England suffer another stomach-turning defeat Down Under

		THE ASHES SERIES 2017-18
23-27 Nov 17		FIRST Australia beat England by 10 wickets	Brisbane
02-06 Dec 17		SECOND Australia beat England by 120 runs	Adelaide (D/N)
14-18 Dec 17		THIRD Australia beat England by an innings and 41 runs	Perth
25-29 Dec 17		FOURTH Match drawn	Melbourne
03-07 Jan 18		FIFTH Australia beat England by an innings and 123 runs	Sydney

Australia won the series 4-0
Player of the series: Steve Smith (687 runs at 137.40)

AUSTRALIA confirmed their superiority in this Ashes series, winning the fifth and final Test in Sydney by the crushing margin of an innings and 123 runs.

The Aussie victory at the SCG made it 4-0 overall with England only having avoided another whitewash by securing a draw in the fourth Test on a lifeless pitch in Melbourne.

Nevertheless, England have now failed to win any of their last 10 Tests Down Under.

Indeed, it seemed inevitable that the tourists were heading for their third whitewash in 11 years when the urn was lost in Perth before Christmas.

Senior players - namely Stuart Broad and former captain Alastair Cook - had been rightly criticised for their lack of contribution.

But, in fairness, both bit back in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Broad took 4-51, his best figures all year, to help reduce the Aussies from 260-3 to 327 all out.

Cook then carried his bat to score an unbeaten 244, the highest of any opener remaining unbeaten in Test history. It was his best performances for years.

Notably, he also became the first England opener to carry his bat since Michael Atherton in Christchurch against New Zealand in 1997, and the first English opener to achieve the feat against Australia since Geoffrey Boycott in Perth in 1979.

Sadly, England - despite posting a competitive 491 - came no closer to a consolation victory, as a third Steve Smith century guided Australia to the safety of 263-4.

England actually also started the fifth Test pretty well and were at one stage 228-3 - but the late wickets of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the shine off their opening day.

From that point onwards, though, it was all depressingly one-way traffic. First, England were bundled out for 346 despite some rare resistance from the tail.

Then, the Aussies truly put their visitors under the pump, declaring on 649-7 following centuries from Usman Khawaja (171), and both of the Marsh brothers Shaun (156) and Mitch (101).

Inevitably, England failed to make Australia bat again, not helped by Root being unable to continue his second innings beyond lunch on the final day.

Skipper Root was suffering from severe dehydration caused by gastroenteritis - and surely the extreme Sydney heat could only have made his condition worse.

It has indeed been stomach-turning stuff from England over much of the past two months - and, while this was not another whitewash, it was still a complete hammering.

Indeed, the cumulative aggregates for the batting and bowling of both sides neatly demonstrate the gulf between them.

Australia scored 2,982 runs in total and took 89 wickets. England, by contrast, scored 2,595 runs and took only 58 wickets, their lowest amount in an Ashes series since 1958-59.

Undoubtedly, the English bowlers have struggled, especially in comparison to their Aussie counterparts.

All of the top four wicket takers in the series were Australian - and they did not need anyone other than their main quartet of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.

Of the England bowlers, only James Anderson - with 17 wickets at 27.82 apiece - could be said to have justified his place.

Overall, England were regularly too short and lacking in the requisite pace. Lyon, meanwhile, totally outclassed Moeen Ali in the spin department.

For sure, it came as no surprise that a player in the class of Aussie skipper Smith therefore flourished.

But it was pretty galling to see the mediocre Marsh brothers were swatting away the England attack just as easily by the end.

Of course, from an England perspective, this series will be just as well remembered for events off the field.

The tourists were without the services of their best all-round player, Ben Stokes, following his arrest on suspicion of assault after an incident near a night club in Bristol in the early hours of 25 September.

Bizarrely, more than three months later, Stokes has still not yet been charged with any offence, a somewhat damning indictment of the efficiency of the British justice system.

However, there were also other incidents once England had reached Australia. Bairstow was said to have headbutted new Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar before the first Test.

Then, following the second Test, Ben Duckett was ejected from a tour match and left facing disciplinary action for pouring a drink over team-mate Anderson in the same bar.

Undoubtedly, the perception painted by large parts of the English media was that of a squad totally out of control. With a reactionary curfew imposed on the players, the Aussie press gleefully lapped it up.

The reality, however, was more prosaic. It quickly became evident that the Bairstow-Bancroft incident could be described, to the obvious amusement of the latter, as playful - or, at very worst, an odd example of social awkwardness.

And so, Duckett's behaviour was therefore pretty much an isolated act - and, in itself, hardly a hanging offence.

Certainly, Anderson has no problem with alcohol being poured over him when England actually manage to win a Test.

But, if it feels a long time since that was happening consistently, that's because it is. In 38 Tests since Trevor Bayliss took charge of the team in 2015, England have won 15 and lost 18.

Progress made in limited overs cricket appears to have come at the expense of performances with the red ball, and England are now correctly perceived as home-track bullies.

That should be no surprise, really. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has clearly marginalised development of the Test team in favour of their new money-spinning city-based T20 competition.

And that is a position with which the board appears pretty comfortable.

Speaking in the wake of the third Test defeat which lost the Ashes, ECB chief executive James Harrison said: "The health of the game is more than just Ashes series overseas.

"We've had record-breaking attendances in domestic and international cricket, changed our governance structure, hosted two global events, won the women's World Cup, and launched a participation initiative for kids.

"We've had a successful entry into the broadcast rights market out of which we have secured the financial future of the game until 2024."

All of which will surely come to the great comfort of the Barmy Army fans and their own individual bank balances after this winter.

Incredibly, the stench of denial became greater again at the conclusion of the campaign when Anderson - in a post-series interview - claimed England had "not been blown away".

But Anderson himself cannot be blamed for this debacle.

The biggest culprits occupy far more senior positions - they are the decision-makers who put money over all other considerations and who have turned England's senior four-day competition into a non-event.

Without games scheduled at the height of the summer, the English system will never produce a conveyor belt of top-class, genuinely quick bowlers - or, for that matter, a world-class spinner.

Where exactly is the motivation for the counties to field these players when they can get on by just fine with a trundling medium-pacer on an April green-top?

Thankfully, though, there appears to be a realisation that some fundamental change will be required in order to improve the fortunes of the England Test team on overseas tours.

Bayliss himself has stated that England may have to risk losing at home in order to improve away.

Meanwhile, former captain Michael Vaughan has made the eminently sensible suggestion of staging a selection of County Championship matches abroad.

The ECB, no doubt, will act far more slowly in addressing any issues. After all, under its watch, the game in England already has excellent corporate governance.

Of course, Australia - with the still significant advantage of being at home - may well have been triumphant regardless.

Frankly, though, this Ashes series was again far, far too easy for the Aussies. Far too easy.

ASHES SERIES 2017-18 STATISTICS

CENTURIES
Australia 9-3 England 
244* Alastair Cook (England), fourth Test
239 Steve Smith (Australia), third Test
181 Mitchell Marsh (Australia), third Test
171 Usman Khawaja (Australia), fifth Test
156 Shaun Marsh (Australia), fifth Test
141* Steve Smith (Australia), first Test
140 Dawid Malan (England), third Test
126* Shaun Marsh (Australia), second Test
119 Jonny Bairstow (England), third Test
103 David Warner (Australia), fourth Test
102* Steve Smith (Australia), fourth Test
101 Mitchell Marsh (Australia), fifth Test

LEADING RUN SCORERS - TOP TEN
687 Steve Smith (Australia)
445 Shaun Marsh (Australia)
441 David Warner (Australia)
383 Dawid Malan (England)
378 Joe Root (England)
376 Alastair Cook (England)
333 Usman Khawaja (Australia)
320 Mitchell Marsh (Australia)
306 Jonny Bairstow (England)
242 James Vince (England)

BATTING AVERAGES - TOP TEN
137.40 Steve Smith (Australia)
106.66 Mitchell Marsh (Australia)
74.16 Shaun Marsh (Australia)
63.00 David Warner (Australia)
48.00 Tim Paine (Australia)
47.57 Usman Khawaja (Australia)
47.25 Joe Root (England)
47.00 Alastair Cook (England)
42.55 Dawid Malan (England)
41.50 Pat Cummins (Australia)

FIVE-FORS
Australia 2-1 England
5-43 James Anderson (England), second Test
5-48 Josh Hazlewood (Australia), third Test 
5-88 Mitchell Starc (Australia), second Test

LEADING WICKET TAKERS - min 10 wickets
23 Pat Cummins (Australia)
22 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
21 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
21 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
17 James Anderson (England)
11 Stuart Broad (England)
10 Chris Woakes (England)

BOWLING AVERAGES - min five wickets
23.54 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
24.65 Pat Cummins (Australia)
25.90 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
27.82 James Anderson (England)
29.23 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
37.66 Craig Overton (England)
47.72 Stuart Broad (England)
49.50 Chris Woakes (England)
115.00 Moeen Ali (England)

TEAM SCORES
662-9d Australia in the third Test, Perth
649-7d Australia in the fifth Test, Sydney
491 England in the fourth Test, Melbourne
442-8d Australia in the second Test, Adelaide (D/N)
403 England in the third Test, Perth
346 England in the fifth Test, Sydney
328 Australia in the first Test, Brisbane
327 Australia in the fourth Test, Melbourne
302 England in the first Test, Brisbane
263-4d Australia in the fourth Test, Melbourne
233 England in the second Test, Adelaide (D/N)
227 England in the second Test, Adelaide (D/N)
218 England in the third Test, Perth
195 England in the first Test, Brisbane
180 England in the fifth Test, Sydney
173-0 Australia in the first Test, Brisbane
138 Australia in the second Test, Adelaide (D/N)

On the demise of Durham

A gloomy Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street

ENGLAND began their series away in Bangladesh with a bang on Friday, winning the opening One Day International by 21 runs after a stirring late comeback.

Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes hit a maiden ODI century while there was a crucial five-fer on debut for 25-year-old Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball.

It was an exciting win at the start of a potentially tricky series with two more One-Dayers scheduled ahead of three Test matches and then a full winter tour of India.

But it was also a victory undermined by events earlier this week which resulted in the demotion of Durham County Cricket Club to Division Two of the County Championship.

On the surface, the decision to relegate Durham seems fair enough.

Bailed out to the tune of £3.8m by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), this relegation appears no different to the Football League deducting points off its teams for going into administration, something which has happened with some regularity since 2000.

However, Durham's overall punishment - which includes points deductions in all competitions for 2017 - was surely far too harsh in that it also renders the whole of next season almost pointless.

Most crucially, though, it seems to have entirely escaped the ECB as to how Durham have landed themselves in this situation.

The awkward truth for the governing body is that it is complicit.

THE DEMISE OF DURHAM The sanction in full
(1) Relegation to Division Two of the County Championship for 2017. Further deduction of 48 points to be made at the start of the 2017 season.
(2) Four-point penalty in the T20 Blast and a two-point penalty in the One-Day Cup in the 2017 season.
(3) All non-player related ECB competition prize money due to Durham for the 2016 season to be refunded to ECB or withheld until all debts owed by the club to ECB have been settled.
(4) Durham to be subject to a revised salary cap from April 2017 to April 2020 under the ECB’s Team Salary Payment (TSP) Regulations, set at a level to be determined annually by the ECB Board.


After all, here is exactly what has happened: in 1992, Durham became the first new county to be given First Class status for 70 years.

The award, however, came on the proviso that the club would construct an international standard ground.

In this matter, Durham delivered on their side of the deal - although, to this day, the location of the Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street, rather than the city of Durham itself, is rather baffling.

Nevertheless, Durham also invested in an academy which has produced the likes of Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison, Mark Wood, and Stokes - all local lads who have gone on to make international appearances.

And, in 1999, the Riverside held its first One Day international - Pakistan v Scotland in the World Cup.

In 2003, it hosted its first ever Test, England v Zimbabwe, and everything seemed to be going to plan. By 2009, though, Sophia Gardens in Cardiff and the Rose Bowl in Hampshire had both also joined the Test circuit.

The problem then was that there were suddenly nine Test-standard venues for a total of seven Tests per year, two of which were allocated to Lord's.

In an ideal world, the ECB would have forced Lord's to give up one of its matches - but the history of the ground and its ability to attract a large capacity crowd in London always made this unlikely.

As such, with eight grounds competing for only five matches, the remaining Tests should have been allocated on a completely fair rota basis.

Instead, the ECB saw the chance to make a quick buck and so provoked a bidding war for each of its matches.

Inevitably, the more powerful counties usually won the right to stage the more attractive games - leaving the likes of Durham to bid for early- or late-season affairs, none of which would have been their first choice.

Of course, it was not always like that - in 2013, Durham staged an Ashes Test which England won to seal the series. In doing so, though, the club had paid through the nose for the privilege.

The system, quite frankly, was and still is unsustainable - and there is a feeling that Durham are probably better off out of it, the Riverside having now lost its Test status.

At this rate, though, Durham will not be the last victims - indeed, they were not the first.

In Cardiff, Glamorgan allowed the taxpayer to pick up the bill with the local council writing off the debt. Meanwhile, Warwickshire owe Birmingham City Council around £20m and have already benefited from a "repayment holiday".

Even Yorkshire - the most powerful of all of the counties - found itself £24m in debt, only to be saved by a single benefactor Colin Graves. Hampshire, with Rod Bransgrove, were similarly fortunate.

It is clear then that there are inherent structural problems in the domestic set-up.

Unfortunately, the response of the ECB has been typically closed-minded, a criticism which could be levelled at the sport of cricket as a whole.

There is really no point in putting cricket up against football in terms of comparisons - yes, the latter also has issues with its greed and bad governance but it will also always have far more reach and ability to make money.

However, a far better comparison can be made with rugby union. Of the two sports, cricket started its World Cup first - in 1979 - but, despite this, the tournament has only once featured as many as 16 teams.

By contrast, the Rugby World Cup - which began in 1987 with 16 teams - has had 20 competitors since 1999.

The expansion decision came despite a series of maulings for lower ranked nations in 1995, including an infamous 145-17 thrashing for Japan at the hands of New Zealand.

But, in the last 20 years, the weaker nations have gradually improved, and Japan are probably the biggest example of this.

Last autumn at the World Cup, the Red Cherries even beat South Africa, and the Japanese will also become the first Asian nation to host the tournament in 2019.

Of course, cricket - like any sport - is not averse to its shock results - but, despite their efforts, the likes of Ireland and the Netherlands have largely been left out in the cold.

All of this may seem to have little to do with Durham. However, all that is being pointed out here is that it is dangerous for administrators to take decisions which close the doors on apparent outsiders.

Stokes, still aged just 25, may continue steaming in and thumping boundaries for England for some years yet.

But, having acted so brutally against Durham and damaged their relationship with the north east at large this week, the ECB is unlikely, at best, to enjoy the benefit of another player like Stokes from the region in the next generation.

At worst, professional cricket in the north east could just about die off entirely.

ENGLAND TOURS OF BANGLADESH & INDIA

	BANGLADESH
ODI series
07-Oct	(1) England 309-8 beat Bangladesh 288 47.5 by 21 runs	Dhaka
09-Oct	Second ODI	Mirpur
12-Oct	Third ODI	Chittagong
Test series
20-24 Oct	First Test	Chittagong
28-01 Nov	Second Test	Mirpur

	INDIA
Test series
09-13 Nov	First Test	Rajkot
17-21 Nov	Second Test	Visakhapatnam
26-30 Nov	Third Test	Mohali
08-12 Dec	Fourth Test	Mumbai
16-20 Dec	Fifth Test	Chennai
ODI series
15-Jan-2017	First ODI	Pune
19-Jan-2017	Second ODI	Cuttack
22-Jan-2017	Third ODI	Kolkata
T20 series
26-Jan-2017	First T20I	Kanpur
29-Jan-2017	Second T20I	Nagpur
01-Feb-2017	Third T20I	Bangalore

Underdogs Durham defy the doubters

DURHAM secured a third County Championship title in six seasons after skipper Paul Collingwood and his ferocious bowling attack produced a storming second half of the season. 

The campaign included a club-record five consecutive wins as Durham defied the doubters to rack up 10 top-flight victories, three more than any other team. 

But, despite opening with a win against Somerset, England's most northerly county cricket club actually suffered a rather sleepy start to the season. 

Well-beaten away against Warwickshire, captain Collingwood was stunned when Yorkshire successfully chased down a target of 336 to make it two defeats out of three. 

Yorkshire reached their mammoth total thanks in no small part to Joe Root who hit 182 - and put himself in prime position for an Ashes call-up. 

Durham responded well, with impressive consecutive away wins at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire and the Oval against struggling Surrey. 

But that progress was checked by successive draws in a rain-affected match against Middlesex and on a typically flat track at Taunton against Somerset. 

Safely nestled in mid-table, Durham had already defied the bookmakers and many preview writers who had put them down as favourites for relegation. No one was thinking much about the title, though. 

Then, in a remarkable game of twists and turns at the Riverside, Durham avenged their early-season defeat to Warwickshire, sneaking home by just 11 runs. 

Requiring 257 to complete the double, an eighth-wicket stand between Jeetan Patel and Ateeq Javid had brought the target within 25 runs. 

But Graham Onions and Ben Stokes combined to remove the final three wickets just in time. 

For the next match, Onions was away on England duty, of sorts, but it mattered not. 

Derbyshire had found the season tough going so the last thing they needed was to face Chris Rushworth on his 27th birthday and in the form of his life. 

Rushworth finished with match figures of 10-103 as a crushing victory set up Durham for a late-season tilt at the title.

First, though, Durham failed twice with the bat to go down to defeat inside three days at Middlesex - though this was probably their toughest match left on the fixture list. 

A home match next against Surrey was ideal, and - still without Onions - two young bowlers Jamie Harrison and Mark Wood hit their stride, each taking a five-wicket haul in the two separate innings. 

In doing that, they set up the biggest win of the season - by an innings and 144 runs - as Durham headed to the North Yorkshire coast in fine spirits. 

The match against Yorkshire at the out-ground in Scarborough was absolutely pivotal to the season as a whole. 

The two northern rivals had become the primary challengers for the Championship crown - although, with Yorkshire ahead by 25 points going into the contest, Durham were undoubtedly more desperate for the result. 

Things started badly for Durham who found themselves 5-2 inside the first three overs but a trio of centuries from Stokes (127), Mark Stoneman (120) and Michael Richardson (102) contributed to a massive total of 573. 

Yorkshire crumbled under the scoreboard pressure with nine wickets and a run out shared equally between Rushworth, Harrison, Stokes, Wood and the excellent Scott Borthwick. 

Asked to follow-on, the White Rose county made a much better job of it second time around, Phil Jacques hitting 152 to bring the draw back into the equation. 

But a second collapse on the final day saw Yorkshire slump from 283-1 to 419 all out, leaving Durham enough time to chase a target of 121. 

Borthwick starred with the bat, scoring 65 off 85 balls, as Durham delivered a huge statement of intent by collecting maximum points from a very tough match. 

Just three days later, Collingwood's men went top for the first time, beating the Championship's early pace-setters Sussex inside three days as Onions picked up seven wickets in the match on his return. 

Then, Midlands pair Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire were well and truly routed by the Durham bowlers. 

First, Derbyshire looked to be putting up some kind of fight as Durham achieved only a 27-run lead on first innings. 

But Onions then took 5-23 in the second innings, including a spell of 5-4 in 41 balls, for match figures of 9-85. Derbyshire were out for 63, and Durham were on the brink. 

The title came at home and it came in style. This time, the wickets were more shared out - three each for Onions, Rushworth and Harrison, and one for another impressive youngster Usman Arshad - but the result was the same: Nottinghamshire were all out for 78. 

With Durham 45-5 in reply, meaning 15 wickets had fallen in the first 48 overs of the match, a mandatory pitch inspection - and possible points deduction - became a real danger. 

However, Collingwood put the acceptable quality of the pitch in perspective, combining with his predecessor as captain, Phil Mustard, in a stand of 121. 

Nottinghamshire, too, batted better in their second innings but their total of 246 still left Durham only 69 runs to chase. 

There was one over left in the day - and the possibility of eight more - when Stoneman and his fellow opener Keaton Jennings took to the crease. 

But, despite a bright, sunny evening, Collingwood was aware that - with two days left in the game - there was no need to rush.

Durham declined the option of taking the extra overs, returning instead for a third day which was free to attend for spectators. 

Rain delayed the start of play but, Durham were not to be denied - and the celebrations were in full flow by 2.30pm after Stoneman had knocked off the winning runs. 

In their final match, the newly-crowned champions lost to Sussex in Hove by six wickets for only a second Championship defeat since the end of April.

Indeed, since Collingwood's appointment, Durham have won 14 County Championship matches out of 22, a record which has taken the club from winless and bottom of the league in July 2012 to champions in September 2013. 

Following their battle of survival last year, little was expected of Durham in this campaign - and, although many pundits are now wiping egg of their face, their low expectations were understandable. 

For a start, Durham began the season with a deduction of 2.5 points for breaking salary cap regulations in 2012 and ongoing financial problems even left them going cap in hand to the county council for help. 

There was no chance of being able to afford an overseas player and a budget pre-season featured a climb up Ben Dubh near Loch Lomond to build fitness. 

By the middle of the season, things were looking worse again. The club's all-time leading run scorer Dale Benkenstein had succumbed to a shoulder injury and, more catastrophically still, the club's long-serving director of cricket, Geoff Cook, suffered a cardiac arrest while out running on a towpath adjoining the Riverside. 

Cook spent five days in an induced coma and had to watch the rest of the season unfold from afar. But Collingwood, a three-time Ashes-winning hero, stood firm.

The 37-year-old is a local captain of a team with its roots very much wedded to the north east. Gateshead-born Onions went to my secondary school in Blaydon, while Borthwick, Stoneman, Mustard and Rushworth all hail from the north east too. 

Meanwhile, the likes of Stokes, Harrison and Arshad may be from further afield but all of them rose through the ranks of the Durham Academy.

It is all so far removed from Durham's early years in the County Championship. 

At just 21 years old, the north easterners are still its newest members - and, in the first seven seasons, never finished above 14th out of 18 teams, thrice finishing bottom. 

In 1999, the English Cricket Board decided to split the Championship into two divisions and, amazingly, Durham finished eighth to make it into the top flight of the split. 

Inevitably, though, Durham were immediately relegated and then spent five seasons milling about the second division before promotion in 2005. 

A remarkable final-day survival in 2006 saw Durham finish just half a point above the champions from the previous season, Nottinghamshire, who were promptly relegated. 

Then, in 2007, Durham won their first major trophy, thrashing Hampshire by 125 runs in the final of the 50-over Friends Provident trophy at Lord's. 

Better was to come with remarkable back-to-back successes in the County Championship in 2008 and 2009 while, off the pitch, the Riverside has been developed into a ground of international stature, culminating in it hosting the fourth Test of this summer's Ashes series. 

It is not too much to say that none of this would have been achievable without the foresight and ambition of Cook - and Collingwood was quick to acknowledge that. 

"I know every man in the dressing room wanted to do it for Geoff," said Collingwood. 

"For Durham to win the title three times in 21 years – many good players don't win it at all – a lot of it has to go down to Geoff."

Cook, who has said he will re-evaluate his future at the end of the season, is nevertheless on the mend - but, even if he does retire, he leaves Durham in fine shape - on and off the field.  
  
MATCH-BY-MATCH Durham's March to the Championship
WLLWWDDWWLWWWWWL

Dates	Fixture	Venue	Result	Points	Total
10-13 April	Somerset (H)	Riverside	won by 42 runs	18.5	-
17-20 April	Warwickshire (A)	Edgbaston	lost by 318 runs	5	23.5
24-27 April	Yorkshire (H)	Riverside	lost by four wickets	4	27.5
29 Apr-2 May	Nottinghamshire (A)	Trent Bridge	won by six wickets	22	49.5
10-13 May	Surrey (A)	The Oval	won by five wickets	21	70.5
22-25 May	Middlesex (H)	Riverside	drawn	8	78.5
6-9 June	Somerset (A)	Taunton	drawn	9	87.5
12-14 June	Warwickshire (H)	Riverside	won by 11 runs	21	108.5
8-11 July	Derbyshire (H)	Riverside	won by 279 runs	21	129.5
2-4 August	Middlesex (A)	Lord's	lost by six wickets	3	132.5
22-25 August	Surrey (H)	Riverside	won by an innings and 144	23	155.5
28-31 August	Yorkshire (A)	Scarborough	won by seven wickets	24	179.5
3-5 Sep	Sussex (H)	Riverside	won by 285 runs	20	199.5
11-14 Sep	Derbyshire (A)	Derby	won by nine wickets	22	221.5
17-19 Sep	Nottinghamshire (H)	Riverside	won by eight wickets	21	242.5
24-27 Sep	Sussex (A)	Hove	lost by six wickets	3	245.5

Other competitions
Clydesdale Bank Pro40 Finished fourth out of seven in group stage (W7 L4 NR0)
Friends Life T20 lost in QF to Northamptonshire by 36 runs. Finished third in group (W6 L4)

FINAL STANDINGS County Championship Division One

Pos	Team	W	L	D	Bat	Bowl	Points
1	DURHAM	10	4	2	36	46	245.5*
2	Yorkshire	7	2	7	49	39	221
3	Sussex	5	3	8	45	39	188
4	Warwickshire	5	2	9	37	42	186
5	Middlesex	6	5	5	32	39	182
6	Somerset	3	5	8	33	41	146
7	Nottinghamshire	2	5	9	47	40	146
8 (R)	Derbyshire	3	10	3	31	34	122
9 (R)	Surrey	1	6	9	36	37	116

*Durham were deducted 2.5 points for breaching salary cap regulations in the 2012 season

Promoted from County Championship Division Two Lancashire, Northamptonshire
Points scoring in the County Championship (max 24 points)
Win 16 Draw 3 Loss 0
Batting
200-249 runs - 1 point
250-299 runs - 2 points
300-349 runs - 3 points
350-399 runs - 4 points
400+ runs - 5 points
Bowling
3-5 wickets - 1 point
6-8 wickets - 2 points
9-10 wickets - 3 points
Batting/Bowling points apply for first 110 overs of the first innings only

England end tumultuous summer on top

ENGLAND claimed a highly satisfying win over Pakistan in the fifth One-Day International to complete a clean sweep of series wins this summer.

Eoin Morgan hit an unbeaten century while Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad took three wickets each as England bowled Pakistan out for 135 to win by 121 runs.

Victory at the Rose Bowl gave England a 3-2 series win to add to their 3-1 success against the Pakistanis in Test cricket and the 2-0 win in the Twenty20 series.

But the latter part of this summer has been a torturous affair of rumour and innuendo with Pakistan in the dock over spot-fixing allegations.

The story first came to light in the News of the World on the fourth and final day of the fourth and final Test which England won massively by an innings and 225 runs.

The reports surrounded three of Pakistan players - captain Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and 18-year-old Mohammed Amir - who allegedly agreed to bowl three no-balls to order on the first two days of the Test.

No-balls were indeed bowled at the supposedly pre-determined times by Amir and Asif, and the three players have been provisionally suspended and charged by the sport's governing body, the ICC.

Scotland Yard has also opened an investigation and the players were interviewed by the Metropolitan Police who believe the video evidence to be genuine.

The evidence is now with the Crown Prosecution Service who must decide whether to proceed with the case.

But the incident may not have been isolated. After the third ODI match, the ICC announced it was opening a separate investigation into a suspicious scoring pattern following a tip-off by The Sun.

The ECB confirmed no English players were involved in that investigation either.

However, the squad then became embroiled in the controvery after the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt alleged England had been paid to lose the third ODI.

Butt has presented no evidence for his claim which was strenuously denied by skipper Strauss and the rest of the squad.

Indeed, the England team has now called on Butt to make an unreserved apology or face legal proceedings.

Altogether, the ongoing saga has left a nasty taste in the mouth and made it difficult to enjoy the actual cricket being played.

Even Strauss said the England team had played the last two ODI matches "through gritted teeth".

When it is clear the players are not enjoying the contest, it is more difficult still for supporters which is a shame because, until this controversy, England had enjoyed a fruitful season.

In May, the shortest form of the game landed England their first ever senior ICC World Cup, beating Australia in the Final.

Then, back home, England beat Bangladesh as expected in the opening two Test matches of the summer at Lord's and at Old Trafford, although it was perhaps not as easy as the final score suggests.

At Lord's, Jonathan Trott scored 226 of England's 505 first innings runs while Bangladesh could only respond with 282.

Following on, the Bangladeshis did rather better, scoring 382, mainly down to Tamim Iqbal's particularly impressive 103.

Nevertheless, England knocked off the required runs by tea and Steve Finn won man of the match by taking match figures of 9-187.

The second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford was rather more straightforward. England again made a decent first innings total of 419, man of the match Ian Bell with 128 and Matt Prior with 93.

This time, Bangladesh collapsed horribly in successive sessions. With rain having affected the early part of the match, the tourists had an outside chance of a draw on 126-1.

But, despite Iqbal's second century of the series, Bangladesh were all out for 216 by the end of an elongated Saturday evening session.

Having just failed to make the follow-on, the Bangladeshi batsmen wearily took the crease again on Sunday morning.

They were bowled out for 123 in 34.1 overs and England had won a match by lunch on the third day when it had looked evenly matched at tea on the second day.

Limited overs cricket would dominate for the next part of the summer as England took on Australia, smarting from their Test series draw with Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

England took advantage of a vulnerable Aussie team to win the first three of five ODIs.

Morgan starred in the first at the Rose Bowl, scoring an unbeaten 103 as England chased down their target of 268 with four wickets and fully four overs to spare.

In the second match in Cardiff, Stuart Broad took four wickets and helped restrict Australia to 239 which England again chased successfully with four wickets and over four overs in hand.

England's third victory at Old Trafford was much tigher. The hosts won the toss and man of the match Swann took 4-37 as Australia scored 212.

Andrew Strauss scored 87 as England scrambled over the line to win by one wicket with five balls left thanks to Tim Bresnan's unbeaten 14 runs.

Despite the third loss confirming a series defeat for the Aussies, the tightness of the match seemed to have swayed in the momentum in their favour.

Indeed, Ricky Ponting's men somewhat saved face with easy victories in the last two matches, by 78 runs and 42 runs at the Oval and Lord's respectively.

England also seemed to lose focus in a second set of ODIs, this time against Bangladesh.

Having won the first match easily enough, England collapsed to 231 in the second ODI in Bristol, five runs short of Bangladesh's total, despite Trott's best attempts as last man out on 94.

It was the first time the Tigers had beaten England in any form of the game and set up an unlikely decider at Trent Bridge two days later.

England responded well to that unexpected setback by thrashing Bangladesh in the third ODI.

Strauss and Trott scored centuries to set a huge total of 347-7, far too much for the tourists who were out for 203 in 45 overs.

Next up was Pakistan but they proved just as fragile as Bangladesh in losing the first two Tests of the series by being bowled out for their lowest score against England twice in successive matches.

Before this summer, that record low stood at 87 but Pakistan were bowled out for 80 in the first Test and 72 in the second Test to rewrite the record books twice.

In the first Test, Morgan and Prior scored a centuries in each innings as England won by 354 runs.

And in the second Test, Strauss and Trott both hit unbeaten half-centuries as England chased down a target of 118 runs with nine wickets to spare.

Remarkably, the third Test was then won by Pakistan as England struggled this time with the bat.

Out-of-form Alastair Cook hit a welcome second innings century but had little help from his team mates as the hosts were bowled out for 222 to set Pakistan 148 to win.

The tourists looked like strolling to their target on 103-2 but lost four wickets for 29 runs in a middle-order wobble before Umar Akmal and Amir kept the series alive.

But, having produced some fighting spirit, Pakistan reverted to type in a fourth Test which will now be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

It should have been remembered for the record eighth-wicket stand in Test history between Trott and man of the match Stuart Broad whose partnership was worth an outstanding 332 runs.

Pakistan had put England in some trouble having won the toss and England were staring down the barrel at 102-7.

But Trott's 184 and Broad's 169 took the match completely away from Pakistan who then compounded their failure to capitalise by being bowled out for 74.

Following on, there was only a little more resistance in the second innings as Pakistan were bowled out for 174 amid a mournful atmosphere at Lord's after the morning's spot-fixing allegations.

It was no surprise that the dispirited tourists were then turned over four times in quick succession by England - twice in the Twenty20s and then in the first two ODIs.

Then, Pakistan showed some fight for only the second time all summer to win back-to-back ODIs and set up today's decider.

Morgan's century and Swann's bowling kept England's excellent recent record going and the squad should travel to Australia to defend the Ashes in good spirits.

As for Pakistan - they will have to face whatever repercussions come their way if the allegations are proven.

Having done their best to spoil the summer, I do not think I will be alone in being glad to see the back of Pakistan, for now at least.

ENGLAND'S SUMMER RESULTS SUMMARY
Npower Test match series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-0
First Test (Lord's) England 505 & 160-2 bt Bangladesh 282 & 382 by 8 wickets
Second Test (Old Trafford) England 419 bt Bangladesh 216 & 123 by an innings and 80 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Australia
England won series 3-2
22.06 Rose Bowl England 268-6 bt Australia 267-7 by four wickets (24 balls left)
24.06 Sophia Gardens England 243-6 bt Australia 239-7 by four wickets (28 balls)
27.06 Old Trafford England 214-9 bt Australia 212 by one wicket (five balls left)
30.06 The Oval Australia 290-5 bt England 212 by 78 runs
03.07 Lord's Australia 277-7 bt England 235 by 42 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-1
08.07 Trent Bridge England 251-4 bt Bangladesh 250-9 by six wickets (29 balls left)
10.07 Bristol Bangladesh 236-7 bt England 231 bt five runs
12.07 Edgbaston England 347-7 bt Bangladesh 203 by 144 runs

Npower Test match series vs Pakistan
England won series 3-1
First Test (Trent Bridge) England 354 & 262-9dec bt Pakistan 182 & 80 by 354 runs
Second Test (Edgbaston) England 251 & 118-1 bt Pakistan 72 & 296 by nine wickets
Third Test (The Oval) Pakistan 308 & 148-6 bt England 233 & 222 by four wickets
Fourth Test (Lord's) England 446 bt Pakistan 74 & 147 by an innings and 225 runs
Natwest Twenty20 series vs Pakistan
England won series 2-0
05.09 Sophia Gardens England 129-5 bt Pakistan 126-4 by five wickets (17 balls left)
07.09 Sophia Gardens England 90-4 bt Pakistan 89 by six wickets (36 balls left)
Natwest ODI series vs Pakistan
England/Pakistan won series 3-2
10.09 Chester-le-Street England 274-6 bt Pakistan 250-9 by 24 runs
12.09 Headingley England 295-6 bt Pakistan 294-8 by four wickets (three balls left)
17.09 The Oval Pakistan 241 bt England 218 by 23 runs
20.09 Lord's Pakistan 265-7 bt England 227 by 38 runs
22.09 Rose Bowl England 256-6 bt Pakistan 135 by 135 runs

DOMESTIC SEASON
Nottinghamshire won the County Championship for the sixth time in their history in dramatic style, pipping perennial bridesmaids Somerset in the final session of the final day of the season.

It should have been so much easier for Notts who held a handsome lead with a month of the campaign left.

But successive heavy defeats to Durham and Yorkshire, where they were bowled out for 59, threw the title race wide open and Somerset looked set to capitalise.

Notts were then frustrated in the final round of matches against Lancashire with only 28 overs played in the first three days because of persistent rain in Manchester.

In the meantime, Somerset were on top against outgoing champions Durham at Chester-le-Street, collecting maximum batting points and a first innings lead of 140.

But a failure to bowl out Durham quickly on the final day would cost Somerset who were unable to mount a serious attempt at chasing down 181 after the loss of three early wickets.

With Somerset having had to settle for a draw, the title was back in Notts' hands - but only if they could score 400 runs and then take three Lancashire wickets.

Resuming on 89-2, Notts scored quickly but lost regular wickets after the fifth-wicket partnership of 153 by Adam Voges and Samit Patel had been broken up.

When Andre Adams departed on 390-9, Notts still required 10 more runs for a vital batting bonus point.

Ryan Sidebottom and Darren Pattinson held their nerve to reach 400 and Notts had 17 overs left to take three Lancashire wickets for the title.

Notts capped an excellent performance, considering how limited their time on the field had been, by taking just 30 balls to claim the required wickets.

Sidebottom struck first to remove Karl Brown before Adams took the wickets of Mark Chilton and Shiv Chanderpaul in the same over as the rain started to fall again.

It was a cruel blow for Somerset who had been unbeaten in the Championship since April after two defeats in their first two matches.

Somerset had also lost the Friends Provident Twenty20 Final on account of having lost one more wicket than Hampshire after both teams finished their 20 overs on 173.

And, as if to prove such misfortunes come in threes, Somerset lost the Clydesdale Bank 40 over Final at Lord's to Warwickshire by three wickets.

Thus, the men from Taunton remarkably finished runners-up in all three of this season's competitions.

LV County Championship
Champions: Nottinghamshire 214pts, seven wins
Runners-up: Somerset 214pts, six wins
Relegated: Kent 151pts, Essex 126pts
Promoted: Sussex 235pts, Worcestershire 208pts
Wooden spoon: Derbyshire 138pts
Clydesdale Bank 40
Final: Warwickshire 200-7 bt Somerset 199 by three wickets
Semi Finals: Somerset 312-6 bt Essex 217 by 95 runs
Warwickshire 260-6 bt Yorkshire 257-5 by four wickets
Friends Provident Twenty20
Final: Hampshire 173-5 bt Somerset 173-6 on fewer wickets lost
Semi Finals: Hampshire 157-4 bt Essex 156-7 by six wickets
Somerset 182-5 bt Nottinghamshire 117-4 by three runs (D/L)

Sport Preview, 17-19 April (Part III)

Part three reviews another exciting week off the track for Formula 1 and previews the third race of the season, the China GP. It also looks at the first round of matches in this season's County Championship.

Brawn GP continue to dominate Formula 1 at the third race of the season in Shanghai in China.

In the first two practices, Jenson Button finished second and first with team-mate Rubens Barrichello finishing third in both sessions.

The continued success on the track follows excellent news off the track this week for Brawn when their rear diffuser was declared legal by the governing body FIA.

This ruling came despite Ferrari lawyer Nigel Tozzi QC weighing in with an ill-though description of team manager Ross Brawn as “a person of supreme arrogance”.

Perhaps it’s not surprising to see Ferrari act in this way – it’s not often they are without a point after the first two rounds – but it does not leave it any less distasteful.

The other big news in midweek was the confirmation of the expected departure of Ron Dennis from McLaren.

Dennis denied the timing of his departure was linked to McLaren’s FIA hearing on April 29 where the team will answer charges of

He had attended the Australian GP (although he was not in team colours) but watched the Malaysian GP on television having handed over complete control of McLaren Racing to Martin Whitmarsh at the start of the season.

Dennis said he found it “surprisingly easy” to keep his emotions in check as a remote viewer.

And McLaren have been much easier on the eye this weekend. Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the first practice session and team mate Heikki Kovalainen was fourth.

In second practice, though, the two McLarens dropped to ninth (Kovalainen) and 13th.

And so the early signs are that Brawn GP’s main competition may come from the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, Red Bull’s Mark Webber (5th then 4th) and Williams’ Nico Rosberg (2nd in session two).

The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen (11th then 14th) and Felipe Massa (15th then 12th) have been nowhere so far this weekend.

Likewise Fernando Alonso (9th and 19th) has shown very little.

In the drivers’ championship, Button on 15pts leads team mate Barrichello on 10pts with Trulli on 8.5pts and Glock on 8pts in third and fourth.



In cricket, the County Championship began this week although defending champions Durham are not in action this weekend after beating Durham UCCE in an MCC match earlier today.

The first win of the season came at the Rose Bull where Hants (216 & 107-3, 18 points) beat Worcestershire (132 & 189, 3 points) by seven wickets within three days.

In the only other first division match, Ian Bell scored 172 as Warwickshire racked up 500 in their first innings. Somerset have so far reached 435-4 with James Hildreth not out on 188 in a likely draw.

In division two, Derbyshire (326 & 4-1 currently) enjoy a first innings lead over Essex (194) in a match which saw only 23 overs bowled on day two.

And Gloucestershire, who scored 333 in their first innings, have also been frustrated by the unsettled spring weather which washed out all of day three. They had Surrey on a perilous 18-3 at the end of day two.

Finally, after no play on day two, Leicestershire are still struggling at 102-7 in reply to Northants’ 387, short by 135 of avoiding the follow-on.

Sport Preview, 11-12 April

This week’s sports preview sees the battle to beat the drop from the Premier League take centre stage once again.

Football
Starting at the Riverside Stadium, freefalling Hull City (15th, 34 points) will go a long way to retaining their Premier League status by beating Middlesbrough (19th, 27 points).

The Tigers have managed only two league wins since October. But they face a Boro team which is already five points from safety having slumped to an alarming 4-1 defeat against Bolton Wanderers last week.

Stoke City (13th, 35 points) can make themselves just about safe by continuing their excellent home form against struggling Newcastle United (18th, 29 points) in Alan Shearer’s first away match as manager.

And Portsmouth (16th, 33 points) will expect to beat lowly West Bromwich Albion (20th, 24 points) at home to move within the finishing line, the Baggies having been cut adrift at the bottom and now eight points from safety.

Sunderland (17th, 32 points) face an altogether tougher home assignment against leaders Manchester United. But they will be heartened by United’s recent record of ten goals conceded in their last four matches.

United’s nearest challengers, Liverpool (one point behind, having played a game more) entertain
Blackburn Rovers (14th, 34 points) on the back of their 3-1 home defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter finals.

Chelsea (a further three points back, having also played a game more than United) play Bolton Wanderers, the Trotters having jumped up to 37 points with that 4-1 success over Middlesbrough.

Leading the chase for the final Europa Cup place, West Ham United in seventh travel to Tottenham Hotspur, unbeaten at home in all competitions since November, in a London derby.

And eight-placed Wigan Athletic, who are three points behind the Hammers, play at home against fourth-placed Arsenal, who are unbeaten in the league since November.

On Sunday, Manchester City will want to bounce back quickly from their disappointing midweek defeat to Hamburg in the Uefa Cup by beating Fulham, with only one away win all season, at home.

And Aston Villa, not so long ago leading Arsenal in the fight for fourth place, now have to protect fifth from Everton who are just one point behind before their visit to Villa Park.


Golf
This weekend will also see the conclusion of the first Major of the year at the Augusta National in the US Masters.

After the first two rounds, leaders Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry are on -9 with Argentina’s Angel Cabrera on -8 as their only immediate challenger.

Campbell has led the competition from its early stages but was joined at the top by his American compatriot Perry after he had shot a five-under-par 67 yesterday.

Another American, Todd Hamilton, is in fourth on -6 with South African Tim Clarke just behind on -5, hoping to emulate his countryman Trevor Immelman’s success last year.

In a remarkable turn of events on day two, American Antony Kim recovered from a 75 on the opening day to hit a course-record 11 birdies in a round of 65 to jump to -4.

The European challenge is being led by a Spaniard and a Swede with Sergio Garcia also on -4 and Henrik Stenson on -3 at the halfway stage.

A whole host of players are at -2 including Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, looking for a third successive Major title after the Open and US Open last year.

Joining Harrington on -2 are England’s Lee Westwood and 1988 champion Sandy Lyle, the Scot making the cut for a third successive Masters after he hit five successive birdies on the back nine yesterday.

Northern Ireland’s young gun Rory McIlroy, also on -2, faced a nervous wait before being confirmed in the third round.

McIlroy endured a frustrating second round, dropping five shots on the last three holes and appearing to kick the sand when trapped in a bunker on the last.

But he was later cleared of infringing the rules after Masters officials ruled that he was not testing the conditions.

Tiger Woods put in another steady round and is another man on -2. Woods will certainly be one to watch out for tomorrow as it is likely to be then when he makes his move, for Woods has never won a Major having been behind after 54 holes.

Of those who did not make the halfway cut, South Africa’s Gary Player and possibly Australian Greg Norman will have made their last appearance at Augusta.


Other sports
In rugby union, the four quarter finals of the Heineken Cup will be played this weekend.

On Saturday, Cardiff Blues face Toulouse at home and in an all-English contest Leicester Tigers face Bath at Welford Road.

On Sunday, Harlequins are at home to Leinster while Ospreys travel to bookmakers' favourites Munster.


In cricket, defending County champions Durham will resume their first innings on 311-4 on the final day of this season’s curtain raiser against the MCC at Lords.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this being England on a Bank Holiday weekend, rain has washed out any chance of a result in that match.