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ScorecardSteven Crook continued his excellent start to the season•Getty Images

Northamptonshire weren’t touted as potential Division Two promotion contenders but few counties have started 2013 better. Only rain denied them victory after bowling Glamorgan out for 134 last week and here the vaunted Essex batting line-up were dismissed for 183.The shoddy shot selection of Essex’s top order was partially to blame for their fate but significant credit must go to Northants’ seamers. Steven Crook was outstanding, claiming Mark Pettini caught at second slip to a ball that reared up and then James Foster clean bowled to a delivery that moved late in the same over on the stroke of lunch. Ravi Bopara was utterly becalmed by Crook’s unrelenting line in his 31-ball 6 and edged behind just three balls after being dropped at second slip to another tentative forward prod. Since returning to Northants, Crook has now taken nine Championship wickets at under ten apiece.Crook’s career path may have been unconventional – he briefly retired from cricket a few years ago – but his bowling success, based on a strong, repeatable action and a consistent line just outside off stump, is certainly not.Northants have quietly assembled a formidable seam attack at Wantage Road. Australian Trent Copeland bowls a consistently threatening off stump line, which accounted for the stylish Tom Westley; David Willey showed the priceless left-armer’s virtue of swinging the ball back from around the wicket; and Andrew Hall’s relentless wicket-to-wicket bowling trapped Essex’s overseas player Rob Quiney lbw. Together, they easily vindicated Stephen Peters’ decision to bowl after winning the toss.Peters would have been particularly thrilled that three bowling changers yielded wickets within two balls. As Crook later said, “We’ve bowled well as a unit and we’ve got some variation in our attack – we’re not all doing the same thing.”That Essex even mustered 183 was the result of Graham Napier’s belligerent unbeaten 73. With Essex in disarray at 138 for 9, Napier responded as is his wont, thrashing five sixes in ten balls. A couple were harrumphed over long-on, and there were a trio of upper cuts for six as Napier sagaciously targeted the short third man boundary. It’s not often that a bowler can feel frustrated with figures of 4 for 39, but that was Crook’s fate after Napier plundered him for 22 in an over.Napier, who said he had never played in windier conditions, was almost as impressive with the ball, bustling in with considerable pace to take 3 for 30. Indeed, had substitute Tom Craddock taken Rob Newton – who has batted pleasingly for his unbeaten 35 – just before the close, Essex might even be dreaming of a first innings advantage.But Napier and Reece Topley might have benefited from a little more support. While Topley was impressive, fellow left-armer Tymal Mills bowled too many short deliveries on leg stump. Maurice Chambers was also inconsistent, going for 27 in five overs, and was a little fortunate to dismiss Alex Wakely, caught at square leg of a lackadaisical flick. But he was also unlucky not to get another wicket: he got a ball to rear up to Rob Newton’s glove, and it bounced onto off stump without dislodging the bail. As wags immediately remarked, it was a case of Newton defying gravity.Fifteen dismissals in the day might suggest this was a pitch with excessive zest but, although good bowlers can find seam movement and bounce, it is an excellent cricket wicket. Indeed, if there is a problem with the conditions it is with the wind. Napier avoided blaming the wicket for Essex’s first innings total, saying only “it’s a strange pitch – when it’s done something it’s done a lot”.That the wicket rewards good batsmanship was highlighted by Stephen Peters, who played the late-cut deliciously in his 60. It is often remarked that Peters hasn’t enjoyed the career expected after scoring a match-winning hundred in the Under-19 World Cup Final in 1998 but he remains one of the most aesthetically pleasing batsmen on the county circuit.

Albie Morkel left the field after bowling 2.3 overs in the Ram Slam T20 final with an ankle injury. However, he dispelled concerns over his participation in the IPL by *tweeting the next morning that he will be leaving for India on Monday after undergoing a scan. Scan went well. Will be on my way to India today,” he said.While sending down his 15th delivery of the innings, Morkel turned on his left ankle and fell onto the pitch, where he lay for several seconds before turning over with a grimace. He was treated on field and had to be helped off.Morkel returned to bat later in the match although he appeared in some discomfort. He limped through his runs put batted for 29 minutes before becoming the last man out.”We don’t know how bad it is yet. He will have to get it checked out,” Titans captain Henry Davids said after the game. “He turned over his ankle, which can be quite serious. But it was good that he could come out and bat again, he is a very destructive player.”This is not the first time Morkel has been troubled by ankle problems. He picked up a similar injury on South Africa’s tour of England last July. On that occasion, Morkel required only 10 days to recover.CSK’s other big South African signing, Faf du Plessis, will miss the first four weeks of the IPL with a lower-back problem which will leave them without two key players. They will, however, have the services of Chris Morris in their squad.*The story has been updated after Morkel’s tweet confirmed he was leaving for India

A key figure of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), its managing director Salman Sarwar Butt, has stepped down from his post and will be replaced by the director general PCB Javed Miandad in the interim. The inaugural season of the Twenty20 tournament was indefinitely postponed because of logistical issues.Butt, a banker by profession, was instrumental in setting up Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition, whose first edition in 2005 was sponsored by his then employer, ABN-AMRO Bank. He is an influential figure on the Pakistan corporate circuit and was involved in setting up the PSL since 2011.”Before joining, I had intimated the PCB of my plans and commitments beyond April 2013, which would prevent me from working on future editions of PSL,” Butt said in a statement. “As the league is now most likely to be held after April, I will not be available to work further on this first edition. We have therefore mutually agreed that it would make sense to appoint a successor sooner rather than later.”I would naturally be happy to provide all possible assistance to PCB and PSL even if I am not officially associated with the league, and would remain an ardent ambassador of PSL.”The PSL was supposed to be held between March 26 and April 7 in Pakistan but was delayed to give investors more time to submit bids and also to avoid scheduling conflicts with other cricket tournaments. It was also going to clash with the pre-poll campaigns ahead of general elections, expected to be held in May. The PCB is working on another slot for the league and no precise timeframe has been indicated.”A committee is working full time to find available and appropriate dates and we are hopeful that the process for the sale of various rights will restart soon,” said Butt. “We are constantly in touch with all parties who have shown interest in our League and we hope to announce new dates soon.”

Ireland have awarded medium-pacer Max Sorensen a category-A central contract for the first time, as they prepare for life without Boyd Rankin. Sorensen impressed in 2012, with 31 wickets in all formats for Ireland, and he joins Trent Johnston, John Mooney, Alex Cusack and Kevin O’Brien in the top bracket.Cricket Ireland has announced that 17 players will be contracted for 2013, down from 23 last year – although a further five, fourth-tier contracts are still to be offered. Rankin, who quit Irish cricket in order to focus on playing for Warwickshire and, potentially, England, is one to drop out, along with two other retirees: Nigel Jones, who was part of Ireland’s World T20 side but has now taken up a regional development role, and Albert van der Merwe.Ireland have already set out a plan to earn Test status by 2020 and they are beginning to develop their next generation. Four young players – Peter Chase, Tyrone Kane, James Shannon, Stuart Thompson – have been handed category C contracts, for those still in full-time education. Thompson, 21, who is studying geography at Northumbria University, made his international debut in 2012, taking 14 wickets in six matches, while Chase was Ireland’s Young Player of the Year.”There’s no doubt that a key part of our success to date has been the move to professionalism,” the Ireland coach, Phil Simmons, said. “We will now have 22 players on full or part-time contracts and a structure supporting the senior squad. It makes such a difference as a coach to be able to work with players on a regular basis and this has been reflected in our dominance at Associate level over the past five of six years.

Contracted Ireland players

• A category: Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Max Sorensen.

• B category: George Dockrell*, Ed Joyce*, Tim Murtagh*, Niall O’Brien*, William Porterfield*, Paul Stirling*, Andrew White, Gary Wilson* (*also contracted to counties).

• C category: Peter Chase, Tyrone Kane, James Shannon, Stuart Thompson.

“The composition of the contracted players is an indication of what I strive for in my teams. There is the spine of experience as well as a number of very talented youngsters. While immediate results are paramount, it’s always good to be thinking ahead and these contracts offer the younger guys some security as they look to build their careers.”The likes of Ed Joyce, Niall O’Brien and William Porterfield, who have led Ireland to several notable victories in global tournaments over recent years, retained their second-tier contracts. Seven of the Associate nation’s most experienced players also have deals in England and Cricket Ireland will continue to work with the first-class counties to maximise their availability.This year, Ireland’s domestic-based players will also benefit from competing in a new Inter-Provincial series of three-day, one-day and Twenty20 competitions, to commence in late April.Richard Holdsworth, Ireland’s performance director, said: “We are pleased to retain players on ‘A’ and ‘B’ category contracts from last year, and all of them still have a great deal to achieve on the international stage. It is important Cricket Ireland has plans for the future, and whilst 2013 will be a huge year for the team, we must also look ahead to major ICC events – the World Twenty20 in 2014 and the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.”We have also awarded ‘C’ category contracts to four younger players who we see as a key part of our future. Seven of the 17 contracted players are also contracted to English counties, and our close relationships with those counties will hopefully allow them to play for Ireland as much as possible in addition to the ICC mandatory matches in season. In due course we shall be offering an additional five ‘D’ contracts to players who we feel have long-term potential, and these will be announced in time.”

Chamara Kapugedera, along with other Rajshahi players, almost boycotted their match against Khulna over pending payments•Shaun Roy/SPORTZPICS/SLPL

The local flavor
The local players have made an impact in the second season of the BPL, compared to last year, when they were inconspicious. In the third week of the competition, seven out of the top ten run-scorers are Bangladeshis.In the Rangpur Riders-Duronto Rajshahi game on February 4, it was the local players who attracted all the attention. Shamsur Rahman, Junaid Siddique and Nasir Hossain batted merrily for the Riders while Jahurul Islam kept wickets for Rajshahi. Between them, these players were on the field for nearly 15.3 overs. While the Rangpur batsmen batted well, their inability to clear the boundary was also apparent, with just four sixes in the innings. Rajshahi had an easy chase, thanks to a fifty from Tamim Iqbal and an unbeaten 38 from Jahurul.Angry Asif
The bowlers’ celebrations have made for the most amusing scenes at the BPL. The most talked about celebrations have come from Khulna bowler Asif Ahmed, who scowls after a wicket. Ahmed was in the news for giving rude send-offs to Sabbir Rahman and Tamim Iqbal.Against Chittagong, Ahmed took a catch to dismiss captain Brendan Taylor. He promptly turned around and asked for the crowd to quiet down, only to realise that the only audience he had were a group of policemen seated far away in the grandstand.The close shave
One could sense something was amiss before the Rajshahi-Khulna game. There weren’t too many Rajshahi players warming up ahead of the match and the reserve umpire and match referee were lingering around their dressing room, talking to the team owner.It was soon clear that all was not right with the team as Tamim Iqbal headed out for the toss. He had only done the job in the first two games before Jahurul Islam and Chamara Kapugedera were given the task. Later, Kapugedera confirmed that the players had revolted due to unpaid salaries and had decided to play the game 20 minutes before start of play.The captaincy mystery
The seven franchises in this year’s BPL have been captained by 15 players so far. Mostly, the changes have been due to injury, but in some cases, there have been resignations, lack of enjoyment and even a player revolt.Duronto Rajshahi has been led by three players – Tamim, Jahurul and Kapugedera — though the man originally given the onus, Simon Katich, hasn’t captained in a single game. Tamim was the captain in the first two games before Jahurul took over. The wicket-keeper batsman struggled and asked the team owner to appoint another captain, after which Kapugedera was given the responsibility.Mahmudullah suddenly stopped captaining Chittagong Kings, stating that he wasn’t enjoying the role. Brendan Taylor took over and has enjoyed moderate success. Towards the end of their campaign, Khulna had a change in leadership, too, when Shahriar Nafees texted his resignation to the team owner, handing over the reigns to Lou Vincent. Alok Kapali led Barisal Burners in the absence of their regular captain, Brad Hodge who arrived in the later stages of the tournament. Abdur Razzak sat out a game for Rangpur Riders due to injury and was replaced by Nasir Hossain and Suharwadi Shuvo, too, led Sylhet Royals in place of the injured Mushfiqur Rahim.The captaincy switch that had tongues wagging occurred when Mohammad Ashraful led Dhaka Gladiators, in place of Mashrafe Mortaza. The latter claimed he was fully fit, contradicting a statement released by the franchise that he was struggling with back pain.

ScorecardFlashes of spectacular cricket marked the first innings of BPL’s second season but the difference in strength between the star-studded Dhaka Gladiators and the hastily gathered Khulna Royal Bengals, who played with just one foreign player, was stark. Owais Shah’s blast with the bat and Mosharraf Hossain’s good form with the ball exacerbated the difference and Dhaka’s margin of victory in Mirpur was 62 runs.After faring poorly for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, Shah found form immediately in Bangladesh, hammering six sixes and four fours in his 48-ball 84. He targeted the on-side in his typical method, using the angles even while lofting the ball. Shah added 90 runs for the third wicket with Anamul Haque, who batted with utmost freedom against a bowling attack that lacked direction.Anamul scored 50 off 39 balls with four boundaries and three sixes, and thrived on Shah’s aggression at the other end. He was caught off Dolar Mahmud in the 15th over, letting Shakib Al Hasan take the crease for the first time since he suffered a shin injury in late November. He blasted his first ball for six over wide mid-on, and gave support to Shah in their 64-run stand for the fourth wicket. Shakib was unbeaten on 27 off 14 balls.Royal Bengals depended a lot on Riki Wessels and though he delivered a 23-ball 30, it was never enough when the asking rate was above ten an over. When he fell in the ninth over with his team on 67, Khulna lost their way, with Mohammad Mithun and captain Shahriar Nafees also falling on the same score.Left-arm spinner Mosharraf took four wickets, all important ones in the context of the innings, and it masked the gaps in the Dhaka bowling attack, which is based mostly on spin. Asif Ahmed made 29 low in the order, but it was too late in the day to turn the game.

ScorecardEngland’s Performance Programme squad won their tour match against Dr DY Patil Sport Academy, racing past a target of 228 in just 30.1 overs. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes provided the power, hitting 13 sixes between them, after two declarations on day three set up the chance of a result.The EPP halted their first innings on their overnight score of 235 for 7, still trailing by 42 runs, before Stokes, Toby Roland-Jones and Stuart Meaker helped reduce the Academy to 47 for 4 and then 85 for 5. Prashant Naik and Pankaj Jaiswal put on 100 for the sixth wicket, the declaration coming when Naik fell to Varun Chopra’s occasional offspin for 70.After Chopra and James Taylor opened the first innings, Craig Kieswetter and Gary Ballance strode out second time around. They fell in pursuit of quick runs but Stokes and Buttler cracked on, adding 91 in eight overs.Taylor then joined Buttler in another 50 partnership and although Vishal Dabholkar returned to claim his second and third wickets, the EPP overhauled their target with almost four overs to spare. The win was their second on tour, after an innings victory against the same opponents last week.

Major news agencies could boycott the series between India and England in protest at restrictions imposed upon journalists by the BCCI.The News Media Coalition (NMC), which campaigns for media freedom around the world and represents a large number of media organisations, has issued a statement saying it “deplored” a decision by the India board to bar photo agencies such as Getty Images and Action Images. The BCCI have said they will supply their own images of the series, which starts with the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday, to be downloaded from their website.”The NMC, an international organisation which defends the ability of the press to inform the public with independent news material, has urged the BCCI to withdraw the policy which will hit media coverage, fans and the sponsors involved with teams,” a NMC statement read. “Getty Images and Action Images and Indian photographic agencies have been barred by the BCCI for this latest cricket series.”Agence France-Presse (AFP) announced they would suspend text and photo coverage unless the matter could be resolved ahead of the series. AFP stated that it “strongly believes the right of the media to cover news events without undue restrictions should be protected”, adding it hoped “the BCCI will lift its policy so news media and fans can continue to get independent coverage”.Reuters and the Associated Press also said they may be forced to suspend coverage. Other news organisations are considering their positions, fearing that the BCCI’s policy may set a precedent.”The BCCI has offered to make its own photographs available but this is no substitute for independent and objective press photography,” Andrew Moger, executive director of NMC, said. “Despite numerous opportunities, the BCCI has yet to explain why it is discriminating against photographic agencies or indeed whether other news sectors will be targeted. We deplore this move and insult to organisations which have supported cricket worldwide.”BCCI media manager Devendra Prabhudesai said the board was not seeking to bar news agencies. “The BCCI has a policy not to accredit photo syndication services like Getty Images and other similar foreign and domestic agencies,” he told AFP. “We have no such problems with AFP, AP or Reuters since their text and photo service is for editorial use only. We have already explained our stand to the News Media Coalition.”The episode is the latest dispute between the BCCI and media organisations in the run-up to the series. Sky TV, which owns the television rights for the tour in the UK, decided not to send its team of commentators to India after the BCCI demanded £500,000 for hosting them in the grounds. Sky refused to pay and will instead commentate from a live television feed in London.The BBC, which owns the rights for audio coverage in the UK, was also asked for an extra £50,000 but reached an agreement with the BCCI.

Essex 245 and 85 for 1 (Westley 51*) lead Derbyshire 266 (Masters 5-51) by 64 runs
ScorecardDavid Masters claimed another five-wicket haul before Derbyshire’s lower order fought back strongly to leave their Championship match against Essex fascinatingly poised. The Essex pace bowler finished with impressive figures of 5 for 51 from 30 overs but half-centuries from Ross Whiteley and Tom Poynton helped the Division Two leaders rally to reach 266.Derbyshire’s last three wickets put on 146 and Essex lost Jaik Mickleburgh in the fourth over of their second innings, but an attacking unbeaten half-century from Tom Westley carried the visitors to 85 for 1, a lead of 64 , at the close of day three.Masters was easily the pick of the Essex attack and he took his third wicket of the innings when he had Wes Durston caught behind for 1 with only four added to the overnight total. At 32 for 4, Essex were in a strong position but no one else posed the same threat as Masters and Paul Borrington and Dan Redfern began the recovery in overcast conditions that favoured seam bowling.The pair dug in for 15 overs and put on 60 before Borrington’s disciplined innings of 42 from 99 balls was ended when he was struck in line pushing half forward at Masters. Redfern played some handsome drives but it was a loose stroke just before lunch that betrayed him when he edged Graham Napier into the hands of second slip.When David Wainwright skied a drive to mid-off to give Masters his third five-wicket bag of the season, Derbyshire were in trouble at 120 for 7 but, just as in the Essex innings, an eighth-wicket stand put them back in the match.Whiteley flicked Maurice Chambers, who proved expensive, over square leg for six on his way to his second fifty of the summer and Derbyshire had their first batting point in the bank before Tom Craddock beat Whiteley’s attempted drive. But there was more resistance to come from the tail as Tim Groenewald joined Poynton to add another 34 runs in 10 overs and although Napier beat Groenewald for pace, Mark Turner helped Poynton secure a second batting point.They scored 26 to give the home side an unexpected lead of 21 and Essex had only just wiped out the deficit when Mickleburgh was caught behind driving at Groenewald. Westley’s driving was more productive as he plundered 10 fours in his 51 and with Owais Shah unbeaten on 26, Essex will go into the last day with a chance of forcing the victory they need to keep their slim hopes of promotion alive.

Wally Edwards, the Cricket Australia chairman, will be seeking a unanimous vote in favour of governance change when the game’s Australian custodians sit down for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in Melbourne on Friday to continue the march towards independent board directors.South Australia has remained outspoken in its opposition to the proposal for non-state-aligned CA directors put forward by the Crawford and Carter Governance review and accepted by the other states, however the measures will go through even if the SACA again raises a dissenting voice at the EGM tomorrow.Edwards said his strong preference was for a unanimous vote to ensure the path towards a new governance model would be smooth and united.”I’d prefer it to be unanimous obviously, we have to go forward as a united business and that’s what we’re trying to achieve, a one business mentality right across Australian cricket,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s the next phase after governance, to make it a better business and be more efficient, more dynamic, and deliver more services for less dollars – set the business up for the next 50 years.”We know where they [SA] stand, I don’t expect them to change their position between now and the members meeting. What we’re voting on is something they agree with fundamentally so we’ll just wait and see whether they decide if they want to vote no or yes. Hopefully we’ve got enough votes to get it through.”Edwards revealed that the SACA had used the ICC’s governance model – itself in a state of some discussion following the raft of changes recommended by Lord Woolf’s governance review – as a reason why it was opposed to the prohibition of CA board directors also holding positions on state association boards.”They think it’s a better system, that’s their belief and you have to accept that,” Edwards said. “They think it’s a better system to have someone connected from their board to the CA board and they use the ICC as an example of that of course, where we are connected.”I can understand where they’re coming from. They pretty well agree with everything else that we’re doing. It’s just a fundamental disagreement there and that’s their right.”Irrespective of SA’s opposition, the wheels for change are very likely to gather motion at the meeting, where the board will also consider the plans devised to select its first three independent directors in October.A nominations committee will decide on the trio, with the committee to be composed of two state board chairmen, two businessmen not formally associated with Australian cricket in any way, and Edwards.