All posts by n8rngtd.top

Pakistan end second day on 145 for no loss in their first innings, just 185 behind Bangladesh’s total

Mohammad Isam27-Nov-2021Stumps Hasan Ali’s fifth Test five-for this year – and sixth overall – put Bangladesh on the back foot before openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique cemented Pakistan’s dominance on the second day of the Chattogram Test. Abid was unbeaten on 93, nearing his fourth Test century, while debutant Shafique had hit a half-century when the day’s play ended, Pakistan 145 for no loss after bowling Bangladesh out for 330.They blunted a Bangladesh bowling attack in which the pacers only tried a fourth-stump channel, often veering too wide, and the spinners were happy to only contain the batters. The absence of the more penetrative Shakib Al Hasan and Taskin Ahmed is already being felt.Abid and Shafique had already put on 79 during the middle session, offering very little to the Bangladesh bowlers. Abid was the enforcer, reaching his fifty off 84 balls, while Shafique was mostly circumspect. He reached his fifty off 153 balls, striking two sixes over midwicket and mid-on, apart from hitting two fours.Abid was the more enterprising all along, hitting six of his nine boundaries between backward point and cover. Both his sixes came through midwicket, as he looked to settle down for the long haul.Hasan Ali shows off the ball after picking up his sixth five-for in Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Bangladesh’s only sniff came in the 13th over when Taijul Islam appealed for lbw against Shafique. At first look, it seemed Shafique had struck the ball with his bat. Taijul couldn’t convince his captain to take the review, which soon revealed that the ball had struck Shafique’s pad first. He was a very strong candidate for lbw.Pakistan too missed a couple of similar chances on the first day, but they didn’t make the same mistakes on the second morning. Their ascendency began in the second over when Hasan’s searing opening spell spoiled Bangladesh’s first-day progress.He trapped Liton Das lbw for 114 with a delivery that zipped into his back leg, and trapped him lbw. It ended the fifth-wicket stand, which yielded 206 runs with Mushfiqur Rahim, only the second double-hundred stand by Bangladesh against Pakistan.The debutant Yasir Ali looked fine for 18 balls before a Hasan delivery, seaming in sharply, sent his stumps for a walk. Then Mushfiqur added nine runs to his overnight 82 before Faheem Ashraf had him caught behind.Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck six fours in his unbeaten 38, but he was left stranded when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan cleaned up the tail quickly. When Bangladesh bat a second time in the game, Hasan will be on a hat-trick, as he removed Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain off consecutive balls to close out the Bangladesh innings.

The left-armer says he’s fit for the final installment of the Ashes having been the only quick to play throughout

Alex Malcolm12-Jan-2022Australia quick Mitchell Starc is adamant he doesn’t need or want to rest for the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart, especially as it will be a pink-ball Test under lights.Starc has been Australia’s leading fast bowling in the series with 15 wickets and the only one to play all four Tests so far, but he laboured a bit in Sydney on a surface that has traditionally not suited him.He took 1 for 124 from 34 overs at the SCG and had some trouble with the footmarks on the final day, wincing at times during his final spell with the second new ball as Australia pushed to bowl out England prior to stumps.However, speaking on Wednesday, Starc said he was fully fit and available to play and was not at all keen to be rested.”I hope not, it’s a pink-ball game,” Starc said. “[I’m] feeling good. Obviously, we’ve had a couple of days now to get ready for the fifth Test match.”It’s purely up to the selectors. I’m not looking for a break. It’s the last Test match of an Ashes series at home. It’s a pink-ball game too. I’d very much like to play. I guess it’s in the hands of the selectors. But I won’t be asking for rest.”Australia have a selection squeeze amongst both its batting and bowling groups. The selectors are trying to find a way to bring back Travis Head after he missed the Sydney Test due to Covid-19, while his replacement Usman Khawaja created an irresistible case to be retained thanks to brilliant twin centuries.There is a similar squeeze with the bowlers. Jhye Richardson is fully fit having missed the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches due to left shin soreness. Scott Boland came into the side in his place and has taken 14 wickets at an insane average of 8.64.Scott Boland clutches his side after slipping on release•Getty Images

Boland bowled magnificently again in Sydney but did need injections in his ribs to get through the match after he fell heavily on his side while bowling in the first innings. Scans did clear him of any serious damage but Starc was unsure how Boland had pulled up.”I don’t know. I think he went to the gym yesterday.” Starc said. “No doubt he’ll be at training and bowl today. He’s a quiet character but quite a resilient one. So no doubt he’ll be looking forward to taking part in this Test as well.”Boland was heralded as a horses for courses selection at the MCG and SCG but if the selectors were to apply the same logic in Hobart then Richardson would have a strong case to return. Richardson took a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings in Adelaide with the pink ball and averages 20.70 in day-night first-class matches, two of which have been Tests. He also took seven wickets in his only Sheffield Shield game at Bellerive Oval earlier this summer.Boland averages 22.64 in pink-ball games and is the only Australia quick to have played two pink-ball Shield games in Hobart, but he took just three wickets at 60.33 in those two matches. His overall record at Bellerive is a bizarre anomaly. He has 13 wickets at 64 in eight first-class matches there, whereas he averages under 20 at the SCG, the Gabba and Adelaide Oval, and 25 at the MCG.While the selectors ponder what pace attack to choose, Starc and his captain Pat Cummins are debating who should bat at No. 8 given Starc’s recent form with the bat.Related

• Ben Stokes 'wants to play' fifth Test but decision still to be made

• Khawaja vs Head vs Harris – Australia selectors set for 'challenging conversations' ahead of Hobart Test

• How can Australian selectors leave Usman Khawaja out of fifth Test?

Starc has made 151 runs in the series and only been dismissed twice, making valuable contributions in each of the four Tests. He is far more credentialed with the bat from a pure run-scoring perspective than Cummins, averaging 23.60 for his career with 10 half-centuries, while Cummins averages 16.63 with just two fifties.Cummins moved ahead of Starc in the order after the 2017-18 Ashes on the basis that Cummins occupied more balls than Starc in order to hang around with the specialist batters for longer. Cummins averages 37 balls per innings compared to Starc’s 26.But in the last two series, Starc has averaged 33 balls per innings and 38.66 per dismissal having been not out in six of his 11 innings, while Cummins has averaged 35 balls per innings and 14.75 per dismissal, leading to a conversation about who should bat higher.”We have sort of started that conversation about where we were both going to bat, we both want to bat No. 9 I think,” Starc said. “He’s the captain after all. So we’ll see how that pans out this week.”Starc said his wife, Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, has noted his improved numbers with the bat.”Alyssa has been laughing at me because she’s seen I’ve been hitting a lot more and obviously spending a bit more time in the middle,” Starc said. “She’s taking the mickey out of me about how much I’ve been batting at training. Whether that’s paying off, I guess, in a way it has been.”We’ve got Michael Di Venuto with us at the moment who’s just been fantastic. I did a lot of work with him in his first stint as the batting coach. And then since he’s come back, working with him and Andrew McDonald just on getting a clear game plan.”Technically I haven’t changed anything, probably since the World Cup in 2019. Doing a little bit of work with Ricky Ponting [in 2019] seemed to have put me in some good positions as well. It’s more about just getting some time out in training and then in the middle, but having clear plans on what I’m trying to achieve.”

A look at the rich lists, across player categories, at the end of two days of frenetic auctioning

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-20225:30

Best and worst buys? Biggest surprise? Missed opportunity?

Indians in the INR 10-crore club

Ishan Kishan: INR 15.25 crore (USD 2.02 million) to Mumbai Indians
Deepak Chahar: INR 14 crore (USD 1.85 million) to Chennai Super Kings
Shreyas Iyer: INR 12.25 crore (USD 1.62 million) to Kolkata Knight Riders
Harshal Patel: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Shardul Thakur: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Delhi Capitals
Prasidh Krishna: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Rajasthan Royals
Avesh Khan: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Lucknow Super GiantsESPNcricinfo Ltd

Top five overseas buys

Liam Livingstone: INR 11.5 crore (USD 1.52 million) to Punjab Kings
Nicholas Pooran: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Wanindu Hasaranga: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Lockie Ferguson: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Gujarat Titans
Kagiso Rabada: INR 9.25 crore (USD 1.22 million) to Punjab Kings

Five most expensive uncapped players

Avesh Khan: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Lucknow Super Giants
Shahrukh Khan: INR 9 crore (USD 1.19 million) to Punjab Kings
Rahul Tewatia: INR 9 crore (USD 1.19 million) to Gujarat Titans
Rahul Tripathi: INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.13 million) to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Shivam Mavi: INR 7.25 crore (USD 966,000) to Kolkata Knight RidersESPNcricinfo Ltd

Five most expensive batters

Shreyas Iyer: INR 12.25 crore (USD 1.62 million) to Kolkata Knight Riders
Shimron Hetmyer: INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.13 million) to Rajasthan Royals
Rahul Tripathi: INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.13 million) to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Tim David: INR 8.25 crore (USD 1.09 million) to Mumbai Indians
Shikhar Dhawan: INR 8.25 crore (USD 1.09 million) to Punjab KingsESPNcricinfo Ltd

Five most expensive pace bowlers

Deepak Chahar: INR 14 crore (USD 1.85 crore) to Chennai Super Kings
Shardul Thakur: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Delhi Capitals
Prasidh Krishna: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Rajasthan Royals
Avesh Khan: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Lucknow Super Giants
Lockie Ferguson: INR 10 crore (USD 1.32 million) to Gujarat TitansESPNcricinfo Ltd

Five most expensive spinners

Yuzvendra Chahal: INR 6.5 crore (USD 0.86 million) to Rajasthan Royals
Rahul Chahar: INR 5.25 crore (USD 0.70 million) to Punjab Kings
R Sai Kishore: INR 3 crore (USD 0.40 million) to Gujarat Titans
Kuldeep Yadav: INR 2 crore (USD 0.26 million) to Delhi Capitals
M Ashwin: INR 1.6 crore (USD 0.21 million) to Mumbai IndiansESPNcricinfo Ltd

Five most expensive wicketkeepers

Ishan Kishan: INR 15.25 crore (USD 2.02 million) to Mumbai Indians
Nicholas Pooran: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Quinton de Kock: INR 6.75 crore (USD 0.89 million) to Lucknow Super Giants
Jonny Bairstow: INR 6.75 crore (USD 0.89 million) to Punjab Kings
Dinesh Karthik: INR 5.5 crore (USD 0.73 million) to Royal Challengers Bangalore

Five most expensive allrounders

Liam Livingstone: INR 11.5 crore (USD 1.52 million) to Punjab Kings
Harshal Patel: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Wanindu Hasaranga: INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.42 million) to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Shahrukh Khan: INR 9 crore (USD 1.19 million) to Punjab Kings
Rahul Tewatia: INR 9 crore (USD 1.19 million) to Gujarat Titans

With Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant skipping the dead-rubber, India can give a chance to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer

Vishal Dikshit19-Feb-20221:13

Will we see more of Chahal in the powerplay?

Big picture

India will be mighty pleased with their gains from the 2-0 lead they have over West Indies, in the lead up to the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. Their top order – including Virat Kohli – got off the blocks quicker, Suryakumar Yadav cemented his place further in the middle, Venkatesh Iyer provided the finishing touches India expected from him, Harshal Patel showed his death-bowling expertise, Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved he still had it in him, and Ravi Bishnoi bagged wickets with an economy under six in both games combined.With Kohli and Rishabh Pant skipping the dead-rubber on Sunday, India can now also give a chance to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who last played a T20I in July 2021, and Shreyas Iyer, on his new IPL home ground.West Indies, still winless on the tour, looked like they had narrowed the gap between the two teams on Friday night but they still need to smoothen some edges. In the opening game, they lost their footing after a good powerplay and could post only 157. In the second, they were chasing in dewy conditions but left too much for the end by posting just 41 runs in the powerplay and 73 in the first ten.They have also not found much support from their sixth bowler, possibly because they have played only two frontline bowlers and the rest of the job rests with their numerous allrounders. It made India’s chasing job easier when they needed 65 from eight overs in the opening game; in the second, they hammered 98 off the last eight.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
West Indies LLWLW

In the spotlight

Ishan Kishan was supposed to give India rapid starts they had been missing in T20Is. But in the two games so far, Kishan has struggled against both fast and spin bowling. Not against pace and turn, but while facing Sheldon Cottrell’s swing early on and then Roston Chase’s stifling lines from around the wicket in the middle overs. The man who went for a whopping INR 15.25 crore (approx USD 2 million) in the IPL mega auction recently has crawled to scores of 35 off 42 and 2 off 10 balls so far.Roston Chase, on the other hand, went unsold at the auction but has put up performances with the ball India may not have expected from him in this format. He got a chance in the XI in the first place only because Jason Holder wasn’t fit but retained his place with 2 for 14 from four overs, dismissing Rohit Sharma and Kishan, following it with 3 for 25 with the wickets of Rohit, Suryakumar and Kohli. With five wickets and an economy rate of just 4.87 in the series, West Indies have got a solid quota of four overs in the middle overs, against both right- and left-hand batters.

Team news

With Kohli and Pant not available for the third game, India can now pick Shreyas and Gaikwad and even try Deepak Hooda in place of Venkatesh. How they change their bowling attack with the series in the bag remains to be seen. They have Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav as options.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Ishan Kishan (wk), 6 Venkatesh Iyer/Deepak Hooda, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 Deepak Chahar/Shardul Thakur, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Siraj/Avesh Khan, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep YadavWest Indies came close on Friday night and don’t really need a change to their XI unless they want to try out players they haven’t so far, like Dominic Drakes and Hayden Walsh.West Indies (probable): 1 Kyle Mayers, 2 Brandon King, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 4 Rovman Powell, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Odean Smith, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Pitch and conditions

Evenings in Kolkata will continue to be pleasant with dew expected later on, which means the team winning the toss will likely chase again.

Stats and trivia

• Yuzvendra Chahal needs one more wicket to become India’s sole highest wicket-taker in T20Is. He is currently joint on top with Jasprit Bumrah.
• India have won six consecutive T20I series at home. The last series they lost was 2-0 to Australia in February 2019.
• Across formats, India have now won 13 series in a row at home.

New Zealand’s task: pull off highest successful chase in Tests or bat 133 overs to draw

Firdose Moonda28-Feb-2022Stumps New Zealand 293 & 94 for 4 (Conway 60*, Blundell 1*) trail South Africa 364 & 354 for 9 decl. (Verreynne 136*, Rabada 47) by 332 runsSouth Africa are six wickets away from victory in the second Test, and denying New Zealand the opportunity to get a first Test series win over them. New Zealand may still be eyeing a historic win. They need 332 more runs to pull off the highest successful chase in Test cricket or bat out the final day and draw the second Test. With a minimum of 90 overs left, New Zealand need to score at a rate of and 3.7 and with signs of uneven bounce and turn, that appears unlikely.Kagiso Rabada headlined the fourth day with a career-best 47 off 34 balls with the bat and then became the first South African bowler to dismiss both openers in both innings in a Test since Morne Morkel in 2010. South Africa would have had thoughts of wrapping up the match early when Rabada had Will Young caught at gully off the third ball and Tom Latham caught at short leg in his second over. Keshav Maharaj bowled Henry Nicholls in the 12th over, but a 56-run fourth-wicket partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway took the match into the fifth day.Despite the magnitude of their task, New Zealand may have taken heart from the way South Africa batted on the fourth day. After their run rate hovered under three for most of the match, they scored 214 runs in 47 overs, at a rate of 4.55. Kyle Verreynne, playing in his sixth Test, scored his first century, and first score over 30 in the format. Verreynne’s century is the fourth-highest for a South African wicketkeeper in an away Test.He shared in 78-run sixth and eighth wicket stands with Wiaan Mulder and Rabada respectively and a 32-run last-wicket partnership with Lutho Sipamla to extend South Africa’s lead to 425.Verreynne started the day slowly, scoring two runs off 10 balls in the first seven overs before a neat clip off his pads got him going. He went on to score 24 runs off the next 25 balls he faced, bringing out the pull against Tim Southee and Matt Henry, to get close to a half-century.That’s when he lost Mulder as Kyle Jamieson nicked him off with Tom Blundell taking a one-handed blinder to his right after changing direction at the last second. The catch of the day, though, was still to come.Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj formed an excellent partnership for South Africa•AFP/Getty Images

Two overs before the second new ball was due, Marco Jansen whipped Colin de Grandhomme to deep midwicket. Young ran to his left, reached out an arm and the ball stuck as he rolled over to avoid crashing into the boundary. There was no crowd in that section of the ground but Young saluted a superb catch anyway. Jansen faced 41 deliveries in all.Rabada joined Verreynne in the afternoon sessions and showed intent early on when he drove Southee through mid-on for four. Then he plundered back-to-back sixes off the same bowler and had a first Test half-century in sight, but did not get hold of a Henry short ball properly and was caught by de Grandhomme at long-on for a 34-ball 47.Verreynne had been mostly a spectator during this stand, but worked his way into the nineties and brought up his century with a four through fine leg off Henry. South Africa’s lead was over 370 at that point and there was some licence to lash out. Verreynne soon took a hat-trick of boundaries off Jamieson, but Maharaj top-edged a pull in the same over. Verreynne ended it with six over deep point.South Africa’s lead got up over 400 and New Zealand’s agitation to end the innings grew. They peppered No.11, Sipamla with short balls and Southee struck him on the helmet to hasten Dean Elgar’s decision to declare. South Africa closed their innings after 100 overs, leaving themselves four sessions to try and win the game.That seemed like plenty of time after Rabada’s new-ball burst and he could have had a third to his name when Conway pulled a short ball to Sarel Erwee at backward square leg but he could not hold on. Conway, who was on 5 at the time, is unbeaten on 60, so the missed chance proved slightly costly.South Africa did get a third early wicket but then had to wait until late in the day before they got a fourth. Maharaj bowled Mitchell with a delivery that pitched around off and middle stump, turned away, beat the outside edge and took out off stump. That delivery only confirmed that Maharaj’s inclusion, as the only specialist spinner across both XIs, could prove to be as much of a masterstroke as Elgar’s decision to bat first, thus leaving New Zealand to bat last.New Zealand’s highest successful chase is 324 for 5 against Pakistan in Christchurch (Jade Stadium), but it came nearly 30 years ago. The biggest total chased down at the Hagley Oval is Australia’s 201 for 3.

Tim Murtagh’s injury proves costly after Shan Masood threatens to pull off improbable chase

ECB Reporters Network10-Apr-2022Tom Helm’s late flurry of wickets was not enough to force a Middlesex victory as Derbyshire held on to draw their LV= Insurance County Championship opener.Helm struck three times in 19 balls to give Middlesex the upper hand after half-centuries by Shan Masood and Wayne Madsen had threatened to secure Derbyshire’s first Lord’s success in 20 years.Pursuing a target of 356 from 88 overs, Derbyshire reached 197 for 2 just after tea – but Helm’s fiery spell forced them to abandon hopes of victory.Middlesex’s bowlers – minus skipper Tim Murtagh, who pulled up injured early on in the chase – pressed hard, but were unable to make further inroads as Leus du Plooy and Anuj Dal dug in to steer their side to safety at 255 for 5.Richard Johnson, Middlesex’s returning head coach, said: “That’s the Tom Helm I knew a long time ago when he came through and hopefully we’ll see him really push on. What I saw today was international-class bowling.”He hit great areas, swung it – it was quality all the way through. If he does that week in, week out, England have to come calling for him because he’s up there with the best on that.”The home side extended their second innings by just six overs in the morning, with not-out batters Robbie White and Max Holden both falling to Sam Conners in pursuit of quick runs.Another 57 were added, largely thanks to some clean striking by John Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones before Murtagh waved them in at 258 for 5.Related

• Essex spin it but can't win it as Kent pile on runs in draw

• Chris Cooke holds firm after Andrew Salter seven-for ignites wicket flurry

• Burgess hits career-best 178 in final-day stalemate

• Notts underline credentials as depleted attack seals final-day win

However, Murtagh himself was soon back in the pavilion after pulling up in the ninth over and Masood settled into the groove, dominating his partnership of 81 with Billy Godleman as Middlesex searched in vain for a breakthrough.That finally arrived in the third over after lunch as Ethan Bamber – having already beaten the bat several times – persuaded Masood to flick on the leg side and Simpson took a diving catch.Godleman briefly took up the baton with a couple of boundaries off Bamber, but the skipper then attempted to cut the first ball of Roland-Jones’ second spell and was caught in the slips for 38.After a slow start, Madsen began to go for his shots, employing the reverse sweep to good effect against spinner Josh de Caires and reaching his half-century just after tea with a crisp straight drive for four off Roland-Jones.But Helm raised Middlesex’s hopes with a trio of wickets, including those of Madsen who was leg before and Brooke Guest , smartly taken by Stephen Eskinazi at first slip after the pair had shared a stand of 91.That left Derbyshire to survive 27 more overs and – although Dal got away with a loose shot that narrowly eluded Helm at deep square leg – handshakes were exchanged with five of those still unbowled.

The allrounder will be honoured on Friday following a private family funeral

AAP23-May-2022Andrew Symonds’ life will be celebrated by former teammates with a no-jacket, no-tie memorial service in Townsville on Friday, almost two weeks after the cricket star’s death.Symonds family confirmed on Monday that a public memorial would take place for the former Test and limited-overs star close to his home in North Queensland.Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher and Matthew Mott will be among those to speak at the memorial, with poet and friend Rupert McCall to also deliver a poem.Related

• Seven innings that defined Andrew Symonds' career

• Andrew Symonds, a player who came from the future

• 'A force of nature' – How county cricket remembers Andrew Symonds and that T20 knock

• 'Rods out for Roy' as tributes continue to flow for Symonds

The Riverview Stadium event will also be live-streamed at the Gabba, Symonds’ old home ground with Queensland.The allrounder’s family and friends will gather for a private service on Friday morning before the memorial, which comes with a dress code of “definitely no jacket and tie required”.Details of the memorial come after a week of tributes for Symonds, who died aged 46 when his car left the road and rolled in Hervey Range near Townsville on May 14.Several former Queensland players have spent the past week together in the Bulls Masters charity and public speaking group, supporting each other in the aftermath of the shock death.Current players have also continued to speak of their admiration for the gifted cricketer, who played 26 Tests and won two one-day World Cups.His figure and legacy will likely be a point of discussion when players assemble in Brisbane late this week ahead of next month’s tour of Pakistan.Fans have also paid tribute to one of the sport’s most marketable stars of the early 21st century, leaving fishing rods and cricket balls at the front of their homes.

Staggering acceleration after tea was fuelled by a ‘cheese and ham toastie and a cup of coffee’

Andrew Miller14-Jun-2022A “cheese and ham toastie and a cup of coffee” proved the rocket fuel that Jonny Bairstow needed to launch a sensational post-tea onslaught on the final day of the second LV= Insurance Test at Trent Bridge, and power England to a thrilling five-wicket victory that, he says, shows the “sky is the limit” for what this team’s new-found positive attitude can achieve.Bairstow’s 136 from 92 balls included a century from 77 balls – one ball shy of Gilbert Jessop’s record set at The Oval way back in 1902 – as he and England’s captain, Ben Stokes, destroyed a delicately balanced match situation with 102 runs in the first nine overs after the interval.Their 179-run stand spanned just 20.1 overs, and meant that England romped to their 299-run target in exactly 50 of their allotted 72 – a fitting tribute to a chase that Bairstow said had been treated exactly like one of their World-Cup-winning ODI performances.”It was great fun,” Bairstow said during the post-match presentations. “When you get in that mood, you’ve got to just go with it. The plan that [New Zealand] set out with after tea was do or die, so you’ve got to do.”That plan involved a consistent short-ball approach from a seam attack lacking the services of Kyle Jamieson to a back injury, and already weary after spending 128.2 overs in the field during England’s first-innings 539.”Ben at the other end said ‘don’t even think about hitting one down [the ground], hit it into the stands,” Bairstow said. “That was the catalyst. Today was our day, and what a day it’s been.”What happened next was simply extraordinary. From a well-set 43 from 48 balls, Bairstow reeled off 10 fours and seven sixes from his next 44, the majority of them slammed into the short leg-side boundary at the Bridgford Road side of the ground.”I’m not sure about ‘picking the right ball’,” he said. “Strip it back, it’s only you and the bowler there. That’s the bit that sometimes gets complicated. If you strip it back, and just watch the ball, that’s the zone right there, and you have to get in it.”A staggering 1675 runs were scored across the five days of the Test – second only to the 1948 Ashes Test at Headingley – and Bairstow said that England took extra confidence in the fourth innings from the exploits that had preceded it.”When there’s been so many runs scored in the game, you don’t look at it as a record run-chase, you look at it as an opportunity to chase down a total,” he said. “We saw it as a one-day game.”The pitch was very good, outfield was fast, and that’s how you have to look at it. If you take a negative mentality, then all of sudden you’re apprehensive. We have a positive approach, and the players who can play that brand of cricket, and that never-say-die attitude, and the ever-evolving confidence that people have got in that dressing room, allowed people to go and flourish.”And I tell you what, days like this are very exciting,” he added. “If this is happening now, let’s see what’s going to happen in the next few weeks and next few months, because it’s going to be a journey.”England’s chase was made all the more special thanks to the decision by Nottinghamshire to allow free entry for this final day, and Bairstow paid tribute to that decision while acknowledging that – of all his nine Test hundreds – this one clearly stood out the most.”This is No.1 for me, it’d be tricky not to be,” he said. “There’s been a lot of chatter around England’s Test cricket over a few years, some of it’s been harsh, but I’m hugely proud about how we’ve gone about it in the last few years [of Covid etc]. It has enabled us to get closer as a group, and if we can keep that momentum, the sky is the limit.”Stokes, England’s captain, now has two wins from two – and England’s first series victory since January 2021 – after inheriting a team from Joe Root that had won just one in its previous 17. And afterwards he paid tribute to his entire team, not least the bowling unit that had rattled New Zealand in the third innings, and enabled England to hunt down a sub-300 target.”I’ve got to give credit to the boys for all five days, with the ball, and the bat, and in the field. It was a phenomenal performance,” he said. “Today was set up absolutely perfectly for how we want to go about it. Run into the danger, rather than back away or stand still.”That’s what we did today. Not just myself and Jonny there. Credit to Leesy [Alex Lees] at the top again, two really important knocks for the team again, everyone at some stage has put their hand up and contributed.”Test cricket isn’t necessarily about what you’ve seen there, but you’ve still got to execute your skills, and we wanted to put pressure back on their attack. And once Jonny gets his ‘Jonny eyes’, there’s no stopping him.”One concern for England came when Stokes appeared to jar his troublesome left knee while coming down the wicket, but he insisted afterwards that it was “fine”.Stokes also thanked Nottinghamshire for opening the gates to the public – “don’t under-estimate the power of a home crowd,” he said – and when asked what’s next, he replied: “Headingley … We’re going to come harder.”

King and Brown took 5 for 18 between them as Ireland were held to 99 for 8 from 20 overs before Mooney and Lanning ran it down in 12.5 overs

Alex Malcolm17-Jul-2022Superb spells from Alana King and Darcie Brown have helped Australia thump Ireland by nine wickets in the second match of the Tri-Nation Women’s T20I series in Bready.After rain had washed out Australia’s march again Pakistan in game one, the world champions produced a near-flawless bowling display with King taking 3 for 9 and Brown bagging 2 for 9 as Ireland limped to 99 for 8 from their 20 overs. Just four Ireland batters reached double figures with Rebecca Stokell top-scoring with 22.Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning made light work of the chase, running down the target in 12.5 overs after the early loss of Alyssa Healy.Brown’s spell set up the game after Lanning won the toss and sent Ireland in. Gaby Lewis holed out to deep backward square in the opening over off Megan Schutt before Brown produced a double-wicket maiden in her second over.Her extra pace was too much for Orla Prendergast and Laura Delany. Prendergast had struck two boundaries but had her off stump flattened by Brown attempting to drive on the up. Brown then pinned Delany on the body with a swift short ball before again firing full and straight. Delany tried to give room to slash through the off side but had her leg stump flattened.Related

• Alana King is on the fast track to becoming an idol

• Jonassen to miss start of tri-series due to Covid

• Perry faces tough fight for a place amid her push for T20 revival

That left Ireland 16 for 3 in the fourth over and they never recovered. King was introduced in the first over after the powerplay and struck immediately, trapping Rachel Delaney plumb lbw.Brown bowled her four overs straight, finishing with 16 dot balls alongside her two wickets. Ireland were just 40 for 4 after 10 overs and slumped to 44 for 6 shortly after. Mary Waldron chipped Nicola Carey straight to cover before King bamboozled Stokell. King had a very close lbw shout turned down. She then beat the outside edge with sharp turn. Next ball Stokell played for turn and was beaten on the inside edge by one that skidded on and crashed into leg stump.Leah Paul and Ava Canning fought hard to ensure Ireland batted out their overs. King had Paul caught behind trying to sweep in the 19th over for 12, while Canning finished 14 not out.Mooney and Lanning waltzed through the chase but not without some luck. Mooney was dropped in the opening over, chipping Jane Maguire to mid-off and Stokell spilled a sitter. Mooney slog-swept the pacer for six not long after to rub salt into the wound. Healy struggled for fluency on the slow pitch striking just one boundary in 11 balls before holing out to mid off for 10 off Arlene Kelly.Mooney and Lanning slipped into cruise control thereafter striking nine boundaries and a six between them in an unbroken 68-run stand to ice the game with more than seven overs to spare.Ireland face Pakistan on Tuesday before playing Australia again on Thursday.

Siraj and Prasidh defended 38 off the last three overs – weathering an onslaught from Hosein and Shepherd – to seal a three-run win

S Sudarshanan22-Jul-2022History was West Indies’ for the taking. A record 309 was in sight – the highest successful ODI chase at the Queen’s Park Oval was 272. The platform was set with a quick 117-run second-wicket partnership. Two set batters were in the middle with them needing 120 off the last 15 overs with seven wickets in the hutch. Gettable in the T20 era, eh?

India pick up over-rate fine

India have been fined 20% of their match fee for their slow over rate in the first ODI. They were found to be one over short of their target by match referee Richie Richardson, after taking into account various allowances.
Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan did not contest the charge – levelled by umpires Joel Wilson, Leslie Reifer, Gregory Brathwaite and Nigel Duguid – and accepted the sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Mohammed Siraj first bagged Nicholas Pooran to end his 51-run partnership with Brandon King before Yuzvendra Chahal got the better of Rovman Powell. But two quick fifty-run partnerships – first between King and Akeal Hosein and then between Hosein and Romario Shepherd – raised West Indies’ hopes. However, Chahal had King holing out to sweeper cover before Siraj and Prasidh Krishna defended 38 off the last three overs – weathering the final onslaught from Hosein and Shepherd – to help India start the first of three ODIs in Port of Spain with a three-run win on Friday.Related

• Brandon King is rising once again, but as middle-order batter

• 'Really proud' Pooran lauds West Indies' fighting spirit: 'Feels like a win for us'

• Pooran: West Indies must 'believe that we can fight'

• Fluent Shubman Gill's re-emergence another reminder of India's enviable bench strength

This was after fifties from Shikhar Dhawan, his opening partner Shubman Gill and No. 3 Shreyas Iyer helped India to 308. They were on course to a score around 350, thanks to the 119-run opening stand, but West Indies clawed back by varying their lengths and pace to restrict India.Having only managed 83 for 5 in the last 15 overs of their innings, India’s bowlers walked out to defend their total with a mindset of changing their lengths, which is how Siraj prised Shai Hope out. Siraj drew him forward with four pitched-up deliveries before catching him off-guard with a bumper that had Hope top-edging a catch to deep third.Following that, Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks decided to take matters on. They managed at least one four in each of the next five overs to be placed at 52 for 1 after ten overs. Mayers was particularly aggressive and brought up his first ODI half-century off just 42 balls. His march was only slowed down by the spinners coming into the attack and he broke the deadlock by dancing down to hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a six straight over the sightscreen.With Brooks elegantly taking Shardul Thakur on at the other end – two successive fours to welcome him into the attack and a six to kickstart his second spell – West Indies looked well in the mood. But Thakur dismissed both the batters in back-to-back overs. First Brooks, on 46, pulled a short ball straight down deep backward square leg’s throat before Mayers nicked an almost-yorker to the wicketkeeper.Shikhar Dhawan brought up his 36th ODI half-century•AFP/Getty Images

Pooran joined King and added 51 off just 56 balls to keep them on course. The duo got themselves in by finding the gaps before Pooran hit a couple of sixes off Prasidh while King hit Axar Patel over long-off.Siraj then came back to have Pooran mistime one to mid-on before Chahal had Rovman Powell caught at slip to threaten a slide. But King, Hosein and Shepherd ensured the viewers left with fewer nails and higher heart rates.In the morning, when overcast conditions gave way to bright sunshine, the Indian openers feasted on some ill-disciplined new-ball bowling from the hosts. Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales gave away as many as six boundaries in the first six overs, even though they bowled a combined 24 dot balls. At the end of the first powerplay of ten overs, India had raced to 73 without loss, with Dhawan and Gill hitting 11 fours and two sixes while also facing 38 dots.Gill – chosen ahead of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad – looked particularly fluent in his strokeplay, driving and flicking at will. He got off the mark with a pristinely-timed cover drive off Seales before executing a perfect backfoot punch in the next over off Joseph. He cashed in on any width provided by the seamers and welcomed left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie with a well-timed six over mid-on, and got to his maiden ODI fifty off just 36 balls.Dhawan, who had returns of 31*, 9 and 1 in the recent ODI series against England, was happy to leave deliveries outside off to get his eye in before freeing his arms to collect boundaries and make up for the dots. Though he played second fiddle to Gill, Dhawan ensured the good start didn’t go to waste, bringing up his 36th fifty in the format.Just when it looked like West Indies would struggle to get a breakthrough, Gill threw away a chance to get to triple figures. He tucked a Joseph delivery towards midwicket and set off on a jog, only to be run out by a direct hit from an alert Pooran at square leg.The five overs after Gill’s wicket brought just 17 runs with Motie mixing up his pace to go with Joseph’s short-ball attack from the other end. But Dhawan broke the shackles by first slog sweeping Motie for a six over deep square leg and then hitting Pooran’s part-time offspin for a maximum over long-on an over later. Iyer then tore into Pooran, hitting a four and a six off successive deliveries, before Dhawan deposited Motie over midwicket again.However, an acrobatic catch by Shamarh Brooks at backward point ended Dhawan’s innings on 97 off the very next ball. An over later, Iyer fell after his fifty – thanks to a full-stretch leap from Pooran at cover – and the brakes began to be applied on India’s innings.But Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur managed to find the boundary towards the end of the innings – 36 came from the last three overs – to help India to a total that proved enough.