Glamorgan will go into the final day at Swansea with a lead of 122 on a surface that is offering turn

ECB Reporters Network22-Jun-2018

ScorecardGlamorgan will go into the final day at Swansea with a lead of 122, and if they are able to extend that lead to anything over 250, Derbyshire will not find batting last an easy proposition on a St Helen’s pitch that is responding to spin.The home team were in trouble at 48 for 3, but Usman Khawaja and Kiran Carlson, with an aggressive unbeaten partnership of 153 have put the home team in a healthy position with seven wickets in hand.Khawaja is nearing his second successive Championship century, while Carlson, who missed the last game and nearly all the Royal London Cup games because of university examinations, played with ease and assurance and is unbeaten on 69.Derbyshire were dismissed in their first innings for 362, a lead of 79, but they lost the opportunity of a much bigger lead by losing their last five wickets for five runs in 29 deliveries.Alex Hughes had earlier scored his first Championship century of the summer, before he was run out for 103 after Billy Godleman was lbw to Andrew Salter.There then followed a stand of 92 between Gary Wilson and Matt Critchley, with both batsmen playing watchfully against the spinners, Salter and the 19-year-old debutant Prem Sisodiya.There was no hint of a collapse when Wilson was run out, attempting a second run from an overthrow that ricocheted from the stumps, and Critchley’s fifty passed largely unnoticed.The Derbyshire allrounder scored only four more runs as the lower order succumbed to spin. Tony Palladino missed a straight ball from Sisodiya, and after Salter had dismissed Hamidullah Qadri and Duanne Olivier in quick succession, Sisodiya ended the innings by having Ravi Rampaul caught at slip, and ending with creditable figures of 3 for 54 from 21.5 overs of controlled spin.Nick Selman and Jack Murphy shared a useful opening partnership of 44 in Glamorgan’s second innings before Murphy was out to leg before to Qadri in the penultimate over before tea. Murphy appeared unhappy with the decision, as did Selman when, shortly after the interval, he suffered the same fate against Critchley.When Owen Morgan was bowled by Qadri, Glamorgan had lost three wickets for four runs, but Khawaja soon made his intentions clear by striking Critchley out of the ground.Carlson, small in stature, used his feet effectively and both reached fifty in quick time. Khawaja was the first to the target from 70 balls, with a six and nine fours, while his junior partner was eight balls quicker.The hundred partnership came up in 21.2 overs, when Carlson struck Qadri to the cover boundary for his seventh four, Glamorgan had extended their lead to over 100 runs.

When the team sheets were submitted at the toss of the series opener between Scotland and Pakistan at the Grange, four spinners under the age of 25 were in the starting XIs. By the end of the match, one pair played to their age and inexperience, while the other looked like grizzled veterans worthy of their country’s No. 1 ranking.Reading the raw numbers on the scorecard made the difference more stark. Pakistan’s duo of Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan combined for figures of 3 for 47 in eight overs. Scotland’s tag-team of Mark Watt and debutant Hamza Tahir were more than twice as expensive in the same number of overs, not to mention wicketless. It was a harsh lesson, but one that Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer hoped his young slow bowling group would be able to learn from, going forward after a 48-run defeat.”The pace and the lengths which they bowled were of a higher quality than ours,” Coetzer told ESPNcricinfo afterwards. “They were top of the bails, pulled the length back and slid the ball in towards the batter – and only their variation was to change up and try to spin it, as opposed to ours. We were just slightly full today and we got ourselves into that one-step zone where they didn’t really have to come chasing it.”We’ve come off the back of our one-day game where lengths are maybe slightly different too, but that’s no excuse. We’ve got to try to find our lengths and find them quicker. You play against an opposition like this, they’re going to hurt you if you don’t get it right. The quality of Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, they were so dangerous if you didn’t get it in the right place.”The Pakistan captain entered the contest starved of form on their tour of Ireland and the UK, having scored just 88 runs in eight innings. He more than doubled that in the space of only 49 balls at the Grange. Even after 15 overs, he had played a smooth but relatively sedate knock by T20 standards, reaching 41 off 32 balls.But Sarfraz and Malik meted out harsh punishment to the left-arm spinner Tahir in the 16th over, battering him for 20 runs to spark an 80-run surge over the final five overs. Sarfraz faced 17 balls out of the 30 that remained, but scored at a strike rate of nearly 300. The only two dot balls in the final quarter of the innings were by Shoaib: first in the 17th off Mark Watt and then when he drove to long-off to give Alasdair Evans his third wicket. Otherwise, Sarfraz was unstoppable, and finished with a spectacular flourish off Safyaan Sharif with four, four, six, four at the end of the innings to take Pakistan past 200.”He used the pace when he first came in, tried to get to ball down to third man a few times and then he looked to hit the ball hard through the field. And he took on extra cover really well and hit a couple of gaps that are very hard to block,” Coetzer said of the knock by Sarfraz. “When we started to try to take the pace off the ball with Richie [Berrington] or bowl some slower balls, he was hitting us through the leg side but he was picking the gaps all the time – between the fielders or over them.”A little bit like Jonny Bairstow the other day. Sometimes when they’re playing that well you’re almost hoping that they’re going to mis-hit one when they’re trying to hit one over the fielders. Let’s be honest, that’s the case a lot of the times. You want to get people hitting to where your fielders are, or over them, and if they don’t manage to clear them, then they’re out. But he was able to pick the gaps between them today. It was a fine knock and showed how you can actually pace an innings in T20 cricket. Because towards the end in the last over he took down Safyaan, who is a fine death bowler.”Scotland maintained the scoring rate early in the chase and were actually in a better position than Pakistan had been at the end of the Powerplay, but the wheels came off with the introduction of Shadab in the eighth over. The legspinner struck off his very first ball, piercing Berrington’s forward prod with a googly before winning the key showdown with Calum MacLeod in the 12th over to trap him leg before. By the end of his spell, Scotland needed 108 off 36 balls, and only a brief flurry by Michael Leask made the final margin look closer than the truth.Coming less than 48 hours after the euphoric high of Sunday’s win over England, Coetzer said the thing that pleased him most about the loss was how disappointed his team-mates were in the dressing room afterwards. In a 13-month span when they have beaten Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and England, the expectations have shifted dramatically. No longer are they just happy to share the same field as the top sides in the world. They expect to stand toe-to-toe with them too, and they’ve got one more chance to show it with a quick turnaround for a rematch on Wednesday.”I think they believe we’ve let ourselves down today,” Coetzer said. “The standards bar has been raised continuously over the last year or so. Yes, we’re playing the No. 1 team in T20 cricket, but we still believe that we’re capable of more and can challenge them more.”

With their eyes firmly fixated on retaining their Scottish Premiership crown once again, the last thing that Celtic need is any injury disruptions, especially as the Champions League also gets underway.

The Hoops haven't showed signs of slowing down when it comes to their dominance in Scotland's top flight, and already sit top of the league, four points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers.

Last time out, Brendan Rodgers' side eased past Dundee 3-0, courtesy of goals from David Turnball, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Matt O'Riley. It was a routine victory for Celtic, but they were not without their concerns, with one key player going off injured at half-time.

What's the latest Celtic injury news?

So far this season, Celtic have been fairly unfortunate when it comes to injuries, but have masked their absences well through impressive results. As things stand, Rodgers is without Stephen Welsh, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki, Reo Hatate, and Liel Abada in what has been a frustrating time when attempting to enjoy a full squad.

One more injury blow emerged over the weekend, and when Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips was forced off at half-time against Dundee, the worst was feared.

A sign of relief would have been heard round Celtic Park today, though, as the central defender was pictured in full training ahead of the Hoops' clash against Feyenoord. With that said, Phillips looks more than ready to play a part.

Celtic will be hoping to get off to a fast start in Group E, as they look to defy the odds to reach the last 16, beating the likes of Atletico Madrid, Lazio, and Feyenoord to progression as a result. Phillips, using his experience among Europe's elite gained at Liverpool, could play a large part in that.

How has Nat Phillips performed this season?

After playing somewhat of an emergency role at Liverpool for so long, Phillips finally has his chance to impress on a consistent basis at Celtic. He finally got that opportunity last time out, too, only to be forced off at the break through injury. Getting his debut under his belt, nonetheless, he will now look to push on even further.

Statistically speaking, via FBref, Phillips has proven in the past just how valuable he can be, particularly when it comes to his work off the ball, making an average of 4.51 clearances, as well as winning over one tackle per 90.

When at his best, the defender has earned some high praise, too, including from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who said, via The Metro after the Reds were held to a draw by Brighton & Hove Albion: "Very good, I couldn’t be more proud of the boys what they put out here today. In the first half hour we struggled with the new backline with their balls in behind because we didn’t drop at the right moment.

"We got that sorted in the first half already. Second half we had no problems with that anymore. But second half we had some problems with energy so we sat a little bit deeper. Nat Phillips played an exceptional game, honestly, so that was all good. You need in football always a little bit of luck to win a tough away game. And today we didn’t have luck so it was a draw."

The former West Indies batsman is not among the 33 players invited to camp to be held from June 21-24 in Texas. Former USA captain Steven Taylor, however, has made the cut

Peter Della Penna20-Jun-2018

Xavier Marshall, the former West Indies batsman who made his USA debut in January during the CWI Regional Super50 tournament in Antigua, has been left out of a list of 33 players invited to a senior-team selection camp to be held from June 21-24 in Houston, Texas. Marshall is the only player from the 15-man squad that toured the West Indies to not receive an invite to this weekend’s camp.USA selection camp invitees

Capped players: Camilus Alexander, Alex Amsterdam, Fahad Babar, Adil Bhatti, Elmore Hutchinson, Nosthush Kenjige, Ibrahim Khaleel (capt/wk), Ali Khan, Jaskaran Malhotra (wk), Prashanth Nair, Saurabh Netravalkar, Mrunal Patel, Nisarg Patel, Sagar Patel, Timil Patel, Usman Rafiq, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Sunny Sohal, Steven Taylor
Uncapped players: Usman Ashraf, Sachin Asokan, Shaheer Hassan (wk), Akshay Homraj (wk), Jannisar Khan, Keshav Pabisetty, Monank Patel (wk), Tirth Patel, Kyle Phillip, Srinivas Raghavan, Srinivas Salver, Arjun Thyagarajan, David Wakefield
Junior players: Amrut Pore, Ali Sheik, Sanjay Stanley, Yasir Syed, Tejas Vishal, Shashank Vittaladevaram.

Marshall, 32, began his USA career with scores of 40 and 51 in his first two innings of the Super50 against Leeward Islands and Guyana, but only managed 46 runs combined in his last six innings of the tournament. Ahead of the Super50, Marshall had told ESPNcricinfo that one of his goals was to gain a contract in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Even though it is mandatory for each of the six CPL franchises to draft a USA player – or retain a Canada player from 2017 – Marshall was not one of the six USA players taken in the 2018 CPL draft.All 33 players invited to this weekend’s camp took part in one of eight regional combines organised through the spring by USA Cricket. Marshall had attended the New York Combine that took place from May 31 to June 3, top-scoring with a half-century in the T20 trial match that was held on June 1. However, he failed to show up the following two days to participate in two 50-over trial matches.Instead, Marshall chose to play two club matches over that weekend, in New Jersey for Somerset Cavaliers and New York for Villagers Social & Athletic Club. Marshall’s absence on the final day of the New York Combine in particular was a hot-button issue. According to USA Cricket officials who were on site at the regional combine in New York, Marshall called in the morning to say he was on his way to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx where the trial was being held, but allegedly called back later to say he could not get a ride from his home in Long Island. However, he showed up later in the morning at Roy Sweeney Park in Queens to play for Villagers.Gajanand Singh was another noteworthy name to not receive an invite to the final squad trial this weekend in Houston. The 30-year-old former West Indies Under-19 batsman played last season for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL, scoring 151 runs in 11 matches to finish fourth on the team’s run-scorers’ list, and was retained by Warriors for 2018 after being taken in the 13th round. Gajanand is understood to be a US resident and attended the New York trial, top-scoring for his side in the T20 trial match. However, like Marshall, he no-showed on the last two days, choosing instead to play club matches for Somerset Cavaliers in New Jersey on each day.American batsman Steven Taylor drives for a single on his Amazon Warriors debut•Peter Della Penna

Former USA captain Steven Taylor, who is currently contracted with Jamaica in the West Indies first-class franchise system, has been invited to the squad camp in Texas. Taylor, 24, attended the New York Combine but has not played for USA since 2017 WCL Division Three in Uganda, after which he and USA Cricket administrators came to a mutual decision to have him step down from captaincy following his decision to relocate to Jamaica upon taking up a professional contract.Four uncapped players who rose to prominence during the regional combines and received invites to the USA squad camp for the first time are Tirth Patel, Akshay Homraj, Kyle Phillip and David Wakefield.Tirth, 20, was one of the leading wicket-takers at the New York Combine and is a former Ahmedabad Under-19 left-arm spinner currently attending university in Ohio. Tirth played for Ahmedabad Under-19 as recently as June 2016 and, as a result, it is unclear if he will be eligible to qualify under the ICC’s three-year residency rule to play for USA this year at their next two assignments – the 2020 ICC World T20 Regional Qualifier from September 16-23 and WCL Division Three later in the year. Homraj also competed at the New York Combine and formerly represented Guyana Under-19s in 2014.Phillip, 21, is a tall fast bowler currently residing in Florida after migrating from Trinidad & Tobago in 2016. He impressed at the regional combine held at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida from May 3-6. He was recently signed up by Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Canada draft, one of the only three USA-based players to be roped in along with captain Ibrahim Khaleel and fast bowler Ali Khan.Wakefield, 23, was born in North Carolina but raised in New Zealand and played for Canterbury Under-19s. The right-hand batsman is still based in Christchurch but paid his own way to attend the USA Cricket regional trial in Florida this May where he scored a pair of half-centuries in the two 50-over trial matches. He would qualify to play for USA automatically as a US citizen and passport-holder from birth.In addition to the 33 senior men’s players invited to the camp, six junior players have also been given the opportunity to attend the camp in order to immerse them early on into the national team set-up. The players will take part in a series of T20 and 50-over trial matches at Smart Choice Moosa Stadium in the Houston suburb of Pearland. A 14-man squad is expected to be chosen following the camp for USA’s next assignment, the World T20 Regional Qualifier that USA is hosting in September where they will take on Belize, Canada and Panama.

Self-belief gained from Rajasthan Royals stint helped England batsman regain his uncomplicated approach

George Dobell04-Jun-20182:59

Jos Buttler shines, but has much really changed for England?

Jos Buttler has credited the confidence gained from his recent spell in the IPL, and the relaxation gained from accepting the inevitability of occasional failure, for his impressive return to England’s Test team.Buttler, who followed his 67 at Lord’s with an unbeaten 80 in Leeds, was something of a surprise selection for the series against Pakistan. He hadn’t played a first-class game this year and hadn’t made a first-class century since January 2014.But he feels the self-belief gained from his time with Rajasthan Royals – where he signed off with five half-centuries and a 39 in his final six innings – has helped him regain the uncomplicated approach – or the ‘F*** It’ attitude, as he might put it – he originally took to Test cricket.Buttler’s innings in Leeds was his highest – and, arguably, his best – in Test cricket since he made 85 on debut against India in July 2014. He followed that with innings of 70, 45, 0 and 59 not out in his next five innings at that level to give the impression he had made the step-up to Test cricket with some ease.But, once the Ashes series started in 2015, his form fell away and he was unable to reach 50 in his next 12, ever more tentative, innings.As a result, he was dropped towards the end of the year after four innings in the UAE had realised just 34 runs. And, while he made a brief and partially successful comeback against India in late 2016 (he made 76 in Mumbai and 43 in Mohali), it looked, for a long time, as if his excellence in the limited-overs formats would prevent him having the time to make the adjustments to his game required to prosper in first-class cricket.It is only now, having found a way to bring the freedom he has in T20 cricket to his Test game, that he has been able to silence the doubts in his own head and gone some way to unleash his obvious talent in the longest format. And it is probably no coincidence that the most eye-catching part of Buttler’s innings in Leeds came when he had only the tail for company and the license and freedom to take the attack to the bowlers.”Those couple of weeks in the IPL gave me huge amounts of confidence,” Buttler said. “To be in those pressure situations in India, playing in front of crowds, the pressure of being an overseas player. That showed me a lot about where I was at and where I can get to, so that gave me a lot of confidence. For me, not trying to worry about the colour of the ball definitely helps. Having put in good performances elsewhere and not putting as much pressure on myself.”In T20 there’s generally another game soon after, so you know you’ve got another opportunity coming up. You probably just move on if you fail. But in Test cricket, if you get out early, you have a long time to think about it.Jos Buttler swings one over the leg side•Getty Images”I started to think too much about how to not get out, as opposed to how to score runs. I got in a really bad rut that I just couldn’t get out of. The only real way to get out of it was to be dropped. And actually, being dropped released a lot of pressure. It wasn’t very long after that that I made an ODI hundred in Dubai, which was a turnaround for me after a long and hard six months.”It was just ahead of that century in Dubai that he first took to writing “F*** It’ in marker pen on the top of his bat handle. It was a phrase that was picked up again by the cameras in Leeds during a break in play on Sunday and, as Buttler explains, provides a reminder not to over-think the game or fret about the outcomes.”It’s just something that reminds me of what my best mindset is,” Buttler says, “when I’m playing cricket and probably in life as well. It puts cricket in perspective. When you nick off, does it really matter? It’s just a good reminder when I’m in the middle or when I’m questioning myself and it brings me back to a good place.”Now my mentality is quite similar to my first few Tests. I’m not worrying about external factors. I’m just trying to play the game and trusting myself.”These are early days, but Buttler has already gone some way to justifying Ed Smith’s faith in him.

ScorecardDerbyshire, in reply to Glamorgan’s first innings total of 283 all out, ended the second day of the Specsavers Division Two County Championship match at St. Helen’s in Swansea on 207 for 3, a deficit of 76.Glamorgan were indebted to Andrew Salter and the tail-enders, who added 108 in the pre-lunch session, with Salter scoring an unbeaten 72, and the debutant Prem Sisodiya a useful 38. Sisodiya should have been dismissed on 24, but Alex Hughes dropped a simple catch at short leg.The eighth wicket pair put on 56 – the third successive half century stand in the innings – before Sisodiya was bowled by Tony Palladino, giving the Derbyshire seamer figures of 5-69, his third five for against the Welsh County.Lukas Carey then struck a breezy 28, which included two sixes on to the adjoining Mumbles Road, and when last man Michael Hogan was run out, Salter had scored his runs from103 balls, which included seven fours and two sixes.Derbyshire had eight overs to bat before lunch and at the interval, the visitors had reached 28 without loss, with Ben Slater and Harvey Hosein the not out batsmen.Slater and Hosein – playing in his first championship game of the season – played watchfully against an accurate Glamorgan attack, with Hosein fortunate to survive some uneasy moments against Hogan, who passed the outside edge four times in one over.Slater, who is enjoying a productive Championship season, reached a composed half century, while Hosein, who scored 35, played on to Andrew Salter’s off spin in the 34th over. Salter then took his second wicket in the following over, when Slater holed out at backward point.Resuming after tea on 104 for 2, Wayne Madsen and Alex Hughes frustrated the Glamorgan attack as they continued to chip away at the deficit. Glamorgan will have some concerns over David Lloyd, who left the field, having pulled up mid-way through his fourth over. He was replaced in the field by former Glamorgan fast bowler and current assistant coach, David Harrison as Roman Walker was already on.A bowler down, Glamorgan turned to Jack Murphy who, at that stage, had two first-class wickets to his name. He has, in recent seasons, converted from left-arm seam bowling to opening the batting. He duly claimed his first Championship – and third first-class – wicket, as he had Madsen caught by Kiran Carlson at short mid-wicket for 41.Alex Hughes, unbeaten on 67, and Billy Godleman saw Derbyshire through to the close, 76 runs behind Glamorgan.

Callum Ferguson has two centuries in his first two knocks for Worcestershire and, with the help of another hundred for Joe Clarke, it kept them in the higher reaches of North Group

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2018
ScorecardWorcestershire Rapids took a sizeable step towards the Royal London One-Day Cup knockout stages as centurions Joe Clarke and Callum Ferguson powered them to a 34 run success over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Blackfinch New Road.The pair plundered 239 runs in 37 overs for the second wicket as the Rapids amassed 348 for 5 in their 50 overs.Then Northamptonshire, despite half centuries from Rob Newton, Adam Rossington and Rob Keogh, were bowled out for 314 in the final over as the Rapids secured a fifth win in seven games and ended the North Group with a 100 per cent home record from the four matches at their headquarters.Victory moved the Rapids level on points with leaders Warwickshire who they meet in a crunch derby encounter under the Edgbaston floodlights on Thursday.Ferguson is having a start to remember for his adopted county as the Australian batsman followed his record-breaking 191 against Leicestershire Foxes with an unbeaten 159.Worcestershire elected to bat on what was the same wicket used for the highest successful run chase in English one-day cricket against Leicestershire on Tuesday.England all-rounder Moeen Ali was bowled for a second ball duck by Ben Sanderson, but the visitors had to wait another 37 overs for their next success as Clarke and Ferguson dominated proceedings with the bat.It was the county’s highest second wicket partnership in List A cricket, surpassing the 208 by Vikram Solanki and Phil Hughes against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2012.England Lions batsman Clarke and then Ferguson in turn went past Worcestershire’s previous best individual List A score versus Northamptonshire – 120 by Graeme Hick at Northampton in 2007.Clarke reeled off a succession of fine drives and went to his fourth List A century from 105 balls with a hook for four off Rory Kleinveldt. It included one six and eight other boundaries.Ferguson soon followed him to three figures in four balls less than Clarke with the aid of 10 fours and he celebrated by twice lofting Sanderson for straight sixes.The stand was finally broken when Clarke (122 off 117 balls with one six and 12 fours) holed out to deep mid wicket off spinner Graeme White and in the same over he accounted for Ross Whiteley lbw for a duck.But Ferguson continued to score freely and was given excellent late order support by Ben Cox (39) and Brett D’Oliveira (22).The 33-year-old left the field to his second standing ovation in five days after plundering three sixes and 13 fours from 136 balls.Northamptonshire List A debutant Ricardo Vasconcelos clipped Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach to mid wicket with 34 on the board.
Newton and Ben Duckett scored freely in a second wicket stand of 79 in 12 overs with the former pulling Pat Brown over mid wicket for six to reach his half century from 45 balls.But Moeen made a crucial breakthrough when Duckett went for a reverse sweep and top edged a catch to keeper Cox.Then Newton, after making a run a ball 61 with two sixes and six fours, aimed a pull at Brown and also perished at mid wicket.
Skipper Alex Wakely (40) and Rossington (63) kept the Steelbacks hopes alive when adding 95 in 12 oversBut three quickfire wickets swung the game decisively in the Rapids’ favour. Ed Barnard bowled Wakely and had Rory Kleinveldt caught off a skier at point while in between Rossington miscued D’Oliveira into the hands of Leach running back from cover.Saif Zaib and Graeme White perished as the run rate rocketed and in the final over Keogh (51) and Nathan Buck holed out on the boundary off Charlie Morris.

England’s women completed a successful international summer last week, adding a comfortable series win against New Zealand to their earlier victories over South Africa in the ODIs and both teams in the inaugural T20 triangular series.And now attention turns to the domestic front, with the return of an expanded Kia Super League – a competition whose future may be in some doubt as the ECB debates the sport’s post-2020 landscape, but whose importance in the immediate future could hardly be more relevant.After all, England, World Cup winners in the 50-over format last year, have a World T20 to prepare for in November, and for several fringe members of the squad – not to mention the star names who will want to hit the Caribbean with form and confidence brimming over – the events of the coming weeks will be critical to their preparation.The KSL, now in its third season, kicks off on Sunday with a televised opening match between the champions Western Storm and Yorkshire Diamonds at Taunton. On the same day, there is an early meeting of the other two finalists from 2017 when Surrey Stars take on Southern Vipers at Guildford, while at Southport, Lancashire Thunder host Loughborough Lightning.”What an opportunity it is for those on the fringes,” England head coach, Mark Robinson, said. “Every squad is full of world-class players – people you can learn from, look up to in a way and soak up their knowledge. It’s not for me to make a prediction on who’s going to win but I’m really looking forward to the tournament.”In a bid to improve the competitiveness of the six teams, Robinson instigated a rejig ahead of this edition, most notably with Tammy Beaumont switching from Surrey to the Vipers, and Sarah Taylor heading from the Thunder to take her place.”The teams have changed a bit this year and all look as if they’ve got a good chance. We have moved some of our better players around to give them the best opportunity to express themselves. It can be hard for a young batter coming in at seven or eight in a T20 in a team where the top order is full of world-class players to make much of an impression. The same applies to our young bowlers, they need as many opportunities as possible to bowl in pressure situations and more games hopefully allows them that.”One batter in particular who has plenty to prove in the coming contests is the Yorkshire Diamonds captain, Lauren Winfield, a World Cup winner last year, but who has been pushed to the margins in the past few months, with Amy Jones being given the opportunity to partner Beaumont at the top of the order.After a brief innings at No. 7 in the first ODI against New Zealand, Winfield was given a chance to make a mark when she came in at No. 3 in the dead-rubber third game, but made just 5 from nine balls before holing out to deep midwicket. However, the KSL – with its expansion to ten group games instead of five – will give her ample opportunity to find form against quality opposition.”I’ve had a bit of a dry time with runs and opportunity for England,” Winfield said. “This summer I’ve felt I’ve been playing really well, but there’s just no gap to get into that line-up. T20 isn’t something I’ve played a lot of internationally, so 10 games is a fantastic opportunity to expose myself in this format looking ahead to the World Cup in the Caribbean.””I think expanding the competition is such a good idea,” Robinson said. “Western Storm won last year because they played the better cricket at Finals Day but it can be difficult to judge a team over five games, because you might lose a game or two to the weather.”It helps all our England-qualified players, even the experienced ones because if a team doesn’t get going in the first couple of games they still have enough opportunities for their quality to come through. They don’t have to go chasing form if you know what I mean.”Another player who hopes to benefit from the expanded exposure is Kate Cross, the Lancashire Thunder seamer who feared she might never play for England again when she took time away from the game in 2016, a move that affecting her chances of featuring in last year’s World Cup.However, Cross returned to England colours during the New Zealand series – a call-up that she said “felt like I made my debut all over again”.”I’m going into this Super League in a good place,” Cross said. “We’ve also got a World Cup around the corner, and I think I’m going to go back to Australia this winter to play domestic cricket.”There’s a lot for me to look forward to.”With input from ECB Reporters Network

Harry Kane may have been handed another welcome boost at Bayern Munich, with Joshua Kimmich delivering an update on his future.

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• Midfielder under contract until 2025
• Linked with a move elsewhere
• Bundesliga giants eager for him to stay

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Germany international midfielder has seen a move away from the Allianz Arena speculated on. If the 29-year-old were to depart, then his versatility and experience would be a big miss for Bayern. Change is expected in the summer, with Thomas Tuchel definitely moving on, and Bayern will look to freshen up their squad if they endure a first campaign without major honours since 2012.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bayern will be hoping that Kimmich stays put in a bid to get the club back on the trophy trail – with Kane very much of that mindset as he seeks to bring a barren run on the silverware front to a close – and the proven performer is offering no indication that he is considering a change of scenery.

• WHAT KIMMICH SAID

  Kimmich has said when asked about his future: “Generally, my situation is clear, I still have a contract. For me it’s about showing my performances, that’s the most important thing. And then we’ll see what happens. I still have over a year left on my contract and no one has spoken to me yet. I'm relaxed. It’s not so bad here!”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BAYERN?

  Kimmich has been with Bayern since 2015, taking in 377 appearances for the Bavarian giants. He has eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League crown to his name, and will be eager to help Kane land a first trophy of his career in 2024.

Somerset’s game resistance has given them every chance to save the match at Chelmsford and keep their own title challenge bubbling

Dan Norcross27-Jun-20181:57

Kent go top of Division Two

ScorecardThe best days at cricket are comprised of numerous moments. Singular moments, such as a wicket taken or a pleasingly creamed cover drive, and extended, even occasionally tantric moments; a battle royale, for example, between batsman and bowler, such as that enjoyed by Atherton and Donald at Trent Bridge.This match has been graced with too few moments; plenty of runs, plenty of toil, plenty of earnest endeavour but very few moments. The most significant today was a moment to forget; Westley dropping a sharp but eminently gettable chance above his head at slip when James Hildreth had just 16. Harmer, the bowler, would almost certainly have pouched it. He can’t, despite Theoretical Physics’ best efforts, be in two places at once though.Hildreth went on to produce the innings of the day but even his 75 was not garlanded with enough of those trademark Hildreth moments to make it an innings that will stay long in the memory. Neither the pitch nor the ball were conducive to his aesthetic.Running it a close second was the controversial catch that wasn’t. Harmer thought he’d clung on to a low chance at slip when Lewis Gregory had 11, and Somerset, on 322 for 6 still needed 46 to avoid the follow-on. The umpires consulted. The catch was not granted. Ryan ten Doeschate, returning after a two match ban and conscious of not wanting to incur further wrath, remonstrated as politely as any remonstrator has ever remonstrated, but Gregory survived.Neil Wagner produced the most entertaining moments. For the vast bulk of the 22 overs he bowled today (32 overall in the innings) he seemed intent on breaking Anthony Thornton’s record for walking backwards the longest distance in two days as he accompanied every bouncer, which was pretty much every ball, with a glare, a smile and fixed eyes on the batsmen as he made his way slowly back to his mark. The record, incidentally, is 95.4 miles, was set in 1989 in Minneapolis and still stands, but only just.He also produced the ball of the day to remove the most eye catching batsman of the day. Dom Bess arrived with Somerset in a spot of bother on 310 for 6 and five overs to go until tea. The new ball had just been taken and Porter had done for Peter Trego, taking the top of off stump.Bess counter attacked, saw off the new ball and his 35 from 38 balls was threatening to speed his side to the relative of safety of 368 and follow-on avoidance. Wagner bent his back that bit further, got one to rear at Bess’ throat (admittedly not a towering achievement) and caught the outside edge as Bess, fully off the ground, did his best Robin Smith impression of trying to evade a Curtly Ambrose snorter.Briefly the game was alive. Lewis Gregory’s miserable run with the bat (he now has 123 runs in 11 completed innings) continued with a hideous swipe that ended up at Third Man and seven were needed with just two wickets in hand. Wagner, unsurprisingly, peppered Overton with more bouncers. Overton survived, then flung the bat. The follow-on was averted.Eventually the innings was wrapped up in the softest of whimpers when Overton gently offered a catch to Bopara off Westley’s sixth and final ball. All out for 407 conceding a lead of just 110 and with only 9 overs to go on the third day the match looked as good as dead.
But just when we thought we’d have no more moments today, and in all likelihood tomorrow as well, Tom Westley, opening in place of Alastair Cook who is laid low with tonsillitis was trapped by Davey for a duck. The debutant Michael Pepper went next over to Gregory for 1. Suddenly it was 3 for 2. The slip cordon peaked at four. Momentarily nerves jangled but Browne and Bopara survived to the close with Essex leading by 127.The pitch is showing no signs of deterioration and it may require an improbably generous declaration to prevent the very real possibility of Essex slipping 39 points behind the leaders Surrey who have a game in hand. The grip on their title is loosening by the day.