ALASTAIR COOK AND JAIK MICKLEBURGH GIVE A SOLID START TO ESSEX AGAINST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Centuries from Alastair Cook and Jaik Mickleburgh put Essex into a very dominant position against Northamptonshire in a County Championship Division Two match, at the County Ground Northampton in England. The visitors ended day-one of the four-day match at 345 for the loss of just six wickets.

Essex’s captain James Foster chose to bat first after winning the toss, as the pitch was conducive for the batsmen. He expected his team to post a big first innings total, in order to pressurise the home team.

However, the start to the visitors’ innings wasn’t an ideal one. Opening batsman Billy Godleman was unable to make an impression, as he was sent back to the pavilion early in the match, scoring just four runs. His opening partner Cook was joined by the team’s first-drop Mickleburgh and the pair took the game away fromNorthamptonshire.

Both batsmen played sensible cricket and didn’t play a single reckless shot in the innings. They put together a massive partnership of 258 runs for the second wicket, guiding their team to 264.

The marathon partnership finally came to an end, as the Essex’s first-drop was dismissed after scoring a ton. He managed 112 runs in his innings off 205 balls with the help of 15 fours and one big six. His wicket brought England’s player Ravi Bopara at the crease, who constructed a half-century stand with Cook.

The left-handed opener was dismissed after playing a brilliant innings of 155 runs from 235 balls. He struck 20 fours in his superb knock and showed no mercy for the bowlers of the opposition.

Bopara looked good in the middle, but was unable to make the most of the start he got to his innings. He was dismissed after scoring 31 runs off 64 balls, hitting three fours and one six.

Two more wickets fell before the close of play, as Matt Walker and David Masters were sent back to the hut. They scored five and zero before getting out. Mark Pettini and the Essex captain were unbeaten on eight and five respectively when the final session of play was over.

Although the day belonged to the visitors, there was some fresh air for the Northamptonshire bowlers towards the end of the final session’s play. Essex lost four wickets for just 11 runs and the momentum shifted towards the hosts in the final few overs of the day.

Veteran Sri Lankan seamer Chaminda Vaas was the pick of the bowlers for his team, taking three wickets in the innings. He got good support from Jack Brooks, who sent two batsmen back to the pavilion.

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KENT OVERCOME ESSEX IN COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO

Kent overcome Essex in County Championship Division Two

Kent defeated Essex by 57 runs in a closely fought game of the County Championship Division Two, at the County Ground, Chelmsford in England on Monday. Chasing 285 runs for victory, the hosts were bowled out for 227 in their second innings on the final day’s play.

Earlier, Kent amassed 247 runs in their first innings after electing to bat first. The highlight of the innings was a terrific ton by first-drop batsman Sam Northeast. He scored 112 runs off 170 balls, hitting ten fours and two sixes.

Maurice Chambers bowled well for Essex, taking three wickets in the visitors first innings.

In reply to Kent's first innings total, the hosts got off to a dismal start. However, an unbeaten 88 by Essex captain James Foster guided the team’s total to 201, giving some hope to the side.

Kent scored 238 runs in their second innings and their first innings lead of 46 runs helped them post a target of 285 runs for the home team. The captain of the visiting team, Robert Key, and seasoned campaignerMartin van Jaarsveld scored half-centuries for their team.

Teenager Reece Topley was the pick of the bowlers for his team, taking his maiden five wicket haul for Essex.

Billy Godleman and Alastair Cook started the chase on a positive note for the home team. The pair put together 60 runs for the first wicket before Cook was sent back to the pavilion. The star player scored 31 runs off 51 balls in his innings. His wicket was followed by Jaik Mickleburgh, who managed to add only four runs to the total.

The fall of two quick wickets brought Ravi Bopara to the middle, who managed a 57-run stand with Godleman for the third wicket. However, the Essex opener got out after scoring a valiant 58 runs with the help of nine fours.

After that, none of the Essex batsman managed to make a big impression, and kept on losing wickets after getting starts. Bopara got out after scoring 39 runs whereas Foster managed just 21 runs in his innings. Topley was the last wicket to fall in the day, giving Kent a solid victory.

Fast bowler Robbie Joseph was exceptional with the ball, taking four wickets in the final innings of the match.

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RAVI BOPARA SAYS HE PREFERS COUNTY CRICKET OVER IPL

England batsman Ravi Bopara has denied an offer to play in the Indian Premier League and instead chose to play county cricket in order to strengthen his claim to regain a slot in the Poms’ Test team.

He was contacted by Rajasthan Royals, who offered Bopara a lucrative offer of £100,000 as they are trying to find a replacement for Paul Collingwood, who has been ruled out of the tournament because of a knee surgery.

Bopara admitted that it was not easy for him to turn down such an offer but he said that playing for his country is his priority and he wants to get into the Test team. He said that the longest version of the game is the real cricket and that his dreams and ambitions are more important than money.

The England middle order batsman said, “It was a tough decision [to turn down IPL offer], but my ambition as a youngster has always been to play Test cricket and to play for my country. Not everything's about money. I've got to make sure I fulfil my ambitions and my talent as a cricketer. Although Twenty20 is a very important part of the game, Test cricket is always going to be the pinnacle.”

There is a spot available in the England middle order as all-rounder Paul Collingwood retired from Test cricket after a disastrous 2010-11 Ashes series down under and Bopara wants to fill that slot.

Bopara said that it is a great chance for him to cement his place in the Test line-up and he understands that only one thing is going to get him selected in the squad and that is runs in county cricket.

“I recognize this is a great opportunity with a spot available, so I spoke to Graham Gooch and Ronnie Irani and they thought the best decision was for me to stay and perform for Essex and push for selection. Nothing's going to get me in that side apart from numbers,” Bopara added.

The Essex batsman has played 10 Test matches for his country so far and has scored 3 hundreds. However, he is out of the England Test team ever since his poor Ashes series at home in 2009.

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Unsold in IPL auction, Bopara spurns Rajasthan Royals offer

 England all-rounder Ravi Bopara, who went unsold during the Indian Premier League auction in January, has spurned an offer from Rajasthan Royals to replace injured England teammate Paul Collingwood in their IPL 4 squad.

Bopara decided not to accept 100,000 pound sterling offer last month to focus on his bid to return to the England Test side.

The franchise led by Shane Warne were seeking to replace Collingwood, whose knee surgery after the World Cup ruled him out of the Twenty20 league.

Bopara said he hoped to replace Collingwood in England's Test team after the latter announced his retirement from the longest form of the game in early January.

"It was a tough decision (to turn down IPL offer), but my ambition as a youngster has always been to play Test cricket and to play for my country," said Bopara, whose most recent of 10 Tests was against Australia at Headingley in 2009.

"Not everything's about money. I've got to make sure I fulfil my ambitions and my talent as a cricketer. Although Twenty20 is a very important part of the game, Test cricket is always going to be the pinnacle," Bopara was quoted as saying by the official England and Wales Cricket Board website.

"There's a Test place available and someone's got to take it and I realise this is the time to knuckle down and get some runs for Essex and take some wickets and take that Test spot," he said.

Bopara has a month and a half - the period of the IPL round-robin phase - to make a case for his inclusion in England's next Test, against Sri Lanka starting on May 26.

Bopara was among a host of cricketers left unsold during the IPL 4 auctions in Bangalore on January 8.

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