NEWS » e. Bevans first half-century only came in hi

Lancashire 259 (Jones 106*, Livingstone 56, Bailey 53, Roland-Jones 4-54, Finn 4-71) and 80 for 1 drew with Middlesex 327 (Robson 77, Gubbins 69, Compton 56, Kerrigan 4-80, Jarvis 3-70) and 240 for 8 dec (Malan 87, Simpson 74, Kerrigan 6-86)Scorecard And so it will not be settled - or anything like settled - for another week. A season in which Middlesex have led, Yorkshire have loomed and Somerset have scarcely been mentioned will end with the three counties covered by ten points. The worlds most famous cricket ground and one of the best in the land will together stage the final dramas of this late, late summer. What have we done to deserve this? Clearly, something good.Any thoughts this game might end with a victory for either side were extinguished by the strength of both sides batting and the understandable conservatism of skippers who were content to take five points for the draw. Such a return leaves Middlesex nine points ahead of Yorkshire and ten clear of Somerset.All the points permutations can wait for the back of an envelope and a double espresso. It is enough for the moment to say that if the leaders avoid losing to Yorkshire at Lords and Somerset fail to beat Nottinghamshire at Taunton, Middlesex will be champions and worthy ones. Their evisceration of Yorkshire on the last day at Scarborough proclaimed their quality. But the destination of the pennant far from settled.The cricket on this final day of the season at Old Trafford was only briefly exciting but always absorbing. Some shots, some moments will be remembered fondly by spectators watching their final first-class overs of the year. Dawid Malan and John Simpson batted with great certainty throughout the morning and had extended their partnership to 151 when Malan played a half-hearted cut at Simon Kerrigan and was caught by Jos Buttler for 87.That wicket was the prelude to three more in five overs as Middlesex established a lead of 308 before declaring. Simpson was the last of these but he had made a fine 74 before he swayed like a drunk avoiding a bicycle and lost his leg stump to Luke Procter. Kerrigan finished the innings with 6 for 86 - and ten in the match - which is something to encourage him before Lancashires final game at Edgbaston next week.Indeed, this was the first morning of autumnal haze at Old Trafford. It was burned off quite quickly, of course, but there was still a September note of gentle closure. And very briefly, we wondered if the finale to the season was to be accompanied with drums and yells as Lancashire responded to the stern challenge of scoring 309 in 44 overs by opening with Buttler.Three fours and a scooped six heightened the frisson of excitement but a leading edge off Steven Finn looped a dolly to Nick Compton at cover and Buttler was gone for 26. Hameed replaced him and Lancashires dash for victory was run. Spectators settled into their last cricket of the summer and some of them will have stored images away as one might with sustenance for the winter.The game ended with Hameed tucking Rayner to long leg and scampering two runs. It was only right that he should score the last first-class runs on the ground this season. The match ended with handshakes at half past four in the poignant elegies of departure. There is a week to go but Lancashire are 14 points clear of Hampshire near the bottom of Division One. Should they secure a draw against Warwickshire next week, they have as great a chance of staying up as the new hotel does. Given their recent record and the youth of their side, they will class survival as something of an achievement.For we are at the stage of the season when accomplishment comes in many guises. Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset will be happy with only the title; Lancashire Warwickshire and Hampshire must hope to retain their status although Ian Bells team will want to preface that subdued success by lifting the Royal London Cup. We have eight days left in the season and some fine hurrahs before the drawing down of blinds. Carlos Lee Jersey . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Custom Jimmy Wynn Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/custom-craig-biggio-jersey-large-106y.html . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Custom Craig Biggio Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Kyle Tucker Jersey . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Perhaps numbers do never reveal the full story, but they tell a large part of it fairly well. Every Friday, The Numbers Game will take a look at statistics from the present and the past, busting myths and revealing hidden truths.Mythbuster of the week - Sunny not so flash after all? There is little doubt that Sunil Gavaskar would rank among the best openers in the all-time Test list. What is slightly over-rated, though, is his record against West Indies. At first glance, the stats are awe-inspiring: an average in the mid-60s, with an equally impressive record both home and away, and a hundred every two Tests over a span of 27 matches. Dig a little deeper, and a few chinks appear. Gavaskars two best series against the West Indians came when their bowling attack was a far cry from the four-pronged battery of fast bowlers that had been synonymous with their cricket in the 1980s. First, the sensational debut series in 1970-71, which fetched Gavaskar 774 runs from four Tests. The pace-bowling attack consisted of Vanburn Holder (career record - 109 wickets from 40 Tests at 33.27), Grayson Shillingford (15, 7, 35.80), Keith Boyce (60, 21, 30.01), Uton Dowe (12, 4, 44.50), John Shepherd (19, 5 25.21) and Garry Sobers (235, 93, 34.03). Hardly fearsome stuff.Then, when West Indies came with a team weakened by the Kerry Packer exodus, Gavaskar feasted again, with 732 runs in six Tests. The pace bowlers this time were Holder, Norbert Phillip (28, 9, 37.17), Sylvester Clarke (42, 11, 27.85) and a raw Malcolm Marshall, who managed measly returns of three wickets at an exorbitant 88.33 in the Tests. The two series in which Gavaskar did have to confront a four-pronged pace attack, he didnt enjoy quite as much success. The tour of 1982-83 was especially miserable: his only score of note in nine innings was an unbeaten 147 on the fifth day of a Georgetown Test which was meandering towards a draw after rain had washed out two of the first four days. Remove that knock, and his eight remaining innings in that series fetched him a mere 93.The home series in 1983-84 was far more rewarding - his century at Delhi and 90 at Ahmedabad were memorable innings - but almmost half his total runs in the series came from one innings, an unbeaten 236 in the last Test, at Chennai, in another rain-affected match after West Indies had already sealed the series in emphatic style.dddddddddddd. Michael Holding, in his autobiography Whispering Death, suggests that Gavaskar was a fair-weather batsman - impenetrable in good batting conditions, but not quite as impressive when the going got tough. Does he have a point there?* * * * * *The new Michael Bevan Its probably sacrilegious to even mention them in the same breath, but theres an uncanny similarity between Michael Clarkes performances in his short international career so far, and Michael Bevans record at the same stage of his career. In their debut ODIs, both made unbeaten 39s, anchoring their teams to wins in run-chases. Bevans ODI stats have been dominated by a significant number of not-outs, and Clarke seems to be going the same way too: three unbeaten innings out of seven, exactly as many as Bevan had at the same stage. Bevans first half-century only came in his tenth ODI, though; Clarke already has two in seven. His average will surely come down from its current lofty perch of 70.25, but, if his early matches are anything to go by, Australia have probably found a key member of their batting line-up for a long time to come. * * * * * *Unchanged in defeat and ... defeat The recently concluded two-Test series against England resulted in just the second instance of Bangladesh fielding an unchanged team in two consecutive Tests. The only other occasion it happened was in their two-match series in New Zealand in 2001-02, both of which they lost by an innings. The 11 players who represented them were: Javed Omar, Al Sahariar, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Sanwar Hossain, Khaled Mashud (capt & wk), Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Sharif, Mashrafe Mortaza, Manjural Islam.Five of those players - Omar, Bashar, Mashud, Mahmud and Mortaza - played in both Tests against England as well.S Rajesh is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo. ' ' '