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Dan Goldstraw is within eight victims of becoming only the fourth bowler in Southern League history to take 50 wickets in a season.Since the competition began 34 years ago, only Bob Laishley, Andy Hooper and South African Angus Small have ever claimed a half-century of wickets in a summer session.Laishley did it for Winchester way back in 1980, taking a record 58 wickets at a time when there were no restrictions on bowlers.Andy Hooper took 56 scalps with his left-arm spin for Andover in 1989, while Small, who played provincial cricket for Eastern Province and Natal, took 50 wickets to help South Wilts to their only SL title success a year later.Now Goldstraw is homing in on a place in the Premier League’s order of merit.The 6-54 return in last week’s abandoned match against Portsmouth lifted Goldie’s tally for the season to 42 wickets."Dan’s bowling better and better as the season goes on," praised BAT skipper Dave Banks."We’ve been able to let him off his leash in the nine-week session of all-day games, where there are no restrictions."But now we’ve resumed 50-over cricket, he’ll have to get his wickets inside the only ten overs he’s allowed to bowl, which will doubtless concentrate the mind."Goldstraw looks a near certainty to lift the Premier Division 1 bowling award for the second consecutive season.Team-mate Damian Shirazi went into today’s match with South Wilts with a 63-run deficit to make up on Bashley’s Western Australian star Luke Ronchi.Latest individual statistics:Premier 1
Batting: Luke Ronchi (Bashley Rydal) 617, Damian Shirazi (BAT Sports) 554, Russell Rowe (South Wilts) 508, Paul Draper (South Wilts) 494, Matt Swarbrick (Bournemouth) 492, Neil Thurgood (Bashley Rydal) 483, Roger Miller (Andover) 468, Alistair Gray (Liphook & Ripsley) 457, James Hibberd (Calmore Sports) 420, David Banks (BAT Sports) 359, Richard Hindley (Havant) 340.Bowling: Dan Goldstraw (BAT Sports) 42, Malcolm Hobson (Havant) 29, Paul Draper (South Wilts) 29, Richard Dibden (BAT Sports) 26, James Hibberd (Calmore Sports) 26, John Whiting (Bashley Rydal) 25, Kevin Nash (Bashley Rydal) 25, Shaun Adam (South Wilts) 24, Kirk Stewart (BAT Sports) 23, Richard Hindley (Havant) 22, Richard Taylor (Andover) 22, Christof Bothma (Calmore Sports) 22, Terry Rawlins (BAT Sports) 21.Premier 2
Batting: Charles Forward (OT & Romsey) 582, Aaron Heal (Lymington) 453, Danny Peacock (Lymington) 447, Iain Brunnschweiler (Hampshire Academy) 435, Tim Richings (Sparsholt) 416, Owen Dawkins (Hungerford) 413, Jason Laney (Hungerford) 406, Jeff Anning (Rowledge) 406.Bowling: Nick Wood (OT & Romsey) 30, Damien Carson (United Services) 27, Steve Green (Easton & Martyr Worthy) 25, Aaron Heal (Lymington) 24, Danny Peacock (Lymington), David Wheeler (Hampshire Academy) 22, Jason Williams (Hungerford) 22, Raj Naik (Winchester KS) 21, Owen Dawkins (Hungerford) 21, Jeff Anning (Rowledge) 20.Premier 3
Batting: Will Prozesky (Purbrook) 717, Mark Parker (St Cross Symondians) 612, Chris Baumann (Waterlooville) 605, Matt Digweed (Hartley Wintney) 539, Michael Heffernan (Alton) 456, Jimmy Castrisos (Hartley Wintney) 452, Michael Howard (Leckford) 429, Simon Greenfield (Havant II) 428, Colin James (Paultons) 411, Steve Watts (New Milton) 385, Ian Hunter (Purbrook) 381.Bowling: Nathan Collins (Gosport Borough) 35, Neil Dodds (Ventnor) 26, Julian Ballinger (Alton) 25, Bob Paul (Bashley Rydal II) 23, Andy Cattle (Leckford) 23, Andy Snellgrove (New Milton) 22, Ben Neal (New Milton) 22, John Barrett (Hambledon) 22, Nick McMurray (Flamingo) 21, Mark Stanley (Purbrook) 21, Stuart Charman (St Cross Symondians) 21, Peter Anderson (New Milton) 21, Darren Bartlett (Hook & Newnham Basics) 21, Matt Truckle (Redlynch & Hale) 20.Wicketkeeping: Dave Coles (Lymington) 19, Martin Miller (Bournemouth) 19, Dave Banks (BAT Sports) 18, Warren Gilmour (United Services) 17, John Burton (Redlynch & Hale) 16.

Despite some aggressive batting, West Indies A could not grasp the initiative in their tour match with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. After initially rattling along at six runs per over against an inexperienced Nottinghamshire attack, the West Indians lost wickets in search of quick runs before skipper Daren Ganga declared 65 runs behind. The home side then set about the tourists’ bowling, hitting 38 in as many minutes to lead by 102 going into the final day. The captains are clearly pushing for a result, which should mean some entertaining cricket tomorrow.Ryan Hinds was the West Indies’ star with the bat, crashing 73 from 75 balls. The 21-year-old Bajan struck nine fours and two explosive sixes before fallingto Gareth Clough. Tom Savill earned an lbw decision to trap Donovan Pagon (1) early, as the West Indians replied to Nottinghamshire’s first innings 287. Thoughts of another collapse were dispelled by Devon Smith, who hit seven boundaries in a 21-ball knock which bought 31 powerful runs. Smith has had a wretched tour, and such positive batting may prove a turning point.Smith threw his wicket away though, and Ganga continued a poor run, edging Savill to keeper Wayne Noon for just 10. Hinds joined Runako Morton, whose blistering 33 came at better than a run a ball. Though he claimed two early wickets, Savill was the most expensive of the bowlers, thrashed for eight runs an over. Nadeem Malik’s line also strayed, as West Indies took advantage.Malik, Savill, Clough and Paul McMahon each claimed a brace of wickets. Though they were often wayward, it is encouraging to see Nottinghamshire’s future stars given a chance so early. No less than six of the side are still in their teens.Earlier, Vikram Atri fell agonisingly short of a debut century. The 19-year-old student batted more fluently this morning, hitting 16 boundaries in a 175-ball innings which was terminated on 98 by the spin of Hinds.Jermaine Lawson (4-91) was the pick of the bowlers, well supported by Hinds(3-54) and Tino Best (2-69) who removed Samit Patel, who made a pleasant 35 on debut. The third debutant in the side, Will Smith, also looked good. He remained unbeaten on 38 as the home side lost wickets in a hurry before declaring after Savill and McMahon had both been dismissed first ball.

A large proportion of the crowd at Old Trafford would have thoroughly enjoyed their day. They watched England’s footballers win their World Cup tie against Denmark 3-0 on the big screen and returned from the car park to their seats to see England’s cricketers reach 500 for the third consecutive innings for the first time in Tests. Among other notable events of the day was an innings of 123 from Alec Stewart and Chaminda Vaas taking his 200th Test wicket. At the close, Sri Lanka were 130 for one.Play began an hour late after mopping up the deluge of the previous evening. The partnership of Stewart and Tudor continued in regal fashion for another half dozen overs with Alex Tudor picking up useful runs to add to the partnership. He played one savage carve through the off side for four off Vaas but, in trying to repeat the shot, slashed a catch to Russel Arnold who took it well at slip.The fact that hordes of spectators began leaving the ground at this point had nothing to do with disappointment at Tudor’s demise. They were off to catch the kick-off. Stewart is a well-known football fan, but he kept his mind on the job in hand. It could be said that he acknowledged England’s first goal in Japan by stroking a boundary off the very next ball, but there was an inevitability about the way he went to his fifteenth Test century.He spent no time at all in what could have been nervous nineties. He was on 86 as he faced the start of an over from Dilhara Fernando. Four balls and four fours later, he was raising his bat in acknowledgement of his ton, from 146 balls with a dozen previous boundaries. He makes a habit of picking occasions for his centuries at Old Trafford. Last year it was in his one hundredth Test on the Queens Mother’s one hundredth birthday. Some had forecast that this would be his last Test, but his form would make it difficult to dispense with his services now.He was helped by a not inconsiderable contribution from Ashley Giles who helped him put on 102 for the eighth wicket to establish a new record for England against Sri Lanka. Not many of Giles’s 45 runs came in front of square, but his innings blossomed to produce the runs that he has frequently promised.Giles eventually fell to a juggling catch by Kumar Sangakkara off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan, and Stewart went to a bat/pad catch on the off side from the same bowler who has a happy knack of continuing to take wickets. It was Fernando who took the last, finding an inswinging yorker that was too good for Matthew Hoggard with his first ball of a new spell.The combination of the weather and the length of England’s innings had effectively excluded Sri Lanka from winning the match and squaring the series. The Sri Lankans did not appear to appreciate the fact as they set off at nearly five an over. Arnold slashed the first two balls he received from Hoggard over slips to the boundary, and added a third to force the bowler out of the attack after two overs costing 17 runs including four no balls.He was replaced by Andrew Flintoff who proceeded to bowl a fiery spell that did not produce any wickets but accounted for the unfortunate Marvan Atapattu who was struck on the right index finger and left the field for an x-ray after writhing in pain. Early indications are that there is a slight fracture, but it could be an old injury.Sangakkara replaced him to take the score along at a healthy rate. Andrew Caddick withdrew from the fray with a side strain that caused him to depart mid-over, but Tudor replaced him bowling like a man with a point to prove. Circumstances caused him to be under-bowled at Edgbaston.It was Tudor who took the one wicket to fall when Arnold, having reached an attractive fifty from 53 balls with his tenth boundary. He went to hook a short ball, got a top edge and sent a steepling catch to deep backward square leg where Michael Vaughan was precisely positioned to take the catch.Giles plied his left-arm spin from the Warwick Road end, seeking assistance from the rough of the footholds, but the batsmen survived with only a few alarms to end the day in bright sunshine still 382 runs behind.

On the second day of the Frizzell County Championship Division One match featuring the leaders, Surrey, Ian Blackwell led Somerset to a 33 run first innings lead at The Oval. When he was out lbw to Ian Salisbury, he was just two short of a century and had faced 112 balls, striking 15 fours. Had anyone else other than Rob Turner and Jamie Cox with 34 apiece been able to support Blackwell, Somerset’s lead would have been that much greater. Martin Bicknell was Surrey’s most successful bowler with four wickets.In Surrey’s second innings, Mark Butcher fell early to Andrew Caddick and Mark Ramprakash was run out when Surrey had moved one run in front. They had lost Graham Thorpe before the close at which point they led by 54.Although Shaun Udal played a useful innings of 43 not out for Hampshire at Headlingley, a major contribution to the total came from extras. There were 54 of them, including 36 no balls. Matthew Hoggard came through a difficult time for him with four wickets. Michael Vaughan had an innings of 54 for Yorkshire, which at least negated the extras, and Craig White played an uncharacteristically slow innings to be 49 not out at the close from 132 balls as Yorkshire finished 180 runs in arrears.Robin Martin-Jenkins made sure that Leicestershire could not make significant progress from their overnight position by taking the last three wickets to fall to finish with seven for 51 at Horsham. Richard Montgomerie then carried his bat to finish 122 not out as the rest of the Sussex batting collapsed in the face of Devon Malcolm. The 39-year-old paceman finished with seven for 76. Batting again, Leicestershire extended their first innings lead of 17 to finish the day on 94 for two.In Division Two, there were runs all down the order for Durham as they declared on 470 for eight at Chester-le-Street against Gloucestershire. Top scorer was Andrew Pratt who was run out for 93, while acting captain Paul Collingwood and Gordon Muchall both recorded half-centuries. Gloucestershire soon ran into trouble when they batted, losing six wickets before the hundred has been posted. At the close, they trailed by 375.At Trent Bridge, Tony Penberthy and Darren Cousins extended their last wicket partnership for Northamptonshire to 81 before Cousins was out, leaving Penberthy undefeated on 106. Andrew Harris took the last wicket to finish with four in the innings. Cousins then entered into a bowling partnership with Carl Greenidge as the Nottinghamshire top order failed to show the same resilience as the Northamptonshire tail. When bad light stopped play, the home side were 184 for seven, still 93 runs behind.

Round 3 Draw (to be played on Sunday May 26)Bramshaw v Sparsholt
Flamingo v Hursley Park
Leckford v Rowlands Castle
Tichborne Park v Appleshaw.

Surrey have taken a calculated gamble on their overseas signings for the T20 Blast, announcing on Wednesday that Australian seamer Sean Abbott will return to the club in May and June alongside compatriot Aaron Hardie.Both Abbott and Hardie are on the fringes of Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup, which clashes with the first month of Blast group games. Both players made appearances in their recent series win over West Indies, but neither features in Australia’s full-strength squad for their upcoming three-match series in New Zealand, which starts in Wellington next week.Abbott enjoyed success in both the County Championship and the Blast last year, and his contract covers four Championship fixtures and eight T20s from May 10 until June 26. He will miss the end of the Blast’s group stages, and is expected to play Major League Cricket (MLC) instead.”Sean is a highly skilled cricketer, and everyone saw last season what he is capable of in red-ball and white-ball cricket,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said. “He had an outstanding impact as a cricketer and as a member of the dressing room… Sean is exactly what we look for in an overseas professional at this club.”With Hardie’s deal announced last week, Surrey have filled both overseas spots for the first half of the Blast’s group stages and it appears increasingly unlikely that Sunil Narine will return to the club for the tournament this year. Narine has spent the last two seasons with Surrey but controversially missed Finals Day last year due to a clash with his commitments at MLC.Their squad is certain to be affected by England’s T20 World Cup plans, with Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Reece Topley highly likely to be involved and Tom Curran, Chris Jordan and Jamie Overton also in contention.

Durham 165 (Evison 5-21, Broad 3-36) and 188 for 4 drew with Nottinghamshire 328 (Patterson-White 73, Slater 60, Clarke 48, Rushworth 4-75, Raine 3-63) and 217 (Hameed 58, Borthwick 4-32)County cricket felt like a game going through the motions at Chester-le-Street. Not just because the contest was dead, but also because of the creeping, low-level sense of foreboding that, behind the scenes, the season itself was in danger of crumbling.Is this what the beginning of the end of county cricket will look like?Confidential soundings will be taken from chief executives this week over whether the Royal London Cup can logistically be staged as the competition is drained by international cricket, the inaugural season of the Hundred – a tournament upon which several ECB high-fliers have pinned their reputation – and the continuing curse of Covid, as the country approaches “Freedom Day” amid rising cases and the ping of mobile phones instructing hundreds of thousands (or at least those who haven’t already deleted the App) to go into isolation.The first phase of the Championship has ended tonight with the final stages due to begin again on August 30. The group stage of the T20 Blast also comes to an end on Saturday (although Derbyshire’s campaign has already run out of players), with the quarter-finals scheduled for August 23 onwards.The doubts surround the Royal London Cup. The 50-over tournament, already shorn by design of the top 30% of professional cricketers, is meant to fill the gap for the rest. Not providing a purportedly valid county competition for a month in the middle of summer for core cricket supporters, and leaving the majority of players inactive in the process, would be unconscionable.The ECB’s masterplan asserted that county cricket could have it all ways – take the promised windfall from the Hundred and still stage a legitimate competition to satisfy traditional county supporters. But counties are struggling with ravaged squads and mounting debts, and in some quarters faith is understandably wavering that they can stage worthwhile matches of sufficient quality, or even stage matches at all.Related

• Nottinghamshire make short work of Durham's cunning plan thanks to Joey Evison five-for

• Roses match overshadowed by horror leg injury to Dominic Leech

• Concerns over England-Pakistan match after Headingley Roses abandonment

• Doubts grow over viability of county competitions as clubs face difficulty putting out sides

And somewhere in these discussions will be the question of what will happen if one of the squads in the Hundred has to isolate? There is only one place where a Hundred side could draw fresh resources – and that would be desperately to scour the fast-emptying shelves of the county cricket supermarket, a supermarket with a deeply flawed production line but the only production line nevertheless.All this bobbled around the surface, like pollution on a calm sea, as Durham’s Championship encounter with Nottinghamshire hit stalemate, Durham sidling to 188 for 4, having been set 381 to win in 71 overs. Durham could have joined Notts in Division One of the next stage of the LV= Championship with victory, if Warwickshire had lost at Worcestershire, but there never looked to be the slightest possibility of that. They did little more than keep up appearances before gladly shaking hands on a draw at five o’clock. Durham, as a result, are heading into Division Two.Notts blocked out the first hour, largely in the shape of Joey Evison, whose five wickets had won them promotion the previous day and who now had a more humdrum job to do – 13 from 45 balls. With the game safe, they indulged in some late-order hitting, with Scott Borthwick’s legspin the chief recipient as he turned in season’s best figures of 4 for 32.Ankle-high dismissals for Cameron Bancroft and David Bedingham were reminders that a sedate final-day surface would have one or two treacherous moments. The game was played out in the semi-conscious, virtually unwatchable, way that county cricket resorts to when a game goes awry. “Cricket is a situation game – when the situation is dead, the game is dead,” said the England allrounder, Trevor Bailey, more than half-a-century ago and it remains as true as ever.With Durham 193 behind at the start of the final hour, nobody much minded when a draw was accepted. Losing an hour was of no consequence. It was the outcome of the next month that mattered.

Durham pulled off what will go down as one of the more extraordinary wins in their T20 history as Leicestershire Foxes threw away what looked like a nailed-on victory in the Vitality Blast at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Chasing 169 to win this North Group match after Scott Steel hit 53 against his former team-mates, Durham were 108 for 8 in the 14th over and still needed 49 with only four overs left. That came down to 23 off two after Gavin Griffiths conceded 15 in the 18th but winning still looked a tall order.Yet former Leicestershire man Ned Eckersley and Liam Trevaskis saw their side home with an over to spare as the Foxes conceded 24 in a calamitous 19th over that was started by their overseas player Naveen-ul-Haq and ended by Ben Mike after the Afghan fast bowler was ordered out of the attack for bowling two head-high no-balls.Naveen’s first and sixth balls were called for height, the second of which Eckersley ramped for four, adding nine to the total just from no-balls. In between came a two, two singles and a leg-bye and a four for Trevaskis when he should have been caught at deep midwicket, Arron Lilley losing the ball in the sun.Naveen’s second no-ball meant he could not bowl the extra delivery. Mike took over and Eckersley clubbed the free hit for six over long-off to complete a 36-ball half-century and win the game to a stunned silence from the home crowd.Earlier, Durham had restricted the Foxes to what looked like a below-par 168 for 9, with Lilley hitting 31 but Matty Potts and ex-Leicestershire seamer Ben Raine taking three wickets each. Having been 117 for 3 in the 14th over, the Foxes stumbled from 155 for 4 to 166 for 9, losing five wickets for 11 runs in 15 balls.Steel’s 53 included five fours and two sixes, Lilley’s 31 off 21 balls with sixes off Paul Coughlin over midwicket and two down the ground in consecutive balls off Scott Borthwick’s legbreaks.Durham’s reply was off to a blistering start as David Bedingham blasted 38 off 19 balls with three sixes off left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson’s opening over. At 58 for two after 6, they looked well placed but after a bad call by Raine saw Cameron Bancroft run out they lost five wickets for 20 runs in 22 balls.Lilley, who had Jack Burnham caught at short third man in an attempted reverse sweep and Coughlin leg before, took his third wicket as Borthwick missed the ball trying to work to leg but a career-best 3 for 26 was small consolation for what happened at the end as Trevaskis took four and a six over deep midwicket off Griffiths and Naveen’s afternoon turned into a nightmare.

Canterbury staved off a fightback from Northern Districts to clinch a two-run win with three balls to spare at Hagley Oval. Defending 275, Canterbury’s bowlers, led by Tim Johnston (3-47), reduced Northern Districts to 98 for 5 in 24 overs. But a 104-run partnership between Daryll Mitchell and Tim Seifert kept the batting side in the game. Todd Astle broke the stand in the 41st over but Seifert stuck around, bringing up his maiden List A century off 85 balls.He shepherded the chase to a point where they needed five runs off the last over. Pacer Logan van Beek, however, dismissed Ish Sodhi off the first ball and had Seifert caught behind off the third ball to seal the win. Seifert’s 87-ball 104 had 11 fours and two sixes. Van Beek finished with 4 for 55, while Andrew Ellis also chipped in with two wickets. Earlier, Canterbury’s innings was anchored by Henry Nicholls’ 125-ball 140. The knock helped override a late wobble triggered by Scott Kuggeleign, who finished with 3 for 29. The innings received a lift courtesy cameos from Cole McConchie (28 not out) and Tim Johnston (27 not out).Michael Rippon top-scored with 83 and then snared two wickets to help Otago beat Auckland by 33 runs in Invercargill. Otago’s second win in six matches helped them steer four points clear of sixth-placed Central Districts.Otago, sent in to bat, made 340 for 7. Rippon, who opened the innings, set the platform for a strong total courtesy a second-wicket stand of 83 with Sean Eathrone (41) before R Sandhu’s triple-strike reduced them to 227 for 5. Josh Finnie led the revival, striking five fours and five sixes in his unbeaten 73 to take them close to the 350-mark.Auckland openers Jeet Raval (63) and Glenn Phillips (41) put on 91 in 13.1 overs to keep them ahead of the asking rate. Sean Solia, the No. 3 batsman, made 64 to further strengthen their position. But the wickets of Mark Chapman and Solia in the space of four overs set them back. Rob Nicol kept the chase alive, striking a 45-ball 48, but a middle-order wobble escalated the asking rate and left them with too much to get. They finished with 307 for 7.A washout at Basin Reserve ensured Wellington remained on top of the points table. Central Districts were well placed at 150 for 2 in 30 overs when the rain came down. In limited play that was possible, George Worker had moved to 80 not out. He built the innings with a 100-run stand for the second wicket with Will Young (44).

Two players from United Bank Limited, a Pakistan first-class team, were injured in a fire that broke out at the Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi on Monday.In an accident that left at least 11 people dead and 45 injured, allrounder Yasim Murtaza fractured his heel while 20-year-old legspinner Karamat Ali suffered a hand injury in a bid to save themselves. Ten players from UBL, along with Umar Amin, who plays for Sui Southern Gas Corporation, were staying at the hotel for the ongoing super-eight round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament.UBL were playing Habib Bank Limited, and were set to resume their first innings on 20 for 0 on the third day, in response to Habib Bank’s 486. Having received a request to abandon the match from UBL manager Nadeem Khan, the PCB’s domestic committee agreed to do so, awarding both teams a point each.According to Nadeem, the players woke up to fire and smoke at around 3.30am in the fourth floor of the building. According to reports the fire broke out in the kitchen, which is on the ground floor of the four-star hotel located on the city’s Shahrah-e-Faisal, and swept through the building. Cricketers were trapped between the second and fourth floors and were rescued from the hotel after three hours.”I got a call from a player for help,” Nadeem told ESPNcricinfo. “When I rushed to the hotel, I saw them screaming for help in the windows. They were naturally suffocating after the smoke entered their rooms through the central air-conditioning system. They tried to make their way outside to escape, but couldn’t go beyond the second floor.”Yasim, however, jumped from second to first floor and broke his heel bone, while Karamat Ali suffered a hand injury. The rest of the boys are fine and didn’t suffer any life-threatening injury at all, but they were given oxygen as they were suffocating with the smoke.”The affected cricketers, after a check-up, were temporarily residing at UBL captain Shan Masood’s house in Karachi.”All the players have been evacuated and moved to a safer location now,” Nadeem said. “They are shocked, however, and are not in state to carry on with the match. With two of our boys getting injured, all are in severe shock. Our team is mentally handicapped and can’t play the match any more.”GMT 1030 The story was amended after the PCB domestic committee decided to abandon the match.