Plays of the day from the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Mohali

Abhishek Purohit23-May-2014Sehwag’s start
Virender Sehwag flickers briefly these days but when he does, he is still a sight to watch. He lasted all of eight deliveries this match, but packed in plenty of entertainment in that short time. He was beaten twice in succession by Vikramjeet Malik’s away movement in the first over. He instantly made up for it. The fourth ball was lofted over mid-off for four, the fifth was slashed inches short of the third-man boundary, and the sixth was carved over backward point for four more.Vohra’s lapse
Manan Vohra was in serious touch once more, and had motored to 25 before he committed a schoolboy error. He clipped Rahul Tewatia through midwicket and turned back for what seemed a straightforward second run. It wasn’t to be, though. Vohra took it easy as he approached the crease and made no attempt to ground his bat. To his utter shock, Stuart Binny’s throw hit the stumps direct. Vohra, who was short by about a foot, walked off muttering.Tewatia’s misfortune
In the ninth over, Tewatia lured Shaun Marsh out with some flight. It was the googly, and Marsh realised that after it started to turn away from him. He was some way down the crease, and could have been easily stumped had he missed the ball. However, he managed to prod at it, and the outside edge went to slip on the bounce. The next ball was another googly. Marsh stayed back this time and guided it fine. Shane Watson at slip thought he had a chance again, but it bounced just in front of his outstretched left hand and raced to the boundary.Miller’s midwicket punch
Kings XI were looking for some big late runs after slowing down for a while. George Bailey hit James Faulkner for consecutive boundaries in the 19th over, and Miller weighed in with a fearsome blow. Faulkner bowled a high full-toss on the pads. Miller did not try to slog it. He punched it with a straight follow-through, and held the pose as the ball flew flat over deep midwicket for six. It was like a right-hander lofting the ball over extra cover.Dhawan’s double
Rishi Dhawan stunned Rajasthan Royals with two important blows in the ninth over of the chase. The first ball of the over was pitched up around off stump, and Ajinkya Rahane had a heave at it. The ball moved in a bit and hit the stumps. Dhawan angled the next one in on a good length to Shane Watson. The Royals captain came forward and tried to play with an angled bat, but it seamed in through the gate to rattle the stumps once more.

An Arsenal exit for one big-name member of the Gunners squad is said to be a real possibility, with manager Mikel Arteta personally eyeing a possible replacement.

Arsenal maintain unbeaten start with victory over Southampton

The Premier League title hopefuls maintained their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions with a 3-1 win over Southampton on Saturday, despite a brief scare courtesy of Cameron Archer’s surprise opener for the visitors.

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It could even be longer.

1

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Emilio Galantini

Oct 8, 2024

The Saints forward handed Russell Martin’s men a brief lead just after the second-half restart, but goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka soon after ensured that Arsenal would come away from the Emirates with all three points.

Speaking after the game, Arteta praised his players for their belief, character and discipline to fight back from a goal down and ultimately turn the game around in convincing fashion – despite a sloppy start to the first 45.

“First half I thought it was exceptional,” said Arteta after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Southampton.

“The amount of dominance that we had in the areas that we played, the amount of situations and chances we created in open play and set pieces, our counter-press worked really well there. It’s unbelievable that we didn’t score a goal.

“Then we started the second half, we were a bit sloppy, especially in the first 5-10 minutes with the ball and then the game became a little more open. Then the chance they had, they scored the goal, and then again, we’ve thrown everything away that we did in the first half. It was a completely brand-new game in a really difficult context and the team reacted incredibly well with a lot of composure; big belief, very good clarity in what we had to do. The crowd were exceptional, the subs were exceptional and we managed to win again.”

While Bukayo Saka put in another excellent display against Southampton, striker Gabriel Jesus was a cause for concern. The Brazilian, who played just 19 minutes of football across all competitions before being handed the nod on Saturday, was substituted on the hour mark despite the scores being level – with Jesus dropping a “5/10” performance overall.

Jesus could leave Arsenal with Arteta a real fan of Marmoush

There are doubts over the £265,000-per-week star’s suitability to lead the line, with Havertz the preferred option. According to reports out of Spain, Jesus could leave Arsenal with Palmeiras interested in signing him. They add that Arteta is also a real fan of a potential replacement – Eintracht Frankfurt star Omar Marmoush.

The Egyptian has been linked with a move to north London very recently, with some reports claiming that Marmoush “dreams” of a switch to Arsenal or Liverpool. The 25-year-old, as per Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, is also stalling on signing a new contract amid his sensational start to the season.

He already boasts nine goals and six assists over just nine games in all competitions, and if Marmoush continues in this form, it is surely only a matter of time before elite English sides like Arsenal come knocking.

شارك النجم المصري عمر مرموش، في مباراة فريقه مانشستر سيتي أمام بورنموث ببطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، مساء الثلاثاء.

واستقبل مانشستر سيتي خصمه بورنموث، بملعب “الاتحاد” في مباراة بالجولة السابعة والثلاثين للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

ولعب عمر مرموش أساسيًا، واستمر في الملعب حتى الدقيقة 90، وحصل على تقييم 7.3 من 10 بحسب شبكة “سوفا سكور”.

سجل مرموش هدفًا، ومرر 28 تمريرة دقيقة من أصل 30، أي بلغت دقة تمريراته (93%).

ولعب مرموش كرة طولية دقيقة، وسدد تسديدة على المرمى، وأخرى بعيدة عن المرمى، وتسديدة تم اعتراضها من الخصم.

وفي المواجهات الأرضية فاز مرموش بـ 2 من أصل 6، وخسر الاستحواذ 14 مرة، وارتكب خطأين، وتم ارتكاب خطأ ضده، ووقع في مصيدة التسلل مرة واحدة.

مرموش سجل هدف تقدم مانشستر سيتي في الدقيقة 14 من عمر اللقاء، وأحرزه بتسديدة صاروخية رائعة.

وحسم مانشستر سيتي المباراة لصالحه بالفوز بنتيجة 3-1، ليرفع رصيده للنقطة 68 في المركز الثالث بالترتيب.

Instantly attempting to make his mark, new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reportedly wants to show the door to as many as four players in a ruthless clearout in 2025.

Man Utd transfer news

Amorim will arrive on 11th November with plenty of work to do. The Red Devils currently sit in the bottom half of the Premier League following a disastrous end to Erik ten Hag’s tenure. Ruud van Nistelrooy has since taken Manchester United back to winning ways with a thumping 5-2 victory over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, but that doesn’t take away from the extent of the new manager’s task.

The first job on Amorim and INEOS’s list may well be to clear out any deadwood from Old Trafford. The likes of Casemiro and Antony – whose arrival almost sums up the failure of Ten Hag’s time at the club – look set to be heading for the exit door alongside Christian Eriksen in a ruthless but needed shake-up.

However, those three aren’t the only players reportedly heading for the exit door. According to reports in Spain, Amorim also wants to show the door to Victor Lindelof to clear out a total of four players within his new squad in January.

The Swede has been at the club since 2017 without ever really standing out in Manchester United’s backline and could finally lose his place eight years later when Amorim gets his chance to mould his squad.

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This would be the deal of the summer…

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With Leny Yoro working his way back to full fitness and Matthijs de Ligt also arriving in the summer, it would certainly make sense to sell Lindelof in the January transfer window and cash in before his current contract comes to an end next summer. Whether Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony suffer such an instant fate remains to be seen, however.

Right time for "great" Lindelof to move on

As the beginning of a new era arrives at Manchester United, it’s the right time for Lindelof to seek a fresh start of his own. The 30-year-old will leave an FA Cup and Carabao Cup winner in a period of his career not without its struggles, but with some impressive silverware along the way.

After almost eight years, he wouldn’t be leaving without having made some fans within the club either, with centre-back partner Harry Maguire among them. The former Manchester United captain told reporters after their win over Luton Town last season (via Football365): “Victor is technically brilliant. You’ve seen over the years that he’s a great footballer. I’m really pleased for him, he was brilliant today.”

If Amorim does show the central defender the door, Yoro could be handed his place to finally make his mark at Old Trafford. The young Frenchman suffered an ill-timed injury on arrival in pre-season and didn’t even get the chance to make a Premier League appearance under Ten Hag.

Now, with Amorim to impress, he’ll be desperate to get back to full fitness and earn his place at the heart of United’s backline.

Head coach also backs new-look top three to step up in the absence of Rohit and Kohli

Hemant Brar07-Jun-20221:39

Dravid on top-three batters: ‘We’re looking for good, positive starts’

Hardik Pandya is likely to be back in the finisher’s role for India despite having a lot of success at No. 3 and 4 for Gujarat Titans at IPL 2022. Hardik was the leading scorer for Titans with 487 runs at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.26, but according to India’s head coach Rahul Dravid, it’s not necessary that he will bat in the position for the national team.”Hardik is a fantastic cricketer with both bat and ball – we have seen that for India in the past obviously,” Dravid said. “He has been very successful in white-ball cricket and has shown some really good form in this IPL as well. So it’s very pleasing to have someone of that quality that we can choose from.Related

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“Without giving too much away – I’m not going to be telling the batting order before the game starts – but in general, sometimes the role that you play for your franchise matches with the role that you play for India, but sometimes you have to play slightly different roles for different teams.”And it’s not only about Hardik. For all the players, some of the roles they played for their IPL franchises might be slightly different to the roles that we are expecting here based on our team combination.”With little captaincy experience under his belt, Hardik led Titans to the title in their maiden IPL season. From his team-mates to the coaching staff at the franchise, everyone praised his leadership style, especially the freedom he gave his players to express themselves on the field.Dravid was asked if he noticed any difference in Hardik after the IPL. “I just met him a couple of hours ago,” he laughed, “as we had given the guys who played in the IPL final an extra day off at home. So I’m not sure what I can tell you. I just said hello to the guy.”But will he be part of India’s leadership group going forward? Dravid isn’t concerned about that. He is more pleased that Hardik is bowling again. Hardik picked up eight wickets in the IPL, and on Tuesday, he bowled for about 20 minutes on the centre wicket under the supervision of bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.”Obviously his leadership was very impressive right through the IPL,” Dravid said, “but you don’t have to be designated as a leader to be part of any leadership group. At this point of time, it’s a good thing from our perspective that he has started bowling again. We know what that does for us, what kind of depth that brings to the side. So really, for us, it’s about ensuring that we can get the best out of him as a cricketer in terms of his bowling, his batting, and in terms of his overall contribution.”ESPNcricinfo LtdIn Hardik, India will have a familiar face in the finisher’s role, but the top order will bear a new look with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli rested for the series. Against South Africa, either Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad will open the innings along with KL Rahul.But over the last few years, even in T20 cricket, it has been seen that India’s top three prefer to take their time to settle down instead of attacking right from the start. Irrespective of who bats in the top three, Dravid expects them to be capable of playing all kinds of roles as per the demands of the match situation and the pitch.”We know our top three’s quality. It’s a top-class top three that we play regularly. Obviously, we have a slightly different top three in this particular series, but any top three that plays, what we’re looking for is good positive starts, and playing what the situation and that wicket demands. If it’s a high-scoring game, obviously you want your people to be able to maintain that level of strike rate.”There could be other situations where the wicket might be a bit more challenging, you might lose a few wickets, you need to adapt, so you need to be able to respond to that as well. But in general, in T20 cricket, you want people to play positively and I think these guys have got that quality. Each one of them can play all of the roles as and when required. As I said earlier, their roles at the franchise level might be slightly different but we will certainly be giving them a lot of clarity as to what their roles are for India, and what our expectations are. And I’m pretty confident that anyone we pick in the top three would be able to play all the roles required, depending on the situation of the match and the pitch.”

Somerset put themselves one step closer to qualification for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals with a 16-run win over Glamorgan in Cardiff.Persistent rain reduced the match to a seven-over contest with Glamorgan putting Somerset into bat. Early wickets pegged the visitors back but some powerful blows from Tom Abell and Ben Green took Somerset to 75 for 6.Just as was the case with the Somerset innings, Glamorgan suffered early losses as they got the chase underway. Unlike Somerset they did not have the late acceleration to get them to their target with Colin Ingram playing a lone hand to finish on 37 not out.Victory takes Somerset to 16 points, and while a quarter-final isn’t a mathematical certainty they are extremely well placed.Once the match got underway Michael Neser gave Glamorgan the perfect start with the ball. Somerset lost the wickets of Tom Banton and Rilee Rossouw from consecutive balls, both batters dismissed for golden ducks. Banton attempted to scoop a length ball to the boundary and it crashed into his stumps. Rossouw pulled a shorter ball into the hands Sam Northeast at midwicket.Somerset’s batting efforts received another blow in the second over, Will Smeed chipped a ball from Michael Hogan to Andrew Salter at mid-off for 3. His wicket meant that Somerset were 7 for 3 inside the first two overs.Prem Sissodya’s first over also brought a wicket, Lewis Gregory edging behind to wicket-keeper Alex Horton for 7 to leave his side 15 for 4. The second over from Sissodya contained two boundaries before he bowled Tom Lammonby for 18 to leave Somerset at 41 for 5 with two overs to go.Michael Hogan almost claimed his second wicket of the night when he came back into the attack when Abell hit a drive high into the Cardiff sky. Kiran Carlson was the fielder and he couldn’t hold on to what would have been a very impressive catch.Abel and Green were impressive in the final two overs, putting on 34 runs in 13 balls at the end of the Somerset innings.Glamorgan’s pursuit of the 76 run target got off to a poor start, Northeast becoming the third player to be dismissed first ball when he edged Craig Overton through to Banton. David Lloyd fell the following over, bowled by Peter Siddle for just 1 to reduced Glamorgan to 17 for 2.Dan Douthwaite, promoted up the order in this shortened game, lasted four balls before be holed out on the boundary edge for just 3 with Green picking up the wicket. Green’s impressive all-round performance continued in his second over when Kiran Carlson edged him through to Banton for 7.Ingram and Eddie Byrom where left with 38 runs required from just 12 balls. That equation became 32 from 11 when Byrom smashed Josh Davey for six but the Glamorgan batter was trapped lbw the very next ball.Ingram swung manfully in the final over but there was too much left to do with Somerset claiming their eighth win of this Blast campaign.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2015Lendl Simmons was next to go. Right after hitting Morne Morkel for a six, he scooped one straight to third man, leaving Mumbai on 42 for 2•PTI Shakib struck again, in the seventh over, to limit Ambati Rayudu’s stay at the crease to three balls•BCCIRohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard got together for a 32-run fourth-wicket stand which ended when Sunil Narine castled the Mumbai captain for 30•BCCIPollard struggled to find his timing and played an uncharacteristic innings•BCCIBut the 21-year old Hardik Pandya smashed an unbeaten 61 off 31 balls, only his second T20 fifty, during the course of a 92-run stand for the fifth wicket that propelled Mumbai to 171 for 4•BCCIKnight Riders’ chase got off to a rousing start with Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa putting on 45 for the opening stand•BCCIBut Knight Riders lost Uthappa and Manish Pandey in the sixth over, leaving them on 46 for 2•BCCIGambhir struck some glorious boundaries before he was bowled by J Suchith off the last ball of the 11th over•BCCIMumbai’s bowlers removed Shakib and the dangerous Andre Russell in a space of ten balls, leaving Knight Riders with 44 to get from 25 balls•PTI But Yusuf Pathan’s late surge threatened to pull the game back in Knight Rider’s favour, leaving them with 12 to get off the final over•BCCIThen Pollard dismissed Pathan off the first ball, after he had made 52 from 37, and conceded only six runs to hand Mumbai a five-run win•BCCI

Arsenal have been struggling for goals as of late. The Gunners have failed to find the net in three of their last six games in all competitions, drawing blanks in defeats to Bournemouth, Newcastle and Inter Milan.

Across those three games, Arsenal had 36 shots on goal, suggesting that creating chances isn’t so much the problem for Mikel Arteta’s side, but finishing them off is.

Even prior to their goal drought, fans had been imploring Arteta to bring in a world-class striker, in the hope that it would finally allow Arsenal to mount and sustain a serious Premier League title challenge. Despite links with a number of huge stars, including Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres, Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, however, no such move has materialised.

Gunners now want Kolo Muani

According to TBR Football, Arsenal have now identified Paris Saint-Germain striker Kolo Muani as a man who could potentially solve their woes in front of goal. The 25-year-old striker, who joined the Ligue 1 giants in 2023 from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth £76.4 million, is out of favour with PSG boss Luis Enrique and has not featured in any of the club’s last three league games.

TBR Football claim that PSG are now open to allowing Kolo Muani to leave on loan this January, and that Arsenal are interested in bringing him in on a short-term basis. Manchester City, Manchester United, and West Ham United are also keen on the France international, according to the report.

A separate report from L’Équipe’s Florian Plettenberg earlier this week went one further, claiming that a number of Premier League clubs, though it did not name which, have already contacted PSG about a loan move for Kolo Muani. Plettenberg’s report also claimed those requests include the option to make the move permanent.

Would Kolo Muani solve the Gunners' striker woes?

Kolo Muani started his career in his home country, signing his first professional contract with FC Nantes in 2018. He went on to make just shy of a century of appearances for the Canaries before moving to Frankfurt in 2022.

In his only full season at Deutsche Bank Park, the Bondy-born striker scored 23 goals in all competitions, helping Oliver Glasner’s side finish as runners-up in the German Cup.

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Since his big money move to the French capital, however, Kolo Muani has struggled to replicate that form. Last term, he scored just nine goals in 40 games across all competitions, while this term he has just two in 10, though most of his appearances have come from the bench.

Despite his struggles at PSG, however, he still remains a regular for the France national team. To date, he’s made 25 appearances for Les Bleus, scoring eight goals. Speaking about Kolo Muani last month, France boss Didier Deschamps said: “He’s interesting, he’s radiant, He is confident and has a very specific profile where in his runs with the ball there is presence. He is a good header and with us he is very often successful.”

Wicketkeeper gets a gig with Desert Vipers, the franchise owned by Lancer Capital

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2022Azam Khan has become the first Pakistan player to sign up with the UAE’s International League T20. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is among the overseas players recruited by Desert Vipers, the franchise owned by Lancer Capital.Azam will be joined by Sri Lanka legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, England wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings and West Indies left-arm quick Sheldon Cottrell.Azam has played 74 T20s so far, scoring 1449 runs at a strike rate of just under 145. However, ESPNcricinfo has learned that his inclusion in the Vipers squad is subject to him getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the PCB. The PCB had recently turned down NOCs for a batch of Pakistan players for the BBL draft and it had also refused two requests for NOCs for the ILT20. The eighth edition of the PSL is tentatively scheduled to start just days after the ILT20 ends in February 2023.ESPNcricinfo, however, understands that Azam was given an NOC to play in the upcoming CPL after he filed an appeal when his first request was turned down.Desert Vipers also brought in former Australia allrounder Tom Moody and former England wicketkeeper-batter James Foster as the director of cricket and head coach respectively.Billings is currently leading Oval Invincibles in the Hundred while Cottrell is set to return to action from injury for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the upcoming CPL. Alex Hales, who recently passed 10000 T20 runs, Tom Curran and Ben Duckett will join their English compatriot Billings at Vipers. Namibia left-arm seamer Ruben Trumpelmann and Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane were the Vipers’ Associate picks.Related

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Moody has had several high-profile positions in T20 cricket, including stints as director of cricket and head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and as CPL’s director of cricket. At the IPL, Moody had also coached the Punjab franchise from 2008 to 2010 before linking up with Sunrisers in 2013. In international cricket, Moody had coached Sri Lanka between 2005 and 2007 – years in which the side had considerable success in Test cricket and became World Cup runners-up.”I’m honoured to lead the cricket operations of Desert Vipers in what promises to be an entertaining and high-quality tournament,” Moody said. “We have assembled an excellent mix of youth and experience in a highly skilled squad and I warmly welcome our players from all over the world in what is truly an international event.”Foster, meanwhile, is among the most promising coaches in England and is currently in charge of the Northern Superchargers men’s side in the Hundred. Since ending his playing career in 2018, Foster has had a number of stints in franchise cricket, including at the IPL, PSL, CPL, BBL and BPL. Foster has also worked as a consultant with England and Netherlands in international cricket.Acquiring the Vipers franchise is Lancer Capital’s first foray into cricket. They are also the owners of Manchester United football club and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl.The ILT20 is set to launch in January next year. The inaugural edition of the six-team competition, however, is set to coincide with South Africa’s T20 league, the BBL in Australia, and the BPL in Bangladesh.Desert Vipers squad so far: Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Sam Billings (England), Alex Hales (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand), Tom Curran (England), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Ruben Trumpelmann (Namibia), Saqib Mahmood (England), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Ben Duckett (England), Benny Howell (England), Sheldon Cottrell (West Indies), Azam Khan (Pakistan)

Harmer and Adam Rossington fifties leave Hampshire needing 299 to win in fourth innings

David Hopps27-Jun-2022How to play Simon Harmer on a pitch offering turn and bounce will again be the main topic of conversation at Chelmsford. Harmer soon took the last four Hampshire wickets to fall on the second morning and, as many had imagined he might, returned the best Championship figures this season in the process.His 8 for 46 was the first eight-for in Division One this summer, and also surpassed Dane Paterson’s 8 for 52 for Nottinghamshire against Worcestershire in Division Two. A pitch the colour of a peeled banana should continue to offer plenty of assistance on the third day and, despite signs of defiance, Hampshire’s target of 299 remains a distant dream.How should Hampshire combat Harmer? Limit vertical-bat shots, stay inside the line and, when you do hunt out the leg side do so with vigour and scare the close fielders to death might be one theory. Felix Organ appeared to have done a lot of thinking roughly along those lines and, with 13 overs to survive at the end of the day, his approach was particularly decisive. He swung Harmer for three leg-side sixes, the bowler conceded 30 from six overs and Hampshire closed their 13 overs somewhat enriched at 35 without loss.Dismissals at the start of day two included a reverse sweep (Keith Barker), a top-edged flat bat through cover (James Fuller) and a swing to deep midwicket (Kyle Abbott). Ben Brown, who played well for 38, was unfortunate and conveyed the fact the ball flicked the top of his pad with a meaningful pad bash, followed by an exasperated swing of his arm and spin of his bat.Liam Dawson, as Hampshire’s senior spinner, then responded with a creditable 7 for 68. As well as the first time he had taken 10 wickets in a match, he was also the first spinner to take five or more wickets at Chelmsford other than Harmer since 2014.”You have to cash in on these pitch as you don’t get many that turn off the straight in England,” Dawson said. “Harmer is world-class. Facing him and the bounce he gets is something every spinner wants and he has shown over the years how good he is. It is going to be a tough chase. We are going to have to be brave and take risks against Harmer. It is going to be a fun day. You might see some lads get out playing some big shots but that is better sitting around waiting to get caught around the bat.”Dawson is not a big turner of the ball, but he is a thoughtful bowler and approached every delivery with an air of great care as if he was not just bowling the ball but computing it. Nick Browne met the turning ball as he does swing and seam, with great deliberation, his 33 from 98 balls the most considered innings of the match. Adam Rossington’s 60 from 71 balls, his highest Championship score of the season, was a more pugnacious response from No. 7 after the loss of five early wickets. Harmer, as if to rub it in, then contributed 61 as he mowed regularly and spiritedly to midwicket.Rossington’s sudden move from Northamptonshire on the eve of the season, partly driven by a disagreement with Northants’ coaching staff over fitness regimes, was soon followed by Adam Wheater’s announcement that he would retire his Essex career at the end of the season, since when he has disappeared from view and Rossington is now established behind the stumps. He is a much more assertive batter and his bulk is making him one of the most recognisable figures in the game.It is a safe assumption that Essex did not discuss how to survive Organ with the same focus that Hampshire gave to Harmer. Organ, trying to make his way as an opening batter offering an offspin option, has a tidy first-class record, nonetheless, with his 29 wickets before this game costing under 23 runs.Along with Dawson, he kept Essex’s second innings honest. They had a first-innings lead of 75, knowing that another 150 would make them overwhelming favourites. The spinners were in tandem by the sixth over – perhaps uniquely this season – and, with half of Essex’s side dispatched for 51 just after lunch, the match was still very much alive.Organ took two in two, finding nice dip to beat Alastair Cook on the drive and have him caught at first slip, then seeing Tom Westley caught at short leg, a firm clip into Aneurin Donald’s midriff. Paul Walter, covering up in front of off stump, was trapped lbw on the back foot. Dawson had Dan Lawrence lbw flicking across his front pad. Michael Pepper, who is standing in for the injured Matt Critchley, has had an unrewarding match – after his tentative first-ball dismissal in the first innings, he opted for a reverse sweep and picked out cover. Dawson picked his way through the tail.Down in the furthest reaches of the County Ground, where the view is at its worst, two supporters watched Hampshire’s fielders agitating for wickets as Browne and Rossington began to reclaim Essex’s advantage. Seasoned county supporters, by and large, are not yet in the habit of checking the video replay when a contentious moment occurs. They draw on decades of experience, flavoured by a healthy seasoning of bias. Emotion often trumps facts, as in the real world beyond.So it was that when Browne survived a catch at short leg, Hampshire fielders dancing around, a portly man in a red polo shirt complained “clearly out” from fully 90 metres away, slightly downhill. Next ball, Browne’s defiant innings came to grief as he turned Dawson to backward short leg. “Should have walked the first time,” said the man, a little self-righteously, his faith in some sort of religious intervention confirmed. It would have been surprising if God had had the time to intervene considering that a minority of fundamentalists claim He has been more involved in Roe v Wade than Browne v Dawson.Minutes later, Harmer rode a blow from Abbott which brushed his chest on the way through to the wicketkeeper, Hampshire’s wailing for a wicket again refused. “They’re all cheating now,” said the man, before adding with no sense of irony: “Looked out from here.” All this time, umpires have been standing behind the stumps when clearly a better vantage point has existed all along.