County cricket: Worcestershire v Somerset, plus Essex v India – live!

Durham and Northants chase victories in Division TwoRoot’s bowling blitz earns Roses win for YorkshireEmail Graham, tweet or comment below the line 2.46pm BST Ben Stokes is at the crease for Durham at Cheltenham. They are 180-3 chasing 340 to beat Gloucestershire, with Stokes on six after Graham Clark fell to Ryan Higgins. Worcester still going at New Road. Alex Milton and Steve Magoffin have put on 50 for the last wicket to take them to 215-9. A small matter of 228 more to win. Milton, the 22-year-old Surrey born ex-Cardiff MCCU player, has his maiden fifty. 2.46pm BST Virat Kolhi has reached his half-century in 67 balls in Chelmsford, the India captain pulling Paul Walter for four as his team reach 131 for three against Essex. But there’s also some news in about India’s reasons for cutting this warm-up match to three days. Originally meant to be a four-day game, the visitors took the decision to cut it less than 24 hours before the scheduled start. Speculation in the Indian media suggested the tourists were unhappy with the practice facilities, scorched outfield and state of the pitch at the County Ground. But Ravi Shastri, the India coach, has revealed it was a decision purely down to getting the best preparation for his team ahead of next week’s first Test against England at Edgbaston.“There was no complaint from the Indian management about anything,” said Shastri. “We are getting in there, into the Test match venue, because it wouldn’t have served the purpose here [Chelmsford]. Instead of an extra day here, I think an extra day [of training] there would be more valuable. More familiarity with the venue and the conditions where you are playing the first Test. If we had played four days here we would have lost that one day there because of travel.” Continue reading…
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