James Anderson failed to appear for Lancashire as they rued poor catching in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash with Somerset at Emirates Old Trafford.
The record-breaking England seamer left the field just before Thursday’s close of play with what was described as a “minor issue”.
The remaining Red Rose players combined to drop seven catches as teenager James Rew took centre stage, hitting 105 in Somerset’s total of 361 all out. Lancashire were 72 for two in reply at the close.
Tom Alsop’s unbeaten century helped Sussex into a strong position against Leicestershire despite Steve Smith falling cheaply.
Australia star Smith, who made a low-key 30 on his Sussex debut at Worcester last week, was back in the pavilion having scored just three off 14 balls as the match finally got under way.
However, despite his failure, Sussex still enjoyed a good second day as they made 319 for four after being sent into bat, with Alsop (118 not out), Cheteshwar Pujara (77) and James Coles (59no) leading the way.
Yorkshire edged their way into a controlling position against Durham, leading the hosts by 118 heading into day three.
George Hill claimed four wickets to help bowl Durham out for 227, with Yorkshire reaching 91 for three in their second innings and England pair Dawid Malan (33 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (16no) at the crease.
Rory Burns led from the front with a fluent and aggressive 88 as Surrey chased a significant first-innings lead against Middlesex, trailing by only 19 runs on 190 for three at stumps.
But the most eye-catching innings of a second day cut short by bad weather was Jamie Smith’s 55 not out, with the 22-year old showing off some memorable and high-class strokes.
Nottinghamshire seamer Brett Hutton took his third five-wicket haul of the season to compound former county Northamptonshire’s ongoing batting woes.
Hutton found plenty of movement under floodlights, cloudy skies and light rain and precipitated a Northamptonshire collapse from 113 for two to 158 all out.
A fluent fourth-wicket stand of 68 between Joe Clarke (41 not out) and Matthew Montgomery (34) helped Nottinghamshire close one run behind on 157 for four.
A buccaneering 10th-wicket stand of 70 restored Warwickshire’s control after Essex fought back hard at Edgbaston.
Essex closed day two on 86 for four, still trailing by 30, after Warwickshire’s last pair Hassan Ali (53 not out) and Olly Hannon-Dalby (18) clouted 70 from 69 balls to lift their side to 242.
A well-made 86 from Michael Neser and four wickets from Timm van der Gugten put Glamorgan within touching distance of their first win of the season against Worcestershire in Cardiff.
With Worcestershire ending the day on 195 for seven, 46 runs in front with just three wickets left, Glamorgan will be hoping to wrap up victory on Saturday.
Gloucestershire seamer Matt Taylor impressed on his first appearance of the season against Derbyshire, taking two for 18 from 10 overs as the hosts struggled on another day badly hit by the weather.
No play was possible until 2pm because of a wet outfield and – after Gloucestershire won the toss – Derbyshire reached 130 for five before bad light ended play early.
There was frustration for fans and players alike at Canterbury as a mere 6.1 overs were possible between Kent and Hampshire, with the visitors moving to 103 without loss, a lead of eight.
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
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