Warwickshire 283 for 6 (Bell 130*, Woakes 66) lead Hampshire 202 (McLaren 85, Barker 5-53) by 81 runsScorecard Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott put on 49 for the second wicket © PA Photos This was not, as its maker would surely attest, a vintage Ian Bell century. It was, however, one of intelligence, importance, and no little inevitability; even lacking the fluency of his pomp, Bell looked better equipped than…
RCB flex batting muscle to crush Sunrisers
Royal Challengers Bangalore 227 for 4 (De Villiers 82, Kohli 75, Sarfaraz 35*) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 182 for 6 (Warner 58, Reddy 32, Watson 2-20, Chahal 2-43) by 45 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details AB de Villiers hit seven fours and six sixes in his 42-ball 82 © BCCI The sleeping giant that was IPL 2016 sprung to life in a high-scoring clash. Royal Challengers Bangalore blasted the first 200-plus score…
Kohli, de Villiers flex batting muscle in easy RCB win
Royal Challengers Bangalore 227 for 4 (De Villiers 82, Kohli 75, Sarfaraz 35*) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 182 for 6 (Warner 58, Reddy 32, Watson 2-20, Chahal 2-43) by 45 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details AB de Villiers hit seven fours and six sixes in his 42-ball 82 © BCCI The sleeping giant that was IPL 2016 sprung to life in a high scoring clash. Royal Challengers Bangalore blasted the first 200-plus…
Bell puts Hampshire to the sword
Warwickshire captain Ian Bell notched a classy century to grind down Hampshire on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship game at the Ageas Bowl. England batsman Bell showcased every shot in the book on a sun-kissed south coast as he completed his 51st first-class ton, a day after he turned 34. Bell, who was complemented by Chris Woakes’ half-century, took his Warwickshire side to 283 for six –…
A blossoming career cruelly cut short
Play 04:20 Iain O’Brien: Taylor a genuine fighter A week ago, James Taylor was approaching the season with a view to consolidating his positions in the England Test and ODI squads. It was the next step in a progression that started long ago. Long before the England debut or the limited-overs captaincy of Nottinghamshire. Long before he was winning awards at Shrewsbury School or setting records at Loughborough Town and…
Harinath keeps Notts at bay
Arun Harinath and Kumar Sangakkara led the Surrey fightback on the third day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. Harinath scored an undefeated 114 and Sangakkara made 83 as the pair shared a second-wicket stand of 142 to help propel the visitors to 297 for five by stumps, an overall lead of 76 runs. Jake Ball was the most impressive bowler on display, returning figures…
Rohit eager to open for rest of IPL
Rohit Sharma: “I’ve been opening for a while – three years now – so I’d like to continue that for the remainder of the series” © BCCI Just over a month ago, Rohit Sharma had scored an unbeaten 98 at Eden Gardens. It was in India’s first warm-up match of the World Twenty20, against West Indies. Incidentally, Rohit had made the same score at the same ground in last year’s…
Robson and rain on Durham minds
Durham 256 and 223 for 4 (Jennings 105*) lead Somerset 179 (Trego 45, Onions 4-62) by 300 runsScorecard “We sometimes forget that without Don Robson we wouldn’t have a ground on which to play” – Graham Onions © Getty Images Throughout this game Durham’s players are wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to a man without whose efforts, perhaps, few of them would be professional cricketers. Don Robson…
Stokes, Bairstow honoured as Wisden hails England transformation
Ben Stokes has been an integral part of England’s resurgence across all formats © Getty Images England’s transformation from the timid, safety-first team who bombed out of the group stages of the 2015 World Cup to the swashbuckling, attacking band of cricketers who earlier this month reached the final of the World T20 has been described as “the most uplifting story in international cricket” in the 2016 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack,…
Porter leads Essex victory push
Essex go into the final day just 59 runs short of victory in their Specsavers Division Two clash with Gloucestershire at Chelmsford. After bowling the visitors out for 215 in their second innings, Essex reached 34 without loss by the close in pursuit of a target of 93 runs. Only a resolute 58 by Gareth Roderick, his second half-century of the match, and a swashbuckling 74 from 76 balls by…