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Stumps
ScorecardMichael Clarke looked in no discomfort in his first innings back from injury•Associated Press

Shane Watson followed James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc in providing a tantalising glimpse of the destructive power to be found within this Australian side as they warmed up against Somerset. In sending Watson up to open the innings and promising he will stay there, the new coach, Darren Lehmann, appeared to bring an immediate change to the allrounder’s previously drifting game.An innings of 90, on a blameless pitch against presentable bowling, does not quite indicate that Watson is to regain the Test match effectiveness that won him two Allan Border Medals, and had him named as Michael Clarke’s deputy in 2011. In fact the score itself was emblematic of Watson’s career aversion to making Test hundreds. But the clarity of his stroke production and the ease of his rapid scoring was exactly what Lehmann will hope for against Jimmy Anderson and company.It was a marked contrast from Watson’s previous innings, a brief affair against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy when one cover drive was followed by a horrid attempt to cut in line of the stumps. Wasteful dismissals such as these have been a significant factor in the failure of Watson to deliver on a promise that has hung in the air around him for a decade now, but there was nothing muddled about the way he opened up at Taunton, driving when the bowlers overpitched, pulling or glancing when short, and leaving most in between.Michael Clarke also offered a promising cameo, finding touch in his first innings of any kind for three months before rain brought an early end to day two. A pair of low scores for Ed Cowan and Usman Khawaja did not enhance either left-hander’s chances of winning a place in the XI for the first Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. As the others proved, these were ideal conditions for batting.Phillip Hughes and Brad Haddin were easing their way towards useful tallies when the showers arrived. Haddin lofted George Dockrell down the ground with typical flourish to have the ball pounding off the scorers’ window in the Taunton press box. When the match resumes, Hughes should have the opportunity to press his case for retention after Cowan and Khawaja had failed to capitalise on their precedence in the batting order.Watson ran up a huge percentage of his runs in boundaries, his straight drives a particular delight. He also took full advantage whenever Craig Meschede angled into the pads, flicking with wristy power between midwicket and mid on. He briefly threatened to collar a century before lunch, but a front edge from the bowling of the slippery Craig Overton ended a stay that lasted only 94 balls, 20 of which reached the rope.Clarke’s start was a little less forthright, as could be expected for someone who had not batted since the Mohali Test match against India in March, when the suspension of four players for failing to follow instructions was followed by the flaring up of his chronic back condition. But he punched a couple of drives through cover off the back foot to get going, and showed familiar balance and footwork against Dockrell’s left-arm spin. It took a precisely-pitched away swinger from Meschede to dislodge Clarke, although by then he had probably given his back enough of a work out.Cowan, whose odds of playing in Nottingham were lengthened somewhat by the coach Darren Lehmann’s declaration that Watson would definitely open, fell in the very first over of the morning when he was deemed to have touched a Gemaal Hussain delivery on its way through to the wicketkeeper Alex Barrow. The dismissal had Cowan pointing agitatedly towards his trouser or pocket, but whatever the merits of the decision it now means one less opportunity to make the runs that would shore up his place, which may need to be earned again to some extent under Lehmann.Khawaja survived somewhat longer for his 27, but it was a scratchy effort with numerous angled deliveries troubling him outside off stump. He was struck on the body when trying to pull Overton, who was slippery, and fell in an unsurprising manner by wafting at Meschede to be pouched in the slips. Hughes had time to snick one streaky boundary before the morning session concluded.Minus Watson, the afternoon’s scoring was more sedate, but Clarke’s lack of discomfort was a welcome sign that his back has settled, and Hughes worked the ball around effectively with only the occasional flirt through the slips. He remained a little more hesitant against spin, but at least managed to get off the strike every now and then, which represented progress from India. Like Watson, a fresh start may be about to do him some good.

Brendon McCullum said that excitement was building as to what New Zealand could achieve over the next few weeks of one-day cricket after his team took an early lead in the three-match series against England to mark the ideal start to final preparations for the Champions Trophy.An impressive all-round performance from the bowlers, led again by Tim Southee, restricted England to 227 for 9 and despite losing two wickets in the first over of the chase New Zealand, through an unbeaten hundred by Martin Guptill, eased home with 19 balls to spare.McCullum conceded there were more than a few nervous moments when James Anderson found the edges of Luke Ronchi and Kane Williamson within his first five deliveries but, unlike the Tests where they were rarely able to establish a significant foothold with the bat, this time Guptill and Ross Taylor combined to add 120 to put the chase on course.”At 1 for 2, I wasn’t thinking the top order was firing but Martin and Ross put together a brilliant partnership and showed that under tough circumstances we’ve got players with a wealth of experience we can call on,” McCullum said.”There’s a little bit of excitement. It’s difficult because you don’t want to take your eye off what’s directly in front of you. We’ve got most bases covered as a team… if we can build up some momentum, who knows where we can get to in the Champions Trophy.”Although New Zealand’s current ODI ranking of No. 8 indicates that, like Test cricket, it has not been a profitable format for them in recent times, they retain a much stronger belief in the shorter formats.”As I said before the series it’s important to separate the forms of the game,” McCullum said. “We have a very experienced one-day unit. We saw that today with Ross and Martin, they were able to assess the situation and counter-punch.”However, it was not a day without concerns for New Zealand. Daniel Vettori, who had been lined up for his first international in eight months, was ruled out shortly before the toss after his Achilles problem flared up. It followed a similar reaction after he had trained with the squad in the build-up to the Headingley Test and it now looks far from certain that he will be available for the Champions Trophy. New Zealand have already lost Andrew Ellis and Trent Boult from their original squad.”I’m a bit worried about it,” McCullum admitted. “I’m always a bit worried when 270 games pulls up injured. But we have to work what is best for Dan and what is best for the team. We’ll assess it in the coming days.”In Vettori’s absence McCullum’s brother, Nathan, played a vital role with his offspin as he snared the key wickets of Joe Root and Jonathan Trott who had established for England a foundation with a third-wicket stand of 67. “He’s a confidence player so will take a lot from that performance,” McCullum said.

It must surely rank as one of the funniest run-outs in cricket history.As much as Samit Patel, Nottinghamshire’s England allrounder, might have wished the footage would never get out, it was bound to get onto YouTube before too long.Samit Patel’s run-out against Derbyshire in the Championship match at Trent Bridge was one of those moments when the batsman just had to put personal embarrassment aside and accept that his team-mates could do nothing else but laugh.”Samit Slips over!” is fast becoming the cricket video of the moment. As Stuart Broad, Patel’s England and Notts team-mate, remarked on Twitter: “Who put that banana in the middle of the wicket? A must watch.”Broad told Steve Davies, the Surrey and England keeper, on Twitter how he had to pad up immediately after Patel’s dismissal, trying to act professionally but with tears rolling down his face.Davies called the video “comfortably the funniest thing I have ever seen.” Chris Tremlett, another Surrey and England man, termed it “priceless” and there were comments from the outer that the heavy roller had returned to county cricket.Jon Culley, reporting for ESPNcricinfo from Derby, had sought to record the run out with more gravitas, merely calling Patel’s downfall “unfortunate”, although he did point out that Patel should have been run out for an earlier stumble when the fielder running in, Billy Godleman, missed the stumps from five yards.As for England, they might be tempted to remind Patel that it would not be quite so funny if it happened in the closing stages of a Champions Trophy final.

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has taken the reins of the country’s fast-bowlers to help their progress. He and the PCB reached an agreement for a short-term fast-bowling camp in Karachi between April 20-29, ahead of the Champions Trophy.Along with the camp, Wasim, with the collaboration of the PCB and a cellular company, will search for the fastest bowlers in the country. The search will be nationwide as the candidates will be selected from 8-10 cities over 5-7 days. Any bowler with a bowling speed of 140kph or more will be selected.He will also work with Pakistan’s full-time bowling coach Mohammad Akram in the national camp planned in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, from May 3-9. “The idea is to sit and talk with the bowlers and give them confidence,” Akram said. “I will assess the bowlers, find out their problems and help them to rectify them. A lot of young bowlers need some insight. I will then keep a track of them and follow them closely.””I saw them in Test matches against South Africa they didn’t impress me, but in one-day cricket they looked different and wicket taking bowlers. I have to teach them what is a good corridor, what is the right line and length. Regardless of any sort of pitches anywhere in the world, they have to be consistent in length, with yorkers, and know how to take wickets.”Akram, 46, who has been with Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL champions, for the last three seasons, is currently in Pakistan on a two-month break. He rues the absence of Pakistan players in the IPL and believes it is a loss for the tournament. Pakistani players featured in the inaugural IPL in 2008 but India stalled all bilateral ties after the November 2008 Mumbai attack. Despite a short series between the countries in December and January, Pakistani players were not allowed to take part in the sixth edition of the IPL.”Politics should stay away from sports, and we should play cricket,” Akram added. “Our players should have gone to the IPL. I think batsman are scoring easy runs in the absence of Pakistani bowlers and our bowlers could be top wicket takers there. The psyche of Pakistan bowlers is strong, they are physical and mentally tough while Indian bowlers get spoiled within a year. They start with express pace from 140-plus but in a year go down around 130.”

Match facts

Sunday, April 7, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Heading into their first away match of IPL 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore may start favourites but Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a victory as well in their opening game, showed they can be tough and determined opponents.How formidable the Sunrisers’ challenge will be depends largely on their batting order. With the exception of Thisara Perera, nobody really managed to take charge of the innings after getting a start. Against Royal Challengers, they will be tested against a stronger bowling attack.Chris Gayle is fit for Royal Challengers after limping through a good part of his match-winning innings in their first game. Gayle, again, had a huge influence on his team’s fortunes, but he could have done with more support during his unbeaten 92. He and Virat Kohli added 25 before Royal Challengers slipped to 80 for 5. Only KB Arun Karthik gave him company of any significance. Getting Gayle early offers Sunrisers’ bowlers a strong chance of containing Royal Challengers.On Sunday, Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be up against Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma on a track that could likely play the way it did in the low-scorer between Sunrisers and Pune Warriors. Royal Challengers would have noted Steyn’s dominance in his first spell but playing Perera and Amit Mishra could prove just as challenging.

Players to watch

Amit Mishra, the second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL, has bowled fairly consistently through the IPLs. Against Warriors, he brought out his variations to stifle the batsmen. Royal Challengers have good players of spin in Dilshan and Virat Kohli and as the lead spinner in the side, Mishra will have to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the opposition in check.
Tillakaratne Dilshan took the IPL by storm in 2009, scoring 418 runs for Delhi Daredevils. Since his shift to Royal Challengers, he’s been an important member of the line-up, scoring more than 500 runs in 20 games. He would no doubt have rued the shot that got him out against Mumbai Indians, but with two centuries and a half-century in his last five innings, Dilshan will be eager to put that start behind him and get going in IPL 2013.

Stats and trivia

• Royal Challengers have won just one out of their last four matches in Hyderabad. Their last victory in Hyderabad was in 2008.
• With three wickets in the last match against Mumbai Indians, R Vinay Kumar became the first Royal Challengers bowler to get to 50 wickets. He now has 52 wickets from 49 matches at an average of 26.07 for his side. His overall tally in the IPL is 64 wickets in 62 matches, which puts him among the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament.

Quotes

“It was probably a more bowler-friendly wicket. It was not a free-flowing wicket. You could not just go there and play your shots. The ball was not quite coming onto the bat.”

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook and Nick Compton outstripped England’s first-wicket record against New Zealand, the 223 previously set by Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare at The Oval in 1983•Getty Images

Alastair Cook and Nick Compton struck centuries as they committed themselves to righting the wrongs of England’s first-innings batting debacle. But that told only half the story. For Cook, a 24th Test hundred, timed to perfection with the new ball still five overs away, was simply a restatement of his undoubted quality. For Compton, the final stages of a maiden Test hundred possessed all the mental anguish that a first time should.These were hundreds born of mortification as England, guilt-stricken by a first-innings deficit of 293 and with five-and-a-half sessions to save the game, closed the fourth day only 59 runs behind New Zealand and with still nine wickets remaining. But if Cook added further lustre to his Test record – one to rival Sachin Tendulkar at the same age – with what has become his customary languorous elegance, Compton scraped through the 90s in more than 12 tension-ridden overs.Compton, who fell for a duck in the first innings, had steeled himself to track Cook’s progress for much of the day and if his innings was the more unobtrusive, his defensive outlook possessed a seasoned feel which illustrated why England’s director of cricket, Andy Flower, kept faith in the solidity he could bring at the top of the order. He must have been born with his back to the wall.But when Cook logged another hundred, Compton found himself on 90, and it felt an age away. Cook urged him to maintain his tempo, impending new ball or not, and when that new ball came, with him still six runs away, he would have been immediately run out on 94, risking a single to mid-on off Trent Boult, had Bruce Martin managed to hit direct.Cook must have felt like a guiding light for his inexperienced partner, but that light was then cruelly extinguished two overs before the close with Compton on 99, the England captain’s five-and-a-half hour stay ending when Boult had him caught behind.It was appropriate reward for Boult, who was the likeliest of the New Zealand attack and who conceded less than two runs an over all day, but it piled the pressure on Compton. When he next looked to the non-striker’s end for encouragement, he found only the gangling figure of the nightwatchman, Steven Finn. Two balls later – with 11 deliveries left in the day – he worked Tim Southee through midwicket, shouting with delight and applauded from the boundary’s edge by his tearful father.

Smart stats

• Alastair Cook’s century is his 24th in Tests and takes him two ahead of Kevin Pietersen on the list of England batsmen with the most Test centuries.

• Compton’s century is his first in Tests and the 100th by an England batsman against New Zealand. Compton now averages 44.28 in ten innings.

• The 231-run stand between Cook and Compton is the 18th double-century opening stand for England and their first against New Zealand since Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare added 223 at The Oval in 1983.

• It is the 13th time that both England openers have scored centuries in an innings. The last time this happened was against Australia in Brisbane in 2010.

• The strike rate of 125.42 is the highest for a fifty-plus score for Brendon McCullum. Overall, the strike rate is the sixth-highest for a New Zealand batsman against England (fifty-plus score).

• The 77-run stand between McCullum and Bruce Martin is the sixth-highest eighth-wicket stand for New Zealand against England and their second-highest against England in Dunedin.

• The lead of 293 is New Zealand’s third-largest against England (completed innings). The highest is the 298-run lead at Lord’s in 1973. Click here for a list of matches when New Zealand have batted first and here for a list of matches where New Zealand have batted second.

Cook and Compton settled to a laborious task without much ado, outstripping England’s first-wicket record against New Zealand, the 223 previously set by Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare at The Oval in 1983.Their resistance on a cold and cheerless day gave the crowd another reason for forbearance. It was Saturday, but the mood was so workmanlike it felt like Monday morning. New Zealand’s bowlers ran in eagerly, their spirits high and their lengths fuller than their English counterparts, and the captaincy of Brendon McCullum was business-like, more proactive perhaps than his predecessor, Ross Taylor.But for all New Zealand’s vigour, a stodgy brown surface showed no signs of deterioration. Cook essayed an occasional attractive square cut or clip off his legs, so intent upon not driving down the ground that only one single in his hundred came in such a manner; Compton just bedded in, his mental approach as upright as his stance, his footwork decisive but rarely expansive.There was a hint of swing for the left-arm quick, Neil Wagner, the least accurate of New Zealand’s fast-bowling trio, and when Cook squirted Bruce Martin’s slow left-arm off his pads to reach his fifty, there might have been a semblance of turn, but any excitement was tempered by the low bounce that made it easier to counter.England’s openers took time to settle. Cook, on four, needed an inside edge to survive Southee’s resounding lbw appeal and New Zealand lost a review against Compton, on 16, when the same bowler appealed for a catch down the leg-side, replays suggesting that the ball had brushed his thigh pad. Wagner also found enough inswing to give Compton some uncomfortable moments. But after staving off 22 overs before lunch, they were in orderly mood throughout an attritional afternoon. That both have the temperament to bat long was not a matter for debate, but while Cook’s Test record has few equals at this stage of his career, Compton’s talent remained unchartered.It was all an abrupt change of tempo from New Zealand’s enterprising start to the day as they added a further 58 in less than nine overs before declaring with nine down. McCullum, 44 not out from 42 balls overnight, flogged England to distraction, thrashing another 30 from 17 balls.McCullum swung Stuart Broad over deep square-leg to reach his fifty, the ball sailing over two Union Jacks at the back of a temporary stand and a bus as it flew out of the ground. He then pulled and drove James Anderson for further sixes. To compound Anderson’s misery, McCullum escaped potential catches by Cook, at first slip, and Compton, at deep cover, by inches before he skied Broad high to mid-on where Anderson held an awkward catch.McCullum’s mood also rubbed off on the debutant left-arm spinner, Martin, who pulled about with gusto until he was caught at the wicket for 41 off Finn attempting another leg-side hit. It was an enterprising start to the day, but it was about to be replaced by something more serious and, ultimately, more significant, too.

In a continuation of their auction strategy, Chennai Super Kings have beefed up their bowling department further by signing five Indian uncapped bowlers. The players are UP fast bowlers Imtiaz Ahmed and Ankit Rajpoot, Haryana quick Mohit Sharma, Karnataka pacer Ronit More and Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner R Karthikeyan.Imtiaz is the most experienced of the lot with 15 first-class matches to his name. In the Ranji Trophy this season, Imtiaz was the leading wicket-taker from Uttar Pradesh taking 37 from nine matches at an average of 25.45, including three five-wicket hauls. He was with the Pune Warriors in IPL 2011 but did not get a game.His UP team-mate Rajpoot made his first-class debut this season against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy and collected 31 wickets from seven matches at an average of 18.80. He has not played limited-overs domestic matches so far.Mohit played eight Ranji matches this season, taking 37 wickets, averaging 23.24 runs per wicket. Mohit has also played six List A matches, the last one being a warm-up match against England XI in January before the five-match ODI series. He took two wickets in the match, of Ian Bell and Craig Kieswetter, in eight overs.More made his first-class debut this season playing two matches, and also has seven List A and one domestic Twenty20 to his name. The lone spinner among the new signings, Karthikeyan, plays for TI Cycles in the first division league of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.Stephen Fleming, Super Kings’ coach, had said two days before the auction that the team would focus on local seam bowling options. At the auction on Sunday, Super Kings bought three quicks – Dirk Nannes, Ben Laughlin and Jason Holder, allrounder Chris Morris and spinner Akila Dananjaya.

ScorecardDarren Bravo hit his highest Twenty20 score as Trinidad & Tobago crushed Guyana in Port of Spain to move to the top of the table. Guyana asked T&T to bat and removed their openers Lendl Simmons and William Perkins cheaply. They even managed to restrict Dwayne Bravo to a run-a-ball 19 but Darren Bravo kept the runs coming for T&T. Guyana hadn’t allowed T&T to blaze away, though, and when Denesh Ramdin became the fourth wicket to fall, the score was 127 in the 16th over.Kieron Pollard came in, and took the game further away from Guyana. Pollard blitzed five sixes in making an unbeaten 44 off just 17 deliveries. Darren Bravo himself swung four sixes in his 51-ball stay, which also brought him eight fours.An asking rate in the region of ten runs an over much was to prove much beyond Guyana, who failed to build any momentum during the chase. Most of the T&T bowlers were among the wickets, with Rayad Emrit taking two, and Sunil Narine returning 1 for 12 from four overs. Shivnarine Chanderpaul played a lone hand with a half-century at the top of the order, but the next highest score was 14 by Narsingh Deonarine. Guyana were left to reflect upon a heavy defeat, which hurt their net run-rate and sent T&T’s soaring.
ScorecardLiam Sebastien’s four wickets helped Windward Islands beat Leeward Islands in a low-scoring game. Windwards batted first, but managed a highest individual score of 29, by Miles Bascombe, despite all their top five batsmen getting starts. Windwards did have a base of 50 for 1 after nine overs but lost regular wickets after that. Three Leewards bowlers had two wickets each, with Chesney Hughes returning 2 for 8 from three overs.Leewards were to find scoring more difficult than Windwards had, with a slow opening stand of 33 between Lyndel Richardson and Kieran Powell. After Delorn Johnson made the initial breakthrough by dismissing Powell, Sebastien got four of the next five batsmen to fall, including Devon Thomas for 20. Leewards were soon reduced to 64 for 7 and even though Justin Athanaze tried with a 15-ball 24, it was too late.

ScorecardA five-wicket haul by Andhra fast bowler Syed Sahabuddin helped his team take a stranglehold against Jammu and Kashmir in Jammu. After Andhra bowled the hosts out for 153, middle-order batsmen Amol Muzumdar and B Sumanth put on another century partnership, their third in a row, to rescue Andhra when they had been reduced to 8 for 3. They held the upper hand at 118 for 4 on the first day.Sahabuddin destroyed the J&K top order with the help of another seamer, Paidikalva Vijaikumar, who had taken 6 for 80 last week, and finished with figures of 5 for 53. When Andhra batted, Dayal and Sahil Sharma removed the first three batsmen cheaply, before the repair job. Muzumdar, who had scored two centuries in the previous two innings, remained unbeaten on 60.
ScorecardIn Malappuram, Goa ended the first day in a strong position against Kerala after a century from opener Sagun Kamat, his second in 41 matches, and a half-century from wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla. After choosing to bat, Goa had lost two wickets for 55 runs, but Kamat and Bisla added 146 runs at 4.33 per over to lay the foundation for a strong innings. After losing two more wickets before stumps, Goa were 281 for 4. Bisla’s innings of 74 was his third half-century in four innings.
ScorecardThough Himachal Pradesh were effective as a bowling unit in the early half of the day, Jharkhand’s No. 3 Saurabh Tiwary and middle-order batsman Sunny Gupta put up a slow resistance to take their team to 176 for 5 at stumps.The pair added 120 runs for the sixth wicket at a run rate of 1.94 after seamers Rishi Dhawan and Vikramjeet Malik had reduced Jharkhand to 56 for 5 in the 29th over. Tiwary batted 247 deliveries to score an unbeaten 65, and Gupta took 201 deliveries to score an unbeaten 58.
ScorecardServices were in control of the contest against Assam on the first day as seamer Suraj Yadav’s four wickets helped them bowl Assam out for 182. A seventh-wicket partnership of 37 was the highest Assam could muster.After Yadav dismissed the top order cheaply, the lower-order batsmen put up some resistance when Assam were in trouble at 93 for 6. Though Services batted five overs without losing a wicket, opener Pratik Desai retired hurt in the first over.

Ireland are set to benefit from a new ICC support programme, receiving a funding boost of $1.5 million through to 2015.The new Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP) includes five ICC members and is designed to develop more competitive teams at international level.Ireland are the first cricket board to agree a TAPP deal will use the financial support to launch an elite domestic competition, create an academy and facilitate more fixtures against full member teams.”We are extremely grateful to the ICC for instituting such a forward-thinking programme of support,” Warren Deutrom, chief executive of Cricket Ireland, said. “We’re delighted to be the first member to get to this stage. We have no doubt the support will help us to be even more competitive on the world stage.”ICC President Alan Isaac added: “Ireland provided an excellent submission to the ICC Board and I am sure they will do their very best to deliver those plans now that the organisation has the funding in place.”Netherlands, Scotland, West Indies and Zimbabwe will also receive support.