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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAfghanistan stormed into the final of the Desert T20 Challenge after beating Oman by eight wickets, their fifth consecutive win over the team in T20 internationals. Afghanistan chased down a target of 150 with nine balls to spare and now await the winner of the Scotland v Ireland semi-final, before the final match later today.Oman fought bravely through the first innings, coming back to the ground to take on the tournament favourites less than 12 hours after their final Group B match against Scotland. Afghanistan gave Oman a few chances to stay afloat. However, by the start of the chase, Oman struggled to keep their heads above water as Afghanistan commenced a cruise toward the target riding on a 91-run opening stand between Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad.Shahzad reached 50 off 35 balls at the start of the 10th over, and added another 45 with Asghar Stanikzai, before falling for 80 with only 14 required for victory. Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari knocked off the remaining runs, and clinched the match after a bouncer down leg side was signaled a wide.Poking the bear
Oman were scrapping their way through their innings, desperate to claim any runs on offer. Off the final ball of the 13th over, bowled by Amir Hamza, when Khurram Nawaz pushed toward point for a sharp run. The throw came to the non-striker’s end and hit Nawaz in the legs before it caromed past mid-off. Nawaz didn’t hesitate to come back for a second run on the overthrow and, when he arrived back at the striker’s end, Shahzad didn’t hesitate to give him an earful from behind the stumps.Afghanistan hadn’t been fully engaged until that point, with Dawlat Zadran in particular bowling poorly with the new ball. But after that extra run, Afghanistan flipped a switch. Rashid Khan beat an attempted sweep by Nawaz with a googly, to rattle the stumps in the 19th over, and then gave the batsman a send-off, pointing him off the field to the dugout.Rashid Khan gives Khurram Nawaz a send-off. The batsman’s extra run off an overthrow, after the ball had hit him, flipped a switch in the Afghanistan side•Peter Della Penna

Big-match Mo
Shahzad seemed especially offended at Nawaz’s transgression. He used his bat in the second innings as if it were a principal’s paddle for spanking naughty school kids. Shahzad’s batting record in the knockout stages of Associate tournaments in the UAE is superb and he extended that trend today against Oman.Left-arm fast bowler Bilal Khan, Oman’s most incisive bowler in this tournament, was clubbed over mid-on for four in the opening over to set the tone for the rest of Shahzad’s innings. Kaleemullah was brought on in the third over so that Bilal could switch ends and Shahzad went on to flick the tall right-arm quick over mid-off in his second over. The next ball was a disdainful flick over midwicket for six to leave Kaleemullah slack-jawed.Shahzad almost never misses an opportunity to animatedly celebrate even the smallest milestones, but upon bringing up his half-century on this day, he didn’t even raise his bat. When he was finally dismissed, though, he made sure to recognise the fans, gesturing his appreciation with a flick and wave to the western stand where most of them had congregated. They are hoping it’s not the last time he raises his bat on finals day.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:14

Isam: Spirit has been sucked out of Bangladesh batting

Another mind-numbing batting collapse from Bangladesh meant that they lost the Nelson ODI and along with it the series to New Zealand. They only had 252 to chase, and at one point were 105 for 1 but ended up losing the remaining nine wickets for only 79 runs. This meant that Neil Broom, who made his first ODI century nearly eight years after his debut, had something special to savour.It was déjà vu for Bangladesh. Back in October, they were on course to chase England’s 309 in Mirpur. After Imrul Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan added 118 runs for the fifth wicket, the hosts needed just 39 runs in the last 8.3 overs. But they ended up losing their last six wickets for 17 runs in the space of 39 balls. It seemed Bangladesh had carried the baggage from that game to their tour of New Zealand.

Hayder reprimanded for breaching code of conduct

Bangladesh allrounder Tanbir Hayder has been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during his international debut – the second ODI against New Zealand in Nelson.
Hayder, who failed to pick up a wicket in eight overs and managed only two runs in the team’s 67-run loss, was found to have been in violation of Article 2.1.4, which relates to “using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an international match.”
The incident concerned his reaction after the last ball of the 19th over, when he used obscene language after being pulled to the midwicket boundary by Neil Broom, who pressed on to make his maiden ODI hundred.
Since Hayder admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Chris Broad, the match referee, there was no need for a formal hearing.

There was a rosy period, as with most Bangladesh batting collapses. After New Zealand were restricted to the first score under 300 batting first at home against Bangladesh, Kayes and Sabbir Rahman added 75 runs for the second wicket.Kayes showed good patience, nudging singles off the wicket-to-wicket balls and taking full toll when he was given width. The pull also came out a number of times and when part-time seamer Colin Munro dropped him on 19, New Zealand would have been worried. Sabbir, from the other end, confidently cut and drove the fast bowlers as Bangladesh seemed to take control. They needed 146 runs off 163 balls with nine wickets in hand.That was when the first domino fell, via a tragicomic run-out. Kayes pushed the ball into the covers and set off for a quick single. Sabbir responded initially before changing his mind. Kayes kept on running, and ended up reaching the non-striker’s end before Sabbir who had turned him away. That meant the throw at the strikers’ end essentially led to the the non-striker’s run out.Then, in the 26th over, an inswinging yorker from Lockie Ferguson toppled Mahmudullah’s middle stump.Three overs later, Shakib Al Hasan cut Kane Williamson to backward point. In the next over from the part-time offspinner, Mosaddek Hossain chipped a catch to mid-off.Five balls later Kayes drove lazily at a Tim Southee delivery and Bangladesh’s best hope for stemming the collapse was gone. He made 59 off 89 with six fours.Bangladesh lost six wickets in 10 overs between the 23rd and the 33rd and were eventually bowled out for 184. One more damning sign of their collapse was that it was a part-timer, Williamson, who took the most wickets – 3 for 22.It completed a highly satisfying series win for New Zealand after their torrid tours of India and Australia. One that might not have happened if the selectors hadn’t thawed Broom out of ice. He had to wait six years to restart his ODI career, but ended 2016 with a maiden century that proved match-winning on a day bathed in sunshine, and on a pitch slower than normal at Saxton Oval, New Zealand struggled to bat at their usual high tempo.Only Broom applied himself to any effect. He was particularly good driving through extra cover and used the sweep liberally – both shots were used to upset the spinners. His team was nine down when he was on 99, but Trent Boult hung in there just long enough and Broom finished unbeaten on 109 off 106 balls with eight fours and three sixes.The rest of the New Zealand batting line-up faltered with Martin Guptill falling leg-before to Mashrafe in the first over. Kane Williamson was dismissed for 17 by Taskin Ahmed for the second time in as many games and the Boxing Day centurion Tom Latham, was lbw for 22.Broom and James Neesham added 51 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was stumped for 28, giving wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan his first ODI dismissal. Munro, another hero from Christchurch, lasted six balls before Mashrafe got one to scythe between his bat and pad and hit the top of off-stump. Luke Ronchi added 64 for the sixth wicket with Broom to push the total past 200 and in the end, it proved more than enough.

Railways won their first match of the season by seven wickets, as they reached the 113-run target set by Baroda early on the final day in Nagpur.Railways started the day on 90 for 2 and added the required 23 runs in just 20 balls, with the loss of a wicket. Opener Shivakant Shukla was unbeaten on 56, his 16th first-class fifty, as Railways collected six points and leapfrogged out of last place, where Baroda replaced them.Debutant Aditya Dhumal picked up five wickets as Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh by 121 runs in Mysore to remain on top of Group A.UP started the day on 43 for 1, needing 232 more to win. Overnight batsmen Shivam Chaudhary (50) and Samarth Singh (42) added a further 42 to their second-wicket partnership, taking it to 81, before Dhumal dismissed both of them with his left-arm spin, to reduce UP from 87 for 1 to 105 for 3. Dhumal then combined with Vishal Dabholkar (4-43), Mumbai’s other left-arm spinner, and the pair struck regularly as they shared the last nine wickets between them to bowl UP out for 173. Dhumal’s 5 for 53 gave seven wickets on his first-class debut.Suryakumar Yadav was declared Player of the Match for his knocks of 99 and 90 in the match.K Vignesh was named Man of the Match for Tamil Nadu as they took three points from their draw against Bengal in Rajkot.Vignesh followed up his 4 for 70 in the first innings with an unbeaten 34 at No.10, that led the 44-run stand for the last wicket with T Natarajan (12) which had taken TN past Bengal’s 337. The stand ended early on the final day, as Natarajan fell to medium-pacer Sayan Ghosh (5-123), who completed his first five-wicket haul.Shreevats Goswami (61) and Aamir Gani (45) put on 87 for the sixth wicket, after TN entertained the hopes of an outright victory when they reduced Bengal to 66 for 5 in the 31st over. The partnership played out a valuable 23.3 overs before Gani was dimissed, and Goswami’s seventh-wicket stand with Ashok Dinda (28) frustrated TN for a further 13.4 overs, as Bengal managed to hold on and force a draw.Harpreet Singh’s second century of the season helped Madhya Pradesh survive an early scare in their chase, and draw their game against Gujarat in Nagathone. Gujarat picked up three points from the game.Hapreet Singh came in at 36 for 4 in the 17th over, after MP were set 375 to chase in 57 overs. Rush Kalaria was the wrecker-in-chief, adding three wickets to go with his four-for in the first innings. But Harpreet joined hands with Naman Ojha (52) and was the dominant one in their partnership of 113, that could only be broken in the 52nd over. Ojha’s 52 took 135 deliveries, in contrast to Harpreet’s unbeaten 103 that came off 129 and featured 17 fours and a six. MP lost no further wickets and play ended when they were on 176 for 5.Earlier, Gujarat added 96 runs in 22 overs to their overnight score of 228 for 2, as they pushed for a declaration. Both overnight batsmen brought up centuries, although Samit Gohel (104) fell in the third over of the day, while Parthiv Patel (139*) remained unbeaten.

​Tier 1Rain affected proceedings for the second consecutive day in Cox’s Bazar as both the Tier 1 matches in the third round of the 2016-17 National Cricket League ended in draws, with no cricket possible on the third and fourth days.At the Sheikh Kamal Academy Ground, Dhaka Division opted to bat against Barisal Division, and amassed 523 in 132 overs on the back of Taibur Rahman’s fourth first-class century.Coming in at 213 for 4, Rahman made 147, with eight fours and four sixes. He was supported by Nadif Chowdhury (75), with whom he put on 158 for the sixth wicket, and wicketkeeper Zahiduzzaman (57), with whom he put on 113 for the eighth wicket, at a rate of 5.39.Earlier, opener Abdul Mazid missed a seventh first-class century by four runs after putting on 176 for the opening wicket with Rony Talukdar, who was bowled for 84. Left-arm spinner Monir Hossain, who removed both of them, finished with 5 for 152.In reply, Barisal were 103 for 1, with Fazle Mahmud unbeaten on 55 and opening batsman Shahriar Nafees giving him company on 40, when rain truncated the rest of the game. Barisal picked up only five points as opposed to Dhaka’s seven, but it was enough to put them on top of Tier 1.In the other Tier 1 game, Nurul Hasan rescued Khulna Division with an unbeaten 103 to take them to 293 against Dhaka Metropolis. Khulna were reduced to 67 for 5 after electing to bat, and it took a 101-run stand between Hasan and Ziaur Rahman to bring them back into the game. Hasan also stitched together seventh and eighth wicket stands of 51 and 57 with Mehedi Hasan Miraz (26) and Abdur Razzak (45) respectively in his four-and-a-half-hour vigil.Arafat Sunny took three wickets for Dhaka Metro, while right-arm medium-pacers Shahidul Islam and Shykat Ali took two each.In reply, Shadman Islam and Mehedi Maruf, the Dhaka Metropolis openers, batted for 20 overs and took the team to 59 for no loss, before rain arrived. Dhaka Metropolis picked up six points, while Khulna got five.Tier 2Sylhet Division narrowly missed their first win of the season after bad light ended play early, with eight overs remaining in their match against Chittagong Division in Fatullah.Chittagong’s decision to bowl backfired as Sylhet piled on 444, courtesy Alok Kapali (137), who scored his 18th century, and Shahnur Rahman (102), who raised his maiden ton in only his third first-class game.Shahanur followed up his century with a five-for to help Sylhet dismiss Chittagong for 315 and take a first-innings lead of 129. Yasir Ali top-scored with 95, while Tasamul Haque made 57. There was some late resistance from Mohammad Saifuddin (56), who came out at No. 8, and No. 9 Iftekhar Sajjad, who chipped in with 36. Shahanur ended with figures of 5 for 66, while left-arm spinner Emanul Haque jnr took 3 for 54.Sylhet batted aggressively in the second innings, racing away to 243 for 5 in 42 overs. Zakir Hasan top-scored with 86, and Kapali came good again, slamming two fours and four sixes en route to an unbeaten 58 off 31 balls.Set a target of 373, Chittagong were reduced to 26 for 4, with offspinner Rahatul Ferdous running through the top-order. Yasir Ali and Saeed Sarkar, who top-scored with 68, fought back through an 87-run stand for the fifth wicket, before a second collapse saw Chittagong lose five wickets for the addition of 33. However, with Sylhet one strike away from a win, bad light forced the players off the field.Sylhet picked up nine points, and Chittagong ended with seven.Over at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar, Rajshahi Division drew with Rangpur Division after rain forced delays on all four days.After being inserted, Rangpur put up 234, courtesy half-centuries from Tanveer Haider and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who made identical scores of 53, and Ariful Haque, who chipped in with 39. The trio’s efforts helped revive Rangpur’s innings after they found themselves in an early wobble at 39 for 4. Rajshahi’s bowlers hunted in a pack, with Farhad Reza and Mukhtar Ali, who shared the new ball, taking three wickets each, while Taijul Islam took two and Mamun Hossain accounted for one wicket.Rajshahi were reduced to 99 for 6 in their reply, before a seventh-wicket stand of 120 between Junaid Siddique (126), who struck his first century this season, and Sunzamul Islam took them past the 200-mark. Siddique carried on after the partnership was broken and was the last man dismissed, by which time he had helped Rajshahi eke out a 24-run first-innings lead. Right-arm medium pacer Saddam Hossain led Rangpur’s charge with the ball with career-best figures of 4 for 46.Rangpur scored 233 for 7 in their second innings, courtesy half-centuries from openers Saymon Ahmed (94) and Jahid Jabed (52). Sunzamul took 4 for 106, while Mamun took three wickets.

Cricket Australia’s head of security Sean Carroll has arrived in Dhaka to observe the security measures in place for England’s ongoing tour of the country. Australia are due to arrive in Bangladesh in August 2017 to fulfil the two-Test tour of 2015 that was postponed due to security concerns.Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB chief, said Carroll’s visit was “encouraging”.Carroll travelled with the England team’s convoy from their hotel to the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur to sample the security arrangements. It is understood that he will further examine the security during the second Bangladesh-England Test starting on Friday.The move is seen as a positive consequence of England’s willingness to tour after being given security assurances by the Bangladesh government following concerns because of the July 1 terrorist attack in Dhaka.”We are aware of Sean Carroll’s arrival,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo. “He came today and travelled with the England convoy to take a practical look at the security arrangements. He will be here for a few days. During the England tour, the Australia high commission has also kept in touch with us about the security arrangements.”It is certainly an encouraging sign, as it shows that they are keen to have a look at our security arrangements and are positive about coming in August next year.”Australia deferred the tour of Bangladesh last year following a government advisory. Cricket Australia did not send their team for this year’s U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh either. Although chief executive James Sutherland had said in April that they were keen to fulfil their commitments in 2017, the terror attacks in Dhaka on July 1 put question marks on the tour.

Callum Ferguson will captain a South Australia squad lacking experience during this year’s Matador Cup. The Redbacks lost the final to New South Wales last year but this year will be without several key players – captain Travis Head, legspinner Adam Zampa, and fast bowlers Daniel Worrall and Joe Mennie – who are part of Australia’s ODI squad in South Africa.As a result, South Australia’s 14-man group for the one-day campaign includes five uncapped players. Fast bowler Wes Agar, the brother of Australia spinner Ashton Agar, is a chance to make his debut for the Redbacks having signed a rookie contract with them this year, while there could also be one-day debuts for Jake Weatherald, Michael Cormack, Cameron Valente and Nick Benton.The only players with significant one-day experience in the South Australia squad are Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross and Tim Ludeman. The tournament will mark the return to cricket for Ferguson after he suffered a serious knee injury in December. Remarkably, he has only captained South Australia once before – in a solitary one-day game in 2007.”The team loses significant experience due to four Australian players being absent and we will look to Callum and other senior players to lead the way on and off the ground,” South Australia’s general manager of high performance Tim Nielsen, said. “We couldn’t be more pleased about having our players represent Australia, and it’s a huge opportunity for our squad to compete hard and continue their development from last season.”South Australia squad Callum Ferguson (capt), Wes Agar, Tom Andrews, Nick Benton, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Michael Cormack, Alex Gregory, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald.

Match facts

August 18-22, 2016
Start time 1000 local (1400 GMT)

Big Picture

The adage “good things come to those who wait” has a connotation that impatience can jeopardise the chances of the arrival of good things, but it is highly unlikely impatience will hurt India’s chances of becoming No. 1 in Test cricket. Given their dominance at home over the last few years, India are almost certain to become the top-ranked Test team at some point during the 13-Test home season, but Virat Kohli’s men don’t want to wait that long. They have a great opportunity here, they have West Indies on the mat, they have finished two Tests inside four days, and if they win the last Test they will retain their momentary No. 1 Test ranking that came their way when Australia lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka. If they do manage to win at Queen’s Park Oval, it will be only the second time that they will have won three Tests in an away series.It hasn’t just been about India’s content. West Indies have been accommodating hosts apart for brief spells when they have shown the discipline to push India. There was a time when they had made India bowlers wait 528 balls for a wicket, but lost their last 17 wickets in 63.5 overs to lose the third Test despite a day’s relief handed to them by rain. There was a time when they had reduced India to 126 for 5 in 49.3 overs but not only did they concede 227 in the rest of that innings, they went at 4.5 an over in the second when they needed to delay India’s declaration. India have been tested but not for long enough.Coming to the only ground where they have won more than they have lost in the last 10 years, West Indies will hope they can put up creditable resistance.

Form guide

West Indies LDLDL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WDWWW

In the spotlight

Virat Kohli has made it clear he will be batting at No. 3 to accommodate Rohit Sharma at No. 5. Except that the last Test, when he moved up to No.3, exposing himself to a newish ball, he registered his lowest Test aggregate. Kohli, though, wants to lead by example; if he feels playing Rohit is the right thing to, he will be the first one to make a sacrifice if required. A middling attack is not a bad place to test himself at No. 3 either.First there was Darren Sammy, now there is Jason Holder: pliant Test captains whose spirit cannot be doubted but whose numbers don’t justify a settled place in Test XIs. Anybody who has followed this series knows Holder has toiled his socks off but he still remains a No. 8 who averages 48.09 with the ball. He has only one wicket to show for 86.2 overs of tireless bowling with a proud seam in this series.

Team news

Leon Johnson, who replaced the failing opener Rajendra Chandrika in the third Test, hasn’t set the world alight but has shown promise. West Indies are likely to give him another Test. Queen’s Park Oval has traditionally been a spinner-friendly surface so if West Indies bring back Devendra Bishoo, it will have to be at the expense of one of the three specialist quicks, none of whom had a horrible Test in St Lucia.West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Leon Johnson, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9, 10 and 11 (out of) Alzarri Joseph, Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel and Devendra BishooVirat Kohli made it quite clear he was not going to give Rohit Sharma just the one Test. With the addition of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing to the side, the attack is well rounded. The only man whose place might be in question now is Shikhar Dhawan, if India look to draft M Vijay back in.India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay/Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Wriddhiman Saha, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Ishant Sharma

Pitch and conditions

A dry pitch awaits the teams at the Queen’s Park Oval, with Kohli expecting turn and bounce for the spinners. Kohli, however, said he had spotted a couple of damp patches on Tuesday, and would wait to see how the pitch looked on the first morning before deciding on the composition of India’s XI. There has been intermittent rain in Port-of-Spain in the lead-up to the match, and weather interruptions are likely.

Stats and trivia

• R Ashwin needs eight wickets in the fourth Test to join Clarrie Grimmett as the fastest to 200 Test wickets
• No West Indies batsman has averaged more than 40 in this series, only two bowlers are under that mark
• Five of India’s batsmen have averaged over 40; none of their bowlers are over that mark
• Among grounds in West Indies that have hosted 10 or more Tests, Queen’s Park Oval has afforded spinners the best average – 36.66. The Bourda Oval in Guyana is the only other venue in West Indies where spinners average under 40, a marginal 39.94

Quotes

“It’s a nice incentive, but it doesn’t really change anything for the team. Our goal has been to play good cricket, and we’ve done that in the past one year or so. We want to continue with the same.”
“Personally I’d have liked to have done a little bit better. With the bat, I’ve got a few starts. Wickets have not been coming my way, but [I have been] doing part of my job in terms of holding up the ends and working real hard and giving the other bowlers time to rest. That part I’ve been doing well in this series, but I just haven’t got the wickets to show.”

The last time New Zealand opener Tom Latham was in Africa, in 2015, he scored his maiden ODI hundred in Zimbabwe and struck three successive half-centuries in South Africa. Now back in South Africa for a training camp ahead of the Tests in Zimbabwe, New Zealand will play an international match after a gap of nearly four months.Latham, however, has just had a busy county season in England. He played for Kent in all three formats in the “silly season” to warm-up for New Zealand’s packed schedule, which includes tours of Africa and India before they host Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.”I wanted to be playing leading into this tour, so it’s certainly going to be beneficial instead of coming from indoor nets – playing outdoors and being used to grass wickets,” Latham said after arriving in Pretoria. “For me now it’s about adjusting to the conditions here instead of having to get used to batting on grass.”Before I came over, we played 22 out of 24 days, so that’s without training, that’s just playing days. That’s just the amount of cricket you play, they call it the ‘silly season’ over there.”Latham did not complain about the fixtures and instead said that such a phase helped batsmen more than bowlers, and that it had kept him occupied.”You obviously play a lot of cricket in a short amount of time. It’s a good thing as a batter I guess, but bowlers sort of struggle a little bit with the workload, and how much cricket you play.”I suppose as a batter you can’t get too down if you don’t score runs, because you get three or four bats a week, which is a good thing. I suppose that’s the biggest thing and you try to learn from that. When you don’t necessarily train that much, how you prepare for a game – that’s the sort of thing I learnt from my stint there.”Latham played six first-class matches in England and scored 374 runs with four fifties at an average of 46.75. He did not have as much success in limited-overs matches though. In two 50-over games, he scored 9 and 7, and seven T20 matches fetched him 128 runs at an average of 21.33. Latham said the stint was not just to warm-up during the lean New Zealand winter season but to also prepare for the long run.”Certainly a beneficial couple of months for me just to get used to English conditions and we have a couple of tours coming up there in the next couple of years. I certainly enjoyed my time there, but I’m looking forward to what we’ve got coming up now.”New Zealand play the first of two Tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo from July 28.

ScorecardJames Foster’s late hitting kept Essex afloat (file photo)•Getty Images

James Foster’s late heroics carried Essex to a barely credible tie in a rain-affected Royal London Cup match.Essex had looked dead and buried when the ninth wicket fell with four overs remaining and 38 runs required. They still required 26 off the last two and 16 off the last, but with Foster seeing the ball like a football they clawed their way to a share of a thrilling contest.Wicketkeeper Alex Barrow gave Essex hope when he let past four byes from the first ball of the final over. Foster hit a four off the second ball and, after two dot balls, thumped a massive six over cow corner from the fifth ball. Then Foster and Matt Quinn scampered a bye to the wicketkeeper off the last ball as the rain returned.Foster finished with an unbeaten 75 off 50 balls, including eight fours and three sixes. He scored all the runs in a last-wicket stand of 37.Under Duckworth-Lewis calculations, Essex had been set a target of 177 – two runs less than Somerset had posted – in a match reduced first to 47 overs and then to 29 because of the weather.It initially looked as if Somerset’s Adam Hose was going to be the match-winner. The 23-year-old, who has yet to make a first-class appearance for Somerset, hit 77 off 83 balls, with 10 fours, to beat his previous List A best by 31 runs.Hose shared a third-wicket stand of 141 in exactly 20 overs with his captain Jim Allenby after Essex put the visitors in.When Essex batted, the heart was ripped out of their batting by a hostile opening spell by Tim Groenewald, who took three for 30, aided by Lewis Gregory, who snapped up two wickets in two balls and finished with four for 23.Just three overs were possible in the morning before rain stopped play, the fielders departing straight after David Masters claimed the prized scalp of Johannes Myburgh, caught at wide mid-off low down by Ravi Bopara for 7.When they resumed nearly three hours later, Peter Trego lasted just five balls on his 35th birthday before he got a massive edge to Masters and was caught at third man by Graham Napier.Hose and Allenby steadied the Somerset ship and then accelerated mid-innings. Hose grew in confidence the longer he batted and went past his previous highest List A score of 46 with a cut for four off Ryan ten Doeschate. He reached his half-century from 62 balls with a push through midwicket off Matt Quinn.Soon after, Allenby reached a 40-ball fifty when a single into the offside off ten Doeschate also brought up the century partnership in 15.4 overs. Later, he chipped Napier over Dan Lawrence’s head on the midwicket boundary for six as Somerset piled on the runs.Allenby fell on 68 when Bopara ran round at cow corner to take the catch sprawling on the ground 10 yards inside the boundary. The captain had batted, in all, for 52 balls and hit five fours and two sixes. Hose departed five runs later when he clipped Napier to Nick Browne at deep midwicket.James Hildreth had almost perished the ball before when Quinn dropped him at long-on. But Napier claimed a second wicket in the over when he bowled Hildreth before Bopara had Lewis Gregory chasing a wide delivery to be caught behind.Somerset lost six wickets while adding 22 late runs with Bopara mopping up with two in the final over for personal figures of 3 for 49. Jesse Ryder took a fine running catch on the midwicket boundary to dismiss Jamie Overton and substitute fielder Callum Taylor accounted for the other Overton, Craig, off a skier.Essex’s reply got off to a terrible start when Browne scooped the ball straight back into Groenewald’s hands in the first over.The South African then claimed wickets in each of his next two overs, having Ryder caught at second slip by Allenby and Tom Westley spooning a catch to Jamie Overton at mid-on.In the next over Lewis Gregory gained lbw decisions against Lawrence and ten Doeschate in successive balls to reduce Essex to 36 for 5.Bopara and Ashar Zaidi doubled the score in eight overs without ever being in control, before Zaidi was caught behind at the second attempt by Alex Barrow. Bopara didn’t last much longer, holing out tamely to Gregory at mid-on for 19.Foster, however, served notice of his fighting spirit when he lofted Jamie Overton over midwicket for successive sixes before reaching a 33-ball fifty. Napier had helped Foster put on 48 for the eighth wicket in 5.3 overs before misjudging a ball from Gregory to Craig Overton at mid-on.Masters gave Gregory his fourth wicket by squirting a catch to silly mid-on, but it did nothing to dampen Foster’s late pyrotechnics.

Vernon Philander is being prepped for a Test return after being named in South Africa’s A side to play four-day games in Zimbabwe and Australia ahead of a packed summer schedule. Philander only played three first-class games in the 2015-16 domestic season after tearing ankle ligaments before South Africa’s second Test against India in Bangalore in November last year. He has not been picked in the ODI squad and has not had any game time over the winter after failing to secure a County deal but remains in South Africa’s long-format plans.Philander is part of a 15-member squad for the Zimbabwe series – captained by new Test opener Stephen Cook, who made his debut in last summer’s final fixture – that also includes offspinner Dane Piedt, while the contingent for the Australia series includes Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma, as South Africa prepare for 11 Tests in the 2016-17 summer, which includes a three-match tour of Australia.”A number of the Test squad regulars, who are not involved in the current tri-series in the Caribbean, have been included in the four-day squads at the request of national coach, Russell Domingo. This will give them quality match practice ahead of the two-match series against New Zealand in August,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors, said. “Vernon Philander, in particular, has not had a lot of cricket, following his long-term injury lay-off.”Despite the endorsement from the administrators, Philander’s comeback is not guaranteed. He will have to fight for a place in a pack that includes Dale Steyn – who has also not played Test cricket since December and has not been included in the A squads – Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott. South Africa are also looking at developing a second tier that includes Hardus Viljoen and Andile Phelukwayo.Test discards Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Vilas have also been included in the four-day squads, keeping their hopes of pushing for places alive. There are four new additions to the four-day squad: all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius and three bowlers – Sisanda Magala, Malusi Siboto and Duanne Olivier.After the four-day matches, South Africa A will feature in an annual fifty-over tri-series against the A teams from Australia and India. Wayne Parnell will captain the side to further underline his place in South Africa’s future. Parnell is currently with the ODI side in the Caribbean, making his comeback after a season on the sidelines. “Wayne Parnell gets the opportunity to develop his leadership skills in the one-day format. He was an outstanding captain of our national under-19 side and took them to the final of the under-19 World Cup in 2008,” Zondi said.The one-day side includes David Miller, who was dropped for the West Indies tour, and Rilee Rossouw and Aaron Phangiso, who are part of the trip. There is also space for Eddie Leie, who has played T20 cricket for South Africa, and Khaya Zondo, who was part of the limited-overs squads that toured India in 2015 but did not play a game.Four-day Squad to Zimbabwe: Stephen Cook (capt), Qaasim Adams, Theunis de Bruyn, Heino Kuhn, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Dwaine Pretorius, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas, Hardus ViljoenFour-day Squad to Australia: Stephen Cook (capt), Qaasim Adams, Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas, Hardus ViljoenOne-day squad: Wayne Parnell (capt), Qaasim Adams, Marchant de Lange, Reeza Hendricks, Heino Kuhn, Eddie Leie, Sisanda Magala, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Malusi Siboto, Khaya Zondo, David Miller, Dane Vilas