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Scott Borthwick, David Bedingham lay foundation for victory with 196-run partnership

ECB Reporters Network16-Apr-2023Durham 425 for 9 dec (Bedingham 118, Raine 71, Lees 70, Gibbon 4-92) and 242 for 4 dec (Borthwick 108*, Bedingham 86) beat Worcestershire 366 for 5 dec (Haynes 134, Potts 3-110) and 192 (D’Oliveira 42, Haynes 40, Kuhnemann 5-53) by 121 runsMatthew Kuhnemann claimed a five-wicket haul to guide Durham to a dramatic final-day victory over Worcestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash at Seat Unique Riverside.Durham coach Ryan Campbell promised that his side would not settle for a draw, and his team were as good as his word. Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham laid the foundation of the victory with a 196-run partnership in a morning onslaught as Durham’s skipper scored his first first-class century in two years.The Pears required 314 to win from 70 overs after Durham declared. However, after being reduced to 3 for 2, the visitors were in a desperate scramble to rescue a draw. Kuhnemann provided the impetus with his skillful left-arm spin, and was supported by Matthew Potts and Paul Coughlin.Adam Finch and Dillon Pennington almost combined with a late rearguard action to deny the hosts, but Kuhnemann removed the latter to secure Durham’s first win of the campaign.Beginning the final day with a 155-run lead, Borthwick and Bedingham found their rhythm and were able to accelerate the run rate. Borthwick set the tempo and reached three figures for the first time since the 2021 season, and his first hundred at the Riverside since his return to the club.Whereas Borthwick’s innings highlighted his timing and touch, Bedingham offered a brutal assault, scoring four sixes, dispatching one onto the health club balcony, in his 87-ball 86 before being caught one ball removed after being skittled by a Finch no-ball.The declaration came 20 minutes before lunch, and there was time for Potts to make inroads as Jake Libby was caught at the second attempt by Michael Jones at first slip. Ed Pollock blasted the new ball in the first innings, but there would be no repeat performance as the left-hander was well caught by a diving Ben Raine at mid-on.Worcestershire needed to calm proceedings, and it fell upon their first-innings centurion Jack Haynes and Azhar Ali to temporarily halt the Durham charge. However, both Ali and Haynes would make mistakes against Kuhnemann, and two further brilliant diving catches from Raine at deep backward square leg put the pressure squarely back on the Pears.Kuhnemann’s impressive spell continued with a beauty to bowl Gareth Roderick to open up an end for the Durham attack. Matthew Waite and Brett D’Oliveira were in a desperate battle to stem the tide. They put on 44 for the sixth wicket, but Coughlin prised out Waite earning his reward for a tight line before Joe Leach became Kuhnemann’s fourth victim for an 18-ball duck.Durham needed something special to turn a promising position into a victory. It was no surprise that it was Potts that broke the game open. He displayed his international quality by moving the ball just enough to find D’Oliveira’s outside edge. Ben Gibbon was powerless to follow his skipper back the pavilion from the next delivery as Potts put Durham on the brink.Pennington saw off the hat-trick ball, but he and Finch faced the daunting task of fending off 19 overs to see out an improbable draw. The two tailenders put up a great fight and saw out 14 of the 19 overs, but Kuhnemann turned one past Pennington to secure a 121-run win for the hosts.

He will be in the Test role temporarily, with a permanent appointee to be finalised in the coming months

Firdose Moonda11-Dec-2020Quinton de Kock has been named South Africa’s Test captain for the 2020/21 season. de Kock, who already leads the ODI and T20I squads, will only be in the role temporarily, with a permanent appointee to be finalised in the coming months.de Kock’s elevation to the leadership was announced on Friday, and comes eight months after Graeme Smith, South Africa’s director of cricket, said de Kock would not be made the Test captain so that he could “remain fresh”, given his already large basket of responsibilities. However, given the relatively lighter Test schedule in store for South Africa, the selection committee felt de Kock could handle the role for this summer.South Africa are due to play seven Tests, two against Sri Lanka, two in Pakistan and three against Australia. They have no Test cricket scheduled between March and December, by which time they hope to have chosen their long-term Test leader. For now, de Kock has shown willingness to take on the red-ball captaincy and the selectors believe he is the right choice.”Quinton is happy to continue in the role for the next season and is comfortable with the balance of the workload and we back him fully as a captain,” Victor Mptisang, convenor of selectors, said. “We are also pleased with the leadership group in the team and are cultivating a strong individual leadership culture at the same time, so that the team produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future.”Ultimately, the decision to appoint de Kock may have come, not because of “time constraints,” as Mptisang suggested but because South Africa do not have a stand-out candidate for the job. Ten months have passed since Faf du Plessis stepped down in February, and in that time, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma all made their interest in the position known, but there are question marks around each of them as long-term choices.Elgar was considered the most obvious choice, given his seniority. He has played 63 Tests and has been part of the set-up for as long as du Plessis. Elgar has even done the job once before, against England at Lord’s when du Plessis went on paternity leave in 2017. At the time, he indicated he did not want the job permanently but has since changed his mind. However, South Africa are likely to want to him concentrate leading with the bat. Elgar has 12 Test hundreds to his name but they tend to come at a rate of one or two a season and South Africa might be hoping for a few more.Markram, who is most likely going to partner Elgar at the top, has only just returned to the Test squad after spending most of last summer out of international cricket with a broken finger. He has three hundreds from this last three first-class innings, which bodes well, but had a lean patch in Test cricket before he was injured. Markram needs to show consistency at the highest level but, as a former under-19 captain, chances are if he has a productive season, he could be the named Test captain.The same can be said of Bavuma, who led the Lions franchise to the first-class trophy last summer. Bavuma was dropped last season, prompting a race-based furore, but has not scored a Test hundred since 2016. That has to change before he can be considered for the captaincy. If it does and the runs flow, it will be a tough call between him and Markram.And Maharaj, well-intentioned as his leadership goals may be, has the disadvantage of a being a left-arm spinner in a country of quicks. Although he is first-choice in his department and will play every Test on the subcontinent, he is often not guaranteed a spot in the XI when South Africa play at home, which would make it difficult to make him captain.Rassie van der Dussen’s name has also done the rounds as a possible leader after his impressive showing at the 2019 World Cup (where he was South Africa’s second-leading run-scorer in an otherwise dismal campaign) and scored two half-centuries in his first three Test innings. But van der Dussen’s Test career is only four matches old and he need a little more time in the Test team before he can be promoted to its captain.Van der Dussen also threw his weight behind de Kock during the recent T20I series against England, when questions were asked about whether de Kock was having a tough time handling the pressures of captaining, opening the batting, keeping wicket, balancing a side that had no allrounders available and dealing with changing transformation targets. “I don’t think it’s getting tricky for Quinton de Kock,” van der Dussen had said. “I don’t know why you would come with that angle. Quinny’s a brilliant captain. On the field his cricket mind is absolutely brilliant, in the change-room he’s really good, and he’s one of the best players in the world, as we know.”Luckily, de Kock won’t have quite that many things to think about in Tests. He will bat in the lower middle-order, most likely at No.6 or 7, and the responsibility of laying the foundation will lie with senior batsmen like Elgar, van der Dussen and du Plessis. With Kyle Verreynne in the squad, de Kock may also be relieved of the wicketkeeping gloves, if needs be.The Test squad for Sri Lanka has one allrounder in it, in Wiaan Mulder, and Dwaine Pretorius could join if he recovers from a hamstring injury in time, making team balance a little less complicated. And CSA’s interim board have confirmed that the transformation targets will revert to what they were last season, rather than increase, as was originally planned. That means South Africa need to field, on average over the course of a season, six players of colour of which a minimum of two must be black African. Call it politics or call it necessity, that is what every South African must learn to work with, and de Kock is no different. Welcome to it.

In Chattogram, South Zone and North Zone played out a draw

Mohammad Isam03-Feb-2020Tamim Iqbal’s record-breaking triple century handed East Zone an innings win over Central Zone at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.On his way to an unbeaten 334, Tamim recorded the highest individual score in first-class cricket by a Bangladeshi.East Zone declared on 555 for 2 in reply to Central’s 213 in the first innings, as Tamim put on partnerships worth 62 with Pinak Ghosh for the first wicket, 296 for the second wicket with Mominul Haque and 197 for the unbroken third wicket with Yasir Ali. Tamim struck 42 fours and three sixes in an innings that spanned nearly ten hours, while Mominul made 111 as East Zone put on a mammoth 555-2 in their first innings.Nayeem Hasan took six wickets to bowl Central Zone out for 333 runs in their second innings, with Mohammad Mithun top-scoring with 83.At the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, South Zone and North Zone played out a draw. South Zone took a 55-run first-innings lead after being bowled out for 262.Fazle Mahmud had made 125 for South Zone in the first innings, while Shafiul Islam impressed with the ball. He took six wickets, four of which came in an incredible first over in North Zone’s innings when he removed Liton Das, Junaid Siddique, Mizanur Rahman and Naeem Islam.South Zone then racked up 398 for 3 dec, with Shahriar Nafees (111), Shasmur Rahman (109) and Mahmudullah (100*) hitting centuries and setting a 454-run target. Liton hit an unbeaten 103 for the North Zone as the teams settled for a draw.

Leaders Surrey lose Dan Worrall to injury – but McKerr deputises with key strikes

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2022Warwickshire (Sibley 43, McAndrew 40*, McKerr 3-39) vs SurreyWarwickshire battled their way to 240 for 8, despite no one passing fifty, after being put in to bat by unbeaten Division One leaders Surrey in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at the Kia Oval.Seven of their top eight got to 22 or more, without going on to a significant score, although allrounder Nathan McAndrew remains 40 not out after a determined effort in the final session of a hard-fought day.Dom Sibley’s 43 was the best individual score, while Surrey’s five-man pace attack all impressed with 19-year old seamer Tom Lawes perhaps the stand-out bowler with figures of 2 for 38 from 20 overs.Surrey were missing their Australian spearhead Dan Worrall, who took 11 wickets in the game in last week’s win against Essex, due to a shoulder injury suffered in the warm-up.Related

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Conor McKerr, called up to replace Worrall, ended the day with 3 for 39 and Jamie Overton took 2 for 47 despite having to lead the field for treatment to a sore finger on his bowling hand, sustained when hit a painful blow at first slip in mid-morning.15 minutes before the toss, McKerr had been at home in Weybridge getting ready for a day trip to London with his wife Paige, but was on the field of play two hours later. “It was a great telephone call to get, telling me to get straight to the ground, although obviously it was bad luck for Dan Worrall getting injured in the warm-up,” he said.”I think sometimes the best way is being thrown in like that, because you just go out there and concentrate on doing what comes naturally. I thought our whole seam attack bowled very well all day today, and everyone has a lot of confidence at the moment so we are all feeding off one another.”On a grassy surface, Warwickshire initially did well to get to lunch at 71 for 2 with Sibley twice dropped on 19 and 28 but always showing typical grit in the tricky conditions.Cameron Steel, on as a substitute fielder while McKerr travelled to the ground, could not hold a difficult low diving catch to his left at a widish fourth slip when Sibley edged Overton and later in the morning session the Warwickshire opener saw Ryan Patel spill a straightforward chance at third slip off Lawes.Surrey’s pace battery also beat the bat with regularity but their only successes before lunch came when Alex Davies, on 23, edged Lawes’ second ball to Overton at first slip and then, at 65, when McKerr – having taken the field just after 12.15pm – struck with the first ball of his second over to have Chris Benjamin held by Will Jacks at first slip for 7, pushing crookedly at one that lifted and left him.The first hour of the afternoon session was a particularly attritional affair and Warwickshire’s first innings looked in danger of grinding almost to a halt when Sibley’s defiance was ended by Lawes, who made a ball lift sharply to have the former England Test opener caught off the face of his bat by keeper Ben Foakes, and Sam Hain was dismissed seven overs later by Jordan Clark.Warwickshire were 107 for 4 in the 54th over when Hain, having made it to 27, edged the persevering Clark to second slip where Ollie Pope held on to the catch at the second attempt.McKerr’s second spell just before tea saw an increase, at last, in the scoring rate with his first three overs back costing 30 runs. But both Michael Burgess, twice, and Will Rhodes were fortunate to see short-arm pulls at the pacy McKerr result in top-edged fours over the keeper and slip cordon and Rhodes also thick-edged the same bowler between slips and gully for another streaky boundary.Burgess, however, fell for 22 to Overton’s fourth ball after tea, in the session’s second over, when he edged an outswinger to Foakes and McAndrew almost immediately needed an on-field concussion test when, trying to hook, he was hit flush on the helmet by Overton.Rhodes was livid with himself for flashing at McKerr, in the 76th over, and edging to Foakes to depart for a 74-ball 34, and Danny Briggs left shaking his head in disbelief when, after scoring a useful 23 in 46-run seventh wicket stand with McAndrew, he chipped a full toss from Overton straight back to the bowler.And Surrey were further boosted when McKerr won an lbw appeal against Brad Wheal, on loan from Hampshire, to dismiss the tailender for 4 with the day’s penultimate ball.

The incident took place in Adelaide, where Maxwell was attending a concert, last Friday

Andrew McGlashan and Alex Malcolm22-Jan-2024Cricket Australia is conducting an investigation after Glenn Maxwell was briefly hospitalised in Adelaide last Friday following an alcohol-related incident.First reported by the , it’s understood that Maxwell was out watching , the band that features Brett Lee, when the incident took place at live music venue The Gov. What exactly happened is still being determined, but it’s understood an ambulance was called and Maxwell was taken to hospital although his stay was short.ESPNcricinfo understands that the incident did not involve anyone else. Maxwell had been in Adelaide for a celebrity golf event following the end of Melbourne Stars’ BBL campaign.Earlier on Monday, Maxwell was “managed” out of Australia’s ODI squad to face West Indies although Cricket Australia insisted that is not related to the events in Adelaide.”Cricket Australia is aware of an incident involving Glenn Maxwell in Adelaide at the weekend and is seeking further information,” a statement said.”It is not related to him being replaced in the ODI squad, a decision that was made following the BBL and based on his individual management plan. Maxwell is expected to return for the T20 series. No further comment will be made at this time.”During the ODI World Cup in India late last year, Maxwell suffered concussion when he fell off a golf cart in Ahmedabad. In late 2022, he broke his leg when he slipping while running at a friend’s 50th birthday and was out of the game for more than three months.Last week, Maxwell stood down as captain of Melbourne Stars after they had failed to make the BBL finals.

CSK are also waiting on the status of Deepak Chahar, who suffered an injury against Punjab Kings in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2024 • Updated on 07-May-2024Chennai Super Kings have suffered a significant blow with their death-bowling specialist Matheesha Pathirana returning to Sri Lanka to recover from a hamstring injury that has ruled him out of IPL 2024.After missing the home fixture against Punjab Kings in Chennai, Pathirana was also ruled out of the reverse fixture in Dharamsala on Sunday. His absence further depletes CSK, who were already without Deepak Chahar, their powerplay specialist. It’s understood Chahar didn’t travel to Dharamsala and is waiting for his scan reports in Chennai after bowling just two balls against PBKS on Wednesday.Pathirana played only six games for CSK in IPL 2024, taking 13 wickets with an economy rate of 7.68. He had missed the IPL 2024 season-opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore with a hamstring injury he had sustained while playing for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Sylhet in March. He is the second Sri Lanka fast bowler on the sidelines with left-armer Dilshan Madushanka, who was due to make his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians, ruled out of the entire IPL season.

He smashed 83 off 58 to guide Stars past Strikers’ modest 9 for 139 with five balls to spare in a see-saw battle

Tristan Lavalette10-Jan-2022Joe Clarke returned in style as a strengthened Melbourne Stars revived their grim BBL campaign with a tense five-wicket victory over Adelaide Strikers at the MCG.In a clash between the bottom-placed teams, the English import smashed 83 off 58 balls to guide Stars past Strikers’ modest 9 for 139 with five balls to spare in a see-saw battle.Stars have been decimated due to Covid-19 triggering their slide but received timely additions with the returns of Clarke, stand-in captain Adam Zampa and Beau Webster. In their first match since January 3, Stars were still without captain Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stonis and Nathan Coulter-Nile.Strikers had been mostly unaffected by the Covid-19 chaos engulfing the BBL but top-order batter Matt Renshaw missed the clash after returning a positive PCR test.Clarke leads Stars in tough chase Chasing a modest 140, the same score Sydney Thunder ran down with ease in the earlier match at the ground, Stars were pushed to the distance by a strong Strikers attack. They welcomed the return of Clarke, who was the only Stars batter comfortable on the sluggish pitch.He had been in imperious form with three straight belligerent half-centuries before being struck down with Covid-19 and didn’t miss a beat on return. Stars had been in big trouble at 3 for 43 in the eighth over but Clarke steadied the ship with in-form Hilton Cartwright, one of the few Stars players who hasn’t contracted Covid-19 and he earlier briefly wore a mask in the field.But Cartwright’s dismissal in the 12th over brought Stars to a halt and they needed 31 runs off the final three overs. But Clarke powered them towards victory and survived a contentious no-ball decision for height when he miscued Peter Siddle to mid-off in the penultimate over. He then hit a six to add salt in Strikers’ wounds before departing the next ball with Stars still needing seven runs off as many balls.But Qais Ahmad coolly hit a six off the first ball of the final over before a wide by spinner Matt Short ended a tense match in an anti-climax.Qais Ahmad and Adam Zampa celebrate after the fall of a wicket•Getty Images

Rashid stars but it’s not enough On a slow wicket conducive to grip and turn, Strikers fancied their chances armed with star spinners Rashid Khan and Fawad Ahmed expected to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Quick Harry Conway though had an impact with the wicket of Clint Hinchliffe in the second over before the spinners worked in tandem after the four-over powerplay.Fawad claimed Nick Larkin first ball and then Rashid picked up Joe Burns to a loose shot as Strikers sensed a stranglehold. But Strikers have been selective with Rashid and he was out of the attack after a couple of overs.Siddle grabbed the crucial wicket of Cartwright and the skipper brought on Rashid to keep on the attack but the star spinner was thwarted. In his first game at the MCG, the Afghan star finished with 1 for 16 off 4 overs as Strikers had to look elsewhere with the game on the line.Short had the tough task of delivering the final over and was unable to be Strikers’ hero as the visitors ultimately rued a dropped catch by Henry Hunt when Clarke was on 42.Zampa shines in comebackZampa had a strong captaincy debut with two wickets as Stars’ trio of spinners relished the favourable conditions with five wickets. Pakistan import Qais was particularly menacing with his flight and sharp turn baffling the batters, including a gem to dismiss Ryan Gibson who was stumped.Left-arm spinner Hinchliffe complemented him with accurate bowling as Stars turned the screw on Strikers. Zampa returned in the penultimate over and snared the key wicket of Jonathan Wells to cap his stellar comeback.Wells holds Strikers together Strikers’ batting has been their bane all season and they were shorthanded without Renshaw at No.3. They lost three wickets cheaply before Wells and youngster Thomas Kelly stabilised the innings by playing cautiously.Kelly has looked the goods in his BBL season debut but once again failed to convert a start falling for 13. It was left to Wells to single-handedly drag Strikers to respectability with a 56-ball 68 where he worked the ball around before accelerating towards the end.The 33-year-old cemented his status as his team’s most reliable batter but needs more support if Strikers – who are now in the bottom place – are going to shake up the playoff race.

Barbados Royals stay rooted to the bottom of the table after their third loss in four games

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2025

Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran put on a match-winning stand•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran led a clinical chase as Trinbago Knight Riders brushed aside Barbados Royals by seven wickets in Tarouba to rise to the top of the CPL 2025 table. Chasing 179, Munro set the tone with a typically aggressive 67 while Pooran finished the job in style with an unbeaten 65, wrapping up the target with 13 balls to spare. With three losses and a no-result in four matches, Royals are bottom of the table.The foundation of the chase was laid early, as Munro and Alex Hales added 55 for the opening wicket inside the powerplay. Munro, who was the early aggressor, raced to his half-century off just 30 balls. Even after Hales fell for a 14-ball 19, off the final delivery of the sixth over, the momentum remained firmly with Knight Riders.Related

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Pooran started off in a brutal fashion, launching an attack against both pace and spin. His unbeaten 65 came at a brisk pace, studded with boundaries and calculated risks towards the end of the chase. The highlight was him hammering Rovman Powell for three consecutive sixes in the tenth over.Royals briefly kept Knight Riders quiet, conceding just 20 runs between overs 10 and 14, but it didn’t shift the momentum.Pooran and Munro added 93 for the second wicket, off just 54 balls, before the latter was run out in the 15th over. But by then, the equation was down to a run-a-ball 30 and Kieron Pollard ensured there were no hiccups, smashing two sixes and a four in his nine-ball stay. The winning runs came in the 18th over, sealing a dominant performance.Earlier, Royals posted 178 for 6, a total that looked competitive at the halfway mark but ultimately proved well below par. They began cautiously after losing Quinton de Kock early but were steadied by a 56-run stand between Brandon King and Kadeem Alleyne. King chipped in with a 23-ball 29 while Alleyne made 41 off 37.Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for Barbados Royals with 45 off 22 balls•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Once King fell, Sherfane Rutherford’s late surge – 45 off 22 – offered Royals some hope. He began with a four off his second ball against Andre Russell, and then took McKenny Clarke for a four and a six in the following over. He smashed two more sixes, off Mohammad Amir in the 16th over, before the fast bowler dismissed Alleyne.From 105 for 2 at the end of 14 overs, Royals accelerated with 73 runs in the final six overs. Captain Powell was particularly merciless against Ali Khan as he scored 23 runs off him in the 18th over, which included three sixes and a four.Russell and Amir were the standout bowlers for Knight Riders. Russell picked up 3 for 37 while Amir’s 2 for 35 ensured control through the middle and death overs.The win puts Knight Riders in a commanding position at the top of the table while Royals are left needing a spark to reignite their faltering campaign. St Lucia Kings are also on eight points alongside Knight Riders, but occupy the second spot owing to an inferior net run-rate.