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Wicketkeeper injured after being struck during dismissal on first day in Antigua

George Dobell in Antigua01-Feb-2019England are hopeful that Ben Foakes will be fit to bat in the second innings, after an x-ray on his right hand revealed bruising but no fracture.Foakes, the England keeper, was hit on the hand while being dismissed by Shannon Gabriel on the first day in Antigua, as he attempted a hook that deflected onto the stumps off his glove and hip.He was subsequently unable to keep wicket when West Indies started their reply. Ahead of play on day two, the England camp announced he would not be keeping in at least the first session, either. Jonny Bairstow has taken the gloves in his place.While England are well-placed for reserve keepers – Bairstow had developed into a more than competent keeper before injury gave Foakes an opportunity at the start of the Test series in Sri Lanka – England will be relieved that Foakes’ injury is not more serious. He put on 85 for the seventh wicket with Moeen Ali on day one – easily the highest partnership of the innings – and topped the batting averages in the Test series in Sri Lanka.His break from the action may, however, have knock-on effects for the final Test of the series. With England struggling to balance their side despite the presence of several all-rounders, Foakes’ absence may provide Bairstow a chance to restake his claim to the wicketkeeper’s role. He has made no secret of his desire to reclaim the gloves and, in Barbados at least, England could have done with playing an extra seamer.

Jack Leach and Dom Bess claimed seven of the eight Lancashire wickets to fall as Somerset closed in on a victory that would take them out of the bottom two

Paul Edwards at Taunton14-Sep-20171:31

County Championship Round-up: Essex on the brink of glory

When, in due time, one receives that peremptory invitation to attend the Clogpoppers’ Ball, it will be a comfort to recall this day’s cricket at Taunton.Lancastrians will select their side’s resilience and the fifties made by Haseeb Hameed and Liam Livingstone as the most pleasing features of affairs; Somerset followers in the Marcus Trescothick Stand might bemoan the opposition’s scoring rate but salute their own spinners’ persistence and accuracy in taking them to the brink of their second successive victory.And so they should, m’dear. A glorious day ended with Jack Leach and Dom Bess bowling in tandem, just as they had done for most of three sessions. The pair bowled 85 overs to take seven wickets for 164 runs. They wore down Lancashire’s batsmen and at some stage around lunchtime on Friday they should receive their due reward with the sight of a Division One table showing Somerset out of the relegation positions. Lancashire’s chances of the title are with cricket’s undertakers but the survival hopes of Tom Abell’s team live and breathe.Yet there was even more to the day than food for partisans or points for tables. There was a richness to the cricket, an intensity of competition which was only augmented by September’s elegiac sunlight and the possibility that showers might halt our sport. The game unfolded on one of early autumn’s more blustery days when clouds raced across an unsettled sky and barged each other out of the way like shoppers at the January sales. Sunlight and shade flitted over the Blackdowns like skittish girls and there were rumours of heavy rain in Wales. Trains raced through the distant station and the man was a fool who wished himself aboard one of them.The first hour of the day belonged to Lancashire and in particular to their openers, Alex Davies and Hameed. Both batsmen played cautiously, their memories of the second day’s rapid collapse fresh in their minds. Davies was busier and bustled about the crease, as if reminding the bowlers that he knew what their little game was. But he was also the first to be dismissed when he attempted to drive Leach through wide mid-on but only gave a sharp return catch to the bowler off a thickish leading edge. He departed one short of his fifty, smacking his bat and doubtless offering a rich Darwen curse or two.Hameed was as watchful as ever, as if determined to reinforce his critics’ astringent judgements that he “pokes about” too much. Then, as classy players always will, he confounded that view by taking three boundaries off successive Bess overs: a late cut and drives through the covers off front and back foot. In the innocence-light of early morning the wind had tossed the field maples and alders in Vivary Park yet the breeze hardly ruffled Hameed, who on occasions has the air of a man who would rehearse letting the ball go even as the jaws of Armageddon snapped around him. A square drive off Craig Overton’s half-volley left him undefeated on 31 when an early lunch was taken, itself prompted by the morning’s second brief shower.For the first hour of the afternoon session Lancashire’s progress was untroubled. The pitch lost much of the life it had offered Leach and Bess on the previous afternoon and for the first time since lunch on the first day Somerset’s cricket lost a little of its fiery purpose. Hameed cut Tim Groenewald backward of square for four and reached his half-century off 151 balls with a cover-drive for two off Leach. That made it the quickest of his three first-class fifties this year, although rapidity is becoming a relative concept when applied to Hameed.But just when Bolton’s “Great Wall” seemed set on constructing his first century in over a year, Leach dismissed him for 62 when Hameed drove a catch straight to Abell at short cover. Some thought the ball had stopped but Somerset supporters were not about to concern themselves with the “filthily technical” as Mr Pickwick might have put it. What mattered was that Hameed was gone and the joy on Gimblett’s Hill was unbounded, although it may not compare with the euphoria in that sacred area once occupied by the Sydney Hill should Hameed be dismissed at the SCG in a few months’ time.More joy lay in wait for the locals. Steven Croft was leg before on the front foot for 5 when sweeping at Bess and the offspinner then took the even more valuable wicket of Shiv Chanderpaul who broke the habit of a career by letting the ball pass between bat and pad. At tea Lancashire were 175 for 4 and Somerset’s players enjoyed their fruit salad in the knowledge that a new ball was available.Overton made the best use of that ball when he had Dane Vilas caught behind for 14 and that dismissal heralded a fine session for Somerset as they finally broke Lancashire’s batsmen on the twin wheels of the spin and flight. The crucial wicket of Livingstone was taken by Leach, who had the mystified batsman caught behind when wicketkeeper Steve Davies and the close fielders were appealing to Billy Taylor for a stumping. But those dozy folk inclined to stereotype cricketers and place them in the convenient pigeonholes should note that Livingstone had batted two minutes longer for his 62 than Hameed had for his 57. Their scoring rates were almost the same. Livingstone is a very serious cricketer and it is fascinating to ponder what lies ahead for him.Barring one of cricket’s most improbable recoveries, Lancashire’s fate was decided in the last half hour when Ryan McLaren and Stephen Parry fell to close catches off Leach and Bess. That Lancashire had lost seven wickets for 94 runs hardly reflected their stubbornness or their determination to compete until the very end. The mood was buoyant at the County Ground in the evening as the locals savoured a probable victory. But no one should be too downcast if they were at Taunton, for they had seen the county game at something like its very best and the cricketers on their green fields of praise.

The BCCI has convened a special general meeting on August 5 in Mumbai to discuss the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations approved by the Supreme Court

Arun Venugopal26-Jul-2016The BCCI has convened a special general meeting on August 5 in Mumbai to discuss the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations approved by the Supreme Court. Officials from the BCCI and multiple state associations told ESPNcricinfo they had received formal communication from the board on Tuesday evening, but were reluctant to speculate on the next course of action.It is understood that the board’s legal committee, which will likely meet before the SGM, will offer some clarity to the BCCI and its member units. “The legal committee has to meet first. The legal heads are making different points that we have to discuss,” a senior BCCI official said. “All of a sudden they can’t say anything without going through the whole thing. We cannot take a unilateral decision.”While the BCCI’s top brass is scheduled to meet the Lodha committee in Delhi on August 9, it is learnt that the board, disillusioned by the recent developments, is not in any hurry to go through with the meeting. “The date is not fixed yet,” the board official said. “Before that we are going to make sure that whatever we want to discuss we should discuss it among ourselves first and only then take it forward. We cannot just directly go [to a meeting].”The Mumbai Cricket Association recently announced its decision to accept the recommendations totally, with its president Sharad Pawar agreeing to voluntarily step down within six months in accordance with the verdict. The BCCI official expressed concern over entirely new teams possibly taking over state associations, and conceded that the mood in the BCCI was downbeat.”Everybody is going through the same problem. In some associations, all the people will have to be replaced,” he said. “They cannot function – either they are 70 and above or they [are disqualified because of the] cooling period [rule]. The entire team will comprise new people. I don’t know how we are going to function.”The Supreme Court, on July 18, had accepted the majority of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations covering wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level. It has given the BCCI between four and six months to implement the recommendations and appointed RM Lodha, the former chief justice of India who was the architect of the report, to oversee the transition.

A new-look New Zealand side will have the Maori word “Aotearoa” emblazoned on their jerseys when they take on a Zimbabwe outfit struggling to translate performances into results

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Aug-2015

Match facts

Sunday, August 2, 2015, Harare
Start time 09.00 local (07.00 GMT)Zimbabwe’s impressive performances in 2015 have not always translated into the right results•Associated Press

Big Picture

After a break of just over a month, New Zealand are back. They will return in a new-look avatar, in two ways. On Sunday, in the first ODI against Zimbabwe, the word Aotearoa – the Maori word for New Zealand – will be emblazoned on their jerseys. They will be without a number of familiar faces, as Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee have been rested, and Trent Boult and Corey Anderson are nursing injuries.Their absences will offer chances for some well-known, but not entirely established names – such as James Neesham and Adam Milne – and some newer faces – such as Ben Wheeler and George Worker – to try and earn longer-term places in the side. They can expect to be tested by a sluggish Harare surface and a Zimbabwe side that has looked impressive in recent months without having the results to show for it.Last year, Zimbabwe were at a serious low following a winless tour of Bangladesh. This year, despite looking an entirely transformed side at various points, they have won only one of 11 ODIs. They have found themselves in promising situations against quality opposition – from South Africa at the World Cup to India during the recent ODI series at home – only to let them slip away time and again.Of all the factors that have contributed to this phenomenon, their death bowling has their biggest headache. In their last three ODIs, they bowled first each time and restricted India to scoring less than five runs an over in the first 40 overs. In the last 10 overs, they conceded 90, 77 and 106. Zimbabwe will have to show real, measurable improvement in this aspect of their game if they are to come away with any wins from this series.

Form guide

Zimbabwe: LLLLL
New Zealand: LLWWL

Players to watch

Chamu Chibhabha has been in superlative form of late, having scored 295 runs in his last five ODIs – against Pakistan and India – at an average of 73.75. He has provided Zimbabwe stability at the top of the order, and they will hope he continues giving them that against a New Zealand attack high on pace.Having sat out the World Cup and an enthralling ODI series against England, James Neesham is back in the New Zealand squad, and he will want to impose his all-round skills on Zimbabwe and make it hard for the selectors to leave him out even when all the senior players return. He has form going into this match, having struck a 29-ball 54 against North West in a warm-up T20 match in Pretoria.

Team news

A string of impressive domestic performances have earned the offspinner John Nyumbu a recall, and he could be vying with Prosper Utseya for a place in the Zimbabwe attack.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sean Williams, 4 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Regis Chakabva, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya/John Nyumbu, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Neville MadzivaThe composition of New Zealand’s bowling attack could depend on conditions at the Harare Sports Club. They have two possible ways of including a second spinner in their side – either pick the batting allrounder George Worker, who bowls left-arm spin, or the legspinner Ish Sodhi. Neither has made his ODI debut yet.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 James Neesham/George Worker, 7 Luke Ronchi, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9
Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Adam Milne/Ish Sodhi

Stats and trivia

• In 2015, New Zealand have a 16-6 win-loss record in ODIs, which is better than all teams except Australia (11-1). Zimbabwe have a 1-10 record, which is the worst among all teams which have played at least ten matches this year.
• New Zealand’s run-rate in the last 10 overs in ODIs in 2015 is 9.40, next only to South Africa (11.57) and West Indies (10.01). Zimbabwe’s economy rate in the last 10 in 2015 is 10.18, which is worse than all teams except UAE (10.28).

Quotes

“Most of [our recent] games, we’ve been pretty competitive without having those last few ounces of effort to cross the line. That’s been good to a point, but we have to find a way to translate a few more of those efforts into victories.”
“To take on India the way [Zimbabwe] did was an extremely good effort, in conditions that India are probably quite suited to. We’re certainly expecting a tough challenge.”

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Hobart

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale13-Dec-2012

Match facts

Rangana Herath is Test cricket’s leading wicket taker over the past year, but can he transfer his home form to Australian conditions?•Associated Press

December 14-18, Bellerive Oval
Start time 1030 (2330 GMT)

Big Picture

For Australian cricket fans, it will be difficult not to think that the main course has been served before the entrée. The battle with South Africa for the No.1 Test ranking has come and gone, all before the most popular part of Australia’s international cricket season, the Christmas and New Year period. But as New Zealand showed with their victory in Hobart last summer, classic Test matches can pop up at any time, against any opponent, and now it is Sri Lanka’s turn to attempt to produce the unexpected.It is not that Sri Lanka are a weak Test team, far from it, but their record away from home is disappointing. Leaving aside Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have won only two away Tests in the past five years, and they are yet to win a Test in Australia. But they will take inspiration from their most recent Test in Hobart, when Kumar Sangakkara was driving Sri Lanka towards an incredible chase of 507 when he was wrongly given out caught off his shoulder. Had the DRS been around, it might well have become one of the greatest Test victories of all time.Sangakkara is back, and along with Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan forms a formidable batting line-up. Sri Lanka’s main issue is finding a way to take 20 wickets. But for all the talk of their less-than-threatening seam attack – Rodney Hogg said this week that ”Sri Lanka have the worst new ball attack that has landed on our shores ever” – Shaminda Eranga showed against the Australians on debut in Colombo last year that he is a bowler to watch out for, and he should enjoy the Australian conditions far more than those at home. Much will also depend on how Rangana Herath transfers his home form to the Australian pitches.The Sri Lankan attack will be coming up against an evolving batting order. Australia’s first Test in the post-Ponting era will also be their first with Phillip Hughes at No.3 and Shane Watson at No.4. It is an order they hope can take them through all of next year and a pair of Ashes series, but if there are any cracks in the plan or nerves amongst the batsmen, it is up to Sri Lanka to find them. Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey at Nos.5 and 6 could hardly be in finer touch, so it is all the more important that Sri Lanka don’t let Australia’s top order feast.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia LDDWD
Sri Lanka LWDDW

In the spotlight

Phillip Hughes is only 24, but he has already had a number of incarnations in Australia’s Test team. The previous one ended in Hobart last December, when he couldn’t avoid edging to the cordon off Chris Martin, a recurring theme in that series against New Zealand. His return will come at the same venue, albeit batting at No.3 instead of opening, and facing one of Test cricket’s less imposing seam attacks. All the more reason he must make use of this opportunity. Over the past year, Hughes has worked hard to improve his leg-side play and widen his scoring areas, but whether he can translate that to Test cricket is one of the big questions to be answered in this series.Who is the leading Test wicket taker over the past 12 months? Graeme Swann? Vernon Philander? James Anderson? No, no and no. It’s Rangana Herath, who since this time last year has collected 64 Test victims at 20.64. Although it is true that much of his success has come in home conditions – he took 20 wickets in the two recent Tests against New Zealand in Sri Lanka, and 12 against England in Galle – he will still be a challenging opponent for Australia’s batsmen. In his newspaper column on Thursday, Michael Clarke wrote that Herath’s accuracy and clever variations made him a difficult prospect, and in his first Test in Australia, in Hobart this week, Herath should take note of Shane Warne’s oft-quoted advice: “If it seams, it spins”.

Team news

Hughes has replaced Ponting in the side and will bat at No.3, with Shane Watson moving down to No.4. Australia’s only real question was which bowler to leave out, and Michael Clarke announced on the day before the match that Mitchell Johnson would carry the drinks.Australia 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Nathan Lyon.Dimuth Karunaratne will partner Tillakaratne Dilshan at the top of the order, with Tharanga Paranavitana having been dropped after struggling for his best form for some time now. Nuwan Kulasekara will play after sitting out of the tour match in Canberra, where Shaminda Eranga was the best of the bowlers. They will be joined by Chanaka Welegedara in the pace attack, with no room for Dhammika Prasad.Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.

Pitch and conditions

There are showers forecast for the first four days of the game, which won’t make conditions easy for the batsmen, especially on a Bellerive Oval surface that has been relaid this year and has resulted in some awfully seam-friendly conditions in Sheffield Shield matches. In the three games there this season, the totals in the first innings for the team batting first have been 112, 95 and 67. However, the curator Marcus Pamplin is confident that the Test won’t suffer the same fate.”With such a major restoration of over 70 cubic metres of soil of new black soil into the wicket table, the process of the clay to settle down will take time, but we believe we are in a far better position for a more consistent surface than at the start of the season,” Pamplin said. “On the back of a good cricket pitch for the last Sheffield Shield game we think the Test pitch should play better and provide a good contest.”

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have only beaten Australia once in a Test match, in Kandy in 1999. The only remaining player from either side who was part of that game is Mahela Jayawardene
• Sangakkara needs another 107 runs to reach 10,000 in Tests and become the 11th man to the milestone
• This will be Australia’s first Test in Hobart without Ricky Ponting since 1995, when David Boon was the only Tasmanian in the side against Pakistan

Quotes

“None of us will be taking Sri Lanka’s bowlers for granted even though they may be largely unknown in Australia. It was our batting which let us down during the last Test in Perth.”

Pakistan extended their impressive run in Test cricket since the spot-fixing scandal deprived them of three first-choice players, securing a series win over Sri Lanka on a rare rain-hit day in Sharjah

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran07-Nov-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rangana Herath dismissed Azhar Ali but couldn’t make any more breakthroughs•AFP

Pakistan extended their impressive run in Test cricket since the spot-fixing scandal deprived them of three first-choice players, securing a series win over Sri Lanka on a rare rain-hit day in Sharjah. Fittingly, Misbah-ul Haq, the man who took over as captain and provided a backbone to a team that was in disarray last year, remained unbeaten to ensure there were no implosions and confirm the draw.The result extends Sri Lanka’s winless streak to 14 Tests, again highlighting their struggle to come to terms with the loss of Muttiah Muralitharan. They betrayed a lack of killer instinct by batting on the final day of this must-win Test, despite a three-hour rain delay. They were 237 ahead by stumps on the fourth day, a sufficiently large lead in a match where the run-rate had been around two-and-a-half over the first four days, but they weren’t confident enough to declare at the start of play when 67.2 overs remained. Instead of going all out for a victory, they inexplicably batted out four overs before calling an end to their innings.Pakistan needed a high-octane start if they were to make a serious tilt at the target of 255 in 61 overs. Their openers began briskly, with Mohammad Hafeez slashing a couple of fours past point early on. Pakistan were 20 for 0 midway through the fifth over, but their momentum was taken away by a direct hit from substitute Lahiru Thirimanne at midwicket, which caught Hafeez short.Taufeeq Umar and the usually watchful Azhar Ali decided to shut shop, and Pakistan focused on playing out the overs for a draw. With the Sri Lanka spinners getting some turn, Pakistan scratched out six runs in an 11-over spell. Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv kept the batsmen on a leash, and Sri Lanka employed a clutch of close-in fielders as they hunted for quick wickets.Sri Lanka’s strikes came from contrasting deliveries. A ripper from Herath accounted for Azhar, trapped lbw after the ball drifted in before curling sharply away, while Younis Khan was dismissed by a pedestrian length delivery that he punched to the mid-on fielder.Still, Taufeeq firmly resisted and Misbah showed off his defensive mastery once again to drain Sri Lanka’s hopes. Their 15-over blockade nearly put the match to bed, but Sri Lanka perked up when Taufeeq irresponsibly slapped a short Randiv ball to Kumar Sangakkara at point. The spinners persevered and should have had another breakthrough when Asad Shafiq nicked to the keeper but the umpire failed to spot it.It was comfortable for Pakistan in the end, with Shafiq and Misbah stonewalling 16 overs in the fading light. Misbah even shared a light-hearted moment with Sangakkara as the match wound down, jokingly imitating a left-hand batsman. With Pakistan winning their first series over a better-ranked team since they beat India at home in 2005-06, Misbah could well afford to smile.

Tasmania jumped to a 10-point lead on the one-day table with a convincing five-wicket win over Queensland in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2010Tasmania 5 for 168 (Paine 71, Bailey 51) beat Queensland 9 for 167 by 5 wickets

ScorecardTim Paine, who spent the off-season with the national team, steered Tasmania with 71•Getty Images

Tasmania jumped to a 10-point lead on the one-day table with a convincing five-wicket win over Queensland in Hobart. The Bulls were dismissed for 75 and 96 in the Sheffield Shield last week and continued to have trouble with the bat, struggling to 9 for 167 in 45 overs.Only having the best Nos 10 and 11 in the game helped the Bulls get to the end of the innings, with Chris Hartley (27) and Ryan Harris (13) putting on an unbeaten 40 for the final wicket. The visitors had packed their batting line-up but were undone by Brendan Drew (4 for 38) and Gerard Denton (3 for 47).Tim Paine, who did so well for Australia in the off-season, set up Tasmania’s chase with a brisk 71 and George Bailey added 51. James Hopes and Luke Feldman picked up two wickets each but the hosts reached the target in the 32nd over. The Tigers moved to 21 points after five games, 10 ahead of Victoria and New South Wales.

The ICC has announced the schedule for the eight-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009The ICC has announced the schedule for the eight-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates between February 9 and 13.The winner of the tournament will join South Africa and India in Group C at the ICC World Twenty 20 in the Caribbean in May while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.The Qualifier involves two groups of four teams with Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan and the USA making up Group A while Kenya, the Netherlands, Canada and the UAE will fight it out for supremacy of Group B.Ireland, Kenya, Canada, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland have directly qualified for the qualifier on the basis of their ODI status while the UAE and the USA have been controversiually invited to participate by the ICC.A total of 17 matches will be played over five days with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium hosting six group stage matches and Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City staging 11 matches, including six group stage matches, four Super Four matches and the final.

Half-centuries for senior pair ensure Somerset cannot capitalise on morning declaration

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 25-Jun-2025Warwickshire and Somerset harvested the predictable Rothesay County Championship draw as a forgettable match finally petered out on the final day at Edgbaston.Set a notional victory target of 377 in 69 overs, Warwickshire plodded to 161 for four as Tom Latham (52 from 103 balls) and Sam Hain (68 not out, 157) escorted their team to safety and the match to stalemate.Somerset had extended their second innings in the morning to 229 for eight (James Rew 61, 81) but not as quickly as they hoped due to interference from Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli who took five for 67 on debut.It had always appeared that a bland pitch would blunt the victory aspirations of either side and so it proved. Both shored up their positions in the middle of Division One with a solid points haul from a match which offered less than vivid entertainment. The deployment of two short mid-wickets and two short extras for Latham off Migael Pretorius was about as exciting as it got for the slumbering Edgbaston faithful.Somerset resumed on the final morning on 116 for three, 283 ahead overall, and started purposefully. Rew completed a 66-ball half-century but two wickets for Rocchoccioli slowed the momentum and changed the plan. The spinner unfurled a lovely turning delivery which Rew edged to wicketkeeper Kai Smith. Tom Banton missed a sweep and was lbw.Bowling coach Steve Kirby had suggested after day three that Somerset would need 80 overs to try to bowl Warwickshire out, but that point arrived with the lead only 317. That would have been a very attractive target on a pitch still good for batting.Tom Abell (42, 63) and Archie Vaughan (38 not out, 59) batted watchfully to prevent a collapse then expanded to add 65 in 14 overs before Abell charged and missed at Rocchoccioli. Pretorious had his off-stump rendered askew by Ethan Bamber and Rocchoccioli’s five-for was complete when Craig Overton missed a reverse sweep and was lbw, triggering lunch and the declaration.To challenge the target – 377 in two sessions – Warwickshire needed a strong platform but they lost soon both openers. Alex Davies fell to the fourth ball, lbw, trapped in the crease by Matt Henry. Rob Yates left a gap between bat and pad and Jack Leach, who opened the bowling, turned the ball through it.That scuppered any chance of a Warwickshire win. Somerset’s hopes were ground away over the next two hours by Latham and Hain. There are few batters better-equipped than those to steer a side to safety and they duly quietened the excited fielding side with resolute, solid and watchful work.They declined to pursue a target of 276 from 34 overs after tea. Latham drove a return catch to Overton and Jacob Bethell top-edged a pull at Pretorius but the implacable Hain reached 50 for the 58th time in first-class cricket to see the job through in a soporific, slumbering, sparsely-populated stadium as far-removed as can be from the passionate cauldron it will be when England meet India there next week.

Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, has been conferred the lifetime achievement award

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2024Shubman Gill and Deepti Sharma have won the BCCI awards for best men’s and women’s international cricketers of 2022-23. Gill won the men’s award, named after the former India captain Polly Umrigar, for the first time in his career, while Deepti won the women’s award for the second time – she also won it for the 2019-20 season.The BCCI had not announced their awards since naming Jasprit Bumrah and Poonam Yadav the international cricketers of 2018-19. They have now cleared their backlog, announcing winners for the past four seasons in one go. Mohammed Shami and Deepti have taken the honours for 2019-20, R Ashwin and Smriti Mandhana for 2020-21, and Bumrah and Mandhana for 2021-22.Gill made the step up from exciting prospect to international superstar in 2022-23 (the award timeframe runs from October 1 to September 30), enjoying incredible returns with the bat particularly in ODIs, in which he scored a world-leading tally of 1418 runs at an average of 64.45, with five hundreds including a double-century against New Zealand in Hyderabad. In the same period, Gill also scored 387 runs at 35.18 in seven Tests, and 304 runs at a strike rate of 146.85 in 11 T20Is.Related

• Jasprit Bumrah, Poonam Yadav claim top BCCI awards

Deepti, meanwhile, was a key member of an India side that won the Women’s Asia Cup and the Asian Games gold medal in a year packed with T20I action. The offspinner picked up 38 wickets – the fifth-most in the world in the award period, and the most by a bowler from a Full Member nation – in T20Is at an average of 14.81 and an economy rate of 5.71, while also contributing 313 runs with the bat, including two half-centuries, at an average of 28.45. Deepti only played three ODIs and no Tests in the award period, but carried her form into a triumphant 2023-24 home season, taking 11 wickets at 10.81 and scoring 165 runs at 55.00 as India beat England and Australia in one-off Tests in Mumbai.Ravi Shastri excelled in various roles up and down the batting order•PA Photos

Shastri wins lifetime achievement award

Former India allrounder Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, has been bestowed the BCCI’s lifetime achievement award. A versatile batter who played multiple roles through his career – he had a particularly impressive record as opener outside Asia – and an accurate left-arm fingerspinner, he finished with 3830 Test runs at an average of 35.79 and 151 wickets at 40.96.After knee injuries ended his playing career when he was still only in his early 30s, Shastri moved effortlessly into TV commentary, where he established himself as an incisive voice with a distinctively punchy manner of calling big moments. While he only got to captain India in one of his 80 Tests, he got a wider canvas to express his skills as a tactician and man-manager as coach: his stints at the helm of India’s men’s team from 2014 to 2016 and 2017 to 2021 coincided with their rise as an all-formats, all-conditions force. Under him India became a near-invincible Test team at home and achieved unprecedented levels of competitiveness away from home, most memorably winning two successive series in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21.