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Pakistan’s batting line-up is their weak link this tournament but its top order dominated New Zealand’s bowling under sunny skies in Pallekele

The Report by Siddhartha Talya23-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Nasir Jamshed scored a rapid half-century with shots that were well chosen and timed•AFPPakistan’s batting line-up is their weak link this tournament but its top order dominated New Zealand’s bowling, leaving its own superior attack with a relatively easier task of defending a formidable total – one that was achieved successfully, albeit not without a scare. There was consolation for New Zealand: having brought down the margin of defeat to 13 runs, they ensured they reached a net run-rate high enough to take them through to the Super Eights.Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed cashed in on a below-par performance from New Zealand in the field, putting together an impressive partnership during which their timing and apparent effortlessness in building on an aggressive opening stand stood out. The depth and variety in Pakistan’s bowling, Hafeez’s miserly spell and New Zealand’s questionable tactics in the chase combined to put a target of 178 beyond reach, producing a winning start to Pakistan’s tournament.New Zealand had their chances. Hafeez decided to give his inconsistent batting the first go under sunny skies but in conditions where bowlers had assistance. Kyle Mills found early swing and should have had an initially-tentative Hafeez third ball, but Ross Taylor fluffed a straightforward chance at slip. Having dropped his Pakistan counterpart, the New Zealand captain was left flapping his lips when Hafeez launched Daniel Vettori for a six over long-on the next over.Imran Nazir looked the more assured of the openers, using the depth of the crease well to dispatch Mills’ two short deliveries for boundaries on either side of the ground, and continuing the treatment against Jacob Oram’s half-trackers. Nazir fell in the last over of the Powerplay, caught and bowled by Tim Southee, but by then Hafeez had got into his groove with a couple of flowing drives and was about to be joined by a partner who wasted no time in keeping the momentum intact.Tall, well-built and powerful, Jamshed was nowhere near brutal in his style of play. He didn’t have to rely on sheer power to achieve what timing, placement and a sound technique did. Against Nathan McCullum’s round-the-wicket line, he drove inside out, lofting the ball in the vacant space behind extra cover and clearing the ropes twice. He was equally wristy, clipping the ball square and through midwicket and slicing Mills over point for four. Mills was again unlucky, as a perfectly-positioned Rob Nicol at deep square leg spilled a chance off Jamshed, making matters worse by palming the ball for six when the batsman was on 42.As Jamshed attacked at one end, Hafeez was content to rotate the strike, collecting runs down the ground, jabbing, steering and nudging the ball around for singles and even bludgeoning Nathan McCullum for six over midwicket. He was bowled trying to pull James Franklin in his first over but the 76-run stand with Jamshed had set an excellent launching pad.New Zealand, though, pulled things back, dismissing Kamran Akmal and Jamshed in successive overs that yielded just 10. But Umar Akmal and the rest counterattacked in the last four. Even though Southee conceded just three in the 18th over, with third man and fine leg inside the circle, a generous dose of length, and misdirected, deliveries helped Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik score 42 in the last four.New Zealand opened with Kane Williamson, a solid but less-attacking option, and played Vettori, busy, accumulative but not renowned as a big hitter, at No.3. The batting order suggested a strategy that relied heavily on the ammunition in the middle order to lead the surge in the late overs. Though that surge did come, and gave Pakistan plenty of anxious moments, it arrived at a time when the required-rate had reached 14 an over and, in hindsight, a touch too late.Williamson made 15 in 13 but he had a fluent Rob Nicol at the other end. Nicol showed early intent, charging out to Sohail Tanvir and smacking him over long-on, and going over the top against Yasir Arafat with mid-off inside the circle. Pakistan bowled just one over of spin – from Hafeez, who conceded just 15 in his four-over spell – inside the Powerplay, and their slow bowlers stifled the innings once the field spread out.Afridi mixed it up well and even found turn but Nicol was dislodged while attempting to cut one that went on straight. Williamson was run out shortly after, and the five overs after the Powerplay produced just 26 runs, with Vettori and Brendon McCullum at the crease. Saeed Ajmal’s first over ended the deadlock with Brendon McCullum, who reverse-swept, stepped out and also cut well, picking him for boundaries. But with the asking rate climbing, the wickets came, Ajmal dismissing Vettori for 18 off 16 and Umar Gul yorking Brendon McCullum, who left his team with 70 needed off 29 balls. By then, Hafeez had completed his spell, with his first three overs only going for five runs.It was too much to get in the end, despite Oram and Franklin’s quick cameos and Taylor’s assault of three fours in a row against Gul that brought down the equation to 22 off 9 balls. He was run-out brilliantly, courtesy a flat throw to the striker’s end from the deep from Umar Akmal next ball, and the biggest threat in Pakistan’s way, at that point, was eliminated.

Dhawan and Manhas, current and former captain, switched batting personalities on Tuesday and delivered for Delhi a seven-wicket victory over Maharashtra

Sharda Ugra in Delhi18-Dec-2012
ScorecardIn the normal order of things, Shikhar Dhawan is all flashing neon-light and Mithun Manhas the steady, constant beam. Not on Tuesday and not at the Roshanara, which is most certainly not a normal sort of Delhi Ranji venue either.Dhawan and Manhas, current and former captain, switched batting personalities on Tuesday and delivered for Delhi a seven-wicket victory over Maharashtra at the Roshanara Club Ground in their penultimate Ranji group game. Their third-wicket partnership of a run-a-ball 83 ensured that Delhi got past the target of 270 at a gallop, the match ending fifteen minutes before tea. The threat of slow over-rates and fading light was banished in a flourish of audacious and attractive strokemaking.Dhawan said later that he remembered his performance in a tight chase two seasons ago when Delhi were all out for 113, chasing 136 versus Railways. Dhawan wanted and was able to wipe that memory away. “Maybe today’s innings reminded me how much I have matured from those days,” he said. Dhawan’s was a very well-paced innings, sticking through the first session alongside fellow left-hander Mohit Sharma who fluctuated between reasonable aggression and hazardous ambition. What he did do was to get to 51 and put up 94 with Dhawan.In the morning, Delhi had asked for the heavy roller but when the ball began keeping low, Dhawan was watchful. He played the waiting game and turned the singles over, freeing his shoulders and hitting Srikanth Mundhe through extra cover for his first boundary, after 55 balls.Charging out to the medium-pacers and hitting them on either side of the wicket messed the bowlers’ lengths. By lunch, Dhawan was in cruise control. Dhawan was joined by Mohit at the loss of Unmukt Chand’s wicket in fourth over of the morning, Chand chopping the ball onto the stumps. From then on, Delhi’s next partnerships were 94, 83 and an unbeaten 91, Dhawan involved in all of them. His innings is another reminder that he has been one of the season’s most prolific openers, coming into the Ranji Trophy with 600 domestic runs already to his name. He has now added another 431.The launch pad for Delhi’s victory came after lunch when Manhas decided to turn his batting approach in this game upside down. On Sunday, he had batted for more than two and a half hours for 28 – all that grafting with so little to show for it. When he came to bat, his back was sore and he had in front of him two relatively inexperienced Maharashtra bowlers. “After the first innings, I thought I really should have played more shots,” he said.So Manhas played shots never expected from his otherwise sedate self, which the Maharashtra debutant Nikit Dhumal – and everyone watching – will always remember. His first six went over wide long-off, the second was a full-blooded upper cut and the third an even more fearsome hook. No wonder wise folk always say, beware the fury of the patient man. Manhas is Delhi’s top scorer this season, with 688 runs including two centuries and five fifties.In 15 overs after lunch, Delhi had scored 92 runs. Manhas said, “That played on them, you could see it. Maybe my sore back helped me to play with freedom.” It certainly helped sent a message to Maharashtra that their race was already run.Delhi have shot into third place in Group B with a total of 17 points, but have only one game left, like Baroda, who are tied with table- toppers Uttar Pradesh on 21. While UP and Baroda appear fairly secure at the top, the three other teams are also within theoretical distance of grabbing a spot in the knockouts – Odisha (16 points), Karnataka (14 points) and Tamil Nadu (13 points) – have two matches left.

Simon Taufel, the recently retired Australian umpire, will give the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture this year. He will be the first umpire to do so.

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2013Simon Taufel, the recently retired Australian umpire, will give the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture this year. He will be the first umpire to do so.Taufel became the most respected umpire in the world after standing in his first Test match aged 29 in 2000. He was named umpire of the year five successive times from 2004 to 2008 and stood in 74 Tests, 174 ODIs and 34 international Twenty20s – the last of which being the World T20 final in October.He will be the third Australian to deliver the lecture, this year on July 24, following Richie Benaud in 2001 and Adam Gilchrist in 2009, and the third non-international cricketer after Christopher Martin-Jenkins in 2007 and Desmond Tutu in 2008.”Simon Taufel has been one of the most respected umpires in world cricket for over a decade,” MCC president, Mike Griffith, said. “I am delighted that he has accepted the club’s invitation to give the thirteenth lecture.”He will offer a unique insight into how the spirit of cricket preamble practically translates within the modern game. As a member of the MCC laws sub-committee, the club already benefits from his vast knowledge and experience to help tackle the key issues surrounding the game’s laws. I am very much looking forward to listening to him address the current areas of contention in the sport.”Taufel said he was initially shocked to be asked: “I am delighted, honoured and humbled to be able to participate in such an important cricket event – I look forward to representing umpiring in this fine tradition and all that Lord Cowdrey stood for.”The spirit of cricket Cowdrey lecture began in 2001 in memory of the late Lord Cowdrey, a past president of MCC, who, together with another former president, Ted Dexter, was the driving force in having the spirit of cricket included as the preamble to the laws of the game.Previous lectures have been delivered by Kumar Sangakkara, who, in 2011, was the youngest person to do so, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott and West Indian great Clive Lloyd.

South Africa made a strong attempt at defending 208 in Paarl as New Zealand’s top order struggled in familiar fashion

The Report by Andrew McGlashan19-Jan-2013
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell McClenaghan was impressive in his debut ODI•AFPAfter seven days of the most one-sided Test cricket you could witness the first one-day international produced a thriller as James Franklin proved New Zealand’s hero to secure a one-wicket victory with an unbeaten 47.Chasing an undemanding 208 the game had appeared to have gone when they were eight down still needing 69, but Kyle Mills helped add 47 for the ninth wicket before Mitchell McClenaghan survived six deliveries to allow Franklin to pick off the remaining 22 runs.Until the final moments it always felt as though South Africa had their noses in front and there was a chance for them to win the match when Franklin, taking a risk in Dale Steyn’s final over, edged just wide of Quinton de Kock, the debutant keeper, who went with two hands when one might have given him a better chance.Franklin managed to keep the strike to face Ryan McLaren, another who had an impressive match, and ramped a short ball brilliantly over the keeper before carving the winning boundary through the off side. There was plenty of emotion in New Zealand’s celebrations.It was a game low on batting quality but high on tension in the closing stages. The required rate was never out of hand for New Zealand, which enabled Franklin and Mills to just take whatever runs were on offer and protect their wickets. When McLaren took out three middle-order wickets he seemed to have decided the match but Mills showed up some of the top-order batting and Franklin offered a riposte to those who feel he should not be playing.McLaren’s fourth, to give him a career-best haul to follow his useful 33 with the bat, swung the game back South Africa’s way but McClenaghan kept his cool and kept in line to ensure his figures of 4 for 20, the best by a New Zealand bowler on ODI debut, contributed to a victory rather than a consolation.That had not appeared likely after another stuttering display from the top order. Martin Guptill was run out without facing after AB de Villiers, having passed away the keeping gloves, swooped at cover. Lonwabo Tsotsobe struck twice, having Rob Nicol taken at slip and Kane Williamson at point to leave New Zealand 21 for 3. A familiar collapse was on the cards.BJ Watling and Brendon McCullum gave the innings some foundation with a stand of 52 before another slip. Rory Kleinveldt trapped McCullum lbw in curious fashion; a power outage had struck the ground which meant no DRS was available and McCullum had wanted to review the decision. Kleinveldt, another of the debutants in the game, claimed a second when Grant Elliott flashed to slip to hand Graeme Smith his 100th ODI catch.When McLaren struck twice in three balls – Watling dragging on and Jimmy Neesham lbw – New Zealand were 105 for 7 but Nathan McCullum offered hope with a punchy innings and that mood was carried forward. South Africa will reflect that they were not at their best, conceding 15 wides and three no-balls.Their innings was a curious display, perhaps with a hint of complacency after their dominance in the Tests, with the tone set by Hashim Amla’s ugly shot across the line. When de Villiers was lbw to the impressive McClenaghan they were 37 for 3 and forced to rebuild, but each time a partnership started to form New Zealand broke though. McCleanaghan later returned to add two more scalps, including a beauty from round the wicket to take Steyn’s off stump.Williamson was the surprise package with the ball, claiming a career-best 4 for 22 with his part-time offspin after New Zealand filled their side with allrounders. His first three scalps were all set batsmen: Colin Ingram, brilliantly caught off a top-edged sweep, McLaren who probably did not get an edge and the key figure of du Plessis taken at deep midwicket.Du Plessis and McLaren formed the best stand of the innings, adding 59 for the sixth wicket, which included taking 41 off the Powerplay but South Africa felt a frontline batsman light as they did in the one-day series against England last year. The stand had given them hope of pushing towards 250 but Williamson derailed those ambitions with wickets in consecutive overs, although HotSpot supported McLaren’s frustration at his dismissal. That was nothing compared to the frustration he felt a few hours later.

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has presented his case to have his ICC ban for spot-fixing overturned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2013Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has presented his case to have his ICC ban for spot-fixing overturned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).Asif appeared before CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday to try and have his seven-year ban, with two years suspended, quashed but will have to wait at least three weeks for an outcome and it could take as many as six.”Today was quite busy,” Asif told AFP after emerging from the CAS headquarters. “They will give us their decision in the next three weeks. Hopefully I am going to win this case. I’d like to play cricket again.”Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, will have his hearing on Friday in an attempt to overturn his 10-year ban following the sting in August 2010 which exposed plans to bowl on-demand no-balls.On Wednesday Butt said in a statement that he wanted the chance to resume his career. “Cricket is my life and every single day that has passed has been so painful because I have not been able to play. All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young and I can still play well.”Mohammad Amir, the third player to be caught in the News of the World sting, decided not to appeal against the five-year ban against him. The ban does not permit the players to take part in any official match – international, domestic or club – until at least September 2015. All three players served time.Butt served seven months of a 30-month prison sentence, Asif was released from Canterbury Prison in Kent on June 3 last year after he served half of a year-long sentence while Amir spent three months in a young offenders’ institution after admitting his charge at a pre-trial hearing.

Australia are in for a tough test against spin on the fourth day, double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara has said

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2013Australia are in for a tough test against spin on the fourth day, double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara has said. Pujara reached his second double-century in Tests, was involved in a triple-century stand with M Vijay, before R Ashwin picked up two wickets in Australia’s second innings with India still leading by 192.”They need to apply themselves,” Pujara said after the third day’s play. “They don’t know how to go about on turning tracks. They have prepared, we know what their strengths are and are trying to find their weaknesses. I think our spinners have been doing it successfully and they need to continue what they are doing.Only one wicket fell on the second day; on the third there were 11. “It’s turning a little more and the odd ball is jumping,” Pujara said.Australia didn’t pick Nathan Lyon for this Test; Pujara said he was comfortable facing him as well as other Australian spinners, including Glenn Maxwell and Xavier Doherty. “I think he went for lots of runs, that’s why they made the change. I have batted well against [Graeme] Swann and [Monty] Panesar in the past, which helped me play against Australian spinners.”Pujara batted for almost seven hours and was seen limping for a good part of his innings due to a hamstring injury. “I pulled my hamstring and yesterday in the first session it was very difficult for me to run and even focus on my batting. When my hamstring was sore, I just wanted to hang around and let the time go by and afterwards I was much better and could concentrate on my batting. The injury is settling down and I hope I will be better.”Pujara fell trying to hook James Pattinson when on 204, being caught at fine leg. It was a shot he was still working on, he said. “I think it’s a scoring opportunity but you need to play the shot at the right height. The ones which are above the shoulder I need to leave those balls. I still need to learn that shot and I will be working on it for sure.”A knee injury, for which he had to undergo a surgery, sidelined Pujara for a good part of 2011 and the start of 2012. “Injuries have taught me a lot,” he said. “It motivates you to work hard on your game and even on fitness as well.”

Dhaka Gladiators, the Bangladesh Premier League champions, have reacted strongly after the schedule of this year’s Champions League T20 was announced without the two-time BPL winners

Mohammad Isam12-Apr-2013Dhaka Gladiators, the Bangladesh Premier League champions, have reacted strongly after the schedule of this year’s Champions League T20 was announced without the two-time BPL winners. Of all the Test-playing countries, domestic Twenty20 champions from only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have never participated in the CLT20.They had also alleged that the BCB did not send out any requests to one of the three cricket boards that organise the tournament, but the BCB has denied this claim.”We expected (to be included) and were waiting for a meeting with one the organisers – the BCCI – of the tournament,” Shihab Chowdhury, Dhaka Gladiator’s managing director, said in a statement. “We also said that things are on track but the fixtures were released before we could even make a move. We were informed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board was supposed to recommend and request the BCCI. But surprisingly this was also never done.””We were informed that Bangladesh Cricket Board was supposed to recommend and request the BCCI. But surprisingly this was never done.”In reply, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick has said they never got a reply from the organisers, but they will try to include the BPL champions. “They [Dhaka Gladiators] are misinformed about our stance. We have sent letters to the Champions League T20 committee but didn’t get any replies from the concerned people. We will send letters to the BCCI, CA and CSA in this regard next week.”They went to meet the ICC but I don’t think the ICC has anything to do with this,” Mallick told ESPNcricinfo.”We were even told by the concerned that process is going and there was a very good chance for us to participate in the tournament this year, but no communication was made by the concerned thus we were not considered,” he said.

Windward Islands put in an all-round showing to beat Combined Campuses and Colleges by nine wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method and secure the Regional Super50 title in Bridgetown

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2013
ScorecardDevon Smith, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, ensured Windward Islands stayed on top in a small chase•WICB Media Photo/Randy BrooksWindward Islands put in an all-round showing to beat Combined Campuses and Colleges by nine wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method and secure the Regional Super50 title in Bridgetown. This is the first one-day championship Windwards have won since the 2000-2001 season.CCC lost the toss and were put in to bat. Keon Peters’ opening spell proved decisive as he removed the top three batsmen within eight overs. At one point, CCC were wobbling at 31 for 4, but were able to recover to 121 for 5 through the efforts of captain Kyle Corbin (46) and Nekoli Parris (34).Once Corbin fell, however, CCC began to struggle even more, and they eventually were dismissed for 174 in the final over of the innings. Peters led the way with 4 for 32, while Shillingford’s impressive tournament continued with his haul of 3 for 29 to remove the middle-lower order. Shillingford finished as the tournament’s highest wicket taker, with 17 wickets in six matches at an economy of 2.86.Rain intervened during the innings break, caused a two-hour delay, and subsequently Windward’s target was reduced from to 134 in 29 overs. Devon Smith and Johnson Charles led the way with an opening stand of 100 at over a run-a-ball to effectively end CCC’s chances. Once Charles fell to the bowling of Keswick Williams, Smith and Tyrone Theophile closed out the game in the 23rd over.Smith ended on an unbeaten 67, and finished the tournament as the highest run scorer with 348 runs in eight matches at an average of 58. Man-of-the-Match honours went to Peters and Smith for their vital contributions.Speaking after the game, Liam Sebastien, the Windwards captain, said: “This is very pleasing. It is a long time [since] we won something, and it is just wonderful that we have won this championship.”

Mohammad Ashraful’s Bangladesh team-mates have expressed their surprise at his admission of involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing during the BPL

Mohammad Isam08-Jun-2013Mohammad Ashraful has continued to be the subject of discussion at all levels of the public sphere in Bangladesh over the last four days. Some of his national team-mates have also weighed in, expressing their surprise at his admission of involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing during the BPL.Shakib Al Hasan said he had also heard questions about February’s BPL match between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings, but wasn’t around the players’ dugout long enough to understand the situation.”After the match everyone was talking about it. The opposition players were asking us, ‘so you’ve thrown the game?’ Shakib told the Dhaka-based . “They were asking questions about Dhaka’s slow batting and the big no-ball (by Gladiators’ Mahbubul Alam).”I was not present in the dugout for too long. I was working on my injury inside the dressing room. Since I didn’t play that game, I can’t be sure how difficult the wicket was for batting.”Shahriar Nafees, a student of the same cricket academy where Ashraful began his career, lauded his courage to speak the truth, but wanted just punishment for the guilty. “This is a sad chapter in Bangladesh cricket.” Nafees said. “I have to compliment his courage to come out and confess. I am feeling bad for him, but if he has committed the crime, he has to be punished appropriately.”Mushfiqur Rahim, Ashraful’s Bangladesh captain for the last two years, sent him a text message that said: ‘Allah will be looking after you for being able to gather the courage to confess your guilt before you die. Thanks for the honesty you have shown and I hope you will again return to the cricket field.’Other team-mates like Enamul Haque jnr and Alok Kapali also spoke out. “I was totally shocked when I read about it in the newspaper,” said Enamul, now playing for Wolverhampton in the Birmingham Cricket League. “It seemed like someone close to you was going far away as I heard his confession.”Kapali, who was among 13 Bangladeshi cricketers who left for the Indian Cricket League in 2008 and was ostracised as a result, had a different message for Ashraful. “I am feeling bad for him but I don’t think we need so much money in our life that we need to get involved in fixing.” Kapali said. “Look at Shakib, he is playing the world over. If you play well, money will follow you.”

A rapid half-century by Steven Crook gave Northamptonshire the platform to open their Yorkshire Bank 40 account for the season with a 42-run win

26-May-2013Northamptonshire 219 for 6 (Crook 61*, Ali 3-40) beat Worcestershire 177 (Samaraweera 78, Willey 3-28, Spriegel 3-29) by 42 runs
ScorecardA rapid half-century by Steven Crook gave Northamptonshire the platform to open their Yorkshire Bank 40 account for the season with a 42-run win against Worcestershire at New Road.The home side only had themselves to blame as they spilled four chances – including one from Crook when he had made 10 – and the allrounder made them pay by charging to an unbeaten 61 from 42 balls.Crook’s blitz, bringing seven fours and two sixes over the longest boundary at midwicket, helped the Steelbacks to a match-winning total of 219 for 6 after adding 61 from the last five overs. This gave Worcestershire too much to do on a tricky pitch and they were dismissed in the 38th over for 177 despite Thilan Samaraweera’s masterclass in one-day batting.Samaraweera caressed the ball around the field, hitting nine fours in making 78 from 81 balls, but the chase was over when he became the first of two lbw dismissals in successive deliveries from Andrew Hall. Northamptonshire’s fielding was top notch throughout and they delivered the most decisive spells with the ball.David Willey broke through at the top order and Matthew Spriegel took wickets in successive overs before finishing with 3 for 29. Samaraweera gave his side hope in stands of 53 with Daryl Mitchell (29) and 58 with Gareth Andrew (21), but it was never easy to get the ball away on a sluggish surface.Andrew was the big threat to Northamptonshire at that stage but, after driving one six off Crook, the left hander was well caught by Kyle Coetzer as he speared a shot from Trent Copeland low to point.In difficult conditions for the big hitters, Crook was the exception in having the power to hit through the line in making his second List A fifty for the county.Earlier, the Northamptonshire openers kept things ticking over in a partnership of 62 before Brett D’Oliveira had a hand in their dismissals, taking a simple catch from David Sales at mid-on and bowling Rob Newton as the batsman attempted to cut.Alex Wakely played well for 35 before falling to Jack Shantry, and offspinner Moeen Ali produced the ball of the day, turning and clipping the top of Spriegel’s off stump. However, Moeen’s last over, costing 18 runs, was crucial for Northamptonshire as it brought sixes for Willey and Crook.