Somerset crumble to 103 against Derbyshire as their season threatens to turn sour

As if this season had not been difficult enough to stomach for Somerset fans, in recent days the club announced the cancellation of their cider festival, citing poor ticket sales.

When the Taunton locals are off their apples, it must be serious. Monday’s batting performance once again gave them nothing to cheer, and only sorrows to drown.

After winning the toss and electing to bat in a crucial relegation battle, Somerset capitulated to 103 all out, their lowest total of the season.

There were neither demons in the pitch, nor the Derbyshire bowling line-up, which prospered quietly and simply with disciplined seam bowling.

Tony Palladino’s accuracy accounted for the hosts’ top order, before Tim Groenewald tore through the middle, with his third five-wicket haul of the season.

The Somerset innings was summed up by Craig Kieswetter, who attempted to smear consecutive deliveries from Groenewald. After a slice for four and a dropped return catch, Kieswetter finally holed out at mid-off. Three reckless strikes, and out.

That the hosts remain in the game at all owed everything to Piyush Chawla, their overseas import.

His cameo with the bat scored a quarter of Somerset’s runs, and the leg-spinner’s four for 87 took advantage of some unusually prodigious first-day spin, which also caught the attention of an England and Wales Cricket Board pitch inspector in attendance.

Chawla briefly threatened to undo the visitors’ solid opening platform, but an assured, unbeaten stand of 93 in the final session between Richard Johnson (55) and Tom Poynton (53) steered Derbyshire into the commanding position they deserved.

Eleven days cricket remain in this Division One county campaign. But the opening session yesterday could prove decisive for the fate of these two teams.

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Final fair of season set to begin

Summer may be fading fast, but the county fair season isn't quite over just yet.

The 110th Will County Fair begins Wednesday and continues through Sunday at Peotone. It is the last of the local county fairs held annually, and offers one more chance to enjoy a tractor pull, a demolition derby, a corn dog or an elephant ear.

While those traditions continue, one thing will be missing from this year's fair. Milbert Johnson, who was a contestant in the fair's baby show as an infant and later spent many years as the fair board president, died last January at the age of 90. He farmed 90 acres near Peotone, and further showed his devotion to agriculture through his volunteer work with the fair.

Read more on Johnson and the fair, and the schedule of events.

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Final fair of season set to begin

Summer may be fading fast, but the county fair season isn't quite over just yet.

The 110th Will County Fair begins Wednesday and continues through Sunday at Peotone. It is the last of the local county fairs held annually, and offers one more chance to enjoy a tractor pull, a demolition derby, a corn dog or an elephant ear.

While those traditions continue, one thing will be missing from this year's fair. Milbert Johnson, who was a contestant in the fair's baby show as an infant and later spent many years as the fair board president, died last January at the age of 90. He farmed 90 acres near Peotone, and further showed his devotion to agriculture through his volunteer work with the fair.

Read more on Johnson and the fair, and the schedule of events.

View the original article here

Tennis - Williams wins fourth clay title of season in Bastad

It made it 28 clay court wins in a row for Serena with five of her seven 2013 titles coming on the surface - four on red clay and one on green clay (Charleston).

Larsson got off to a good start in her home tournament, breaking in the opening game, and was 3-1 in front early but the eight seeded Swede only went on to win two more games as Serena took control.

It was the 53rd WTA title of Williams' career and puts her level with Monica Seles for ninth on the all-time list in the Open era.

Meanwhile in Bad Gastein, Austria, Yvonne Meusburger delighted the home fans by winning the first title of her career against Andrea Hlavackova of Czech Republic 7-5 6-2 .

Meusburger is ranked only 86th in the world but enjoyed a fantastic tournament – not dropping a single set all week.

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Gloucestershire pay penalty for poor pitch with t20 two-point deduction next season

Gloucestershire’s interest in this season’s t20 ended as they discovered that will start next year’s competition with a two-point deduction on an evening of double disappointment at Edgbaston.

Gloucestershire slipped to their sixth defeat in eight group matches, despite a 52-ball 68 from captain Michael Klinger, which extinguished their already slim hopes of making the quarter-finals.

The points deduction was imposed by an England and Wales Cricket Board pitch panel for the sub-standard surface they prepared for their match against Warwickshire at Cheltenham on July 14.

The panel of Tony Pigott and Jack Birkenshaw concluded their investigations at Edgbaston and agreed with umpires Steve Garratt and Steve O’Shaughnessy that the Cheltenham pitch, which turned excessively, was poor.

Gloucestershire, who were dismissed for 96 at Cheltenham, fared a little better on Wednesday night thanks to Klinger’s aggression but Warwickshire off-spinners Ateeq Javid (three for 26) and Jeetan Patel, who bowled Klinger and Ed Young with his last two balls, still kept them in check on a used pitch.

Warwickshire coasted home to win by seven wickets. Varun Chopra and William Porterfield led the chase with an opening stand of 68, and Rikki Clarke thumped three sixes in an Ed Young over on his way to a quickfire 40.

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On the Eve of the Season, the Last of Glen Sather’s Expensive Mistakes Is Gone

Wade Redden.

It’s sort of fitting that as the Rangers prepare to kick of their most highly anticipated season in more than a decade, the team has cut ties with the final reminder of past mismanagement. Yesterday, as expected, the team bought out the contract of Wade Redden, after the league and players union agreed to allow that sort of thing to happen now instead of after the season. Redden, who spent the last two seasons on the Rangers' AHL affiliate, was hardly the only expensive mistake Glen Sather ever made. But the others were already gone: Scott Gomez, for instance, was shipped away to Montreal after just two seasons, while Chris Drury, as well liked as he was, was bought out in 2011.

There wasn’t necessarily a turning point when Sather started to Get It: You can trace the rebuilding of this team to events that took place before the lockout, but big mistakes were still made after it ended. In any case, Sather has mostly gotten his act together and assembled a team that’s both talented and eminently likable. Once upon a time, the Rangers’ strategy was a league-wide joke. How different are things now? Check out the Hurricanes section of the Down Goes Brown conference preview or read Puck Daddy's Ryan Lambert express bewilderment about how the Rangers can look this good on paper and still have some room under the cap. Cutting ties with Redden doesn’t make the Rangers any better — and his buyout affects their cap situation for this year, as does Drury's — but on the eve of the 2013 season, there’s a certain symbolism to it, no?

In the spring of 2010, a friend of ours submitted an item about us and our job to our high school’s alumni magazine. It described this blog as “the go-to Internet source for daily New York Rangers pessimism.” Indeed, the 2009–10 season saw the Rangers miss the playoffs for the first time since the lockout. But the seeds of a better team had been planted, and less than three years later, Sather’s plan has really started to come together. He's still willing to throw around big money: The Brad Richards contract, especially, won’t look so good toward the end, but give Sather credit for identifying a window of opportunity and going for it.

Yes, looking good on paper doesn’t mean very much, and the playoffs are chaotic and unpredictable. But with the season set to open tomorrow, the Rangers — the Rangers! — look to be as dangerous a team as there is in the NHL this season. Optimism now abounds.

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Suspended Taylor to miss season

Suspended Gloucestershire off-spinner Jack Taylor will not bowl for the first team again this season.

Taylor has been out of action since 28 May after being reported for illegal bowling actions on two separate occasions within a 12-month period.

The 21-year-old is allowed to bat but, as a lower-order batsman, is unlikely to be drafted in from the second XI.

"Jack is progressing very well," director of cricket John Bracewell told BBC Gloucestershire.

"Gloucestershire University tested him last week and he came through that with a pass. We now need to make sure there's scrutiny under pressure.

“It's been tough but the thing in his favour is that he's got such a fantastic attitude ”

Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger on Jack Taylor's suspension "But we're in no hurry and the real view is he won't be playing first-class cricket this year as a bowler."

Prior to his suspension, Taylor, who averages 26.52 with the bat in first-class cricket, played four Division Two games this season, taking six wickets and scoring 178 runs.

Since then he has made 248 runs in nine innings for Gloucestershire's seconds.

But Bracewell added: "People going in ahead of him are getting more runs so it's a competitive field. Our second 11 has been going extremely well this season."

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger was quick to praise Taylor for the way he has handled his suspension.

"It's been tough but the thing in his favour is that he's got such a fantastic attitude," he said.

"He's certainly someone who can cope with the situation well and he's shown that he has, not only when he's played and trained but in the surrounding group.

"He's always upbeat so there's no doubt that once he does get it right he'll be pushing his way back into the team."

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Suspended Taylor to miss season

Suspended Gloucestershire off-spinner Jack Taylor will not bowl for the first team again this season.

Taylor has been out of action since 28 May after being reported for illegal bowling actions on two separate occasions within a 12-month period.

The 21-year-old is allowed to bat but, as a lower-order batsman, is unlikely to be drafted in from the second XI.

"Jack is progressing very well," director of cricket John Bracewell told BBC Gloucestershire.

"Gloucestershire University tested him last week and he came through that with a pass. We now need to make sure there's scrutiny under pressure.

“It's been tough but the thing in his favour is that he's got such a fantastic attitude ”

Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger on Jack Taylor's suspension "But we're in no hurry and the real view is he won't be playing first-class cricket this year as a bowler."

Prior to his suspension, Taylor, who averages 26.52 with the bat in first-class cricket, played four Division Two games this season, taking six wickets and scoring 178 runs.

Since then he has made 248 runs in nine innings for Gloucestershire's seconds.

But Bracewell added: "People going in ahead of him are getting more runs so it's a competitive field. Our second 11 has been going extremely well this season."

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger was quick to praise Taylor for the way he has handled his suspension.

"It's been tough but the thing in his favour is that he's got such a fantastic attitude," he said.

"He's certainly someone who can cope with the situation well and he's shown that he has, not only when he's played and trained but in the surrounding group.

"He's always upbeat so there's no doubt that once he does get it right he'll be pushing his way back into the team."

View the original article here