A typically defiant fifty by Alex Davies and a nerveless 63 not out from debutant Liam Livingstone enabled Lancashire to take a clear advantage on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship Division One match at Emirates Old Trafford. At the close of play Lancashire were 311 for eight, giving the home side what is already a very valuable 69-run first-innings lead with power to add tomorrow morning. However, Davies and…
Robson keeps Middlesex in charge
Sam Robson made his highest first-class score while Steven Finn struck with his first ball on his return from injury as Middlesex’s fine start to the season continued against Warwickshire at Lord’s. Jonathan Trott led a Warwickshire fightback before bad light ended play 19 overs early at 5.25pm, trailing by 306 runs. Finn, making his first competitive appearance since England’s third Test against South Africa in January – a calf injury…
Rejuvenated Kings XI face KKR's bowling depth
Barring a loss of form, Shaun Marsh is likely to get an extended run this season, but Kings XI need him to perform soon © AFP Match facts Tuesday, April 19, 2016Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT) Big picture After losses in their first two games, Kings XI Punjab would have feared a repeat of last year when they finished bottom of the table. But a desperate win against Rising…
Rob Key announces retirement
Rob Key scored nearly 20,000 first-class runs © Getty Images Rob Key, the former England batsman, has announced his retirement from professional cricket. Key, 36, played 15 times for England from 2002 to 2005 with a top score of 221 against West Indies at Lord’s in 2004. Overall in first-class cricket he scored 19,419 runs, alongside 6469 in List A and more than 2000 in T20s In a statement, Key…
In-form Westley holds Essex together
Tom Westley continued his productive start to the season with an important 86 as he held Essex’s reply together on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at the 1st Central County Ground, Hove. After England Test captain Alastair Cook had gone for one, Westley fell just 14 runs short of making his third first-class hundred of the season following 110 against Cambridge MCCU and 121…
Twitter reaction: James Taylor overwhelmed by emotional response
The cricket world has united behind James Taylor after the news last week that the England batsmen has been forced into early retirement with a serious heart condition. The 26 year-old, who was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) while preparing for the start of the County Championship season with Nottinghamshire, has been overwhelmed by the response he has received. Here’s a flavour of the outpouring of emotion from…
UK government could kibosh Salman Butt Test recall
Salman Butt was prolific during the recent National One-Day Cup © AFP Pakistan’s hopes of offering a controversial recall to Salman Butt for their forthcoming tour of England, six years after his involvement in the spot-fixing controversy at Lord’s in 2010, could be stopped in their tracks by the UK Home Office, in spite of the willingness of Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, to consider him. Butt, who was then Pakistan…
Madsen leaves Derbyshire in control
Wayne Madsen stole the show with his 19th first class century in Derbyshire colours to leave the visitors in a commanding position against Gloucestershire at the Brightside Ground. Madsen, unbeaten on 58 after the opening day at the Brightside Ground, joined former Derbyshire batsmen Peter Bowler, Michael Di Venuto and Arnold Hamer in having struck 19 hundreds, for the county, in the first class game. It was also Madsen’s third…
O'Brien falls short of a century
Niall O’Brien fell seven runs short of a century as he helped Leicestershire recover from 99 for three to 297 for six by the close on day two of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match with Glamorgan at the SSE SWALEC. Replying to Glamorgan’s first-innings total of 348, Leicestershire were in trouble after losing three wickets for 10 runs shortly before lunch. Ireland wicketkeeper-batsman O’Brien had made two centuries…
Sunrisers bowl, Guptill makes IPL debut
Toss Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to bowl v Mumbai IndiansLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Martin Guptill came into Mumbai Indians’ line-up in place of Kieron Pollard © Getty Images David Warner, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, chose to bowl against Mumbai Indians, hoping to exploit any early help available from a grassy surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai captain, said he would have bowled too. Mumbai made…