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At the end of a week that has seen Lalit Modi flexing his muscles over the Champions League and the launch of cricket’s first global Twenty20 franchise, England’s tour of Bangladesh looks increasingly insignificant to the game’s changing landscape.

Andrew McGlashan12-Feb-2010At the end of a week that has seen Lalit Modi flexing his muscles over the Champions League and the launch of cricket’s first global Twenty20 franchise, England’s tour of Bangladesh looks increasingly insignificant to the game’s changing landscape. However, for Alastair Cook, the man at the helm, it provides an important opportunity for him to show he can handle the captaincy role that he has appeared pre-ordained to take since he was a schoolboy.Cook was officially unveiled as England captain in the Sandton Sun hotel in Johannesburg almost a month ago when it was confirmed that Andrew Strauss would take the tour off. But just to add to complicated nature of the England captaincy, Cook will be back in the ranks when the team lands in Dubai on Saturday with Paul Collingwood taking over for the two Twenty20s against Pakistan which were arranged at short notice.However, Cook has now had the chance for his new-captain-at-Lord’s moment and, as he did in South Africa, offered a strong defence of the decision to change leaders. “There’s a huge amount of time and effort that has gone into that decision and it’s a proactive event for him [Strauss],” he said.”He’s looking ahead to what is a huge time for us over the next 18 months with the Ashes and the World Cup. He’s decided he needs the break so he is fully refreshed and we are fully backing that decision. It gives opportunities for other players to step in and it gets a few more people used to international cricket.”It is a move that has provoked much debate about dereliction of duty and the risk Strauss is taking by standing aside, most recently from Shane Warne. England should win comfortably in Bangladesh, but there is potential for embarrassment, especially in the one-dayers, and if any part of the tour doesn’t go to plan the heat will be on Strauss’s decision.”There’s a huge amount of cricket to be played and he’s decided he needs a rest and it gives me a massive opportunity to learn and get some experience in the role,” Cook said. “Bangladesh are a hugely talented side at home and will be a tough nut to crack. We have to focus on playing good cricket but if we turn up and think we will win easily we will come unstuck.”Cook has worn the tag of Future England Captain since his days at Bedford School, yet has precious little leadership experience on his CV. He led the England Under-19 side at the World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, but this trip will give him a taste of what the top job takes.”I’m viewing this as a six-week block and not looking too far ahead,” he said. “I’m excited by the opportunity and hopefully it will benefit me as a person and a cricketer. Creating more leaders in the English side will help Straussy when he comes back, but to lead out my country will be thrilling and I will give it my all for six weeks.”Cook has prepared for the tour with a spot of lambing on the family farm having taken a break from cricket since his return from South Africa, but in the past week has been tapping the brain of his mentor, Graham Gooch, while also speaking regularly to Andy Flower and Strauss. Cook is grateful for all the advice he can get, although he is keen to put his own stamp on the captaincy.”Straussy and I have spoken in the last week and I’m going to continue the work he’s been doing,” he said. “We are singing from the same hymn sheet. We want to move the team forward and I’m sure it will be a seamless link when he returns.”He will be on the end of the phone if I want to chat to him but we also have a lot of experience in the squad. However, if you try to be something you’re not it’s very hard to keep that up and I’m definitely going to do it my way. Ultimately I need to be my own man and need to get my ideas out there as well.”

Brad Hodge has played his last first-class game after a knee injury ruled him out of what was intended to be his finale against New South Wales in Newcastle starting on Friday

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009Brad Hodge has played his last first-class game after a knee injury ruled him out of what was intended to be his finale against New South Wales in Newcastle starting on Friday. Hodge struggled with knee soreness after aggravating an existing problem during Tuesday’s FR Cup match against South Australia.He announced his impending retirement from first-class cricket last month after family commitments won out over the desire to add to his six Test caps. Hodge leaves the first-class arena with 17,084 runs at 48.81 from 223 appearances, with 51 centuries and a top score of 302 not out.However, Hodge is keen to play on for Victoria in Twenty20 and one-day cricket and he has not given up hope of making the Australia squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies next year. The Bushrangers will reassess Hodge’s fitness next week before the one-day against New South Wales in Sydney.Victoria have also lost Darren Pattinson to a calf strain, while his brother James Pattinson is having his workload managed and will miss Friday’s Sheffield Shield match. Jon Holland, Steven Gilmour and the uncapped left-arm fast bowler Will Sheridan have been included in a 12-man squad.New South Wales will again be captained by Moises Henriques, who at 22 last week became the fourth-youngest skipper in the state’s history. The legspinning allrounder Steven Smith will rejoin the side after a quick trip to Perth to act as cover for Nathan Hauritz in Australia’s Test squad.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Jon Holland, Bryce McGain, Steven Gilmour, Will Sheridan.New South Wales squad Phillip Hughes, Phil Jaques, Usman Khawaja, Moises Henriques (capt), David Warner, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith (wk), Steven Smith, Grant Lambert, Stephen O’Keefe, Aaron Bird, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc.

After a protracted period of speculation and discussion, Sussex have confirmed the release of Rory Hamilton-Brown to join Surrey next season, where he will become captain

Cricinfo staff24-Dec-2009After a protracted period of speculation and discussion, Rory Hamilton-Brown will join Surrey next season, where he will become captain, after signing a three-year contract with the London club.Hamilton-Brown, 22, will become the youngest captain on the country circuit, returning to the club he left only two seasons ago. Shawn of opportunities at the Oval, Hamilton-Brown moved to Sussex in 2008 and made eight first-class appearances and was an important member in the club’s recent one-day success.Leaving Sussex was a difficult decision for Hamilton-Brown but he returns to Surrey to fulfil a life-long ambition. “It has taken a considerable amount of soul-searching to reach this decision and I’d like to place on record my sincere thanks to Sussex for the fantastic support they have given me and their understanding of my final decision,” said Hamilton-Brown.”I leave the club with great memories and the club, the players and the coaches have played a major part in my development as a player. It’s no exaggeration to say that returning to Surrey as captain is the dream of a lifetime for me personally as well as a massive honour and a huge responsibility. I will make sure I fulfil the confidence that Surrey and specifically Chris Adams have shown in me and I am determined to help bring the club success in the future.”Chris Adams, who is now the director of cricket at Surrey, captained Hamilton-Brown at Sussex in 2008 and has said he wanted a captain to unite the players following former-skipper Mark Butcher’s retirement last season. He believes Hamilton-Brown, despite his inexperience, is the man for the job.”To me, captains have to have certain attributes such as charisma, a galvanising spirit, intelligent and tactical brains and the ability to inspire people to follow them – Rory Hamilton-Brown has these in abundance,” said Adams.”I’m sure that the addition of Rory to our squad will give us stability, unity and strong leadership for many years to come and enable us – for the first time in two years – to provide consistent leadership on the field of the play. I am confident that the return of Rory Hamilton-Brown to Surrey at the start of a new decade will come to be seen as a defining moment in the turnaround of this club.”Hamilton-Brown has been with England Performance Programme in South Africa recently, on the back of the promise he displayed last season, and Sussex were reluctant to lose such a bright prospect. However coach Mark Robinson said that once the player decided he wanted to leave, it would have been detrimental to the team to force him to stay.”Our aim since we signed Rory was to work on his undoubted potential to create an England cricketer and we believe that we have made good progress along that path. Our view remains that he would have been best served remaining with Sussex as a key part of our first-team squad, in all forms of the game for 2010, to achieve that ambition,” said Robinson.”However, Rory is adamant he would like to take this opportunity to captain Surrey and given the importance of our strong united team spirit in the dressing room, myself and the captain believe it is best for Sussex to allow him to move. Rory has been a pleasure to work with during his two seasons at Sussex and the whole coaching staff wish him all the best in his new role.”Jim May, the Sussex chairman, echoed the feelings of disappointment but confirmed that Sussex have been compensated for the lost. “We are disappointed that Rory has made this choice. It was only the exceptional circumstances – Rory’s opportunity to become captain – that led us to reluctantly grant consent to his departure. We are able to confirm a significant compensation payment has been made by Surrey to secure Rory’s release.”

Huw Richards celebrates the allround sportsman Eric Tindill as he becomes the longest-lived Test cricketer

Huw Richards10-Nov-2009November 7 was a big day not only for the current All Blacks, as they faced Wales at the Millennium Stadium, but for the oldest of their predecessors.A few hours before kick-off, when it turned November 8 in Wellington, All Black No. 417 Eric Tindill reached the age of 98 years and 325 days. In so doing he overtook Francis MacKinnon’s record as the oldest Test cricketer of all time.To be the only man to have played both cricket and rugby at Test level for New Zealand would be distinction enough. Tindill, though, did not stop at that. After his playing days he went on to referee international rugby and umpire a cricket Test – a ‘double double’ without parallel.That versatility was also in evidence as a player. He alternated between half-back and first five-eighth during a decade of first-class rugby. While a native of Nelson in the South Island, Tindill moved to Wellington in his youth and his career is associated with the New Zealand capital. It was an unhelpful location for his rugby ambitions during the 1930s as Wellington could call on copious midfield talent.He was, though, a beneficiary of the extraordinary thoroughness with which All Black selectors were wont to sweep the nation’s playing stocks in search of talent in advance of major tours. Tindill’s account of the 1935-6 All Black tour, written in partnership with team-mate Charlie Oliver, records that 188 players took part in the trials.Unsurprisingly talent often got lost amid the competitive maelstrom, but some previously unconsidered players rose to prominence. One of a handful of players to appear as often as four times in the trials, Tindill played himself into Jack Manchester’s squad for the tour.For most of the trip he found himself playing second fiddle to the better-established Otago first-five Jack Griffiths, who appeared in the Tests against Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Tindill’s cause may not have been helped by playing in the defeat by Swansea, the first All Black loss to a club side. He did, though, show a talent for landing drop goals – a handy skill in an era when they still counted four points, to three for a try – and two on Boxing Day against London Counties at Twickenham may have sealed his selection for the England Test on the same ground nine days later.This, of course, is the match remembered for the performance of another debutant – England’s Russian prince Alexander Obolensky – who scored two extraordinary tries in a comprehensive 13-0 hammering of the touring team.Tindill’s first Test also proved to be his last. Griffiths was elevated to the All Black captaincy against Australia in 1936, then Tindill was ruled out of contention for the 1937 series against South Africa by winning selection as wicket-keeper for the cricket tour of England. The cricket team could probably have put out a decent rugby XV as well. Skipper Curly Page had played for the All Blacks against New South Wales in 1928, a match nowadays recognised as a Test by Australia, though not New Zealand.Bill Carson would become an All Black, although never playing a Test, a year later and Martin Donnelly was to play outside-half for England after the war. It was a time when two-sport stars were common in New Zealand – his All Black co-author Charlie Oliver had gone on the 1931 cricket tour of England, but had not played a Test.Wisden reported that Tindill “did nothing out of the common with the bat, but as a wicket-keeper he was always worth his place”, a valuation supported by his playing all three Tests but scoring only 58 runs.He was recalled by the All Blacks as a half-back for the 1938 tour of Australia, playing in three state games. Winston McCarthy, New Zealand’s pre-eminent commentator of the post-war era, had little doubt that but for the war he would also have gone on the 1940 tour of South Africa as deputy to the brilliant Charlie Saxton.The war inevitably curtailed his rugby career, but he continued to play cricket for Wellington until 1950 and appeared in New Zealand’s first two post-war tests, including the historic debacle in which Australia bowled them out for 42 and 54. Batting at number five, his scores of 1 and 13 made him one of New Zealand’s more successful batsmen.By then he had turned to refereeing, displaying an unobtrusive instinct for where the game was likely to go so acute that McCarthy recalled, “In one match in which six tries were scored I saw the six of them scored at Eric’s feet as he waited for the player to ground the ball.”He refereed the first two tests of the 1950 All Blacks v British & Irish Lions series and the tourists would happily have had him again but, McCarthy recorded, “it was felt diplomatic to share the others out.” He took charge of a further Test in 1955, then in 1959 returned to Lancaster Park, venue for this second Test as a referee, to umpire the cricket Test against England.He is by more than six years the oldest living All Black – prop Morrie McHugh,92, is the only other over 90 – and the last survivor from before the war. He will, though, have to live a little longer if he is to follow the habit of a lifetime and add the longest-lived Test rugby player title to the cricket one he acquired on November 7/8. There the record lies with Scotland’s Mac Henderson, who was 101 years and 309 days when he died earlier this year.

A number of Manchester United fans have been left buzzing over some managerial news on Zinedine Zidane.

Writing in his latest piece for The Times, Duncan Castles has revealed that the Red Devils are ‘stepping up’ their bid to try and lure the Frenchman to Old Trafford, in the hope that he will take over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

They are ‘working to persuade’ Zizou join, but he himself is ‘unsure’ of the proposal at this moment in time. However, the Red Devils hierarchy are ‘hopeful’ that his close relationships with Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane can help to convince him to join.

Solskjaer is now under pressure as his team sit outside of the Champions League qualification spots in sixth place, after 5-0 and 2-0 defeats at home to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City respectively in the last month.

There is a worry that he is not getting the best out of the star players in the squad, whereas Zidane of course has worked with the likes of Ronaldo and Varane before at Real Madrid, winning a very impressive three Champions League titles in a row at the Bernabeu.

He is certainly a star name who knows how to win, and he would surely get the United supporters bouncing again.

Man Utd fans on Zidane manager news

These Red Devils fans buzzed as the Zidane news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter hailing it as ‘one last Woodward masterclass’ from the club’s departing executive vice-chairman:

“Yessssssss!”

Credit: @jahmikes7

“God I hope this is true”

Credit: @UtdA5h

“ZIZOUUUUUUUU”

Credit: @mackutdd

“Get in”

Credit: @haddin7

“One last Woodward masterclass”

Credit: @Pinkmanhart

“DUNCANNN”

Credit: @mufcLT

In other news, find out what Mauricio Pochettino update has had these United fans talking

Celtic announced on Tuesday afternoon that right-back Anthony Ralston has signed a new contract at Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Ralston under Postecoglou

The 22-year-old has been Celtic’s best-rated performer this season in the Scottish Premiership, with an incredible average match rating of 7.92/10. [WhoScored]

He’s taken the chance handed to him by Ange Postecoglou with both hands, missing just two games and scoring four goals in all competitions.

The Scot’s previous contract was set to expire at the end of the season, however, he has now committed his future at Parkhead following his impressive displays.

The Latest: Ralston’s new deal; Sir Rod buzzing

Celtic officially revealed that Ralston has signed a new deal through to 2025, labelling it as ‘brilliant news’ on Twitter.

The Hoops also posted the news on Instagram, with Sir Rod Stewart one of hundreds of Celtic supporters to share their positive reactions to the update.

The Verdict: Well deserved

Ralston has cemented his place as Postecoglou’s first-choice right-back this season, despite the Hoops spending £2.7m on Josip Juranovic.

Juranovic has filled in at left-back recently with Greg Taylor out, so Celtic’s right-hand side looks well-stocked for the future following Ralston’s new deal.

As mentioned, he’s been the club’s best-rated performer in the league, with no other Hoops player making more blocks per game than Ralston.

Over 51% of his 41 Celtic career appearances have come this season, and hopefully, he’ll continue to be a regular over the next four years.

In other news: ‘Brilliant’ 25 y/o ‘leader’ drops Celtic transfer hint; he was recently in the Parkhead stands. 

Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish believes that Celtic forward Albian Ajeti will be seeking a move away in January, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Ajeti linked with Celtic exit

The Swiss marksman, who joined the Hoops in a £4.5m deal from West Ham last year, has struggled in Scotland. He started just 13 times last season in all competitions, scoring on six occasions, and he seems to be down the attacking pecking order under Ange Postecoglou.

The 24-year-old has been used only four times from the off during the current campaign and hasn’t been seen in the last two Premiership matchday squads.

Reports have suggested that the Hoops are now ready to cut their losses on the Switzerland international in the New Year, and McLeish has since weighed in with his views.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

With the January window fast approaching, McLeish – who features on BBC Radio 5 Live – was talking to Football Insider regarding Ajeti, and he had this to say on the 24-year-old’s Parkhead future:

“It’s never good when you see a player out of the squad.

“He won’t be happy with that. Ajeti is one of those players who will expect to be in the squads at the very least.

“I suspect there will be agents working in the background trying to get him a move.

“Any player worth their salt, if they aren’t playing they will be looking to find a move.

“So it wouldn’t surprise me if that one happens.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-15/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Sell…

Celtic look set to bolster their attacking ranks even further in 2022, with versatile forward Daizen Maeda expected to join the Glasgow club.

Should that be the case, you would then expect that Ajeti, who has been dubbed Celtic’s ‘problem’ by ex-Hoops goalkeeper Packie Bonner, will be the man to make way. He is one of Celtic’s biggest earners and isn’t exactly proving to be worth his £18,000-a-week wage.

The striker’s Transfermarkt valuation has dropped since he made the move to Glasgow, so it could be a tough ask to recoup the £4.5m fee they paid the Hammers. A figure in or around his current £2.88m valuation may be the best that Celtic can do.

In other news: £9,000-a-week Celtic ace is ‘about to leave’ Parkhead, journalist claims 

Rangers are looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches as they host Aberdeen at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.

The Gers are have not lost a competitive match in October, with their last defeat coming at the end of September against Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Their last game was a 2-1 win over St Mirren away from home on Sunday, with Steven Gerrard’s side coming from 1-0 down to secure the three points.

One change Gerrard should make to the team ahead of the clash with Aberdeen is bringing Glen Kamara into the side ahead of John Lundstram. The Finland international watched on from the bench on Sunday and must now be unleashed at Ibrox to take on the Dons.

Lundstram struggled against St. Mirren at the weekend and was partly to blame for the opening goal. He was caught out in the midfield and too easily shrugged off, with Connor Ronan then firing the ball into the top corner from distance.

As per SofaScore, he failed to make a single tackle in the match as he made one interception and lost two of his three ground duels.

This suggests that he was not strong enough to compete in the middle of the park and that is why Gerrard should forget about starting him and, instead, unleash Kamara.

Neil McCann, his former manager at Dundee United, once hailed him as being “made of iron”. He said of Kamara: “He isn’t a big, physical lad but he’s made of iron and really strong. I knew immediately that he could handle the ball under pressure and not give it away, so he was perfect.

McCann added: “He’s a special talent. He’s lightning-quick but he doesn’t show it. He’s a player who takes instruction well.”

He has shown off these qualities for the Gers in the Premiership. Last season, the £6.2k-per-week beast averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 6.99 in 33 appearances, winning 59% of his duels over the course of the campaign and making 2.0 tackles and interceptions combined per game.

Therefore, he could provide the midfield stability Rangers need to control the game.

He is able to win the ball back off the opposition and come out on top in the majority of his individual battles, which is why he should start ahead of Lundstram tonight.

AND in other news, Gerrard must ruthlessly axe £18k-p/w Rangers dud v Aberdeen, he was shocking on Sunday…

Australia’s arduous tour of England has, in the past couple of weeks, improved with back-to-back ODI wins in the seven-match series

Cricinfo staff08-Sep-2009Match factsWednesday, September 9, 2009
Start time 14.30 (13.30 GMT)Callum Ferguson has been in terrific form for Australia•Getty ImagesBig PictureAustralia’s arduous tour of England has, in the past couple of weeks, improved with back-to-back ODI wins in the seven-match series. In fairness, England ought to have shown enough middle-order mettle to win both games, but such is the precarious nature of their one-day fortunes that the visitors go into the third ODI in Southampton with a 2-0 lead.James Anderson admitted yesterday that the lack of intensity in this series compared to that of the Ashes had surprised him, but it doesn’t help when the team is losing. And for that trend to be reversed, it seems inconceivable that Adil Rashid won’t be drafted back into the side after his excellent all-round display in the first match at The Oval (31 from 23 and an economical spell with the ball). But it’s with the bat that England need to shine, and they are again without the services of Stuart Broad (neck strain) and Joe Denly whose left knee was hacked in a football warm-up prior to the series.England’s allrounder Broad may be unavailable but his Australian counterpart is, and is very much in form. Mitchell Johnson played a vital role in Australia’s Lord’s victory, transforming a dying innings with a blistering 43 from 23 balls before picking up 2 for 50. But it’s the presence and sheer speed of Brett Lee that has provided Michael Clarke’s side with that added spice. Frustrated at having to sit out of the Ashes, Lee’s bursting with energy and he’s not finished yet either, and even without Ricky Ponting to lead the side, Australia look the hungrier of the two teams.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
England – LLWWW
Australia – WWWLW
Watch out for…Brett Lee is one seriously pumped-up cricketer at the moment. Six weeks of stewing on the sidelines has been converted into a series of point-proving performances, starting with his solitary over against Joe Denly and Jonathan Trott in the aborted Twenty20 in Cardiff, and carrying on into the first two ODIs. England had already made a mess of their run-chase when he came on to bowl at the tail-end of their innings at Lord’s, but his fast, late inswinging yorkers would have proved unstoppable regardless of how England had fared up until that point.Andrew Strauss has been the voice of reason at the top of England’s batting order all summer, but he’s not quite found his ODI tempo yet. He was a touch too frenetic in the first game at The Oval, where Lee’s pace prised him out of his comfort zone, and though he looked to have the second game well within his grasp, he lost his concentration at a crucial juncture of the chase – and only two balls after a Lancaster bomber had buzzed over the ground. The top six have been to blame for the two losses so far, and no-one will feel that indignity more acutely than the captain.Team newsBroad remains on the sidelines, having missed the second game with a neck strain, but Rashid is likely to find a way back into the starting line-up after impressing with bat and ball in The Oval contest. Joe Denly also remains unavailable with a strained knee and Graham Onions has been called up as cover.England (probable): 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Matt Prior (wk), 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood , 6 Luke Wright, 7 Eoin Morgan, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.Australia haven’t seen the need to change their side as yet, and why would they? Callum Ferguson has made the No. 5 berth his own, while the two Nathans, Bracken and Hauritz, have provided economy and control next to Brett Lee’s searing pace.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Cameron White, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Callum Ferguson, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz 10 Brett Lee, 11 Nathan Bracken.Pitch and conditionsSummer has returned, briefly, and the forecast is for dry and reasonably warm weather in Southampton. If England need inspiration, and they probably do, they racked up a winning 288 for 2 in the last ODI they played there against India in 2007. The surface has offered plenty of runs this season, too, with Hampshire chasing down 233 in the Pro40 to beat Yorkshire in August.Stats and triviaEngland have won one out of two matches at The Rose Bowl. Australia played and thrashed the USA in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy at the groundThe Rose Bowl staged its first Twenty20 between England and Australia in 2005, when Australia were rolled for 79 chasing 179.Quotes”It’s strange when, from the dressing room, you can actually hear players shouting encouragement on the field, because obviously through the Ashes you couldn’t hear that.”
.”Having the senior guys batting around me has also helped me to continue to improve in that area, and see the innings through, rather than blow-out in the 40th over. I try to be there at the end if I can.”
.

A round-up from the third day of the latest round of County Championship fixtures

Cricinfo staff08-Jun-2009Marcus Trescothick missed out on his second Championship century of the season when he was stumped for 95 off Gary Keedy, but his efforts – combined with solid displays from Arul Suppiah, Craig Kieswetter and James Hildreth, allowed Somerset to neutralise Lancashire’s first-innings total of 286, and push their contest at Old Trafford towards a draw. Having claimed Lancashire’s final wicket in the second over of the day, Somerset responded with an opening stand of 131 between Trescothick and Suppiah to settle any early nerves. Oliver Newby claimed two quick scalps including Justin Langer for 2, but this match is unlikely to recover from the loss of the first day to rain.Ed Joyce completed a fine day for the Irish with a gutsy century to drag Sussex to first-innings parity against Yorkshire at Headingley. Joyce resumed on 38 not out overnight, but was made to work for his runs as Yorkshire grabbed three early wickets to reduce Sussex to 94 for 6 in reply to 225. But he added 56 for the seventh wicket with Robin Martin-Jenkins to revive the innings, before bringing up his hundred with the final ball he faced in the innings, having added 25 anxious runs for the tenth wicket with Jason Lewry, who immediately fell to Naved-ul-Hasan. Yorkshire began their second innings with an irrelevant lead of 8, with the pigeon-slayer Jacques Rudolph finishing on 86 not out. There was more disappointment for Michael Vaughan, who looked good for 39, before falling to Dwayne Smith shortly before the close.For a full report on Durham’s thumping victory over Hampshire at Chester-le-Street, click here for John Ward’s bulletin.Play finally got underway on the third day between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. George Dobell was there.Another day, another hundred for the imperious Mark Ramprakash. His 138 for Surrey against Glamorgan on the third day at Cardiff was his second in three first-class innings this summer, and the 105th of his 22-year first-class career. It’s unlikely to prove sufficient to force victory, after the loss of the first day to rain, but having posted a decent 368 in their innings, Surrey did claim four Glamorgan wickets before the close. The day, however, belonged to Ramprakash, who had resumed on 50 not out, and eased a total of 14 fours from 271 balls in nearly eight hours of inevitability.Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 43 at the close of the third day at Chelmsford, as Essex were left needing a further 336 on the final day against Middlesex, with eight wickets remaining. Their overall target of 415 is a tall order, especially after their collapse to 157 in the first innings, but as Cook’s fellow England opener, Andrew Strauss, proved earlier in the day, there are still good runs to be had in this track. He made 97 before being bowled by Maurice Chambers, as Middlesex declared their second innings on 297 for 7. Danish Kaneria was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 85 in 28 overs.Hamish Marshall and Alex Gidman each made centuries in a 233-run stand for Gloucestershire’s third wicket at Chesterfield, as Derbyshire were made to toil on the penultimate day of a rain-wrecked contest. Only 16.3 overs had been possible on the first two days, so batting practice was the only realistic aim, and neither man missed out. Marshall made 158, Gidman 135, and Gloucestershire declared on 403 for 5 three overs before the close.Boeta Dippenaar’s 89 was the pick of the scores as Leicestershire’s match against Kent finally got underway on the third day at Grace Road. By the close, they had reached 351 for 6, with Tom New unbeaten on 55.