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Medium-pacer Hugh Bernard took 5 for 14 in 8.1 overs to bowl England Under-19 to an 82-run victory against Australia Under-19 in the last match of the series in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2015Medium-pacer Hugh Bernard took 5 for 14 in 8.1 overs to bowl England Under-19 to an 82-run victory against Australia Under-19 in the last match of the series in Perth. The home side had already won the series and it ended 3-2.England struggled after they were put in, losing their top three batsmen for scores of 1, 2 and 1. From 8 for 3, they were lifted by wicketkeeper Ryan Davies who made 81 and had a 69-run stand with his captain Aneurin Donald. After Davies was dismissed, Aaron Thomason made 63 at No.7 and, with Brad Taylor’s 34, helped England post 232 for 8 in 50 overs. Henry Thornton took 4 for 46 for Australia.Australia’s openers made a steady beginning, reaching 20 in 3.5 overs, before Bernard hit the chase hard. He dismissed batsmen Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in quick succession to reduce them to 29 for 3 in eight overs. Australia progressed to 60 for 3 before losing two wickets for no runs, and then suffered the same fate when the score was 71 in the 21st over. That was the end of their challenge. Bernard returned to polish off the last two wickets and dismiss Australia for 150 in 40.1 overs. Wicketkeeper Tom Healy, Ian Healy’s son, was the home team’s top scorer with an unbeaten 58.

Fast bowler Jhye Richardson continued his outstanding form to set up a comfortable series-sealing victory for Australia Under-19s against England Under-19s in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2015
ScorecardFast bowler Jhye Richardson continued his outstanding form to set up a comfortable series-sealing victory for Australia Under-19s against England Under-19s in Perth. The Australians took a 3-1 lead with one match to play after Richardson collected 4 for 33 to restrict England to 138, bowled out in the 50th over after being sent in.Richardson claimed two wickets in the first over of the match and England never really recovered, although Aaron Thomason was a stand-out for them with 70 in an innings where no other player reached 20. Richardson, from Western Australia, is comfortably the leading wicket taker in the series with 12 victims at 13.16 from four games.Australia had little trouble in their chase as Jake Carder and Sam Heazlett put on 78 for the opening wicket. Heazlett was bowled for 47 off 46 balls but Carder had plenty of support and was still at the crease on 52 not out when the winning runs arrived, with seven wickets in hand and 132 balls to spare.

Shikhar Dhawan scored a rapid 150 on Test comeback, and was complemented by M Vijay’s sedate 89, as India raced to 239 for 0 on a rain-hit day

The Report by Sidharth Monga10-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:21

‘Big boost for Dhawan on comeback’

He could have been carrying drinks had KL Rahul not fallen ill or if India had taken the expected option of opening with Cheteshwar Pujara once they decided to play five bowlers. He could have been out for 1 on a quicker pitch, he should have been snapped for 73, but Shikhar Dhawan was destined to score a third Test century, against an insipid attack missing both strategy and execution.The ad campaign of “they are not kids anymore” will draw jokes about Bangladesh’s wicketless performance on the first day, but no Test century can be written off; and Dhawan’s came at a crucial juncture in his career, in a comeback Test, and its pace helped India make up time in a Test played on a slow pitch and during the monsoon. Only 56 overs were possible, but Dhawan’s unbeaten 150 off 158 meant India got a score that teams at times take on a full day’s play. The established opener, M Vijay, put his head down, determined to not throw away his wicket against innocuous bowling, complementing Dhawan with a more sedate 89 off 178.India’s intent will take all the headlines: they picked five bowlers, including three quickest bowlers in their squad, and sat out the least aggressive of their batting contenders, Pujara. The story of the day, though, will be Bangladesh’s rather strange selection and bowling plans thereafter. Not only did they select Mohammad Shahid to play his third Test, they selected him as the only specialist quick ahead of the promising duo of Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed on an overcast day and with cloud cover expected throughout the Test. It seemed they had put all their eggs in the toss basket packing their side with batting and spin, and losing out on helpful conditions with the new ball on the first morning. It all went wrong for them from the moment Kohli won the toss.India’s luck didn’t end at the toss. There was no bounce in the pitch, which should have got them Vijay’s wicket in the second over and which also cost them Dhawan’s scalp in the third. Soumya Sarkar, already developing a cult following as the little Ganguly with his classy off-side shots and military medium bowling, thought he had Vijay trapped right in front with a short-of-a-length delivery, but seemingly umpire Kumar Dharmasena thought it would have sailed over the stumps. On a pitch with good bounce it would well have, but this was a slow and low track, evident in how Dhawan’s regulation edge off the only fast bowler fell short of slip in the next over. India could well have been 1 for 2 then, but Bangladesh gave up the ghost after that.The consequence was a mammoth opening stand, which made this combination the fifth-most prolific among Indian openers, and the only one other than Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to have posted two double-century stands. There was a sense of ease with which they scored the runs: Dhawan was not even at his watchful best, but the leading edges fell safe, the inside edges avoided the stumps, and the gorgeous drives flowed. The standout quality of the innings was his charges against spin, not to blast the ball, but to push it along the ground and into the gaps, letting the quick outfield do the rest.The first burst, though, didn’t need much of that exquisite footwork. After bowling two maidens Shahid lost all intensity and provided loose balls to Dhawan to help him get off to a flying start. However, it was the lack of discipline from the spinners that will disappoint Bangladesh. In his first over, the sixth of the innings, Shuvagata Hom provided Dhawan with a short ball and a half-volley, which were both sent away for fours. Shahid then conceded three boundaries to horizontal shots in one over, on such a slow track and with a cloud cover overhead. From 1 off 10 Dhawan had now raced to 34 off 28. Despite all the strides made by Bangladesh of late, the harsh and the unfortunate truth is Dhawan is likely to be tested more in domestic first-class cricket than during this spell of play.The worrying part for Bangladesh will be that the ball turned. Just that their bowlers didn’t put enough of them in areas that test batsmen. They didn’t concede an extra, but freebies they kept providing. After the rain interruption, which arrived moments after Dhawan had been dropped by Hom at short straight midwicket, Shahid – primarily an inswing bowler – bowled with a 7-2 off-side field providing easy runs. Spinners kept bowling flat, and the best of the lot, Shakib Al Hasan, bowled only six in the first 45. If the legspinner Jubair Hossain managed to draw the odd false stroke with his wrong’uns – including a Dhawan edge when he was 98 – his economy rate of 5.85 was testament to the number of long hops and full tosses thrown in besides.Given the conditions and the quality of the bowling, this partnership won’t answer India’s long-term problems with opening the innings outside of Asia, but they did what was required, at a healthy pace, to give India a chance to push for the win.

Pakistan’s Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been named as a replacement for Shoaib Malik for Barbados Tridents

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2015Barbados Tridents have named Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s Test captain, as a replacement for Shoaib Malik for the remainder of the 2015 Caribbean Premier League. Though the PCB has not formally announced its ODI squad for the matches in Sri Lanka, a CPL release indicated Malik had been selected.Malik, who has scored 127 runs from four matches this season, will play his last game on July 3 against St. Lucia Zouks.”Shoaib has been fantastic in the CPL so it’s a shame to lose him, but we’re delighted that he’s back in the Pakistan squad and we wish him every success in the upcoming series,” Tom Moody, the CPL director, said. “Misbah is one of the most respected cricketers in the world, and we’re sure he’ll be an excellent addition to the Tridents squad.”Misbah, who has already played in the CPL before for St. Lucia Zouks, has an impressive T20 record, with 2635 runs from 116 matches at an average of 36.09, including a century and 10 fifties. He will be available for the game against Jamaica Tallawahs, on July 11.

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell has said he would be willing, but “scared”, to travel to Pakistan if the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were to be played there next year

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Feb-2016West Indies allrounder Andre Russell has said he would be willing, but “scared”, to travel to Pakistan if the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were to be played there next year. Russell, who represents Islamabad United in the PSL, said he was only being defensive based on the knowledge he had gathered about the security situation in Pakistan from reading and listening in the media.”Based on what I have heard and stuff you know, I mean, I am going to be scared obviously,” Russell told ESPNcricinfo, when asked if he would play in Pakistan. “But, for some reason, I would go to Pakistan. But listen, I am going to be scared. That’s the thing.”Last year, Zimbabwe became the first international team to play in Pakistan since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. The ICC, however, has not yet given a clean chit to the security situation in Pakistan. On the eve of the PSL, Najam Sethi, the league’s chairman, had revealed that hosting a few matches in the major cities of Pakistan in the second season was definitely part of his plan.Russell explained his fear, equating travelling to Pakistan to going to war-torn Iraq. “It is like me going to Iraq based on what I have heard about Iraq. You are going to have nice places in Iraq. You are going to have nice places in Pakistan. I’ve seen pictures, beautiful places, beautiful people. But it is [about] what is surrounding [them],” Russel said.Russell even gave the example of walking through the streets back home in Jamaica. “A lot of crime going on in Jamaica. I’m from Jamaica. I’m going to tell, Jamaica is the most beautiful place in the world. You are going to say, “No, but, they are shooting people.” I will say, no, no. Don’t worry. So it is going to be similar [about going to Pakistan]. So if I have to go, I’ll go. But if I don’t have to, I don’t mind.”Russell is the first high-profile overseas player in the PSL to express a willingness to play in Pakistan. In the past few weeks, other players such as Australia’s Shane Watson and Russell’s West Indies teammate and Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy have said they would travel subject to security clearance.Watson, who was picked by Islamabad in the draft, said he had pleasant memories of Pakistan, having already toured the country in 2005 with Australia A. “I had a really good time while playing in Pakistan in 2005 during the Australia A team tour,” he said on the eve of the PSL. “However, security is the most important thing and if players around the world are declared to be very safe I will be happy to play there.”I love playing cricket wherever it is around the world. If security situation continues to get better there, it will be nice and Pakistan hadn’t had home team advantage for a long time now because of security concerns and hopefully it works out their way soon.”Sammy, who plays for Peshawar Zalmi, said he felt bad for fans in Pakistan who have been deprived of international cricket for a long time. While conceding that playing the PSL in the teams’ home cities would could fill the vacuum, Sammy said the decision to travel was not his.”Well, to be honest, these decisions are never ours,” Sammy said at a media conference in the first week of the tournament. “It is the government and the cricket body to decide, but what I could tell you is that the fans of Pakistan cricket have been missing some good international cricket.”We as cricketers get to play in front of our home fans and that is something Pakistan have not had an opportunity [to experience], to play in front of their own people for a while. It is sad, but hopefully things could get resolved and every territory could get a chance of playing cricket before their own crowd.”

James Anyon, the Sussex fast bowler, has retired from first-class cricket due to persistent injury problems

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2016James Anyon, the Sussex fast bowler, has retired from first-class cricket due to persistent injury problems. Anyon missed all of 2015 and much of the 2014 season and has agreed not to have his contract renewed.Anyon, 32, took 199 first-class wickets for Sussex after joining from Warwickshire in 2010. With an increasingly muscular frame, he topped 50 wickets in 2011 and 2013, forming a key part of the attack in red-ball cricket. He now hopes to go into coaching.”It’s been a frustrating 18 months having failed to recover from a knee injury,” Anyon said. “On the advice of the club’s medical staff, I have decided not to pursue my first-class cricketing career.”I have had a fantastic time at the club since I joined in 2010 and I would like to thank everyone who has made me and my family so welcome here at Hove. I’m very fortunate to have played my best cricket at Sussex, and I’m very proud that I got to represent the county as often as I did.”I’d like to make a special thank you to the medical staff and the PCA for all their help over the past twelve months, and I wish the club success going forward, as we have a lot of good people who are working hard to make the club successful both on and off the pitch.”Over the winter, I’ve enjoyed coaching some of the promising young players from the Sussex Age Group Squads and I hope to be able to continue to contribute to the club in the future.”Anyon made his first-class debut for Loughborough UCCE in 2003 and spent several years at Warwickshire, for whom he took 105 first-class wickets. He was rarely used in white-ball cricket at Sussex, but averaged 30.55 in List A cricket and 19.56 in T20.Sussex’s head coach, Mark, Davis said: “Firstly, a big thank you to Jimmy for the outstanding service he has given to Sussex over the last six years. Jimmy was not only a top class cricketer, who at times could be super quick with the ball in hand, but was a great man to be around and an integral part of the dressing room.”A big strong man who could bowl all day and get anybody out, he kept running in and would never shy away from hard work when conditions became tough. His batting was solid, with a good technique and consistent method, playing a number of very valuable innings when the team needed him most.”With a strong work ethic Jimmy, will be successful at whatever he decides to do in the future. We wish Jimmy, Anna and their impending arrival all the best for the future.”

A Mumbai XI reinforced with four donations from the England squad ran their visitors close before succumbing to a 14-run defeat

Andrew Miller at the Brabourne Stadium14-Mar-2016England XI 177 for 8 (Root 48, Willey 3-35, Rashid 2-33) beat MCA XI 163 for 6 (Bista 51, Vince 45) by 14 runs
ScorecardJoe Root hits down the ground during his 48•Getty ImagesThe venerable Cricket Club of India has its very own “Men’s Siesta Room”, situated on the second floor of the Brabourne Stadium pavilion, and available from the hours of 12pm to 6pm to those members who could do with a lie-down. Like most of the décor in and around the grand old ground, its very existence harks back to an era of and , when it was safe to take your eyes off the action and not miss a single beat.On paper, England’s final World T20 warm-up match against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI was the sort of occasion that could have led to standing room only in the Siesta Room. Many’s the time that England have simply muddled through the motions in such contests, rotating their squad, settling for time in the middle, and moving onto the main event with minimum fuss.Times, however, have changed very quickly, and England’s final 40 overs of middle practice proved urgent and captivating. In the end, a Mumbai XI reinforced with four donations from the England squad ran their visitors close before succumbing to a 14-run defeat, the contest effectively sealed by a brace of yorkers from Chris Jordan to bowl two of England’s floor-crossers, James Vince and Jos Buttler in consecutive overs.Up until that point, England had been somewhat up against it. Jay Bista, a talented 20-year-old local boy who last week struck his maiden first-class hundred, launched Mumbai’s pursuit of 178 with a 37-ball 51, before Vince, with a measured 45 from 38, and Buttler, with a typically aggressive 25 from 16, manoeuvred their adopted team close with a 47-run stand in five overs.England did not help their cause with their fielding – both men were badly dropped in the deep by Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes respectively – but England dredged the necessary composure to close out the contest, Jordan serving up a diet of yorkers at the death, not least in an exemplary penultimate over that went for just two runs.”He’s been fantastic,” said Joe Root, whose 48 from 34 balls was the bedrock of England’s efforts with the bat. “He’s proven on a few occasions he can perform under real pressure. Now it’s about doing it consistently and when it really counts. The best thing is we’ve got these experiences to call upon when the tournament starts, so fingers crossed we can take that confidence forward.”For all that Eoin Morgan has encouraged his England team to embrace their “naivety” in Indian conditions, there’s a subtle difference between the sort of have-a-go fearlessness that he is advocating and willful ignorance of the challenges that lie in store. And with that in mind, England have made as much capital as they could have hoped from their two practice contests.West Indies on Wednesday will be another challenge entirely. “They are extremely explosive,” said Root. “They have firepower in the batting order, and are unpredictable at times, so we have got to have lots of plans in place to counter that”.However, the ongoing success of Adil Rashid as a middle-order handbrake augurs well for England’s chances of launching their campaign in style. In transferring both Buttler and Rashid to their opponents, England created a situation in which their two likeliest matchwinners could test themselves against the best that England could offer, and vice versa. It proved to be a qualified success.After batting first in a pre-arranged situation, Jason Roy and Alex Hales had biffed England along to 69 in the seventh over – neither perhaps hitting top form but nevertheless finding the gaps to rattle the scoreboard along – when Rashid started with the sort of splash that he has become something of a trademark since his stint with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash.He snared both men in the space of his first ten balls – Roy got himself in a tangle on the reverse sweep and chipped to short third man, before Hales was beaten in flight and jabbed a high looping chance back to the bowler. With flight, guile and spin both ways, Rashid conceded just 17 runs in his first three overs before Root, with the impish acceleration for which he is building his own reputation, planted his front foot to slam two sixes in a final over that went for 16.”Hopefully everyone got lots out of it,” said Root. “Personally I know I did, it’s always good to face someone like Rash, who’s got the ability to spin the ball both ways. There will be times when we have to make sure we can face that in the tournament. He’s a very skilful bowler and it’s great to get an opportunity to face someone like that in a match situation instead of just in the nets.”David Willey, the fourth of England’s exports to the Mumbai team, belatedly reminded the selectors of his merits with an improbable hat-trick as England shipped five wickets in the final 11 balls of their innings. After a first-ball lbw appeal against Roy that might have been tighter in a more competitive game, Willey came in for some tap in the opening three overs of his spell, only to turn his figures upside down with the consecutive scalps of Root, Moeen Ali and Jordan, who launched the final ball of the innings inside out over cover, but picked out Bista, lurking in the deep.”Out preparation has been very good,” said Root. “In all the training sessions, the lads have worked extremely hard, and when it’s come to the games, the guys have stepped up and performed under pressure, which is exactly what we need to do.”

With four wins in six matches, Delhi Daredevils are placed third and have the opportunity to climb further on Tuesday against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan02-May-2016Match factsTuesday, May 3, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Big PictureIn an IPL that has, at various points, been bereft of excitement due to the slew of one-sided finishes, and predictable because of the number of successful chases, Delhi Daredevils’ performances have been refreshing.After racking up a grand total of 10 wins across the last three seasons, 2016 has been a welcome change for Daredevils. With four wins from six matches, they are placed third and have the opportunity to climb further on Tuesday against Gujarat Lions, who suffered a 23-run loss against laggards Kings XI Punjab.Zaheer Khan’s astute leadership has been central to Daredevils’ success, as have the performances of their foreign contingent. Chris Morris has been their most impressive foreign buy. His effective end-overs bowling, and fearsome ball-striking, of the kind he displayed in an unbeaten 32-ball 82 in a narrow loss for Daredevils the last time both sides met, makes him an important part of the line-up.Daredevils, however, have struggled to get an opening partnership going despite having tried three different combinations. Shreyas Iyer is under pressure to retain his place, having scored just 22 runs in five innings.There aren’t too many batting concerns for Gujarat Lions, even though the loss to Kings XI would serve as a wake-up call. But not all was doom and gloom in Rajkot. Shivil Kaushik, the chinaman bowler, put behind a disappointing debut to finish with figures of 3 for 20, which included the wickets of Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and M Vijay.Form guideGujarat Lions LWWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Delhi Daredevils WLWWWIn the spotlightDwayne Smith came in only after an injury forced Aaron Finch out of the side and has grabbed his opportunities. With 163 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 153.77, he has been as effective as Brendon McCullum at the top of the order for Gujarat Lions.But for a 60 against Mumbai Indians, Sanju Samson has had a lean tournament (133 runs in six innings). A flat Rajkot deck could just be what he needs to rediscover his touch.Team newsFinch’s fitness is being closely monitored. At a training session on the eve of the game, he was the first to pad up and had a long net session, facing throw-downs before practising against Pravin Tambe and a few net bowlers. Finch batted and ran between the wickets without any apparent discomfort. If he is picked, James Faulkner may have to make way. McCullum and Smith are likely to open, which means Dinesh Karthik may have to move down to slot Finch in at No. 4.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Aaron Finch/James Faulkner, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Ishan Kishan, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shivil KaushikDaredevils may not want to tinker with the XI that beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in their previous match. It’s not clear if JP Duminy, who missed the previous game because of an illness, has recovered. With Sam Billings, his replacement, having scored a 34-ball 54 on IPL debut, Daredevils may have to make a tough choice. Iyer’s struggle for runs – he has three ducks this season – could pave way for Mayank Agarwal’s inclusion.Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Shreyas Iyer/Mayank Agarwal, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Sam Billings/JP Duminy, 6 Chris Morris, 7 Carlos Brathwaite, 8 Rishabh Pant, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Amit MishraPitch and conditionsThough Sunday’s match between Kings XI and Lions ended up being low scoring, surfaces in Rajkot are traditionally flat. So expect another run-fest. The players would welcome a night game.Stats and trivia Delhi Daredevils have effected eight run-outs, the most by any team this season. Their batsmen have been involved in only one run-out, the fewest in the tournament. Praveen Kumar got his first wicket of IPL 2016 off his 147th ball – the second-longest wait for a bowler in a season. Praveen himself holds the record, having taken 159 balls in 2012.

Haseed Hameed, the 19-year-old batsman, guided Lancashire’s reply to Durham’s 411 on the second day at Chester-le-Street

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street16-May-2016
ScorecardHaseeb Hameed showed qualities he is quickly becoming well known for•Getty ImagesThe story goes that South Africa’s captain, Alan Melville, was so absorbed in his own innings during a 1947 Test match that he failed to notice one of his partners had been dismissed. “Where’s Dudley?” he asked an astonished team-mate during one of the stranger midwicket conferences in cricket history.Haseeb Hameed is 19 years old and such bizarre inattention on his part would probably merit a bollocking from one of Lancashire’s battle-tempered old pros. All the same he already shows an unnerving devotion to the art of batting and an ability to concentrate which some players ten years his senior never acquire. And Lancashire had need of Hameed’s precocious mental strength on the second afternoon of this game at the Riverside.For 263 minutes he answered the call, carefully accumulating runs with gentle certainty and what the former Lancashire coach, Peter Moores, identifies as “quietness” at the crease. Only when it seemed all but sure that he would be batting on Tuesday morning did he err, fatally missing a pull off a monstrous Scott Borthwick long hop and being bowled for 74 four overs before the close. The fact that his runs had helped his side construct a decent reply to Durham’s 411 will comfort Hameed but it will not assuage his disappointment at losing his treasured wicket. He might, though, be rather comforted by the joy of Durham’s players when they removed him.”It wasn’t nice but that’s cricket for you,” he said gamely. “Sometimes you get a jaffa and sometimes balls like that can get you out but hopefully next time I can push on and get a hundred.”Lancashire were already 21 for 2, having lost Karl Brown and Luke Procter, both caught by Ryan Pringle at third slip off James Weighell, when Hameed was joined by Alviro Petersen at just past two o’clock. Time, by the way, may be significant to everyone else on the planet but Hameed gives no indication that it matters to him. “You think you are a Time Lord, Doctor,” one can imagine him informing Gallifrey’s most famous son, “but I think can show something about time. We shall begin by playing a game of cricket. I’ll bat first….”Hameed and Petersen repaired their side’s damaged innings with a partnership of 104 in 44.3 overs. Petersen was the quicker scorer but not by the margin that those who watched Hameed’s 225-ball 62 against Hampshire might imagine. When Durham’s second string seamers, Brydon Carse and Barry McCarthy, over-pitched outside the off stump, Hameed unfurled his drive through point, thus supporting the argument that those who label him a blocker are missing the point. He already has a sophisticated ability to weigh risk against reward. His clip to square leg off a Carse half-volley to reach his fifty was an almost contemptuous dismissal of a rank bad ball.Long before that, however, Hameed had to survive a fine spell from Graham Onions, who remains one of English cricket’s most rigorous inquisitors. On several occasions just after lunch Hameed was beaten outside the off stump by Onions. Each time this happened he walked to square leg, as if assimilating what he had learned; invariably he played the previous shot again. After bowling nine overs for nine runs Paul Collingwood took Onions off and Hameed had won another small contest. It would have been interesting to see how he might have fared had Chris Rushworth’s buttock injury not kept him out of this game.As it was, Hameed and Petersen enjoyed a measure of freedom in the development of their partnership. The pair went into this game with almost identical first-class averages, albeit that Petersen has played over 200 games more. While the South African found the gaps in the field with greater facility, his partner radiated greater permanence, so it was not greatly surprising when Petersen was lbw for 61 in Onions’s second spell when trying to work the ball to leg.Hameed was joined by Croft and continued in his profound method. Time, and then time again, the bat was drawn from stumps to crease and the guard checked with a patient umpire.Evening drifted away and how the Lancashire supporters enjoyed it as they sat in the sun traps around the Riverside. So they did on the pavilion balcony, too, where the players have already nicknamed Hameed “the Great Wall of Bolton”. The batsman himself probably likes it, for it carries echoes of Rahul Dravid. For both batsmen the forward defensive seems a beautiful stroke, an exposition of character.And as Collingwood rotated his bowlers and changed the field, placing both short mid-off and short mid-on for Hameed when Onions was bowling, Durham’s skipper probably appreciated the arrival of a batsman of palpable pedigree. In the morning session Collingwood had fallen three runs short of a century which most at the Riverside, even the visiting supporters unblinded by zealotry, would have liked to see.For some English cricketers their team’s shirt is a flag of financial convenience; for others it is a demonstration of tribal loyalty, a matter of blood. It still comes as something of a shock to realise that Jack Bond played for Nottinghamshire or that Jack Hampshire had three seasons with Derbyshire. Collingwood is 40 on May 26 and he will eventually retire having been a Durham cricketer for over two decades. During those years he has worn the county’s coat of arms with nothing less than the full measure of devotion. Durham may need more than a few bob from the ECB; they will not want for heart while Collingwood is around.Nor need Lancashire supporters be anxious about at least one of their side’s opening batting positions for the next couple of summers. After that, though the future is more uncertain, because before too long, Haseeb Hameed will play for England. He has at least 15 years of next times ahead of him.

The two South American giants have a rich pool of talent, and plenty of young stars will be followed by Europe's biggest clubs in the summer

1Marcelo Torres (Talleres)At just 20, stocky centre-forward Torres is making waves on loan at Talleres, and was one of the stand-out players from Argentina's Under-20 engagements in 2017. Boca wisely decided to loan out the young star in order to further develop his game, but it would be no surprise to see him lining up alongside the likes of Tevez at the Bombonera before too much more time passes.Advertisement2Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors)

At the tender age of 22, the Boca winger is already a full Argentina international, and was watched closely by Arsenal over the winter before deciding to stay at the Bombonera and fight for the Copa Libertadores alongside Carlos Tevez. Pavon is adept at playing through the middle or down either flank, though it is when he has a nervous full-back in his sights that the ex-Talleres man really shines.

MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty3Paulinho (Vasco)

At just 17, Paulinho is already a fixture in the Vasco first team and might just be the next big thing to come out of Brazilian football. The teenager can play off either wing and is improving in leaps and bounds, and while he is still a relative novice, it is only a matter of time before Europe's elite come calling.

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4Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors)

Captain of Penarol while barely out of his teens, the Uruguayan midfielder has taken the Primera Division by storm since moving to Boca in 2017. The 21-year-old is strong, confident with the ball at his feet and blessed with a great eye for goal, and is a virtual certainty to make the Celeste squad for the upcoming World Cup. Nandez had attracted attention from Germany before signing at the Bombonera, and if he continues to develop at his current rate, interest from a European giant will arrive sooner rather than later.