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After losing all the Tests in a series they would have been hopeful of doing well in, Kane Williamson managed to retain some humour, but he knew his side was done in by a mix of difficult conditions for them, the quality of their opposition in those conditions, and their own lack of application at times. In packed schedules nowadays, you hardly get time to acclimatise, which means you don’t have too many second chances. The most disappointing aspect for New Zealand will be that when they got a surface in Indore that resembled classic Indian pitches, they couldn’t bat for long enough. It didn’t help that they never won a toss, and India always were in the ascendency.When asked about R Ashwin’s hold on him – the leading wicket-taker of the series took out Williamson all four times he batted – Williamson joked: “He didn’t get me out 27 times. He got a few other blokes out too.”On a serious note, Williamson did make a mention of the conditions. “He’s a good bowler,'” Williamson said of Ashwin. “We’re always learning playing internationals. I guess it’s a new thing, personally as well. Come over here with so much rough, which is nice to bowl into. I suppose I was a victim of it a few times. I guess, when you are put in that situation where you are dismissed in a similar situation, you are able to learn and try to improve from that. The conditions guys are exposed to, and the quality of bowling, in a backhanded way, we can be thankful for those experiences that help move your game forward.”Even before the season began, India had a good chance of going unbeaten through a long season of 13 home Tests. New Zealand, on paper, seemed the team likeliest to challenge India, which will now make India look invincible this season. Williamson, though, felt – and it did bring out some laughs – that the toss can be crucial in these conditions. The previous home season had a shift in the pitches India play on, and they have won all seven tosses since then.”Winning the toss would be helpful, I think,” Williamson said, when asked what advice he could give to the teams that are following him in India’s home season. “Which is a challenge in itself: South Africa lost every toss as well. Certainly have to be at your best. Whether you win the toss, lose the toss, India were far superior in this series. It depends on the surfaces. Every surface has been different in this series, they were different in the South Africa series. Whether it is a good one… it is important to spend time at the crease, creating pressure. Batting first would be nice. It would help, certainly, in being more competitive. This India side is a very good team, and they certainly know these conditions better than anyone.”Williamson said that while the conditions were more difficult when they batted in Indore, this was a pitch where they could have played more assured cricket. Speaking on finding the right balance between defence and attack, Williamson said: “It is a challenge, certainly on wickets very conducive to spin that make attacking tough as well. Sometimes, being positive when it is doing a little bit more is the way forward. It is up to the individual how they want to skin it, but in this Test, which was probably a little bit more like Test matches of old where it’s that war of attrition and you have to play long game like India showed, as opposed to Test matches prior, where 300 was a very good score, where you go out there and play positively and you get them before they get you, here was a little bit different.”They exploited conditions better than us. They played very patiently with the bat, and batting was not easy when it came our time. Not just because conditions had deteriorated, but the very good bowling attack they have. Important that we come away from here, although frustrated, having learnt a huge amount as a young group being exposed in these conditions.”Williamson didn’t shy away from giving India the credit and said he was disappointed his team couldn’t adapt quickly enough, but added that in conditions so challenging he felt the need to send players early for more experience.”The more you can play in these conditions, the better you’ll be,” Williamson said. “That has to be a given. The more experiences you get in any conditions, it is a good thing. People talk a lot about county cricket and then, when you go to England, you certainly are far more aware of what to expect. I suppose this is no different. If guys can have more experience in these conditions, it will certainly be helpful.”When asked if he felt his side had spent enough time here before the series, Williamson brought up the practical issue of the packed schedules. “I suppose there is always those discussions,” Williamson said. “Another tough point as well is that you are playing so much international cricket, it is tricky to get that extra preparation you would like. So, you are having to learn on the job a bit, which is the nature of the beast, but at the same time, it is an important thing. Whether it’s ‘A’ teams where guys are able to get extra time to come over, particularly in these conditions where you are playing more and more cricket. India’s home summer this year is 13 Test matches. So you are playing more and more in these conditions.”New Zealand now have the five-ODI series to look forward to, which will be played on flatter surfaces. Williamson hoped the team doesn’t carry the scars of losing the Tests into that series. “Disappointing to lose the Test series,” he said. “At the same time, the guys are looking forward to the change of format. It will be tough again. We know India are a very good side at that as well. It’s exciting. We know that wickets will more than likely be quite different again.”We have got to adapt. Go out and play with that freedom, knowing that when we do play with that freedom, we play our best cricket. There will be a little bit of scarring coming out of a three-nil Test defeat. Obviously winning is a lot better than losing. Unfortunately we have lost a few on the trot, but nice to have new personnel come in who are fresh and looking forward to the one-day series.”

Gareth Batty branded Surrey’s performance “unacceptable” and “embarrassing” as they slumped to an eight-wicket defeat with almost 20 overs left unused in the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s.Batty, Surrey’s captain, admitted his side had “not turned up” as they succumbed to their second Lord’s final defeat in successive years. Collapsing from 99 for 2 to 136 all out, they gave themselves little chance of defending such a meagre total against a Warwickshire team including players such as Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell.”To lose in this manner is a little bit embarrassing,” Batty said. “We have not really turned up today. We just got it wrong and it hurts like hell.”This was, not for the first time, a disappointing surface for a major match at Lord’s. There are mitigating factors: the redevelopment of the Warner Stand necessitated the use of pitches towards the bottom of the square at the start of the season – they usually start at the top end here – resulting in some overly safe pitches in early season and some unusually dry ones towards the end.Meanwhile, the decision to televise the Championship decider between Middlesex and Yorkshire from the ground next week has forced them to press another mid-square surface for that game. With the ground relentlessly busy and the square exhausted, the groundstaff were left struggling for options.This pitch, then, had already been used for an ODI this season and had been glued to ensure it did not break up. That is unusual at Lord’s and resulted in neither side knowing quite what might constitute a par score. The way Surrey started -with Jason Roy, in particular, unleashing some magnificent strokes – it appeared 280 might be on the cards but, as the pitch slowed and Warwickshire’s bowlers began to gain spin and seam assistance, the relatively inexperienced middle-order failed to adjust.It was not easy, though. Jeetan Patel, bowling noticeably quicker than either of Surrey’s England spinners, was markedly the best potent of the slow bowlers on display. Gaining sharp turn at times, he built pressure in a masterful spell that was well supported by Ateeq Javid’s own waspish spin and Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s control and variations. And, with Tim Ambrose taking a sharp stumping off a leg-side wide and Laurie Evans taking an outrageously good catch to end Roy’s dangerous innings, Surrey were allowed no release.Batty refused to blame the surface, though. “We’re not blaming the pitch, absolutely not,” he said. “We’ve no one to blame but ourselves.”It was obviously a tired surface, but it certainly wasn’t a 136 all out surface. We just didn’t adapt to what was put in front of us unfortunately and they bowled well in the conditions. We were around 90 odd for 2 so to be 136 all out was not acceptable.”This defeat will sting Surrey. But, trophy or not, they can console themselves with the knowledge that they are a club progressing nicely. Not only have they achieved a respectable finish in the upper half of the Championship table – a decent effort for a recently promoted side – but, by the time the ECB finish naming their squads for tours this winter, they will have contributed 10 players to various teams.Players such as Zafar Ansari are part of Surrey’s future•Getty Images

Their youth system also contributed nine (10 if you include Gareth Batty, who left Yorkshire for the club while still a teenager and say he considers himself “absolutely a product of Surrey”) players to the two sides here, with Evans and Rikki Clarke having started their careers at the club. Yes, they use their financial might at times. But they produce players, too.”The club have made progress,” Batty said. “We’re not the finished article but when we do become that, we’ll be the finished article for quite a long time because of the age of the squad and the quality we have in different positions in the squad.”We dropped off a cliff today, but we’ve played good consistent cricket in this competition. In the Championship we had a real purple patch in the middle when we played some excellent cricket and challenged the best teams in the country and some wonderful players. We didn’t start well and had we started better who knows where we would have been. In Twenty20 we missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals by a point, so we’re not a million miles away.”We’ve played some very, very good cricket. When these young lads do get picked for England they’ll be ready to go.”There is a wider context, too. After defeating Somerset here in 2011 to win the CB40 final, the club went through a wretched period that saw the team shattered by the death of Tom Maynard. Life will never be quite the same for any of those that were at the club at the time but there is a bond between many of these young players that will not easily be broken. Certainly they have faced far greater setbacks than the loss of a cricket match.”Some of this group went through some horrible times a few years ago,” Batty said. “So you can be relatively philosophical at times. Sometimes it can be straightforward a bit more bat and ball, but it doesn’t feel like that right now. This group of players know they can be together for a very long time and they should be thinking that this is just the start of opportunities.”Sometimes you can lose with dignity. I hope we lost with dignity and we allowed Warwickshire to enjoy what was a very fine performance. Hopefully we become better people and men because of that.”Batty’s on-field persona is not to everyone’s taste. But, as he signed autographs – he gave his runners-up medal to one young fan – and apologised to supporters, it was a reminder that he has shepherded this club through some dark days with a calm head and a strong constitution. That the club – and its crop of young players – can now look forward to a bright future is, in no small part, thanks to him. Long after he has gone, they will owe him plenty.

Liam Plunkett has paid a personal tribute to Jason Gillespie who announced on Monday that he would be leaving his position as Yorkshire’s head coach at the end of the season.Plunkett’s career was revived under Gillespie’s watch after he signed from Durham in late 2012 after a difficult period following the loss of his England place. He became a key part of Yorkshire’s impressive pace attack and earned a recall to England’s Test side in 2014 before finding a place in the one-day set-up in the post-World Cup rebuilding under Eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace.Initially it was a bit-part role last season and he then endured a frustrating winter where he did not feature in the one-day series against Pakistan and South Africa before belatedly being called into the World T20 squad when Steven Finn was injured. Once he made the XI he impressed with his hostility and that has continued with this summer’s one-dayers against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in which he has taken 13 wickets in seven matches.The confidence he is now feeling in an England shirt stems from the rebuilding process he underwent with Gillespie. He remembered an early stint in the Yorkshire nets during the winter that he signed for the club – following the 2012 season where he had played just one Championship match for Durham – where he could barely get the ball down straight and wondered whether he would have a future.”One of reasons I moved to Yorkshire is that he was a bowler himself and went through his ups and downs,” he said. “One of the first net sessions I had with him was in the winter and I hit the side netting. I thought that was the end of my career at Yorkshire right then but he said don’t worry about it, it is November and he pretty much said he just wanted me to run up and bowl fast.”Plunkett singled out the belief Gillespie had helped give him rather than focussing too much on the technical aspect of his bowling. It has been Plunkett’s pace – which can top 90mph – that has made him an asset to England’s one-day side even though he is no longer in the immediate Test match plans.”At that time, he was what I needed. I was a bit raw, and struggling with my action,” Plunkett said. “I thought it was all about technical. But it wasn’t – it was just about backing myself.”When I went there, that was what he picked up straightaway. He does other stuff with different people, but he knew what I wanted. He just said to me ‘bowl fast’, and he backed me. With that came confidence and performance.”Whenever you have a bad spell he is always there patting you on the back and saying, ‘no worries, mate, you can change the game next spell’. I take my hat off to him, I owe him quite a bit.”I’m obviously gutted – because he was good for me, and good for the team. It’s a tough decision that he’s made. But I want to thank him – he’s been great for me. He’s brought me back to playing for England. So I wish him the best, and look forward to catching up when I get back to Yorkshire.”Yorkshire have gone out of both limited-overs competitions – the T20 Blast and Royal London Cup – at the semi-final stage over the last two weekends but a hat-trick of County Championship titles remains in view as they sit second in the table, five points behind leaders Middlesex.”I hope we can make it three this year in the Championship,” Plunkett said. “That would be a nice note to leave on. I’m sure there will be quite a few people trying to get that job.”

Anusha Samaranayake, a Sri Lanka Cricket fast-bowling coach, has been cleared of the fixing allegations over which he had been suspended in February. SLC had launched an inquiry about Samaranayake’s role in the fixing-related approach of more than one Sri Lanka cricketer last year. However, the ICC has since informed SLC that there is no evidence Samaranayake has breached its Anti-Corruption Code.Despite this, Samaranayake’s role with SLC remains in hiatus, as he has more recently been found guilty of a separate disciplinary misdemeanour, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said. This inquiry had related to Samaranayake’s entertaining of guests at SLC’s academy at Khettarama. Samaranayake’s contract with SLC runs until the end of December; although his position has not been terminated, SLC appears reluctant to having him resume his duties.Samaranayake has contributed to the development of several Sri Lanka fast bowlers, with bowlers including Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara citing his influence on their careers. SLC said a concrete decision on Samaranayake’s future will be made in the coming weeks.

ScorecardMark Stoeman is joining Surrey, but he ensured a Durham quarter-final in the Blast•Getty Images

Mark Stoneman and Calum MacLeod shared Durham’s record Twenty20 stand of 141 as they beat Derbyshire by 13 runs at Emirates Riverside.Both teams went into the match knowing that victory could get them into the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals if either Warwickshire or Yorkshire lost.Warwickshire duly obliged, so Durham overtook them to go through in fourth place. It was due reward for amassing 193 for two, to which Derbyshire replied with 180 for 9.The visitors were up with the rate while skipper Wes Durston was making 44 off 26 balls, but when he was third out in the eighth over they lost momentum.It looked too tall an order by the time New Zealanders Neil Broom and Jimmy Neesham needed 99 off the last eight overs and left-hander Neesham holed out at long-on for six.Shiv Thakor revived hopes with three sixes off the spinners in making 26 off ten balls, but once he had skied Scott Borthwick to cover it was as good as over.Although Broom showed his class in making 68 off 43 balls, Derbyshire threw wickets away in desperation and slipped to 150 for eight before debutant wicketkeeper Alex Mellor, on loan from Warwickshire, helped to put on 26 before Broom was well caught by MacLeod at long-on in the final over.Stoneman, who is joining Surrey at the end of the season, batted through the Durham innings for 82 off 56 balls, with eight fours and one six, while MacLeod’s 83 came off 50 balls and included three sixes.He also shared the county’s previous T20 record stand of 126, set with John Hastings against Northants two years ago.Stoneman hit four fours through the off side in the first three overs, two of them in the third as Ben Cotton conceded 14.Keaton Jennings, taking Phil Mustard’s place at the top of the order, also began to find the boundary in a stand of 48.Stoneman, on 23, survived a steepler to Neesham, backtracking from mid-off, in an eventful sixth over from Thakor.Jennings followed up by twice driving the medium pacer down the ground, but when he tried for a third wide of mid-off Chesney Hughes flung himself to his right and held a sensational catch.Jennings’ exit halted the boundaries until MacLeod hit the last two balls of the tenth over for four and six.He swept Durston’s off spin behind square then lifted him over long-on to take the score to 89 after ten.Thakor conceded only six runs in the 16th over, but then went for 17 in the 18th, leaving Neesham with the best figures of one for 25 after conceding only seven in the final over, when he also had MacLeod caught at short fine leg.Derbyshire lost Hamish Rutherford for one in the first over, when he pulled straight to mid-wicket as Chris Rushworth picked up 2 for 14 in three overs. His other victim was Chesney Hughes, who chipped the first ball to mid-wicket when Rushworth returned for the sixth over.At 51 for 2 after the powerplay, Derbyshire were two ahead of Durham at the same stage. But Durston departed for 44, made off 26 balls, when he tried to paddle Jennings’ medium pace to fine leg and was bowled.

South Africa’s shortage of fixtures against neighbours Zimbabwe is mainly due to the absence of an enforceable Future Tours Programme (FTP), rather than a reluctance to play so-called smaller teams, according to Tony Irish, CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA).Irish was responding to a claim made by Makhaya Ntini, former South Africa fast bowler and current interim Zimbabwe coach, who told the that South Africa were “not keen on visiting here and don’t want much to do with Zimbabwe”. Irish explained the issue was not about preference as much as it was about trying to draw up an international calendar.”The real problem is with the international cricket structure as a whole. At the time of the “Big Three” takeover at ICC, the FTP was de-regulated and the smaller countries lost the benefit of being part of a framework in which all countries were obliged to play all others home and away every four years,” Irish told ESPNcricinfo. “The FTP was replaced with ad hoc bilateral agreements with no touring guarantees for the small countries. The schedule is now so packed with these ad hoc agreements that it’s difficult to schedule additional tours with a genuine [South Africa] team just to help out another country.”Since 2014, when India, England and Australia led a restructure of the ICC, South Africa have enjoyed more fixtures against bigger nations – including two four-Test series against India and England respectively – but fewer against smaller ones. In that time, they have toured Zimbabwe only once; in August 2014, South Africa played a one-off Test and competed in a triangular ODI series which also included Australia.Ntini claimed South Africa had not wanted to make the trip and had “nearly pulled out” of the triangular but Irish said he was unaware of any threat not to tour. “I wasn’t aware of any suggestion that South Africa wouldn’t visit Zimbabwe in 2014,” Irish said.South Africa have included Zimbabwe in the season-opening Africa T20 Cup, which is in its second year. Zimbabwe do not have a team in any of South Africa’s other domestic competitions, unlike Namibia, who feature in the semi-professional provincial tournaments which are played in three-day and one-day formats. South Africa have scheduled an A team tour to Zimbabwe later this year but there are no senior men’s tours on the calendar.Zimbabwe had a quiet 2015, in which they hosted no Tests and had only India and New Zealand visit for limited-overs matches. That is set to improve this year, with India currently touring for three ODIs and three T20Is, New Zealand due to play two Tests in July-August and Sri Lanka set to visit on their way to South Africa at the end of the year. They are in the process of revamping their structures with a slimmed administrative office, a new selection panel headlined by the return of Tatenda Taibu and a new-look coaching staff, comprised of South Africans, with Ntini at the helm for now and Lance Klusener as batting coach.While Klusener did not have his contract renewed with Dolphins, Ntini has not coached in South Africa at all and attempts to open an academy in his home town have been stalled by lack of funding. He was appointed Zimbabwe’s bowling coach ahead of the World T20 in March and has taken over the main job in the aftermath of Dav Whatmore’s sacking.Ntini said he believed the faith Zimbabwe showed in him demonstrated an “ability here to identify leadership potential”, and he hit out at the South African system for not providing him with opportunities to give back to the game. “It works differently in South Africa where you roast in the system and find that other coaches leapfrog you,” Ntini said. “There are talented coaches in South Africa who need to get their international dues.”

After marking his 100th Test with a brilliant first-day century, Joe Root has challenged his England team to build on a golden opportunity in the first Test in Chennai, and target a score of “600-700” to really turn the screw on India.Speaking at the close of an emotional day, Root admitted he had felt the significance of his personal milestone more than he had anticipated; thanks in part to a surprise tribute from his team-mates, including a video of good wishes from every living England cricketer to have reached 100 Tests, as well as what he described as “some really kind words” from his vice-captain, Ben Stokes.But by the close, Root had brushed aside such sentiment to rack up an unbeaten 128 – his third century in as many Tests following two in Sri Lanka last month – to lay England’s platform in a 200-run partnership with the steadfast Dom Sibley, who was pinned lbw for 87 from what turned out to be the final ball of the day.Related

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“Yeah, it’s very special,” Root said. “Last night the guys put a little surprise together for me – some videos from some past players, and friends and family. And Ben, in particular, stood up and said some really kind words.”What he said should stay between the two of us and the group, but Ben’s a fine human being and it was really nice of him to go out of his way to say some very special things that I will hold dear forever. The guys have made it very special for me and I really appreciate it. It’s been an amazing two days.Joe Root is pumped up after getting to his century in his 100th Test•BCCI

“I was a little bit emotional [at the toss],” Root added. “I couldn’t even remember our team when they asked me about it. I was a little bit all over the place, but thankfully when I got out there, I knew it was business as normal and I had a job to do.”For us to start this series in the way that we have, it couldn’t have gone any better, bar a little blip at the end there. So I really hope that we can build on that tomorrow and I’m obviously delighted with how things have gone personally.”Root, however, was not about to get carried away by either his or England’s start, and he had two very good prior reasons to remain cautious. On England’s last tour of India in 2016-17, he posted a near-identical score on the first day of the series – 124 in Rajkot – only for India to hold out for a draw, and on their most recent visit to Chennai – the last Test of that same series – their first-innings 477 proved powerless to prevent an innings defeat, as India responded with a massive 759 for 7 declared.