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They survived a scare from Jordan Silk, who took the game to the final over with his 78 off 49 balls

Peter Della Penna24-Jan-2021A 145-run opening stand between Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short, the highest of this year’s Big Bash League, laid a sturdy foundation for the Hobart Hurricanes in a seven-run win over the Sydney Sixers, keeping the Hurricanes’ hopes alive of reaching the finals stage. Both made half-centuries in what ended as the joint 12th-best stand in BBL history, leading to a total that was too much for the Sixers to overhaul.The Hurricanes were in control with the ball for the majority of their defense as well, as entering the final over, the Sixers needed 28 to win. Riley Meredith bowled two waist-high full tosses for no-balls, the second of which went for six, thus reducing the equation from an improbable 28 off six balls down to 15 off four. But the Sixers’ last hope was snuffed out two balls later when Jordan Silk heaved a length delivery to Short on the rope at deep midwicket for 78.The Hurricanes are in control of their own destiny for a place in the playoffs, needing a win over the last-place Melbourne Renegades in the regular season finale to keep their season going. Whereas despite the loss, the Sixers only need a bonus point from their final match against the Melbourne Stars to secure their place in the top two, guaranteeing them two shots to make the tournament final.Wade and Short go long
The roaring stand had got off to a quiet start as the Hurricanes’ opening pair only managed four runs off the first 11 deliveries of the match. But a strike over mid-on by Short off Ben Dwarshuis got the ball rolling and spurred Wade to attack Carlos Brathwaite for three more boundaries in the third over, working his way across from midwicket to mid-off before capping the sequence slicing over point. Short then punched two more boundaries through the off side against Jake Ball in the fourth over to keep the momentum flowing, as they ended the powerplay at 33 without loss.The spinners fared no better as Short seized on the introduction of Ben Manenti in the fifth, heaving his second ball over midwicket for six before tonking him straight for another after he switched ends for the eighth over. Wade got to his half-century first off 28 balls, flicking a short ball angled down the leg side for a boundary off Ball to start the 11th, as the century stand was brought up with a single two balls later. The pair called for the Power Surge to begin the 12th as Short surged past 50 off 36 balls in the process, smacking a full toss from Dwarshuis back over his head for six during a 19-run over.The partnership finally came to an end three overs later, as Wade’s license for risk-taking with all ten wickets in hand finally brought about his downfall while ramping Sean Abbott to short third man. Abbott claimed Short as well a few overs later with a well-directed yorker. With the set pair finally gone, the Sixers continued to gain confidence through disciplined death bowling from Ball and Dwarshuis, as five wickets fell off the last 12 balls to give a brief lift to the Sixers while heading into the break.Jordan Silk’s 78 off 49 balls went in vain, as Sydney Sixers fell short in the chase•Getty Images

Short nearly goes from hero to villain
The Sixers suffered an unlucky setback early in the chase when Josh Philippe was given out lbw on a delivery which ball-tracking showed was heading past leg stump. James Vince and Daniel Hughes fell soon after to make it 37 for 3, which could have been even worse had Short held onto a straightforward chance at short midwicket for what would have been Scott Boland’s third wicket in the powerplay. The Sixers meandered through the next several overs as the required run rate reached 11, but captain Moises Henriques jolted the Sixers back to life while taking on Short’s left-arm spin. Consecutive sweeps sailed over the leg side for six and four during a 14-run over, but even bigger damage followed.Henriques flicked Meredith over long-on for six, who created a chance next ball as Henriques mistimed a length ball that fluttered gently towards Short at midwicket. For the second time in the innings, Short spilled Henriques on a painfully simple chance only for the former to rub salt into the wound by smashing Meredith behind square for six off the next delivery he faced in what ended as an 18-run over.Sandeep Lamichanne to the rescue
Nepal legspinner Lamichhane had conceded 13 runs off his first two overs and began his third by leaking a boundary to Silk through wide long-on. But by the end of it, he had inflicted severe damage. Henriques looked like he was going to clear the ropes again when Lamichhane sent down a half-tracker on the fourth ball, which he pulled too fine to pick out Ellis at deep backward square. Silk’s inability to cross strike with the ball in the air meant Dan Christian entered and was straightaway exposed by a googly that ripped past his forward prod to put Lamichhane on a hat-trick at 107 for 5.Whereas Wade and Short blitzed the Sixers in the Power Surge, the Sixers stumbled immediately when trying to utilize it for a rebuild, as Brathwaite chipped Ellis to extra cover at the start of the 15th over. Silk lacked the support to be able to meaningfully attack down the stretch even as he passed 50 off 35 balls. He survived a drop on 58 at fine leg in the penultimate over, but a comeback seemed unlikely until Meredith briefly left the door ajar in the final over with the pair of no-balls. However, Short redeemed himself for the earlier pair of drops by denying Silk a six on the midwicket rope, taking the catch that sealed the match.

Andre Russell, Aaron Finch and Tymal Mills were our first three picks in the media mock draft

Matt Roller at Lord's16-Oct-2019ESPNcricinfo threw down the gauntlet for Darren Lehmann in the media mock draft for The Hundred, picking a strong squad including Andre Russell, Aaron Finch and Tymal Mills.Representing the Northern Superchargers, our 15-man pool included several stars of the Vitality Blast, as well as players who have starred on the global T20 circuit, and others who are on England’s radar.Picking third, after Trent Rockets (Vithushan Ehantharajah and Adam Collins) and Southern Brave (Simon Wilde and Elizabeth Ammon), our first-round pick was the 2019 IPL’s MVP Andre Russell, who would slot into our side as the finisher, listed at No. 6.After some surprising first-round picks from elsewhere, including Mohammad Nabi and Kane Williamson, we then added Aaron Finch as our opener and captain.Most teams opted to fill their overseas quota with their first three picks, but we sensed value lower in the draft and ended up selecting Imad Wasim – ranked the second-best T20I bowler in the world by the ICC – as low down as round five.Tymal Mills was therefore our third pick, our first-choice death bowler, and one of two left-arm seamers along with pre-selected local icon David Willey, who could take the new ball along with Imad.Adil Rashid was another pre-selected local icon, while Olly Stone’s pace would complete a strong, varied first-choice attack.Our batting was filled with left-right combinations, with four left-handers (Cameron Delport, Tom Moores, Delray Rawlins and Imad) and three right-handers (Finch, Tom Abell, and Andre Russell) in the top seven.There was bench strength, too, in the shape of Steven Croft, Rikki Clarke and the Blast’s leading wicket-taker Ravi Rampaul, with the looming spectre of Ben Stokes ready to slot into the side when permitted by England.All things considered, our selection panel came out of the draft happy with our afternoon’s work, and optimistic with how our squad will stack up against the one picked by Lehmann on Sunday evening.How the media mock draft of The Hundred played out•ECB/The Hundred

There were plenty of high-profile overseas players that failed to make the cut, including Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga from the six men with a £125,000 reserve price, while Mohammad Amir, Chris Lynn, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis also missed out, illustrating the point that plenty of big names will go unsold in the real thing.Morne Morkel, Ian Bell, Ryan ten Doeschate and Danny Briggs were among the unsold domestic players, while there was draft-room drama when Manchester Originals (Nick Friend and Huw Turbervill) tried to pick the unheralded Scotland opener George Munsey, only to find he wasn’t in the system.The main take-home was that the 100 seconds teams have to make their picks is a long time: with analysts pouring their time into depth charts and player roles in recent weeks, there shouldn’t be too many sides scrabbling against the clock.The draft was halted for an hour midway through due to technical difficulties, and the chance to test the software had been cited as a reason to hold the mock event; regardless of who gets picked, the ECB will be desperate the gremlins are banished from the system in time for Sunday evening.Our Northern Superchargers squad included a mix of domestic and international talent•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Joe Root set the stage for England to draw level in the ODIs, and Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid finished the job

The Report by Shashank Kishore14-Jul-2018In what England would hope heralds a sustained run of form through their home season, Joe Root made a high-quality 113, his 13th ODI century, to provide the base for England’s series-levelling 86-run win at Lord’s. To put their win down wholly to Root’s knock, however, would do no justice to David Willey or Adil Rashid or Moeen Ali.Willey’s 30-ball half-century, the fastest for England against India, injected late momentum into an innings that seemed destined to end up at 280 or thereabouts. Siddarth Kaul, in just his second ODI, repeatedly lost his lengths and bore the brunt of Willey’s improvisation. Umesh Yadav didn’t fare much better as England plundered 94 off the last 10 to finish with 322 for 7. Virat Kohli kept India in the hunt in the chase, but Moeen changed all that by having him lbw in the 27th over. England proceeded to choke India with spin, and the required rate escalated to over eleven an over with 12 overs to play.That England managed to keep Dhoni and Hardik Pandya quiet was a mark of the control they had over proceedings. Eoin Morgan had elected to bat presumably to deny India’s spinners the advantage of bowling on a drier surface late in the day. As it turned out, their very own benefited from this, combining for figures of 3 for 80 off 20 overs in decisive spells.The final result had a feeling of inevitability to it, with Dhoni plodding along to make a 59-ball 37, making Tuesday’s clash at Leeds a winner-takes-all contest. While the big hits eluded him, Dhoni brought up the 33 runs he needed to become just the fourth Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, to bring up 10,000 ODI runs.The preceding T20I series had marked the first time Root was dropped in any form of cricket for England since the 2014 Sydney Test. There may have pressure on him subsequently, but, with the injury to Alex Hales and the team’s spin woes piling up, he couldn’t have asked for a more opportune moment to roar back into form.Root’s diffidence to spin had cost him at Trent Bridge – he was pinned on the back foot. At Lord’s he was much more assertive against Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, playing them as late as possible but trying to get as close as possible to the pitch of the ball. This helped him put away the odd lose delivery the pair delivered in trying to impart turn. His control percentage against the wristspinning pair was 86%, a measure of how well he played them, even if his run-scoring was not at its most fluent.That this innings came hot on the heels of the openers falling to Kuldeep made it all the more crucial. In looking to break a threatening opening stand, Kohli turned to Kuldeep in the 12th over and he struck with his second delivery, Jonny Bairstow failing to pick a googly and deflecting the ball onto the stumps. Jason Roy, meanwhile, slog swept one to Umesh Yadav at deep midwicket.Root’s innings was a soothing balm, and set them up for the late assault they eventually managed. He put on a 103-run third-wicket stand with Morgan, who made 53. Their partnership was an old-fashioned repair job that put the focus on run accumulation with minimal risks. It might have begun to ring some alarm bells for India, but then Morgan whipped a juicy Kuldeep full toss to Shikhar Dhawan at deep midwicket.At 189 for 3 in the 31st over, the stage seemed set for Jos Buttler, but England preferred Ben Stokes, who had made England’s slowest half-century in the last 10 years at Trent Bridge two days ago. He did not click today either, and to compound matters Buttler was out soon after, leaving England vulnerable. This was when India’s bowlers switched off and Willey cashed in to make a difference of at least 40 runs to the end total.India’s openers started well, adding 49 in 8.1 overs before Morgan’s call to persist with Mark Wood for a fifth straight over paid dividends. In an attempt to mow one to the short leg-side boundary, Rohit advanced only to miss one that came back in with the slope to crash into the stumps. Next over, Dhawan sliced a drive to backward point. When KL Rahul was snuffed out by a spectacular Jos Buttler grab – moving to his wrong side to take an inside edge – five balls later, India were truly in trouble.Kohli and Suresh Raina, playing his first ODI innings in almost three years, added 80. Raina was reprieved twice, the second instance causing Roy to immediately walk off the field to nurse his hand. But, in the same over, Kohli played all around a straight Moeen delivery to open the floodgates. At that stage, India needed 183 off 23 overs, which meant little time for Dhoni and Hardik Pandya to settle in. They never did find their rhythm as the game meandered to a farcical end, Dhoni even defending balls to boos from the crowd.

An unbeaten 132-run stand for the seventh wicket between Roston Chase (131) and Jason Holder (58) helped West Indies end day one on 286 for 6

The Report by Danyal Rasool30-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:07

Roston Chase, the Caribbean’s Crisis Man

A day that started with ominous familiarity for the West Indies ended in unexpected success as the hosts recovered from a middle order meltdown to post 286 for 6 at stumps. Roston Chase was primarily responsible for the turnaround, an unbeaten 131 – just his second century – dominating the day, while Jason Holder’s unbeaten fifty helped run Pakistan ragged in a final session off which they scored 120.Chase’s awareness around the crease was excellent, knowing exactly when to leave the ball. He was equally effective at adjusting his feet when facing the spinners, and was in position to take advantage when they dropped the ball either short or bowled full. The stroke that brought up his century was a fitting snapshot of how he had played: a delightful cover drive off an overpitched delivery from legpinner Shadab Khan, who had a particularly harsh introduction to the longest format. In the absence of Yasir Shah for most parts of the final session, he was summoned but failed to ring in any sort of consistency.The evening session began, somewhat familiarly, with Holder joining Chase to play his part in yet another rearguard. With the West Indies top and middle order disappointing so regularly, Holder’s runs in the lower order have become essential to his side, rather than just an added bonus. To his credit, he delivers more often than not, and he gave Chase stellar support.With Yasir clearly hampered by a back niggle and unable to bowl at full tilt, Pakistan were at times reduced to being a three-man attack. Chase and Holder were wise to the situation, ensuring they didn’t give a wicket away easily and waited for the bowlers to tire. As they did, their intensity invariably dropped and for the first time all day, Pakistan looked like they were waiting for a wicket to fall instead of actively hunting for one.West Indies had perhaps expected an easier ride after winning the toss and choosing to bat in favourable conditions, but a splendid new ball spell from both Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas put them on the back foot straightaway. The wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite, when it came, had a sense of inevitability to it, the right-hander edging an Amir delivery that held its line. When Shimron Hetmyer fell flashing at a ball outside off stump soon after, the lack of experience was telling.With the pitch seen as conducive to spin bowling, Misbah-ul-Haq turned to Yasir as early as the eleventh over. There was sharp turn on offer for the legspinner right away, hardly a ringing endorsement of the wicket, what with this being the first morning of the Test. But with the under-fire Shai Hope having gone into his shell, Yasir pitched one on a length around middle stump. Hope failed to get on the front foot in time, and the ball took the edge through to Sarfraz Ahmed as West Indies slumped to 37 for 3.Amir provided Pakistan the next breakthrough, ripping a yorker into Powell’s toes that tailed in at serious pace, taking the slow pitch out of the equation. The umpire turned down the appeal, but Amir was sure, and Hawk-Eye agreed with him. Wickets continued to fall as West Indies threatened to fold for a sub-200 total, as the hosts were reduced to 154 for 6. The players went in for tea soon after; the fans will probably have needed something stronger.What they couldn’t have known was Chase and Holder would concoct the perfect tonic to soothe their disappointment in the final session, as the West Indies improbably finished the day on even terms. With the partnership standing at 132, and still unbeaten, the fans had better turn up tomorrow, too. They certainly haven’t seen this before.

Fans without tickets were turned away from Scotland’s World T20 match against Zimbabwe at the VCA stadium in Nagpur today, as there are no ticketing facilities available at the ground

Jarrod Kimber and Arya Yuyutsu10-Mar-20162:42

Poor ticket arrangements disappoint fans in Nagpur

Fans without tickets were turned away from Scotland’s World T20 match against Zimbabwe at the VCA stadium in Nagpur today, as there are no ticketing facilities available at the ground.The tickets for the match are priced at 100 rupees for the East and West stands and 200 rupees for behind the bowler’s arm (approx £1.10 and £2.20 respectively). However, many supporters were obliged to travel back to the old VCA stadium in central Nagpur to purchase their tickets, meaning that that those that chose to do so were forced to miss much of the contest.The current stadium, which was inaugurated in 2008 and has a capacity of 45,000, lies 20km outside the city centre, a journey time of approximately 40 minutes by auto-rickshaw. However, the main ticketing system remains still situated at the old venue. A VCA official said it was not possible to have ticketing at both grounds.The BCCI, who declined to comment, are in overall charge of the ticketing policy for the tournament, but the arrangements for each match are at the discretion of the individual state associations. Dharamsala, the other venue that has so far hosted matches, has chosen to sell tickets for the qualifying rounds at the gate.The VCA spokesman added that advertisements for the ticketing policy had been placed in local papers but was unable to explain why the information had not been passed on to the BCCI or ICC, so they could warn fans who were travelling in from other grounds.The atmosphere inside the stadium, which came in for heavy criticism on the opening day of the tournament, was marginally improved for today’s contest, thanks to an influx of some 250 children from nearby schools. However, approximately 100 fans remained locked out of the ground at the start of Zimbabwe’s innings. The venue is too remote to support any local pubs or cafes in which to watch the contest, or to access the ICC’s online ticket-booking service that could have resolved the issue.”We love cricket, which is why we are here even in this heat to watch Scotland take on Zimbabwe,” one group of college students from Nagpur told ESPNcricinfo. “But we can’t book online because of the network and the ticket sales are going on at the other ground. There’s so few people in, why can’t they just let us in. We are even willing to pay at the gate.”One group of Scotland fans, who encountered similar problems during Tuesday’s opening round of fixtures, including Scotland’s defeat against Afghanistan, had been mistakenly informed that they could buy their tickets at their hotel.Privately ICC officials are frustrated that common sense has not been used, especially with the already low turn out for these matches.

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara is set to join the Jamaica Tallawahs for the final stretch of the Caribbean Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2013Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara is set to join the Jamaica Tallawahs for the final stretch of the Caribbean Premier League. The 35-year-old replaces Pakistan top-order batsman Ahmed Shehzad, who will join the Pakistan squad in Zimbabwe.”I did not expect to be playing the CPL this year, but when Muralitharan telephoned and asked whether I might be interested in playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs, I jumped at the chance,” Sangakkara said. “To play alongside Murali again will, of course, be a great privilege and it will also be very exciting to bat with Chris [Gayle] rather than being his opponent. The Tallawahs have had a great season thus far and I hope I can make a positive contribution as we seek to win the inaugural tournament.”Sangakkara is the fourth Sri Lanka player to join the CPL following the signings of Muttiah Muralitharan (Jamaica Tallawahs), Mahela Jayawardene (Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel) and Lasith Malinga (Guyana Amazon Warriors).Jamaica are currently placed third in the points table and have booked a semi-final berth. Their match against T&T on Sunday will decide their semi-final opponent.The other T20 franchises Sangakkara has played for are Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab, Kandurata Maroons and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was a part of the winning squad of Kandurata in the recent Sri Lanka Super Fours T20 Tournament.He has 3481 runs in 138 T20 matches at an average of 28.53 and strike rate of 124.76, and has 20 fifties to his name.

Derbyshire’s seam attack again delivered to keep the Division Two leaders on track for promotion before Kent’s tail fought back on the opening day at Derby.

02-Aug-2012
ScorecardTim Groenewald took three early wickets•Getty Images

Derbyshire’s seam attack again delivered to keep the Division Two leaders on track for promotion before Kent’s tail fought back on the opening day at Derby. Tim Groenewald claimed 3 for 41 in 19 overs while Tony Palladino and Mark Turner struck twice as Kent fell to to 238 for 8 after they had been put in on a green pitch.Sam Northeast made his fifth consecutive half-century and Michael Powell scored 45 but too many Kent batsmen got themselves out before an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 64 between Matt Coles, 51 not out, and Mark Davies earned the visitors a batting point.Rain wiped 26 overs from the day’s allocation although the skies were clear when Derbyshire won the toss and gave their bowlers first use of a pitch that had pace and bounce. Kent began well and reached 37 before skipper Rob Key aimed a firm-footed waft at Palladino and was caught at first slip. Northeast continued his recent prolific run by hitting nine fours in his fifty but Ben Harmison again struggled and made only five in 11 overs before he edged Turner to third slip.Northeast was dismissed in the next over when Jon Clare produced a good delivery that knocked back the opener’s off-stump and although Brendan Nash was put down on 13, he made only two more before a loose drive at Palladino was taken at gully to make it Derbyshire’s morning.Powell and Darren Stevens were starting to rebuild the innings until Stevens was bowled trying to drive Groenewald and although rain held up play for 50 minutes, Kent quickly lost their sixth wicket when the game resumed.Geraint Jones carved Groenewald to point just before another rain break which kept the players off the field until 4.45pm but Derbyshire quickly made another breakthrough when Groenewald beat James Tredwell with one that moved late to clip the top of off-stump. When Powell lost concentration and was caught behind driving wildly at Turner, Kent were 174 for 8 but Coles and Davies dug in to take their side past 200.Coles greeted the left-arm spin of David Wainwright by pulling him over midwicket for six and he gave the same treatment to Turner for another maximum before a cut brought him his fifth four and a deserved half-century off 74 balls.With Davies, he played out the last 16 overs of an extended day to put Kent back in the game and keep Derbyshire waiting for a third bowling point.

A Dominic Cork-inspired Hampshire very nearly hustled their way to their second successive Twenty20 final, but Somerset held their nerve in the second Super Over of what has already been a remarkable day to secure their passage to a showdown with Leiceste

The Report by Liam Brickhill at Edgbaston 27-Aug-2011
One-over Eliminator
Scorecard Jos Buttler’s stunning assault carried Somerset to the brink•Getty Images

A Dominic Cork-inspired Hampshire very nearly hustled their way to their second successive Twenty20 final, but Somerset held their nerve in the second Super Over of what has already been a remarkable day to secure their passage to a showdown with Leicestershire and a trip to India for the Champions League in a month’s time. Chasing a Duckworth/Lewis altered 95 in 10 overs, Somerset slipped to 50 for 3 as Hampshire’s spinners threatened to take hold on a helpful surface.Jos Buttler then entered to turn the game on its head, celebrating his call-up to England’s Twenty20 squad by thrashing three crisp sixes in a 16-ball 32 that took Somerset to the very brink of victory. With just five needed from six balls Cork grabbed centre stage for himself, demonstrating both his enviable calmness under extreme pressure and streetwise tactical nous – breaking the batsman’s rhythm with an extended team conference that lead to the positioning of a man at short leg – in a nerveless final over during which Hampshire, somehow, secured a tie when Somerset were in a seemingly impregnable position.Ultimately, however, it was to be Somerset’s day. Buttler and Craig Kieswetter calmly accumulated 16 from their Super Over, after which Alfonso Thomas’s intelligent changes of length got the better of Shahid Afridi to keep Hampshire to just 5.All of which rather drew the attention away from Afridi’s earlier efforts, Hampshire’s star overseas import slamming a 42-ball 80 to boost his team to a more-than-competitive 138 for 4 in the second rain-shortened match of the day.
Afridi has had a disappointing run with the bat in this competition, having been used, more often than not, as an opener by Hampshire. He is a player who relishes the big stage, however, and today he soaked in the atmosphere and shrugged off two rain delays before four overs had been completed to steadily build Hampshire’s momentum and boost them to what could well have been a match-winning total.Summer showers repeatedly scudded across the ground and both early delays were mercifully short but it was still an unusually becalmed start from a batsman not known for taking his time at the crease. Murali Kartik and George Dockrell, Somerset’s wily pair of left-arm spinners, were both treated with circumspection on first viewing and it was not until Afridi scythed medium-pacer Craig Meschede one-handed over cover for his first six that he really began to go through the gears.Kartik was brought back in the seventh over and immediately dumped over the long-off boundary, Afridi’s power ensuring the ball went the distance despite coming off the toe-end. Next to suffer was Arul Suppiah, his first over dispatched for 14 and his second bringing a 28-ball fifty for Afridi courtesy of a drilled cover drive – his fourth four.A rapidly deflating Somerset were grateful for the wickets of James Vince (22) and Neil McKenzie (4) but while Afridi remained the boundary was always in danger. He took Hampshire’s run rate above nine with two sixes in an over off Kieron Pollard – the first a monstrous blow that soared into the second tier of the stands behind long on, the second a disdainful flick with barely any backlift – and it looked as though Afridi could reach a century before he swiped at a Thomas in-ducker to be bowled in the 14th over.Sean Ervine and Liam Dawson flailed with gusto but couldn’t ping the boundary in the closing overs before the third and final rain interruption came, much to the chagrin of a crowd that was close to capacity. With just one delivery to be bowled, Duckworth/Lewis stepped in to readjust Hampshire’s total.Needing more than nine an over from the start, and with precious little time to settle at the crease, Marcus Trescothick launched Somerset’s chase by shovelling the first ball, from Dimitri Mascarenhas, through extra cover for four. His rustic, stand-and-deliver approach blended well with Kieswetter’s more light-footed swiping as Somerset stormed to 40 in the first three overs.The introduction of spin in the form of left-arm spinner Danny Briggs brought an immediate change of fortunes, Kieswetter chipping straight to long-off, and when an exuberant Imran Tahir got the better of Pollard and Trescothick with consecutive deliveries Somerset were in some serious strife.This was just the sort of situation that made Buttler’s name, however, and he took on the spinners in sublime fashion, planting both Briggs and Tahir over long-on to revive his team before Cork’s last gasp intervention brought a dramatic finale.