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The PCB has provisionally suspended Mohammad Irfan from all forms of the game for allegedly failing to report an approach. The 34-year-old fast bowler was sanctioned on Monday as the board’s investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League gathered steam.ESPNcricinfo understands that Irfan broke the PCB’s anti-corruption code twice and that the latest incident happened at the PSL in February. He had been pulled up for questioning during the tournament but was allowed to keep playing for his team Islamabad United. Last week, however, the PCB summoned Irfan to appear before the anti-corruption committee again. He was one of two players called before the committee, the other being Karachi Kings batsman Shahzaib Hasan.”The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in furtherance to its investigation issued a Notice of Charge and provisionally suspended Irfan under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code,” a press release from the board said. “Irfan has been charged with two violations of Code Article 2.4.4 and now has 14 days to respond to the Notice of Charge. He has also been provisionally suspended with immediate effect from participating in all forms of cricket.”The article that Irfan was found in breach of dealt with “failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the Participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under this Anti-Corruption Code”.Irfan is the fourth player to be suspended in relation to this case. Batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were charged in February but since they were contesting some of the charges an independent tribunal has been set up to look into their case. The former Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed was suspended and arrested in the UK as part of the same investigation, later being let out on bail.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said that the board is in talks with former India spinner Sunil Joshi for a role as the Bangladesh team’s spin consultant for their series against Sri Lanka next month. On Sunday, BCB’s operations committee chairman, said Joshi would join the team for the Sri Lanka series, and former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes is also in the mix for the series as fielding consultant.*”At least for now, we are getting Joshi for the Sri Lanka series,” Akram said. “We have held talks with him. We will decide whether to keep him for a longer period after seeing his work. Jonty [Rhodes] is also nearly confirmed.”Joshi, who played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for India between 1996 and 2001, is currently coach of the Assam side in India’s domestic circuit and also had a stint as Oman’s spin-bowling coach during the 2016 World T20.*09.25GMT, February 12: This article was updated after Akram Khan spoke.

Contrary to the usual convention of bringing in a lot more youth for T20 matches, India have gone back to veterans like Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Amit Mishra for the three Twenty20 internationals against England.Dhoni’s inclusion is perhaps to groom and ease in a young wicketkeeper, such as the uncapped Rishabh Pant. Others like Yuvraj, Raina and Mishra will be under pressure to perform to keep their own places.Yuvraj struck a century in the second ODI last week, and Mishra has been in and around the mix – he played two home Tests against England and took 18 wickets in five ODIs against New Zealand. Raina, though, hasn’t had much cricket coming into the tournament. He last played for India in March 2016; he was left out after being originally included in India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series because of an “illness”. He also missed a majority of Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy campaign.That means he will have to hit the ground running straightaway, should he be picked in the XI. Virat Kohli believes Raina will have a lot to offer this team. “We still believe that he has enough to contribute in the short formats for India,” Kohli said. “Again, this series will be an opportunity for a lot of guys to get back into the groove or seal their spots or whatever you want to call it. The reason why everyone is included in the squad is because we believe in them, we have faith in them; they can contribute now and in the future as well.”At the end of the day it’s up to the individual after that, how well prepared he is or how eagerly he is waiting for the opportunity. From the management and the selectors’ point of view, they can only do so much in showing faith and getting a guy into the squad and it’s up to the individual. It’s about striking the right balance and hopefully he does get back into his groove because I feel he certainly has a lot to offer for Indian cricket, especially in the shorter formats and he can start with this series onwards, there’s no problem with that.”Yuzvendra Chahal has proved himself to be a handy T20 bowler over the last three IPL seasons•BCCI

Mishra’s inclusion also occurred only because frontline spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were rested ahead of five more home Tests – one against Bangladesh and four against Australia. He was picked as a replacement along with Parvez Rasool, with Yuzvendra Chahal already in the squad.Mishra has played only one T20I since the 2014 World T20 and would be eager to stamp his mark during the series, knowing the other spinners will be breathing down his neck, especially with Rasool’s added batting skills.”The guys who are coming in have done well in IPL and in domestic T20,” Kohli said. “They are pretty consistent; the areas that they are bowling are pretty good. Chahal, obviously, everyone has seen his performances. Rasool played under me at Royal Challengers Bangalore. So I have seen the way he bowls. He is pretty confident and can bowl with the new ball against some of the attacking batsmen of the world.”These two guys are smart. They know how to create pressure and bowl to get you wickets. I am pretty confident about both of them and am sure they will extend it to this level as well. This is a breakthrough series for both them. They have not played a big series yet. This might be the perfect opportunity for them to seal their spots as T20 specialist spinners.”Since India do not play three-match T20 series frequently, except before a World T20, the selectors opted for youth in Pant and others like Mandeep Singh, given the series does not have as much context as the ODIs did because of the upcoming Champions Trophy. That meant there could be more experimentation in the T20 series and more chances could be given to youngsters, than just sticking with the old horses.”The squad has been selected like that,” Kohli said. “We’ve got in quite a few youngsters now who we want to groom with the senior guys in the team. Eventually the idea is to groom them enough to give them confidence from hereon and then maybe push them to the ODIs and then give more confidence and then from thereon have that gradual progress to get them to the highest level which is Test cricket.”But it’s very important to back them enough in T20 cricket, get some confidence behind you and then extend your career graph as I said. The vision has to be that, you have to understand that even me or anyone can’t play forever so you need to understand who are the guys who are going to slowly blend in and take Indian cricket forward. That has to be kept in mind all the time.”India are carrying plenty of batting reserves with KL Rahul, Pant and Mandeep Singh as openers, and Raina and Manish Pandey for the middle-order spots along with Dhoni and Yuvraj. Kohli, without divulging any plans about the XI for Thursday’s match, said it was “easy” to pick a line-up in the beginning of a series, compared to later when it would be tough to decide whether to drop a batsman or give him more chances.”The problem always arises when you don’t have consistency,” Kohli said. “But in the first game it’s not much of an issue because you already have a set batting line-up that you want to start with. If there are consistency issues with a particular batting place or position, then it becomes difficult if you want to replace the guy or if you want to give him a couple of more goes. I think starting the first game is never an issue, you have a set XI in your head and you go ahead.”

Preston Mommsen has said the dearth of fixtures in Scotland’s cricket calendar was a key factor in his retiring at the age of 29. The former captain also called for cricket administrators to create a more equitable schedule so that other players don’t end up walking away before their time too.”What was there on a day-to-day basis to keep me motivated and keep me driven to want to keep going in the game? I was spending far more time on the training pitch and the nets and the gym than I was in between the stumps. As a professional cricketer, that was very frustrating,” Mommsen told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. “As with any job in whatever line of work you’re in, you need to have that sort of carrot there that motivates you. You need to have that structure.”In the last 12 months, certainly, that’s not been there, and unfortunately, that has made my decision easier. I can’t see that pathway for me over the next 12-18 months that can keep me in and drive me forward.”Mommsen led Scotland at the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 in India, where they secured their first win at a major ICC tournament. However, Scotland have not played an ODI against a Full Member since March 2015 against Australia at the 2015 World Cup. Going further back, they had played only four ODIs with Full Members between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.”That we haven’t played, since the 2015 World Cup, a single Full Member ODI, that just makes me feel sick, really,” Mommsen said. “For us, going to the 2015 World Cup was a massive turning point in Scotland’s development and we performed respectably, and you would think that would be the platform for us to kick on and make use of that experience. But there’s not been the infrastructure that has allowed us to do that.”For me, at this age, at 27, 28, 29, when you’ve learnt your game far better than when you had done when you were 22 or 23, you want to be playing as much as possible to maximise all the skills that you have learnt. So that has obviously come into [the decision to retire], that I’m not able to capitalise on that at this time because of the lack of actually playing.”At a time when they were struggling for matches, Mommsen wanted Associate teams to play each other as often as possible and that this was more important than asking for a greater share of the ICC revenues.”Yes, I think it’s important that Associates are put up against Full Members, but I don’t think that’s the only cricket that they should be waiting to play,” he said. “I think it’s vital that they’re getting that number of days of cricket in the year so that they are able to experiment, try different things, grow as a team and as individuals so that every time they do come around to playing that Full Member, they are in a far better position.”Waiting every four years to play a Full Member is not the answer either, which is another one of my issues, what happens in between the World Cups. When you’re not being exposed to Full Members in between World Cups, and then you go to a World Cup and you’re expected to perform and you don’t, then it’s easy to point at the Associates and say, ‘You don’t belong here.'”Richie Berrington, Mommsen and Kyle Coetzer passed 1000 ODI runs earlier this year•Peter Della Penna

Earlier this summer, Mommsen scored his 1000th ODI run – one of only five Scotland batsmen to do so – and talked about wanting to become the first to reach 2000-mark for his country. But all the empty space in the calendar made him wonder if that was a realistic pursuit. His final match came against Hong Kong in September.From January next year, Mommsen will begin work as a buyer for Edinburgh-based property management firm Grant Property Investments. He chanced upon the job while searching for work experience to complement his Bachelor of Science degree in property development and valuation at Edinburgh Napier University.”Having all that vacant time has forced me to think about things, to gain different perspectives, and ultimately, I went exploring,” Mommsen said. “I met as many people as I could to try to get some work experience. That was my initial plan, to try and get some work experience while there was quite a bit of down time, I thought I might as well make use of that. I met the owner of a very good company, and as it happened, she got back to me and said there was an opening, and she thought I’d be great for the role.”Mommsen said the chance to represent Scotland was what he would miss the most about cricket, and hoped he would be remembered for his achievements on the field rather than the sudden nature of his retirement. He added he was at peace with his decision, and there was nothing that could make him reconsider.”From my experiences and being exposed to Associate cricket and Full Member cricket, I can see so much potential in the Associates and it just frustrates me that other people don’t see that as an opportunity for the game to grow,” Mommsen said. “I think it’s been pleasing that the responses I’ve had, 90% of them are regarding my efforts for Scotland on the pitch, off the pitch and as a leader, which is hugely satisfying.”I’m very grateful for those messages and it makes me very happy that people have recognised that I’ve given a huge amount to Scottish cricket, and I hope to do so in future from an off-the-field point of view. But, of course, people have also recognised the fact that I have spoken out, and me doing this is, I guess, a form of speaking out. But, hopefully, I will be remembered for what I did on the field when representing Scotland.”

“It was bloody really just pissing me off a little bit.”In between mouthfuls of one of the media’s post-play pies (which he nicked), Dean Elgar told us what he thought about reaching a sixth Test century, one match after squandering two good starts in the Port Elizabeth Test.The thing about Elgar is that he is hard on himself. In his 31st Test, he averages under 40 and he wants to change that. He wants to be more consistent as he continues to establish himself as South Africa’s senior opener and he has been consulting widely on how to do that.”I’ve tended to get a hundred early in the series and then I don’t get on – I get these stupid 20s and 30s and 40s, which are highly frustrating. I know that’s not my character,” Elgar said. “I had some chats with the Titans coach and some input from guys who aren’t in our squad.”Since returning home from Australia, where Elgar scored a century in Perth and then tapered off, he has chatted to Mark Boucher, who had the same bulldog in him as Elgar does, about how to do more than get one hundred a series. Boucher’s answer lay in simplifying his gameplan.”In the past I was going too hard at the ball. Hence I was sitting watching the game and not playing the game. It was part of that mental switch I had to go through. It was frustrating in previous series and games, which was bloody really just pissing me off a little bit.”So Elgar has gone back to being patient and letting the bowlers be his guide for when he can cash in. He is willing to see out the difficult periods, knowing that this attack have a tendency to try too hard early on and tire later.”We knew that if we get through the first hour, once that new ball becomes a little bit older, it’s going to give us a few more run-scoring opportunities. We feel that their bowlers maybe go searching more, especially in the early overs, and that gives you a few free hits and boundaries.”Although Elgar’s innings seemed to gain fluency as it went on, his second fifty actually took more balls (99) than his first (87). It was Quinton de Kock, not Elgar, who pushed the accelerator on South Africa’s effort late in the day but that’s one thing that does not bloody really just piss Elgar off.”Quinny is one of those freaks of world cricket. His nature of play is not going to change very much. He puts bowlers under a lot of pressure. They tend to think they’re on top of him but next thing you wipe your eyes and he’s got a fifty,” Elgar said.”I can’t compete with Quinny. He’s a world-beater. The minute I start trying to compete with him is when I’m going to fail, more times than not. He’s one of those guys who can really kill the opposition when he gets going.”

Match facts

Wednesday, 23 November
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)West Indies are currently ranked ninth, but are just one point behind Pakistan, which heightens the importance of a win against Sri Lanka•AFP

Big Picture

Despite West Indies’ big win in Harare, on paper, these are two well-matched teams with plenty to play for: the winner will be guaranteed their place in the tri-series final. The relative inexperience in both squads makes it hard to pick an out-and-out favourite, and conditions in Bulawayo should also be a leveller. West Indies’ tied game against Zimbabwe will at least have acclimatised them a little more to the pitch and conditions at Queens, as Sri Lanka’s first match was rained off.Sri Lanka also have some ground to make up against West Indies after their trouncing in Harare. Their middle order remains unproven, and if this series can be viewed as something of an audition for the upcoming tour of South Africa, there will be several young players hungry to state their case – particularly against the greater firepower of West Indies’ quicks.Youth and international inexperience are also in no short supply for West Indies at the moment. It is obviously very early days yet, but without a head coach, and with virtually all of West Indies’ established senior batsmen in the wilderness, young captain Jason Holder desperately needs his peers to gel into a new core for the side. Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite’s promising form will give him something to build and bank on, while Carlos Brathwaite’s bowling has been fairly effective in Zimbabwe.Both for this team and for the immediate future of West Indies cricket, every win is an important one in these circumstances. Though still ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, they are just one point behind Pakistan, and a strong show in their remaining games will put them within touching distance of Bangladesh at No. 7. Between now and September 30, 2017, the cut-off date for direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup, West Indies currently have 11 ODIs scheduled (not including the final of this tri-series), but eight of those matches are against a resurgent England ODI side, and five of those are in England. That’s a tough assignment for what could still be a fairly inexperienced squad, and so West Indies have a lot more than a place in Sunday’s final to play for tomorrow.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLLL
West Indies: TWLLL

In the spotlight

Shai Hope‘s good form will buoy West Indies, and make him a target for Sri Lanka, while Suranga Lakmal will have to be at his best behaviour after he was fined 50% of his match fee for aggressively throwing the ball towards Zimbabwe opener Chamu Chibhabha during Monday’s wash-out. Yet, the spotlight might be focussed on what is happening above Queens, rather than on the ground.All three teams will have an eye on the weather on Wednesday. If there is another wash-out, Zimbabwe will effectively be out of the running, needing a massive bonus-point win to draw level and increase their net run-rate. The threat of rain also makes the toss important – inclement weather is more likely in the afternoon, meaning there could be Duckworth-Lewis permutations while chasing. Finally, the drainage issues at Queens mean that even relatively modest rain could rule a match out entirely.There are two main areas of concern on the outfield, should it rain again – on the northern side of the ground, and also near the sight screen at the Airport End. Should there be any significant showers during this game, in the absence of a super sopper, drainage will be an issue, especially after the heavy rains of the last few days have saturated the soil.

Teams news

Sri Lanka’s XI barely got a look-in on Monday, and given that conditions are likely to be identical, there is no reason for Sri Lanka to fiddle with their line-up. The grip on this slow surface makes Dasun Shanaka a good pick.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dhananjaya de Silva, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Upul Tharanga (capt), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Jeffrey VandersayWith two wickets in his last five games, and none in this series, the form of Sulieman Benn will be a worry for West Indies. Aside from Ashley Nurse, the other spin option in their squad is Devendra Bishoo, and given his gritty performance in the Tests against Pakistan last month, this change makes sense. Another player they might want to give a game to is Jason Mohammed, the hard-hitting middle-order batsman, though West Indies may want to secure their place in the final before tinkering with their top-six.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (c), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Devendra Bishoo, 11 Shannon Gabriel.

Pitch and conditions

The heavy downpours on Monday morning were followed by sunny and dry weather in the afternoon as well as the following day. Yet, the rainfall patterns at this time of the year are difficult to predict, and though the forecast suggests that Wednesday should be sunny and dry, some sort of precipitation is out of the question. Weather aside, there should be some early movement for the seamers who will be aided by cloud cover, as well as what appears to be a shade more green grass that has been left on the track for Wednesday’s match. The track will probably still slow down to help the spinners later in the day.

Stats and trivia

• With 148 runs from two innings, Shai Hope is the leading run-scorer of the tri-series as well as the only century-maker.
• Shannon Gabriel, Carlos Brathwaite and Nuwan Kulasekara top the wickets table with five each, although Kulasekara has played one more (albeit truncated) game than the two West Indians.
• West Indies have played six ODIs at Queens Sports Club, winning three.
• In eight ODIs against West Indies, Kulasekara has taken 12 wickets at 22.08.

Quotes

“We know we’re playing good cricket. We had a good win against Sri Lanka [in Harare]. These lads work very hard on their fitness, and we do a lot of fielding drills in the days leading up to these matches, and the combination of those two things is starting to pay dividends. We’re looking like a good fielding side, and at this level of the game, every run you stop is a run you don’t have to score.”

ScorecardFile photo – Clare Shillington gave Ireland Women a strong start with a 41-ball 48 after they were put in to bat•Getty Images

A dramatic collapse by South Africa Women in their chase of 116 meant that Ireland Women won the second T20I by 20 runs and leveled the two-match series in Dublin. It was also Ireland’s first-ever win over South Africa.South Africa stumbled from 77 for 4 to 95 all out, losing six wickets for 18 runs, all between overs 16 and 20. Trisha Chetty, the only batsman to score more than 20, top-scored with 28, in an innings in which the highest partnership was worth only 19 runs.Four South African batsmen, including Chetty, were run out as Ireland completed a win with three balls left in the match. Kim Garth picked up 2 for 12 in her four overs while every other Ireland bowler, except Amy Kenealy, picked up a wicket apiece.Ireland’s total of 115 for 7, after they were put in to bat, may have seemed below par at the halfway stage given how well their openers, Clare Shillington and Gaby Lewis, began the innings.The pair added 78 in 13 overs before Shillington fell for a 41-ball 48 that included six fours and a six. In the next over, medium-pacer Marcia Letsoalo struck twice in the space of five balls to dismiss Lewis and Jennifer Gray and Ireland slipped further when Isobel Joyce was run out for 1 in the 15th over.Garth and Shauna Kavanagh added 24 for the fifth wicket and took Ireland past the 100-run mark, but their dismissals in the last two overs limited the side’s chances of a few extra runs at the end.The two sides will square off in the first of four ODIs in Dublin on Friday.

ScorecardWill Bragg was satisfied with Glamorgan’s resistance•Getty Images

Only 19.3 overs were bowled on the third day at the SSE Swalec, because of rain and bad light, and when play was called off at 5.00pm Glamorgan had reached 149 for 2 – an overall lead of 118. With one day remaining, and Sussex hoping for a result that will challenge Essex at the top of Division 2, there is a possibility that the two captains Jacques Rudolph and Luke Wright, will agree on a target that Sussex could chase in the final innings.Rudolph and Will Bragg had resumed on 50 for 1, and after striking three boundaries off Steve Magoffin, the Glamorgan captain was three runs from only his third fifty of the season when the Australian seamer got his revenge by trapping Rudolph leg before.The second wicket pair had put on 67 for the second wicket, and when David Lloyd replaced Rudolph he was quickly off the mark with two boundaries off Jofra Archer. Magoffin, who had taken the two wickets, was Sussex’s most accurate bowler, and twice had confident lbw appeals turned down.With Will Bragg playing watchfully at the other end, Lloyd continued to attack, and when George Garton replaced Archer, the left arm seamer was twice driven to the extra cover boundary by Lloyd. The third wicket pair had put on 72, before the gloom descended and the umpires decided that the light was too bad for play to continue at 3.00pm.Bragg said that it had been a good Glamorgan day. “We came through tricky conditions that were ideal for seam bowling, and we had to be on our guard”.In terms of the captains coming to an agreement Bragg said: “We will have to see where we are after the first 45 minutes or so in the morning, and with neither team having anything to lose there may be a chat between the two captains”.Mark Davis, the Sussex coach, when asked about a possible arrangement between the two captains, said: “We haven’t looked into that yet, but we need to win games, especially after Essex’s performance against Leicestershire. We will see how things pan out in the morning, and take it from there.”

David Peever, the Cricket Australia chairman, has delivered a pointed message to nations opposing proposed changes to the structure of international cricket – tradition must not stand in the way of progress.Speaking at the official banquet to mark Australia’s series in Sri Lanka on Tuesday night, Peever stressed the importance of keeping the game relevant and balancing tradition with progress. Sri Lanka Cricket and its president Thilanga Sumathipala have been outspoken critics of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket and radical changes to the game’s financial model.”There is no better community of people than the cricket community. But I have to say I think in terms of responsibility and the place that cricket needs to hold globally today and tomorrow,” Peever said. “I do respect traditions but am conscious of not loving them at the expense of progress. Progress and tradition, in our view, need to have at least equal weighting.”Cricket is the people’s game. Without fans it would have little value or relevance. Fans provide the money for us to sustain the game, to invest in the pathways, to help us support the grass roots. We have to always be guided by what they want, but also continuing to stay ahead of the curve and keep the game relevant, in all parts of our society. We need to continue to be a sport of choice for all, men women, boys and girls and girls of all backgrounds all over the world.”Since replacing Wally Edwards as the CA chairman, Peever has kept a low profile, but his words at the dinner marked a statement of intent, even as he sat next to Sumathipala. The pair are expected to hold further talks over the next two days, with SLC’s opposition to ICC reforms likely to be a major topic for discussion. The ICC chairman Shashank Manohar is believed to desire any constitutional and structural change to be approved by unanimous vote.”Sri Lanka Cricket has decided not to support two-tier Test cricket as we have decided it’s detrimental to SLC and for its future,” Sumathipala said last month. “We feel that to make it a top seven – you are virtually relegating the bottom three to a different level.”Among other topics in a wide-ranging address, Peever pointed towards day-night Tests as a major reform, and thanked Australia’s cricketers for taking part in the inaugural pink ball match in Adelaide last year. At the same time he admitted the concept “needs some further refinement”.”In Australia recently we embarked on innovation in our last season and held our inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide,” he said. “We did this to encourage more fans to the game, both watching at home and attending the ground at times when it fits their lifestyle, to make the game more accessible to fans.”We do accept the concept needs some further refinement, and I want to thank the New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa players and their boards for helping us with this important reform. In particular I want to thank our Australian players for the way they have helped lead this change in putting the long term health of the game first. They’re leading change in a way that was similarly led back in the World Series Cricket era.”Peever also argued that international cricket had to be maintained as the game’s pinnacle, rather than allowing further erosion of contests between nations by domestic Twenty20 leagues. We’re very lucky in cricket that we have three viable formats of the game,” he said.”T20 cricket is enticing kids and families to become fans, and I want to take the opportunity to stress here the importance and primacy of international cricket to continue nourishing the game. Money is fundamental to our game, but it has to follow strategy and not the other way round.”

ScorecardMatt Coles’ spirited fightback was to no avail•Getty Images

Essex’s captain Ravi Bopara batted himself back into form in white-ball cricket with a 78-ball 74 to take Essex to the top of the southern group in the Royal London Cup.Essex reached their 286-run target with five balls to spare to remain unbeaten in this season’s 50-over competition.That Essex had a sufficiently challenging total to chase was largely down to Matt Coles and an eighth-wicket partnership of 140 in 14.2 overs with James Tredwell.Coles savaged the Essex attack, bludgeoning 91 off 52 balls with 10 fours and five sixes after Kent, put in, had looked in serious trouble at 135 for 7, but his efforts proved to be to no avail.Bopara had struggled with the bat, scoring just 49 runs in seven previous one-day innings this season.It was not a swashbuckling knock by any means, with just one four to his account when he reached his half-century, but he kept the Essex reply on track with quickly-run singles and twos in fifty-plus partnerships with Dan Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate.”I’d got out to run-outs a couple of times, so that’s two innings where I might have got a lot of runs, who knows?,” Bopara said. “Then you put yourself under pressure if you’re not scoring, so it’s nice to get a few today. It was good as well ahead of the T20 tomorrow where we’ve got to be positive and hit the ball hard.”We consider ourselves as a chasing side – our batting is a lot stronger than our bowling. When you’re chasing you’re always going to be under pressure, you’re looking at the scoreboard and it jumps up from seven to nine and a half an over, but the idea is never to panic. As long as you keep your wickets in hand you’ve always got a very, very good chance.”Coles was disappointed that his efforts did not secure victory. “I think we should have been able to defend that total,” he said. “We knew it was going to be tight. Cowdrey bowled very well for us, and so did Tredwell, and I thought we started very well. But we ended up giving away 23 extras and that’s not brilliant.”Kent had passed 50 without alarms but Essex’s bowling breakthroughs began when Matt Quinn switched to the Hayes Close End.Joe Denly was beaten by movement off the pitch and was bowled for 28. Daniel Bell-Drummond had been becalmed after an early onslaught and departed in the 18th over for 28 when he played on to Quinn. And Quinn had his third wicket in his next over when he nipped one back to send Sam Northeast’s middle-stump cartwheeling.Ashar Zaidi’s first ball of his second spell accounted for Fabian Cowdrey, who chased a wide ball down legside and was stumped after managing just four runs from 22 balls.Sam Billings had obviously not paid attention as four balls later he fell in similar fashion. Zaidi’s delivery was so wide of off-stump it barely pitched on the cut strip, Billings fell and lost his bat in trying to reach back into the crease. James Foster dived to remove the bails.When Zaidi did bowl straight, Darren Stevens twice sent the ball soaring over the Pearce Stand towards the River Can for sixes.Alex Blake was sixth man out when he looked for a quick single as he pushed Zaidi to Jesse Ryder at square leg, only to slip as he tried to get back. Stevens went next as he tried for a third six off Zaidi, but was well held on the midwicket boundary by Nick Browne. At 135 for 7, Kent were in deep trouble.But Coles and Tredwell turned the visitors’ innings around and added fifty in 7.1 overs, with Coles hitting both Ryan ten Doeschate and Ravi Bopara straight for six.Bopara was particularly savaged, going for 35 off two overs before Coles reached his own half-century off 40 balls when he drove Quinn through the covers for two.Coles brought up the century partnership in exactly 12 overs with an uppish sweep off Bopara for four and then hoisted his third straight six next ball.Ten Doeschate was hit for successive sixes – over mid-off and midwicket – followed by a four before Coles was bowled going for another heave to depart for 91.Tredwell had been the silent partner in the partnership and finished 47 not out off 42 balls with six fours.In reply, Essex lost Tom Westley in the fifth over when he got a leading edge to steer Stevens to Denly at mid-off before Browne and Ryder settled into a largely serene period.Browne punished Stevens with a lob over the infield for four followed immediately by a six to long leg. The fifty partnership came up in 9.2 overs with Ryder slamming a full-toss from Ivan Thomas through midwicket for four followed by another uppishly through the covers.Ryder reached his individual fifty from 61 balls with a single off Tredwell, but popped the next delivery he faced into Stevens’s hands at backward point. He had helped put on 82 in 17.2 overs for the second wicket. Browne went in Tredwell’s next over, victim of a smart stumping by Billings for 49 from 60 balls.Tredwell, though, was punished by 18-year-old Dan Lawrence, who hoisted two successive straight sixes as he and Bopara clocked up a fifty-run partnership in 9.3 overs. Lawrence eventually went on 35, caught at deep extra cover by a tumbling Thomas off Cowdrey to end a 64-run partnership.Bopara reached a painstaking 50 off 64 balls with a solitary, straight-driven off Cowdrey early on. There were ironic cheers when he hit his second boundary, driving Coles through midwicket to move from 52 to 56.The fifth-wicket had just put on a century in 12 overs when ten Doeschate, attempting to win the game with one hit, holed out to Cowdrey on the extra cover boundary for 45.