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The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has reiterated its concerns about player welfare due to the packed nature of the English domestic schedule, with 83% of respondents to a pre-season survey citing physical concerns over their current workload, and 67% believing the schedule is detrimental to their mental health.The findings come after the PCA visited all 18 men’s professional counties ahead of the 2025 season to gauge opinion on the state of the sport in England and Wales. The results of their survey represent a rise in concern across the game, following the PCA’s dire warning in 2024 that the game had a duty to “pre-empt disaster” due to the long late-night journeys that many players were obliged to make to travel between fixtures.Earlier this month, the ECB announced a review into the men’s domestic structure, in which the number of County Championship matches could be reduced from 14 to 12 as soon as 2026.Related

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With the anticipated windfall from the Hundred equity sale, allied to the rise of the new women’s tiered county structure, Rob Andrew, the managing director of the professional game, said this could now be an opportunity for a “holistic” reappraisal of the county domestic structure.According to the PCA, the “progressive integration of the women’s teams” was a key theme of their pre-season meetings, as well as the impact of private investment into the game, and how all male and female players can benefit.Ben Foakes, the England and Surrey wicketkeeper, welcomed the prospect of heightened investment in the domestic game, but reiterated the players’ wider concerns about fatigue amid the current schedule.”You hear the amount of money coming into the game, and you want to know how the whole game can grow,” Foakes said. “At Surrey, we now have the women’s team, which is great, and there’s a lot of forward momentum.”We do play a hell of a lot of cricket. It is tough, and I don’t think it necessarily produces the best cricket at times because you have people sleepwalking on to the pitch which definitely doesn’t help. It is a balancing act, and it is just about trying to get it right.”PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell: “I have been really impressed with the domestic structure review process”•PA Photos/Getty Images

Olly Hannon-Dalby, the PCA chair, said: “We have a clear mandate based on the growing feeling amongst the membership that change is required to protect current and future professional cricketers in England and Wales. The meetings were set out to support the positive direction of travel we have seen in the domestic structure review meetings the PCA has been part of since late 2024. We are confident there is a greater appetite for change now compared to previous reviews.”Ultimately, our members are consistently telling the game they are worried about their mental and physical health because of the schedule, and almost every conversation I am having is a realistic one. This isn’t about huge reductions or creating conflict – far from it. We want to play as much as we can, in a safe environment at optimum levels to entertain county members and supporters, and ultimately drive the game forwards for a vibrant future.”Nine out of ten respondents to the PCA’s survey believe a minimum one-day break between T20 games should be standard going forward, with 77% believing there is too much county cricket played across the summer – an 11% rise from the figure in 2024.The meetings also addressed the ECB’s recent change to its NOC policy, which led to the red-ball retirement of Hampshire’s James Vince earlier this year, due to his conflicting opportunities in the Pakistan Super League. Only 9% of respondents believed the policy was completely fair, but there was an acceptance that progress has been made since its initial implementation.PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell said: “The pre-season meetings are always a highlight of the year as we get a real feel of how each squad is feeling, and there is huge positivity from domestic players. The introduction of joint meetings with the Tier 1 women’s teams was a huge positive, and there has been a fantastic integration across the counties to create the one-club, two-team ethos.”We are also in a time of change. There is a great deal of support for the investment the ECB has brought into the game through the Hundred, whilst there are many questions on how all players will benefit, [and] not just those holding Hundred contracts. I have been really impressed with the domestic structure review process, and this data will only support the work of the group and wider stakeholders in understanding how some reasonable adjustments could have a great impact on pushing domestic cricket to new heights.”England and Hampshire fast bowler John Turner said: “The structure is a contentious one, and you will never please everyone. It’s [about] trying to find what is best for the game as a whole, and it feels like we are moving in the right direction.”From the conversations today, we understand whatever the outcome, it won’t be perfect. But it has to be better than what we have at the moment, which would allow us to be closer to 100% for every game.”Findings from the women’s research will be published ahead of the domestic season.

“I prefer not to speak. If I speak, I’m in big trouble,” Jose Mourinho famously muttered after a narrow defeat for Chelsea in 2014. That had to do with the refereeing in that game against Aston Villa. On Tuesday, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane said pretty much the same thing. “” (“If I say anything, it’ll create chaos).”He didn’t need to elaborate. After KKR fell short by just four runs in an IPL 2025 game where their spinners had little impact against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the murmurs around the Eden Gardens surface, and whether it plays to the strengths of the home side, began swirling again.”Let me just keep it that way. curator publicity (this discussion has just given our curator a lot of publicity),” Rahane went on to add in the post-match press conference. “Whatever you’d like to write about home advantage, you can go ahead. If I have any concerns, I will talk to the IPL about it, rather than you guys, and discuss with the concerned authorities.”Related

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With 238 playing 234, bowlers of all kinds were clattered around the park, but for KKR to not use all eight overs of spin at home went against popular wisdom. Sunil Narine was hit for two fours and three sixes in his three-over wicketless spell of 38. The other spinners on view – Varun Chakravarthy, Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi – did complete their overs.Bishnoi, too, was hit for six fours and two sixes. While Varun and Rathi finished with their reputations intact, going at 7.75 and 9.25 respectively, and occasionally troubled the batters with their variations, there was little turn on offer in the afternoon game.”Firstly, there was no help for the spinners, let me clear that,” Rahane said when asked why Narine’s quota was not completed. “They used the longer boundary really well. Our bowlers tried as well, but again, Nicholas Pooran (87* in 36 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (81 in 48) batted really well. In between, they took their chances, which came off really well for them. It was a lovely wicket [to bat on], we all saw that, scoring almost 500 runs [472] on this track. Hard for the bowlers, but they used the conditions and the boundary well.”Rahane said that the KKR bowlers had plan against Marsh and Pooran, especially keeping in mind the lopsided boundary dimensions for this game – 57 metres to one side, 70 metres to the other – but felt the bowlers failed to land the balls in the right areas.”Sometimes what happens is, as a bowling unit, when we have that plan, it’s all about execution, and that didn’t happen tonight for us,” Rahane said. “Against strong, quality players like Pooran and Marsh, as bowlers, there is very little margin of error. I thought our plans were perfect, but we couldn’t nail that perfect yorker or wide slower ball. And they just capitalised on those slightly loose balls or easier balls.”Ajinkya Rahane felt there were enough positives to take back despite their four-run defeat•Associated Press

Rahane, though, felt there were enough positives to take back despite their four-run defeat, especially with their powerplay batting. He scored 61 in 35 balls himself, and his shots alongside those of Narine (30 in 13) and Venkatesh Iyer (45 in 29) kept KKR in the contest – they were 90 for 1 after the first six overs, their second-best IPL powerplay performance.”I thought we played really good cricket, you know. Chasing 239 and coming that close is never easy,” Rahane said. “Everyone’s intent and attitude was really positive when we came into the dressing room after 20 overs of bowling. And we thought we will chase it down. But these things happen, you know. When you’re chasing, you will lose two-three wickets in between.”I thought the way we started in the powerplay with Sunny’s intent and Venkatesh Iyer’s batting, their contribution was amazing. So we got more positives I feel. I always believe that whatever happened in this game, it’s past now. As long as we are learning from our mistakes and the good things we have done, that’s all.”KKR, now sixth on the points table with two wins in five games, next travel away to meet Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 11 in a short turnaround.

Keeping wicket for 20 overs and understanding the ground dimensions and the “pockets to target” went a long way in KL Rahul adjusting to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium surface as he smashed an unbeaten 53-ball 93 to lead Delhi Capitals’ (DC) to victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday night.Rahul knows the Bengaluru conditions better than most players. He has played professional cricket in the city almost his entire career, being a Karnataka boy. But he accepted that the pitch on Thursday was “slightly tricky” unlike some of the Bengaluru pitches of the past where batters have made merry.”It was a slightly tricky wicket, but I think what helped me is just being behind the stumps for 20 overs and just watching how the wicket played,” Rahul said on the broadcast after the game. “I knew… I mean, from wicketkeeping, I figured that the ball sat in the wicket a little bit, but it was consistent throughout.Related

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“It wasn’t two-paced, it was one pace, and it just sat in the wicket a little bit. I knew what my shots are, so I just wanted to get off to a good start, be aggressive initially, and then assess it from there, and that’s what I did.”With Faf du Plessis back in the side, Rahul was slotted in at No. 4 again having opened the batting against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the previous game. He walked out with DC struggling at 10 for 2 in 2.1 overs, which soon became 30 for 3 and 58 for 4 by the ninth over. Rahul struck two crisp fours early, but was only on a run-a-ball 29. That wouldn’t do. So he cut loose from there and rattled off 64 off his next 24 balls, his sixth six of the night taking DC to their fourth straight win of the season.”On a wicket like this, I knew what my pockets were. If I was going first trying to get a big six, I knew what pockets to target,” Rahul said. “And, like I said, wicketkeeping just gave me a bit of a feel for how the other batters played and where they were dismissed and where were they able to hit sixes.”So just those cues from behind the stumps really helped me in just getting a few balls in.”Dinesh Karthik, the RCB batting coach, was quite vocal in suggesting that RCB have not been getting “good pitches” in IPL 2025 – pitches like those of the past, where hitters thrive.It looked like one of those pitches when RCB raced away to 61 for no loss in the first 3.4 overs. But they lost seven wickets in the next 13.3 overs to slip to 125 for 7, with the DC wristspinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, running amok. A lot of the dismissals came about when batters tried to go over the top but lost their shape.”I think the way T20 cricket is, the more runs are there, the better it is for the broadcaster, the better it is for the fans. They all like to see boundaries,” Karthik said. “In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it’s turned out in this way where it’s been challenging to bat on, for sure.”Definitely, this is not a pitch that’s helping the batters too much. It’s a challenging pitch. That has been the case so far in both the games that we have played.”RCB are yet to win a match at home this season – they had earlier gone down to Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets. Then, too, RCB had failed to put up a big total, stopping at 169 for 8.3:02

Are Delhi Capitals the most balanced side this IPL?

“There’s been a wobble when people have tried to stay out there and fight it out as well. It’s been hard to, at times, rotate strike. And the big shot has been really hard as well. So we have tried to control it [the urge to keep hitting],” Karthik said. “But, at the end, it’s a T20. You have to play some shots and that has gotten the wicket of a few batters.”We will obviously have a chat with the curator. We trust him to do his job, and we will try and do the best of what we can.”Rajat Patidar, the RCB captain, agreed with Karthik, but said that his batters “lacked in assessing the situation and condition” of the game.”I think the way we have seen the wicket earlier, I think this was quite different. We thought it will be a nice batting track and then I think we have not batted well,” Patidar said. “Every batsman is in a good frame of mind; I think everyone has shown the proper intent. But at the end, I think 80 for 1 [61 for 1] and then straightaway 90 for 4 [91 for 4], I think that is not acceptable on this track.”

Durbar Rajshahi have promised to pay their local players on Thursday, a day after the players boycotted training in Chattogram to protest the non-payment of fees by the franchise. Jayed Ahmed, the operations in-charge of Rajshahi, said in a late-night video statement on Wednesday that they spoke with BCB president Faruque Ahmed and assured him that the unpaid dues would be cleared.Bangladesh Premier League franchises are supposed to pay 50% of a player’s total payment before the start of the tournament, 25% during the tournament and the rest of the 25% after the tournament is over. Rajshahi however didn’t pay the local players their first installment even two weeks into the tournament, which began on December 30.After the players’ demonstration, BCB chief Faruque held a meeting with his board of directors. He also spoke to the Rajshahi owner Shafique Rahman, captain Anamul Haque and other cricketers.Related

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“There’s no doubt that they will receive payment on January 16,” Jayed said. “We express regret at not being able to make the payments on time. There’s no denying the fact. This shouldn’t have happened. The management has decided to pay 25% payment in cash. We will pay another 25% in checks.”Our owner spoke to the BCB president on the phone. I met him in person. We had a cordial conversation. He wanted to understand the situation. We expressed our regret for the payment delay. We promised him that we will make the payments tomorrow.”Jayed said some of the cheques bounced because the bank couldn’t clear the payment without confirming with Shafique on the phone.”You will remember that the day our owner’s wife went to the ground, she got hit by a ball, she suffered a fracture. She was taken to Bangkok for treatment. Our owner was with her. We had given the cheque beforehand, so our owner told me to inform the players that the cheques won’t be submitted since he was not in the country.”Otherwise the bank won’t get me on the phone. We told this to all the cricketers but one or two of them submitted the check. They forgot about the owner being in Bangkok.”Rajshahi had made the 25% payment to their overseas players and coaching staff. The side will take on Khulna Tigers in their seventh game in Chattogram on January 17.

Phillip Hughes’ family have described the popular cricketer as “the light of our lives” in a touching tribute before tears were shed at the SCG on the 10th anniversary of his death.The family of Hughes, who died two days after being struck by a ball while batting in a Sheffield Shield game at the SCG, hope his exploits and character will be an inspiration for younger cricketers.”He shined bright even in the tough times,” the family said in a statement issued by Cricket Australia on Wednesday. “We loved everything about him. He was the light of our lives. Phillip had a profound love for his family and lived his life with respect to everyone around him.”At the SCG on Wednesday morning, a crowd of around 100 people observed a minute’s silence before play began on day four of a Shield game between New South Wales and Tasmania. NSW team-mates consoled paceman Sean Abbott, who began weeping during the minute’s silence.”We just tried to get around him and let him know that he wasn’t alone today, going through this,” said stand-in NSW captain Jack Edwards.Through his manager, Abbott was consulted well in advance about whether he would be comfortable with a match being scheduled on the 10-year anniversary of one of sport’s most tragic accidents.The 32-year-old has gone on to forge a successful international career, playing 46 white-ball matches for Australia, but has never spoken publicly about bowling the ball that struck Hughes.Abbott approved the fixture, as did NSW captain Moises Henriques and coach Greg Shipperd, and was always intent on playing.Abbott bowled beautifully on day four, taking three wickets in a Tasmanian batting collapse that forced the visitors into a premature declaration. Edwards lauded Abbott on his courage to line up in the game, which ended in a 55-run win for Tasmania.”The way he came out and bowled, I’m sure it was extremely emotional for him, for everyone, but in particular him,” Edwards said. “To come out and lead with the ball as he as all game, he was very brave today.”Australian internationals Ashleigh Gardner and Ellyse Perry were among those in attendance.Flags flew at half-mast and players on both sides wore black armbands at the SCG on Thursday, as they have across the country in this week’s Shield games.”He always aimed to make those around him smile and enjoy the little things in life, where his beautiful smile would come to life,” Hughes’ family said.The teams line up at the SCG to remember Phillip Hughes•Getty Images

Hughes’ father Greg, mother Virginia, sister Megan and brother Jason hope , a documentary on his journey, would further honour his life after its release on December 6.”We’d like to thank [everyone] for supporting this endeavour and each person who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for creating a celebration of Phillip’s life,” they said.”We hope we have been able to showcase that dreams really do come true and you will enjoy seeing his family, friends and teammates give more of an insight into his career from his baggy blue, baggy red, baggy green and many more moments in between.”International cricket figures paid tribute to Hughes on the anniversary of his death.”It was an incredibly sad moment for cricket,” said England Test captain Ben Stokes. “When a fellow professional has something that happened to them, you can’t help but feel sad for his family, for his teammates, for anyone who knew him.”Also for Sean Abbott as well. It would have been horrific for him.”New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham echoed Stokes’ sentiments ahead of the three-match series between the two nations.”Our thoughts are with Phil’s family on the anniversary. It puts cricket into perspective, it is just a game that we play,” he said.Hughes, aged 25 when he passed away, played 26 Tests for Australia between 2009 and 2014 and represented NSW and South Australia in first-class ranks.

Alzarri Joseph has returned from suspension to rejoin the West Indies squad for the final three matches of their T20I series against England, but star allrounder Andre Russell has been ruled out of the series with a left ankle sprain.The pair are part of two changes to the hosts, who are 2-0 down heading into the final leg of the series in St Lucia. Joseph will replace his replacement Shamar Joseph, with seam bowling allrounder Shamar Springer coming in for Russell. West Indies need to win in the third T20I on Thursday to keep the series alive.Alzarri was handed a two-match ban by Cricket West Indies after leaving the field without permission during the third ODI against England, leaving West Indies a man short in the field. Having apologised publicly for the incident, and privately to one-day captain Shai Hope, his return was expected and necessary given the scoreline.Rovman Powell has struggled to keep a lid on Jos Buttler’s charges, who have chased down targets of 159 and 183 with ease, losing just five wickets across both fixtures in Barbados. Though West Indies have fallen foul of the toss on both occasions, there has been a distinct lack of cutting edge with the ball.The inclusion of Springer also gives Powell options to work with, having yet to strike the right balance with the make-up of his bowlers. Springer made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka last month, taking 1 for 25 and 1 for 24 in his two caps so far.The loss of Russell during the first T20I was put into context by the performance of Terrance Hinds in the second. The 32-year-old suffered an ignominious debut on Sunday, scoring five at No.11 and seeing his two overs concede 24 runs without a dismissal.West Indies T20I squad: Rovman Powell (capt), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer

Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants are among the IPL franchises that have submitted bids expressing interest to buy teams in the ECB-run Hundred.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the GMR Group, recently unveiled as the new owner of Hampshire, and Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United Football Club, also submitted bids last week after the ECB set an October 18 deadline for potential investors to register their interest in buying stakes in the eight Hundred teams.Related

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The bids submitted last week by potential investors is a one-time sum to buy a 49% stake, which the ECB holds in each of the eight teams. Expressions of interest could be for all eight teams, which would be culled to four in the next step which will start in November when the investors get to meet the host counties of each Hundred franchise. Following that, investors would need to prune their wishlist to four teams, as part of the second stage, which will then come down to two teams of which they would need to make their final choice.While the ECB is keen to announce the final set of investors by early 2025, it has stressed that it won’t be rushed and risk “underselling” what it believes is a valuable product. Recently, ECB chairman Richard Thompson said the board would even be open to adopting a hybrid model next year. This would mean the ECB owning some teams and private players the others.Still, not everyone rushed to bid as the October 18 deadline closed. While virtually all IPL teams had shown curiosity in the Hundred a few months ago, not all have submitted bids. Punjab Kings have opted out of bidding for Hundred teams, while there has been no confirmation on whether five-times IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and equity major CVC, which owns Gujarat Titans, have submitted bids.Global sports investors INEOS, owned by Jim Ratcliffe, which owns a 27% stake in Manchester United and run the football club’s operations wing, have also opted out of bidding.Among the biggest reservations, at least as far as the IPL franchises were concerned, was whether they would be happy being passive investors.Recently, Lalit Modi, the architect of the IPL, rebuked the ECB’s financial projections for the Hundred’s growth beyond 2026, as listed in the prospectus distributed to potential investors, calling them “overly optimistic and disconnected from reality.”But the ECB brushed off the criticism, saying over 100 potential investors from not just India but also the USA had sought information on the privatisation. “The investment base is way broader and bigger than they expected,” Thompson said last wek.

The first ever Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand ended on a sad but predictable note as the game was called off without a ball being bowled. It was only the eighth such instance in the Test history and the first since 1998.There was an air of inevitability around the call after there was no play in the first four days and heavy rains ended the last two as early as 9.15am. The rain returned on the fifth morning, prompting the umpires to pull the plug at 8.45am.The clouds hung low and the covers were drenched yet again at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. A pool of water had formed near one of the boundaries and a few puddles were scattered across the uncovered grass in the outfield.Related

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The match was subject to weather concerns even before the opening day. When there was no play on the first two days despite the weather being sunny during playing hours, the outfield and the preparedness of the venue came under the scanner.Apart from the New Zealand players getting a couple of hours of net practice next to the pitch on the second afternoon, there was no cricketing action in any form across five days. The ACB blamed the unseasonal rain for it.Afghanistan’s next assignment is the three-match ODI series against South Africa in Sharjah. New Zealand will now travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests, which are part of the World Test Championship. After that, they will face India in India in a three-Test series. The Greater Noida Test, which was not part of the WTC, was supposed to help them acclimatise to the subcontinent conditions but it was not to be.

Ishan Kishan will lead Jharkhand in the upcoming Buchi Babu tournament, a pre-season red-ball competition in Tamil Nadu starting August 15. Kishan, who was not part of Jharkhand’s original long list, will link up with the squad in Chennai on Wednesday.The move is seen as the first step towards the wicketkeeper-batter’s full-fledged return to first-class cricket. ESPNcricinfo understands Kishan took the decision to participate, and he was drafted in when he communicated this to the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).A return to the Ranji Trophy fold is also expected during the 2024-25 season, after Kishan informed the state selectors of his desire to return. His last domestic first-class game was in December 2022. He stayed away from the Ranji Trophy towards the end of the 2023-24 domestic season, and this proved costly for him, with the BCCI removing him from the central contracts list for not prioritising domestic cricket.”With Ishan, it was never about ability,” a JSCA functionary said. “It was only about whether he was ready to return. The decision was with him. When he was not included in the initial list, it was only because we hadn’t heard from him. The moment he expressed his keenness to return, he was drafted in.”Kishan’s return to red-ball cricket comes at a time when India are heading into a long Test season, comprising 10 games over the next five months, but a comeback won’t be easy. Kishan made his Test debut during India’s tour of the West Indies last year, when Rishabh Pant was recovering from injuries sustained during a car accident in December 2022.The second Test of that Caribbean tour, in July 2023, remains Kishan’s last first-class game. He was picked in the Test squad for the 2023-24 South Africa tour too, but he asked to be released citing mental fatigue.Kishan now finds himself behind Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel in India’s Test-match queue•Associated Press

He may have been in line for a Test return during the five-Test home series against England earlier this year, but lost out to KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel after he informed the selectors that he wasn’t ready. He did not take part in the Ranji Trophy either, and the selectors, whose inputs are taken on board by the BCCI when it draws up the central contracts list, were not pleased that Kishan used his time away from the game to train privately with his IPL captain Hardik Pandya in Baroda, instead of playing for Jharkhand.Pant is now back in action, and Jurel, who impressed with both his batting and glovework against England, particularly during a Player-of-the-Match display in Ranchi, has moved ahead of Kishan in India’s red-ball queue.Kishan, who had a Grade C contract until losing it this year, featured in two Tests, 17 ODIs and 11 T20Is in 2023. He was also part of India’s squad during their run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and featured in two matches at the top of the order when Shubman Gill was out ill.”When you take a break, people gossip about it a lot, they say a lot of things on social media,” Kishan had said in April, referring to his time away from the game. “But I feel it’s important to understand not everything is in players’ hands. We can only make the best use of the break.”This is what adopting a good mindset is. There is nothing like I want to prove to someone. I just have to go there and enjoy. I have learned that you do not have to add pressure on yourself about these things, which are not in your hand.”

Legspinner Jafer Chohan claimed a maiden five-wicket haul to help set Yorkshire up for a crucial win by seven wickets over fellow contenders Durham at Headingley, chasing only 108 to boost their Vitality Blast quarter-final hopes.Chohan, who turned 22 today, finished with a superb 5 for 14 from 3.4 overs as Durham were bowled out for 107 inside 17. He struck three times in the 15th over as Durham crumbled from 96 for 5 to 97 for 9 on a used pitch having elected to bat. They crept to three figures, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fifth defeat in 11 – this one coming with 3.2 overs remaining as Adam Lyth top-scored with two sixes in 30.Durham, for whom Ben Raine top-scored with 33, started an overcast night fourth in the North Group but slipped out of quarter-final places as the Vikings chased with comfort to end a run of three straight losses and win for the fifth time in 11. A win at Lancashire tomorrow could put them in the top four qualification places.