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In a bizarre turn of events, the BCCI website (www.bcci.tv) went blank on a memorable weekend for Indian cricket because someone failed to pay the renewal fee for the domain registration. And that someone happens to be Lalit Modi, who’s been a persona-non-grata for the BCCI for close to five years.The site went down while India’s Under-19 team was winning the junior World Cup on Saturday and the blackout lasted for nearly 24 hours, during which the seniors drubbed South Africa to take a 2-0 lead in the ODI series. And the BCCI officials could do nothing but wait because the domain is owned by Modi, who was banned by the board in 2013 and has been living in London since then as various government agencies pursue cases of financial irregularities against him.The story dates back to 2007 when, in an illustration of how the board operated then, Modi, who was then one of the board’s vice-presidents, registered numerous domains on behalf of the BCCI’s various properties including the IPL under his own name instead of BCCI’s.According to a BCCI official, Modi registered almost 100 domains and got the costs reimbursed by the board.Modi, speaking to ESPNcricinfo, denied that he had been reimbursed for the domains.* The money he got from the BCCI was solely for the third-party content that was hosted on the board’s website a decade ago, he said: “I got reimbursed only for the content that was managed by a third party, which I had paid for.”According to Modi, in 2006 there was an offer made by a third party, which wanted to sell the domain name bcci.com. However the BCCI, Modi said, did not want to buy that domain. “Then they wanted [to] use bcci.tv, which they are using. I pay for the servers. I am not taking their money.”I registered many, many websites under my names. I paid for them, I ran them.” He pointed out that he had been in the business of buying and owning domain names well before he came to the BCCI. In 1997, he had bought the domain name Indian Cricket League, which was eventually used by the unsanctioned T20 league owned and operated by the Zee Group.Modi said the BCCI has since approached him to buy the IPL website (www.iplt20.com) off him, but he refused to sell. “They can’t force me to sell my website.”Following the removal of Modi in 2013, the BCCI had approached the Bombay High Court to reclaim the domains while accusing Modi of breach of trust. The court said that pending a final decision, all the payments for the various domain accounts should be put on auto-renewal on a credit card owned by Modi.According to the BCCI official it was likely that Modi had changed the credit card and hence the payment was rejected. By late Sunday the website was functioning once again, although users continued to face issues outside of India.The BCCI official said that as soon as a red flag was raised late on Saturday, it chased Modi, who assured it that the payment would be done. The board official also said without the court taking a final decision, the BCCI was helpless if any such issue flared up in future. “The court has said that till a final order is given on the ownership [of the BCCI domain names] Lalit Modi will need to provide for the services of the websites,” the official said. “So the onus to renew is on them [Modi].”Modi said this shutdown was merely a case of a clerical error: “It was not my payment. It was going through a sub-agent who had issues with his card.”*

The ECB has confirmed plans for a restructured county schedule from the start of the 2017 season.The County Championship programme will shrink by two games per county to 14 matches a season, with the domestic T20 competition played in a block in July and August. The 50-over competition will be contested in April and May with a final at Lord’s in July.The ECB believes the changes will allow players a little more time for rest and practice, as well as meeting their request to schedule the varying formats in blocks to allow concentration upon specific skills.But, even though it has taken months of debate to reach this compromise agreement, it offers only a temporary arrangement. Even before the new structure is introduced, plans for further changes are being made with the ECB board announcing in the same press release that the changes were confirmed that they have “also asked the ECB Executive to look at all options for the best future structure to support the growth of the game and sustainability of all counties.”Specifically, the pressure to introduce city-based T20 cricket will continue ahead of the new broadcast deal (which will start in 2020), with the ECB likely to distribute an outline of available packages to potential broadcast partners before the end of the year. This ‘new’ format may well be gone before the roadworks on the M1.There is also a familiar look to many of the changes. Certainly the format for the two limited-overs competitions appears similar to arrangements tried – and abandoned – previously.

English season from 2017

Specsavers County Championship games will run throughout the summer and pause during blocks of limited-overs cricket. It will be played in two divisions – a top tier of eight and second division of ten – after one county has been promoted and two relegated this year. It will then revert to two-up, two-down. The competition will be reduced from 16 Championship rounds to 14. Each county will play seven home and seven away matches.
NatWest T20 Blast matches will be played in July and August, within two blocks, contested on a regional basis and culminating in Finals Day, as per the current format
Royal London Cup group-stage matches will be played in April and May, with the showcase final at Lord’s in July. Group winners will go straight to semi-finals with second and third-placed teams entering quarter-finals.

In the short term (in 2017, 2018 and 2019), the Championship will be played in two divisions with a top tier of eight and second division of ten teams. That means that only one team will be promoted at the end of the 2016 season, with two relegated. The competition will revert to two-up, two-down in future seasons.While some county cricket lovers – especially county members – will resent the cut in the Championship programme, it is the changes to the domestic T20 competition that were always likely to remain most contentious.A plan to introduce two divisions to domestic T20 cricket was abandoned at a late stage with some counties reluctant to lose profit-making local derbies. Instead it will be remain with a regional qualifying round followed by Finals Day.While counties will celebrate the scheduling of the T20 competition during the school holidays – it currently starts in mid-May and has all but ended by the time that schools break-up – some will be some concerned by a return to the block format.While it has, without doubt, proved successful elsewhere in the world, it has previously been abandoned in England and Wales after it was shown to be vulnerable to a spell of wet weather. There were also concerns that the block format asked too much of spectators’ time and money within a short period. It remains to be seen if the return to a block schedule will threaten the policy of staging the majority of games on Friday nights. T20 audiences rose sharply in 2015 on the back of a more predictable fixture list.The 50-over competition also returns to the early-summer position it occupied in the past. While the early-season scheduling will help players find form ahead of the limited-overs internationals – and it is worth noting that the ICC Champions Trophy (2017) and the World Cup (2019) are scheduled to be played in England and Wales in relatively early season – the early-season pitches may prove less helpful.Again, the reason it was moved from early season was a concern that conditions rarely replicated international cricket. It may also be that the best England-qualified players are absent on international or IPL duty in the opening weeks of the season. It is hard to see a 50-over competition starting in April in England attracting hordes of spectators.”The changes for 2017 will be good for fans, players and our international teams,” Colin Graves, the ECB chairman said. “The season is easier to follow, the blocks help players focus on specific skills and there’s a better balance across all three formats.”There is a clear consensus that county cricket has to be sustainable and must support the whole game. There is an appetite for change and cricket is moving fast – we must not be left behind.”Cricket needs more people playing, great teams and inspired fans in order to thrive; these principles support our plans now and for the future.”It is not clear who will be satisfied with the changes. While there may be some who conclude this structure is a fine compromise, it is likely that modernisers will bemoan the missed opportunity to push for a more radical solution, especially in T20 cricket, while the traditionalists will resent the cut to the Championship schedule and the partial abandonment of “appointment to view” T20. The cynical might even suggest that the decision not to embrace two divisions in T20 was an attempt to sabotage the success of an 18-team competition to render it easier to introduce a city-based tournament.Certainly it is clear, though, that the ECB’s search for a better schedule continues. As Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, put it: “We now have a great opportunity to take a detailed look at a range of options and find the best structure for the long-term health of the domestic and international game.”A recurring theme in ECB dialogue at present is the desire for the first-class counties to be “sustainable.” But measuring sustainability remains problematic in county cricket. While some would suggest many counties are over-reliant on their distribution of funds from the international broadcast rights sold on the back of the England sides – and, as a result, they argue that domestic T20 incomes must increase sharply – others would counter that the counties provide the England players and that the relationship between domestic and international is more symbiotic than the current executive appreciates.As ever in English cricket, the debate continues.

The 2017-18 Ranji Trophy is set for a high-profile start, with India regulars R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay expected to play the first round of matches. While Ashwin and Vijay are known to have communicated their availability to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, Jadeja and Pujara have been named in the 15-man Saurashtra squad for their first match against Haryana in Lahli from October 6.The availability of Ashwin and Jadeja, however, is contingent on their selection for the three-match T20I series against Australia beginning on October 7. Both players were rotated out of India’s squad for the ODI series against Australia and Sri Lanka.Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak said Jadeja was slated to join the squad on September 30, while Pujara, who has been named captain, was expected to return to India by the end of the month after finishing his county commitments with Nottinghamshire. While Pujara had a lukewarm season, with 333 runs from 12 innings at an average of 27.75 so far, Ashwin played a pivotal role in securing the Division Two title for Worcestershire and consequently a promotion in the county championship. Ashwin aggregated 214 runs at an average of 42.8, including an 82 in the 137-run win over Durham. Ashwin also finished with 20 wickets, with one of his two five-fors coming against Durham.Jadeja’s last competitive outing, on the other hand, came during the Tests in Sri Lanka, and while he was briefly recalled to the India squad in place of the injured Axar Patel against Australia, he was left out for the last two ODIs. Vijay, meanwhile, has endured a fairly lengthy layoff following a surgery for a wrist injury suffered during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March. He had a low-key comeback in the Tamil Nadu Premier League before turning up for India Green in the Duleep Trophy, where he picked up five wickets but scored only 17 runs.Vijay said he was in a positive frame of mind ahead of a new season. “I am looking forward to playing for India soon,” Vijay told ESPNcricinfo. Tamil Nadu will open their campaign against Andhra at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, believes the time has passed to do something significant to secure the future of Test cricket particularly in those nations where the format is already a tougher sell.Debates around the relevance of the longest format have become a regular occurrence, mirroring the rise of T20 leagues around the world, with the latest example of changing priorities being the decisions of Adil Rashid and Alex Hales to effectively end their Test careers by signing white-ball only contracts for their counties. Although both were outside the current England Test set-up it was not beyond them, especially in Rashid’s case, to earn a recall but he admitted his heart was no longer in the first-class game.While the decisions of two players who see their future in the white-ball game don’t have to mean doom for Test cricket, it feels as though the game has come to a tipping point with the global calendar reaching meltdown and a club v country battle starting to emerge. Morgan played the last of his 16 Test six years ago and has long-since put the format out of his mind as he has focused on forging his white-ball career, firstly in T20 and latterly pioneering England’s one-day resurgence, but as an international captain his views will carry weight.”Test match cricket has had a lot to worry about for quite a while now,” he said. “If something was going to be done about it, it probably should have been done already. There are still, I suppose, different ideas being thrown around but actually giving priority to Test matches is sort of a luxury now for the bigger countries around the world. For other countries T20 franchise cricket takes priority.”Morgan’s comments follow on from Moeen Ali voicing his concerns about the future of Tests, although the evidence he cited of poor crowds in the recent Ashes didn’t stack up against the reality of the numbers which attended the matches.There have been attempts to breathe new life into Tests with the advent of floodlit matches, in an effort to entice crowds back at more viewing-friendly hours outside of the working day, and the Test Championship – part of the new Future Tours Programme – which has finally come to fruition in a bid to provide context and will begin in 2019, although there is still plenty of time for cracks to emerge in that plan. Morgan, however, said that ultimately the survival of Test cricket will come down to one thing: money.”The best ideas probably being bandied around are putting most revenue behind the match appearances or actual prize money towards Test match cricket so there’s no [influence] in what format people choose simply because of the money they might make. It’s all down to how good they are at that particular format.”On the decision taken by Hales and Rashid, Morgan was unsurprisingly supportive. “I think it’s a really good decision for those individuals. Every individual is different, they see their future and their pathway changing all the time, and it’s okay to be able to change it.”A lot of people actually are forced into a position to play one or two formats, which I think is wrong because it’s their own career, it’s their own future, they need to take hold of it and make the most of it while they can. And at the moment that’s taking a backward step from red-ball cricket and putting white-ball cricket at the forefront of their career path for now, I think is the right one because they believe it’s the right one.”

Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said his team was “quite happy with a draw” in the second Test match against West Indies in Bulawayo, and any thoughts of a sporting declaration were shelved after Sikandar Raza was bowled by Jason Holder for 89 shortly after lunch on the fifth afternoon.”It’s disappointing to lose a Test series, but we were behind for a lot of this Test match, so credit to the guys for fighting,” Cremer said. “We were quite happy with a draw in the end, and we didn’t feel we had quite enough runs to declare. And it’s probably not a wicket where you can bowl a side out in 30 overs.”There were thoughts of a declaration, but we know it’s quite hard to take 10 wickets in 50 overs, let alone 30, so after Raza got out we almost had to shut up shop there and just take overs out of the game to make sure we couldn’t lose the Test match.”Zimbabwe might have been more tempted to bowl a second time on the final day if the pitch had dusted up and deteriorated as much as expected. As it turned out, there seemed to be more turn on the first two days than the last three, and though there was some inconsistent bounce the pitch became more and more placid.”The pitch definitely held together more than we thought it would,” Cremer said. “It started keeping a bit low, but it didn’t do as much as we thought it might on day five.”Despite losing the series 1-0, both Cremer and Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak were pleased with the individual performances and the improvement shown to draw the second Test.”The more you play, the more you realize how much time there is in a Test match,” Cremer said. “In the first Test, we were a little too aggressive, and didn’t back our defence against spin. But we got better, as we saw in this Test match. It is a learning curve, hopefully we’ll take this experience into the [Boxing Day] South Africa Test match.”All in all, lots of positives,” Streak added. “Raza did well, Chakabva came through today. Hamilton Masakadza got a big hundred. Kyle Jarvis was outstanding in the first Test. Chris Mpofu with the ball, and with the bat.”Regis Chakabva spilled a couple of chances with the gloves but came back with the bat to help Zimbabwe battle to a draw. “It was a tough wicket to keep on, and especially Graeme and (Tendai) Chisoro have a lot of variations,” Streak said. “TC bowls quickly, Graeme’s got googlies and stuff. With the wicket being up and down and turning so much, it’s tough to sustain [wicketkeeping] over a lengthy period.”The grit he showed today, and the composure and determination to stick it out was exemplary. Hopefully we can build on that. Lance Klusener spoke to him about trusting his game, trusting his defence, trusting his attacking shots and not trying to play in fast forward. He had a really good game and hopefully he can continue to build on that.”Zimbabwe missed Kyle Jarvis in the second match to ankle injury, and chose an attack heavily weighted towards spin. However, Streak was confident he would have more fast bowling options to choose from for Zimbabwe’s next Test engagement, against South Africa on Boxing Day.”We’ll hopefully have a few more guys available to us,” Streak said. “Carl Mumba has been out, I’m not sure where he’ll be by then. We’ve got guys performing well, like Richard Ngarava. Tendai Chatara was injured so he wasn’t really in consideration here, but hopefully he’ll be back in consideration for that Test series. We know what he’s capable of. Brian Vitori is also due to do his re-test [of his bowling action]. So we should have more options at that time.”

FATA‘s decision to bowl turned out to be a nightmare after Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt and Aamer Yamin struck brisk half-centuries each to set up a 41-run victory for Lahore Whites. FATA tried hard to chase down the daunting total of 213 – the highest total in the tournament so far – but were dismissed for 172 after opener Mukhtar Ahmed (30 off 15) and captain Hammad Azam (50 off 28) were the only batsmen who got going in the innings. Regular wickets from Wahab Riaz (3 for 15), Umaid Asif (2 for 27) and Bilal Asif (2 for 15) made it tough for FATA.Lahore started with a blazing opening partnership of 94 runs between Kamran (63 off 29) and Butt (74* off 50) in 7.5 overs. FATA slowed them down with a few wickets but Yamin and Butt joined hands to hammer another hefty 75 runs in under seven overs to take Lahore past the 200 mark. FATA were scoring at over 10 runs per over with the help of Mukhtar and Hammad, but once the latter fell at the score of 151 in the 15th over, FATA could add only 21 more runs before being bowled out.Asad Shafiq’s 72 off 49 and Anwar Ali’s 4 for 30 set up a 14-run win for Karachi Whites over Rawalpindi. Karachi were led to 178 by Shafiq and a cameo from Sarfraz Ahmed’s unbeaten 30 off 20 balls. In reply, Rawalpindi were off to a steady start but no batsman was able to capitalise on a start as none of them scored more than 30.Opting to bowl, Rawalpindi struck early with the wicket of Khurram Manzoor in the second over, but Shafiq led the charge by batting until 19th over. Shahid Yousuf’s 21 off 20 and Sarfaraz’s unbeaten innings helped Karachi to a competitive total. Rawalpindi did manage to keep the game afloat for some time but were not able to keep the asking rate in check as Ruman Raees (2 for 25) and Azam Hussain (2 for 33) shared four wickets along with Anwar’s four-for. Rawalpindi needed 65 from the last five overs with only three wickets in hand and ended on 164 for 9.

Stumps
Scorecard
Moises Henriques whips one to the leg side•Getty Images

An unbeaten century from Moises Henriques helped New South Wales put Tasmania to the sword on day one at the Sydney Cricket Ground.Henriques punished a tired Tigers attack in the second half of the day, having entered in the 50th over after the top four had laid a strong platform. Nick Larkin and Ed Cowan put together a 115-run stand for the second wicket. Larkin made 85 and Cowan 68. The latter fell to 17-year-old off-spinner Jarrod Freeman who was on debut.Henriques then joined Kurtis Patterson and the pair made 156 runs in less than 35 overs before Patterson was bowled by Tom Rogers for 72. Rogers picked up his third scalp, Nic Maddinson, shortly after, to finish with three wickets. Henriques and Peter Nevill will look to continue the carnage on day two.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
For the second time this series, rain intervened before the match was finished with New Zealand in front. This time, it subsided early enough for further play to be possible, and for Martin Guptill to storm back to form. An explosive innings from the opener – who scored 86 off 71 balls – ensured New Zealand carried a 2-0 lead into into the third ODI at Dunedin with an eight-wicket win.After a two-hour delay, New Zealand’s target was revised from 247 to 151 in 25 overs, with a further 87 required in 11 overs after the resumption. Guptill made it look supremely straightforward, smashing Hasan Ali for consecutive sixes in his first over back. The sixes were hit at will for Guptill – five of them in total – while Ross Taylor provided suitable support. Pakistan fell apart spectacularly in the field, and New Zealand completed the chase with seven balls to spare.AFP

Before the interruption, New Zealand spent much of the game enjoying the upper hand, and barring the salvo of a 49-ball 70 run partnership between Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, Pakistan couldn’t quite lay claim on any passage of play.Sarfraz Ahmed might have made a different decision at the toss, but that didn’t change how the innings panned out. Pakistan, batting first, turned in another limp batting performance. All five regular bowlers chipped in with wickets, and it was left to Pakistan’s lower order to respond with a magnificent rearguard action as half-centuries from Hasan and Shadab took Pakistan – once tottering at 141 for 7 – to a more presentable 246.

De Grandhomme back in ODI squad

Colin de Grandhomme has been added to New Zealand’s squad ahead of the third ODI against Pakistan. De Grandhomme had missed the series against West Indies, and the first two ODIs against Pakistan following the death of his father. George Worker has been excluded from the squad.
“It’s been a difficult time for Colin and I know the group are excited to catch up with him,” selector Gavin Larsen said. “Everyone has been thinking of him while he’s been away, He’ll play for Auckland on Wednesday and, all going well, will join the team in Dunedin on Thursday.”

The surface in Nelson looked dry, and even Kane Williamson admitted he would have much preferred to bat first, but his opening bowlers didn’t leave him wistful for too long. Tim Southee and Trent Boult were at the openers straightaway, Azhar Ali and Imam-ul-Haq – in for the injured Fakhar Zaman – struggling against generous early swing. At the same time, Boult was dangerous with the short ball, with Azhar survived a caught behind after a review showed it was in fact his helmet that had grazed the ball on the way through to the keeper.Boult wasn’t to be denied in his next over, though. It was the short ball that brought the breakthrough, as Imam was unable to get on top of the bounce, and the pull shot went straight to Colin Munro at square leg.Azhar followed him in the next over. Tim Southee got the wicket in almost identical fashion to the first ODI, Azhar falling over to off stump and missing a straight one that thudded into his pads.Babar Azam played a loose shot unbecoming of the reputation and class to leave Pakistan wobbling at 39 for 3, and it was up to old hands Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez to regroup. A 45-run partnership provided some hope of a Pakistan revival, as the pair began to rotate the strike regularly and use their feet to the spinners. But just as the momentum was shifting, Malik danced down the wicket and hit one straight to long-on.Sarfraz and Hafeez were Pakistan’s last recognised batsmen, but both fell to indifferent shots. Sarfraz’s was shocking, coming down the wicket to a short ball from Todd Astle and getting himself stumped. A few overs later, Hafeez, after compiling 60 classy runs, charged Mitchell Santner in similarly unseemly fashion, only succeeding in chipping to short cover.The innings looked to be petering out well under 200, and it took a whirlwind partnership between Shadab and No. 9 Hasan to restore some competitiveness to the contest. Hasan took charge in their stand, striking four boundaries and four sixes, beginning his assault with successive sixes off Mitchell Santner. Ferguson struck him with a vicious bouncer around the neck, but he wasn’t dissuaded, taking the attack to the quicks as well as New Zealand lost their discipline. Astle went for 21 runs in an over, while Boult bowled two full tosses around waist height – only one of which was called – as the runs began to flow freely.Southee was smashed for 12 in three balls to bring up a 30-ball fifty, but the bowler dismissed Hasan off the next ball. Shadab continued to attack, as Pakistan took 13 off Southee’s final over. Boult wasn’t spared either as a gorgeous cover drive off the left-armer brought up Shadab’s half-century.New Zealand started their chase shakily, Mohammad Amir – looking near his fearsome best – forcing a false shot from Munro to send him back for a duck. Williamson and Guptill restored some order, before a superb diving catch at point from Shadab left New Zealand at 47 for 2.Pakistan may have felt they were right back in the game, before the rain break. By the time the rain subsided, Guptill appeared to be a different batsman, one against whom a lackadaisical Pakistan stood no chance.

ScorecardIt generally pays to apply some scepticism to large hauls taken at this time of year. English pitches in April can flatter bowlers who might, on the surfaces prevalent in international cricket, look relatively toothless.But Olly Stone’s career-best haul against Sussex was a bit different. This haul was largely in spite of the surface – which was, inevitably in the circumstances, not especially quick – and not due as much to a ball that nibbled or swung much, but a ball that was propelled at unusual pace.The wicket of Luke Wright was especially eye-catching. Wright, an experienced international player, attempted to duck a well-directed short ball but could only manage to fend it off his face and to the keeper. It was the sort of dismissal that will have England coach Trevor Bayliss, watching the highlights in Australia, salivating. He has wanted such fire-power for some time.Taken in isolation, some of the other wickets might appear to owe something to fortune. Stiaan van Zyl, for example, edged his attempted upper cut to a short, wide delivery, while Michael Burgess’ impressive innings ended when he edged another attempted cut.But pace can provoke such errors. And, as Stone hurried and harried the batsmen, it became apparent that he rushed them as few can in English cricket at present. After a winter in which England’s lack of pace became painfully apparent – they have not won any of their most recent 13 Tests away from home – his success is timely.Stone has long been well thought off by the England management. He represented England U19, he has been on fast bowling programmes and he was invited to bowl at the Ashes squad during the recent Australia tour, when he was in the country playing club cricket. His success does not come out of the blue.Olly Stone in his Northants days•Getty Images

But there had been doubts over his fitness. This was only his second Championship match since a potentially career ending injury sustained in June 2016 (he damaged his anterior cruciate ligament when celebrating the wicket of Moeen Ali in a T20 game against Worcestershire) and to respond so dramatically – he has taken all six wickets to fall so far – was hugely encouraging.It took Stone only two deliveries to make the breakthrough. Phil Salt, who until then had looked comfortable, was undone by some late swing as he attempted to turn a fall delivery into the leg side only to see it take his leading edge and send a catch to point. Luke Wells wafted at one that may have left him a fraction and Harry Finch attempted to hook one that bounced more than he expected, took the top-edge and looped to short-leg. In conditions where the ball stopped swinging pretty early – Warwickshire’s bowlers felt the wet outfield was the cause – he continued to pitch the ball up, went round the wicket to the left handers and used the short ball sparingly but effectively. Four of the wickets came from shortish deliveries; Sussex’s top five were all dismissed in his first spell.Is talk of an England call-up premature? Maybe. Certainly Stone will have to back this performance up a couple of times before the first Test squad is picked in just over a month. But at a time when there is an acceptance that a new formula is required by England, Stone has skills that render him one to be watched.There are other options, of course. There’s Jamie Overton at Somerset. There’s Zak Chappell at Leicestershire. There’s the Toms – Barber and Helm – at Middlesex and a few more (George Garton, Josh Tongue, Stuart Meaker, Mark Wood etc) besides. But some of them aren’t playing and some of them aren’t taking wickets. A good few weeks here could catapult any of them into the mix. Stone’s early impression is not irrelevant.If nothing else, though, this performance – on his home, Championship debut – marked a heartening step forward. He has endured a long wait since that miserable day when he sustained the injury. There were, he admits, a few dark moments when he wondered if he would ever make it back. Few would begrudge him this success.It might also serve as a reminder of the value of the ‘smaller’ counties. Stone, like Ben Duckett, developed through the Northants youth system. While the likes of Northants and Leicestershire (where Chappell is developing nicely) may not have excelled in Championship cricket of late, so long as they continue to produce players, they serve a valuable function. It’s also worth noting the contribution of Norfolk – and the other non-first-class counties – where Stone’s journey began.Earlier Warwickshire went within one run of gaining a third batting bonus point before Ishant Sharma punished Tim Ambrose’s attempt to flick one into the leg side. Still the thenth-wicket stand of 77 had taken Warwickshire’s total far above what seemed likely when they sank to 147 for six mid-way through day two. It is just a shame that the rain that robbed us of the first four sessions of the match returned for much of the third and looks certain to have the final word.

Dale Steyn aims to return to action after a year on the sidelines next month, most likely in South Africa’s franchise T20 competition which is expected to be played in the window created by the postponed T20 Global League. Steyn was set to play in the Global League and had been bought by the Cape Town Knight Riders, and his recovery remains on track.Following months of rest and rehabilitation after breaking a bone in his shoulder last November, Steyn started bowling again around three weeks ago, when the South African squad was preparing for the first home Test against Bangladesh. He spent a few days with them in camp in Potchefstroom and has since been working with trainers in Cape Town, bowling three time a week. Next week he will increase that to four times with a view to being back to his best in November.”It happens quite quickly. I go off three paces on the Monday, then Wednesday I go off five paces, but I bowl 26 balls. Then Friday, I bowl off five paces but I bowl 30 balls. At the moment, where I am at right now, I bowl Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at about 70% or 80% of my full run-up, at about 60-70%,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo at a sponsor event on Thursday. “Next week, I will move it to bowling on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday off and bowling again Thursday and Friday. And we just up the percentage every week so eventually when we play the T20s, I will going full run-up, full-pace.”After many months of not bowling at all, Steyn is finally finding the form and rhythm he needs to be match fit and, crucially, is not in any pain while doing it. “My arm is perfect, if anything its stronger than it was before because its reinforced with a pin,” he joked. “It’s 100% now. I’ve just got to start reminding myself how to bowl at high speeds because I haven’t done it for a year.”When Steyn was injured in Australia, he had only just recovered from a prior shoulder injury and a groin injury, all of which has limited his game time since the end of 2015. As a result, his recent list of injury concerns have caused questions over whether he could continue his career, the man himself wants to play “until either they don’t like me anymore, or I am not good enough”. He is confident he is fit enough to come back because it was not a case of poor conditioning but an unusually complicated problem that kept him off the field for so long.”There’s only ever been two of us that have ever broken this bone in cricket. To diagnose a time frame for how long it was going to take to come back was quite difficult. It’s not like a hamstring, where they’ve had ten billion people that have torn hamstrings and they say in six to eight weeks you will be up and running again. They can’t say three months and you will be up and running again, six months. I was kind of a guinea pig going through this whole process and the other guy never went back to playing cricket, he was a schoolboy,” Steyn said.”When I originally broke the bone, I also tore my bicep tendon, my pec and a muscle at the back called the infraspinatus. That’s three muscles that ruptured when I broke that bone. So the bone took a while to heal and strengthen but then those muscles took a long time to recover. That’s why it took so long and then when I started to bowl, typical me, I was trying to go from 0 to 100 quickly and I injured a pec. We are finally at a point where everything is strong, now it’s a case don’t do anything stupid. As cricketers we get injured all the time. I go for a run up the mountain and I could get a hamstring injury.”So does that mean Steyn is staying indoors for the next few weeks?Not quite. He confessed that he will still be surfing because “that’s fine” and enjoying an outdoor lifestyle, but knows the onus is on him to prove that he can cope with the workloads of international cricket. “It’s pretty tough bowling 150 kilometres normally. Now I’ve got to do it with a broken bone in my arm. It’s a tough ask but I think I am doing okay.”Steyn is also particularly “excited” to work under new coach Ottis Gibson, whom he met during the time he spent in Potchefstroom and whom he has had brief conversations with since.”It’s the first time in my career I have had a head coach who was a bowler. With all due respect to the previous coaches, they were all batters, they see the game differently to the way that bowlers see the game. When I sat in one or two meetings, I saw Ottis’ eyes light up when KG [Kagiso Rabada] was talking, I saw his eyes light up when Morne [Morkel] was talking; they didn’t light up so much when Hashim [Amla] was talking.It gets me excited because he is on the same wavelength as us. For the first time its also great to see that the head coach is out in the middle when the bowlers are bowling and not in the nets with the batters. The love is being shared a little and I think the bowlers will start to get taken a little bit more seriously when it comes to decision making. I do feel they have a lot of offer. It has been batter dominant for a long time, so I am quite excited about the head coach being an ex-bowler.”