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ScorecardNick Compton made his first significant score of the tour•Getty Images

As is the case with most three-day first-class games in India, there wasn’t much at stake in terms of the result between the visiting England XI and Mumbai A at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium. But winning or losing was the last thing on everyone’s mind in the England camp, for this game anyway, and they made full use of their last day in Mumbai on all counts.After Graham Onions – just like James Anderson the previous evening – struck in his first over with the second new ball, the left-arm spin duo of Monty Panesar and Samit Patel didn’t take long to dislodge the lower order; opener Nick Compton finally managed to occupy the crease for well over three ours – albeit against mediocre bowling; and, most importantly, Stuart Broad, who needed a scan on his heel on Sunday, was not just back on the field in the morning but also was cleared of a serious injury.So, as the England camp wrapped up the first of their three Mumbai legs on the India tour, they would have been feeling slightly better than they were coming in to the game. Compton, who remained unbeaten on 64 when the teams shook hands, said there had been “a number of good performances” over the last week.”[Alastair] Cook has got a hundred, [Jonny] Bairstow has got a hundred, Samit has batted consistently well,” he said. “Panesar’s bowling was accurate, exceptional. I do feel that some batsmen have played well and that does bode well.”After dismissing the remaining six Mumbai batsmen for 46 runs, England scored 149 for 2 in 52 overs – 22 of which were bowled by part-time bowlers. Compton, who was dismissed for 0 and 1 in his first two innings on tour, finally managed to get it right and helped raise England’s highest opening partnership so far. Joe Root, who started off as impressively as in the first innings, fell shouldering arms to a Shardul Thakur delivery that came in and rapped him on the pads with the score on 38 but Compton carried on to get a more substantial feel of batting in Indian conditions.And he was candid in admitting how difficult it is to concentrate on a day when there’s nothing much at stake.”Mentally it’s quite challenging. It was a bit of a challenge when they brought on a couple of spinners who probably don’t bowl that much in first-class cricket,” Compton said. “But it’s about having the right attitude in these situations, every single ball, every single minute is important. Especially for me, having missed out in the first game. It’s more of a mental battle, getting back to run-scoring mode. The opposition wasn’t brilliant at the end, but they bowled quite accurately in the first hour.”In the morning, Mumbai A’s Hiken Shah, who started the day 16 runs shy of a deserved century, started off with two well-timed boundaries off Onions. However, the left-hander was then caught in two minds about whether to play at a ball that was going down leg and edged it to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. Naturally, he was disappointed to have missed out on a hundred and stood his ground in disbelief before taking the long walk back. Panesar and Patel then made short work of the tail, picking off the last five Mumbai A wickets for 22 runs off 41 balls.

ScorecardBy this stage of an English summer, Marcus Trescothick customarily has scored around 1500 runs at a rather superior average than any other batsman in the country and hence there is highly optimistic talk of a call-up for the final international match. It is axiomatic that he remains the best opener in the County Championship. For no fault of his own, the scenario has been altogether different this year.If Trescothick was going to be severely injured, as he was at Trent Bridge in May, it was best that this should happen this sodden summer. He was out of action for three months. In seven championship innings, which has been all he has managed owing to his ankle problem, he had not made a half century. He had not looked especially out of touch, but his had been a long lay-off and there was an instantaneous requirement to pick up his game, however late in the season and however bowler-friendly the conditions.Such encumbrance fell away now. In making an unbeaten 89, Trescothick rocked backwards and forwards and propelled the ball through to the cover boundary. There were the customary flicks off his legs, dabs to third man, which was not always tenanted, and, since he has managed to keep pretty fit, some good running between the wickets. A couple of winters ago he was offered £1m by his then bat sponsor if he cleared the pavilion at Lord’s. You would not have bet against him in this touch.Statistics can appear skewed and none more so than when the realisation dawned that Trescothick was approaching the 50th first-class century of his career. Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash are more or less contemporaries, are not nearly such successful international batsmen, and yet each has more than double that tally.Anyway, he will be pleased with this innings, for not only did it signal a return to form, but it was not scored on the kind of flat Taunton surface of old.There was appreciable turn before lunch for Monty Panesar, who thought he had had Trescothick caught at short leg on 60, following through as if he was a fast bowler. Umpire Nick Cook had a word with him at the end of the over. That was the one discordant note on a day when the ball constantly seemed to be hitting the sweet spot of his bat and go pinging off towards the boundary.The other Somerset batsmen did not fare so well. Arul Suppiah was soon bowled by Steve Magoffin, playing an indeterminate pushed drive; Chris Jones was caught at cover, not to the pitch of a rare ball that Panesar did not push through; and James Hildreth, going back to the same bowler and trying to square cut, was taken by Ben Brown. That was131 for 3.Just before 3pm torrential rain began, preventing any further play. Sussex had not looked like dismissing Trescothick, surely still the best opening batsman in England, but they are in need of wickets, lying as they are 11 points behind Warwickshire, the Division One leaders. Last season Trescothick scored 1,673 first-class runs at an average of 79.66. Before his eighth innings of this season, he had mustered just 94 at 13.42. This innings will have brought about a significant improvement on those figures. He has hit 16 fours thus far.

ScorecardSteve Harmison, seen here for Durham, produced another mixed bag but ended the match with five wickets•Getty Images

For the first three days of this match Yorkshire’s cricketers laid siege to Grace Road; on the fourth they hoped Leicestershire would finally capitulate and surrender the 16 points for a win that would have left Andrew Gale’s team a single point behind second division leaders Derbyshire having played one game more.Leicestershire did not yield though. While Grace Road may be more an embattled town than a mighty fortress these days, its citizens are a proud lot, and a sixth-wicket partnership of 67 in 24 overs between Ned Eckersley and Wayne White in mid-afternoon played an important role in securing the draw and denying Gale’s men the victory they craved.The weather was vital, too; indeed, it probably saved Leicestershire and provided Yorkshire with the most frustrating day of their season. One downpour delayed the start of play until 12.15pm; another prevented the restart after lunch for 80 minutes; and a final shower after tea caused play to be delayed until 5.45pm when 6.1 overs were left in the game and the visitors needed four wickets.They could not manage it. Although Eckersley was snaffled by Root at short leg off Asad Rafiq for a valiant 26, Paul Dixey and Claude Henderson defied the Yorkshire bowlers and the ring of predatory fielders to bat out the remaining 17 balls of the game. In all, a total of 60 overs were lost in the day. If Yorkshire do not win promotion, players and supporters may look back on events at Grace Road as being crucial to their eventual fate.The disappointment of the visitors was exacerbated by the tantalising capture of three vital wickets in the ten overs that were possible in the morning session. Two of these were the work of Harmison, who continued to mix a most erratic line and a tendency to overstep the crease with the capacity to produce a devastating delivery made all the more lethal by the wayward stuff that surrounded it. His first over contained a long-hop, a couple of very wide balls and, fatally for Ramnaresh Sarwan, a superb yorker which the Guyanese seemed barely to see. For the second time in the match Leicestershire’s best batsman had been castled by one of Yorkshire’s least impressive; Sarwan trooped off morosely, perhaps meditating upon the iniquities visited on the righteous by the ungodly.Worse was to come for Leicestershire. Four overs later, first innings centurion Matt Boyce clipped a Harmison half-volley straight to short leg where the ball hit Joe Root, who had the presence of mind and quickness of reflex to catch the rebound. Shiv Thakor kept out one delivery before he was lbw to his second, a full and straight affair from Steve Patterson which trapped the slow-moving batsman on the crease. And if second slip Adam Lyth had then held on to an edged chance offered by White off Steven Patterson, Leicestershire would have been 90 for 6 and tottering.Instead, Yorkshire had to wait until 4.35pm to claim White’s wicket when Bairstow held on to an edge off Rafiq. One ball later, as if on order from Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard, the rain returned. The siege engines had been hampered by the weather. Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie and his charges now take their trebuchets and mangonels to Northampton for a championship match on Wednesday.Yorkshire’s irritation at Monday’s outcome was perhaps assuaged a little by the fact that Hampshire hung on for a draw against Kent, so the 11 points Gale’s team gained at Grace Road moves them up to second place in Division Two. Leicestershire’s eight points moves them above Glamorgan at the foot of the table.

Scorecard
Veerasammy Permaul (centre) took four wickets and was then involved in a 35-run ninth-wicket stand•West Indies Cricket

An unbeaten 35-run stand between West Indies A captain Veerasammy Permaul and Nikita Miller for the ninth wicket helped the hosts come from behind to beat India A by two wickets* in their first unofficial ODI played at St George’s, Grenada.Chasing 191, West Indies seemed to be out of the game when they slid to 158 for 8, but Permaul combined with Miller to steer the hosts to victory, with three balls to spare. Permaul had picked up four wickets earlier in the day and made sure he was Man of the Match by scoring a match-winning 22, including a four and a six.Earlier, India A elected to bat and managed 190 in their 50-overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane put on a 49-run opening stand but the Indians lost their way after their departure as Permaul swept through the middle order. Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha all got starts before falling to Permaul.After posting 190, India A’s bowlers struck early by dismissing Test openers Adrian Barath for five and Kieran Powell, who followed at 42, after stroking 25 off 24 balls with three fours. Kirk Edwards then played aggressively, scoring 33 with two fours and a six to add 29 for the third wicket with Nkrumah Bonner.After Edwards’ departure with the score on 98, a 54-run, fifth-wicket stand between Jonathan Carter and Assad Fudadin kept the home side afloat. West Indies, though, lost four wickets for six runs, and were left needing Permaul and Miller ‘s heroics to clinch the victory.Both sides will, now, meet for the second unofficial ODI on June 29.*15.05 GMT, June 28: The article had incorrectly stated that India A were beaten by two runs. This has been changed.

ScorecardZafar Ansari boosted Surrey’s total with a brisk 60•PA Photos

Half-centuries from Tom Maynard and Zafar Ansari helped Surrey maintain their winning start to the CB40 as they overcame Durham by 60 runs at The Oval.After winning the toss and electing to bat Surrey were in trouble on 47 for 3 – with Mitchell Claydon taking all three wickets in 12 balls – but Maynard’s 77 steadied the ship and Ansari’s unbeaten 60 helped the hosts to 221 for 7.Durham lost wickets at regular intervals to undermine their chase and they were all out for 161, with Jade Dernbach, Stuart Meaker, Matthew Spriegel and Gareth Batty claiming two wickets apiece.The win was the third of the campaign for Surrey, the defending CB40 champions, and keeps them top of Group B, while Durham slipped to their first defeat.Steven Davies, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy all made bright starts, but Claydon left the hosts reeling. Davies, attempting to cut, was caught behind and two overs later, Hamilton-Brown was bowled on the walk, trying to repeat the stroke that had just brought him a boundary off Graham Onions. In the eighth over, Roy crunched two successive fours off Claydon, who had his revenge when he found some extra bounce and the 21-year-old batsman edged behind.Maynard added 58 in tandem with Zander de Bruyn but, in the space of four balls, de Bruyn was bowled through the gate by Gareth Breese and Spriegel was undone by a turning delivery from Scott Borthwick. Maynard then joined forces with Ansari, putting on 85 in 15 overs for the sixth wicket. Having taken the batting powerplay at start of the 34th over, Surrey added 62 runs in the final six overs.Maynard eventually went, caught low down at extra cover off Onions for a magnificent 77 off 94 balls, though not before Ansari had lifted Claydon over midwicket for six. Ansari then took charge, bringing up a 51-ball half-century, which he celebrated by pulling Onions for a maximum and finished unbeaten on 60 off 55 deliveries.In reply, Durham lost Phil Mustard, miscuing Dernbach to Roy at mid-off, in the third over. Ben Stokes swung Meaker over backward square leg for six only to be stumped off Spriegel, who struck again four overs later when Mark Stoneman was caught down the leg side to make it 59 for three.Without taking any undue risks, Gordon Muchall and Paul Collingwood combined to add 61 in 14 overs. But the pendulum swung in Surrey’s favour in the 28th over when Collingwood was bowled for 32, looking to sweep off-spinner Batty.With Will Smith playing on to Jade Dernbach and Muchall picking out Maynard at long-on off Batty having made 41, the visitors were left needing 89 off the last nine overs.Things went from bad to worse for Durham when Breese had to retire hurt with an injury to his right ankle. Liam Plunkett defiantly launched Dernbach straight back over his head for six, but ran out of partners when Meaker bowled both Onions then Claydon.

ScorecardRajshahi took only three days to pick up their fourth successive National Cricket League trophy after crushing Khulna by nine wickets. It was Rajshahi’s fifth title in the competition and the domination throughout the final was a reminder of how seriously they take first-class cricket.Farhad Hossain was the main man for the northern divisional side, taking six wickets in the game as well as scoring a half-century in the first innings. He was given the new ball in both innings, a wily move from the Rajshahi camp, and it paid off. In the first innings, Farhad removed Soumya Sarkar in the first over after a delayed start due to rain. In the second innings, he dismissed Sarkar first ball, trapping him leg-before again.Khulna had more in-form batsmen in their line-up but with Farhad rattling the top order so early with his part-time offspin, they seemingly gave up the mental battle in a game slated as a five-dayer. Rajshahi took a 46-run first innings lead with Junaid Siddique missing out on a century by five runs.Junaid smashed 14 boundaries in his 133-ball innings and was tested due to the oppressive heat and humidity. That probably played a part in him giving away his wicket to the part-time offspin of Tushar Imran so close to a century.Junaid shared a 173-run third wicket stand with Farhad, but Abdur Razzak took four wickets to bring Khulna back into the game. Khulna went on to succumb to spin in the second innings with left-arm spinners Saqlain Sajib and Sanjamul Islam running through the much-vaunted middle order.With only 127 to win, Mizanur Rahman smashed an unbeaten 80 off 75 balls to ensure a quick finish and leave enough time for his team to do the Rajshahi jig for the cameras.Farhad was named the Man of the Match and also the Man of the Tournament.

Graeme Swann’s autobiography has been nominated for two prizes at the British Sports Book Awards. Swann is nominated in the cricket book and autobiography of the year categories for his tale of drunken exploits, England exile and making offspin cool once again. will be up against Chris Waters’ , which is also nominated in the new writer category, with biographies dominating the field in the cricket award. Simon Wilde’s book on Ian Botham, Leo McKinstry on Jack Hobbs and David Tossell’s reappraisal of Tony Greig’s career make up the rest of the shortlist.There are also nominations for two cricket titles in the illustrated book of the year award. by Chris Arnot and by Laurence Griffiths will compete against Sir Steve Redgrave’s , among others.The awards, which are celebrating their 10th anniversary, will be presented at a black tie ceremony on Monday May 21. The winners of the 10 categories, which include football, rugby and golf, will then be entered into an online public vote to find the overall British Sports Book of the Year.

Cricket Book of the Year

by Chris Waters (Aurum)
by Simon Wilde (Simon & Schuster)
by Leo McKinstry (Yellow Jersey)
by Graeme Swann (Hodder & Stoughton)
by David Tossell (Pitch Publishing)

Autobiography / Biography of the Year

by Ronald Reng (Yellow Jersey)
by Paul Kimmage (Simon & Schuster)
by Paul Merson (HarperSport)
by Jonny Wilkinson (Headline)
by David Millar (Orion)
by Gary Neville (Bantam Press) by Willie Thorne (Vision Sports Publishing)
by Graeme Swann (Hodder & Stoughton)

Illustrated Book of the Year

by Chris Arnot (Aurum)
by Laurence Griffiths (Atlantic Publishing)
by Sir Steve Redgrave (Headline)
by Daniel Friebe and Pete Goding (Quercus)
by Bill Burrows with Tom Bailey (Simon & Schuster)
by Adam Powley (Haynes Publishing)
by Bob Martin and Ian Hewitt (Vision Sports Publishing)

New Writer of the Year

by Patrick Collins (Wisden)
n by Andy Holgate (Know the Score Books)
by Chris Waters (Aurum)
by Alastair Hignell (Bloomsbury)
by Ed Hawkins (Know the Score Books)
by Bill Jones (Mainstream)

ScorecardMatt Coles claimed 3 for 32 as Northamptonshire slumped to 132 all out after choosing to bat•PA Photos

Matt Coles, Charlie Shreck and Darren Stevens took three wickets apiece as Kent dominated the first day of their County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Northampton.The home side were bowled out before tea for a paltry 132, with Alex Wakely top-scoring with 33 and Coles, who hit a hundred at No. 9 against Yorkshire last week, taking the best figures of 3 for 32. A partnership of 83 between West Indies international Brendan Nash and Ben Harmison then helped Kent to 127 for 3 at the close.Northamptonshire won the toss but they lost opener Rob Newton for 7 in the fifth over when he edged Mark Davies to James Tredwell at first slip. It was slow going during a chilly morning session and Stephen Peters was the next batsman back in the pavilion after being trapped lbw by Coles.Kyle Coetzer crawled to 11 off 60 balls before he fell cheaply by smashing Shreck to Nash at cover and captain David Sales was to perish on 13 in the penultimate over before lunch when his edge off Shreck was superbly taken at second slip by Tredwell diving low to his right.Shreck then picked up his third wicket in the ninth over of the afternoon when he pinned Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien lbw for 12. James Middlebrook threw his wicket away when he launched Coles high into the air and Kent captain Rob Key took the catch at midwicket.Chaminda Vaas lasted just three balls without scoring before he became Stevens’ first victim when he nudged him to Geraint Jones. Wakely then fell to Stevens, caught leg before, and the same man bowled Lee Daggett two balls later.The innings was brought to an end when David Willey, who provided some resistance with 24, was well caught by Davies at square leg off Coles.In reply, Kent lost Key in the eighth over when he was trapped lbw by Brooks and Scott Newman followed for 26 two overs later when he slashed Brooks to Middlebrook at gully. Harmison played confidently before he ran himself out when he was sent back by Nash and Willey made a direct hit from point.Nash then survived the remaining four overs with nightwatchman Davies to ensure their side will start tomorrow in a strong position.

Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson will be in danger of a suspension during the ODI series in the West Indies after he and his team were fined for a slow over-rate in their triangular series final victory at Adelaide Oval. After a tense match, won by 16 runs, the ICC match-referee Chris Broad calculated that Australia were one over short of the required rate over the course of Sri Lanka’s innings, meaning each member of the team lost 10% of their match-fee while Watson was docked 20%. Under the ICC’s code of conduct, Watson will now effectively be on probation for the next 12 months, with another over-rate transgression while he is captaining in an ODI leading to a one-match suspension – the fate that befell India’s captain MS Dhoni earlier in the triangular series.The transgression was the one pitfall of a night on which Watson led Australia shrewdly in the field, and helped restrict Sri Lanka in their pursuit of a middling target on a slow pitch. After lifting the series trophy he said the team had finally come good in the field, following a patch of poor form.”After getting 231 we knew we were going to have to bowl and field extremely well to defend that and we certainly did that through the whole 48-49 overs,” Watson said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about, to actually put it all together, and we were able to do that and that is very satisfying.”We didn’t always bowl to our plans over the last couple of games; in the first final in Brisbane we let it slip a bit, and nearly lost that game. So we needed an all-round bowling performance. We also needed a good fielding performance to keep the intensity throughout the 50 overs. It is brilliant to see that when the guys really set their minds to it we can do it, and we set a standard tonight.”Australia’s squad departs for the West Indies via Sydney in the early hours of Friday morning, and Watson said the team would celebrate its victory as heartily as possible before the long-haul flight to the Caribbean. The squad has shown considerable signs of fatigue towards the end of a successful, if draining, summer, and now has more cricket ahead rather than rest.”That’s going to be the biggest challenge [to refresh themselves],” Watson said. “You’ve certainly got to enjoy the good times and the good wins. I think we have a 5.15am departure from the hotel, so there could be a few tired blokes after celebrating tonight. So as long as it’s not too crazy and too hectic the guys have a bit of time to freshen up on the flight and make sure that once we get to the West Indies we’re ready to go next Friday.”Watson, standing in for the injured Michael Clarke, has a remarkable thin resumé as a captain but, in the third final, showed an ability to lead by example with the ball, while also moving the field around in a suitably thoughtful manner.”It’s been a very exciting time for me; to be able to see the game from a different perspective has been a lot of fun,” Watson said. “I suppose normally standing out on the fence you’re trying to deflect a bit of banter that’s coming your way, so actually being there around the bowlers all the time, communicating with them is a lot of fun, and it’s nice when everyone sticks their hands up like they did tonight.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Ireland squad

William Porterfield (capt), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Rory McCann, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson
Replacements: Tim Murtagh, Andrew Poynter, James Shannon, Albert van der Merwe

Tim Murtagh’s Irish passport hasn’t proved an immediate route into the Ireland team after he was left out of the 14-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 qualifying tournament in the UAE. The squad includes 12 of the players who toured the subcontinent for the World Cup.Murtagh, the Middlesex pace bowler, had recently become eligible for Ireland but had to content with a place among the reserve players for the tournament. Rory McCann was selected as the replacement for Niall O’Brien, who wasn’t considered due to his participation in the Bangladesh Premier League which meant he didn’t tour Kenya, while the allrounder Max Sorensen also made the cut.Chairman of selectors Ross McCollum said: “We felt that the squad that had been preparing together all through the winter deserved the opportunity to gain qualification. It is indeed a very experienced squad, which we feel will serve us in good stead in high pressure games.”While we haven’t named Tim Murtagh or Albert van der Merwe in the 14, both are in our named replacements, and we’ll have no hesitation in bringing either in if any injuries occur. Stuart Poynter was unlucky to miss out, but we felt that given the prolific form that Rory McCann showed in domestic cricket in 2011 in the NCU, that he deserved his chance.”Ireland feature in Group B in the 16-team tournament alongside Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Uganda, Kenya, USA, and Italy. Two qualification places are on offer, for the World T20 in Sri Lanka in September.Ireland will head to South Africa for a training camp following their current tour of Kenya. They will play three warm-up Twenty20s against the Warriors franchise before heading to UAE.