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Leeward’s ten-wicket win, however, had no bearing on the league standings, as Guyana had already sealed the title in the previous round

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2017Leeward Islands ended their Regional 4-Day tournament campaign with a ten-wicket win over Guyana, a result that had no impact on the teams’ standings at either end of the points table. While Guyana had sealed the title in the last round, with a game to spare, Leeward ended the tournament in last place with three wins in ten games.Rahkeem Cornwall led his side from the front, with a match haul of 9 for 136. His 6 for 68 in the first innings had skittled Guyana out for 187, with wickets falling in clusters. Leeward then overcame a slump – they went from 115 for 1 to 140 for 6 in 13 overs – to take a 119-run first-innings lead. Opener Montcin Hodge’s 70 anchored the early part of the innings before Jacques Taylor shepherded the lower order with a 160-ball 72. Raymon Reifer had triggered Leeward’s batting slump with the wickets of Keacy Carty and Hodge, and he finished with returns of 6 for 74.Guyana’s batting struggled for the second time in the game, and they ended up being dismissed for 143. The top score in their innings came from Chandrapaul Hemraj (29), even as Cornwall added three wickets to his match tally and fast bowler Gavin Tonge had returns of 3 for 33. Leeward then needed only 55 balls to achieve the target of 25.

Taskin Ahmed is all set to have his bowling action reassessed by the ICC on September 8 in Brisbane, according to the BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus

Mohammad Isam20-Aug-2016Taskin Ahmed is all set to have his bowling action reassessed by the ICC on September 8 in Brisbane, according to the BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus. Arafat Sunny could also have his reassessment on the same date.Yunus said that former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, in Bangladesh for a short spin-bowling camp, and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha were both convinced that Sunny was ready to have his action tested. The BCB wanted both bowlers to be given the green-light before the England series in early October.”The test date is most probably September 8 in Brisbane,” Yunus said. “If that happens, we are hoping to get him [Taskin] cleared in the following 10-12 days. We are hopeful about him in the test; we feel that he has rectified his bowling action.”Arafat Sunny worked with Venkatapathy Raju and Chandika Hathurusingha recently. They are convinced that Sunny is ready for the ICC assessment along with Taskin’s. The two might go to Brisbane together.”Taskin and Sunny were suspended from bowling after their actions were found to be illegal during the World T20 this year. It was a body-blow to Bangladesh’s campaign, and the BCB took a chance by appealing the ICC’s decision on Taskin but the decision was upheld.Both players took part in the domestic one-day competition while working to correct their actions under local coaches.Yunus also said that Sanjit Saha, who was reported for a suspect bowling action during the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, is now in the clear in domestic cricket. He was among the five bowlers cleared by the BCB’s bowling-action review committee last week.”Sanjit Saha’s action has changed considerably, and he is bowling within four-five degrees,” Yunus said. “Whether he will remain effective will be visible only when he starts playing matches. He can play domestic cricket but in order to play international cricket, he will first need to clear ICC’s assessment.”

Australian Andrew Tye joins a Gloucestershire squad which won the Royal London Cup last season

David Hopps31-Mar-2016Director of cricket: Richard Dawson
Captain: Gareth Roderick (Champ), Michael Klinger (T20, 50)
Last season
In: Chris Liddle (Sussex), Josh Shaw (Yorkshire, loan)
Out: James Fuller (Middlesex), Geraint Jones (retired), Cameron Herring, Robbie Montgomery (both released)
Overseas: Michael Klinger, Andrew Tye, Cameron Bancroft (April-May)2015 in a nutshell
Gloucestershire pepped up spirits during the first year of a new coaching team – Richard Dawson and Ian Harvey – to such an extent that they won the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s, reviving memories of the times, a decade and more earlier, when they dominated the limited-overs game. Michael Klinger was formidable with the bat and Geraint Jones wandered happily off into the sunset.2016 prospects
Gloucestershire’s squad lacks depth, especially in the bowling department, which suggests limited-overs cricket will again be their chief focus. Their Royal London triumph could be the catalyst for bigger T20 crowds at Bristol (they missed the quarter-finals by a point last season) and their intent is shown by the signing of a second overseas player, Andrew Tye, whose effectiveness for Perth Scorchers won him a place in Australia’s T20 squad. Cameron Bancroft, the WA keeper/batsman, deputises for Klinger in the Championship. Progress for Chris Dent and Roderick should help the runs tally, but James Fuller’s departure for Middlesex invites questions about their Championship attack. Bet365.com don’t fancy them for a 50-over repeat: they are out at 16/1.Key player
Wicketkeeper-captains always have it tough, but Gloucestershire have entrusted the role to Gareth Roderick in the Championship with Michael Klinger not back until late May. Roderick, born in South Africa, also bats top order, all of which means that Gloucestershire need him to shoulder a heavy burden if they are to maintain their progress.Bright young thing
George Hankins broke the record set by Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond for most runs in a season at Millfield School last season and continues their tradition of producing county cricketers by winning a two-year contract. Fresh back from the Darren Lehmann academy in Adelaide, he already had some sizeable 2nd XI scores to his name.ESPNcricinfo verdict
After winning the Royal London Cup, Gloucestershire will seek to spice up their T20 cricket which will make South Group stronger than ever.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 2: 10/1; NatWest Blast n/a; Royal London Cup 16/1

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.

A question mark has arisen over the continuance of Justice BN Srikrishna as arbitrator in the case between the BCCI and the Kings XI Punjab following the Indian board’s objection to his appointment on grounds of a conflict of interest

Nagraj Gollapudi and Sharda Ugra01-Dec-2010The arbitrator in the case between the BCCI and the Kings XI Punjab, justice BN Srikrishna, has withdrawn from the case after disclosing to both parties that he represented the Wadia Group, part owners of the Punjab franchise, in many of their cases in the past.”I disclosed to the BCCI today that I was defence counsel for the Wadia Group,” Srikrishna told ESPNcricinfo. “They said I couldn’t continue, I said that was fine with me.”The news came a day after Srikrishna delivered an interim order in another case involving the BCCI, granting a stay on the expulsion of Rajasthan Royals. He said today’s development would not have any bearing on the Rajasthan case. “I will carry on because my association with the Wadias in the past does not concern that case.”Srikrishna was scheduled to begin hearing the Punjab case today, with the hearing set to last three days with provisions for a reserve day. But the board’s objection – made before the day’s proceedings started – stalled it.The irony is that Srikrishna was the BCCI’s own choice as arbitrator when both the issues went to arbitration. BCCI president Shashank Manohar told ESPNcricinfo that “he was chosen as we have all our faith in him.”Manohar said they would be challenging Srikrishna’s order staying the Rajasthan Royals termination in the Bombay High Court tomorrow, but said there was a possibility to include more teams in the fourth IPL.”Honestly speaking, we have nothing against any teams or any of the franchises,” Manohar said. “We have just acted based on the advice we have taken from our lawyers over certain matters.”The BCCI chief said the board was “not at all worried” about the turn of events in the IPL arbitration cases. “We will work it out … even if there are eight teams or ten teams in the next IPL, that’s fine. If we get an order from the court tomorrow that we cannot terminate the teams and they will have to be included in the IPL, that will happen.”

Waqar Younis has signed on as the new coach of the Pakistan side, in the process becoming the fourth coach of the team in three years

Osman Samiuddin03-Mar-2010Waqar Younis has signed on as the new coach of the Pakistan side, in the process becoming the fourth coach of the team in three years. The former fast bowler has been in negotiations with the PCB over the last few days, but confirmed that he will now replace Intikhab Alam on a tenure that sees him through to December 2011.Waqar, who is based in Sydney currently, will arrive in Lahore next week to begin work, the first assignment of which will be to prepare Pakistan’s defense of the World Twenty20 crown in the Caribbean in April-May. “I’ve signed on and agreed to the contract,” Waqar told Cricinfo. “I’ll be arriving in Lahore from next week to begin work.”Though the PCB had talked of – and approached – at least one foreign option to replace Intikhab in the aftermath of the tour to Australia, Waqar emerged as a favourite to take over last week. He was sent a contract over the weekend and though there initially were a few sticking points, it is believed the chinks have been ironed out.”I’m absolutely honoured to take on the role and it is a very exciting challenge,” Waqar said. “Hopefully I can deliver on the role. Cricket has given me a lot over the years and I want to give something back to cricket and country now. I’ve always played my cricket with passion and aggression and I want the team to play like that.”This will be Waqar’s first official role as head coach at any competitive level, though he has worked with Pakistan twice previously as a bowling coach. The first was a stint under Bob Woolmer between March 2006 and January 2007, a successful stretch during which a number of bowlers prospered. The second time was on the recent Australian tour, where he was one of three coaches in a set-up headed by Intikhab and that appointment was for the series only.But Waqar believes his relative lack of experience in an expansive role will not be a hindrance, hinting that he would relish the broader sweep such a post would afford him. “I’ll probably have more control of various situations and have a say in more decisions. I really enjoyed my time as bowling coach, especially the first one under Bob.”The last one was a little more difficult but I’m confident I can deliver. I learnt a lot from Bob during his time and I’m hoping I can put that to good use.”

It was his second six-wicket haul in successive Championship games

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay23-Jul-2025 Somerset 250 (Lammonby 89, Drissell 5-59) and 89 for 5 (Banton 33*, Parkinson 4-39) beat Durham 145 (Raine 42, Overton 6-23) and 190 (Gay 42, Leach 6-63, Vaughan 4-85) by five wicketsJack Leach returned figures of 6 for 63 as Somerset wrapped up a five-wicket Rothesay County Championship Division One win over Durham inside two days at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.From an overnight 5 for 2 in their second innings, trailing by 100 runs, the visitors were bowled out for 190, left-arm spinner Leach claiming his second six-for in successive Championship games and off-spinner Archie Vaughan taking 4 for 85. Emilio Gay top-scored with 42, while Ben Raine contributed 36.That left Somerset needing just 86 to win, a target they achieved in 19.2 overs, not without alarm, at just before 4pm, Tom Banton ending unbeaten on 33 and Callum Parkinson taking 4 for 39. They took 20 points from the game to Durham’s three.Despite the turning pitch, Somerset elected to start the day with seam at both ends, skipper Lewis Gregory operating from the River End in tandem with Craig Overton.Gay and Neil Wagner were rarely troubled and had added 26 to the overnight score by the time Vaughan was introduced from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End.His first over went for 16, Gay striking fou fours and clearly intent on carrying the game to Somerset’s slow bowlers. Leach’s first over from the other end saw Wagner hit a six over long-off to bring up a half-century stand from just 57 balls.Gay struck a straight six off Vaughan and followed up next ball with a swept four as Durham’s total reached 76, just 29 runs behind, before Somerset made a much-needed breakthrough.Wagner had played well, facing 49 balls, before attempting to sweep a full delivery from Vaughan and falling lbw. It signalled a collapse as Gay quickly followed, caught by Overton, diving forward at short mid-wicket off Leach.Colin Ackermann bagged a pair when playing Leach in the air to mid-off where Banton took a similar catch to Overton’s, throwing himself forward. It was 92 for 6 when David Bedingham fell lbw to a Leach delivery that straightened from around the wicket.Durham were still 13 runs from avoiding an innings defeat. Ollie Robinson and Graham Clark ensured that indignity was avoided with a partnership of 40 before Robinson aimed a big drive at Vaughan and was bowled for 28.Vaughan almost struck again with his next delivery, Raine driving it back and the bowler just failing to hold a low catch diving full length to his right. The lunch score was 152 for 7, 147 runs having been scored in the session off 40 overs.Clark was unbeaten on 24 and Durham led by 47. Leach had figures of 4 for 50 from 17 overs and that became a five-for with 14 runs added when Clark’s 89-ball innings of 32 ended with an edged forward defensive shot to wicketkeeper James Rew.Leach struck again when George Drissell was caught and bowled off a leading edge. That left Raine with little option but to go on the attack and he cleared the ropes twice in a Vaughan over.Vaughan claimed revenge in his next over as Raine holed out to long-off and, with 46 overs remaining, a two-day finish was guaranteed. Not surprisingly, Durham gave the new ball to left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson, whose second delivery was deposited over midwicket for six by Tom Kohler-Cadmore.Drissell was greeted by a Josh Davey boundary to wide long-on as Somerset went for a quick kill. That plan suffered a setback when Davey fell leg-before to Parkinson, aiming to sweep, with the total on 13.It was 16 for 2 when Kohler-Cadmore edged Parkinson to second slip. Rew, on a pair, reverse swept his first ball for four and, on five, narrowly escaped a catch to second slip off Drissell.Tom Lammonby eased any tension with two fours off Drissell full-tosses, but was then bowled through the gate by Parkinson for 22 with Somerset halfway to their target. Rew quickly followed, caught at short mid-wicket to give Parkinson a fourth wicket.Tom Abell was bowled by Drissell on the back foot with 24 needed. But Banton used the sweep and reverse-sweep to good effect to see Somerset home.

Duo share unbroken sixth-wicket stand worth 91 after wobbly start for tourists on day two

Matt Roller17-Jun-2023Usman Khawaja walked up the dressing-room stairs unbeaten for the second straight evening at Edgbaston, 122 runs better off than he had been the night before. England hoped four overs would be enough to dislodge Khawaja on Friday, declaring in time for a crack at him with the new ball; 24 hours later, he had proved himself immovable.Khawaja was the nearly man of Australian cricket for much of his career, playing 93 times for his country before his 34th birthday without ever feeling like a permanent fixture in the side. His technique and temperament were called into question, and after three years out of international cricket, it seemed he had served his time.But in the Birmingham sunshine, Khawaja cut Ben Stokes for four and raced down the pitch to celebrate his seventh Test hundred since his recall 18 months ago. Since the start of 2023, he has scored hundreds in Australia, India and now, for the first time in his career, England.On a slow, dry pitch, Khawaja and Australia scored at a different tempo to the one England had set on the first day. They scored at barely two-thirds of the rate of England’s first innings, yet with Khawaja’s innings – littered with crisp pulls and handsome drives – ensured that they trailed by only 82 at stumps.It took Australia 24 balls to add to their overnight 14 for 0, absorbing more maidens in the first three overs of the day than England had done in their entire first innings. Khawaja pulled and flicked Stuart Broad and James Anderson for boundaries – he pulled and flicked his way through the day – but it was Broad who brought the morning to life.The first ball of his sixth over was a wide inswinger dangled outside off stump, but David Warner took the bait. He threw his hands at the ball, then his head back: his back leg collapsed as he shaped to thump Broad through the covers, and a thick inside edge deflected the ball into the top of his leg stump.It was the 15th time that Broad had dismissed Warner, but he celebrated as though it was the first, racing away towards the Hollies Stand with his fists clenched so hard that the veins in his neck throbbed. As Marnus Labuschagne asked a policeman to move from his perch next to the sightscreen, Broad sensed something was brewing.Raising his hand and whirling his finger, he geed up the crowd at the top of his mark. Coming from wide on the crease, he angled an outswinger into him, and Labuschagne could not resist driving away from his body. Jonny Bairstow tumbled low to his right, taking the catch one-handed, and Australia were 29 for 2.The hat-trick ball flew harmlessly past Steven Smith’s thigh pad as he shouldered arms with a flourish, and Smith dug in resolutely against whatever Ben Stokes threw at him – including an over of gentle medium pace from Harry Brook inside the first hour. And so, Stokes took matters into his own hands, bringing himself on for only his second over in a match since mid-February, and his first since early April.His first delivery was a front-foot no-ball, perhaps striving to prove his fitness despite a chronic knee issue, but the last ball of his second over skidded into Smith’s pad. Marais Erasmus eventually gave Smith out after Stokes pleaded for the decision, and the DRS could not save him: ball-tracking predicted the ball would have hit the top of the stumps.Travis Head joined Khawaja and counter-punched either side of lunch in characteristic manner. He survived a short-ball barrage after the interval and both left-handers took on Moeen Ali, who bowled as well as could be hoped for a man who came out of Test retirement last week. Moeen started to leak runs, but Stokes stubbornly refused to take him off, or to push the field back.Khawaja took 106 balls to reach his half-century, while Head got there in 60, cutting an out-of-sorts Ollie Robinson away behind square. He didn’t score another run, skipping down the pitch and miscuing Moeen to short midwicket; Moeen pointed to Stokes at mid-off as he turned away in celebration.Moeen should have had two wickets in three balls, beating Cameron Green as he charged out of his crease. Instead, an unsighted Bairstow missed the stumping chance and Green added 72 with Khawaja for the fifth wicket in a stand that spanned the tea interval.The best ball of the day accounted for Green on 38, as Moeen flighted an offbreak wide outside off. It drifted away a touch, then spun back sharply from a good length to beat Green – lunging forwards as though stepping on an insect – on the inside edge and peg back his leg stump.Yet England failed to take another wicket, Khawaja and Alex Carey adding an unbroken 91 for the sixth wicket. Carey had a life on 26, prodding forwards to Joe Root only for Bairstow to put the chance down, an edge past Root at slip off Moeen brought him to 50. Khawaja, too, enjoyed a reprieve. Broad took the second new ball and found some nip off the seam to knock off stump back.But the third umpire noticed that Broad had overstepped, and he survived until the close once again. The crowd had started to filter out by the time he walked off with a beaming smile, at the end of a day that will be remembered as Usman Khawaja’s.

Newcomers Brits and Mlaba are among the 15 to get a deal for the 2022-23 season

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2022Mignon du Preez was left out of the 15 women who were awarded central contracts for the 2022-23 season by Cricket South Africa on Monday. The 32-year old former captain played a crucial role in taking her team to the semi-finals of the 2022 Women’s World Cup, but has since retired from Test-match and ODI cricket and remains available only for T20s. Also missing is Nadine de Klerk, who was part of the contracted 15 in 2021-22.The space they left behind was filled up by top-order batter Tazmin Brits and left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba. Pholetsi Moseki, CSA’s chief executive officer, heaped praise on the two newcomers for their “dedication and work on and off the field” over the last 12 months.”After a remarkable year for the Momentum Proteas that saw the team climb to and maintain second spot in the ODI world rankings, it is with immense pleasure to announce next season’s squad of contracted players as they embark on their next challenge in world cricket.”Just like the previous 12 months, the next year brings forth a hugely-anticipated calendar of international cricket for the Proteas Women and we strongly believe in the set-up in place at the top of our women’s game to continue breaking boundaries and make their mark in the game,” he said.”On behalf of CSA, congratulations to Tazmin Brits and Nonkululeko Mlaba on their newly-awarded contracts. Their dedication and work on and off the field has not gone unnoticed and these contracts are a reward for their contributions.The upcoming season will begin with South Africa Women touring Ireland for three T20Is and three ODIs from June 3 before a multi-format tour of England between June 25 and July 27. Then there are the Commonwealth Games T20s in August followed by the T20 World Cup in February 2023, with South Africa hosting the global event for the first time. CSA will play host to the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup next year too.Women’s contracts: Tazmin Brits, Trisha Chetty, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Lizelle Lee, Suné Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon, Dané van Niekerk, Laura Wolvaardt.

Stunning innings from young allrounder makes light work of Somerset’s target

David Hopps11-Jun-2021Surrey 188 for 3 (S Curran 72*, Evans 65) beat Somerset 187 for 6 (Abell 69, Hildreth 31)Surrey are strutting – and how. On the back of their immense performance against Middlesex in the London derby, they withstood a six-hour journey to the West Country to dispense with Somerset in equally bullying fashion. Somerset’s 187 for 6 felt a little inadequate, but Surrey wolfed it down, and spat it out, by seven wickets with four overs to spare. Awesome stuff.Surrey had made 223 for 7 at Lord’s, the highest score in 72 domestic T20 matches on the ground, and their mood had not shifted. Will Jacks, who had made the fastest T20 half-century in 11 years at Lord’s, fell cheaply to Josh Davey, but Jason Roy pummelled the Powerplay and then Laurie Evans and Sam Curran produced a stand of 104 in 52 balls for the third wicket that made light of the chase.Evans’ power-hitting is well known, and he looked in prime form against wayward bowling, but Curran’s not so much. He has five T20 half-centuries and many predict that batting will ultimately become the dominant part of his all-round status. But his unbeaten 72 from 36 balls, with six sixes and five fours represented a career-best and, perhaps, a new level.Some of the sixes, to be frank, needed hitting, especially the two from legspinner Max Waller which set him on his way, but by the time he hauled Ben Green over midwicket, with victory nearing, there was a venom in his strokeplay that showed the gulf between the sides. Once the hundred was raised in the eighth over, it was just a matter of time.Somerset, with Jack Leach and Craig Overton on England duty, look a little thin on options. Their home matches are coming thick and fast – they face Kent at Taunton on Tuesday – and although they have only lost their first two in a 14-match league, they need a reversal of fortunes and fast.Two evenings earlier, on the same ground, Somerset had posted 185 for 7 against Essex and been beaten by three wickets with seven balls to spare. At the interval, the balance felt identical – with the added pessimism that Surrey’s batters had gone stratospheric in their defeat of Middlesex.Watch Somerset regularly and, for all their talent, one of the recurring themes is their captain, Tom Abell, resolutely trying to put things right. There are many excellent professionals in county cricket, but very few who give the impression they are so committed to the cause with every breath of their being.Related

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The outcome of that determination was 69 off 44 balls. Abell has had to work to become a T20 cricketer and, apart from his trademark scoop, which he executed perfectly against Tom Curran to reach his fifty, his game is based on intelligent shot selection.Somerset had a decent Powerplay – 63 for 2 – and, after Tom Banton had left early, reaching at a wide one from Sam Curran to fall at short third man, much of that was down to Will Smeed, who stepped in for the injured Roelof van der Merwe at No. 3, and struck 23 from 13 balls. If van der Merwe was missed, it was with the ball.Smeed is a product of King’s College, Taunton, the alma mater of such luminaries as Jos Buttler, Banton and James Hildreth and, if Somerset’s production line seems, shall we say, somewhat niche, there is no denying its quality. As for Smeed, he was impressive from the outset. In his first two balls, he probably just wanted to get a bat on ball, but found to his delight that he had smoothed Matt Dunn to the cover boundary and stolen a neat single off the next. He was unfortunate to pick out Roy at backward point.Once James Hildreth fell lbw to Gareth Batty (one of a handful of players to have figured in all 18 seasons of the Blast) Somerset faltered. Surrey’s victory owed as much to the post-Powerplay spin squeeze applied by Batty and the slow left-armer Dan Moriarty. By the time Eddie Byrom fell to Tom Curran, cutting, Somerset’s conservatism against some well-drilled overs had become costly. With Marchant de Lange a place too high at No. 8, it was understandable why: without the Overtons (Craig with England, Jamie with Surrey), Somerset are struggling for balance.An 18-run over against Tom Curran, with Abell to the fore, helped to give Somerset a vaguely competitive total, but when Abell fell with 15 balls remaining, mistiming a big leg-side hit against Dunn’s off-cutter, the writing was on the wall.