Northerns Titans paceman David Townsend exploited a disappointing batting performance from the Highveld Strikers to earn his side a 186-run lead on the second day of their Supersport Series match at the Wanderers on Saturday.Townsend took three wickets as the Strikers limped to the close on 170 for eight in response to the Titans’ first innings total of 356 all out.Earlier in the day, the Titans resumed on 306 for seven and with Steve Elworthy on 39 not out. Elworthy unleashed a hard-hitting and unbeaten 75 to further bolster the Titans’ innings.The veteran of Northerns cricket hit 10 fours and three sixes off the 115 balls he faced, and carried his bat when Northerns were bowled out for 356.Andrew Hall led the Strikers’ bowling attack, taking 5-93 as both he and Clive Eksteen wrapped up the Titans tail in the morning.Having done themselves little justice with ball in hand, the Strikers then failed in their attempt to prove themselves as a batting side. Only Adam Bacher stood out with 61.Sven Koenig was the first to make the long Wanderers walk back to the changeroom, dismissed for 16 by a catch at mid-wicket from Greg Smith off a ball from Elworthy that was pitched wide outside the off-stump.David Townsend then stepped into the attack for Northerns, and made the most vital breakthrough of the day shortly after lunch.Having just returned to the Titans side after a previous season where he was plagued by injury, Townsend had settled into an excellent rhythm.Bowling a good line and length, Townsend had Andre Seymore caught behind and then took Daryll Cullinan for a duck with his very next ball, lifting out the latter’s off-stump with embarrassing ease.Bacher was left to fend for himself, although he was given some support by Zander de Bruyn.The duo shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 61 runs before a horrendous run-out. It was sparked by some excellent fielding from Allahudien Paleker, who did well to stop a boundary off Bacher’s bat.The batsmen were busy on the third run when, despite being three-quarters of the way down the pitch, Bacher suddenly stopped and joined De Bruyn running to the same end. De Bruyn paid the price for the mistake.The weight of the innings eventually proved to great for the shoulders of Bacher to bear. With a much-needed century certainly beckoning, Bacher went out to the tamest of deliveries from Townsend, caught at point by Neil McKenzie.There was little resistance after that. But it has to be said that the Strikers’ batting did not make it very hard for the Titans to take wickets.

Middlesex captain Justin Langer played one of his finest innings for his county yesterday to prevent his side finishing with the humiliation of last place, on the final day of the championship match against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff yesterday.Having come to the crease on Friday at 40 for 4, Langer batted for seven and a half hours to score 213 not out, enabling Middlesex to reach a first innings score of 387 and earn sufficient competition points to surpass Sussex in eighth place on the Division Two ladder.Mark Ramprakash (51), David Nash (41) and Richard Johnson (41) provided valuable support to Langer, as did Phil Tufnell, who batted 57 minutes without scoring before hitting a return catch to Robert Croft to end the innings. With Tufnell’s help, Langer was able to reach his double hundred and add 56 runs for the last wicket, giving Middlesex their fourth batting point along the way.Glamorgan openers Steve James and Ian Thomas had nineteen overs of batting practice to end their first-class season, the ten points for the draw being enough to secure promotion for 2001. This was Justin Langer’s last championship appearance for Middlesex before 2002, the Western Australian left-hander being almost a certainty for selection for the Ashes tour next year.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHalf-centuries from Assad Fudadin and Brad Hodge, followed by a four-wicket haul from fast bowler Ronsford Beaton helped Guyana Amazon Warriors crush Jamaica Tallawahs by 84 runs at Sabina Park for only their third victory of the season.Amazon Warriors, having been inserted, began slowly, with the openers Lendl Simmons and Fudadin scoring just 15 off the first four overs. However, Simmons let loose in the fifth, smashing 14 runs off Andre Russell. The boundaries remained scarce, with only two fours and a six being hit in the next five overs, but both batsmen kept the score ticking with singles and twos.Russell eventually dismissed Simmons in the 11th over to end an opening stand worth 71, but Fudaddin continued briskly and reached his fifty of 38 balls. He fell soon after, for a 43-ball 54, but there was little respite for the hosts as Hodge counterattacked with a second straight half-century. Hodge launched a total of three fours and six sixes during his unbeaten 30-ball 65, including 14 off another over from Russell, who ended with figures of 3-0-39-1. Hodge’s blitz lifted the team to 179 for 3 and meant that Tallawahs needed nine an over right from the off.The tournament’s top scorer Chris Gayle began the chase positively by smashing a four and a six off the first over, but Tallawahs failed to kick on from there, with both Gayle and his opening partner Chadwick Walton getting out in the space of five deliveries. Wickets continued to fall freely, with Marchant de Lange (2 for 17) and Sunil Narine (2 for 9) striking at regular intervals to reduce Tallawahs to 54 for 5. Russell swung his way to a 14-ball 28, but after he was dismissed, Beaton cleaned up the tail on his way to collecting a career-best 4 for 9, including three in an over. It meant that from 93 for 5, Tallawahs had collapsed to 95 all out inside 16 overs to succumb to their fourth defeat of the season.

Zimbabwe offspinner Prosper Utseya has, in a letter to Zimbabwe Cricket, claimed that he is a victim of racism and has levelled a string of allegations against Alistair Campbell, managing director of ZC. In a letter to Wilson Manase, ZC chairman, Utseya claims Campbell:

• Has a “personal agenda” against him which influenced his non-selection [in the playing XI] at the recent World Cup.
• Appointed white coaches and administrators during his 2010-2012 stint as chairman of the cricket committee in order to take control of cricket.
• Had a conflict of interest in setting up Dominus Sport, the company that ran ZC’s marketing affairs during his time as cricket committee chairman, and his actions had an impact on ZC’s funds.

Utseya confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he had written the letter after the World Cup and prior to Zimbabwe’s tour of Pakistan, but could not comment further at this stage. Campbell said he was unable to comment as the matter was pending either legal or internal disciplinary action.With Utseya openly basing some of these claims in the letter on “rumour”, he would appear to be open to legal action, though the matter may ultimately be dealt with internally at ZC. It is understood that ZC is currently investigating the letter.“Racism and Victimisation”The letter copies all ZC board members and bears the headline “Racism and Victimisation”, and begins: “Through you Mr. Chairman I wish to share my frustrations as I believe I am a victim of racism and have come to a point where I feel I have been quiet for too long whilst a lot has been happening.” After more than 10,000 words, Utseya finally closes his case with a plea for the board to consider his concerns.Utseya, who was in Zimbabwe’s World Cup squad but did not get a game, claims he considered leaving the World Cup prematurely out of frustration, and cites Campbell’s pre-tournament comments as a back story to support his contention that ZC’s managing director conspired against his potential selection. Last year, the ICC banned Utseya from bowling offspin, and in a guest column for the governing body in the lead-up to the World Cup, Campbell wrote: “I’m still a bit baffled by how Prosper Utseya will get on without being allowed to bowl his off-spinner, but no doubt he’ll find a way. He’ll certainly be the only bowler in the tournament without a ‘stock’ ball. He has been bowling medium-pacers and off-cutters recently so perhaps that is the way he will go.”Utseya was banned from bowling after testing in September 2014. In December, his offbreak was found to be illegal but his other deliveries were deemed legal, and so he was cleared to bowl again so long as he did not utilise his stock ball.His new method was field-tested for the first time on a trip to Uganda in December 2014 and he then captained Zimbabwe A against Canada at home in January. In four games he took five wickets at an average of 17.80, bowling his full 10 overs in every match, never conceding more than 24 runs, and also contributed useful runs down the order. In his letter, he uses this as evidence that he deserved to be picked at the World Cup, but does not elaborate on how Campbell was able to influence selection at the tournament.Propser Utseya was part of the 2015 World Cup squad but did not play a single match during the tournament•ICC

Administrative allegationsTo support his racial allegations, Utseya goes on to list cases where Campbell appointed white people for coaching and administration posts, during his stint as chairman of the cricket committee and chairman of selectors, including coaching roles to Heath Streak and Grant Flower. Utseya claims the decision to make Mangongo assistant coach was merely “a cover up to have a black man”. The employment of foreign white coaches at franchise level – Jason Gillespie, Allan Donald and Andrew Hall all coached Zimbabwean franchises during this period – is also cited as a ploy to “make sure that it is dominated by whites and thereby taking control of cricket”.Utseya also alleges that the appointment of Elton Chigumbura as Zimbabwe captain after he stepped down in 2010 was a short-term set up for Campbell to achieve a long-term goal. “When I was removed from the captaincy with no genuine reason Elton Chigumbura was then appointed,” Utseya writes. “Their aim was simply to put a white captain in B Taylor simply because they believe a white coach cannot work with a black captain and the change from Utseya to B Taylor would not look good politically hence the Elton route. Elton was not given a chance to prove himself and was quickly dropped from the captaincy.”Chigumbura captained Zimbabwe in 20 ODIs between May 2010 and the end of the 2011 World Cup, but the extra responsibility affected his form. After the 2011 World Cup, Chigumbura said that he planned to resign and focus on his own game, but later retracted that statement. In June 2011, ZC’s then managing director Ozias Bvute announced that Taylor would take over the captaincy.

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Later in the letter, Utseya claims that Campbell has suggested he become a coach, is not giving him a chance to remodel his action and is trying to prevent him from gaining a national contract. “Bearing in mind I still have an opportunity at 30 years old to work on my off spin. If I can reinvent in 2 months and make it Man of the Series in my comeback series with my new bowling action I reckon within 4 months I will be brilliant and what more in a year’s time I will be an artist at work. ICC can take away my offspin but they cannot take away my brains and experience which must count for something.”Utseya goes on to suggest that given Zimbabwe’s “unique” racial situation, the position of managing director should be split – and offers to fill the second post. “It is my humble wish that if Alistair Campbell can suggest that at 30 years old I can be involved in Franchise coaching and if the ZC Board also agrees with him in that I am not adding value as a player with my new bowling action I would like to go 2 steps further than his suggestion and put my hand up for consideration for the proposed split post as I have the credentials.”Race and cricket in ZimbabweThis is not the first instance of allegations of racism surfacing in the Zimbabwe cricket set-up. Cricket remained a predominantly white sport in Zimbabwe for two decades after majority rule in 1980, although after Henry Olonga became the country’s first black cricketer in 1995, other black players started to filter through.For a time it seemed that transformation of the game might happen organically, but the troubled wider political and social context caught up with cricket. In March 2001, ZCU announced the formation of an Integration Task Force focused on the “rapid evolution” of the game, and the eradication of racial discrimination in cricket. Players had to fill out a racism survey and, in the eyes of the predominantly white players, the integration targets set out by the Task Force amounted to an unofficial quota system. This was one of the factors that led to the player rebellion in April 2004, followed by the exit of 15 white players from the national squad. In September that year, the ICC held a hearing into allegations of racism began in Harare. The hearing ended amid allegations that ZCU was trying to create a hostile environment and intimidate witnesses and in October, then ICC president Ehsan Mani said he was satisfied with the findings of the report which found no evidence of racism in Zimbabwe cricket.In January 2013 issues of race came to the fore again when the Sports and Recreation Commission, headed by the then Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, issued a directive that any person tasked with convening the selection of a national side should have played international sport themselves. The directive was portrayed as being racially motivated by Givemore Makoni, the convenor of selectors and the man most directly affected by it.Stephen Mangongo’s tenure as national coach was marked by general player ambivalence towards his coaching style, rather than any particular racial tension, but when Mangongo lost his position after Zimbabwe’s whitewashing by Bangladesh last December, he reportedly said: “I am inclined to comment that I don’t think that Zimbabwe cricket was ready for an indigenous black person. It’s about acceptance, it’s about being ready for that and the alarmists already rang a lot of bells because a black guy had taken the head coach’s mantle.” This was despite the fact that the people responsible for the termination of his position were also black, and is indicative, in a general sense, of the way in which matters of race and racism are drawn into areas of disagreement in Zimbabwean cricket.

The inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be played in Dubai and Sharjah, from February 4 to 24, 2016. The PCB announced the venues in a release on Thursday, ending speculation over whether the UAE can accommodate both the Masters Champions League and the Pakistan T20 tournament in the February window.In August the PCB had said the PSL would be held in Doha, Qatar, as it had learned that the organisers of the Masters Champions League, a tournament for retired international cricketers, had already booked the stadiums. Now it is confirmed that the Masters Champions League will be held in Abu Dhabi concurrently, with the other two venues will be reserved for the PSL. This solution was offered by the Emirates Cricket Board. The PCB had listed the UAE as its first-choice host given it has been the Pakistan team’s virtual home since 2009, when the Sri Lankan team was attacked in Lahore.”The PSL has already floated tenders for broadcasters and producers,” Najam Sethi, the chairman of the governing council of the PSL, said. “This will be followed by a tendering process for sponsorships in the second week of October. Franchise owners will be inducted between mid to end November, after which the foreign and local players will be drafted and teams constituted.”The tournament will consist of five teams, one each from Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, and Islamabad. According to the PCB release, the PSL will offer up to $1 million in prize money, and “the latest tally of foreign player signing consents standing at an impressive 132. The players will be selected through a draft process in December.” The teams will each have a purse of $1 million from which they can build their squads and support staff.Sethi said: “There is a pool of top coaches also, from which franchise owners will be able to pick and chose.”

ScorecardMark Cosgrove became the second captain to make a century in this match•Getty Images

Mark Cosgrove’s second consecutive century and a breezy 95 from Niall O’Brien helped Leicestershire fight back from 34 for four to take a lead of 47 at Wantage Road. Cosgrove’s 110 mirrored the captain’s knock played by Alex Wakely on day one and saw Leicestershire recover to make 372.Losing nightwatchman Rob Sayer in the fourth over of the day saw Leicestershire fall into deep trouble but, just as Northamptonshire fought back on the first day, the visitors responded with healthy middle-order partnerships.Cosgrove was the mainstay. He laid the groundwork in an intense morning session where 79 runs were ground out. But in unbroken afternoon sunshine and temperatures rising towards 30 degrees, batting became much easier and Leicestershire made healthy progressCosgrove took lunch on 65 not out, passing fifty in 81 balls, but then became a bystander for a jaunty innings from O’Brien. After the stand was ended, Cosgrove began once more to play his strokes and lifted Rob Keogh handsomely down the ground for his only six to move to 99. A third Championship century of the season was raised shortly after. He fell five overs into the second new ball as Rory Kleinveldt returned to complete a third five-wicket haul of the season, trapping Cosgrove lbw for 110, three short of his best score for Leicestershire.He shared three healthy middle-order partnerships, replicating the first afternoon recovery made by Northamptonshire. The first of those was instigated by O’Brien, whose aggression straight after lunch provided much-need impetus into the Leicestershire innings. Busy at the crease, he totally dominated a stand of 116 for the sixth wicket. He took eight from the first over after the break and 120 runs came in 20 overs after lunch.Two cuts flew over the slips before a flourishing cover drive off Rory Kleinveldt and a top-edged hook brought him an eighth boundary and fifty in just 42 balls. There was no let-up as the Northants attack began to toil. O’Brien was cruising to a first century of the season before pulling a long-hop from Rob Keogh towards deep-backward square leg where a stunning catch diving forward was taken by David Willey – one of four substitute fielders used by Northants, including head coach David Ripley.One of those fielders was needed after a serious-looking injury to Steven Crook. Chasing around the boundary he tripped over the rope and immediately went down holding his right ankle. A stretcher was needed to carry him off the ground and he went to hospital for a scan – his participation in T20 Finals Day next Saturday is now in doubt.The regular substitutes earned their fee on a long hot afternoon as the match returned to an even keel. Both innings were remarkably similar. Northants were 42 for four on day one but Leicestershire found themselves worse off before they also found a recovery. Cosgrove and Aadil Ali laid a platform with a stand of 71 for the fifth wicket; Ali was most obdurate, taking 60 balls to reach double figures and unlike his last performance against Derbyshire, could not take his careful start to a more meaningful score but the time he ate up paid dividends for his side later in the day.Clint McKay biffed them to a first-innings lead with his maiden Championship half-century for Leicestershire before Azharullah returned for the final over the day and picked up his 300th first-class wicket when No. 11 Charlie Shreck edged to Richard Levi at second slip, ending a tenth wicket stand of 47.

At around 11am Virender Sehwag’s white Audi entered Feroz Shah Kotla. His team had earlier come on the bus, but Sehwag drove his own car in about half an hour later. The security didn’t stop him. You can tell when people are in unfamiliar places. This car wasn’t. Without hesitation, the bespectacled Sehwag drove the car to the players’ enclosure entry, opened the boot, got off, pulled out his kit, left it near the entry, closed the boot, went back into the driver’s seat and parked the car in a corner by the Delhi nets.Anil Jain, joint secretary (sports) of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), rushed from inside the nets and towards Sehwag’s car. Jain was looking after the ground on the morning. He cleared who could go in, he had people greeting him when he went into the Delhi nets. Now he theatrically made a move towards Sehwag’s car. He wanted to be the first person to welcome Sehwag, but another DDCA official had already reached the car and hugged Sehwag.Sehwag looked a little bemused at all the attention, but this was par for the course. The kit bag that Sehwag had earlier offloaded was Haryana Cricket Association’s. He has played against Delhi Daredevils in the IPL before, but this was the first time he was coming to Kotla to prepare for a first-class match against the home side.

Sehwag’s numbers in the opposition

• v Delhi Daredevils: 4 matches, 80 runs, no fifty

• As an opposition batsman at Feroz Shah Kotla: 2 matches, 24 runs

• v Gambhir and Dahiya: 11 matches, 255 runs, one fifty
  

In the Delhi nets, Gautam Gambhir, long-time opening partner and friend, and Vijay Dahiya, who along with Sehwag had scored a fifty against Australia in Bangalore in 2001*, had been preparing Delhi for this big match. Before Sehwag came, some of the Delhi players had hopped on to the other side to catch up with the Haryana players. Most of the players from Haryana have learnt their cricket playing in the leagues in Delhi. Haryana’s home venue, Lahli, is only a two hours’ drive away. The line between Delhi and Haryana is blurred, what with a few Haryana cities now only an extension of Delhi, but the line between Sehwag and Delhi is not so unclear now.Dahiya didn’t help himself from having a quick sledge. Asked about the game against “Viru”, Dahiya began with a straight bat, but the wicketkeeper in him soon took over. “It’s Haryana,” Dahiya said. “That’s what the game is all about. It’s the second game for them, third for us. We know they are a very consistent side. In this league, every side is a fantastic side.”Asked again about facing up to Sehwag, Dahiya said: “It’s a match between two teams, and that’s how you plan it. If somebody plays as an individual that is a different thing. We are playing as a team.” And then he smiled a cheeky smile.Dahiya can afford to smile with a ten-wicket win last week against Vidarbha after he took over as coach of the team in a shambolic state. Delhi’s administration remains in a similar state, with Mohammad Azharuddin invited to a Ranji match and allegedly allowed inside the players and match officials area (PMOA) for a chat with some of the participating players. Dahiya says the players are far away from the mess. They have been talked to a lot, they have been made to feel comfortable enough to trust each other, to be able to say anything they want in the dressing room.Despite all the controversies, the way Dahiya announced three changes to the XI a day before the match could point to a team better than what it looks from the outside. Sumit Narwal is injured. Sarang Rawat is rested, but Dahiya says they are going to ask DDCA to play him in Under-23 games so he stays in touch with “days” [multi-day] cricket. Parvinder Awana comes back after he was considered short of overs in the first match and after bowling a lot over the last week. On the surface at least, the clarity is at odds with the way the team was selected or the way the selectors and the coach were selected.Delhi’s and captain Gambhir’s relationship with Sehwag remains a matter of speculation. It is said in Delhi circles that Sehwag made the move because he and Gambhir had fallen out. Opening partners, friends, India comeback aspirants, opposing Ranji captains. At their home ground. Gambhir will have Ishant Sharma too, who will, in consultation with the physio, decide if he plays any more games after this.On Thursday, too, Sehwag will drive into his home ground with the same authority and calm. Some DDCA members might show up to greet him again. There will be warm-ups. Then the toss. If Gambhir wins it, early on a Thursday morning, in all likelihood Ishant will be charging in at Sehwag. Dahiya might not want to admit it, but a lot of it will be about individuals.*October 15, 0832 GMT. The article had erroneously stated a 100-run partnership between Vijay Dahiya and Virender Sehwag. This has been corrected

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:14

Manjrekar: Dean Elgar was SA’s wildcard

Some balls turned. Others didn’t. The batsmen were uncertain. And 12 wickets fell on the day, nine of them to spin, as the Test season in India began with a distinctly subcontinental flavor. Some like M Vijay felt untroubled at the crease. Others didn’t last long enough to figure things out. South Africa would feel aggrieved that Faf du Plessis and Stiaan van Zyl fell in the latter pile after they bowled India out for 201.At 28 for 2 after the first day’s play and having gone in a batsman short – JP Duminy has not recovered from his hand injury – South Africa will need a big first session tomorrow, and have two grand players of spin in Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers to pin their hopes on.But if part-time spinner Dean Elgar could swindle four wickets in eight overs, India’s frontliners should be chomping at the bit. R Ashwin already has a wicket. Ravindra Jadeja, on his Test return, played his second-longest innings and struck with his second ball and Amit Mishra ripped a couple of legbreaks that could easily have taken Amla’s edge or his off stump.”Never seen so many cracks in Chandigarh ever,” said Sunil Gavaskar. “If you’re a spinner, what more do you want,” said Anil Kumble. It was dry and consensus was it had been rolled less than usual. Safe to say that the pre-series demand for turning tracks has been met.The agenda was to bat first and bat big. Virat Kohli won the toss on his 27th birthday and his first Test as captain at home to give his team the opportunity to do so. Only the voodoo that part-time spinners do hit India hard as Elgar, better known to be an opening batsman, one-upped two key players. Cheteshwar Pujara, who could have built India’s innings around him, was trapped lbw with a straight ball and Ajinkya Rahane, who has shown he can resurrect top-order wobbles, nicked the one that turned sharply.That Elgar has the knack to shock opposition line-ups is not entirely a surprise. His first Test wicket was Misbah-ul-Haq, when he was cruising towards a century in Dubai in 2013. He bested Steven Smith as well, at a time when South Africa were at their wits end after a 184-run partnership in Cape Town in 2014.They weren’t facing as dire a situation today, but Amla trusted his experiment so much that the frontline spinner Imran Tahir had to wait till the 44th over to bowl and Elgar was celebrating like King Kong – banging on his chest with each India batsman he swatted away. At one point he was on a hat-trick when Wriddhiman Saha nicked a beautifully flighted delivery to first slip to reenact Rahane’s dismissal. The trick was simple – he bowled at an enticingly slow pace to pull errant drives and the batsmen either nicked off or the gap between bat and pad was exploited.India owed a good portion of their runs to a fifty from Vijay, who looked as in control as the rest looked flustered. The difference perhaps came as a result of the batting styles: Vijay played late and delicately, the others tended to jab and push to feel bat on ball. He was exquisite on the drive and the flick because he picked the line and length early and then committed to a stroke. The conviction behind them was apparent, the power never ever so. He breezed to 75 runs, with 12 fours, in only 136 balls. Then there was Jadeja, returning to the side after six back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the Ranji Trophy, and showing an improved tenacity to bat as well. But otherwise there wasn’t much.Shikhar Dhawan, backed by the team management to deliver, retained his place as opener but couldn’t muster any fight. He had knocked back three balls and flashed at the fourth wide outside off stump to bag a duck and give Vernon Philander and South Africa the early strike they needed.Topping up on that seemed unlikely when Pujara joined Vijay and put up a sturdy 63 runs for the second wicket. They left the ball watchfully, ran well between the wickets and ushered the bad balls to the boundary as good Test batsmen should.Good Test bowlers make that difficult and Steyn did persuade Vijay, who was yet to score, to feel outside his off stump. But the edge went too quickly for Harmer at gully. Then there are bowlers like Elgar, who rock up at the right time and deliver the right ball. It was the orthodox left-arm spinner’s delivery but it just did not turn as Pujara was clearly expecting and was trapped leg-before, another of those dismissals where he missed a straight ball.Kohli fell to his own intent. He plays with hard hands. He likes coming at the ball. He wants to force it onto his bat and one of those times coincided with a Kagiso Rabada delivery that came quite a bit slower off the track. The leading edge was taken and Elgar, again, pouched a catch diving forward at short cover. That South Africa have made all these inroads without Morne Morkel, who has not sufficiently recovered from his foot injury, indicates the depth of their resources and the disciplines they have maintained. But they, like India, went in with five bowlers and six batsmen and will need every one of them to step up tomorrow.

A career-best score and a brilliant runout by Melissa Reynard saw the Englandwomen’s team to a 20-run victory in a low scoring match against South Africaat Chelmsford yesterday.England’s win in the opening game of the five-match one-day internationalseries was their first in an ODI since July 11 last year against India andtheir second since the World Cup quarter-final against Sri Lanka on December21, 1997. Unfortunately they also lost 17 in the same period.Yesterday’s clash was, on the whole, an unimpressive display by the majorityof batsmen on both sides, and it was the superior fielding of the Englishwhich made the difference.Reynard, newly appointed as England vice-captain, was named player of thematch for her 54-ball 46 late in the England innings and her direct-hitrunout of Helen Davies, but went wicketless in the role she is selected for,that as left-arm nedium-pace change bowler.England captain Clare Connor won the toss and elected to bat underthreatening skies yesterday morning. Her decision to drop herself down theorder appeared to backfire with the early loss of openers Charlotte Edwards(2) and Claire Taylor (9), both falling to Yulandi van der Merwe. Her newball partner, off-spinner Kerri Laing, removed 18 year-old debutante ArranThompson, who played an audacious shot to be dismissed, charging down thepitch, missing the ball, and being stumped by wicketkeeper Daleen Terblanche.With the score at 39 for 3, and play reduced to 44 overs a side following a114-minute (less lunch) rain delay, Clare Connor came to the crease and wasduly trapped plumb lbw first ball. Since taking over the England captaincymidway through the disastrous Antipodean tour earlier this year, Connor hasscored 27 ODI runs at 4.50 – a figure that has probably not escaped thenotice of fans of the now-discarded Karen Smithies.Jane Cassar survived the hat-trick ball, and built a fine partnership withBarbara Daniels, who was the dominant figure in the early overs of theEngland innings. She was one run short of her fifty, however, when LevoniaLewis’ first ball of the match saw the England number three drawn forward andstruck on the pad, out leg before wicket. Daniels’ 49 had come from 89deliveries, in which she struck five boundaries.The run out of Kathryn Leng without scoring saw Reynard come to the crease at83 for 6. She brought some much-needed aggression into the England batting.Reynard and Cassar scored at the high rate of four an over before Cassar (26)was run out, taking off from the bowlers end for a single that was not there.Reynard took advantage of some poor outfielding as England built a score thatgained at least some respectability. One over from Levonia Lewis saw fourteenruns and two dropped catches. Reynard was in sight of her first internationalhalf-century when the last two wickets fell in an eventful 44th over. ClareTaylor (not Claire who batted earlier) was run out attempting a foolishsecond run after Lewis dropped a caught-and-bowled from the previous ball.Bereft of the strike, Reynard could only watch as Lucy Pearson smashed astraight drive back into the hands of Lewis to go for a second-ball duck.England were dismissed for 159 after it looked at one time that they maystruggle to get past 100. Kerry Laing had the best of the South Africanbowling figures, with 2/12 from nine overs.The Duckworth-Lewis calculations were applied to determine the South Africantarget following the earlier rain interruption, when England were 26 for 2after 12.2 overs. As it turned out, the revised target was unchanged at 160.South Africa, making their first full international appearance since February17, 1999, started their chase badly, Kerrie Laing suffering the unusualindignity of being caught by Claire Taylor at slip off the bowling of ClareTaylor. Three runouts saw South Africa at 44 for 4 in the 21st over, thebest of them coming when Melissa Reynard threw down the stumps from fine legto remove Helen Davies. All three runouts could be put down to poor runningbetween wickets.South Africa were down to 46 for 5 when Terblanche took a swing and a miss tobe stumped by her opposite number Cassar off Clare Connor’s bowling. At theother end, Linda Olivier, who had an accomplice to each of the three runouts,scored her 20th run from the 75th ball she faced in the innings. This,however, represented an acceleration in scoring after taking 49 balls toreach double figures.The departure of Denise Reid (6), attempting unsuccessfully to hoist DawnHolden over Clare Connor at deep mid-on, brought the score to 62 for 6.Sunnette Viljoen, who turned seventeen just eleven days ago, joined Olivierand the pair took a liking to the leg-spin bowling of Kathryn Leng. Olivierbrought up her half-century from 117 deliveries (four fours). Dropped nextball by Arran Thompson, she departed soon after on 52, chipping a ball fromLucy Pearson straight to Charlotte Edwards.The seventh-wicket partnership between Olivier and Viljoen, one player twicethe age of the other, yielded 50 runs in 12 overs – not enough to stem amounting required run-rate. South Africa were still 21 short of the victorytarget when Viljoen snicked the last ball of the match to Cassar to be theninth batsman out. Her 37 from 51 deliveries included just two boundaries,and she will be a player to watch, both in the remainder of this series andin the World Cup later this year.For England, Leng, though expensive, was the most successful bowler (2/36from seven overs), while Clare Taylor took 1/14 from her nine overs.The next meeting of these two teams will be at Trent Bridge on Thursday. IfSouth Africa can sharpen their fielding and their running between wickets,they can show that will threaten England more often in this series.

Somerset didn’t hang around too long at Southgate this morning. Middlesexcrushed them by 169 runs on their way to a place in the NatWest Trophy quarter-finals. The visitors were bowled out for 58 – perhaps an improvement after being once 9-4. Fast bowler Tim Bloomfield (4-17) did the main damage and was appropriately Man-of-the-Match.Partnered by veteran Angus Fraser he ripped through the Somerset batting indismissing Marcus Trescothick, Peter Bowler, Michael Burns and Ian Blackwell in a shattering opening burst. Bloomfield expressed his pleasure at being back in the county side after a month’s absence.”It was one of those days when everything went right for me, I felt I’dbowled beautifully today and got those lucky breaks when I needed them.”As four visiting batsmen failed to trouble the scorers Keith Parsons (23),alone, made any real contribution to what was a meagre total.The last five wickets collapsed for just seven runs as Aaron Laraman, who dismissed three batsmen for six runs in five overs, capitalised on the superiority his colleagues had achieved. Middlesex now have a quarter-final match with Hampshire.