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India Under-19 took home yet another piece of silverware, this time claiming the Asia Cup by beating arch-rivals Pakistan U-19 by 40 runs in a high-scoring final in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe dismissal of Sami Aslam, for 87, set Pakistan U19 back in their chase of 315•ACCIndia Under-19 took home yet another piece of silverware, this time claiming the Asia Cup by beating arch-rivals Pakistan Under-19 by 40 runs in a high-scoring final in Sharjah. Centuries by Vijay Zol and Sanju Samson powered India to 314 and Pakistan, in their reply, failed to keep with the asking rate. Late-hitting by Kamran Ghulam helped him score a century, but he kept running out of partners. He was stranded on 102 as Pakistan could only muster 274.The chase didn’t match the thrills of the last occasion these teams met in a tournament final though, coincidentally in the Asia Cup of 2012. In Kuala Lumpur, the scores were tied on 282 and the trophy was shared.Put into bat, India were given a brisk start by their openers Ankush Bains and Akhil Herwadkar. They had added 60 before Herwadkar pulled Zia-ul-Haq straight to midwicket. Bains fell three short of his fifty when he gave the legspinner Karamat Ali the charge and was stumped.The wicket brought Zol and Samson together and their stand of 180, made in less than 30 overs, defined the game. Zol was lucky to be let off on 33 when Salman Saeed put down a sitter at point. Samson scored at more than a run-a-ball, hitting two sixes early in his innings, over deep midwicket and deep extra cover. Zol, the Maharashtra Ranji batsman, reached his fifty, off 73 balls, with a single to midwicket, while Samson reached his half-century the following over with a boundary down to long-off.Samson too was handed a reprieve, on 59, when he looked to launch Karamat over long-on where Zafar Gohar failed to catch the skier and conceded a boundary. To make matters worse for Karamat, he conceded 18 in his following over, giving away two fours and a six. Zol was the first to reach his century, getting there with a single to midwicket. He fell the following over for 100, mistiming Karamat over mid-on where Gohar took the catch.Samson then smashed two consecutive sixes immediately after his captain’s departure, though he was lucky with the second one as Gohar stepped over the rope at long-on after taking the catch. Samson reached his century in the 43rd over, off just 86 balls with eight fours and four sixes. He too fell for an exact 100, top-edging Gohar to extra cover. India lost wickets steadily but managed to push the score to an imposing 314.The Pakistan openers began briskly, adding 34 before Mohammad Umair was caught and bowled by the seamer Chama Milind. What hurt Pakistan was the lack of boundaries following that wicket, and the asking rate had already climbed over seven after 15 overs. The pressure got to Pakistan as they lost three quick wickets to the spinners, for 11 runs, as they slid to 88 for 4.Sami Aslam, who scored 134 in the Kuala Lumpur match, took the fight to India with an attacking fifty and added 93 with Ghulam. The pair were aggressive against the spinners and their stand was the most productive, at a rate of 6.48. However, a low return catch by the offspinner Aamir Gani sent back Aslam for 87.The required rate had soared over 10 and the lower order perished trying to look for boundaries. Ghulam continued to fight it out, improvising well and even putting away yorker length balls to the boundary. But Pakistan were left needing an improbable 62 off the last four overs and Ghulam’s century was the only thing to look forward to. He got there in the final over and with the game all but lost, didn’t celebrate.

Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer wants the young players of the side to step up and deliver as Mumbai face a must-win fixture against Gujarat in Valsad, beginning on December 30

Amol Karhadkar29-Dec-2013Inconsistency and immaturity are not the adjectives usually associated with Mumbai’s Ranji cricketers, especially their batsmen. But the ongoing season has time and again showcased that the young bunch of Mumbai batting are far from ready to take over the mantle from their seniors. Wasim Jaffer, the bedrock of Mumbai’s batting for well over a decade, minced no words in admitting it was a “concern”.”It is a concern. How long will it [the seniors] last? So they [the younger players] need to obviously step up. They are the ones who will play for the next ten years or something like that. They’ll have to mature and take Mumbai’s batting forward,” Jaffer, the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy history, said on the eve of Mumbai’s crucial group tie against Gujarat.Jaffer’s frustration was understandable as the batting has let the team down time and time again this season. While no Mumbai batsman, including Jaffer, who has scored three centuries in the season, features in the top 20 scorers this season, only two of their batsmen have averaged over 50. One of them is retired, while the other has been away on national duty.In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane – away on national duty – none of the Mumbai middle-order batsmen have managed to cement a place in the side. Hiken Shah, Siddhesh Lad and Suryakumar Yadav have all shown glimpses of talent, but have fallen short on temperament. Aditya Tare hasn’t been assured of a role in the side, made to open the innings or bat down the order depending on the team combination. Jaffer, who has been the stand-in captain for the last two games, said the young players needed to learn how to construct an innings.”They need to understand the phases. When you bat in the first session, you need to bat differently than what you do in the second session. These are the phases that they need to understand and I am sure they will understand since they are working towards it.”Jaffer was optimistic that the younger lot would come good since “they have the talent”. “Surya has scored runs, Tare has scored runs, Lad has scored runs, but they have scored in patches. They are trying and they are hardworking, so they will get there.”The failure of the batsmen has been responsible for Mumbai slipping from the top of the table at the midway stage to joint third going into the last league round. As a result, they have their backs to the wall while going into the match against Gujarat at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Valsad. Jaffer was hoping that the batsmen will bail the team out of trouble and avoid a league-stage exit.”It is not a good situation,” Jaffer said. “I have always believed that we should look to qualify with one game remaining. We had 19 points from the first four games, and then in the next three games we only managed to get only four points, which is very bad. From the kind of start we had, we shouldn’t have been in this situation, but you need to understand that we are a very inexperienced side.”[Barring myself], there’s hardly anyone experienced. Tare is playing his second season. Maybe Hiken Shah has been around for some time but other than that, there isn’t any experienced player in this side. I think we played pretty well in the last game, but we messed it up on the last day. Other than that, the bowlers have done well. Shardul [Thakur] has shown a lot of promise.”Hopefully, we will qualify and then it becomes a different ball game in the knockouts. [In the] five-day game, hopefully we’ll have Zak [Zaheer Khan] back and [the injured Abhishek] Nayar may also be back. Knockouts are a different ball game because Mumbai are more used to playing that than others. But getting there is a priority.”

Chris Gayle made a return to the West Indies squad for the limited-overs matches against Ireland, after missing the New Zealand tour due to a hamstring injury

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-20140:00

Croft: Missed opportunity to pick budding stars

Chris Gayle made a return to the West Indies squad for the limited-overs matches against Ireland, after missing the New Zealand tour due to a hamstring injury. Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels also made comebacks to both squads after recovering from injuries which made them miss the limited-overs leg during the New Zealand tour.Uncapped 23-year-old fast bowler Miguel Cummins was named in the ODI squad while Ravi Rampaul was only included in the T20 squad. Rampaul had returned home from the New Zealand tour after sustaining a thumb injury. He missed the last two ODIs and both T20s.Chris Gayle is back in the ODI and T20 squads after recovering from a hamstring injury•International Cricket CouncilCummins, who plays for Barbados, has an experience of only 18 domestic games – 13 first-class, three List A and two T20s. In first-class matches, he has 42 wickets at an average of 21.18 while in List A he has seven wickets at 18.14.While Tino Best, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine and Chadwick Walton were dropped from both squads, allrounder Kieron Pollard was not considered due to the knee injury he sustained last year and continues to be under rehabilitation. Best played only one ODI against New Zealand and conceded 70 runs in nine overs. He leaked 77 more in the seven overs he bowled in the following two T20s, with three wickets.Batsmen Deonarine and Charles were also dropped possibly because of their recent form in New Zealand. Deonarine played three of the five ODIs and managed only 38 runs. Charles played four ODIs, but managed 40 runs, including two ducks. In the two T20s, both of which West Indies lost, he could put together only 23 runs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Walton, who stayed back in New Zealand after the Tests as replacement for an injured Samuels, didn’t fare any better. In the two ODIs and two T20s in which he got to bat, his scores read 17, 0, 9 and 0.Krishmar Santokie and Dwayne Smith were recalled in the T20 squad, in place of Nikita Miller and Kieran Powell. Left-arm medium-pacer Santokie, with two international T20s to his name, came back to the squad after nearly two years having last played a T20 in March 2012 against Australia. Allrounder Smith also made a comeback after a long gap, with his last T20 for West Indies in December 2012.West Indies will host Ireland for two T20s and one ODI with the first T20 on February 19 in Kingston.West Indies ODI squad: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Darren Bravo, Miguel Cummins, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Nikita Miller, Sunil Narine, Kieron Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Marlon Samuels, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons.West Indies T20 squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.

A round-up of the Ford Trophy matches played on March 12, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2014Canterbury chased 328 in a thrilling four-wicket win against Otago in Dunedin. Canterbury were charged by fifties from George Worker, Tom Latham and Peter Fulton, apart from a 36-ball 49 from Dean Brownlie.Asked to bat, Otago got a solid opening stand of 129 from Iain Robertson (76 off 57) and Hamish Rutherford (73) in 20 overs. Once they departed, Derek de Boorder (50) and Ryan ten Doeschate (57 off 45) helped them past 300 but three wickets in the last over kept them to 327. Canterbury got a stable opening stand of 97 from Worker (82) and Latham (50). Brownlie then propelled the run rate towards six with five boundaries and Fulton’s unbeaten 34-ball 52 finished the chase with four balls to spare.Northern Districts jumped to the top of the table with a low-scoring, three-wicket win over Wellington. Chasing 155, Northern Districts stumbled to 83 for 5, and then 114 for 6, before Scott Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi took them home.Put in to bat, Wellington were dismissed for 154 as no batsman could score more than 31. They were reduced to 97 for 6 in the 31st over and an unbeaten 20 from No. 10 Andy McKay took them past 150. Kuggeleijn, Graeme Aldridge, Sodhi and Jono Boult took two wickets each to end the innings in the 45th over. The Northern Districts innings was steered by Daryl Mitchell’s fifty despite losing four early wickets to Mark Gillespie. Once Mitchell was dismissed for 52, Kuggeleijn (27*) stitched partnerships with Boult (20) and Sodhi to grab four points.Jamie How’s aggressive knock of 156 gave Central Districts a 113-run win against Auckland. Even though Central Districts’ middle and lower order could not score much, their score of 303 proved to be a lot for Auckland, who were restricted to 190.How’s fourth List A hundred, which featured 10 fours and seven sixes, gave his team a strong start as he put on 69 with Ben Smith for the opening stand, and 142 with Dane Cleaver (60). How stayed till the end to take them past 300, even though no batsman after the top three got into double digits as the remaining six batsmen scored 30 runs together. Auckland were kept in the hunt by opener Anaru Kitchen’s fifty. But the remaining top and middle-order batsmen failed to score beyond 20. Kieran Noema-Barnett took three wickets, and Tarun Nethula, Andrew Mathieson and Marty Kain took two each to wrap-up Auckland in the 41st over after a 27-ball 36 from No. 10 Matthew Quinn.

Hong Kong have no chance of making the next round of the World T20 but they will be keen to upset Bangladesh in their last group game

The Preview by Mohammad Isam19-Mar-2014Match factsMarch 20, 2014
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)Mushfiqur Rahim hasn’t had a bat in Bangladesh’s first two qualifying games•AFPBig pictureAt the start of the qualifying round of the World T20, Hong Kong’s captain Jamie Atkinson had wanted his team to play without the pressure of expectations. In their first two matches, Hong Kong had their moments but did not take them. Against Bangladesh, they have one more chance to cause an upset, or at least show significant improvement.Atkinson and Mark Chapman will be Hong Kong’s key players. Atkinson was promising against Afghanistan but got out before he could convert the start into a defining innings. Chapman top scored for his team in that game, showing resolve despite getting hit on the grille.For Bangladesh, who are almost through to the next round, the match is an opportunity to score another crushing win and enter the main draw with confidence. They could also use it for fine-tuning: Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah need a bat so there might a shuffle in the line-up. The home side’s bowlers also need to find a way to succeed despite the heavy dew.Form guide (including World T20 warm-ups, most recent first)Bangladesh WWWWLHong Kong LLWWWWatch out forMark Chapman started quickly against Afghanistan before Dawlat Zadran hit him with a bouncer. But young Chapman ensured Hong Kong kept a good run-rate by scoring 38 off 43 balls.Bangladesh will be delighted with the way Al-Amin Hossain fought back against Nepal, taking 2 for 17 in four overs. He was poor against Afghanistan, but applied what coach Shane Jurgensen taught him in training. He took two wickets in three balls early in Nepal’s innings, and then conceded only two runs in the final over.Team newsThere are fitness concerns for Mashrafe Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal but if they are able, Bangladesh are likely to field an unchanged XI. Rubel Hossain might be given a go if he recovers from fever.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Sabbir Rahman, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza/Rubel Hossain, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Al-Amin Hossain.Ehsan Nawaz, Roy Lamsam and Kinchit Shah could be hopeful of a game because Hong Kong are already out and do not any other major events in the near future.Hong Kong (possible): 1 Irfan Ahmed, 2 Waqas Barkat, 3 Jamie Atkinson (capt & wk), 4 Babar Hayat, 5 Mark Chapman, 6 Nizakat Khan, 7 Munir Dar, 8 Tanwir Afzal, 9 Haseeb Amjad, 10 Aizaz Khan, 11 Nadeem Ahmed.Pitch and conditionsThe pitch in Chittagong has some live grass that could help the seamers but the dew is likely to negate that advantage. The weather has been hot and humid during the day, and dew is likely to be a factor in the evening. There was a spell of rain on Wednesday afternoon, after a brief period of windy weather. The showers did not affect the ground conditions as the stadium has good drainage facilities.Stats and trivia Mark Chapman is Hong Kong’s highest run-scorer with 51 in two innings Tamim Iqbal has a strike-rate of 104 in this tournament, while Shakib Al Hasan’s is 156Quotes”I am sure all the players will step up on the day in front of a big crowd.”

A round-up of IPL news on May 17, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2014 I’ve got no time for Pollard – Starc
The hatchet has not been buried between Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Mumbai Indians allrounder Kieron Pollard, who were fined for their ugly on-field spat at the Wankhede Stadium. Speaking to the , Starc said he had not talked to Pollard at all after the incident. “Kieron’s done that a lot in the past and I don’t think it’s worth talking about,” he said. “No, I’ve got no time for Pollard and I haven’t talked to him at all.””That sort of situation would probably warrant yellow and red cards if it ever does come to that. But I’m definitely staying out of that sort of thing anyway. It’s not in my nature to get involved in that sort of stuff. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing.”Hussey hopes to fill in for McCullum
Australia batsman David Hussey was a late signing by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo, but he is likely to get a chance to play when New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum returns home for the birth of his child, which could rule him out of games on May 22 and 24. “The talk started a while ago, actually, with Dwayne Bravo having a sore shoulder,” Hussey told . “So, Stephen Fleming rang me and asked if I would be interested in playing. I was lucky enough to be here commentating, and now, I can’t wait to play. I have sort of spoken to Fleming and he said that I will be a middle-order player, and with Brendon McCullum due to go home for the birth of his baby, I’ll definitely get an opportunity to play.”CSK team official Russell Radhakrishnan told : “We have booked tickets for Brendon to fly out of India on May 21 and return on the 25th. His wife is expecting around that time, and if he leaves for home, he will miss two matches.”You don’t have to have magic in T20s – Murali
Former Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who is playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, says even ordinary Test spinners can be successful in T20 cricket because they don’t need to “buy wickets” in the shortest format. “You will get wickets if you bowl tight.” Murali told . “You don’t have to be a big spinner, you don’t have to have magic in T20s but you have to have magic in Test cricket to take wickets, to some extent even in one-day cricket.”Your mindset has to change. In Test cricket you have to buy wickets. You can’t keep on bowling maiden overs and waiting, because you won’t be successful. You have to have some tricks; you have to flight the ball, have variations. Test cricket teaches you so many things.”

Durham’s thin squad, which was already up against it in attempting to defend their Championship title, has been dealt a further blow by the news that Graham Onions will need to see a specialist about his back problem

Alan Gardner at Hove12-May-2014
ScorecardLuke Wright made his highest first-class score of 189 against a battle-scarred Durham attack•Getty ImagesDurham’s thin squad, which was already up against it in attempting to defend their Championship title, has been dealt a further blow by the news that Graham Onions will need to see a specialist about his back problem. Onions only bowled eight overs on the first day and did not take the field on Monday, with Jon Lewis, Durham’s coach, unwilling to speculate as to how long he could potentially be ruled out.Durham were already without Jamie Harrison for this match due to injury, while his replacement, Usman Arshad, is also carrying a back problem that has limited him to 14 overs out of the 113.4 bowled against Sussex so far.Travelling down by coach from the northeast has done nothing to ease such commonplace bowler discomforts and Durham will have to undertake a similarly taxing journey in the next round of the Championship, for their match against Somerset at Taunton.”The mood’s probably lifted by this drizzle,” said Lewis, with a touch of gallows humour, after rain washed out most of the second day in Hove. The situation has heaped further weight on the shoulders of Chris Rushworth and Mark Wood, who is himself returning from an injury sustained with England Lions before the start of the season. Between them, they have already bowled more than 60 overs in this match.Durham have received better news on Ben Stokes, though the allrounder who played such an important role in their Championship win is likely to be smuggled away by England at the earliest opportunity. Lewis said Stokes had “good scan results today” on the broken wrist he sustained in the Caribbean and will now resume training with bat and ball.”The problem is, you lose Onions and that’s bad, then Rushworth gets up to 34-35 overs in under four sessions and Woods up at 30-plus, in only his second game back – he bowled 30 in the first game back – you try to ease him back in after the injury he’s had,” Lewis said. “So then you run the risk of doing something wrong to Rushworth or Wood, which would set us back again. It’s a juggling act, we want to win and they’re important cricketers.”Without a win in their opening three games, Durham’s title defence was already hobbling a little and clutching its back – now that is exactly what Onions, the attack leader, is doing too. He has taken exactly 200 first-class wickets for Durham since the start of the 2011 season but, having missed all of 2010 with a back injury that required surgery, a serious problem would raise fears about the 31-year-old’s career prospects. Thoughts of an England recall are rapidly receding.Durham’s difficulties so far this season are perhaps best summed up by the fact that only two bowling points eluded them throughout the whole of last year; after struggling against Yorkshire last week, they have now dropped three in two matches.Their current standing near the foot of the division suggests the prospect of a relegation battle rather than another title challenge – though Paul Collingwood continued to visibly rally his troops, gambolling energetically from slip to give Mark Stoneman at high five at point when stopping a shot during the morning session, in which only 17.4 overs were possible.Sussex’s handsome advantage was built on the back of a record stand between Luke Wright and Ben Brown, although another poor forecast for Tuesday may prevent them capitalising fully. The sixth-wicket pair only added nine more runs to the overnight score before being separated but both achieved career bests, Brown’s 163 eclipsing the mark for Sussex’s No. 7 that had stood since Jim Parks made 159 not out against Kent in 1950.Rain interrupted play after one over from Wood, causing a 45-minute delay, and on the resumption Durham claimed their first wickets since shortly after lunch on the first day. Wright had just surpassed his previous best first-class score, made against Middlesex last summer, when he drove airily at Rushworth to be caught behind for 189 and end his partnership with Brown at 335.Rushworth made it two in three balls when he also had Ashar Zaidi held at the wicket and Brown did not last much longer, Wood snaking one past the bat to hit off stump. The ninth wicket fell three balls too late to give Durham a third bowling point but the persistent showers on the south coast provided a depleted attack some welcome respite.

Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal has been ruled out of the remaining ODIs against England, after sustaining a grade-two tear on his right hamstring in the first ODI

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-May-2014Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal has been ruled out of the remaining ODIs against England, after sustaining a grade-two tear on his right hamstring while running between wickets in the first ODI. Lakmal is expected to be available for the first Test, which begins at Lord’s on June 12, but is unlikely to play in the practice match in Northampton. He will receive treatment in Sri Lanka, in the interim, the team’s manager said.While Lakmal was replaced by Dhammika Prasad in the playing XI for the second ODI on Sunday, Rangana Herath was added to the squad as Lakmal’s replacement. The selectors had intended to preserve Herath for the Tests, in light of his chronic knee condition, but have chosen him despite team management earlier stating seam bowler Shaminda Eranga would be Lakmal’s replacement.* Sri Lanka already have two frontline spinners in their ODI squad, in Sachithra Senanayake and Ajantha Mendis, as well as slow-bowling allrounder Chaturanga de Silva.Lakmal is a key component of Sri Lanka’s Test attack, and an injury of this magnitude in the approach to the Test series is a significant concern for the side. He was particularly prone to injury during the early years of his international career, but there were signs Lakmal’s fitness had improved, when he bowled more than 130 overs in a three-match series against Pakistan in January.Tillakaratne Dilshan had suffered a groin strain in the first ODI, but passed a fitness test on Sunday to keep his place in the XI.* May 26, 1108 GMT. The news story was changed to reflect Rangana Herath’s inclusion in the squad

Nottinghamshire’s director cricket Mick Newell hailed the finest 10 days since he took the job as his side moved level on points with Yorkshire at the top of Division One and inflicted Somerset’s first defeat

Press Association25-Jun-2014
ScorecardPhil Jaques has punished Somerset’s attack all season•Getty ImagesNottinghamshire’s director of cricket Mick Newell hailed what he regarded as his best 10 days in the job as a six-wicket defeat of Somerset took his side level on points with Yorkshire at the top of the table.Notts remain second by virtue of losing more matches, but that was not about to dampen Newell’s spiirts after they had inflicted upon Somerset their first defeat of the season and taken a maximum 24 points from the game.Somerset’s first defeat of the campaign brought them only three bonus points and leaves them 26 points behind the leaders but with a game in hand.Notts’ win was their fourth in just over a week, following a Championship success against another title contender, Middlesex, last Tuesday and NatWest T20 Blast wins against Leicestershire and Derbyshire which have revived their flagging challenge in the North GroupNewell said: “We’ve been very, very good recently. We knew June was going to be a challenge for us in four-day cricket, playing against the best sides, but we’ve risen to that challenge.”We’ve also also put together some good wins in the T20 Blast competition, so all in all it’s been perhaps the best 10 days of my career in terms of running this team.”Nottinghamshire began the final day requiring only a further 44 runs and needed only a further 40 minutes to race to 111 for 3 to complete their victory.Phil Jaques, who had made 113 in the first innings, ended on 42 not out, with Ajmal Shahzad closing on an unbeaten 23. Jaques, who had made scores of 65 and 150 not out when the sides met at Taunton last month, took his total to 370 in four innings against Somerset this season by finishing on an unbeaten 42 from 65 deliveries, with six fours.Craig Overton had delayed the inevitable on the third evening by making early inroads into the Nottinghamshire top order but he could not inflict any further damage and finished with figures of 3 for 48.Somerset’s best opportunity came from the final ball of the first over. Jaques and Shahzad, who had been sent in the previous evening as nightwatchman, had a complete misunderstanding from the final ball of the opening over.Shahzad pushed Craig Meschede into the off side, set off for a run that was never on and stood helplessly in the middle of the strip as George Dockrell’s shy from 12 yards narrowly missed the unprotected stumps.Somerset captain Marcus Trescothick concluded the damage was done early in the game.”It’s always tough to rebound against a good team after being shot out for 150 or so in the first innings,” he said. You can’t win a game on the first day but you can certainly lose it. Winning the toss and batting was clearly a big mistake but it’s our first loss and we’ve got to take it on the chin and move on.”

Steve Kirby has announced his retirement due to an ongoing shoulder injury

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2014Steve Kirby, the Somerset fast bowler, has announced his retirement due to an ongoing shoulder injury.Last winter Kirby underwent surgery but after returning to action earlier this season he aggravated the injury during a second team game.”It has come as a real blow to me to have to retire from the game that I have been involved with for the past 20 years of my life,” Kirby said. “It’s been a difficult winter having gone through two operations. Dealing with setbacks is always part of professional sport but sometimes no matter how hard you try to recover, things are just taken out of your control.”Kirby made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 2001 and such was his impact during that first season, as he took 47 wickets at 20.85, that he was mentioned in dispatches for a hurried call-up into the England side to face Australia.As it was he never reached international level, but he did represent England Lions. His best season came in 2003 when he claimed 67 wickets 26.40 which included his career-best 8 for 80. In 2005 he moved to Gloucestershire and in 2009 took 64 at 22.18 before moving to Somerset in 2011.He was also known as a feisty competitor and as known for the occasional interesting sledge such as when he told Michael Atherton “I’ve seen better batters in my fridge”.”I may be retiring from first class cricket but I hope to remain involved with the game at some level in a coaching capacity as I would love to be able to give something back to this wonderful game that has been so good to me over the years,” Kirby said.”I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people that have helped me through my career, I would like to mention them by name but there have been so many to whom I am very grateful, and in particular the Somerset supporters who have made me feel so welcome in my time here at the club.”