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Ben Cutting is used to aiming for the corridor of uncertainty instead of being stuck in it after an off-season spent wondering when he will return from a bad case of fast bowler’s ankle. At the end of last summer Cutting, 23, was being discussed as a national prospect, but as the 2010-11 campaign began he was playing as a specialist batsman in grade cricket and limited to practising his action off a couple of steps.Rather than celebrating his breakthrough summer of 46 Sheffield Shield wickets at 23.91 – the most in the competition – Cutting had a scan on his ankle straight after the final loss. It showed a stress fracture as well as a crack in his heel and he had surgery after some rest to settle the problems.”It was meant to be six weeks before I could do running, but it’s turned out to be six months,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “The frustrating thing is I can’t work to a timeline. I might have a bowl, and pull up sore, so I can’t go harder the next day.”While Cutting was playing in the Shield final in March, South Australia’s Peter George was called up as a standby player with the Test team in New Zealand. There was talk that if Cutting wasn’t involved in the decider it might have been him covering for Ryan Harris.As Cutting spent the off-season in rehabilitation, George re-joined the national team in England and on Saturday was picked for his first Test. “To be honest, it didn’t really bother me,” Cutting said of the rise of George and Josh Hazlewood during his absence. “It will take me a while to get on the park, and if I have a really good season this year it will take care of itself.”He did have a down period two months ago when he realised he’d probably miss the start of the summer, but he was cheery as the Bulls prepared for their opening matches. “The business end is after Christmas, you’ve got the Big Bash and the two finals as well, so I’ve got that in the front of my mind,” he said.Queensland began the season with Harris also on the injured list and Luke Feldman joined him after breaking his wrist in the opening one-day match against Tasmania on Wednesday. The setbacks leave the Bulls missing three of their major weapons and Cutting’s team-mates are desperate to know when he’ll be back. Currently his best chance of a return is the 2nd XI game against Tasmania on October 19.

Leicestershire’s captain, Matthew Hoggard has received the backing of the county board and players after the former chairman Neil Davidson stepped down from his position on Tuesday with a parting shot at a man whom he accused of destabilising the club in the course of a season-long row.Earlier in the summer, Hoggard and the head coach Tim Boon led a player’s revolt against Davidson, whom they accused of interfering in team affairs, as well as forcing the departure of the chief executive, David Smith, who – as a former professional – had been popular with the playing staff at Grace Road.In a statement released on Wednesday night, Davidson wrote: “I find [Hoggard’s] actions difficult to understand, and I hope Matthew fully realises that his irresponsible behaviour has led to the chaos which has engulfed the club ever since.”However, Hoggard’s Leicestershire colleague, Paul Nixon, told ESPNcricinfo that the squad remained fully supportive of their captain’s stance. “Every player is 100% behind Matthew Hoggard,” he said. “He and the players have worked with the support of the PCA throughout this ugly situation. The players and staff I have talked to are extremely positive about the news.”That stance was echoed in a statement from the club board. “Following Neil Davidson’s resignation as chairman, he has issued a personal statement to the press. The board of Leicestershire CCC wishes to distance itself from the statement he has made.”The off-field problems of the club can be traced back to the resignation of the former chief executive at the end of June and it is unfair to place any blame on the captain and players, who ended the season with some exceptional performances.”Matthew Hoggard has had an excellent first season with the club, has taken 50 Championship wickets and has grown into the captaincy as the season progressed. Matthew is highly respected within the dressing room and he and all the players have the full support of the board.”In his own statement, Davidson claimed he had set Hoggard a deadline to withdraw his name from a letter to the board that had demanded his dismissal, but was left with no option but to step down when Hoggard failed to do so.The statement continued: “Indeed, had he not put his name to those letters in the first place – which, if he had thought it through properly, I believe he would not have done – then the current crisis at the club could have been avoided. It was totally wrong of the players to become involved in these matters.”On September 20th, I informed the LCCC Board that if Hoggard did not withdraw his name within 14 days, my position as chairman would be untenable and I would resign. No withdrawal has been forthcoming, and therefore I have today further informed the Board that I cannot continue in these circumstances.”Leicestershire plan to make a further comment on the matter following a board meeting next week.

In a last-ditch attempt to save itself, the Kochi franchise has reportedly asked the BCCI for a ten-day extension to resolve the dispute over its ownership pattern. The request was filed by two sets of solicitors representing the rival factions of the Kochi franchise a few hours before the BCCI deadline, within which time the owners were expected to form a joint venture company, lapsed.The members of the Kochi franchise were issued a show cause notice by the BCCI on October 12 ordered them to form a joint venture company to settle their internal ownership differences. The two factions, one headed by the promoters of the franchise Rendezvous Sports and the other by Mehul Shah of Anchor Group, had responded to this notice by sending identical requests this evening.”We have requested a ten-day extension because we are at an advanced stage of resolving the issue,” a Kochi franchise official told ESPNcricinfo.The groups within the five-partner consortium had failed to come to an agreement after a series of meetings held late on Tuesday night, but after talking to their solicitors decided to ask for more time rather than walk away from the discussions. The official explained that the groups would require more time, “to resolve all pending disputes in order to tie up amicably to form a fruitful joint venture into a regular company”.Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said the Kochi franchise had, “held a few meetings in the last two or three days and submitted a letter, which has been sent to the president.” The BCCI’s legal team was looking into the letter, Shetty said, but added that no meeting of the IPL’s governing council had yet been scheduled. “The president will study it, our legal team will study it before taking a decision.”By asking for more time, Kochi have prevented the rest of the IPL franchises from getting any clarity on all the major issues around the fourth IPL season, which until now has been dogged by drama and controversy. At the moment, it is not yet known how many teams will be involved, what format it would follow or how many matches would be played.In responding to the query about the doubts around IPL four, a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that despite all the uncertainty, the number of teams in IPL 4 was not in doubt. “All our contracts around the IPL tell us that the minimum teams will be eight, so I don’t think that’s a problem, we just have to get this sorted out and see what happens when the president responds to the letter from Kochi.”An IPL franchise official said that it was unlikely that the BCCI would field fewer teams in IPL4 than in its first three seasons, “Look at the Board’s attitude to Lalit Modi, there is no way they want the first IPL without Modi’s involvement to be smaller than the old IPL which Lalit controlled.”The Kochi franchise has been controversial from its very inception in March. Rendezvous Sports World, a consortium of five companies, became the tenth IPL franchise after a successful bid of US$333.33m, but almost immediately ran into trouble over the composition of its ownership, after the discovery of a few “secret partners” in the consortium. A new agreement was then signed by both the parties but fresh controversy broke when Lalit Modi, the then IPL chairman, made the ownership details public on his Twitter feed.Six months after the auction Kochi has still failed to resolve its various internal disputes, which revolve around the distribution of shares in the consortium. The investors are unhappy with the promoters, who do not want to give up the rights to lead the franchise. Despite several lengthy meetings over the past few days, the two factions remain at loggerheads.

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Roelof van der Merwe, the hero of the Titans’ victory in the first leg of the semi-final, starred with the ball in the second, taking five wickets to secure his team’s berth in the MTN40 final with a 11-run victory against regional rivals, the Lions, at the Wanderers. The Lions, at 116 for 1 in the 13th over, were on track to chase 288 but a roller-coaster innings, containing dramatic collapse and nail-biting revival, ended their hopes of reaching the final.Jonathan Vandiar, the Lions opener, appeared as though he had pressed pause on last week’s innings – 130 in the first leg – and play on this week’s. It didn’t seem as though he had put his bat down between the two. Vandiar’s fifty came in a frenetic over in which he hit, in succession, a four, two sixes and another four. Together with Alviro Petersen, he put on a rapid first-wicket partnership of 116 inside 13 overs.The Titans’ needed van der Merwe to halt the Lions. He removed Vandiar and Richard Cameron off successive balls. Four boundary-less overs followed, and then Neil McKenzie, desperate to rotate strike, attempted a quick single. Henry Davids pounced on the ball at extra cover and a direct hit had McKenzie short. Zander de Bruyn got a faint edge off Albie Morkel and van der Merwe claimed his third wicket when Petersen nicked to Heino Kuhn. The Lions lost five wickets for 24 runs.Jean Symes and Thami Tsolekile accumulated quietly for the most part, except for an over from Faf du Plessis, whom they took for 19 runs to put the Lions back on course. van der Merwe returned for a third spell, though, and removed Tsolekile. With him went almost all of the Lions’ chances of a great escape.Symes’ valiant half-century almost stole the win for the Lions and he brought them within 14 runs of the target before van der Merwe had him caught on the rope. With 13 runs needed off the final over, Friedel de Wet attempted a big heave and was caught on the cover boundary, ending the game.During their innings, the Titans had looked set to score over 300 but ended on 287 for 8. Ethan O’Reilly had a forgettable outing that started with an over containing four wides, after which he watched Davids hit three boundaries in his second over. de Wet and Robbie Frylinck reined in the early charge from Davids and Gulam Bodi. Davids mistimed a pull shot to Richard Cameron at mid-on but the allrounder couldn’t get to it.The opening partnership was broken three balls later when Paul Harris took a diving catch at midwicket to dismiss Bodi. Davids wasn’t put off by Bodi’s departure and he and Jacques Rudolph surged on. Rudolph showed aggression, hitting two fours off the first three balls he faced and punishing Werner Coetsee on the leg side. It was up to Harris to break through again, this time with an arm ball which Davids missed.The Titans were hoping for van der Merwe to repeat his Friday night heroics with the bat and sent him in at No. 3, ahead of the in-form du Plessis. The move didn’t pay off, though, and in the 20th over a nervy van der Merwe top edged Harris, who raced to mid-on and attempted to take what should have been Coetsee’s catch. Embarrassingly, both fielders failed to take it. Harris had his man in his next over, when van der Merwe skied the ball to Frylinck at backward square leg.Rudolph’s assault continued with a classy display of dominance against spin and he reached his half-century with a pull off Harris. But during a rare lapse of concentration, Rudolph fed the ball straight to his opposite number, Petersen, at deep extra cover. That sparked a mini collapse as du Plessis and Morkel were also dismissed in the next two overs.The Lions did an impressive damage-control job and conceded only 40 between the 30th and 36th over. Former South Africa under-19 player Mangaliso Mosehle took the Titans closer to the 300 with three monstrous sixes in the final over.

An unbeaten century from Rana Adnan and a collective bowling performance helped Lahore Eagles secure a place in the final by beating State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by 73 runs in Karachi. Adnan’s 100 off 115 balls held the innings together and his partnership of 77 with Hamza Paracha, who made 51, set a platform for a considerable total. The middle and lower order, however, failed to contribute and Lahore slumped from 212 for 3 to 265 for 8. Jalat Khan took 3 for 53 for SBP while new-ball bowler, Mohammad Naved, was economical during his seven-over spell of 1 for 21.SBP’s chase never got off the ground. Their openers fell for single-digit scores and, after a 63-run stand for the third wicket, the steady fall of wickets resumed. Adnan Raees top scored with 49 and no one else got over 40. Lahore’s new-ball bowler, Emmad Ali, took 3 for 34 while Saad Nasim and Waqas Aslam took two apiece. SBP were eventually bowled out for 192 in 40 overs.Riding on Azhar Ali’s unbeaten hundred, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) chased the target of 273 to beat Karachi Zebras by six wickets and an over to spare in Hyderabad to secure their berth in the final. The chase had begun poorly, with KRL slipping to 19 for 3, before Ali led the revival along with Bazid Khan, who made 50. Bazid departed with the score on 117 but Ali Khan entered and blitzed 80 off 58 balls to shut Karachi out of the contest.Ali’s century had helped overcome Karachi’s strong total of 272 for 9, which was built around Asif Zakir’s run-a-ball 110. Rameez Aziz payed a supporting hand with 40 but there were no other contributions of note. Mohammad Irfan claimed 3 for 46 for KRL while Nauman Ali and Saeed Anwar jnr took two wickets apiece.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been banned for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively after an ICC tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing stemming from the Lord’s Test against England last year. The sanctions against Butt and Asif have five and two years suspended, which means that the trio cannot play any official, sanctioned cricket, international or domestic, for a minimum of five years, until September 2015.The suspended sentences on Butt and Asif have been made conditional on their making no further breaches of the code and participating in an anti-corruption education programme, under the auspices of the PCB.Butt, who was captain during the series in England, received the maximum sentence but one charge against him – of batting out a maiden over during the Oval Test – was dismissed. However, he was found to have not disclosed an approach by Majeed that he should bat the maiden over. The other charges that were upheld relate to the subsequent Lord’s Test, where Amir and Asif were found to have bowled deliberate no-balls and Butt was penalized for being party to that. Amir will appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration Sports, but the other two players have not yet said whether they will.The announcement on Saturday evening followed a day of deliberations in Doha between the three-man tribunal – comprising the head Michael Beloff QC, Sharad Rao and Justice Albie Sachs – the players and their legal teams and the ICC’s lawyers. The three players began the day requesting the tribunal for a deferral of any verdict, in light of the statement on Friday by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that the players might also face criminal charges relating to the Lord’s Test as the result of a separate investigation carried out by British police. The players, who continued to maintain their innocence, argued that a judgment today by the tribunal could be prejudicial to any criminal trial in the UK, but the request was rejected.The length of the sentences may be considered surprising to the extent that at least one life ban had been predicted beforehand. Now, in theory, the 26-year-old Butt could return after five years if he complies with the conditions of the verdict. Amir, who will only turn 19 in April, could also conceivably harbour hopes of a return, though in practical terms a five-year gap from any competitive cricket makes the prospect of a return that much more difficult. The situation is most bleak for Asif, who will be 33 by the time the minimum five years are up.It must also be noted that not until the full judgment is released will the picture become fully clear, especially with regards to the nature of the rehabilitation programme they must undertake and the role the PCB will have in that. The tribunal asked the ICC to publish the full judgment as soon as possible and it is expected to happen tomorrow. The question, however, of whether or not the full judgment may be deemed prejudicial to any criminal proceedings in the UK still looms.A member of the ICC legal team told ESPNcricinfo that it is “very happy with the fact that the players were convicted.” But given that the governing body was pushing for maximum sanctions, there will be at least a tinge of disappointment within the governing body.The tribunal also recommended that the ICC make “certain changes to the code with a view to providing flexibility in relation to minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances.” The lawyers of Butt and Amir later said that the tribunal would’ve given lower punishments had their hands not “been tied” to the code’s range of sanctions., the tabloid that broke the spot-fixing story this summer, released a statement of its own, saying that “it is now clear to everyone in the game that corruption will not be tolerated,” and added that it will continue to assist the police in any way it can.A number of Pakistani fans waited outside the Qatar Financial Centre, some for the entire nine-hour duration of the proceedings, and gave vociferous support to the players when they eventually came out. Amir, in fact, was mobbed and had to return inside the building briefly.

If indications from Waqar Younis are anything to go by, Pakistan are unlikely to pick a fourth specialist bowler for Saturday’s crunch game against co-hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa. Pakistan comprehensively beat Kenya in their tournament opener on Wednesday, but played, in Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Rehman, with just three specialist bowlers. Shahid Afridi is as good as a specialist bowler but the caution to fill the line-up with batsmen and batsmen who can bowl, has led to an under-utilisation of Abdul Razzaq.Razzaq batted at No. 8 in the last game, as he has done in 14 of 18 ODIs in the last year. He has played a few significant innings but more than his performances, the question has been whether he is being allowed, in the current line-up, to have the fullest impact on a game. Pakistan have compensated by using him as an opening bowler, but even there he remains under-used: in those 18 ODIs, he has bowled 91.4 overs or, on average, roughly five overs a game. Never once has he bowled the whole quota and he has picked up eight wickets.Instead, Pakistan have combined him and Mohammad Hafeez to provide a fifth bowler and have also been making Ahmed Shehzad bowl in practice, with a view to using him if needed. Though Waqar admitted that Razzaq didn’t “really fit” in the current line-up, he maintained that they were happy with his bowling contribution.”I think Razzaq has done really well with the ball,” Waqar said, ahead of the Sri Lanka game. “He hasn’t delivered the goods with the bat apart from one game in Abu Dhabi [the hundred against South Africa]. He is no doubt our striker in both batting and bowling. He bowls with the new ball and we’ve got to push him a little more in that.”You’re right he comes at eight, but we have five batsmen, the keeper is more a batsman and then there is Afridi, so he doesn’t really fit in at the moment. But if we need to send him up the order if quick runs are required we might push him.”Pakistan’s batting, in actual fact, has performed well over that period, crossing 250 13 times in their last 20 ODIs. But clearly the management remains concerned. The inclusion of Abdur Rehman ahead of Saeed Ajmal – circumstantial to an extent after a personal tragedy forced Ajmal to return to Pakistan during the New Zealand tour and allowed Rehman to take his place – against Kenya surprised some. But it has been done to shore the batting up further still.”It is unfortunate Ajmal is not playing right now,” Waqar said. “He has won matches for us over the last 4-5 years. But right now Rehman is a utility player. He bats a little, he is a very good fielder and the way he is bowling, from what I’ve seen, he is the best spinner here.”For the moment, Waqar said, the final XI had not been decided and hints from the camp suggest it is likely to remain unchanged. But the nature of the surface, re-laid recently, might compel a re-jig. “We don’t really know at the moment,” Waqar said. “These pitches are brand new, so we’re not really sure how it has played. We’re just going to go with the best combination, what we probably had in the last match but we haven’t had a meeting yet. Until we come back in the morning and see something different, but at the moment I don’t think there will be changes.”Though Waqar played down the threat Muttiah Muralitharan might pose, he acknowledged Sri Lanka will be a stern test. “It’s an important game. For this tournament, for momentum it is important and to get to the quarter-final, and in which position you get there, in that sense very important. If you want to go ahead, you have to build momentum so you treat all the teams as one. Sri Lanka at home is very difficult to beat. But the way we’ve played and trained, I am hopeful we can beat them.”

This World Cup began in Bangladesh. No, not because it hosted the inauguration ceremony, but because when India seemed unexcited and cool about the World Cup, the anticipation began in earnestness here. The whole week leading to the event was one incredible party on the streets of Dhaka. That excitement, however, hasn’t carried onto the field for their side. They are now a side looking for some excitement, for some action.England, on the other hand, have kept the World Cup alive, or at least the league stages of it. They have brought the excitement into what promised to be a boring month of travel all over the subcontinent, with not much to determine. They have been the biggest endorsement for the Associates, who are on the hit list of the ICC and the sponsors. They, however, are looking for a little less thrill and a lot more passive action.”It’s been great to be involved in some thrilling games,” their captain, Andrew Strauss, said on the eve of their game against Bangladesh. “Personally I would have liked them to be a bit easier. I’d probably have a bit more hair on my head at this stage of the tournament. But we have shown a lot of character in a couple of those games certainly, and we want these last two games to be less close, to be honest.”They haven’t quite been that fortunate on that count in the lead-up to the game: in four days, they have lost Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad to injuries. Surely they won’t mind even scraping through to the next round, no matter how comprehensively or scratchily they do it. After that it is just a matter of having three good nights.”We have been inconsistent in the tournament so far,” Strauss said. “We have had two very good games against India and South Africa, two less good ones, against Ireland and Netherlands. We really want to firstly make sure we qualify for the quarter-finals, which means we have to win this game. And secondly, we need to get some consistency into our game. We have got this game, and one against the West Indies in order to do that. It’s important that we do do that, and play good solid cricket with both bat and ball.”Shakib Al Hasan has been a man under pressure after Bangladesh’s humiliation against West Indies•Getty Images

The loss of Pietersen and Broad is huge, but like any modern side knows, it is the reality of playing modern cricket with modern schedules. “It’s not ideal by any means,” Strauss said. “We have had to deal with this over the winter. We are very fortunate we have got two ready-made replacements there. In Eoin Morgan, whose finger has recovered just in time, thankfully. And Chris Tremlett, who bowls very similarly to Stuart Broad, and who has been with us, and is used to the conditions. It could have been worse, I suppose, in some ways. Those guys need to come in and hit the ground running, that’s important.”Bangladesh have had issues of the other kind to deal with. It has been a mix of their playing worse than they can, and also the crowds expecting too much. For, when you look at it, they have lost to India and West Indies which, provided both sides are at full strength, they are expected to more often than not. They always knew they would need two upsets, or if they are lucky, just one, to make it to the next round. They still have an opportunity to do that. The end of the world has not yet arrived, but it’s the way they crumbled against West Indies last week that made their fans lose it.Shakib Al Hasan has had to bear the brunt of the people and the former players, but he says he is happy to have deflected all the negative attention onto just himself. “It’s difficult to describe,” Shakib said of the crowd reaction. “Some days when you play well, they will cheer for you. When you don’t play well, they will abuse you. We are not thinking about our crowd. We have to just do our stuff. We know what we can do, and we have to do those things.”However, Shakib didn’t seek to hide the pressure the side is under, going into what should be a now-or-never game given their poor net run-rate. “Boys will be a bit tense, but we know if we play our best cricket, we can beat any side. They are confident enough to do the right things. We have the belief in ourselves that if we play our best game we can beat any side in the world, in our home conditions, especially.”

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s newly-appointed captain, will leave the IPL early and join the national squad in England on May 11, three days ahead of the first tour game against Middlesex. The decision was reached after negotiations between the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in the last week.”He will be there on May 11,” Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, said, confirming the news.The early departure will mean Dilshan will miss his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore’s last four league matches, as well as the knockouts, if they get that far. He will be available for Bangalore’s two home games on May 6 and May 8. His form in the IPL so far has been poor; he has scored only 120 runs in seven innings at a strike-rate of 103.44.The development was positive as far as Dilshan was concerned after he had expressed a strong desire to arrive in England early for his first assignment as Test captain. Dilshan wanted to spend time with the rest of the squad, as well as the new coach Stuart Law, appointed in an interim position for the England tour after Trevor Bayliss’ contract came to an end with the World Cup.Five Sri Lanka players will stay on in the IPL and miss the Middlesex game. The board called in Farveez Maharoof and wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva to provide cover for them. Nuwan Pradeep, the fast bowler who has not yet played for Bangalore in the IPL, is also expected to arrive early in England.

Scorecard
Dominic Cork rues a near miss as Hampshire checked Yorkshire’s progress on a rain-curtailed third day•PA Photos

Yorkshire came up against a defiant Dominic Cork who belied his 39 years with another energetic bowling display on the third day of the County Championship match with Hampshire at Headingley. Having enjoyed a return of 5 for 75 in the first innings, Cork added another two wickets on a rain-affected day in which only 39.5 overs were possible, to give him match figures of 7 for 102 off 48 overs.His efforts pegged back Yorkshire to 62 for 3 after they had gained a first-innings lead of 123 and they were left needing to make good progress on the final morning if they are to go on to win the match.Cork required only 13 runs to reach 10,000 in first-class cricket when Hampshire resumed in the morning on 189 for 6 with their captain on 6 and Sean Ervine on 16, Yorkshire’s lead being 166. A cover boundary off Ryan Sidebottom soon moved Cork into double figures but inattempting a similar stroke off the former England left-arm paceman he drove straight into the hands of Joe Root to depart for 11.Ajmal Shahzad struggled in his opening spell and could not produce the same accuracy which had brought him four wickets the previous day, but when he was replaced by Tim Bresnan it brought immediate results, Ervine moving across his stumps to fall lbw for 23. Yorkshire’s attack continued to cause problems and Sidebottom struck again by getting Danny Briggs lbw with a fine yorker to leave Hampshire on 217 for 9, with Yorkshire having picked up maximum bowling points.Kabir Ali and last man David Griffiths defied Yorkshire for 10 overs, despite Griffiths being beaten outside off stump on several occasions, but Shahzad was brought back at the rugby stand end and Ali carved him to Steve Patterson at third man to leave Hampshire all out for 232. The dismissal gave Shahzad figures of 5 for 65 from 21.3 lively overs.Yorkshire would have been reasonably happy with their first-innings lead in what had been a rather drab match, but they went to lunch on 11 for 1 after Adam Lyth tickled a leg-side delivery from Cork into the gloves of Nic Pothas. Shortly after the interval, Yorkshire lost their other opener, Joe Sayers, who was caught behind off an angled bat, Griffiths picking up hiswicket cheaply for the second time in the match.Once again, Root showed plenty of character at the crease in his first season of Championship cricket and he helped to get the score moving in partnership with home captain Andrew Gale.But with showers already around, the weather began to close in quickly and there was just time for Cork to surprise Root with movement off the pitch as he edged a third consecutive catch to Pothas to depart for 31 from 44 balls with four boundaries. Yorkshire were struggling on 56 for 3, but before Jonny Bairstow could join Gale heavy rain at 2.25pm prevented a restart until 5.20pm, and then only 3.2 overs were possible before the weather closed in again.