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The PCB may change their current policy of requiring players return two negative tests before being cleared to travel to England

Danyal Rasool25-Jun-2020The PCB may be willing to reconsider their recently stated policy that players who tested positive in Covid-19 testing must return two subsequent negative tests before departing for England to play three Tests and three T20Is. ESPNcricinfo understands the head of the PCB medical department Dr. Sohail Saleem is consulting with a variety of sporting and medical experts to decide whether those players who did test positive could potentially leave for England after returning one negative test.This could have implications for up to the ten Pakistan players and one member of the support staff who returned positive tests for Covid-19 earlier this week, though all of them were asymptomatic. They will all undergo a second round of tests on Friday. Should they test negative, the PCB had planned to conduct tests a third time on June 29th, to comply with their stated policy of ensuring players tested negative twice before being cleared for travel.That, however, would have ruled all ten players out of travelling to England on a charter flight arranged by the ECB on June 28th, regardless of how they tested on June 26th. If, however, the PCB, who termed this “a fluid situation”, determine one negative test meant the players were safe to travel, then everyone who tests negative in the second round – including all those who tested positive earlier in the week – would be on track to be on the plane to Manchester on Sunday.Either way, this means Mohammad Hafeez will undergo a third round of testing in just under a week. The day after he was found positive for Covid-19 by the PCB, he took another test in his personal capacity from a separate laboratory, and it came back negative.The PCB, however, will only take into account tests conducted at the medical facility it is working with – Shaukat Khanum hospital. That means should Hafeez test negative for the virus on Friday, it will count as one negative test, and not two, which the PCB’s recently stated standard operating procedures deemed necessary for safe travel. If those standard operating procedures do not change after all, he will be ineligible to board that charter flight, and will instead have to undergo yet another round of testing on June 29th.Five reserve players were called up as cover and tested for the virus on Thursday, with the results expected on Saturday. Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Musa and Rohail Nazir have all undergone tests, as has masseur Mohammad Imran.Nazir, the PCB announced, was called up as a back-up wicketkeeper after Pakistan’s first choice Mohammad Rizwan tested positive for Covid-19. Rizwan was, according to the PCB CEO Wasim Khan, the only one of the ten whose result had implications for the Test leg of Pakistan’s tour of England, which will be played before the three-match T20I series.On Thursday, the 18 players who tested negative, as well as 11 support staff personnel, underwent a second round of tests. Should all of them return negative tests once more, they will be cleared to depart for England on June 28 according to schedule.

The tour includes games tacked on to compensate for New Zealand pulling out of their 2021 tour of Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2023Tom Latham will captain New Zealand’s ODI squad on their tour of Pakistan in April.The 15-member squad is significantly depleted from New Zealand’s full strength squad, with Tim Southee, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell and Lockie Ferguson all given clearance to participate in the ongoing IPL. Kane Williamson was also part of the IPL, but has been ruled out with a knee injury.”We’ve enjoyed a number of exciting matches against Pakistan across both white ball formats in the last season home and way,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “They are a tough team no matter where you take them on.”The successful ODI Series earlier this year in Pakistan provided big learning opportunities for the players and having more ODI match experience is fantastic in a World Cup year.”New Zealand are likely to have intimate information about the current Pakistan team thanks to a recent addition to their coaching staff. Saqlain Mushtaq, who until February was head coach of the Pakistan national side, has joined New Zealand as assistant coach.”Having someone with Saqlain’s experience is a big boost for the group,” Stead said. “We are looking forward to the insights he can offer us to aid our preparations for local conditions, and in particular the assistance he can provide to our spin bowling group.”McConchie•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The squad is similar to the one that recently hosted Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series, which New Zealand won 2-0. It includes Cole McConchie and Benjamin Lister, yet to make their ODI debuts, with McConchie the second highest scorer across formats in New Zealand’s domestic competitions this season.”Cole has been a leader for Canterbury and at New Zealand A level for a number of seasons but his contributions to winning games across formats really stood out this summer,” Stead said. “His skill set with bat and ball is a valuable one, especially in the conditions we are likely to face on this tour.”New Zealand arrive in Pakistan to play five T20Is, followed by five ODIs. The ODIs begin in Rawalpindi on April 26, with the remaining four in Karachi. The final game takes place on May 7.The tour includes extra games tacked on to the tour as compensation for New Zealand pulling out of their tour to Pakistan on the day of the first game of their tour in September 2021, citing security concerns. In May 2022, New Zealand paid Pakistan an undisclosed sum of money and agreed to play the extra games, which will be realised now.New Zealand ODI squad: Tom Latham (capt),Tom Blundell, Chad Bowes, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young.

The selectors will name a new captain for the tour on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2020Pakistan Women captain Bismah Maroof has withdrawn from next month’s tour of South Africa due to family reasons. Maroof was part of the training camp that started on December 20 in Karachi before she returned to Lahore to join her family on Wednesday.”Bismah approached us with a request to be exempted from next month’s tour to South Africa for family reasons, which we have accepted,” Urooj Mumtaz, head of the women’s wing and the chief selector, said in a PCB release. “She was obviously disappointed to miss the series, but family always has to come first.”When we’ll announce the 17-player squad on Thursday, we’ll name the stand-in captain as well for the South Africa tour, which comprises three ODIs and three T20Is.”Maroof, 29, is Pakistan’s second most-capped women’s player in ODIs and most capped among the current players. She has played 108 matches, with Sana Mir leading the list with 120. In the ODI run-scoring charts too, Maroof is second with her tally of 2602 runs, after Javeria Khan’s 2693.In T20Is, however, Maroof is the most capped (108 matches) as well as the top run-scorer with 2225 runs.The squad picked on Thursday will depart for Durban on January 11, and they can start training and play intra-squad matches from January 13. The tour will begin on January 20 with the first two ODIs in Durban, before moving to Pietermaritzburg for the third ODI and the first two T20Is and then returning to Durban again for the third T20I on February 3. The first ODI and the last T20I will be day-night games. The ODIs will be broadcast live by SuperSport in South Africa and the T20Is will be live-streamed.Twenty-seven players had started training for the tour in a biosecure environment in Karachi as Pakistan also prepare to participate in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in July 2021 to try and make it to the main event in early 2022 in New Zealand. The players at the camp have been undergoing routine testing in line with the PCB Covid-19 protocols.The tour will also be the first official assignment of head coach David Hemp and bowling coach Arshad Khan.

He will return to action after taking a six-week break to recuperate from his injuries

Mohammad Isam07-Jul-2023Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his retirement a day after announcing it in emotional circumstances in Chattogram, following an intervention by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Their meeting took place on Friday afternoon at her residence in Dhaka. Tamim, accompanied by his wife, met Hasina alongside former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan.The turnaround ultimately came on Friday afternoon but ESPNcricinfo learned of the meeting as early as Thursday evening. It is understood that Mashrafe, a member of parliament, started the process around that time when he spoke to the prime minister to possibly intervene in this situation. Tamim had, until then, refused to discuss his retirement with Hassan.

An eventful 78 hours

Tuesday, 12pm: In a pre-match press conference, Tamim says he’s not fully fit and wants to test his fitness by playing 1st ODI
Wednesday, 9am: publishes an interview of Nazmul Hassan, where he calls Tamim unprofessional for the statement on his fitness
Wednesday, 10.30pm: Bangladesh lose the first ODI against Afghanistan
Thursday, 1.30am: Tamim informs media he will address a press conference on Thursday afternoon.Thursday, 1.30pm: Tamim announces his retirement from international cricket
Thursday, 8pm: ESPNcricinfo learns a meeting between Tamim and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is being arranged
Friday, 6pm: Tamim announces he has reversed his decision to retire following the PM’s intervention.

Tamim made the retirement announcement on Thursday afternoon. In a live TV broadcast, he broke down several times while delivering a 13-minute monologue about his decision. It captured the airwaves and social media for the rest of the day.A different Tamim spoke to the media on Friday evening outside the Prime Minister’s residence. He revealed that he had been given a break of six weeks to recuperate from his injuries.”The honourable Prime Minister invited me to her residence this afternoon,” Tamim said. “We had a long discussion after which she instructed me to return to cricket. I am withdrawing my retirement.Related

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“I can say no to anyone but it is impossible to say no to the most important person in the country. Mashrafe called me while Papon [Hassan] was here. They were big factors [in the reversal]. The Prime Minister has also given me a break of a month and a half. I will complete my treatment and return to playing cricket.”BCB chief Hassan said he knew a solution was around the corner, and was relieved to have been able to sit with Tamim and convince him to reverse his decision. “Having seen his press conference [on Thursday], I knew that he was being emotional about his decision,” Hassan said. “I knew that if we could sit face-to-face, I could find a solution.”We sat with him through the Prime Minister, and he just told you that he is withdrawing the retirement letter. He is not retired. He has taken a break of six weeks when he will undergo rehab and get ready physically and mentally. He will return to cricket soon.”Asked if he is relieved, Hassan said: “Of course we are relieved. How can we play without our captain?”Tamim, who made his retirement announcement a day after leading Bangladesh in the first ODI against Afghanistan, will not feature in the rest of the series. Litton Das has been appointed captain for the remaining matches on July 8 and 11.

With two defeats in New York and Dallas, Sri Lanka now arrive in Florida to take on Nepal in a game they cannot afford to lose

Madushka Balasuriya11-Jun-2024Sri Lanka haven’t been great as of late. They know that, and anyone watching them at the T20 World Cup 2024 knows that. But there have also been some mitigating circumstances which become glaringly obvious when you start comparing Sri Lanka’s batting to some of the other sides in their group.South Africa and Bangladesh just played out a low-scoring thriller, which followed South Africa’s low-scoring thriller against Netherlands, which followed Sri Lanka’s low-scoring thriller against Bangladesh, which followed yet another low-scoring affair between Netherlands and Nepal, which itself followed another low scorer between Sri Lanka and South Africa.In fact, in Group D so far, no team has managed to score more than Sri Lanka’s 124 batting first, which isn’t saying much but it does put their performances and results into context.”Now people are realizing how unpredictable the pitches are,” stated Sri Lankan fast bowling coach Aqib Javed ahead of their game against Nepal. “We were the first ones who’d gone through this process. Because I mean, look, as a player, you cannot expect anything like that, which we played the first time in New York on a new pitch. Now the people are realizing what total to place, and what they’re expecting when they’re choosing even a small total.”Even though the Dallas pitch we played was I think one of the best in the country to bat on, still these new conditions are surprising, not just us, but many teams. The batters especially, they’ve gone through a lot. This is not the normal behaviour of the pitches and the conditions. So, I think now the teams will change their strategies, and there will be a little bit of change in the homework as well.”The surprising nature of the wickets has also meant that results have conspired in such a way that despite Sri Lanka’s two defeats to start the tournament, they’re still in with a chance of qualifying for the next stage – provided they win their next two games and Bangladesh and Netherlands both lose at least one of their next two. But Javed is acutely aware that the performance of Sri Lanka’s batters have nevertheless not been up to scratch.”The beauty of this World Cup is that you cannot take easy to anything. We have seen some outstanding results from the associate teams. I think honestly if you look at the pitch, you have to be very careful, especially as a batter. How to adapt, what to leave out, and I think the best plan is to go out there and assess the situation and conditions.”If you ask me, what happened in New York, nobody knew what was going to be the wicket behaviour. [Score of] 77 was never enough. Even in the second game, we could have scored 150 to 160 because if you look at the batting card, we scored like 24 in the last six overs, we didn’t capitalise.”One area Javed doesn’t have any qualms with is in the bowling, with Sri Lanka’s varied attack giving their side a fighting chance in both matches they’ve played so far. Against South Africa, defending a measly 77 they did their best to stifle a strong batting lineup, while against Bangladesh they nearly nipped in at the death to steal it with a late flurry of wickets.”I’m really happy and enjoying the role as a bowling coach because this is one of the bowling sides which can challenge anyone. The ideal combo for any international team. You have the best legspinner in the world, you have a mystery bowler, and you have slingers which is very unique and very effective in T20 cricket.”It’s not easy all the time to defend the low totals, but so far, I think it’s good to see the captain leading from the front and you can see that energy in the field as well. And still, I think we have very good bowling options. I’m really satisfied so far.”

Smith will be landing in the UAE on Thursday; franchise still confident he will be ready for their first game on September 22

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2020Steven Smith was still experiencing concussion symptoms as he was ruled out of all three ODIs against England, and will need to recover fully before returning to action in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals, whom he also captains.Smith is supposed to land in the UAE on Thursday evening, with Royals playing their first match on September 22. ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchise remains confident Smith will be available for that game, against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah.A “dog thrower” short ball from the Australian team assistant coach Trent Woodhill had struck Smith on the side of the helmet in training ahead of the first ODI at Old Trafford, and though he passed initial tests, Smith showed signs of a later onset concussion in the subsequent days.This was consistent with Smith’s experience during last year’s Ashes series, when he was hit on the side of the head below the helmet by Jofra Archer at Lord’s and was initially cleared to return to the middle to complete his innings.But when he felt poorly the following day, Smith was ruled out of the Test and substituted on day five by Marnus Labuschagne before also missing the Headingley Test three days later. It was not until the fourth game at Old Trafford that Smith was fit to resume.This time around, the short limited-overs tour of the UK left much lesser time for Smith to recover, and after he struggled physically following running and net sessions ahead of the final ODI, he was ruled out by medical staff and left to only watch the decider. Australia’s captain Aaron Finch described Smith as feeling “groggy” before the game, and though CA’s sports science division has grown its knowledge of concussion enormously in recent years, there remains much to learn.ALSO READ: Australians in the IPL: ESPNcricinfo’s one-stop guide“Steve is making progress and working with our medical team through the concussion protocols required to return to play,” CA’s head of sports science Alex Kountouris said. “Unfortunately, he was not ready to play the final ODI against England. We are working collaboratively with his IPL franchise on his return to play from here once he arrives in the UAE.”The conservative management of Steve through this injury is consistent with our approach to put the player’s welfare first, as we did with him during the Ashes last year. That says a lot about the environment within our Australian teams. We are striving to create environments where players trust that our medical team will always put their welfare first and therefore speak openly with them, whether this is about concussion, other injuries or mental health.”Cricket Australia has strict protocols when it comes to head impacts and concussions and, as we’ve seen over the last 12 months, we’re not willing to compromise on those. We have done a lot of research over the last few years to better understand head impacts and concussions specific to cricket, and that has helped up in how we manage our players. We place the welfare of the player before the game because we strongly believe that is what’s best for the player.”In the UAE, Smith’s progress will be monitored by the medical staff and also the Royals’ head coach Andrew McDonald, who is also Justin Langer’s senior assistant with Australia when he is not fulfilling a pair of pre-existing contracts in overseas leagues.All parties will be careful to ensure Smith is at his physical and mental best for the home summer, where he will rejoin battle against India after missing the 2018-19 series due to a CA-imposed ban for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

Aryansh’s 60 off 43 kept UAE in the hunt before they lost five wickets for 21 runs and fell short

Deivarayan Muthu17-Aug-2023
Tim Seifert’s explosive fifty and Tim Southee’s crafty five-wicket haul helped New Zealand scrap to victory in the T20I series opener against UAE in Dubai. Cameos from Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie were also vital to New Zealand’s win on a tricky, two-paced track.Returning to the scene of the T20 World Cup final in 2021, when Seifert filled in for the injured Devon Conway, Seifert staked his claim for regular selection with a 30-ball half-century. UAE’s offspin-bowling allrounders Basil Hameed and Mohammed Faraazuddin then triggered a middle-overs meltdown, but late blows from Ravindra and McConchie hauled New Zealand past 150.Eighteen-year-old Aryansh Sharma marked his T20I debut with a sparkling half-century and kept UAE in the hunt until Jimmy Neesham had him holing out in the 15th over. His dismissal left UAE needing 41 off 30 balls with four wickets in hand. But Southee and co put it beyond their reach and bowled them out for 136.

Seifert goes bam

Seifert’s ability to club the ball had earned him a nickname – Bam Bam – inspired, of all things, . Seifert has drifted away from New Zealand’s first-choice XI in the recent past, but he has now put himself back in the spotlight with runs around the world.Last month, he finished the Zim Afro T10 league as the tournament’s second-highest scorer. He then hit three fifties in the LPL and added another to his CV in Dubai on Thursday. He was responsible for 47 of the 51 runs New Zealand had scored in the powerplay on a challenging pitch.He pumped Junaid Siddique and Aayan Khan over mid-off and then whipped Ali Naseer over square leg. UAE’s bowlers kept bowling slower balls into the pitch, but Seifert kept manufacturing enough pace for himself. Hameed cut his innings short at 55 when he had him splicing a reverse-sweep to point. He then cleaned up Mitchell Santner in the same over to drag UAE back into the game.

McConchie, Ravindra put NZ back on track

After the powerplay, New Zealand went seven overs without a boundary. Neesham then struck back-to-back fours against Hameed and when he went for another one against Siddique, he was caught at deep square leg.McConchie and Ravindra then forged an unbroken 46-run seven-wicket partnership off just 28 balls to give the innings a leg-up. Ravindra lined up Zahoor, taking him for 11 off six balls, including a drilled four down the ground. Hitting across the line was particularly difficult on this track, so the pair focussed on finding boundaries in the ‘V’.Aryansh Sharma score 60 off 43 balls•Emirates Cricket Board

Aryansh shows promise

That UAE made a decent fist of the chase was down to Aryansh’s knock. He scored ten boundaries during his 60 off 43 balls. Overall, New Zealand had scored only ten boundaries during their entire innings, but they still found a way to win.Until recently Aryansh was only Vriitya Aravind’s understudy, but in the first T20I against New Zealand, he was their main man, punching and driving with panache. He smashed left-arm quick Ben Lister for three successive fours before treating Kyle Jamieson in similar fashion. Neesham then snagged him to wrestle back the momentum for New Zealand.

Santner and Southee stifle UAE

Santner had given up ten runs in his first over in the powerplay, but he bounced back to concede only 12 from his remaining three while also picking up the wickets of Asif Khan and Ali Naseer.When Asif lobbed one in the air, it seemed destined to fall safely until Santner threw himself to his right and pulled off a stunning one-handed catch, in front of the non-striker. Then, in the 17th over, he trapped Naseer in front to hasten New Zealand’s victory.After making early inroads with the new ball, Southee was just as effective with the old, regularly digging cutters into the pitch. He took care of the UAE lower order along with Santner and Jamieson. Southee is now just two wickets away from surpassing Shakib Al Hasan as the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.

Morgan’s deputy endorsed as full-time successor following formidable form in recent months

Matt Roller30-Jun-2022Jos Buttler has been appointed captain of England’s men’s white-ball teams after Eoin Morgan’s retirement from international cricket earlier this week.Buttler, 31, regularly deputised as captain during Morgan’s seven-and-a-half-year tenure and has captained England in nine ODIs and five T20Is to date, most recently in the third ODI against the Netherlands in Amstelveen last week.His first assignment as captain will be the T20I series against India which starts on July 7 at the Ageas Bowl, for which England are due to name their squad on Friday lunchtime. That fixture marks the start of a packed schedule of 12 limited-overs internationals in 25 days, with three T20Is and three ODIs against both India and South Africa before the end of July.Working with new white-ball coach Matthew Mott, Buttler’s primary focus will be on the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year but England’s defence of their 50-over title is not far away: the next ODI World Cup is scheduled for October-November 2023 in India, with another T20 World Cup to follow in the Caribbean and the USA in 2024.Buttler was recommended for the role by Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, and his appointment was ratified on Wednesday evening by the ECB’s interim chair, Martin Darlow, and chief executive, Clare Connor.”Jos Buttler was the perfect choice to succeed Eoin Morgan as our white-ball captain, and I had no hesitation in offering him the role,” Key said. “Jos has been part of our white-ball set-up for over a decade and was integral in the transformation of the way the team has played its attacking brand of cricket over the past seven years.”He is well-respected in the dressing room by all of his teammates and will relish leading his country. He is in the form of his life and is showcasing his talent against the best players and teams in the world.”I believe the extra responsibility will take his game to a new level and inspire those around him. I’m looking forward to seeing him take us forward. He thoroughly deserves the opportunity.”Related

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Buttler said it was a “great honour” to take over the captaincy from Morgan, offering him his “sincere thanks and gratitude” for his leadership. “It has been the most memorable period for everyone involved,” Buttler said. “He has been an inspirational leader, and it has been fantastic to play under him. There are lots of things that I have learnt from him that I’ll take into this role.”There is excellent strength in depth in the white-ball squads, and I’m looking forward to leading the teams out for the series that are coming up against India starting next week and later in July against South Africa. It is the greatest honour to captain your country, and when I have had the chance to step in the past, I have loved doing it. I can’t wait to take this team forward.”Connor said: “Jos is a fantastic role model who inspires through his performances on the pitch. He has been instrumental in setting new standards in men’s white-ball cricket, and is the perfect leader to build on the incredible legacy which Eoin has built for our men’s white-ball teams.”Buttler’s appointment as captain was widely anticipated after Morgan’s retirement, with Moeen Ali – the only other realistic contender – endorsing Buttler while working for the BBC’s during the third Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston. He has been vice-captain of the white-ball sides since February 2015 and despite limited captaincy experience, he has been viewed as Morgan’s heir apparent for a number of years.Buttler shut down questions about the prospect of a Test recall during the Netherlands tour and his promotion means it is increasingly hard to work out a route back into the set-up for him, despite his remarkable white-ball form. Sam Billings has been preferred as Ben Foakes’ deputy against India this week and Ben Stokes insisted on Thursday that he had “the Test team I want going forward” available to him.”When we sat down at the start of the summer and selected the squad, it was because those were the guys we wanted in every position and they were the best players to do that,” Stokes said. “At the moment, it’s about giving this team time to succeed and perform.”[Buttler] was the obvious choice once Morgs decided to retire,” Stokes added. “He’s been vice-captain for a number of years and nothing will change. Jos will continue the ethos and mindset that Morgs brought to us from 2015, so, honestly, I don’t think you’ll see anything change whatsoever. It is Jos’ time to take the team forward.”

Notts toil after opting to bowl before late fightback gives them foothold

ECB Reporters Network12-Jun-2022Leicestershire (Ackermann 116, Hill 104, Patterson-White 3-37) vs NottinghamshireCenturies by Lewis Hill and Colin Ackermann enabled winless Leicestershire to enjoy their most productive opening day of the season so far as they returned to LV= County Championship action at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Despite being asked to bat first on a well-grassed pitch, the Foxes closed on 340 for 8 against Division Two promotion favourites Nottinghamshire, who came into the match-up with their East Midlands neighbours looking for a fifth win of the campaign.Hill – only the second Leicestershire batter to reach three figures this summer – made 104, sharing a stand of 141 for the third wicket with Ackermann, who became the third as his 116 guided his side to their highest total of the campaign. It is only the second time the Foxes have picked up three batting bonus points.Nottinghamshire claimed four wickets in the final session, but it was not the day they would have anticipated when skipper Steven Mullaney won the toss and opted to give his bowlers first use of a surface that had good pace and carry and gave the ball a chance for much of the day.Related

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James Pattinson, back on the ground where he took a match-winning 5 for 29 on his Nottinghamshire debut in 2017, was celebrating after only his fourth delivery as Hassan Azad edged to third slip.Pattinson, who went close several more times, should have had a second, Rishi Patel surviving on 15 when wicketkeeper Tom Moores palmed away what was probably a chance for first slip. Patel was caught at first slip as Dane Paterson struck in his second over at first change but Hill and Ackermann wasted few opportunities as Nottinghamshire bowlers stuck to their attacking tactics, putting on 66 in almost 15 overs at the break to be 129 for 2.The afternoon followed a similar pattern, at least until the captain, Mullaney, decided deep into the session that his frontline bowlers were beginning to toil and allowed himself a bowl. That brought a breakthrough as Hill’s fine innings ended after 15 fours, most of them cut or driven through the off side.Lewis Hill latches on to cut•Getty Images

Mullaney, who had bowled only a couple of overs of his wobbly medium pace before lunch, took over from James at the Pavilion End, his fifth ball did just enough to pass the outside edge and clip Hill’s off stump. Tea arrived at 233 for 4 after Wiaan Mulder had thin-edged Pattinson to be caught behind.Louis Kimber, thankfully unscathed after taking a blow on the helmet facing Pattinson just before the break, played nicely for 33 as he and Ackermann added 69 for the fifth wicket, Ackermann gathering nine boundaries before turning a leg-side delivery from Lyndon James into a couple of runs to complete his hundred, a first for the former skipper in more than a year.Liam Patterson-White, the left-arm spinner, found some turn to bowl Kimber and Harry Swindells was quickly seen off by a swinging delivery from Brett Hutton after Nottinghamshire took the second new ball.Ackermann departed in the third last over of the day, a tentative prod ending in the hands of slip as Patterson-White tried his luck at the Bennett End for the first time, the spinner adding another by the same route as Callum Parkinson fell to the last ball of the day.