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Visiting seamer Ian Saxelby claimed career-best figures of 5 for 53 as 15
wickets fell on the opening day at Cardiff

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Visiting seamer Ian Saxelby claimed career-best figures of 5 for 53 as 15
wickets fell on the opening day at Cardiff.The 21-year-old helped to reduce Glamorgan to 202 all out in 47.5 overs and
Gloucestershire themselves struggled to 76 for 5 before bad light stopped
play for the day.Despite winning the toss, Glamorgan had been 26 for 4 and 54 for 6 but
they were rescued by a seventh-wicket partnership of 138 from Ben Wright, who
made 83 on the day he was awarded his county cap, and Graham Wagg (58).They made a terrible start against the new ball as they lost Gareth Rees to
only the second ball of the game, lbw to Jon Lewis. And six overs later, despite striking three boundaries, Will Bragg fell in similar fashion. Glamorgan further capitulated to 20 for 3 when skipper Alviro Petersen was also trapped in front, this time by Liam Norwell in his first over.Mike Powell became the fourth lbw – the third for Lewis – playing down the
wrong line. The flow of wickets was stemmed briefly by Jim Allenby, who struck a run-a-ball
22 before he edged Saxelby to Ian Cockbain at second slip.Wright was dropped was dropped by Saxelby off Norwood’s bowling, but Saxelby
made amends in the next over when he had Mark Wallace caught by Cockbain at
second slip. Either side of lunch, Wright and Wagg launched a more than profitable recovery
in 22 overs.The pair took Glamorgan to 192 for six before Saxelby dismissed both in the
space of two overs. Wright went for 83 from 98 balls with 14 fours after being
bowled attempting a pull, while Wagg was bowled via an inside edge.Saxelby completed his first five-wicket haul by having Dean Cosker caught
behind as the last three Glamorgan wickets added just 10 runs. In reply, Gloucestershire were reduced to 49 for four despite Glamorgan losing Wagg to a hamstring injury after only one over.His replacement Adam Shantry had Richard Coughtrie caught behind by Mark
Wallace before Harris claimed his first wicket of the season when he bowled
Cockbain for 21.From 29 for 2, the visitors were further reduced to 37 for 3 as Chris
Taylor was trapped lbw failing to offer a shot to Harris. After tea Shantry took his second wicket, Jon Batty pinned leg before, and then Allenby dismissed Alex Gidman.

Jamaica made hard work of their Digicel-sponsored Jamaica Cricket Festival fifty-over contest against Canada, losing six wickets before labouring past the paltry target of 149 in the 29th over

Cricinfo staff09-Apr-2010Jamaica made hard work of their Digicel-sponsored Jamaica Cricket Festival fifty-over contest against Canada, losing six wickets before labouring past the paltry target of 149 in the 29th over.Despite having a below-par score to defend, Canada made a contest out of the encounter and showed their intentions from the very first delivery in the Jamaican response, getting rid of opener Danza Hyatt who was caught in the slips by Harvir Baidwan off the bowling of Henry Osinde.The Canadians were at it again minutes later when Donovan Pagon was sent on his way, caught by Rizwan Cheema off Khurram Chohan, to leave the Jamaicans precariously poised at 3 for 2.Things looked even worse for the locals when Carlton Baugh and captain Tamar Lambert, who went for a first-ball duck, were sent packing with the score on 64. Opener Brenton Parchment was the saviour for the hosts with a responsible, unbeaten knock of 72 achieved at a run-a-ball, with ten fours. Hard-hitting lower-order batsman Andre Russell hastened the finish, crashing four boundaries in a rapid 19.Earlier in the day, David Bernard had Canada in trouble early, as the top three fell for single-figure scores. Captain Ashish Bagai stemmed the rot with a 64-ball 53, and he got some support from Usman Limbada and Sunil Dhaniram, before Odean Brown ran through the lower order. He finished with 4 for 33, as Canada folded for 148 in 41 overs.

Several familiar family connections in squad for three-match white-ball series

Vithushan Ehantharajah11-Jun-2024Rocky Flintoff, the son of former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff, has been called up to England men’s Under-19 squad for their three-match youth ODI series against Sri Lanka later this month.Despite being just 16, Flintoff has impressed for Lancashire 2nd XI this season. He made his debut two days after his 16th birthday and scored a maiden century in April against Warwickshire 2nd XI at Edgbaston. His father, Andrew, is currently out in the Caribbean as part of the England coaching staff for the T20 World Cup.The U19 squad has plenty of other family connections throughout. They will be captained by Essex allrounder Luc Benkenstein, son of former South Africa batter and current Lancashire head coach Dale Benkenstein.Offspinner Farhan Ahmed, younger brother of England international Rehan Ahmed, is also included, having signed his first professional contract at Nottinghamshire this week. Durham wicketkeeper Haydon Mustard, whose father Phil earned 12 white-ball caps with England, has also been selected alongside Somerset’s Thomas Rew, another keeper batter and the younger brother of the highly touted James Rew.The 16-man squad includes nine players who played in the U19 World Cup earlier this year in South Africa. England failed to make the knockout stages, eventually placing sixth overall.Related

• Rocky Flintoff signs first Lancashire contract aged 16

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• Luc Benkenstein holds his nerve after Mason Crane spins a web for Glamorgan

Ben McKinney, who captained the team at the World Cup, and Hamza Shaikh were not considered for selection as they are likely to appear for a County Select XI in a three-day match against West Indies. That fixture, which will be played at Beckenham from July 3, will be West Indies’ sole warm-up match ahead of their three-match Test series against England, which begins at Lord’s on July 10.The squad for the two-match Youth Test series with Sri Lanka is due to be announced later this month.England Men Under-19s coach, Mike Yardy, said: “We have selected an exciting squad for the series, with a blend of some players who are currently playing in the Vitality Blast and some younger players for whom it will be their first time in an Under-19s squad.”As always, it’s a great opportunity for the players to perform in an England Under-19 shirt and to experience international cricket.”England Men U19s squad: Luc Benkenstein (Essex – captain), Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire), Tazeem Ali (Warwickshire), Charlie Allison (Essex), Noah Cornwell (Middlesex), Rocky Flintoff (Lancashire), Keshana Fonseka (Lancashire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Dom Kelly (Hampshire), Freddie McCann (Nottinghamshire), Harry Moore (Derbyshire), Haydon Mustard (Durham), Thomas Rew (Somerset), Noah Thain (Essex), Raphael Weatherall (Northamptonshire), Theo Wylie (Warwickshire).

The left-arm fast bowler has undergone surgery to remove blood clots in his shoulder but is yet to resume bowling

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Mar-2023Uncapped Indian fast bowler Mohsin Khan will be a key absentee in the Lucknow Super Giants’ line-up for majority of the 2023 season as he recovers from a left shoulder injury. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Mohsin, who was among the best bowlers last IPL, underwent surgery to remove blood clots in his bowling shoulder last year and is yet to resume bowling.Mohsin is understood to have experienced discomfort late into the 2022 season and has not bowled since last IPL. He travelled to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and subsequently had the blood clots removed surgically. The left-arm fast bowler from Uttar Pradesh is currently part of the Super Giants’ preparatory camp in Lucknow. It is understood that while Mohsin has been batting in the nets, he is not ready to start bowling again because he is still strengthening his bowling shoulder.Super Giants, who finished third in their maiden IPL season last year, remain optimistic and expect Mohsin to start bowling in the second half of the IPL. While the franchise picked Saurashtra and India left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat as a ready replacement at the IPL auction last December, they kept Mohsin in the squad and is understood to have supported him throughout the rehab phase.Super Giants had entrusted Mohsin with the most challenging task: bowling in the powerplay and death. He had a shaky start to IPL 2022, leaking 18 runs in two wicketless overs against Gujarat Titans in Super Giants’ first IPL game and was subsequently benched for the rest of the first half of the season. But once he returned, he made an impact in virtually each of the eight matches he played, including Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden Gardens, where his 1 for 25 in four overs was the joint-most economical spell in the game.In terms of impact per match measured by ESPNcricnfo’s Smart Stats, Mohsin even pipped Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler, last season’s leading run-getter, with a score of 58.4. Smart Stats takes into account match context for each ball bowled and it was here that Mohsin made the telling impact. His 4 for 16 against Delhi Capitals and 3 for 20 against Kolkata Knight Riders featured in the list of top-five highest impact points for a bowling performance last IPL.In his last eight matches, Mohsin conceded 12.78 runs per wicket and 5.77 per over. Among the 33 bowlers who bowled at least 20 overs in that period, none had a better average or economy rate. Overall in the 2022 season, no bowler had a better economy in the powerplay than his 5.25 while only four other bowlers did better than his 8.62 at the death (minimum qualification: eight overs for each).

Hurricanes exacted revenge for their defeat three nights ago with a nine-run win as Thunder suffered a middle-order collapse

Tristan Lavalette13-Jan-2022Matthew Wade made an unbeaten 83 on return, then Riley Meredith lit a fuse with the ball as Hobart Hurricanes ended Sydney Thunder’s six-match winning streak with a nine-run victory at Marvel Stadium.After missing two matches due to personal reasons, Wade’s 54-ball knock held Hurricanes’ innings together after they elected to bat before speedster Meredith tore through Thunder’s vaunted batting order with three wickets in a see-saw contest.Fourth-placed Hurricanes (24 points) exacted revenge after losing by nine wickets just three days ago and tightened their grip on a playoffs berth, while Thunder (31 points) remained second behind Perth Scorchers.Wade returns in styleHaving hit two of his three BBL tons at Marvel Stadium, Ben McDermott eyed another big score but Thunder had his number again as he fell for 18. For the second straight match, he fell to a slower delivery after being deceived by Daniel Sams in the fifth over.It brought Wade to the crease, who returned after missing two matches due to personal reasons and he came in at No. 3 instead of his customary position at the top. Having struggled for most of the season, Wade’s timing was impeccable with a powerful boundary second ball and then smashed legspinner Tanveer Sangha for two boundaries in the seventh over.Wade received a life on 18 when Sangha dropped a sitter at short third man and made Thunder pay along with Caleb Jewell, who justified the faith to keep him as an opener with a 32-ball 51. Hurricanes appeared set to push for 200 until Jewell’s wicket in the 13th over sparked a collapse of 5 for 22.Having watched the carnage around him, an unperturbed Wade lifted Hurricanes with a late flurry. Hurricanes still haven’t quite got the balance right in their batting order but a rejuvenated Wade at No. 3 appears a winner.Thunder hit back after ragged startThunder appeared to be wilting amid the Wade and Jewell carnage marked by ragged bowling and sloppy fielding. But they weren’t rattled and impressively fought back to spectacularly flip the script. In-form seamer Gurinder Sandhu claimed two wickets in a momentum-shifting 13th over as Thunder tore through Hurricanes’ susceptible middle order.They claimed five wickets in a devastating 25-ball burst punctuated by a scintillating yorker by Mohammad Hasnain to clean up an ashen-faced Jordan Thompson in the 17th over. Apart from leaking 16 runs in the 12th over, Hasnain was again irrepressible with full, and fast, bowling.But the disciplined Thunder would have been disappointed with their bowling and fielding in the first 10 overs which ultimately proved costly.Meredith sizzles with paceApart from taking the wicket of Matthew Gilkes in the first over, Meredith was struggling with his rhythm and his wayward bowling promptly suffered a hammering from Alex Hales. Fellow seamer Tom Rogers, their leading wicket-taker this season, didn’t fare any better as an under-siege Hurricanes lost their nerve with Thunder’s 1 for 56 the most runs scored by any team in the powerplay this season.They clawed back through Thompson claiming the key wickets of Hales and stand-in skipper Jason Sangha, who fell to a superb slower ball. Then Meredith swung the match spectacularly in the 11th over by clean bowling Ollie Davies and Ben Cutting with sheer pace as Hurricanes gained a stranglehold.Meredith, who played five T20Is for Australia last year, had an interrupted start to the BBL season and only took three wickets in his last five matches. With his lethal pace and full-length prowess on song, the 25-year-old issued a timely reminder to national selectors.Thunder rocked by middle-order collapseChasing 178, Thunder looked supremely confident under the closed roof as they dominated the powerplay. Hales was patient early during his unbeaten 80 against Hurricanes the last time but he was in a hurry here.Hales smashed David’s spin for five boundaries in the second over and raced to 27 off just 10 deliveries after he flicked a fast delivery from Meredith for six. His whirlwind 17-ball 38 ended in the fifth over but Thunder still looked on course until they lost 4 for 10 mid-innings.Nathan McAndrew tried his best at the end to conjure a miraculous victory but it wasn’t enough as Thunder lost for the first time since December 26.

Zak Crawley rises a remarkable 53 spots to reach a career-best No. 28 after scoring 267 in third Test

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Three England players made big strides in the rankings in the rain-hit third and final Test against Pakistan: James Anderson’s seven wickets in the match – which took him to 600 Test wickets, the first seam bowler to get to the mark – put him at No. 8 among bowlers, while Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler rose in the batsmen’s chart after hitting 267 and 152 respectively in England’s only innings.Anderson reaching the 600-wicket milestone was the story of the Test match, but Crawley was named Player of the Match for his mammoth double-century, his first three-figure score in his eighth Test. It was the second-highest maiden Test century by an English batsman and the seventh-highest overall, and gave him a lift of 53 positions in the list for batsmen to No. 28 with 605 rating points, both career highs.Only Ben Stokes (No. 8), Joe Root (No. 9) and Buttler, who got to the 21st position after hitting his career-best score, are ahead of Crawley for England in the rankings.Anderson had dropped out of the top ten, but the former world No. 1 got right back in to slot in at No. 8. In Southampton, not only did Anderson reach the 600-wicket mark in Tests, he also recorded his 29th five-wicket haul in Tests, in Pakistan’s first innings, before striking twice more in the second innings.There wasn’t much joy for Pakistan, apart from Azhar Ali and Mohammad Rizwan moving up the batsmen’s rankings. Ali’s 141 in their first innings took him up 11 spots to No. 23, while Rizwan, who hit 53 in the first innings to build on the 72 in the previous Test, got to the 72nd spot, a jump of three positions.At the end of the series, which England won 1-0 after winning the first Test by three wickets, the home side’s prospects of reaching the final of the World Test Championship had taken a hit. The WTC schedule is not halfway through yet, with 14 out of 27 series remaining, but England, after four series, are in third place behind India and Australia with just two series left – in Sri Lanka and in India – while Pakistan are further behind, at No. 5, with the second Test of their home series against Bangladesh, a tour of New Zealand and another home series against South Africa still to be played.

Harry Conway continued to star with a useful partnership and more wickets at Drummoyne Oval

Daniel Brettig13-Mar-2019Harry Conway continued to enjoy the game of his life but Victoria were inching their way to a defendable fourth-innings lead against New South Wales after two dramatic days of the top of the table Sheffield Shield match at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney.NSW had begun the day by eking out another 38 priceless runs for the final three wickets, as the captain Peter Nevill found more than useful help from Conway to forge a first-innings advantage. The Victorian response was quickly unsettled by Conway, who got an outswinger to lift off a length at Travis Dean and reap a catch in the slips, maintaining the visiting captain’s difficult season.Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski steadied things for a time, but in the minutes before lunch both were deceived and dismissed: Pucovski pinned lbw on the front foot by Steve O’Keefe, then Harris tucked up by a Greg West bouncer and gloving into the cordon from the very last ball of the morning.In the afternoon, Conway bent a near yorker around the groping bat of Cameron White to pin the former Victorian captain lbw for a golden duck, and Nic Maddinson hinted at a major score before glancing West into Nevill’s gloves for 33.Conway’s third strike arrived when Matthew Short was turned around by another away swinger and well held by Nick Larkin in the slips, and Seb Gotch’s unsuccessful attempt to hammer Jason Sangha’s legbreak beyond the boundary left Victoria with only three wickets remaining. Nevertheless, their lead by the close was worth 130, with James Pattinson and Peter Siddle intent on adding more.

The ICC has found no evidence of corruption following an investigation stemming from a newspaper story in The Sun on the eve of the Perth Ashes Test

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2018The ICC has found no evidence of corruption following an investigation stemming from a newspaper story in on the eve of the Perth Ashes Test, which claimed the series had been targeted for spot-fixing along with various T20 tournaments around the world.In the lead-up to the third Ashes Test at the WACA in December, reported that two of their undercover reporters had been asked for GBP140,000 (USD187,000) to “spot fix” markets in the match, such as the exact amount of runs scored in an over.The ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) immediately launched an investigation, saying that they would cross-reference this new information with their existing reports, although they added, very early on, that there was no evidence that the Perth Test had been corrupted in any way.Now, two months later, the ACSU has confirmed that their investigations did not turn up anything to suggest any matches, players or officials have been involved.”We have carried out an extensive global investigation with anti-corruption colleagues from Member countries based on the allegations in and the material they shared with us,” Alex Marshall, the general manager anti-corruption, said”I am satisfied that there is no evidence to suggest any match has been corrupted by the individuals in the investigation nor is there any indication that any international players, administrators or coaches have been in contact with the alleged fixers.”The game’s most high-profile spot-fixing scandal was broken by the now-defunct – sister paper to – in 2010, which led to Pakistan’s Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif being given prison sentences for bowling deliberate no-balls in a Test at Lord’s.

Half-centuries from opener Himanshu Rana and No. 3 Shubman Gill provided India Under-19s with a total of 273, which they were able to defend successfully thanks a middle-overs squeeze by their spinners Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Chahar

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Himanshu Rana’s 71 off 79 balls was the highest score of the Asia Cup final•PTI

Half-centuries from opener Himanshu Rana and No. 3 Shubman Gill provided India Under-19s with a total of 273, which they were able to defend successfully thanks a middle-overs squeeze by their spinners Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Chahar. In the end, hosts Sri Lanka were beaten by 34 runs.At one point though, that result had seemed unlikely. With the momentum of picking up six wickets in the last 11 overs fuelling them, Sri Lanka went after the target with great vigour. Captain Kamindu Mendis and R Kelly struck fifties each to take the score to 158 for 2 in the 31st over. That brought the equation down to 116 off 118 balls with eight wickets in hand.India needed to re-establish control and their 16-year old captain Abhishek helped with that, dismissing Kelly for 63. He finished with figures of 4 for 37 in 10 overs of left-arm spin and claimed the Man-of-the-Match award. Sri Lanka had to deal with Chahar’s miserly legspin from the other end. With him bowling his full quota, giving away only 22 runs, and picking up three wickets as well, the chase unravelled. Sri Lanka lost three wickets in five overs between the 38th and 43rd, then another three wickets with the score on 225 and were finally bowled out for 239.It signalled the importance of first-innings runs in Colombo, and India were able to put up enough thanks to Rana’s 71 off 79 balls and Gill’s 70 off 92 balls. While their partnership of 88 for the second wicket was on, it seemed like India would get to a total of 300 or more, but seamer Nipun Ransika, who took two wickets in the 47th over, and left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who dismissed both the half-centurions, ensured that did not happen. Sri Lanka would later realise that the damage had already been done.

Samit Patel had planned to go to Dubai for a holiday. Now he’s going with England, hoping to add to his five Test caps

David Hopps at Trent Bridge24-Sep-2015Samit Patel had planned to go to Dubai anyway. Not to be conveniently placed in case an England spinner tripped over a fielding cone. Just because he fancied a holiday in the sun after a long season. Now he goes to Dubai with England, wondering if the Test series against Pakistan will present an opportunity to add to his five Test caps. The sunbed and ice creams will have to give way to fielding drills and ice baths.He looks trim, that needs to be stated from the outset. Either that or the Nottinghamshire kit is expertly tailored for the fuller figure. “He obviously hasn’t been fitness-tested by England because he is off their radar but he is fitness-tested by Notts on a regular basis and his tests are good,” said Mick Newell, his director of cricket.Pick him, then talk him down. Both Patel and Newell, one of those who selected him, are playing down the chance of him actually getting a game. As a replacement for Zafar Ansari, he is very much the third spinner in line, behind Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, and unlike Ansari he is not a selection with the future in mind. It is not impossible to draw up an XI where all three play – in fact, Patel’s most recent Test appearance, at Kolkata in December 2012, came alongside two other spinners in Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. But it does seem unlikely.”We weren’t sitting there with hundreds of names in front of us,” Newell conceded. “There are a number of experienced offspinners and there are a number of promising legspinners, although they are a long way from being regarded as Test match bowlers.”Had the selectors spoken much of Patel in recent years? “A little bit in a very broad discussion of spin bowlers – Samit’s name comes up at most selection meetings.” Newell chuckled as he said it. One imagines it has often come up ruefully, an interlude between the serious stuff. But the bond between the player and his director of cricket is a strong one.”I am delighted for Samit because he has never given up hope,” Newell said. “It has been a while since he last played but he has always talked about his desire to play for England and he has this unexpected opportunity so let’s hope he makes the most of it. I have felt for two or three years that he still had a chance of selection in sub-continent conditions.”If England were going to Australia or South Africa, I don’t think Samit would be an obvious pick but this is a tour where unusually three spinners have been selected, the left-arm spinner who got selected was injured and Samit was the most obvious spinner in that role.”All that is just detail for Patel. He is just happy to be back. Last season, in the form of his life, he was determinedly ignored. This season, although short of runs in the Championship, fortune has favoured him. There were times when he seemed to be the only person in the country who believed he would go on another England tour, and he has been proved right.Frustration has been replaced by a bountiful smile, although that frustration was tempered by a recognition of the qualities of the player who got the vote last season. Moeen Ali was championed by Peter Moores, then England coach, now assisting at Nottinghamshire. “I thought I had a chance last season, but they went with Moeen. That pick is not a disappointment for me. He proved he deserved to have it.”This is a good news story, although some will see it largely as an example of England’s calamitous spin-bowling shortage. There is much affection for Patel at Trent Bridge, especially among the crowd. He is a character cricketer, a player who draws a smile, celebrating his skill as one of the best players of spin in the country (as there are hardly any spinners, he does not get much chance to prove it), sympathising with his occasional disasters, and relishing his expressive responses as life turns from good to bad and back to good again.He is a man of many guises. There is the cunning Samit, as one of his left-arm slows beats the outside edge, and persuades him that he has his quarry in sight; there’s the celebratory Samit, bounding around when something goes well, briefly feeling himself the best player in the world; the startled, wide-eyed Samit as events begin to conspire against him; and the disconsolate Samit when a run chase goes awry, he hangs his head and the world briefly becomes insufferable.And there will always be a distinctive mix of self-belief and comedy. Only Patel could follow an ECB tweet announcing his call-up for the Pakistan tour with a wicket at the same moment. “The very moment the press release went out he caused Sean Ervine to loft to mid-off where Stuart Broad, an England colleague again, held the catch … that’s Samit for you,” Newell smiled.Only Patel could follow-up a tour de force of stamina by Surrey’s Kumar Sangakkara in the Royal London Cup semi-final at the Kia Oval by needing treatment for cramp… when he was barely in double figures. Such rich irony. He will be forever worth watching, the sort of player you want to carry on until he is 40.Patel is 30 now and, while he chatted, he referred several times about how he is a mature person these days – habitually adding the word “hopefully” as if he feared something might go awry if he claimed too much. It will soon be Nottinghamshire’s end-of-season drinks party. “I will try to curb it as much as I can,” was his scampish response.He has never met Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, and is looking forward to working with him, and is thrilled by the prospect of learning from Mahela Jayawardene, who will join the tour as a batting coach. When it comes to the art of playing spin, he will be one of Jayawardene’s brightest students.”I will bat anywhere just to play – that’s non-negotiable,” he said. “Opportunities have not come as I would have liked but that’s just the way sometimes. I will be behind Moeen and Rash to play but I will be happy just to go on the trip. To work with a new coach and with Mahela Jayawardene – I can’t wait. To learn off him will be outstanding.”Patel has been unfortunate in that batting is his strong suit, but spin bowling has often won him selection, creating an imbalance in how he is used. Recognising that England will not change, this season he has tried to change himself, placing more emphasis on his bowling in red-ball cricket.”I set my goal as 40 wickets for the year and I started really well but I have not had as much bowling as I would have liked,” he said. “I’ve been happy with how I’ve been bowling but it hasn’t been a spinner’s summer to be honest.”It’s about thinking like a spin bowler really, rather than a top-order batsman who bowls a bit of spin. How to create more wicket-taking deliveries. I presume I am just a replacement but I am just happy to get out there and impress some coaches.”The sun shone down on Trent Bridge. Samit Patel belonged. He felt special again.