Durham 162 for 6 (Clark 55, Heldreich 3-36) beat Northamptonshire 161 for 7 (Gay 53, Sowter 4-14) by four wickets Nathan Sowter and Graham Clark haunted Northamptonshire Steelbacks for the second time in the Vitality Blast this season after guiding Durham to a four-wicket win at Seat Unique Riverside. Sowter followed his figures of 5 for 15 against the Steelbacks in the reverse fixture with another brilliant spell of 4…

Yorkshire 156 for 7 (Wiese 50*, Rehan 3-21) beat Leicestershire 126 (Mulder 46, Thompson 5-21) by 30 runs Beaten in their opening three North Group fixtures, Yorkshire Vikings extended the turnaround in their Vitality Blast campaign to four wins from four, defeating Leicestershire Foxes by 30 runs after the home side were bowled out for 126 at a chilly Uptonsteel County Ground. Having opted to bat first, the Vikings recovered…

Essex 149 for 5 (Pepper 48) beat Sussex 147 (Bopara 50, Cook 4-20) by five wickets Michael Pepper continued his Vitality Blast form as his 48 and Sam Cook‘s four-for set up a five-wicket victory for Essex against Sussex Sharks. Pepper was the Eagles’ top scorer in 2022 with 439 runs and has belatedly started 2023, after a finger injury, with 63 against Somerset and a stylish 48 from 26…

The ICC has been preparing a back-up pitch at The Oval for the World Test Championship final, as a precaution against the threat of potential disruptions by activists from Just Stop Oil. The move to prepare another pitch is to guard against a worst-case scenario and the strip that will be used for the Test, which begins on Wednesday, remains the same one which has been tended over the past…

Hampshire Hawks 164 for 6 (McDermott 47, Hollman 2-12) beat Middlesex 159 for 7 (Holden 53, Higgins 43, Turner 3-30) by five runs Hampshire seamer John Turner starred with three wickets on his Vitality Blast debut as the defending champions recorded their third straight win, holding off rock-bottom Middlesex at Radlett. The 22-year-old captured the wicket of Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi with his first ball in the tournament, finishing with…

Like a fine wine, has Stuart Broad mellowed with age? That would appear to be the impression on the eve of his ninth Ashes campaign, with his admission that he doesn’t mind when or how he is deployed in the coming five Tests against Australia, just so long as he plays his part in an Ashes-winning squad performance. At the age of 36, Broad demonstrated his enduring qualities as a…

Toss West Indies choose to bat vs UAE Fast bowler Akeem Jordan was handed his maiden ODI cap as West Indies won the toss and opted to bat in the second ODI against UAE in Sharjah. Allrounder Keemo Paul, who picked up three wickets in the opening encounter, has been rested. Jordan has returned 48 wickets in 32 List A games at an average of 24.31 and an economy of…

India will take a decision on R Ashwin‘s selection on the morning of the World Test Championship final against Australia once they have assessed conditions as they stand. Though no rain is forecast during the game, there has been considerable interest in the nature of The Oval surface for the final, mostly because no Test cricket has ever been played at the ground as early as June. Traditionally, The Oval…

Big picture – final flourish for Warner, Starc, Ashwin, Kohli, Pujara? Is it world cricket’s most prestigious match? Or is it a final that should be more than a one-off contest but cannot be, thanks to the constraints of a calendar that is squeezing Test cricket to the margins, awkwardly positioned between two events that are, in hugely contrasting ways, more important, and tacked onto the end of an exclusionary…

There were times when Pat Cummins thought playing one more Test was beyond him, but as he prepares for his 50th game, the Australia captain hopes he can double that tally before his career finishes and aims to feature in all six on this tour of England. In the World Test Championship final against India, Cummins will lead an attack that includes Scott Boland after Josh Hazlewood was held back…