County cricket day four: Derbyshire draw with Middlesex – as it happened

Zafar Gohar’s half-century helped Middlesex secure a draw against Derbyshire in the only County Championship match in this round to make it to the fourth day

And now Eskinazi slips through the Derbyshire fingers, gloved behind – the ball seems to fly off the gloves of Guest and loop just short of the sprawling close fielders. Derbys 94-1.

A couple of cricketing letters:

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‘I can’t breathe’: Michael Slater sentenced after vicious attacks and months of abuse

The disturbing downfall of Australian Test star Michael Slater has been laid bare in court, revealing months of alcohol-fuelled violence, stalking, and threats, including two brutal strangulation attacks.
The former Australian Test cricketer was sentenced to four years in jail for the series of violent and horrific domestic violence offences, but was immediately released on a fully suspended sentence after already spending more than a year in custody.

England’s Josh Hull fired up by Lions beasting and ‘gold dust’ of Anderson

Leicestershire left-armer reflects on ‘surreal’ Test debut last year, fitness work and Anderson’s advice in the nets

Josh Hull returns for Leicestershire this week, his first outing since that fast-tracked Test debut against Sri Lanka last summer. A winter “beasting” by the England Lions fitness coaches has the giant left-armer feeling stronger, with a more robust base from which to attack a potentially huge year of cricket.

Through no fault of his own, Hull was seen as the embodiment of Bazball braggadocio at the end of last season when thrown into Test cricket after just 10 first-class games as England blew their shot at a perfect summer. It was no disgrace – first-innings figures of three for 53 – but ended with a quad strain that underlined the physicality required.

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Andrew Flintoff feels cricket coaching chance ‘saved me’ after Top Gear crash

  • Former cricketer opens up on dark times during recovery
  • ‘I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death’

Andrew Flintoff has described his return to cricket as a coach over the past 18 months as “the one thing that saved me” as he struggled to come to terms with the mental and physical scars caused in a car accident during filming for the BBC’s Top Gear in December 2022.

Flintoff talks for the first time about the accident and its aftermath in a Disney+ documentary to be released on Friday. “After the accident I didn’t think I had it in me to get through,” he says.

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Andrew Flintoff reveals anxiety after Top Gear accident: ‘I couldn’t get out of the room’

  • Former England captain was injured on set in 2022 crash
  • Rob Key helped encourage return to the England fold

Andrew Flintoff has spoken about his mental health following his life-changing car crash on the set of Top Gear in 2022.

In one of his first interviews since sustaining severe facial injuries in the accident, Flintoff told former the England captain and the Times’ cricket correspondent Mike Atherton of his initial reluctance to return to public life.

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