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ScorecardGlamorgan’s County Championship Division Two clash with Yorkshire at Colwyn Bay was abandoned as a draw on Saturday with no play possible on any of the final three days.Umpires Mark Benson and Paul Baldwin called the game off at 9.15am with no prospect of play because of persistent rain which had left pools of water on the outfield. Yorkshire take four points from the contest to three for Glamorgan, who remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.There has been so much rain that Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 game between Glamorgan and Durham at the ground must be in doubt unless there is a dramatic change in the weather.

Lewis Gregory was part of a very young Somerset attack•Getty Images

On the ground where they secured their first outright championship title since 1934 just seven months ago, Lancashire enjoyed their best day of a season that has taken some time to flicker into life.Starting this game bottom of the table and having failed to pass 250 in any innings, Lancashire are already on the brink of maximum batting bonus points after taking a heavy toll on an attack as green as the emerald outfield. Steven Croft, with the fourth first-class century of his career and the first by any Lancashire batsman this season, added 208 for the fourth-wicket with Ashwell Prince in just 49 overs. The pitch is unusually true for this time of year, but to concede over four an over in April says as much about the bowling as it does the batting.This was an oddly uncompetitive day’s cricket. Much of the time it resembled a fixture between a county and a university side as an injury-depleted Somerset team was exposed for its inexperience. As a result, Somerset will send for reinforcements in the coming days.”We will look into the loan market very quickly at the end of this game,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket told ESPNcricinfo. “I only have one more bowler in reserve – James Overton – so we have already started to look at some names that aren’t playing. There don’t seem to be many options, but it is an area we are going to explore.”Perhaps, had James Hildreth at slip, held on to a low chance offered by Prince off Peter Trego when the batsman had just seven, things might have been different. As it was, though, Prince and in particular Croft were content to put away the poor ball on a decent pitch offering little margin for error. They rarely had to wait for long. Somerset struggled with their line and length throughout, with a tendency to pitch too short punished in such easy-paced conditions.”Our back-up bowlers let us down a bit,” Hildreth, Somerset’s stand-in captain, admitted afterwards. “We had simple game plans but we didn’t execute them properly. It’s a bit disappointing, but we have to remember that some of these bowlers are young.”If it is the hope that hurts, then Somerset supporters can take some comfort from the day’s play. While the final weeks of recent seasons have been characterised by agony as the team threaten to win their maiden championship title only to fall away at the last, this year there will be no such pain. It is highly unlikely that Somerset will win the championship this year.They do not have the depth in their bowling attack to mount a sustainable challenge. With Alfonso Thomas absent on IPL duty and Steve Kirby, Geemal Hussain and Adam Dibble injured, they have been obliged to rely too heavily on a band of talented but inexperienced bowlers. Craig Overton is barely 18, George Dockrell and Lewis Gregory are both teenagers and Craig Meschede is, aged 20, the oldest of the four. They have played just 27 first-class games between them. Indeed, Glen Chapple, the Lancashire captain, has played more first-class cricket than all six members of the Somerset attack combined. While Somerset could claim, with some justification, they have suffered some ill-fortune, they might also reflect on the wisdom of allowing Charl Willoughby to depart for Essex. Their squad is too thin.It would be unreasonable to expect too much of their callow recruits. Overton, tall but red raw, has just a hint of Stuart Broad about him and may well develop into a fine cricketer. He also claimed his maiden first-class wicket when Prince punched one to mid-wicket. Gregory bowled horribly most of the time, but also ended Karl Brown’s delightfully fluent innings with a good, full ball and has, just occasionally, a turn of pace that suggests there is plenty of untapped talent lurking within. Neither they nor Meschede are yet ready for this level, but all are worth perseverance. Somerset have simply asked a bit much of them a bit soon.More disappointing was the performance of Vernon Philander. The South African removed Paul Horton early, leaving a straight one, but generally failed to utilise the new ball by making the batsmen play in that crucial first hour and conceded four an over throughout the day. Six no-balls underlined his lack of rhythm. Somerset, it should be noted, would have bowled had they won they toss.This is a decent pitch, though. Croft, who scored the winning runs here when Lancashire clinched the championship, rated it the best he has seen this season. “There’s nowhere better to bat,” he said. “Hopefully this will kick start our season.”The way in which one delivery from left-arm spinner George Dockrell took off and leapt over the shoulder of batsman and keeper for four byes suggests that Simon Kerrigan may yet find a little more joy in the surface.Somerset also expect to hear confirmation of Chris Gayle’s availability within the next couple of days. The West Indian, signed for this season’s FLt20 is believed to be on the brink of resuming national team duties and may well, as a consequence, become unavailable for Somerset as a result.

ScorecardCanterbury didn’t seem quite prepared for the start of a new season. As play began a digger was still rumbling away at the new club offices, workmen aboard ladders hammered up hoardings and supporters hoping to use the overflow car park were turned away because of a flood.At least on the field, Kent were into the swing of a new campaign. Matt Coles, who started the season with a maiden championship hundred, this time stood out with the ball with three wickets as Gloucestershire declined to 131 for 6 by the close of an abbreviated day.But swing was not the primary factor of Kent’s success with the ball. Movement off the seam from the Nackington Road End produced wickets for Coles and Mark Davies to leave Kent, who won the toss, firmly on top.Those glancing at the scorecard may have pulled a seems-fair-enough face given the conditions around the country but the ball did not swing excessively and the pitch was fine; it was slow, like the sluggish outfield, but perfectly agreeable for batsman with the correct technique. But such necessities were lacking in Richard Coughtrie, defying the cold in short sleeves, and Hamish Marshall. Both were caught on the crease to deliveries where they had to be forward.Likewise Chris Dent – a talented player who scored a first-innings century against Hampshire last week. He cut his second ball without moving his feet and got an inside edge low to Geraint Jones. Alex Gidman went the other way, following a ball outside off to edge behind; his dropping by Ben Harmison at third slip only costing Kent four runs.It did not take batting genius to succeed as Benny Howell underlined with a very comfortable 44. Howell was released from Hampshire last season after only one Championship appearance in which he made a second-innings 71 against Lancashire. But one 2nd XI game for Gloucestershire on Monday was enough demonstration of talent to be picked here: his retirement on 207 against Surrey at Bristol a successful trial.He certainly looked in good nick, timing the ball well and thumping six boundaries – his power was evident. Lunch checked his momentum and he was lbw in the second over after the interval to one that nipped back.”It was a bit unfortunate in the end at Hampshire,” Howell said. “I did alright; I played all the one-day games but was just disappointed at the lack of opportunities in four-day cricket. So I was looking to move on and luckily I’ve got this opportunity pretty early. I felt in good nick. The pitch was a bit slow and it took time to get used to the slope – it just keeps going with the angle.”It was the slope which had claimed two of Howell’s colleagues. But he adjusted well and showed a technique that bettered many in the order: the main factor in the visitors’ predicament. The bowling was not good enough to put Gloucestershire in the trouble in which they find themselves.The point was proved as Ian Cockbain and Will Gidman concentrated long enough for a stand of 58 for the sixth wicket – a desperately needed partnership. Both are functional players and neither got into any rhythm. Gidman drove with a lack of timing and his cut for four to bring up the half-century stand was his best stroke.But rhythm was difficult to find with the looming weather. The floodlights came on and off and on again; sunshine teased in among heavy showers – the second burst forced tea at 3.15pm. A third series brought the close at 5.45pm with the loss of 42 overs during the day.Rain-filled days often produce an impossible situation for batsman and, sure enough, to the penultimate ball of the three-over evening session, Davies angled one into Cockbain who got an inside edge onto his front pad and was caught in the gully: a dismissal which rounded off Gloucestershire’s sloppiness.

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, is intent on getting a bit of rest from competitive cricket after the upcoming IPL, as he has not taken any substantial time off the game for more than two years. That could mean skipping a stint on the English county circuit this season, following his second season with Kolkata Knight Riders – the IPL ends on May 27, and Shakib is yet to firm up his county plans.”The county cricket [stint] hasn’t been confirmed yet. I still don’t know if I would play [county cricket], even if I am fit,” Shakib told ESPNcricinfo. “I haven’t stopped [playing] for the last three years, so I am thinking that only if I get a 15 to 20 days rest after the IPL, I will go and play in England. If they [whichever county team he might sign with this season] tell me to go and join them straight after the IPL, I won’t go, that’s what I have planned.”Shakib has had only three major breaks from cricket ever since making his international debut in 2006. He had about three months off in 2008, a few months in early 2009 and, more recently, a break from mid-August to mid-October in 2009, between an away ODI series against Zimbabwe and a domestic Twenty20 tournament. Ever since, Shakib has risen significantly in world rankings and has grown in stature as an international cricketer by playing in the county championship for Worcestershire and the IPL for the Kolkata franchise. This apart, he has turned out in several domestic competitions in Bangladesh.”I have played a lot of cricket, I need a break. I have some stuff of my own to take care of,” Shakib said. “To play good cricket, one needs to stay away from cricket too.”Shakib is coming off a productive year, in which he averaged 44 with the bat and 29 with the ball in ODIs and 50 and 29 with bat and ball respectively in Tests. In Bangladesh’s stirring showing in the just-concluded Asia Cup he made 64, 49, 56 and 68. However, he admitted that the responsibility on him as an allrounder was not always easy to deal with and that there is still room for improvement.”Personally, I want to improve by finishing matches for the team,” he said. “My bowling isn’t going that well too. It’s difficult to keep both going, batting and bowling. I feel that it is hard to concentrate on both in training. I have seen that if I take one discipline and work on it, it gets better. But to work on both is a bit difficult. It is a problem at times [as an allrounder], so there’s a lot of room to work hard.”While he remained realistic about Bangladesh’s chances in Test cricket and their plans for the immediate future, the success in the Asia Cup, he said, will help them think of themselves differently. “We may not win Tests [for now] because we haven’t got the attack to take 20 wickets. We need genuine bowlers to take 20 wickets, but we will win one-day games. This [Asia Cup performance] has helped us set new goals. It is important that four or five players are performing [in the same game] for Bangladesh.”I feel that at home we can handle teams a lot better than we can away from home. [Bigger teams like] India still have trouble [playing] away from home. So I think we should [first] become tough competitors at home so that in the next year or two, no one can come and whitewash us easily.”

ScorecardElton Chigumbura had a top day with bat and ball•AFP

Elton Chigumbura scored an unbeaten ton to revive the Eagles after they lost five wickets for four runs – four of them on the score of 34 – before coming back to snap up 3 for 27 with the ball to stall Mid West Rhinos’ chase of 221. Chigumbura’s all-round brilliance sealed a 63-run win, giving Mashonaland Eagles the Coca-Cola Pro50 title as Rhinos fell short by 63 runs.The Rhinos’ decision to field was vindicated early as the Eagles came unstuck following a 31-run opening stand. Ed Rainsford and Michael Chinouya ripped through the top five in a manic passage of play as Eagles slipped to 34 for 5. Chigumbura picked up the pieces through a 58-run stand with Regis Chakabva, who fell to Graeme Cremer in the 25th over. Nathan Waller slogged 26 off 24 balls, as the Eagles resigned themselves to quick runs before getting bowled out. Ray Price exited soon after, and the Eagles were staring at an early end to their innings at 129 for 8 in the 32nd over.However, Innocent Chinyoka provided just the sort of stubborn resistance that Chigumbura needed to swell the total. Chinyoka occuped the crease for 78 minutes, facing 57 balls for an invaluable, unbeaten 26. Chigumbura took care of the scoring business at the other end, and surged past his century. The stand was worth an unbroken 91 in 18.1 overs, and pushed the Eagles to a respectable 220 for 8.Chinyoka was back to torment the Rhinos with the new ball, offering able support to Tatenda Manatsa (2 for 31) as the top three perished for a combined contribution of 10 runs. Thereafter Chigumbura took over, slicing through the middle order with a three-wicket burst that left the Rhinos gasping at 60 for 7. Cremer and Rainsford sparked a lower-order resistance, but there wasn’t enough room for another twist in the tale.

Vikrant Shetty, the UAE offspinning allrounder, has been cleared to bowl at the international level, after undergoing remedial work on his bowling action. Shetty worked on his action at the ICC Global Cricket Academy (GCA), under the supervision of head coaches Dayle Hadlee and Mudassar Nazar. Following the remedial action, he was assessed and cleared by his home board, the Emirates Cricket Board.Shetty had been reported for a suspected illegal action during UAE’s Intercontinental Cup clash against Afghanistan in October. Shetty, 27, had made his first-class debut in that match. He was reported at the end of the match by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Buddhi Pradhan, and third umpire Iftikhar Ali.Under this process, as with all bowlers, Shetty’s action will continue to be scrutinised by match officials to ensure it remains legal.