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ScorecardDurham coasted to their first Specsavers County Championship win of the season when they made light work of reaching a target of 157 in 43 overs against Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street.After making only one half-century in his 13 previous championship innings, Stephen Cook led the way to the nine-wicket win with an unbeaten 89 from 78 balls in his final appearance before linking up with the South Africa Test squad next week.Cameron Steel also went for his shots from the outset and survived three difficult chances in making 51 off 58 balls as Durham got home with 18.3 overs to spare. Cook worked the ball into leg-side spaces before cutting Marchant de Lange to the rope as he scored 34 of the 54 runs that came up in the first ten overs.With their seamers making no impression, Glamorgan turned to Andrew Salter’s off spin and Cook drove him wide of mid-off for his sixth four to reach 50 off 49 balls. Two similar strokes for his eighth and ninth fours brought the winning runs.Only 28 were needed when Salter persuaded Steel to chip a catch to deep mid-off, allowing Jack Burnham to assist in completing the task with an unbeaten 14.After resuming on 92 for 2, Glamorgan were dismissed for 263 in their second innings, with Colin Ingram left unbeaten on 70, made off 137 balls with seven fours and a pulled six.Barry McCarthy finished with 4 for 65 after briefly coming under fire from nightwatchman Lukas Carey.After conceding 16 runs in 11 overs, McCarthy went for 26 in two, which included a six over long-on.But when he needed one for his second half-century in successive games, Carey got carried away and had his stumps splattered by an inswinger from Chris Rushworth.Three wickets had gone down for five runs in three overs when McCarthy pinned Aneurin Donald lbw with a shooter and had David Lloyd well caught at second slip by Ryan Pringle off an edged drive.Ingram survived a difficult chance to Steel at cover off McCarthy, but was otherwise untroubled and was kept company for 16 overs after lunch by Tom Cullen on his championship debut.But after making 13 he shouldered arms and lost his off stump to a Rushworth inswinger in the sixth over of the new ball.Marchant de Lange threatened to take it away from Durham in a ninth-wicket stand of 40 in six overs. But Rushworth clung on to a return catch from a fierce drive then, three overs later, Michael Hogan played across the line and was bowled off his pads by McCarthy.

Virender Sehwag, Kings XI Punjab’s director of cricket operations, was unimpressed by the performance of their overseas players in the knockout game against Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday.Kings XI careened to 32 for 5 in the Powerplay, with all four of Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Shaun Marsh and the captain Glenn Maxwell having fallen. They were eventually bowled out for their lowest total in the IPL – 73 – and were knocked out of the tournament.”I’m very disappointed,” Sehwag said in the post-match press conference. “I can say that none of the foreign players took responsibility and at least played 12 to 15 overs. Their role was at least one of the top four should bat for 12 to 15 overs, but none of the batsmen took the responsibility.”I think they were complaining that the wicket was a bit slow but when you play international cricket so much, you should get used to playing on difficult or good wickets. There are very rare occasions when you get a good wicket to bat on but whatever wicket you get, you have to play at least 20 overs for your side. But Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Guptill and Morgan [were all disappointing].”The procession began from the very first ball as Guptill smashed an on-the-up drive to short cover. Marsh popped a catch to mid-off in the fourth over. Morgan was run out for 4 and Maxwell fell for a duck.”Guptill’s role was to cash in during the Powerplay and [the other opener] Wriddhiman Saha’s was to just bat around with him,” Sehwag said. “So I don’t mind him getting out on the first or second ball as long as he knows what he’s doing. There’s no point blaming him; I should rather blame the other batsmen.”Even Marsh, his role was to play till 10-12 overs, but the way he got out was disappointing and then Maxwell and Morgan, these are the experienced players… I mean the players who got out had been informing the next batsman that it’s a slow wicket and even then if you throw away wickets, it means that you’re not up for the game.”Kings XI had picked Maxwell to lead them this season even though he did not have any experience leading a side in senior cricket. He managed 310 runs in 13 innings with an average of 31.00 and a top score of 47.”We always knew that when Maxwell fires, then he can win the match on his own,” Sehwag said. “But he didn’t fire in eight or nine games. That is a big disappointment, especially since he’s experienced, having played for Australia’s Test and ODI teams. He didn’t take the responsibility as a captain and didn’t perform for Kings XI Punjab.”Kings XI were without Hashim Amla, who hit two hundreds in the tournament – neither of them resulted in wins, though. Sehwag was effusive in his praise for the South African opener who had left on national duty.”We missed Hashim Amla, for sure,” Sehwag said. “The kind of consistency he showed, none of the other players could do that, an individual couldn’t take responsibility. Saha played one [good] innings, Manan Vohra played one innings but apart from that none of the others played responsibly.”He [Amla] is an experienced player and has played more than 100 Test matches and averages close to 50 in Test cricket and also one-day cricket. He knows how to score runs immaterial of the format. And he takes very few risks. Whatever risks he takes, it is always after 12 or 15 overs, when he knows that he has completed his role and there’s a need to score quick runs. Otherwise, for the first 10 overs he takes less risks and remains on 30-40 and converts them into big scores. The two hundreds that he scored were brilliant. The other players in the team have a lot to learn from Hashim Amla, be it international players or Indian.”

James Anderson believes Haseeb Hameed is already “a better, more technically sound opening batsman” than Alastair Cook.While Anderson, England’s highest Test wicket-taker, is full of respect for his team-mate Cook, he feels Hameed not only has a better technique but also the unflappable temperament that has played such a huge part in Cook’s success.”Is he as talented a player as I’ve seen come into the England side? I’d say so,” Anderson said. “He’s right up there.”I know Cookie is the leading run scorer but I’d say he is a better more technically sound opening batsman that Cook.”I played with him at Lancashire last year and you see teams throwing everything at him: short balls; around the wicket; everything. And he seemed to cope with everything that was thrown at him.”From an opening bowler’s point of view when you are sat in the dressing room and your opening batter has that calm way about him it just settles the whole dressing room.”Bowling at him in the nets, he’s so up to opening the batting, the way he plays it late, leaves the ball. I don’t want to talk him up too much, but I think he’s just a very exiting talent. And he has the temperament and concentration of Cook in bucket-loads. That mindset will stand him in good stead.”Such was the good impression Hameed made in India that it seems inevitable expectations on him will be increased markedly this season. But while some players might buckle under the pressure, Anderson expects Hameed to flourish this summer and in Australia at the end of the year.”I’m sure Australia will throw everything they’ve got at him,” Anderson said. “Pace, short balls, aggression, verbals. I’m sure they’ll go at him. They usually pick on the young guys. But with his calm nature I think he’ll be able to handle it.”He’s such a calm, level-headed lad I don’t think he’ll need much help. He’s very switched on for his age. He’s got a good solid family behind him that help him a lot. He’s got all the attributes to be able to cope with anything that’s thrown at him. His ability and his talent is frightening for such a young lad, so I think he’ll cope with anything.”Anderson was looking forward to bowling at Cook before a hip injury ruled out the former England captain from the opening round of County Championship matches. It would have been the fifth time the pair have come against one another in the Championship and Anderson has had much the better of their encounters. On the most recent occasion, in 2015, he trapped Cook leg before for 1 in the third over of the match, while in the previous game, in 2010, it took him until the fifth over of the match to dismiss him for 3. And while Cook made a second-innings half-century, it could not prevent Lancashire winning by eight wickets and Anderson finishing with nine in the match.James Anderson on a young Alastair Cook: ‘We thought he was an arrogant little so-and-so so we told him. It turns out he’s not’•BRUT Sport Style

Cook’s injury removes the potential for some lively scenes in the middle with Anderson, a bowler who likes to share a few words, admitting he would have found it hard to keep quiet.”I’ve bowled at him for well over 10 years and I just feel like I’m going to get him out,” Anderson said. “I know his game so well. I find it hard going back into county cricket and playing against people you’ve never seen before. So when you come up against someone like that who you’ve known for so long, I find it fun.”I’ve played against him three times, I think, and got him out each game. But in one game he got runs before I fluked a wicket and got him caught on the hook.”I think a few of the lads gave him a send-off. It must have been just after he got a double-hundred for Essex against Australia in 2005 so we thought he was an arrogant little so-and-so so we told him. It turns out he’s not.”Meanwhile Anderson revealed he had “made peace” with the fact that his international limited-overs career is over. But he does expect to be in white-ball action for Lancashire in the coming weeks in a bid to ensure he is fully fit by the time the Test season begins in July. And he hopes there could still be a white-ball recall for Stuart Broad.”I’m going to play 50-over cricket for Lancashire in May,” he says. “The way the season is mapped out, to have the month of May off completely would be foolish. It wouldn’t help me at all. So I’m playing two out of the first three Championship games and then I’ll reassess.”I’ve kind of made peace with the fact that I probably won’t play again. In my head I’d still like to because I think – although I’ve had injury problems over the last twelve months – I could still get to that World Cup in 2019.”But the way the team has moved on in the last 18-months, it would probably not be the way they’re looking at the team for me to come back in. Stuart Broad coming back in would make sense, because it looks like the bowling attack needs that senior figure. He’s only 30 and he could make it to the World Cup quite comfortably.”While Anderson accepts “I can’t bowl 90mph any more like I used to” he still hopes to play a role in the Ashes at the end of the year. He has been impressed by Australia’s development, though, and has particular respect for their captain, Steven Smith.”Australia look like a really promising team,” he said. “They’re obviously building something at the minute. They look pretty strong, especially in the batting.”Smith is really tricky to bowl to, because he’s so unorthodox. You think you’ve got a chance with him all the time, but he’s a really talented batsman. He’s turned himself into a brilliant batsman and he’s a key player for them, being captain as well. When he scores runs, they generally get big scores.”You think you can get him out all sorts of ways. You think you can york him leg-stump, because he walks that far across. But he manages to get bat on it.”It is going to be difficult for us, and I think now we’ve seen how he bats, over the next few months we can come up with some plans for him.”

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has revealed the significant influence he has over Bangladesh’s selection process at present, saying that it was his call to drop allrounder Mahmudullah from the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka.Hassan also said another high-profile player might have suffered the axe had the designated wicketkeeper Liton Das not been ruled out of the second Test through injury. Indications are that the player he was referring to was the captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who had said “if I get to play” more than once ahead of the game.”I take all the decisions,” Hassan said in Colombo on the first day of Bangladesh’s 100th Test. “I have said it repeatedly that I take every decision. The decision that [Mahmudullah] won’t play the Test also has to come from me. And no one told me that he won’t be in the ODI squad. Until I take the decision, what others say doesn’t count. Chandika [Hathurusingha, the coach] doesn’t send me anything, it is the selectors who send me the list of players.”Mahmudullah got left out because this is an important Test for us. Just because we like Mahmudullah, Shakib [Al Hasan], Tamim [Iqbal] and Mushfiqur, doesn’t mean we will sit around while they keep playing with poor form. It will make the team unstable.”There would have been a bigger change had Liton Das not got injured. Anyone can be dropped. I don’t need a player in the squad who effects a team after being dropped. This message has to be clear. Whoever is replacing a senior player, you have to encourage him, impart intelligence to him. It is a team game after all.”Hassan’s comments, however, appeared to be at odds with the mandate he had set out for the revamped selection committee in June 2016, when the selection of the Bangladesh team became a three-step process.The committee was expanded by the inclusion of the coach Chandika Hathurusingha, the team manager Khaled Mahmud, and BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan. Hassan said at the time that his role in the selection process would be diminished because of Mahmud’s inclusion in the panel.Then the chief selector Faruque Ahmed had quit as a result, saying the new composition would curb the independence of the appointed selectors. Former Bangladesh batsman Minhajul Abedin was given Faruque’s position.Over the last nine months, however, Hassan made public comments about selection on at least three occasions. During the home series against Afghanistan in September 2016 – right after the selection committee was revamped – Hassan said left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain should be picked for the ODIs against England. The 34-year-old was left out of the second and third ODIs after a poor first game.During the Bangladesh Premier League, Hassan had said the selectors should consider performers from the T20 tournament for the training camp for the New Zealand tour. Mehedi Maruf, one of the players Hassan had mentioned, was included in the camp in Sydney as a “development player”, and also travelled to train with the squad in New Zealand.Hassan’s latest comments about Mahmudullah are likely to put more pressure on the current selectors, particularly the chief selector Minhajul, who is a respected figure in Bangladesh cricket, having been the country’s best batsman in the 1980s and 1990s.

A century from MS Dhoni and his 151-run stand for the seventh wicket with Shahbaz Nadeem helped Jharkhand overcome a collapse to beat Chhattisgarh by 78 runs at the Eden Gardens. His 107-ball 129 came after Chhattisgarh had reduced Jharkhand to 57 for 6 in the 20th over. Opening bowlers Pankaj Rao (3-27) and Kant Singh (4-33) shared the first six wickets. But Dhoni, coming in at No. 6, combined with Nadeem (53 off 90) to steady their innings with a stand that lasted 27.4 overs, helping Jharkhand to 243 for 9. Dhoni fell off the last ball of the innings after hitting ten fours and six sixes. In response, Chhattisgarh failed to put on substantial partnerships before folding for 165 in an innings where only three batsmen got past 20 – Kant top-scored with 24, to add to a memorable List A debut. Fast bowler Varun Aaron (3-26) and Nadeem (3-36) were the top performers for Jharkhand with the ball.Akshath Reddy’s third List A century powered Hyderabad to 312 before Chama Milind’s four-wicket haul restricted Saurasthra to 199, for a 113-run victory in Kalyani. Reddy lost opening partner Tanmay Agarwal in the fifth over but added 191 with Kolla Sumanth, who retired hurt on 91. Reddy put up a career-best 154 off 132 balls before being run-out in a 48th over that accounted for three wickets. Medium-pacer Kushang Patel (3-54) took three wickets in four balls in that over. In reply, Saurashtra lost their openers within the fourth over. A third-wicket stand of 46 steadied the innings briefly before a collapse saw them fall from 57 for 2 to 96 for 7. All of Hyderabad’s bowlers chipped in with wickets, but Milind and Mehdi Hasan (2-44) were at the forefront. Prerak Mankad, the lone resistance for Saurashtra, hit his maiden century – 104 off 88 balls – before falling to Ravi Kiran (2-46).Pavan Deshpande’s maiden fifty anchored Karnataka‘s chase against Services, helping them to a four-wicket win at the Jadavpur University ground in Kolkata. After Services were put in, they lost quick wickets on either side of a third-wicket stand of 54 to slump to 114 for 6. Suraj Yadav (44*) and Diwesh Pathania (49) added 82 before for the seventh wicket, before Poonam Poonia’s unbeaten 13-ball 20 lifted Services to 231 for 7. Medium-pacer Prasidh Krishna (3-39) and offspinner Aniruddha Joshi (2-32) led the charge for Karnataka. Robin Uthappa, who effected three catches and a stumping behind the wickets, hit 51 off 43 after Karnataka were reduced to 3 for 2. His fifty came in a 76-run partnership with Manish Pandey (23) before the pair fell off consecutive overs to leave Karnataka at 81 for 4 in the 18th over. Deshpande’s 73 brought them to within 44 runs of victory, before Joshi (50* off 37) and J Suchith (24* off 18) sealed the win.

ScorecardFile photo – Simon Milenko struck 75 off 62 balls and took a wicket on the third day•Getty Images

Western Australia completed a nine-wicket thumping of Tasmania inside three days at Bellerive Oval to notch their third consecutive Sheffield Shield victory and pull back into contention for the competition final.Western Australia were again well served by their seam attack, the debutant Cameron Green added two wickets to his first-innings five while David Moody claimed four to help round up Tasmania’s second innings for 265, despite a firm rearguard effort from Simon Milenko that ensured the hosts would avoid an innings defeat.That left a target of only 54 for Western Australia to seal victory, with Hilton Cartwright wasting little time on the requirement after Cameron Bancroft fell to Milenko. Cartwright earned Man-of-the-Match honours for his first-innings 94 when batting conditions were at their most difficult.WA remain fifth on the table, but are now within an outright win of second place with three fixtures remaining.

Adam Voges and Moises Henriques, captains of Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers respectively, have thrown their support behind the competition’s decision to expand ahead of its seventh edition next year.Cricket Australia announced on Friday that each team would play 10 games next season, two more than the first six editions of the tournament, taking the regular season programme from 32 to 40 overall. The expectation is that the tournament will not be elongated on the calendar, but that franchises will be encouraged to take matches to new cities in their states.Saturday’s BBL final is the 20th sellout of this season’s 35 games, with Perth Scorchers one of three clubs – alongside Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat – to sell every ticket to their home games. Hobart Hurricanes fell just short.Voges described the news, given such excellent crowds, as “inevitable”, while Henriques – who “had no idea it was coming” and found out on Twitter on Friday morning – said: “I’m sure the guys will love it. It’s fantastic, and to be playing more games under this sort of pressure, at this standard is only a good thing for state cricket.””[It’s a positive] As long as it doesn’t extend the season too much, but our last four games were played over 20 days or so, so there is enough time there to get a couple of extra games in,” Voges said. “We have sold out all our home games, so you’d hope that would be the same result.”CA is considering playing more daytime and twilight games, as well as having more days with two matches.”Personally I feel the BBL is the easiest part of the season for cricketers in terms of how you pull up with your body,” Henriques said. “The Shield season is harder, backing up for four days in a row. I feel they could compress the tournament even more, getting 10 games into the same amount of time we play now. I don’t see it being a huge issue, but we’ll find out next year.”Voges was not supportive, however, of CA’s discussions over naming the venue for the final in advance, although this is unsurprising ahead of a final at his team’s homeground, the WACA. Currently, the teams that finish first and second host the semi-finals. The highest-placed team to make the final hosts it. Scorchers finished top in the regular season.”I hope not,” Voges said. “We played a home final in Canberra a few years ago which was great because we won it, but I’d certainly have liked to have played here. No, I’d like to see the finals stay in the home state.”

Kevon Cooper and Arafat Sunny have been reported by the umpires for suspect bowling actions in the BPL.In the case of Sunny, Rangpur Riders’ left-arm spinner, one delivery, the first ball of the 19th over in Rangpur’s match against Rajshahi Kings on November 28, raised suspicion.Video footage of Khulna Titan’s allrounder Cooper’s bowling has been sent to the WICB, the BPL technical committee chairman Jalal Yunus said.”Sunny was reported once, in their last game [on November 28],” Yunus said. “The next step would be for the BCB’s bowling action review committee to analyse video footage of the delivery, which we will do soon after the end of the tournament. We have sent Cooper’s footage to the WICB.”Sunny was suspended for an illegal action during this year’s World T20 in March but cleared to bowl by the ICC in international cricket on September 23.After Sunny and Taskin Ahmed were suspended by the ICC, the BCB formed a bowling action review committee which found five bowlers to have illegal bowling actions during last season’s Dhaka Premier League.Yunus, who is also the chairman of the bowling action review committee, said that they will be stricter on suspected bowling actions.West Indies’ Cooper, too, was reported for a suspected bowling action during this year’s Pakistan Super League. Yunus said the BPL wanted to cases such as Cooper’s in future.”In the next BPL, we hope to do the video analysis of suspected bowling action during the tournament itself,” Yunus said. “We will also have to be aware of foreign players who has been reported previously, so that we can inform our franchises beforehand. We don’t want to have such bowlers in future tournaments.”

Cameron Delport’s all-round performance and Dolphins‘ top order steered them to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Knights in Bloemfontein, to earn their second win from five matches. Knights, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat in four matches.Knights’ openers Patrick Kruger and Andries Gous scored 28 each, after they opted to bat, but both were removed in Delport’s consecutive overs after the Powerplay. Captain Theunis de Bruyn then led them to a competitive 153 for 8 with an unbeaten 63 off 41. It was his fourth T20 fifty in his first match of the tournament and featured six fours and a six. Delport finished with 3 for 26.Dolphins hardly stuttered in their chase. They reached 50 in 5.1 overs but lost Delport for a 24-ball 36 on the next ball. Morne van Wyk, the other opener, and Cody Chetty combined for a commanding stand of 86 runs in only 11.1 overs to keep them ahead of the asking rate. Van Wyk fell for 56 of 43 in the 17th over and soon Khaya Zondo sealed the chase with a four in the penultimate over. Chetty was unbeaten on 46 off 38.Lions fell to a third loss in four games, with Christiaan Jonker helping Warriors breeze to their target of 153 with 13 balls and six wickets to spare. The win bumped Warriors up to No. 2 on the points table.Lions elected to bat and were off to a decent start, getting to 97 for 1 in the 15th. But none of their middle over could get going, and it was up to No. 3, Mangaliso Mosehle, who struck 49 off 28, to take the total past 150. JJ Smuts was the most effective of the Warriors bowlers: his left-arm spin accounted for both the openers after they were set, and he was miserly in taking 2 for 15 in his four.Smuts and Somila Seyibokwe laid the platform in the chase, before both were out in quick succession, and a couple more quick wickets followed to put the wobbles on Warriors. However, Jonker then launched his counterattack, thumping 49 off 18 with three fours and five sixes to seal the deal for Warriors.Titans v Cape Cobras in Centurion was a no result, with only 11 overs possible across both innings. The teams shared points, taking two each. The match was reduced to ten overs a side, and Cobras got to 115 for 4 in their allotment, with Richard Levi setting up the innings with 45 off 27 before Rory Kleinveldt put on the finishing touches with 28 off eight with four sixes. Titans could manage only one over in their reply, before play was called off.

West Indies women have recalled Jamaican allrounder Chedean Nation after a gap of nearly seven years, for the ODIs and T20s in India next month. West Indies also recalled wicketkeeper-batsman Kycia Knight and medium-pacer Shakera Selman, both of whom were dropped for the home series against England.Nation, 29, last played international cricket in November 2009, against England at home, in both ODIs and T20Is. She has played 12 ODIs and five T20Is, and was named in an 18-member West Indies training squad for a camp in September, before the England series.Knight and Selman, who were part of the World T20 winning squad this year, had been dropped earlier this month and Anisa Mohammed had replaced Selman as the vice-captain. Even though Selman has returned, Mohammed continues to be the vice-captain for the India tour.West Indies will play three T20Is after three ODIs, which will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship, in India. The first ODI will start on November 10 and the last T20I on November 22; all six matches will be played in Vijayawada.West Indies are currently placed third with 22 points in the Women’s Championship table and India are sixth with 13 points.Squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt.), Anisa Mohammed (vice-capt.), Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt