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Match facts

January 14-18, 2015
Start time 10.30am local (0830 GMT)

Big Picture

After the hectic festive period, everyone has had a chance to take stock over the past week following two Test matches that have provided much intrigue and many talking points. England hold the advantage at 1-0, but South Africa finished the Newlands Test in much better shape than could have been imagined after their mauling by Ben Stokes and rarely has the resignation of a captain mid-series been viewed in such a positive light.Now AB de Villiers prepares to lead South Africa for the first time in Tests – a job he has long coveted – but for how long he is in charge, or even playing the five-day format, is one of the burning questions of the moment. The immediate challenge for him, though, is to ensure that his team still have the chance to claim the series at Centurion.Their prospects have taken a hit with Dale Steyn being ruled out – regardless of the much-improved final-day bowling at Cape Town, Steyn remains the leading pace bowler in the world and his absence is a considerable void to fill for the fifth time in the last seven Tests. Not only is de Villiers’ long-term future a source of much debate, so too is Steyn’s. South Africa are entering a tipping point in their cricket history.England are not immune to such issues, either, although currently they are in a stronger position from which to handle them. Jos Buttler’s march towards the IPL confirms the sea change in English cricket’s attitude to that format, but whereas de Villiers appears to be wavering over his future James Anderson has committed to bowling his final ball for England.The prize on offer for England this week is one of the most sought-after in the game. Their 2004-05 series win in South Africa is among their finest overseas victories and for a youthful, developing side a repeat here would be equally notable regardless of the problems South Africa are facing.Their week off has not been seamless with some members of the squad hit by a stomach illness and now Alex Hales has a throat infection. After the spate of missed chances at Newlands, they will have to make sure they are better at catching balls than bugs.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
South Africa DLLLD
England DWLLD

In the spotlight

Steven Finn has been outstanding during the first two Tests, a particularly worthy achievement given he was doubtful even to make the series due to the foot injury which ruled him out against Pakistan. He was the most hostile of England’s quicks when the Newlands surface was at its most comfortable, and that followed his crucial second-innings incisions in Durban. He is a clear beneficiary of England’s five-man attack, which allows a spreading of the workload, but he has still clocked up 69 overs in the two Tests – the most among England’s quicks – and the Wanderers will be an indication of his powers of recovery. It should be a surface to encourage his splice-jarring type of bowling, so long as he isn’t drawn into bowling too short.Morne Morkel will again lead South Africa’s attack in the absence of Dale Steyn. His workload is being carefully watched by the team management and the coach Russell Domingo has said Morkel is in the “red zone” which is a warning sign when injuries are more likely to occur. He will be, however, one of a four-prong pace attack, which ought to help ease the strain on him, although South Africa will also need him to start the Test well rather than improve as the match goes on. He has not taken a five-wicket haul in five Tests at the Wanderers – this would be the ideal time to improve on that record.

Team news

South Africa opted on the eve of the match to release their frontline spinner, Dane Piedt, which means four quicks will line up at the Wanderers. The uncapped Hardus Viljoen has an impressive first-class record at the Wanderers and both Domingo and de Villiers have dropped strong hints that he is firmly in the frame for a Test debut. Chris Morris, who debuted at Cape Town last week, seems set to retain his place ahead of Kyle Abbott, not least thanks to his determined batting and outstanding work in the slip cordon. There could be another change with JP Duminy returning to the middle order after his career-best 260 in the recent four-day match which would mean Quinton de Kock opening in place of Stiaan van Zyl and would also provide another part-time spin option. Such a move would retain four players of colour in the absence of Piedt.South Africa (possible) 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 Faf du Plessis, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Hardus Viljoen, 11 Morne MorkelAlex Hales was suffering from a throat infection on the eve of the Test and a decision on his participation would be taken on the morning of the game. If he is forced to sit out, it is likely that Nick Compton would open with Gary Ballance returning to side although the No. 3 berth could go to James Taylor.England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Nick Compton, 4 Joe Root, 5 James Taylor, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn

Pitch and conditions

The first Test pitch produced by Bethuel Buthelezi is dry and cracked after the recent hot spell in the Highveld but is expected to play with the usual trueness of a Wanderers surface. As Newlands showed, having cracks on the surface early on does not mean they will always open up as the match progresses. Temperatures have dipped a little from the record figures recorded at the height of the heatwave while the common afternoon thunderstorms are expected to feature.

Stats and trivia

• In their last 10 Tests – since the start of the Ashes – England have had just three hundreds from their top five (two for Joe Root and one for Alastair Cook)
• The Wanderers produces results: there has been one draw in the last 13 Tests – and that was with South Africa 450 for 7 chasing 458 – and since readmission there have been just six draws in 24 Tests with two of those involving significant rain.
• Five more wickets will take James Anderson ahead of Richard Hadlee (431) into seventh place in the all-time list

Quotes

Everything feels very normal. We’ve got a very stable team culture. Not much has changed. I still feel the same. I know this come with a lot of responsibility. I am a very competitive person and I truly hate losing. There’s a big focus on winning.
“It would be a great achievement for this side to come here and beat South Africa and we’ve earned a chance to do that over the next 14 days if we play good cricket.”

The PCB is unlikely to accede to Gill Woolmer’s request to play a Twenty20 match against India, to raise funds for a cricket academy Bob Woolmer had planned to set up in South Africa, due to a congested fixture list.”We got a letter asking us to play a Twenty20 match with India for the academy. But this seems unlikely in the near future,” Ehsan Malik, PCB spokesman, told Reuters.Malik said a packed international schedule for both teams was the reason behind the decision and that the PCB was looking at other means of helping establish the academy. The PCB has dedicated the practice area of its National Cricket Academy in Lahore to Woolmer and named it after him.A proposal to play a Twenty20 match against England in August was earlier rejected as the England team had prior commitments.Woolmer died in Jamaica on March 18, a day after Pakistan suffered a shock defeat against Ireland and were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. His death was investigated as murder until after the tournament when Jamaican authorities u-turned and announced he had died of natural causes.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council, won a close election and will continue as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.Dalmiya, who was given a run for his money by Prasun Mukherjee, the police commissioner of Kolkata, won the election by the margin of 61 votes to 56. A total of 117 people voted, representing various clubs, with the representative from the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Sports Club not turning up to cast his vote. Mukherjee was backed by Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, but could not garner enough votes to defeat Dalmiya.”I am happy that I have got a platform that I badly needed,” Dalmiya said soon after the results were announced. Dalmiya was referring to the fact that the BCCI have banned him from attending board meetings, withheld CAB subsidies and alleged financial irregularities. Appearing along with Mukherjee, who accepted the defeat gracefully, Dalmiya added, “the election result was a victory for cricket. We will work together from tomorrow. There is no enmity between me and Prasun Mukherjee.”Mukherjee then responded by saying, “it was a close contest, but a gentlemanly and friendly fight. It was a fair election. Nobody had anything to complain about. I would have enjoyed winning, but, nonetheless I acept the result.” He was also quick to add, “Dalmiya is an old hand at cricket administration. Cricket has won. I’m new to the game. But I’ll be back next time.”Dalmiya has been the president of the CAB since 1992-93, and has never lost an election of any kind. This time around, however, the battle was especially hard, with several quarters joining ranks to oppose Dalmiya. First there was the request from the chief minister asking Dalmiya not to contest. Then came the email from Sourav Ganguly damning Dalmiya for his alleged role in leaking a confidential email to the press and thereby hastening Ganguly’s exit. In fact, the elections had become so politicised that the ruling Left Front and Communist Party of India (Marxist) were split on whom to support.In the end, though, Dalmiya came through, and also ensured that other members of his camp won the posts they were contesting for. Saradindu Pal and Amitava Banerjee, both from the Dalmiya camp, were elected joint secretaries defeating Raja Venkat and Samar Pal. While Pal sailed through with 71 votes, Banerjee secured 60. SK Kalyani, another of Dalmiya’s allies, retained the treasurer’s post, beating Tushar Kanti Sarkar.

It was certainly not a Good Friday for two of Glamorgan`s bowlers on the opening day of the Championship season against Derbyshire. Darren Thomas twisted his knee and had to be carried from the field, whilst Andrew Davies, after bowling just four overs, had to return to the team hotel suffering from a stomach virus.Thomas` knee injury came in his 20th over of the day, and shortly after the lion-hearted seamer had claimed his fourth wicket of the day. After bowling the fourth ball of the over, Thomas collapsed in his follow through clutching his left knee, and the stricken bowler had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. The early indications are that Darren may have twisted and pulled a muscle in his knee, and he will have a scan in a Derby hospital tomorrow morning.The day had begun quite promisingly for the Glamorgan bowlers, as Alex Wharf claimed two wickets in his second over as Derbyshire, after electing to bat first, slumped to 9-2. However, the home team recovered thanks to a century from Michael Di Venuto and an unbeaten 77 from wicket-keeper Luke Sutton, and finished the day on 356-8.

David Johnston, the chief executive of the Tasmanian Cricket Association, has announced the list of 16 contracted players and two rookie contracted players for the next season. The list includes Ricky Ponting, who is currently a Cricket Australia-contracted player.Jamie Cox, one of the senior players, has agreed to the terms of the contract after some speculation that he might be jettisoned. Cox was woefully out of form last season, averaging 25.93 in nine first-class matches and scoring just 18 runs in three ING Cup games.Senior Contracts
1 George Bailey, 2 Michael Bevan, 3 Andy Blignaut, 4 Luke Butterworth, 5 Sean Clingeleffer, 6 Jamie Cox, 7 Michael Dighton, 8 Michael DiVenuto, 9 Xavier Doherty, 10 Andrew Downton, 11 Brett Geeves, 12 Adam Griffith, 13 Rhett Lockyear, 14 Daniel Marsh, 15 Scott Mason, 16 Damien Wright
Rookie contracted players
1 David Dawson, 2 Tim Paine

Denis Aberhart, New Zealand’s coach, believes his bowlers still have enough time to force a win despite a fightback by Sri Lanka’s batsmen on day three of this opening Test.New Zealand claimed just three wickets in three sessions as Sri Lanka finished on 267 for four after half centuries from Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Hashan Tillakaratne.”It’s hard out there but I think they stuck at it pretty well today,” said Aberhart. “The lines were right and they created some opportunities which might have gone our way with a bit more luck.””In the first session, 75% of the runs were scored in boundaries and, although we pulled it back later in the day, there were too many four balls. We need to bowl more dot balls to put them under pressure.”Sri Lanka need another 49 runs to avoid the follow on target but even if New Zealand conjure up a spectacular collapse with the second new ball they will not enforce the follow on.”I don’t think we will be forcing the follow on now,” said Aberhart. “Instead, we will look to set a target, if we can get them out quick enough. There is a lot more work to be done but if we can get a couple more wickets and put some pressure on their long tail it is game on.”Mahela Jayawardene, who scored an unbeaten 58, adding 133 for the fifth wicket with Hashan Tillakaratne, was relieved to have contributed with the bat after a dismal World Cup in South Africa and then spilling four catches in the first innings here.”Things have not been going my way for the last couple of months,” said Jayawardene. “I found my timing and confidence in that knock against New Zealand in the warm-up game, where I worked on my balance and just stuck tothe basics.””Yesterday’s fielding was one of the most disastrous outings that I have ever had. Nothing went my way and a let the team down – I felt really bad. I try to not think about such things when I go out to bat but obviously it was at the back of my mind.”Jayawardene, who slowed down just before the close, conscious of the need to deny New Zealand a morale boosting wicket at the end of the day, warned that Sri Lanka were not yet safe.”The pitch is getting slower and there is some for bite for the spinners, but if you concentrate hard and don’t play loose shots then you can survive,” he said. “We fought hard today but the job is only half done. We have to survive for at least another session tomorrow.”

Hampshire’s hopes of promotion to the Norwich Union League suffered a setbackwhen they lost to an Andrew Flintoff inspired Lancashire at the Rose Bowl.Flintoff followed his aggressive 78 with a tight bowling performance whichcost him only 32 from his nine overs. Chasing a target of 213 to win, Hampshire were all out for 169 in 41 overs, giving Lancashire victory by 43runs.Lancashire recovered from losing openers Mark Chilton and Glen Chapplewith only 12 on the board and for that they can thank Flintoff and JohnCrawley who put on 151 for the third wicket in only 28 overs.Flintoff was at his most belligerent with a six and nine fours while the more cautious Crawley proved just as valuable with an unbeaten 84. Flintoff was caught on the boundary going for another big hit but Crawley and Neil Fairbrother added a valuable 34 as Hampshire struggled to contain the Lancashire revival.Chris Tremlett finished as the most successful of the bowlers with three for45 but Hampshire were left with a daunting task on a pitch of variablebounce.So it proved as Jason Laney and Derek Kenway were out to successive deliveries from Chapple. Robin Smith and Neil Johnson briefly raised Hampshire’s expectations in a stand of 71 for the third wicket but from themoment Smith was superbly run out by Chilton’s superb throw, Hampshire were a spent force.From 138 for four Hampshire slumped to 169 all out, losing their last six batsmen in as many overs for 31. Tremlett and Alan Mullally were run out and others perished to rash shots as Lancashire went on to record only their fourth win of the season, Chapple finishing with three for 19.

Cricket has lost one of its greatest friends with the death of Mike Turner. He was a player, administrator, fund raiser and mentor but, despite almost 60 years in the game, remains a largely unsung hero of the sport.If Turner, a gentle man perhaps best suited to a background role in administration, made an unlikely saviour, Leicester made an unlikely location for a miracle.But Mike Turner changed the face of world cricket forever when he introduced the Midland Knock-Out Cup to Grace Road in 1962. The competition lasted only one season, but might represent the single greatest change the game has ever undergone.The Midland Knock-Out Cup – a 65-overs a side tournament – was the first limited-overs competition involving first-class sides. Itssuccess led directly to the Gillette Cup – which is generally acknowledged as the first limited-overs cricket tournament – whichstarted in 1963 and laid the foundations for many of the innovations that followed: Twenty20 cricket; Packer; ODIs; floodlights;power-plays; coloured clothing. The roots of them all are in Leicester.At the time, Turner was a young, energetic and enthusiastic secretary (today’s equivalent of a chief executive) of Leicestershire. Agedonly 27, he had the vision – and the cheek – to question the traditional order but also the skills to organise a successful alternative.”You have to remember the context,” Turner told magazine in 2009. “The game was in the doldrums at the time. There had been a post-war boom but, by the 1960s, spectator numbers were falling. Membership numbers were falling. We were worried about the game’s future.”I saw an opportunity. All the county secretaries were at The Oval drawing up the fixture list for the 1962 season. As each fixture wasallocated, they were written on to a huge blackboard on the wall of the room.”Anyway, I just happened to notice that several midlands clubs had a gap in their schedule. So I invited Derbyshire, Northants andNottinghamshire to take part in a limited-overs, knock-out competition.”I saw a nice little trophy in a second-hand shop and had it re-plated and engraved. I’ve no idea what happened to it; I haven’t seen it fromthe moment I presented it to Northants. I thought the competition would run every year.”It was very revolutionary. There had been talk of one-day cricket, but this was the first limited-overs cricket. Most league cricket wasplayed on one day, but involved a tea-time declaration, while the Rothmans Cavaliers’ (the equivalent of the Lashings team) games werealso declaration affairs. But mid-week league cricket had been played over 20-overs for years and had always been very popular.”The attendance was relatively good and we received very good coverage in the press. Crucially Gordon Ross (an influential journalist) came to the game and took a great deal of interest. He soon became the PR man for Gillette.”Six months later, the TCCB (the forerunner of the ECB) unveiled their plans for the Gillette Cup (which later became the NatWest and thenthe C&G Trophy). The rules were strikingly similar: 65 overs aside and a maximum 15 overs per bowler. They would be refined over time, but Turner’s influence was stamped all over it.”It wasn’t just the spectators that one-day cricket attracted,” Turner said. “It was the sponsorship. The Gillette Cup was the first majorcounty sponsorship and was soon followed by the John Player League. As a game was televised every Sunday by the BBC, it meant we suddenly had advertising around county grounds. It was a great deal for the game.”Did I create a monster? I’ve reflected on that a great deal. It was the right thing for the game at the time, but there are alarm bellsringing now. The growth of Twenty20 and players declaring themselves unavailable for Test cricket does worry me. I fear for a dilution ofTest cricket.”Francis Michael Turner was born in Leicester on August 8, 1934. His relationship with the club that defined so much of his life began in 1946 when he first stepped on to the Grace Road playing surface, though at the time it was his school playing field. Less than 20 years later, he had negotiated the purchase of the site with his old headmaster and Leicestershire had a new home. Grace Road cost £24,000 in 1965.He dreamed of playing cricket for a living. But, after joining the staff in 1951 and playing 10 first-class games as a legspinning allrounder, he concluded that he could contribute more in administration and, aged just 25, was appointed secretary of a club that most thought was slipping out of the first-class game.”When I was appointed secretary of Leicestershire in 1960, I was told that the foreseeable life of the club was five years,” he said.”I was only 25 – still the youngest secretary in the game’s history – and it was a difficult time. But we had a fantastic run.”I decided we needed a figurehead senior pro to lead the side. I wrote to Tom Graveney in the early 60s and invited him to captain us. He wrote me a lovely letter. He said I had made him a very good offer, but that he couldn’t face playing out of such a dilapidated pavilion and didn’t want to be at a club where he got splinters every time he went for a shower. It made me realise that I really had to do something about the pavilion. We built the new one in 1966, signed Tony Lock in 1965 and Ray Illingworth before the 1969 season.”Leicestershire enjoyed their golden years under Turner’s astute guidance. They won their first trophy in 1972 – the Benson and Hedges Cup – before in 1975 they secured their first County Championship title as well as recapturing the Benson and Hedges Cup and defeating the touring Australian side. As well as buying the ground and building a new pavilion, he also raised the funds for the indoor school which was opened in 1993.Turner’s eye for a fine player helped the club attract such world-class talents as Andy Roberts and David Gower, who he rated as his finest signing, while the likes of Jonathan Agnew, Peter Willey, James Whitaker, Nick Cook, Phil DeFreitas, Chris Lewis all developed, in part, at the club.A measure of his success is that when he retired as secretary in 1993 after 43 years with the club and 33 as secretary, Leicestershire were so well managed that they went on to win the County Championship in 1996 and 1998. He was awarded a testimonial by the club in 1985, was made a vice-president in 1994 – the year he was also awarded an MBE – and became a director in 2003 when the club became an Independent Provident Society. He stepped down in 2007.While some recent developments years pained him – he supported the campaign to oust Neil Davidson as chairman in 2010 – he remained a regular visitor to the ground and a wise sounding board for many in the game. Several generations of players, administrators, umpires and journalists were grateful for a kind word here or some wise advice there. Leicestershire’s new chief executive, Wasim Khan, was among many to hail him as a “tremendous support,” while former ECB chief executive, David Collier, said “he taught me a great deal.”Many clubs were grateful for Turner’s advice on obtaining Grant Aid. Until very recently, the ECB relied on him to update their booklet on the subject and sent it to the 8,500 member clubs of the National Cricket Association. He was also still offering advice to clubs by telephone until very recently.”The gospel truth is that I’ve brought in £26 million for first-class clubs in terms of successful grant applications,” Turner said. “And I’ve helped bring in £15m for the little clubs who want to extend their pavilion or something like that. Everywhere I go I see something I’ve been involved in. It’s very satisfying.”Away from cricket, Turner raised a great deal of money for charities. He was Chairman of Charities at Glenfield Hospital and helped raise £1.4m for a breast care centre that was opened in 2001. He died peacefully in his sleep on the early hours of July 21 and leaves three children: Michael, Helen and Susan. His wife, Pat, died last year. The flag at Grace Road was flying at half-mast on Tuesday.”I retired in 1993, but I only live over the road so I pop in all the time,” he said. “I was thrilled the indoor school was named the Mike Turner Cricket Centre. I loved Leicestershire and I loved cricket so I enjoyed it all enormously. I have been very fortunate.”The game may reflect that it was fortunate to have him, too.

The concern surrounding the pitches in this season’s BPL is getting louder as the tournament heads towards the more important stages. There has been regular help for the bowlers, who have benefited from the two-paced nature of surfaces, and increasingly the toss has gained importance.In the first 24 games, 13 teams won after winning the toss and out of those, nine had decided to bowl first. Comilla Victorians have been the biggest beneficiary, winning four games after opting to chase. Among those who batted first overall, teams have been shot out for sub-100 totals four times including scores of 58, 59, 82 and 89. The first two scores came in the last two days.At the start of the tournament, the problem was for teams playing in the evening game on the same pitch that the afternoon match was played. Rangpur Riders captain Shakib Al Hasan said that the pitches were getting weary too quickly and the teams batting second were having to deal with lower bounce and more turn.The pitches in Chittagong were much better, offering everyone a chance. When Evin Lewis made the tournament’s only century, he was playing through the line consistently and connecting too. There was a feeling that perhaps the pitches there were also two-paced but it ultimately evened out in the day’s second match.The return to Dhaka has again been tough, particularly in foggy weather, and the lack of sun has meant moisture has not evaporated as quickly as it usually does in the afternoon. It has made the pitches softer, making it harder for those batting first.The improved run-making in Chittagong saw teams scoring 140 on average batting first, at 7.02 per over, after the first 12 games in Dhaka yielded an average score of 136 batting first, at 6.91 per over. However, in the four games since the tournament moved back to Dhaka on December 6, the first-innings average score has dipped to 89 at a rate of just 5.29 per over.Comilla Victorians beat Barisal Bulls by seven wickets by restricting them to 105 for 6 after deciding to bowl and their captain Mashrafe Mortaza admitted that teams would be more inclined to field first on these “unpredictable” pitches despite short boundaries.”It is hard to score runs when you try to force it,” Mashrafe said. “These wickets are very unpredictable. Every team is looking to field first. Maybe they pulled in the boundary ropes because we were playing on the wicket on the other corner but it might also be to increase the run-making. But it is still very hard for the batsmen.”Barisal paceman Rayad Emrit said that the pitch was not ideal. “It is not the best of wickets for T20. It is very difficult to start for a batter and to bat first, especially,” he said. “We batted first in both games and you see the results.”They are probably trying to compensate for the wicket. It is not a wicket where you can go out and play shots. Maybe they are trying to get the fans involved, T20 is about runs. It is always a batter’s game and obviously the bowlers have to adjust quickly. If we had got 120-130, it would have been a different game.”Barisal have been guilty of playing poorly in the last two games despite the arrival of Chris Gayle to pair up with Lewis, who hasn’t made a significant contribution since his unbeaten 101 against Dhaka Dynamites. “We’ve lost two games back to back,” Emrit said. “It is a bit of a concern now. We have a strong top-order but we are very inconsistent in our batting. Our bowlers have done a terrific job. We know how dangerous the guys at the top are, as long as they get off.”While Barisal can take solace from knowing that Gayle coming good could solve their batting troubles, Sylhet Superstars exited the tournament by getting bowled out in the least number of overs in the BPL’s short history. On the previous day they had won the toss and bowled out Barisal for 58. On Monday they were bowled out for 59, after Rangpur decided to bowl first. The BPL isn’t for batsmen, at least from what we have seen on the 12 matchdays so far.

South Division

Kent leapfrogged into second place with a straightforward 26-run win over Middlesex at Beckenham. Kent’s innings was founded on a second-wicket stand of 56 between Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld. Denly made 40 from 23 balls including three sixes. Middlesex never got over the loss of three early wickets, including Andrew Strauss who was caught at second slip in the first over.

North Division

Leicestershire were left to rue a washout against Durham at Leicester, and the point they gained for the no result was not enough to lift them into the top two and left their hopes of a quarter-final place in the balance. They reached 41 for 3 after 4.4 overs of a match shortened to seven overs a side before heavy rain returned.Yorkshire beat Nottinghamshire by eight wickets in a five-over-a-side thrash at Headingley. Chasing 62 to win, Craig White bludgeoned 31 off 11 balls to set Yorkshire on their way.

Midlands-West-Wales Division

Bottom and winless Somerset upset the form book as they romped to a six-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Bristol with 19 balls to spare. Gloucestershire’s innings never got out of second gear, Cameron White the pick of a tight bowling attack with 3 for 16 in his four overs. Somerset were wobbling on 39 for 4 when Ian Blackwell grabbed the innings by the scruff of the neck and led them home with an unbeaten 42.Northamptonshire boosted their quarter-final hopes with a surprising four-wicket win over runaway leaders Warwickshire at Northampton. Warwickshire stumbled to 100 for 7 in 18 overs, Jason Brown proving the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 16 from his four overs. Northamptonshire’s nerves were settled by a 45-run fifth-wicket stand between Chris Rogers and and Riki Wessels.