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Jack Taylor, the Gloucestershire offspinner, has been banned from bowling due to a suspect action

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2016Jack Taylor, the Gloucestershire offspinner, has been banned from bowling due to a suspect action. Taylor was previously reported in 2013 and had to remodel his action.The news comes less than 24 hours after Taylor scored an unbeaten hundred to help Gloucestershire to a remarkable Championship victory over Worcestershire at New Road. He underwent independent testing last week and was found to have a bowling action that exceeds the permitted 15 degrees of elbow extension.He has therefore been suspended from bowling in county cricket with immediate effect, as per ECB regulations, until his action has been re-tested and found within the limits.Taylor has taken 53 wickets at 39.39 in first-class cricket – where he also has four hundreds – but his all-round ability was important for Gloucestershire in limited-overs cricket. In the club’s 2015 Royal London Cup success, Taylor was named Man of the Match after scoring 35 from 26 balls and taking 3 for 43 in the final against Surrey.After being called in 2013, and missing the rest of the season to undergo remedial work with Gloucestershire and at the ECB’s national academy in Loughborough, he was cleared to resume bowling in February 2014.He has been an ever-present in the Championship this season, taking 14 wickets and averaging 52.40 with the bat, as well as featuring in Gloucestershire’s one NatWest T20 Blast game to date.

Mark Davis has spoken about Sussex’s frustration in having to wait for Mustafizur Rahman, one of the club’s overseas signings, to arrive

Mohammad Isam20-Jun-2016Mark Davis has spoken about Sussex’s frustration in having to wait for Mustafizur Rahman, one of the club’s overseas signings, to arrive. Mustafizur has been working to regain fitness after the IPL and his stint in England remains uncertain.Davis, Sussex’s head coach, said the club was struggling to find another replacement for Mustafizur, after South Africa allrounder David Wiese departed for the CPL. Wiese was initially signed as cover for two games at the start of June but ended up making four NatWest T20 Blast appearances. Ahead of their game against Gloucestershire on Sunday, Sussex will also be without Chris Jordan who is away on England duty.”We have a couple of people but it is very late in the day so it is very hard to get replacements,” Davis told the Brighton-based . “The top players in the world have been signed, or are playing CPL, or their countries aren’t allowing them to play. That’s the frustration because we have chosen Mustafizur as probably the No. 1 bowler in the world in that format.”On June 9, the Bangladesh physio Bayjidul Islam had said that Mustafizur would take at least two weeks to be ready but last week, trainer Mario Villavarayan said he would require another month to recover from his injuries.Sussex had earlier said they would be happy to wait for Mustafizur, at least until June 10, but that time has now passed. Davis said he had only been able to get advice from Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha but he was confident that Mustafizur would show up for his side.”I spoke to the Bangladesh head coach and he said he would be assessed after two weeks, which is now,” Davis said. “It hasn’t been easy to nail Bangladesh down. Their coach has been the one I have got most direction from. But we are also dealing with physios and trainers who are putting things on the internet. I am sure we will get it nailed down.”

Gareth Batty led from the front with a superb 5 for 41 as Surrey thrashed Gloucestershire by 165 runs at the Kia Oval

ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2016
ScorecardSteven Davies anchored the innings with a run-a-ball 79•Getty Images

Gareth Batty led from the front with a superb 5 for 41 as Surrey thrashed Gloucestershire by 165 runs at the Kia Oval to avenge the defeat they suffered at the hands of the West Countrymen in last September’s Royal London Cup final.Surrey captain Batty ran through the middle and lower order with his offbreaks as Gloucestershire slid to 158 all out in reply to his side’s challenging 50-over total of 323 for 8. The win lifts Surrey into third place in the South Group.Batty and Jade Dernbach, who took 3 for 33, followed up half-centuries from Steven Davies, Rory Burns and Sam Curran in what was a thoroughly dominant Surrey team performance. Davies made 79 and Burns 50, but the icing on the cake in Surrey’s innings was an 89-run stand between brothers Sam and Tom Curran. Sam Curran hit a List A career-best 57 from 56 balls, while Tom Curran was eventually run out off a wide for 39.In reply, Gloucestershire never recovered from the early loss of Michael Klinger, Phil Mustard and Chris Dent to the pace bowling of Dernbach, who polished off the trio in the space of 11 balls. Only Hamish Marshall offered any resistance as the defending champions were bowled out in just 33.2 overs.Jason Roy reacted to Surrey’s decision to bat first by racing to 17 off his first nine balls, with four boundaries. But the visitors countered by having Aaron Finch lbw playing back to Matt Taylor and Roy edging Liam Norwell behind for 34 – low and to the right of keeper Mustard, who was making his debut for Gloucestershire on loan from Durham.Davies lifted both Craig Miles and Benny Howell over midwicket for sixes on his way to a 47-ball half-century and added 77 in 12 overs with Dominic Sibley. But Howell struck when the latter, shaping to cut, chopped the ball on to his stumps for 27.Left-hander Davies holed out to deep midwicket for 79 off Norwell, though not before Mustard had dropped a routine chance off the same bowler when he was on 75. Two overs later, Norwell added a third wicket to his tally when Ben Foakes was bowled through the gate.Burns was caught behind shortly after completing a 49-ball fifty. But with the Curran brothers batting attractively and aggressively in their 13-over seventh-wicket stand, Surrey looked well placed at the halfway stage.The Currans matched each other run for run, initially, but then Sam Curran took charge – pulling Taylor out of the ground for six and launching Tom Smith over long-off for another maximum. The 18-year-old eventually skied a pull to the wicketkeeper, though not before reaching his maiden one-day half-century, which came off 48 deliveries.Gloucestershire’s assault on a victory target of 324 could not have got off a worse start with Dernbach bowling both Klinger, who was undone by a cleverly disguised slower delivery, and Mustard, playing a loose drive, first ball. Two overs later, Dent responded by cutting Dernbach violently for four before getting a leading edge to cover point to make it 24 for 3.Marshall’s lone hand included a cut over third man for six off Stuart Meaker and a ramp shot off Tom Curran, which sailed over fine leg for another maximum.Ian Cockbain, dancing down the wicket, edged Batty low to backward point and Graeme van Buuren was caught at short fine leg, though not before Marshall had moved to a 46-ball fifty. Howell was caught behind off a lifting ball from paceman Meaker, and when Marshall departed two overs later, caught behind off the same bowler for 55, it was all over bar the shouting.

Nick Compton is back with a bang and that has to be good news for Middlesex’s title challenge

Tim Wigmore at Lord's14-Aug-2016
ScorecardNick Compton put this sort of England agony behind him•Getty Images

The hearty cheers that reverberated around Lord’s told their own tale. Nick Compton had not merely reached a century at HQ, but had helped Middlesex into a position of dominance and, in the process, strengthened his team’s hold on the summit of Division One. So as he punched the air in delight at his century, removing his helmet to acknowledge the crowd’s applause, Compton had much reason to be proud.That recent months have been among the most trying of Compton’s professional life hardly needs restating. Indeed, when he brought up his 50, it was his first half-century of the year, and first since his crucial 85 underpinned England’s victory in the Durban Test at the end of 2015.Given these circumstances, and the huge importance of this match to his team, few of Compton’s 25 first-class centuries can have been the cause of so much satisfaction. On this evidence, plenty more will be forthcoming in the County Championship. Compton has only just turned 33, retains one of the most resolute defensive techniques in the land and has a ravenous appetite for runs that few can rival in the county game.There seems no reason why, if he has the inclination, he cannot continue to feast in the shires for many years, a little like Marcus Trescothick and Mark Ramprakash, two other players who, for contrasting reasons, enjoyed international careers shorter than they had envisaged.Adhesive defence has been Compton’s hallmark, and this innings was no different: he had to summon all of his fortitude to resist Rushwoth’s swing and the bounce of Mark Wood. And yet Compton revealed plenty more of his game: relentlessly efficient clips through the legside, some imperious hooks, and a succession of meticulously-placed late cuts, including the steer off Scott Borthwick that brought up his century a little before three o’clock. While the early stages of his innings had been a little jittery, Compton unobtrusively gained in fluency, using his feet nimbly to spin and outpacing Nick Gubbins during their fertile alliance.Together with Gubbins, Compton added 247 runs in 79.1 overs, and how they fed of each other was highlighted not just by their harrying between the wickets but how Gubbins left his crease so early to laud Compton for his century that Durham might have run him out.This was a match-defining partnership, and a record-breaking one: Middlesex’s highest stand for the second wicket against Durham and only one shy of equalling the record for any wicket. Gubbins’ dismissal also left him one short of being the first batsman to reach 1,000 runs in the County Championship in 2016. Still, he might reflect that 999 runs at 66.60 apiece is not too shabby.Although this was only his third first-class century – Gubbins fell three times in the 90s before reaching his first – it brimmed with not merely assurance and class, but, for those who have witnessed him this season, a certain feeling of inevitability. Given that England are hardly overburdened with proven opening partners for Alastair Cook, it would be a surprise if Gubbins was not rewarded by a England Lions berth.Cricket has always fetishised the grace of the left-hander, and, in his clips through the legside, driving through point and dexterous use of his feet against spin, Gubbins has an elegance in keeping with this tradition. All these shots were in evidence against Durham; more importantly, so was Gubbins’ grit.How he needed it to withstand Wood. Wood’s frustration has been palpable all day, and, with Gubbins on 99, he expressed it in an over of short bowling, harassing Gubbins with a short leg and fly slip. Gubbins withstood, and reached his century against Borthwick in the next over, but still Wood returned, a brutal rising delivery from him smashing into Gubbins’ grill. When Wood eventually found late movement to induce Gubbins to edge to slip and end the second wicket stand, he looked to the sky – less in relief at the wicket, but in exasperation at waiting so long for it.When the second wicket stand was nascent, the previous evening, Gubbins had been spilled behind, off Onions; Compton had also survived two chances to the slips off Chris Rushworth before he has reached 20, one on the first evening and one on the second morning.By the time it finally ended, the alliance between Compton and Gubbins was worth more than the entirety of Durham’s first innings and, buttressed by a forceful cameo from Paul Stirling, had secured Middlesex a lead of over 200: a position from which they will expect to win convincingly, in the process extend their lead at the top of Division One.And, as loud as the cheers that greeted Compton’s century were, Middlesex can dream of even more boisterous acclaim should they clinch the Championship crown here against Yorkshire in the final game of the season.

Hampshire’s attempts to pull off Great Escape 2 started well as they moved towards a formidable first-innings score on a sandy pitch at the Ageas Bowl

Will Macpherson at the Ageas Bowl20-Sep-2016
ScorecardJames Vince found form at the right time•Getty Images

Hampshire’s pursuit of the 22 points they began this game needing to guarantee safety, and a second consecutive Great Escape, could barely have started better. By day’s end, on a pitch already turning with some venom, four of those points were in the bag. A fifth – they need 30 runs in 13 overs – seems there for the taking. Events at Edgbaston are going their way.There was, it seems, a masterplan in place. The players have been agonising over this pitch since their last game, against Surrey at the Oval, finished in a draw 11 days ago. Then James Vince, the captain, had hinted that they wanted, perhaps needed, the ball to turn and that Mason Crane, Liam Dawson and even Will Smith would have substantial roles to play with the ball. Spin-bowling, as Hampshire had suspected and Vince subsequently proved in his fine hand of 92, is not Durham’s forte.Smith, who made 90, seemed pleased with Hampshire’s day. “It’s a wicket where we don’t think it’s going to get any better so getting as many runs as we can first up is great,” he said. “To be 370 on day one is great, with some bonus points – get that final one and we have done well.”Paul Collingwood looked up (on a cold, cloudy morning), not down (at a dry, straw-coloured surface with a small ridge running down it that apparently had umpire Nick Cook smiling before play), and invited Hampshire to bat without so much as the flick of a coin.In trying to play to his strengths – seam and swing, he was unwittingly playing his part in the masterplan. Hampshire wanted to bat first, bat big, and then let the pitch disintegrate under Crane and Dawson’s watch. The sight of Ryan Pringle’s off-breaks coming on – and immediately finding turn – to try and break in the game’s 12th over reaffirmed this.Pringle would bowl 31 overs by the end of the day and take three wickets – the first and third, left-handers Tom Alsop and Ryan McLaren, both lbw, with notable turn – but at the significant cost of a daddy ton of runs. The other wicket, Sean Ervine caught behind trying to cut a ball too close to him, came a ball after the batsman reached 50 (his fifth in six innings), just as he was looking to cut loose.There was plenty of spin, but even more loose balls. “We have played the turn well,” said Smith, “trying to put pressure onto their spinners. It will be interesting what happens once we bowl because it should turn consistently and more and more as the game goes on.””It was a disappointing day,” said Collingwood, “the amount it is turning on day one you would expect to take more wickets. I knew it was going to turn for day one, there is a lot of sand on that wicket which is the same tactic Somerset seem to be using as well. But we didn’t quite get it right and to only get six wickets on day one is pretty disappointing.”Vince, particularly, mauled Pringle, to the tune of 52 from 45 balls. Having walked to the crease a ball after lunch, he instantly looked at ease, exploiting the vast gaps for twos and threes from dabbed sweeps and late cuts. There was that cover-drive, which felt so much safer to the spinners but was played with control to the seamers too, while a single Pringle over yielded two swept fours and a skip down for six over long-on. In the blink of an eye he had a 48-ball 50, brought up with his first false stroke, an edge over the keeper as Ben Stokes found pace and bounce.By tea he had 89, having added the backfoot drive and pull to the repertoire, but he was run out by Ervine shortly after the break. The left-hander pushed to cover point, and called Vince through, failing to note the presence of Stokes. Vince hesitated, and Stokes had the wherewithal to forgo the direct hit, knowing the keeper had time to finish the job. Despite the careless ending, this was the Vince the selectors picked – achingly elegant and, as in last season’s Great Escape, doing it in a jam, too.Jimmy Adams and Smith, with whom Vince shared 102 before the opener skewed to point, had laid the foundations for Vince’s knock. They put on 111 for the first wicket until Adams chopped on to Scott Borthwick’s second over, his eighth half-century of the season curtailed before a first ton was reached. Nevermind, it had been a punchy, platform-building innings full of pleasant off-drives and dainty cuts. Survival would mean more to Adams than most; he is as Hampshire as the hills around the Ageas Bowl and, in 2016, it is odd to think he played a full season with Robin Smith all those years ago.Will Smith ploughed on, sweeping the spinners and cover-driving Hampshire into a fine position against the county he captained to the title (and won two others with) before his abrupt release. He knows better than anyone, however, that games are not won on day one. “There is so much ebb and flow to come,” he said. “Sure, we are ahead, but Durham are a side who have fought back incredibly well in games like this. We will have to be incredibly wary of that.”

The Bangladesh selectors have brought in left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain to replace pacer Rubel Hossain for the third ODI against Afghanistan

Mohammad Isam29-Sep-2016The Bangladesh selectors have brought in left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain to replace pacer Rubel Hossain for the third ODI against Afghanistan.The decision came in a Wednesday-night selection meeting, soon after the loss to Afghanistan in the second ODI. Rubel had bowled only three overs in that two-wicket defeat, conceding 24 runs. He had fared only slightly better in the first game, particularly in the last few overs when Bangladesh pulled the game back, but still went for 62 runs in nine overs.In a rocky career so far, Mosharraf, 34, has played three ODIs, all in March 2008, before joining the now-defunct, rebel Indian Cricket League. He was regularly among the top wicket-takers in domestic cricket since the BCB reinstated the ICL players in 2010. He was last picked in the national squad more than three years ago, for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, but did not get a game. He was then provisionally banned in connection with the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League fixing controversy, but cleared of any wrongdoing by the investigation tribunal. He has performed with bat and ball for Legends of Rupganj this season, but, in June, was suspended for one match in the Dhaka Premier League for misconduct. In August, he was added to Bangladesh’s 30-man preliminary squad ahead of the international season.The ODIs between Bangladesh and Afghanistan currently stand at 1-1, with one match to play in Mirpur on October 1.

Bangladesh fought themselves into a promising position in the second Test, leading by 128 runs and hopeful of setting England a significant fourth-innings target to chase on a wearing surface

The Report by Alan Gardner29-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBangladesh’s pursuit of a first Test win over England has been nothing if not absorbing. Following their narrow defeat in Chittagong, they once again fought themselves into a promising position in the second Test, leading by 128 runs and hopeful of setting England a significant fourth-innings target to chase on a wearing surface. Only Bangladesh’s recent record – and history itself – would lead you to bet against them.The second day at Mirpur highlighted their fragility, as well as the weaknesses of an England team one-and-a-half games into a seven-Test odyssey on the subcontinent. England were struggling to stay afloat after being reduced to 144 for 8 during the morning session, 19-year-old offspinner Mehedi Hasan bewitching the top order for his second consecutive six-for, before a record stand between Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid carried them into a scarcely believable first-innings lead.Bangladesh’s openers responded with a counterattack against the new ball, led by the irrepressible Tamim Iqbal, before two wickets in three balls caused another tremor. Mahmudullah’s dismissal from the last ball of the day, slogging wildly at Zafar Ansari, then took the gloss off a recovery stand of 86 with Imrul Kayes and England, mindful of the way Bangladesh plunged from 171 for 1 to 220 all out on Friday, will not have given up hope. Like one of the many tributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal, this fluctuating match has refused to follow a set course.

Root leaves field with stomach complaint

England’s prospects of pulling off what promises to be a taxing run-chase could be dealt a blow after Joe Root was laid low by a stomach complaint on the second afternoon in Dhaka.
Root, who top-scored in England’s first innings with 56, left the ground early during Bangladesh’s second innings and is currently being assessed by the team medical staff.

The resurrection of England’s first innings, another stark reversal of fortunes, demonstrated the point. Having been eight down and 76 runs in arrears, Woakes and Rashid put on 99 together as Bangladesh visibly wilted after a dominant morning session in which they had claimed five wickets and seemingly regained control of the match.Their mettle was further tested by an off-field intervention. England had edged in front when Woakes, on 38, slapped a high full toss from Sabbir Rahman straight to midwicket but Chris Gaffaney, the TV umpire, deemed the delivery a no-ball for being above waist height – an undoubtedly harsh decision – and England went on to add another 22 runs to their total. Given that was the margin between the sides in Chittagong, it could still prove crucial.Tamim and Imrul wiped out the deficit, as momentum continued to shift and England’s spinners once again came under attack. Ansari removed Tamim for his maiden Test wicket and Ben Stokes struck in the following over but Imrul moved past 50 and was steady at the close – even if Mahmudullah was not.The Woakes-Rashid partnership was England’s highest for the ninth wicket in Asia and kept the tourists in game after another trial by spin. At lunch, England had been left sagging on the ropes and contemplating a significant first-innings deficit, despite a battling fifty from Joe Root.Woakes and Rashid were initially only focused on getting to the break, though both needed some luck to survive. Woakes was given out caught behind but successfully reviewed, while Mushfiqur Rahim’s resort to the DRS could not dislodge Rashid after the ball deflected off his body to slip. Rashid could also have been stumped when Mushfiqur dropped the ball on to the wicket but the bails stayed in place.They remained glued together for almost the entirety of the afternoon session, playing straight against the softening ball and frustrating Bangladesh’s hopes of a potentially decisive lead. After 57 overs exclusively of spin, Mushfiqur finally called on his one seamer, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, before the captain turned, slightly in desperation, to Sabbir, who ought to have had Woakes as his first Test wicket – though it was neither a shot nor a delivery to be proud of.Gaffaney’s decision further deflated Bangladesh and although Mehedi had Woakes smartly caught at leg slip by the diving Shuvagata Hom four runs short of a second Test half-century and Steven Finn did not last long, edging to Mushfiqur in the next over, the scales had tipped England’s way.On this security-heavy tour, England have become used to travelling in convoy through closed-off roads, free from the usual traffic, Dhaka’s notoriously sclerotic system bypassed. The two Tests against Bangladesh have been similarly fast-moving, the traditionally glacial progress of subcontinental cricket melting into something far-less predictable.The challenge for England was clear from the outset. Mehedi was again Bangladesh’s spin kingpin and there were already signs of the pitch offering more grip after Moeen Ali edged the third ball of the day to slip on the bounce. Fourteen runs had come from 11 deliveries in slightly frantic fashion when Moeen tried to manufacture a sweep and Mehedi slid the ball past the bottom edge to shudder off stump.During an extended morning session, which spanned almost 40 overs, on a surface that was perfectly suited to the talents of the home attack, Mushfiqur bowled his three spinners throughout. Root provided the principal roadblock to Bangladeshi ambition. He survived one tough chance to slip and many more deliveries spitting past the bat to compile his first half-century of the winter before becoming the eighth man out shortly before lunch. Having seen Taijul Islam spin the ball practically at right angles past his bat, he was defeated by the very next delivery, one that pitched in almost exactly the same spot only to zero in on leg stump.Jonny Bairstow was the only other top-order batsman to reach 20, while Ansari, the debutant at No. 8, hung in as best he could. It took a superb reaction catch from Shuvagata at gully to remove him, giving Mehedi his five-for in the process; he became only the second offspinner after Sonny Ramadhin to do so twice in his first two Test matches.Taijul might have dislodged Root on 19, but Mahmudullah failed to get more than fingertips on a thick edge that gave him little time to react as the ball diverted past Mushfiqur’s gloves. The next delivery brought the wicket of Stokes, taken at short leg for a duck, the ball spinning in sharply from over the wicket to deflect off the inside edge via the thigh pad.England were 69 for 5 and once again in need of a sixth-wicket rescue job. Bairstow provided one of sorts (these things are relative), although his 45-run association with Root was not quite enough to extend a run of 50-plus stands that had stretched back to England’s defeat to Pakistan at Lord’s in July. The Yorkshire pair were proactive in their running and watchful in defence, accepting that the ball would frequently rip past the edge but quickly resetting their sights for the next delivery.Bangladesh reviewed unsuccessfully when Root was on 33, seeking an lbw, but after their doughty association had held for 16.3 overs – by far the longest of the innings until Woakes and Rashid came together – and England were perhaps just beginning to think about parity, Bairstow played absentmindedly around Mehedi’s first ball back into the attack to be pinned in front of his stumps.

Set an unlikely 415 for victory, Tasmania played out a draw against New South Wales in Hobart by reaching 4 for 266

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2016
ScorecardJames Faulkner had previously struck only one first-class hundred, in county cricket (file photo)•PA Photos

James Faulkner scored his maiden Sheffield Shield century and his second in first-class cricket to help Tasmania bat out a draw on the fourth day against New South Wales in Hobart. Set an unlikely target of 415 for victory, Tasmania’s hopes faded even further when they fell to 4 for 81 on the final day, as Trent Copeland and his bowling colleagues ran through the top order.But Faulkner and Beau Webster settled in for 72.1 overs for an unbeaten 185-run partnership, and if their stand didn’t look like delivering Tasmania to their target, it at least prevented New South Wales from romping to victory. After the Blues declared on 5 for 495 in their first innings and rolled the Tigers for 209, a draw would have seemed an excellent result for Tasmania.Faulkner struck 12 fours during his 222-ball innings, which was his longest in first-class cricket, and he arrived at triple figures late in the day. His only previous first-class hundred had come for Lancashire in county cricket last year, and in this match he bettered his previous best Sheffield Shield score of 89.Webster ran out of time to push for what could have been a third first-class century, finishing unbeaten on 80 from 214 deliveries. Copeland finished the match with eight wickets but Man of the Match was Peter Nevill for his unbeaten 179 and five catches.