James Pearce blown away by Liverpool’s £195,000-a-week “delight to watch” vs Wolves

Florian Wirtz finally scored his first goal for Liverpool as he orchestrated what turned into a less-than-comfortable 2-1 Premier League win over bottom side Wolves.

Wirtz wows as Liverpool scrape past Wolves

A week after registering his first league assist, the Germany international, who had been denied his maiden strike when his effort against Sunderland three weeks ago was ruled an own goal, moved up a level as he pulled the strings for a third-successive league victory.

There will inevitably still be some detractors who will argue a goal against a team who have yet to win this season and have now lost 11 in a row somehow has less value but the £116million summer signing’s all-round performance pointed to a greater contribution.

Having played one delicious, early through-ball for Hugo Ekitike to hit the post, the 22-year-old made more of the striker returning the favour, showing a calmness and control which epitomises his play by ghosting in between the centre-backs to get the ball out from under his feet and poke under Jose Sa.

And The Athletic’s James Pearce was one of many flocking to social media to praise the German after the game, claiming the £195,000-a-week earner was “a delight to watch” but admitting there was “so much room for improvement” from every other Reds player.

His goal came just 89 seconds after Wirtz’s former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong had teed up the opener for Ryan Gravenberch, who broke out Diogo Jota’s crocodile celebration on an emotional afternoon for the late forward’s former two teams.

Two of Jota’s children – Dinis and Duarte – plus a couple of other young family members were part of the pre-match presentation line-ups with one son walking out with Virgil van Dijk and the other with Sa, watched by their mother Rute from the touchline.

It was an emotional occasion for both teams with the visiting fans singing their tribute to their former player, who with his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in July, in the 18th minute and Anfield rising as one in his memory when the clock ticked over to 20 minutes, the number of his now-retired Liverpool shirt.

Wolves expose Liverpool's set piece weakness again

Wirtz, whose shimmy past Matt Doherty drew gasps of appreciation, continued to pull the strings after half-time and drilled a shot into the side-netting from a corner.

However, by then Wolves had pulled a goal back through Hugo Bueno after exploiting Liverpool’s weakness at set-pieces.

That made things far more uncomfortable than it really should have been for Liverpool, who in the first half played the game predominantly in Wolves’ final third.

Alexis Mac Allister hit the same post as Ekitike before Frimpong drove to the byline past Joao Gomes and Bueno and cut back for Gravenberch to ram home a low shot.

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Just over a minute later the roar was even louder as Wirtz opened his account with a quality finish.

However, seven minutes after half-time Alisson Becker could only parry a header from Tolu Arokodare, whose aerial threat was a problem, after he out-jumped Ibrahima Konate and Bueno converted the rebound.

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The goal reopened the mental wounds which led to a chaotic finish when they conceded at Tottenham last time out and when Arokodare sent another header over, alarm bells started to ring.

Anfield became more nervous as they saw a team which has now become the first to fail to win in their opening 18 matches of a Premier League campaign finish the stronger with Conor Bradley’s perfectly-timed tackle denying Jhon Arias a late equaliser.

Newcastle United fans rage at Jonjo Shelvey after dismissal

Newcastle United’s return to the English Premier League didn’t get off to the best of starts on Sunday after Tottenham Hotspur visited St James’ Park and left with a 2-0 win.

After competing strongly in the first half and frustrating Mauricio Pochettino’s side, the second half started horribly. Captain Jonjo Shelvey lost his cool and stamped on the leg of Dele Alli, right under the nose of referee Andre Marriner, who was left with no choice but to show him a red card.

As you’d expect, from that point on Spurs gradually asserted their authority on the game and after Alli opened the scoring just after the hour mark, there was only going to be one winner.

It wasn’t the start manager Rafa Benitez was looking for but he can at least take comfort in the fact his team competed well with last season’s second-placed side right up to the point they went down to ten men.

Newcastle fans were left fuming with team captain Shelvey and took to Twitter to share their thoughts about his moment of madness…

Gloucestershire and Notts frustrated by rain

Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire were frustrated by the rain on the second day of their promotion tussle at Bristol.Only 16.4 overs were possible, during which time Gloucestershire moved from 13-0 to 73-1 in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 216.A draw is unlikely to be any good to either side in their bid to go up, and an unsettled weather forecast for the final two days of the game could force the captains to set up a contrived finish.No play was possible in the morning session. An attempt was made at 12 noon, only for the players to come off for bad light just as the first ball was to be bowled.The action finally started at 1.20pm and Nottinghamshire enjoyed success in the third over of the day.Dominic Hewson pushed forward at a David Lucas delivery and was caught by Guy Welton at short leg for three.That left the home county on 13-1 in the eighth over, but the next 13 overs produced 60 runs as Kim Barnett and Matt Windows cut loose.Barnett was the main aggressor with an unbeaten 41 from 65 deliveries, with six fours cracked through the off-side.All of them were taken off pace bowler Andy Harris, who was punished for offering too much width to his former Derbyshire colleague.Windows had a couple of boundaries, one off Lucas and one off Harris, in his unbeaten 18, which was good enough to take him past 1,000 first-class runs in a season for the second time.Windows has now scored 1,004 runs this campaign, with 14 of those scored for the First Class Counties XI against New Zealand A.

Stanford hits impasse with MCC

The US$100 million deal between the ECB and Allen Stanford is in doubt after the MCC warned that it would not sanction Twenty20 matches featuring Stanford’s trademark black bats. Talks will continue today between the parties in an effort to rescue the plan for a series of Twenty20 games at Lord’s between an England XI, a West Indian All Star XI and two other international teams.Stanford wanted the matches to feature the black bats that have been used in the existing Stanford 20/20 tournament in the Caribbean. But MCC has revised the rules regarding the composition of bats, declaring that a bat must be wooden in colour, a regulation mainly aimed at ensuring modern materials to assist the batsman cannot be used in addition to willow.As well as the Lord’s games, Stanford’s proposal was to include matches between England and a West Indian All Star XI at his own ground in Antigua. One possible solution to the impasse could be to make the competition unofficial, and relax the bat rules in the Antigua games in return for using the more traditional equipment in the Lord’s outings.

New-look Sri Lanka aim to unearth rough diamonds

Match facts

Thursday, July 30, 2015
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)Captain Lasith Malinga will be hoping to find a few exciting prospects from the youngsters included in the squad•PA Photos

Big Picture

Sri Lanka have more-or-less been the top-ranked T20 side in the world since September 2012, but no one will argue that it means much. T20 is the format most international sides forget about for 18 months in each two-year cycle. Sri Lanka are a full 13 rankings points clear of the next-best side, but have played only one T20I in the 16 months since winning the World T20.But now, with the next World T20 in India on the horizon, sides are again dusting their T20 kits and beginning to put wheels in motion. Sri Lanka are taking the opportunity to experiment. Five uncapped players have been named in the squad, with captain Lasith Malinga seemingly intent on discovering one or two rough diamonds among them. Pakistan have played it slightly safer, but even they have uncapped left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq and rookie batsman Nauman Anwar in their squad.Pakistan have outclassed Sri Lanka in both formats so far, but Sri Lanka have had their moments as well. with the young players often leading the hosts’ good days. But with so much youth in the Sri Lanka side, Pakistan will like their chances of completing their third series victory on tour. Pakistan have also played more T20 cricket in recent months; they recently played Zimbabwe at home, as well as Bangladesh away, and their captain Shahid Afridi is coming off a Caribbean Premier League stint. A few low-key practice matches in Colombo is all the preparation Sri Lanka have had.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWWWLPakistan: WWLLW

In the spotlight

Nuwan Kulasekara was for so long the most consistent man in Sri Lanka’s seam attack, bringing disciplined bowling and occasionally vicious inswing to the early overs. A decline in pace accompanied a loss of control, however, and he fell sharply away in the latter half of 2014. He has now been dropped from the Test and ODI teams, and will be desperate to prove he deserves a T20 place at least. Still 33 years old, and generally injury-free, he may see the T20s as his route back into the ODI side as well.Mohammad Rizwan has been a revelation in the ODIs, leading a Pakistan fielding outfit almost unrecognizable from the side that bungled their way around the World Cup, while also producing impactful cameos towards the end of the innings. He did not have much luck in his only T20 international innings so far, falling for 6 in a match in which he also kept wickets, but his natural athleticism and ability to manoeuvre the ball makes him an exciting prospect.

Teams news

With so many new names in the Sri Lanka squad, it’s difficult to work out what the final XI might be. Of the uncapped cricketers, legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and left-arm seamer Binura Fernando appear likeliest to debut. Chamara Kapugedara and Kithuruwan Vithanage are also likely to feature somewhere in the batting order.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera (wk), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Chamara Kapugedara, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kithuruwan Vithanage, 6 Milinda Siriwardene, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt.), 11 Binura FernandoPakistan will consider playing left-arm spinning allrounder Imad Wasim, but he may find it difficult to displace Yasir Shah from the side. Mohammad Hafeez will also likely keep his place in the top order after picking up the Player-of-the-Series award for the ODIs.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mukhtar Ahmed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed/ Umar Akmal (wk), 6 Shahid Afridi (capt.), 7 Mohammad Rizwan, 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Yasir Shah/ Imad Wasim, 10 Sohail Tanvir, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The weather is expected to be fine and the pitch, full of runs.

Stats and trivia

  • In 12 matches against Sri Lanka, Pakistan have won seven and lost five. Sri Lanka won in their only meeting in Colombo.
  • Tillakaratne Dilshan needs 34 runs to complete 1500 T20 international runs.

Quotes

“There’s no domestic T20 league in Sri Lanka between now and the World T20, so we have to choose the players who have shown talent in the last season and work out whether they are suitable for international cricket. We’ll try to work out which players we can take into that World T20, in the next five matches.”

Shastri to continue as India team director till World T20

Ravi Shastri will remain India team director till the World T20 in March-April 2016, the BCCI has announced. Based on the recommendations of the cricket advisory committee, the tenures of the three assistant coaches – Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar – have also been extended till the same tournament.”Acknowledging the performance of the Indian Cricket team and the efforts of the coaching staff in recent times, the CAC endorsed the extension of their tenure,” a BCCI release stated. The cricket advisory committee consists of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, board president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur.Shastri, and the three assistant coaches, had been brought in from the limited-overs leg of the England tour in August 2014 after India had lost the Test series. Their terms were then extended till the end of the World Cup by the BCCI working committee. They had been assured before the Bangladesh tour in June that their contracts would be renewed, but the tenure had been not agreed upon.

Gurkeerat fifty and five-for, India A win

Scorecard2:02

I was a bit worried about how I’ll do – Gurkeerat

India A’s robust lower middle order contributed three half-centuries to help the side to a strong total before their bowlers scuppered the visitors’ chase.Gurkeerat Singh had the biggest role in his team’s victory as he followed up a fifty with five wickets, while Rishi Dhawan first smashed an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls and then claimed two wickets. Sanju Samson (73) and Mayank Agarwal (56) provided calmer counterpoints to the late-order blast that eventually ensued. Samson put on 102 runs with Gurkeerat for the sixth wicket, before adding 78 for the seventh with Dhawan.Chasing 323, Bangladesh A were off to a wobbly start as left-arm seamer S Aravind dismissed the top three batsmen for a cumulative score of 34. The visitors were reduced to 87 for 5 after Dhawan removed Bangladesh A captain Mominul Haque and Sabbir Rahman. Bangladesh A, however, were roused by a 120-run alliance for the sixth wicket between Nasir Hossain (52) and Liton Das (75). But, once Gurkeerat removed both the batsmen in the space of three overs, the chase headed south, and they were bowled out with 7.3 overs still remaining.While Nasir and Liton were at the crease, however, India A had a genuine scare, as the duo looked untroubled against spin and pace. This was significant given how Aravind had made things difficult by moving the ball sharply, even dismissing Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque with successive deliveries. Nasir and Liton mixed cheek and alacrity to ensure Bangladesh A’s scoring rate never really sagged. However, wickets at the wrong time pushed them out of the game.Earlier, having been inserted on a surface that had generous grass cover, India A began briskly. This was partly a result of Bangladesh A’s largesse with the ball: Taskin Ahmed conceded 14 runs in wides in his first two overs even as Mayank Agarwal and captain Unmukt Chand breezed to 44 runs inside five overs. Taskin struck the first blow and sent Chand back. After bowling one that nipped back appreciably off a length, Taskin got one delivery to hold its line and Chand’s airy waft was pouched by the keeper.Meanwhile, Shafiul Islam, who was less profligate, used the bounce on offer judiciously and had Manish Pandey caught behind three overs later. Suresh Raina walked in to cheers from a sparse crowd and, along with Agarwal, sought to stabilise the innings.While not always assured, Raina struck a couple of eye-catching cover-drives. But, Nasir trapped him in front of the stumps in the 16th over with one that didn’t turn much, and Raina did not offer a more confident forward stride. Nasir was in the thick of things again four balls later, as he threw down the stumps to catch Kedar Jadhav short of the crease for a three-ball duck.Agarwal, in the company of Samson, repeatedly played the slog-sweep, but also fell to the shot, finding the fielder at deep midwicket after scoring 56.Samson continued to play steadily for his 73 even as Gurkeerat delighted in some street-smart play in his 65, bisecting Sarkar between point and short third man for successive boundaries. After Gurkeerat was trapped lbw by Arafat Sunny, Dhawan produced an innings that was an amalgam of hacks, dabs and squirts. His innings allowed India A to ransack 98 runs in the last 10 overs, aided by underwhelming fielding from Bangladesh A.

England heist denied by fading light

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAfter 1,121 runs and 17 wickets in the first two innings of an extraordinarily slow-burning contest, the first Test in Abu Dhabi all but exploded into a Technicolor fireworks finish, as England fell agonisingly short of glory following a Twenty20-style run-chase.In scenes reminiscent of England’s last great Asian heist, at Karachi in 2000-01, a staggering and unscripted Pakistan collapse opened the door for a gallop to the finish in rapidly fading light. The hero of the hour was Adil Rashid, who turned his long-awaited maiden Test wicket into a redemptive five-wicket haul as Pakistan were routed for 173 in 57.5 overs. However, needing 99 for victory in what amounted to an hour’s worth of daylight, England could not quite defy the heavens in their gallant sprint for the line.Had there been time for Pakistan to bowl their full allocation of 19 overs, the target would have been a breeze for a spirited young line-up featuring many of the men who have revived England’s one-day fortunes this summer. However, despite the best efforts of Joe Root, who hustled 33 from 29 balls, and Jonny Bairstow, who clattered an enormous six over midwicket in a Wahab Riaz over that was dispatched for 17 runs, their rage against the dying of the light left them 25 runs short after an 11-over slog.Pakistan, inevitably, were in no hurry to get through their overs, but they could hardly be faulted for that. England themselves have used delaying tactics to their advantage in the past, not least during their great escape at Cardiff in the 2009 Ashes, when Bilal Shafayat, the 12th man, earned notoriety for his glove-delivering duties. Ultimately it came down to the umpires to assess the conditions, just as they had done on the previous evening. Fifteen years on from Karachi, and with no Steve Bucknor in the middle to take matters into his own hands, the end of the match was signalled with an apologetic shrug of the shoulders, as Bruce Oxenford and Paul Reiffel called a halt to proceedings at 5.46pm local time, seven minutes before sunset was officially confirmed.The first hint that something extraordinary was afoot had come in the third over of Pakistan’s second innings. The morning, up to that point, had been following the pattern of the previous four days – England, 569 for 8 overnight, added 29 runs for the loss of Rashid in a ponderous first hour, before Alastair Cook decided enough was enough and declared on 598 for 9. James Anderson, the not-out No.11, appeared oddly peeved at the decision – perhaps he had designs on a last-day century? – but whatever his gripe, he quickly channelled it into another superb spell of new-ball bowling.With a lead of 75 in the bank, Anderson charged in with all of his tricks on display, grabbing two wickets in five balls to reduce Pakistan to a jittery 3 for 2. Shan Masood was extracted in embarrassing circumstances for the second innings running to complete a miserable match -bowled off the grille on the first day, bowled off an under-edge into the crease on the last – before Shoaib Malik, the first-innings double-centurion, was deceived by a cross-seam bouncer that reared at his throat. Bairstow under the lid accepted a looping chance off the gloves with glee, and little wonder – it had taken 326 balls and 633 balls respectively for either side to double their wickets tally in the first two innings. Now Malik, with scores of 245 and 0, had made it two in 17.Mohammad Hafeez, on his 35th birthday, showed some enterprise in a counter-attacking 34 from 55 balls, including four fours and, on the stroke of lunch, a straight six off Rashid, who moments earlier had reviewed an appeal for caught behind that could, and maybe should, have ended his wait for that maiden Test scalp. But Rashid would be into the action soon enough. After the interval, Hafeez prodded a legbreak into the covers and set off for a suicidal single. Ben Stokes swooped, turned and blew out his candles at the non-striker’s end. At 47 for 3, England’s interest in the contest was ablaze.James Anderson removed Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik in the same over•Associated Press

That interest should, by rights, have been snuffed out by the grandees of Pakistan’s middle-order. After a familiarly skittish start, Younis Khan, with 45 from 114 balls, joined forces with Misbah-ul-Haq, who made 51 from 111, to draw the sting of England’s seam attack. There was one moment of fortune for Misbah, on 19, when he successfully reviewed a catch at gully off Anderson, but their fourth-wicket stand of 66 had taken Pakistan back into the lead, and – at 102 for 3 at tea – apparently out of danger. But then both men took leave of their senses.The first to succumb was Younis, who had played the spinners with such confidence and aplomb until one stroke too many, a wild swipe into the covers that plopped gently into the hands of Ben Stokes. After 265 deliveries and at a cost of 193 runs, Rashid finally had his breakthrough moment.Three overs later, he had doubled his tally and halved his Test average, as Asad Shafiq grazed a drive to be caught behind for 6. However, it was Misbah’s rush of blood that really turned four days of bloodless accumulation into a bare-knuckle fight to the finish. For 111 deliveries spanning 32.3 overs, he had been turning in the sort of responsible-but-glamour-free contribution that has been the hallmark of his time as Pakistan’s captain. But then, inexplicably, he galloped down the pitch to the offspin of Moeen Ali and was bowled through the gate with his head gazing up to the Abu Dhabi skyline.Pakistan, at that juncture, were six-down for 159 and, with the tail exposed and ripe for the docking, Rashid was primed for his slice of redemption. After Wahab had been snapped up at short leg to give Moeen his second of the innings, Rashid ripped through his variations to claim each of the final three wickets to fall and become the first England legspinner since Tommy Greenhough at Lord’s in 1959 to claim five in an innings.Anderson, one of the best spin-bowling slip fielders in the game, was on hand for each of those last three, quite literally in the case of his outstanding left-handed pluck off Zulfiqar Babar – a dismissal which the third umpire, somewhat surprisingly, upheld in spite of the usual concerns about foreshortening on TV replays. Rashid then took two in two balls to wrap up the innings, as Pakistan’s panic spread throughout their ranks.Faced with a time/runs situation, England prudently shuffled their pack, with Moeen and Jos Buttler sent out to wallop the new ball, and Root, Stokes and Bairstow all queuing up behind them. Back in the dressing-room, Alastair Cook sat behind the lines like a decorated military commander – with his Victoria Cross already secured for his above-and-beyond endeavours in the first innings, there was no further need for the captain to lead from the front. His example has already been absorbed by an inspired set of cricketers. If Pakistan assumed they had the measure of these visitors, they might need to think again.

Unadkat six-for rocks Services

ScorecardFile photo: Rajat Paliwal’s 121 laid the foundation of Services’ innings•Dainik Dabang Dunia

Rajat Paliwal’s first century of the season led Services’ batting effort on the first day of their Ranji clash against Saurashtra in Delhi, but a six-wicket haul from Jaydev Unadkat meant the hosts were bowled out for 254. Services, after being inserted, lost three early wickets, but Paliwal and Yashpal Singh stabilised the innings by joining hands for a fourth-wicket stand which yielded 112 runs. Paliwal was eventually dismissed for 121, after striking 19 fours and a six. His wicket sparked a collapse, as Services lost their last seven wickets for just 83 runs. Yashpal remained unbeaten on 55, but no other batsman contributed more than 16, as Unadkat collected 6 for 80 to bundle Services out in 69 overs. Ravindra Jadeja, who had taken six consecutive five-fors coming into this game, finished wicketless from his nine overs. Saurashtra were 19 for 0 in reply when stumps were called.
ScorecardMithun Manhas made his 26th first-class hundred to lead Jammu & Kashmir to 331 for 4 against Hyderabad. J&K were 29 for 2 after losing their openers in successive overs before Ian Dev Singh and Manhas came together for a 189-run partnership. Manhas put on another 113 for the fourth wicket with Parvez Rasool after Ian Dev departed for 83. The J&K captain stretched his knock to 150 off 194 balls, with 21 fours and three sixes, till he fell off what proved to be the last ball of the day. Rasool remained unbeaten on 61 off 97 with ten fours.
ScorecardUdiyan Bose scored an unbeaten 95 to steer a wobbly Tripura line-up to 223 for 7 against Himachal Pradesh. Barring two fifty partnerships for the third and fifth wickets, Tripura were unable to build stable stands. Bose was involved in both, with Parvinder Singh (23) and allrounder Manisankar Murasingh (44). Tripura managed to lose a wicket off the last ball of the day as well, but Bose was around at the other end on 95 off 239, with 12 fours and a six. Akshay Chauhan picked up two wickets for Himachal.
ScorecardOvernight rain in Jamshedpur meant no play was possible in the Ranji clash between Jharkhand and Goa.

Gloucestershire v Essex, County Championship, Day 1 of 4

Test captain Nasser Hussain opted to turn out for Essex in the Division Two game at Bristol because he needs runs. His hopes for a long stay in the middle were shattered though as he was out for three as Essex totalled 263.Gloucestershire’s second line seamer Mike Cawdron found a ball to keep low off a length and won an LBW shout. The 23 year old was in a purple patch of 25 deliveries which were to bring him three wickets for seven runs, the other victims being Paul Grayson who prodded a catch to extra cover for 19 and Stuart Law who fished wide outside the off to be caught at the wicket for four.Early moisture gave the home side the advantage in the morning as skipper Mark Alleyne believed it would when he won the toss. But the surface became more friendly by the hour and after losing their first five wickets in 46 overs for 161 the rearguard were able to put on 102 in 56 overs.Gloucestershire were to some extent the makers of their own misfortune for with the Benson and Hedges Cup final coming up against Glamorgan on Saturday they decided to rest four of their leading players.A win over Essex carried the promise of taking over at the top of the division but they have given their Australian Ian Harvey the match off along with Jack Russell, Kim Barnett and opening bowler Mike Smith.While the wickets were falling Gloucestershire covered well for the absentees but the lack of penetration became more evident as the day wore on.Paul Prichard had set the tone for the batting as he waited for the right ball to hit reaching his 50 with seven fours and sharing his most productive stand of 86 with Ronnie Irani for the fourth wicket.With three wickets gone Irani set out to rattle the bowling, Jon Lewis in particular, and he crashed 16 runs in one over off Lewis who began the day with more first-class wickets than anyone else this season.Alleyne had to cover for him and although Lewis came back to bowl a total of 17 overs there were no wickets for him and he went for 64. While Irani was making 52 of their 86 runs Prichard was accumulating steadily and looked certain to reach his 100 for he had never looked in trouble but he fell four runs short.Facing his 170th ball he drove it straight towards Tim Hancock at mid-off. There could have been a hotly scampered single there in a tight finish but there was no need to look for one.Prichard though called and was well out of his ground when Hancock threw down his wicket.Prichard had hit 13 fours and Essex were needing a stabiliser. They found him in wicket keeper Mark Hyam who led a sturdy tail end fight which brought in a second batting point. A third half century of the day saw him to 53 with five fours until he was picked up in the slips by Rob Cunliffe off his 169th ball.Essex could be pleased with the first day, it was a case not of getting out of jail but of not getting into trouble. For Gloucestershire there must have been regrets at the way they had weakened their side – in football it would have attracted an inquiry and a large fine – but at least their deputy wicket keeper Reggie Williams had something to celebrate.In 11 summers with the county this is only his 38th first-class game for he has been kept in the background by Russell but he showed with three brilliant catches he is as sharp as anyone around. Stuart Law chased a wideish ball to find his right glove at full stretch for 4, Darren Robinson fell to a leg side spectacular without scoring and finally Tim Mason saw one fly off the handle into the gloves.That last dismissal gave Williams his 100th first-class catch which showed what Glamorgan and Notts missed when Gloucestershire offered him to either of them so he could have the chance of regular cricket his talents deserve.Facing one over before the close Gloucestershire were five without loss.

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