All posts by h716a5.icu

Women’s cricket has taken big strides towards a fully professional setup in the past few months and Surrey have got on board by appointing a director of women’s cricket for the first time.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2014Women’s cricket has taken big strides towards a fully professional setup in the past few months and Surrey have got on board by appointing a director of women’s cricket for the first time.The former England and Surrey allrounder Ebony Rainford-Brent is returning to The Oval to take up the role, advising on all women’s cricket at the club and working with the Surrey cricket board on the development of the women’s game.The appointment is being funded by a standalone sponsorship deal with law firm Pemberton Greenish – who will also sponsor a new annual London Cup: a T20 between Surrey and Middlesex.”I want to make sure that Surrey is seen as one of the world’s leading domestic clubs when it comes to the development of women’s cricket at all levels,” Rainford-Brent, a former Women’s Ashes and Women’s World Cup winner, said.”With Surrey Academy graduate Natalie Sciver already an integral part of the England Women’s side and a number of young players on international pathway programmes, the future of Surrey Women’s Cricket is bright and I look forward to working hard to make it even brighter.”Surrey chairman Richard Thompson added: “It gives me great pride that Surrey are now able to appoint a director of women’s cricket and it is only appropriate that someone such as Ebony – who has been involved at the club since she was a teenager – should fulfil that role.”Over the past 169 years, many men have taken honour in describing themselves as Surrey cricketers. In the 21st Century and beyond, I look forward to many great female cricketers joining them as they create their own place in our club’s fantastic history.”Earlier this year, England’s Women signed full-time central contracts for the first time an a standalone sponsorship deal was secured with Kia Motors.

Michael Clarke’s hopes of leading Australia in the Adelaide Test will depend on how his hamstring holds up at training over the next few days

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2014Michael Clarke’s hopes of leading Australia in the Adelaide Test will depend on how his hamstring holds up at training over the next few days. Clarke ran at the SCG on Friday and was due to fly to Adelaide later in the afternoon to join his team-mates, who had their first group training session since they farewelled Phillip Hughes at a funeral in Macksville on Wednesday.Clarke had delivered an emotional tribute to Hughes at the funeral and spent many days with the Hughes family both at St Vincent’s Hospital while Hughes was in an induced coma, and in Macksville after he died. He would dearly love to lead the Australians out in their first Test of the summer on Tuesday, but it remains to be seen whether his hamstring will be up to the task.A fortnight ago it appeared that Clarke was certain to be ruled out of the Gabba Test due to his injury, and while the reworked schedule has given him an extra five days before the first Test of the season, he has been unable to do most of his recovery work in that time. Shaun Marsh was added to Australia’s Test squad on Thursday and coach Darren Lehmann said Clarke’s availability would depend on the next few days.”As long as he’s fine to do the running and can bat [he’ll play],” Lehmann told reporters in Adelaide on Friday. “He flies in this afternoon. We’ll get him batting tomorrow and see how he goes. It’ll be case of if he’s fine, he’ll play. We’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll be guided by medical staff, the captain himself, selectors. We’ll get together and assess what the plan is tomorrow.”Clarke referred to Hughes as his “little brother” and the two men were very close friends; the captain’s emotions were evident as he choked back tears while delivering his tribute on Wednesday. However, Lehmann said he was confident that Clarke would be mentally ready to lead the side against India on Tuesday, if he was passed fit.”He’s pretty mentally strong, as you saw throughout the week,” Lehmann said. “He held himself together really well and led the team really well.”Since returning from the series against Pakistan in the UAE in early November, Clarke has played only one match – the one-day international against South Africa in Perth in which he reinjured his hamstring. Should he be ruled out of the Adelaide Test, vice-captain Brad Haddin will lead the side.

Morne Morkel said that if South Africa batted quickly on the final morning, it would be difficult for West Indies to survive 50-60 overs

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth29-Dec-2014″Hey Morkel… Keep going round the wicket.”Marlon Samuels cut short his post-day press conference to offer South Africa’s fast bowler some advice and send a room already giggling from his earlier utterances into yet another gurgling gaggle.Samuels had greeted the room by incorrectly correcting West Indies media manager Philip Spooner, who introduced him as having scored his sixth Test century. “It’s eight,” Samuels insisted. It is in fact six but nobody dared tell Samuels that.Then, the Jamaican dismissed the threat not just of Imran Tahir – who he had every right to disregard having hit him for 61 runs off 61 balls – but of all other spinners too. “I don’t think any spinner can bowl to me and dictate terms,” Samuels said. Nobody argued.Neither will Morne Morkel after Samuels’ quip, because the angle has worked for the fast bowler in this match. Attempting to break the partnership that seemed to stand between South Africa and success, Morkel peppered both Samuels and Kraigg Brathwaite with short balls from round the wicket, hitting the former on the side of his head and having the latter fending deliveries off his ribs.”When conditions are like today, it’s important to use aggression,” Morkel said. “It’s quite hard to duck on this wicket and it would have been boring if I’d kept going coming over the wicket and bowling outside off stump. We needed to get something going. I knew that if I went round the wicket and could get something going, it would fire Dale (Steyn) up, it would fire Vernon (Philander) up.”It also seemed to fire up Tahir. The legspinner, rendered ineffective by conditions, had been barely able to keep his end quiet but after Samuels and Brathwaite were removed, he struck twice in three balls to breathe life into his own performance and South Africa’s. Tahir’s two wickets and three others which fell in the space of 26 minutes have given South Africa reason to believe they can wrap up the series on the final day, even though they will need to take 11 wickets and score quickly to do so.”Things can happen very quickly,” Morkel said. “If we bat quickly – and we have guys like AB (de Villiers) who can score runs quickly – and we have enough overs, we can still win. It’s never nice to have to survive 50 or 60 overs.”Especially when a significant number of them will be bowled by Steyn, who remains wicketless in the first innings. “You know Dale Steyn,” Morkel said. So do West Indies. After Steyn failed to make any incisions in the first innings in Centurion, he claimed six in quick time in the second. Morkel believed Steyn could do the same with the new ball, which South Africa will have available after an over on the final morning and in the second innings.But Samuels felt that the least West Indies can do is survive following a vastly improved performance from the first Test, despite several missed chances on the first day. “If we had taken those chances, it would have been a totally different game but this is the Test match we are looking to play against a No.1 team,” Samuels said. “If there wasn’t any rain, I think we would put up a very good challenge against the No. 1 team.”He also had a warning for South Africa that the man they have been able to remove without much trouble so far could end up causing them plenty in the rest of the series. “When a guy like (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul don’t get any runs in two games, look out for him in the third game.” Or maybe even the second innings.

Yuvraj Singh will again play for MCC after being named as the final player in the squad for the Emirates T20 tournament in Dubai during March

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2015Yuvraj Singh will again play for MCC after being named as the final player in the squad for the Emirates T20 tournament in Dubai during March.He turned out for MCC last year in their bicentenary fixture against Rest of the World at Lord’s and scored 132 off 134 balls.Yuvraj joins a squad that includes England Test captain Alastair Cook and former international openers Nick Compton and Michael Carberry. He will also appear alongside Nepal’s captain Paras Khadka who is part of the T20 event.The T20 tournament features Lancashire, Yorkshire and Sussex along with MCC with the three matches taking place on March 20.”There are some great players in the squad so we stand a good chance of winning the competition,” Yuvraj said. “I’ve got fond memories of playing against MCC in the Lord’s bicentenary match last year and I’m delighted to be involved with the club again.”

The BCCI’s sidelined president N Srinivasan will not be able to contest the election to any position in the board’s annual general meeting, scheduled to take place in Chennai on March 2

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-20152:28

Ugra: Srinivasan defied court orders as much as he could

The BCCI’s sidelined president N Srinivasan will not be able to contest the election to any position in the board’s annual general meeting, scheduled to take place in Chennai on March 2. Srinivasan’s solitary role in the AGM – twice deferred already and being held on the orders of India’s Supreme Court – will be as that of a nominee of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association sent in to cast the association’s vote in the case of an election.On Friday, Srinivasan, through his counsel Kapil Sibal, tendered an “unconditional apology” to the court for having chaired the BCCI’s working committee meeting on February 8. The court called his action of chairing the meeting “a breach of the spirit” of its order, under which no one with a conflict of interest can have an administrative role in the BCCI.Other than voting in the BCCI elections, Srinivasan can take no part in the AGM; the TNCA will have to either recommend an alternate representative or absent itself from the meeting. An attempt by the CAB counsel Nalini Chidambaram to shift the venue of the elections from Chennai to Mumbai was dismissed by the bench.Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL corruption case, had questioned Srinivasan’s presence at the working committee meeting and, after issuing a legal notice to the BCCI and Srinivasan, filed a contempt petition to the Supreme Court.The court had taken a strong objection to Srinivasan chairing the working committee meeting on Monday as it responded to the contempt of court plea filed by the CAB challenging the sidelined BCCI president’s participation. Sibal requested the court to not issue a contempt notice, saying he would get a response from his client.On Friday, Sibal started proceedings by arguing that the court’s judgement did not bar Srinivasan from presiding over any of the board’s meetings, and that it had only not permitted him to stand for a second term as president. Both the court as well as Chidambaram argued against that contention.Sibal eventually admitted that Srinivasan was under the impression that he should follow the letter, and that he should have also followed the spirit of the judgement. He then issued an unconditional apology for presiding over any of the board’s meetings in the past, which the court accepted.Chidambaram then pointed out that the CAB contempt plea also challenged Srinivasan’s participation in the working committee meeting. She explained the court’s judgement had specifically made it clear that any administrator with a conflict of interest could not hold a position in the board. Since that applies to all past and present presidents of the BCCI’s member associations, including the TNCA, Srinivasan will be barred from attending any of the BCCI meetings, including the AGM next week.Sibal responded by drawing a distinction between Srinivasan as the TNCA president and Srinivasan as a nominee of the TNCA at the AGM. The court said that it was fine as long as Srinivasan was present at the AGM as a nominee of the TNCA for the sole purpose of casting his vote. The court also made it explicitly clear that Srinivasan could not preside over any of the board meetings in the future. Srinivasan will also have no say on any of the other decisions at the AGM, for which purpose the TNCA would need to send another representative.

Harbhajan Singh’s manic 64 from 24 thrilled the Wankhede in Mumbai Indians’ first home game this season. But the losses sustained early in their innings ensured the hosts would still fall 18 runs short of the 177 set by a George Bailey-propelled Kings XI

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Apr-2015 by 18 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHarbhajan Singh struck the fastest fifty by a Mumbai Indians batsman•BCCIHarbhajan Singh’s manic 64 from 24 thrilled the Wankhede in Mumbai Indians’ first home game this season. But the losses sustained early in their innings ensured the hosts would still fall 18 runs short of the 177 set by a George Bailey-propelled Kings XI Punjab. Bailey clobbered 61 from 32 before his team’s quicks combined to ravage the Mumbai’s top order.Seventh-wicket pair Harbhajan and J Suchith would plunder 100 runs from 37 balls to take the sheen off Sandeep Sharma, Anureet Singh, and Mitchell Johnson’s figures. But those three, with help from Axar Patel’s left-arm spin, had Mumbai effectively derailed, at 46 for 5 after 12 overs.The chase began to falter almost as soon as it began, when Sandeep swung one viciously in to hit Rohit Sharma’s pads second ball. The Kings XI quicks were not only disciplined enough to shackle the hosts’ top order, they made effective use of the movement which persisted through the early overs. Aditya Tare was cramped by one that jagged in from Anureet, and could only present a catch to cover. Soon after, Aaron Finch attempted a big blow across the line and saw Johnson peg his off stump back with one that seamed slightly away.When Corey Anderson was stumped for a pained 5, off Axar in the eighth over, Mumbai slipped to 25 for 4, and were forced into the period of reticence that made even the batting mayhem to come ultimately futile.Harbhajan and Suchith would reap 15 runs or more from five consecutive overs, but even through that kind of murderous hitting, a Mumbai victory seemed far off, as the required rate hovered around 20. Anureet was launched for three consecutive sixes in the 17th over by Harbhajan, but he would return to dismiss his tormentor with the penultimate ball of the match.With Kings XI well-placed when Bailey arrived in the 11th over, he picked his way prudently through the middle overs, before embracing violence. After seeing out the impressive Harbhajan, Bailey played his first forceful shot in the 15th over, when he flat-batted a Kieron Pollard length ball down the ground. He then muscled Lasith Malinga over the square leg ropes to hit the first of his three leg-side sixes.Having been 17 off his first 13 balls, Bailey struck 44 off his next 19 deliveries. That Kings XI didn’t breach 180 was largely due to the relative lethargy in the innings played by the rest of the middle order. Between them, David Miller, Rishi Dhawan and Johnson hit only 33 off 36 in the back-end of the innings. Harbhajan and Malinga had, however, hit their lengths much better than they had done in the tournament opener.Earlier, Virender Sehwag had let fly with a vintage salvo, which was dynamic despite its relative brevity. The wallop over the covers off Pawan Suyal in the second over roused memories of his heyday, as did consecutive leaden-footed strikes to the square fence on either side of the pitch off Vinay Kumar, next over. He whipped Malinga to the boundary for successive fours as well, but in the end was felled by Harbhajan, who was himself providing a performance that harked back to yesteryear. Sehwag’s 36 off 19 was the guts of the foundation that allowed Bailey time to settle at the crease, later in the innings. Harbhajan ended with figures of 2 for 20, which clearly bred confidence in his batting as well.

Though India, on current form, are superior in every aspect, their brand of cricket and their frailties are not unfamiliar to Bangladesh

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria18-Mar-2015Match factsThursday, March 19, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0330 GMT)4:49

Chappell: Mashrafe has challenged the team to improve

Big pictureAt the start of the World Cup, defending champions India would have accepted gleefully the position they find themselves in – a quarter-final against Bangladesh, the lowest-ranked of the remaining eight teams, a side with medium-pacers and spinners that India’s batsmen have found relatively easy to bully, a team without big-match experience, and a team with vulnerabilities outside the subcontinent. Ironically, Bangladesh would probably have accepted their position too.Though India, on current form, are superior in every aspect, their brand of cricket and their frailties are not unfamiliar to Bangladesh. It isn’t South Africa, who are going to blow them away with extreme pace and bounce, or with muscular hitting. India’s batsmen are better at what Bangladesh aim for – timing, using the pace of the ball, and wristwork – and India execute better in the field with a similar bowling formation to Bangladesh. There is no doubt about who the favourites are – Bangladesh admitted as much – but it allows them to plan more intuitively.When the ICC fixed the knockout schedule, Bangladesh were not mentioned. The MCG was to host the England quarter-final, and if they didn’t make it the team that did in their place would play at Australia’s largest ground. Bangladesh grabbed that spot with verve, handing England their return tickets after a clinical finish in Adelaide. They even came close to finishing third in their group. With the batsmen scoring consistently and all the bowlers contributing, Bangladesh are deservedly in the last eight.What could help Bangladesh is India going off the boil, but that hasn’t happened yet in this tournament. In a complete turnaround from their first two months in Australia, India have found the aura defending champions ought to bring. Barring one or two players, everyone has contributed to the resurgence. The quarter-final appears to be their smallest bump on the road ahead, but one uncontrolled approach is all it takes.Form guide(last five matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW
Bangladesh LWWLWMahmudullah has scored more runs in this World Cup than any Indian batsman•Getty ImagesIn the spotlightBangladesh’s fielders struggled with the size of the MCG playing area against Sri Lanka, their first game at the ground. They dropped catches and they grappled with field placements. It was not a surprise that during practice for the quarter-final, fielders were made to charge in from the edge of the boundary to take catches, fire throws and understand the unique dimensions of the venue. Bangladesh’s bowling coach Heath Streak also tested umpire Aleem Dar’s catching with three hits. All were taken, drawing applause from the players, who knew it was an important skill to judge catches in the outfield where only rarely is one able to see the ball against a disturbance-free background. One mistake on Thursday and it could mean the end of a dream for a generation of cricketers.India’s pace bowling in this tournament has been such a revelation that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was considered integral to their chances, cannot find a place in the XI. In the last two games, however, there were periods when they struggled against the Ireland and Zimbabwe batsmen. The switch to New Zealand conditions could have been one reason, but it could also have been a sign of increasing weariness. India will hope that a return to Australia will help Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma maintain the intensity.Teams newsMashrafe Mortaza missed Bangladesh’s last group game against New Zealand, but will be back to lead the side. That would leave Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam and Nasir Hossain fighting for the remaining spot. Nasir, who picked up two wickets against New Zealand, could be the favourite because he would strengthen the batting.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Arafat Sunny/Nasir Hossain, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Taskin AhmedIndia talked about a sense of calm ahead of the big match. They are highly unlikely to disturb that with any alteration in the team, barring injury.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh YadavPitch and conditionsThe pitch for the quarter-final is the same one that was used in the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Group A game. It’s expected to be flat and full of runs. However, teams would keep an eye on the weather as some showers are forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening.Stats and trivia Bangladesh are playing their first knockout match in a top-flight ICC tournament. India, on the other hand, are playing their 10th under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. Dhoni, with eight wins from nine matches (Champions Trophy, World T20 and World Cup) is level with Ricky Ponting, whose eight wins have come from 11 games. Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has scored 344 runs from five games in this World Cup, more than anyone from India. Five of Bangladesh’s top 10 aggregates for batsmen in a World Cup have come in this tournament. None of the India batsmen in this squad has scored a century in an ICC tournament knockout game. This is Bangladesh’s 300th ODI. They played India in their 100th (2004) and 150th ODI (2007), winning both games.Quotes”I wanted to congratulate Bangladesh for qualifying for the quarter-final. It’s good to see India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – all four subcontinent teams – in the quarter-final. Earlier people were saying that we don’t have allrounders for conditions, so it’s good to see the teams from subcontinent through.”
“2007 won’t help; 2011, when we lost, that doesn’t help either. In short-form cricket, what is important is how you do on the day.”

Bangladesh are unlikely to tinker with their playing XI for the third and final ODI against Pakistan as they have a keen eye on the ICC ODI rankings

Mohammad Isam21-Apr-2015With one eye on the ICC ODI rankings, Bangladesh spin bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage hinted that they are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination for the third and final ODI against Pakistan. He also stressed that gaining automatic qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup were their short and long-term targets.”It is important for us to better our one-day ranking,” Kalpage said. “So this is not the time to do experiments. We are always looking forward to the ranking. I think the game tomorrow is really important for Bangladesh and it is important for the team to win every game at the moment.”That way we can only come up in one-day ranking. I think it is a good opportunity and if we have this winning combination going, it is good for the future of the Bangladesh one-day team.”Currently ninth in the table, Bangladesh gained three rating points after taking a 2-0 lead in the series and will reach 81 points if they can make it 3-0. After a meeting in November last year, the ICC confirmed that the top eight sides on the team rankings on September 30 in 2015 will qualify for Champions Trophy in England in 2017.The cut-off date for the 2019 World Cup – also in England – is set for 30 September in 2017. The top-eight ranked sides at the time will automatically qualify to the ten-team tournament, while the ninth and 10th ranked ones will play in a qualifying tournament to be held in Bangladesh in 2018.Bangladesh are scheduled to play an ODI series against India and South Africa at home after the current ODI series against Pakistan but ahead of the September 30 cut-off for the Champions Trophy.However, if Bangladesh decide to make changes, they would have to pick from – Mominul Haque, Abul Hasan and the uncapped opening batsman Rony Talukdar. Abul was tried in the first ODI but he couldn’t find a wicket in five overs, and was benched once captain Mashrafe Mortaza served out his one-match suspension. Unless there’s an injury concern in the top-order, Mominul and Rony are doubtful starters.Kalpage feels that the current line-up is well balanced, particularly with Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain bowling regularly and also hopes that Sabbir Rahman will bolster this allrounders’ list in the T20Is.”When picking a team you have to make sure it is balanced and the captain has more options. In the last match, other than [Arafat] Sunny and Shakib [Al Hasan], none of them bowled ten overs.”As a team we have done really well so when the captain has options, it is good for the team. Shakib and Nasir [Hossain] playing as batsman who can also bowl well, it is really good for the team. We are hoping to get Sabbir [Rahman] also to bowl to power the T20 team so then we will have three good batsmen who can also bowl well setting a good balance,” Kalpage added.

Sri Lanka Cricket has awarded local terrestrial broadcast rights for the next three years to the state-owned Rupavahini Corporation, declining a substantially higher bid from Carlton Sports Network

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jun-2015Sri Lanka Cricket has awarded local terrestrial broadcast rights for the next three years to the state-owned Rupavahini Corporation, declining a substantially higher bid from Carlton Sports Network (CSN). The board said it had evaluated the overall strength of the bids, and found Rupavahini to be a more reliable option.”We looked at the finances and the long-term implications when we evaluated both bids,” an SLC official said. “We felt that it was safer for us to go with Rupavahini, in view of capability and coverage.”The board’s primary concern had been whether CSN could afford to pay the figure it had bid for the rights. SLC is understood to have requested an unconditional bank guarantee from CSN, but was not satisfied with the documents the television network produced to prove its solvency. CSN has recently been under investigation for financial fraud for an alleged figure of four billion rupees (approx. US$30 million). Former SLC secretary and ex-CSN CEO Nishantha Ranatunga was questioned in April as part of the investigation.CSN’s bid far outstripped the amount Rupavahini had originally offered, but Rupavahini is understood to have increased its bid during the process. However, even that amount was significantly lower than CSN’s bid.The tenure of the rights begins with the Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, which starts this month. CSN had been the previous holder of these rights.

Zafar Ansari and Tom Curran underlined their potential as two of the best young bowlers in English cricket by completing career-best figures to send Gloucestershire plunging to an innings and 180-run defeat against Surrey at a sun-baked Kia Oval

ECB/PA29-Jun-2015
ScorecardTom Curran took a career-best 7 for 20 in Gloucestershire’s first innings•PA PhotosZafar Ansari and Tom Curran underlined their potential as two of the best young bowlers in English cricket by completing career-best figures to send Gloucestershire plunging to an innings and 180-run defeat against Surrey at a sun-baked Kia Oval.Ansari, 23, took 6 for 30 from 21.2 second-innings overs with his left-arm spin after 20-year-old seamer Curran had earlier picked up 7 for 20 as Gloucestershire were skittled for 113 and then 155 in the LV= County Championship Division Two game in reply to Surrey’s 448.Only Will Tavare, with 58, resisted for long as Surrey completed a 22-point victory inside three days, their fifth of the season, to strengthen their promotion ambitions and close on Division Two leaders Lancashire. It was, however, Gloucestershire’s fifth defeat this summer and they take just a solitary bonus point from a heavy beating.Gloucestershire were already in trouble on 102 for 7 at the start of day three, and Curran quickly added two more scalps to his five of Sunday’s second day to ensure that the follow-on would be applied with the minimum of fuss. Indeed, Gloucestershire’s first innings lasted just 10.3 more overs despite Hamish Marshall’s defiant 34 not out.Curran sent back both Craig Miles and Liam Norwell for ducks, caught at the wicket and bowled respectively, before Matt Dunn ended Gloucestershire’s first innings by bowling James Fuller for three and striking an early blow when they batted again by having Chris Dent leg-before for 8.Michael Klinger followed before lunch, caught low at short leg off Ansari for 12, and from 52 for 2 at the interval the Gloucestershire decline continued apace with Marshall this time falling for only 11 when he edged behind off Curran.It was Curran’s eighth wicket of the match, but soon it was Surrey’s two spinners, Ansari and Gareth Batty, doing most of the bowling in the warm sunshine. Ansari, in particular, was proving a difficult proposition on a pitch offering some turn, although it was his quicker arm ball that did a lot of the damage.First he had Ian Cockbain lbw for 17, after a spirited stand of 42 with Tavare, and then he pinned Benny Howell leg-before for 3, with both batsmen paying the penalty for going back to cut and being completely flummoxed by Ansari’s change of pace and variation.In between, Tavare’s excellent innings was also ended by Ansari, who turned a more flighted delivery to induce a snick to Jason Roy at slip. Tavare had faced 132 balls, hitting seven fours.At tea Gloucestershire were on the ropes at 122 for 6 and the final session began with Jack Taylor bounced out for one by James Burke, who saw a fiery short ball fended off into the hands of short leg.Curran then returned to end Geraint Jones’ resistance on 24, with Gloucestershire’s captain lobbing up a simple caught-and-bowled chance as he mis-hit an attempted pull.The end came soon afterwards with Ansari picking up the last two wickets as he had Miles caught for 10 and last man Fuller leg-before for nought aiming a flamboyant sweep.Curran finished with 2 for 37 in Gloucestershire’s second innings, for match figures of 9 for 57, and he now has 43 championship wickets this summer at an average of 25.93.Ansari’s fast-improving left-arm spin has brought him 28 wickets at 33.25 and confirmation that he should now be regarded as a genuine all-rounder at first-class level.