All posts by csb10.top

Match facts

November 15, 2015Start time 1700 local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

The first T20 on Friday is reason enough to believe that the second game on Sunday would be another close one. Zimbabwe presented a strong defence after registering a below-par score, reducing Bangladesh to 80 for five, but ultimately 131 was never a great challenge for the hosts. At the end of the game, Malcolm Waller said Zimbabwe had to make a bigger total should they bat first again.The home side also have a few worries of their own. Bangladesh started very well with the ball and although they copped some hammering from Waller in the middle overs, they also fought back well. Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain were disciplined and effective.But the batting line-up must be looked into, again. Anamul Haque was run-out, Sabbir Rahman’s promotion was a talking point while the fact that Mahmudullah and Liton Das had to deal with a late chase was a question-mark. Sabbir is a natural striker of the ball so possibly the management wanted him to take advantage of the fielding restrictions of the first six overs, but given that he is also a good runner between the wickets and has a knack of finding gaps he remains a handy option down the order. Liton and Mahmudullah couldn’t finish the job together as Mashrafe had to strike a couple of big hits to ensure the win.Zimbabwe still remain a team with iffy batting form, despite promoting Sikandar Raza up the order. But it is a positive move, one that might pay off in the second game, their last chance to redeem themselves on the tour.

Form guide

Bangladesh WLLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe LLLLL

In the spotlight

After his six-hitting spree, Bangladesh will look at Malcolm Waller as the danger man in the second T20. He may have to look for new areas to land his big hits, which will be critical for Zimbabwe.It is now safe to say Al-Amin Hossain has made a successful comeback to international cricket. He remains a background man, proving important breakthroughs and keeping things tight from his end.

Team news

Anamul Haque is likely to get another go while Arafat Sunny and Kamrul Islam Rabbi can now expect a game too, given that Bangladesh are looking for a T20 combination suited for these conditions.Bangladesh (likely XI): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Liton Das, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Al-Amin Hossain, 10 Jubair Hossain, 11 Mustafizur RahmanJohn Nyumbu and Wellington Masakadza are still without a game, while Zimbabwe dropped Chamu Chibhabha and Taurai Muzarabani in the first T20. If they opt for a change, the offspinner Nyumbu might be worth trying out.Zimbabwe (likely XI): 1 Sikandar Raza, 2 Regis Chakabva (wk), 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Graeme Cremer, 8 Tendai Chisoro, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Luke Jongwe, 11 Neville Madziva

Pitch and conditions

Malcolm Waller said the ball kept low at times on the Shere Bangla surface. It remains a 150-160 pitch for teams batting first, but there was evidence that if a batsman wanted to target the shortened boundaries it was hard to stop. The weather has been pleasant with cooler temperatures.

Stats and trivia

• The first game wasn’t just Jubair Hossain’s first T20 international, but his first T20 at any competitive level.
• Friday was the first time that Tinashe Panyangara went wicketless in an international match since the ODI against Afghanistan on October 22.

Quotes

“This [second T20] could be the last chance for us to see how some of new players react under pressure [in this format].””In the next game, we need a lot more runs on the board and bowl well and have a good start and make things easier for ourselves.”

It was an action packed opening day’s play in the second Test matchbetween India and Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday. Afterbeing restricted to 237 in their first innings, India struck back todismiss three home team batsmen for 31 runs at stumps.In generally fine weather, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and decided tobat on a good-looking batting pitch. Heath Streak, had he won thetoss, said he would have decided to field in view of Zimbabwe’s poorrecord batting first on this ground, but Ganguly’s decision appearedcorrect in view of the conditions.Zimbabwe replaced the injured Henry Olonga with pace-bowling allrounder Travis Friend, making his Test debut. India made two changes,replacing opener Sadagoppan Ramesh and left-arm pace bowler ZaheerKhan with Hemang Badani, also making his debut and Ajit Agarkar.Before the start of play, the teams observed a minute’s silence inmemory of recent Test batsman Trevor Madondo, who died of cerebralmalaria on Monday. Several hundred enthusiastic school children,bussed in by the Mashonaland Cricket Association, added atmosphere asBrighton Watambwa bowled a good opening over to Shiv Sunder Das. Quitea degree of bounce was evident, which would be of benefit to Zimbabwe.Badani did not last long on his Test debut, scoring just two beforebeing trapped lbw to a straight ball from Watambwa. Das and VVS Laxmanhad some taxing overs to face from both Watambwa and Streak, but theyhandled them well, taking runs off the odd stray delivery, usually toleg. Then Watambwa had to leave the field with a hamstring strainduring his fourth over, and Friend took over. He was rather tentative,and the attack lost its menace.At this point Streak produced a fine delivery that rose just outsideoff stump and Laxman (15), drawn into an unwise shot, edged a sharpcatch to Andy Blignaut at second slip. Sachin Tendulkar made a slowstart to his innings, but was ready to pounce on the bad ball andpulled a short ball from Friend for a huge six to square leg. For themost part, though, India were content to play out the morning sessionand departed for lunch with 85 on the board for two wickets, with Dason 44 and Tendulkar on 20.After lunch, Tendulkar had not yet added to his score, when hesuffered a rather unlucky dismissal. He moved too far across hisstumps to a delivery from Streak, and the ball appeared to hit his padand bounce off his boot on to his leg stump. Friend, gradually findinghis feet, began to bowl with considerable hostility, but Das, playinga composed innings at all times, reached a creditable fifty. He fellfor 57, though, as Blignaut got the first ball of a new spell to liftjust outside the off stump, and the batsman got a thin edge to thekeeper.Rahul Dravid got off the mark in fine style, with a handsome off-drivefor four, while Sourav Ganguly struggled in vain to find his touchbefore edging Streak to third slip with just nine runs to his credit.At 122 for five, with Streak bowling superbly, India were unexpectedlyin trouble and Zimbabwe were rampant.Dravid counter attacked with some classic strokes and Zimbabweinvoluntarily released the pressure with some less accurate bowling,perhaps through striving too hard. Sameer Dighe (20) proved a goodpartner for Dravid until he became Friend’s first Test wicket,slashing a catch to gully. At tea Zimbabwe still held the advantage,with India 166 for six with Dravid on 35 and Agarkar on 1.Soon after resumption, Blignaut took his third catch of the innings atthird slip as Agarkar (6) sparred at a short ball from Friend andprovided the edge. Harbhajan Singh again proved a thorn in Zimbabwe’sflesh with his unorthodox hitting, after an early lucky escape when heskied a ball into no-man’s-land. It looked as if the curse of theeighth wicket was hitting Zimbabwe again until leg-spinner BrianMurphy brought a ball in to bowl Harbhajan through the gate for 31.India were 227 for eight after a stand of 55.Javagal Srinath (0) was controversially given run out by the thirdumpire to a brilliant direct hit from Murphy, and the same player hadAshish Nehra (0) caught close in to end the innings. Dravid was leftstranded with a fine 68. Streak with three for 69 was the best of thebowlers, while Friend was the most economical of the seamers.An assessment of just how good or bad the Indian total was could notbe made until Zimbabwe had batted. Zimbabwe had 13 overs to play out,light permitting. Guy Whittall (0) fell quickly to a superb low batpad catch by Dravid off Nehra, and then the same bowler had StuartCarlisle (3) caught in the gully off a loose drive.Alistair Campbell (8) followed, driving across the line at Nehra tolose his off stump and reduce his team to 18 for three. Nehra hadtaken all three wickets in his first three overs and Zimbabwe hadalready thrown away their hard-earned advantage. Well as Srinath andNehra bowled, only Whittall could escape blame. Ebrahim, to hiscredit, continued to bat positively and finished the day unbeaten on13, partnered by Andy Flower with 5.

* Tendulkar’s injury caused by his left boot spikeIndia’s master batsman Sachin Tendulkar suffered a foot injury duringthe final of the tri-nation series against the West Indies on Saturdaywhen his right foot spiked his left foot while fielding, forcing himto withdraw from the first part of the coming Sri Lankan tour.”Though an X-ray has ruled out any fracture, the injury is extremelypainful and the foot has to be rested for at least two to three weeksas there is an aggravation of muscles”, BCCI sources said in Mumbai onTuesday. His right foot, with spikes, landed between toe and heel ofthe left foot, resulting in a sesamoid bruise, sources added.However, the BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele or any of the selectors whomet here yesterday to finalise the team for Sri Lankan tour were notable to describe the nature of injury to Tendulkar’s foot butannounced that the Mumbai star would be joining the team for the lastleague tie against New Zealand on August 2.* Marsh, Healy helped me perform well in Zimbabwe: DigheVital tips by former Australian wicketkeepers Rodney Marsh and IanHealy helped the Indian wicketkeeper Sameer Dighe perform well on therecently concluded tour of Zimbabwe. A beaming Dighe told PTI inMumbai on Tuesday that Marsh had passed on a few tips to him duringthe conditioning camp in Bangalore which helped a lot.”Healy spent some time with me during the Harare Test match. I wasdelighted when he wanted to help me out,” he said. “Healy, who was inHarare to participate in the benefit tie for former Zimbabwe Test starEddo Brandes, is a remarkable man and can spot any flaws by justwatching others behind the stumps. I soaked in all the knowledge whenhe gave some important tips in the lobby of our hotel,” Dighe said.”In fact, I was really touched when Healy told me that I can call himup for help even if it is two in the morning and the most importanttip he gave was to move with the ball. He also told me to maintain adiary and note down the good and bad things every day,” Dighe added.When asked about his unbeaten 94 in the tri-series final against theWest Indies on Saturday, the Mumbai player said, “I used Sachin’s(Tendulkar) bat which was much heavier than the one I normally use. Infact, it was Sachin who advised me to do so as I would get more powerin my strokes. However, I feel very sad that we fell short by 16runs,” Dighe said.* Judicial remand of Prabhakar extended till July 21A Nainital court has extended judicial remand of the former Indiancricketer Manoj Prabhakar till July 21 in the chit fund case, a seniorpolice official said on Tuesday. Judicial Magistrate Devraj PrasadSingh had extended the remand of Prabhakar on a petition moved by theUttaranchal police, DIG (Nainital) Vijay Raghav Pant said.Meanwhile, the condition of Prabhakar, admitted to a private nursinghome on July 3 following suspected brain stroke, was stated to bestable, doctors attending on him said. Prabhakar was arrested byUttaranchal police from his south Delhi office on July 2 following anon-bailable arrest warrant issued by the Haldwani Judicial Magistratein connection with a chit fund company APACE Investment Ltd case onMay 11.Police had alleged that Prabhakar, as director of the company, haddefrauded and cheated people while accepting deposits from them.

The famous Green Park ground at Kanpur saw Vidarbha claim theimportant first-innings lead against Uttar Pradesh on the second dayof their match on Friday.It was a coup of sorts for a visiting side up against a home side thathad stars like Mohammad Kaif, his elder brother Mohammad Saif andJyoti Yadav. The man who made a major contribution towards helpingVidarbha reach 227 for six at stumps, a lead of 17, was 26-year-oldParesh Sutan who made a patient 71. Shailesh Harbade who made 44 andSamir Khare who made 31 were the other men among the runs. For UP,fast bowler, Ashish Winston Zaidi, a former India prospect, and leftarm spinner Gyanendra Pandey claimed two wickets each.

Railways got off to a winning start in the CricInfo Rani Jhansitournament at the AC Tech ground in Chennai today. The spin troika ofRupanjali Shastri, Deepa Kulkarni and Neetu David ran rings around theCentral Zone batswomen to restrict them to 116 in the morningsession. After losing two relatively early wickets in reply, a durablethird wicket association between Rajini Venugopal and Hemlata Kala putRailways on the victory trail and they closed out the match by sixwickets with almost ten overs to spare.In a change of tactics , Central Zone decided to bat first on winningthe toss rather than chase a target which they had successfullyaccomplished yesterday. The dependable combination of Bharati Varmaand Priyanka Sailey opened the innings . Priyanka was clearly beingthe more flamboyant of the two while Bharati played the anchor role.The strategy seemed to be to keep wickets in hand by waiting for thebad balls and in the meantime, taking the singles aggressively. Therunning between the wickets was not the most professional, a littlemore method in the madness would have been desirable, but they managedto avert tragedy.The score had mounted to 34 in 13 overs when spin made its firstappearance in the form of Rupanjali Shastri’s off breaks. In the nextover the left arm orthodox tweakers of Neetu David wereintroduced. She kept Bharati quiet for four balls before the latterlost patience, going for a heave against the spin to be bowled.Chitra Vajpayee tried another cross batted swipe off Rupanjali, a laBharati, and was lucky to see it miss the stumps. But the writing wason the wall and she tried to cut one outside off in the same over onlyto nick one through to the keeper. She was gone for a fourth ballduck.This started a procession as Rupanjali then packed off Arundhati andPreeti Dudhe in her next two overs, also for ducks, to put Central indire straits at 41/4 in the 20th over. Priyanka had watched thebloodletting from the other end and she now got a partner in RahulSingh, coming in at No.6, who seemed to possess the same steelynerves. Neetu gave the ball plenty of air, inviting Priyanka to cometo the pitch of the ball, and the latter picked up the gauntlet toloft her for two fours to wide long on. A fielder was quietly put backon the long on boundary and Priyanka just could not resist launchingherself into another flighted delivery and holed out to her. If everan object lesson was delivered in how to buy your wicket, this wasit. Priyanka had made 24 (63 balls, 3 fours), which remained the topscore in the innings.Skipper Deepa Kulkarni, another left arm spinner, had put herself onby now and Rahul, after striking three boundaries, gave a tame catchto Balvir Kaur at midoff. Varsha Raphael played some attractivestrokes en route to 21 from 31 balls and after she was bowled byDeepa at 90, captain Leena Muley and Bindeshwari Goel delayed theinevitable. The innings finally folded up for 116 in the 48th over,with Rupanjali and Deepa both finishing with 3/21 from 10 overs,while Neetu bagged 2/27 from ten.Railways began slowly with openers Rajini Sharma and Reshma Gandhijust getting their eye in and not trying to do anything daring. Rajiniwas especially strong on the off side as she stroked two boundariesthrough the covers off Central captain Leena Muley. Off break bowlerVarsha Raphael had opened the innings from the pavilion end ratherthan the more conventional medium pace option of Neetu Singh. In thetenth over Reshma came into her elements with a boundary to square legand a fluent drive to wide long off that was stopped just inside therope. But in the same over, Varsha flattened Rajini’s off stump asshe played back to one that kept a trifle low. She was thensurprisingly taken off and left arm spinner Preeti Dimri, who was notplayed yesterday, came into the attack while at the other end, PreetiDudhe, the bespectacled leg spinner was given a fling. Dimri has anice easy action with economy of effort and struck by drawing Reshmainto a drive and beating her in the flight. Keeper Arundhati had thebails off in one quick motion and Railways were down to 31/2 in the14th over.This brought two relatively new batswomen to the crease in RajiniVenugopal and Hemlata Kala. They gave the bowling a wide berth atfirst as the two Preetis despairingly attempted to make furtherinroads. Dudhe was getting good bounce and Arundhati collected one atchest height that just beat the outside edge of Hemlata’s bat. Thelatter had another close call as she drove Dudhe on the up to coverbut it just failed to carry to the lunging fieldswoman who took it onthe half volley. But the longer these two stayed at the wicket, themore emboldened they became.The running between the wickets was a class higher than anything elseseen in the match, with the ones being converted into twos withcheek. The same could not be said of the Central fielding though whichwas rather unedifying at times. The run stand was finally broken inthe 35th over by left arm spinner Rahul Singh when Hemlata stepped outto cart her away but played inside the line to leave her wickets in amess. Two balls later Balvir Kaur was bowled in identical fashion toleave the score at 93 /4 and Railways were making a struggle out of anordinary task. Captain Deepa Kulkarni brought some composure to theproceedings and with Rajini continuing to fire away at the other end,the win was finally sealed in the 41st over, with the latter unbeatenon 42 (87 balls, 4 fours).

The figures speak for themselves. Curtly Ambrose: 27 overs 7 maidens 70 runs 4 wickets. Courtney Walsh: 27 overs 14 maidens 50 runs 4 wickets. Again, the “Old Boys” were magnificent. Again, the West Indies owe a tremendous debt to these absolutely unsinkable battleships, perhaps aging, but definitely still as dangerous, especially when given just a whiff of an advantage. With Ambrose’s dismissal of English batting hero Alex Stewart with the 2nd ball of the 3rd day, for his overnight 105, that whiff was immediately present. When Walsh bowled Marcus Trescothick off of his pads, things smelled even better for the West Indies. Even without any real help from the back-up bowlers, Ambrose and Walsh saw their team through a good 3rd day.This was enhanced even more when the West Indies openers, Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith, with some panache, attitude and aptitude too, managed to defy the English fast bowling, and off spinner Robert Croft, for 96 runs, the best opening partnership so far this tour. Had Campbell not received the proverbial “unplayable” delivery, from the surprisingly quick Craig White, which Campbell actually did play, somewhat unintentionally with his bat handle, to backward point for Dominic Cork to take a brilliant running cum diving catch, the West Indies might have even closed without losing a wicket. To close at 131-1, and Adrian Griffith batting all of 3 hours 20 minutes for 41 not out, showed that the West Indies can muscle up some resolve. Only in deficit to the England lead of 146 by 15, the West Indies could look back on Day 3 as the turning point of Test 3.While England did make 303, thanks to Stewart’s 105, Marcus Trescothick’s 66 and a wonderful rear-guard effort by the late order English batsmen, after the team had slumped to 210-6 from the overnight 196-3, England should have been disappointed at the final score. 400 seemed more possible.Duncan Fletcher, England’s Coach, explained Day 3:”We played very well in the first two days, while on Day 3, we probably faltered a little bit. The first ten overs on Day 3 were crucial, and if we had gotten away with losing only one wicket in that time, we probably would have been very happy with that. The West Indies have two great fast bowlers in their team who could bowl on any surface, really, and you always have to worry that if these two guys strike, then it makes life very difficult for the batters. While it was not (Courtney) Walsh this time, as it was on the 2nd day, it was (Curtly) Ambrose who got the immediate vital wickets. We lost three wickets in that early session which set us back and then the West Indians batted well. I do not blame it on luck. They simply batted well. The openers put their heads down and grafted well. Griffith showed that he went in there very determined, did not play any loose shots and Campbell played a good innings.On Day 4, we would like to bowl the rest of the batsmen out for about an additional 10 runs, then go on to win the game. Simply, now, we have to go back in there and put on the pressure and not allow them to get too many runs. We have to restrict them to not getting too many runs and then to go and get the score. Past games have struggled to get past three days, but this has been a good wicket and the batters could get down and run some decent scores. I might have expected a bit more from the England bowlers, but it does happen a lot that when a team gets a big lead, a time to defend and a time to attack sometimes causes some confusion as the bowling team would want to get in there and get as many wickets before the close as possible. As a result of that, the team would likely leave many gaps in the field placing and the batsmen took advantage of that. Yes, I have been impressed at the way the West Indies batters have come out and showed great determination, despite the lead that England had. It was nice to see, however, that we could get to 303 and especially that the West Indies struggled to knock over the tailenders. 250 would be about the maximum we would like to chase on this wicket.”After Jimmy Adams, at the end of Day 2, had suggested that the West Indies would like to restrict the English batsmen to another 70 on the 3rd day, he nearly got his wish. England only added another 107, and that was due mainly to the lower order batting well. The West Indies had responded in the way they should have, with determination and a direct plan. To the end of Day 3, things had changed for the West Indies somewhat, much more promising.Sherwin Campbell, the West Indies vice-captain, put things into proper perspective:”Having been set a deficit, our target was just to go out there and bat for a long period, with determination, but to enjoy ourselves too, being as positive as we could be. My own dismissal (in the 2nd innings from an “exploding” delivery) does not really concern me. One or two deliveries are taking off from a length. That is good for us, in a way, as we are not batting last. I was a part of the decision making team which suggested that we bat first after winning the toss. It might still turn out to be a good decision, but having said that, there are still two days to go. Things did not go our way yesterday (Day 2), but we chose to think about the next day and we came out very positively on Day 3, kept things as tight as possible and then to get some wickets too. This is a very important Test match and we do not want to go down in this game. It was very important that we had a great rest after Day 2 and come out fresh on Day 3. That is exactly what happened. We simply came out on Day 3 very positive, ready to go and things worked out in our favor. 250 would be fairly reasonable score to defend on this pitch for the team fielding last. This game still has a very long way to go before the end. This is Test cricket, and anything can happen for the rest of the game. Adrian (Griffith) played really well, hanging in there to the end. He will still come back on Day 4 and he could get a big total. Curtly (Ambrose) bowled as well on Day 3 as he has been bowling, but he had a bit more luck this time. Things just went his way. From now on, they, hopefully, will continue to go his way. Alex Stewart’s 105 was a well put together innings. He got a good explosive start and continued on. I think it was a really good innings. We had to remove him early on the 3rd day, as we knew that as long as he remained at the crease, he would score quickly and put the pressure on us. We were glad to get that wicket, especially Stewart’s, so early.”Day 3 was probably the fulcrum of this Test match. If the West Indies could continue their batting well on Day 4 and gain an ascendancy, then England could be facing 200-250 to win the game. England would be trying desperately to get early wickets on Day 4 to restrict the lead to under 200. This Test match is turning out to be a tight rope act. A slip could be very detrimental. Day 4 promises great intrigue.

A powerful collective batting performance from Canterbury set up a 65-run victory against Auckland in Timaru. After winning the toss, Canterbury made a fast start, with their openers adding 48 inside six overs. Henry Nicholls and Neil Broom then put on 103 for the second wicket, laying the foundation for a large score. Auckland fought back through Tarun Nethula, though, the legspinner taking three wickets to reduce the opponents to 166 for 5. Canterbury were lifted once again by Andrew Ellis and Todd Astle, who struck aggressive half-centuries to post 335 for 6.Auckland’s chase suffered because a lot of their batsmen got starts but no one made even a half-century. Opener Anaru Kitchen’s 47 was the top score. They slumped to 205 for 9 at on stage before Michael Bates struck 44 off 29 balls at No. 10 to lift them to 270 in 50 overs. Ellis and Astle took two wickets apiece for Canterbury to go with their scores of 66 not out and 83.Half-centuries from Jamie How, Ben Smith and Will Young spurred Central Districts to a six-wicket win against Wellington in Nelson. Chasing 256, How blasted 53 off 27 balls, Smith contributed 75, and Young was unbeaten on 97 as the target was achieved in 44.1 overs. Brent Arnel took all four Central Districts that fell.The Wellington batting had fallen away after their top three made useful contributions. Michael Pollard made 55, Michael Papps scored 35 and Stephen Murdoch contributed 61 but the innings slumped from 86 for 0 to 123 for 4. They collapsed again from 167 for 4 to 211 for 8, before finishing on 255. Adam Milne and George Worker took three wickets each for Central Districts.

Kent 159 (Footitt 4-61) and 30 for 0 require a further 299 runs to beat Derbyshire 253 (Godleman 108) and 234 for 3 dec (Godleman 105*)
ScorecardBilly Godleman has three hundreds in a row, a rare feat in Derbyshire’s history•Getty Images

Billy Godleman had a day to remember as Derbyshire moved into a commanding position in the LV County Championship Division Two match against Kent.The opener became only the fifth Derbyshire batsmen to score centuries in three consecutive innings and the first for 25 years, joining William Storer, Levi Wright, Peter Kirsten and Kim Barnett in the county’s record books.Godleman followed his hundred at Leicester and 108 in the first innings with an unbeaten 104 out of 234 for 3 before Derbyshire declared after rain held up play for two-and-a half hours.Godleman said: “It’s very special, 25 years is a long time and I’m very humbled by that achievement. I know because I’ve done it for 10 years that opening in first-class cricket is difficult so when I get in I try and make the most of it.”Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch also confirmed that Sri Lankan batting star Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was not selected for the Kent game, had returned home and would not play again for the club.”It’s amicable,” Welch said. “We can’t get promoted so we might as well play some of the young lads and he understands that.”Kent’s chances of chasing down a target of 329 looked slim on the evidence of their first innings but Rob Key and Daniel Bell-Drummond played well to reduce it by 30 when bad light brought an early close.Bell-Drummond knows the odds are against Kent but said: “We haven’t been batting well in the red ball game and didn’t bat well first innings but everyone knows the capability of our side with the bat so we will try and make sure we click tomorrow and do the best we can. We’re not favourites and it’s a tough ask and we will need to play smartly.”They had gone into the third day well behind in the game with Derbyshire 73 for 1, already 167 runs on, and the early breakthroughs the visitors needed failed to come as Godleman and Chesney Hughes took the second wicket stand to 114 in 34 overs.A strong wind, which blew Sam Northeast’s cap off at one stage, may have hampered the bowlers but there were few alarms for Godleman and Hughes with both reaching 50 with boundaries from James Tredwell.Hughes, who was dropped at cover on 46, was bowled going for another big hit at Tredwell but Wayne Madsen accelerated towards a declaration with 43 from 41 balls before he was bowled by Ivan Thomas.Goldeman’s progress had stalled as he approached the milestone and he was in the nineties for 41 balls before he nudged Tredwell behind square and raced through for the single that took him to three figures.Alex Hughes became the second Derbyshire player to retire hurt when a hand injury forced him to go for an x-ray but even against an attack two bowlers down, Kent had a hard road ahead of them but Key and Bell-Drummond negotiated 10 overs to leave a target of 299 on the final day.

Records seem easiest for the people who are the least concerned about them as thoughts of milestones don’t sit annoyingly and teasingly in their minds. Years ago it seemed unbelievable that Ricky Ponting didn’t know how highly history rated some of his deeds.Whenever he walked in after play to discuss his latest hundred and was told of the great name he had just passed for runs or centuries, he’d look straight back and say: “I’ve never been one for stats.” Usually he didn’t know about the mark until one of the support staff had told him. It happened so often it had to be true. A man who has been ribbed by his team-mates for reading the Sydney grade cricket scores never knew when he was about to pass Waugh, Gavaskar or Bradman.At the start of his career Steve Waugh was playing under the coach Bob Simpson, who would alert the players to any new milestones they had achieved. Under Waugh’s captaincy history became a strong influence, pushing the team to smash records instead of breaking them. During the reign Australia achieved 16 wins in a row, Matthew Hayden raised a then-best 380 and Waugh finished his career in second on the list of Test run-makers with 10,927.The sense of numerical occasion didn’t pass to Ponting. Calculations don’t bother him as much as winning or spending a long time in the game. And in cricket there is always someone who is better – or more compulsive – with statistics. So the only reason Ponting knew he needed 61 runs in Antigua to reach what was once the fairytale of batting achievements was because one of the extended squad members had mentioned it.When Ponting started his Test career only Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar had reached five figures and 10,000 carried a magical quality. It was such a big deal to Border that in the same year he got there, with a single to mid-on off Carl Hooper at the SCG, he released his Beyond Ten Thousand autobiography.Batsmen didn’t get that far by mistake or by merely being good. Longevity was essential – Border and Gavaskar both played for 16 years – but so was regular, heavy run-scoring. Averaging more than 50 was a must. Ponting has done both in becoming the seventh player to the number.He began with 96 on debut in Perth in 1995 and it took 13 years and another 117 matches to join the group. A two to cover from Ramnaresh Sarwan’s occasional legspin lifted him out of the 9000s, but there was little fanfare. While Ponting said at stumps it was a nice milestone, he is happy letting everybody else make the fuss.Ponting is more proud of the many years he has spent in the national side, but in the quiet of his room the size of numbers must make him smile. In his public world, and in a team sense, Simon Katich’s unbeaten 113 was more important than the captain’s 65 on the opening day. Without Matthew Hayden, Australia needed a solid contribution and Katich provided it, allowing Ponting to leave for the hotel pleased with the side’s position.Despite Katich working impressively on his first century since 2005, his innings will be overlooked by those outside the squad. Ponting, the newest 10,000 man, is now standing at an altitude reached only by the super elite.

Ricky Ponting has admitted Australia’s bowling attack has “come back to the pack a little bit in Test cricket” as they struggle to match the Warne-McGrath era. Australia were unable to force a result in the second Test in Antigua on Tuesday despite bowling for a full day, and Ponting is considering altering his plans for the final game in Barbados from June 12.Stuart Clark could return to the new-ball duties he has craved, with the developing Mitchell Johnson dropped to first-change, while Beau Casson is in line to to replace Stuart MacGill. Ponting also expects to use more of the part-time spin of Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds.Brett Lee was outstanding in taking career-best figures of 8 for 110 in Antigua, but there was less impact from his support staff. “As far as our attack goes, we’ve probably just come back to the pack a little bit in Test cricket,” Ponting said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “We’ve got Brett and Stuey [Clark], who are outstanding Test bowlers, and we’ve got Mitch, who is a work in progress, and we could very well have a young spinner the next game. I’m excited about that.”Ponting said it had been challenging operating without Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. “Brett’s done a very good job of standing up in Glenn’s absence over the last 12 months and will continue to lead the attack well I’m sure,” he said. “The next spinner is the interesting one for me. We’ll see how that pans out.”Johnson, who is playing his first overseas Tests, has taken only five wickets in the opening two matches and is expected to be part of a bowling reshuffle. “I don’t have any concern with Mitch,” Ponting said. “We’re probably going to look at Stuey opening the bowling more often than not now, for a number of reasons, like in these sorts of conditions. Mitchell is a great athlete, and generally he’ll do what I ask of him.”