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Academy graduate makes Test debut

Stephen Harmison’s inclusion in today’s Test team marks a significant step in the ECB & Durham Cricket Academy’s bid to nurture future England stars.Since its establishment six years ago, the Academy has played a major part in creating the youngest average age County squad in the country and spawned a number of players that have represented England at various international levels, most recently Gordon Muchall for England Under 19s.The Club’s pursuit of excellence received a boost last year when Durham wasnamed one of seven First Class Counties to form part of a new national network of ECB County Cricket Academies. The aim of the Academy is to identify cricketers who have the potential of playing at the highest level of the game and to deliver a comprehensive development programme which will provide them with the opportunity of fulfilling their potential.Stephen joined the Durham Academy in 1996 before progressing to the Durhamplaying staff in 1998.

Somerset supporter to raise money for the Ben Hollioake Memorial Trust

Somerset supporter Barney Spender is appealing for sponsors in his bid to raise money for the Ben Hollioake Memorial Trust.The 39 year-old ,who was brought up in Kingsdon near Somerton, where he parents still live and writes for the Times, is to run the Athens Marathon on November 3 and hopes to raise £2,000 for the Trust which has been set up to commemorate the Surrey and England cricketer who was tragically killed in a car crash in Australia in March.”Ben’s death was a terrible tragedy not just for his family but for the whole cricketing community,” said Spender. “I didn’t know Ben personally but those I have spoken to who did have nothing but a warm regard for a young man who had tremendous cricketing potential. As someone who has mingled with the cricketing fraternity as a journalist for some 15 years now, I feel it is a right to do something to preserve that memory.”The Ben Hollioake Memorial Trust, which will be overseen by the LordsTaverners, will raise money for a number of projects such as aiding young cricketers, cancer research – something that was close to Ben’s heart following his mother’s fight against the disease – and animal welfare.Anyone who would like to help Barney reach his goal of £2000 can send a donation to:
Barney Spender
Ben Hollioake Memorial Trust
11a Athenlay Road
Nunhead
London SE15 3EA
(cheques payable to Ben Hollioake Memorial Trust)

Sutton's enterprise fails to pay off

ScorecardAfter looking set for a good finish, following an enterprising declaration by Luke Sutton, Lancashire’s match against Nottinghamshire faded away into a draw on a pitch that, even after four days, did not provide enough assistance for the bowlers. A classic over from Dominic Cork, where he claimed three wickets, gave the home side brief hope of victory, but they were unable to maintain their advantage and Nottinghamshire finished comfortably on 178 for 4.Lancashire, 146 for 4 overnight, with Faf du Plessis and Steven Croft at the crease, began with an air of briskness that was a little deceptive. The batsmen couldn’t find the boundary, and finally a lofted drive from Croft off Graeme Swann found the fielder at a fairly deep mid-on instead. The first hour brought 57 runs, which was probably below the target. Sutton settled in before beginning to open up, while du Plessis reached his 50 off 82 balls.Sutton surprised most people by declaring more than half an hour before lunch, as he lofted a catch to cover and was dismissed for 38, leaving du Plessis unbeaten on 53. One observer said, quite seriously, that it was the most positive declaration he had seen from Lancashire in years. Certainly it left Nottinghamshire with an interest in the game, as they were set 315 runs in a minimum of 73 overs, and set up the match for an interesting afternoon.Nottinghamshire handled the six overs before lunch confidently, scoring 32 without loss, mostly off the wayward Sajid Mahmood. Paul Franks was sent in to open with Will Jefferson, whose regular partner Matt Wood had been forced off the field just before the declaration after taking a powerful blow in the back at short leg. With Adam Voges also injured, this may have been a factor in prompting Sutton’s early declaration.Cork again took centre stage, although perhaps pushed the boundaries with some of his appealing. He put up a major performance when shouting for a catch at the wicket when Jefferson hooked on 12, celebrating noisily with his team-mates without even looking at the umpire, who had not moved his finger.Jefferson swung Keedy for six over midwicket, but then moved across his stumps to be trapped lbw by the rampant Cork for 26. Then Mark Wagh was caught down the leg side second ball, but the best was yet to come. Next was the ball of the day, a superb inswinger that Samit Patel could only edge onto his stumps. Cork had taken three wickets in four balls, and this one over shattered all Nottinghamshire’s hopes of victory.Franks and Chris Read now concentrated on survival, and they successfully steadied a very shaky ship. They survived almost until tea, when Franks fell for 42 to the leg-spin of du Plessis, Lancashire’s second spinner in this match. Franks deserved great credit for the way he handled his unaccustomed role, but his departure brought in Voges, nursing a painful hand.However, it proved to be the last wicket of the day. Rather strangely, Cork was not brought back for a second spell until after tea, without success. The pitch was just a little too placid and a potentially good fizzled out into a rather dull draw, as Read (71) and Voges (19) comfortably batted out time against bowlers without the inspiration or assistance to do further damage.Sutton, whose declaration was about as well-timed as could have been expected without the benefit of hindsight, called it a day with 11 overs still to go. Nottinghamshire were left grateful that their middle order, after failing them in the first innings, had now come to their rescue. The atmosphere on the field was not always pleasant during the four days, and the umpires could have been a little more proactive in encouraging the right spirit.

Surrey move forward on rain-affected day


Ramprakashundefeated 199
Photo CricInfo

Mark Ramprakash made it a day of misery for Somerset and consolidation for the Frizzell County Championship leaders as he made an unbeaten 199 for Surrey, including 26 boundaries, at Taunton. Ramprakash was supported by Nadeem Shahid (51) Adam Hollioake (87) and Rikki Clarke (60*) as Surrey reached 448 for five at the close. On a difficult day for the bowlers Simon Francis excelled for Somerset, with three for 80.Elsewhere the opening day of the latest round matches was badly hit by the weather. In Division One, Sussex reached 30 for two against Hampshire in the ten and a half overs possible at The Rose Bowl, while there was no play at all at Grace Road or Maidstone.Division Two leaders Essex performed creditably in the 79 overs that were possible at Swansea. Acting captain Darren Robinson made 72, putting on 95 for the first wicket with William Jefferson (43). Essex closed on 208 for three, with Robert Croft taking two of the wickets.An unbeaten partnership of 80 between Phil Weston and Graeme Hick took Worcestershire to 95 for one against Middlesex at Lord’s. Only 26 overs were possible at Derby, but that was enough to get Gloucestershire deep into trouble against the hosts’ customary tormentors, Dominic Cork and Kevin Dean. They shared the wickets as Gloucestershire subsided to 79 for five. And in the twelve overs possible at Northampton, Durham reached 35 without loss.

Kiwi hitmen give New Zealand the chance to tie Test series

New Zealand’s aggressive last session batting under artificial light at Eden Park tonight kicked down the English barricades to tying the National Bank Test series with England and set up a superb final day to the series tomorrow.England attempted to slow down the over rate, bowling 12 overs in the first half of the extended last session, but the tactic rebounded on them when the lights at the ground kicked in and lit up the scene as New Zealand plundered the bowling.An amazing 417 runs were scored on the day and in the 41.2 overs of the last session New Zealand scored 216 runs.They finished the day on 269/9, a lead of 311 runs.It was another amazing day of cricket as New Zealand’s batsmen enjoyed rare plunder as Chris Harris (43), Nathan Astle (65) and Craig McMillan (50 not out) feasted on a situation that gathered in momentum and allowed them open slather.Astle’s 65 off 51 balls was a mini-Jade Stadium as he hit two sixes and eight fours. Harris was dismissed for 43 halfway through a whirlwind period when 118 runs were added in 14 overs. When Harris was dismissed at 166/4, it was around that time that the light became marginal.England captain Nasser Hussain was clearly angered that his fieldsmen were disadvantaged in the light conditions, although that didn’t stop Mark Butcher taking a boundary catch to dismiss a rampant Astle nor wicket-keeper James Foster taking a catch to dismiss Daniel Vettori.England’s Graham Thorpe later commented that the decision to use the lights had favoured New Zealand and gave them an advantage because it had been tricky in the field.”One side should not have an advantage over the other,” he said.It was not a good day for the English and the umpires, especially local umpire Doug Cowie and his decision to give Andrew Flintoff out, caught when his bat was nowhere near the ball.But as New Zealand dismissed England for 160, to enjoy a lead of 42 runs, a lead which was purposefully extended by Mark Richardson and Adam Parore before the later onslaught. They put on 53 runs before Parore was out in the last over before tea for 36 and New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart couldn’t compliment the pair of them enough afterwards.They had set the later run-scoring up by getting on top of the new ball which has seen many wickets taken in this game so far.”It was important that Richardson and Parore got us away to a good start and they did.”We probably got more runs than we expected to get by stumps tonight and that was the result of good batting through the middle from Harris, Astle and McMillan, who built on that start,” he said.Stephen Fleming was out just after the resumption for one and then Richardson was caught for 25 when trying to up his scoring rate.That saw Harris and Astle come together in what developed into the crucial period of the game. After slowly building up, the rumble of Astle getting his artillery primed soon became a roar when he started to get into Andy Caddick’s bowling with successive cover driven boundaries.Harris wasn’t excluded from the hitting frenzy and played some lovely drives, straight and through the covers.Hussain introduced Ashley Giles to try and keep New Zealand’s scoring genie in the lamp but it was to no avail.Butcher was hit for successive boundaries by Harris, and then Astle hammered Giles’ replacement Flintoff onto the second deck of the West Stand, a big hit under any circumstances, and then to backward square leg, a much shorter distance, although the six was dropped over the boundary by Usman Afzaal.It was entertaining cricket as New Zealand created the chance for a fascinating conclusion to the series tomorrow.Aberhart said: “We need as much time as we can to bowl the English out, the wicket is still doing a bit, there is a bit more uneven bounce and our bowlers are starting to hit their straps.”It is important that we do give ourselves enough time to bowl them out, we’ll have a look in the morning and see what we want to do.”We were the team that had the opportunity when given the light for the first time and we’ve got to win this match being 1-0 down in the series so we may be more pro-active in some ways in carrying on.”Aberhart said that if the tables were reversed tomorrow and England were looking for the runs for victory, New Zealand would play the game.”It was a great advertisement for Test cricket. We have lost a lot of time in this game and if we weren’t able to play under lights it would have finished at 150 tonight and we would have missed something special.”So if it is the same situation tomorrow night and we need two wickets and they want a few runs, hopefully they’ll carry on and we’ll take the last two wickets.”I think it’s far better to be able to play in those conditions and carry on to give the public cricket because, really, that was a good day’s cricket.”

A lacklustre West Indian performance

After two washed-out matches at Sabina Park, it was a relief to getsome cricket underway again with the third one-day international atthe Kensington Oval in Barbados. The pitch looked like a cracker, fullof runs and holding plenty of promise for a high-scoring one-dayer.Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, won the toss and, as expected,asked the West Indies to bat first.The hosts’ batting impressed me very little. The West Indian batsmen -perhaps as a result of their 2-1 Test win over India – looked overconfident and complacent. The batting on display oozed carelessness,and it was no surprise that the Indian bowlers capitalised on that tothe fullest extent.

© CricInfo

I was particularly disappointed with Brian Lara and the way he jumpedout to Harbhajan Singh so early in his innings. It only showed thatLara wanted to hit Harbhajan out of the attack, even though he hadbeen at the wicket only for a couple of deliveries. Harbhajan himselfwas only in his second over at that point, and Lara’s wicket couldonly be attributed to a sever lack of self-confidence or, indeed, asupreme over-confidence.The Indian attack, for its part, looked particularly sharp andincisive. I was impressed especially with Tinu Yohannan, who struck meas a very quick learner. His line was excellent, and he was preparedto attack the batsman and make him play at the ball all the time. Inmy opinion, that is what good bowling is all about.The only West Indian batsman who seemed prepared to stick around andgraft his runs was the skipper, Carl Hooper. In possibly the form ofhis life, Hooper seemed to have no trouble at all with the pitch orthe bowling, and his partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan, at one stage,looked to take the West Indies to a considerably strong total.Sarwan’s dismissal was the turning-point. After the youngster, noneappeared willing to stick with Hooper at the crease and give him thesupport he so desperately needed. Admittedly, he played a knock ofconsiderable brilliance, but even he must have known that onceShivnarine Chanderpaul – the West Indies’ Mr Dependable at the moment- was brilliantly run out, it was going to be an uphill struggle.India were helped in no small measure by the fact that the West Indiescould not bat out their full quota of overs. That in itself meant thatthe target was not going to be an imposing one.The Indian outfit during the match looked a very strong side. Thefielding was sharp, and the captaincy was spot-on. Ganguly’s bowlingchanges were well thought-out and effective. Once the work in thefield was done, the batsmen had to merely buckle down to their task,and that they did with great efficacy.

© CricInfo

Ganguly himself played a good knock, but Dinesh Mongia, coming in atnumber three, was a revelation. We have seen his ability to unleashthe fireworks, but this was a calm and measured innings from theyoungster. Recognising the situation, he quickly adapted his game tocollect the runs at a steady rate, rarely panicking or slogging.With such an innings chasing such a moderate total, the Indian chasewas always going to end with a win. Mongia, with his all-rounderperformance, deserved the Man of the Match award in full. The WestIndies, going by their lacklustre approach to the match, will have todo something extraordinary if they are to come back in this series.

Noffke emerges from blue to win ACB contract

BRISBANE – Queensland paceman Ashley Noffke emerged as the bolter when the Australian Cricket Board released its annual list of contractedplayers today.The 24-year-old Noffke was one of three new faces in the list, with Queensland team-mate Martin Love and New South Wales quick Nathan Bracken also winningcontracts.Noffke came of age with a man-of-the-match performance in Queensland’s Pura Cup win over Victoria in March after he had been in line for 12th man duties.His promotion to an ACB contract came at the expense of team-mate Michael Kasprowicz, who lost his contract, as did batsmen Matthew Elliott and Mike Hussey.Otherwise, the list was predictable with one-day players Shane Lee and Darren Lehmann earning another deal despite missing out on selection at different times in the last 12 months.The ACB squad is: Michael Bevan (NSW), Greg Blewett (SA), Nathan Bracken (NSW), Damien Fleming (Vic), Adam Gilchrist (WA), Jason Gillespie (SA), Ian Harvey (Vic), Matthew Hayden (Qld), Simon Katich (WA), Justin Langer (WA), Brett Lee (NSW), Shane Lee (NSW), Darren Lehmann (SA), Martin Love (Qld), Stuart MacGill (NSW), Damien Martyn (WA), Glenn McGrath (NSW), Colin Miller (Vic), Ashley Noffke (Qld), Ricky Ponting (Tas), Michael Slater (NSW), Andrew Symonds (Qld), Shane Warne (Vic), Mark Waugh (NSW), Stephen Waugh (NSW).

Zimbabwe cruise to six-wicket win in third one-dayer at Kochi

After a commanding performance at Mohali that saw India’s batsmen notch up 319 in 50 overs, the same line-up of batsmen slumped to 191 all out at Kochi. If the last game was a demonstration of how to bat the opposition out of a game, the third one-dayer was an example of how to shoot oneself in the foot.Electing to bat first, a series of loose strokes at the top of the order saw India relinquish the advantage to a disciplined, determined Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe applied themselves during their batting display as well, winning the encounter by six wickets and taking a valuable 2-1 lead in this five-match series.Things began to go wrong for India when Dinesh Mongia was dismissed in just the fourth over of the day. It would be fair, however, to say that Mongia was unlucky to be adjudged lbw to medium-pacer Douglas Hondo. Mongia (4) looked disappointed, and replays suggested that the ball may have pitched outside the leg-stump.VVS Laxman breezed in and out of the middle. Cover-driving as though it were the easiest task in the world, Laxman got the Kochi crowd on their feet and cheering. But, as it often is with things of exceptional beauty or grace, the joy was only fleeting. After making 20 in 24 balls with three fours, Laxman slashed a wide one from Hondo through to keeper Tatenda Taibu.Just when consolidation was the order of the day, with India struggling on 38/2, Sourav Ganguly came down the wicket and attempted to deposit a Hondo delivery into the nearby Arabian sea. Ganguly missed, Hondo hit, and India were in strife at 49/3 in the 12th over.Rahul Dravid, often the man to take India out of the woods, was tempted into playing a late cut off Mpumelelo Mbangwa. The ball slid off the face of the bat and appeared to be beating Craig Wishart at a deep slip position. Out flashed the hands, late, quick and in perfect place to snap up a brilliant catch. Dravid (6) had to shake his head in amazement as he walked back to the pavilion.Mohammad Kaif has waited a long while to get an extended run in the Indian team, all the while working hard on his fitness and battling on the domestic circuit. He showed at Kochi that he is a valuable component of this Indian team. Batting with great application and determination, Kaif compiled 56 (78 balls, 2 fours, 1 six), leading India to a score of 191 – something that looked extremely unlikely earlier in the day.After failing with the bat in the first two games of this series and scoring a total of zero runs from three balls in two innings, Sanjay Bangar (36 runs, 67 balls 3 fours) was under some pressure to come good. The all-rounder was shaping to make a serious contribution when he came down the track and hit a Douglas Marillier full-toss straight down the throat of Hondo on the mid-wicket fence.When Bangar was dismissed, with 137 on the board, wickets began to fall with alarming regularity. After the fall of Kaif, just 34 runs were added as India set Zimbabwe a target of 192 for victory. Hondo (4/32) will remember this day for many years to come, and rightly so. The medium-pacer, playing his first game of this series, bowled with good control and troubled batsmen consistently, earning his Man of the Match award.India began well enough in defence of a virtually indefensible score. Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan bowled with pace, zip and accuracy to remove the first two wickets with just 39 runs on the board.But those were really the last moments of cheer for the home side.Alistair Campbell, content to seal up one end, batted with common sense, while Grant Flower was the ideal foil in the middle overs. Even the introduction of Harbhajan Singh did not faze the pair. Campbell, setting his stalls out for a long knock, did not mind biding his time.Grant Flower, almost permanently in the shadow of his brother, is really an underrated cricketer. With Andy Flower absent, brother Grant was promoted up the order, and he shouldered the responsibility admirably. Using his feet well, Grant Flower worked the ball away into the gaps on the leg-side with ease, going for the big hit every now and then.After reaching his half-century, Campbell seemed to open up a bit more, playing some exquisite strokes through the on-side. A cover drive off Sarandeep Singh stood out, with Campbell leaning well into the off-side to execute the stroke perfectly. It was, however, the same man who brought about Campbell’s dismissal.How many times do we see a batsman do all the hard work in setting up a team victory before throwing it away just when the job was near completion? Campbell deserved a century, if not at least a big unbeaten fifty, but he fell on 71 (119 balls, 7 fours) as he paved the way for a six-wicket Zimbabwe win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.In the 34th over of the innings, Campbell jumped down the track to Sarandeep and was beaten both in the flight and off the wicket. He could only look back in dismay as Ajay Ratra whipped off the bails.By the time Campbell was dismissed, Zimbabwe had reached 144/3 and needed only a further 48 runs for victory. But Campbell did enter an exclusive club during his innings – he became just the third Zimbabwean to score 5000 one-day runs when he heaved Dinesh Mongia into the mid-wicket stands.Grant Flower, not looking for anything beyond a safe ride home for Zimbabwe, motored along to 49 (88 balls, 7 fours) before nicking one from Agarkar through to keeper Ajay Ratra. He was unlucky to miss a half-century, but that will not fuss Grant Flower too much.Eventually, Craig Wishart (17) clattered two sixes, and Zimbabwe clinched victory by six wickets in 44.2 overs, taking a vital 2-1 lead and ensuring that the next one-dayer – at Hyderabad – will see India under immense pressure to win and stay alive in the series.

Chennai look to bounce back against Lions

Match facts

October 16, 2012
Start time 1730 (Start time 1530 GMT)Neil McKenzie was in sparkling form against Mumbai•Getty Images

Big Picture

Both Chennai Super Kings and Lions had contrasting results at the Wanderers on Sunday. In the first game of the double-header, Chennai failed to keep Sydney Sixers to a par score and couldn’t overhaul the target of 185. Later in the evening, the Lions did well to keep Mumbai Indians to 157, and came out victorious in a chase that ebbed and flowed. Both captains chose to chase because of the view that South African grounds are difficult to defend scores. It proved to be a good decision in the end for Lions. The action shifts to Cape Town tomorrow and both teams may have an eye on the Auckland-Kolkata Knight Riders game on Monday to gauge the conditions.Chennai went in with their strongest batting line-up but left out the allrounder Albie Morkel. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger were the overseas picks and the pair came in for some stick in the end overs. Morkel would have been useful given his knowledge of South African conditions. Spin is Chennai’s strength and the Lions will be tested, particularly Gulam Bodi who struggled to get going on Sunday. From the Lions’ point of view it was pleasing to see two youngsters, Quinton de Kock and Aaron Phangiso, make telling contributions with bat and ball respectively.

Watch out for…

Sohail Tanvir is fast establishing himself as a sought-after Twenty20 bowler, freelancing for clubs like Lions and Kandurata Warriors. He was one of the most penetrative bowlers in the SLPL, picking up 11 wickets and can be quite a handful in seaming conditions. His round-the-wicket angle seems to work against the right-handers, as Kieron Pollard found out on Sunday when he failed to dig out a yorker swerving in from wide of the crease.R Ashwin has opened the bowling in Twenty20s with a lot of success. The Lions top order wouldn’t have seen too much of him so it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Dhoni to toss the new ball to his best spinner and create early pressure.

Quotes

“Where we lacked was the death bowling. We gave away about 15 runs too many.”
“In big games, it’s the senior players who must be counted. I don’t want to put pressure him at this stage.”

Hooper's brilliant all-round display puts Guyana in charge

The most exciting day’s cricket in the Busta tournament so far saw EnglandA’s early afternoon advantage snatched away by an electric partnershipbetween Guyana’s Carl Hooper and Ramnaresh Sarwan.


RamnareshSarwan
Photo CricInfo

In a packed Bourda stadium, the veteran of West Indies cricket and his youngprotegy added 157 for the fifth wicket to leave the game intriguinglybalanced after two days in this Busta International Shield semi-final at Georgetown.Hooper was finally dismissed in the over before stumps, just nine runs shortof his century which not only deprived him of a $100,000 (Guyanese) prize,offered by a local pharmaceutical company if he made 100, but also left himwith 111 runs still to get to win the big US$50,000 prize put up by the WestIndies Cricket Board for the first Caribbean batsman to 1,000 runs.His 91 from 136 balls was full of both power and subtlety as he punishedthe spinners with a confidence that has grown as he has run into the bestform of his life. He was eventually out to a ball from Chris Schofield thatcame over the wicket and bounced into the rough, popping up high to giveVikram Solanki an easy catch running round from first slip to silly point.By the time he departed, Guyana had recovered from their potentially disastrousposition in the early afternoon of 33 for four in reply to England A’s first innings total of 293.At the fall of his wicket, they were in a more comfortable zone at 190 forfive, still trailing England A by 102 but with Sarwan still at the crease,having made his sixth half-century of the season, the tourists still havemuch to do before they can claim victory at the half-way stage, which mayearn them a place in the final.Schofield spearheaded the action for much of the day when he added another36 runs to his overnight total to close the innings unbeaten on 64. But hewas involved in two run outs which saw Chris Read depart in the third overof the morning for 24 after gambling unsuccessfully on a risky single andthen after making a stylish 32 from 69 balls, Alex Tudor was also dispatchedby a fielder’s rapid return.”That was very disappointing,” said Schofield afterwards. “The atmosphere was very loud so we were relying more on eye contact than hearing the calls. There was a quick second when you couldn’t hear your partner and that’s when we ran into trouble. These things happen and you apologise and get on with it but it is a pity it happened twice in the same day,” he said.There were two more near misses but Hooper missed a return from MahendraNagamootoo to let Tudor off the hook and Ryan Sidebottom made his crease bya whisker shortly before he was lbw to Hooper, a wicket that wrapped up theinnings and gave Hooper figures of 5-49.With Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sarwan in the Guyana line-up, the293 total looked well short of a winning first innings one but a remarkablespell from the England A bowlers led to the demolition of the top order withfour wickets falling for just six runs.Graeme Swann captured opener Seonarine Chattergoo with an easy caught andbowled chance, then had Travis Dowlin caught at extra cover by Michael Powellfor a duck. Chanderpaul, back from a three-month absence after injuring hisfoot in Australia, edged Tudor to the wicket-keeper Read, who took abrilliant catch just millimetres of the ground and Usman Afzaal took anotherexcellent catch at third slip to dismiss Azumeel Haniff, openingSidebottom’s account in the match.But then, to an overwhelming reception from his home crowd, Hooper arrived topartner the 18 year-old Sarwan. They played watchfully to tea but returnedfrom the interval to inflict a major assault on the bowlers. In the firstfive overs, they blasted 37 runs to all parts of the ground, theNorthamptonshire off-spinner Swann heaved over the boundary fence twice bythe mighty Hooper.The partnership was enthusiastically urged on by the crowd who wererelishing the big hitting by two top-class batsmen but despite theonslaught, England A never gave up hope of breaking the stand with skipperMark Alleyne maintaining pressure throughout with a regular rotation of hisbowlers.But they had to wait until the penultimate over of the day before they wererewarded with Hooper’s wicket, which saw him depart to stunneddisappointment from his doting supporters.England A’s bowling figures reflected a heavy day’s work. Swann yielded justseven runs from his first six overs but by the close, 62 runs had beenpicked off his 13 overs after Hooper’s brutal assault.”Hooper and Sarwan attacked us and I think we were a bit stunned by that andlet them get away to a 157-run partnership,” said Schofield.”But hopefully we can come back tomorrow and get them all out before theyget to 290 and win on first innings.”We knew that if got to 270, it would go right down to the last day and Ithink if we do get them out, even if they win first innings, there is stilla lot to come. We are still confident we can get an outright win from thisgame,” Schofield said.

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