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ScorecardJacques Rudolph, seen here for his previous county Surrey, made a century to help put Glamorgan ahead•Getty Images

Jacques Rudolph claimed Glamorgan’s first century of the season to help put the Welsh county in a dominant position the second day against Kent at Cardiff.Rudolph, the South Africa batsman, whose 103 came in his 13th innings for the county, shared in a 181 run partnership with skipper Mark Wallace, who was promoted to No. 3 in the order.Despite losing three wickets for 26 runs after tea, Glamorgan, with useful contributions from Jim Allenby, 59 and an unbeaten 54 from Chris Cooke, finished the day with a first innings lead of 84. That was after Kent had been bowled out for 253 in the morning with Michael Hogan finishing with figures of 5 for 58.Kent resumed their first innings on 236 for 8 after a difficult opening day when the run rate rarely got above two-and-a-half runs an over. Mitchell Claydon and Adam Riley survived until the seventh over before Claydon presented Hogan with his fourth victim, caught by Ruaidhri Smith taking a fine catch running around at long-leg. That was just after Kent registered their second batting point.Hogan ended Kent’s innings by bowling Robbie Joseph for a duck – the Australian’s 25th wicket of the summer.In reply, Glamorgan’s biggest run-getter this season, Will Bragg, who was promoted to open the innings after a period batting at No. 3, lasted only 13 balls as he was caught behind unable to deal with a rising delivery from Joseph who was only in the side because Doug Bollinger has a shoulder injury.Despite the early setback batting conditions were much better for Glamorgan after a mostly overcast opening day. Claydon actually bowled Rudolph on 48 but it was from a no ball – the first of the contest. To add insult to injury the no ball brought up the Glamorgan 100.Rudolph brought up his half century from 100 balls with eight fours and the 100 partnership with three through midwicket and that was followed the next ball by Wallace’s 50, which he reached from 79 balls and four fours.The Glamorgan pair looked very settled on a placid pitch until Wallace perished to the third ball after tea caught behind off Riley attempting to cut. But Rudolph went on to complete his first century for Glamorgan from 165 balls with 16 fours out of 207 for 2.But two overs later, Joseph removed Rudolph caught behind from a bottom edge. It was the first of two wickets in two overs for no runs as Ben Wright was caught down the legside off Riley giving Billings his fourth catch.Having guided Glamorgan into the lead in the 66th over Allenby and Cooke went to their half-centuries. Allenby brought his from only 54 balls, including two sixes, while Cooke’s took 88 balls. The 100 partnership for the fourth wicket came up in only 21.1 overs. Kent took the second new ball three overs from stumps but to no avail.

Faisal Iqbal, the Pakistan middle-order batsman, has questioned his continued exclusion from the national side.He was recently denied a PCB contract and was overlooked for the tour of Sri Lanka, leaving his future in doubt. Iqbal has played only 26 Tests in a career that began in 2001 and last featured in a Pakistan side in 2010. He was among the touring party in 2012 to Sri Lanka and to Zimbabwe in 2013, but could not break into the XI.”I have a simple question: why is Faisal Iqbal being held from playing for Pakistan team,” he asked on . “Who is the power behind my exclusion and why are they not allowing me to play? Since my debut [in 2001] players who debuted around me went playing on and on and even had thousands of comeback in the side. And I was dropped after my third comeback without even playing me in the XI.”What am I going to do? I am scoring runs in domestic cricket, but gradually I have even been dropped from the central contracts as well so where should I go and put my case?” he said. “I am a senior player and have served the country and this should not be the way I should be treated.”Iqbal has a history of impressing on his return. In 2002, he scored 83 against Australia on his first innings back. Then came 139 against India – a highlight of his career – which guided Pakistan to a 341-run victory in Karachi in 2006. Pakistan’s tour to Sri lanka in 2009 was the stage for his third comeback, when he scored a fifty. Iqbal’s problem, though, has been consistency, which had often led to his exclusion.”I don’t want to criticise the system of Pakistan cricket. I have all due respect as I am here only because of the cricket I have played for Pakistan. I simply fail to understand why I am be being pushed back. Is there a conspiracy because of I am the nephew of Javed Miandad? Nobody is ready to understand and I am very frustrated at not being given answers.”Iqbal, 32, had a prolific career at junior level, since making the Under-15 side but his time with the seniors has, for the most part, been marred by allegations of nepotism. His career coincided with Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq being in their prime, and was never able to cement his place in the team. His domestic figures are impressive with 10970 runs at 40.33 in 193 matches to go along with 5136 at 41.74 in List A matches. However, he fell short of those standards last season with only 538 runs at 35.86; 32 other batsmen had done better.”I am always made a fool and asked to go back to scratch and play domestic cricket again and again. Am I only here to play domestic cricket? When will I be given due reward for my performance in domestic? If I was good enough to recalled in 2012, then why I was reduced to the bench and dropped without even giving me an opportunity. I am always taught to focus on ground performance but now I realise that I have been fooled all these years. I wanted to be heard to those who are the concerned (PCB and selectors).””I knew there was a conspiracy and that with time they will drop me from from every format and will later cut me from the central contract. Now what will I do, probably sell mangoes in garden and perform there to win place.”

Peter Moores, the England coach, has praised Ian Bell for his contribution to the improvement of Moeen Ali’s offspin.Moeen claimed eight wickets in the victory over India at the Ageas Bowl, including 6 for 67 in the second innings, leading Alastair Cook to remark that he had never known a bowler improve so quickly. They were sentiments with which Moores agreed.”Moeen keeps getting better,” Moores said. “And he’s getting better quickly. To get people like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli out – they are high-class players of spin – is a very good sign for Mo for the future.”Moeen is in the side as a batter and a very rapidly emerging spin bowler. He does two things that are essential for a top-flight spinner: he attacks both edges. He gets great drift and he turns the ball. He spins the ball hard. Without those two things, it is very difficult. If you only attack one edge of the bat, people can work you out quite fast. But because Mo creates drift, there is a challenge for all batters. He can nick people off. It is not a doosra, it is a heavily-spun off-break and it drifts away.”Moeen Ali wheels away after dismissing Virat Kohli•Getty Images

Part of Moeen improvement is, Moores believes, thanks to some advice imparted by Bell during net sessions. Bell recommended that Moeen bowl a little quicker and a with a tighter off-stump line.”At Lord’s, you saw somebody who had improved quite a lot and had started to bowl tighter,” Moore said. “His run-rate came down and he created some pressure. Today resulted in some wickets. Ian Bell was quite important in that. You can get feedback about the pace and lines that are difficult for batsmen to play. Mo has adjusted and grown really quickly.”Bell was batting in the nets and talked to Moeen about the paces and lines that he would find challenging,” Moores said. “Belly is a fantastic player of spin so feeding back to one of his team-mates, ‘Well, actually, I find that really difficult or that pace is quite nice for me,’ is what good teams should do. It is still up to Mo what he decides to do, but you improve because you talk and work with people.”The quality of his bowling has improved. Test cricket is about how rapidly people grow in it and he’s grown very quickly as a bowler. Hopefully, that carries on. He’s a very sensible lad, he knows he’s got to keep doing a lot of work.”

New Zealand’s six domestic teams have finalised their 15-man squads for next summer, with no player movements of note following the first round of contracts last month. Auckland added two players to their contract list and the other teams added one, and every case featured a promotion of a player from within their own system rather than recruiting from another side.Wicketkeeper-batsman Michael Guptill-Bunce was added to Auckland’s list having last played for them in February 2013, and he will be joined by fast bowler Warren Barnes. Opening batsman Dean Robinson earned a reprieve from Central Districts, having his contract renewed after being left off the initial list announced in July.Offspinner Cole McConchie was handed a contract with Canterbury after playing two one-day games for them late last season, while pace bowler Tony Goodin has rounded out the Northern Districts list, two years after playing his only game for them.Wellington gave a contract to Matt Taylor, who appeared in five Ford Trophy matches for them last summer, and Otago’s final contract went to pace bowler Sam Blakely, who has played two one-day games for Otago over the past two seasons.Auckland Warren Barnes, Dean Bartlett, Michael Bates, Brad Cachopa, Carl Cachopa, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Donovan Grobbelaar, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Anaru Kitchen, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Robert O’Donnell, Matt Quinn, Jeet Raval.Canterbury Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Neil Broom, Brendon Diamanti, Andrew Ellis, Cam Fletcher, Peter Fulton, Roneel Hira, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Johnston, Cole McConchie, Ryan McCone, Henry Nicholls, Ed Nuttall, Logan van Beek.Central Districts Doug Bracewell, Greg Hay, Jamie How, Marty Kain, Andrew Mathieson, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Dean Robinson, Bevan Small, Ben Smith, Kruger van Wyk, Ben Wheeler, George Worker, Will Young.Northern Districts Graeme Aldridge, James Baker, Jono Boult, Dean Brownlie, Joseph Carter, Anton Devcich, Daniel Flynn, Tony Goodin, Jono Hickey, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Mitchell Santner, Anurag Verma, Brad Wilson.Otago Nick Beard, Sam Blakely, Michael Bracewell, Derek de Boorder, Jacob Duffy, Ryan Duffy, Tipene Friday, James McMillan, Aaron Redmond, Iain Robertson, Brad Rodden, Hamish Rutherford Jesse Ryder, Bradley Scott, Sam Wells.Wellington Brent Arnel, Tom Blundell, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Dane Hutchinson, Andy McKay, Stephen Murdoch, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Matt Taylor, Ili Tugaga, Henry Walsh, Luke Woodcock.

ScorecardRikki Clarke has not made a Championship century since 2012•Getty Images

A small but determined band of spectators was rewarded in the end with a tiny bit of cricket after sitting through six and half hours of drizzle and bad light. But for Rikki Clarke, without a Championship century since 2012, the wait continues.If the second day of this match between title outsiders Warwickshire and relegation possibilities Middlesex was frustrating for the paying customers, it must have been downright galling for Clarke. Having accelerated into top gear towards the end of the opening day, no-one would have been keener than him to get cracking again this morning.Instead, like everyone else, he had to wait until 5.30pm to resume work – only to clock off again, 16 minutes, nine balls and one run later, after being dismissed for 94.The anti-climactic end to an otherwise splendid innings was almost inevitable, perhaps, on one of those mercifully rare days when county cricket seems to be a less-than-riveting event. The rain, that began an hour before the scheduled start of play, was seldom heavy enough to demand either a brolly or a jacket yet persistent enough to keep the covers on.Then, when it relented, there were several inspections, much looking at the clouds and a bit of to-ing and fro-ing before it was finally decided to get on with it.Clarke edged one, nudged one and then fenced at a lifting delivery outside off stump from Toby Roland-Jones to give slip catching practice. The chance, unlike one offered yesterday by Keith Barker, was taken by substitute fielder Ollie Rayner to send Clarke packing.With only a maximum 16 overs available and the light worsening again by the minute, Warwickshire seemed uncertain whether to stick or twist. In the event, they secured a fourth batting point for reaching 350 but then declared at the end of the over in which Jeetan Patel was bowled by Murtagh after missing with an ugly swipe.In theory, that gave the visitors seven overs to get stuck into Middlesex’s openers. In practice, no-one but umpires Nigel Cowley and Graham Lloyd made it back to the middle. With a few cries from the stands of “get on with it” and “what are you doing?” ringing in their ears, the officials decided no more play was possible.A lot of time used up, one might think, for seven overs, 24 runs and two wickets. But there is always another day – and, you never know, tomorrow could be a belter. That’s the beauty of county cricket.

ScorecardRain held sway for a second day in a row as Sri Lanka’s A’s innings – the only one of the match so far – was limited to 34 overs in the day.The first day was lost without a ball bowled, but on the second, West Indies A were able to reinforce their decision to bowl with regular wickets. Miguel Cummins broke the opening stand at 37 and fellow seamer Shannon Gabriel struck in successive overs to have the Sri Lanka A at 53 for 3.Ashan Priyanjan led a brief counterattack with a 51-ball 40, but he was among the two wickets claimed by offspinner Shane Shillingford. Kithuruwan Vithanage was unbeaten on 36 at stumps, while Tharindu Kaushal was yet to get off the mark.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRubel Hossain thumped four sixes in his unbeaten 45•Bangladesh Cricket Board

A final onslaught bookended a great opening stand to power Bangladesh to 503 all out on the second day of the third Test. But Zimbabwe began their reply firmly too, ending up on113 for one at stumps with Sikandar Raza and Hamilton Masakadza on unbeaten fifties.Zimbabwe have more than just a fair distance to cover to remain competitive in the game but that didn’t stop Raza and Masakadza, who said before the game that they would go all out for the win, to go after the Bangladesh bowling and pick up easy boundaries.Raza was unbeaten on 54 off 65 balls, having struck nine boundaries. He was severe against anything pitched in his half by Shafiul Islam and Taijul Islam, and used his feet very well against the spin. He drove the ball with confidence though there were moments when he looked slightly like losing control while attacking the spinners. This was Raza’s third Test fifty, and it complemented the surprising role he had played with the ball in picking up three wickets.Masakadza also reached his sixth half-century, off 71 balls. He played a relatively subdued role, but still struck seven fours and one six, a big hit over midwicket off Shakib Al Hasan.Rubel picked up the only wicket of the day for Bangladesh, getting Brian Chari to thinly edge one to the keeper in the second over. The decision, initially given not out, had to be reviewed by Mushfiqur Rahim and he was proved right as the third umpire heard or saw something that amounted to an edge. This continued Rubel’s great day after he had hammered four sixes towards the end of the Bangladesh innings.Rubel’s unbeaten career-best 45, coming off 44 balls with four sixes through midwicket and two fours, took the score past the 500-run mark. He shared a 51-run tenth wicket stand with Jubair Hossain, who was the final wicket to fall, in the 154th over.Bangladesh scored exactly 200 runs on day two but their scoring rate wasn’t as impressive as it had been on the first day. Shakib Al Hasan’s 17th Test fifty, 71 off 110 balls, helped them consolidate losses in the middle-order. He struck seven boundaries, a couple of drives through cover and mid-off and two dinks through and over midwicket among them.But he was dismissed to a superb catch by Craig Ervine, who dived full-length to his right in the covers to snap up a top-edge off Sikandar Raza. It was one of the bright spots in the day for the visitors who had to field for two-thirds of the day.The day began well for Zimbabwe when Tinashe Panyangara removed Mominul with a delivery that moved slightly in the air, squaring up Bangladesh’s No 4. Mominul made 48 off 100 balls with three fours.Shakib started with the two glorious drives off Panyangara before seeing Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim fall after short partnerships. Mahmudullah made a lengthy 16, and never looked comfortable. Mushfiqur chopped on a Hamilton Masakadza delivery after making 15.Shakib reached his fifty after the lunch break and was looking primed for the third century of the match when Ervine intervened with his long arms. Zimbabwe took three more wickets and got close to bowling out Bangladesh well before the tea break. But Rubel took a liking to Raza and Panyangara, smashing four sixes and even posing for the cameras with his final hit, which finished on one knee.Raza finished with the best bowling figures, taking three for 123 from 36 overs. Panyangara, Shingirai Masakadza and Hamilton Masakadza took two wickets apiece but Natsai M’shangwe went wicketless through 47 overs.

ScorecardFile photo – Laxmi Shukla stole the show on the final day with his ninth first-class hundred•ESPNcricinfo

With little relevance in terms of points, both Baroda and Bengal made good use of game time on the final day of the Ranji Trophy opener at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. While Baroda’s bowlers put up a far better display than the first innings, Bengal captain Laxmi Shukla stole the show with a quickfire century.Bengal began the day at 8 for 1, with an overall lead of 109 but there wasn’t enough time for either team to force a win. That didn’t stop Baroda’s bowlers, led by Munaf Patel, from going hard at the Bengal batsmen in the first session. The intensity and the energy levels were much higher than on the first morning and the relentless charge resulted in a wicket as Sudip Chatterjee played a delivery from Munaf on to his stumps. Chatterjee was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 192 in the first innings.In the next over, Gagandeep Singh trapped opener Rohan Banerjee lbw and when Manoj Tiwary mis-timed a lofted drive to see Deepak Hooda complete a catch running backward six overs later, Bengal’s score read 55 for 4.Shreevats Goswami then paired with debutant Subhajit Banerjee to avoid a collapse. They added 50 runs for the fifth wicket before Goswami misread a ball from Yusuf Pathan, shouldered it, and saw the ball thud into the stumps.In came Shukla, who had demoted himself to No 7 after suffering from indigestion in the morning. The allrounder struck the Baroda spinners to all corners of the ground with ease. While Shukla was inching closer to his ninth first-class hundred, debutant Deepak Hooda and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh struck three times in eight balls to bring last man Iresh Saxena to the crease.Shukla was on 87 then and he wasted no time in racing to a century, completing it with successive twos off Hooda. He brought up the milestone off 106 balls and six overs after he got there, the teams decided to shake hands.

Nick Compton, who has rejoined Middlesex on a three-year contract, has described returning to Lord’s as like “a return home.”Compton, who last month announced his departure from Somerset despite having two years remaining on his contract, played for Middlesex between 2001 and 2009 and has previously announced a desire to return to London to pursue media opportunities and spend more time with his friends and family.He also has a strong affinity for Lord’s, where Middlesex play the majority of their home games, as it was the playing home of his grandfather, Denis Compton, and the ground features a stand bearing his name.”As a boy I left my family home to move to London to play for Middlesex,” Compton said. “Because of this, playing for the club at Lord’s has and always will be close to my heart.”Leaving Lord’s to play for Somerset was a step in my development I felt I needed to make. The time I spent at Taunton was great for me. Whilst at Somerset I grew as a player and a person. I also fulfilled the dream of representing England, which is something I am determined to do again.””Returning to Middlesex as a senior player is an exciting challenge for me. Lord’s is the home of cricket and with my family ties here the time feels right to return home. The prospect of playing and scoring runs at Lord’s has always excited me and hopefully I can come back and reproduce my best cricket here. By doing this I hope to play a key role in bringing success to Middlesex over the coming seasons.”While the England selectors appear to have washed their hands of Compton, he remains one of the most prolific batsmen in county cricket. He scored 5,140 first-class runs an average of 55.87 in his five years with Somerset and will provide a significant boost to a Middlesex batting line-up that scored fewer batting bonus points than any of the seven Division One sides that avoided relegation in 2014.”Players of Nick’s ability do not become available very often and when we were made aware of his desire to move back to London we immediately moved,” Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket said. “With Chris Rogers hopefully playing for Australia next summer we needed to find a high quality top order batsman and in Nick we have secured the services of one.”I was in charge at Middlesex when Nick left at the end of the 2009 season and, even though I could at the time totally understand his reasons for moving to Taunton, I was disappointed when he left. The move proved to be a good one for Nick – at Somerset he became an international cricketer. But it will be great to see him once again wearing a Middlesex cap and sweater, and I believe he has a lot to offer us both on and off the field over the course of the next five or six years.”

Shane Watson was struck on the helmet by a James Pattinson bouncer during an eventful Australian training session on Tuesday at the MCG, where David Warner did not train and Ryan Harris bowled well in his push to regain his place in the side. Mitchell Starc also hobbled out of the nets after being struck on the knee while batting, but the most dramatic incident was the blow received by Watson.Both he and Pattinson were clearly shaken by the incident and left the nets soon afterwards. Watson sat on an esky receiving attention from the team doctor Peter Brukner before heading inside, and was monitored by Brukner through the day for signs of concussion. He is expected to be fine to play, but will be assessed again on Wednesday morning.That the Australians were shaken by Watson’s blow was not surprising given the events of the past month and the shock that remains following the death of Phillip Hughes. Brad Haddin said after Australia’s training session that Watson seemed not to have been injured.”I had a chat to him. He’s a bit shaken. He’s okay. He’s just a bit shaken,” Brad Haddin said. “He just got hit in the head. He’s shaken as anyone would be. I can’t really go into any more because there’s no more details to give you.”Watson was in the field for New South Wales when Hughes was struck by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG less than a month ago and was one of the first on the scene to attend to Hughes. The weeks that followed have been extremely emotional for the Australians, after Hughes died in hospital as a result of the blow.Before Watson was struck on Tuesday, Starc had also left the nets in pain having been hit on the knee while batting. Starc is expected to be dropped from the side for the Boxing Day Test, with Harris likely to return after missing the Brisbane Test due to a minor quadriceps strain. Harris bowled on Tuesday but will need to prove his fitness by bowling again on Wednesday.Warner was present at the session but did not train as he continues to nurse his left thumb, which was struck during Australia’s chase in the second innings at the Gabba. Warner is expected to be available for the Boxing Day Test.”I will definitely be playing – I will be doing everything I can,” Warner said when he arrived in Melbourne on Monday. “Obviously it’s a bit painful, it’s the one I broke before, but I’m not missing a Boxing Day test, that’s for sure.”Warner’s opening partner Chris Rogers said he was initially concerned when Warner was hit but believed he would take his place alongside Rogers at the top of the order on Boxing Day.”I thought initially, when it first happened, you see those kinds of instances and you think ‘that’s definitely a broken thumb’,” Rogers said. “But he seems to be a pretty tough character so I think he’s going to play and I haven’t really thought otherwise of late so I expect him to be out there.”