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Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:44

Arnold: Blackwood showed temperament and positive attitude

Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four. West Indies, who began the day two down for 67, lost eight wickets on the fourth day for the addition of 160 runs, and as in the first innings, a number of their batsmen failed to capitalise on starts. Their only consolation came from Jermaine Blackwood, who added a fleet-footed 92 to a string of eye-catching recent performances that have marked him out as a definite investment for the future.Three of Herath’s five ten-fors have now come in Galle. Perhaps no one has understood this surface as well as him. Even Muttiah Muralitharan, who ended his career with a staggering 22 ten-fors, achieved the feat four times here.The pitch for this match was slow even by Galle’s standards, and none of the other spinners from both sides found a way to remain a wicket-taking threat. By attacking the stumps relentlessly and giving the batsmen no breathing space, Herath made every ball count – every subtle variation of pace and trajectory. Batsmen were in trouble nearly every time they went forward instead of back or back instead of forward, or played for turn when there was none.West Indies began the fourth day two down, facing a deficit of 166. Perhaps they may have given themselves hope by imagining a scenario where their nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo hung around long enough to irritate the Sri Lankans while one or two of their specialist batsmen made hundreds. As early as the fifth over of the morning, Herath knocked those visions out of their heads.First, he sent back Bishoo, who nicked an attempted square-cut to slip. In came Marlon Samuels, and out he went first ball, but not before calling for one of the most needless reviews in the history of the DRS. Staying on the back foot to a ball from Herath he should have been on the front foot to, Samuels shouldered arms. The ball slid in with the angle and pinged his back pad. Maybe Samuels believed the ball had struck him slightly outside the line – even then, he was offering no shot. In the event, it had struck him in line with off stump, and was destined to hit middle stump, three-fourths of the way up.Nuwan Pradeep who had a mixed Test, was cranking up good pace and bowling a few good balls and a lot of poor ones. In the eighth over of the morning, he bowled his best ball of the match. Going around the wicket, he hit a good length in the corridor and got the ball to straighten a touch. Darren Bravo, pushing half-forward to defend, could only edge it to the keeper.Though Sri Lanka took four key wickets in the session, they showed evidence of a troubling over-reliance on Herath, with their back-up spinners leaking runs to Jermaine Blackwood and Denesh Ramdin when the left-arm spinner left the field briefly. But the West Indies batsmen did not show the greatest appreciation of which balls to go after, and failed to make that over-reliance hurt Sri Lanka in any way.Towards the end of day three, Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo had capitalised on Herath’s absence to take 39 runs from 11 overs bowled by Pradeep, Milinda Siriwardana and Tharindu Kaushal. Now, Siriwardana and Kaushal bowled a series of full-tosses and short balls to concede four fours in two overs to Ramdin and Blackwood.Blackwood, looking in smooth touch, continued batting with freedom over the next few overs, using his feet to get down the track to launch Kaushal over mid-on for six and drive Siriwardana inside-out for four.But just when the partnership was giving West Indies the merest glimmer of hope, Ramdin drove loosely at Siriwardana and nicked to second slip. Blackwood almost followed Ramdin to the dressing room in Siriwardana’s next over, edging him while trying to make room and drive despite not getting to the pitch of the ball. But Angelo Mathews, who was uncharacteristically generous at slip in this Test match, spilled the deflection off Kusal Perera’s glove.Blackwood survived through to lunch, and reached his half-century soon after. Jason Holder hung around long enough to add 36 with him for the seventh wicket before he was run out in slightly unfortunate circumstances. Stepping out to whip Herath into the leg side, he played across the ball which deflected off his pad to Mathews at slip. Spotting Holder out of his crease, he threw down the stumps direct.Herath then removed Kemar Roach in a replay of his first-innings dismissal. An enticingly loopy delivery, dropping just short of the batsman’s reach, a big heave and miss, and an alert Kusal Perera whipping the bails off with the batsman’s back toe on the line. When Dhammika Prasad trapped Jerome Taylor with a full, straight ball in the next over, West Indies were nine down, with 44 still to get to avoid innings defeat.Blackwood had only one option left – farm the strike and try to get West Indies as close as possible. Out came the dancing footwork, and he hit Herath for two fours and two sixes, all down the ground, in the space of nine balls. Rattled for once, Herath sent down a short ball, and Blackwood flat-batted it to the cover boundary.He could only do so much all by himself, though. Batting on 92 with all nine fielders on the boundary, he ran down the track to the third ball of Prasad’s over, and only managed to pick out deep extra cover. Perhaps he could have waited a couple of balls, for the field to come in and try to keep him on strike. It would have only delayed the inevitable.

David Warner has apologised for the language he used during his Twitter outburst on Saturday but said he felt the need to defend himself after a photo of him was used to illustrate a story on the seedy side of the IPL

Brydon Coverdale23-May-2013David Warner has apologised for the language he used during his Twitter outburst on Saturday but said he felt the need to defend himself after a photo of him was used to illustrate a story on the seedy side of the IPL. Warner has arrived home in Australia after his long stint in India with Delhi Daredevils and he spoke to reporters at the SCG on Thursday, the day after he was fined A$5750 at a Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour hearing.Warner said he had been woken during the early hours of Saturday by WhatsApp, an instant messaging application on his phone, and found that his friends had seen the article and asked him what was going on. Warner then took his anger out in a series of tweets directed at journalist Robert Craddock, who in the article had discussed the recent arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players over alleged spot-fixing.”I was just extremely annoyed with my image being used on that related article,” Warner told reporters on Thursday. “I was trying to defend myself because anyone who looks at the photograph can automatically assume that I’m related to what happened over there.”If I let it go and didn’t say anything, was I going to be defended by others? We just don’t know that. What I did through Twitter, for myself it was disappointing and I shouldn’t have done that and I shouldn’t have used the language that I did.”In his initial tweet, Warner wrote “Shock me @crashcraddock1 talking s*** about ipl jealous p****. Get a real job. All you do is bag people. #getalife”. He used similar language in a series of tweets directed at Craddock and his News Limited colleague Malcolm Conn, who weighed in on Twitter.”I’ve got to be a bit more professional with the choice of words that I use next time,” Warner said. “I’ll keep speaking my mind and always have my opinion and always continue to try and defend myself in the right choice of words … If I had my time again I’d definitely make a phone-call to Robert and ask him why the sub-editors used that image.”Warner sat down with Conn to put the issue behind them on Thursday morning and his focus has now turned firmly towards the Champions Trophy and Ashes in England. Warner is keen to ensure his Test form lifts from the disappointing tour of India in February and March, when he scored 195 runs at 24.37.”I don’t think [this adds] more pressure at all,” he said. “I just want to put a line under this and move forward defending the Champions Trophy and hopefully try to bring back the urn. That’s my goal, to score as many runs as I can for the Australian team and hopefully we can win both those tournaments while we’re away.”

Queensland build a dominant lead as Tasmania only managed three wickets all day

AAP07-Oct-2022Marnus Labuschagne appears to have lost little of his batting appetite over the winter after the Test run-machine opened his Sheffield Shield season with a century for Queensland against Tasmania on Friday.Labuschagne scored 127 in a controlled innings that lifted Queensland to 4 for 357, a hefty 210 runs clear of the visitors’ 147 at the midway point of the match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.There were runs also for fellow Test batter Usman Khawaja and former Australian opener Joe Burns.Only one wicket fell in the opening two sessions as Tasmania’s bowlers found life much harder than it seemed to be on day one for the Queensland attack.Burns and Labuschagne put on 148 for the second wicket after Queensland resumed at their overnight 1 for 24.
As always, Labuschagne looked capable of batting all day only to be trapped lbw by former Test stalwart Peter Siddle. After shouldering arms at a Siddle inswinger, Labuschagne bizarrely seemed to be walking off before the umpire had raised his finger to confirm the dismissal. Labuschagne’s 24th first-class century included 19 boundaries and a six.It was a hard day’s toil for Tasmania’s attack who, though limiting the home side to just 2.5 runs an over during the opening session, created few wicket-taking opportunities.Former Australian Test skipper Tim Paine collected three catches at the wicket in his return to the game. The third was Queensland’s only failure of the day as Jack Clayton fell for a third-ball duck off the bowling of Riley Meredith.

Maddy Green took charge of the chase before the visitors suffered a late wobble

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2022New Zealand secured their first ODI series win in West Indies with a two-wicket victory in Antigua where Eden Carson claimed three wickets on debut then Maddy Green anchored the chase.It became tighter than it should have done for New Zealand as they lost 4 for 3 late in the chase, but Hayley Jensen struck the winning boundary after Carson survived two balls from Karishma Ramharack who had taken three of those wickets.Carson, an offspinner, had a terrific debut as she claimed the key wicket of West Indies’ top-scorer Hayley Matthews as her first scalp – lbw on the back foot – followed by Chinelle Henry and Shakera Selman. She, Fran Jonas and Amelia Kerr combined to cause plenty of problems and their combined figures read: 28-3-65-5. Kerr and Jonas conceded just 17 each from their 10 overs.West Indies had slipped to 29 for 3 in the 11th over and were in further trouble when Lea Tahuhu had Stafanie Taylor well caught by Isabella Gaze and Kerr had Kyshona Knight taken in the covers off a leading edge.Matthews and Henry built a stand of 47 for the sixth wicket before Carson made her impact and the lower order was left trying to see out the 50 overs.West Indies fought back with the ball early in the chase as New Zealand’s slipped to 51 for 3 but their run rate was good which meant little scoreboard pressure. Green and Lauren Down added 66 for the fourth wicket to break the back of the target, then Green and Brooke Halliday got them with six runs before the late stutter that did not prove costly.

Allrounder eyes player-coach role after setting up fairytale tie against old club Leicestershire

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2022Darren Stevens has admitted he was “gutted” that Kent decided not to offer him a contract extension and confirmed his intention to play county cricket next season, after helping to set up a fairytale Royal London Cup quarter-final against his old club Leicestershire.Kent announced two weeks ago that Stevens would be released at the end of the season after struggling to make an impact this year, but after hitting 49 off 41 balls to help them to a two-wicket win against Lancashire on Tuesday, he laughed off the suggestion that retirement is looming, even at the age of 46.”I didn’t think I’d be released,” Stevens told the ECB Reporters Network. “I’d hoped it would be down to me pulling the pin on it, but that’s not the case. They [Kent] have got other ideas and want to go in a different direction and that’s fine. It’s gutting, it’s disappointing, but that’s fine. I respect the club, I love the club and I just want the best for the club.””I love the game. I wouldn’t be playing now if I didn’t love it as much as I do, but I love it. I love the challenges of batting and bowling and red-ball cricket as well. I’ll keep playing until I think it’s right, and at the minute I don’t think it’s right [to quit].”Related

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• Stevens' white-ball Canterbury swansong takes Kent into play-offs

• End of the Kent road for ageless cult hero Stevens

Stevens said that Kent had not given him “a proper reason” for their decision to release him but that he could understand the logic. “They’ve signed Joey Evison, who’s a talented all-round cricketer, and I’m guessing that’s my spot in the Championship,” he said. “He’s a good little player from what we’ve seen so far and I’m sure he’ll be good for Kent for the future.”My job is to take wickets and get runs for Kent, so that’s what I’ll do until I finish. I want to [play next season]. I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give. I feel like I’m hitting the ball well and the ball’s coming out alright, so I feel like I can do a job for a club somewhere. I’d like a player-coach role but at the moment I still feel I can do a job with the bat and the ball.”He has struggled with the ball this year on flatter pitches, with four wickets at 92.75 in the Championship in 2022 after five consecutive seasons averaging below 20, and had to rush back from injury in order to play in Kent’s final group game in the Royal London Cup.”Two injuries haven’t helped me,” he said. “Getting a collarbone strike put me out for longer than I was expecting… that was hard to take. Getting back for the one-day stuff, I was pleased and I was ready to go, but then pinging my calf at Glamorgan was gut-wrenching; I’ve never done a calf before. It’ll be three weeks this Thursday, so I’ve done well to get back.”You couldn’t have written it, could you?” he said about the quarter-final draw, which pits Kent against his old club. “It’s a different challenge, a different place to play. We haven’t played white-ball cricket there for a long time.”Stevens has become a cult hero among county cricket fans•Getty Images

The romantic outcome would be a return to Grace Road next season, where his first-class career started some 25 years ago. Ben Mike’s impending move to Yorkshire means there is a hole for an allrounder: have Leicestershire been sniffing around before Friday’s quarter-final?”No, nothing yet,” he said, when asked if he had been offered a deal anywhere. “We’ll see what happens. We’ve got a quarter-final to play at the end of the week. If people call and offer things, we’ll have a sit-down as the weeks go on and decide, probably towards the end of the year.”He is also an improbable entrant for this weekend’s Big Bash draft. “My agent put me in for that,” Stevens said. “He called and said ‘I’ve put you in!’ I was like, ‘yeah, great, cheers.’ I think he’s put me in for everything. Why not? I still want to play. It’d be good, wouldn’t it? It’d be a good way to go out.”

Aaron Finch was taken to hospital after been hit on the chest by a delivery while playing for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI on Monday

George Dobell22-Jun-20151:45

Finch was playing for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI when he was hit on the chest

Aaron Finch was taken to hospital after been hit on the chest by a delivery while playing for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI on Monday.Finch, the Australia limited-overs opener, was part of the side taking on Worcestershire seconds in Barnt Green, south of Birmingham, when he was hit while attempting a pull shot off the seamer Chris Russell.While Finch walked from the pitch unaided, he was clearly in some pain and, after spitting up blood, was quickly taken to hospital. At hospital he underwent a series of tests and X-rays to ascertain the extent of the injuries, with Yorkshire suggesting that his condition had eased considerably. He was not required to stay in hospital.A club spokesperson later told ESPNcricinfo that he would take no further part in the game. He returned to Leeds on Monday evening and expects the result of the scans on Tuesday.While Finch had been expected to play for the Yorkshire first team in their fixture against Nottinghamshire starting on Monday, the club instead decided he could do with some red-ball cricket before coming into their Championship side.Finch was due to join Yorkshire immediately after a spell in the IPL but suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Mumbai Indians that kept him out for two months.

Stand-in captain Powell added the finishing touches after a below-par batting display from New Zealand

Associated Press14-Aug-2022Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks shared a 102-run opening partnership as West Indies struck a winning formula at last, beating New Zealand by eight wickets in the third T20I on Sunday to prevent a sweep of the three-match series.After making the bold decision to rest captain Nicholas Pooran, the hosts also played more than one spinner for the first time in the series and their bowlers flourished on a slow pitch at Sabina Park.New Zealand made only 145 for 7 after winning the toss, falling well short of its 185 for 5 in the first match and 215 for 5 in the second.West Indies reached their target with an over to spare, as stand-in captain Rovman Powell hit Jimmy Neesham for six to clinch the win and leave the series 2-1 in New Zealand’s favor.Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, playing for the first time in the series, took 2 for 28 while allrounder Odean Smith took a career-best 3 for 29.King, who missed the first two matches of the series with injury, provided impetus for the run chase by taking 53 runs from 35 balls. Brooks carried his bat throughout the innings, finishing on 56 while Powell hurried the end by striking 27 from 15 balls.”It was very special being able to do this at home in front of everybody,” King said. “The support is incredible, my family is here and I’m happy to be able to deliver. I think consistency is the key. When you’re an opening batsman you try to give your team a good start.”Today credit has to be given to the bowlers. They did an excellent job for us and made my job that much easier.”New Zealand failed to replicate its performances of the first two victories when it made strong starts and built partnerships around Kane Williamson who made 47 in the first match and Glenn Phillips who made 76 in the second.On Sunday, Hosein came on in only the third over and immediately knocked over Martin Guptill to leave New Zealand 18 for 1.Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner and Williamson all made starts but struggled to impart momentum to the innings. That task fell again to Phillips who made 41 from 26 balls and was Player of the Series.Phillips needed to bat through but was out at a critical stage when New Zealand was 125 for 5 in the 17th over. New Zealand made big finishes in the first two matches, putting on 64 in the last five overs of the first two matches but managing only 39 in the last five overs this time.West Indies innings stood in complete contrast with the opening partnership between King and Brooks occupying 13.1 overs and making the result a foregone conclusion. King reached his half century from 30 balls and Brooks hung around to anchor the innings, posting his 50 from 52 deliveries.”The West Indies adapted to the conditions nicely,” Williamson said. “With the bat we felt if we could get another 15 or so we could get a bit of momentum but they were able to take wickets throughout an execute their plans beautifully.”They did the same thing with the bat and we couldn’t open up an end with the ball. We knew that with 140 things would have to go well for us with the ball and they outplayed us today.”The teams meet in the first of three ODIs on Wednesday.

Durham downed despite totalling 207 for 8 in Headingley run-fest

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2022Yorkshire raced to a record 208 target to beat Durham in a mesmerising Vitality Blast clash at Headingley as Adam Lyth and David Willey starred with brilliant innings of 77 and 75 not out.Vikings were rocked by Durham’s 207 for 8, including 65 off 37 balls for opener Graham Clark and a career best 56 off 34 for on-loan Kent wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson. But their mood was quickly turned by opener Lyth, who broke the back of the chase with 10 fours and three sixes in 33 balls before England allrounder Willey saw his side home by six wickets with 2.2 overs to spare, crashing eight fours and three sixes in 39.Never before had Yorkshire, who survived the loss of England’s Harry Brook for 4 following his release from the Test squad, chased 200, and this was their second win in five in the North Group. Their previous highest successful chase was 196 against Derbyshire here in 2005.Earlier, Jordan Thompson’s career best 4 for 32 had been crucial as the Vikings limited the damage late on.Belligerent opener Clark was expertly backed up by second-wicket partner Robinson as Durham excelled with the bat on a glorious pitch, the pair sharing 92 inside nine overs to advance from 34 for 1, putting pressure on a Yorkshire side who lost back-to-back home games against Leicestershire and Derbyshire earlier this week.Clark’s only six was slog swept off Adil Rashid over midwicket, while Robinson hoisted Dom Bess over long-on into the second tier of Headingley’s Howard Stand before slicing left-arm quick Dominic Drakes over backward point.Clark reached his fifty off 27 balls before uppercutting Bajan overseas debutant Drakes out to deep cover as the score fell to 126 for 2 gafter 12 overs. Shortly afterwards, Robinson’s fifty came up in 29 balls.From there, Thompson claimed all of his wickets from the 15th over onwards as Yorkshire turned the tide. He uprooted Robinson’s leg stump as he shuffled across and played to leg – 148 for 4 at the start of the 15th – before getting Brydon Carse caught at deep cover at the end of the next.Carse had usurped Robinson by finding the top tier of three-tiered Howard Stand off Matthew Revis, a shot brilliantly caught one-handed in the crowd.In Thompson’s last over, the 19th, he had Durham captain Liam Trevaskis caught at short third and bowled Ned Eckersley off his pads as the score fell to 192 for 8.Yorkshire then put Durham’s batting into the shade, with Kiwi Finn Allen clattering Carse for sixes over long-on and midwicket at the end of the second over. Seventeen runs came off each of the third and fourth overs, but Allen was caught at mid-off for 29 off 12 balls off Andrew Tye towards the end of the latter, leaving the hosts 54 for 1.Lyth was strong square on both sides of the wicket as the score moved to 79 for one after six overs. By the time he reached his fifty off 23 balls, Yorkshire were 97 for 1 in the eighth and things were looking ominous for Durham, who lost their third game in five at the start of the group phase.Lyth had whipped Paul Coughlin for his first six, uppercut Carse and despatched Coughlin over long-on. Such was the ease with which runs were coming that even when Lyth miscued Ben Raine’s seam high to wide mid-off, leaving Yorkshire at 124 for 2 in the 10th over, the result was in little doubt.Lyth had shared 70 in six overs with second-wicket partner Willey, who continued the assault with leg-side sixes off Carse and Trevaskis and reached his fifty off 27 balls.Brook was caught at deep backward square-leg off Ben Raine – 160 for 3 in the 13th over – but it did not matter.

Ian Bell’s hamstring strain should not keep him out of contention for England’s first Investec Test squad, according to his director of cricket at Warwickshire, Dougie Brown

George Dobell10-May-2016
ScorecardIan Bell was given a boost after his hamstring injury•Getty Images

Ian Bell’s hamstring strain should not keep him out of contention for England’s first Investec Test squad, according to his director of cricket at Warwickshire, Dougie Brown.Bell left the field on the first day of Warwickshire’s Championship match against Somerset after experiencing pain in his left hamstring. A subsequent scan revealed a “slight strain” in Brown’s words.While any injury doubt at this stage – the squad for the first Test will be picked on Wednesday – is far from ideal, Warwickshire hope Bell would be fit for their next Championship match which starts on Sunday. The Test does not start until Thursday. He had a net at Edgbaston on Tuesday and will bat on Wednesday as required.Bell has not played for England since the final Test of the series against Pakistan in the UAE in November, but has started the season in fine touch – he made a century against Hampshire and looked set for another against Middlesex until bowled by one that kept low – and describes himself as “refreshed” after a period of rest ahead of the season.”He is coming on well,” Brown told ESPNcricinfo. “We certainly hope he’ll be fit for the next game, but it’s a bit too early to say for sure. Usually a hamstring strain would keep a player out for five to 10 days. The next two days will tell us a lot but he will bat in this match if needed.”Meanwhile Brown dismissed concerns over the pitch at Edgbaston for the current game, suggesting there had been some “soft dismissals” on both sides.Several batsmen were struck by the ball on the second day, with Lewis Gregory sustaining what appeared to be an especially hard blow on the helmet. But while Brown admitted there were some cracks in the pitch, he did not think they were serious.”People complain when the wicket is flat and they complain when the wicket helps the bowlers,” he said. “There may be a bit of uneven bounce, but there are also two very good pace attacks at work in this match.”Maybe one or two balls bounced a little, but I saw a couple of batsmen duck into pretty full balls and I think both sides will look back at their dismissals on day two and think them a bit soft.”There was no play on day three of the game at Edgbaston due to rain meaning Warwickshire will resume on day four requiring 318 to win with all 10 wickets in hand. “We’re only thinking about winning this game,” Brown said. Judging by the weather forecast, though, a draw is a strong favourite.Brown also played down speculation linking him with the vacant role as coach of Otago.”New Zealand is a wonderful country,” Brown said. “And my wife is from there. So maybe one day, who knows? But at the minute all my focus is on Warwickshire. We have a lot of unfinished business here and I’m not thinking of anything else.”

Half-centuries for Leaning, Stewart build imposing 519-run total, before two early wickets

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2022Northamptonshire 21 for 2 trail Kent 519 for 9 dec (Compton 140, Bell-Drummond 83, Crawley 62, Leaning 62, Stewart 61) by 498 runs
Jack Leaning and Grant Stewart scored contrasting half-centuries as Kent piled on the runs on a rain-affected day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Northamptonshire.Captain Leaning ground his way to a 120-ball fifty to build on the fine work of Ben Compton, who ended with 140, and Zak Crawley and Daniel Bell-Drummond’s half-centuries.On the other hand, Stewart was given a licence and used it to bash five sixes in 34 deliveries on his route to the milestone – before he ended up on 61 – as Kent declared on 519 for nine.All-rounder Stewart and Darren Stevens then made early in-roads by displacing Ben Curran and Emilio Gay as Northamptonshire ended the day on 21 for two – 498 runs behind.Rain washed out the morning session to leave 66 overs for Kent to rack up a massive first-innings total, having been put in on the first day. Compton continued almost unperturbed from his overnight 125, carefully adding two boundaries to take him to 100 fours for the season.He departed for 140 when driving to gully, before Jordan Cox chopped Gareth Berg onto his own stumps and Ollie Robinson edged to first slip in a positive eight-over spell for the hosts.Leaning, who is deputising for Sam Billings as red-ball captain, missed the start of season with a hamstring injury and appeared slow to get his season motoring. He started with a duck and 36 against Yorkshire and a nine in the draw with Surrey last week.But on this occasion, his wicket was prized with complete protection, with only balls well away from his stumps dispatched to the boundary. It was certainly watchful but allowed the platform for the later chaos by helping to soften the ball.His half-century, the 29th of his first-class career, was brought up in 120 deliveries with a delicious on drive on the cusp of tea.Stevens had already fallen cutting behind before Leaning chipped a leading edge back to Tom Taylor for 62. But that brought together the cunning rotation of George Linde and Stewart’s big-hitting.Stewart has the build of a man perfect to hit a long ball – having struck four sixes in a run-a-ball 90 in his previous innings this year. If further proof was needed of this, his maximum off Rob Keogh which comfortably cleared the Lynn Wilson Indoor School. A conservative estimate measured the strike at 120 metres.He followed that up with four more altogether tamer sixes, as the tempo raised against a weary Northamptonshire attack. Linde, who had bizarrely been given out run out while backing up only to be recalled, added 38 with Stewart before skying to long on.Matt Quinn shook off his genuine tailender tag to swat a six and four during a breath-taking 64-runs stand with Stewart in seven overs. He was dropped by Lewis McManus, who damaged his finger in the process, before Stewart exited when lbw to bring about the declaration.Northamptonshire were given 13 overs to negotiate under the lights and lost Curran when he tamely diverted to mid-wicket. Gay earned a life against the wily Stevens with a tough caught-and-bowled chance but wasn’t so fortunate after he was struck on the pads.