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Paul Collingwood’s Durham side won a grand game against Lancashire at Southport – and loved it so much that when the match was over they did not want to leave

Paul Edwards at Southport19-Jul-2016
by two wickets.
ScorecardPaul Collingwood’s Durham loved a return to cricket’s roots•Getty Images

This game ended with small eruptions of blue and yellow joy in front of the pavilion and on the railway side of Trafalgar Road. They were accompanied a larger and more boisterous outburst of triumph from Durham’s players in the dugout as Chris Rushworth cover-drove a Kyle Jarvis half-volley to the boundary, thus placing a seal on Durham’s two-wicket victory.But, no, the occasion in its proper sense did not end there. For Paul Collingwood and his players later threw their bags on the coach that had arrived to take them home and told the driver they were staying in Southport. They played cricket with some of Southport and Birkdale most junior players on the outfield and one just wished that Colin Graves, the chairman of the ECB, had been there to see it. Look, one could have said, this is what can happen when you take four-day cricket back to its roots. Now, would you like a pint, Colin?Having been invited to Southport the Durham players did not overstay their welcome. They won the match, had a few drinks and regaled the Southport and Birkdale members with “Blaydon Races”, many, many verses of it, and then “American Pie” and “I’m Gonna Be”.On a golden evening when players made common cause with those who watched them, photographs were taken amid the rich choruses. It made a wonderful tuneful conclusion to the sweetest of weeks. Then the Durham players asked if they could come back to Southport next year.Suddenly summer is in full sail and she has a following wind.Of course the eagerness of Durham’s players to return may be something to do with the fact of their victory. Yet Lancashire’s players were also deeply appreciative of everything that this outground experience had offered them and they will certainly return for the county has a three-year staging agreement at Trafalgar Road.All spectators can hope is that the match is as stuffed with delights as the 2016 game managed to be. The final day began with the visitors needing 247 to win and when Collingwood’s side were 170 for 2, it looked that this might be a match to deviate from the pattern of damp-palmed tension which had characterised games between these sides.Even when Jack Burnham was leg before to a full length ball from Simon Kerrigan, few reckoned the match was about to be blown off course. After all, Burnham had made 52 and he had looked increasingly comfortable as he lifted both Steven Croft and Kerrigan for sixes.Lancashire did not look like taking wickets. “Bang, bang, bang,” said the players on the ground as they encouraged each other. But it did not happen. Then Keaton Jennings, after cutting and pulling his way to 82 off 140 balls in this season when even warm-ups are welcome preludes to success, skied a pull off Tom Smith. The wicketkeeper, Tom Moores, tottered under it, shielded his eyes and clung on. In Smith’s next over Michael Richardson perished down the leg side. 175 for 5. Ho hum.Enter Durham’s captain to warm and respectful applause.For all his 40 years, his 68 Tests and his trademark jig-and-squat as he goes out to bat Paul Collingwood still marches to the wicket with the air of a no-nonsense PE teacher on the way to sort out trouble in the playground. You know the sort, the type who announces himself with: “I don’t care who started it but I know who’s going to finish it.”For nigh on two decades Collingwood has been playing this sort of role in Durham cricket, ending collapses, calming mayhem. But not on this occasion. For he was pinned on the back foot by Smith having made only 4, and when the same bowler had Paul Coughlin quite brilliantly caught by Moores diving to his right, Durham were 195 for 7, still 52 short of victory. This glorious match was back in the hazard.Moores’s third catch was his best but in its way hardly better than that mighty skier which he could hardly see but still pouched to remove Jennings. For his part, Smith was in the middle of an eight-over spell in which he took four wickets for 12 runs and would finish with five for 25.But it was another 19-year-old in this game filled with promising young cricketers who then share in the stand which all but decided the match. Until he took a couple of wickets on the third afternoon, Adam Hickey had enjoyed – or not enjoyed – a quiet first-class debut, Now, he walked out to join Ben Stokes, who had already deposited Simon Kerrigan over the railway line and into Dover Road.As Hickey later explained, the two batsmen calmed things down before tea before going on the attack when the players returned. In truth, by this stage, with Durham on 197 for 7, the spectators needed the tea break as much as the players. On the resumption Stokes hit two more sixes over deep midwicket off Kerrigan and Hickey lifted Kyle Jarvis onto the roof of the pavilion with a much mightier blow.Steven Croft rotated his bowlers but the game was gone. Or was it? Suddenly Hickey called Stokes for a quick single and the England all-rounder was run out for 36 at the bowler’s end. Four runs needed. Rushworth dealt with business and another county match at Trafalgar Road was over.And all this drama followed an morning session which was as tense as was expected. Lancashire savoured the first success as early as the sixth ball of the day when Mark Stoneman played across the line to one from Jarvis which pitched middle and leg only to hold its line and take him on the pad. Durham responded by taking 26 off Nathan Buck’s four overs, forcing Croft to call Smith into the attack.Another good fourth-day crowd was held by the cricket and the ground grew in stillness broken only by the action in the middle. The houses on Harrod Drive became such as might be painted by Hopper, the trees as by Pissarro at Osny or Pontoise.Necessity, though, benefited Lancashire as Smith squared up Scott Borthwick, whose previous three innings against Lancashire had been 134, 103 not out and 64. The left-hander was caught in the gully by Alviro Petersen for 28 so that more or less qualified as under-achievement.Failures of any sort have been thin on the ground this extraordinary week. And the thing is that while Southport and Birkdale may be very special, it is not unique. There are many clubs who would welcome first-class counties and all they are looking for is the chance to put on a show.Outground cricket is enjoyed by spectators and appreciated by players. Amid the entirely understandable desire to maximise the revenue from other formats, someone should think a little more about taking the game back to the people who are its lifeblood.

Yasir Shah, who has become the fastest Pakistan bowler to 50 Test wickets, has said his only aim is to do the best he can for his country

Umar Farooq in Colombo26-Jun-2015Before the Test series started, Zulfiqar Babar confidently predicted that Yasir Shah would take more wickets than him, and Yasir’s bowling numbers so far have emphatically proved him right. In just eight months, Yasir has made his journey from oblivion to become the fastest Pakistan bowler to take 50 Test wickets, surpassing Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis.Yasir said he was happy to achieve the record which would further strengthen his confidence. “I still remember when Shane Warne tweeted me, that gave me ample confidence,” Yasir said after the second day in Colombo. “With his words I was under pressure, thinking how I will live up to his appreciation but with every match I played since then I have started to thrive.”I never thought that far [on being the fastest Pakistan bowler to 50 wickets] when I made my debut against Australia. The only aim was to just concentrate on doing good for the country. I knew in Test cricket I needed to be patient and I did exactly what needed to be done. Misbah has supported me all the way. For a legspinner, the field placement is very important and I am glad that the captain is giving me enough freedom to set the field.”After making his first-class debut in 2002, Yasir got his chance in Test chance last year, and has since left an indelible mark in the format. He took nine wickets in Galle, which included figures of 7 for 76 in the second innings – the best by an overseas bowler in Tests in Sri Lanka. After more than a decade on the domestic circuit, Yasir is not only acknowledged but also respected. On day two in the press box, Pakistan’s consistency in developing world-class bowlers was repeatedly commended.Yasir’s 13-year first-class career includes 336 wickets at an average of 25.05. He is one of many bowling prospects who had been pushed back with the burgeoning success of Saeed Ajmal in the last five years. He took his second five-for in the space of five days in the second Test in Colombo, after bowling 40 overs – the most by any bowler from both sides so far, primarily because Pakistan have lost Wahab Riaz for the rest of the series due to injury.After the first Test, Sri Lanka targetted Yasir as a tactic to neutralise him but it was to no effect as Yasir troubled the batsmen with his impressive variations and kept a check on the run rate, going at an economy rate of 2.37 in his 40 overs. Sri Lanka managed to hit him for 10 fours but kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.”The pitch is still playing well but expect more spin on the fourth and fifth day, it has definitely something to offer. Today the idea was to avoid bowling short and wait for the wickets to come and it worked. Unfortunately, Wahab Riaz got injured and we were forced to play with one bowler short. But the rest have given their 100%, though I had to bowl bit longer. But the plan remained the same to contain as much as we can.”

A Twenty20 all-India university tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC) has been launched and added to the cricket calendar

Vishal Dikshit17-Jan-2013A new Twenty20 all-India university tournament, backed by the BCCI and the Indian government’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), has been added to the Indian cricket calendar. The tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC), is an extension of the annual all-India inter-zone university Rohinton Baria Tournament.The tournament was launched at a high-profile event – attended by among others, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, who was named its brand ambassador – in Mumbai by Indian news channel NDTV, along with the co-sponsors Toyota. It is also supported by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which already holds the Rohinton Baria Tournament.The inaugural tournament will be played next month between the top eight teams from the Rohinton Baria – two from each of the four regional zones – who will be split into two groups of four each. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals. The matches will be telecast live, and the co-partner NDTV is also expected to do extensive programming for the championship.N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said the board had always been supportive of such tournaments and the UCC would be another platform for university players. “The idea was recently approved by the BCCI’s Working Committee,” he said. “It will give more opportunities to university players and the viewership will make a big difference as it will enable people to see university cricket close at hand.”Minister of State, HRD, Shashi Tharoor, said the initiative would attract attention as it has sponsors and will be played in the T20 format. “There used to be decent crowds for university matches during my university days but the interest has dwindled over the years,” he said. “Right now, many teams don’t care if they don’t make it to the finals of the Rohinton Baria. This tournament is going to be a game-changer and university cricket will get a big boost from this initiative.”SN Puri, President of the AIU, also seemed excited by the idea of the new tournament. “The Rohinton Baria tournament was losing its shine,” Puri told ESPNcricinfo. “This new format is becoming popular, so young people should come forward. University students find it hard to take out time for both Vizzy Trophy and Rohinton Baria as both have three-day matches. This new T20 tournament will save them time and will provide exposure to the format too.”Shah Rukh Khan accounted for the event’s glamour quotient but his ties with cricket are well-known – he is the co-owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. He also represented his university team in cricket, football and hockey.

Stuart MacGill has confirmed he will come out of retirement to play for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2011Stuart MacGill has confirmed he will come out of retirement to play for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League. As reported by ESPNcricinfo a fortnight ago, MacGill, 40, will join Shane Warne, Brad Hogg and Matthew Hayden on the list of former players returning for the Twenty20 tournament, which begins on December 16.MacGill’s 44-Test career ended in the West Indies in 2008, when he retired mid-tour due to problems with carpal-tunnel syndrome. However, MacGill has decided to test himself in the BBL and has been playing club cricket in Sydney to prepare for the tournament.”To be honest, the second I heard there was a team based here at the SCG, I did start wondering whether I could do it,” MacGill said on Fox Sports News. “There was never a question of me lining up for anyone else, as soon as I found out that there was a team playing here at the SCG I guess it was always bouncing around in my head, to play here for one more time.”[The ball is coming out] a lot better than I thought they would. I’ve had a pretty easy workload so far [in grade cricket], because the weather in Sydney is pretty ordinary. But it’s not far off to be able to hold my head high, and I’m enjoying it.”The Sixers play the tournament opener against the Brisbane Heat and on December 27 at the SCG they will take on the Melbourne Stars, setting up a MacGill-Warne showdown.

Victoria have been charged with ball-tampering during their win over South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, where Jon Holland took a career-best four-wicket haul

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010
ScorecardJon Holland finished with 4 for 61•Getty Images

Victoria have been charged with ball-tampering during their win over South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, where Jon Holland took a career-best four-wicket haul. The Bushrangers were penalised five runs during South Australia’s innings after the umpires Simon Fry and Bob Parry found markings on the ball after the last delivery on the second day.The side will face a Code of Conduct hearing this week after being reported for a level one offence under rule 1.7 of the Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour, which relates to “failure by a team to ensure the condition of a ball is not changed in breach of law 42.3”. The standard penalty is a fine of 10% of each player’s match fee, as well as the five-run penalty.Victoria’s captain Cameron White said after play he was not aware of any specifics to do with the alleged breach. “I can’t say a lot, obviously the umpires have made an allegation,” White told AAP. “We know that it’s a team thing and it’s a hearing so that is about all we know to be honest. We actually … don’t know what the allegation is at this stage, so when we find out, we’ll assess where it goes from there.”The charges took the gloss off a comprehensive eight-wicket win for Victoria, which took only three days. Chasing 81 for victory, the Bushrangers reached their target with only two wickets down, with Aaron Finch on 25 and David Hussey on 8, after the Redbacks struggled in their second innings.Only one ball was possible in the first session due to rain, and when play resumed South Australia quickly lost Callum Ferguson for 15. Holland and Clint McKay (3 for 66) then ran through the rest of the Redbacks line-up to keep the home side to 213.The left-arm spinner Holland ended up with 4 for 61 and in the current state of Australian spin bowling, a couple more handy performances like that and he could find himself in the mix for a national call-up. The win was Victoria’s second of the summer and they sit fourth on the Sheffield Shield table, while the Redbacks are second-last.