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England may have struck an important blow in future Ashes series after Sam Robson qualified to represent England.

George Dobell04-Aug-2013England may have struck an important blow in future Ashes series after Sam Robson qualified to represent England.Robson, the Australian-born opening batsman, is currently the leading run scorer in Division One of the County Championship and is considered one of the brightest batting prospects in England or Australia.A right-handed opening batsman much in the style of Mike Atherton, it had been thought that Robson would qualify for England early in 2014 but his status was recently reviewed by Middlesex and the ECB have confirmed he is now eligible to play for England or England Lions in all formats.He was born in New South Wales and represented Australia Under-19s but, taking advantage of a UK passport courtesy of his Nottingham-born mother, he moved to England as a teenager in 2008 and has now completed the requisite residency period.Now aged 24, Robson has become a regular at the top of the order in the Middlesex team and must be considered a candidate for the Test side. While England’s top three appears settled, Robson’s temperament and technique combined with his heavy run scoring may prove hard to ignore.While Robson has always been somewhat equivocal about his allegiances – he has dismissed talk of a call-up to either England or Australia as “unrealistic” and suggested he would cross that bridge when he came to it – he is committed to Middlesex and declined opportunities to play first-class cricket in Australia. His status as an England-qualified player will enable Middlesex to gain performance-related fee payments from the ECB each time he represents them.”England is where it is at for me,” Robson told ESPNcricinfo earlier this season. “I came to London as soon as I finished school. I love living here and I love playing for Middlesex. There have been opportunities to play first-class cricket in Australia but it would jeopardise my future with Middlesex and I can’t do that.” Robson would have to play as an overseas player if he represented an Australian state in first-class cricket.His brother, 21-year-old Angus Robson, is also involved in the county system and is currently playing second XI cricket for Leicestershire. Their father, Jim, played second XI cricket for Worcestershire in 1979.Robson’s qualification does not rule him out of playing for Australia and, until he actually represents a full England side, he will remain eligible for the nation of his birth. It is believed that Australia’s selectors have followed his progress closely but were only recently made fully aware of his eligibility – an oversight considering his background in the Under-19 team – and have done little to compete with the opportunities offered by county cricket.That will be a concern to Cricket Australia. In a country that is currently struggling to produce batsmen who thrive on occupying the crease for long periods of time, losing a player of Robson’s calibre to the old enemy may create a certain amount of soul searching.But while the top Australian players earn more than their England counterparts, normal county players enjoy far more playing opportunities in England and greater job security. Had he remained in Australia, Robson may have struggled to break into his Shield team or develop his career so quickly.The 18-year-old Sam Hain, who has been described as the best young batting talent in Australia, has also utilised his UK passport to sign a contract with Warwickshire.

The rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed Australia’s top order

The Report by George Dobell at Edgbaston11-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Carberry was run out in the first over of the match•Getty Images

The rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed England’s top order.Rain delayed the start by 20 minutes and then returned after one ball of the 16th over to force the sides off the field. Although the umpires finally called the game off shortly after 7pm it had long been clear that there was little chance of a result as Edgbaston suffered from the weather again. Spectators will receive a 50% refund on the value of their tickets – it is only 100% if fewer than 10 overs have been bowled – and Warwickshire had an insurance policy to cover lost retail sales.Australia certainly fared better of the two sides in the first hour or so of play. Mitchell Johnson, again bowling at a pace in excess of 90 mph, was arguably the most eye-catching of the bowlers but gained good support from his colleagues.While Kevin Pietersen flicked his first delivery, the fourth of the game, through midwicket for four, he was involved in a run-out two balls later for which he would have to accept much of the blame.Struck on the thigh pad, Pietersen called Michael Carberry for a sharp single. Carberry had backed up some distance but, despite bellowing “no,” then had to watch in horror as Pietersen ran past him to the safety of the non-striker’s end while the bowler, Clint McKay, completed the run out. It appeared both batsmen accepted that sacrificing Carberry was the lesser of two evils, though for a man playing in just his third ODI and with limited opportunities to shine, it may prove to be a significant blow.The incident appeared to unsettle Pietersen. He played and missed at both McKay and Johnson and then pulled a sharp short ball from Johnson to square leg.After Pietersen’s early boundary, England failed to hit another until the 10th over. While Jonathan Trott produced a couple of characteristic flicks off the hip, England reached an underwhelming 43 for 2 by the end of the Powerplay.Joe Root produced one sweet on-driven four off Josh Hazlewood, who replaced Fawad Ahmed for Australia, in the next over but, no sooner had Adam Voges been introduced into the attack, than Root pushed one that may have gripped in the pitch back to the bowler.It could have been worse for England. Trott, falling to the off side as he tried to play a straight one off his legs, was given out lbw when he had scored 13 by umpire Michael Gough. Trott, in hope more than conviction, eventually called for a review of the decision which showed the delivery from Johnson had pitched fractionally outside the leg stump.It was not Trott’s only nervous moment. Australia utilised their only review on another leg-before appeal, with ball-tracking technology suggesting the delivery from Johnson would have narrowly passed over the stumps – the review upheld Gough’s not-out decision on the basis of umpire’s call. Two balls later, Trott sustained a crunching blow as a short ball from Johnson crashed into the grill of his helmet.”It’s definitely a plan to target Trott with the bouncer,” Matthew Wade said. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work that out. Any batsman getting bouncers at the pace Mitch is bowling them is going to find it quite difficult and we’ll target that and try and mix his feet up and get him caught behind”There were a couple of nicely timed boundaries off his legs but, when the time the rain came at 3.34pm, England would have been the happier of the sides to get back to the dressing room. Despite criticism about the balance of their side, England named an unchanged XI, meaning Ben Stokes continued as third seamer and No. 8 batsman. The balance of their side will remain a talking point over the final two matches of the series – weather permitting.”It’s really disappointing that the rain came in,” Wade added. “We started so well. But we’re 1-0 up and we’re looking to push-on.”Mitch is one of the quickest I’ve kept to for a while. More importantly, his accuracy is second to none and he is swinging the ball nicely, too. When you move the ball back in at 90 mph it is tough for any batsman. One of our aims is to take early wickets and he is doing that for us.”He probably feels a lot fresher. He got away from international cricket for a while. The scrutiny and pressure he was under is hard work for anybody. So to come in with a fresh mindset is probably the key to his success.”If you’re picking the Ashes team tomorrow he would definitely be in it. We don’t have a lot of available fast bowlers right now. But if he bowls like this, he’ll be in the mix for sure.”

The Patiala House Court has stayed the BCCI’s SGM on September 25, when the board was supposed to ban former IPL chairman Lalit Modi for life from all BCCI affairs

Amol Karhadkar21-Sep-2013The Patiala House Court in New Delhi has stayed the BCCI’s special general meeting (SGM) on September 25, when the board was supposed to ban former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi for life from all BCCI affairs. A district court judge issued the stay order after an application filed by Modi.In response, a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo their legal cell will challenge the order on Monday and clarify the “gross misrepresentation” of facts made to the court on Modi’s behalf.”The plaintiff (Modi) has prima facie shown the notice of the SGM has been issued without proper authority,” the judge noted. “He has also shown that he shall suffer irreparable loss which cannot be compensated in terms of money by the report of the Disciplinary Committee being considered in an unauthorised manner. The balance of convenience thus lies in favour of the plaintiff. The defendants are thus hereby restrained from holding the SGM scheduled for 25.09.2013.”Modi’s counsels Swadeep Hora and Abhishek Singh argued before district judge Ruby Alka Gupta that the SGM notice, circulated by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel on September 2, was illegal since Patel’s appointment was not in accordance with the BCCI constitution. Since only the president of the BCCI can fill up a mid-term vacancy of a principal office-bearer, Patel’s appointment by a working committee meeting with the president having stepped aside was illegal, they contended.The counsels said that since N Srinivasan had stopped discharging his duties as BCCI president on June 2 and Patel was appointed on June 10, the notice of SGM “issued ‘on the instructions’ of the President. The said notice is thus stated to be illegal, non-est and contrary to the rules and regulations of the BCCI.”The BCCI’s disciplinary committee had found Modi guilty on eight different charges of “various acts of indiscipline and misconduct” after conducting an investigation that lasted almost three years. The charges, relating to irregularities in various financial and administrative matters of the IPL, including the sale of franchise and media rights, were pressed by the BCCI in 2010 soon after Modi’s swift and dramatic exit from the league he founded.

USA opener Fahad Babar was named Best Batsman and Tournament MVP as USA collected all of the hardware handed out to individual players at the ICC Americas Division One T20 awards

Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis10-May-2015USA opening batsman Fahad Babar was named Best Batsman and Tournament MVP as USA collected all of the hardware handed out to individual players at the ICC Americas Division One T20 post-tournament awards presentation in Indianapolis.Babar, 23, was the tournament’s leading scorer with 242 runs in six games at an average of 121. The only two times he was dismissed were against Canada, for 31 and 33, and he made a high score of 78 not out leading USA to a tense five-wicket win on the first day of the tournament chasing Bermuda’s 123.”I think the key to my success was the team,” Babar said. “The management, the staff, the captain, the coach, they have faith in me. They always give me confidence and all the guys were supporting me throughout, which was nice to see. That really helped me and really motivated me.”Legspinner Timil Patel received the tournament’s Best Bowler award after finishing with 15 wickets at an average of 7.66, both the best marks for any bowler in the tournament. His best haul came in Friday’s win over Suriname with 4 for 13. Most batsmen had trouble picking him as evidenced by four of his dismissals effected through stumpings.Steven Taylor rounded off the honors list after being named the Best Wicketkeeper at the tournament. Taylor finished third overall in runs with 167 at an average of 27.83. His best score was 60 off 39 balls against Bermuda on Thursday. Behind the stumps, Taylor took two catches and completed three stumpings.Canada’s Hamza Tariq actually had the most total dismissals of any keeper with three catches and four stumpings for the undefeated tournament champions. However, he managed just 44 runs at 11.00 with the bat. Taylor was rewarded for both his batting and glovework while playing for the 4-2 runner-up squad.

Alex Blake and captain Sam Northeast combined to put on 108 runs for Kent’s sixth wicket and pull off an outstanding heist

Freddie Wilde22-May-2015
ScorecardAlex Blake hammered an unbeaten 71 from just 30 balls to secure victory for Kent (file photo)•Getty Images

Chris Wood was the man miked up to the commentary box when Hampshire were fielding and, with Kent reeling at 70 for 5 chasing 173, he was asked by the commentators how he felt his team were faring. Wood managed just a sentence before his microphone cut-out: “one wicket should do it.”Less than 45 minutes and ten overs later Kent were still five wickets down as Alex Blake latched on to a Yasir Arafat short ball, sending it over deep midwicket for six to seal a quite remarkable five-wicket victory. Blake, who finished with a career-best 71 not out from just 30 balls, and captain Sam Northeast, who finished 60 not out from 49, combined to put on 108 runs and pull off an outstanding heist against one of the most consistent and clinical T20 teams in the country, putting Kent top of the South Group having played two matches.Even at the beginning of the 15th over of the chase, when Blake and Northeast had been together for four overs, there seemed to be little sense of concern among Hampshire’s fielders with Kent requiring a steep 76 runs from 36 balls. It was then that Wood, of all people, was taken for 18, Blake striking a four and a six before Northeast too hit a four. That began a sequence of five consecutive overs that went for more than ten runs.Blake and Northeast, clearly used to the pitch and already running well, cut loose, plundering 63 runs from 32 balls, including eleven boundaries, to carry Kent to a thrilling victory. Hampshire looked shell-shocked as they wandered disconsolately off the field.

Insights

This was a deeply impressive win from a young Kent team. Although Hampshire were leading the match for three quarters of its course, Kent did well, without the injured James Tredwell, to restrict a powerful and settled Hampshire batting order to 172 for 5 batting first and it was Hampshire’s excellent bowling, as much Kent’s poor batting that caused their first half collapse. Kent have an exciting, talented team, with a nice blend of youth and experience and this win will give them huge confidence that they can make a serious challenge this season.

Really, Hampshire only had themselves to blame. Northeast and Blake played stunning innings, slashing and heaving the ball on both sides of the wicket with fierce power; but they should never have been allowed to do so, even once Kent’s position had improved to 115 for 5. Hampshire allowed the match to drift when it should have been killed off, as Northeast and Blake played themselves in. The field was not set back, but neither did James Vince capitalise on having Kent five down for so few. Hampshire left the door ajar and Northeast and Blake barged through it.Vince, speaking after the match bemoaned Hampshire’s fielding, which deteriorated under the onslaught. Michael Carberry dropped an admittedly difficult chance in the outfield just as the balance of power was shifting. But it wasn’t only the fielding, Hampshire’s death bowling too wilted in the fire of the attack. For a team seeking their sixth successive Finals Day and with a win percentage and win tally bettered by only one other team in the country, the final quarter of the match was strangely un-Hampshire-like. Even stranger when you consider how clinical they had been until that point.After winning the toss and batting first, a splendid 43-ball 66 from Vince, who played some typically compelling shots, dominated Hampshire’s 172 for 6, which seemed for so much of the match to be comfortably a winning score. Vince’s opening partner Carberry played a valuable role also, boring a hole into Kent’s bowling attack, striking two fours and two sixes in an energising cameo that reaped 20 runs and ignited Hampshire’s innings to leave them 40 for 1 after just three overs.Although Jimmy Adams fell for just 1, a busy 26 from Owais Shah carried Hampshire past 100, and even when they threatened to throw away their strong start, losing 3 for 24 in the middle overs, Adam Wheater and Will Smith combined to haul Hampshire to respectability and beyond with some pugnacious and typically phlegmatic lower-order hitting.Smith removed Daniel Bell-Drummond with just the fourth ball of the innings and when Danny Briggs took his 99th wicket in domestic T20 in England in the fifth over, to leave Kent 39 for 2, it seemed as if Hampshire had had their scare for the day. Kent’s troubles worsened a few overs later when Sam Billings was run out and even more so when they lost Darren Stevens and Fabian Cowdrey in the space of three balls before the halfway point. After ten overs of Kent’s chase the match, it seemed, was almost won. But Hampshire remained only one wicket away.

Those arriving at Wantage Road on the final day never expected to see anything other than a draw, but they were entertained by centuries for Jason Roy and Kumar Sangakkara as Surrey and Northamptonshire played out their rain-dominated stalemate.

Press Association21-May-2015
ScorecardJason Roy’s century provided some joy to a tame draw•PA Photos

Those arriving at Wantage Road on the final day never expected to see anything other than a draw, but they were entertained by centuries for Jason Roy and Kumar Sangakkara as Surrey and Northamptonshire played out their rain-dominated stalemate.The visitors finished on 499 for 6, with Roy completing a career-best 140 alongside the Sri Lankan’s 111. Together they shared a partnership of 170 in just under 36 overs for the fifth wicket and looked utterly untroubled on the most placid of pitches.Surrey were 155 for 3 as play began and while Sangakkara edged just short of Rossington on 42 off the bowling of David Willey, only the loss of Steven Davies slowed Surrey up. The former England one-day wicketkeeper fell after an hour’s play hooking Steven Crook to Mohammed Azharullah at long leg for 44.But from that point on the stroke of twelve o’clock, Sangakkara and Roy played with care as Surrey closed in on maximum bowling points – the summit of their ambition in a match in which 166 overs were lost on the first two days.While Sangakkara was not at his most fluent on a slow pitch, Roy outdid him with a willingness to come down the pitch to the spin of Rob Keogh. His six into the seats in front of the Lynn Wilson Indoor School scattered those spectators here in reasonable numbers, considering the state of the game.Both players reached three figures with boundaries of similar fashion. Sangakkara clipping Keogh over mid-on off 174 balls, while Roy powered Azharullah down the ground to reach his ton off 114 balls. Neither looked in trouble until Sangakkara edged behind for 111 to Adam Rossington who took a smart, low, one-handed catch in front of first slip.Roy saw Surrey over 400 before lofting Keogh once too often over long-on where Crook held on to an impressive, diving catch. His career-best 140 will do nothing but add to his growing admirers.Once Northants took their sixth wicket and claimed a second bowling point, all that was left was for the home side to ensure no deductions for an over-rate and Gary Wilson to reach his first half-century of the season. Northants move to 2nd in the Division Two table, while Surrey are in 5th, five points behind with a game in hand.

Glenn Maxwell finally found form for Yorkshire with an unbeaten 92 but Andrew Hodd, a late replacement for England call up Jonny Bairstow, deserved a share of the acclaim

ECB/PA19-Jun-2015
ScorecardGlenn Maxwell hammered an unbeaten 92 off 48 balls•Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell finally found his form for Yorkshire with a blistering unbeaten 92 as the Vikings beat Nottinghamshire Outlaws by 40 runs in front of an 8,500 crowd at Headingley.But the Australian wasn’t Yorkshire’s only star performer on the night because wicketkeeper-batsman, Andrew Hodd , came into the side at the last minute as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow, called up by England as cover for Jos Buttler, and he also blazed the trail with a sweetly-struck 70.Maxwell, whose previous eight innings in all competitions for Yorkshire had brought him just 73 runs, included many audacious strokes in his 48-ball knock which contained eight fours and five sixes.And the more orthodox Hodd was in tremendous form himself, his runs coming from 39 balls with six fours and five sixes.

Insights

Yorkshire, having lost three consecutive matches, were in desperate need of a win, and it is appropriate that in a match laden with quality they were hauled back to winning ways by a return to form of their star overseas signing Glenn Maxwell. His unbeaten 92 followed more than a year of patchy form, going back to the last IPL. Maxwell had scored just 73 runs in his eight innings so far this season and this innings was most timely. It is also intriguing to note that Maxwell was ably assisted by Andrew Hodd, who was only drafted into Yorkshire’s squad as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow.

The third wicket pair flogged 101 together from 58 deliveries to set Yorkshire up for a victory which brought to an end a run of three consecutive defeats in North Group which had seen them plunge next to the bottom of the table.”I was plastering a wall, doing a bit of DIY, when I got the call around 4pm to come to Headingley and replace Jonny,” Hodd said.Put in to bat, Yorkshire lost the out-of-touch, Aaron Finch, in the second over when he chopped Jake Ball into his stumps but skipper, Andrew Gale, and Hodd rushed the total on to 49 inside six overs before Gale fell to a beautifully judged catch at long-on by Samit Patel off Luke Fletcher.The scoring rate soon got up to around ten an over as Hodd and Maxwell delighted the crowd with their contrasting brands of strokeplay. Hodd straight drove Luke Fletcher for six and in the same over Maxwell cut him high over the rope before Hodd walloped Dan Christian for a huge six on the Australian’s debut appearance for Outlaws.Hodd, having reached Yorkshire’s highest individual score so far in this season’s competition, departed in tame fashion by gently driving Patel to James Taylor at short extra cover, but Maxwell continued on his merry way, reverse shovelling a couple of consecutive boundaries off Harry Gurney to the amazement of the fans.Gary Ballance was bowled by Gurney in the final over and Maxwell signed off with a six and a four, his last 47 runs being thrashed from 17 balls.Nottinghamshire needed a flying start if they were to get anywhere near Yorkshire’s 209 for 4, their highest score against the Outlaws, but Michael Lumb gave a return catch to Maxwell in the first over of the innings while at the other end Tim Bresnan produced a brute of a ball which Niki Wessels could not avoid edging to Hodd.It became 10 for 3 as Matthew Fisher, replacing the rested Jack Brooks, had Brendan Taylor caught behind and a rally by Patel and James Taylor was ended by James Middlebrook who dismissed Taylor and Christian in consecutive overs.There was no way back from 82 for five but Patel and Mullaney made a spirited attempt with Patel reaching a 36-ball half-century by blasting Bresnan high for six.Maxwell’s great performance continued as Mullaney drove him to Ballance at long-on but Patel gained some revenge by smacking him for two successive sixes on his way to a career-best 90 not out from 59 balls with five fours and five sixes.

A blistering spell of pace bowling from Haseeb Amjad decimated Nepal’s batting order for the second match running to set up a much needed five-wicket win for Hong Kong in Stormont

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Belfast15-Jul-2015
Scorecard4:06

‘Our seamers stuck to their plans’ – Burke

A blistering spell of pace bowling from Haseeb Amjad decimated Nepal’s batting order for the second match running to set up a much needed five-wicket win for Hong Kong in Stormont. Haseeb reduced Nepal to 12 for 3 in the fourth over, including the key wickets of Gyanendra Malla and captain Paras Khadka. He finished with 4 for 16 – a Man of the Match effort – as Nepal struggled to 109.After seeing the way Ireland had razed Nepal for 53 after putting them in to bat, Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal chose likewise at the toss, and before long Nepal were under heavy pressure.Haseeb broke through nine balls into the match, bowling Subash Khakurel, who was playing his first match of the tournament in place of Anil Mandal. Haseeb pitched short of a length on a wicket-to-wicket line and induced an edge behind from Malla for a second-ball duck. Two overs later, he trapped Khadka with a delivery that hit the Nepal captain high on the pads and South African umpire Johan Cloete took a long time before giving the decision.The pace battery continued to harass Nepal’s struggling batting unit: Irfan Ahmed got Sagar Pun to edge behind at the start of the seventh over to make it 17 for 4 and Basant Regmi gave wicketkeeper Jamie Atkinson his third dismissal. Regmi was Aizaz Khan’s lone wicket in a miserly spell of 1 for 7; Nepal were 31 for 5 in the 10th.Rajesh Pulami and Sharad Vesawkar provided some respite for their struggling side with a 41-run stand but both men were caught on the boundary trying to give Nepal a total they could defend. Amjad came back for the final over to nab Sompal Kami before a run-out off the final ball wrapped up the Nepal innings.Defending 109, Kami removed the dangerous Irfan with the first ball of the second over, and should have had Nizakat Khan for zero two balls later, but a drive to mid-off rocketed through the hands of Jitendra Mukhiya at head height and went all the way to the boundary. Nizakat would go on to top score for Hong Kong with 25.It was the first of at least four clear chances that Nepal missed in an uncharacteristically sloppy fielding effort, with the lone bright spot being a spectacular diving catch at deep backward square leg by Pradeep Airee to remove Mark Chapman for 9. That was the third of four wickets for Regmi, who produced a valiant spell of left-arm spin to match Hong Kong’s Amjad with 4 for 16.Hong Kong needed 11 with two overs to go but a pair of twos by Aizaz was followed by an elegant drive over extra cover off Shakti Gauchan to put them within one stroke of victory, which they achieved with a single off the first ball of the 19th. Aizaz walked off unbeaten on 14 off seven balls while Babar Hayat ended 17 not out.

The only issue at Worcester was which team would be left at the bottom of the table without a victory – and that dubious honour fell to Leicestershire after the home side’s easy eight-wicket win

ECB/PA17-Aug-2015
ScorecardJoe Clarke made a half-century for Worcestershire [file picture]•ICC

Worcestershire Rapids ended a run of five consecutive defeats in the Royal London Cup by romping to an eight-wicket-wicket win against Leicestershire Foxes at New Road.With nothing on the match in terms of progressing to the knockout stage, the only issue was which team would be left without a victory at the bottom of Group A.Leicestershire sealed their own fate when dismissed for 172 after a dismal display by the top order and Worcestershire were hardly stretched as half-centuries by Tom Fell and Joe Clarke took them home with 18 overs to spare.It would have been worse for the Foxes but for a face-saving partnership of 74 by Clint McKay and Zak Chappell, with 31 in his first senior innings, after a collapse to 98 for 8 in the 29th over.They were only four runs short of the county’s ninth-wicket in List A competitions when Worcestershire’s Australian-born all-rounder Alex Hepburn took the last two wickets in successive balls for a return of 4 for 34 on his debut.The 19-year-old Hepburn, a British passport-holder through his Scottish parents, got his chance after scoring four centuries in second-team games this season, but it was his medium-paced bowling that made the biggest impression.When Hepburn came on as first-change seamer, Leicestershire were already on the slide after two wickets for England Under-19 pace bowler Ed Barnard and another for Ross Whiteley.Niall O’Brien gave a straightforward chance to slip, Angus Robson drove loosely to cover and Aadil Ali was bowled by a good-length ball.
Hepburn needed only eight deliveries to claim his first success, an ugly swipe by Lewis Hill (17) finding mid-on, and his next contribution
was to remove Ned Eckersley from another poor shot to short mid-wicket.Saeed Ajmal was quietly effective in tandem with Hepburn. The off-spinner’s return of three for 33, his best in List cricket since remodelling his action, would have been marginally better but for the combative McKay driving his last delivery for six.The Australian, dropped at slip off Ajmal when he had made only one, kept Worcestershire in the field until Hepburn came back to bowl Chappell and Atif Sheikh.As Leicestershire probably feared, Worcestershire were up and running with Tom Kohler-Cadmore outscoring captain Daryl Mitchell until he was bowled by Rob Taylor for 31 out of 56.Mitchell was leg-before to Chappell in the 15th over but there was never a sign of a slip-up after that. Fell cruised to 60 not out with nine fours from 66 balls and Clarke reached an unbeaten 51 from 50 deliveries after hitting three fours and two sixes.For Clarke, another 19-year-old in the Rapids’ ranks, it was a third consecutive score of 50 or more in the competition after making 54 against Surrey and 131 not out against Gloucestershire.

Mitchell Starc has continued to dominate the Matador Cup, with a four-wicket haul that helped ensure a third successive victory for New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2015
ScorecardEd Cowan scored the fourth century of his one-day career•Getty Images

Mitchell Starc has continued to dominate the Matador Cup, with a four-wicket haul that helped ensure a third successive victory for New South Wales. However, Starc missed out on the chance for a third consecutive Man-of-the-Match award, with opener Ed Cowan given the honour after his century that set up the win over Western Australia.Set 265 for victory, the Warriors struggled against the class of Starc and the awkward lengths served up by Gurinder Sandhu. Western Australia collapsed to be 4 for 18 in the ninth over and it was only through a 93-run partnership between Michael Klinger and Sam Whiteman that they fought their way back into the contest, although they were eventually bowled out for 189.Sandhu claimed the first wicket, Shaun Marsh caught behind for 1, before Starc picked off three more in the space of two of his overs. Cameron Bancroft found scoring almost impossible and on 5 from 28 balls he edged Starc to slip, before Mitchell Marsh was bowled next ball. Adam Voges survived the hat-trick delivery but played on for 2 in Starc’s next over.Whiteman and Klinger rebuilt as best they could, but Sandhu all but confirmed the result when he dismissed them both in the same over. Whiteman (45) toe-edged an attempted hook and was caught at midwicket, and Klinger (51) chipped a catch to midwicket to leave the Warriors in serious trouble at 6 for 112.Sandhu claimed another wicket to finish with 4 for 29 from his ten overs, Sean Abbott chipped in with two victims and Starc finished the job by bowling Andrew Tye in the 45th over. Starc ended up with 4 for 23 to add to the 6 for 25 he claimed against the Cricket Australia XI and his 4 for 27 against South Australia. He has 14 wickets at the remarkable average of 5.35 in this tournament.The shaky Western Australian start was quite the opposite of the opening New South Wales had earlier in the day, when Cowan and Nic Maddinson put on 133 for the first wicket. Maddinson made 74 before he fell to the bowling of Mitchell Marsh, who then had Steven Smith caught behind for a duck two balls later.But Cowan steered the innings at a calm tempo, striking six fours in his 100 from 139 deliveries. It was the fourth one-day century of his domestic career, and although he eventually provided Marsh with a third wicket Cowan had given New South Wales the platform to build to 5 for 264, which was enough not only for a win, but in the end for a bonus point as well.