Monty Panesar will not readily forget his debut for Essex. He was required to do so much bowling that he seemed to be on at both ends at once as Northamptonshire racked up 531

Ivo Tennant at Colchester21-Aug-2013
ScorecardMonty Panesar was made to toil on a difficult day for Essex•Getty Images

Monty Panesar will not readily forget his debut for Essex. It was another hot day with the pitch still sluggish and taking spin only on the rare occasions when he gave the ball some air, the batsmen still rapacious for runs. He bowled the day’s first over, spearing yorker length and flat deliveries in at the nimble feet of Andrew Hall and Steven Crook with limited success. He was required to do so much bowling that he seemed to be on at both ends at once. His figures, when Northamptonshire were finally dismissed for 531, read 54-18-133-2.Having taken his first wicket on the opening day, Panesar had Crook held at slip, attempting to cut. Would he benefit from bowling a little slower, here as elsewhere? Robin Hobbs, fine legspinner from a happy era of Essex cricket, does not believe he can. “He finds it difficult to do so. But then Derek Underwood could never flight the ball.” The more the batsmen milked him for runs, the more Panesar bowled at a speed akin to Underwood’s medium-pace cutters. Hobbs was not meaning to be disparaging: he knows that throwing the ball up above the batsman’s eyeline does not work for everybody.As to whether Panesar will still be an Essex cricketer next year, Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, said that it would depend on how he fits into the dressing room. “His ability is unquestioned and the members will always be glad to see an England Test cricketer playing in front of them,” Hilliard said. “We can afford him, having taken on his pay structure from Sussex. At the end of the season Monty will be a free agent.” What also has to be resolved is the future for Tom Craddock, who will not play for the remainder of the season owing to personal reasons.Four of Northamptonshire’s remaining first innings wickets fell to spin – but three of them were taken by Greg Smith’s off breaks. Hall, like Crook, finished with 63, ten fours as opposed to eight. He was bowled as he made to force the ball away. The theory is that the square in mid-August always favours the Essex spinners, but Hilliard, who played club cricket here at Castle Park, recalled Peter Such toiling away, over after over with scant reward. So it was now for Panesar, who must hope that there will be more turn for him if and when he bowls again.Robert Keogh had been first to go, his middle stump uprooted by Graham Napier, and Smith concluded the innings by bowling Trent Copeland and having Azharullah taken at short leg. Essex then required 382 to avoid following-on. If the pitch was to take spin, best they made a solid start. Instead, Jaik Mickleburgh edged Copeland to the wicketkeeper; Gautam Gambhir, having driven Hall nicely through the cover ring, was bowled by Crook, back on his stumps; Ravi Bopara was leg before to Crook.Northamptonshire barely concerned themselves with spin, even if James Middlebrook, another in this match to be playing against a former county, was in their side. The medium pacers were rotated to good effect. But in the last hour James Foster, the very person to come in when the follow-on is looming, and Ryan ten Doeschate, who batted with similar resolve, ensured Northamptonshire still have much to do. Their unbroken partnership amounts to 84 and there was a freedom about their strokeplay in the closing overs which reflected poorly on the batsmen who had gone before. Essex are 344 runs in arrears.

Ben Stokes’ performances in the ODI series against Australia could have pushed him closer to a spot in this winter’s Ashes touring party, according to Ashley Giles

Alan Gardner17-Sep-2013Ben Stokes’ performances in the ODI series against Australia could have pushed him closer to a spot in this winter’s Ashes touring party, according to Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach. Giles, who is also a selector, said the panel would sit down for a “huge meeting” ahead of Monday’s announcement of the squad to tour Australia and that the one-day form shown by the likes of Stokes and Boyd Rankin may have a bearing, despite England’s 2-1 defeat in the series.Durham allrounder Stokes was asked to fill the role of England’s third seamer and his displays were increasingly impressive, culminating in a five-wicket haul at the Ageas Bowl on Monday; he also gave a glimpse of his ability with the bat during a crucial partnership with Jos Buttler to help England win the fourth ODI in Cardiff. His ability in the field, with Giles called him “one of the best in the world”, could also help push him ahead of the likes of Chris Woakes and Ravi Bopara for inclusion as a Test allrounder.Rankin, meanwhile, was the pick of the bowlers against Australia, demonstrating pace and bounce as well as impressive control (his 29.1 overs were delivered at an economy of 3.63). Since making his one-day debut against Ireland, he has taken nine wickets at 16.88 and, with a view to Australian pitches, his height may sway England, much as Chris Tremlett’s raw physicality did three years ago.”They certainly won’t have done it any harm,” Giles said of the pair’s prospects. “If you look at the attributes both of them have; Boyd is six foot 10 or something, a huge man, and he bowls at a good rate of knots. We tend to like our tall fast bowlers. Going to Australia, playing on those wickets, those attributes are important.””Ben is someone who has been on the radar for a couple of years and people are starting to talk about him, I think he’s a really exciting cricketer and there’s a lot more to come from him with bat and ball. Already, possibly, he’s one of the best fielders in the world – I know that’s a big call – he’s a terrific athlete so those all-round skills put him in an elite market. When you can do those sorts of things you will be talked about across all forms of the game. We just need to be careful that we aren’t pushing them too hard, it still takes time and the experience of playing. But, so far, so good on the report card.”Although England’s inexperienced attack struggled to contain Australia in two of the three completed matches – conceding 315 for 7 at Old Trafford and 298 at the Ageas Bowl – Stokes finished as their leading wicket-taker, coming on at first change and nudging 90mph on the speed gun. He only batted three times but twice passed his previous best score.”We did ask a lot of him as third seamer, we know that,” Giles said. “But some of the stuff we’ve seen this summer, even with red ball, has taken us down that path. He reverses it both ways, he bowls with pace – he bounced out Wade yesterday – he’s aggressive. We don’t make those big decisions without some evidence and it’s there that he’s made great leaps.”His batting is extremely dangerous, as he showed on occasions, but there’s a lot more to come there. The guy is a genuine allrounder, across the aspects of the game and quite possibly across all three forms. It’s very important we look after these guys and try to nurture them, they are our greatest assets and we’d be silly to take our eyes off the ball.”England are expected to named a 16-man Ashes squad, although in 2010-11 they later expanded the number to 17. Giles would not be drawn further on the make-up of the party, other than to say “the first 12 pick themselves”, but said that the selectors had plenty of options to consider. “It will be a good debate, because we’ve got some very good cricketers. Some of them have come into this series and really impressed, I think that’s healthy for some of the guys we have rested that we have young players chasing them up.”The decision to omit several players who had been involved in the home Ashes, including Alastair Cook, England’s Test and ODI captain, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, was not met with universal approval and while Giles was pleased with the signs of progress, he admitted that losing a second bilateral series of the summer had not been part of the plan.”It has been useful. The win in Cardiff was obviously the most pleasing aspect,” he said. “That win centred around a lot of the young guys having a really good day. We thought at the start of the series that if we could move two guys on a fair distance in terms of creating a larger pool of players in one-day cricket then this series has done a lot of its job. In Rankin and Stokes, they have probably done that on their own but there are others too, so as a coach that’s really pleasing. Ultimately, of course, these aren’t practice games and we lost 2-1.”

Salman Butt, the suspended former Pakistan captain, has been called by the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit to Dubai on April 28

Umar Farooq21-Apr-2015Salman Butt, the suspended former Pakistan captain, has been called by the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit to Dubai on April 28. This comes after the PCB applied for his reintegration into cricket.”I am not aware about the purpose of the meeting,” Butt told ESPNcricinfo. “But I am sure it is related to my request to the PCB about my reintegration into cricket. I am happy that I am being heard and I am ready for the ICC meeting as well.”Butt was originally handed a 10-year ban from any involvement in cricketing activities for spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test in August 2010, with five years suspended on the condition that he would commit no further breach of the anti-corruption code and participate in a PCB-controlled anti-corruption education programme.But the ICC recently approved a revised anti-corruption code that allows banned players to make a return to domestic cricket before the end of their penalty if they meet certain criteria.Butt had told the PCB of his willingness to comply and requested the chairman Shahriyar Khan’s support. In June 2013, he had confessed and apologised for his actions and offered his full cooperation to the mandatory educational rehabilitation program.In a letter to the PCB, a copy of which has been seen by ESPNcricinfo, Butt said “I accept that I am guilty of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code in the manner found by the anti-corruption tribunal in its judgment dated 5 February 2011.”I unreservedly and unconditionally apologise and express deep regret and remorse for those grave breaches and recognise the harm they have done to the cricket and to the image of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan as nation. As the captain, I accept that I had a greater responsibility than any other player in the team.”I urge all persons playing or planning to play cricket to resist temptations of any kind which may be offered them to fix matches or to spot-fix or otherwise to participate in activates which damage the sports of cricket and beware of the adverse impact that such activities necessarily have on the sport. I urge all person who know of any corruption to reject the approach and report the matter to the appropriate cricketing authorities.”Butt, along with Mohammad Asif, had also been found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011, on charges of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments over deliberate no-balls bowled during the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. Mohammad Amir had pleaded guilty prior to the trial.Butt has served four and half years of his ban, and also served seven months of a 30-month prison sentence in UK. In 2013, he had appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, to reduce his ban but it was rejected.

In another move to weaken the control of the previous regime, the BCCI has done away with the services of two Srinivasan aides – Dr RN Baba and MA Satish

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2015In another move to weaken the control of the previous regime, the BCCI has done away with the services of two N Srinivasan aides who were regulars in the Indian team’s travelling contingent for the last three years. Dr RN Baba and MA Satish have been relieved as media manager and logistics manager, respectively, by the new regime headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya.Since taking charge of the board, Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur have been working on distancing the BCCI from Srinivasan, whose controversial regime as president ended in March. While Satish, a former Kerala first-class cricketer, was roped in to the India team’s support staff in 2011, Baba had been accompanying the team since the World Twenty20 in 2012.While Rishikesh Upadhyay has been appointed as the logistics manager for the tour of Bangladesh, administrative manager Biswarup Dey will double up as media manager during the 17-day tour.With Satish being an India Cements employee, he had to be withdrawn from the India squad midway through last year’s World Twenty20. He was replaced with Satyajit Parab, a former Baroda opener who hails from the hometown of then secretary Sanjay Patel. However, immediately after the Supreme Court issued an order in the IPL corruption scandal in January, Satish was brought back as a member of the support staff since the tri-series in Australia.Baba, despite being a Tamil Nadu Cricket Association member, continued in his role all through the corruption scandal court case since he is not employed with Srinivasan’s India Cements. Despite facing the wrath of the travelling Indian media contingent, Dr Baba had earned MS Dhoni’s praise. “I keep telling him, if the media is happy with you, then you are not a good media manager,” Dhoni had said towards the end of the World Cup.While the reported that Dr Baba used to be paid Rs 5 lakh (US$ 7805) per tour and Satish drew a monthly salary of Rs 6 lakh (US$ 9366) by the BCCI, the figures could not be independently ascertained.Since being elected in March, Thakur and Dalmiya have made a conscious effort to end Srinivasan’s control over the BCCI affairs. It reflected in appointments of BCCI sub-committees and has now filtered into the appointments of Indian team’s support staff.

Former England wicketkeeper Bob Taylor is set to undergo a heart bypass operation after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2015Former England wicketkeeper Bob Taylor is set to undergo a bypass operation after suffering a heart attack on July 1. Derbyshire, with whom Taylor spent all his county cricket career, confirmed that he was in hospital awaiting the operation.”Bob is a legend of the game and has been a tremendous supporter of cricket in the county following his retirement from the game,” Chris Grant, Derbyshire’s chairman, said. “We have passed on the best wishes of everyone associated with Derbyshire County Cricket Club and the county’s cricket communities to his wife Cathy and his family and will continue to hold them in our thoughts.”Tayor, 73, played 57 Tests and 27 ODIs between 1971 and 1984. He scored 12,065 runs, took 1473 catches and made 176 stumpings during a first-class career that included 639 matches.

Batting collapses aren’t new to Pakistan cricket, but after falling from 32 for 1 to 152 for 7 in 37 overs on the second day in Pallekele, even Azhar Ali, the team’s vice-captain, could not offer an explanation

Umar Farooq in Pallekele04-Jul-2015Ever since the Galle turnaround, Pakistan’s batting has combusted time and again. Batting collapses aren’t new to Pakistan cricket, but after falling from 32 for 1 to 152 for 7 in 37 overs on the second day in Pallekele, even Azhar Ali, the team’s vice-captain, could not offer an explanation.Azhar, like several of his team-mates, was guilty of throwing his wicket away despite being one of the few batsmen settled at the crease. Before that, on a pitch that was not unplayable by any means, Ahmed Shehzad was done by his own remiss, and Asad Shafiq played across the line to be trapped lbw.Was it fair to call Pakistan’s batting careless?”I don’t think careless is the right word, but you can say misjudgment,” Azhar said. “We all were out there with a positive frame of mind and were very much focused but it didn’t work out. You sometime hit a ball for a boundary and the same ball gets you out as well, which is part of the game. You can’t just say that we were careless.”They (Sri Lanka bowlers) bowled in the right areas this time, again otherwise the wicket is still very good for Test cricket as it has everything for everyone. The main point we lacked today was not building big partnerships otherwise it could have been different scenario. We anchored small partnerships but converting them into bigger partnerships was the only thing missed. Small partnership in intervals looked easy for us for a while, but then again, we lost few wickets in the wrong time and we never got time to get settled.”The collapse undid most of the good work done by the Pakistan bowlers, who bundled Sri Lanka out for 278, as the visitors still trailed by 69 runs with just one wicket in hand going into day three. Before the Test, Misbah-ul-Haq had suggested that his team had their best chance of beating a weakened Sri Lanka side at their home, but Pakistan’s performance on Saturday did little to justify that belief. Azhar, though, felt the game was still open.”We still have a chance to beat Sri Lanka by trying to exploit the absence of big names in their team. But at the same time, whoever they have are very good players representing their country. We are applying ourselves with full strength to beat them but we have to be on top of our game.”This Test is still open and the closer we get to their score, it will increase our chances to pull this in our way. The third innings is always important and if we managed to get them out early, we are capable of turning things around like we did in Galle as well. So there is plenty of time in the match and we are positive about everything. From tomorrow, it will be a new day and we look forward to it.”Pakistan may sound optimistic, but at the moment, only Yasir Shah is on top of his game. The game may not be lost, but the momentum most certainly has.”It’s Test cricket because it test you in different sessions, and if we managed to pull ourselves together in the coming days and play our best cricket, then we can win this game and we are positive about this,” Azhar said.”The only problem we have had so far is that we couldn’t convert the smaller partnerships into big ones. It’s not like the pitch wasn’t good, it is equally good for batsmen, but each one of us have to apply ourselves and have to work hard to get the best out of this.”

USA’s best bowling and fielding performance of the tournament was followed by a match-winning 66-run partnership between Man of the Match Nicholas Standford and Alex Amsterdam

Peter Della Penna in Dublin18-Jul-2015
Scorecard1:45

‘Live for moments like these’ – Standford

USA’s best bowling and fielding performance of the tournament was followed by a match-winning 66-run partnership between Man of the Match Nicholas Standford and Alex Amsterdam as they blew past Hong Kong by seven wickets at Clontarf.Three run-outs and and a game-changing spell from medium pacer Japen Patel restricted Hong Kong to 125 for 7. Then USA’s batsmen were able to polish off the game with 11 balls to spare.For Hong Kong though, the defeat brought back memories of their inept show in their tournament opener against Jersey. And it would hurt them even more considering they defended 129 against Ireland only yesterday.They had the chance to pierce through USA’s shaky middle order with the score on 37 for 2 in the chase. Akeem Dodson had been run out following a calamitous mix up with his opening partner Fahad Babar while Japen Patel’s dangerous cameo was cut short at 17 off nine balls. But errors in the field put paid to hopes of a fightback.USA had made only two runs off the bat in the first 10 balls after Japen’s wicket when Amsterdam, who was yet to score, lofted seamer Tanwir Afzal to 17-year old debutant Giacomo Lamplough at long-on. But the simple waist-high chance was spilled and Amsterdam went on to make an unbeaten 43. Amsterdam should have been out on 9 in the tenth over as well but Kinchit Shah misjudged a catch on the cover boundary off Anshuman Rath and the ball wound up going over his head, landed just inside the rope and bounced away for four.Hong Kong bucked up as seamer Irfan Ahmed trapped Babar lbw for 15 off 26. USA might have felt a touch nervous at 62 for 3 in the 11th over, considering their history of middle-order collapses. But Standford took charge and finished that 11th over off with a monstrous six over the sightscreen. Irfan, who had been the catalyst for Hong Kong’s victory over Ireland with 3 for 11, came in for some heavy punishment from Standford and finished with 1 for 33 in 3.1 overs.With 32 needed off five overs, Hong Kong took a punt and asked Mark Chapman to bowl his first over of the tournament and it nearly worked. Standford, on 16, punched Chapman’s left-arm spin but the bowler wasn’t able to hold onto a tough overhead catch.Alex Amsterdam contributed to USA’s chase with an unbeaten 43•ICC/Sportsfile

Amsterdam was on 41 at the time and Standford caught up with three big blows in the next over. Irfan, who was the bowler, conceded a pair of sixes over long on and then a pulled four through square leg. Standford smashed another four over the leg side off the first ball of the 19th over from Irfan to clinch victory and finished with 40 not out in 25 balls.The platform for victory though was set up by USA’s seamers who kept Hong Kong’s batting in check. Captain Muhammad Ghous, who had opted to bowl after winning the toss, opened with a maiden and got the initial breakthrough in the third over. It might have been a lucky one; he trapped the left-handed Rath lbw while darting in his offspin over the wicket. But the batsman did shuffle across his stumps and was looking to flick behind square.Left-arm seamer Naseer Jamali bowled a tight three-over spell in the Powerplay and conceded only 12 runs but Ghous was hit out of the attack by Irfan and Nizakat Khan. They swept and flicked a pair of fours before turning their attention to the off side. A cover drive raced to the boundary and took the score to 23 for 1 after five overs.Nizakat fell to seamer Adil Bhatti’s first ball, in the seveth over, as a flat-footed swish outside off took the edge and was well taken by wicketkeeper Dodson diving to his right.Irfan was then run out by the bowler Hammad Shahid after a miscommunication with Chapman to end the tenth over with Hong Kong at 54 for 3. Hong Kong increased that tally by 29 runs to be 83 for 3 after 14 overs. Though the run-rate wasn’t great, they had wickets in hand.That’s when Japen struck. He responded to being smacked to the point boundary by Chapman by dismissing the batsman the very next ball. Cramped for room, the glide to third man found the keeper’s gloves instead. In his next over, Japen went full and straight to beat Babar Hayat’s slog, and picked up one more in the 19th when Tanwir’s hoick was skied to Timil Patel at point.That was the first of four wickets off the final nine balls for Hong Kong. An alert Dodson denied a leg bye and ran Aizaz Khan out. Then Timil induced a mistimed drive from Haseeb Amjad to long-off, where Naseer Jamali took a good, running catch. Jamie Atkinson, the top-scorer with 34, was run-out off the final ball and USA went into the innings break with a spring in their step.Now for USA to reach the playoffs, they must beat Papua New Guinea on Sunday and have two other results go in their favor. Ireland must beat Jersey and Namibia has to beat Hong Kong to put USA on six points to Hong Kong’s five and Jersey’s four while Nepal has already been eliminated from contention for a top-four spot by finishing on three points.

Steven Smith and the coach Darren Lehmann both offered warm tributes to Haddin from Manchester as he announced his international retirement in Sydney

Daniel Brettig09-Sep-20151:02

Quick Facts – Brad Haddin

Brad Haddin will always be welcome in the Australian team dressing room, of which he was such a major part for much of the past 15 years. The new captain Steven Smith and the coach Darren Lehmann both offered warm tributes to Haddin from Manchester as he announced his international retirement on the other side of the world in Sydney.For Smith, Haddin is something like his cricketing father. The pair have been close for almost the entirety of the younger man’s career with New South Wales and latterly Australia, also linking up influentially as the leadership duo for the Sydney Sixers. Last summer Haddin handed over his vice-captaincy post to Smith, allowing the 26-year-old to step in as Test captain at home against India. There will be plenty of Haddin about the way Smith leads Australia.”He’s been a terrific player over a long period of time for Australia, certainly one of the best team men I’ve ever been around – he always put the team first in every aspect,” Smith said. “He’s been a great mentor for me. I’ve learned so much off him, throughout [playing for] NSW. When I started there he was captain. I learned a lot off him there.””In the Australian setup as well he always took me under his wing and helped me develop as a player and as a person. I’m very thankful for that. He was an extremely experienced player, and a great vice-captain to Michael throughout his whole career. He was just a great team man to have around, and who a lot of the young guys learned a lot off.”Smith also admired Haddin’s natural tendency to take the game on, even if it meant the occasional pratfall. The rewards for such courage could be rich, never more so than during the 2013-14 Ashes summer when his brazen batting drove England to distraction.”The home Ashes, where we won five-nil, he was a massive part of that. I think he scored 50 or more in the first innings in all five of those Test matches,” Smith recalled. “He was a big part of our success throughout that summer. That’s probably my fondest memory of him.””Magnificent player, really took the game on. Batting at No.7, I think he really came out and played positively. I think there were a lot of times where he got us back into the game, just from sheer will and taking the game on. He was magnificent at that, and I think a lot of keepers around the world can learn from the way he played.”Lehmann and Haddin crossed paths well over a decade ago as opponents in domestic competition, and had their share of confrontations as aggressive captains of South Australia and New South Wales. Years later they worked closely as Lehmann took over as national team coach, and he admitted Haddin’s role extended as far as mentoring the mentor.”It’s a sad day for Australian cricket, because he was a fantastic player, a fantastic mentor for a lot of young players. A great mentor for me as coach,” Lehmann said. “I played against him as a youngster, [when I was] with South Australia, and saw him rise through the ranks and play some amazing knocks for Australia.”Some of the catches and keeping he did over that period of time, in 66 Test matches, is an amazing achievement for him – but also [because of] what he went through personally. It’s a credit to him and [wife] Karina and the kids. He’s a fantastic human being and he’ll be welcome in our change rooms all the time, because he’s an absolute superstar.”The role of vice-captain to Michael Clarke was never an easy one, as Clarke himself knew from a difficult period alongside Ricky Ponting, while Shane Watson’s alliance with Clarke was always tenuous. Haddin engendered such respect that he was able to work strongly alongside Clarke while also fashioning workable relationships with all players, and Lehmann credited his ability to use the position for the betterment of the team.”The way he went about it as vice-captain of Australia was exceptional,” Lehmann said. “He was instrumental in Ashes, World Cup, series wins in South Africa. We had a lot of success with Brad in the team. He was fantastic around the group and he complemented Michael really well. He was a fantastic vice-captain for Australia, one of the best we’ve ever had.”He was quite vocal behind the scenes. He was one of those guys that really wanted to help and push the youngsters … making sure they’re learning the craft. He pushed the Australian cricket team to the limits, and I think that’s a great thing for a vice-captain, a keeper, [to be] someone so vocal.””You’ve seen someone like Steven Smith, who obviously grew up watching Brad and then playing with Brad, and [learning from] the way he went about it, the way he trained. His work ethic was second to none. I think Michael and him set a great example for the way they went about it and played the game.”When asked to sum up Haddin’s legacy, Lehmann offered the following: “The baggy green, the way he wore it with pride. The way he helped younger players. The way he helped drive the team as a whole. The way he helped coaches. The way he helped mould the team. The way we play today is an exceptional legacy for him. The way he thought about his family and helped his family through difficult times, and the way he helps other people’s family and friends.”

Steven Finn has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan with a “bone stress injury” to his left foot

Andrew McGlashan in Abu Dhabi12-Oct-2015Steven Finn has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan with a “bone stress injury” to his left foot.Finn reported soreness after England’s second warm-up match against Pakistan A in Sharjah in which he claimed 4 for 16 in 15 overs to put himself firmly in contention for Abu Dhabi. He bowled in training on Sunday but overnight the pain became worse.Alastair Cook confirmed he had “absolutely” been in the frame for the final XI for tomorrow’s first Test. With James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes all certain to feature, Finn and Mark Wood had been in a head-to-head for the last pace-bowling slot.After months of well-documented problems with his bowling action, Finn returned to the Test side against Australia at Edgbaston where he claimed 6 for 79 to help England claim a 2-1 lead in the Ashes. Although England hope to have him available later in the series, the compressed nature of the matches must make that unlikely. More realistically, as one of a handful of players who is part of all three formats, he will be targetting full fitness in time for next month’s ODI and T20 legs of the tour.”It’s a bitter blow for him, he bowled really well in that warm-up game and over the last 12 months he has made huge strides back to where we’d like him to be,” Cook said. “We’ll monitor him over the next period of time and hopefully he could be right or the second Test but we’ll have to wait and see.”Steven Finn was firmly in contention for a Test place before his foot injury•Getty Images

Finn’s absence firms up England’s attack for the opening Test with Wood, who impressed in the first warm-up match, completing a six-man unit which will include Adil Rashid on debut.Rashid, who took three wickets in the second two-day match, will follow in the footsteps of Ian Salisbury, Chris Schofield and Scott Borthwick to become England’s fourth Test legspinner since 1971, when Robin Hobbs played the last of his seven matches. His debut had been earmarked even before the tour began with coach Trevor Bayliss, who is keen on a twin-spin attack, giving Rashid the encouragement to be an attacking bowler.”Adil’s made really good strides since the West Indies tour,” Cook said. “He has his one-day experience and is feeling a bit more comfortable around the group. It’s a tough art to master, but he’s got over 400 first-class wickets, so he can definitely bowl. I know he’s looking forward to his opportunity. Yes, there can be some bad balls along the way, but he can also bowl some jaffas.”While it was also confirmed that Moeen Ali will open the batting, Cook did not cement the full XI although the likely outcome is Jonny Bairstow retained at No. 5 with Jos Buttler keeping hold of the wicketkeeper’s position.”We’ve got a lot of tough selection calls to make,” Cook said. “A lot of people are pushing and it’s made my and Trevor’s job very hard to get the right XI.”Cook added that James Taylor was “doing all he can” to force his way into the side after making an unbeaten 61 against Pakistan A to follow up his productive one-day series against Australia which helped earn him a spot for this tour.”He’s been brilliant since he’s come back into the one-day side. A lot of people said because of his size he couldn’t play the short-pitched bowling or the quick bowling. He’s also a really good player of spin. That’s what we want – people pushing for selection, but you’ve also got to respect the guys who have done a good job as well in the team.”

Fifties from Ashok Menaria and Rajat Bhatia helped Rajasthan to their best effort with the bat so far in this season, but Maharashtra countered with a late wicket

The Report by Sidharth Monga in Jaipur22-Oct-2015
Scorecard
File photo: Ashok Menaria’s 84 led Rajasthan to their best batting effort of the season so far•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jaipur crowds are known for their colourful heckling. RP Singh always draws a crowd here because there is an on-going feud with one particular fan who brings a group of people with him. Samad Fallah, the Maharashtra bowler who is known for his ability to bowl long, controlled spells, was cut to size when the crowd, all 10 of them, shouted, ” [Hey bowler, increase your pace].” They don’t spare their own either. Ashok Menaria, their captain who has plateaued over the last couple of years after a bright start as an Under-19 player, is called Malaria here. There were no such calls on the first day of Rajasthan’s match against Maharashtra as Menaria led the home team’s best effort with the bat of the season with 84.Rajasthan’s problem this season has been their batting, to counter which they have employed the experience and solidity of Rajat Bhatia. The pitch still was the usual green Sawai Mansingh Stadium one. And when Menaria lost the toss, Kedar Jadhav had no second thoughts asking them to bat first. There would have been concern around, but the pitch didn’t misbehave too much and the batsmen batted with the maturity that has been missing so far this season. All of the batsmen made starts, but Menaria and Bhatia – making a new start on his 36th birthday – went past 50 to take Rajasthan to 258 for 5.Suryaprakash Suwalka, playing in only his third first-class match, made an ideal opening pair with the resolute Vineet Saxena. The two added 46 for the first wicket before the pitch played its first decisive trick. There had been some movement earlier, but this time medium-pacer Shrikant Mundhe got one to seam in from outside off. Suwalka had shouldered arms, and had his off stump pegged back. Ten runs later, one of those things that happen in domestic cricket happened. Saxena went to pull Fallah, bowling round the wicket. There was an appeal for a catch at the wicket down the leg side. The umpire didn’t make a decision immediately, Saxena strolled towards square leg and when he was about to reach his stance, with the appeal still going on, the umpire raised his finger.Vaibhav Deshpande and Menaria then thwarted Maharashtra’s momentum. Deshpande was decisive at leaving outside off, and Menaria looked to keep using scoring opportunities. It was an innings of spurts. Just after lunch the Maharashtra bowlers began to bring pressure by drying up the runs. Finally Menaria got a leg-side half-volley, which heralded three boundaries in three balls to ease the pressure. One of them was a thick edge between slip and gully, but that was how the innings was: two-thirds punchy shots, one-third streakiness.Menaria enjoyed some luck when a diving Ankit Bawne dropped him at cover off Fallah. Deshpande didn’t enjoy such luck as an offbreak from Chirag Khurana – in his second over – didn’t turn and bowled him for 37. Bhatia came out at 136 for 3, and announced his arrival by dancing down seventh ball and hitting Khurana for a six over long-on. The field went back, and the two got down to accumulating runs, 86 of them for the fourth wicket.The pitch was slow, which showed in how Menaria cut three boundaries in front of square, and even pulled spinner Khurana through mid-on for four. His progress towards a hundred was brought to a stop through miscommunication with Bhatia. He steered behind square and set off for a run, which Bhatia thought called for waiting for the ball to pass backward point. Khurana made a diving stop there, Menaria was stranded, but he didn’t make any effort to go back, which gave Khurana time to aim. He hit direct, and set off on a celebratory run.Bhatia and Puneet Yadav then nearly saw Rajasthan through to stumps with a 36-run partnership, but with what turned out to be the last ball of the day, Fallah brought Maharashtra back into the contest by drawing an edge from Bhatia. And he didn’t need to his pace for that. His accuracy did it for him.Fallah reckoned that last wicket put Maharashtra slightly ahead in the contest. He said the pitch looked like it would healp seam bowlers, but it didn’t. It also turned out to be slow. Menaria was disappointed he and Bhatia couldn’t convert their half-centuries into a big century. He said that had been the story of the last two seasons where they narrowly missed making it to the knockouts.