Liam Livingstone arrived at the crease at the end of the first over of the day and spent much of the rest of it – either side of a three-and-a-half hour delay for rain – compiling an unbeaten 108 from 152 balls

Alan Gardner at Taunton02-May-2016
ScorecardLiam Livingstone raises his bat after scoring his maiden hundred•Getty Images

This time last year, Liam Livingstone made headlines around the world after smashing 350 off 138 balls in a club match for Nantwich. At the time, he had not played for Lancashire’s first team and it was only a couple of weeks ago that he was deemed ready for a first-class debut; now he has a maiden first-class hundred to his name and, if it won’t quite make the national news, it will be warmly received back at Old Trafford, as well as in his home county of Cumbria.Batting down at No. 7, Livingstone arrived at the crease at the end of the first over of the day and spent much of the rest of it – either side of a three-and-a-half hour delay for rain – compiling an unbeaten 108 from 152 balls. It was a crisp, invigorating knock that helped pierce the gloom in Taunton, eventually allowing Lancashire to declare their first innings in evening sunlight and have a few overs at Somerset before the close.There might yet come a time when Lancashire supporters greet reports of a substantial middle-order contribution with the response: “Livingstone, I presume?” This was the 22-year-old’s second first-class innings and, having scored 70 on debut against Nottinghamshire a fortnight ago, his average stands at 178.00. He is collecting some big numbers.With a cover drive that practically left scorch marks on the already furrowed Taunton outfield, there looks to be much to recommend Livingstone’s game – albeit this was not the most challenging of surfaces to bat on. As Livingstone approached his milestone, one Somerset supporter in the new Pavilion Stand could be heard bemoaning “This pitch is dead!” in the manner of someone discussing the future prospects of a Norwegian Blue.Lancashire had involved Livingstone in limited-overs cricket – he played every match of their title-winning NatWest T20 Blast campaign last season – and he has expressed a desire to make an impression across all formats this year. He spent the winter playing in Perth, where he worked on his legspin with Australia’s Brad Hogg, though it might be a while before he has to fall back on his second string given current form. There were also sessions with Justin Langer’s former batting mentor, Neil “Noddy” Holder; here it was the Somerset bowlers who were slayed.Livingstone’s other notable episode in 2015 was to be cut by a glass during a bar-room altercation after Lancashire’s Blast quarter-final win over Kent. There was nothing remotely controversial about this innings, aside from a few Pietersen-esque whips to leg as he advanced down the pitch. He went to 97 with a mighty six off Jack Leach, before nudging a couple to reach his hundred in the following over, to loud applause from the visiting balcony.Lancashire must now buckle down to the task of taking 20 wickets if they are to force a result over the next two days. Whether you consider this sort of contest attritional or nutritional, it is going to require some fibre from the bowlers to break the game open after 34 overs were lost to rain.At one point, it looked as if the demands on Somerset’s attack would be even greater, with Jamie Overton gingerly walking off after completing his fourth over of the day. However, the arrival of several heavy showers – which gave Somerset’s new drainage a good test – allowed him time to recover, although his luck did not improve as Kyle Jarvis joined forces with Livingstone during an 80-run stand for the ninth wicket.Despite another demur showing, the surface initially appeared to be a little racier – the Ann Summers in Taunton proclaimed this to be “Spank Holiday Monday”, after all – and Tim Groenewald had Alex Davies caught behind flirting outside off stump in the first over of the morning.Lancashire avoided any further peccadillos in the first hour. After one run had been scored from 32 balls, Livingstone stroked Craig Overton through the covers to bring up the Lancashire 300, though progress remained on the steady side and no further batting points were accrued. Livingstone’s second boundary was less controlled, a thick outside edge flying wide of the slips, while from the other end Groenewald got one delivery to rear sharply at Croft.Both batsmen were content to be watchful and wait for their rewards to come, an approach that looked likely to bear fruit as Chris Rogers again wasted little time in bringing on his spinner. Leach was given no opportunity to settle, however, as his second over was pumped for 17, with Croft and Livingstone taking it in turns to cart him beyond the ropes.Leach was swiftly replaced by Somerset’s back-up left-arm spinner, Roelof van der Merwe, whose flatter, quicker delivery accounted for Croft, caught behind trying to cut six runs short of his century. Lancashire’s captain punched his bat as he walked off, in frustration at missing out, but Livingstone would not make the same mistake.

Graeme Welch has resigned as Derbyshire’s elite performance director just hours before the start of the NatWest T20 Blast match against Leicestershire

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2016Graeme Welch has resigned as Derbyshire’s elite performance director just hours before the start of the NatWest T20 Blast match against Leicestershire.Derbyshire are currently second from bottom in Division Two of the County Championship – the position they finished in 2015 – with two defeats and five draws, the most recent result being a 10-wicket loss to Sussex at Hove. In the early stages of the Blast they have won one and lost one.”I have decided to resign as elite performance director. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club and learned so much,” Welch, who was appointed in January 2014, said in a brief statement. “I would particularly like to thank the chairman and board for their support over the last few years and I wish them all the best for the future.”The chairman, Chris Grant, said: “Over the last two and a half years, we have seen a number of players develop under Graeme’s guidance. We have also seen a clear increase in the levels of professionalism and work ethic within the club.”Whilst on-field results have been disappointing, Graeme leaves the club with stronger foundations in place. The board would like to thank Graeme for his contribution and we wish him every success in the future.”The club said elite performance coach John Sadler will take charge of coaching affairs supported by four-day captain Billy Godleman and limited-overs captain Wes Durston.

MS Dhoni unleashed his attacking avatar to thump Axar Patel for back-to-back sixes as Rising Pune Supergiants pipped Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in Visakhapatnam

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu21-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:40

Nannes: Dhoni’s batting in last over was bizarre

This wasn’t the deadest of dead rubbers. Two knocked-out teams – Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab – were desperate not to finish at the bottom of the pile. It ultimately boiled down to 12 off the last two balls, with MS Dhoni, the fading star, facing off against Axar Patel, the rising star. Dhoni unleashed his attacking avatar to bring back memories of his heyday; his back-to-back sixes over midwicket delivered Supergiants a sensational four-wicket win in Visakhapatnam.The final over began with Supergiants needing 23. M Vijay’s key men in the end overs – Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma – had bowled out. Axar was in the hot seat. Dhoni may have struggled for timing and power throughout the season, but this wasn’t beyond him.He flatly refused a single after mis-hitting the first ball – a short fizzer – to deep midwicket. The next ball – a wide bouncer down leg side – was well stopped by Wriddhiman Saha. The second legitimate ball was fired too full and Dhoni’s responded with a mighty club over long-on. The next one was darted short and wide outside off as Dhoni slapped it to sweeper cover, where Hashim Amla dived full-length to his left to save a certain boundary. Dhoni, in anticipation of a four, was unmoved and Supergiants missed out on two runs. It was clear he backed himself to finish it off.Axar then sent down a short ball outside off, which Dhoni flat-batted over cover for a one-bounce four to reduce the equation down to 12 off two. The Supergiants captain sealed it with twin sixes and finished with 64 not out off 32 balls. He later said it could have been the “kind of game the team wanted to win to get into the knockouts.”Dhoni had joined Thisara Perera in the 14th over after Supergiants were reduced to 86 for 5 in a chase of 173. Perera was the first to tee off with three boundaries off fast bowler Kyle Abbott in the 16th over. Then, when Sandeep missed his yorker by an inch of two, Dhoni smeared two off-side fours in the 18th over to bring the equation down to 29 off 12 balls.A ball later, Thisara swung wildly only to nick Mohit behind. Dhoni carved the third ball away for four, but Mohit hit back to give away only one run off the next three balls – a cutter and two pinpoint yorkers. As it turned out, Mohit’s variety wasn’t enough as Kings XI were left to rue what could have been, considering how well they started with the ball.The seamers stuck to disciplined lines and lengths and subdued Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khawaja. Gurkeerat Singh Maan reaped the rewards with his handy offspin when he dismissed Saurabh Tiwary and Khawaja in the 12th over.Gurkeerat’s role wasn’t just to bottle up the runs with the ball. Earlier, he had brought up his maiden IPL half-century, which included three fours and three sixes. His 58-run stand for the third wicket with Vijay helped lay the platform for Kings XI’s eventual total of 172 for 7.While Vijay took his time early on, Amla did the early running with three whipped fours, including two in the first over off Irfan Pathan. Vijay shifted gears when he slammed seamer Deepak Chahar for successive boundaries in the fifth over. Amla brought up Kings XI’s first fifty-plus opening stand in the last seven matches with a lofted cover drive for six.The subsequent introduction of spin, however, applied the brakes on the innings. While R Ashwin claimed 4 for 34, his best IPL figures, Adam Zampa enhanced his growing reputation with 1 for 32. He got the ball to turn, bounce, and dip, even as Vijay completed his fourth half-century in eight games as Kings XI captain.A slog to a straighter one from Ashwin bowled Vijay by the 16th over. Kings XI then plundered 48 off the last four overs, but they were left with the wooden spoon for the second successive season.

Coaxing Zimbabwe’s batsmen out of their comfort zones is foremost in the mind of their batting coach Lance Klusener as he looks to prepare them for their two-Test series against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2016Coaxing Zimbabwe’s batsmen out of their comfort zones is foremost in the mind of their batting coach Lance Klusener as he looks to prepare them for their two-Test series against New Zealand. Klusener is currently back home in South Africa but will join up with the Zimbabwean squad later this month and hopes to see the senior members of the line-up step up.”It’s about whether they really want to challenge themselves and get better or if they are happy to just bumble along; it’s about coming out of comfort zones,” Klusener told ESPNcricinfo. “They can achieve better if they put themselves out there more. Obviously the more you put yourself out, the more risk there is, so there is also that balance [is needed] but I think they are getting there.”The reluctance to bat aggressively is something former Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher alluded to in his book in which he recalled an incident with a senior Zimbabwean batsman who described his role as being to “make sure I don’t lose my wicket” rather than to score runs. More recently, the effects of that conservatism have begun to bleed into performance.In last month’s limited-overs series against India, Zimbabwe were bowled out for totals under 200 in all three ODIs and only scored more than 150 once. Vusi Sibanda was the only Zimbabwean batsman to score a half-century in the ODIs. They punched a little harder in the first T20, where they notched up 170 for 6 thanks largely to Elton Chigumbura’s 26-ball 54, but their other scores of 99 for 9 and 135 for 6 could not sustain that momentum.Still, Klusener was heartened to see the improvement as the series progressed. “It was good to see them take the last T20 close,” Klusener said, referring to a three-run defeat which cost Zimbabwe the series. “The one thing with Zimbabwe is that you can always expect a fight. They now that if they fight and they lose, that’s okay.”At the same time he is concerned about a lack of depth that sees the same names crop up as the country’s main performers. “They have a small pool of players and so they have to make the best of what they’ve got. It’s one of their challenges and they want to try and fix it, but whether they can do that from the top down is another story.”One of the ways of grooming more players for higher honours are tours like the ongoing one between South Africa A and Zimbabwe A, in which some of Zimbabwe’s fringe players have an opportunity to prove themselves. Opening batsman Brain Chari made full use of his and scored 98 in his first outing in the series. It’s players that like who Klusener is hoping to work with and teach the no-fear mentality.Klusener has someone to help him in that approach: Makhaya Ntini. Although Ntini has not been confirmed as permanent coach after he was promoted to the interim role for the India series, it is expected Ntini will continue to be in charge for the New Zealand series. Ntini remained in Zimbabwe after the India series and has been working with the players throughout.Klusener believes Ntini is making a difference and it won’t take long for it to show. “Makhaya is energetic and passionate and adds value. He has been very good for Zimbabwe. He trains with the guys. He gets to know them. He doesn’t lack for ideas and between us – we are a team – we have a lot of ideas. It’s just about getting the guys to buy into the ideas we have.”Klusener will be back in Zimbabwe to resume that process towards the ends of July. He will work with the team during the two Tests before heading to the Tamil Nadu Premier League in India, where he is coaching the Lyca Kovai Kings. He expects to be back in Zimbabwe when they play again towards the end of 2016.

West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2016West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia. Hope replaces Rajendra Chandrika, who made scores of 16, 31, 5 and 1 in the first two Tests, and saw his Test average drop to 14.00, the worst by any West Indies opener who has played 10 or more innings.Hope, a right-hand batsman who is also capable of keeping wickets, has played six Tests so far, scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He has been in excellent form in recent months, with two hundreds in his last four matches in the WICB Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, and a century for the WICB President’s XI in the Indians’ first warm-up match in St Kitts.The selectors have made no other changes to West Indies’ 14-man squad. India lead the four-Test series 1-0.West Indies squad for third Test: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels.

Worcestershire pulled off a record run chase in a home Championship fixture to bring last-evening delight and New Road and leave Northants looking on in disbelief

ECB Reporters Network26-Aug-2016
ScorecardJoe Clarke’s reputation was enhanced by a record run chase•Getty Images

Worcestershire kept alive their faint hopes of winning promotion in the Specsavers County Championship when beating Northamptonshire by two wickets after declarations by both teams at New Road.Set to make 401, they had one of the available 80 overs to spare on completing their highest successful run chase in a home fixture after centuries by Daryl Mitchell – who made 107 not and 103 in the match – and Joe Clarke (125).Both batsmen were out in a burst of three wickets in five deliveries by Ben Sanderson but Ross Whiteley dipped into his one-day repertoire with four sixes in a 30-ball 45 and Ben Cox made 34 in their stand of 78 in nine overs.The game swayed again with two wickets in three balls but Joe Leach got his side over the line from the last delivery of the 79th over. The vice-captain reached an unbeaten 33 with a match-winning six off Sanderson, restoring confidence ahead of a must-win game against leaders Essex at Chelmsford, starting next Wednesday.

Rhodes salutes Mitchell

Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, saluted Daryl Mitchell for a “special” achievement in scoring two hundreds in the match to pass 10,000 first-class runs and set up an impressive win against the odds against Northants.
Rhodes said: “This club has got a wonderful history of terrific batsman and Daryl will look back on today and on this achievement and be very proud.
It’s been a tough old season for him. His run tally was down on what he would have wanted and for him score so well in this game is absolutely brilliant. Hopefully he’ll crack on and score a lot more.”

After a rain-shortened third day, a formula was devised to prevent the game from spluttering into a dead-end, although Alex Wakely may have had some reservations about exposing Northants’ weakened attack to so much bowling on a hot day.In the morning Worcestershire declared their first innings 350 behind at 201 for three and Northamptonshire halted their second innings at 50 for one.With the calculations done, the home side made a sticky start. In five overs from Rory Kleinveldt, Brett D’Oliveira was caught low down by wicketkeeper David Murphy and Tom Fell, after a couple of imposing cover drives, shouldered arms when bowled for 22.With the score 48 for two, the equation at lunchtime was 353 from 65 overs but Mitchell and Clarke batted through the afternoon, increasing the tempo as the partnership developed, and at tea the requirement was down to 202 from 35 overs.In the final session, Clarke was first to a hundred, his fourth of the season in the championship and fifth in first-class games, after hitting 16 fours from 129 balls. In the process he reached 1,000 runs in a season for the first time.Mitchell, having earlier passed 10,000 first-class in his career, then completed two centuries in a match for the third time in the championship. In his understated way, he got to the milestone with only nine fours from 160 deliveries.Their untroubled progress in putting on 232 trimmed the requirement to 133 at around six runs an over but the pressure built up with Sanderson’s intervention.From the last ball of the 57th over, Mitchell danced forward but succeeded only in slicing a catch to substitute Graeme White at point and from the first of the 59th over George Rhodes clipped a low chance to Wakely at mid-wicket.What Worcestershire could not afford was to lose Clarke as well but the worst happened when he tried to turn a ball on the leg-side but missed and was given out lbw.Northants stuck to their task all the way and were rewarded when Chad Barrett yorked Whiteley, Cox chipped Rob Keogh to mid-on and Ed Barnard gave Sanderson a fourth success with a catch behind.

What price Somerset for their first Championship? Their rush through the division has been a sideshow at best as Middlesex and Yorkshire have flexed muscles like a couple of rival bodybuilders ahead of their clash at Lord’s next week.

David Hopps at Headingley12-Sep-2016
ScorecardSomerset made all the running on the opening day at Headingley•Getty Images

What price Somerset for their first Championship? Their rush through the division has been a sideshow at best as Middlesex and Yorkshire have flexed muscles like a couple of rival bodybuilders ahead of their clash at Lord’s next week. It looks a whole lot different now.Somerset started the penultimate round of matches 18 behind Yorkshire with the leaders Middlesex a further point ahead, but they suddenly have the potential to throw calculations into disarray after dismissing Yorkshire for 145 at Headingley and settling their own innings in reply, losing only Tom Abell for a second-ball nought before Marcus Trescothick and Chris Rogers cut the deficit to 38 runs at stumps.There is much cause for satisfaction in the West Country. Somerset’s pace attack swung the ball on a clammy day, there was a bit more in the pitch than might have been expected – both sides would have batted on it – and Craig Overton and Jim Allenby prospered with three wickets each as they never relinquished the pressure.Faced by consistent probing, Yorkshire exacerbated their problems with some ill-judged strokes. Gary Ballance, Jake Lehmann and Andrew Gale, among the top six, should all be disappointed by the manner of their dismissal. This was more a case of too many slack dismissals than general irresponsibility.As a bonus, Somerset would love to see Middlesex’s match at Old Trafford develop into a stalemate and, with draw points suiting Lancashire’s attempts to retain their first division status, such an outcome would not be altogether surprising.

‘We need some true Yorkshire grit’

Andrew Gale, Yorkshire captain: “It wasn’t a great day from start to finish. We were poor with the bat – it wasn’t a 145 wicket. Somerset bowled well but we didn’t put a price on our wickets. There is no reason why we cannot fight our way back into the game. I’ll back us not to bat that badly twice. We need some true Yorkshire grit.”
Jason Kerr, Somerset bowling coach: “There is a little bit in the surface and the guys were outstanding – they did the little things brilliantly. We squeezed and put a lot of pressure on the batters and the overhead conditions also played a part.”

Somerset have had to make do with three second-placed finishes in the Championship and they would also be excluded from any T20 city league should it come to pass, leaving a dubious outcome in that Cardiff, a city with a comparatively big ground but a limited interest in the game, would be viewed as more strategically important than Taunton, the county town of a region where cricket is talked about as avidly as anywhere in the country: Yorkshire included. To win their first Championship in this of all years would be one of the finest two-finger responses in cricket history.In Jason Gillespie’s first Division One game at Headingley, in 2013, Yorkshire were dismissed by Sussex for 96 and went on to lose the game. It remains the only Championship match that Yorkshire have lost at Headingley in Gillespie’s reign, but there is a danger that he could finish as he started – and a possible hat-trick of titles could disappear in the process.This was the day when Somerset needed their pace attack to retain their conviction and Overton set an example from the outset, removing the in-form Alex Lees for a duck with the assistance of Allenby at first slip.Gary Ballance’s obsession with the guide wide of slips is becoming more of a caricature shot than a signature shot. His mental muddle occurred in Overton’s fifth over with the slips still heavily populated; Lewis Gregory, at third slip, fumbled, but the ball slowed after deflecting off his body and he rescued it by his bootstraps.If Overton was industrious, Allenby’s economy was even more startling as he took three wickets and went for barely one an over. Lyth, who scrapped more than most, was the first, a decent delivery and a keeper’s catch, and he was to produce two more later: Adil Rashid transfixed as the ball left him and a wonderful delivery to unpick Andy Hodd for nought as nipped away to strike off stump.In between, Lehmann and Gale would have left with self-admonishment. They had rebuilt Yorkshire’s innings with a stand of 49, but Lehmann, after some sumptuous off-side drives, pulled Peter Trego to midwicket on the stroke of lunch and Gale, who had looked solid alongside him, cut weakly at Overton.Had Lehmann been held by Gregory at third slip off Tim Groenewald before he had scored, Yorkshire’s plight would have been worse. As it was, Tim Bresnan batted staunchly for an unbeaten 38 to give them some chance of pulling the match round.Evening sunshine did not help those chances as conditions eased somewhat and Trescothick and Rogers met the challenge with aplomb. Yorkshire have rarely needed Headingley to live up to its reputation as a haven for swing bowling more than they do now. Never mind the forecast September record of 25C: what about the cloud cover?

Sunday was the third time New Zealand were denied parity by India’s lower order, but Trent Boult has said that the visitors are not doing much wrong

Sidharth Monga at Eden Gardens02-Oct-2016Sunday was the third time New Zealand were denied parity by India’s lower order, which has been crucial in a low-scoring series. In the first innings in Kanpur, India’s sixth wicket added 52 and the last 41. In response New Zealand lost their last five wickets for seven runs. In Kolkata, Wriddhiman Saha led the lower-order fightback, taking India from 200 for 6 to 316. In the second innings, India have exceeded those last two comebacks by converting 106 for 6 into 227 for 8. New Zealand’s leading bowler, Trent Boult, though, feels they are not doing much wrong against the lower order.”Not necessarily,” Boult said when asked if they could have done much differently to prevent another frustrating resistance from India’s lower order. “We are trying to apply the pressure for as long as we can and not let off at all throughout the whole innings. But we know and realise they are going to put partnerships together, and we just can’t afford to get frustrated by that. It is still a challenge as a bowling unit to not drift and release that pressure, but it is something we are trying to get much better at.”Some of it could be put down to the exhaustion in the heat. “I have to put these down as some of the tougher conditions I’ve ever played in in my career,” Boult said. “I’m not too sure what it looks like on TV, but it is pretty taxing. Obviously the dryness in the wicket and in the air is pretty tough. The last session is probably the easiest session in terms of heat. [But] You are just sapped by the time that comes around.”The guys did extremely well to put the balls in the areas we did and apply that pressure. It was spoken in the huddle that we weren’t just going to let them drift away with the game with a figure in mind. We wanted to put pressure on them and make them earn every run. I think we did very well.”Thanks to Jeetan Patel and BJ Watling’s batting at the start of the day and the six early wickets, New Zealand fought their way back, but perhaps it was that deficit that meant India weren’t under the pressure New Zealand would have wanted to put them under. It was mostly on day two that they let the game slip with India’s lower-order runs and their own collapses with rain and bad light around.”It’s very disappointing but that is done now and we can’t do anything about it,” Boult said of the second day. “They had some good conditions there last night to put us under pretty big pressure with the ball. Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took five wickets] bowled very well, and that has played a big part in the game. But we are not just going to roll over, we’ve fought very nicely to get ourselves back in the position we are in now.”Boult said New Zealand would need every bit of skill with the bat to fight back again in this Test. “We have the guys with the ability to bat long periods of time,” Boult said. “In terms of the wicket there is a little bit of variation in bounce and that is obviously going to be in the back of a few of our minds. We have to take it small steps at a time. If we can tick off our goals of trying to bat for half a session, then a session and just keep them out there and try to build like that. Anything that is set is definitely achievable.”They could learn from Jeetan Patel’s innings in the morning, Boult said. “He did very well. It’s his first in a wee while and to come back and play an innings like that was good to watch. The rest of us can take a leaf out of his book and try to apply yourself like he did because they were valuable runs.”

he ECB’s proposal for a new city-based T20 competition, which had originally be slated for a launch season in 2018, may now be postponed until 2020

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2016The ECB’s proposal for a new city-based T20 competition, which had originally been slated for a launch season in 2018, may now be postponed until 2020 to coincide with a new broadcasting deal.The go-ahead to further explore the eight-team proposal was given by a 16-3 vote at the ECB board meeting at Lord’s in September, following discussions between the 18 first-class counties, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, and MCC.The ECB hierarchy, led by chairman Colin Graves and chief executive Tom Harrison, have been keen to push through a new T20 league to rival the success generated by the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, despite fears from many counties that it would undermine their raison d’etre.

Championship by night

A round of Championship matches will be played under floodlights in 2017 – possibly in late June, the brightest time of the year.
The matches will be played using pink Dukes balls, so keeping faith with the make of ball used in the county game. Dukes have yet to be tested under lights with all previous experiments using a Kookaburra.

Surrey, Kent and Sussex were reportedly the three counties who opposed the proposal, although several have since expressed reservations about the lack of detail.The original plan had been for the competition to be shown on Sky Sports for at least the first two seasons, with few England players likely to be involved due to an overlap with international commitments. However, the delayed start may now encourage a terrestrial broadcaster to come forward, in line with the ECB’s desire to use the competition as a vehicle to attract new audiences to the game.In a separate development, the ECB board today ratified a recommendation from the Cricket Committee that the option of allowing the visiting team to bowl first in County Championship fixtures should be retained for the 2017 season.The proposal caused some controversy when it was brought in for the start of the 2016 season. However, the stated aim of encouraging home counties to produce better four-day pitches – and improving the conditions for spin bowlers – were broadly considered to have been a success.The Cricket Committee – which included Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon, Leicestershire’s chief executive Wasim Khan and David Leatherdale, the chief executive of the PCA – studied a range of data that showed, among other factors, that a total of 10,094 overs of spin had been bowled across the season, compared to 8,643 in 2015 – the highest since 2011.Peter Wright, the chairman of the Cricket Committee, told ECB.co.uk: “In many ways the statistics merely reinforced the feeling we had been picking up around the game throughout the summer, that the experiment was working in beginning to rebalance the game.”As we stressed when we introduced the new options for visiting captains, this was not all about spin. We wanted matches to last longer, and to become more thorough preparation for international cricket.”That meant better, four-day pitches, which would mean bowlers had to work harder to take wickets, and would encourage a greater variety of bowling, whether spin in its various forms, genuine pace or reverse swing from more abrasive pitches.

Rob Andrew, the former England rugby union fly-half and long-term professional rugby director at the RFU, has been unveiled as the new chief executive of Sussex

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Rob Andrew, the former England rugby union fly-half and long-term professional rugby director at the RFU, has been unveiled as the new chief executive of Sussex.Andrew, 53, played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1982 and 1985, and also turned out for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI as a batsman and offspinner.His rugby career included 71 caps for England and five for the British and Irish Lions. He played in three World Cups between 1987 and 1995, before spending ten years at the RFU, eventually leaving at the end of last season.He succeeds Zac Toumazi as Sussex’s chief executive at a tricky period in the club’s long history. The club was relegated at the end of 2015, bringing to an end a period of unprecedented success including three County Championships between 2003 and 2007, and with the ECB turning its attention towards the new city-based league scheduled to be launched in 2020, Andrew’s high-profile appointment is intriguingly timed.He will take over at Sussex in January 2017, with a brief to build on Toumazi’s work in overseeing the integration of the professional club with the recreational board and its 245 affiliated league clubs.Commenting on the appointment, Jim May, chairman of Sussex said: “I am extremely pleased about the appointment of Rob Andrew. He has exceptional experience, both playing and administering sport which will be of great help to our cricket management delivering success.””I am thrilled and really excited to be joining Sussex,” Andrew said. “The structures that have been put in place under the Sussex Cricket Limited umbrella have laid a very strong foundation for the future.”I am looking forward to working with everyone connected with Sussex to help create success in professional cricket, recreational cricket and community programmes and ensuring that Hove remains a very special cricket ground.”I will be focusing on driving forward the strategy over the next few years and helping write the next chapter in the rich history of cricket in Sussex. These are exciting times for Sussex Cricket and cricket in general and I can’t wait to get started.”