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Richard Levi’s innings proved enough for Northants•Getty Images

Ryan McLaren’s T20 career-best 77 in 50 balls narrowly failed to see Lancashire home against Northamptonshire in an extraordinary NatWest T20 Blast game at Wantage Road that the home side won by 11 runs.Left to recover a chase of 159 when they were in tatters at 25 for 5, McLaren helped Lancashire stay alive and 26 were needed from the final over. McLaren hit the first two balls of the over for six beyond long-on but then holed out to mid-off as Lancashire’s hopes were finally extinguished.Lancashire appeared to have no hope at all after suffering a nightmare start to their innings, all of their own making, slipping to 19 for 4. Liam Liverstone, having stepped away to Richard Gleeson’s second ball to carve a boundary over point, lost his middle and leg stumps next ball trying to play the same stroke.Aaron Lilley played an almost identical innings and top-edged a wild hack that was well caught by Richard Levi running back from slip – but he was clattered by Gleeson running in from third man in the process. Levi was forced from the field but his replacement, Tom Sole, ran out Steven Croft with a direct hit from midwicket after being sent back by Dane Villas.Before the run-out, Karl Brown drove loosely to edge a catch to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington, giving Rory Kleinveldt a second wicket – he took 2 for 2 in his first three overs.Gleeson also picked up a second wicket in his opening three overs – and the huge scalp of Jos Buttler. Having scooped a six over the fine-leg fence to get off the mark, Buttler attempted the same stroke next ball and was badly dropped by Saif Zaib at long leg. It mattered not, as Gleeson produced a beauty that nipped back to take out the off stump.All this came in a crazy Powerplay where the required rate – which began at just under eight-an-over – soon climbed into double figures. But McLaren and Villas, who made 40 in 27 balls, plotted a recovery and despite only reaching the half-way mark at 54 for 5, began to get a foothold on the chase.The turning point was the 12th over bowled by Rob Keogh that went for 21 with two a six and a four each from both batsman. McLaren then heaved Zaib over midwicket to leave 49 to win from 30 balls.Villas slapped Azharullah down the throat of long-on but the stand of 91 in 60 balls had revived Lancashire’s hopes. But Gleeson returned to york Jordan Clark second ball and Nathan Buck hit Stephen Parry’s off stump to leave McLaren having to win the game on his own.Northants’ 158 for 4 appeared to be a below-par total. Levi led them their with 71 from 54 balls. He has delivered in each of his five innings since returning from concussion and his side were indebted to his effort here as they were largely well with their power game kept in check to great effect, Junaid Khan’s four overs cost only 21 runs and Matt Parkinson’s set 23.Levi was forced to be very patient and passing fifty in 43 balls was slower than most innings from the South African. He snapped a run of just 11 runs in four over with a drive over extra-cover and lifted Stephen Parry over long-on. Parkinson’s one bad ball was pulled for six but not until the 16th over did he really fire.Adam Rossington gave the innings a bright start with 29 in just 16 balls but when he fell, Ben Duckett collected his second duck in three innings and the Northants scoring rate subsequently slumped. Parkinson ran through four overs for just 23 and after 15 overs, Northants were 104 for 2 and the innings in need of impetus.Levi found it with three fours in the 16th over and a no-ball smashed over midwicket. The over from McLaren conceded 25 and Alex Wakely found the committee balcony in the next and Kleinveldt – after Levi was cleaned by a Clark slower-ball – lifted another six over midwicket but the late innings spurt didn’t come as only 11 runs came from the final two overs.

ScorecardJohn Wright began with a win [file picture]•Getty Images

Luis Reece’s 75 from 51 balls saw Derbyshire upset champions Northamptonshire on the opening night of the NatWest T20 Blast with a rampant seven-wicket win at Wantage Road. Reece steered Derbyshire’s chase of 180 as they won in the final over but victory never looked under threat.Reece was playing just his fifth T20 but played a fluent knock wth 10 boundaries and a six. His partnership of 64 in 40 balls with Wayne Madsen saw Derbyshire keep in touch with the required rate throughout the middle of the chase as Northants failed create any pressure. Gary Wilson’s 28 from 15 balls finished the game off as Derbyshire won a T20 at Wantage Road for the first time since 2011.Had Shiv Thakor not been suspended, Reece may not have even played but he took his chance with a maiden T20 fifty and helped Derbyshire to an opening night win to begin their new era under specialist coach John Wright in perfect style.At 124 for 2 after 14 overs, Northants desperately needed a wicket and brought back Rory Kleinveldt to try and find it. Reece responded by slapping the South African over long-on for six. Kleinveldt did find a breakthrough with Madsen top-edging a pull to the wicketkeeper.Richard Gleeson returned with 37 required in 24 balls but conceded four leg-byes to fine leg and was pulled over square leg for six by Wilson.The only time Northants had control of the second innings was at 35 for 1 after five overs. But Reece struck four boundaries from Ben Sanderson in the final over of the Powerplay and Derbyshire never looked back.Northants’ 179 for 6 appeared a solid total. It was built around Ben Duckett’s 69 from 52 balls. Opening the batting in place of usual opener Richard Levi who hadn’t recovered from concussion, Duckett took few risks in marshalling Northants’ progress. He blazed Hardus Viljoen over extra-cover and turned him past short fine leg in the final over of the Powerplay that brought 52 runs for the lazy run out of Adam Rossington in the first over. Duckett stepped back to cut Matt Critchley past point and swept a low full toss for another boundary.Duckett eventually fell in the 17th over as Northants slid from 101 for 1 in the 12th over to 132 for 5 in the 17th, a mini collapse began with two wickets in two balls for Viljoen – who finished with 3 for 28, comfortable the pick of the Derbyshire attack. After Josh Cobb had mistimed a drive to mid-off – the catch taken low by Wayne Madsen – Alex Wakely gloved his first ball to wicketkeeper Daryn Smit.Imran Tahir bowled Rob Keogh trying to cut but the South African legspinner’s 1 for 31 wasn’t quite as threatening as Derbyshire would have hoped. He tore through Northants for Nottinghamshire at Wantage Road last season, taking 3 for 13 from his four overs, but here was swept for four through midwicket and heaved over cow corner by Cobb.Northants needed a middle-order innings to cash in on their strong start. Steven Crook provided it with 34 in 17 balls. He swung Alex Hughes to the midwicket fence and perfectly bisected long-off and long-on next ball as 16 came off the 18th overs and took Matt Henry’s final delivery over long-off as the New Zealander conceded 42 from his four overs. In the final over he swung Viljoen over

Records tumbled in Potchefstroom as India women openers Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut smashed centuries to forge the highest partnership in women’s ODIs. Their 320-run opening stand took India to 358 for 2 in the first innings and it was 249 runs too much for a second-string Ireland side, which has now let two different oppositions – South Africa and India – notch up their highest team totals in consecutive games.In what was the first 300-run stand by any pair in women’s ODIs, Deepti, all of 19, clobbered a record 27 fours during her 160-ball 188 – the second-highest individual score in the 50-over format, only bettered by Belinda Clark’s unbeaten 229 for Australia.Speaking about the records achieved by the India women’s team, former chairperson of the BCCI women’s selection panel Shanta Rangaswamy told ESPNcricinfo: “It’s a great achievement for Indian women’s cricket. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Deepti is young and has a fabulous temperament. Her batting stands apart from most others and I think she has the capability to become one of the best allrounders in world cricket in the years to come.”In the absence of regular opener Smriti Mandhana, who has been recalled to the squad for the Women’s World Cup after a four-month layoff, Deepti has carried the mantle of propping up a top order that has traditionally been reliant on Mithali Raj. Deepti’s recent run of form came particularly good for India in the Women’s World Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka, where she finished as the tournament’s leading run-getter. She scored 253 runs with three fifties in six innings, including a match-winning 71 against South Africa in the final, which helped India complete their highest successful chase in ODIs.Deepti’s opening partner also etched her name in the record books with the feat of being involved in India’s highest partnership across all three formats. Rangaswamy underlined Raut’s credentials for the longer formats of the game.”For one-day cricket and Test cricket, Punam is a big asset to the Indian team,” Rangaswamy said. “I cannot forget the big centuries she and [MD] Thirush Kamini got in Mysore against South Africa.”Punam has always been in my scheme of things. Her knock against Australia steered India to victory last year in an ODI. It was crucial in the context of the game. In England, where the ball will swing and bounce more, Punam’s presence there will definitely benefit the team’s batting.”Having earned a call-up for the quadrangular series on merit of her domestic form, Raut has now forced her way into the squad for the World Cup on the back of unbeaten knocks in two of the three matches so far.Raut’s reputation for being a livewire on the field is likely to have further strengthened her case. In the three matches so far in the quadrangular series, she has played a part in at least one run-out in every game, dismissing set batsmen – South Africa’s Mignon du Preez and Ireland’s Jennifer Gray, twice – in each instance.”These girls are excellent fielders,” Rangaswamy said. “Deepti excels in close-in fielding; Punam is a very good fielder in the deep. She throws brilliantly and puts in good dives.”India are currently on a 16-match winning streak, and are one win away from equalling Australia’s record of 17 consecutive ODI wins. They lead the four-nation tournament with 19 points, followed by South Africa on 15.

ScorecardRilee Rossouw made Hampshire’s chase a formality•Getty Images

Rilee Rossouw biitzed his way to a career-best 156 to help Hampshire beat Somerset by four wickets in the Royal London One Day Cup group match at Taunton.The South African opened the innings and stayed at the crease almost to the end to help his side to victory with more than 12 overs to spare.Replying to Somerset’s below par 249, which included half centuries from Dean Elgar, Pete Trego and Adam Hose, Hampshire took advantage of some wayward bowling.After they lost Tom Alsop with the score on 20, left-hander Rossouw shared a second wicket stand of 114 with James Vince before the skipper was out for 35.Rossouw scored his runs freely and was particularly ruthless on anything short. It wasn’t until Somerset introduced Tim Groenewald and Roelof van der Merwe into the attack that they were able to curb his run spree.He duly went to his century with a boundary to square cover off Van der Merwe, his runs coming off 73 balls with 17 fours and a six.Hampshire were within touching distance of their target when Jamie Overton, who had suffered in his earlier overs, returned and picked up four quick wickets, including that of Rossouw.But by that time the outcome was a formality as Hampshire became the first team to beat Somerset this season in this competition.Earlier, Somerset were rescued from two wickets down for one run by Elgar and Trego, who was put down in the slips on one. The all-rounder then started to go for his shots and lofted Abbott high into the Somerset Stand for six before seeing up the 50 in the ninth over.Trego went to his 50 with a square drive off Berg, his runs coming off 41 balls with eight 4s and a six. However five runs later he was out when the same bowler got his revenge. Trego’s third-wicket partnership with Elgar added 85.James Hildreth went cheaply, which brought Adam Hose in to face the county that released him as a youngster. Elgar went to his 50 with a single off Crane, his runs coming off 56 balls – his fifth half-century in as many innings.Hose played the shot of the day when he drove Edwards to midwicket and went to his second 50 of the competition this season with a single off Crane. Later in the same over he was caught at long off without addition, his fifth wicket partnership with Elgar adding 80.Roelof van der Merwe hit two big sixes before he was run out for 19 after a mix up with Elgar.Craig Overton and Josh Davey went cheaply and when Elgar was out for 78 trying to run Crane down the third man Somerset found themselves 224 for nine. Jamie Overton played some lusty blows but on 28 he was bowled by Edwards and Somerset were all out for 249 off 44.2 overs.

Ian Bell has committed to Warwickshire for a further three years, after signing a contract extension that runs until the end of the 2020 season.Bell, 34, scored 7,727 runs at 42.69 in 118 Test appearances, but has not played for England since their 2-0 series defeat against Pakistan in November 2015.However, with 18,533 runs to his name in first-class cricket, his commitment to Warwickshire is undimmed, not least since being appointed captain last year.”Warwickshire is the only county that I’ve ever wanted to play for,” Bell said.”The club has played a huge role in my career and it’s a great honour to now captain the team and help our young, talented players fulfil their potential here at Edgbaston.”Bell played in seven Ashes series in the course of his England career, emerging victorious on five occasions in 2005, 2009, 2010-11, 2013 and 2015.In domestic cricket, he has won six trophies, including last summer’s Royal London One-Day Cup when the Birmingham Bears beat Surrey in the final at Lord’s to cap his first season as captain.”Ian is a true Bear who has been with Warwickshire since the age of 10 and has gone on to be one of the most decorated players in the club’s history,” said Warwickshire sport director, Ashley Giles.”He continues to be one of the leading batsmen in the country across all three formats and, as our captain, he sets exceptionally high standards for the rest of the squad.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has called Dilruwan Perera a “silent hero” after the offspinner became the first Sri Lanka player to take ten wickets and score a half-century in a Test. Perera was both the most economical and the most penetrative of Sri Lanka’s frontline bowlers in the match, taking 10 for 99. In the process he also became the fastest Sri Lankan to 50 Test wickets, achieving the milestone in 11 Tests, to beat Ajantha Mendis, who got there in 12.His second innings’ score of 64 was also higher than any the Australia batsmen have mustered, through the series so far.”We talk a lot about Rangana Herath, but not as much about Dilruwan,” Mathews said after the match. “But he’s just become the fastest Sri Lankan to 50 Test wickets. When Murali was there, we didn’t speak that much about Rangana, so I guess it’s the same thing with Dilruwan. He’s a silent hero. In the last match he didn’t bowl well, but he was very diligent and knows how to bowl in Galle. He worked very hard in training with the coaches. He’s someone we can get a lot of profit from in the years to come.”Perera said he had realised he’d bowled too quickly in Pallekele, and had watched videos of his own bowling, and worked with spin coach Piyal Wijetunge to redress the problem. He took the key wicket of Australia’s top-scorer, David Warner, in each innings, and threatened both edges of virtually every other batsman through the match.”After having a quiet first Test, he backed his potential and came back really hard,” Mathews said. “He was one bowler who the Australians found it really hard to score off, especially on this track.”While much of Australia’s pre-series batting plans appeared to revolve around patience and batting long periods, Mathews said an attacking mindset had helped his team reap victory in the series. Mathews was among the most aggressive batsmen in the match, hitting 54 from 65 balls in the first innings, before making 47 from 69 in the second. Sri Lanka’s highest scorer in the first innings – Kusal Mendis – had progressed at a strike rate of 63.”When you’re playing on extreme conditions you can’t just block the cricket ball,” he said. “You’re eventually going to get out to short leg or lbw. You’ve got to start scoring runs. You’ve got to sweep and reverse sweep. Sometimes you’re still going to make mistakes, but you’ll find a way to score runs and upset the lines and lengths of the bowlers. We had to be scrappy.”Despite having been instrumental to the victory in Pallekele, Lakshan Sandakan bowled only two balls in the first innings, and six overs in the second, though he did pick up two wickets. Mathews said he simply could not find an opportunity to bring the wristspinner on.”Each time I wanted to bring Sandakan, either Dilruwan or Rangana got a wicket, so I couldn’t change them. Dilruwan looked like taking a wicket every single ball, so I had to just keep bowling him. Herath on the other end just keeps the pressure on the batsman all the time. They were bowling brilliantly and Sandakan didn’t get much of a chance to bowl on that wicket.”Having endured a tough seven months until the end of July, and a winless tour of England, Mathews also thanked his team and fans for their support through a tough period.”Well, my team backed me all the way through, so special thanks to them. Also thanks to SLC for backing us right throughout and also the selectors. They said we’ll get a bit of stick when we lose a few games, but if we do our processes right, we will along the way win a few games. To beat the No. 1 team is very satisfying. We also thank the fans for being there with us. It’s never an easy task when you lose games to keep persevering. They kept believing in us and supporting us.”

ScorecardJonathan Trott made his 19th List A hundred (file photo)•Getty Images

Yorkshire Day was not exactly Yorkshire’s day at Headingley where they lost to Warwickshire by 114 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the Royal London Cup. But in the end there was a silver lining in the grey clouds for both sides as they managed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition.Yorkshire, however, having led the North Group for quite some time, had to be content with third place and an away match whereas a well-deserved victory for Warwickshire saw them finish second with a home tie to look forward to.Chasing Warwickshire’s 283 for 6, Yorkshire, who rested Tim Bresnan, lost an over because of two short stoppages for rain and saw their target reduced by a run but they never got anywhere near and were bowled out for 167 in 37.4 overs. When their ninth wicket went down at 148, they could still have managed a home tie if they had made it to 189 but they were still 22 short when Steven Patterson was dismissed.The visitors were indebted to three outstanding individual performances, first Man-of-the-Match Jonathan Trott scored a beautifully constructed 118 and spinners Ateeq Javid and Jeetan Patel then claimed seven wickets between them – Javid leading the way with a career-best 4 for 42.Adam Lyth and David Willey put on a quick 22 at the start of the Yorkshire reply but the former then fell to a great slip catch by Laurie Evans and – with Alex Lees run out soon afterwards – Yorkshire were never in the hunt. Australian Travis Head batted soundly for his 53 from 63 deliveries with five fours but when he was bowled off stump by Javid, Yorkshire were 125 for 6 and sinking fast.Winning the toss, the away side found runs hard to come by in the opening stages against the new-ball pairing of Willey and Patterson and only 16 had been scored by the eighth over when Will Porterfield fell to a tumbling catch to his right by Liam Plunkett at midwicket off Patterson.It stayed tight for a while when Trott came in but he worked the ball around well and made sure that the score kept ticking over throughout his innings. Another fine diving catch, this time by wicketkeeper Andy Hodd brought Plunkett the wicket of Warwickshire’s other opener, Sam Hain, who managed only 10 in 13 overs.Ian Bell came in at 40 for 2 but Yorkshire kept a tight hold on the reins and the visitors managed only 74 from the first 20 overs. Shortly afterwards Trott completed his half-century from 61 balls with five boundaries by taking a single off Plunkett but Bell chipped the next ball from the paceman straight to Willey at cover, having contributed 21 to the third-wicket stand of 52.Trott continued to shine and Tim Ambrose survived a difficult chance on nine when he struck Azeem Rafiq to deep midwicket and Karl Carver made a lot of ground to get to the ball but could not make it stick. Five penalty runs were awarded when a ball from Plunkett to Trott went through to Hodd and deflected off his glove on to a helmet placed behind the wicketkeeper.Trott’s 19th List A century came off 122 balls with nine fours but – with the partnership worth 93 – Ambrose was out for 34, driving Rafiq straight to Will Rhodes at long-on. The end of Trott’s chanceless innings arrived when he hit Patterson high towards the square leg boundary where Jack Leaning positioned himself well for the catch. The former England batsman had received 135 balls and stroked 11 boundaries.At 214 for 5 in the 46th over, Warwickshire needed some quick runs and they were supplied by Clarke and then Evans who blasted his way to 48 not out off 30 balls with three fours and two sixes.Clarke was caught on the boundary edge after Lyth had signalled he did not know whether he had taken the ball cleanly, but Evans’ clean-hitting helped Warwickshire to boost their total as they claimed 104 from the last 10 overs.

ScorecardThings went wrong for Gloucestershire after Gareth Roderick’s century•Getty Images

A day which some thought would confirm Essex as favourites to take Division Two’s single promotion place eventually did so but not without suggesting the type of resistance the leaders must overcome if they are to prevail.After a long day which warmed and brightened and even, at its best, confirmed the arrival of summer, Ryan ten Doeschate’s batsmen need another 197 runs with nine wickets in hand to clinch a victory that would give them a 23-point lead at the top of the table. Essex are in a dominant position but the loss of Jaik Mickleburgh’s wicket three overs before the close will have reminded the visitors that there is still serious work ahead of them.But the rather pleasant state of affairs for supporters travelling from Colchester and Clacton followed two very fruitful sessions for home loyalists in which Gloucestershire’s batsmen had made light of a 78-run first-innings deficit and had themselves established a decent lead of 153 runs with seven wickets in hand at tea.Gareth Roderick’s century and Chris Dent’s increasingly assured 72 had fortified the hopes of those frequenting the hopes of those in the Churchdown and Charlton Kings marquees that Essex might be set a stiff target on the final day of this match.However, once the openers were out, ten Doeschate’s bowlers greedily exploited the weakness of Gloucestershire’s later batsmen and the home side lost their last eight wickets for 62 runs with Matt Quinn removing four of the top seven batsmen to end with a match analysis of 11 for 63, comfortably the best of his career.Graham Napier also showed what a loss he will be to Essex when he retires at the end of the season by making short work of the Gloucestershire tailenders. The combination of Quinn’s hostility and Napier’s movement finally broke the home side.Foster took three catches off Napier and Quinn won a lively red-blooded exchange with Craig Miles, who whacked him for six over midwicket before giving a catch to ten Doeschate at leg slip next ball. Michael Klinger was left undefeated on 53 and three of Gloucestershire’s batsmen scored nearly 80% of their team’s runs”The clock hath ceased to sound…shadow is round the eaves / The long day closes” wrote the lyricist Henry Fothergill Chorley in his famously gloomy part-song collaboration with Arthur Sullivan. As Nick Browne and the nighwatchman, Jamie Porter, made their way off the College Ground at ten past seven, one could see what he meant but the Essex players will not give a hoot about hard work should they be celebrating a victory on Saturday afternoon.Nevertheless, it felt rather more than eight hours since grey cloud had lain quilted over the College Ground on the third morning of this game. That, of course, should not have brought either warmth or comfort to Gloucestershire’s cricketers. The change in atmospheric conditions had helped cause their ruination in the first innings and they probably longed for the benevolent sunlight enjoyed by Dan Lawrence on Thursday evening. Instead, they would have to bat in double-maths weather with no prospect of a visit to the tuck shop.But conditions which augured only struggle instead brought affluence in the first half of the day as Roderick and Dent put on 148 runs for their side’s first wicket in 31.3 overs. The warmth that had helped Quinn to make hay on the first afternoon was lacking. So instead of struggling against a late-swinging ball, the openers prospered on the cool, rain-haunted morning.Roderick cover-drove Porter to the schoolchildren on the boundary in the third over and that was the first of six crisp fours struck by Gloucestershire’s captain on the way to a 43-ball fifty, his sixth half-century of the Championship season. The last of these, a clattering pull off a short ball from Quinn also wiped out the deficit with which the home side had begun the day. The layered members in front of the pavilion applauded generously, although this may have been have been as much to warm themselves as to salute the landmark. ” ‘Ee gave ‘im some ‘ammer” said one.Either side of a half-hour break for drizzle, the openers put on 88 in the first session and were pleasantly settled when Nottingham and Cleeve Hills were reduced to grey shapes as more rain fell and the umpires called for an early lunch. Then the hills disappeared entirely and only the leaves on the trees persuaded one this was not October.Nevertheless, the cricket brought happiness to the primary school children from Northleach, Amberley and Thrupp and to the folk in the marquees sponsored by the Churchdown Club and Gloucestershire Arms. The former, rebelling against killjoy injunction, were both seen and heard whereas the latter’s comments could be made out ever more distinctly as the afternoon drifted on and hospitality did its work. Essex’s more frivolous appeals were treated to ribald mockery.The jocular mood was stilled a little when Ravi Bopara bowled Dent off the inside edge when the batsmen was only half-way through his shot and quietened even more when Graeme van Buuren was caught down the leg side for 25 by James Foster off Quinn. Then Roderick, after completing his first century of the season off 134 balls, was leg before to Bopara and the home side were 228 for 3.The ale still flowed in the tents, of course – this is the Cheltenham Festival and enjoyment has never been dependent upon success. But it should be the Essex players who are savouring their pints tomorrow afternoon

Pakistan batsman and ODI captain Azhar Ali has backed fast bowler Mohammad Amir’s presence in the side for the tour of England, where the latter was charged for his involvement in the spot-fixing controversy in 2010, and has said that toughest phase in the bowler’s career is over. The PCB has submitted a visa request for Amir to clear his selection for the tour, before the team’s departure on June 18. Pakistan are set to tour England for four Tests, five ODIs and a T20I from July and are also scheduled to play two ODIs against Ireland.Azhar, along with senior allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, had opposed Amir’s return to the Pakistan side last year. The two players had refused to join a conditioning camp in December and the PCB later revealed it had turned down Azhar’s offer to resign over Amir’s inclusion in the camp. Azhar and Hafeez agreed to return ‘unconditionally’ to the camp after meeting with PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan.”[What happened in] 2010 is in the past and now we need to look forward,” Azhar said, when asked about Amir’s possible presence in England. “It has been a while now since he has been with us. It could have been tough, had he come in straight on such a tour, but now, after playing with us for a long time, things have settled. Even he isn’t under pressure because he has already made his comeback a few months ago and the toughest phase is over for him. I know England was the place where the incident [in 2010] happened but hopefully he can handle the pressure like he did on his comeback. But still if anything happens, we, as a team, will handle it.”The ECB has also indicated that it is supporting Amir’s visa application. “We understand Mohammad Amir has been selected to play in the forthcoming series in England. Any decision on his entry into the UK is ultimately one for the UK Government. We have spoken to the Pakistan Cricket Board and will provide any support the Government needs in making its decision. Support could also mean information and background,” a statement from the England board said last week.In November 2011, Amir – along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – was sentenced in a London court on charges of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010.Amir was given a six-month jail sentence and served half of it at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset. In January 2015, Amir was allowed to return to cricket ahead of schedule by the ICC, even as his five-year suspension period formally ended on September 1.The fast bowler has impressed since his return to cricket, playing international matches as well as Pakistan’s domestic competitions, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Pakistan Super League. Amir has taken five wickets in two ODIs and 11 wickets in as many T20Is in 2016, including a memorable 3 for 18 against India in the Asia Cup in February. He is part of the ongoing skills camp and is expected to feature in team that is likely to be announced later this week.Azhar, who made his international debut in England in 2010 against Australia, was confident his team that the team, currently ranked No. 3 on the Test rankings, had the ability to do well on the tour. Pakistan last won a Test series in England against the hosts in 1996. More recently, however, they have been beaten England in the UAE by 3-0 (January 2012) and 2-0 (October 2015) margins.”The England tour has always been challenging but the belief of doing good is important and we all have it,” he said. “If you have belief, then it will help you practically in the field. In Test cricket, we have been doing well with a settled and confident side. Conditions might be difficult there but every player has an aim to do well in the conditions to make Pakistan win.”The Pakistan team in the past has always been a competitive side. We either won or gave them tough competition. Previously in 2010, we had a very young side but this time we have experienced players both who were part of the tour that time, and some players who missed. So overall we have a good team to compete. Our bowling has always been good and England’s batting had always appeared vulnerable against them, so the idea is to utilize the combination.”Pakistan could face some trouble with the opening slot after Hafeez suffered a knee injury last week. The selectors could look at Sami Aslam, Shan Masood and Khurram Manzoor to fill the slot, but Azhar, who has settled in at No. 3, has said he is ready to open in Hafeez’s absence.”Hopefully things move accordingly to the plan,” he said. “A Test team has a settled order in which every player is consistent with his number. But in case anything happens then not only me but anyone is ready to play accordingly.”Pakistan will be training in Hampshire for almost a month before the Test series kicks off and are also scheduled to play tour matches, and Azhar believed this would give the team enough time to acclimatise to weather and pitch conditions.”We have the commitment and belief that we can win there and that’s the only thing the Pakistan nation should expect from us. We have trained hard and are even going to England well before the series starts, which will further help us adapt to the conditions.”Every player is important but the team obviously is depending on senior players. However, if every player contributes according to his role then I don’t see any reason Pakistan can’t do better. Talent is there, the middle order is experienced, specially Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis [Khan] , so I have full confidence that we can do well.”

Middlesex have announced that they are on the hunt for an overseas player in their bid to avoid relegation from Division One of the County Championship, with Pieter Malan leaving the club early after a poor season with the bat.Malan, who won three Test caps for South Africa in early 2020, re-signed for the summer after helping Middlesex secure promotion at the end of last summer but has struggled for form. He managed 221 runs at 14.73 across his eight Championship fixtures, with more ducks (five) than half-centuries (two).He also played eight games for them in the Blast, scoring 206 runs at a strike rate of 137.33, and did not feature in their One Day Cup campaign, with opportunities instead afforded to younger players. He has now returned to South Africa to captain Boland in domestic cricket.Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said that Malan “would be the first to admit that this season has been a struggle for him on the field”. He added: “It most certainly isn’t through lack of effort and hard work on his part… however, sometimes things just don’t work out.”Middlesex, who sit third-bottom in Division One and are locked into a relegation battle with Kent and Northamptonshire, confirmed in a statement: “[We are] now looking for a replacement to feature in the run-in to the end of the season, with four crucial County Championship matches remaining.”Kemar Roach is returning to Surrey•Getty Images

Meanwhile, south of the River Thames, Surrey have secured the return of Kemar Roach as they look to secure a second successive Championship title. Roach took 18 wickets in five appearances for them earlier this year before returning home, but is coming back to South London for the run-in.Surrey are 17 points clear of second-placed Essex heading into the final month of fixtures, and will be without three fast bowlers on England duty in Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran and Reece Topley – though Curran and Topley have featured in one Championship match between them this season.Roach said: “Surrey is a second home for me and I’m looking forward to getting back down to business ahead of three massive games. We know what the goal is for the team and I’m going to give everything to help achieve it.”