Dawid Malan rewrote the record books as England Lions made it two wins out of two in the 50-over Tri-Series by crushing Sri Lanka A in Northampton

ECB Reporters Network21-Jul-2016
ScorecardDawid Malan set a new record for England Lions cricket•Getty Images

Dawid Malan rewrote the record books as England Lions made it two wins out of two in the 50-over Tri-Series by crushing Sri Lanka A in Northampton as comfortably as they had beaten Pakistan A in the opener in Cheltenham on Tuesday.Malan, who is leading the Lions for the first time in this series after his impressive performances in the winter, struck an unbeaten 185 from 126 balls with 16 fours and eight sixes – a new record for the Lions or England A in List A cricket, beating 168 by Ravi Bopara against West Indies A in Worcester in 2010.With Daniel Bell-Drummond, Ben Duckett and Sam Billings adding half centuries, the Lions piled up 393 for 5 in their 50 overs after Malan had won the toss and chosen to bat – another Lions List A record, beating 378 for 6 against South Africa A in the Pretoria township of Mamelodi in January 2014, when Ben Stokes did most of the damage.The Sri Lankans made a bold start to their reply, as Niroshan Dickwella, a left-hander who has played four Tests and was a member of their squad for the World T20 earlier this year, raced to a 36-ball half century.But Mark Wood, picking up from where he left off in taking 3 for 27 in Cheltenham as he continues his comeback after ankle surgery, broke the opening stand of 82 in his second over when Dickwella chopped on to his stumps.Toby Roland-Jones then took two wickets in consecutive overs, and Sussex youngster George Garton took an athletic catch running in from third man to give Wood his second of four wickets that fell for 10 in the space of 24 balls.Angelo Perera and captain Ashan Priyanjan steadied the Sri Lanka innings with a stand of 72, but the Lions remained well in control when drizzle set in – with 164 for 4 after 30 overs, the Sri Lankans were 88 runs short on the Duckworth-Lewis Method.The Lions players now return to their counties to play in Friday’s round of NatWest T20 Blast fixtures, before reassembling in Canterbury on Saturday ahead of the last two matches of the Tri-Series at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence – against Pakistan on Sunday and Sri Lanka on Monday.Surrey’s teenage allrounder Sam Curran will join his elder brother Tom in the squad for those games, provided both come through a Blast game against Sussex Sharks at the Kia Oval on Friday night.

It could be a short Chelsea stint for Marc Cucurella, with The Sun reporting that incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino could already sell the defender on during this transfer window.

Who is leaving Chelsea in the summer transfer window?

The Blues have struggled to get going this season and have found themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table so far this campaign. New owner Todd Boehly would have hoped for a push towards Europe but instead his side have dropped to eleventh place. With only three games left this campaign too, the highest the club can finish is tenth.

It's the sort of form that saw previous boss Graham Potter lose his job. Having done a fantastic job with the Seagulls, he was poached by the Blues to do even better at Stamford Bridge. However, he was unable to get the side firing and was relieved of his duties. Now, it looks like it will be former Tottenham boss Pochettino who is tasked with taking the club forward – and he seemingly already has plans for some of the Chelsea squad.

According to a report from The Sun, there are several players who could be shown the exit door by the incoming manager and one of them is Cucurella. With the defender having managed only 21 starts in the Premier League this season, he has been in and out of the squad and it looks like there may no longer be a place at the Blues for the Spaniard.

Is Marc Cucurella leaving Chelsea?

Having stormed onto the scene in the Premier League with the Seagulls, it just hasn't worked out for the player at Stamford Bridge. With his old club, he had a 6.94 WhoScored rating, emerging as one of the brightest in his position. That rating has tailed off slightly at Stamford Bridge, with it now at 6.65 in the top flight, but it could be argued that in a team that has generally struggled, it is obviously harder to perform.

The former Brighton man has though proven that he can be a real talent at the top level in the past though, with Frank Lebouef calling Cucurella "fantastic" for one of his previous Chelsea displays. The defender then does have the capability to produce, it perhaps just hasn't been on as consistent a basis as the side would like. It means that he may now be shown the door with the Blues.

Liverpool have assembled a late-season surge after a frankly shambolic campaign to put Champions League qualification in feasible distance, but hopes still lie with Newcastle United or Manchester United ceding further territory.

Both aforementioned Premier League rivals hold a game in hand on Jurgen Klopp's men and have one and three-point cushions respectively, but the Reds' six-game winning streak has reminded the top-flight of the calibre that has lain dormant this term, beneath the rubble of an inexplicably woeful year.

There is to be a significant clearout on Merseyside this summer, and with the midfield department needing more than just a paint job, signing someone with genuine fortune-shifting credentials could rejuvenate them.

According to the Daily Mail late last month, Liverpool are alongside Arsenal in eyeing a move for £30m-rated Lovro Majer, with the creative Rennes midfielder indicating that he is ready for a new challenge.

Majer played a starring role in Croatia's 2022 World Cup campaign, and despite struggling for regular minutes could be a dazzling signing for an aspiring outfit such as Liverpool.

Who could Lovro Majer replace at Liverpool?

Majer has forged 37 appearances this season, scoring two goals and supplying four assists from his primarily deep-lying midfield role.

Last season, the 19-cap Croatia international was hailed as "phenomenal" by talent scout Jacek Kulig and dazzled with a return of 11 goals and 13 assists across all competitions, instrumental in Rennes' fourth-place Ligue 1 finish.

As per FBref, the £26k-per-week ace still ranks among the top 5% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for shot-creating actions, the top 3% for progressive carries, the top 6% for successful take-ons and the top 19% for assists per 90, highlighting the dynamic, forward-thinking threat he holds at his feet.

There was a time, in the early days of Klopp's tenure at Liverpool, when Philippe Coutinho wreaked havoc with similar flair and guile from the offensive section of the Reds' midfield, scoring 37 goals and supplying 22 assists from 89 outings under the German's wing.

Coutinho was sold to Barcelona for an extortionate £146m, a sale which helped to facilitate the £67m arrival of Alisson and £75m signing of Virgil van Dijk.

But, his creativity in the first half of the 2017/18 campaign helped the Anfield outfit score 84 goals despite only finishing fourth with 75 points, with Klopp hailing him as a "genius".

Majer brings that added dimension to the pack, and integrating with such a talented crop of players will only enhance his own prospects of success, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all devastating attacking forces.

Much of Liverpool's attacking intent under Klopp's illustrious rule has flowed from the flanks, notably Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, but with Majer pulling the strings in the middle, boosting both the creative and direct threat, the Reds could return to the forefront once more.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly interested in signing a striker from the Championship this summer.

Julen Lopetegui is set to “overhaul” his strike force, as per Sky Sports, in the bid to improve on this season’s woeful lack of goals.

Wolves are the Premier League’s lowest scorers this campaign, having found the net just 30 times in 36 games, 62 fewer than league leaders Manchester City.

With the future of Raul Jimenez in doubt, Lopetegui will have the chance to rebuild his front line with the hope to get his side firing again.

The club have been linked with a number of forwards ahead of the window, including Coventry City marksman Viktor Gyokeres and Barcelona’s Ansu Fati. However, there should be another option in the frame if Wolves are smart about things; Chuba Akpom.

What’s the latest on Chuba Akpom's future?

As per Sky Sports, Middlesbrough striker Akpom is a player “on the radar” of Premier League clubs this summer.

The former Arsenal forward’s contract expires next summer, as Boro extended his stay to an additional 12 months at the start of this season.

Wolves are currently 'leading the race' to sign fellow Championship forward Gyokeres, via the same report.

However, if a deal can't be concluded there then Akpom simply has to become an option for Lopetegui as he bids to steal him away from other top-flight sides.

What could Chuba Akpom bring to Wolves?

The 27-year-old Boro forward scored 28 goals in 40 appearances in the Championship this season, making him the top scorer just ahead of Gyokeres who registered 21 in eight more games.

Hailed as “incredible” by journalist Chris Wheatley after netting his 19th goal, the London-born striker was integral to getting Michael Carrick’s side to the play-off semi-finals.

Despite falling at the final hurdle to Coventry City, the campaign has been an unforgettable one personally for the Englishman, being named in WhoScored’s Championship team of the season – as per Sky Sports.

Boro’s near miss in the play-off semis has sparked rumours as to whether the forward will remain in the second-tier next term.

Wolves have been crying out for a goalscorer this campaign, and Akpom could be the missing piece to getting Lopetegui’s side firing in the Premier League.

By sealing aa deal, the former Real Madrid coach could sign his answer to the top-flight's most feared strikers, with Spurs star Harry Kane perhaps being the pick of the bunch considering he also learnt his trade for a while in the Football League.

The 27-year-old is actually averaging more goals per 90 than the impeccable Spurs talisman, with 0.7 per 90 minutes – as per FBref.

Although not boasting the assist count (2) of someone like Kane, Akpom's ability to drop deeper and play as an attacking midfielder shows there are further similarities. The former does that with great regularity in north London, having since become a “complete player”, as lauded by Zinedine Zidane.

Solving the lack of goals is the primary requirement for Lopetegui to tackle however natural goal-scorers are hard to find, and in the Boro star the Midlands club could retrieve a talent at the peak of his career and hungry for a breakthrough.

Only time will tell if Wolves will make a move for the 27-year-old, however with 28 goals this term, there’s no denying the club could land a much-needed talisman.

Ben Duckett continued his prolific form as Northamptonshire reignited their Royal London Cup campaign with a 23-run victory against Worcestershire at New Road

ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2016
ScorecardBen Duckett made more important runs at New Road•Getty ImagesBen Duckett continued his prolific form as Northamptonshire reignited their Royal London Cup campaign with a 23-run victory against Worcestershire at New Road. An eye-catching knock of 86 from 75 balls took the 21-year-old’s nine-day tally to 631 from seven innings for his county and England Lions but it was a close-run thing as Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s first List A century kept the home side in contention for their 320 target.It was not until the 45th over that left-arm spinner Graeme White landed the knockout blows in three balls. The dangerous Ross Whitley was caught on the long-on boundary for 22 and Kohler-Cadmore was effectively yorked for 119 after hitting 11 fours and a six from 126 balls.Duckett, fresh from his undefeated scores of 163 and 220 on international duty, returned to county action on Tuesday by making 46 in a defeat by Warwickshire at Edgbaston and then moved 35 miles down the road to lead Northants to an imposing 319 for 7.On a damp morning, skipper Alex Wakeley may have feared the worst on losing the toss for the seventh time in seven matches in the 50-over competition, but Duckett and Adam Rossington, who played equally well for 87, corrected an early wobble. Their partnership of 99 in 16 overs gave the innings shape and substance before the big hitters, Steven Crook (52 not out) and Rory Kleinveldt smashed 76 in nine overs.The late charge, which ended in the last over when Kleinveldt holed out to deep square leg after hitting two sixes and four fours, meant that for Worcestershire to win they would have to surpass their chasing record in List A cricket.They made a bold attempt. After a bright 43 by Daryl Mitchell, Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Fell broke the back of the target in a relatively trouble-free partnership of 125 in 18 overs. Northants were in need of inspiration when Richard Gleeson broke through by bowling Fell for 54, a well-crafted, unflustered innings with only four boundaries from 50 deliveries.Wickets then began to fall. White, who finished with 3 for 59, held a straightforward return catch from Alexei Kervezee and Brett D’Olveira played on to Kleinveldt. Whiteley rattled the pavilion roof with one of his two sixes but momentum was lost with White’s double intervention and the challenge petered out with the last three wickets in five balls giving Gleeson 5 for 47, his best in professional cricket.The match began 10 minutes late because of rain and Northants lost a wicket in the Joe Leach’s first over when Josh Cobb angled a catch to D’Oliveira at point. Rob Keogh and Wakely later went in quick succession and Worcestershire miss an opportunity when Jack Shantry was unable to hold a low, one-handed chance from Duckett. The batsman was then on 33 and the cost quickly multiplied until he finished with one six and 12 fours when mistiming a pull off Leach.

Chelsea youngster Tudor Mendel-Idowu is "expected to leave" Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, according to reliable journalist Nizaar Kinsella.

How is Mendel-Idowu faring at Chelsea?

The 18-year-old is a talented young attacker who has been with the Blues for over a decade now, working his way through the youth teams as the years have passed. He has made 35 appearances for the Under-18s, scoring 13 goals and registering six assists, as well as playing once for the Under-21s, despite still being so young.

A maiden first-team outing has continued to evade Mendel-Idowu, however, and with his current Chelsea deal running out this summer, the club have a big decision to make regarding his long-term future. There is the option of extending his stay, should he be viewed as a key man into the future, or he will be allowed to move on for a new challenge in the next month or so.

Could Mendel-Idowu leave Chelsea in the summer?

Taking to Twitter, Kinsella said that Mendel-Idowu would be one of numerous younger departures once this season comes to an end:

"Tudor Mendel-Idowu wasn't mentioned in this piece a few days ago but is also expected to leave Chelsea when his contract expires."

This is no doubt a tough one for Mendel-Idowu to take, and a situation that highlights how difficult it is for youngsters to make the grade at top clubs. It is so hard to make that step up to the first team, especially when big-money signings are arriving at the same time, which goes to show what special players the likes of Reece James and Mason Mount are.

Is seems clear that Mendel-Idowu simply isn't seen as someone who can ultimately become an important member of the senior squad, even though his skill levels have been hailed as "illegal" by Sky Sports contributor Zac Djellab in the past, such is his level of talent.

He will now seemingly be free to find a new club, though, and it is crucial that he picks the right one, going somewhere where he will be allowed to progress at his own pace, earn regular football and ultimately reach his potential as a player.

Just because Chelsea don't see a future for him doesn't mean he can't still forget an excellent career elsewhere, with his talent undeniable, and three goals in four caps for England's Under-17s a testament to his ability.

أعرب إيميرسي فاي، المدير الفني لمنتخب كوت ديفوار الأول لكرة القدم، عن سعادته بالتأهل إلى ربع النهائي من بطولة كأس الأمم الإفريقية 2023.

منتخب كوت ديفوار تأهل إلى ربع نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا، بعد إقصاء حامل اللقب السنغال بركلات الترجيح، بعدما انتهت المباراة في وقتها الأصلي والإضافي بهدف لكل فريق.

طالع أيضًا | محمد أبو تريكة: كوت ديفوار أتت من الموت ضد السنغال.. وشاهدنا 120 دقيقة “ملحمة”

وفي تصريحات بعد المباراة لشبكة “بي ان سبورتس” القطرية، قال فاي: “الأمر لم يكن سهلًا، ولكن في بعض الأحيان تعتبر هذه الفرص لا يمكن أن تتكرر أبدًا”.

وأضاف: “أنا أحب بلدي ومن أجلها كنت مستعدًا لهذا التحدي، وكنا نعرف صعوبة المهمة واحتجنا إلى بعض الثقة التي افتقدها كل لاعب بعد الخسارة من غينيا الاستوائية، لكنهم أدركوا أننا مجموعة واحدة وأقوياء ذهنيًا، ويمكننا فعل كل شيء”.

إيميرسي فاي مدرب مؤقت للمنتخب الإيفواري، بعدما كان مساعدًا للفرنسي لويس جاسيتيه، قبل أن تتم إقالة الأخير عقب الخسارة برباعية نظيفة من غينيا الاستوائية بالجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات.

وواصل: “واجهنا منافسًا قويًا جدًا، ولكن في النهاية نحن سعداء بالتأهل، لقد كانت الفرص 50% لكل فريق في مباراة اليوم، رغم أنهم حققوا الفوز في المباريات الثلاث بدور المجموعات، لكننا عدنا من بعيد ولم يكن لدينا ما نخسره، ثقتنا عادت في أنفسنا”.

واختتم: “الطريق نحو النهائي ليس سهلًا. نحن قادمون من بعيد جدًا، وكنا على وشك مغادرة البطولة، ولكن ترشحنا بفضل منتخب المغرب، وسنواصل العمل من أجل استغلال الفرصة”.

ScorecardLuke Procter raises his bat to a century – and so much more•Getty Images

To appreciate the full perfection of this day’s cricket, it may be useful, just for a moment please, to recall this ground in December: the grass is tussocky and barely green at all; the outfield is marked out for junior football games; there are dishcloth skies and lowering dusks; and crows are perched in the bare balsam poplars like black commas, punctuating the winter.Now a Monday in July and summer is suddenly emerging from grey bedragglement. The sycamores at the Grosvenor Road End stand as if saluting its tardy arrival In the middle Haseeb Hameed and Luke Procter are building the 114-run partnership that will take Lancashire into the lead. From the direction of Harrod Drive, Ben Stokes is running in, determined to win the game for Durham and prove his fitness for the Manchester Test. But for all that Stokes and Borthwick may be in the selectors’ minds, this is not an international occasion. It is Lancashire and Durham badges which proliferate along with those of fine local clubs: Ormskirk, Fleetwood Hesketh, Sefton Park.Then Hameed, having taken 14 runs off a frolicsome four balls from Graham Onions and passed fifty for the sixth time in 15 innings this season, arches back but can only fend a fearsomely nasty short ball from Stokes to the substitute fielder, Jeremy Benton – almost a utility cricketer? – at third slip. Hameed, his sadness momentarily infinite, troops off without waiting for Rob Bailey’s finger. He receives a warm round of applause and the crowd settles again. Blue pastels and panamas are almost a uniform in the marquees. Petersen opens his account with a swept four off Borthwick, who is getting ever more joy from Grosvenor Road. There is a rattle of crockery as lunchtime approaches.Dreams may, indeed, take their time to arrive and be gone in a casual glance but that is no reason not to enjoy the reverie, be it a day at the cricket or the scent of a once-familiar perfume. Decembers come soon enough.But this day held its flawlessness through the afternoon session and on into the evening. A sip of Manzanilla before lunch Petersen was leg before to Borthwick when attempting to force the ball to leg and that dismissal heralded a Durham fightback on the resumption. Bowling from the Harrod Drive End, 19-year-old Adam Hickey, he of Benwell Hill CC, took his first Championship wickets when Steven Croft underclubbed a drive to Borthwick at mid-on and Karl Brown prodded him to Keaton Jennings at short-leg. Poor Brown is struggling badly at the moment and it is sad to see. .Those reverses left Lancashire with a lead of just 121 and only five wickets in hand but Tom Moores proved his mettle first by driving his ninth ball, bowled by Borthwick, for six and then by accompanying Procter to his second century of the season. Frankly Lancashire’s No3 needed all the nursemaiding that was on offer. Already he had nearly run himself out twice, once when simply dawdling and once, on 73, when his misunderstanding with Croft was unpunished thanks to Hickey’s fumble.Procter, though, is a true fighter and he has developed a method which suits him. True he crouches in his stance not so much like a fierce tiger about to pounce as an aged butler about to keel over. But like others with bizarre comportment at the wicket – Michael Yardy, Shivnarine Chanderpaul – his technique works for him and when he plays his cover-drives and pulls, the execution is as classical as Palairet could have wished. A scrambled single was called by the alert Moores and Procter sprinted to the bowler’s end before giving a little leap of joy and holding his bat aloft to all and to sundry. He had batted for four minutes less than five hours and he may have played an innings which sets up a victory.The crowd stood to Procter when he reached three figures and they stood again nine overs after tea when he returned to the pavilion having made 122 off 282 balls. They applauded as well when the details of his innings were announced over the public address system for this was a day when people seem determined to relish every good thing. One saw their point.Two overs after Procter was out Moores failed to make his ground when called for a single by Kyle Jarvis. It says something about the 19-year-old’s sangfroid during his second first-class innings that a run out seemed his most likely mode of dismissal. He had made 35 and had looked the part of a Division One cricketer. On the final day of this game, he will keep to Simon Kerrigan and Matt Parkinson on a turning pitch. Every day offers young Moores a new test, a new adventure and he looks as if he is enjoying every dashed minute of it.When Moores was out Lancashire’s lead was 196, competitive perhaps but nothing like the 250 for which Ashley Giles was looking. That was all but achieved thanks to a 27-run stand for the ninth wicket between Kerrigan and Nathan Buck and then thanks to Buck levying 16 runs off four balls from Borthwick, one of the sixes sailing over the Indoor School. Unlike the enjoyment derived by the crowd from this day, that ball is gone for over.Stokes ended the innings when Parkinson was caught at short leg but, as a bowler anyway, the all-rounder does not look quite at his fighting weight. Whether his batting is ready for the challenge of Mohammed Amir and Yasir Shah…well that, as Alan MacGilvray used to say, “is for tomorrow.”This evening spectators can smile ruefully at their sunburn and reflect on their day’s cricket. Tennis players are on their courts now but the light is still crystal-bright at a blessed Trafalgar Road. On the patio there is excited chatter and more clinking glasses as people discuss the several glories of the day. Someone is belting out “Flower of Scotland”, although God knows why. On second thoughts, there should be songs.

Nick Compton is back with a bang and that has to be good news for Middlesex’s title challenge

Tim Wigmore at Lord's14-Aug-2016
ScorecardNick Compton put this sort of England agony behind him•Getty ImagesThe hearty cheers that reverberated around Lord’s told their own tale. Nick Compton had not merely reached a century at HQ, but had helped Middlesex into a position of dominance and, in the process, strengthened his team’s hold on the summit of Division One. So as he punched the air in delight at his century, removing his helmet to acknowledge the crowd’s applause, Compton had much reason to be proud.That recent months have been among the most trying of Compton’s professional life hardly needs restating. Indeed, when he brought up his 50, it was his first half-century of the year, and first since his crucial 85 underpinned England’s victory in the Durban Test at the end of 2015.Given these circumstances, and the huge importance of this match to his team, few of Compton’s 25 first-class centuries can have been the cause of so much satisfaction. On this evidence, plenty more will be forthcoming in the County Championship. Compton has only just turned 33, retains one of the most resolute defensive techniques in the land and has a ravenous appetite for runs that few can rival in the county game.There seems no reason why, if he has the inclination, he cannot continue to feast in the shires for many years, a little like Marcus Trescothick and Mark Ramprakash, two other players who, for contrasting reasons, enjoyed international careers shorter than they had envisaged.Adhesive defence has been Compton’s hallmark, and this innings was no different: he had to summon all of his fortitude to resist Rushwoth’s swing and the bounce of Mark Wood. And yet Compton revealed plenty more of his game: relentlessly efficient clips through the legside, some imperious hooks, and a succession of meticulously-placed late cuts, including the steer off Scott Borthwick that brought up his century a little before three o’clock. While the early stages of his innings had been a little jittery, Compton unobtrusively gained in fluency, using his feet nimbly to spin and outpacing Nick Gubbins during their fertile alliance.Together with Gubbins, Compton added 247 runs in 79.1 overs, and how they fed of each other was highlighted not just by their harrying between the wickets but how Gubbins left his crease so early to laud Compton for his century that Durham might have run him out.This was a match-defining partnership, and a record-breaking one: Middlesex’s highest stand for the second wicket against Durham and only one shy of equalling the record for any wicket. Gubbins’ dismissal also left him one short of being the first batsman to reach 1,000 runs in the County Championship in 2016. Still, he might reflect that 999 runs at 66.60 apiece is not too shabby.Although this was only his third first-class century – Gubbins fell three times in the 90s before reaching his first – it brimmed with not merely assurance and class, but, for those who have witnessed him this season, a certain feeling of inevitability. Given that England are hardly overburdened with proven opening partners for Alastair Cook, it would be a surprise if Gubbins was not rewarded by a England Lions berth.Cricket has always fetishised the grace of the left-hander, and, in his clips through the legside, driving through point and dexterous use of his feet against spin, Gubbins has an elegance in keeping with this tradition. All these shots were in evidence against Durham; more importantly, so was Gubbins’ grit.How he needed it to withstand Wood. Wood’s frustration has been palpable all day, and, with Gubbins on 99, he expressed it in an over of short bowling, harassing Gubbins with a short leg and fly slip. Gubbins withstood, and reached his century against Borthwick in the next over, but still Wood returned, a brutal rising delivery from him smashing into Gubbins’ grill. When Wood eventually found late movement to induce Gubbins to edge to slip and end the second wicket stand, he looked to the sky – less in relief at the wicket, but in exasperation at waiting so long for it.When the second wicket stand was nascent, the previous evening, Gubbins had been spilled behind, off Onions; Compton had also survived two chances to the slips off Chris Rushworth before he has reached 20, one on the first evening and one on the second morning.By the time it finally ended, the alliance between Compton and Gubbins was worth more than the entirety of Durham’s first innings and, buttressed by a forceful cameo from Paul Stirling, had secured Middlesex a lead of over 200: a position from which they will expect to win convincingly, in the process extend their lead at the top of Division One.And, as loud as the cheers that greeted Compton’s century were, Middlesex can dream of even more boisterous acclaim should they clinch the Championship crown here against Yorkshire in the final game of the season.

West Indies’ new T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite said a vote of confidence from his predecessor Darren Sammy and encouragement from the senior players made his transition into the role easier.The WICB named Brathwaite to lead the side against India in two T20 matches in Florida on August 27 and 28. Sammy, who led West Indies to two World T20 titles, had announced the news of his axing as captain through a Facebook post and was later dropped from the squad.”He just told me, ‘Congratulations’. He heard it before I spoke to him, and he just said, ‘Congratulations, it’s a big challenge’. He gave me his blessing and as a senior guy appreciated it, which allowed me to ease into the role,” Brathwaite said at a press conference after the fourth Test against India in Port of Spain. “I haven’t officially started yet, but it has allowed me to transition easier from just being told [about the captaincy] to the excitement of wanting to get on the field and lead. It was a good vote of confidence speaking to Sammy, then I saw him at a charity event, saw some of the senior guys as well, all have been telling me positive things.”

Matches in USA will be a spectacle – Brathwaite

Carlos Brathwaite also fielded a question from India offspinner R Ashwin at the end of his press conference. Ashwin, who was due to speak to the media after Brathwaite, asked the West Indies allrounder whether he thought India would get more support during the upcoming T20Is in the USA. Brathwaite said the series was “testing the waters”, after the USA leg of the CPL had been well-received.
“It’s funny because the US has a lot of Caribbean supporters and I think a few Caribbean people who used to like cricket but probably don’t follow it anymore would love to come out and enjoy some games in the US. Whether they will be supporting West Indies or India I don’t know, but I think it will be a very good spectacle. From all reports, CPL had a fantastic ovation and it was well-received. And I hope this is the start of big things. We are next-door neighbours and the US is a powerhouse so let’s see how it goes. We are testing the waters a bit, hopefully it goes well and hopefully this is the first of many in the USA.”

Brathwaite stressed that members in the West Indies side were “mature enough” to handle a change in leadership. He added the players enjoyed each other’s company and, from that point of view, leading the side would be easy.”I think a team like this will be pretty easy to lead, from the point of view that the dressing room is a fun place to be. I don’t think it’s a case where I have to negotiate too many egos,” he said. “The guys enjoy each other’s company. It’s just a matter for me to go there, do the things that I can do, firstly as a player and then a captain, continue to mould the team that Darren has started to mould, efficiently.”Again, the most important thing is getting victories for the West Indies. As a new leader, things might change bit by bit. It’s just about adjusting and then for me to find ways for the team to continue to win.”I don’t want to get too deep into the psychology of changing leaders and stuff like that. I think all the guys are mature enough. We have had cases where some of the guys were captains, and then played the next series under a different captain. We are professionals, we all know what we have to go out there and do.”It’s a matter of, first, to go out there and win games for the West Indies and I hope that my leadership can influence that in some part. Even if it doesn’t, if we win the games that will be the most important thing.”Brathwaite, 28, has only recently found himself settling into West Indies’ limited-overs sides. One of his best moments came during the World T20 final against England earlier this year. With his team needing 19 runs off the last over, he struck four successive sixes off Ben Stokes to take the side to their second T20 title.Prior to that tournament, however, Brathwaite had played only two T20Is – against South Africa in January 2015 and against Bangladesh in 2011. His place in the Test team, meanwhile, is not settled. He made his debut against Australia during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG last year, but has played only two matches since then. In the series against India, he was picked for the first Test where he scored a duck and an unbeaten 51, but was dropped for the remaining matches.Brathwaite said feedback from the selectors about his exclusion gave him a chance to become a better all-round player.”I want to be the best I can be. I want to myself available in all three formats for the West Indies and I obviously don’t want to make goals I haven’t been able to fulfill as yet,” he said. “Again a bit old, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to see us back at the top in Test cricket as yet. But just improvement and progression, I think we start to improve and I want to be a bigger part of that improvement and progression as well.”Being dropped, I got a clear message from the selectors why I was dropped as well. I was disappointed but it’s a chance for me now to go forward and get a bit stronger and get a bit better as well and when you get that chance again, whenever it may be, it is up to me to take that chance and become a better player all-round.”Brathwaite said that before accepting the captaincy, he had sought clarification from the selectors on their expectations of him.”Yes there was hesitation. I wanted to contact my family and my close advisors before I took the job. It is an honour, I would never say I didn’t want to take it. But obviously I had some questions that I asked of the selection panel before I took the job. Just basically to clarify why they wanted me, what they expected of me, and coming into the role knowing my job.”