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ScorecardSteven Mullaney continued his profitable time opening the batting•Getty Images

Marcus Trescothick demanded a “big performance” from his relegation-threatened team in the build-up to this match, and the home captain may still get one. For the moment, though, David Hussey’s entertaining innings and some late order fireworks have put Nottinghamshire’s noses in front.Despite a short boundary on the Somerset Stand side of the ground, batting seldom looked like child’s play – at least not until Ajmal Shahzad and Luke Fletcher added an unbeaten 57 for the ninth wicket without too much bother. Even then, a used pitch offered home spinner George Dockrell springy bounce and slow turn and seemed a bit two-paced for the quicker bowlers.As is usually the case on days when neither side has gained an undeniably clear advantage, wise folk wait until both first innings have been completed before putting their penny on the end result. Without doubt, though, Hussey played a good hand just when the hosts were threatening to take command and was understandably cross with himself for drilling a return catch to Dockrell.Having replaced Ed Cowan as Nottinghamshire’s overseas player, Hussey is continuing where his countryman left off. Between them, the pair have reached 30 on ten occasions in 18 Championship innings this season without once going on to three figures. In fairness to Hussey, he is responsible for only five of those knocks but was still annoyed to fall short after reaching 68 from 87 balls with the help of a pulled six off Dockrell as well as 12 fours.Until Hussey started to find the boundary, Steven Mullaney had made the most significant contribution. Promoted to opener earlier this campaign, he scored a century against Surrey last month and looked perfectly capable of adding another here until he was fourth out, for a well compiled 75.It was that sort of day, really. Half a dozen players threatened to take the contest by the scruff of the neck but not one of them could quite manage to put their name up in lights. None of that was for lack of effort, mind you, and if the cricket lacked a stand-out performer then no spectator can have left the ground feeling short-changed in terms of enjoyment.Jamie Overton, Somerset’s highly regarded young paceman, struck twice during a good spell after lunch. The wicket of James Taylor, who had proved surplus to England’s requirement at Old Trafford, was fortunate, admittedly – a leg-side ‘strangle’. But he found a genuine edge to finish Mullaney’s 159-ball stay.Overton spoiled his work towards the end of the day with a wild and woolly spell, including an accidental high full toss at Hussey, and conceded 26 runs in just three overs before being taken off. And neither Peter Trego, who delivered an excellent spell with the first new ball, nor Dockrell, who picked up three wickets in all, could quite take charge of proceedings.But if Somerset, and their supporters, were looking for the sort of gutsy, never give up performance that will be needed every day for the rest of the season if the side is to avoid relegation then Steve Kirby provided it.How the fiery fast bowler walked off tonight without a wicket to his name is a mystery. He put his heart and soul into four spells, beat the edge on a good many occasions, failed with a couple of lbw appeals, saw Taylor all but play on and then watched in disbelief as Craig Meschede completely misjudged a potential catch, off Chris Read, at long leg.Somerset did hold a couple of blinders with keeper Craig Kieswetter and second slip Trescothick accounting for Alex Hales and Michael Lumb respectively. But, overall, the hosts, with Kirby to the fore, were left wondering what might have been – especially once Shahzad and Fletcher had put a coat of gloss on Nottinghamshire’s earlier graft.

Shashank Manohar, the former BCCI president, has called for an investigation by an external investigation agency of all the IPL 2013 matches. Manohar said the BCCI should not solely depend on the board’s and the ICC’s Anit-Corruption and Security Units (ACSU) to keep cricket clean as they do not have the authority to track illegal activities – tracking phone conversations, for example.”The BCCI should immediately file a criminal complaint with the investigating agencies, urging them to probe all 75 games [76] in the current IPL edition,” Manohar told the . “The board should provide them [the investigating agency] with a raw feed of the games as well as CCTV footage recorded at every venue.”It has to deal with this menace with an iron fist. The board or ACSU do not have any machinery or legal authority to track the illegal activities, so it should not depend on these agencies alone.”His comments come in wake of the alleged spot-fixing in IPL 2013, in relation to which three Rajasthan Royals cricketers were arrested on May 16. The controversy has since grown, with top Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan being arrested for allegedly betting on IPL games, and his father-in-law – who is also the BCCI president and managing director Super Kings’ owner, India Cements – N Srinivasan refusing to resign from his post with the Indian board despite mounting pressure to do so.Manohar said in an earlier interview with the that he had spoken to some of the BCCI officials before their emergent working committee meeting on May 19, and told them if they wanted “to clean things up, then do it thoroughly. If, at the end of it all, 13 and not three players are involved in fixing, so be it”.Apart from making sure the IPL is clean, now Manohar said it’s important to have stringent processes in place for international cricket played in India too. “The board should approach the central home minister, requesting governmental support in investigating the criminal actions in any event run by the BCCI, which would also include international fixtures. It should request [the minister] to send an advisory to all states one month before the start of an event, so that the investigating machinery can swing in action well in advance to prevent any match-fixing , betting or spot-fixing.”The BCCI, he said, should ask players to register their mobile-phone numbers with the board, so that the investigating agencies could monitor things with more efficiency.

Match facts

Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Start time 1600 IST (1030 GMT)The pacifier: Darren Sammy’s inclusion has given the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s lower middle-order a settled look•BCCI

Big Picture

The scramble to finish in the top four is getting intense as the league moves into the second half. While Chennai Super Kings have floated to the top and two teams with inertia working against them have settled at the bottom, others are still moving up and down randomly in Brownian motion. Sunrisers Hyderabad were at the top a week ago, but after two away losses they have descended to No. 5. They have a chance to catch the updraught again when they face a strong Mumbai Indians team at their home venue.Most teams this year have thrived in home conditions and Sunrisers are no different – they have won three out of three in Hyderabad on the back of some inspiring spells by their all-round bowling unit even after repeated batting collapses. With the inclusion of Shikhar Dhawan and Darren Sammy, the line-up appears – at least on paper – a bit spunkier. If they can find a way to extend the aggression shown by their bowlers to their batting – and fielding – they can continue springing surprises. The only problem that remains to be solved is their constant juggling of the captaincy.Mumbai Indians’ home record is immaculate, but playing away, they have blown hot and cold. Their batting was dismal in Jaipur and their bowlers appeared listless in Delhi. However, they seem to have bumped into the right formula under the new leadership of Rohit Sharma and have won three consecutive matches, although that has neatly covered up the lack of form of their 40-year-old opener. Can they pull up a similar act without the Mumbai crowd behind them?

Form guide

(most recent first)Sunrisers Hyderabad LLWWL
Mumbai Indians WWWLL

Watch out for …

Sunrisers’ rickety batting line-up was overly dependent on Thisara Perera for the big hits, but in Darren Sammy, they now have another player who can clear the boundaries with ease, can play the defensive role, be a decent bowler and an athletic fielder. His half-century against Rajasthan Royals gave Sunrisers a chance to fight and showed his value in the team. For what it’s worth, he is also from West Indies, the players from where have played a number of starring roles this season already.Rohit Sharma is probably the best striker of the ball in India behind MS Dhoni. But he is not the usual murderer of the cricket ball; he takes his time and then makes it up later with hits that are easy to the eye and brutal on the bowler’s psyche. Some of his sixes this season have landed deep into the stands; one off a full toss off David Hussey ended up in the top tier at Wankhede on Monday night. Dale Steyn’s bowling was dented by Dhoni the other day in Chennai. Can Rohit do the same against the best fast bowler in the world?

Stats and trivia

• Thisara Perera is the leading run-scorer for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season with 144 runs, but he sits on No. 28 in the batting charts
• Rohit Sharma has smashed 23 sixes this season – 10 more than the third-placed Eoin Morgan. Chris Gayle is on the top of the list with 36.
• 130 by Royal Challengers Bangalore is the highest total achieved by a visiting team in Hyderabad this season

Quotes

“As we have seen in the past and we will probably see in the future, teams like Mumbai are not unbeatable.”

Essex 212 for 6 (Westley 71, Quiney 50) beat Durham 209 for 5 (Stokes 51) by four wickets
ScorecardEssex recovered from their mauling at home to Yorkshire Bank 40 holders Hampshire on Friday with a four-wicket victory over Durham at Chester-le-Street. Chasing Durham’s 209 for 5, Essex turned a stroll into a scramble before getting home with an over to spare.Openers Tom Westley and Rob Quiney had 103 on the board before Quiney fell for 51 in the 17th over. Man of the match Westley made a flawless 71 off 73 balls, but Essex stuttered to 199 for 6 in the 38th over.They would have lost Greg Smith with eight needed had Callum Thorp not misjudged a top-edged sweep in the sun. That was off the first ball of the 39th over and Smith drove a lofted four to secure victory.On a slow pitch Durham laboured after being asked to bat, with David Masters bowling straight through his eight overs to take 1 for 18. His scalp was that of Paul Collingwood, who drove to mid-on.Durham recovered from 39 for 3 in the 11th over through Ben Stokes making a 62-ball half-century before the third umpire decided he had been run out. It was the result of a throw from Sajid Mahmood, coming in from long-on, which was deadly accurate, unlike his bowling. He sent down five wides but had the consolation of bowling home skipper Dale Benkenstein with a slower ball.The loss of Stokes for 51 with 10 overs left was a big blow for Durham but Gordon Muchall, with 49 not out, and Gareth Breese, an unbeaten 41, took 40 off the last five overs in an unbroken stand of 69.Essex looked like coasting to victory as Quiney quickly warmed to his task with an effortless straight drive off Chris Rushworth. Westley matched him stroke for stroke before Quiney was caught at deep midwicket off Scott Borthwick.That brought in Ravi Bopara with something to prove following his selection in England’s Champions Trophy squad. But he made only 10 before pushing forward and falling lbw to the first ball of a second spell from Mark Wood, whose pace possibly surprised Bopara.Thorp then had Westley lbw when aiming for midwicket and after putting on 42 Mark Pettini and James Foster both drove off-side catches to Wood and Chris Rushworth respectively. The in-form Graham Napier looked like winning it, only to pull a catch to square leg, leaving Tim Phillips to complete the task with Smith.

ScorecardShiv Thakor was a key part of a revival by the Leicestershire batting order•Getty Images

Shiv Thakor and Matt Boyce both scored centuries to guide Leicestershire to an unlikely first-innings lead against Kent on the third day at Grace Road.England Under-19 star Thakor, who was forced home from the winter tour of South Africa with a broken finger, made his maiden Championship hundred and Boyce a career-best 135 as they shared a record sixth-wicket partnership of 181. When rain and bad light forced an early finish, Leicestershire had reached 452 for 7 to lead by 46 runs, having started the day on 250 for 5, still 156 behind.But 19-year old Thakor and 27-year-old Boyce stayed together for two sessions before Kent finally claimed their first wicket of the day with the last ball before tea.Boyce was out lbw sweeping at a delivery from Brendan Nash – the seventh bowler used by Kent – having hit 19 fours and faced 309 balls. It was the sixth century of Boyce’s career and beat his previous best score of 122 against Yorkshire last season. The stand was a Leicestershire record for the sixth wicket against Kent.Thakor once again showed why he is regarded as one of the best young prospects on the county circuit and already on the radar of the England selectors. He survived a sharp chance to Darren Stevens at slip off Charlie Shreck on 47, but that apart, rarely looked in trouble. He batted with calmness and patience in only his 11th first-class match, showing fine defensive technique as well as a good range of shots.He was the perfect foil for Boyce who has been switched from opener to batting in the middle order. The change seems to have worked with the left-hander showing plenty of confidence as he reached his century off 264 balls with 15 boundaries.At times it was slow going and Leicestershire could only manage three batting points, falling short of the 350 target required by the 110th over. But having been forced to follow-on in the first game of the season against Hampshire, it was a confidence booster for Leicestershire to see two batsmen occupy the crease for such a length of time.Thakor, who scored 134 on his first-class debut against Loughborough University two years ago, completed his first Championship century off 227 balls with a cover drive for two off Tredwell.Jigar Naik was run out for 3 soon after Boyce’s departure, but Thakor was still there on 105 when rain swept in and ended play 50 minutes before the close.

Somerset Sabres might already be relegated from Division One of the Norwich Union League, but they are not going down without making their presence felt. They won their penultimate match of the season by three wickets and in the process made it unlikely that Leicestershire Foxes will finish in the top three.The Foxes were boosted by a fine hundred from their captain, Iain Sutcliffe who hit three sixes at the end of the innings to take him to three figures, including one off the last ball of the innings. Damian Brandy contributed 35, but it was not until an enterprising ninth wicket partnership with Charlie Dagnall that added 51 runs that the Foxes appeared likely to get anywhere near two hundred, let alone past it.It appeared as if the Sabres would make easy work of overtaking 215, with Jamie Cox leading the charge early on. The Sabres, however, lost wickets with Darren Maddy taking four for 36 from his nine overs and the wobble was on until Keith parsons and Peter Bowler added 92 for the fifth wicket. Both fell in quick succession and it went right into the last over before victory was sealed.

Derbyshire have announced a profit of £23,310 for 2012, a further sign that the club is in good health ahead of their return to Division One of the Championship. The club have generated a surplus for the second year running – and the sixth in seven – despite a wet summer that caused financial headaches for several counties.Derbyshire recently revealed plans to redevelop their Derby ground, with a view to hosting games at the 2019 World Cup, as part of a six-point blueprint to develop and promote cricket in the county.”After a very challenging summer for English cricket, in which we were competing with both the weather and sporting spectacles such as the London Olympics and Euro 2012, our financial results for the year are very pleasing indeed,” the chief executive, Simon Storey, said. “The profit is testament to the hard work of everyone involved and it caps a special year for the county both on and off the field.”Derbyshire chairman, Chris Grant, added: “It has been a momentous year for Derbyshire County Cricket Club and – given the economic climate – posting a profit for the second successive year is an excellent achievement. Even more importantly we are embarking upon an exciting period both on and off the field with no debt and on a sound financial footing.”

Shitanshu Kotak, the 40-year old Saurashtra batsman who will play his first Ranji Trophy final in his 129th game, has acknowledged Mumbai are the stronger side in the summit clash, but hopes Saurashtra will do enough to gain the upper hand and not let go.Kotak, with 7982 runs in his 20-year career, is the Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getter without having won the title, and will have a chance to correct that from Saturday.”Mumbai are obviously a superior team. One can lie that they are not, but the truth is they are a superior team,” Kotak told . “But if we get a grip on the match, we have to make sure, we don’t lose it.”I look at it in two ways. If you win the toss, the only way is to bat them out of the game and try and get them out once. Or if we field first, we have to try and utilise the wicket and dismiss the first five batsmen quickly. You have to play one big innings and you have bowl them out once.”We have played them many times in the last five six years and we got the first-innings lead three times. There is something positive for us to look at.”Kotak said Saurashtra making the final was a “great achievement”. “I can’t think of playing any bigger match than this Ranji final in my life. I think we have been improving gradually in the last 15 years. And in the last eight years, it has been getting better with outstanding players emerging like [Cheteshwar] Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Jaydev Unadkat.”Saurashtra, however, will play the final without Pujara and Jadeja, who are part of India’s squad for the final ODI against England in Dharamsala. Kotak wasn’t too upset by that though. “Even when they [Pujara and Jadeja] were available they needed support from the others and players like [Sheldon] Jackson and [Arpit] Vasavada performed. In the bowling department when we needed wickets someone or the other stepped up his performance. That’s the reason we are in the final.”Any team will miss them. If they are playing for India, that’s fine. If the BCCI thinks that it has to look after the Indian team first, because we need to win 4-1 and that the team should regain its confidence, then that should be the priority.Kotak was undecided on whether the final would be his last first-class game. “I love the game. I don’t have to announce my last match on the ground and declare it in such a big game. The focus is on winning the game. Retirement is an emotional thing and I don’t want any emotion to dominate this match.”

Brendon McCullum has hailed New Zealand’s turnaround after they beat South Africa off the last ball of the match in East London to square the series 1-1 and set up a finale for Boxing Day. New Zealand had been shot out for 86 in the opening game but bounced back, thanks to a century from Martin Guptill, who struck the last ball for four to reach a hundred and seal New Zealand’s victory in their chase.”It is great that the team turned around in 48 hours and a great knock by Martin after being sick a couple of days back,” McCullum said. Our bowlers did well to stop South Africa’s batting line up, but no one expected Martin to play that innings after being sick.”Guptill finished on 101 not out, off 69 balls, including nine fours and six sixes. He was part of two half-century stands, one with fellow opener Rob Nicol and then McCullum. “That’s the mindset I took in today, I just wanted to get in and have a feel for the wicket,” Guptill said. “With the batting we’ve got down the order, we had to build a platform early and with wickets in hand, we could attack from anywhere.”Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, on T20 debut, was targeted by New Zealand’s batsmen; he conceded 42 in four overs. “It’s the first time I’ve actually swept the ball in international cricket, never really played spin that well,” Guptill said. “We wanted to put a bit of pressure on him, it’s his first game, and make him show his skills.””One guy played a sublime knock, the guys around him played some smart cricket as well. Nicol’s hand today was good,” McCullum said. “We want to play an aggressive brand of cricket, but the other day highlighted the areas we need to fine-tune a little bit.”Faf du Plessis, the South Africa captain, rued the catches that went down in New Zealand’s chase but was all praise for Guptill. “We scored enough with the bat. But it was an unbelievable hundred by Guptill. For me it is about learning, and today it was a steep learning curve. We didn’t play a bad game, we were just outplayed by a great innings.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTim Southee’s spells in the morning and evening sessions inspired New Zealand•Associated Press

In an intriguing day’s Test cricket, in which 17 wickets fell, New Zealand left the hosts tottering with the top four back in the pavilion chasing a challenging 363 on the last day at the P Sara Oval. Fortunes ebbed and flowed but it was New Zealand who started and ended the day on a high. After wrapping up the Sri Lanka innings early, their top order was jolted and their plans of piling on a big lead before declaring took a hit. A fighting stand frustrated Sri Lanka and the declaration did come after tea, but the seamers were back in business, leaving Sri Lanka to battle for survival going into the fourth day.New Zealand captain Ross Taylor needed sufficient time to try and bowl Sri Lanka out, keeping in mind the time lost due to the elements over the first three days. The declaration came shortly after tea, and with the light still good, New Zealand looked to create early pressure. They had success in the first ball of the innings when Tharanga Paranavitana shuffled too far across to Tim Southee and exposed his leg stump, departing for his third first-ball duck in Tests. Sri Lanka’s hopes of chasing the target rested on an aggressive start from Tillakaratne Dilshan but, after making a start, he fell off a loose drive to the same bowler.

Smart stats

• New Zealand’s lead of 168 was their fifth highest against Sri Lanka and the second highest in Sri Lanka. Click here for Tests in which New Zealand batted first and here for Tests in which New Zealand bowled first.

• In Tests since 1990, visiting teams have taken a lead against Sri Lanka in seven matches. Sri Lanka won once and lost on three of the six previous matches.

• If Sri Lanka are to win, they have to achieve the highest target in Tests in Sri Lanka. No team, however, has won a Test (chasing 300 or more) after losing four wickets for less than 50 in the fourth innings.

• Seventeen wickets fell on the fourth day. There have been only two previous Tests in Sri Lanka when more wickets have fallen in a single day.

• Ross Taylor became the ninth New Zealand player to score 1000 runs as captain. His average of 49.85 is second only to Martin Crowe’s 54.29 among New Zealand players who have scored 1000 plus runs as captain.

• Tharanga Paranavitana was dismissed off the first ball of the innings for the third time. There have been nine instances of Sri Lankan opening batsmen being dismissed off the first ball of the innings.

Kumar Sangakkara, out of sorts in the series, was also guilty of shuffling at the crease and only managed to play on to his stumps off the thigh, giving Doug Bracewell his first wicket. He found time to squeeze in another, and make perhaps the most important breakthrough, when he had Mahela Jayawardene poking at a delivery he should have left. Bracewell, whose stock delivery is just short of a length, got his line right to Jayawardene. He was guilty of straying too wide of off stump in both Tests, but on this occasion got it closer to the off stump.Coming in to this Test on the back of five consecutive defeats, New Zealand needed to rely on their strengths – seam bowling – to reverse their horror run. The seamers set it up first thing in the morning, nipping out the last four wickets in just 7.4 overs to take a healthy first-innings lead of 168. Southee completed his third five-wicket haul but the bowler who inflicted the maximum damage was Trent Boult, who swung the new ball and dismissed the set overnight pair of Thilan Samaraweera and Suraj Randiv to finish with 4 for 42.Samaraweera failed to add to his overnight score when he was squared up by a peach from Boult, which left the right-hand batsman late after pitching on middle stump, the outside edge taken by Martin Guptill at second slip. Boult struck again in his following over with one that swung in late and struck the base of Randiv’s pads. Nuwan Kulasekara then edged Southee to first slip to give the bowler his second five-for in three matches. A display of brilliance sealed the innings as Kane Williamson pulled off a blinder, diving to his left at gully to catch a thick outside edge to get rid of Herath.Behind by 168, Sri Lanka needed to win at least one session to put the pressure right back on the visitors. They got rid of the openers before lunch and picked up three more, in four balls, after the break. It left Taylor with the debutant Todd Astle to muster as much as they could to regain control.New Zealand at that stage were leading by 243 with five wickets in hand. Taylor’s presence was always New Zealand’s safety net, fresh off a century in the first innings, but Astle’s approach was what allowed the stand to flourish. Rather than get bogged down, he was positive, pulling Nuwan Kulasekara over square leg or his first boundary and using his feet to Herath, lofting over midwicket.Taylor displayed the same patience that earned his first-innings ton, staying watchful and picking the singles and allowing Astle to go after the bowling. Being naturally aggressive, it was ironic that Taylor’s first boundary came off his 77th ball, when he drove Randiv past cover to bring up his fifty.Astle had his moments of fortune, when he was let off at slip by Paranavitana, though it was a tough chance. He also survived a run-out at the striker’s end, though bizarrely the umpire Nigel Llong did not referred it, nor did the fielders appear interested in appealing.With the lead going past 350, Sri Lanka’s chances receded. They will need Samaraweera to lead the way again, under pressure, with Angelo Mathews for company. Six more wickets will give New Zealand their first win in Sri Lanka since 1998.