The last time Somerset lost a Championship match at Taunton, the ground rang to raucous Lancastrian celebrations. This time it was deserted as Middlesex unexpectedly escaped the showers to pull off a three-day victory

David Hopps at Taunton17-May-2013
ScorecardTim Murtagh took 10 for 77 in the match•Middlesex CCC

The last time Somerset lost a Championship match at Taunton, the ground – not to mention the town centre hostelries – rang to raucous Lancastrian celebrations as the Red Rose celebrated their first outright title for 77 years. This time the ground was deserted as Middlesex unexpectedly escaped the showers to pull off a three-day victory after 7pm. But empty ground or not, 20 months later, the town might just have played host to another Championship winner.Middlesex went top, ahead of Durham, by virtue of this victory and with a third of the season gone the table is beginning to take an intriguing shape. Nobody looks more serious contenders than Middlesex. Durham are unexpected leaders, Warwickshire’s innings defeat against Yorkshire raised many questions about their ability to defend their title, and Somerset, so often nearly-men, will be grateful just to stabilise their season after this nine-wicket defeat.Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s director of cricket, is still awaiting his first win after five matches. After eight weeks, he will be wondering whether the job is bigger than he realised. It was never going to be a matter of ticking things along; it was a matter of rebuilding with very few players clamouring for recognition in the 2nd XI.”Middlesex played very well and outplayed us,” he said. “That is two games in a row where we haven’t pitched and we will have to reassess things. Yorkshire was disappointing and now this, but sometimes the biggest punch comes from the back foot and we’ll see what sort of characters we’ve got. The individuals need to pinpoint themselves.”We haven’t played terrible cricket but after five games we should have won two of them and that lingers in the back of the mind.”Middlesex look to be quite a strong outfit. They look a very balanced and a settled side and playing some quality cricket. At the start of the season I don’t think you could say who was going to win the thing – it was an open race – but they have shown some good early form.”Somerset could at least draw heart from the signing of Dean Elgar, who replaces his fellow South African batsman, Alviro Petersen, while he is on Champions Trophy duty. He is expected to make his debut against Yorkshire in their next home Championship fixture at the end of the month. Nosworthy called him a fighter – and he needs others to show similar resolve.The game was all but up for Somerset from the second afternoon when they collapsed to 35 for 5, still 160 behind. Peter Trego and Jos Buttler brought a veneer of respectability with a pair of 80s, Somerset adding another 143 to their overnight 112 for 5 as the clouds began to build.This was not a game when Tim Murtagh could be kept out of the picture for long. He had Trego caught at short midwicket and later he rounded up the Somerset innings by having Steve Kirby lbw to the first over with the second new ball to finish with match figures of 10 for 77 – the third 10-wicket haul of his Championship career.The resistance meant most for Buttler, whose chequered Championship career has been strewn with careless dismissals, but who not for the first time this season showed a growing inclination to play in a more considered fashion and who bedded down dutifully to make 85 in nearly four-and-a-half hours.Perhaps this innings, even in defeat, will one day be seen as a breakthrough in the longer format. He is such an innovative and exciting one-day player that one wonders if he can ever really enjoy playing in such a restrained fashion, but he is beginning to broaden his range.Beneath the helmet one imagined that he might have the baleful expression of a captured antelope pining for the great outdoors. Somerset will hope that his discipline was proof of his gathering maturity because they need all the talent at their disposal to rescue a disappointing start to the season.The longest delay on an afternoon of heavy showers ripped 35 overs from the day. There was a time when it seemed inevitable that Middlesex would be back tomorrow, but the umpires’ determination to stick around proved shrewd. There were a few wet areas in front of the Ondaatje Pavilion and when Trego slipped with 17 runs needed, it was enough for the captain, Marcus Trescothick, to have a word and the umpires to be forced into a confab.The extra half-hour was claimed at 39 for 0 with Middlesex 32 short and a comfortable rate of four an over ahead of them. But there was enough in the pitch for Somerset to take a prize scalp or two and Jamie Overton bowled Chris Rogers in the first over of overtime. Rogers has always been one of the doughtiest batsman on the circuit, but since his selection for Australia’s Ashes tour, his wicket has become a collector’s item; it was another happy moment in Overton’s eye-catching season.

Ireland will attempt to secure qualification for their third consecutive World Cup by beating Netherlands in two ICC WCL Championship fixtures

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Ireland will attempt to secure qualification for their third consecutive World Cup by beating Netherlands in two ICC WCL Championship fixtures over the next three days and their captain, William Porterfield, has emphasised how important the achievement would be in the continuing development of Irish cricket.The top two teams in the WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Ireland currently head the table, two points ahead of Scotland with two games in hand and three clear of Netherlands, who are themselves eyeing a direct route to the tournament.The two fixtures will take place in Amstelveen, with Ireland unbeaten in their last six ODIs against Netherlands. Both matches will be streamed live on the ICC website.”These matches mean everything for both sides as both of us must win,” Porterfield said. “The Dutch have got to win to keep things in their hands while we know that two wins will get us to Australia and New Zealand.”Cricket Ireland has set out a strategic plan to be playing Test cricket by 2020 and that involves a lot of hard yards. One of the boxes we have got to tick is winning events like this. Doing that is very important for Irish cricket as it will give us the profile to help bring more people to the game and that will hopefully bring in funding that will keep the game growing.”Ed Joyce spoke to ESPNcricinfo earlier in the week about the difficulties Ireland continue to face in securing matches against the Full Member nations. Exposure during global ICC tournaments – they have been at the last four, including World Twenty20s – has been vital, with memorable victories over Pakistan and England at the last two World Cups.Cricket Ireland has been very transparent in its aims to develop the game, setting out a blueprint to achieve Test status by 2020. For Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, it is all about “being first through the gate” and he said that failure to win the WCL Championship would be “a backward step”. Qualification would help Ireland’s forward planning in the next 18 months, as well as bring a $1 million preparation grant from the ICC.Should Ireland lose either or both of the two games against Netherlands, they will have to beat Scotland when the two teams meet in the final round of matches in September. The six countries who do not warrant automatic World Cup spots will take part in a qualifying event in New Zealand next year for two remaining places.”It would be an advantage to go through now, or even in September rather than through the Qualifier because it gives [coach] Phil Simmons a chance to identify his squad as far out from 2015 as possible,” Deutrom said. “We can set up Full Member opponents and get planning in place from 18 months out rather than 12 months out and it is all part of the way we are thinking.”We do not just want to qualify though. We do not just want to do that and think ‘we’ve qualified, now let’s sit back and rest on our laurels’. We want to do it as winners of the World Cricket League Championship, as to do that would be matching our expectations and those of our government backers, our sponsors and our fans.”Everyone has invested in us and continues to do so, and so, for us, it is all about being first through the gate and cementing our place as the top Associate, something we have been for the last four or five years. Anything less would be regarded as a disappointment and a backward step.”Netherlands have competed in four World Cups, including the last three, and will be aiming to record their first victory over Ireland in 50-over cricket since 2006. Their captain, Peter Borren, played in that game and knows that another victory would take them above Scotland and substantially improve their chances of finishing in the top two.”We have got four games left, two of them against Ireland and two against Canada, and if we win three of them then that should be enough,” he said.”For any country, the World Cup is the ultimate stage and for Associate teams like us it is our chance to get exposure and to compete with the big boys. For Dutch cricket it is huge because in order to expand the game we have got to be on the global stage as often as possible.”

Derbyshire finally mustered some resistance to take their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street to a fourth day. After subsiding for 113 in their first innings they were 49 for 5 in the second but closed on 181 for 7.

10-Jul-2013
ScorecardShivnarine Chanderpaul, not for the first time, played a lone hand in the Derbyshire top order•Getty Images

Derbyshire finally mustered some resistance to take their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street to a fourth day. After subsiding for 113 in their first innings they were 49 for 5 in the second after being set a target of 472, but closed on 181 for 7.Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 76 and put on 98 for the sixth wicket with
wicketkeeper Tom Poynton, who remained unbeaten on 56 on his return to the side
after being axed because of his lack of runs in the first four games.Chris Rushworth, the man nominated to stand down if Graham Onions became
available, followed his 6 for 64 in the first innings by taking three more
wickets. The rules state that Onions would have had to be on the ground for the start of
the third day, but although not in the team, England retained him at Trent
Bridge.In the morning Durham opener Keaton Jennings followed his 93 in the first
innings by completing his maiden championship century. Resuming on 65, he made his way carefully towards the milestone with a series
of singles and reached his hundred off 247 balls. He was on 122 at lunch, when Durham led by 446 on 306 for 7, but added only
one before being run out.Mark Wood fell lbw on the back foot to give occasional offspinner Dan Redfern
career-best figures of 3 for 33 and Durham declared on 331 for 9.Derbyshire reached 19 before three wickets went down for one run, Ben Stokes
taking two of them. Stokes nipped a delivery back to remove Richard Johnson’s off bail, then Callum
Thorp found some extra bounce to have Wayne Madsen caught behind. In Stokes’ next over Michael Richardson held a fine catch low to his right at
third slip to get rid of Chesney Hughes.Rushworth returned for a second spell and took the next two wickets, pinning
Wes Durston lbw and having left-hander Redfern caught at first slip.Chanderpaul reached 50 off 73 balls then hit Scott Borthwick for three fours
when the leg-spinner was finally introduced, only to be removed after conceding
34 in four overs. Just as in the first innings it was Rushworth who persuaded Chanderpaul to feel
for a ball just wide of off stump, which he edged to Phil Mustard.

Sri Lanka face off against South Africa in five ODIs and three T20Is, between July 20 and August 6

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Jul-2013As Sri Lanka’s next ODI assignment in a year of Test avoidance rolls around, against South Africa, fans may be beginning to feel more than a touch of limited-overs fatigue. Neither team has played a Test since March and there have been no major triumphs for either team in ODIs either.The fact that this tour could have been so much better, had the Tests not been postponed to make way for a now kaput Twenty20 tournament, will make the bilateral series all the more tough to swallow. Moreover, with the battle royale unfolding in the UK, viewers are left with a very tempting alternative.However, this match-up does have a little about it that may help distinguish it from the glut of the modern-day limited-overs sludge.It’s not often that South Africa play Sri Lanka, particularly away from home. Their last ODI series here goes back as far as 2004, when a team featuring Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje, lost 5 -0. A three-ODI series between the two sides was planned in 2006, but was cancelled due to bad weather. The touring captain AB de Villiers has not played a single ODI in Sri Lanka, in an international career spanning eight years.The sides are well matched on paper. Neither team is a world beater in the limited-overs format, but can be formidable when their moods and conditions align. In the Champions Trophy in June, both teams were beaten comprehensively in the semi-finals, which once again prompted everyone to believe that while the teams have the skill and determination to consistently find themselves at the sharp end of tournaments, they lack the mental steel to close out results in high-pressure encounters. In fact, had there been more riding on this series, it might have even been billed as a “choke-off.”There is also a mutual onus on developing young talent. South Africa have arrived without Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Graeme Smith, in an effort to find the right combination and rhythm ahead of the 2015 World Cup. Men like Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso have the chance to prove they should be part of South Africa’s long-term plans, and others like Rory Kleinveldt and David Miller must now add consistency to the qualities that has seen them emerge at the top level.For Sri Lanka, the series will provide another opportunity for the younger players to reassure their fans that the side will not slide into doldrums once Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan retire. All three seniors privately hope to play the next World Cup, but they cannot hope to end their careers with a major title unless the remaining batsmen become better than just adequate support players. The Champions Trophy might have been a disaster for Sri Lanka without the trio’s efforts in England, as none of the remaining batsmen could manage more than 74 runs during the tournament.Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, who have been made captain and vice-captain respectively for the first two games, will have the most to prove in this series. Their talent, particularly in Tests, is beyond doubt but neither is yet to repay the faith that has been afforded to them in the shorter formats. South Africa boast one of the world’s finest attacks but their inexperience in Sri Lankan conditions, and the absence of Steyn, will make them a slightly less intimidating prospect, and Sri Lanka’s middle order cannot complain that they are out of their depth.Sri Lanka and South Africa thrive in conditions that are almost diametrically opposite to the other’s favoured stomping grounds. South Africa may probably be slightly at ease, given the pace and bounce in the Sri Lankan pitches, but they must also be wary of the dustbowls at the Premadasa and in Pallekele.There has been some rain at both venues in the build-up to the series but in the past Sri Lanka’s groundsmen have always managed to maintain a turning track despite the weather. If they have done so again, South Africa will find it that much more difficult to turn around an abysmal ODI record on the island.There should be no pretensions that this series is anything other than yet another forgettable bilateral tie, robbed of much of its context because of the removal of the Tests. But for both sides, it will be another crucial step taken on their journey to Australia and New Zealand in 2015.

Taking captaincy decisions after consulting the weather forecast is not normally recommended practice but Paul Collingwood will need to keep the forecast in mind on day three

Jon Culley at Chester-le-Street04-Sep-2013
ScorecardPhil Mustard’s half-century took the match away from Sussex•Getty Images

Taking captaincy decisions after consulting the weather forecast is not normally recommended practice but should Paul Collingwood, the Durham skipper, find himself staring out at a covered square on Friday with Sussex clinging on, eight wickets down, he will be cursing this match as a missed opportunity.The win that would see Durham leapfrog Yorkshire at the top of the Championship table, with an advantage of 14 and a half points with three matches to play, is theirs for the taking, with a lead that would already require Sussex to make the largest fourth-innings score to win a match on this ground.The dilemma for Collingwood is that, with two full days left, he would not want a repeat of what happened here in April, in Durham’s only defeat at home, when he declared at 275 for 4, leaving Yorkshire to chase an unlikely 335 to win, only for Andrew Gale’s side to pull it off, with four wickets in hand.Whether that could have happened had Joe Root not been in the Yorkshire side to make 182 is a matter for conjecture. On a wicket that has for the most part not yielded runs easily, however, no one in a depleted Sussex line-up has hinted at achieving anything remotely of that magnitude. Given Friday’s wet forecast, Collingwood would be wise not to old his bowlers back for too long on day three.Collingwood’s record of 11 wins in 18 Championship matches since he succeeded Phil Mustard as captain ought, in any case, to have given him confidence in his decision-making. The calmness and authority he brings to his leadership were qualities that served him well in steering Durham to their position of strength in this game. It was his partnership of 93 with Mustard for the sixth Durham wicket that put him in control.It came on a day in which Sussex, 60 for 3 overnight, were bowled out for 112 before lunch, a fairly abject performance, even taking into account their long list of absentees, that handed Durham first-innings lead of 133.This looked like a match-winning advantage on a ground where low scoring is usual but there was less certainty about it after none of their top five batsmen scored more than 22 in their second innings, leaving them 90 for 5. There was no Chris Jordan in their seam attack, compounding the effects of Luke Wright, Ed Joyce and Matt Machan being absent from their batting line-up — all due to international call-ups — but Steve Magoffin was as impressive as ever, and well backed up, too by Lewis Hatchett and James Anyon.Magoffin struck first as Keaton Jennings, still to find consistency with the bat, fell to a diving catch by Chris Nash at third slip, then Mark Stoneman, having unleashed a couple of handsome boundaries through the covers, was leg before to Anyon, who then made the ball bounce and leave Scott Borthwick, who was caught behind.Will Smith, for the second time in the match, paid the price for a loose drive outside off stump, and when Michael Richardson was caught behind, Durham’s lead was 223. A couple more wickets lost at that point and Sussex might have sensed an opportunity to put themselves back in the race.Instead, they came up against Collingwood in obdurate mood, setting the tone for Mustard to adopt a similarly measured approach and while the next 35 overs did not contain many moment that will readily bring the passage of play to mind, the end result was a stand of 93, in which Collingwood scored most of his runs behind square, with a nudge here and a dab there, and he had made 45 before he played back to a ball from offspinner Chris Nash. Mustard is 57 not out overnight.Earlier, Sussex had capitulated within the first 22.5 overs of the morning session. Graham Onions added two more wickets on his return from injury to the couple he picked up on Tuesday evening, taking his tally for the season to 48. There is something in this pitch for the bowlers to work with and no one exploits it better than Onions, even on days such as this when he was not at his most niggardly, struggling to find his rhythm.In any event, Luke Wells and Rory Hamilton-Brown helped him out by chasing balls outside off stump, falling in turn to catches behind the wicket. Usman Arshad, a 20-year-old right-arm seamer making only his second Championship appearance, took three wickets in seven balls. Yet Chris Rushworth, who bowled better than any among Durham’s seam quartet, somehow ended wicketless.

Stuart Heal, interim chief of New Zealand Cricket’s board of directors, said that the 2015 World Cup would be crucial to the New Zealand board and could help the organisation set cricket up across levels financially

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2013Stuart Heal, interim chief of New Zealand Cricket’s board of directors, said that the 2015 World Cup would be crucial to the New Zealand board and could help the organisation set cricket up across levels financially.”It is only 18 months or less away and it is critical from every which way you want to measure it,” Heal told the . “It is critical for us to reconnect with our fans. It is critical to increase our playing numbers and it is critical because it generates us cash. It is a very lumpy revenue line for New Zealand Cricket and if we can get it up to where the current forecasts are, it will set cricket up financially at all levels.”Heal took over as interim chief earlier this week. Former cricketers Richard Hadlee, Geoff Allott and Martin Snedden were elected as directors, along with administrators like Greg Barclay, Neil Craig, Liz Dawson and Don Mackinnon. The eight new directors were voted in by delegates representing all Major Associations and District Associations, a change that was a result of the revamped constitution adopted by the board in July this year. One of the major changes in the constitution adopted this year was the formation of the “appointments panel” to recommend candidates for the eight-member board of directors. The 28 members of the NZC would then vote to endorse – or reject – the candidates.According to Heal, the change has brought balance to the New Zealand board and has also helped bring in former players into administration.”The lobby group that criticised NZC said there were insufficient cricket heads around the table,” Heal said. “We now have Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Snedden and Geoff Allott. I think that is a fantastic balance in the board and their concerns have been addressed. I think I’ve been appointed as the interim chair to keep some continuity.”On his own position as interim chairman, Heal said the board is likely to finalise the chairman in October and he would decide on putting his name forward next month.Heal also admitted that every decision taken by the board was not likely to be a popular one. “To people who say that New Zealand Cricket is not a business – I completely disagree. It is a $50 million business. About three-quarters of our revenue comes in US dollars,” Heal said. “It is a complex exporting business, to be blunt. If it makes money, then that money filters through to grass-roots cricket.”

An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:12

Isam: Pakistan took full advantage of conditions

An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps. Azhar and Younis defused the early menace when they came together at 58 for 2, began to counterpunch in the second session and were bludgeoning Bangladesh around the Shere Bangla when Younis was dismissed for 148 off 195, with only five full overs to play in the day. Azhar stayed not out on 127, having ridden early luck.Seduced by an unusually dense covering of grass on the Mirpur surface, Mushfiqur Rahim was dealt a poor hand. He had already gambled by bowling first with only two seamers in the attack. Two balls into the match Shahadat Hossain – who had come into the side for the injured Rubel Hossain – hobbled off the field after taking a tumble during his delivery stride. Mushfiqur was forced to rely on part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar and a phalanx of spinners, who were defanged by a first-day pitch that offered only modest turn. That both centurions should have been out earlier if bowlers had not delivered no balls, added to Mushfiqur’s considerable stress.The seam movement Mushfiqur had anticipated played a role in Mohammad Hafeez’ dismissal, when Shahid set him up with lifter that jagged back in, then drew the edge with a straighter delivery. That dismissal had Pakistan at 9 for 1, but the injury to Shahadat prevented Bangladesh from pushing as hard as they could have in the first hour. With lunch in sight, they took their second wicket, when Sami Aslam ran at Taijul, and put him in the hands of deep midwicket.There was tug-and-pull in the first overs of the Azhar-Younis association, as Azhar overcame a series of close calls. Earlier in the morning, he was walking back to the dressing room after edging Mohammad Shahid to third slip, when replays showed the bowler had not landed his heel behind the popping crease. Reprieved on 18, Azhar gave further chances off spin at 34 and 35 to Mominul Haque at silly point and short leg. Both times the ball whizzed quickly between the fielder’s legs before he could get low enough.Younis deadbatted his way to 1 off 15 before lunch, but opened his shoulders in the second session, clearing his front leg to send the spinners over mid-on – once for six – before masterfully employing the sweep to raise the tempo further. By the fourth hour of the day, a pattern to his progress emerged. Every now and then, he’d interrupt the steady thrum of singles he and Azhar had worked up, to shuffle forward into a sweep. He’d watch for the overcorrection next ball then play off the back foot, often finding runs square on the off side. He reached 50 off 72 balls and by late-afternoon, his strike rate hovered around 75.Azhar meanwhile, sunk time into re-establishing himself at the crease after his early scares, and was only punishing bad balls for most of the day. Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam attempted a variety of plans, tempting Azhar outside off in the second session to lure another mistake. But Azhar gritted through this, while Younis gave the innings impetus at the other end.Younis was the first to his hundred after tea, but not before he too was called back to the crease, after presenting a catch to short cover. Soumya had overstepped to reprieve him on 78, and then Younis breezed through to the second new ball, reaching his 29th Test ton with a tow to deep cover to end a period of relative calm, before attacking again. A slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Shakib heralded the charge, which Azhar soon joined. His made his eighth trip to triple-figures by launching Taijul down the ground for four.With neither spinners nor seamers able to glean much from the old ball, Mushfiqur threw his part-timers at Pakistan, who were only too glad to face them. By the 80th over, Pakistan’s run rate had ticked above 3.5.Shahid broke the stand with the second new ball, when he had Younis slicing to backward point, two runs short of his 150. Misbah-ul-Haq announced himself at the crease with a six over long-on off the second ball he faced, but otherwise he and Azhar were content to hunker down till stumps.

Bad light forced the umpires to call off a match shortened by rain to 11 overs a side before a positive result was possible at Grace Road, ruining anticipation of a clash between two Pakistan team-mates – Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal

ECB/PA12-Jun-2015
ScorecardRain wrecked the clash between Umar Akmal (pictured) and Shahid Afridi•Getty Images

Bad light forced the umpires to call off a match shortened by rain to 11 overs a side before a positive result was possible at Grace Road, ruining anticipation of a clash between two Pakistan team-mates – Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal.Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove won a delayed toss, but only 1.1 overs were possible before heavy rain caused a further hour’s delay.When play resumed, in drizzle and increasing gloom, umpires Jeff Evans and Nick Cooke decided there was sufficient time for an 11-over match.Richard Levi and Josh Cobb put together an opening partnership of 31 for the Steelbacks, but Foxes’ left-arm fast bowler Atif Sheik dismissed both with successive balls, hitting towards midwicket where Tom Wells took two excellent catches, running across the soaking outfield and sliding to hold the ball on the full.Ben Duckett picked up the pace for the Steelbacks, hitting two straight sixes in going to 39 off 23 balls, with Wells particularly expensive, conceding 28 runs from his two overs. Clint McKay, bowling a series of slower balls of varying lengths, conceded just a single from the final over.With the light worsening rapidly, Leicestershire lost a wicket to the first ball of their innings, Ned Eckersley flashing at a Rory Kleinveldt delivery and edging to Alex Wakely at first slip.Kevin O’Brien was bowled by Mohammad Azharullah, but after just 3.1 overs, the umpires decided the light was too bad to continue.

Mark Cosgrove staved off the threat of a follow-on to protect Leicestershire in a rain-wrecked but eventful day limited to 24 overs

PA/ECB19-May-2015
ScorecardMark Cosgrove staved off the threat of a follow-on to protect Leicestershire in a rain-wrecked but eventful day limited to 24 overs. In that time, 103 runs were scored and six wickets taken, leaving Lancashire in a position of control, leading by 158 runs with eight second innings wickets remaining at the end of the third day.When Leicestershire lost Tom Wells, leg before on the back foot to Kyle Jarvis, they were still 16 short of saving the follow-on, but skipper Cosgrove was joined by Clint McKay and the Australians took Leicestershire past the follow-on before another shower saw the players head for an early lunch.Only four overs were possible in the afternoon session, but Lancashire made the most of them by picking up two more wickets. First to go was Cosgrove, who had battled his way to 79 before a Nathan Buck inswinger saw him dismissed leg before wicket. There had been no further addition to the score when McKay, who had hit four fours in going to 26, edged a Jarvis outswinger to wicket-keeper Alex Davies.Further rain kept the players off until 5.45pm, but Lancashire needed only one more ball to finish the Leicestershire innings, Jarvis seaming one back in to Charlie Shreck to win another leg before shout, and finish with 5 for 69.Looking to bat positively to give themselves enough time to bowl Leicestershire out on the final day, Lancashire quickly lost Paul Horton run out. He called Karl Brown through for a single, was sent back by Brown, who had slipped, and did not make it.Brown himself followed soon afterwards, edging a Shreck out-swinger to Niall O’Brien behind the stumps, and it should have been three when Alviro Petersen edged the last ball of the day, bowled by Ben Raine, to Wells at third slip, only for the young all-rounder to failed to hold the chance – the fifth time Leicestershire have dropped a good chance in the slips in this match.

Zimbabwe batsman Vusi Sibanda suffered an injury to his right ankle during a warm-up session on Friday, but is likely to recover in time to make the squad for the upcoming home series against India according to the coach Dav Whatmore

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2015Zimbabwe batsman Vusi Sibanda suffered an injury to his right ankle during a warm-up session on Friday, but is likely to recover in time for the upcoming home series against India according to the coach Dav Whatmore.The injury occurred at the Harare Sports Club during training when a back-pedaling Sibanda rolled over his right ankle after accidentally stepping on team analyst Stanley Chioza’s foot. Sibanda was immediately taken for an x-ray scan and later given a crutch, but Whatmore played down the incident as a “minor accident” and said that the player “should be okay in a week”.”I took Vusi for an x-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging scans and the results are expected this afternoon,” Anesu Mupotaringa, the team physiotherapist, said. “He is currently in pain and I have given him a crutch to avoid pressure on the ankle. I also gave him medication to help with the pain and swelling, and he will receive treatment twice daily to speed up recovery with the hope of him being fit for the India tour.”Sibanda has played 154 international matches for Zimbabwe since making his debut in 2003. He was left out of the 2015 World Cup squad, but returned to the side for Zimbabwe’s historic tour of Pakistan last month.Zimbabwe will host India for three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals, starting July 10 in Harare.