Ashes, although the selectors seem to be leaning towards an initial pace trio of Siddle, Johnson and Hilfenhaus.”The best thing for me is to hope I’m fit for India, and if I get picked for the one-day series to try my best over there and hopefully get back to where I was bowling,” Harris said. “If not, the season for Queensland looks exciting anyway. I’ll try to bowl my heart out there and be ready to go if someone isn’t performing or gets injured.” Just like he did last season.

Daniel Vettori has experienced a strong sense of déjà vu over the past five days

Brydon Coverdale at the Basin Reserve23-Mar-2010Daniel Vettori has experienced a strong sense of déjà vu over the past five days. A first-innings team failure, an admirable but futile second-innings fight and a heavy reliance on the lower-order batting have been recurring features of New Zealand’s Test play over the past few years. But despite being bundled out for 157 and being made to follow-on, Vettori is not convinced bolstering the batting for the second Test in Hamilton would make any difference.”I think it needs a run-scoring extra batsman,” Vettori said when asked if the team needed another specialist. “It’s all well and good to pick someone. Most of our runs came from Brendon [McCullum] and myself, so if we brought another batsman in it would just push us down. Whether that is the right answer or not, I’m not sure.”He has a point. Apart from the 83 from Tim McIntosh in the second innings, there weren’t many contributions of note from the top five in the ten-wicket defeat. Peter Ingram will be under pressure to hold his place after making 5 and 1, BJ Watling’s second-day golden duck was followed by an unconvincing 33, and Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill made middling contributions without really having an impact.New Zealand will choose their squad for the second Test on Wednesday and it is unclear if the balance of the side will be altered. Batting at No. 6, Vettori made 46 and 77 while McCullum scored 24 and 104, but it is first-innings runs that New Zealand need to find.However, a strong bowling line-up is just as important for a team that took only five wickets for the match. “We obviously need to lift a lot, particularly our first-innings efforts,” Vettori said. “We fought hard in that second innings but we need to show more penetration with the ball in that first innings and then stand up a bit more with the bat.”It’s been a trait of ours, particularly at the Basin, to get bowled out cheaply in the first innings and then fight pretty hard in the second. We can’t afford to do that. We can’t afford to be on the back foot at any stage against Australia in Hamilton.”The challenge is replicating the effort that New Zealand displayed on the weather-affected fourth day, when they lost only one wicket and pushed themselves into a strong position to save the match. The same fight could not be repeated on the fifth morning and they lost their last four wickets for 19 runs, allowing Australia a comfortable chase of 106.”The fourth day was obviously our best day of the Test match,” Vettori said. “It’s something that we need to replicate over the whole five days to give ourselves a chance against Australia. Unfortunately we weren’t able to build that pressure for long enough. After what we did yesterday it was a little bit disappointing to front up today and lose quick wickets. We wanted to bat for a long period of time but that’s the nature of the game.”The key wicket was that of McCullum, who began the day on 94 and required only three balls to bring up his fifth Test century. In the fourth over McCullum edged to slip and was disappointed not to go on and bat New Zealand into a better position.”I was pleased with how I was able to adjust my game from the way I played in the first innings and to try and give us an opportunity to put a partnership on with Dan and then Daryl [Tuffey] as well,” McCullum said. “Against a very good team it rates as my best Test century. But when you lose a game it doesn’t quite have the same feeling.”

Gloucestershire seamer Josh Shaw joins exodus after agreeing Somerset switch

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2025Northamptonshire have re-signed Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australian seamer Harry Conway as overseas players for next season.Conway, who took 20 wickets in four Championship appearances earlier this year, will return for the start of the 2026 campaign. The 33-year-old is expected to be available for the first block of seven games in April and May.Chahal, meanwhile, has agreed to return for a third consecutive summer at Northants, joining for the second half of the season to play in the County Championship and Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Overall, he has taken 44 first-class wickets and seven in List A for the club.”Yuzi is a magnificent asset to this squad,” Northamptonshire’s head coach, Darren Lehmann, said. “His record across his career speaks for itself and he brings so much class and experience to the group. I loved working with him this year and am excited to go again in 2026.””For young spinners in the group like Nirvan Ramesh and Stuart van der Merwe, having Yuzi around to guide them will be a huge plus for their game.”On Conway, Lehmann added: “Harry is an excellent addition for 2026. His form last year was fantastic, and I am excited to work with him for a longer period. His ability to take wickets on all surfaces and presence around the team makes him an invaluable player.”Northants have also signed batter Louis Kimber on a two-year deal from Leicestershire. Largely known as a white-ball hitter and occasional offspinner, Kimber made headlines in 2023 after scoring 243 off 127 balls in the County Championship at Hove.”Louis brings with him a huge amount of knowledge and experience around county cricket as well as boosting our batting firepower,” Lehmann said. “He will no doubt attract people to Wantage Road with his explosive batting and I can’t wait to start working with him.”

Josh Shaw joins Somerset

Josh Shaw spent six years at Gloucestershire•Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Gloucestershire have seen another member of their seam-bowling group depart, after Josh Shaw signed for Somerset earlier this week.Shaw, 29, had been under contract at Bristol since 2019, having previously played on loan from Yorkshire. He follows Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancashire), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Archie Bailey (Durham), Tom Price and Dom Goodman (both Sussex) in leaving over the close season.”We have seen first-hand how impactful Josh can be,” Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said. “He has the ability to swing and seam the ball, and he is an excellent addition to our bowling unit.”We are fully aware of Josh’s strong character traits and his willingness to be the best version of himself, which will add real value to the dressing room as well as on the pitch. These attributes will be vital for us as we continue to compete across all competitions.”

It will take a lot of rain to stop England from scoring 35 runs or India from taking four wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20253:37

Root: ‘Amazing spectacle to look forward to’ on fifth day

After the climax of The Oval Test spilled over into the final day because of poor light and rain in what has been a thrilling five-Test series, it’s fair to wonder what the weather on the 25th and last day of the series will be like.There is rain around, but there’s no reason to believe there won’t be time to get a result.Both England and India currently have a clear shot at victory, which keeps the possibilities of 2-2 or 3-1 still open. While England are just 35 runs away from lifting the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India need another four wickets, including that of Chris Woakes, who is ready to bat one-handed if needed despite a suspected dislocated shoulder, which is in a sling.The weather forecast for Monday in London says it will mostly be cloudy and breezy with a couple of showers in the afternoon, expected around 2pm local time (6.30pm IST). If the first session is clear, with an 11am local time (3.30pm IST) start, the Test shouldn’t go into the afternoon. According to BBC Weather, there is some chance of rain even around 1pm local time, which, again, might not affect the outcome.The weather has been a feature of this Test – it has rained on three of the four days so far. In the dying moments of the final session of the fourth day, it was bad light that forced the players off the field at around 5.30pm local time, when at least half-an-hour’s play was still left, apart from the extended half-hour which allows action to go on till 6.30pm. It started to rain soon after the players went off and stumps were finally called at 6.01pm.

Tourists declare on 413 after 67-over innings on opening day of tour in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2023SL President’s XI 93 for 2 trail England Lions 413 for 8 dec (Lees 103, Haynes 64*, Bohannon 58, Abell 57, Smith 50) by 320 runsAlex Lees lived up to the fast-paced standards that he had instilled in him during his summer in England’s Test ranks, by striking a 94-ball century on the opening day of England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka.Lees, who debuted in the Caribbean in March last year, played all seven of England’s Tests in a remarkable summer under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, but was dropped for the recent tour of Pakistan after making 327 runs at 25.15, including two half-centuries.His omission from the ECB’s list of centrally contracted players was a further sign that he had slipped down the pecking order, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett preferred in Pakistan, but his performance against a Sri Lanka President’s XI was clear evidence that the Test team’s new mindset is firmly entrenched in his psyche.He struck 12 fours and two sixes in his innings of 103, the second-fastest century in England Lions’ history, behind Luke Wright – the new national selector – who reached the mark in 91 balls in New Zealand in 2009.Speaking ahead of the tour, Lees acknowledged that an England recall might not be on the immediate horizon, given the importance of backing the Test incumbents in the current regime. But despite his intermittent success, particularly in two key run-chases against New Zealand and India, he admitted that a top score of 67 in ten Tests had been his downfall.”I think I enjoyed being in that environment, especially in the summer playing in a successful side,” he said. “It was brilliant. I think my reflections on playing those games, I sort of played pretty competently but just lacked that big score which is obviously the difference. As a top-order batter, you’re averaging mid-twenties to mid-forties for the summer which, in essence, is what your Test summer is built around.”Nevertheless, Lees’ influence rubbed off throughout a Lions batting card with a very “Bazball” look to it, as England declared on 413 for 8 after 67 overs, a performance that came at better than a run a ball, and included four further half-centuries for Tom Abell (57), Josh Bohannon (58), Jack Haynes (64 not out) and Jamie Smith, whose 35-ball at No.8 was the quickest by an England player at Lions level.Haseeb Hameed was another man who featured at the top of the Test batting order in 2022, with his most recent appearance coming in the Ashes at Sydney in January, but he fared rather less well in his first outing as Lions captain. He fell to his first ball of the match, caught off Kavindu Pathiratne in the first over of the match.In reply, the President’s XI reached 93 for 2 in 19.5 overs before the close, with spinners Liam Patterson-White and Jack Carson both picking up a wicket.The Lions are playing all 16 of their players in this match in Colombo, which is not being classified as first-class. The President’s XI used ten bowlers in the course of England’s innings.

ECB efforts to add an extra day rebuffed due to South Africa’s scheduled departure on Tuesday

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Sep-2022The third Test between England and South Africa will resume on Saturday “to pay tribute” to Queen Elizabeth II. However, there will be no extension of the Test, with South Africa set to depart from the UK on Tuesday.Following the death of the Queen, day two at the Kia Oval was cancelled as a mark of respect, along with all scheduled matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. Following conversations with government, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and between the ECB and CSA, it was agreed to continue the Test match. England women’s T20I match against India at Durham will also go ahead on Saturday evening.The game will resume on day three, following a first-day washout and then the suspension of Friday’s play, with England bowling having won the toss.Related

• Third Test 'like a World Cup final' – Dean Elgar

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• Test suspended in mark of respect following death of Queen

“Cricket will resume on Saturday to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and honour her remarkable life and service,” read an ECB statement.”Following the cancellation of Friday’s cricket fixtures as a mark of respect on announcement of her death, the England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that play will resume from Saturday including international, domestic, and recreational fixtures. The decision has been taken after consultation with DCMS and in line with Official National Mourning guidance.”This means the Men’s Test match between England and South Africa will begin at The Oval and the Women’s IT20 match between England and India will also go ahead at the Riverside in Durham. The scheduled match between England and Sri Lanka Men’s U19 along with recreational cricket fixtures will also take place as planned.”Before each match, a minute’s silence will be observed followed by the national anthem. All players and coaches will wear black armbands. Branded inventory will be replaced with messaging paying cricket’s respects to the Queen.The ECB had been hopeful of extending the Test match into Tuesday to ensure four days of play. However, CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki confirmed to ESPNcricinfo the tourists would stick to their original itinerary ahead of leaving for a limited-overs tour of India on September 23.”Yes we have lost a day,” Moseki said. “The team was part of the decision, considering that they are due to fly to India a few days later after their return.”In an official statement, Moseki added: “CSA is in full support of the ECB’s decision to go ahead with the third Test match between England and South Africa following the UK’s day of mourning. After consultation with the Proteas’ team management and given the schedule ahead, it was clear that it would not be in the players’ interests to extend the Test and reduce the few days the players have with their families before another long tour.”There was cautious optimism on Friday morning that the Test would continue. The ECB was part of a 9.30am DCMS meeting with other national sporting bodies whereby the advice given was to make their own individual decisions. A government spokesperson said: “There is no requirement, or obligation, to cancel or postpone events or sporting fixtures, or close entertainment venues, during this period. It’s at the discretion of individual organisations.”They may wish to consider cancelling or postponing, particularly on the day of the state funeral, but they are under no obligation to do so.”Following that meeting, sources at the ECB and Surrey County Cricket Club, where the match is being hosted, were confident the game was likely to continue. The only sticking point seemed to be whether the resumption on Saturday would be “day two” or “day three”. The former would have required South Africa to move back their flight home, originally scheduled for Tuesday.