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ScorecardJoe Root played one of the most impressive innings of his fledgling career•Getty Images

Joe Root produced arguably the most substantial innings of his fledgling career to banish the pessimism that had fallen prematurely upon Yorkshire’s season and leave Durham contemplating the sort of defeat that Riverside folklore had deemed all but impossible. Root got out with the scores level, to a ball delivered by Callum Thorp off a few paces, but as he had 182 at the time and Yorkshire won by four wickets from the next ball, he will be forgiven that.History was entirely on Paul Collingwood’s side when he declared Durham’s second innings late on the third day and left Yorkshire needing 336 for victory. No opposing side has ever successfully chased a target of that magnitude in Chester-le-Street and this was April, with the trees still barely in leaf and the council mowers leaving ruts in the nearby parks.But Root, young of body but mature of brain, has already displayed a prodigious appetite for big challenges. Durham will rue two close calls that might well have turned the game as he neared his century. Had he been adjudged run out on 87, when Mark Stoneman struck direct from point, or given out caught off the glove by Paul Collingwood on 93, when he skittishly reverse-swept Will Smith, the story might have been very different.But it was not. Those blips apart, his certainty was striking. When Yorkshire secured the fourth-largest run chase in their history with 6.1 overs to spare – all of them achieved in the past eight years – Root was gingerly strapping off his pads, protecting a finger battered by Chris Rushworth during his six-hour stay, after guiding Yorkshire to a victory that few imagined was within their compass. An enterprising unbeaten half-century by Adil Rashid also played its part, allowing Root the liberty to play within himself after tea.Collingwood, Durham’s captain, was magnanimous in defeat. “We have seen an exceptional innings today by Rooty. I really think it’s so impressive how a young lad can play an innings like that. We threw everything at him and he came through it. He has a steady head and a superb technique. The rhythm of his innings, everything about it, was exceptional. I’ve got absolutely no qualms about the decisions. The run-out was probably too close to call and, as for the catch, I was appealing for lbw as well.”I still don’t know the pitch well enough and as a home captain I should do. This has taken me by surprise. In the past year we have bowled sides out for less than 150 repeatedly to win games on similar-looking pitches. Unfortunately this pitch just seemed to die in pace.”One of the enduring images of England’s winter is of Root blocking. He blocked in Nagpur and he blocked again in Auckland. Measure it in terms of sun block and his entire winter was factor 50. It was rarely pretty, but he fulfilled his protective role perfectly. On this occasion, he made do with factor 15 and let himself live a little.Sometimes you watched this mere slip of a lad committing every sinew to England’s cause in the winter and feared he might never play a shot again. Thrown into England’s ranks so young, his game was narrowed down into an obsessive battle for survival.Root placed the innings above his double century against Hampshire last season, a defensive innings between the showers to save a game. “I set out my stall at the beginning of the season to start to win matches for Yorkshire and I’m really pleased I managed to contribute,” he said. “England definitely stood me in good stead. I have definitely grown because of it. I just try and play the situation and if that means bat long, I try to bat long. The pitch was a lot deader than it was on the first couple of days.”Yorkshire lost three wickets by lunch. Chris Rushworth removed Adam Lyth and Phil Jaques – the latter to a fifth-ball duck – in the space of one over, and Andrew Gale has also perished, an attempted cut at Keaton Jennings which flew to Collingwood at slip.Then Jonny Bairstow’s love-hate relationship with the pull shot continued. It got him out twice in the match, Ben Stokes was the bowler second time round as Bairstow again tried to pull with control and picked out the finer of two catchers. But Root reached his hundred, only his fifth in first-class cricket, with an off-drive against Scott Borthwick and by tea the rate was down to 3.5 runs an over.Stokes, looking fit and fired up, found a bit of swing ahead of the second new ball to dismiss Gary Ballance, who was caught at the wicket with 102 needed. But Rashid played with attacking intent, so enabling Root to tick along and – almost – bat through to victory. When the second new ball came, Yorkshire’s target was down to 53 from 24 overs – and Root lashed Rushworth’s first delivery with it to the cover boundary. It was some statement; it was some innings.

Yorkshire have appointed Mark Arthur as the county’s new chief executive. He will take up his post at Headingley on May 7.Arthur has a background in cricket administration having worked for the Test and County Cricket Board (the forerunner to the ECB) before becoming chief executive at Nottinghamshire. He then moved across the Trent to take up the same role at Nottingham Forest football club. He spent 13 years at the City Ground before being sacked by the club’s new Kuwaiti owners in January.”I am delighted to be joining Yorkshire,” Arthur said. “It is an honour and a massive opportunity to be part of the biggest cricket club in the world, which boasts nearly 900 playing clubs and a vibrant development programme, which is the envy of world cricket.”I will do everything during my time at Headingley for the betterment of Yorkshire cricket. The hard work has been undertaken over the last few years to stabilise the club and now we have a great opportunity and a solid platform to take the club forward.”Arthur inherits a modern, recently-developed stadium and a team that won their place back in Davison One of the County Championship last season. He will take on the challenge of maintaining Headingley’s status as an international venue in an increasingly competitive market. Yorkshire decided not to bid for an Ashes Test in 2013 or 2015, deeming it too costly.”Mark’s appointment It is fantastic news for the club,” Colin Graves, Yorkshire chairman, added. “He has over 20 years’ experience at the highest level of sports administration, both in cricket and football. His experience and knowledge will be vital in taking the club forward in what will be an exciting period, both on and off the field.”

ScorecardA dominant bowling display from Sui Gas handed them an eight-wicket victory over Habib Bank Limited in the President’s Cup semi-final in Karachi. HBL were put into bat and lost wickets from the outset, reduced to 22 for 4 in the 10th over. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi led a temporary revival, until Afridi was ousted on 26. Bilawal Bhatti took the best figures in the innings with 3 for 31, and was ably supported by the other bowlers, who all took at least one wicket. Only Abdur Rehman matched Afridi’s score as HBL were bundled out for 111 in the 36th over.Sui Gas’s openers started well, putting up 70 for the first wicket. Mohammad Hafeez led the way, scoring a timely 62 off 70 balls to ensure he stuck around and rotated the strike accordingly. Fellow opener Taufeeq fell for 23, before Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal helped them romp home in the 24th over with an eight-victory win. They’ll contest the final on April 19.

The MCC is resigned to hosting a Special General Meeting (SGM) called by a group of disaffected members with the intention of forcing an independent enquiry into the decision to discontinue plans for redevelopment as outlined in ‘Vision for Lord’s’.The Reform Group is particularly unhappy at what it claims is the decision to reject an opportunity outlined in the Vision For Lord’s for residential development on an area of leasehold land that borders the Wellington Road side of Lord’s and houses the Nursery Pavilion.As thing stand, the MCC only have temporary planning permission for that area of Lord’s. It expires in November and the local council, Westminster, have previously indicated that a further renewal is “unlikely to be granted.” The Reform Group also alleges planning permission extends only to car parking and cricket-related activity so that many of the events in the pavilion, which is used for conferences and dinners on a daily basis, are in contravention of the user clause.At the time planning permission for the land was last renewed in 2008, Westminster City Council requested the MCC submit a long-term ‘master plan’ for Lord’s, rather than the MCC developing the ground in piecemeal fashion. It was from this request that the Vision for Lord’s was born.Ultimately, however, that particular plan was abandoned amid great acrimony. The Reform Group claims that the “reasons given for the cancellation were opaque, contradictory and confusing” and “led to the resignation from the MCC Committee of Sir John Major”, the former Prime Minister, who subsequently claimed that the club misrepresented his resignation and “traduced” his reputation.Major also claimed that the composition of the new ground working party was entirely biased in its opposition to the Vision. The MCC is understood to have so far spent around £3.75 million on the plans, which involved a public competition involving 12 international architects.The MCC have previously indicated that the economic downturn and a danger of overdeveloping an attractive part of the ground – the Vision would have comprised five tower blocks on the area currently housing the Nursery Pavilion – were contributory factors in the decision to abandon the plans. The Reform Group maintains that the MCC would not have carried the financial risk, that developers remained keen to pursue the plans and that various low-scale developments were also possible.While the group require only 180 members – about 1 per cent of the club’s overall membership – to call an SGM, they require a majority of the voting membership to pass a resolution. Members of the Reform Group include Nick Gandon who was previously director of the Cricket Foundation, the charity that set up and continues to oversee the Chance to Shine initiative which seeks to promote cricket in state schools.MCC SGMs are not particularly unusual; the last came in July 2012 and was staged to debate the club’s incorporation by Royal Charter. If the Reform Group gains the necessary level of support, the MCC will be obliged to call such a meeting within 90 days.The enabling development on the leasehold land was designed to release substantial funds – a figure of £100 million was touted – to be safeguard the future of the club and to be reinvested into improving cricket facilities, members’ facilities and spectator facilities at Lord’s as well as enabling the club to increase revenue through much increased capacity.The MCC insist that all development options remain “on the table.” A spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that “the redevelopment of the ground remains one of the top priorities” of the club’s executive and pointed out that the new chief executive, Derek Brewer, had only been in position for 10 months. In that period, he has also had to contend with Lord’s hosting the Olympic archery events. The spokesman also pointed out that members would be updated on the development plans at the club’s annual general meeting on May 1 and reiterated the stance that it remained quite possible that the leasehold land would play a part in that.But the MCC Reform Group insists that members have waited patiently for news of the redevelopment plans and several deadlines have passed without an update. The last straw for them came after the MCC produced a Strategic Plan for the next decade at the end of February which contained little detail and no reference to development of the leasehold land.It is worth noting that, at the club’s last AGM in May, a committee resolution to preclude any residential development on the leasehold land at the Nursery End of the ground was withdrawn after opposition from members. Quite why such a resolution was proposed remains unclear.

Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jnr has returned to the Bangladesh Test squad after more than three years following his selection in the 15-man squad to tour Sri Lanka next month. Seamer Robiul Islam and batsman Jahurul Islam have also been recalled, while Mominul Haque has made it to the Test squad for the first time.The major name that is missing is Shakib Al Hasan, out injured and about to undergo surgery to correct a shin injury. Elias Sunny was not included while Junaid Siddique and Nazimuddin were not in the 25-man preliminary squad, which was announced on February 18.Enamul and Mominul have been taken to replace Shakib, according to chief selector Akram Khan who opted for prior international experience when replacing the allrounder.Enamul has taken 105 first-class wickets in the last two seasons, the highest in the National Cricket League this season. His last Test appearance was in a Bangladesh win, and where he took six wickets. But he made way for a three-man pace attack against India thereafter, though he was in the Test squad, and indifferent ODI form had him excluded for the next three years. This time he was picked ahead of Mosharraf Hossain and Saqlain Sajib, left-arm spinners who have also done well this season.In the case of Mominul, it was his recent ODI experience against West Indies which won him a place for a possible middle-order spot. He pushed aside Marshall Ayub, the season’s most prolific batsman in first-class cricket, Akram saying it was a “50-50 call”.”This was a tough selection, because we had to pick two players to replace Shakib,” Akram said. “Enamul won the left-arm spinner’s position ahead of Mosharraf Hossain and Saqlain Sajib. He is in form and has Test experience. Mominul was also a tough call but we need a left-hander in the middle order, so Marshall Ayub, despite his two double-hundreds, misses out.””I have spoken to Marshall on the phone, told him why he wasn’t taken this time. But the door is still open for him, he should continue to perform as he has been. It is unfortunate that we had to leave him out.”Jahurul returns to the squad after playing three Tests in 2010, but he has played ODI cricket recently. Both he and Robiul have been kept as additional options, although the former has a good chance for a place in the top order, said Akram. “He [Jahurul] could be one of the top three with Tamim [Iqbal] and [Shahriar] Nafees.”Robiul has trained in the National Cricket Academy during the BPL and he has played in the BCL. But we are not sure about Shafiul Islam, and in general we are facing a challenge to form a pace attack,” he said.The two-Test series in Sri Lanka will be Mushfiqur Rahim’s first away Tests as captain after he took over in October, 2011. He will lead the middle order, which will include Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain while it is now likely that Anamul and Jahurul will battle for the position of the other opener with Tamim Iqbal. Shahriar Nafees’ BPL performance saved him a place in the squad after an indifferent showing in the Tests against West Indies.Offspinner Sohag Gazi is also going to be a part of the first overseas Test series, and will be an automatic choice after an impressive start to his career late last year, but the pace attack will have to be assembled in Sri Lanka as only Rubel Hossain looks like a first-choice.Bangladesh will begin the series with a three-day match against Sri Lanka Development Emerging Team at Matara from March 3 to 5, before the Test series, which begins in Galle on March 8. The second Test will be played in Colombo from March 16.Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Mahmudullah (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Anamul Haque, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Sohag Gazi, Abul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Enamul Haque, Jahurul Islam, Mominul Haque, Shahadat Hossain, Robiul Islam.

Suresh Raina, whose unbeaten 89 in the fourth ODI against England in Mohali sealed a series win for India, has admitted that he would like the opportunity to bat further up the order. Raina has spent the majority of his 158-match ODI career coming in at Nos. 5 or 6, and it was from a position of three wickets down that he scored his 27th half-century on Wednesday.”Definitely, I would like to bat higher up the order,” he said, ahead of the fifth ODI. “If I am given a chance, I would like to give 100% as it will also give me an opportunity to play more overs. I have enjoyed batting at five, six, seven, where you need to bat till the finish.”Yuvraj Singh has occupied the No. 4 spot for India in recent years, although Raina has an impressive record batting there – albeit in just nine innings – averaging 58.85, with four fifties and his best ODI score of 116 not out. Raina has, however, been in good form in his current slot in the line-up, scoring half-centuries in each of his three innings against England so far to make him the leading run-scorer on either side.Raina, 26, also said he hoped being able to bat for longer periods and building an innings would aid his chances of returning to the Test team. Raina’s average from 17 Tests is just 28.44 and he has made six single-figure scores – including three ducks – in his last eight innings. After a year out of the side, he played in India’s two Tests against New Zealand in August, scoring 3, 55 and 0 before being dropped in favour of the returning Yuvraj. “If you talk about my Test performance, I scored a fifty in one of my last three innings,” he said. “I believe that I can make a comeback in Tests.”An impressive performance in the Irani Cup – a one-off Indian first-class match featuring the Ranji Trophy winners and a Rest of India side – which will begin on February 6, could push him back into the selectors’ thoughts ahead of the arrival of Australia later in the month. But Raina was keen not to look too far ahead and hoped to help India secure another win over England in Dharamsala.”Yes, Irani Trophy will be very important, but at this point I want to focus on doing well in tomorrow’s match,” Raina said. “Although, we have won the series, it would be nice if we can finish with a 4-1 margin.”Preventing that from happening is the priority for the tourists and Joe Root, a rare recent success story for England’s one-day team in India, said the players were pulling in the same direction and eager to finish on a high. “We’re obviously very disappointed as a team with the way the series has gone,” he said. “It has been nice for me to score some runs and put in a few performances, but it always feels better when you’re winning.”

Scorecard File photo: Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson put on a 108-run stand for the third wicket•AFP

The New Zealanders could not have asked for a more hospitable welcome as the one they got in the Winelands to begin their Test preparation. Temperatures hovered around the upper 20 degrees at Boland Park and the South African Invitation XI provided a tame attack to help the tourists get their eyes in ahead of the two-Test series starting next week.Their top four batsman all had time at the crease, with the pair of whom most is expected of – Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum – cashing in. They put on 108 for the third wicket with both making half-centuries.Peter Fulton, who was testing out his knee injury as much as his batting, and Martin Guptill started well against the unusual action of Gino Vries. The 25-year-old from the Free State has a double hop and jump at the start of his run-up but that did not distract the opening pair, who also enjoyed the pace of under-19 bowler Travis Muller. Guptill’s drives to long-on and Fulton’s controlled pull shots were the highlights of their pairing.They looked to be having a productive morning, having reached drinks on 78 without loss. But Fulton appeared to lose concentration when he lobbed the ball to the cover fielder to depart for 39. Guptill was joined by Kane Williamson, fresh from the century he scored against South Africa in Wellington. His got off the mark with an authoritative pull.Instead of building a stand, Guptill looked in a hurry to bring up his half-century and carelessly played the ball to short midwicket off local lad Petrus Jeftha. Colin Ackermann split the chance. In Jeftha’s next over, Guptill tried the same thing and Ackermann held on.Williamson and McCullum played like men taking part in a practice match. They gave themselves time to get used to conditions before showing off some of their trademark shots. Williamson’s high-elbowed drive was the treat of the middle session while McCullum scored the only six of the innings, a slog sweep off Siya Simetu.The invitation side’s bowlers lacked impetus as the tea break approached and runs were freely available. But after the interval, offspinner Colin Ackermann claimed New Zealand’s marquee pair to ignite the contest. Williamson offered a catch off the bottom of his glove, which Bradley Barnes accepted.Flynn’s 34 balls were the least faced by any of the visiting batsmen. He was fairly aggressive in approach and caught at midwicket. In Ackermann’s next over, McCullum was given lbw, hit in front of middle and leg.BJ Watling and James Franklin batted untroubled as the shadows grew longer. Both seemed certain to bring up half-centuries but it is a milestone only Watling could celebrate up on the second day. Franklin was bowled by a full delivery from occasional bowler Matthew Kleinveldt (cousin of Rory, and primarily a batsman). It is also possible that the New Zealanders will declare overnight as Franklin and Watling were their last recognised batting pair — they would want to give their bowlers a first run on a South African strip rather than have the tail spend too much time in the middle.

The players’ auction of the Bangladesh Premier League has been shifted to December 20 while the tournament’s second edition is set to begin on January 18, with the opening ceremony to be held the previous day. It had been earlier announced that the auction would be held on December 9. But since that co-incided with the home series against West Indies, the date had to be shifted.”We will hold the opening ceremony on January 17 and start the tournament on January 18,” Ismail Haider Mallik, the new BPL secretary, said. “The players’ auction will take place on December 20 while a new franchise will be finalised tomorrow. We will bring on board Rangpur as the seventh franchisee.”The announcement was made at a press conference; it was also an occasion to introduce the new faces in the BPL governing council. Afzalur Rahman Sinha is the new BPL chairman (replacing Gazi Ashraf Hossain) while Mallik has been made secretary (in place of Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir) after the previous directors’ body of the BCB dissolved in late November and was replaced by an ad-hoc committee soon after, which included both Sinha and Mallik.But the new BPL committee has had to tackle the same issues, chiefly pertaining to player payments as well as having a contract between the organisers and the six existing franchises.”We will have the agreements with the franchises completed before December 20. There will be a few instructions regarding players’ payment. For instance, 25% of the payment has to be made between the players’ auction and the start of the tournament.”Before the last match of the tournament, 25% should be paid and the rest of the money will be paid within six months of the end of the last match. These are just some of the technicalities that will be incorporated in the agreement,” said Mallik.The organisers, this time as well, have been defensive, taking the “too little time to prepare” line when it comes to solving disputes (like player payments, contract with franchises, etc) from the previous tournament. Sinha, the new chairman, believes that since the new governing council took over in late November, they haven’t had enough time to sort out all the disputes.”We have had very little time to solve the disputes. We are letting the ball roll as of now because we won’t get any other free slot to host the tournament. We will definitely solve the disputes with the franchises but as of now the tournament has to go on.”The disputes regarding the foreign players’ payment have been solved, we have heard a few disputes with the local players but we have been in the BCB for only a few days. We will definitely solve it in the coming days. Ten to twelve days’ time, that is not enough to host a league like the BPL.”Both Mallick and Sinha assured the payment will be made in time and that it will “go through the BCB” from the franchises this time. “The payment will be done through the BCB this time. Franchisees will pay us and we will pay the players.”We have given the franchises a time to make all remaining payments to the local players and they have agreed. We are very hopeful that they’ll give the entire payment,” Sinha said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kyle Abbott bowled a miserly last over to help Dolphins clinch a two-run win over Titans in Centurion. At the start of the last over, Titans needed seven runs with two wickets in hand, but Abbott gave away four singles to take Dolphins to their third win in the Momentum Cup.Chasing 265, Titans remained in the hunt mainly because of contributions from two batsmen – Henry Davids and David Wiese. Davids continued his productive run in the tournament with a controlled 76 off 102 balls and managed the chase even as wickets fell regularly at the other end. He was the sixth wicket to fall with 81 needed off 89 balls. That wicket gave the Dolphins bowlers a chance to pressurise the lower order with a few tight overs and with 46 needed off the last five, they had the upper hand. But Wiese hit the next over from Abbot for 21 runs to bring the chase back on track. He fell in the very next over though, and the Dolphins bowlers bowled two tight overs in the end to pull off the win.Dolphins were put into bat and were left reeling on 55 for 3 in the 16th over. But opener Divan van Wyk and Cody Chetty shared an 88-run stand, both scoring half-centuries in the process, before van Wyk fell to Rowan Richards in the 31st over. Late cameos by Robert Frylinck, who scored unbeaten 46 off 31 balls, and Abbott, 29 off 18, lifted Dolphins to 264.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Cape Cobras shot to second on the points table after a 37-run win over Warriors in Capetown. Cobras chose to bat and built up a solid base with a 99-run second-wicket stand between Richard Levi and Stiaan van Zyl. Levi, who hit 13 boundaries in his 83, fell in the 29th over, but van Zyl found another ally in Yaseen Vallie as the two put on 107 for the fourth wicket. Vallie, who scored 58 off 52 balls, was out in the 46th over and van Zyl, who scored 86, followed in the next over. But Justin Ontong took 19 runs off the last over bowled by Andrew Birch to help the Cobras finish strongly on 283.Warriors’ openers Jon Jon Smuts and Ashwell Prince gave their team an ideal start with a 93-run partnership. Smuts was the first one to fall, just after completing his half-century, and from there on Cobras’ bowlers kept picking regular wickets. Warriors failed to construct any meaningful partnership and fell 37 runs short.

The South African franchises will play between two and four rounds of first-class cricket before the national team’s tour to Australia in November. Graeme Smith’s team will play three Tests on the tour and a single tour match, starting on November 2, while South Africa’s domestic season will start seven weeks before that on September 20.The Knights, Cobras, Dolphins and Warriors will each play four matches before the Australia tour while the Lions and Titans will only play two games, because of their involvement in October’s Champions League T20.”With the early start to the season our two representatives in the Champions League T20 will be able to find form ahead of this important inter-continental competition,” Jacques Faul, CSA’s acting chief executive, said. “They will be without those national players involved in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.”The Champions League, which runs from October 13 to 28, will not interrupt the domestic fixtures greatly, as the four franchises not involved will continue playing as normal. Their matches will all be hosted at grounds not involved in the competition, such as Buffalo Park in East London and the Pietermaritzburg Oval.All the competitions – first-class, one-day and twenty-overs – will be played over a double round. Each franchise will play ten matches, half at home and half away, in keeping with the changes that were made in the 2011-12 season.The limited-overs competition will involve a knockout stage that will see the team who tops the table automatically qualify for the final, while the second and third placed teams will contest a playoff.Although the formats will stay the same, the names of all three competitions will change because CSA have found new sponsors after being abandoned by most of their corporate partners due to the ongoing bonus scandal.The first-class competition is no longer backed by broadcaster SuperSport but funded by cooking oil manufacturing company Sunfoil, who are also Test sponsors. The one-day cup, which went unsponsored last season, now has the muscle of financial services company Momentum behind it.The twenty-over competition’s naming rights have not yet been claimed. Insurance company MiWay stepped in at the 11th hour last season, but have not announced a renewal of their sponsorship. A certainty about the tournament is that the composite seventh franchise, Impi, have been disbanded and the event will be played between the six existing teams, with no additions.