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Vijay Zol, the 18-year-old Maharashtra batsman, has been named in the India A squad for the longer-format matches against the touring New Zealand A team

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2013Vijay Zol, the 18-year-old Maharashtra batsman, has been named in the India A squad for the long-format matches against the touring New Zealand A team. Zol, who has not played a first-class match thus far, has been prolific at the Under-19 level, scoring consecutive centuries against Sri Lanka in the recent youth-Test series.The team for the two unofficial Tests – one three-day and one four-day match – will be led by Mumbai allrounder Abhishek Nayar and includes a number of young players; Punjab batsman Jiwanjot Singh, Delhi’s Unmukt Chand, Gujarat’s Manprit Juneja and Madhya Pradesh spinner Jalaj Saxena among others.The squad for the three unofficial ODIs also includes consistent performers from the domestic scene. The side, led by Chand, the former Under-19 captain, also includes Robin Uthappa, who last played an ODI for India in 2008.All the matches of the series are scheduled to be played in Visakhapatnam and the tour kicks off with the three-day match starting August 31.India A Test squad: Abhishek Nayar (capt), Jiwanjot Singh, Unmukt Chand, Vijay Zol, Manprit Juneja, VA Jagadeesh, CM Gautam (wk), Dhawal Kulkarni, Imtiaz Ahmed, Aniket Choudhary, Shrikant Wagh, Jalaj Saxena, Rakesh Dhruv, Sarabjeet Ladda.India A ODI squad: Unmukt Chand (capt), Robin Uthappa, Aditya Tare (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Mandeep Singh, Ashok Menaria, Sanju Samson, Sachin Baby, Dhawal Kulkarni, Basant Mohanty, Sandeep Sharma, Shrikant Wagh, Rahul Sharma, Jalaj Saxena

Gearing up for the Champions League T20 was not the intended purpose of the first eKasi Cup match, but it was a welcome consequence for Lions and Titans

Firdose Moonda23-Aug-2013Mamelodi is a long way from Jaipur, not just in geographical terms. The streets of the township north-east of Pretoria are lined with small and medium sized houses in close contact with each other and makeshift shops which seem a world away from the palatial grounds of one of India’s most touristy cities. So it was unexpected that the cricket pitch in Mamelodi so closely resembled a sub-continental one.The surface, meticulously worked on for days to host the first franchise match in a previously disadvantaged residential area, had a hint of help for the seamers early on before becoming slow, low and difficult to score off. “It was ideal preparation for us for the Champions League. I actually wish we could play a few more matches here before we head off,” Geoffrey Toyana, Lions’ coach said.Gearing up for one of cricket’s most lucrative events was not the intended purpose of the first eKasi Cup match – it was actually about taking the game to the people – but it was a welcome consequence for the two franchises involved. Both Lions and Titans, who have qualified for next month’s CLT20 competition in India added to their training by having their first competitive match since the winter break staged on a surface which required the skills they will need in the sub-continent.”It was a beneficial experience for both the batsmen and the bowlers,” Rob Walter, coach of Titans, said. “We started a little slowly with the ball but I think we came back well. The bowlers had to think about what’s needed on a surface like this. Is it cutters, slower ball, that kind of thing? And the batsmen had to work for their runs too.” Walter was South Africa’s fitness and fielding coach before taking over at Titans.For Titans, particularly, it exposed what they will need to work on with the bat ahead of their trip to India. Only three of their batsman got into double figures as they struggled against the pace of Hardus Viljoen upfront and the slower bowling of Aaron Phangiso and Jean Symes later on.They were not helped by a stodgy surface which became more difficult to build an innings on as the afternoon wore on and their own bowlers conceding heavily upfront. Lions had two century stands upfront before losing their last eight wickets for 50 runs. Quinton de Kock, who had a torrid time on the tour of Sri Lanka recently, scored a century, which both Toyana and Walter think will help boost his confidence.”He saw that he can score runs on pitches that are more difficult and slower,” Walter said. Toyana also hoped this would start de Kock’s second full franchise season off on positive note. “They always say the second season is the most difficult and I can see Quinton is prepared. Since he came back from the national team he has been hitting more balls than I ever seen him hit and working very hard. He is a gun player and an awesome talent and he is maturing nicely,” he said.De Kock will be an important part of the Lions’ CLT20 ambitions but his record at the IPL and in Sri Lanka, where he appeared struggle outside the offstump suggested he would have work to do before heading there. With him finding his feet, Toyana was more at ease ahead of the Lions training camp, which will take place in Potchefstroom, where the tracks are spicier, early next month.The conditions there were why Toyana jokingly said he’d prefer his team to train in Mamelodi, where the spinners came into play much more than they do at other South African grounds. Symes and Phangiso took eight wickets between them, with the latter enjoying a sensational return to the ground he once called home, when he played club cricket here just a few years ago. The schoolchildren, who like all in attendance were given free entrance, immediately recognised him and chanted his name with glee.They also got behind their home team, Titans, and created a special banner for wicket-keeper batsmen Mangaliso Mosehle. Despite their heavy defeat, Titans will not be too concerned with their early preparations under a new coach, because they will welcome back big-name players AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Marchant de Lange, provided he returns from injury, for the CLT20.Instead, for them the day was about reaching out to the community in a way South African cricket has not done before. Cricket is not traditionally played in predominantly black African areas such as this one and both teams did as much as they could to enjoy the experience to the full.Lunch was a typical South African meal of pap, boerewors and chis a nyama (maize meal, sausages and barbequed meat). Toyana encoruaged his players to engage with the schooldchildren, pose for pictures and hand out cricket balls.Walter did the same. “I want to get my boys out there, whether its here in Mamelodi or somewhere else in Pretoria. We want to become involved in new markets and get the local fans behind us,” Walter said. They will need a much better showing in places like Hyderabad and Jaipur to do that but at least they’ve got their eye on what to expect from conditions early and they will get an opportunity to improve on them when they play a practice match against the Cobras at the same venue next Saturday.

Loan signing Matt Coles showcased his talent with both bat and ball as Hampshire put pressure on Worcestershire at New Road.

12-Sep-2013
ScorecardMatt Coles, who has refused to sign a new deal with Kent, impressed with bat and ball on day two•Getty Images

Loan signing Matt Coles showcased his talent with both bat and ball as Hampshire put pressure on Worcestershire at New Road.Coles scored a 38-ball half-century as Hampshire took maximum batting points and then dismissed Matt Pardoe with his third ball when Worcestershire reached 101 for 2. James Tomlinson had Daryl Mitchell neatly taken at second slip by Liam Dawson but Moeen Ali and Thilan Samaraweera had reduced the deficit to 327 when bad light ended play.After rejecting a new contract with Kent, Coles joined Hampshire last month with five Championship matches remaining in which to show he could fit into a revamped squad at the Ageas Rose Bowl next summer. But while his seam bowling is the priority interest for potential employers, his ability to make runs as a combative left-handed batsman has come to the fore so far.Having held up Lancashire for three hours when scoring 68 in an unsuccessful attempt to deny the divisional leaders at Southport, he showed the aggressive side of his game when Hampshire needed quick runs to take final batting point. Five fours and three sixes took him to 50 not out by the time Graeme Cessford and Jack Shantry polished off the last two wickets in successive overs.In making their sixth first innings score of 400 or more this summer, Hampshire often profited from a short boundary on the River Severn side of the ground. Yet the second day actually began well for Worcestershire as they removed the overnight pair with only one run added to the score.When James Vince edged Alan Richardson’s first ball it was parried by Mitchell and held, with some irony, by Moeen at first slip – 102 runs after dropping Hampshire’s century-maker when he had made only 4. The alert Ross Whiteley pounced from cover to run out Adam Wheater but Sean Terry, returning to the four-day team after a break of 16 months, and Michael Bates regained control in a partnership of 77 in 24 overs.When Bates was lbw for 41, it was a well-deserved success for Richardson. The 38-year-old is now on 63 Championship wickets for the season after taking four for 69 in 34 overs.But Hampshire still had a lot more to offer. Sean Terry, son of former county player and coach, Paul, made a Championship-best 58 before clipping Whiteley to midwicket and Chris Wood waded in with 10 fours until he was lbw to Moeen for 61 from 66 balls.

South Africa will host the first Africa T20 Cup as a curtain raiser to the domestic season

Firdose Moonda21-Apr-2015South Africa will host the first Africa T20 Cup as a curtain raiser to the domestic season. Makhaya Ntini, the former South Africa fast bowler, is the face of the 16-team event, which will see 13 South African provincial sides compete with Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya and will run for a month from September 4 to October 4.The dates coincide with the window that the Champions League T20 would have been played in, further fueling speculation that the tournament will be cancelled. In previous years the CLT20 has been held from mid-September to early October, during which no international fixtures were scheduled but with its possible cancellation, it seems South Africa are making other plans.

Pool A (Sept 4-6, Benoni) Easterns, Northerns, Zimbabwe, Western Province
Pool B (Sept 11-13, Potchefstroom) North West, KZN Inland, Border, Boland
Pool C (Sept 18-20, Kimberley) Griquas, Namibia, KZN, Eastern Province
Pool D (Sept 25-27, Bloemfontein) Free State, SWD, Gauteng, Kenya

CSA were one of the three shareholders in the CLT20 and its franchises have the most to lose from its culling. The participation fee of US$200,000 was more than the prize money available for any of South Africa’s domestic competitions and the compensation of $150,000 received for South African players who chose to represent their IPL franchises was always welcomed. Franchise CEOs around the country expressed to ESPNcricinfo their concerns that if the CLT20 did not take place, it would leave them in a financial quandary.The Africa T20 Cup may not immediately solve that but it could have some spin-off benefits particularly if it attracts sponsorship. South Africa’s provincial teams, which are semi-professional sides that make up the tier below franchise level, have not been able to generate much money in the past and have lacked for a tournament with profile. CSA are hoping to change that.”This tournament is an exciting new concept for our cricket,” Haroon Lorgat, the CSA CEO, said. “It should provide impetus at the start of a season with exciting and competitive playing opportunities plus revenue generating potential for each team.”The 13 provincial sides will each be allowed to field a maximum of four franchise players and one international. They will also be required to have at least two Under-21 players and have to fulfill the transformation quota of at least six players of colour including at least three black Africans. No such restrictions apply to the three international sides.The 16 teams have been divided into four pools and will play at four upcountry venues in the Gauteng and Free State province. The tournament has been confined to those regions given the early season, which would mean coastal venues would not have been ready in time. All four of the stadiums – Potchefstroom’s Senwes Park, Benoni’s Willowmoore Park, Kimberley’s Diamond Oval and Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Oval – are international grounds that do not receive as much as cricket as the bigger arenas.The four group winners will advance to the semi-finals with the venue for those matches and the final yet to be confirmed. What CSA have sewn together are some broadcasting rights for the competition. SuperSport will screen 10 days of the tournament, including the knockouts. There will be two matches a day for the duration of the tournament.”We are keen to lead the way in developing an Africa-wide competition,” Lorgat said, while Ntini, who has not had an official role within CSA since retiring four years ago, confirmed his desire to see the game grow on the continent. “The development of the game on the continent is something that is close to my heart,” Ntini said.

Nicolaas Scholtz will lead Namibia in the World T20 qualifiers to be held in Ireland and Scotland from July 9 to 26

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2015All-rounder Nicolaas Scholtz will lead Namibia in the World T20 qualifiers to be held in Ireland and Scotland from July 9 to 26.Namibia will play their first group stage match against Ireland in Stormont, Belfast on July 10. Before that they will play two warm-up games against Scotland (July 6) and Canada (July 7) after arriving in the UK in the last week of June.Namibia find themselves in the same group as Ireland, USA, Nepal, Hong Kong, Jersey and Papua New Guinea.Namibia squad: Raymond van Schoor, Gerrie Snyman, Craig Williams, Sarel Burger, Gerhard Erasmus, Nicolaas Scholtz (capt), JP Kotze, Christopher Coombe, Bernard Scholtz, JJ Smit, Stephen Baard, Christiaan Snyman, Zhivago Groenewald, Jason Davidson, Louis Klazinga

For an hour or so on the final day it appeared as though the WICB President’s XI would have the option of enforcing the follow-on against their better-known opposition

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2015
ScorecardJosh Hazlewood enjoyed a useful workout on the final day•WICB Media/Adriel Richard

For an hour or so on the final day it appeared as though the WICB President’s XI would have the option of enforcing the follow-on against their better-known opposition, and there is little doubt that Michael Clarke and others would have been grateful for the extra hit.As it was, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon were able to spend some time in the middle and advance the Australians as far as 250, before Hazlewood snipped the top off the local batting order in another impressive precursor for what can be expected of him in Dominica’s first Test.Hazlewood’s breaks were unable to be exploited by the spin of Lyon and Fawad Ahmed however, leaving Clarke to call on a motley assortment of bowlers including Chris Rogers and Shaun Marsh – Mitchell Marsh even had a rare trundle as a wrist spinner before the game was called off an hour before the scheduled close.For Clarke and the coach Darren Lehmann there remain a handful of question marks entering into the Tests, notably the shape of a batting order that has plenty of options and permutations but precious few players who appear to be in their best touch. How Clarke and Rogers in particular must have pined for the combined 185 balls faced by Siddle and Hazlewood.”Batting, we’d have liked to get a few more runs for a few of the guys but that was a really good three day hit-out for us,” Lehmann said after play. “You would like more runs but it’s a first hit-out for some of the guys. Obviously a lot of the guys have been playing IPL, they didn’t play, but the guys that did that’s there first hit since the summer. There’s some cobwebs there but they’ve trained really well.”We get on the plane tomorrow and it’s all about prep for the Test now. We’ve had a good mini-training camp, if you like, for the week here and then a three day game and they played really well the President’s XI so it was a good quality opposition.”There will be questions around the bowling line-up also, as the likely spinning surface at Windsor Park will compete with the long-held Australian notion that their best assets are in the pace department. Lyon and Fawad bowled presentably, and there is a growing clamour for the latter to be granted a Test debut, but the most incisive work over the past three days was done by Hazlewood on days one and three and Mitchell Marsh on the second morning.”We know how good a bowler [Hazlewood] is but it’s always nice for him to get wickets in that scenario and keep pushing his case forward – he’s a great young man,” Lehmann said. “From our point of view, it gives us great headaches leading into the Test match I suppose with selection because until we see the pitch we don’t know the best make-up to get 20 wickets.”Our strength’s been our patience over the last 18 months or so. It’s going to be doing the basics really well and being patient. The game seems to speed up quite quickly in the Caribbean over the back end of a game.”Meanwhile Steven Smith, Shane Watson, David Warner, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc have all been trying to find rhythm in the nets, and will have to back their ability rather than any relevant current batting form if they are to succeed in two Tests over the next three weeks.

Samit Patel and James Taylor shared an unbroken stand of 95 to guide Nottinghamshire to a seven-wicket victory over Northamptonshire in the Natwest T20 Blast at Trent Bridge

ECB/PA27-Jun-2015
ScorecardSamit Patel’s unbeaten 58 steered Nottinghamshire to victory•Getty Images

Samit Patel and James Taylor shared an unbroken stand of 95 to guide Nottinghamshire to a seven-wicket victory over Northamptonshire in the Natwest T20 Blast at Trent Bridge.Chasing 174, the pair came together at 80 for 3 but Patel hit 58, with Taylor providing ample support with 38 as the pair took Nottinghamshire to their target with nine balls to spare, Michael Lumb making 45 at the top of the order to kick-start the chase.Josh Cobb had hit a career-best 84 with good support from Ben Duckett and Adam Rossington to take Northants to what looked a competitive total but Patel and Taylor ensured Nottinghamshire cruised home to end a run of three successive defeats in the competition.The Outlaws reply had got off to a shaky start after Alex Hales, who was making his return to Trent Bridge, made only 1 before pulling Olly Stone high into the hands of Duckett, but Lumb got the Outlaws reply off and running with 16 off Rory Kleinveldt in the third over.Lumb hit Stone for four boundaries from the final over of the Powerplay on his way to 45 off 27, but fell in the next over sweeping Graeme White to deep square leg.Riki Wessels pulled Rob Keogh for six, but after reaching 22 in relatively risk free fashion, tried to scoop Muhammad Azharullah over the keeper and only succeeded in giving Keogh a simple catch at short third man.The hosts needed 78 from eight overs, but Patel and Taylor took 28 from the next two to put the Outlaws in command, Patel with a huge straight six off White.Ahead of the required rate, Patel and Taylor could just milk the singles, together with the odd boundary, before Taylor pulled Stone for six before taking two further fours as 17 came from the 17th over to take Nottinghamshire to the brink.Stone put down a tough chance running in from midwicket off Patel, who moved to a 32 ball 50 by pulling Kleinveldt for four and finished the job two balls later with his fifth boundary to go with a six, Taylor facing 23 balls for his 38.The pair needed only 52 balls for their stand as they made light work of a challenging total, after Cobb batted throughout the innings, falling to the final ball, to reach a career-best, hitting three sixes and seven fours in his 56 balls.The visitors got off to a sluggish start as Richard Levi struggled with his timing, before falling lbw to Ben Hilfenhaus for 9, but Cobb got going, pulling Jake Ball for four and six as they ended the Powerplay 44 for 1.Together with Duckett, Cobb added 75 for the second wicket, combing the odd boundary with good running and clever shot placement to ensure the visitors kept ticking over without truly bursting into life.Cobb had his share of luck, seeing two tough catches put down by Steven Mullaney and James Taylor, but brought up his second half century of the season in 31 balls.The former Leicestershire man hit the accelerator taking 17 off Dan Christian’s first over, but Duckett soon fell as he holed out to long-on off Mullaney, who bowled tidily for 1 for 27 off his four overs.Steven Crook and Kleinveldt came and went as Northants threatened to lose momentum, the later well caught by keeper Wessels after edging Hilfenhaus between his legs, but Rossington ensured the visitors would end with a flourish.The keeper hit four fours and a six in his 11 balls 28 as the Steelbacks added 36 from the final 15 deliveries, Cobb moving past his previous best of 80 before being run out while attempting a second from the final ball.

Even if Mitchell Johnson’s fiery burst at England on day two at Lord’s drew comparisons with his series-defining spell on the corresponding day at Brisbane in 2013, the bowler himself felt it was just another day at the office

Daniel Brettig at Lord's17-Jul-2015Even if Mitchell Johnson’s fiery burst at England on day two at Lord’s drew comparisons with his series-defining spell on the corresponding day at Brisbane in 2013, the bowler himself felt it was just another day at the office.Lord’s was a place of unfinished business for Johnson, following his horrid display here in 2009, but it is his more robust mental approach and greater consistency that he was able to prosper this afternoon. While Johnson struggled for wickets in Cardiff, he did not think he was far away. At Lord’s that confidence was borne out by a spell that had him ripping through Gary Ballance and, most importantly, Joe Root.”I’ve felt like the 2013-2014 me since that day really,” he said of Brisbane a little under two years ago. “Nothing has changed for me. I feel like since then I’ve bowled really well throughout that period. There has been times where I’ve been a bit flat maybe and haven’t bowled 150 clicks but I’m still trying to hit the wicket hard and bowl a good rhythm.”The ball has been swinging over here which has been amazing. When the ball is swinging at good pace it makes it more difficult. I don’t feel like a lot has changed for me, to be honest. You come up in different conditions against different players. The thing that I enjoyed about my training here was I was able to get out there in the middle and bowl a fair bit. I did that the other day and that gave me a lot of confidence coming into this Test.”Knowing that I’ve done the work and I’ve bowled here – yeah it probably wasn’t my best performance but I’ve grown a lot since then and I’ve bowled on a lot of different wickets that haven’t suited my bowling. I felt like I bowled well in the first Test so I wasn’t thinking about anything else but going out there and doing the best job that I can for my country. It’s nice to have those runs on the board when you go out there as a bowler. It definitely helps with the confidence side of things.”Mitchell Johnson played a central role as England fell to 30 for 4•Getty Images

Bowling with plenty of runs to defend made a big difference to Australia’s attack but also to England’s batsmen, who had heavier legs from near enough to two days of chasing balls struck by Chris Rogers and Steven Smith. Johnson said that his team-mates had also worked in more effective partnerships in the 29 overs they had in the run up to stumps.”I don’t think we bowled well in partnerships throughout that first Test,” he said. “That’s what the difference probably was, here we were able to work together as a team and get the ball up there nice and full and straight. That’s probably the big difference as well. I guess when there’s a few runs on the board it gives the team a bit of confidence and we were able to go out there and play aggressive cricket, which is the way we normally play.”You’ve always got to be confident that you can get something out of the wicket. I wasn’t concerned about seeing all the runs that were scored. When you do see runs on the board it does give you confidence as a bowling group. We had a few overs at them so we were just out there to try and get a few quick wickets. We were able to do that.”I find that in these conditions here, the overcast conditions, the ball definitely swings. But also we were able to use the slope as well. I know when I went out there to bat today and Mark Wood was bowling, the ball wasn’t swinging but just going down that slope … it felt like it was a bit different to a normal wicket. Once that ball stops swinging for us, we’ve got to be smart and use the slope.”As for England, Johnson enjoyed the fact the batsmen felt compelled by their new spirit of aggression to go after the ball even as it was new and swinging. Root’s dismissal, trying to play a forcing shot before he had his bearings, showed how some days it will work for the young Yorkshireman and others it will not.”We were hoping they were going to come out and play their aggressive brand that they’ve been talking about,” Johnson said. “We hope they come out tomorrow and do the same thing. Stokes is a very aggressive player anyway. We’d like to see him play some shots tomorrow morning and hopefully we can get a couple of quick wickets in the morning.”It’s day two, there’s a lot of hard work in this Test for us. We’re one-nil down in the series but we’ve definitely got that confidence at the moment with the runs and a few early wickets but we just need to keep working hard at it.”

Michael Klinger led from the front as Gloucestershire reached their first one-day semi-final for 11 years with a four-wicket Royal London Cup win over Hampshire at Bristol.

ECB/PA26-Aug-2015
ScorecardMichael Klinger continued a prolific season•Getty Images

Michael Klinger led from the front as Gloucestershire reached their first one-day semi-final for 11 years with a four-wicket Royal London Cup win over Hampshire at Bristol.The skipper made 87 off 81 balls, with 10 fours and 2 sixes, to guide his side to a victory target of 218 with six balls to spare, Geraint Jones (39 not out) and Jack Taylor (34) virtually finishing the job with a stand of 44 in only 22 balls after Klinger’s dismissal had roused Hampshire’s hopes.Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: “It was a game that went right to the wire, with so many ups and downs, and the great thing is that we are developing a good habit of getting across the line in close finishes.”As things stand, Michael flies back to Australia on Friday. There have been talks about the possibility of him playing in the semi-final – or the final if we get there – but nothing has been agreed at this stage and I have no idea whether it will happen.”After rain had reduced the quarter-final to 34 overs per side, Jimmy Adams, with 97 off 99 balls and Will Smith, who smacked 50 off only 25 deliveries, in a late rush of runs that ensured Hampshire’s total of 217 for 7 was competitive.Adams rescued Hampshire from a dreadful start that saw Michael Carberry and Adam Wheater fall in the first two overs of the innings when play finally got underway at 1.45pm, with Gloucestershire having won the toss.He shared stands of 68 with James Vince (31) and 50 with Liam Dawson (21) before Smith came in to produce a classic one-day cameo, full of improvised strokes, that saw 77 runs scored off the last six overs.Adams was denied a deserved century when failing to beat Fuller’s throw to the wicketkeeper from long-on as he chased a second run having driven Benny Howell.

Semi-final draw

Nottinghamshire v Surrey or Kent
Essex or Yorkshire v Gloucestershire

Smith was dropped twice by Hamish Marshall in the latter stages of his enterprising knock and reached a brilliant half-century off 24 deliveries before Marshall atoned by catching him at long-on off the final ball of the innings.Off-spinner Jack Taylor was the most economical Gloucestershire bowler with 1 for 30 from his seven overs. But Payne and Howell proved expensive and it was a surprise that slow left-armer Tom Smith was left unused.Adams had a chance to add to his heroics with the bat when Gloucestershire replied, but could not cling onto a sharp chance diving to his left at point offered by Klinger on nought, off Fidel Edwards.Chris Dent fell cheaply and Klinger lacked meaningful support as Gareth Roderick, Hamish Marshall and Benny Howell could contribute only 30 runs between them. When Howell fell in the 21st over the scoreboard read 104 for 4 and Hampshire were on top.While Klinger was there, batting in a class of his own, Gloucestershire retained hope and Jones helped add 59 in 8.1 overs as the skies darkened before Yasir Arafat struck what appeared the key blow in the 29th over.Aiming a big shot, Klinger skied a catch to cover where Adams held on to the delight of his team-mates. There were still 55 needed off less than six overs.An expensive over from Edwards followed which saw him concede five wides off the first delivery and three boundaries. With four overs left Gloucestershire required 32, with Jones having been joined by Taylor.The latter launched Arafat over long-on for two successive sixes and a four as Hampshire’s bowling fell apart. When Taylor was out 11 were needed at a run a ball and Jones finished the match with a six over long-on off Arafat.

A round-up of the first day’s play from the second round of Group C Ranji trophy matches played on October 8, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Rohan Prem scored more than 50% of the runs scored on the first day•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kerala and Hyderabad played out an attritional first day, with Kerala scoring scoring at just over two runs an over for the entire day in their Group C match against Hyderabad. After choosing to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Kerala ended the day on 186 for 5.Rohan Prem scored the bulk of those runs with an unbeaten 106 off 245 balls – a knock that included 13 fours and two sixes. Vijay Jagadeesh’s 160-ball 42 was the next highest individual score of the day, with no one else crossing 10.Jagadeesh and Prem shared a 91-run second-wicket stand but Jagadeesh’s dismissal just before tea opened the gates for a clump of wickets in the final session. Sanju Samson, batting at No. 5, was caught behind for 1. Raiphi Gomez and Prem batted out the last 13 overs without further loss. Vishal Sharma and Akash Bhandari picked up two wickets each for the home team.
ScorecardThree half-centuries put Services in a position of strength after being inserted on the first day against Goa in Porvorim, to finish at 230 for 3 off 85 overs.Anshul Gupta and captain Soumik Chatterjee hit steady fifties and combined in an 89-run opening stand before Shadab Jakati had Chatterjee trapped lbw in the 40th over.Rajat Paliwal provided the impetus late in the day with an unbeaten 71-ball 57. Amit Yadav had Gupta lbw in the 80th over for 89 but Yashpal Singh blocked out 22 deliveries without scoring. Saurabh Bandekar took the other wicket to fall, also having Ravi Chauhan lbw for 23.Jammu & Kashmir 274 for 8 (Rasool 101, Singh 47, Dhawan 3-98) v Himachal Pradesh
ScorecardParvez Rasool struck his seventh first-class century to end an evenly contested opening day as Jammu & Kashmir finished at 278 for 8 against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala.Rasool remained unbeaten on 101 at stumps, and struck eight fours and three sixes. Although no one else scored a fifty, middling partnerships throughout the innings ensured that J&K had a decent total on the board.Adil Reshi and Ian Dev Singh contributed with 45 and 47 respectively. All bowlers except Ronit More, picked up at least a wicket, with Rishi Dhawan being the most successful having claimed three.Jadeja’s all-round efforts put Saurashtra in lead