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Bashley (Rydal) 375-5 (45 overs), Waterlooville 135 (28.4 overs)
Bashley (Rydal) won by 240 runsThatcham Town 145 (41.2 overs), Havant 146-3 (23.5 overs)
Havant won by 7 wicketsFalkland 121 (44 overs), Basingstoke and North Hampshire 122-5 (34 overs)
Basingstoke and North Hampshire won by 5 wicketsPortsmouth 272-6 (45 overs), Lymington 163 (35.4 overs)
Portsmouth won by 109 runsGosport Borough 94 (34 overs), South Wilts 95-5 (28.2 overs)
South Wilts won by 5 wicketsWinchester K.S. 181-5 (45 overs), Burridge 183-6 (42.3 overs)
Burridge won by 4 wicketsVentnor 151-9 (45 overs), Andover 155-3 (21 overs)
Andover won by 7 wicketsHungerford walkover Cove

ROUND 3 DRAW

Andover v Burridge
Basingstoke and North Hampshire v Hungerford
Havant v Bashley (Rydal)
South Wilts v Portsmouth.

Sri Lanka hope to avoid a Pakistani backlash in their firstouting at Tangiers on Wednesday after Waqar Younis’s side lost by54 runs in the opening match of the Morocco Cup.Pakistan will be desperate to comeback strongly after adisappointing performance, but Sri Lankan captain SanathJayasuriya is confident his side can make a victorious start totheir campaign.”Spirits are high, we know what we have to do and everyone islooking forward to the first game,” said Jayasuriya, adding, “wehave picked the best possible squad for this tournament and Ibelieve it’s a very good team.”During the last two Sharjah tournaments we have been winning thegroup games and then losing in the final – we want to improve onthat and perform consistently throughout this tournament.”Having seen how the pitch behaved on Monday, Jayasuriya hascalled for a special effort from his bowlers.”The wicket was quite flat and there will be a lot of hard workfor the bowlers,” he said. “They are going to have bowl verystraight like the South Africans did yesterday.”Sri Lanka are still to decide on their preferred bowlingcombination, but the absence of significant spin means that theyare likely to play three frontline fast bowlers and medium paceall-rounder Hasantha Fernando ahead of leg-spinner Upul Chandana.”The Pakistani batsmen are good players of spin and we have beendiscussing the best combination, looking at how many fast bowlerswe need – the issue is who to play at the number seven position,”said Jayasuriya.Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando are certain to play, withPulasthi Gunaratne, who impressed during the final ODI againstBangladesh, getting the nod for the final pace bowling berth.Sri Lanka will also be looking ape South Africa’s industrious anddisciplined approach in the batting department, which proved moreeffective than Pakistan’s more explosive style on a slow pitch.”There is a lot of responsibility on the batsmen,” saidJayasuriya. “If we get a chance to bat first, one of us has toget established and make a very good score like HerschelleGibbs.”Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya will open the batting, withKumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold in themiddle order and veteran Aravinda de Silva at number six.Match winner Muttiah Muralitharan will play despite only being90% fit having strained a hamstring in Sri Lanka’s first practicesession after arrival.After a disastrous tour of England, the mood within the Sri Lankacamp is increasingly upbeat with selection and injury problemsfading into the background.So far their greatest problem in Morocco has been their inabilityto communicate in French.”We have never been in this part of the world and the players areenjoying the experience, but the French language has been aproblem – it’s making it very difficult to order our food!” jokedJayasuriya.Pakistan, meanwhile, may consider changes to their bowling attackafter off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq conceded 80 runs in his allottedten overs.Saqlain could make way for fast bowling all-rounder AzharMahmood, a swap that have the additional advantage ofstrengthening the batting order.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya(Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jaywardene,Russel Arnold, Aravinda de Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, UpulChandana, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Chamila LakshithaGamage, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, PulasthiGunaratne, Charitha Buddika FernandoPakistan:Waqar Younis (Capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood,Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Sami, Rashid Latif, SaeedAnwar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Alfridi, Shoaib Malik, WasimAkram, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana

For the first time this season, Barbados’ bowling attack looked aboveordinary. It was not devastating by any means, but the quality wassuch that it left the Windward Islands struggling at the close of Day2 of their fifth-round Busta Cup match at Kensington Oval.With the knowledge that anything fewer than maximum points would denttheir chances of winning the Cup, Barbados effectively defended theirfirst innings total of 267 by reducing the visitors to 103 for sevenwhen stumps were drawn.Barbados can put themselves in a position to force their secondvictory of the tournament if they can knock over the last two wicketsthis morning before the Windwards get another 15 runs to avoid thefollow-on.Windwards, still without a point this season, badly lost their wayafter their teenaged openers were separated an hour into the inningsand never recovered against an attack that was mainly dominated bythree bowlers.Corey Collymore, Hendy Bryan and Dave Marshall shared the first 43overs in which the Windwards lost the cream of their batting throughmainly a lot of indecision and a few irresponsible shots.The first of those was an attempted pull from the left-handed DevonSmith that was not kept down and resulted in a catch to mid-wicket.For the 56 minutes Smith and Rommel Currency were together, the twoplayed solidly before they fell to Marshall.The Windwards have always been susceptible against leg-spin andMarshall would have been eager to get at them following his 12-wicketmatch haul against them in Dominica last year.Skipper Ian Bradshaw brought him into the attack after only six oversand he responded with two strikes in the space of 25 minutes.The second of those was from a googly that embarrassed Currency. Theright-hander shouldered arms and, as usual, umpire Steve Bucknor, tookhis time before sending the batsman on his way.In between the dismissals of the openers, Hendy Bryan removed thereputed shot-gun Kirsten Casimir with a delivery of fullish lengthwhich the batsman was guilty of playing across the line.Windwards, who started their reply 25 minutes after lunch, went to thetea interval at 35 for three with the experienced Junior Murray andJohn Eugene at the crease.They batted for a further 45 minutes before Collymore claimed twowickets in successive balls in an over which sent a buzz around theground. Eugene edged a catch to the keeper after nibbling at a balloutside the off-stump without moving his feet.Greg Wilson, on his debut first-class appearance, came out to replaceEugene, but the tall St. Lucian did not survive his first ball. It wasof fullish length and it earned Collymore a LBW decision in the faceof Wilson indicating the ball struck the bat.The double-blow left the Windwards 58 for five and in need of a majorpartnership between Murray and his fellow Grenadian, captain RawlLewis.They were moving nicely along and had put on 24 when their sixthwicket stand was ended by a run-out that caused the downfall of Murrayfor 24. It was the sixth time for the competition that he wasdismissed in either the 20s or the 30s.The demise of Murray came in an exciting over from Bryan. Lewis hadjust spanked the bowler through the covers for a four and played analmost identical shot from the very next ball that was brilliantlyintercepted by substitute Floyd Reifer.Murray, the non-striker, might have believed the ball had gone pastthe fielder and ran the full length of the pitch to join Lewis at thestriker’s end. It was merely left to Bryan to complete the run-out atthe bowler’s end.Until then, Barbados depended mainly on three bowlers and Bradshaw andoff-spinner Ryan Austin came on late in the evening for three oversapiece.It was enough for Bradshaw to claim the wicket of left-hander DeightonButler, who cut a short ball down the throat of backward point.Earlier, Barbados, resuming from their overnight 192 for six, added afurther 75 before they were dismissed 15 minutes after lunch. Most ofthose runs came in a seventh-wicket stand of 45 between Bradshaw andAustin.Austin, who played a key role in supporting Bradshaw with the bat inthe last match, made 26 in an hour-and-a-half, while Bradshaw hit 37before he was last out to a catch at long-on.By then, Barbados were trying to push on in light of the fact that thescoring rate was just over two runs an over throughout the innings.

Former England great, Graham Gooch, has echoed the words of David Graveney and suggested that the key to the series between England and Pakistan could be the inexperience of the tourists’ batsmen on seaming pitches.

Graham Gooch Photo © CricInfo

Gooch believes that England’s seam attack, led by Caddick and Gough, should prove too hot to handle for a Pakistan batting line-up unaccustomed to the extra movement often available to the bowlers on the green English pitches. He pointed to the example of last summer’s visitors, the West Indies, to illustrate his point that the English attack is adept at exploiting any help in the conditions, or inadequacies of technique.”Not many of their batsmen, if any, have played here regularly and that should be an advantage to us, just as it was last year against the West Indies,” reasoned Gooch. “Unlike previous years with the West Indies, only a couple had any real experience of playing in English conditions and that showed during the series.”If our bowlers bowl well in English conditions we could cause some of the Pakistan batsmen problems because the ball is likely to swing and seam around.”However, Gooch conceded that the Pakistan bowling attack contained a great deal of experience and that the English batsmen may have to be in their best form to withstand it.”There is quite a contrast in Pakistan’s line-up with a superbly experienced bowling attack in this country, but their batsman are quite the opposite,” he admitted.”If their bowlers click and are talking to each other, they could do a lot of damage and they also have two superb all-rounders in Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood.”Gooch also expressed doubts that rumours of disharmony within the Pakistan squad would have any impression on the series: “They are noted for being unpredictable and they could still easily upset things. There are rumours of their demise but they are usually at their most dangerous when they are fighting among themselves.”So far Pakistan seem to be the team with all the problems. Shoaib Akhtar is far from fully fit, Yousuf Youhana is out of form and the relationship between senior players Wasim Akram and captain Waqar Younis appears strained.In contrast, Andy Caddick has just completed a ten-wicket game for Somerset and there have been runs aplenty for Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe, but Gooch warned against any feelings of complacency within the English squad.”Pakistan have some extremely talented cricketers,” he said. “They’ve not always played as a unit but when they do, they are more than capable of going out and beating any side in the world.”

ScorecardBrad Haddin’s efforts in Bankstown confirmed his readiness to return to Test duty•Getty Images

Brad Haddin’s self-confidence will be back at the level required to perform for Australia in Test matches following his strong showing for New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield draw with Tasmania, Australia’s captain Michael Clarke believes.Having missed a handful of international assignments this year in order to spend time with his seriously ill daughter Mia, Haddin is far from certain to be recalled as Australia’s Test gloveman for the first home match of the summer against South Africa at the Gabba in November.But a first innings century and 186 overs of near spotless glovework, all under the watch of selectors Rod Marsh and Clarke, ensured Haddin made a strong case for his recall ahead of Matthew Wade in what is likely to be his final first-class fixture before the South Africa series. Haddin is now scheduled to lead the Sydney Sixers to the Twenty20 Champions League.”I’ve seen Brad batting in the nets, watched him bat in Perth and I thought he was hitting the ball really well, so I didn’t think he was far off a big score,” Clarke said. “Most of all it is nice for Brad to make a score like that for himself. He’s been working really hard, he’s missed a fair bit of cricket of late, so it is a little reward for the hard work he’s been putting in, and in his own mind it re-confirms that he’s certainly still batting good enough to be successful in first-class cricket and to play at the highest level.”Haddin completed four dismissals for the match on the final afternoon, including the decidedly smart stumping of Alex Doolan from Trent Copeland’s medium pace. The Blues and the Tigers kept each other at arm’s length for much of the final day, Clarke setting a target that always seemed just out of Tasmania’s reach, while the pitch had not deteriorated enough to allow the hosts a chance of the quick wickets they needed to secure victory.Aiden Blizzard made an important contribution to the team as he seeks a regular place in a career that has seen him shunted from Victoria and South Australia to Tasmania, striking the ball attractively through the offside on his way to 88. But his innings was terminated amid a burst of three wickets for six runs that ended any lingering Tasmanian hopes of a successful chase.Two of those wickets fell to Moises Henriques, an undisputable man of the match for 161*, 50* and 3 for 41 on the final day. Clarke said Henriques’ efforts in the Blues first two Shield matches had underlined his potential, and hoped the allrounder would go on to the sort of dominant domestic season that would vault him into Australian colours.”I’ve known Moises for a long time, he certainly knows how I feel about him as a player and his talent, he’s as gifted as anyone I’ve seen in the first-class arena,” Clarke said. “He’s been with NSW for a long time, and this year is an opportunity for Moises to stand up, he’s a senior player in the squad and he needs to lead by example, and he’s done that so far this year.”As for Clarke, the match ends a brief but productive stint as NSW captain, with the Blues not engaging in another Shield fixture until the week before the first Test. Clarke will now undergo a personal “boot camp” to get his fitness up to the level required for Tests, before making a rare club appearance for Western Suburbs in Sydney grade competition.

A masterly knock of 146 by Rohan Gavaskar helped East Zone take home fivepoints in their first outing in the Duleep Trophy this season. On the lastday of the match between East and Central Zone at Green Park, Kanpur onSunday, East got past the Central Zone score and took the vital firstinnings lead.Resuming at 230/4 with another 192 runs required for the first inningslead, East got off to a bad start and were quickly reduced to 249/5, losingRajiv Kumar bowled by Sriwastava for 25. What followed was a dominatingsixth wicket partnership between Gavaskar and wicket keeper Deep Dasgupta.They put on 174 runs in 48.4 overs and took the East Zone score beyondCentral’s 421 before Murali Kartik had Dasgupta caught by Abhay Sharma for72 at 423. Dasgupta’s crucial innings lasted for 216 minutes as he faced140 balls of which he struck nine to the fence.Meanwhile, left handed Gavaskar was happy accumulating runs and making surethat East took the honours. Gavaskar struck the ball all around for 15boundaries and 2 sixes off 295 balls in his innings that lasted a littleover six and a half hours. Gavaskar was caught by substitute fielderDevendra Bundela off the bowling of Kulamani Parida with the East scorereading 433 in the 122nd over.East Zone batted on with Sukhbinder Singh making 29 off 66 balls (1 six, 4fours) and were all out for 484 in the 145th over as the match was calledoff as a draw. Kulamani Parida took the bowling honours for Central with44-13-126-3. Central took three points from the match and took their pointstally to eight from two matches.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Naeem Islam and Man of the Match Shakib Al Hasan celebrate victory © PA Photos

Shakib Al Hasan’s powerhouse batting and inspired bowling performances from vice-captain Mashrafe Mortaza and debutant Rubel Hossain ensured Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in the third match of the tri-series and, more importantly, secured a place in the final on Friday, where they will face the same opposition again.In a must-win match for them, reduced by bad light to 31 overs each, Bangladesh restricted Sri Lanka to 147 before Shakib’s 92 off 69 balls completed the win. A fourth-wicket stand of 91 between Shakib and captain Mohammad Ashraful helped them pick up the bonus point as well to end the hopes of Zimbabwe, the third team in the competition.Bangladesh got off to a disastrous start during their chase as Junaid Siddique was run out in the first over. Two overs later, lightning struck twice as Mushfiqur Rahim got a thick edge to Sangakkara off Thushara and Tamim Iqbal was caught short of his crease by Kapugedera direct-hit, attempting a suicidal run.The hosts were in deep trouble as the all-too-familiar story looked in the offing. Enter Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful.Both looked determined right from the start, as they tried to get Bangladesh on course. Mohammad Ashraful played the silent support role to Shakib Al Hasan, who came down severely on the bowlers – two boundaries each in successive overs from Thushara and Kulasekara setting the tone. Mathews was treated with similar disdain in his first over with a six and four as the run-rate crept above five.Shakib soon brought up his 50 off 45 balls and had plundered six boundaries and a six by then, and looking good for more. But just when the partnership was nearing 100, Ashraful fell, trying to hook a short one from Kulasekera as Jayasuriya pulled off a smart catch running across from fine leg.But Shakib continued unfettered and even Raqibul’s dismissal two overs later failed to curb the free-flowing strokes. He edged Bangladesh closer to the bonus point, hitting ten fours and two sixes during the blitz. Naeem ended the innings in perfect finish with a six off Mendis, as they registered their second win against Sri Lanka.Ashraful’s decision to field, paid off immediately with Mortaza striking twice in his first two overs, removing Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara. He then removed Sri Lanka’s top-scorer Sanath Jayasuriya, whose fifty was largely responsible for pushing the visitors to a somewhat respectable total.Jayasuriya’s 64-ball innings included seven boundaries, but failed to encourage the other batsmen as the middle and lower orders fell apart. Rubel helped himself to the spoils, ending with 4 for 33, and was responsible for the damage towards the end.

	Bangladesh celebrate the dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara © PA Photos

The reduced overs resulted in a 6-3-3 Powerplay split, with a maximum of seven overs for any one bowler and six each for four others. Mortaza struck with the third ball of the morning, trapping Tharanga leg before. In his next over, he produced an identical delivery to castle Kumar Sangakkara.Rubel was given a hostile welcome to international cricket by Jayasuriya, who hit him for two fours in his first over and then got a life when Raqibul Hasan failed to pull off a catch off a short delivery from Mortaza.Bangladesh then opted for spin at both ends through Naeem Islam and Shakib Al Hasan. Naeem managed to break the stand in the 18th over when Jayawardene holed out to Rubel at deep-midwicket while attempting a slog sweep.Mortaza was then brought on soon after and had Jayasuriya caught and bowled shortly after bringing up his half-century as Sri Lanka found themselves in a spot of bother at 95 for 4.In a bizarre turn of events which followed, Sri Lanka then lost five wickets in a space of four overs – Jehan Mubarak was run out for 10, Angelo Mathews was caught by Mortaza at mid-on off Rubel, while Kapugedera chopped a Mahbubul Alam delivery on to his stumps.Rubel struck twice in the 29th over, to remove Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara with the first and last deliveries. And he capped off the dream start getting Ajantha Mendis caught by Ashraful at short cover in the last over of the innings.

Hyderabad will not host any matches in the upcoming Champions League T20, due to security reasons. The 12 qualifiers and group matches scheduled to be held in Hyderabad will be shared by Mohali, Ranchi and Ahmedabad.The qualifying matches on September 17, 18, 20 and a Group B double-header on September 24 will now be played in Mohali. Ranchi will host a double-header on September 28 while Ahmedabad will host a double-header on September 30.Last week, Andhra Pradesh state police said that they would not be able to provide adequate security for the matches as they clash with the Ganesh immersion festival. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) had stated that the question mark over security was only restricted to the qualifiers and they were confident the police would provide adequate security for the group games.

Altered schedule

• September 17 – Faisalabad Wolves v Otago/ Kandurata Maroons v Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mohali

• September 18 – Kandurata Maroons v Otago/Faisalabad Wolves v Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mohali

• September 20 – Faisalabad Wolves v Kandurata Maroons/ Otago v Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mohali

• September 24 – Brisbane Heat v Titans/Trinidad & Tobago v Qualifier 2, Mohali

• September 28 – Titans v Qualifier 2/ Brisbane Heat v Chennai Super Kings, Ranchi

• September 30 – Titans v Trinidad & Tobago/ Brisbane Heat v Qualifier 2, Ahmedabad

However, the decision to shift all the games may have been taken due to the Hyderabad police being non-committal.”Police had said that they will not be able to provide security for the qualifiers due to Ganapati immersions. And for the league games, they would take a call based on the prevalent situation,” MV Sridhar, the HCA secretary, told ESPNcricinfo.”So it was up to the CLT20 governing council to take a call.”This isn’t the first time Hyderabad has been stripped of matches in recent years. In the 2010 IPL, all of Deccan Chargers’ home games were played at Nagpur, Cuttack and Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium due to political agitations in the state.

ScorecardMichael Hogan passed 50 wickets for the season on day one at Swansea•Getty Images

13 wickets fell on the opening day at Swansea, five of them to Australian Australian seamer Michael Hogan, who took 5 for 43 as Glamorgan dismissed Leicestershire cheaply before falling into their own difficulties with the bat.Hogan passed 50 Championship wickets for the summer in the process of helping to bowl out the visitors for 203. But in reply Glamorgan had stumbled to 36 for 3 by the close in their first innings – a deficit of 167.The match came just 24 hours after Glamorgan announced Matthew Mott, head of elite erformance, will leave his post at the end of this season.After winning the toss Leicestershire made a useful enough start through their openers Greg Smith and Niall O’Brien. The first wicket pair looked relatively untroubled as they reached 67 without loss in the 18th over before Glamorgan fought back to have the visitors 100 for 3 at the start of the 27th.Smith found himself trapped leg before wicket to Hogan before O’Brien edged slow left-armer Dean Cosker to backward point six balls later. And as Leicestershire brought up three figures there was a notable moment for 20-year-old off-spinner Andrew Salter, who struck with his first ball in Championship cricket to have Shiv Thakor caught behind by captain Mark Wallace.Leicestershire reached lunch at 113 for 3, but in the afternoon session they slumped to 156 for 7 as Hogan reached 50 wickets for the season during a burst of 3 for 4 in 14 balls. The beginning of Leicestershire’s collapse saw Ned Eckersley go leg before shouldering arms to Hogan, who struck again two balls as Tom Wells also departed lbw to a full-length ball.Hogan’s productive spell from the Mumbles Road End saw the end of Josh Cobb, who edged to Jim Allenby at first slip. Glamorgan’s dominance in the session was complete when Graham Wagg bowled captain Matthew Boyce.Nine balls after tea Hogan completed his third five-wicket haul in four-day cricket this season as Ollie Freckingham went leg before. Salter’s encouraging debut continued as he bowled Ben Raine for 37 to leave the Foxes 199 for 9 and make it maximum bowling points. The last pair registered a batting point before Cosker claimed the final wicket of James Sykes in the 81st over.In reply Glamorgan lost both openers, Gareth Rees and Will Bragg, in the space of three overs. Rees was caught behind off Freckingham while Alex Wyatt had Bragg leg before. That left Glamorgan 21 for 2 which became 24 for 3 after Ben Wright edged Freckingham to second slip.

ScorecardChris Nash ensured Sussex made swift work of victory•Getty Images

For the second time this season, indeed in less than 12 sessions of play all told, Sussex out-played Somerset to the extent of defenestration. One side is now distinctly concerned about relegation, as Marcus Trescothick candidly admitted, while the other leads the Division One Championship table.Sussex, captained by Ed Joyce for the first time in this match upon his return from representing Ireland, took the remaining three Somerset wickets in the first 22 minutes of play and, needing 91 to win, had triumphed before lunch. It was hardly worth George Dockrell’s while returning with Joyce: Chris Nash brought about victory by hitting him for four and, next ball, for six.For the second time in the match, Steve Magoffin took four wickets, maintaining a steady length and benefiting from Trescothick’s erroneous decision to bat upon winning the toss through movement off the pitch. Now, he had Alfonso Thomas caught at an unaccustomedly short mid-on (so it was worth Joyce’s while to journey to the west country) and bowled Jamie Overton.Peter Trego, who can change the course of a match as rapidly as any batsman through quick scoring, attempted to square cut Chris Jordan and was held by Ben Brown, whose ninth catch of the match this was. So Somerset were dismissed for the second time for a total under 250. Even in conditions in which there was more movement than the customary first hour on the first morning, this was never likely to be enough at Taunton.Sussex began their second innings as if adamant that the match would be over by lunchtime. Although Luke Wells edged Steve Kirby to third slip, Nash, now relegated to the role of stand-in leader, reached a half century off 58 balls with eight fours and a six. There was a little turn for Dockrell, but insufficient bite.”We are concerned about second division cricket,” said Trescothick, who has a first-class best of 74 this season. “All the players are hurting as much as anybody else. Over the first two days we were not good enough and I regret my decision to bat first – I didn’t expect the ball to move off the seam as much as it did. Although I have won the toss quite a few times, I have made mistakes deciding whether to bat or bowl.”My own form is not good enough and because we are losing wickets early, pressure is being put on the batsmen coming in at three and four. Our batsmen and bowlers are not getting us ahead of the game.”The difficulty Somerset have now is that they do not have another Championship fixture until they play Nottinghamshire at the start of August. In the meantime, there are countless t20 fixtures. “We are gelling in that,” Trescothick added. The drawback, of course, is that his players will be in the wrong sort of mode to resume first-class cricket.There is no substance in the rumours on Twitter that he will be giving up the captaincy or retiring. One might have thought Trescothick would be the last person to indulge in social media in that he is a private, family man, not the kind of person to indulge in frippery or idle gossip.Yet he was aware of what was being said and there he was tweeting his best wishes to England before play at Trent Bridge – at any rate, when he was out of the nets. What he and his players will need over the remainder of the season is a period of good old-fashioned consolidation.