All posts by n8rngtd.top

The half-centuries from Kamindu and Asalanka ended up as mere footnotes in the game as WI won with five balls to spare

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Oct-2024West Indies 180 for 5 (King 63, Lewis 50, Pathirana 2-27) beat Sri Lanka 179 for 7 (Asalanka 59, Kamindu 51, Shepherd 2-39) by five wicketsBrandon King and Evin Lewis crashed 107 off 55 balls at the top of the order, to set West Indies beautifully on course to their target of 180, in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Although the hosts’ middle-overs bowlers slowed West Indies’ progress, they were never in serious trouble.They had plenty of batting to see the chase through, and Sherfane Rutherford finished it off with a four off the first ball of the final over.Shamar Joseph was the most economical of West Indies’ bowlers, conceding only 27 from his four overs. Though King and Lewis later outshone them, Sri Lanka had two half-centurions too, in Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka, whose 82-run stand was the most substantial of the innings.

King, Lewis blast the powerplay

Lewis struck the first boundaries, launching Chamindu Wickramasinghe for a six and four at the end of the first over, but it was King who made the greatest impression while the fielding restrictions were in play. King’s standard move was to run at the bowlers and blast them down the ground. So good was his hand-eye coordination, that he did it twice against seamer Asitha Fernando in the second over, before taking aim at the spin of Maheesh Theekshana in the third over.By the end of the powerplay, King had eight fours (some of them edged, to be fair), and 39 runs off 20 balls. Lewis, who had blasted boundaries off Wickramasinghe almost exclusively, had 31 off 16 balls. And West Indies had 74 off the first six.They kept swinging, and by the end, Lewis made 50 off 28, and King 63 off 33. The requirement was fairly simple after their onslaught.Shamar Springer celebrates his maiden T20I wicket•AP Photo/Viraj Kothalawala

WI quicks strike early

By contrast, Sri Lanka’s top order had failed to prosper on a helpful surface, thanks in part to sharp bowling from West Indies’ quicks. Romario Shepherd caught the edge of Pathum Nissanka’s bat three times, conceded fours behind the wicket and then had him caught by the keeper on the third occasion, to make West Indies’ first breakthrough. Kusal Perera was then bowled by Shamar Joseph early in the following over.When Kusal Mendis was also bowled by an excellent quicker delivery from Gudakesh Motie, leaving Sri Lanka at 58 for 3, it felt as if West Indies were about to carve open the game.

Kamindu may be good at cricket

But then perhaps it’s time to admit that Kamindu appears to know what he is doing on a cricket field. Having recently become the fastest batter since 1950 to 1000 Test runs, he produced 50 off 41 here in the shortest format, outdone in his team only by Asalanka who clubbed 59 off 35, Kamindu would also bowl two overs for 14, switching arms when necessary. He took the wicket of the opposition’s top scorer, King, with his left-arm spin, and collected figures of 1 for 14.

The total attendance over five days surpassed the previous record of 350,534 set at the MCG in 1937

Alex Malcolm30-Dec-2024A new attendance record for a Test match in Australia has been set with more than 373,691 passing through the gates at the MCG across the five days of the fourth Test between Australia and India, surpassing the previous mark of 350,534 set in 1937.Cricket Australia [CA] confirmed early on Monday that 51,371 had already come in for the first session of the fifth day to break the record. That crowd had swelled to a final tally of 74,362 by late in the afternoon.The crowd tally meant that more people have attended the 2024 MCG Boxing Day Test than had seen a Sir Donald Bradman-led Australia play England in January 1937 at the same venue, which was played over six days.The crowds have been absolutely extraordinary for this Test match with daily tallies of 87,242, 85,147, 83,073, 43,867 and 74,362. A day five crowd exceeding day four is unheard of with the Melbourne Cricket Club, who run the MCG, underestimating the number on day five.They opened Yarra Park outside the ground for general public parking on day five, which is a rarity. But they only had one gate open and it caused a significant traffic choke point prior to play with a number of fans late to get into the ground.The record numbers follow the huge crowds India attracted at the MCG at the 2022 T20 World Cup when 90,293 saw India play Pakistan and 82,507 watched India play Zimbabwe.

Carey made 63 and Webster 60, while Alzarri Joseph took 4 for 61 as Australia were bowled out for 286 before bad light prevented the West Indies innings from starting

Andrew McGlashan03-Jul-2025Stumps Reckon you’ve seen this before? You wouldn’t be wrong. Australia’s top order again failed to inspire on the opening day in Grenada before Beau Webster and Alex Carey performed a familiar rescue act amid another crucial call by the third umpire and further fielding woes for West Indies.Australia were wobbling t 110 for 5 when Travis Head fell, the TV umpire ruling Shai Hope’s brilliant take clean, having earlier been 50 for 3 as a solid base vanished. Webster and Carey then added 112 in 25 overs and the game was threatening to run away from West Indies but they were able to chip away at the lower order and bowl Australia out for 286 inside 67 overs, with Alzarri Joseph claiming four wickets. To the home side’s benefit, light prevented Australia from having a brief bowl with the umpires taking the players off just as they returned to the field.Related

• Carey keeps on keeping on as Australia's quiet achiever

• Hard work done but no pay day for Green as questions linger

• Brathwaite: 'I was in disbelief that I could score a Test hundred'

Although not on the level of Barbados, there was assistance for the quicks – Roston Chase said he would have bowled had the toss gone his way – and suggestions that uneven bounce could play a part later in the game, particularly with the delivery which scuttled to remove Pat Cummins. So the true value of Australia’s first-innings total will only become clearer tomorrow, although it certainly felt competitive.Webster, who brought up an 87-ball fifty, again played superbly to follow up his vital second-innings performance in Barbados, and the runs he scored in the World Test Championship final. He was assured in defence and picked his moments to attack, including a slog-sweep for six off Chase and one of the shots of the innings when he laced Jayden Seales through the off side. But he was left frustrated when he gambled on a second run to deep point in an attempt to keep the strike and was beaten by Keacy Carty’s throw. It meant 300 proved out of reach.Carey lived something of a charmed life. He could have been run out on 10 and 51; was dropped by Shai Hope from an attempted ramp on 46; reached his half-century from 68 deliveries with an edge between the keeper and a wide slip; and edged wide of slip again on 55.Alzarri Joseph picked up four wickets in the innings•Associated Press

But he was also quick onto anything loose, showing the same counter-punching skills that have been so evident in his game over the last 18 months or so. In all, 46 of his 63 runs came in boundaries, including a swivel-pull for six off Justin Greaves only for him to cloth a long hop from the same bowler to midwicket when a significant innings appeared for the taking.Australia’s earlier batting performance had been dominated by unconverted starts. Sam Konstas put away a strong early pull shot and played with more urgency than in Barbados, but he was also beaten on multiple occasions, including three times in a row by Seales. There was also a flashing edge over gully against Shamar Joseph, which Roston Chase got a fingertip to, although it would have been a spectacular catch had it been taken. Konstas followed that with a sweetly struck cover drive.He and Usman Khawaja, who went to 6000 Test runs when he reached 2, had taken Australia to a promising 47 for 0 when the innings took on a very different look. For the second time in the series, Khawaja was lbw to Alzarri Joseph from around the wicket that proved a bail-trimmer when Khawaja went to the DRS. Four balls later, Konstas drove at the recalled Anderson Phillip, who had been preferred to left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, and edged behind for an unfulfilled 25.Beau Webster celebrates back-to-back fifties•AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s slide turned into 3 for 3 when Steven Smith, back in the side after the finger injury he sustained in the World Test Championship final, top-edged a pull against the lively Alzarri Joseph that flew high to fine leg where Phillip judged it very well. The scoreline read a familiar 50 for 3.The opening session ended with a dramatic over from Seales. Cameron Green, who had shaped up encouragingly even though he could have been run out on 16 if mid-on had collected cleanly, drove to cover where John Campbell spilled a regulation catch. But Green could still not make it through to the interval when, four balls later, he went for a big drive to the last delivery of the over and sent a thick edge to gully where Chase held it well.Head threatened to perform another rescue act but fell early in the afternoon following a brief delay for rain when the TV umpire, this time Nitin Menon, was back in focus as Hope took a brilliant catch low to his left when Head glanced a climbing delivery from Shamar Joseph. Hope was convinced of the catch but it went upstairs; unlike in Barbados, the decision went West Indies’ way and Head did not look thrilled as he walked off.Another quick wicket and Australia could have been bundled out but as they have tended to do, a couple of players found enough runs to give their high-class attack something to work with.

Visitors made light work of hefty Hampshire target to boost hopes of reaching knock-outs

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Jul-2025 Lancashire 175 for 2 (Lamb 66*, Jones 42, Smale 42) beat Hampshire 173 for 5 (Kemp 63, Norgrove 54) by eight wicketsEmma Lamb made her highest Women’s Vitality Blast score to fire Lancashire Thunder to a third victory in a row and boost their chances of reaching the knockouts.England international Freya Kemp had whacked 63 and Abi Norgrove celebrated her maiden Hawks fifty as the hosts reached 174 for five, after a rocky start.But Lamb’s exemplary 66 not out, coming in partnerships of 65 with Eve Jones and 92 with Seren Smale, saw Lancashire home by eight wickets.Hawks and Thunder had gone into the match level on 21 points, with the visitors’ four points giving them a strong chance of leap-frogging Bears into third, and qualify for finals day.Thunder had the dream start at Falklands Cricket Club in Newbury.They won the toss and then had the Hawks 11 for three after the first four overs after Ellyse Perry had been unfortunately run out while backing up, Rhianna Southby had looped off her leading edge to mid-off and Georgia Adams pinged to midwicket.But as quickly as they gained advantage, Norgrove and Kemp quickly swung it in the other direction.In the following two overs, Kemp and Norgrove made the most of the fielding restrictions to pummel seven boundaries – which kicked off a flourishing partnership.Despite being just 20, Kemp has been an integral player for Utilita Bowl-based sides for a few years and earned 30 international caps, while England U19 captain Norgrove, 19, has an incredibly high ceiling but has mainly been used as an impact player at the death of innings this season.Both middled the ball and let the scorched Berkshire outfield do the hard work as the scoreboard rolled and rolled, despite Darcy Carter’s miserly four overs for 24.Kemp won the race to the half-century, but Norgrove was quicker – 38 vs 33 balls. The pair’s 116 was the highest fourth wicket stand in the Blast, as both also pinged a six.But they were both dismissed by Alana King, within three balls of each other but Naomi Dattani and Mary Taylor refused to let that stunt the hosts with 42 in the last 27 balls.Like Lancashire, Hampshire took the early impetus – with a Freya Davies maiden – before Lamb and Jones took control of the chase.The experienced openers used the conveyer belt nature of the outfield to whizz to 65 inside seven overs before Jones was caught at cover. 40 of Jones’ 42 had come in fours.Seren Smale simply continued where Jones had left off as Thunder bolted towards the winning target.Lamb reached her third fifty of the competition in 30 balls and even though Smale was caught and bowled for 42, Ailsa Lister joined in to win with six balls to spare.

Both Warriorz and RCB are now out of the tournament, with Gujarat Giants joining DC and MI in the playoffs

Shashank Kishore08-Mar-20256:01

RCB ‘have a lot of work to do’

UP Warriorz went out of WPL 2025 in the most thrilling manner, and they took defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru along with them. This means Gujarat Giants will now make their maiden playoffs appearance, joining Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. The fight for the top spot, though, is still wide open.Warriorz belted the tournament’s highest total yet, courtesy Georgia Voll’s unbeaten 99, another record for the WPL’s joint-highest individual score. And that nearly didn’t prove enough because Richa Ghosh and Sneh Rana threatened a jailbreak.Ghosh smashed 69 off 33, but her dismissal with RCB needing 55 off 3.4 overs left them on the edge. Then came another twist, when Deepti Sharma, who dismissed Ghosh, conceded the most runs in a single over in the WPL’s short history – 28 off the 19th – as Rana smacked her for an incredible sequence of 4, 6, 6, 4, 6 to bring the target down to 15 off seven balls.Sneh Rana’s six-ball 26 gave RCB a glimmer of hope•BCCI

One of the fours also came off a no-ball, but more dramatically, prior to delivering that ball, Deepti stopped short of her delivery stride when Kim Garth backed up too far at the non-striker’s end, but did not run her out.But Rana’s magic ended when she muscled a flat hit straight to Poonam Khemnar, whom RCB had let go ahead of the auction, at the deep midwicket fence. That blow, which left RCB nine down, was the knockout punch for the defending champions, with Warriorz sealing victory in the final over when they had Renuka Singh run out.Fittingly enough, Voll, who at one point may have wondered if her magical knock may have gone in vain, delivered the final over that she began with two dots to all but close it out before the run-out. It marked an incredible end to Voll’s maiden WPL stint, which had needed her to cut short her home renovation in Queensland to make a quick dash to India only a week ago.Having come in as a replacement for Chamari Athapaththu, Voll showed potential to possibly be retention material, a definite positive for the Warriorz in a campaign that brought them just three wins in eight matches.

Voll, Harris make merry

Having made an impression in her first set of games for Australia in Alyssa Healy’s absence, Voll did the same in the WPL too. Three nights after hitting a half-century on debut, she cranked it up several notches along with Grace Harris as the Warriorz went hell for leather in the powerplay, hitting the second-most boundaries (13) in this phase in the tournament’s short history.Voll exhibited her strong back-foot game, a consequence of having been brought up on bouncy decks in Queensland. She often stayed beside the line and opened up impossible gaps in the backward point region, but the standout was her display of brute forearm strength and a strong bottom hand to play a ferocious whip in front of square.At the other end, Harris scooped and paddled her way to boundaries, quick to pounce on anything loose – and there were plenty of such deliveries from RCB’s new-ball pair of Garth and Renuka. Warriorz muscled their way to 67 for 0 in six overs – the highest powerplay score this season.Kiran Navgire’s 16-ball 46 came at a strike rate of 287.50•BCCI

Navgire cranks it up

RCB had a gift soon after the powerplay when Harris was run out, but Kiran Navgire didn’t take long to settle in, muscling her second ball, off Ellyse Perry, over the 60-metre boundary at deep square leg, and then carrying on to hit legspinner Georgia Wareham for back-to-back sixes in the following over.At the other end, Voll raised her second straight fifty, off 31 balls, when she swung a full-toss to the deep midwicket boundary. The second-wicket pair’s comfort against spin forced Smriti Mandhana to turn to Renuka again in the 12th over, but the move proved utterly ineffective as Navgire clobbered her for 4, 2, 4, 0, 6, 6. The sixes were a thing of beauty for her nonchalance in swatting length balls bowled into the deck over the leg-side fence.Overs 9-12 brought Warriorz 64 runs as they set themselves up for over 200. RCB had a clutch of wickets in the back end when they dismissed Navgire, Chinelle Henry and Sophie Ecclestone, but a tiring Voll charged towards a the tournament’s first-ever century, only to be denied off the last ball when a half-attempt at a second run to long-on, which would have brought up the landmark, led to Deepti being run out.Richa Ghosh reached fifty off 25 balls•BCCI

RCB go hell or high water

Mandhana was out to a tame pull early on, but RCB kept going after the bowling with S Meghana, playing in her first game of the season, picking up 22 off the second over, bowled by Harris. Perry didn’t take long to settle in either, as she was up and running with three successive fours off Henry – all to different parts. She got on top of the bounce to cut the first one along the ground, then flicked a full-toss to fine leg, and followed up with the most blistering of pulls.This intent cost Meghana and Perry their wickets, but not before they had played neat cameos. But there was a sense that they’d left too much for Ghosh to cover up – which she nearly did, exhibiting tremendous range. She used the depth of the crease to pull, made room to get beside the line to loft imperiously, and was quick to rock back when the bowlers dropped short to unfurl flat-bat pulls that bisected long-on and deep midwicket.Her 64-run sixth-wicket stand with Wareham kept RCB alive, before it got to a point where it was Ghosh or nothing. When she fell, the end was nigh. But Rana wasn’t going to go down without a fight. In the end, she nearly pulled RCB home, but the fairlytale wasn’t to be.

South Africa lost ten wickets for 61 and were bowled out for 134 in chase of 312

Firdose Moonda20-Sep-2024Afghanistan completed their most high-profile bilateral series win and their first against a team ranked in the ICC’s top five with a 177-run victory over South Africa in Sharjah. After dominating South Africa with the ball two days ago, Afghanistan repeated the dose with the bat on Friday and posted their tenth total of 300 or more to ask South Africa to complete their sixth-highest successful chase. A collapse of 10 for 61 meant South Africa did not even get close and recorded their fifth-biggest defeat by runs. Afghanistan lead the series 2-0 with one match remaining.Birthday-boy Rashid Khan turned 26 and took his fifth career five-for to top off a day of excellence for Afghanistan in all departments. Their celebrations began with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s seventh ODI century, followed by Rahmat Shah’s 29th ODI half-century and then Azmatullah Omarzai’s fastest fifty in the format. Omarzai reached his half-century off 32 balls, ended unbeaten on 86 off 50 balls and led Afghanistan’s charge of 93 runs in the last ten overs to post a challenging total. While Rashid headlined their bowling, he shared his success with left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who finished with a career-best 4 for 26.Afghanistan asserted themselves from the get-go when they chose to bat which left South Africa to field in the worst of the heat. Officially the temperature was 38 degrees Celsius but the real-feel was in the late 40s and they did not have any real menace. Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan put on 88 for the first wicket before Gurbaz and Shah shared a 101-run second-wicket stand which formed the spine of the Afghan innings.South Africa’s spinners, Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markram were the most effective in keeping Afghanistan quiet and conceded 59 runs in 14 overs between them, but debutant legspinner Nqaba Peter was expensive and Nandre Burger also conceded 68 runs. Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the seamers, particularly at the end of the innings but South Africa lacked wicket-taking ability, which allowed Afghanistan to get away from them with their fourth and fifth wicket stands of 55 off 40 balls and 40 off 23, respectively.Gurbaz got things underway with the first boundary: a massive six over long-off, off an Ngidi length ball. He followed it up with a cover drive for four, and then two pull shots off Burger short balls to race to go from 4 off the first 15 balls he faced to a run-a-ball 24.Fortuin was brought on in the powerplay and kept his end quiet but Burger’s insistence on using the short ball did not serve South Africa well early on. His first spell of five overs cost 32 runs. He was replaced by Peter, whose first over was tight. He gave away a boundary in each of his next two before Markam took over. Markram got the first wicket when he beat Hassan’s inside-edge and hit him on the pad above the knee roll.Rashid Khan appeals for a wicket•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Gurbaz quietened down for a couple of overs but when Wiaan Mulder was brought on in the 21st over, he could not resist a charge down. He hit Mulder over long-on for his second six. What followed was an electric display of shots from both Gurbaz and Rahmat in a stand that seemed to drain South Africa. Rahmat reverse paddled Markam to third and flicked Mulder fine for four, Gurbaz lofted Peter over mid-off, mid-wicket and swept Fortuin to deep backward square to edge towards 90.Then, the nerves kicked in. He spent 18 deliveries in the 90s and seven of those on 99, including a maiden over from Fortuin, as he inched towards his milestone. He got there when he swept Markram behind square leg and his response was as emotive as they come. Gurbaz dropped his bat and then himself to his knees in sajdah, and then composed himself to create a heart-shape with his hands and blow a kiss to the changeroom and a spirited Sharjah crowd. However, in the next over, he swung at a Burger ball, missed and was bowled to end an exceptional knock. This is also the third successive year in which Gurbaz has scored two hundreds. With this knock, Gurbaz has most ODI hundreds for Afghanistan, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad (6).Afghanistan’s 200 was up after 36 overs, and they would have been eyeing a total in excess of 300. Peter made it difficult for them before the last ten overs and picked up his first ODI wicket when he dragged his length back as Rahmat advanced on him, and had Rahmat stumped on 50.Omarzai’s intent in the final period was clear when he hit Mulder over long-off for six two balls into the last 10. He sent Peter in the same area twice, and then hit him over mid-wicket for his fourth six and the shot that brought up his half-century, off 32 balls. Mohammad Nabi was little more than a spectator in the 55-run stand with Omarzai but when he tried to smash an Ngidi slower ball, he skied to Bavuma to depart for 13.That brought Rashid to the crease and he was in immediate trouble, albeit not caused by the bowlers. He hit Ngidi to sweeper cover and ran two but pulled up at the end of the second run with what looked like a hamstring concern. He received treatment on the field, skied the next ball he faced, which Peter couldn’t get to, and then held his hamstring again. Rashid stayed with Omarzai as he took Afghanistan over 300, and any problems he had with his fitness did not show in the field.South Africa’s chase got underway steadily with returning captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi’s opening stand of 73 in 14 overs. But Bavuma’s dismissal and then Rashid’s introduction into the attack sparked an almighty collapse. Bavuma top-edged a pull off an Omarzai short ball and the high catch was well judged by Mohammed Nabi. Bavuma departed before he even had a chance to face Rashid, who was given the ball in the 18th over and caused problems with his first ball which teased Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge. Four balls later, de Zorzi tried to drive Rashid through the covers but edged to Ikram Alikhil.Stunned by spin, South Africa went into their shell and scored only 11 runs in the next four overs as pressure built. When left-arm spinner Kharote was brought on in the 23rd over, Hendricks looked particularly out-of-sorts when he stayed back in his crease to play for turn and was bowled. In the next over, Tristan Stubbs was given out on review when he gloved a sweep off Rashid to Nabi at leg slip. Two balls later, Kyle Verreynne failed to pick the wrong ‘un and was out lbw and Markram was left with the lower-order. Mulder was Rashid’s fourth victim, beaten as he stayed back, and Fortuin was bowled by his counterpart Kharote off one that stayed low. At 112 for 7, there was no way back for South Africa.Rashid’s fifth came when he bowled Markram with a googly. Kharote took wickets either side of that to leave South Africa floored. They lost all ten wickets in the space of 20.3 overs.

His undefeated knock of 76 comes in resilient batting display by Northants

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Sep-2025Saif Zaib shone again with an undefeated knock of 76 as Northamptonshire’s resilient batting display held up Glamorgan’s Rothesay County Championship promotion charge at Wantage Road.The left-hander, Division Two’s second highest run-scorer this season with five hundreds to his name, shared a fourth-wicket stand of 107 with James Sales to steer their side close to avoiding the follow-on despite four wickets for Glamorgan spinner Mason Crane.Half-centuries by opening pair Ricardo Vasconcelos and Luke Procter laid solid foundations for Northamptonshire’s reply after Glamorgan opener Asa Tribe’s impressive career-best 206 had enabled the visitors to post 467.Seventeen-year-old spinner Nirvan Ramesh picked up the last two Glamorgan wickets to finish with figures of 3 for 42 on his first-class debut.Resuming on 367 for 6, Glamorgan increased their total by exactly 100 during the morning, with Tribe flicking Justin Broad off his hips for four to complete his maiden double hundred from 293 balls.But the 21-year-old was undone in the next over by a ball from Procter (3 for 89) that kept low and careered into his off stump, breaking a seventh-wicket partnership of 83 with Timm van der Gugten.The latter was pinned leg before for 33 by Calvin Harrison two balls later, but Crane went on the offensive, steering both Procter and Liam Guthrie to the fence as he and James Harris added exactly 50.With Crane’s first half-century of the campaign on the horizon, he was left stranded on 41 as Ramesh mopped up the innings, trapping Harris lbw on the back foot before having last man Asitha Fernando caught off a top edge.That left Northamptonshire’s openers with a single over to negotiate prior to lunch and, having ticked off that immediate target, they set about making inroads on their side’s hefty deficit.Although Harris and Fernando beat the bat a couple of times, the opening pair looked largely secure and Vasconcelos lifted Van der Gugten over the short midwicket boundary for six.Outscoring his partner, Vasconcelos banged Fernando through the covers for four and then posted his half-century from 66 balls – only to surrender his wicket in the next over, clipping Zain ul Hassan straight to midwicket.Harrison, back at Wantage Road for his fifth short-term loan from Nottinghamshire this season, upped the tempo by dispatching Ul Hassan for two leg-side sixes and looked strong off the back foot, punching a series of cover boundaries in his brisk 30.Meanwhile Procter took on Crane, sweeping the legspinner for six and then – having survived an appeal for a leg-side catch – danced down the track for a straight-driven four that took him to 50.However, Crane removed both established batters in the run-up to tea, with Harrison well taken at slip off an outside edge before Procter followed in his next over for 67, prodding to short backward square.Timing and placing his shots beautifully, Zaib flayed three consecutive Crane deliveries to the rope and progressed to his fifth half-century of the campaign while Sales capitalised on a chance to slip that Ingram spilled.Returning for a third spell late in the day, Crane got his man when Sales fell for 35, pumping a full toss to cover and added a fourth wicket by having Broad caught behind from the final delivery of the session.