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Australia quick Mitchell Starc is adamant he doesn’t need or want to rest for the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart, especially as it will be a pink-ball Test under lights.Starc has been Australia’s leading fast bowling in the series with 15 wickets and the only one to play all four Tests so far, but he laboured a bit in Sydney on a surface that has traditionally not suited him.He took 1 for 124 from 34 overs at the SCG and had some trouble with the footmarks on the final day, wincing at times during his final spell with the second new ball as Australia pushed to bowl out England prior to stumps.However, speaking on Wednesday, Starc said he was fully fit and available to play and was not at all keen to be rested.”I hope not, it’s a pink-ball game,” Starc said. “[I’m] feeling good. Obviously, we’ve had a couple of days now to get ready for the fifth Test match.”It’s purely up to the selectors. I’m not looking for a break. It’s the last Test match of an Ashes series at home. It’s a pink-ball game too. I’d very much like to play. I guess it’s in the hands of the selectors. But I won’t be asking for rest.”Australia have a selection squeeze amongst both its batting and bowling groups. The selectors are trying to find a way to bring back Travis Head after he missed the Sydney Test due to Covid-19, while his replacement Usman Khawaja created an irresistible case to be retained thanks to brilliant twin centuries.There is a similar squeeze with the bowlers. Jhye Richardson is fully fit having missed the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches due to left shin soreness. Scott Boland came into the side in his place and has taken 14 wickets at an insane average of 8.64.Scott Boland clutches his side after slipping on release•Getty Images

Boland bowled magnificently again in Sydney but did need injections in his ribs to get through the match after he fell heavily on his side while bowling in the first innings. Scans did clear him of any serious damage but Starc was unsure how Boland had pulled up.”I don’t know. I think he went to the gym yesterday.” Starc said. “No doubt he’ll be at training and bowl today. He’s a quiet character but quite a resilient one. So no doubt he’ll be looking forward to taking part in this Test as well.”Boland was heralded as a horses for courses selection at the MCG and SCG but if the selectors were to apply the same logic in Hobart then Richardson would have a strong case to return. Richardson took a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings in Adelaide with the pink ball and averages 20.70 in day-night first-class matches, two of which have been Tests. He also took seven wickets in his only Sheffield Shield game at Bellerive Oval earlier this summer.Boland averages 22.64 in pink-ball games and is the only Australia quick to have played two pink-ball Shield games in Hobart, but he took just three wickets at 60.33 in those two matches. His overall record at Bellerive is a bizarre anomaly. He has 13 wickets at 64 in eight first-class matches there, whereas he averages under 20 at the SCG, the Gabba and Adelaide Oval, and 25 at the MCG.While the selectors ponder what pace attack to choose, Starc and his captain Pat Cummins are debating who should bat at No. 8 given Starc’s recent form with the bat.Related

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Starc has made 151 runs in the series and only been dismissed twice, making valuable contributions in each of the four Tests. He is far more credentialed with the bat from a pure run-scoring perspective than Cummins, averaging 23.60 for his career with 10 half-centuries, while Cummins averages 16.63 with just two fifties.Cummins moved ahead of Starc in the order after the 2017-18 Ashes on the basis that Cummins occupied more balls than Starc in order to hang around with the specialist batters for longer. Cummins averages 37 balls per innings compared to Starc’s 26.But in the last two series, Starc has averaged 33 balls per innings and 38.66 per dismissal having been not out in six of his 11 innings, while Cummins has averaged 35 balls per innings and 14.75 per dismissal, leading to a conversation about who should bat higher.”We have sort of started that conversation about where we were both going to bat, we both want to bat No. 9 I think,” Starc said. “He’s the captain after all. So we’ll see how that pans out this week.”Starc said his wife, Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, has noted his improved numbers with the bat.”Alyssa has been laughing at me because she’s seen I’ve been hitting a lot more and obviously spending a bit more time in the middle,” Starc said. “She’s taking the mickey out of me about how much I’ve been batting at training. Whether that’s paying off, I guess, in a way it has been.”We’ve got Michael Di Venuto with us at the moment who’s just been fantastic. I did a lot of work with him in his first stint as the batting coach. And then since he’s come back, working with him and Andrew McDonald just on getting a clear game plan.”Technically I haven’t changed anything, probably since the World Cup in 2019. Doing a little bit of work with Ricky Ponting [in 2019] seemed to have put me in some good positions as well. It’s more about just getting some time out in training and then in the middle, but having clear plans on what I’m trying to achieve.”

One day after Deepak Chahar was bought by Chennai Super Kings for INR 14 crore (USD 1.8m approx.), making him the highest-paid Indian bowler at an IPL auction, he has said that he always knew he would return to the four-time champions under MS Dhoni.He told Star Sports on Sunday that in 2018, franchise owner N Srinivasan had told him that he would have a long association with the franchise, and since then, Chahar said, he had never broached the topic of retention or auction plans with the team.He also said that he “could not imagine” playing for any other franchise. “I’ve never spoken about all this to Mahi [captain MS Dhoni] or CSK management,” Chahar said. “In 2018, I had met Srinivasan sir, and he has said, ‘you will play in yellow always’. So I took his word that day and since then I have never spoken about retention. I knew CSK would bid [for me].”We [India’s T20I squad] were travelling from Ahmedabad to Kolkata, and the whole team was watching the auction. Everyone was saying (what’s the bid price?) and all that.”I wanted to play for CSK because I haven’t imagined myself playing in other colour than yellow. At one point, I thought it [the bid price] was too much. As a CSK player, I also want to build a good team. So after they spent 13 crore, I actually wanted the bidding to stop so I can go to CSK quickly and then we can buy some other players [with the money saved].Chahar will represent the Super Kings for a fifth season in a row, having been bought by the franchise before IPL 2018 for INR 80 lakh. Before that, he had worked with some of the Super Kings personnel at the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise, where he played between 2016 and 2017 alongside Dhoni and current Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming as the Super Kings sat out their suspension in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal of 2013.Chahar also said that despite batting rather low in the Super Kings line-up in previous seasons, he hopes to score more runs in the upcoming IPL edition. Over the last 12 months, he has shown his usefulness with the bat for the Indian ODI side, with his unbeaten 69 in Colombo taking India over the line, a 54 against South Africa last month to almost rescue the team, and an important 38 against West Indies in Ahmedabad last week.However, Chahar does have one regret, and that is not having his cousin Rahul Chahar in the same franchise as him. The duo did share the dressing room at Pune, but never played together.”In Pune, I played first game, he played second, I played third, and he played fourth, but we never played together. I was thinking this auction we might play together, but may be some other time. I’ll ask Rahul to come from Punjab for next year (laughs).”

Worcestershire are celebrating their first victory of the season in the LV=Insurance County Championship after overcoming Sussex by an innings and 34 runs with a day to spare at New Road.They had been denied victory by Leicestershire’s last-wicket pair in their opening game when more than a day’s play was lost to rain but overwhelmed a below-strength Sussex.Sussex lost 15 wickets on the third day and, despite a first-innings century from Cheteshwar Pujara and a half-century from loanee Grant Stewart, they crumbled to a crushing setback.Worcestershire dominated throughout and new club captain, Brett D’Oliveira, has scored 294 runs without being dismissed so far this summer.Worcestershire also have a talismanic leader of their attack in D’Oliveira’s predecessor, Joe Leach, who is enjoying a new lease of life as one of the foot soldiers.Dillon Pennington, who dismissed Pujara twice today, Charlie Morris, and Ed Barnard provided sterling support while emerging spinner, Josh Baker confirmed his promise.Sussex were without half a dozen players through injury but results have been on a downward spiral for some time. Since the start of last season, they have won only one of their 17 Championship matches and been beaten 11 times.Sussex resumed on 169 for 5, still 322 runs in arrears, with their hopes pinned firmly on Pujara who had scored an unbeaten 201 against Derbyshire in the previous match.Pujara, unbeaten on 85 overnight, completed a fine century off 184 balls with 14 boundaries and he and Delray Rawlins negotiated the opening 50 minutes.But the introduction of Pennington into the attack brought about a double breakthrough. The former England Under-19 bowler has revealed his determination to perform on a more consistent basis this season and he soon shattered the stumps of Rawlins with a full-length delivery.Pennington then picked up the prized wicket of Pujara for 109, edging a fine ball which nipped away to be caught by Ed Pollock at first slip.Tom Alsop finally came into bat at No. 7 after a severely bruised finger had prevented him from batting in the top three.But the home side continued to probe away on a cool and overcast day and Barnard found the edge of Grant Stewart’s bat with Pollock holding onto another chance.Alsop, on 28, had been run out against Derbyshire last week and he suffered the same fate thanks to sharp work by Pennington. He played a delivery from Barnard to wide mid-on, set off for a risky single and failed to beat Pennington’s direct hit at the non striker’s end.Morris wrapped up the innings when trapping Grant Burrows lbw on the stroke of lunch.D’Oliveira’s decision to enforce the follow on soon brought dividends thanks to two wickets in two balls for Leach for the second time in the game.Tom Haines nicked a fine delivery and keeper Ben Cox was alert to the situation and pouched a sharp catch in front of first slip. The Leach-Cox combination then struck again on the next very delivery after Alsop pushed forward and found the outside edge.Worcestershire were then cock-a-hoop when Pennington dismissed Pujara (12) for the second time in the day after knocking out his off stump.Tom Clark was then guilty of a poor shot in trying to slog sweep Baker and inside-edged a catch to Cox and Mohammed Rizwan went lbw to Barnard.A dismal day for Sussex was summed up when Rawlins failed to beat Barnard’s throw to Baker at the non-striker’s end after a mix-up with Ali Orr.Orr provided some stubborn resistance in making 33 off 138 balls but was undone by a Baker delivery which bounced on him and was caught at short leg.D’Oliveira held onto a good catch running back to long off to dismiss Henry Crocombe and give Baker a third wicket.The skipper came into the attack for the first time and had Jamie Atkins caught at mid on.Stewart struck Baker for four sixes in one over on his way to a 55-ball half-century in some late defiance before Burrows went lbw to D’Oliveira to end proceedings.

Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin exhibited their mastery at a pivotal moment in the game to ensure Rajasthan Royals successfully defended a strong total, set up by Jos Buttler’s 68-ball century. This meant a second straight win for Royals and a second straight setback for Mumbai Indians, known to be slow starters.This was one Mumbai would be particularly disappointed with because they were in control of the chase going into the last six overs, after Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma hit half-centuries to leave them needing 65 off 36 with seven wickets in the shed. After that, though, they lost three wickets for two runs over the next seven balls against spin as the chase derailed.Kieron Pollard kept hopes alive by biffing a few blows at the close, but an excellent penultimate over from Prasidh Krishna that went for just ten – no boundary was conceded – left Mumbai needing 29 off the final over. Mumbai just found one more boundary as Pollard kept finding the fielders, before the match ended with Buttler fittingly taking a catch to remove him as Mumbai fell short by 23 runs.The Ashwin-Chahal strangle
It’s unlikely the two would have been given four overs between them in the last ten overs had this been a night game. The absence of dew meant Sanju Samson could play around with his spinners and hold them back, and he did so superbly by bowling Chahal with the long boundary to the leg side, forcing batters to hit him against the turn.First, Chahal had Tim David lbw with a slider that fizzed through the deck in the 16th over. Off the next ball, he had Daniel Sams with a fine cocktail of dip and drift. Sams heaved it to the leg side and was caught smartly by a back-pedalling Buttler from midwicket. Chahal nearly had a hat-trick; it wasn’t to be because M Ashwin was put down by wrong-footed Karun Nair at slip. But, by then, the pendulum had swung the Royals’ way.Only an over earlier, the 15th, R Ashwin had dismissed Tilak Varma for a 33-ball 61 a delivery after the 19-year-old had reverse-swept him for a six. Ashwin responded by slowing it down significantly and beating the batter in flight as the stumps were knocked back to elicit a roar and a send-off.1:40

Did Chahal make the big difference in the end?

The Kishan-Varma partnership
Mumbai lost Rohit Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh early, but Kishan and Varma ensured they kept up with the steep asking rate by playing sensibly, especially at the start of their stand. They showed the maturity in knowing they had the games to accelerate later, thereby giving them an opportunity to set up shop.From time to time, Varma picked the boundaries, and along the way also exhibited some languid stroke-making ability. The one off Navdeep Saini, which he punched on the up to clear long-off, was a stunner.At the other end, Kishan was at his industrious best. Running hard, using his feet to spin, bringing out calculated hits without being reckless, and in the process, raising a half-century before Varma got there. The pair went on to add 81 off just 54 balls to set Mumbai up before they unravelled quite uncharacteristically.Buttler fantastic, Buttler tactful
Much before the Royals spinners left their mark, Buttler provided a treat to the 15,000 fans who had turned up on a hot afternoon at the DY Patil Stadium. He was caught by a Jasprit Bumrah toe-crusher early on, but soon found his bearings when he launched into Basil Thampi for three sixes and two fours in the bowler’s only over, inside the powerplay.Where Bumrah and Tymal Mills hit hard lengths, Thampi went full and was clobbered, as Buttler cleared his front leg and made merry. This forced Rohit to dig deep into his bowling reserves early in the game, and having Pollard cover up the remainder of the overs through the innings.Buttler was impressive against spin, too. At one point, with deep point set for the reverse, he outfoxed Mumbai by backing away outside leg to loft M Ashwin repeatedly over cover. Then, when deep point was moved to sweeper cover, he brought out the reverse hits.Jasprit Bumrah was exceptional, returning 3 for 17•BCCI

He found some solid company in Samson, who got himself in quickly to make 30 before falling to Pollard. Shimron Hetmyer provided some late fireworks, laying into Pollard in his final over to disturb perfectly acceptable bowling figures until then: 3-0-20-1 ended up being 4-0-46-1.Bumrah’s comeback
A week after a nightmarish start to his season, where his figures read 3.2-0-43-0, Bumrah bounced back in style, as his second spell late in the innings prevented a late Royals surge. The three best overs for the Royals batters had totalled 73 runs. Bumrah’s four went for just 17, and brought the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hetmyer and Buttler.Those of Hetmyer and Buttler in the death overs brought Mumbai right back in the game, as the Royals looked set to soar past 200, but finished with 194. At the break, Buttler said he wasn’t sure if it was a good score or not because of the short boundary on one side, but their spinners used the long boundaries to perfection to close out an impressive win.

Stumps In the first 50 minutes in Mirpur, Sri Lanka’s two seamers tore Bangladesh’s top order down, the scoreline reading 24 for 5 inside seven overs. But the recovery was just as epic. Mushfiqur Rahim – fresh from a hundred in Chattogram – progressed masterfully to a ninth Test century. Litton Das, more aggressive than his senior partner, strode to a hundred of his own. At stumps, the pair had put on 253 unbeaten runs together, and set Bangladesh on track for an imposing total.Bangladesh, who seemed to have suffered a series-defining collapse at the start of the day, had dug incredibly deep to finish the day perhaps the happier outfit. There was only one further recognised batter to come for them, but it was clear that the pitch was now flat, and that Sri Lanka’s spinners posed little threat.Despite their rollicking start, it was ultimately a day of toil for Sri Lanka’s attack. The scoring rate having increased through the day, Bangladesh were going at 3.25 an over by stumps.There was not a lot in the surface beyond the early overs, during which Kasun Rajitha claimed three wickets and Asitha Fernando two, but Sri Lanka’s spinners were nevertheless modest, and at times bowled too many short deliveries.For most of the day, Litton was more adventurous than Mushfiqur. Never was this more clear than when Sri Lanka’s seamers bowled bouncers at Litton just after lunch. He rarely shied away from using the pull shot, even with the leg trap set. Fernando should have had Litton caught for 47, when a top-edged pull floated out behind square on the leg side. But Kamindu Mendis – the substitute fielder – could not get his hands around the descending ball, having run back from backward square-leg. This was the only real chance either batter offered, though.Even from early in the innings, Litton was severe on errors of length, particularly when Sri Lanka’s bowlers pitched short. He punished Ramesh Mendis through the leg side twice in his first over, and continued to prosper in that region. Of his 16 boundaries, 13 came in the arc between fine leg and wide long-on. Thanks partly to Sri Lanka’s indiscretions, Litton raced through the 80s and 90s, to his second Test hundred; he collected three fours and five overthrows to move from 79 to 101 in the space of 13 balls. The runs continued to flow after he got to triple figures. Litton finished the day on 135 off 221.Mushfiqur’s innings was steadier. He rode his form through the early stages, hitting two fours off his first eight balls, before settling into a rhythm as the morning and afternoon sessions wore on. He was largely content to wait for the bad balls, which Sri Lanka’s spinners – in particular – delivered with some frequency. Mostly, they bowled too full to Mushfiqur, and he would step out to hit them through the off side, while picking up singles square on either side of the wicket in between.Kasun Rajitha struck on the second ball of the match, removing Mahmudul Hasan Joy, before picking up two more wickets•AFP/Getty Images

Where Litton had been intent to take on the short-pitched bowling Sri Lanka’s seamers bowled through the middle session, Mushfiqur was largely content to duck or weave. He got to his 27th half-century with a cover-driven four off Praveen Jayawickrama, off the 112th ball he faced, and continued to progress serenely after that, rarely missing out on the obvious scoring opportunities, but also slowing down when the opposition bowled well at him, as they did just before tea.The runs came quickly for him as well in the third session, Sri Lanka’s bowlers clearly having been worn down by the pair, and by the heat. About halfway through the session, Mushfiqur poked one square of the wicket on the off side and completed his century – his third against Sri Lanka, who going by the stats are his favourite opposition. The second new ball, taken after 81.3 overs, did not trouble either batter much.Despite their eventual toil, Sri Lanka’s quicks started brilliantly. Rajitha was the more impressive of the two bowlers, and had set the morning’s collapse in motion with the second ball of the match.Bowling from wide of the crease, he got the ball to straighten slightly off the pitch, and whizz between the bat and pad of Mahmudul Hasan Joy, whose off stump was flattened. Rajitha would also get two left-handers off successive balls with roughly this strategy, only from around the wicket. In the seventh over of the innings, he tempted Najmul Hossain Shanto into a big drive, and took down his off stump as well. Next ball, he angled one into the pads of Shakib Al Hasan, who played around it and was given out lbw – a decision that was upheld upon review.Fernando’s wickets, meanwhile, did not follow so close a pattern. He skidded one at Tamim Iqbal in the second over, and the batter sent a leading edge to point, where Jayawickrama took a good diving catch. Tamim had been looking to whip that ball to the leg side.Bangladesh’s struggling captain Mominul Haque was Fernando’s next victim. Poking at a length ball outside off, Mominul sent a thin edge to the wicketkeeper, and was out for nine. This was his sixth consecutive single-figure score, and the seventh in eight innings.In the end, Rajitha’s were the day’s only good figures – he finished with 3 for 43 from 19 overs. Fernando had 2 for 80 from 17 – his short-ball bursts having proved expensive, though he did create that chance off Litton. The spinners were a disappointment, but then the pitch had not yet begun to take any serious turn. Sri Lanka will hope that if Ramesh and Jayawickrama cannot be immediately penetrative on day two, that they will at least be economical.

Surrey 147 for 3 (Jacks 57, Roy 50) beat Sussex 146 for 7 (Hudson-Prentice 49*) by seven wickets Will Jacks and Jason Roy both hit sparkling half-centuries as South Group leaders Surrey stretched their unbeaten start to the Vitality Blast campaign to six matches by crushing Sussex Sharks by seven wickets at the Kia Oval.A crowd of 15,000 saw Jacks add a 37-ball 57 to an earlier wicket and astonishing boundary catch as Surrey easily chased down Sussex’s 146 for 7, in which Fynn Hudson-Prentice top-scored for the visitors with a 49 not out from 44 balls that anchored the innings but provided no real forward thrust.There were still 3.3 overs remaining when Surrey reached 147 for 3 in reply, completing their total outclassing of a Sharks side who have now lost four of their opening seven Blast fixtures.Surrey’s mastery was summed up by Chris Jordan, their captain, bowling a double-wicket maiden in Sussex’s 18th over, and with five wins only a no result wash-out against Glamorgan at Cardiff denies them a 100 per cent record.Jacks and Roy reeled off a stream of magnificent and powerful strokes in an opening partnership of 110 in just 12.3 overs as the Sharks attack was taken apart in ruthless fashion.Both hit sixes as Delray Rawlins’s left-arm spin was plundered for 19 in the first over of Surrey’s reply, and Jacks then extra cover drove and swung Tymal Mills for four and six in a third over costing 18.Steven Finn’s second over went for 15 and Roy then merely punched Obed McCoy’s left-arm pace straight for a purely-timed four and Jacks thrashed Mills high over extra cover as the six-over powerplay ended with Surrey 72 without loss.Roy eventually sliced McCoy to cover to go for 50 from 41 balls, with two sixes and four fours, and three wickets in six balls momentarily slowed Surrey’s progress as Sam Curran (1) played McCoy on to his stumps and Jacks skied to deep extra cover after hitting two sixes and six fours.Kieron Pollard, though, sauntered in to launch both Archie Lenham and Mills for sixes in an unbeaten cameo of 23 and Laurie Evans also thrashed a cover four off the suffering Mills in his 10 not out.Sunil Narine, meanwhile, again Surrey’s outstanding bowler, conceded no fours off the bat in his 4-0-21-1 and – remarkably – the former West Indies mystery spinner has been struck for just three in the 20 overs he has so far sent down in this season’s competition.It was Narine, indeed, who ended Harrison Ward’s 23-ball 31 after the young left-hander had at least offered some lusty blows, including a six over long off against Worrall, in a fifth-wicket stand of 51 in seven overs with Hudson-Prentice.But the Sussex innings always struggled to get going, despite Tom Alsop clubbing Reece Topley for successive legside sixes in the fourth over – an over that ended, however, with Topley bowling Tim Seifert for 4 through an ugly slog.That left the Sharks 35 for 2 and they had lost their first wicket when Jacks pulled off a sensational, leaping one-handed catch on the deep square leg ropes to dismiss Ravi Bopara for 6 off Dan Worrall.Rawlins, trying to force off the back foot, then succeeded only in edging a simple catch to Topley at short third man off Jacks’ third ball, in the fifth over.Topley dived full length to his right, in the same position, to cling on brilliantly to a reverse slap from Alsop six overs later as the left-hander, who scored 38 off 28 balls, tried in vain to break the shackles imposed by Narine.Jordan’s double-strike in the 18th over removed both Ward, carving to deep point, and Oli Carter, leg-before for a duck, and McCoy was run out for 2 in the final over when Hudson-Prentice attempted to pinch a bye when the tailender heaved and missed at Jordan.Mills did manage to thump Jordan past mid off for four in that last over and the innings ended with four leg byes to fine leg off Hudson-Prentice’s pads – but there had simply not been enough boundaries for the Sharks against a talented and varied Surrey attack.

Washington Sundar marked his County Championship debut for Lancashire by taking four wickets – including one with his second ball of the day – on a sweltering opening day against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Rob Keogh and Lewis McManus both scored half-centuries to put the heat back on Lancashire’s bowlers after the visitors had threatened to run through Northants’ batting.Some tight and disciplined bowling from Lancahire’s attack had reduced Northants to 124 for 5 in temperatures approaching 40 degrees, Will Williams picking up two scalps.But Keogh led the counter-attack, striking six boundaries as he passed 5,000 career runs in first-class cricket. He found a willing partner in McManus and the pair shared a 77-run partnership in 18 overs to take Northants past 200.Related

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Lancashire made further inroads before the close as Washington finished the day with figures of 4 for 69. He removed Keogh thanks to a stunning one-handed slip catch from Luke Wells, while Tom Taylor was trapped lbw attempting a reverse-sweep.McManus reached his fourth half-century of the season shortly before the close as.Northamptonshire finished on 218 for 7.”I think I bowled well with some good lines, and [there were] a couple of amazing catches as well,” Washington said. “I feel very good coming over here. Making my debut for Lancashire is a huge thing for me. Getting my cap in the morning from Mark [Chilton] is a great thing. The boys were really supportive. They fielded very well as well, so I’m feeling very good.”I’m sure there’s going to be a huge learning for me and I want to give back a lot for Lancashire. They’ve shown faith in me and I want to perform my very best and win a lot of games for them and keep them happy with a lot of good performances. I’m looking forward to understanding myself more with the red ball especially in these kinds of conditions and coming up against different a set of players with different styles.”Obviously the conditions are quite different from what it is in India and a few other places. I’m looking forward to learning a lot about the culture with the kind of cricket that’s played over here and seeing lots of different styles of batsmen and bowlers and learn more about cricket as well. I think I’ve brought some sun from my home!”Rob Keogh made a useful half-century•Getty Images

Earlier on a day reduced to 72 overs because of the extreme heat, Northamptonshire’s top order failed to capitalise after winning the toss and deciding to bat, despite most batters getting good starts.New red-ball captain Will Young saw off the new ball but fell cheaply for two to Washington’s second delivery when the batter edged behind off an attempted cut shot.Ricardo Vasconcelos, who stood down as captain ahead of this game, survived a scare in the first over when he edged behind, but was soon into his work, driving down the ground for four and playing through extra cover for another boundary.He had moved onto 23 when he survived a strong appeal when Luke Wood got one to nip back. The left-arm pacer got his man in his next over though when Vasconcelos flashed loosely outside off stump and steered the ball straight to second slip. It was a testing, fiery spell either side of lunch from Wood who troubled the batters by pitching the ball up, mixed in with some well-directed short deliveries.Emilio Gay, fresh from a century at Canterbury last week, made the most of the fast outfield with five boundaries before lunch. He also stepped down the pitch to dispatch Washington high into the Lynn Wilson Stand.Northamptonshire went into lunch on 63 for 2 but scoring slowed considerably after the interval in the face of some disciplined Lancashire bowling which soon reaped rewards when Procter was adjudged lbw to Williams for 19, struck on the pads attempting to work a ball to leg. Williams picked up a second wicket when Gay drove loosely and Rob Jones took a sharp catch at second slip.Keogh played positively from the outset. He got off the mark with a well-timed clip off his toes for four and although he played and missed consecutive balls from Williams, he was severe on the slow bowlers. He played a perfectly timed back-foot punch for four off Washington and then smashed two deliveries from Matt Parkinson through extra cover.He combined with Ryan Rickleton in a stand of 43 but the South African international fell on the stroke of tea for 22 when Washington rapped him on the pads as he played back in his crease. McManus was equally aggressive against Parkinson, sweeping him for four and smashing him down the ground for two further boundaries.But Washington duly made the breakthrough to leave Lancashire on top. McManus, who struck Wells down the ground for six in the closing overs, will be key if Northants are to try to push on towards 300 in the morning.

Sussex beat Leicestershire by eight wickets in a Royal London One-Day Cup match at Hove which lasted a total of just 50.5 overs, finishing so quickly that the crowd had time to watch most of the second half of Brighton’s Premier League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.Leicestershire were bowled out for just 120 in 32.4 overs before Sussex, led by Ali Orr and Tom Clark, knocked off the runs in only 18.1 overs. Leicestershire came here with two wins out of two – now both these sides have won two out of three.When Sussex bowled there was a little swing from Brad Currie, who took two wickets, and some movement from the clever Ari Karvelas on a pitch with a hint of green in it. But there was also some indifferent batting by the away side.Sussex had chosen to bowl and the pick of their attack was Karvelas, 28, who was born in South Africa and represented Greece in a T20 World Cup qualifier against Italy. He is on a month’s trial with Sussex and has impressed with both bat and ball.”I played some first-class cricket in South Africa which helped me before I made my county debut at Lord’s last month,” Karvelas said. “This is a great opportunity because Sussex have gone out on a limb for me.”We keep getting better, and I think that showed today. The ball was nipping around. It helps when there is a little assistance in the wicket. We were relentless, hitting our lengths as a unit. And then we imposed our stature with the bat, which is what you have to do chasing small totals.”There were also three wickets for Delray Rawlins, who had figures of 3 for 22 in 5.4 overs. These were his best figures in List A cricket, beating his previous best, his 3 for 50 against Gloucestershire on Friday, in a match where he also recorded his batting best in the competition.The Leicestershire procession started with the fifth ball of the second over when Nick Welch inside-edged Currie onto his leg stump. It was 6 for 2 when Rishi Patel played crookedly forward to the first ball of the third over and was lbw to Karvelas.Related

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The wickets kept tumbling. It was 28 for 3 when Lewis Hill was lbw to Karvelas to the last ball of the seventh over and then 29 for 4 in the ninth when Louis Kimber drove Karvelas into the hands of Archie Lenham at mid-on. Next ball it was 29 for 5 when Harry Swindells, coming forward and aiming for the leg side, was lbw to Karvelas.Arron Lilley played on to Currie for a single to make it 30 for 6 in the 12th over and Leicestershire reached their nadir in the 16th when Tom Scriven edged Henry Crocombe to Tom Clarke at first slip for 9.There was then a partial recovery as Wiaan Mulder (27) and Roman Walker (23) featured in the best partnership of the innings, adding 44 in 11 overs before Walker was bowled by Rawlins.Rawlins broke through again in his next over when Mulder, going back to cut when he might have been forward, was bowled. Beuran Hendricks hit Lenham for six over midwicket and there was also a breezy 16 off 18 deliveries off last man Chris Wright in a last-wicket stand worth 27 before Rawlins brought the innings to an end by bowling Hendricks.When Sussex batted they soon lost Harrison Ward, who played on to Wright in the fourth over. But the match was put beyond doubt by Orr, who hit Mulder for two vast sixes in the same over, both crashing into the block of flats behind deep backward square leg on the east side of the ground.When Orr was caught at long-on for a 40-ball 44, with four fours to go with his brace of sixes, Clark, in the company of Cheteshwar Pujara, took Sussex comfortably home with an unbeaten 53 off 51 balls, with seven fours and a big six over midwicket.

Stephen Eskinazi, overlooked in The Hundred, continued his love affair with this season’s Royal London Cup as Middlesex trounced Warwickshire by 128 runs at Radlett to remain on course for the knockout stages.Making the most of being dropped early on to reach 642 runs for the campaign with his fourth century (102) of the competition, he is now only four runs shy of Graham Clark’s record of 646 set playing for Durham in 2021. As The Hundred calls up replacements from what remains of the county circuit, though, he remains overlooked.Eskinazi shared a stand of 213 for the second wicket with Sam Robson who made 111, his best list-A score as the hosts piled up 374 for 3, their highest total ever in the format at Radlett.Dominic Sibley made 89 in the run-chase, but Warwickshire could only muster 246 and were not helped by an injury for Michael Burgess, sustained behind the stumps when he dropped Eskinazi on 10.Oliver Hannon-Dalby should have claimed Eskinazi’s scalp when he had made 10. However, wicketkeeper Burgess not only failed to cling on to the chance but dislocated his thumb in the process. Fellow opener Mark Stoneman soon hooked the same bowler down the throat of deep square, but it was scant compensation.New batter Robson was felled by a short ball from George Garrett early in his innings, but once the green tinge left the hybrid pitch, he and Eskinazi took charge. Both men hit beautifully over cover and Eskinazi struck the first six of the day back over the bowler’s head.Robson was the first to 50 at a little over a run a ball while Eskinazi made it to 600 runs in this year’s competition when he reached 60. Robson narrowly won the race to three figures, too, a six back over Hannon-Dalby’s head as 10 fours took him to his century in 95 balls. One ball later the crowd were on their feet again to laud Eskinazi’s latest ton from 104 balls.It took a deflection onto the stumps at the bowler’s end to run out Eskinazi and bring their stand to a close and Robson holed out in the deep soon afterwards.Their departures though brought little respite for Warwickshire as Max Holden (62 not out) and Pieter Malan (59 not out) plundered a hundred partnership from the final 52 balls, the former clubbing a six almost into the pavilion, while the South African’s maximum threatened those queuing for an ice-cream.On a day when England crumbled in the Test, their former opener Sibley opened positively in reply driving strongly both straight and through cover, finding the fence nine times in reaching 50 in 62 balls. The problem for Warwickshire was no-one could provide the sense of permanence to stay with him and chase down such a target.The in-form Rob Yates missed out nicking one from Toby Greatwood to wicketkeeper Joe Cracknell and skipper Will Rhodes soon followed him back to the pavilion when Martin Andersson spread-eagled his stumps.Matt Lamb flourished briefly in a stand of 53 only to then be castled by the returning Greatwood and Ethan Brookes was another to get a start before falling lbw to Luke Hollman. The young leg-spinner would strike again in his next over too bowling 16-year-old Hamsa Shaikh around his legs.Sibley’s stout resistance ended when he edged Max Harris through to Cracknell and although Burgess bravely came out to bat he was yorked by Umesh Yadav as Middlesex ran out convincing winners. Hollman returned a career-best four for 34.

Sussex 220 and 39 for 1 trail Worcestershire 438 for 5 (Libby 215) lead by 179 runsOpener Jake Libby made a career-best 215 as Worcestershire put themselves in position to push for victory over Sussex and keep their promotion hopes alive in the LV= Insurance County Championship. Libby’s maiden double-century came in a total of 438 for 5 before Worcestershire declared with a lead of 218 on day three at the 1st Central County Ground, having banked maximum bonus points.Play didn’t start at Hove until 4.10pm because of rain and 84 overs have been lost in the match so far but Worcestershire quickly made up for lost time, Libby leading the charge as they thrashed 149 in 20 overs against some toothless bowling before the declaration.Sussex were left with ten overs to negotiate, and they lost skipper Tom Haines for 13 in the penultimate over when he played on to Joe Leach. They closed on 39 for 1, still 179 behind.Sussex had taken the new ball when play eventually began after heavy rain but it was soon being dispatched to all parts by Libby and Jack Haynes. Pakistan allrounder Faheem Ashraf came in for some harsh treatment, his three overs costing 30 runs including three successive boundaries by Libby which took him past his previous best score of 184.He added 96 in 22 overs with Haynes, who played on to Brad Currie for 31, but skipper Brett D’Oliveira kept up the momentum when he joined Libby. D’Oliveira offered a difficult chance off a top-edged pull but Ali Orr, running round the boundary, couldn’t quite hold on as he stepped over the rope. Otherwise, the pair scored at more than seven runs an over even though Sussex had seven fielders on the boundary.Libby brought up his 200 with a single off James Coles and offered his first chance on 204, but wicketkeeper Oli Carter spilled a straightforward opportunity moving to his right. Libby was eventually dismissed by Coles shaping to cut, having faced 294 balls, hit 25 fours and a six in a highly impressive innings spanning six hours, 38 minutes spread over three days.It was his team’s second double-hundred of this season following Azhar Ali’s 235 against Leicestershire in May and the highest score by a Worcestershire batter against Sussex, beating Graeme Hick’s 186 at Hove in 1991. The declaration came when Ashraf had D’Oliveira, whose 43 off 38 balls included two sixes, was caught behind for 43.