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David Hussey has described his Melbourne Stars team-mate and soon-to-be ODI opponent Lasith Malinga as “in the form of his life” and believes the ability of Australia’s batsmen to handle Malinga’s three variations will be critical when the one-day series begins on Friday. Malinga is the equal leading wicket taker in the Big Bash League this summer and his presence in Sri Lanka’s team makes them a much more daunting outfit than they were during the Tests.The spinners Ajantha Mendis and Akila Dananjaya, who boast hard-to-read variations, will also play important roles but it is Malinga who has the potential to really flummox the Australians. Hussey said Australia’s batsmen would need to watch closely for the slower balls, bouncers and yorkers from Malinga, who collected 4 for 49 last time Sri Lanka played a one-day international at the MCG.”They’ve got some of the best bowlers in the world,” Hussey said. “Lasith Malinga, I was lucky enough to play with him at the Melbourne Stars and he’s in the form of his life. All our batters have to really get down to business and do their homework and really try to take him out of the equation.”Never scared [of facing him] – it’s always exciting. You always want to play the best bowlers in the world. It’s a great opportunity to face him. If you do well against him, it gives not only your team a lot of confidence but yourself and your game a lot of confidence as well.””You’ve just got to get your plans and your focus purely on his three different balls. He’s got a very fast bumper, a very good yorker which he executes every time, and his slower ball. Just get your individual plans ready to go and try to nullify his game plan. If we take him out of the game, it definitely goes a long way to winning the game.”Hussey will have a key role to play in that, as the second-most experienced member of Australia’s batting group for Friday’s match, behind the recalled Brad Haddin. The absence of Michael Clarke and Shane Watson, and the controversial decision not to include Michael Hussey after his announcement that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the season, has left a major experience vacuum in Australia’s side.But despite having played 64 ODIs, Hussey knows that his future in the national side may be assessed on a series-by-series basis, and at the age of 35 he is well aware that time is running out to bring his domestic form to the international arena. He is likely to fill the finishing role occupied so successfully by his brother in the past and he wants to make up for his struggles during the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE last year.”A few times I’ve played for Australia in the past, I’ve had a few regrets and didn’t really play the way I wanted to play,” Hussey said. “This time I’m just going to have a lot of fun, enjoy myself and play with no regrets and a lot of freedom. I haven’t done quite as well as I wanted to do. I haven’t really finished games off the way I wanted to finish games off and win games of cricket for Australia. This time, fresh mind, new opportunity and play with no regrets.”The UAE series probably didn’t go to plan. I didn’t play very well at all, and then the World T20 I didn’t get much of an opportunity. You come back to Australia you really want to right the wrongs and prove a few people wrong. I really have struggled the first part of the Shield season but one-day cricket I’ve done quite well. This is a great opportunity for me to free the mind, play with no regrets and show a few people that I can play at the level.”

Delhi are now at the halfway stage of their Ranji Trophy campaign and are looking for outright victories in two of their four remaining games. Central to their chances of progressing to the quarters is the fitness of their most experienced and skillful bowler, left-arm swing man Ashish Nehra. An injury to Nehra’s hamstring meant he bowled only six overs in Delhi’s previous Ranji game against Baroda and then missed the fourth-round match against Tamil Nadu, both matches held at the Kotla.It is not yet certain if Nehra will travel with Delhi to Lahli for their next Ranji fixture against Haryana on a pitch that is expected to produce seam movement. Conditions in Lahli, outside Rohtak, are expected to suit Delhi’s strong pack of quick bowlers in Nehra, Parvinder Awana, Pawan Suyal and Sumit Narwal; captain Shikhar Dhawan said Nehra would definitely play if he was declared fit.At the start of the season, it was believed that Nehra, who has been dogged by injury all his career whether for India or Delhi, would most probably play four of Delhi’s eight Ranji matches. Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya has no issue with the idea, nor does he take criticism of his most experienced and effective bowler lightly.”Why is it that when our bowlers get tired and take a break, it is said they are picking and choosing? Why is no one else criticised?” Dahiya said. He went on to name bowlers, either more celebrated or younger than Nehra, who had not been seen in action for a while in the Ranji Trophy. “How many games has Ajit Agarkar played this season when he is supposed to lead Mumbai? Praveen Kumar has not played in any match after the game in Ghaziabad. Where is Abhimanyu Mithun? Or Varun Aaron or RP Singh? Why is Ashish’s case always picked on?”Dahiya said Nehra was improving and said that he would play only when the team was sure that there was no chance of him picking up another injury. It would, he said, be “tempting” to take Nehra to Lahli, if only to put the cat among Haryana’s Ranji pigeons. Group B is tight at the top but Haryana are at the bottom of the points table, having lost three of three matches – all, ironically, at home.”To have a guy like Ashish in our team it will put Haryana on the spot; [it will make them wonder] whether to play safe or to go for the outright win. They’ve got tough matches ahead,” Dahiya said, adding that he will do a recce of the Lahli conditions by speaking to the Baroda team that played there in the just-concluded round.After Haryana, Delhi travel again, to play Karnataka who were handed a staggering defeat by Odisha on Tuesday. Karnataka, with five points from four matches, are now seventh out of nine teams in Group B. “Karnataka are also under pressure,” Dahiya said. “They too may want to play us on a pitch where you have results, so it gives us a good chance.”If Delhi were to get two outright wins from their four games, it could be enough for them to finish in the top three and qualify for the quarter-finals. Group B, Dahiya said, was still open: “The desperation will come in the last two rounds. Teams will then know where they stand and what they need to do. It is going to be crazy.”The first-innings points against Tamil Nadu means that Delhi can go into the crazy phase of their Ranji season feeling upbeat. “We think we’ve covered the points we lost in UP here. Look at the reputation of the Tamil Nadu side, look where they come from. Four of our guys got 100s, I can’t remember when we’ve scored back to back totals of 500, it has been very good for our morale. “

West Indies in Bangladesh 2012-13 schedule

Nov 8-10 – BCB XI v West Indians at BKSP, Savar
Nov 13-17 – 1st Test, Mirpur
Nov 21-25 – 2nd Test, Khulna
Nov 27 – BCB XI vs West Indians, Khulna
Nov 29 – 1st ODI, Khulna
Dec 1 – 2nd ODI, Khulna
Dec 5 – 3rd ODI, Mirpur
Dec 7 – 4th ODI, Mirpur
Dec 8 – 5th ODI, Mirpur
Dec 10 – Only T20I, Mirpur

The Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna will become the seventh Test venue in the country when it hosts the second Test between Bangladesh and West Indies from November 21. The ground has hosted four ODIs and a single Twenty20 international, the first-ever held in Bangladesh, in 2006.The break from the Dhaka-Chittagong tradition of the last several years of holding Test matches had come about after the BCB decided to install proper drainage facilities at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.Before the twoTests, West Indies will open with a three-day tour game at the BKSP ground in Savar from November 8. They play the first Test in Mirpur from November 13, which will be Bangladesh’s first home Test in 2012. The Tests will be followed by five ODIs and a single Twenty20 international.The visitors will also play a warm-up one-day game in Khulna on November 27 following which the one-day series begins on November 29. The south-western city will host the second ODI before the tour returns to the capital for the remaining games on December 5, 7 and 8. The Twenty20 game will be held on December 10.West Indies are set to arrive in Dhaka on November 3.

ScorecardDarren Stevens broke Derbyshire’s resistance as Kent secured an important win•Getty Images

It turned out to be much ado about nothing so far as James Tredwell was concerned – nothing for 34 from 33 overs, to be precise. But Kent, with Darren Stevens working his medium-paced magic, still earned the vital victory their efforts deserved to set up a thrilling final week in Division Two of the Championship.Although Hampshire retain the faintest of mathematical chances, this is now a three-horse race for two promotion spots – and Kent, who finished second from bottom 12 months ago, have closed the gap on leaders Derbyshire to six points, while second-placed Yorkshire are only five ahead of them.They had to work extremely hard, though, to seal the deal on Friday – eventually crossing the winning line with 12.4 overs, or 43 minutes, to spare. Stevens, who continually asks questions which batsmen do not like, was not used before lunch but he captured four of the last seven wickets.”Stevo has been brilliant in these last couple of games,” Kent captain Rob Key said of the allrounder who took a five-for against Leicestershire a week ago. “He got his wickets with some serious balls.”The only good news for Derbyshire was Hampshire’s simultaneous defeat by Essex, meaning that their opponents next week will have next to nothing to play for in terms of promotion.Losing captain Wayne Madsen on Thursday evening was a serious blow to Derbyshire because he has shown on more than one occasion this season that he can bat long and big in difficult circumstances. Even so, the visitors made a promising start to the final morning with Paul Borrington and Usman Khawaja doing their best for 75 minutes to back up the defiant words of head coach, Karl Krikken, with some determined defence.Krikken had said that Derbyshire would “fight to get a positive result”, after complaining bitterly about Tredwell’s introduction to the match after the ECB had indicated he would not be available if he played in Wednesday’s final ODI against South Africa.In fact, Derbyshire never threatened to crumble to Tredwell. But the England spinner gave them nothing (he bowled 12 overs for 17 overs before lunch) whereas 20-year-old Adam Riley, who Tredwell replaced, might not have been able to maintain the pressure. To that extent, his introduction to the game did have a bearing.Wickets were what Kent required, however, and it was Matt Coles – picked for the England Lions this summer – who did the trick with two wickets in 17 balls. Tall, strong and bowling with every ounce of effort he could muster, Coles may have been a little fortunate to remove Borrington lbw with height the issue. A couple of overs later, however, he had Wes Durston leg-before, the batsman having shuffled across his stumps, and almost did for Dan Redfern, who edged thick and fast to gully where Sam Northeast could only parry a head-high chance.Then Stevens took over the role of match-winner. He removed Khawaja lbw with one that cut back, found the outside edge of Redfern’s bat, had Tony Palladino taken in the slips off an angled bat and produced a bail-trimmer to remove Tim Groenewald. Derbyshire continued to fight, but it was a battle they seemed destined to lose from the moment Mark Davies brushed David Wainwright’s off stump with the final ball before tea, thereby breaking a stand with Tom Poynton that took up 20 overs.”That was a massive wicket for us,” said Key. “This morning, I thought it would be over a lot earlier than it was. But Derbyshire fought really well and they were very hard to prise out. We had to force every dismissal and it was bloody hard work.”So now it is a three-horse race for promotion and I would say it is even money on everyone. After the last couple of years it is brilliant to be going into the final game with everything to play for.”Derbyshire can say precisely the same. But, having led the table virtually all season, they now find themselves under real pressure to confirm a first ever Championship promotion.

Kevin Pietersen will return to action for Surrey in Sunday’s CB40 match against one of his previous clubs, Hampshire, at West End.Pietersen, who was dropped from the England side for the final Test of the series against South Africa at Lord’s following an incident where he sent what he termed ‘provocative’ texts about England captain Andrew Strauss to members of the South Africa team, is anxious to win a recall to England’s limited-overs squads. The ECB will announce the squads for the World Twenty20 and the limited-overs series against South Africa on Tuesday.The ECB have also released Pietersen for the CB40 against Glamorgan at the Oval on Tuesday, a game which will be used to launch the Tom Maynard Trust, a charity founded in memory of the Surrey and Glamorgan batsman who died in tragic circumstances in June aged just 23. No decision has yet been made about the playing commitments of any of England’s other contracted players beyond Tuesday.Surrey will be grateful for Pietersen’s return. Their form has deteriorated since the death of Maynard, with Mark Ramprakash retiring and Rory Hamilton-Brown taking extended compassionate leave and relinquishing the captaincy. They can still retain the CB40 trophy they won last year, however, and go into Sunday’s game against Hampshire just a point behind the hosts with a game in hand.Quite what reception Pietersen can expect remains to be seen. He left Hampshire under something of a cloud in 2010 having complained about the distance of the ground from his Chelsea home and the events of recent weeks will have done little to win over those who were unimpressed by him then.

ScorecardRob Key’s 35 helped guide Kent to a defendable total at The Oval•Getty Images

This was much more like the Twenty20 the ECB invented. A balmy evening, a five-figure crowd and a decent match to boot. Kent won it to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.There were 14,990 in the ground – the largest T20 crowd this season anywhere – a good section of them Men of Kent, or indeed Kentish Men, who created a lively beer-fuelled atmosphere, complete with pint glass snakes and (albeit clothed) streakers, as Kent continued Surrey’s disastrous run in the competition and put them, now mathematically, out. After winning their first two matches, Surrey have lost six on the spin and this was a shocker, fired out for their lowest all out total in T20s.This latest defeat was a great surprise. Surrey decided to bowl on a surface that went on to turn quite significantly and restricted Kent with their four spinners, three of whom took wickets and the fourth, stand-in skipper Gareth Batty, went for only 27 in his four overs.The pick of the spinners was Murali Kartik. He opened the bowling and went on to claim 1 for 19. It was fine stuff and it turned. Little did Kent try to hit him and when Darren Stevens did, he only ballooned a catch up to Kevin Pietersen – his second of three.Pietersen’s first victim was a fine effort, tumbling in from mid-on to take Sam Northeast’s back-foot drive that spooned off the toe of the bat. The sunglasses-wearing Pietersen also took Rob Key’s in-to-out drive off Zafar Ansari – the last spinner to be introduced and who proved the most expensive despite picking up two key wickets, the other being the dangerous Azhar Mahmood, stumped as he drove outside off stump and left his ground.Key was the man to glue things together for Kent. He played carefully in testing circumstances – wickets falling and Dirk Nannes racing in to bowl at 90mph – but his ending was unsatisfactory. Key’s dismissal exposed a weak lower order shorn of West Indies batsman Brendan Nash, attending the birth of his child, and James Tredwell, called up to the England squad for Saturday’s ODI.It was left to Alex Blake, a 23-year-old Kent academy product, to push Kent to some sort of score. He played the reverse sweep very well, first off Ansari and then two overs later off Batty for boundaries backward of point. But the latter 20 runs of his 26-ball 35 would not have been made had Nannes held him on the midwicket boundary before skipping over the rope. Blake hadn’t caught a slog-sweep off Ansari correctly but struck the only six of the match.It was another Kent academy product – there were five in this team – that sent their side to victory. Adam Riley proved a fine replacement for Tredwell. He is a tall lad, 6ft 2in, bowled with control and was prepared to flight the ball. The spinning wicket gave him encouragement and he proved very difficult to score off, sending down four overs for 17 runs, removing Matthew Spriegel, lbw playing across a straight one, and Zander de Bruyn, effectively the match-winning wicket. Advancing down the pitch, De Bruyn didn’t get to a length ball that turned down the leg side and was easily stumped.It was de Bruyn and Ansari that tried to work Surrey back into the chase with a stand of 45 in 8.5 overs – it was not a stand to light up Surrey hopes but moved them from out of the game at 18 for 4 to needing 73 from 8 overs, a more amicable target. But Ansari was bowled by Stevens and Murali Kartik run out without facing a ball to kill the chase. The remainder of the order petered out and Surrey were dismissed with 2.3 overs to spare.It was a scenario not thought possible with a low target and the power of Surrey’s top order. But they crumbled in the first four overs: Pietersen driving outside a Mark Davies in-ducker, Jason Roy walking across his stumps, Rory Burns chipping to midwicket and Steven Davies edging Mahmood behind trying to cut.

James Pattinson, Craig McDermott’s most prominent pupil during a compelling year as Australia’s bowling coach, wants Cricket Australia to choose a long-term replacement with Test match experience, describing such knowledge of international bowling as a “must” for whoever is appointed.CA are set to commence formal interviews for McDermott’s replacement at the conclusion of Australia’s tour of England and Ireland but the team performance manager, Pat Howard, has already spoken with the former Pakistan captain and coach Waqar Younis. Tasmania bowling coach Ali de Winter is another contender, and will work in a caretaker capacity with Australia’s fast men on this tour. Pattinson was adamant that the permanent role should go to a coach with international experience to call upon.”It’s fantastic to have someone as your bowling coach who has had that experience at Test level or [of] international cricket. I think it’s almost a must now, with the amount of cricket that we play, to have someone around the squad who has all that experience in there,” Pattinson told ESPNcricinfo. “For me it is a bit of an emotional roller coaster playing Test cricket, as I’ve found out over the six months I’ve been involved. So to have someone who has that experience and has done that before is outstanding, and definitely a must.”McDermott had an unmistakeable impact on Pattinson’s bowling, encouraging the fuller length and unstinting line that laid waste to New Zealand and India in four Tests before a foot injury halted the 22-year-old’s progress. He returned for one Test in the West Indies and tweaked his back when throwing from the outfield, but is now fully fit for duty in the UK. In the meantime, McDermott called an end to his touring with Australia for family reasons, leaving Pattinson to deal with the loss of a major influence on his progress.”It is tough [without McDermott]. The bowling group were very happy with his input into the team, he did a fantastic job, especially for the young guys coming into the team and trying to find their way,” Pattinson said. “I’m a bit disappointed to see him go, but that’s life. Family things take a toll sometimes. It is sad to see him go, but he’s only ever a phone call away and he’s hopefully going to be there for the rest of my career giving me advice.”I think for me in the West Indies, with such a good start I had [against India], I tried to do a bit too much with the ball and tried to take too many wickets – but the good thing is he’s told me to keep it pretty simple and everything else will take care of itself. It’s great to have him in the back of my mind, [someone] who I can give a call to and get some more advice.”De Winter will need to earn the trust of Australia’s bowlers, though his widely admired work with Tasmania’s seam and swing bowlers has preceded him. “We’ve had little bit of a chat, he’s pretty fresh to me, I haven’t had a lot to do with him over my career,” Pattinson said. “But from all reports he’s a fantastic bowling coach and he’s done really well for Tasmania as you’ve seen over the last couple of years with their success with their fast bowling brigade. So he’s another great inclusion into our squad of staff.”Having arrived in London ahead of a first tour match against Leicestershire on June 21, Pattinson is warming up for a trip that will provide him with valuable knowledge about how to bowl in England. Australia have one ODI against Ireland and five against England, before an Australia A tour will allow Pattinson and others to practice with the Dukes ball in a first-class environment.”The conditions are pretty good for swing bowling over here, so it’s just about my adjusting my skills to the situation and what the pitches throw up,” Pattinson said. “It’s almost a year to the Ashes, so I’ll be doing my best to get as much knowledge of these pitches and tap into some knowledge of past bowlers as well, how they’ve gone over here and how they’ve succeeded.”As the younger brother of Darren Pattinson, who played one Test for England, James Pattinson has plenty of close links to the UK, and was understandably keen to make himself known in the land of his father. “My family’s from here so it is a place I’ve always wanted to go and compete and play cricket,” he said. “It’s going to be a good lead-in for me going into the Ashes and get some experience over here, so I’m looking forward to it.””With my brother it’s always good to have someone who’s got great knowledge of playing over here and the conditions to ring up and have a chat to. I’ll be having a chat to him in more detail in the days to come.”

Pakistan is ‘ready’ for the return of international cricket to the country, after Bangladesh confirmed they would tour for a short limited-overs series at the end of this month. Bangladesh will be the first Full Member of the ICC to tour Pakistan since March 2009.The teams will play two matches, an ODI and a T20, both at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The ODI is scheduled for April 29 and the T20 for April 30″We are ready to host them,” Intikhab Alam, PCB’s director for international operations told ESPNcricinfo. “We have world-class stadiums that are always ready to host cricket all year long. Everything is in place so there is no difficulty for us to host them at short notice.”There’s been no international cricket in Pakistan since March 2009, after terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus and a van carrying ICC officials to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on what would have been the third day of the second Test of that tour. Some members of the Sri Lanka contingent and reserve umpire Ahsan Raza sustained injuries, and six security personnel and two civilians were killed.Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi said the security situation in the country had improved over the last three years.”It’s a major breakthrough and I am excited to see Bangladesh touring Pakistan,” Afridi told ESPNcricinfo. “It is a much-needed development. Not only will it revive international cricket here, the people in the country will also be entertained.”Obviously the incident in Lahore (terror attack) was unfortunate but Pakistan has learnt its lessons. I understand the security concerns are up on their minds but things have improved and everything will go well. I have always believed that cricket is a game which keeps a relationship cordial between two countries. All countries should support Pakistan in a time of difficulty.”The PCB, under the chairman Zaka Ashraf, has been keen to revive international cricket in Pakistan, using all its resources and engaging the government to provide full-fledged security to visiting teams. Pakistan have been playing their “home series” in off-shore venues like UAE, New Zealand and England. There’s also a plan to “host” Australia in Sri Lanka later this year.Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, who turned down a county offer to remain home with his family, welcomed the fact that the team will not have to travel outside the country to play this series.”Playing our home series in Pakistan is always helpful,” Ajmal said. “Though we have been playing in similar conditions in UAE, there are so many factors involved that give you the advantage. The news about Bangladesh touring Pakistan is good for players and the country.”Pakistan’s politicians also supported the development. The foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said: “PCB’s efforts have finally borne fruit and Bangladesh team’s visit will help bring international cricket back to Pakistan and will motivate more teams to come to our country.”The interior minister, Rehman Malik, said the best security would be in place. “We will leave no stone unturned and put in place the best possible security for the Bangladesh team as per our promise and make this tour an exemplary one so that other teams also tour us.”Rashid Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, stressed the need for the “best arrangements”. “We must not leave any loopholes in security because we cannot afford a minor mistake or any lapse in arrangements.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin Pietersen slammed 50 off 26 to provide Delhi Daredevils the flourish at the finish•AFP

Just in case there had been any doubts about it, Delhi Daredevils showed they are the team to beat this season by thumping pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians. Two of their high-profile new recruits, Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen, contributed half-centuries while Virender Sehwag made his third successive fifty to power Daredevils past 200. Even the return of the world’s best Twenty20 bowler, Lasith Malinga, couldn’t prevent Daredevils from reaching the second highest total of the season.Mumbai’s batting has been their biggest frailty this season, and their top order failed again. The game seemed virtually over in the fourth over of the chase with Mumbai at 19 for 3 before Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik resurrected Mumbai hopes with a fast-paced 96-run stand. Their chances were finally finished off by unheralded left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem, who continued his golden run this season by removing Rayudu and the dangerous Kieron Pollard off successive deliveries in the 16th over.Daredevils dominated right from the beginning with Jayawardene and Sehwag putting on a 135-run opening stand. Jayawardene ripped into his Sri Lanka colleague, Malinga, in the third over, taking 15 off it with three boundaries. The Daredevils openers feasted on some wayward Mumbai bowling, flicking full tosses off the pads and slashing the wide ones. Jayawardene was the early aggressor, outscoring Sehwag before the captain opened up against RP Singh, slashing over point and flat-batting a six over long-off.Mumbai should have had Sehwag on 40, when he skipped down the track to Robin Peterson, only for Karthik to fluff the stumping. Sehwag made Mumbai pay by ransacking Pollard for two fours and two sixes in an over which cost 23. There were more worries for Mumbai as Pollard later walked off with an injured shoulder after attempting an almost impossible catch at point, though he returned later to bat.There was no let-up even after the openers departed as Pietersen and Ross Taylor added 41 in just 2.4 overs. Pietersen brought out his signature switch hit, off his namesake who pulled off the same shot in Mumbai’s last game. A boundary to extra cover in the final over brought up the 200 and dented Mumbai’s hopes of revenge for the humiliating defeat at home last week.Mumbai tried their sixth new opening partnership in eight matches, and this one flopped as well. Aiden Blizzard went for a duck in his first game of the season and bigger blows quickly followed. Morne Morkel got Sachin Tendulkar to chip a catch to mid-off and Irfan Pathan sent back Rohit Sharma, who holed out to mid-on for 12. With a blaze of boundaries Rayudu and Karthik managed to keep pace even though the asking rate was above 12. Karthik was undone by a low full toss from Ajit Agarkar that homed into the base of the stumps, while Nadeem’s crucial intervention three overs later finished off the contest.Daredevils are now three points ahead of the chasing pack, the largest lead a team has held this season. Mumbai, on the other hand, still have only four victories, two of which needed extraordinary performances at the end of the match. They were expected to steamroll oppositions this year, but it has proved a hard grind so far, with the thinktank still struggling to decide on their best line-up. They need to get their act together fast.

ScorecardRobbie Joseph left Glamorgan’s batsmen shell-shocked on his Leicestershire debut, claiming 6 for 47 to put his side into a match-winning position at Grace Road.The Welsh side were routed for 124, giving Leicestershire a first-innings lead of 125, and though Glamorgan struck back to bowl out the hosts for 110 in their second innings they closed the day at 21 for 1 as they chased a challenging victory target of 236. Once again Joseph was the wicket taker, bowling Gareth Rees for 4.Joseph, 30, who was released by Kent at the end of last season, has joined Leicestershire on a short-term contract. He could hardly have made a more impressive start and Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said: “He is enjoying it here and gives our attack that bit of extra pace.”Glamorgan began the second day at a perilous 25 for 5 with the possibility of being asked to follow on staring them in the face.Some steely batting by the tailenders helped them avoid that ignominy – but not before two early alarms. Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace both fell to the impressive Joseph in his first three overs of the day, leaving Glamorgan at 34 for 7 with another 66 runs needed to prevent the follow-on.But nightwatchman Dean Cosker, along with Graham Wagg, Robert Croft and Huw Waters, added 90 more runs for the last three wickets. Wagg led the way with a belligerent 42 off 60 balls, hitting seven fours before edging to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley to give Joseph his sixth wicket and bring Glamorgan’s innings to an end.Leicestershire’s second-innings batting performance showed just how much they needed their three-figure advantage. With the ball continuing to seam and swing around, the hosts were dismissed for 110 in 42.4 overs as the Glamorgan seamers revelled in the helpful conditions.Only two batsmen made it to double figures, Jacques du Toit top-scoring with 40 and opener Matt Boyce making 11, while the extras column contributed 18.Wagg – who bagged the big wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan, bowling him with a well disguised slower ball – took 3 for 29, while Moises Henriques claimed 3 for 25.It was Henriques who brought Du Toit’s 67-ball innings to an end, finding some extra bounce to have him caught at gully. Unlike the first innings, there was little resistance by Leicestershire’s middle- and late-order batsmen this time, with the last four wickets falling for 25 runs in 11 overs.But Glamorgan were still set a challenging victory target of 236 and the early loss of opener Rees, bowled by Joseph in the fourth over, made the task look even more difficult.