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Local uncapped talent will constitute only 16% of the total players in the Bangladesh Premier League this season – an all-time low – as a result of the BPL governing council’s decision to allow franchises to field five overseas cricketers in an XI.

Count of uncapped Bangladesh players in each season

• BPL 2012 (5 foreigners): Total 111; local uncapped 26 (23%)

• BPL 2013 (5 foreigners): Total 134; local uncapped 35 (26%)

• BPL 2015 (4 foreigners): Total 120; local uncapped 24 (20%)

• BPL 2016 (4 foreigners): Total 131; local uncapped 31 (23%)
  BPL 2017 (5 foreigners): Total 180; local uncapped 29 (16%)

This is a throwback to the regulations used in 2012 and 2013, although back then the BPL was in its infancy still finding its feet as a T20 tournament. And yet, the local uncapped players constituted 26% of the pool in 2013 while the corresponding figure in the inaugural edition in 2012 was 23%. The year 2015 was an aberration: even with only four foreigners in an XI, the uncapped players count was as low as 20%.When announcing the regulation earlier this year, the BPL governing council said it took the decision after consulting the participating franchises. Rajshahi Kings weren’t in favour of the move.Khulna Titans have the largest contingent of Bangladeshi uncapped players – seven – while Sylhet Sixers and Comilla Victorians have only three. Sylhet have signed three uncapped overseas players as well.Dhaka Dynamites coach Khaled Mahmud was unsure if the move would benefit Bangladesh cricket, but he did say there aren’t many players in the country who are explosive enough to play T20 cricket.”I would call it a concern but we also have to realise that we don’t have enough quality,” he said. “We have already lost seven local players [with the axing of Barisal Bulls] but I would still say that finding a place in the team is what the local players need as a challenge. The young players should have competition rather than having a confirmed team. There aren’t many T20 specialists in our pipeline, but at the same time, they need opportunities to be honest.”As a means to address that, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick said: “We are thinking of holding a domestic T20 tournament with only local players, with the Dhaka Premier League (one-day tournament) or the four Bangladesh Cricket League (first-class) teams. So about 48 players will be able to play.”Reactions to these new regulations was divided. Nabil Samad, an experienced domestic performer, felt that “Bangladeshi players got more opportunities with bat and ball when seven local players were around. But this time the scope has become limited for batsmen, especially those in the top-order. Teams usually try to utilise foreign players in those positions”Meanwhile Khulna fast bowler Abu Jayed chose to see the bright side. “BPL is a good platform to enter the national team, because it lets us stay in focus. There isn’t any media coverage in National Cricket League (first-class cricket) and Bangladesh Cricket League. I think we can look at the positive of it. We will be brought into focus if we do well. There aren’t many of us.”

Keep up to date with all the movements around the counties during the off-season as preparations are made for the 2018 seasonDerbyshireIN: Ravi Rampaul (Surrey)
OUT: Tom Wood, Greg Cork, Tom Taylor (Leicestershire), Rob Hemmings, Shiv Thakor, Tom Milnes, Ben Cotton
OVERSEAS: Duanne Olivier (SA)DurhamIN: Will Smith (Hampshire), Nathan Rimmington
OUT: Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Graham Onions (Lancashire), Paul Coughlin (Nottinghamshire)
OVERSEAS: Aiden Markram (SA, April-May), Tom Latham (NZ, May-August), Axar Patel (Ind, Aug-Sep)EssexIN: Matt Coles (Kent), Feroze Kushi
OUT: Kishen Velani
OVERSEAS: Peter Siddle (Aus, April-May), Neil Wagner (NZ, May-July) Adam Zampa (Aus, T20)GlamorganIN:
OUT: Jacques Rudolph (retired), Will Bragg (retired)
OVERSEAS: Shaun Marsh (Aus)GloucestershireIN: Ryan Higgins (Middlesex)
OUT: Patrick Grieshaber, Brendon Gilmour, Phil Mustard
OVERSEAS: Dan Worrall (Aus, April-July)HampshireIN: Sam Northeast (Kent), Chris Sole
OUT: Will Smith (Durham), Michael Carberry (Leicestershire)
OVERSEAS: Hashim Amla (SA, April-June), Dale Steyn (SA, part season)KentIN: Heino Kuhn (Kolpak), Harry Podmore (Middlesex), Ollie Robinson
OUT: Sam Northeast (Hampshire), Matt Coles (Essex), Adam Ball, Hugh Bernard, Charlie Hartley
OVERSEAS: Matt Henry (NZ)LancashireIN: Keaton Jennings (Durham), Graham Onions (Durham), Josh Bohannon, Liam Hurt
OUT: Kyle Jarvis (Zimbabwe), Luke Procter (Northants)
OVERSEAS: Joe Mennie (Aus)LeicestershireIN: Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Ateeq Javid (Warwickshire), Tom Taylor (Derbyshire)
OUT: Clint McKay, Will Fazackerley
OVERSEAS: Mohammad Abbas (Pak), Sohail Khan (Pak, April-May), Mohammad Nabi (Afg, T20)MiddlesexIN:
OUT: Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire), Harry Podmore (Kent)
OVERSEAS: Ashton Agar (Aus, T20)NorthamptonshireIN: Brett Hutton (Notts), Luke Procter (Northants)
OUT: Azharullah, David Murphy (retired)
OVERSEAS: Doug Bracewell (NZ), Seekkuge Prasanna (SL, T20)NottinghamshireIN: Paul Coughlin (Durham), Chris Nash (Sussex)
OUT: Chris Read (retired), Brett Hutton (Northants)
OVERSEAS: Ross Taylor (NZ, April-June), Dan Christian (Aus, T20), Ish Sodhi (NZ, T20)SomersetIN: Fin Trenouth
OUT: Jim Allenby, Ryan Davies, Michael Leask
OVERSEAS: Cameron Bancroft (Aus), Corey Anderson (NZ, T20)SurreyIN: Rikki Clarke (Warwickshire), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson
OUT: Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Kumar Sangakkara (retired), Ravi Rampaul (Derbyshire)
OVERSEAS: Mitchell Marsh (Aus)SussexIN:
OUT: Steve Magoffin (Worcestershire), Chris Nash (Nottinghamshire)
OVERSEAS: Ishant Sharma (Ind, April-May), Rashid Khan (Afg, T20)WarwickshireIN: Dom Sibley (Surrey), Will Rhodes (Yorkshire)
OUT: Rikki Clarke (Surrey), Ateeq Javid (Leicestershire), William Porterfield
OVERSEAS: Colin De Grandhomme (NZ, T20)WorcestershireIN: Steve Magoffin (Sussex), Alex Milton
OUT:
OVERSEAS: Travis Head (Aus), Callum Ferguson (Aus, T20), Martin Guptill (NZ, T20)YorkshireIN:
OUT: Ryan Sidebottom (retired), Will Rhodes (Warwickshire)
OVERSEAS: Cheteshwar Pujara (Ind), Kane Williamson (NZ), Billy Stanlake (Aus, T20)

A confirmation of India’s home season fixtures arrived on Thursday with the BCCI releasing the schedule for eight ODIs and six T20Is to be played against Australia and New Zealand starting September 17.

India v Australia

• Sept 12 – warm-up game, Chennai

• Sept 17 1st ODI, Chennai

• Sept 21 – 2nd ODI, Kolkata

• Sept 24 – 3rd ODI, Indore

• Sept 28 – 4th ODI, Bengaluru

• Oct 1 – 5th ODI, Nagpur

• Oct 7 – 1st T20I, Ranchi

• Oct 10 – 2nd T20I, Guwahati

• Oct 13 – 3rd T20I, Hyderabad

As reported earlier on ESPNcricinfo, India will take on Australia in the season opener in another ten days in Chennai before moving on to Kolkata (September 21), Indore (September 24), Bengaluru (September 28) and Nagpur (October 1) for the remainder of the ODIs. Ranchi (October 7), Guwahati (October 10) and Hyderabad (October 13) have been lined up to host the T20I series. The visitors will have a warm-up game ahead of the series on September 12.New Zealand too will have the chance to acclimatise themselves with Indian conditions with two practice matches at the CCI stadium in Mumbai before the first ODI in the same city on October 22. The second ODI is scheduled in Pune on October 25 and the third and final 50-over game will be held in Kanpur on October 29. Then both teams will shift their focus to the shortest format with three T20Is to be played in Delhi (November 1), Rajkot (November 4) and Thiruvananthapuram (November 7).

India v New Zealand

• Oct 17 – 1st warm-up game, Mumbai

• Oct 19 – 2nd warm-up, Mumbai

• Oct 22 – 1st ODI, Mumbai

• Oct 25 – 2nd ODI, Pune

• Oct 29 – 3rd ODI, Kanpur

• Nov 1 – 1st T20I, Delhi

• Nov 4 – 2nd T20I, Rajkot

• Nov 7 – 3rd T20I, Thiruvananthapuram

Both teams had visited India during the 2016-17 season as well, Australia for Tests, which they lost 2-1 and New Zealand for Tests and ODIs, although they too were beaten in each series.India had introduced three new Test venues last season – Rajkot, Indore and Visakhapatnam. This time they have got clearance to host international matches at Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. It is understood there were delays in securing these clearances, which perhaps played a part in the BCCI announcing the official schedule less than two weeks before the opening match of the season.

After several months of staunch resistance, the BCCI members – state associations – have unanimously decided to implement most of the Lodha Committee recommendations with the exception of five broad reforms. The BCCI took the decision at a special general meeting (SGM) in Delhi on Wednesday, which was attended by all members including the newly-inducted north-eastern states.The recommendations that the BCCI said it has difficulty implementing include: membership status which includes the one-state-one-vote reform, disqualification of office bearers, ministers and government officials based on eligibility criteria such as the age cap, tenure and cooling off period, the strength of the Apex Council – which replaces the existing working committee, the division of powers between the office bearers and the professional management, and strength of the national selection committee.All five recommendations singled out by the BCCI on Wednesday have been raised by board members consistently in the past as major stumbling blocks preventing reforms.The one-state-one-vote recommendation primarily affects six members – Maharashtra, Mumbai, Vidarbha, Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra. According to the Lodha Committee, the six votes would be reduced to two with rotating representation at the board meetings every year. However, the BCCI wants the existing membership status to be restored. The BCCI also wants the voting powers granted at present to government institutions comprising Railways, Services and the Universities to be retained.The most contentious reform the BCCI is against is the eligibility criteria for an office bearer or a representative of a state association to attend board meetings. The BCCI wants a cooling-off period of three years after every term applicable to an office bearer removed because a maximum tenure of nine years has already been prescribed. It also does not want to impose the 70-year age cap put in place by the Lodha Committee for office bearers and administrators. The Indian board is also against not allowing government employees to be part of any board committee.Another area that concerns the BCCI is the distribution of power granted to the office bearers and the board’s professional management, led by the CEO. Under the existing system, the BCCI secretary informally carries out the role of the CEO and shares the power with the board president.Under the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, the role of the office bearers would be diminished while the CEO would be granted significant independent decision-making powers. Many of the BCCI members are against ceding control.The Lodha Committee had also suggested replacing the powerful BCCI working committee, which approves all decisions, with a nine-member Apex Council, comprising five office bearers – president, secretary, joint-secretary, treasurer and a vice-president – and a single representative from the general body (all BCCI members). At the SGM on Wednesday, the BCCI argued that the number of representatives from the general body – ideally one from each of the five zones – should sit on the Apex Council.The final reform the BCCI wanted the court to reconsider is increasing the number of heads on the national selection panel to five, two more than the Lodha Committee’s recommendation. The BCCI had already trimmed the selection panel to three, immediately after the Supreme Court approved the recommendations last year.On July 18 last year, the Supreme Court had approved the recommendations and asked the BCCI to implement them within six months from that seminal order. The BCCI remained unaffected. The court then put in place a Committee of Administrators on January 30 this year tasking it with implementing the recommendations.Various BCCI members raised objections, pointing out some of the recommendations could not be practically implemented and went against the constitution of both the board and their respective state associations.On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the BCCI to implement as many recommendations as were “practicable” at the SGM. The court also pointed out that it would revisit some of the recommendations the BCCI had highlighted in the past.According to more than one BCCI members who attended the SGM, the moderate tone of the court’s order on Monday gave an extra leash to those who stalled the reform process. “When the Supreme Court is giving us the liberty to choose [which recommendations to implement], then why object?” a member who attended the SGM said. “When the court itself is not keen in implementing some reforms and it openly says some are impracticable then how can they persuade the members?”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa needed a response after their 211-run defeat in the first Test of the series at Lord’s and the memories of their second-innings collapse were put behind them on an evenly-contested opening day at Trent Bridge.Nevertheless, it might have been even better. The loss of four wickets for 56 runs in 15 overs immediately after tea – an interval during which South Africa had been excellently placed at 179 for 2 – was a haphazard period which invited England back into the second Investec Test and rewarded a day in which James Anderson and Stuart Broad, in particular, persisted with an experienced air, drawing help where they could on a slow surface.Anderson became the first Test bowler to reach 300 Test wickets in home Tests, while Broad was the day’s most successful, and insistent, bowler with 3 for 47. As their Test tallies build, and their status as one of England’s most prolific fast-bowling pairs is further implanted, their respective Test averages remain locked around 28.5 as if somehow it has been pre-ordained that it must always be this way.England’s optimism had been tested in an afternoon session in which Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock took command on an easy-paced pitch, gambolling along at more than four an over as they added 123 between lunch and tea. If Amla possessed the munificence of a warm sun, uncluttered by clouds, alongside him de Kock, promoted to No. 4, was as playful as a sunbeam dancing upon a car windscreen.That sunbeam disappeared instantly after tea – de Kock, on 68, chopping at a length ball from Broad and depositing it into the hands of Alastair Cook at first slip. Amla seemed to have settled back into his orderly routine, but on 78 he succumbed to Broad, too, as a top-edged pull sailed to Mark Wood to deep square leg: a shot where he had been a little flighty more than once.Nobody can fairly claim to have Amla’s measure, but Broad can claim it more than most: he has now dismissed him eight times in Tests and no bowler has achieved as many.Du Plessis and Temba Bavuma both fell to wicketkeeper catches off Ben Stokes and, if Bavuma’s departure was routine, a comfortable catch as he failed to withdraw the bat, the manner of du Plessis’ dismissal will have delighted the England dressing room, and no-one more so than their wicketkeeping coach Bruce French.Du Plessis imagined his review would be successful, knowing the ball had struck his hip, but there was also the merest hint of a glove – umpire Paul Reiffel having made either a brilliant or fortunate decision – and so attention turned to the catch itself, a leaping affair down the leg-side as Bairstow clutched the ball one-handed. He pulled off a similar catch to dismiss Bavuma at Lord’s and in both cases displayed a spring and lightness on his feet that would have been unimaginable a year ago.Vernon Philander drives through the covers during second half-century of the series•Getty Images

After South Africa’s extravagance, came a recovery from the sixth-wicket pair Vernon Philander and Chris Morris, who added 74 to take them to stumps at 309 for 6, and survived the second new ball in the process, the last delivery of the day falling mockingly short of England’s captain Joe Root at second slip. Philander’s flowing off drives stressed that he is a batsman of some quality, one who should not regard his seventh Test half-century as the height of his ambition.Anderson’s 300th Test wicket in England had been a statistical landmark in an otherwise mournful start to the Test with only 23 overs possible on a blustery morning briefly interrupted by a flurry of rain. He wangled the wicket of Dean Elgar, drawing him into an insecure drive at a slightly wide one and winning his wicket courtesy of a fine, diving catch to his right by Liam Dawson at backward point. Elgar, who can be a bit of a stodge when conditions are testing, would have berated himself for that.There was uncertainty for Heino Kuhn, too, who took a blow on the back of the helmet in Wood’s first over. Wood, displaying a hostility at the start of his first spell that he did not quite sustain, beat Kuhn for pace with his fourth delivery and caused the batsman to turn away and take the blow. Earlier, he had also taken a blow on the bottom hand from Broad, discomfort aplenty which was sure to ginger up England’s seamers. The loss of only one wicket by lunch represented decent damage limitation.Kuhn represented England’s one wicket in the afternoon, a wicket well won as he was subjected to a succession of induckers by Broad, in particular, and eventually dragged one on.Less impressive for England was their wasting of two reviews, on either side of lunch, in their anxiety to make progress. They reviewed a rejected lbw appeal against Amla, on 14, the batsman surviving survived courtesy of an inside edge and a front pad outside the line, neither of which had not entered the computation of a clearly enthusiastic bowler, Stokes. Broad, also voracious when it comes to reviews, then lost a review because the ball was too high.Joe Root, a new captain, looked somewhat biddable as both reviews fell on stony ground. On the second occasion, his predecessor in the job, Cook, offered a few quiet words alongside him at slip. Cook might have been just expressing relief that the decision was no longer his, but if he was advising Root to temper first-term ambition with realism it would have been no bad thing.Amla and de Kock dominated the afternoon. Amla started uncertainly and Anderson, in particular, taunted his outside edge and, on 37, forced an edge which fell agonisingly short of Root at second slip.Amla ticked along with leg-side nudges but saved his biggest shots for the square boundaries on the off side. He reached his half-century with a blissful straight six against Liam Dawson, who entered the attack 10 overs before Moeen Ali. A pecking order designed to take the pressure off Moeen might yet put the pressure on England and it could remain a talking point of the summer.De Kock’s insatiable appetite for adventure has made South Africa reluctant to card him in the middle order but they were rewarded for their boldness. Many will regard his promotion as unwise – comparable perhaps to fielding the great Australian wicketkeeping No. 7 Adam Gilchrist up the order – and would certainly argue the case for him to come in behind du Plessis at five. But, for all the misadventure of his get-out shot, there is a roundness to his game that suggests he has the aptitude to cope and his four boundaries in quick succession off Dawson and Wood helped seize the initiative.Anderson’s was not the only statistic of the day. Amla had gone past 8,000 Test runs and another landmark was also marked as the impending retirement of Henry Blofeld, the long-serving Test Match Special commentator, was marked by his very own bus – a green one named in his honour which one hopes will draw highly-coloured bursts of adjectival delight from generations to come. There was also a replica to go with it, presented no less by the Sheriff of Nottingham – a local councillor of upstanding repute, rather than the lecherous Robin Hood villain.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:24

Kohli king of the chase as India win series

Normal service resumed in the West Indies as the hosts’ batsmen failed again – this time on a much better batting surface – and India chased 206 down with relative ease to seal the series 3-1. Just like India seem wired to score around 300 no matter the situation or conditions, the number seems to be 200 for them. They got away with 189 in the last match, but on a pitch that the ball came on to the bat, their inability to score freely off the spinners – 76 runs in 24 overs – consigned them to defeat.In the chase, Virat Kohli overcame his recent short-ball trouble by choosing to tide over the barrage as opposed to hooking everything. He now has more hundreds in ODI chases than anybody else – 18.The unsung heroes for India, though, were their spinners even though the scoreboard shows just one under the wickets column for them, that too for part-timer Kedar Jadhav. The fast bowlers, who took eight wickets between them, will, however, argue that they cleaned up after themselves after a profligate start. Umesh Yadav in particular struggled with the new ball, bowling either short and wide or full on the pads. Kyle Hope cashed in as he and Evin Lewis added 39 for the first wicket in 8.2 overs. Then he joined brother Shai to add a further 37.At 3-0-22-0, Umesh was taken out of the attack, and was brought back soon after the fielding restrictions were taken off. He bowled two overs for four runs, then Kyle Hope attacked him with two boundaries and fell while going for a third. The ball was short enough, but the batsman failed to clear short midwicket. Umesh swooped in on that break with a full and straight delivery to send Roston Chase back first ball.The stage was now for spinners to cut off the oxygen supply. Ravindra Jadeja found turn, Kuldeep Yadav remained difficult to negotiate, and Jadhav’s low, round-arm, non-turning, slow offbreaks sent back a frustrated Jason Mohammed.Walking in at 115 for 4 in the 31st over, Jason Holder used his long reach to put the spinners off their rhythm. He hit four fours, and a six off Hardik Pandya, but when he went to hit Shami straight down the ground he found an agile Shikhar Dhawan at long-on. The going was tough for West Indies after that.And before that. There had been an 11-over spell without boundaries before Holder, and after Holder they managed only three boundaries, which incredibly were the first ones they had hit past the 40th over all series. Two of those were sixes in the last two overs from Rovman Powell that pushed West Indies past 200. Still they knew they needed lightning to strike twice if they were to defend this.For a moment it seemed lightning might indeed strike twice when Dhawan went back in the first over of the chase, again driving on the up and failing to keep the ball down. In the fourth over, it should have become two down but Devendra Bishoo dropped Ajinkya Rahane at point. Rahane didn’t go on to take his streak of 50 or more to five, but he added 79 with Kohli to set India on their way.More importantly, Rahane’s urgency and early boundaries meant Kohli could take his time dealing with the short ball. In the previous matches, his eagerness to score, a dominating batsman’s ego if you will, had got the better of him, but here Kohli was prepared to wait it out. He kept ducking, weaving and leaving bouncers before he finally hooked in the ninth over, at least the eighth bouncer bowled at him. This was smoked clean in front of square for four with the wrists managing to keep it down.The bouncers now came down to the occasional ones. Rahane reached his slowdown period now with the ball getting older, but slowly – and a little gingerly – Kohli began to dominate. It helped that there were quite a few loose balls on offer, especially from West Indies’ legspinning talisman Bishoo.As Kohli got more and more comfortable at the wicket, he began to put away even the good balls, as he did with a late cut off an Ashley Nurse length ball to move to 68 off 80. He moved to hundred in another 28 balls, unleashing an emotional celebration. Dinesh Karthik, playing only his second ODI in three years, provided Kohli good support, scoring a fifty of his own.

ScorecardFor many years, Blackbird by The Wurzels has been as close to an official Somerset cricketing song as anything. It was recorded in 1976 and Somerset’s glory years of Botham, Richards and co began two years later, although it took an Australian, Justin Langer, to adopt Blackbird as a dressing room victory anthem.A victory song has not yet been needed by Somerset this season, not in the Championship anyway. They are winless in five matches, 14 points adrift from safety, which is the sort of run where players begin to forget the lyrics and instead mouth in desperation.They are desperate to get their season on track by taking advantage of a weakened Yorkshire attack. But after stealing a first-innings lead of 22, despite the exemplary efforts of Ryan Sidebottom, who returned 5 for 56 and totted up 750 first-class wickets in the process, Somerset struggled to push home their advantage.Peter Handscomb, sustained by a diet of legside flicks, struck an unbeaten 57 and gave Yorkshire the slightest edge at the close of a keenly-contested second day: 105 ahead with eight wickets remaining. The ball is offering for the spinners, but nothing extravagant and the bounce remains reliable even though the pitch was used in the previous Championship match against Hampshire. The game is still wide open.If Somerset don’t win this, there is a miniscule chance that Blackbird will never be sung again because it appears there is a rival in town. Ahead of Somerset’s Royal London Cup quarter-final against Nottinghamshire on Wednesday, a rival ditty has been penned. ‘Go Somerset,’ written by committed Somerset fan Charles Clive Ponsonby-Fane, has more of Chas & Dave about it than the Wurzels, which as that is more Cockney than West Country makes a case for its automatic rejection, but the family does not lack for cricketing influence.Back in the day, Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane laid the foundation stone of the pavilion at Lord’s and also became Somerset’s first president. Guy Lavender, Somerset’s chief executive, will soon strengthen those ties by taking up the chief executive’s role at the MCC. If asked, however, he would be too wise a bird to voice a preference.Ponsonby-Fane told the that the tune came to him while driving and was so catchy that he just had to drive straight home to write it down. That is the sort of commitment that sets cricketing families apart from the rest of us. “Sorry dear, I couldn’t get the milk: this cricket song suddenly came to me.”Peter Handscomb led Yorkshire’s batting resistance•Getty Images

Perhaps Tom Abell should have given it a hum in the field, especially the refrain: “We got a wicket, that’s good cricket, just the ticket, we want one more.” They got one wicket when Adam Lyth played back to the offspin of Dom Bess and was adjudged lbw, departing with a meaningful gesture at his bat and kick of an old wicket end. They got another when Craig Overton bowled Alex Lees through the gate, but Handscomb and Ballance restored Yorkshire’s authority by the close.Somerset had conceded three wickets cheaply on the first evening, so resistance from Lewis Gregory and Steve Davies for much of the morning was a necessary response. Gregory looked in good order following his maiden Championship hundred against Middlesex and Davies, bereft of form all season, benefited from a missed chance by Adam Lyth at second slip – another potential scalp for Sidebottom – to exhibit some crisp strokeplay.Somerset’s belief grew that salvation on a used pitch could lie in a superior spin pairing as Azeem Rafiq erred in length too often – although he did pick up Davies at slip – and Karl Carver’s left-arm spin was shunned, so questioning the sense of Yorkshire’s omission of Jack Brooks. Justification might come in the fourth innings. When Carver did bowl, he rounded up Somerset’s innings by removing last man Bess to a keeper’s catch.Adam Hose’s Championship debut is not going well. He strained a thigh on the first day and, on the second, coming in belatedly at No. 7, lasted six balls before planting his front foot and falling lbw, so bringing Matthew Waite a first Championship wicket.Things could turn for Hose. Countless debutants, and some extremely good ones, have begun life with a duck. But at the moment nobody is rushing home to write a song about him. Not even Charles Clive Ponsonby-Fane. At least, if he is, he has yet to tell the .

Isa Guha, the former England seamer, has become the first woman to be appointed to the board of the Professional Cricketers’ Association.Guha, 31, becomes a non-executive director of the players’ union.She retired from international cricket in 2012, having played a part in England’s victories in both the World Cup and the World T20 in 2009, as well as two Ashes triumphs in 2005 and 2007-08, when she took career-best match figures of 9 for 100 at Bowral.She has since gone on to forge a career in broadcasting, becoming the first female summariser on BBC Test Match Special in 2014, before co-hosting ESPN’s coverage of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.”Isa has a vast knowledge of the game from a men’s and women’s perspective,” said David Leatherdale, the PCA chief executive. “With our international women players now full members of the PCA, Isa will bring real insight to the PCA board.””I am delighted to be joining the PCA at an exciting time for the game here in England for our men and women at both domestic and international levels,” Guha said.”I look forward to working with the team at the PCA, and with all the many past and present players, as the country prepares for a number of major events, starting with the ICC Champions Trophy and the Women’s World Cup this summer.”

ScorecardFile photo – Fawad Ahmed took 3 for 14 in his first Sheffield Shield game for nearly a year•Getty Images

Fawad Ahmed enjoyed his return to Sheffield Shield cricket for the first time in nearly a year, collecting 3 for 14 as Victoria skittled Western Australia for 146 in Alice Springs. However, at stumps on the first day, the Bushrangers had also stumbled with the bat and were 5 for 106, still trailing by 40 runs, with Daniel Christian on 5 and Chris Tremain yet to score.Jason Behrendorff and David Moody had picked up two wickets each, but it was D’Arcy Short who picked up the key wicket of Marcus Stoinis for 46 in the last few overs before stumps. Earlier, the Warriors had suffered a top-order collapse to be 4 for 17, with Cameron Bancroft, Jon Wells and Adam Voges all falling for ducks.Ashton Turner (59) and Short (42) ensured the Warriors pushed their score up past 100, but the legspin of Fawad then ripped through the lower order. It was Fawad’s first Shield game since March last year, and he struck with his first delivery when he had Josh Inglis trapped lbw, before adding two more wickets.

AB de Villiers, South Africa’s one-day captain, believes there has never been as much belief in the squad as they currently have in the midst of an 11-match ODI winning streak.A win in Hamilton on Sunday will equal South Africa’s best run in ODI cricket – matching the 12 wins in a row they achieved in 2005 – and eyes are already firmly fixed on the Champions Trophy in June. Global tournaments come with a huge weight of history for South Africa, most of it bad, but de Villiers’ faith in his squad is absolute.”The belief in the squad is as high as I’ve ever experienced it,” he said. “There’s a great respect among the players and a sense of direction. It’s as simple as that. We know it can change in a matter of minutes, so there’s a deep respect for the game and the fact you can go into a dip at any time, but I really believe what we have in this team will carry us through good and bad times.”It’s definitely a build-up towards the Champions Trophy, it’s a big goal of ours to go there and win that tournament, we know there’s a long way to go but this is a great stepping stone,” he added. “The conditions are pretty similar – the ball moves around a bit when it’s new and you have to extend your partnerships when you get in, so it’s quite similar to the UK.”

Pretorius available for SA

Dwaine Pretorius, the allrounder, will be available for the second ODI in Christchurch after delaying his departure for the tour to attend the birth of his child.
Pretorius, 27, made his ODI debut against Ireland last year and recently claimed five wickets in two matches against Sri Lanka.
Dane Paterson was included for the start of the tour as cover in Pretorius’ absence and played the T20 in Auckland when Kagiso Rabada was rested.

South Africa had warned themselves to be on their guard against a slow start to their tour and de Villiers was delighted with the intensity they showed in the T20 at Eden Park. He admitted a one-off match was tough to get motivated for, but that made the convincing nature of the 78-run victory even more pleasing ahead of the main portions of the tour.”It’s difficult to get yourself up for a one-game series. We chatted about that and saw it as a red flag – even though it’s not that significant, you are still representing your country,” he said. “You are away from home and you want to start a tour off on the right note. We are hoping that momentum will take us into the ODI series. I thought we played an outstanding game of cricket. It was vital for us to start well, it doesn’t guarantee us any success in the ODIs but it was a good start.”A couple of hours after completing their victory, at close to midnight, with only the cleaners, security and night owls of the media left at the ground, the full South African squad strode out to the middle of the Eden Park pitch and produced a loud rendition of their team song. De Villiers admitted it felt “a bit weird” after a one-off match but said it was important to maintain traditions.”We were hoping no one would be there,” he said with a hint of a smile. “We normally go out quite late, but it’s just a tradition after every series win. You have to appreciate the good times.”He insisted, though, that there was no extra feeling because of what had happened the last time South Africa played at Eden Park in the World Cup semi-final.”It will never disappear that we lost the semi-final, but all you can focus on is the now. That game has been played about a 1000 times on TV over the last few days, so I’ve been reliving those emotions quite a bit, but it’s all good memories really. We’ve got through all the pain and heartache. When I’ve watched the game over the last few days I just saw good things.”And with that, the next global tournament draws ever nearer.