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PCB chairman says a team will review the decision to split points for the India and Pakistan women’s championship series

Danyal Rasool17-Apr-2020PCB chairman Ehsan Mani expressed Pakistan’s disappointment with the ICC’s decision to split points for an ICC Women’s Championship series between India and Pakistan that went unplayed after the BCCI were unable to obtain permission from the Indian government to go ahead with the series. The decision meant India qualified for the 2021 Women’s World Cup, while Pakistan were consigned to playing the qualifiers, finishing on 19 points compared to India’s 23. The ruling is particularly significant for Pakistan because had the ICC awarded them all six points, as was the case in a similar scenario in 2016, Pakistan would have qualified for the playoffs automatically, while India would have had to go through the qualifiers for the Women’s World Cup.”We are of course disappointed with the decision, but our team (comprising the CEO, legal department, and other heads) is reviewing the matter. Once that’s done, we will be able to comment,” Mani told Sportstar.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB has been in touch with the ICC, but there has been otherwise near total silence over the decision, which came on Wednesday. There is anticipation of a statement in the coming days once the PCB conducts a full review, but the prolonged delay after which a reaction may come suggests the statement could be more conciliatory than combative.The PCB had attempted to engage with their Indian counterparts about the series on the sidelines of the last couple of ICC meetings, a series they viewed as a bilateral issue rather than one that needed ICC engagement. It appears they did not receive a meaningful response from the BCCI, either in writing or verbally.In 2016, the ICC decided to give Pakistan full points when India failed to show up for a series, but there is one difference that looks to have secured a more desirable outcome for the BCCI. On that occasion, the BCCI offered no written explanation for the failure to proceed with the series, and the technical investigation committee found the BCCI had not been able to establish “acceptable reasons” for non-participation in the series.This time around, the BCCI engaged with the ICC early on, making its stand clear about why it could not play Pakistan in the ODI series scheduled in 2019. ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI made extensive submissions as early as 2018 demonstrating that it could not get the relevant permission from the Indian government to play Pakistan. That helped the ICC’s technical committee to invoke the clause on this occasion.”With respect to the India v Pakistan series, the TC (technical committee) concluded that the series could not be played because of a Force Majeure event after the BCCI demonstrated that it was unable to obtain the necessary government clearances to allow India to participate in the bilateral series against Pakistan, which forms a part of the ICC Women’s Championship,” the ICC said in the media release on Wednesday.The technical committee comprises Geoff Allardice (ICC general manager of cricket), Chris Tetley (ICC head of events) and Jonathan Hall (ICC general counsel).

Fast bowler reported the problem shortly after arriving in Barbados having flown from Australia a few days previously

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2019Olly Stone faces a lengthy period of rehabilitation in the wake of his early departure from England’s tour of the Caribbean, after a stress fracture in his left lower back was confirmed following further examination in the UK.Stone, the fastest bowler in England’s original squad for the West Indies series, reported the problem shortly after arriving in Barbados earlier this month, having flown from Australia a few days previously. His place has been taken by Mark Wood, who linked up with the squad last weekend.His county, Warwickshire, confirmed he had suffered “a partial stress fracture to his left lower back”, which typically takes six to 12 weeks to heal.Jim Troughton, First Team Coach at Warwickshire CCC, said: “We’re bitterly disappointed for Olly who has already had his fair share of injury heartache.”Getting himself into the England set-up was a great achievement so the timing of this setback is a tough one for him.
“The science and medical staff at Warwickshire will work closely with Olly, in partnership with the England medical team, and hopefully we can have him back to bowling as soon as possible.”Stone’s chances of breaking into the Test side on this tour were limited. But the England management were impressed by his pace and his attitude in Sri Lanka last year, where he claimed a wicket with his seventh ball in international cricket: a bouncer that took the gloves of Niroshan Dickwella as he fended the ball away from his face. He is seen as the sort of bowler who could learn from being in the environment and one day make a difference on an Ashes tour.

The 23-year old batsman had wondered why he couldn’t bat long in his first season of the Ranji Trophy. Now, he has a monumental score next to his name

Sidharth Monga in Delhi18-Nov-2017In his maiden first-class season, it took Nitish Rana nine innings to be dismissed for fewer than 25 runs. It was his only single-digit score in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy. The first hundred, though, came in the last innings of the season, and in the second innings, which is rarely counted as important runs in this tournament. Rana went up to seniors, including Gautam Gambhir, and asked, “Why am I getting out on 50? 70? Why am I not scoring big runs?”The reply he got from them had to do with concentration. “They told me when you play under-16, under-19 or under-23, you get one or two quality bowlers in the opposition. So you can get away with breaks in concentration after you have seen off the main bowlers. In Ranji Trophy there are more quality bowlers, and you have to concentrate for longer.”Rana says he went to the nets and started to bat longer and harder, and made sure he was only concentrating on the next ball. He also got an IPL call-up from Mumbai Indians, with whom he said he grew mentally and technically as a player. All of that was on display at the Airforce Sports Complex in Palam, Delhi, where his innings of 174 buried Maharashtra under a mountain of runs (419) on a pitch with uneven bounce. Delhi bowlers used the advantage handsomely to leave the visitors on the brink of a follow-on at 59 for 8.Delhi began the day at 260 for 4 with Rana unbeaten on 110, but the 23-year old showed awareness that his job was far from done. He batted through the first session, in partnership with impressive debutant Lalit Yadav who scored 52, and only after he felt Delhi were secure did he try to get adventurous. This was his fourth first-class hundred and his highest score.The significance of that innings showed in how Ishant Sharma – back from the India squad once he was not picked for the Kolkata Test – ran through the Maharashtra top order with the quality of bowling India could have done with at Eden Gardens. Ishant was on the target – full but short of driving length just outside off – from ball one, and it was almost unfair on the batsmen facing the new ball after 111.1 overs in the field.The bounce had been uneven for other bowlers too but, largely, it deviated on the lower side. Ishant started hitting both bands of the spectrum. Rututuraj Gaikwad fell in the first over, forced to play outside off. Murtaza Trunkwala fell to similar fate, and Ankit Bawne was rapped on the gloves as soon as he came in. Rahul Tripathi, another IPL star, hit Ishant for a four but would soon nick another length ball outside off. Ishant’s spell of 6-2-14-3, in which he barely bowled a loose ball, left Maharashtra reeling at 14 for 4. Nitin Saini then got rid of Rohit Motwani to make it 51 for 5.Maharashtra would have sighed in relief when bad light sent players off early but 10 minutes later the conditions improved, and they lost a further three wickets in the 15 minutes of play possible after resumption. Lalit added two wickets to his debut half-century, and Manan Sharma chipped in with one. Despite the loss of 43 overs to bad light on the first two days, Delhi were now almost assured three points, and could even dream of a full complement of seven if they can enforce the follow-on and then win by an innings or by 10 wickets. The latter could ensure their progress to the knockouts even before the final round of league matches.

Mitchell Johnson hopes to pursue a mentoring role in Australian cricket, with the aim of helping young players adjust to the major lifestyle changes that come with reaching the elite level

Brydon Coverdale14-Sep-2016Mitchell Johnson hopes to pursue a mentoring role in Australian cricket, with the aim of helping young players adjust to the major lifestyle changes that come with reaching the elite level.Nearly a year on from his international retirement, Johnson is preparing for his first home summer as a spectator, although he will still have a playing role after signing with the Perth Scorchers for the BBL. However, he also believes he has plenty to offer off the field, given his own personal experience of a rapid rise to the big time.”I came from not much money and to all of a sudden earn big cash was really exciting, and you want to spend it and do this and do that,” Johnson told reporters in Perth on Wednesday. “But I had good people around me … Through cricket I’ve experienced all the highs and lows. I’m in the process of figuring out where to go with the mentoring side of things and hopefully in the next year or so I can be part of guiding these young guys.”Johnson used the example of controversies in the National Rugby League to highlight the need for off-field assistance for players, who could easily find themselves led towards questionable behaviour without proper guidance.”I think we’re seeing a lot of sportsmen falling into the trap of earning big money and there’s gambling and there’s drinking and there’s lots of things going on,” Johnson said. “Definitely there’s a real challenge there, looking at it from a cricket point of view, for Cricket Australia and the ACA to bring in some past players and hopefully mentor. I’m definitely looking into that at the moment. It’s something that’s at the front of my mind.”It’s been like this for a long time, it’s not just now. But I guess there’s more opportunities now. There’s more money involved in sport. I guess the example that I see is growing up in north Queensland and seeing what the [NRL team] Cowboys have gone through now.”Getting that good coin now and you see in the papers there’s a bit of trouble with a few players, they come from nowhere to all of a sudden earning big money and I think just a bit of guidance would be great. I don’t think a lot of sportsmen are getting that guidance or mentoring at the moment.”

Nottinghamshire’s season has been transformed since Peter Moores joined the coaching staff and trust in homegrown pace bowlers has played a large part in that

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge23-Aug-2015
ScorecardJake Ball – proof that Nottinghamshire can produce their own•Getty Images

With a third of the third day lost to rain and a forecast for more interruptions on day four, Nottinghamshire may be thwarted in their attempt to secure a fourth win in five in the Championship. Nonetheless, the transformation in their fortunes since late June has been notable.Since they were thrashed by an innings by Yorkshire at Headingley in June, Nottinghamshire have recorded a remarkable 11 wins from 14 completed matches across the three formats. Talk of relegation was in the air in the aftermath of the Leeds defeat; now there is a reasonable prospect of finishing second in the Championship, while a home quarter-final in the Royal London Cup on Tuesday offers the chance to move within one step of a second Lord’s final in three years.Much will be made of the improvement coinciding with the addition of Peter Moores to the coaching staff as a consultant. The future of the former England head coach beyond next month has yet to be determined. There will be a clamour, no doubt, among the members for him to stay.There are other factors at play, though, one of which is the emergence of a youthfully enthusiastic bowling attack, who are rising to the challenge presented by the two gaping holes left behind by Andre Adams and, latterly, Peter Siddle, and threatening finally to quieten the constant snipe that Nottinghamshire cannot produce their own players.Jake Ball, Brett Hutton and Luke Wood, who have shared seven wickets in this match so far and 74 between them for the Championship season, are all local boys. Ball is from Mansfield, while Hutton and Wood, although born in Doncaster and Sheffield respectively, played their club cricket in Nottinghamshire and developed through the county’s academy system.Although Wood is a relative newcomer, Ball and Hutton have had to wait several years for the opportunity to be regulars in the four-day side. Now they have made the breakthrough, they are finding that taking the field with trust behind them makes all the difference.”It is massive to have that,” Ball said after finishing with 3 for 35 after going for under two runs per over. “It is hard as a bowler when you go out there under pressure, thinking you must take wickets, because then you can strive too hard, bowl a bit fuller and go for a lot of runs.”It is nice to have that confidence, so you can just settle into a spell knowing you have a period of time in the team and that if you persevere with bowling the ball in the right areas then wickets will come.”There have been situations in the year when they could have left people out but they have stuck with us and it has given us the confidence to go out there are express ourselves and be positive.”Ball puts his own strides forward down both to that sense of security and a winter spent in the gym, working on his strength and fitness.”I was established in the one-day and Twenty20 teams but I wanted this to be a breakthrough season in the Championship,” he said.”I was meant to go to Sydney last winter but I took a decision to spend the winter working in the gym with the aim of getting stronger and it has paid off in that I’ve probably added a yard of pace.”I’ve only missed a couple of four-day games and the experience of playing at this level regularly has helped me improve.”I think we are all learning as a unit. Over the last couple of years we have lost some really experienced bowlers in Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson and last year Peter Siddle. This year we have had people coming in and out and found ourselves in situations where the youngsters have needed to play.”But we have come in and done a good job. I feel the younger bowlers are in on merit and that’s good to see. We would like to think we can develop as the Notts bowling attack for the future.”Ball’s bowling of Laurie Evans off an inside edge was an important early breakthrough after Warwickshire resumed on 100 for four, after which two wickets for Hutton and a second of the innings for Harry Gurney reduced Warwickshire to 171 for 8, Keith Barker and Chris Wright shoring things up with a stand of 65 before Barker perished reverse sweeping Samit Patel for an entertaining 71.

South Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013
ScorecardSouth Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day. The home side’s spinners played a key role on a wearing surface after England had set a platform for at least a draw on 143 for 1.Victory came deep into the final session after the last four wickets fell for 10 runs. Kagiso Rababa, the quick bowler, wrapped up the innings with two wickets.England had started the day on 31 without loss needing another 287 to take the series and made strong early progress as Jonathan Tattersall and Dominic Sibley took their opening stand to 63. After Sibley fell to Vincent Moore another productive stand of 90 followed between Tattersall and Harry Finch (46).However, when Finch fell to the legspinner Diego Rosier, who bowled 25 overs in the day, the innings began to subside as England slipped to 191 for 6 before tea. Ed Barnard and Miles Hammond slowed South Africa’s momentum by adding 49, but when Michael Fasson had Barnard lbw the final collapse decided the match.David Bedingham, whose hundred set up South Africa’s matchwinning lead, was named Man of the Match and Oli Stone, the England captain, took the Man of the Series award for taking 17 wickets at 9.88.Stone’s match figures of 11 for 79 were the best by an England bowler in a Youth Test surpassing the record of 11 for 213 held Richard Pearson, the former Northamptonshire, Surrey and Essex spinner, set against Australia’s Young Cricketers in 1991.

While there were murmurs from former players and members of the media questioning the legality of Saeed Ajmal’s action, Matt Prior said the England players were not talking about it

George Dobell in Dubai 17-Jan-2012It was as inevitable as it was regrettable that another absorbing day’s cricket between Pakistan and England should be tarnished by more controversy.At a time when Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal should have been talking about the career-best bowling spell that had earned his side the initiative in the first Test, he was instead forced to defend the legality of his bowling action in the post-play media conference. It appears that games between these sides will always be plagued by one issue or another.Ajmal, utilising all his skill and variation, claimed 7 for 55 as England were dismissed for just 192. Though Ajmal gained little turn from a sluggish surface, there was just enough movement in each direction to send confusion through the English ranks. It was a masterful performance from a fine cricketer.There were no complaints from the England dressing-room. Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, could not have made it clearer. “It’s not something we’re concerned about,” he replied when asked what the England team thought of Ajmal’s action. “It’s not something we talk about. It’s nothing to do with us.”But there were murmurs from former players and members of the media that suggested the issue could well dominate the headlines in the coming days. A waft of sour grapes, perhaps?The debate was sparked by the former England captain turned pundit, Bob Willis. Willis made the point, a quite legitimate point in context, that England are putting themselves at a disadvantage by not encouraging their young cricketers to bowl the doosra, a delivery that is harder to bowl while maintaining the legal margin of 15 degrees of arm straightening.There’s some truth in Willis’ complaint. Very few English coaches encourage the doosra and one of the very few county players who could bowl it with any degree of control and bite, Maurice Holmes, was recently suspended from bowling and released by his county after doubts about his action were raised.”The delivery that I have a problem with is the doosra,” Willis said. “The ICC have accommodated this delivery; they changed the rules to allow these bowlers to bend their elbow 15 degrees, which is what makes it so difficult for the batsmen.”The authorities are now allowing these mystery spinners, unorthodox offspinners to bend their elbow to a degree. If they are going to be allowed to do that then England have to address this and decide whether we should be teaching our young spinners to bowl like that as well.”Prior, whose performance stood head and shoulders above his team-mates, refused to encourage talk about Ajmal’s action. Instead he thought his side had to take responsibility for a poor display with the bat, while acknowledging that any bowler with the ability to turn the ball both ways always presented extra difficulties. Neither did he think that Ajmal’s talk of a mystery new delivery – the teesra – had proved to be a successful mind game.”We have to hold our hands up,” Prior said. “We had a bad day at the office. It was a pretty good batting surface and the ball wasn’t really turning. We just played a few cross-batted shots when we should have played straight.”I don’t think Saaed got in our heads at all. Any spin bowler who spins it both ways is tricky. His wrist is pretty quick when he delivers the ball so it’s pretty difficult to pick him at times and that obviously plays on a batsman’s minds, but we have to deal with him a lot better than we did today.Ajmal also chose to rise above questions on the issue. “I’m just going to concentrate on my bowling,” he said. “Umpires and referees are responsible for judging my action. Such questions were raised with Saqlain Mushtaq [the former Pakistan offspinner], too, but we both played county cricket and there were no problems. It’s no problem for me that someone in England has questioned my action.”This was the best performance of my life. I just bowled wicket to wicket and, while I had a good day, England had a bad one. They are all good players and it would be wrong to say that England doesn’t play spin well. Andrew Strauss should have played off the front foot rather than the back, but I’ve worked hard on my bowling against left-handers and I’m very happy to have dismissed four left-handers today.”

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Anderson can only look on as Ryan Harris celebrates Paul Collingwood’s last-ball dismissal•Getty Images

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris both struck in the final five minutes of play to finish with two apiece while other scalp, the key one of Kevin Pietersen for 3, went to the hardworking Ben Hilfenhaus as England lurched to stumps on 5 for 81.Those final few moments did huge damage to England who were already struggling. Jonathan Trott had played well for 31 before fencing at Johnson and, in a sign of how fortunes have changed, Ricky Ponting parried the ball at second slip only for Brad Haddin to snap up the chance. Ponting immediately left the field for treatment on a finger so missed the final-ball drama when the out-of-form Paul Collingwood edge Harris to third slip, the ball after nightwatchman James Anderson declined a single to take the strike off Collingwood.Hussey and Shane Watson, who fell five runs short of his hundred, were chiefly responsible for building Australia’s strong position as they extended their fourth-wicket stand to 113. After that, England staged a fightback with Chris Tremlett claiming his maiden five-wicket haul as the last six wickets fell for 55 but, despite the positive talk of a repeat of South Africa’s 414-run chase in 2008-09, history was always unlikely to repeat itself.Australia were mightily pumped up for the final session, knowing the quick bowlers could go full throttle. Ponting wasn’t afraid to switch the bowlers around and it was a change of ends for Harris that brought the first breakthrough when Alastair Cook was struck on the back leg. Cook asked Andrew Strauss if it was worth a review, but wasn’t supported by his captain. The ball would have clipped the bails.

Smart Stats

• Shane Watson’s 95 was the fourth time he has fallen in the nineties in his career. He has two centuries and 14 fifties.

• Michael Hussey’s century was his second of the series and the 13th of his career. He averages almost 61 in home Tests but just over 39 in away Tests.

• The 113 run partnership between Hussey and Watson was the third century stand for the fourth wicket for Australia against England in Test matches at Perth.

• In 11 innings since June 2010, Kevin Pietersen has scored 477 runs with one century and two fifties. He has scored less than 10 in five of these innings.

• Of the ten previous occasions that Australia have set a target over 300 at Perth, they have gone on to win on seven occasions and drawn twice. The only loss came against South Africa in 2008.

Johnson had been brought on in the sixth over and offered a couple of boundary balls, then tightened up to off stump and found Strauss’s edge which flew comfortably to Ponting at second slip. Whereas Hussey had given a lesson in what to leave, England’s batsmen were far less certain.Pietersen also chased a wide delivery that he poked to first slip to give Hilfenhaus his first wicket since the third ball of the series. Pietersen had escaped a pair with a pull to fine leg but hadn’t settled when he hung his bat out, although it was nothing less than Hilfenhaus deserved for a probing spell. For Pietersen it was his lowest contribution when he has batted twice in a Test. Like his team, it’s been quite a comedown from Adelaide.Throughout the match it has been tough for batsmen when they first come in, which emphasises the importance of the lone hundred so far from Hussey. His latest masterclass made him the first batsman to hit six consecutive fifty-plus scores in a Ashes Tests, a run dating back to his futile hundred at The Oval in 2009. He also became the leading run-scorer in the series, overtaking Cook, and made this the most prolific series of his career. Not bad for a player who nearly lost his place before it all started in Brisbane.He brought up his hundred with a crunching pull, the manner in which many of his boundaries arrived as England maintained the plan of feeding his strength. He was barely troubled by any of the short-pitched offerings, which although working against some of his team-mates were a futile and wasted effort to Hussey.Hussey has an impressive conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, but the same can’t yet be said of Watson. He’d barely put a foot wrong during his innings, unfurling some thumping drives against Steven Finn as he moved carefully to 95 and within sight of his third Test century. Tremlett then got one to hold its line on middle which Watson missed, but the batsman called for a review thinking he’d hit the ball.It was a small window for England, which looked to have become a little bigger when Steven Smith was given caught at slip off an inside edge by Billy Doctrove, but this time the UDRS worked in Australia’s favour when no nick was detected and the ball was also heading over the stumps. It was a skittish innings from Smith, who could also have been run out, before Tremlett’s move to round the wicket worked as Smith gloved down the leg sideHaddin began with a sweep for six over midwicket against Swann, who only bowled five overs in the day and struggled, but got an inside edge into the stumps to give Tremlett a fourth. The lower order couldn’t offer Hussey much support as Johnson drove to cover, Harris pulled to deep midwicket and Siddle edged to third to slip to hand Anderson his 200th Test wicket.Hussey finally departed to the pull, when he picked out deep square-leg to give Tremlett a deserved five-wicket haul, but his innings had set up victory that will arrive on Sunday. And from the position Australia were in on the first afternoon, that’s an astonishing turnaround.

Anjum Chopra anchored India Red Women’s innings with an unbeaten 34 to help her team complete a five-wicket victory against India Blue Women

Cricinfo staff02-Jan-2010
ScorecardAnjum Chopra anchored India Red Women’s innings with an unbeaten 34 to help her team complete a five-wicket victory against India Blue Women in the opening game of the Women’s Challenger Trophy in Ahmedabad. Chasing 118 for victory, India Red got home in the 20th over with four balls to spare.Chopra was supported by Thirush Kamini and Rumeli Dhar but India Red’s chase was jolted by three run outs. They lost wickets at regular intervals but Chopra ensured victory by remaining firm at one end. She struck two fours in her 39-ball innings.Earlier the India Blues’ innings had also suffered from a spate of run outs. Anagha Deshpande top-scored with 48 but she was one of three batsmen to be run out as her team was restricted to 117 for 4 in 20 overs. Mithali Raj chipped in with 41 and hers was the only wicket taken by a bowler.

Visitors were wobbling at 96 for 7, still in arrears, before eighth-wicket pair come to rescue

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025A stoic rearguard action from Durham eighth-wicket pair of Ben Raine and Matthew Potts, coupled with an untimely heavy thunderstorm, essentially ended Essex hopes of pulling off a stunning last-day Rothesay County Championship victory.Raine and Potts came together at 96 for 7 with Durham still requiring 28 runs to make Essex bat again. When a bolt of lightning forced the players from the field 14 minutes before the scheduled tea interval, the deficit had been turned into a narrow 19-run advantage courtesy of the biggest partnership of an otherwise dismal batting performance. When the players came back for the remaining 9.5 overs in the evening, 4.1 actually being possible before the rain returned, Raine took advantage of spread-out fields to reach 42 not out.Before the rains came, it looked like the old firm of Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer were rolling back the years to pull off a win that had looked unlikely at the start of the day. The seam-and-spin double act combined to rip through Durham’s fragile batting with Porter ending on 3 for 36 and Harmer 3 for 64.Essex had thrown down the gauntlet by declaring on their overnight score of 457 for 8, which gave them a 124-run lead. Before Raine and Potts joined forces in an unbroken stand of 77 out of 173 for 7, it appeared a prescient decision.The 14 points Essex collected from the draw eased their relegation concerns while Durham’s dozen keeps them in serious danger with two games to play.In the end Essex were close to a third Championship win of an underwhelming season with an attack that was already without Sam Cook, nursing a broken thumb, and Shane Snater, who tweaked a calf while bowling during Durham’s first innings. It heaped a lot of responsibility on to the shoulders of Porter, but he responded immediately and emphatically.Porter needed just 14 balls to make the initial breakthrough, Alex Lees beaten for pace. Six balls later Emilio Gay followed, also lbw and also all at sea.Ben McKinney, who scored a well-judged century first time around, was another who struggled against Porter, taking 15 balls to get off the mark. He had only 11 to his name 49 balls later when he inexplicably left alone a ball from Harmer that went straight on and knocked back off stump.Durham tried to settle into full survival mode, but the pressure got to them. David Bedingham, for instance, faced 60 balls for 16 that included a six over long leg three balls before he top-edged a hook to deep fine leg off Noah Thain.Colin Ackermann, in turn, took 19 balls to score his first run. But three overs into the post-lunch session, and with a guard outside off stump, he went to give himself room to cut Harmer and ended up edging to Dean Elgar at slip.Durham were still 32 runs adrift of making Essex bat again when Porter snapped up his third wicket, rapping Graham Clark on his back pad. And four runs later, Ollie Robinson’s 21 from 55 balls ended when he attempted to slash Harmer past point and was caught behind.Raine and Potts then took Durham past Essex’s total 57 overs into their innings. And the pair had been together for exactly an hour when the players were taken off the pitch as the first flash of lightning lit up the darkening sky.The players came back nearly two hours later, having already lost 24 overs. Essex had seven men around the bat when Harmer wheeled in, but could only watch as Raine thrashed a couple of boundaries and a six over long-on. But it wasn’t long before handshakes were exchanged.