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The PCB governing board has provisionally approved a budget of approximately rupees 3 billion with a deficit of rupees 500 million for the year 2013-14

Umar Farooq25-Aug-2013The PCB governing board has provisionally approved a budget of approximately rupees 3 billion ($29 million approximately) with a deficit of rupees 500 million for the year 2013-14. The much-awaited budget announcement, which came after a delay of almost two months, is a relief for the contracted players who, after not being paid their retainerships since January this year, have now been promised a 15 percent hike in their monthly retainerships. The budget hasn’t offered a hike for the PCB employees.Najam Sethi, the interim PCB chairman, presided over the governing board meeting to approve the provisional budget with three regional and three departmental/services heads, two technocrats and one of two former cricketers. Former wicket-keeper batsman Imtiaz Ahmad was not present due to personal commitments. The meeting went on for six hours at the National Cricket Academy and budget was the major agenda that dominated the meeting.Compared to the previous budget, the PCB had a flat year as it failed to find any revenue, but it was also a less expensive year as Pakistan hosted only one limited-overs series against Australia in the UAE in August 2012. Pakistan also saved further expense as it did not host any international junior team tournament in the previous fiscal year.The PCB had hoped the limited-overs series in India and the Pakistan Super League would help it overcome a shortfall of 70 crore rupees ($6.7 million approx) in last year’s budget, but it didn’t go as per plan. India refused to share its revenue from the ODIs and the T20s, while the PSL was postponed over logistical issues. ESPNcricinfo, however, understands the reduction in deficit was the result of the abandoned home series with Bangladesh and various under-19 team tours to Pakistan within the fiscal year.The budget was delayed over the Islamabad High Court’s judgement which barred the interim PCB chairman to take major decisions. However, the PCB, after consultation with Pakistan Attorney General and the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination, has decided to approve the budget with a provision that the new full-time chairman can review it further.IHC in its order, while disposing off a writ petition of removing Zaka Ashraf as the PCB chairman, had given a detailed decision on July 4 under which it has ordered the interim chairman Sethi to work as caretaker and hold election in 90 days to bring in a full-time elected chairman.The chances of the generation of revenue in the upcoming year appear bleak but the PCB is hoping to further reduce the deficit by agreeing to cuts in administrative expenses. The PCB is set to sell its broadcasting rights for the South Africa and Sri Lanka series on August 31 but the value is unlikely to hike up the budget.The PCB has been facing a financial crunch mainly because of teams refusing to tour Pakistan due to security concerns following the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. Since then, Pakistan has been forced to host teams at neutral venues. The 2010-2011 budget was also in the red, before it was boosted by the hefty compensation that the ICC paid the board, following Pakistan’s removal as co-host of the 2011 World Cup.

Preview of the match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran05-Apr-2013Match factsApril 6, 2013
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Mumbai fell short by two runs in their opening game•BCCIBig PictureMumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings flagged off IPL 2012 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Two strong sides played out a tepid match, with Mumbai trouncing the hosts. Mumbai’s opening game of this edition didn’t quite go to plan, losing narrowly to Royal Challengers Bangalore in a game that see-sawed in the final stages. With the asking rate climbing during Mumbai’s chase, Royal Challengers appeared to have the match in control, but Dinesh Karthik’s three consecutive sixes eased the equation considerably. Though Karthik failed to see the side through, Mumbai would have been better served if Karthik had more support.Not for the first time, Kieron Pollard walked in later than he should have (he got to face only two deliveries). For the past few seasons, fans have pushed for a promotion in the batting order and never understood Mumbai’s conservative approach to Pollard. Perhaps there is a good reason for that strategy, but it is hard to fathom. Had he been set, the result could have been different. Despite the defeat, Mumbai needn’t tinker with their line-up. Lasith Malinga missed the game due to injury, but he will be forced to sit out the second match, fit or not, since the game’s in Chennai.Super Kings haven’t always been the strongest starters. Given the form of their protagonists from the Australia Tests – MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and M Vijay – it’s hard to imagine the side stuttering. The ban on Sri Lanka players affects them the least, given they have only two such players in their line-up, who aren’t automatic picks. Chennai are without Faf du Plessis for at least the first month due to injury, while two other South Africans, Albie Morkel and Chris Morris join the team after the South African domestic T20 competition ends on April 7..Players to watchAfter being smacked for three fours off his first four balls, Jasprit Bumrah’s selection was starting to look farcical for Mumbai Indians. Bumrah scripted a remarkable turnaround, picking up three wickets on IPL debut. His unusual high-arm action makes him worth watching, and his performance should guarantee at least another game. He bowls from wide of the crease and generates a sharp angle into the right-handers, which fetched him two of his three wickets.Ravindra Jadeja has in recent times been the butt of jokes on social media networks for failing to justify his two-million-dollar price tag. While Jadeja may have underachieved as a batsman for India, respect for him should have grown following the Australia Tests in which he picked up 24 wickets, second behind Ashwin (29).2012 head-to-headMumbai won the opening game by eight wickets, chasing down a paltry 113. The second match, at Wankhede Stadium, was a nailbiter, with Dwayne Smith playing a blinder for Mumbai with 16 needed off the final over. Smith smashed three boundaries off the last three balls to steal a two-wicket win for Mumbai. Super Kings hit back in the Elimination final, winning by 38 runs in Bangalore.Stats and trivia Mumbai lead the head-to-head with seven wins against Super Kings, out of 13 games. Suresh Raina was the leading run-scorer for Super Kings last season with 441 runs in 19 games. Sachin Tendulkar is the top-scorer in matches between the two sides, with 353 runs at an average of 44.12 from 10 innings.Quotes”The focus is on a few star players, both Indian and foreign, but there are others too who have contributed immensely. Take Badrinath for instance. He might not be a big hitter but has come up with several important performances for the team.”

“It was the first time that I played in front of such huge crowd but I wasn’t paying any attention to the crowd. The more you focus on the inside, the better it is.”

The Australian government has decided to cut down gambling advertisements and the broadcasting of live odds during television coverage of all sports, including cricket, in response to the blurring line between commentators and bookmakers

Brydon Coverdale27-May-2013The Australian government has decided to cut down gambling advertisements and the broadcasting of live odds during television coverage of all sports, including cricket, in response to the blurring line between commentators and bookmakers. Betting is legal in Australia and the move will be seen with interest in India, where there is a feeling that legalising betting will decrease the influence of criminals in the industry.The prime minister, Julia Gillard, on Sunday announced that the federal government would demand changes to the broadcasting codes that would limit advertisements for betting companies and the updating of odds from betting companies or commentators to scheduled breaks in play.For Australia’s football codes that would mean such promotions could only be shown at breaks such as quarter-time or half-time, while during cricket coverage it would likely refer to changes of innings and lunch and tea breaks. Any representative of a gambling company providing updates during such breaks will not be able to do so from the venue and will not be able to appear with the commentary team.The Gillard government’s move is largely the result of in-play betting updates during coverage of football codes, especially the National Rugby League. This year, a hefty sponsorship deal allowed bookmaker Tom Waterhouse to appear alongside Channel Nine commentators during their coverage of NRL matches, which prompted a public backlash amid concerns over the growing move to the mainstream of sports gambling.The NRL and Channel Nine altered Waterhouse’s role several weeks into the season as a result of the public reaction to the increasingly blurred line between commentator and bookmaker. Although the prevalence of betting information during cricket coverage had not reached that stage, Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland indicated in February that CA would consider what was and was not appropriate, and had already spoken to Channel Nine about the way such updates from sponsor Bet365 were presented.Sutherland’s comments at the time came shortly after the release of the Australian Crime Commission’s report into links between performance-enhancing drug use, organised crime and possible betting corruption in sport in Australia. Although cricket was not implicated in any way, the report highlighted the need for vigilance from all sports.

With three out of the four quarter-finals ending in high-scoring draws, Harbhajan Singh has backed the idea of playing knockout games on neutral venues in the Ranji Trophy

Amol Karhadkar in Jamshedpur10-Jan-2013391 overs. 1133 runs. 13 wickets. The summary of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finalbetween Jharkhand and Punjab is more than enough to indicate what kind of wicket wasoffered for a knock-out game of the premier domestic championship at the KeenanStadium in Jamshedpur.And it’s not just about Jamshedpur. The numbers in Rajkot and Mumbai – two of theother three quarter-final venues – are also similar, if not worse, in terms ofcompetition between the bat and the ball. This, in a season when the BCCI has issueda diktat to all the state associations for producing ‘sporting’ tracks.The only quarter-final that saw a result was, not surprisingly, played at a neutralvenue. With England based at the Palam ground in Delhi, Services hosted favouritesUttar Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore in what turned out to be a fascinatingcontest with David eventually overcoming Goliath.If the four quarter-finals were an indication, isn’t it high time the BCCI returnsto the policy they adopted during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons? That of playingall knockout games at neutral venues, thereby negating any home advantage andreducing the possibility of a flat-bed. Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh supported theneutral venue theory despite ending up on the better side.”Yes. Why not? We’re playing the premier domestic competition where all the teamshave got an advantage of playing at home in the league stages. When it comes toknockout stages, why not have Punjab playing in Mumbai and Mumbai playing in Gujaratand Haryana,” Harbhajan said, after Punjab progressed to the semi-final on the basisof the first innings lead against Jharkhand. “It will also be good for the game.Imagine someone like Sachin Tendulkar going and playing in Haryana or in Delhi,people will come to watch and it will be a big thing for the game, so why not!”The game in Jamshedpur turned out to be a torrid experience for the bowlers. Thewicket – which neither offered movement or bounce for seamers nor turn for spinners- surprised Shahbaz Nadeem, the Jharkhand captain. “The two home games we playedhere, the wicket was so much better. The ball was coming off the deck much quickerand the spinners came into the game on the third and the fourth day. Such kind of awicket came as a real surprise. It negated all sorts of home advantage we had.”With literally no help from the strip, the bowlers had nothing else to do but “hope”as Harbhajan said. But he expressed his displeasure with some of the umpiringdecisions that went against him”A few decisions didn’t go my way and for that I have been fined. Otherwise, I could have had three-four wickets in my account,” he said. “I hope that the umpiring standards improve. At least those who are out should be given out. On these kind of wickets, you’re going to get a batsman out only once. And if you’re not given the wickets you’ve earned, then perhaps you have to toil for another 20-odd overs.”If Keenan was bad, Khanderi could be worse for Punjab as they prepare for theirsemi-final against Saurashtra. With Rajkot renowned for flat pitches, Punjab couldbe in for yet another tough week ahead.”It (the Rajkot pitch) would be more or less similar to this,” Harbhajan said.”Let’s hope we get a result-oriented wicket. Whether it’s a seaming track or aspinning track, it should produce a result. That too on the fifth day, not thesixth. Sixth day will be like… I don’t know. I have never seen it, I have neverplayed it. If there is no result in six days, then what’s the point. The best thingis to get a result in five days. It would be better to produce a wicket thatproduces a result in five days rather than extending the match by another day.”Over to Rajkot!

Umesh Yadav, the injured India fast bowler, has resumed training and is hoping to be ready to bowl at full pace in April

Sidharth Monga01-Mar-2013Umesh Yadav, the injured India fast bowler, has resumed training and is hoping to be ready to bowl at full pace in April. He began bowling off a few paces on February 25, and will get to 30-40% intensity next week. Yadav last played in November, in the Test against England, where he was the most impressive fast bowler from either side, and has been out of action since with a “stress reaction” of the back. He was thankful that it was detected, for it could have developed into a stress fracture had the workload continued.”It’s all better now,” Yadav told ESPNcricinfo at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where he is undergoing rehabilitation. “I started bowling this Monday, for the first time in one-and-a-half months. The pain is gone now; now I have to train again and gradually start bowling at 100%.”Yadav hasn’t been given a certain time frame by which he can expect to be back in action. “Have just resumed training so it will take time,” Yadav said. “It’s not like I can start bowling immediately now that the pain is gone. Will have to take this slowly. Next week, I will start bowling in the ground, at 30-40%. Then we will decide how much more I should do in the week after that.”There had been a major concern that it was a stress fracture that kept Yadav out. This may not have been a stress fracture, but Yadav has endured one in the past, one that he successfully came out of three years ago. That recovery three years ago is reason to hope Yadav will not lose out on his pace when he does make his comeback.”This was not a stress fracture,” he said. “This was what we call a stress reaction, which happens with too much load on the back, but it is good we came to know of it early because if you keep adding onto it, it can result in a fracture too. That would have taken at least six months to recover from.”I had a stress fracture three years ago, but I bowled at the same pace when I came back. It’s more a mindset. My mindset has always been to do what comes naturally to me. I am not going to change my natural pace.”The last month and a half has been difficult for Yadav. “When a fast bowler is out of the ground, there is a different kind of pressure on the mind,” he said. “You are watching others play, but you can’t play. ‘Oh no, why can’t I play?’ Then again it’s important to train your mind to be patient. After an injury, it is important to control yourself when you have been asked not to do what you have always loved doing. Now also – even though I have been patient for this long – I need to take it gradually for another month or so.”

The preview of the second ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran08-Jun-2012Match FactsSaturday, June 9
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)Misbah-ul-Haq and Dav Whatmore will expect better fielding from Pakistan•AFPThe Big PictureWeren’t the limited-overs formats, especially in the subcontinent, supposed to be a batsman’s game? The two Twenty20s in Hambantota and the first ODI in Pallekele have all been about the bowlers though, with the batsmen being tested in seaming conditions reminiscent of cricket in the early English summer. The frequent rain interruptions during Thursday’s one-dayer added to that impression.June is not cricket season in Sri Lanka traditionally, mainly due to the wet weather. Only two ODI series have been played in Sri Lanka in that month: the Nidahas Trophy in 1998 which had half its matches wiped out by rain, and the Asia Cup in 2010 which was held in the dry zone of Dambulla. Like the first ODI, rain is expected during Saturday’s match.Pakistan will like a repeat of the result on Thursday, but not a reprise of their fielding. They put down a handful of simple catches on their way to a straightforward victory, disproving the old adage that “catches win matches”. Another aspect they will want to improve is the discipline while bowling – the 23 wides they bowled made up one-sixth of Sri Lanka’s total.Sri Lanka were pretty much out of the game within the first 15 overs, as their experienced top order failed against the swing and seam. They had slid to 68 for 6 when Saeed Ajmal was introduced. The form of Sri Lanka’s top-three batsmen – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, none of whom have crossed 20 in three games this series – remains a concern.Form guide (Most recent first)
Pakistan WWLWW
Sri Lanka LLLLLWatch out for…Mohammad Sami, playing his first ODI in more than five years, got a dream surface to bowl on which the ball was jagging around so much, the batsmen could barely get bat on it.. Sami revelled in the conditions, working up some solid pace as he finished with 3 for 19.Tillakaratne Dilshan was the top run-getter in the CB series earlier this year, but had an indifferent time at both the Asia Cup and the IPL. The lacklustre run has continued in this series as well, with Dilshan going for the adventurous hits even before gauging the tricky tracks on offer.Team newsOne question for Pakistan to ponder is whether to get in an extra batsman, given how difficult run-making has proved. They went in with Shahid Afridi at No. 6 in the first ODI, making their batting line-up look a little shallow.Pakistan (likely) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad SamiDespite the heavy defeat on Thursday, Sri Lanka are likely to go in with the same XI.Sri Lanka (likely) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Upul Tharanga, 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith MalingaStats and trivia In their last 14 matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka have crossed 250 only twice With 30 wickets, Lasith Malinga is comfortably the leading wicket-taker of the year in ODIs Sri Lanka are among Umar Akmal’s preferred opposition sides: in 12 innings, he has a hundred and four half-centuries against them with his 506 runs coming at an average of 56.22

Paul Collingwood led Durham to their fourth consecutive Championship victory with a win over Worcestershire

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street23-Aug-2012
ScorecardDurham have responded superbly under Paul Collingwood’s leadership•Getty Images”First class cricket is tough”, was now Paul Collingwood summed it up after leading Durham to a fourth consecutive County Championship victory this afternoon. “What’s really shone through is that the guys have a lot of character when it does get tough”. What he did not say in quite so many words is that his young charges have ideal role models in himself and his middle order partner Dale Benkenstein.When the pair came together during the eleventh over of Durham’s run chase the innings was looking, to say the least, wobbly. An early burst of three cheap wickets from Alan Richardson had reduced them to 35 for 4, and Collingwood admitted that when he walked to the crease he was “breathing heavily, feeling worried and concerned”.The same would also have been true of Durham’s supporters, but if they sought reassurance they had only to check on the records of the two men who had responsibility to get the job done. Only Ben Stokes had scored more first class runs for the county in 2012 than Benkenstein and Collingwood, and they immediately set about reconstructing the innings.Both went about their business studiously, taking singles when they were there to be had, and rarely failing to take advantage of the loose ball. Benkenstein, who finished on 62, was the more expansive, playing especially attractively through the off side while gathering nine boundaries.Collingwood, who was content to keep pace picking up twos and threes, and once, after straight driving Gareth Andrew, an all run four, finished on 53. They delivered Durham safely to lunch requiring just 30 to win, and knocked them off at a run-a-minute in the afternoon. Their undefeated partnership of 119, the second highest of the match, had occupied 32 trouble-free overs.All this stability formed a contrast with the events of the first half hour of the day. Unsurprisingly, it was Richardson who caused Collingwood his respiratory discomfort as he left the Don Robson pavilion to bat. There is no great mystery about Richardson; he’s just a very accurate and quite nippy bowler. He runs in off ten powerful paces before leaping into the delivery stride and bowling at the off stump. One of his two wickets in Durham’s first innings was lbw, and two of the three he took this morning fell the same way. The third was bowled.Keaton Jennings began the day – Will Smith having been dismissed off the last ball on Wednesday evening – but he only lasted eight balls before Richardson knocked back his middle and off stumps. Stokes only faced three more than Jennings, in that time hitting two rasping fours, before becoming not the first batsman in this match to play across the line and fall lbw. The ball may have been a little high, but then Stokes might have been a little more circumspect so early in his innings.The last of the three to go was Mark Stoneman, who announced himself with an elegantly driven four straight of mid-off from Chris Russell’s bowling, and went on to make 22 before shaping to play Richardson, bowling over the wicket to the left hander, through mid-on. He missed.However, when Moeen Ali came on to bowl his off-breaks shortly before lunch and conceded 15 runs in his second over, the game was up. Benkenstein and Collingwood had broken the back of their task, and took little time to finish it in the afternoon.So Collingwood, whose side had not won in the Championship before he replaced Phil Mustard as captain, has presided on the field over a very narrow defeat at Arundel, which might have been expected to knock the stuffing out of a side already low in confidence, then wins against Middlesex, Surrey, Nottinghamshire last week, and now Worcestershire.Asked to reflect on his experience of the captaincy he said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have taken over. It’s a great challenge at a great stage in my career to do it. I’ve been surprised how much I have enjoyed it.” Then, when invited to look ahead, he added: “I’m not one to go out there and look for it or put my name forward, but if I think I can take a team forward. I’ve got two years left on my contract and I would love to do it for the next two years as long as things go well.”

Andrew Gale, Yorkshire captain, has earmarked his county’s match against Gloucestershire at Bristol on May 9 as Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc’s debut for the county.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-2012Andrew Gale, captain of a Yorkshire side still seeking a first championship win of the season, has earmarked his county’s match against Gloucestershire at Bristol on May 9 as Mitchell Starc’s debut for the county.The arrival of Starc, one of Australia’s up-and-coming fast bowlers, is eagerly awaited by Yorkshire as they seek a greater cutting edge to an attack that has so far failed to impress after relegation to the Second Division.Gale expects Cricket Australia to provide Starc’s No Objection Certificate imminently. “Hopefully, Mitchell’s NOC will come through in the next day or so,” he said. “He will certainly add further quality to the side. Fingers crossed, he will be available for the Gloucestershire match. It’s just a question now of sorting out the paperwork.”Starc, a 22-year-old left-armer, would then fly from Sydney on May 4, subject to receiving his visa in time. He returned to Australia’s side for the final Test against West Indies in Dominica and now has taken ten wickets at an average of 32.50 in four Tests.Kent, who have made a strong start to the season after finishing second bottom last season, proved the latest Division Two side to trouble Yorkshire in a rain-hit match at Canterbury, adding to the disgruntlement of Yorkshire members.Some Yorkshire members have been heard to complain that Gale’s Yorkshire side spends too much time fielding with their hands in their pockets. There is good reason for that: with temperatures as low as 5C, Yorkshire have been using hand-warmers.

Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2012Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract. Mushtaq, the former Pakistan legspinner and current England spin bowling coach, will link up with Surrey on June 20 and depart on July 20.The deal will reunite Mushtaq with his former captain at Sussex, Chris Adams, who is now team director at Surrey. The pair combined to take Sussex to the club’s first County Championship title in 2003. They won it again in 2006 and 2007.”He will be a magic guy to have around in terms of the environment in the dressing room and is one of the best people I’ve ever come across in terms of assessing the mood of a side and having a positive influence on tactics both before and during a game,” Adams said.”We have a few young spinners at the club at the moment so there is also plenty of work to be done there as well – and I also want to use him with the Second XI and PG Academy, as well as setting up some sessions with batsmen from throughout the club on how to play spin.”We’ve got him here for a month and we’ll make sure we’ll work him hard – I’ve told him it’s going to be the same as when I captained him, he’ll be getting through 45-50 overs a day.”

Chris Rogers scored his fourth century of the season but promotion hopefuls Middlesex had to settle for a draw on the final day of their rain-affected Division Two match against Glamorgan

10-Sep-2011
ScorecardChris Rogers scored his fourth century of the season but promotion hopefuls Middlesex had to settle for a draw on the final day of their rain-affected Division Two match against Glamorgan at Cardiff.Rogers made 121 as Middlesex declared their first innings on 302 for 8 – a first-innings lead of 145 – with Will Owen taking 5 for 124. But Glamorgan’s fifth-wicket pair of Mark Wallace and Stewart Walters ensured their side batted out for a draw and when stumps were drawn they had made 178 for 4 – a lead of 33. Middlesex took nine points from the game to Glamorgan’s five.Middlesex began the day with a slender lead of 12 runs, knowing that a victory would seal both promotion into Division One as well as the Division Two title, and all in a contest which had seen the loss of 198 overs on the first three days. Middlesex resumed on 169 for 4 and went on the hunt for quick runs as Rogers completed his century from 121 balls with 12 fours.As the fifth-wicket partnership developed John Simpson went to his 50 from 80 balls. But Owen made his first breakthrough to grab the prized wicket of Rogers, who edged a short rising delivery behind. It ended a stand worth 145 in 27.2 overs.Wallace, who was captaining Glamorgan in the absence of an unwell Alviro Petersen, took his second catch to dismiss Gareth Berg, who edged an attempted cut off Owen. Simpson looked on course for a century after swatting Owen for six into the grandstand but next ball the bowler got his revenge by bowling the Middlesex wicketkeeper for 95.Owen sealed his maiden championship five-wicket haul when he had Steven Crook caught at deep backward square. Tim Murtagh brought up the Middlesex 300, whereupon they declared after 90 minutes’ batting during which they added 133 runs in 20 overs.With Petersen still indisposed, Nick James opened with Gareth Rees and the pair saw Glamorgan safely to lunch. But after the interval Rees edged Gareth Berg to third slip. Will Bragg needed 26 to become the first Glamorgan batsman to 1,000 runs but he could only managefour before being caught in the gully off Steven Crook.James had done a good job in deputising as opener but a run short of his maiden half-century he was undone by Ollie Raynor’s spin, trapped leg before. Glamorgan reached three figures shortly before tea but in the final over before the interval Jim Allenby edged a rising delivery from Murtagh behind.But any chance of a Middlesex win was dashed by an unbeaten 70-run partnership between Wallace and Walters. In the process Wallace passed Jimmy Stone’s club record of 959 runs – the highest made by a specialist wicketkeeper in a season in first-class cricket for Glamorgan.The result leaves Middlesex 12 points clear at the division’s summit, with Northamptonshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire able to overhaul them in a fascinatingly poised final round of matches.