All posts by csb10.top

Test cricket can do funny things to your perception of time, and you can’t have the drama of fifth-day finishes such as the Cape Town Test without some longueurs in between. However, by any measure this was slow going as the series resumed in Port Elizabeth, with England puttering along in attritional conditions to give themselves a platform from which they will hope to dictate terms.As at Newlands, England’s top-order batsmen failed to capitalise on a series of good starts, with Zak Crawley’s 44 the top score of a spit-and-sawdust sort of day. Without much in the way of assistance from the pitch, South Africa focused instead on bottling up the scoring, Keshav Maharaj wheeling away to good effect as England lost 4 for 78 between the 31st and 65th overs, before an unbroken stand of 76 between Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope saw the tourists edge back on to the front foot.Pope shone in particular as the shadows lengthened on the Eastern Cape, showcasing the sort of strokeplay that has seen him compared to Ian Bell. The second new ball was dispatched to the ropes three times in as many deliveries from Anrich Nortje, Pope following up a whippy on drive with one crunched through the covers, and he skipped along in relatively carefree fashion compared to his colleagues.For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada claimed two wickets, despite twice being overlooked for new-ball duties – and his roar of celebration at toppling Joe Root’s off stump said plenty about the arduous nature of bowling on such a sluggish surface. All the pre-game talk about the wind assisting swing in Port Elizabeth seemed to have almost literally become a case of shooting the breeze, as the stultifying atmosphere left South Africa’s attack sweating hard for their successes.Faf du Plessis must have been grateful for the precision of his spinner, whose efforts from the Duckpond End at least allowed the South Africa captain to regularly rotate his seamers. Maharaj came on shortly before lunch and had figures of 30-10-54-1 when the second new ball arrived during the evening session; he was unlucky not to have added to his sole success, too, finding appreciable turn from a surface that is predicted to become even drier over the coming days.It was du Plessis’ leg-theory tactics that brought South Africa their initial breakthroughs, and England then threatened to wander down a dead end as the runs dried up. Maharaj only conceded 18 runs from his 16 overs between lunch and tea, and his efforts in tying down Joe Denly – who faced 100 balls for the ninth time in 13 Test innings but once again could not turn that base into a significant score – resulted in a wicket shortly after tea.Denly’s attempt to cut a ball from middle and off stump was his undoing, though Maharaj had Quinton de Kock to thank after the wicketkeeper spotted that the ball had brushed pad fractionally before hitting the bat. Maharaj caused Stokes plenty of discomfort early in his innings, too, twice failing with reviews as the ball spun back in sharply from outside the left-hander’s off stump.Rabada then scythed through Root, with England’s captain left looking suspiciously at the pitch after playing back to a delivery that seemed to keep low, and that left Stokes carrying the weight of England expectations. Fresh from being awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the ICC’s player of the year, he cut a more workaday figure in compiling 38 from 86 balls – although the significance of his wicket was clear when South Africa again turned to the DRS late in the day, only to lose the review after Vernon Philander’s delivery was shown to be missing off stump.Root’s decision to bat first was vindicated by a somnambulant morning session, during which Sibley and Crawley batted through with little drama – becoming the first England openers to reach lunch without being parted on day one of an overseas Test since Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss in Barbados more than a decade ago.South Africa curiously chose not to hand Rabada the new ball but Philander and the debutant Dane Paterson found little in the way of assistance from a pedestrian St George’s Park deck. When Rabada did enter the attack, he caused a minor ripple as Crawley, perhaps spurred on by memories of their brief second-innings duel in Cape Town, twice played instinctive pulls shots that nearly came to grief.Sibley had looked the more composed of the two, as befitting a man who scored his maiden Test hundred 10 days ago. He took advantage of the extra pace provided by Nortje to score four of his five boundaries, including one well-timed clip through mid-on, but fell to Rabada after the lunch break when he was taken by the man place deliberately at backward square leg for a fend off the body.South Africa’s leg trap paid dividends again when Crawley was snapped up in a similar position by the diving Rassie van der Dussen, who clasped the ball gratefully after it had squirmed free from his initial one-handed attempt, sending England’s newest opener back six runs short of a first Test half-century.

Paul Stirling, the Ireland top-order batsman, has joined Northamptonshire for part of the T20 Blast as an overseas player, despite the fact he is a British passport-holder and was born in Belfast.He will provide cover for Kieron Pollard, who will play eight games for Northants in the middle of their campaign, filling the club’s second overseas slot. Faheem Ashraf, the Pakistan allrounder, is the primary overseas player, and will be available until the end of the Blast’s group stages.ALSO READ: Stirling to leave Middlesex after committing to IrelandStirling has become the second Ireland player to sign a contract in county cricket as an overseas player, after Boyd Rankin’s brief stint at Derbyshire last season.An ECB rule change meant that Irishmen, who had previously qualified as local players in county cricket, would no longer be able to play as non-overseas players following Ireland’s ascent to Test status in 2017. Those who already held county deals were given a grace period which ran until the end of the 2019 season.Rankin’s deal last year was the first overseas contract signed by an Ireland international – he was a new registration, so did not fall under the grace period – while Stuart Poynter and Tim Murtagh have both ended their international careers in order to extend their stays at Durham and Middlesex respectively.But with a view to extending his international career, Stirling left Middlesex in September, telling the that he found his situation “baffling”, but that he had no intentions to challenge the ruling legally.”The powers that be have made the decision to change the regulations but I can see it is a strange scenario when you are born British and have entitlement to work as a local in your own country, so I can see why it could be challenged and it would be interesting to see how far it would go if someone did challenge it,” Stirling said.”It is an ECB rule and I can understand it. Cricket Ireland have Test status and if you want to play Test cricket for Ireland then why should the ECB let someone play in their local tournaments if they are not looking to play for England?”I get it from their point of view but it is slightly more complicated than that in our case. Middlesex has been my home for so long so it does feel baffling to have to go but hopefully I will be able to play in some capacity in the future.”David Ripley, Northants’ head coach, said: “Paul brings great experience, skill, and firepower to our line-up. He has a reputation as a great team man and we are looking forward to welcoming him into our dressing room.”He’ll dovetail with Pollard and be available down the road should we qualify for the quarters and beyond. A special thanks to Cricket Ireland for their assistance in allowing Paul to play a role for us.””I’m thrilled to be playing for the Steelbacks in this year’s Blast, “Stirling said. “It’s a good wicket and the boundaries are small so I’m excited to entertain the people of Northampton.”I know a few of the guys very well and in Rosso [Adam Rossington] and Cobby [Josh Cobb] they have good leaders as captains at the club. I would like to thank David Ripley for showing faith in me and I’m hoping we can win the trophy come September.”

Pakistan wrapped up a win and added 60 points to their World Test Championship tally in the morning session of the fourth day.Bangladesh were rocked by a Naseem Shah hat-trick on Sunday evening that left them 126 for 6 at stumps. In the very first over of the day, that collapse of 4 for 2 turned into 5 for 6, as Shaheen Afridi swung a full one in at Mominul Haque to trap him in front of middle and off on the flick shot. Mominul’s review showed a bat-pad situation that couldn’t be conclusively overturned and he became one of five wickets across this Test that fell within the first two overs on a day.With little to lose, the other overnight batsman, Liton Das, dug in and looked elegant as ever as he attempted to forge a long alliance with No. 9 Rubel Hossain. For the most part, the eighth-wicket pair looked solid as they batted close to 12 overs. Rubel survived an lbw decision by umpire Nigel Llong as the review found a big inside edge on his attempted forward block against Mohammad Abbas. But it was Abbas who trapped him, in similar fashion, shortly after.Llong had another lbw decision overturned, this time as Liton was struck in front looking to sweep a full ball. This was much like his dismissal in the first innings, when he tried sweeping part-time spinner Haris Sohail and was given out on a review that confirmed the ball had pitched in line. The bowler was Yasir Shah on this occasion, who then got Abu Jayed to top edge a slog sweep to bring the innings to a close. Yasir finished with four wickets – a much-needed confidence booster following a dry patch of form – just like the other Shah, Naseem, who didn’t take the field after feeling pain on the left side of his rib cage shortly after he had taken his hat-trick.Pakistan’s next Test is in April, and will be the second and final one of this staggered series against Bangladesh. At the very least, that means Naseem will have recovery time. They currently sit fourth on the WTC table with 140 points.

England’s players will not be shaking hands with one another on their tour to Sri Lanka, captain Joe Root has revealed, using “the well-established fist bump” as a greeting instead.Amid the coronavirus outbreak and following a tour to South Africa that saw more than half of the Test squad suffer from gastroenteritis or flu, players have been given immunity packs and advice by their medical team to prevent the spread of illness within the camp.ALSO READ: If South Africa are wounded buffaloes, England are sickly lions“After the illnesses that swept through the squad in South Africa, we are well aware of the importance of keeping contact to a minimum,” Root said before the team’s departure on Monday night.”We’ve been given some really sound and sensible advice from our medical team to help prevent spreading germs and bacteria.””We are not shaking hands with each other – using instead the well-established fist bump – and we are washing hands regularly and wiping down surfaces using the antibacterial wipes and gels we’ve been given in our immunity packs.”There has only been one confirmed case of coronavirus in Sri Lanka to date, and England are not expecting the outbreak to affect their tour significantly.”There is no suggestion that the tour will be affected,” Root said, “but of course it is an evolving situation so we are in regular contact with the authorities and will proceed as advised, but at this stage we fully expect the tour to continue as planned.”The series in Sri Lanka could prove vital to England’s World Test Championship chances, with 60 points for a win on offer in each of the two Tests, and Root said that India’s 2-0 defeat in New Zealand had “thrown things wide open”.”With it being a two-match tour there are a lot of Test Championship points to play for and with New Zealand turning India over twice, it has thrown things wide open,” Root said.”With these matches and then six games at home in the summer coming up, it feels like it is a great opportunity to get ahead of things and give ourselves a real chance of pushing for one of those top two spots.”We respect how good a side [Sri Lanka] are in their own conditions and we’ll find ourselves up against a stiff challenge.”Jack Leach, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali share a joke at training•Getty Images

England’s last series in Sri Lanka saw a three-pronged spin attack comprising Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Jack Leach take 48 wickets between them, underpinning a 3-0 win. Their spin options are depleted this time, with Moeen opting to continue his self-enforced break from Test cricket and Rashid’s shoulder preventing him playing red-ball cricket.And while Leach is the senior spinner in the squad, he has endured a difficult winter, flying home early from the South Africa tour following a bout of sepsis, while he had to spend last week bowling at Loughborough following a calf niggle.But Root backed Leach to play “an important part” in the series, and confirmed he had recovered from his injury.”It has been a really frustrating winter for Jack, not being able to get on the park through illness and then picking up a little bit of a niggle,” he said. “He has recovered well from it and is back strong. He’s been up at Loughborough doing some work up there to make sure the physios are happy with his condition.”He’s been looking after his physical state as well and he’s very much looking forward to getting out there and getting some game time in the middle.”He’ll be very excited at playing out there again with such fond memories from the last time we were there and the wickets he took. I can see him being full of energy and playing an important part in the two games for us.”

On Tuesday, Nick Hockley was named as Cricket Australia’s interim chief executive in the wake of the deposed Kevin Roberts. On Wednesday he was jointly presiding over the awful task of making 40 employees redundant from the governing body. And on Thursday he was speaking for CA on radio, stressing the importance of unity in the game.As the T20 World Cup local organising body’s chief executive, Hockley had a seat at CA’s executive table, so was close at hand to watch the chaos that unfolded from the moment Roberts and the CA board chose to announce mass staff stand downs in April while seeking deep financial across the game.Highly rated by his own staff, Hockley was seen as the ideal interim while CA went on a more extensive search for the next long-term chief executive. But he has been left with the unenviable task of patching up staff, state and player relationships in the decreasing amount of time available between now and the start of a summer that must be run as effectively and efficiently as possible in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.ALSO READ: Timeline: Three months that brought down CA chief Kevin Roberts“It’s been an extremely difficult time, this week even more so,” Hockley told . “Yesterday we had to let go some really, really great people, but it’s all about getting the team back to work, reaching out to the states and territories and the ACA. We are so much stronger together.”We’ve got a huge amount to look forward to with India coming. In very difficult circumstances it’s a massive privilege to be asked [to take the role]. I’ve been in the game here for eight years, I care deeply about the people. It’s by no means broken.”In many respects we’ve been extremely fortunate compared to other sporting codes with the timing of Covid-19. Australia are world champions three and a half months ago, rank No. 1 in four out of the five ICC ranking formats, we’ve got India coming, we’ve got the World Cup, we’ve got the Ashes the following year. There is so much to look forward to and really it’s about pulling together.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Hockley recalled the week after the wildly successful women’s T20 World Cup final, watched by more than 86,000 spectators at the MCG, as the moment in which all plans were thrown into chaos, and sympathised with the highly conservative course of action taken by Roberts and the CA board chaired by Earl Eddings.”I was there with a seat at the table in those deliberations, from the perspective of making sure that the World Cup was integrated in terms of contingency planning and we’re all working together on the best measures around restrictions and things,” he said. “And really the world fell off a cliff, it was pretty much that Monday or Tuesday after the final, and no-one really knew what it meant. But the situation has been evolving, and the measures we announced yesterday I think are prudent and necessary in the circumstances.ALSO READ: T20 World Cup ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unlikely’ this year – Cricket Australia chairman“Things like standing down the majority of the staff, which has just been extremely painful for a lot of people, that’s enabled us to conserve funds, enabled us to really minimise the redundancies we’re having to make moving forward. We’ve just got to be so thankful that in Australia we’re getting sport back, we’re getting crowds back and that’s really my focus now.”The speed at which Hockley’s appointment arrived, after Roberts’ exit was not formalised until late on Monday night, has left many areas unaddressed, such as who will take the reins of the T20 World Cup itself, and whether he will be a contender for the longer-term role – an unlikely possibility though there is every chance Hockley will finish up as a CA executive. What Hockley can promise, as a seasoned stager of major events, is a strong degree of skills in getting a show on the road. He was, after all, the runner of the most recent show.”One thing I know having worked on the World Cups, you can’t deliver a major event on your own. It requires all the states and territories, the venues, the broadcasters, the partners, everyone all coming together, and together one plus one equals more than two,” he said. “I see this immediate time now as making the most of what we’ve got. We owe that to the fans, we owe that massively to those people who we had to stand down yesterday.”

English cricket could be witnessing a changing of the guard with Stuart Broad set to miss out on a place in the first Test against West Indies.Broad, a veteran of 138 Tests and taker of 485 Test wickets, has not missed a home Test since 2012, a run of 51 matches in succession. The last time he missed one – the Edgbaston Test against West Indies – he was rested with the series already won.But England, and their stand-in captain Ben Stokes, are thought likely instead to opt for the pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood with James Anderson back with the new ball after suffering injury in South Africa. Chris Woakes is the other player set to be left out from their 13-man squad.England had originally planned to name their Test team on Tuesday evening. But although it is understood the players have been notified of the final XI, the team management reasoned that, with poor weather around and the possibility a bowler could sustain an injury in the lead-up to the match, there was no need to commit to anything at this stage.If Broad is, indeed, left out, there may be a temptation to write his career obituary, but that would be premature. England are set to play six Tests in little more than seven weeks and some rotation of the seam attack is inevitable. There is a decent chance he could return as soon as next week for the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford. He could still become just the fourth seamer to claim 500 Test wickets.ALSO READ: ‘Do it your way’ – Root’s message to StokesHe has been left out before, too. At the end of 2018, he played only one of the Tests on England’s tour of Sri Lanka while he was also omitted from the side for the first Test of the series in the Caribbean 18 months ago. He demonstrated his undimmed enthusiasm for the challenge, though, by tinkering with his technique – in particular, he shortened his run-up and bowled a fuller, more probing line and length – and enjoyed personally successful series against Australia (in which he claimed 23 wickets at a cost of 26.65 apiece) and South Africa (in which he claimed 14 at 19.42). It would probably pay not to write him off now.But this is another sign that England are looking to the future. And while Broad might have struggled to retain his status as a first-choice bowler in overseas conditions, this is the first time in the best part of a decade that he has not been considered among the first-choice attack in England.It is, perhaps, also an indication that the England management are looking to Wood and Archer, in particular, as the nucleus of the attack that they feel can help them win the Ashes in Australia in around 18 months’ time. Both are blessed with sharp pace and would appear well-suited to the hard wickets anticipated in Australia. Wood also claimed a nine-for in his most recent Test – against South Africa – and took his maiden Test five-for the last time England and West Indies met. Wednesday’s first Test will be their first in the same XI.It might also be relevant that, for the first time in many months, England are blessed with a surfeit of fit, fast bowlers. By the end of the South Africa tour, England were without Anderson and Archer due to injury. Perhaps, had all been available, this decision may have come earlier.Stokes admitted on Tuesday that having five seamers fit and ready to go had presented him with “an absolute nightmare”, and said he would be “dreading” delivering the bad news to the two players that missed out.Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have yet to play a Test together•Getty Images

“You can only pick so many but it’s a great place to be,” Stokes said. “To have so many to pick from is great as a team, I’d rather be in this position. With the amount of cricket we’ve got coming in the next seven weeks I think all the guys will get opportunities. That’s a hell of a workload especially taking into consideration the time we haven’t been on the field. You’ve got to realise there’s no cricket behind anybody.”To play six Tests in seven weeks would be a huge ask for any bowler, but if we are going to rotate it’s not going to affect the standard. The guys we’ve got here are all unbelievable and they’ve all put a good case forward.”I’ve been dreading it for the last two or three days, telling the unfortunate guys. It’s not a nice conversation to think about and I can’t wait to give Joe the armband back for that reason, but that is leadership. It’s great to tell guys they’re playing but with that comes the fact that you have to deliver the bad news. It’s never nice.”Stokes also said that the prospect of Wood and Archer bowling together was “exciting”, adding that it would be difficult to leave Wood out given his “transformation” in the past two years.”The transformation of Mark Wood, more from a mental side, has been phenomenal. He’s obviously had his troubles in the past with injuries. I’m so excited with where he’s at with everything – all the worries and troubles that he would have had two or three years ago about his body seem to have just disappeared.”The skills that he possesses are very, very rare to have in a bowler. There’s been a lot of thought put into the team that we’re going to select.”England were also set to confirm that Joe Denly will bat at No. 3, with Zak Crawley at No. 4.Probable England XI for first Test: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Rory Burns, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Zak Crawley, 5 Ben Stokes (captain), 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Dom Bess, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson

A huge amount remains to be worked out about how the Australian season will come together due to Covid-19 and the associated restrictions, but one aspect that is looking more likely is that enlarged international squads will be needed due to being unable to bring players in and out of biosecure bubbles.Justin Langer, the Australia head coach, said it could be one of several compromises required to keep the season going. The BBL, a tournament that needs its star names, might be particularly heavily impacted with the four-Test series against India set to run concurrently with a big chunk of the competition and players unable to move between international and BBL duty as they would in a normal season.There are also the one-day series against India and New Zealand on the schedule; the former may be moved to the start of the international season but the latter is currently lined up as the BBL is reaching the finals.ALSO READ: Australian team leaves for England series after gathering in PerthDuring their season, England have kept their Test and white-ball squads separate so far – including different coaching staff – although some of the Test players may feature in upcoming matches against Australia once the Pakistan series is finished.The lists for the BBL are yet to be locked in due to a contracting embargo and there has been talk of holding a player draft although that may not be possible this season. However, if we look at each side in terms of how they lined up last season it gives an indication of how the teams could be impacted by Australia call-ups.Adelaide StrikersA Boxing Day Test century against New Zealand last season has cemented Travis Head into Australia’s middle order meaning he will be locked in for the series against India. Alex Carey, who is off contract at the Strikers but expected to re-sign, is the gloveman in the T20I and ODI team. He may also be required as a reserve keeper for the Test side although Matthew Wade could cover that role. Michael Neser was part of every Test squad last season without being able to make his debut and would be a strong candidate to be among pace-bowling back-up.James Pattinson celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Brisbane HeatWith two half-centuries in eight innings last summer, Joe Burns did not completely secure the opening berth but has the credit for an extended run. Marnus Labuschagne, who is out of contract and yet to establish his T20 career, isn’t going anywhere from the No. 3 position in the Test team and is establishing himself as No.4 in ODIs while James Pattinson, another needing to put pen to paper on a new BBL deal, is the first choice quick behind the big three.When Australia included a second spinner in the squad for the SCG Test against New Zealand they went with Mitchell Swepson and he would have been a frontrunner to join Nathan Lyon on the postponed Bangladesh tour. There would need to be spin cover in an enlarged Test squad, even if two are unlikely to play in the same XI at home. Like Pattinson and Labuschagne, he is currently out of BBL contract.Hobart HurricanesWhile the most vulnerable of the top six, Matthew Wade is established in the Test team and as mentioned above, could be the back-up wicketkeeper. He is also seen as a versatile option in the limited-overs set-up, able to fill any position in the top six if needed. Depending on how many back-up quicks were needed, Riley Meredith, who is on the limited-overs trip to England, could come into the frame. Ben McDermott and D’Arcy Short were both cut from the initial 26-man squad named ahead of the England tour but may remain in contention.Aaron Finch would be needed to captain Australia in white-ball cricket•Getty Images

Melbourne RenegadesAustralia and Renegades captain Aaron Finch would be needed for all limited-overs series. Marcus Harris, who lost his place after the Ashes series, would be a likely contender as a reserve opening batsman for a larger Test squad and Kane Richardson is a regular of the T20I playing XI and part of the ODI squad.Melbourne StarsGlenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa would be all-but certain to be involved in white-ball internationals while Marcus Stoinis is back in the picture having been selected for the England tour. It’s unlikely any of that trio would be in the mix for a Test berth.Perth ScorchersMitchell Marsh is back in ODI and T20I set-up and would be a good chance of being in an enlarged Test squad. Ashton Agar is a regular in both limited-overs teams while AJ Tye is back in the squad for the England tour. Kurtis Patterson could come into the frame as a back-up Test batting option while the hugely talented Cameron Green would push to be considered as an allrounder for the Test squad especially if he starts the season well. Jhye Richardson could also be back in contention if he recovers fully from his winter should surgerySteven Smith plays a reverse sweep•Getty Images

Sydney SixersIt would appear unlikely that the defending champions will see anything of Steve Smith, Nathan Lyon or Josh Hazlewood this season after the trio were able to slot into last season’s campaign between Australia duty. Sean Abbott and Josh Philippe are also both in the limited-overs set-up while Jackson Bird could be an outsider for a larger Test squad.Sydney ThunderUsman Khawaja has not been able to get back into an Australia squad since the Ashes, but he would be a strong option to bolster the top-order batting reserves in a Test squad. Daniel Sams is having his first taste of international cricket on the England tour and Chris Tremain could be in the mix among Test seam-bowling reserves if he makes an impression after his state move to New South Wales.And three more…Pat Cummins made one appearance fpr the Thunder in the 2018-19 season but was unable to squeeze in any BBL appearance last summer. David Warner has not played in the BBL since 2013 and Mitchell Starc since 2014. They are names that the tournament, and the broadcasters, would love to have on show but that looks unlikely to happen this season unless they are released from Australia duty after the Test series against India.

After 54 wickets fell in effectively three days at Wantage Road, batting finally became a little easier on the third afternoon of this second Bob Willis Trophy match in Northampton and Tom Fell made his highest first-class score since 2018 to help move Worcestershire to 177 for 6, leading Northamptonshire by 184.Northamptonshire hoped to give their inexperienced players opportunities in this truncated season but their batsmen have had little opportunity in testing conditions so far at home. Perhaps day four will be their chance and they might be able to deliver victory if the Worcestershire lower order can be removed swiftly in the morning.But with Fell’s smart innings, Worcestershire, who only claimed a first-innings lead of 7, already have a score to bowl at.In 32 first-class games from 2017, Fell has only made four fifties. His Bob Willis Trophy had yielded a trio of promising 30s but this was the score he needed and maybe an innings to get his red-ball career back on track.Fell escaped an early edged drive and survived a run-out chance thanks to Blessing Muzarabani’s poor throw but he settled well, played the most-pleasant of extra-cover drives off Jack White, and shared a second-wicket stand of 67 with Daryl Mitchell, who made 39, that occupied most of the afternoon session as proper technique and patience finally began to be rewarded.After tea, Jack Haynes became a second ally and Fell worked a single off Saif Zaib’s left-arm spin to go to past fifty for the 22nd time in his 82-match career in 103 balls. By the close he’d reached 80 for just the fourth time in five years.He and Haynes added 59 in 17 overs and at 144 ahead with eight wickets in hand, Worcestershire held the whip hand. But Northamptonshire worked their way back into the game in the last hour of a long and surprisingly uninterrupted day taking 3 for 11 in 19 balls.Haynes, on 32, tried to work Zaib against the spin and edged to slip. Brett D’Oliveira was caught behind to a full Nathan Buck delivery that straightened enough and Riki Wessels dragged Buck into his off stump playing a flat-footed drive. Ben Cox also fell trying to work Zaib to leg and spooned a catch to cover to leave the match nicely poised.It appeared anything but half an hour into the day when Northamptonshire slipped to 100 for 7 replying to 219. But positive batting again proved fruitful as Gareth Berg, who made a county-best 45, and Buck dragged the hosts out of trouble with a stand of 59 in 11.2 overs.Buck fenced a boundary through gully and awkwardly pulled another. He cleared his front leg to swat Joe Leach over long-on for six and stepped away to angle Josh Tongue backward of point. But he nicked a good delivery from Ed Barnard to Mitchell at second slip for 32.Berg whipped Leach past midwicket, back-cut Ed Barnard and then played the shot of the morning – a perfect straight drive – before edging over the slips. He was missed by Leach on 33 trying to send D’Oliveira over long-off but Leach eventually atoned as Berg edged a wild drive to Cox.Berg was last out as Northamptonshire made 212 and claimed their first batting point of the season. It was a valuable innings from Berg, whose previous best in five matches for his third county had been just 5, and set up a one-innings contest that could see a tight final day.