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Clarke leads Australia on low-scoring day

If day three in Chelmsford produced more mixed fortunes for the Australians, the forward strides made by two of their most spinal contributors was enough to obscure other more ambiguous outcomes against an Essex side that is far from the most threatening combination in county ranks.Mitchell Starc, indifferent in his initial spells, returned to the sort of rhythm and swing that made him the player of the World Cup, as his six wickets hurried Essex from 291 for 1 late on the second evening to 414 all out on the stroke of lunch. Then the captain Michael Clarke played his most substantial innings since braving a bad back, torn hamstring and the emotional weight of Phillip Hughes’ death to compile a memorable hundred in Adelaide last December.These two performances provided a reminder of Starc’s danger and Clarke’s value, while also ensuring the pair will be feeling confident and settled entering into the first Investec Ashes Test against England in Cardiff, with wickets and runs behind them. Clarke’s crisp knock was especially timely, going some way to proving he will be capable of something more than the flashy cameos he has indulged in since returning from hamstring surgery.Michael Clarke made his first substantial score of the tour•Getty Images

Regular wickets at the other end meant that the tourists needed Clarke to stand up, on a very good Chelmsford pitch that was showing welcome signs of deterioration late on day three, as all good first-class surfaces should but few enough contrive to do. Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Shane Watson all completed matches without major scores, while David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were unable to follow-up their first-innings success.It is fair to assume Rogers, Voges and Watson have all done just enough to maintain their spots in the Test team, leaving Shaun and Mitchell Marsh as the unfortunate men to miss out. That being said, the final day of this fixture will provide the opportunity for Watson and the younger Marsh to again match wits as bowlers, leaving the selection chairman Rod Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann to deliberate on who best to choose.Essex’s vim in the field ensured that Clarke’s men could not skate away to an unassailable lead, meaning the final day should provide decent entertainment on a July Saturday as Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara attempt to reprise their first-innings heroics against a touring team now eager to get to Cardiff. None more so than Starc.At one point on the first evening, Starc’s figures of 11-3-26-0 were flattering, for he had barely made the batsmen play and more often challenged the reserve gloveman Peter Nevill to limit a mounting tally of byes. But a move around the wicket had him swerving through Westley and the nightwatchman Jamie Porter, and there was more the following morning.Swung around to the River End by Clarke after Bopara had taken further toll on the finger spin of Nathan Lyon, Starc zoomed through the final four wickets of the innings in the space of 20 balls at a cost of five runs. Thus did 0 for 26 become 6 for 51, a turnaround reminiscent of a tour match two years ago in Taunton, but also the sort of damage once wrought by Wasim Akram for Pakistan and Lancashire. The need for Starc to find his best with regularity during the Ashes grows with every minute team medical staff fret over the state of Ryan Harris’ right knee.Batting a second time, Australia’s batsmen looked a little hazy in focus, something reflected by Warner’s drag on to the stumps, Rogers being dropped on nought before edging behind at 32, then Voges and Watson both missing straight balls – the latter’s a full toss he would have expected to make solid contact with. Clarke’s gaze looked rather more fixed, and in the company of Marsh he ensured the avoidance of embarrassment.As the close of play drew near, Clarke appeared good for a century, only to be done in when a flatter delivery from Aron Nijjar skidded through low to disturb the stumps. Frustration passed understandably across Clarke’s face, but it was doubtless leavened by the thought that he was now tracing towards a three figure score in the matches that matter most of all.

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Hampshire’s batsmen grafted their way to within touching distance of Sussex’s 332 to close on 304 for 6 on the second day at The Rose Bowl. It may not have wowed the spectators as much as Shane Bond’s blistering burst did yesterday evening, but the day provided enough entertainment to warm the cockles of a small and hardy Southampton crowd.Michael Lumb remained unbeaten on 77 at stumps, though was dropped on 55 by Michael Yardy at first slip shortly before the close – one of a number of chances Sussex let through. It was a day for gloves and rugs in The Rose Bowl’s acutely exposed stands, certainly not one for holding a screaming slip catch or desperate pluck at short-leg.James Tomlinson, the nightwatchman, frustrated Sussex for nearly an hour and showed mostly impressive judgement, even clumping a stray half volley from Robin Martin-Jenkins for four down the ground. With him out of the way, Sussex could concentrate on making headway into the top-order and Chris Adams, the captain, turned to his banker, Mushtaq Ahmed.It took him just four overs to pick up his first of what will doubtless be another bounty haul of wickets, trapping Michael Brown in his crease for 20. Hampshire were stuttering at 61 for 3, but Mushtaq struggled to contain Hampshire, bowling into bitterly cold northerly gusts which persisted all day, and Sussex were made to toil with James Adams and John Crawley putting on the day’s most assured stand of 92. In what is his 18th season, Crawley remains a batting enigma, albeit one of county cricket’s most attractive enigmas. Against the medium-pace of Martin-Jenkins and Chris Liddle he was circumspect, even nervous. Mushtaq, though – who flummoxes almost every other Englishman – was stroked through extra cover three times with languid ease.Adams, on the other hand, relied on tucks to the leg-side and nudgety flicks off the spinner. After lunch, Martin-Jenkins found enough movement to take Crawley’s edge, the nick flying low to Adams’ right at second slip who couldn’t cling on. However, the very next ball Adams was trapped in front by a lowly grubber for a 121-ball 50 and Sussex had the breakthrough.Crawley followed in the next over, nibbling at Ragheb Aga’s awayswinger to hand him his maiden Championship wicket, and leaving Hampshire struggling on 155 for 5. Nic Pothas joined Lumb and attacked immediately, not always convincingly but his aggression shifted the balance and prompted Lumb into doing the same. It worked, too. Luke Wright, who again bowled swiftly – benefiting from the prevailing northerly from the nursery end – lacked control, offering boundary balls to both left and right hander.Lumb, who reached a slick fifty from 80 balls 30 minutes before the close, lost Pothas to Aga but was assisted to stumps by Greg Lamb as Hampshire trailed by a slender 28. As they shuffled to find warmth, the PA thanked the spectators for “braving the considerable breeze.” Worse, wetter weather is forecast tomorrow and Saturday, potentially curtailing what has bubbled into an intriguing contest.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, batting with the obvious discomfort of an injured hip and assisted by a runner, carried Wellington within sight of an outright win over Northern Districts by the end of the second day of their State Championship match at the Basin Reserve today.Fleming was severely restricted in his movement and still in some pain after being hit on the tip of hip bone by his young international team-mate Ian Butler near the end of the game’s first day.On a few occasions and out of habit, Fleming stumbled forward as if to complete a run and it was then the extent of his injury and the measure of his discomfort was most obvious. He was reduced at times to a shambling walk and when he turned or lunged precipitately, he often gritted his teeth in pain.But Fleming said after the match that he felt well and that his injury was not of major significance, that he had undergone a variety of treatments including acupuncture and that he expected the knock to be of no major inconvenience to him in the coming Test series against England.Fleming said he felt in good batting touch in spite of his injury and his performance today, in a match in which most batsman have struggled on a seaming pitch, supported that view. While his movements were limited he batted with considerable freedom and his unbeaten 40, made in 88 minutes, included 34 runs from boundaries – seven fours and one six.With Fleming when stumps were drawn last night was young left-hander Luke Woodcock, playing his third first-class match, who had been at the crease 137 minutes when stumps were drawn and was camped on his highest first-class score, 30 not out. Woodcock also made 30 in his first first-class innings against Otago two matches ago.Fleming and Woodcock had added 70 in 88 minutes for Wellington’s third wicket and Wellington was 123/2 at stumps, needing 87 more runs tomorrow to post their fifth outright win in consecutive games, their third in successive matches at the Basin Reserve.Wellington began their second innings needing 210 to win after Northern had failed to fully capitalise on a 69-run first innings lead. Northern was out for only 140 in their second innings, leaving the gate open for Wellington to win this match and to retain its place at the top of the State Championship table.If Wellington completes its win tomorrow, and the odds are now heavily in its favour, it will have achieved all of its outrights this season after trailing on the first innings.Northern could have played Wellington out of the match today. Wellington resumed its first innings this morning at 81/6, replying to Northern’s 185.Northern took only 13 overs and some 65 minutes to wrap up Wellington’s innings for 116 – achieving a 69-run lead which is commanding in the context of recent low-scoring matches on this ground. The victory target Wellington is now chasing – 210 – will still be the highest score any team has achieved at the Basin Reserve in the last three games.Northern should then have batted Wellington out of the match but an early onslaught from Wellington left-armer James Franklin, which cost them their first four wickets for 15 runs, immediately weakened their control on the game.Franklin claimed the wicket of James Marshall for one in his second over then shook Northern when he claimed the wickets of Matthew Hart, Joseph Yovich and Hamish Marshall within a single over – his fourth, the eighth of the innings.Hart was lbw for five, matching his first innings score, Yovich caught at first slip by Matthew Walker for five, improving by one on his first innings, and Hamish Marshall was lbw for 0. Two balls separated Hart and Yovich’s dismissals and a further three accounted for Marshall.Michael Parlane and first innings hero Scott Styris then revived the innings and the balance of the match tipped again in Northern’s favour. The pair put on 61 in 85 minutes for Northern’s fifth wicket and Northern was briefly 76/4, 145 ahead with six wickets standing.But in a manner sadly typical of this match Parlane and Styris then threw away their wickets recklessly within eight runs of each other. Parlane was out lbw for 41 to Walker, then Styris – who had batted superbly in the first innings for 87 – contrived to pull a short delivery from Mark Gillespie through 180 degress and onto his own stumps. He was out for 27 and Northern was 84/6.The only light in the remainder of the innings was a quick 29 from Daryl Tuffey – taken from 28 balls – which lifted him near the end.Wellington could still have lost. A total of 210 would seem imposing in the light of recent matches and persistent batting failures by both Wellington and their opponents.There were qualms when Richard Jones was out for 15, bowled for the second time in the match for Butler who had beaten him repeatedly before his dismissal.Wellington then lost their captain Matthew Bell for 28 and were 53/2 but there were few alarms after Fleming came to the crease to join Woodcock, who had dug in impressively.The performance of the youngster and his experienced partner pointed an accusing finger at many of the other batsmen who have been cheaply dismissed over the past two days. When Woodcock made his mind to stay he did so with relative ease, as long as his concentration and technique were sound. And when Fleming made up his mind to play shots he also did so without difficulty.The ball has seamed throughout the match but any first-class batsman should be able to cope, technically, with a seaming ball. That so many have struggled to do so is an indictment on their technique and attitude.

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It was a historic day for Bangladesh as they got their first win against an ODI team when they beat Pakistan by four wickets in Kurunegala. Salma Khatun, the Bangladesh captain, scored 53 after offspinner Tithy Sarkar restricted Pakistan to 134.After their crushing 182-run defeat to India on Friday, Bangladesh bounced back impressively to bowl out Pakistan with an over to spare. Sarkar took two wickets in two overs and Pakistan stumbled to 55 for 3 in 19 overs. She picked up two more wickets and ensured no partnership was forged as Pakistan plodded along at less than three an over. Bismah Maroof top scored with 29 and her opening partnership of 27 with Tasqeen Qadeer was the innings’ highest.Though the target was relatively modest, Bangladesh got themselves in to trouble early on, losing three wickets for 26 runs. Then Salma joined Panna Ghosh at the crease and the two added 37 together. Ghosh stayed for 51 balls, for her 14, and allowed Salma to push the chase along. Bangladesh lost two more wickets before Salma wrapped up the match with 27 balls to spare. She hit six fours in her 92-ball innings.
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Mithali Raj followed up her unbeaten century on Friday with a half-century as India continued their winning ways at the Asia Cup with a 29-run victory over Sri Lanka in Dambulla.The Indian openers, Jaya Sharma and Karuna Jain, set the platform for the total with a 62-run partnership before both were dismissed by Shashikala Siriwardene. Raj added another 62 with Priyanka Roy to take India to 227. Suwini de Alwis, who took two wickets against Pakistan, picked up 3 for 36 while Siriwardene ended with 3 for 54.Though Sri Lanka lost two wickets – to Rumeli Dhar – early in the innings, Friday’s top scorer Dedunu Silva hit 74 off 87 balls to take them to the 100-run mark. But Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for 66 runs as Pujare Seema and Dhar shared six wickets between them.

A half-century from Vijay Shankar and an all-round performance from R Sathish propelled Tamil Nadu to a 37-run win against Andhra at the MRF Pachayappas ground. Having chosen to bat, Tamil Nadu moved to 101 for 4 courtesy useful contributions from their top order before Shankar (69 off 49 balls) and Sathish (32 not out off 14) combined to add 76 in just 41 balls to power Tamil Nadu to a total of 179 for 5.Sathish then dismissed both Andhra openers over the course of a tight four-over quota in which he only conceded 18 runs. Hanuma Vihari (37 off 34) and Ricky Bhui (61 off 44) revived Andhra with a 75-run third-wicket stand, but the asking rate was climbing steadily, and they needed 79 off 32 balls when Vihari fell. Andhra couldn’t keep up, and eventually finished on 142 for 6, with two of their last three wickets falling to run-outs.A stifling bowling display helped Karnataka defend 148 and hand Hyderabad their first defeat of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. A 66-run opening stand between Tanmay Agarwal (22) and Akshath Reddy (42 off 32 balls) gave Hyderabad an excellent start to their chase, but they struggled to keep up with the required rate thereafter as the left-arm seamer S Aravind (3 for 25) and left-arm spinner J Suchith (2 for 18) struck regular blows. S Badrinath remained unbeaten on 37, but wickets fell steadily around him and he himself only managed three fours in a 31-ball innings as Hyderabad finished on 134 for 6.After they chose to bat, Karnataka’s innings was built around two significant contributions. Opener Mayank Agarwal made 65 off 55 balls, while their No. 5 Pavan Deshpande scored 32 off 24. The two added 63 for the fourth wicket after Karnataka had slipped to 49 for 3, and eventually set them up for a total of 148 for 7. Left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan was Hyderabad’s most successful bowler with figures of 3 for 16.A three-wicket haul from the medium-pacer Basil Thampi and two wickets each from Jalaj Saxena and Raiphi Gomez helped Kerala bowl Goa out for 86 and beat them by nine wickets. Choosing to bat, Goa’s innings never got going, with only Swapnil Asnodkar (23) and Keenan Vaz (22) getting past 20. Their innings lasted only 18.4 overs.Kerala’s chase was even shorter, lasting only 7.5 overs. Vishnu Vinod plundered 35 off 13 balls in a 40-run opening stand with Mohammed Azharudeen (22*), who then finished the match in the company of Rohan Prem (24*).

Goa ended the rain affected second day at 100 for 6 in the second innings,still requiring 106 runs to avoid an innings defeat against Andhra in theCooch Behar Trophy (Under-19) tournament match at the Rajendra PrasadStadium in Margao on Saturday.Play started only at 12.50 and Goa, resuming at the overnight score of 43for 2, were skittled out for 94 in their first innings in reply to Andhra’s300 for three declared. Gautham Narvekar was the first to be dismissed whenhe was run out. The new batsman Sagun departed soon to become Shankar Rao’sfirst victim of the innings. Thereafter wickets kept falling at regularintervals as the Goan batsmen could not tackle the Andhra attack. Beforelong Mohd Faiq (4 for 24) and G Shankar Rao (5 for 17) ran through the side.Following on, Goa started off with openers Robin D’souza (23) and GauthamNarvekar (18) putting on 28 runs off 6.3 overs. Then with the score at 31,Goa lost Sahil Dhuri caught behind off Venugopal Rao. Following this, a43-run third wicket stand ensued between Gautham and Adithya Angle (29)which took the score to 73. At this stage, Adithya was caught by AS Varmaoff Shankar Rao. Gautham departed five balls later off the bowling of MohdFaiq. Wickets kept falling thereafter and Goa were in a hopeless positionwhen stumps were drawn.

Mickey Arthur has said that he has been impressed with his first look of the local talent assembled by Dhaka Dynamites. The team’s head coach believes that hunger within the young Bangladeshi cricketers will help his side.Dynamites’ icon pick had to be Nasir Hossain as they were the last team to be drawn in the lottery in the draft last month. But they picked the sensational Mustafizur Rahman with their first pick and also took Mosharraf Hossain (Man of the Match in 2013 BPL final), Mosaddek Hossain Saikat (who made three first-class double-centuries this year), Shamsur Rahman, Shykat Ali, Farhad Reza, Nabil Samad, Abul Hasan and Irfan Sukkur.Shamsur, Farhad and Abul have played international cricket for Bangladesh while Shykat and Sukkur are impressive young domestic batsmen.This is Arthur’s first stint coaching in Bangladesh although he last toured as coach of the South Africa team in 2008. He was also impressed by how the Dhaka franchise contacted him and has so far run the team.”We have a good bunch of talented young players but T20 is all about one performance,” Arthur said. “Their work ethic has been outstanding, they work incredibly hard. It has been a pleasure. They are looking to make a name for themselves in Bangladesh cricket. If you have guys who are willed to learn and play, you have a recipe of some success.”What interested me are the good talented youngsters out here. The Dhaka Dynamites is very well organised, which also interested me. The communication with everyone was brilliant. They seemed like a professional outfit. I haven’t been let down, it has been a fantastic experience so far.”Arthur said that the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Yasir Shah and Ryan ten Doeschate will add experience to the Dynamites squad. Apart from these three, they have Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan and Shahzaib Hasan and it is understood that Zimbabwe batsman Malcolm Waller, who scored 68 and 40 in T20s against Bangladesh last week, could soon join them.”I have been really impressed by the local talent. I don’t want to single out anybody. We have Sanga, Yasir Shah and Ryan ten Doeschate; those guys just add the little bit of international experience to the squad. The young players have been trained extremely well and are hungry for success,” Arthur said.Arthur said that while coaching in the Caribbean Premier League he saw how the T20 tournament helped local cricketers learn more from the international players, and hoped the same would happen for the uncapped Bangladeshi cricketers.”It gives international exposure to all the young players that are playing with international superstars. The experience rubs off on them. It just provides them with such a good base to work from.”I coached in the CPL and just seeing what that does for West Indian cricket, I suspect the BPL is going to do exactly the same for Bangladesh cricket.”

Highlights of the day

Cheteshwar Pujara blasted his highest score in Twenty20 cricket, as Saurashtra thrashed Jammu & Kashmir by 73 runs in Kochi. Pujara slammed five fours and sixes each during a 55-ball 81, and shared a 70-run partnership with Chirag Jani, who stroked 38 off 19 balls. Their efforts lifted Sauarashtra to 157 for 7. J&K failed to string together a single meaningful stand in their chase, and folded for 84 inside 18 overs, with only two batsmen managing double-digit scores. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3.1-0-19-3.Gujarat nearly made a mess of a small chase against Hyderabad in Nagpur, but Parthiv Patel’s 70-run blitz ensured the team had enough gas in the tank to register a three-wicket win. Set 132 for victory, Parthiv drilled eight fours and three sixes during a 40-ball 70, and added 99 for the opening wicket with Priyank Kirit Panchal. Parthiv’s dismissal in the 12th over triggered a slide, as Gujarat lost seven wickets for just 30 runs, but held on to complete the chase with three balls to spare.Domestic heavyweights Karnataka suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in Cuttack. Karnataka, opting to bat, compiled a total of 160 for 6, thanks to a 40-ball 45 from Mohammed Talha, and handy lower-order knocks from CM Gautam and Aniruddha Joshi. UP, though, gunned that total down with relative ease, as their top and middle order all got in among the runs. The opener Prashant Gupta top-scored with 48, while Suresh Raina carried forward the momentum by smoking a 15-ball 28 with three sixes.Biplab Samantray’s maiden T20 ton went in vain, as Odisha failed to defend 183 against Maharashtra. Samantray thumped a 59-ball 102, and put up 155 for the third wicket with Govinda Poddar, but important knocks of 44 and 49 from Prayag Bhati and Ankit Bawne respectively helped Maharashtra to a last-ball win.

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Dimitri Mascarenhas’s life has changed considerably in the couple of months since he was part of England’s one-day squad in New Zealand. He has been named Hampshire captain after Shane Warne terminated his deal, but more significantly he will be the only England representative in the Indian Premier League.His three-year deal with Jaipur came about after Warne made contact with Mascarenhas following the first round of auctions. Some hasty negotiations followed before a contract was signed, although for this season he will only be part of the IPL for two weeks in mid-May, with the possibility of returning for the final on June 1 if Jaipur make it through.In recent weeks the ECB have been trying to convince people that England players won’t be joining the IPL, a stance reiterated in some bullish comments from the chairman, Giles Clarke. However, there has been a subtle shift in attitude from some leading lights with Kevin Pietersen the most high-profile player to say that they should be given a slice of the action.Mascarenhas has yet to find out how envious some of his England team-mates are, but being a non-centrally contracted player clearly has its advantages. It allowed him to come to a deal with Hampshire which didn’t involve the ECB and he doesn’t feel his international career will be jeopardised. Future seasons of the IPL could be moved to avoid conflict and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has already said that international commitments will take precedence.”If you look around, all the other players can take part in the IPL and still play for their countries,” he said. “I’m not missing any one-dayers or anything. I suppose there is an element of risk, but speaking to the hierarchy – Hugh Morris, Geoff Miller and Peter Moores – they are all pretty positive about it and don’t see too much of a problem. They couldn’t guarantee me anything, obviously they can’t, but they all seemed very positive.””I did all the negotiations with Rod [Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman] and he’s been really supportive of what I want to do. He thinks it’s a good opportunity for me, but also for Hampshire to be involved.”Mascarenhas is fairly relaxed about the whole affair, and thinks the experience of bowling to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and facing Brett Lee will be benefit his game, even though he has little idea of what to expect when he arrives next month.”Because I got in late I literally don’t know anything about it,” he said. “All I know is the dates, I don’t know where I’m going to be. I’ll just meet up with Warney and the rest of the team when I get there. I’ll be getting some good cricket, playing with and against world-class players. I can’t see why more won’t do it in the future.”Hampshire, though, will have to do without their captain for two weeks while Mascarenhas is away. “At the time I signed I didn’t know the captaincy situation would come up, but there are a couple of guys lined up who could take over,” he said.One name suggested by Mascarenhas as a stand-in was Nic Pothas. He has spent parts of his winter with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the unofficial event which has caused the ECB more headaches even though it hardly clashes with the domestic season. Hampshire, too, were unimpressed when Pothas took up his ICL deal, but clubs are having to find pragmatic solutions as cricket’s changing face makes an impact on English shores.