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Mumbai will be without Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur for the quarter-finals because of the ongoing Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2018Mumbai have received a shot in the arm ahead of the knockouts of the Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s domestic one-day competition – after Rohit Sharma made himself available for his home side. Mumbai will play their quarter-final next week and Rohit will play for Mumbai until they are alive in the tournament or until he has to join the India ODI squad to face West Indies.Rohit was “very keen” to play for Mumbai last week itself against Maharashtra, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, but they decided to play him in the quarter-finals as Mumbai had already qualified for the knockouts then. Rohit last played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in the 2016-17 season, with scores of 16 against Andhra and 4 against Goa. Those were Mumbai’s last two league games that season and they won both but could not make it to the knockouts.This season, they stormed into the knockouts with an unbeaten run in Group A, registering six wins from as many completed matches. They were boosted with the presence of three internationals in their batting line-up – Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw – even before Rohit joined them. The three batsmen have been among the top four run-scorers for Mumbai, with Rahane scoring 230 runs from three innings, Iyer smashing two centuries in his tally of 311 runs from four innings and Shaw accumulating 287 runs in three innings. While Rahane averaged the highest among them, his strike rate (83.03) was much lower compared to Iyer’s 114.76 and Shaw’s 143.50.Rahane led the side initially, before Iyer took over when Rahane left for the West Indies Tests and Dhawal Kulkarni led them when Iyer played the two-day warm-up before the Test series. Iyer is going to lead them again in the knockouts, despite the presence of Rohit, who led India’s ODI side in the victorious Asia Cup campaign.The quarter-finals begin on October 14, making them clash with the second Test against West Indies, leaving Mumbai without Rahane, Shaw and Shardul Thakur again.

CoA receptive to team management’s request for rest, but reportedly unhappy with overseas Test results and Shastri’s comments

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Nov-2018The IPL could be advanced by a couple of weeks and is likely to start on March 23 to accommodate the Indian team management’s request to allow their fast bowlers adequate rest before the World Cup starts on May 30.India captain and coach Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri are believed to have laid out the need for at least a two-week rest period for their fast bowlers during meetings last month with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the board’s senior management team. They are also believed to have asked whether key players, including senior fast bowlers, could be rested from the IPL and adequately compensated if so.These meetings, held in New Delhi and Hyderabad, were also attended by Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, vice-captains of the ODI and Test sides respectively, and selection committee chairman MSK Prasad.The IPL management, headed by chief operating officer Hemang Amin, is understood to have told the CoA that the Indian team management’s request would need the consent of the franchises, which could be hard to come by. In turn, this may have forced the BCCI into considering an early start.During these meetings, ESPNcricinfo understands that the two-member CoA, comprising Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, also made it clear to Kohli and Shastri that while India remain the No. 1 Test side, they have been “found wanting” in South Africa and England.The CoA is understood to be displeased about some of the grievances put forth by the team management pertaining to inadequate facilities at the team hotel and players’ partners not travelling with the side. The CoA also apparently didn’t take too kindly Shastri’s comments about India being the best travelling team. The CoA is understood to have told Shastri that even if India is one of the best teams going around, people should be allowed to judge for themselves.The BCCI is also exploring the feasibility of hosting IPL 2019 in India, but can only take a final call on this once the dates of the country’s seven-phase general elections are announced by the Central Election Commission. A team has already carried out a recce in South Africa, should the IPL need a plan B. It is likely that a clearer picture will emerge ahead of the player auction in Jaipur on December 18.

The BCCI doesn’t want the fast bowler overworked and has hence put a condition on his participation in Bengal’s next Ranji Trophy match

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Nov-2018To ensure that Mohammed Shami arrives fit and not overworked for the Test series in Australia, the BCCI has put a condition on him turning up for Bengal next week for their Ranji Trophy match against Kerala. The BCCI cleared Shami, India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests so far this year, to play the match at Eden Gardens from November 20, subject to him bowling not more than 15-17 overs in an innings.The BCCI was responding to the request from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on whether Shami could play in the Kerala match since he was available. Shami had turned up in the Bengal dressing room this week during their match against Madhya Pradesh. Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary was pleasantly surprised to see the fast bowler and checked about his availability. “I asked him if you are here anyways, why don’t you play [the next round of Ranji],” Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo.Shami was eventually picked in the 16-man squad for what will be Bengal’s second Ranji game this season. According to Tiwary, Shami responded positively and said he was “eager” to play as long as the BCCI gave him the permission. At the selection meeting on Friday, also attended by former India opener Arun Lal (Bengal mentor), Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule and CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya, Tiwary was informed about the BCCI making it mandatory to maintain Shami’s workload.The BCCI informed CAB that Shami should ideally bowl not more than 15 overs per innings and a few additional ones if need be. The BCCI physio would also need to be sent a daily chart of Shami’s workload after each day’s play.Although Lal understood BCCI’s concern of ensuring the senior bowler would not be overused, he pointed out that Shami playing the Ranji match would only be beneficial for both him and India. “I am glad that he is playing,” Lal said. “But if you want to prepare for a Test series, what better than match practice.”The BCCI’s concern is based on Shami’s recent fitness issues. He was hampered by a knee injury during the IPL, which played a role in him not regaining fitness for the one-off home Test against Afghanistan. However, Shami returned strong and was relentless during the five-Test series in England, followed by the first Test at home against West Indies. He also played the first two ODIs against West Indies last month.Shami was picked as part of of the Indian Test squad for the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy that gets underway in Adelaide from December 6. Shami has been an integral part of the Indian fast-bowling unit, which played an impressive role on the tours of South Africa and England. So far this year, Shami has 33 wickets in nine Tests, at an average of 27.60, including a five-for in the final innings of the Johannesburg Test that India won in January.

Nine overseas players have opted for the maximum base price of 2 crore, with none of the Indians choosing that category

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2018The IPL franchises have finalised a list of 346 players who will be part of the pool for the auction on December 18 in Jaipur. Originally 1003 players had submitted their names for the auction, but the list was pruned down after the eight franchises submitted their shortlists of players.There are 226 Indian players in the list, but none of them have set the maximum base price of INR 2 crore. Nine overseas players though, slotted themselves in at INR 2 crore. Among Indians, Jaydev Unadkat’s base price of INR 1.5 crore was the highest.The nine players who have set their base price at INR 2 crore are: Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Marsh, Sam Curran, Colin Ingram, Corey Anderson, Angelo Mathews and D’Arcy Short.Among other prominent players who will figure in this auction, Yuvraj Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel have set their base prices at INR 1 crore, while Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales are in the INR 1.5 crore bracket.Ishant Sharma will invite bids from INR 75 lakh onwards.A maximum of only 70 players can be bought by the eight franchises, with only 20 slots available for overseas players.The auction will have a set of internationally capped players going under the hammer first, filtered by specialist categories, followed by uncapped players. Among Indian uncapped players, those likely to attract attention could be Tamil Nadu mystery spinner Varun Chakravathi, and Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube.The IPL also added 20 additional players to the pool that franchises had requested for. These include Aaron Hardie, the Perth fast bowler who claimed Virat Kohli’s wicket in India’s warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI before their ongoing Test series against Australia. Also part of this list is Alex Carey, who kept wicket for Australia in their three-T20I series against India that preceded the Tests, and Ajay Rohera, the 21-year old Madhya Pradesh batsman who set a world record with the highest score on first-class debut, when he made 267 not out against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy last week.An uncapped England player to keep an eye on is the Worcestershire seamer Pat Brown, only 20 but a rising star of the shortest format after his side’s remarkable victory in this year’s Vitality Blast. He finished his breakthrough season with 31 wickets, the second-best haul in the competition’s history, and showed huge composure on Finals Day with a nerveless diet of knuckle balls and quicker deliveries.Other Englishmen of note include Laurie Evans, who on Tuesday signed a contract extension with Sussex after amassing 614 runs in this year’s Blast – the most by any player – and Somerset’s Jamie Overton, who bowls quicker than his twin Craig who debuted for England in last year’s Ashes, and who was in contention for England selection this winter after a successful return from injury.

Pat Cummins strikes with the final ball of the day to leave Sri Lanka with a lot of work to do to save the game

The Report by Daniel Brettig25-Jan-2019If it did not quite turn out to be the breakthrough batting day Australia had been yearning for all summer, the hosts were still able to savour their highest partnership and individual scores of the summer courtesy Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to leave supremacy in the first Test against Sri Lanka firmly in the hands of Tim Paine’s team.Neither Head nor Labuschagne had looked immediately comfortable in the wake of a pair of early wickets, but ground their way through the difficult period to score more rapidly and ultimately put on 166 for the fifth wicket. Both were dismissed within sight of centuries, and by innings’ end Australia’s batsmen had completed 113 individual innings since Usman Khawaja notched their last Test hundred, in Dubai as far back as October.The ball swung deviously for Suranga Lakmal in the final session, helping Sri Lanka’s senior paceman to swerve past Head and then draw an edge from captain Paine first ball. Debutant Kurtis Patterson showed off his languid, fluid style in making 30, and Mitchell Starc struck a handful of uncomplicated blows before Australia were dismissed with six overs remaining for the night, a tantalising period for the pacemen that Pat Cummins took advantage of by finding Dimuth Karunaratne’s outside edge with the very last ball.Nevertheless, Head and Labuschagne put Australia in a position to dictate terms in the match, having bowled the Sri Lankans out for a meagre 144 on day one after Dinesh Chandimal had won the toss and chosen to bat first. Following a year of tribulation for Australian cricket, the home side are looking for progress in their final Test series before preparing to defend the Ashes in England later in 2019.ALSO READ: Drafting Patterson in showed ‘common sense’, says CA chiefLabuschagne, having appeared in full control, was crestfallen to have spooned a simple chance to short midwicket from the bowling of Dhananjaya de Silva shortly before the new ball was due. Head was similarly frustrated to be lbw when he could not get his planted front foot out of the way of Lakmal’s inswing.After surviving 25 overs on the first innings to get as far as 40, Marcus Harris appeared to have set himself up for the long innings his talent has so far suggested is well within his capabilities at Test level. However, uncertainty in handling shortish balls wide of the off stump was to catch-up with Harris, when in the very first over of the day he followed up an attractive cover drive by hesitating on a cut shot at Lahiru Kumara to send a simple catch to point.At the other end, nightwatchman Nathan Lyon was worked over by Lakmal, ultimately succumbing to a length ball moving subtly away to catch the edge and fly low to Kusal Mendis in the slips. Lyon did not hesitate to walk upon seeing the catch, but the third umpire was required to adjudicate to confirm that it had carried.Suranga Lakmal picked up five wickets•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Head walked to the middle with a history of looking uncomfortable against the short ball during the India series, and Lakmal’s first delivery to him was appropriately directed. Head ducked out of the way very late, before the ball continued to climb for four byes. Labuschagne looked similarly ill at ease during his early minutes at the crease, as the visitors tightened the scoreboard in search of a way through to Patterson.However, the pressure imposed was gradually shaken off by Head and Labuschagne, as they crept up towards the Sri Lankan total. Head found gaps through gully and cover, while Labuschagne worked the ball around effectively even though he was occasionally made to look uncomfortable by Dilruwan Perera. A Labuschagne sweep to the boundary raised the 50 partnership – the first of the Test – before Head clipped Lakmal fluently through midwicket to take the Australians into a first-innings lead.To wrestle their way back into the contest, Sri Lanka needed a wicket soon after play resumed, and in the first over of the post-tea session, they should have had it. Lakmal squared up Head with his third ball, coaxing an edge from around the wicket that flew at an eminently catchable height. But Niroshan Dickwella’s weight transfer right at the point of delivery, following the ball’s angle in rather than the edge away, took his balance in the wrong direction, and his late, correcting dive saw the chance go to ground.This reprieve allowed Head and Labuschagne to re-set, which they did with a growing measure of control and confidence though still scoring at a relatively sedate pace. Head was able to drive, cut and pull boundaries, while Labuschagne cut firmly forward of point to raise his first half-century in Tests.Chandimal rotated his bowlers regularly but as the pitch became more docile for seam and spin and very little reverse swing was available, it became simply a case of Head and Labuschagne maintaining their concentration. Given how often the Australians had struggled in this respect during the India Test series, it was a welcome sight for the national team coach Justin Langer to witness how efficiently they did so.With Sri Lanka burning their final review to a highly optimistic lbw shout, a century appeared to beckon for Labuschagne, only for him to lose concentration. Head was able to keep his composure, however, until Lakmal’s movement found a way through. When Paine was well held by Mendis the very next ball, a rapid change of innings was in the offing, but Patterson offered plenty of promise while 51 runs were added for the final three wickets.Sri Lanka were left with the job ahead of them, and it was to be made still more vexing when Karunaratne nibbled at Cummins’ final ball, well pitched from around the wicket, to deliver an edge to an exultant Paine behind the stumps.

Play is scheduled to begin half an hour early on day two, but the forecast remains grim

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Wellington08-Mar-2019Heavy rain washed out all of the first day’s play in Wellington. The umpires called off play at 3:09 pm local time – roughly half an hour before the scheduled tea break. None of the players from either side turned up at the ground, though a few members of the backroom staff, including Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes, did. Play will begin half an hour early on day two, at 10.30 am.The forecast, however, remains gloomy, with rain predicted at least until mid-day on Saturday, after which the chances of showers abate slightly. The rest of the Test match, which carries on until Tuesday, is also likely to be hampered by rain breaks.One bit of good news is the drainage situation at Basin Reserve. Although there was heavy rain, the water seemed to seep out of the outfield quite easily, with only a slight residue of rainwater left on the surface.New Zealand are sitting on a 1-0 lead in the series, having blown Bangladesh away by an innings and 52 runs in Hamilton. The visitors had some good performances with the bat, but their rookie pace attack was outclassed by New Zealand’s experienced trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.Bangladesh lost their last Test in Wellington two years ago despite posting a first-innings total of 595, with Shakib Al Hasan scoring 217 and Mushfiqur Rahim 159.

“It’s one of the downsides of maybe having athletes who are a bit older. But we’re okay with that,” he said after Chennai Super Kings’ 37-run defeat

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai04-Apr-2019Picking players a bit long in the tooth has made trolls label Chennai Super Kings as the “dad’s army” and “Chennai Senior Kings” since last year, but in IPL 2019, it has also played a part in their sloppy performance as a ground-fielding unit, admitted head coach Stephen Fleming.Fleming’s appraisal of “athletes who are a bit older” – over 30 – came in the wake of the defending champions’ 37-run loss to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, where eight misfields and a dropped catch played an indisputable part in the hosts posting a competitive 170 for 5.”We’re never going to be great [as a fielding group]; we know that,” Fleming said. “We can see that. It’s one of the downsides of maybe having athletes who are a bit older. But we’re okay with that.”Usually our catching has been very good that we’ve worked on. Today, what I was disappointed with was a couple of things that we measure off the ball. I thought we were a little bit placid with the movement around the field. We have to be at our best. We’ll address that. It’s often a barometer to pressure.”By the end of the opening week, Super Kings had topped the charts for being the most efficient team at holding on to their catches. However, their ground-fielding record has not been that bright.On Wednesday, their fielders cost the team 13 Luck Runs that helped Mumbai’s cause. The beneficiaries? Suryakumar Yadav with six such runs, Krunal Pandya with five and Yuvraj Singh and Pollard, when the latter was dropped off a free-hit, with one each.”We’ve just not been completely tuned into what’s needed to be done,” Fleming said. “We have to be at our absolute best if we have to compete in the field because we have limitations, but up until now we’ve been pretty good. For the majority of this innings we were good; we just made some clumsy errors, which we can tidy up. But we’re not going to be one of the best fielding sides in the competition.”Another concern Super Kings have grappled this season is their choice of death-bowling personnel. On Wednesday, the quick-bowling trio of Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo conceded 67 runs in the last four overs. In a momentum-changing phase of play, the last two overs, bowled by Thakur and Bravo, yielded 45 for Mumbai.Super Kings, however, don’t have too many options to choose from. With pacers David Willey pulling out of the tournament due to personal reasons and Lungi Ngidi grounded by injury, New Zealand’s Scott Kugeleijn landed in Chennai on Wednesday as Nigidi’s replacement.Asked whether the Super Kings think tank is open to considering using the pace-bowling services of batting allrounder Shane Watson, Fleming promptly ruled out the possibility: “Watson hasn’t bowled for quite a while,” he said. “He hasn’t bowled in the Big Bash League through. He’s pretty much playing for us as a specialist batsman. His body is such that it would be a risk to bowl him.”We think he’s valuable at the top. He was the top run-scorer in Pakistan [Super League]. I think he bowled only one over because he had to. So he hasn’t bowled for some time. And we don’t want to risk him through this tournament, especially when we’ve got six good bowling options anyway.”Ahead of Wednesday’s clash, it seemed likely that a relatively straightforward change to the starting XI would be the re-inclusion of offspinner Harbhajan Singh Mumbai given the number of left-hand batsmen in Mumbai’s roster. While Super Kings dropped left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and fielded only three overseas players, Harbhajan’s omission stood out as somewhat ill-reasoned.”We are really happy with what we have done [in picking the playing XI],” Fleming said, in response to whether picking Harbhajan in the XI would have been a wise move. “But there are tactics we’re using against oppositions and we have won three out of four [matches]. We’ve been pretty much spot on.”And today, we were spot on as well [in picking an extra pace bowler]. The spinners have had a small impact, but Imran Tahir was very good. I think it was a seam-based day today. Harbhajan is bowling beautifully. You would expect him to get back in conditions that suit [him], he’ll be a key force. So we’re very happy with the role he’s playing.”

The innings eclipsed KL Rahul’s century for Kings XI Punjab, and single-handedly dragged the hosts to victory when they needed 133 off their last 10 overs

The Report by Sruthi Ravindranath10-Apr-2019Kieron Pollard’s 83 off 31 balls eclipsed Chris Gayle’s storming 63 and KL Rahul’s unbeaten century, as Mumbai Indians’ stand-in captain single-handedly took on a chase of 198 and led his side to a three-wicket win at the Wankhede stadium. Mumbai needed 133 to win off their last ten overs – a feat no IPL team had achieved before – and they sneaked home in a nail-biting finish.In the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was rested as a precautionary measure after he suffered a muscle spasm in his right leg yesterday, Pollard took control and promoted himself to No. 4. He tore into the Kings XI bowling, especially the left-arm seam of Sam Curran, who went for 54 runs in his four overs, 17 of them coming off the penultimate over.With 15 required off the last over, Pollard smashed a six and a four off Ankit Rajpoot before miscuing a pull to David Miller at deep midwicket. The equation was now four off four balls, and Alzarri Joseph and Rahul Chahar hauled the hosts over the line with their frenetic running between the wickets.Quick, slow, quickHaving opted to bowl, Mumbai could not keep the opening pair of Gayle and Rahul quiet beyond the fourth over. Having made just 20 off the first four overs, Gayle and Rahul took turns to punish the bowlers in the next five overs, belting them for 66 runs. Kings XI’s score after the first half of their innings was an imposing 93 without loss.Gayle did most of the damage, taking 22 off Jason Behrendorff in the fifth over and 14 off Hardik in the ninth. He brought up a 31-ball fifty in the 11th over, swatting Krunal over long-on for the sixth six of his innings. Rahul, not taking too many risks, brought up a fifty of his own, two overs later, off 40 balls.The dismissal of Gayle in the 13th over came at the start of what eventually proved a fatal slowdown for Kings XI. Only 30 runs came in the five overs from the 13th to the 17th, and at the end of that spell Rahul was batting on 64 off 52.Sam Curran brought some urgency into the innings with successive fours off Jasprit Bumrah in the 18th over, and Rahul took the baton upon his dismissal, scoring 36 off the last 12 balls of his innings, including hitting Hardik Pandya for 6, 6, 4, 6 in a 25-run 19th over. Even so, his 63-ball ton was the joint fifth-slowest in IPL history.Mumbai’s early stutterThe Kings XI bowling unit, especially Mohammed Shami, stifled Mumbai’s top order in the first half of the innings. Debutant Siddhesh Lad, who scored his first IPL runs with a six and a four off Rajpoot, fell to a full one from Shami in the fourth over. Shami had cramped him for room with his first three deliveries, and then knocked back his leg stump when he tried to walk across his stumps to manufacture a shot.Just when Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton de Kock were pulling things back, Curran halted Mumbai’s progress by snaffling out Yadav in the eighth over. Ashwin had de Kock caught in the deep in the next over, for 24. That would remain the second-highest score of the innings.Captain Pollard to the rescuePollard continued from where he’d left against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week. Mumbai were 58 for 2 after 8 overs, and with the chase running out of steam, the onus was on Pollard to play a blinder. And he did exactly that. He changed the course of the game in the 12th over, punishing Curran for 18 runs. Off the last ball of the over, however, Curran effected a brilliant run-out to send back the non-striker Ishan Kishan. With that, Hardik Pandya joined Pollard, but even he couldn’t do much, scoring 19 off 11 before spooning Mohammed Shami to long-on. Krunal Pandya departed in the same over, and Pollard was now truly on his own.Still, he kept his cool, and sent powerful hits to all parts of the ground – he hit ten sixes in all. He went after Curran in particular, making use of the ample room he provided, and smoked him for 47 off 15 balls.

Gloucestershire end Somerset’s perfect one-day season record with four-wicket victory

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2019Gloucestershire ended Somerset’s 100 per cent Royal London One-Day Cup record with a four-wicket win in a low-scoring contest at Bristol.The visitors posted 242 for 9 from their 50 overs after winning the toss, with Lewis Gregory their only batsman to look comfortable on the slow pitch, making 52 off 33 balls, while Benny Howell claimed 3 for 45 from his ten overs.In reply, Gloucestershire made 246 for 6, winning with four balls to spare. Graeme van Buuren top-scored with 61, while Miles Hammond made 48 and Jack Taylor 43 not out.The result left the hosts with six points from five matches and Somerset eight from the same number of games.The first ten overs of Somerset’s innings brought just 32 runs for the loss of Tom Banton, bowled by a David Payne yorker for 11. It was 38 for 2 when Peter Trego fell lbw attempting to sweep left-arm spinner van Buuren.James Hildreth chipped a catch to mid-wicket off Ryan Higgins with the total on 51 and Azhar Ali had failed to hit a single boundary when bowled trying to cut loose with a reverse sweep off Tom Smith for 43.Somerset managed only two fours off the bat in the first 30 overs, which ended with them 105 for 4. Skipper Tom Abell and George Bartlett added 55 before the latter was run out for 29 by Higgins attempting a second run to deep point.Gregory announced his intentions with a six over long-on off Payne, but Somerset still needed an injection of quick runs when Abell was caught at backward-point off Smith for 42. Gregory hit sixes off successive balls from Higgins, before Roelof van der Merwe was caught at third-man off Howell for 16.Gregory’s impressive contribution was ended by a catch at mid-off, giving Howell his second wicket. Craig Overton was unbeaten on 25.Gloucestershire’s reply was off to a bad start when, in the first over, skipper Chris Dent was run out at the non-striker’s end by bowler Overton, sent back attempting a quick single.Soon Gloucestershire were finding it equally difficult to score quickly as they crawled to 26 for 1 from ten overs. When Gregory struck with successive deliveries in the 14th over, having Gareth Roderick caught behind for 25 and Howell caught at point for a first-ball duck, the outcome was in the balance.After 25 overs, Gloucestershire were 86 for 3. Then James Bracey, on 21, attempted to launch Josh Davey over the leg-side and fell to a well-judged catch by van der Merwe.Miles Hammond played sensibly for his 48 off 83 balls when brilliantly caught by Azhar at mid-wicket off Tim Groenewald and Gloucestershire were in trouble at 114 for 5 in the 31st over.Somerset’s bowlers were backed up by some inspired fielding. With 15 overs to go, Gloucestershire needed a further 115 at seven and half an over. Their hopes rested largely with van Buuren and Taylor, who both hit sixes off Davey to boost the run-rate. Neither looked troubled as van Buuren moved to a fine half-century off 52 balls before miscuing Overton to Azhar at mid-off.The pair had added 83 in 14 overs. Higgins blasted Groenewald over long-on for six as the 46th over went for 17. Another massive six by Higgins off the same bowler two overs later sealed Somerset’s fate, Groenewald losing his line and length to prove expensive.

Only 22 overs possible as Warwickshire look to stretch their lead over the champions

Jon Culley at Edgbaston29-May-2019Struggling Warwickshire’s hopes of putting themselves in an impregnable position against champions Surrey were badly hampered by persistent drizzly rain at Edgbaston, which limited play to just the first 22 of 104 scheduled overs.In that 90-minute passage, having been 26 without loss overnight, Warwickshire moved on to 44 before Gareth Batty, one of the two veteran offspinners having an influence on this game, struck with his first delivery of the morning.The Yorkshireman, who will be 42 in October, trapped Dominic Sibley in the crease and claimed a second victim three overs later, when Rob Yates was also adjudged to be out leg before, although he seemed a little unfortunate, having put in a decent stride down the pitch.Will Rhodes, who survived a difficult caught-and-bowled chance to Matt Dunn on 17, doubled his tally while adding a further 26 with Sam Hain.The forecast is much better for day four, yet unless Surrey can bowl the home side out and earn themselves a run chase it is difficult to see any result other than a draw.Warwickshire, having been beaten in all three matches so far and with only 15 bonus points accrued, will not want to risk another defeat after outplaying the visitors to this point.Surrey, on the other hand, having drawn all their matches, need a win to give their title defence some impetus, with already much ground to make up on leaders Hampshire.Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel has been pleased with a collective improvement in his team’s performance in this match so far, although it is likely that Michael Burgess, the wicketkeeper-batsman signed from Sussex, initially on a loan that starts on June 1, will be included at someone’s expense against Nottinghamshire next week, starting on Monday.Given that Nottinghamshire are winless in four matches, it is a fixture that might yet determine who occupies the one relegation place at the end of September.Former captain Ian Bell, however, is still several weeks away from a return after surgery on the toe injury he suffered playing in the Pakistan Super League.