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Alex Moir had taken 6 for 155 against England in Christchurch in 1951. Sixty-five years later, Colin de Grandhomme took 6 for 41 to finish with the best figures by a New Zealander on debut; Pakistan were bowled out for 133

The Report by Shashank Kishore17-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:36

Fernando: Vintage New Zealand medium-pace bowling

It was a tale of two debutants on a fascinating day of Test cricket where ball dominated the bat. Although the final analysis of 13 wickets for 237 runs would suggest a menacing surface, the truth was that a lot of batsmen, especially from Pakistan, were out poking or trying to play expansive drives. New Zealand fared much better with the bat, and held the aces as the first Test moved forward at a breakneck speed despite an entire day being washed out by rain in Christchurch.Colin de Grandhomme, the Harare-born Auckland allrounder who had previously taken just one five-wicket haul in 83 first-class games, had the best figures (6 for 41) by a New Zealand debutant. It meant Pakistan, sent in to bat, were rolled over for 133. Misbah-ul-Haq, captaining his country for the 50th time, top scored with a typically feisty 31 off 108 deliveries during the course of which he proved it was the top order’s impatience and not a menacing Hagley Oval green top that contributed to their downfall; no other batsman crossed 20.In reply, Jeet Raval, the other debutant, replacing Martin Guptill, overcame a testing new-ball burst to finish 55 not out as New Zealand recovered from early losses of Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to end on 104 for 3, trailing by just 29 runs. Playing late and committing himself wholeheartedly to his strokes, both off the front and back foot, he picked off seven boundaries and looked at ease even as his partners largely struggled; particularly against Mohammad Amir in a probing opening spell that read 6-2-6-1.Things could have been much worse for New Zealand had Henry Nicholls, replacing Luke Ronchi, not substituted flamboyance for grit and patience to finish unbeaten on 29. The fourth-wicket pair added 64, but in blunting out 19.4 overs, they ensured New Zealand had limited the new-ball damage to potentially make run-scoring a lot easier on the morrow.The surface demanded patience which Pakistan clearly lacked, as their top order crumbled after a solid 31-run opening stand that frustrated New Zealand. In trying to bowl full and swing the ball late, their new ball pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult either slipping the ball down the leg side or bowl it full and wide in the first hour as Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali went into their shell, seemingly happy to blunt the new ball.Ina ddition to a half-century on debut, Raval also took two excellent catches in the slips•AFP

Then Williamson turned to de Grandhomme’s seam-ups over Neil Wagner’s bustling pace, and the move worked immediately. After two poor overs in which he sprayed the ball, de Grandhomme broke through when he scythed through Azhar’s defence with an in-dipper. The old adage of ‘one brings two’ ensured when Southee, brought back form the other end, sent back Aslam, who jabbed hard to get a thick edge to Raval at second slip.Babar Azam was reprieved on 4, but couldn’t curb his instincts of trying to drive on the up as he was also pouched in the slips. When Younis Khan’s flashy cover drive to a delivery he could have left alone off de Grandhomme was pouched by Raval in the cordon, Pakistan had sensationally slipped from 31 without loss to 56 for 4.Pakistan slowly rebuilt through a 32-run stand, but the lunch break came to New Zealand’s rescue as Asad Shafiq, demoted to No. 6 after a fruitless stint at No. 3 in the UAE, poked one to gully. Sarfraz Ahmed tried to unsettle the bowlers by walking outside the crease, giving bowlers the charge and play a typically aggressive game. Not even being hit on the helmet by a steep bouncer altered his approach. Eventually a tame waft resulted in a simple catch at gully to a relieved Todd Astle, who put down a chance earlier in the day.Watching the carnage unfold, Misbah continued to bat on in the hope that he would find some support from the tail. But such was the nature of Pakistan’s collapse that Williamson resisted temptation to give his faster men a break, and go for the kill. Boult and Southee overcame insipid starts to finish with two wickets apiece.For a while it looked like New Zealand’s top order would match Pakistan’s indiscretions. After Tom Latham was lbw to Amir, Williamson, in particular, fell tamely when he pushed away from the body – neither attempting a punch nor a full-blooded cut shot – to be caught at slip. Ross Taylor, all at sea against Sohail Khan’s late away-swing, was snaffled down leg side to extend his lean patch to 10 innings now to open up the game.With over 25 overs left, two more wickets then may have tilted the scales Pakistan’s way. That it didn’t was largely due to Raval’s steadfast determination and Nicholl’s grit that capped off an eventful day.

Winning a close-run, low-scoring game against South Africa on a difficult Nagpur pitch has shown West Indies that they can handle pressure, Marlon Samuels has said

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur25-Mar-2016Winning a close-run, low-scoring game against South Africa on a difficult Nagpur pitch has shown West Indies that they can handle pressure, Marlon Samuels has said. Samuels, whose 44-ball 43 helped steer West Indies to a three-wicket win that sealed a semi-final spot for them, said the experience would stand them in good stead if they are to come up against a similar scenario in the knockouts.”On a day like today, on a slow track, it was always going to be a nail-biter, a close game,” Samuels said. “It’s very good that we can keep our nerve and bring it home because we might end up in the same situation again, so it’s good that we can carry home games under pressure as well.”Samuels, who began the tournament with a boundary-laden 27-ball 37 against England, was forced to adopt a more conservative approach against South Africa.”If you see the first game against England, we got a good start, so I could always go there and express myself and play my shots and play the game that I like to play,” he said. “Today, the wicket was on the slower side, [and we had lost] early wickets, so it called for me to change my game, to try and bat right down to the end.”Samuels said he had a dual role to play in a batting line-up full of power-hitters.”This batting line-up, I have two roles. One where, when the openers get a good start, I go there and express myself, and [if we] get a slow start, early wickets, I’ll go there and try to build up an innings with whichever partner that is there, and try to build something and [take] the game as far as possible.”Samuels has been one of West Indies’ form batsmen at the World T20, and though it is an entirely different format, he welcomed the runs after a wretched Test series in Australia that brought him 35 runs at 7.00.”Not going to be overconfident, but this is the part of the game which I think is the most beautiful part of the game,” Samuels said. “It makes you bring out how tough you are as a person, because you’re going to have failures, but what matters the most is how you come back.”

Stevie Eskinazi’s career-best 157 patiently earned Middlesex a first innings lead over Yorkshire as he batted throughout most of the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Scarborough

ECB Reporters Network05-Jul-2016
ScorecardSteve Eskinazi drives during his career-best innings•Getty Images

Stevie Eskinazi patiently earned Middlesex a first innings lead over Yorkshire by batting throughout most of the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Scarborough.The 22-year-old South African hit a career-best 157 and although a flurry of wickets went down in the closing overs, Middlesex were still able to end on 470 for eight which put them 64 in front.Eskinazi said: “”To score my maiden century against Lancashire last week and now to score 157 today is really pleasing after serving my apprenticeship in the second team and learning the trade.”I nicked the four that brought me my century and the two other strokes that took me to 50 and 150 and on another day they could have gone to hand but I rode my luck a little. The pitch has been swinging and seaming all game and if we can hit a few more runs tomorrow I think we can put them under pressure.”Eskinazi’s circumstances were in complete contrast to when he made his debut for Middlesex against Yorkshire at Lord’s last September.On that occasion he came in at 0 for 3 after Ryan Sidebottom had struck three times in the game’s opening over and he contributed only four before becoming the left arm paceman’s fourth victim.His next appearance in the competition was not until last week when he scored his maiden century in Middlesex’s victory over Lancashire at Lord’s and yesterday he showed further relish for Roses opponents in his very next knock.The early wickets which Yorkshire wanted on the third morning never materialised as Eskinazi and George Bailey built steadily on their third wicket partnership, Middlesex having resumed on 130 for 2.Although Bailey survived a sharp return chance to Tim Bresnan on 36, the pair were in charge for most of the time and after Bailey had straight driven Azeem Rafiq over the sightscreen for six he completed his 50 from 83 balls with seven other boundaries.The partnership moved into three figures before Eskinazi arrived at his own half-century with his eighth boundary and the day’s play was 95 minutes old when Bailey was out for 62 with the stand worth 121. He aimed a cut at a ball from Rhodes which had more bounce than he expected and Bresnan took the catch at point. It was a well-merited wicket for Rhodes whose 11 over stint cost him only 36 runs.Bresnan was again in the action after lunch as he held on to John Simpson’s edge to third slip off Jack Brooks and he would have claimed a wicket himself in the next over if Eskinazi had not been dropped by Kane Williamson in the same spot while on 84.Franklin eased himself in gradually, taking 30 balls to get off the mark, but he then went from first gear into top by picking up Rhodes for a big six.Eskinazi also spent 30 balls marooned in the 90s before arriving at his century from 224 deliveries with 17 fours, an innings which was succeeding in blunting Yorkshire’s attack.Yorkshire experimented with the off-spin of Adam Lyth before tea but to no avail and after the interval Franklin pulled Bresnan savagely for six as he neared his first half-century of the season from 100 balls with five fours and two sixes.Middlesex were 342 for 4 at the 110-over stage, which meant they took five bonus points out of the game to Yorkshire’s four, and the fifth wicket stand went into three figures at 356 for 4.The partnership had ploughed on to 172 before Eskinazi finally succumbed at 5.26pm by pulling Brooks to Williamson on the mid-wicket boundary, having batted for six-and-a-half hours while facing 316 balls and stroking 23 fours.His departure brought a rash of wickets, most of them to Brooks who suddenly found himself with a five-wicket haul. He had Paul Stirling caught in the slips before Williamson dismissed Ollie Rayner without scoring, but Brooks’ biggest prize was the scalp of Franklin who fell for 99, top-edging a pull to cover. He had received 167 deliveries and hit ten fours and two sixes.Brooks finished the day with figures of five for 89 from his 33 overs, 12 of which were maidens.

Faf du Plessis praised his team for fighting hard through the difficult phases of the second Test, after they overcame a score of 94 for 6 in the first innings to win comprehensively on the third day

Firdose Moonda in Wellington18-Mar-2017

At 1pm on Friday, South Africa were at risk of losing a Test. By 7pm on Saturday, they had won it. It took them just 30 hours to turn things around and they did it the full 360 degrees.”It’s happened a few times this season where we’ve been in impossible situations and then there’s one or two guys putting their hand up and making the impossible very possible,” Faf du Plessis said. “Lunch time yesterday felt like not too long ago, and now we’ve won a Test match so just that shift in pressure was really well handled.”South Africa were 104 for 6 at lunch on day two, with Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock, the last two recognised batsmen, at the crease. In a stand of 160, they took the score over 250 and put South Africa in the lead. Their fightback was underlined by self-assured batting that, even in the trickiest of situations, they stuck with. Bavuma was cautious and rode the bounce, while de Kock was aggressive. Together, they scored at a rate of 4.13 to give South Africa the advantage.”We’ve found this ability to have a lot of faith in our batting line-up, whoever they are, to stand up to pressure situations. Quinton and Temba hadn’t been in massive run-spells these last couple of games, so for both of them to do it at a critical time says a lot about them mentally,” du Plessis said. “And it was the way they played [that was impressive]. To counter-punch and put the pressure on the opposition was remarkable.”An obdurate last-wicket stand of 57 tipped South Africa over 350 and gave them a match-winning lead, but they did not expect things to come so quickly on the third day. With the southerly wind slicing through the city, South Africa expected being on the field to be uncomfortable at best, impossible at worst.”It was a challenge for us. What we asked for this morning was real hard cricketers. Mentally we needed to be very strong, to be ready to be challenged and pushed to extremes because it’s not conditions we are used to. There were no excuses; the wind and the cold were never going to be excuses. Just real, hard Test cricket and that’s what they produced.”Du Plessis lauded his spinners, particularly Keshav Maharaj, who took his second five-for in as many games•Getty Images

The seamers were rotated in short spells and they all seemed to find their rhythms unaffected. Vernon Philander was unlucky not to be rewarded for a probing effort and Kagiso Rabada had his pace up to the mid 140s again, but it was Morne Morkel’s new-ball spell that broke New Zealand. He removed both Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, the man South Africa see as “a big threat in terms of holding that batting unit together,” as du Plessis has consistently explained. “To get him cheaply obviously helps. We knew if we could get a few early ones we could really put them under pressure.”Morkel then had a third, Neil Broom. He completed a comeback that should see him retained as a certainty in the starting XI for the tour of England in July-August.”It was a bit of a punt as he’s been away from the game for so long. But I knew what I saw from him. Every time he’s bowling, he’s getting better. In the second innings he hardly bowled a bad ball. His consistency is there and he’s getting his pace back up. Today with the new ball, [he] was as tough as you could face. I was standing in the slips and it looked nasty. A lot of bounce with good intensity and pace. When he’s on like that, he’s a real handful,” du Plessis said.By the time Morkel was done with New Zealand, he had opened them up for Keshav Maharaj, who surpassed all expectations with a second five-for in as many matches.”It is surprising given the conditions – cold and not a lot of spin,” du Plessis said. “But I thought both spinners bowled incredibly well. Their control and consistency meant the New Zealand batsmen just couldn’t get away. Their run rates were very low. The pressure that created chances for wickets. When spinners are contributing like that, it makes the seamers’ lives much easier, especially with us having to rotate the seamers quite often because we only have three.”The other spinner was JP Duminy, whose low returns with the bat were masked by the career-best 4 for 47 he took in the first innings. Du Plessis still thinks Duminy has an important part to play in South Africa’s Test side, with both bat and ball, and hopes Hamilton will be the place where he proves that.”What was really good for me was the way JP bowled in this match,” du Plessis said. “That confidence from the bowling was something I was looking for. We gave him a little bit more responsibility and he got through it really well. He didn’t score a hundred in the second innings but the way he played looked really good. It’s the way he plays at his best with positive body language.”

Jack Leaning and Alex Lees led Yorkshire into the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast with a 14-run win over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road but the hosts did enough to earn a home tie in the last eight

ECB Reporters Network29-Jul-2016
ScorecardJack Leaning provided impetus for Yorkshire win•Getty Images

Jack Leaning and Alex Lees led Yorkshire into the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast with a 14-run win over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road but the hosts did enough to earn a home tie in the last eight.Leaning and Lees shared a century stand in just 8.3 overs as Yorkshire accelerated well to post 177 for 5. Northants were always behind in the chase but Alex Wakely’s career-best 64 in 42 balls steered his side past the 159 they needed to ensure their quarter-final will be back at Wantage Road.Chasing 178 to win and the potential to top the north group, Northants were quickly in trouble with David Willey striking first ball to remove Josh Cobb lbw. Adam Rossington then chunked a pull to mid-on as Tim Bresnan bowled a wicket maiden fourth over of the innings.But the form that Ben Duckett possess defies any conditions and he made his way beautifully to 41 from 25 balls chiefly with a lofted drive over extra-cover off Liam Plunkett and three sweeps – reverse and conventional – in an over from Azeem Rafiq. But Rafiq had the last laugh as Duckett top-edged the final ball of the Powerplay to short third man.Consolidation was necessary and Alex Wakely steadied with Rob Keogh – who made 28 from 24 balls – before pulling Plunkett over midwicket for six and driving four over mid-off. Another pull off Will Rhodes brought six more. Fifty was raised in 28 balls and a fifth six – hoisted over long-on – secured a home quarter-final.Yorkshire joined them in the last eight thanks to Leaning’s outstanding innings that resurrected the Yorkshire innings. He chanced his arm in Graeme White’s third over after the first two conceded only seven runs and claimed the wicket of Travis Head. Leaning skipped down the wicket to lift a six over long-on, a slog sweep cleared midwicket and Lees joined in with a straight-lofted drive for four.That 13th over was taken for 20 runs and sparked a stuttering innings into life. Rory Kleinveldt missed a yorker and was slapped into the bar behind midwicket – two more heaves followed as Kleinveldt’s final over went for 18.Leaning brought up a 22-ball fifty – scoring that was in stark contrast to that which had preceded him. His captain Alex Lees remained circumspect but also raised fifty – his first of the competition – in 45 balls.Their stand for the fourth wicket added exactly 100 in just 8.3 overs and from 66 for 3 after 11 overs, Yorkshire powered another 111 in the final nine.

India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2017

India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series. As a result of being No. 1 by the cut-off date of April 1, India will be presented with a cash award of $1 million by the ICC.India had gone into the home series against Australia needing to win one Test to guarantee their No. 1 ranking. The series victory also meant that India currently hold Test titles against all other teams, a feat previously matched only by Australia (twice) and South Africa.Virat Kohli received the Test mace and cheque at the post-match presentation ceremony in Dharamsala. “The longest format of the game really tests a team’s character and I’m proud that we have proved ourselves to be the best,” he said.The race to No. 2 is still on. It will be decided on the fifth day in Hamilton, where South Africa need to come away with at least a draw against New Zealand to hold on to the No. 2 ranking and claim the prize money of $500,000. If they lose, Australia will pip them to second place.The ICC also announced that India offspinner R Ashwin will be awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2016. Ashwin, who was also named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year for 2016, took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs in the eight Tests he played during the period under consideration – September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016.

تحدث أوناي إيمري، المدير الفني لفريق أستون فيلا، عن مباراة مانشستر سيتي المرتقبة غدًا، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب “فيلا بارك” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات الجولة السابعة عشر من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي، 2024/25.

ويخوض مانشستر سيتي تلك المباراة وهو في أسوأ حالاته حيث لم يفز إلا في مباراة واحدة في آخر 11 لقاءً في مختلف المسابقات.

ويحتل مانشستر سيتي المركز الخامس برصيد 27 نقطة، في حين أن أستون فيلا لديه 25 نقطة في المركز السابع.

وعندما سُئل عن رأيه تجاه المستوى الحالي لـ مانشستر سيتي، قال أوناي إيمري في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي لـ أستون فيلا: “مندهش بعض الشيء، لكن هذه هي كرة القدم، إنه (بيب جوارديولا) الأفضل”.

وأضاف: “نخوض كل مباراة على حدة، إنها أصعب بطولة في العالم، كل فريق يقدم لنا الكثير من المعلومات حول وضعنا وكيفية مواجهتنا لهم”.

اقرأ أيضًا | ضربة جديدة.. جوارديولا يعلن إصابة لاعب مانشستر سيتي وغيابه لمدة شهر

وواصل: “غدًا سنواجه أفضل فريق في السنوات القليلة الماضية في الدوري الإنجليزي، ربما لا يكونون ثابتين بسبب ظروف مختلفة، لكنهم الأفضل ومدربهم هو الأفضل”.

واسترسل: “لقد وصلت إلى هنا منذ عامين وكنت هنا من قبل، كان الأمر صعبًا للغاية دائمًا، أن تكون ثابتًا، كما هم عادةً، هو الأصعب”.

وأوضح: “لقد حققوا نجاحًا على مدار السنوات القليلة الماضية، وكانوا ثابتين في كل شيء، سيقدمون أداءً جيدًا مرة أخرى، لديهم الوقت ليكونوا فائزين مرة أخرى في هذه البطولة”.

واختتم: “سنواجه مانشستر سيتي غدًا والأهم من ذلك هو كيف سنواجههم، كيف سنرد، كيف سنختبرهم، هذا هو أهم شيء بالنسبة لي”.

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League games played on May 24, 2016

Mohammad Isam24-May-2016

Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Kalabagan Cricket Academy (KCA) by 49 runs (D/L method) in Fatullah after rain curtailed proceedings 21 overs into KCA’s run chase. Doleshwar now sit atop the points table with 12 points from eight games.Having been asked to bat, Doleshwar posted 287 for 6, on the back of strong performances from their top three. Imtiaz Hossain and Robiul Islam Robi shared an opening stand of 112, before the latter was stumped for 50 in the 20th over. Imtiaz, who made 86 off 94 with six fours and two sixes, added 62 runs for the second wicket with Raqibul Hasan. Raqibul went on to score 66 off 79 balls.After their strong start, Doleshwar lost their way in the middle order, plodding from 160 for 1 in 30 overs to 224 for 4 in 45 overs. During this period, new Indian recruit Ashok Menaria struggled with a 15-ball 6. But captain Farhad Reza blasted four sixes in his unbeaten 15-ball 34 to take the side close to the 300-run mark.In reply, KCA slumped to 81 for four in the 19th over. Nasir Hossain took two wickets and Al-Amin Hossain picked up one, while the fourth wicket was a run-out. KCA were even worse off than the scoreline suggested, as captain Mahmudul Hasan had retired hurt on 2 after the 13th over.Rain forced a premature end to the match with KCA on 98 for 4 in 21 overs.The other two Dhaka Premier League matches scheduled for May 24 were called off for the day due to rain and will resume on May 25. In Mirpur, Prime Bank Cricket Club were 41 for 1 in 6.2 overs in reply to Mohammedan Sporting Club’s 224 all out. At the BKSP-3 ground, Abahani Limited posted 276 for 6 in their 50 overs, against Gazi Group Cricketers.

Liam Livingstone and Joe Root were the only England batsmen to really shine against the pink ball and batting coach Graham Thorpe said it was a reminder of the performances needed

Andrew McGlashan at Seddon Park15-Mar-2018

England had gone into their four days of practice in Hamilton treating it as a Test match. Halfway through, after finishing the two days with the pink ball, they will be hoping things go better at Eden Park next week.In truth, it was always going to be difficult to replicate any sense of intensity in this mish-mash of a fixture, which is essentially glorified middle practice where teams just bat all day. Regardless of how England fare in the two Tests, the game as a whole really needs to address the lack of quality warm-up fixtures for touring sides.Still, and with those caveats in mind, it has not been an impressive two days for England. With the bat the New Zealand XI recovered from 30 for 5, then with the ball managed to take 14 England wickets on the second day, dismissing the likely Test top three of Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman and James Vince twice.Liam Livingstone, who impressed with 88 on his first appearance in whites for the senior side, and captain Joe Root were the only two players to reach fifty (Root’s in his second knock of the day). Alastair Cook, though, looked in reasonably good order and Vince settled second time around.Livingstone, the Lancashire captain, remains unlikely to feature in the Test series and batting coach Graham Thorpe said the fact he was the standout performer was a reminder to the established top order that they don’t have much time to get into shape.”The first two sessions were indifferent for us but it was about getting the guys up to speed and making them aware they’ve got a Test next week,” Thorpe told . “A few of them will be disappointed they didn’t spend longer at the crease.”But Liam Livingstone played very well. He’s been given an opportunity here and has fitted in very well. He’s not in the potential starting XI but he’s shown the head coach what he’s capable of and that’s what you want. For a few of the guys it’s a reminder, a bit of a kick up the backside, that you’ve got to get up to speed pretty quickly.”Before the tour Livingstone, who played two T20Is against South Africa last year, told ESPNcricinfo he was more comfortable as a first-class player. He admitted the day hadn’t gone as planned for England, but was satisfied with his own performance in his first knock since rolling his ankle playing football on the Lions tour of the Caribbean.”It was a bit of a tough day really,” he said. “But a few of us have got what we wanted out of the day. Obviously a few boys have still got another two days to go – so I hope they can get what they need from those.”I was obviously pretty nervous coming on a first England Test tour but I settled in very quickly and felt really good going out to bat today. I felt really relaxed, which is a good thing. It’s been down to the lads who made it really easy for me to settle quickly.”It would probably take an injury for him to come into contention for either Test, so he is keen just to soak up as much experience as he can over the next few weeks.”It’s my job to come out and score as many runs as I can when I get the chance,” he said. “I’m just here with open ears and open eyes to learn off the best players in the world, which we have in our dressing room. It’s a great experience for me whether I play or not. It’s everyone’s dream to play Test cricket and it may not happen this trip, but it’s been great fun getting in and around the lads in this environment.”This match has also been a chance for players in the New Zealand XI to add to their credentials. On the opening day it was Tom Blundell and Kyle Jamieson, then, with the ball, the pace bowlers all impressed with 19-year-old Nathan Smith claiming the handy trio of Livingstone, Cook and Jonny Bairstow. Seth Rance, who has played two ODIs and four T20s for New Zealand, also took three, striking with the new ball at either end of the day.”You watch those guys on TV, then you go out and are bowling and batting against them, so it’s pretty special,” Rance said. “You have to pinch yourself and take time to enjoy the moment, but at the same you want to do well and push your case for higher honours.”The players involved in these first two days who are in the New Zealand Test squad – Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Henry Nicholls and Colin de Grandhomme – now head to Mount Maunganui for a two-day training camp. Their replacements, and those that remain such as Rance, now have two days with the red ball to try and make life difficult for England again.

The allrounder has changed domestic teams, leaving Auckland, following on from a change in address

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2018

Allrounder Colin de Grandhomme will turn out for Norther Districts in the 2018-19 New Zealand domestic season. His decision to leave Auckland, whom he has represented since 2007, follows on from a change of address. Moving house to Tauranga means playing for Northern Districts would be logistically easier.”I have a lot of respect for Auckland Cricket and want to thank the team and the staff for everything they’ve done for me over the years,” de Grandhomme said, according to a New Zealand Cricket press release. “It was a hard decision, but I’m looking forward to representing Northern Districts in a big season ahead.”De Grandhomme is just done with IPL 2018, where he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. In nine games for RCB, he scored 131 runs at 26.20 and a strike rate of 155.95, and picked up two wickets.