Sports
Bashir, Root, Brook give West Indies a 241-run hammering
Shoib Basheer’s first five-wicket haul on English soil sealed victory inside four days for the hosts, after Joe Root and Harry Brook had set England up against West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Root and Brook each scored centuries before the hosts were bowled out for 425 in their second innings – the first time in England’s history that they had scored 400 in both innings of a Test – setting West Indies a target of 385.
Then, at 20 years and 282 days, off-spinner Bashir became the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a men’s Test at home, beating the previous record of just-retired seamer James Anderson. His 5 for 41 gave England the win, by 241 runs, and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series being played for the Richards-Botham Trophy.
On a flat batting track and with a monumental run-chase at Headingley nearly seven years ago still in the recesses of some memories – certainly captain Kraigg Brathwaite’s – the task was still steep, not to mention in light of an innings defeat at Lord’s in the first Test of this series, even if Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis made a bright start by taking West Indies to 61 without loss.
But Chris Woakes and Bashir put it out of reach as West Indies lost 5 for 21 in the space of 35 balls and Bashir finished things, West Indies losing 10 for 82 in all as they were bowled out for 143.
Woakes struck with the first ball after the evening drinks break, a length ball outside off stump that lured a faint edge behind from Louis. Moments later, Kirk McKenzie fluffed an attempted drive off a Bashir short ball and fell to a sharp catch by Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
Brathwaite, on 47, edged Woakes to the keeper and Bashir drew another edge to Root at slip off Alick Athanaze with one that dipped and turned appreciably. In between, Bashir had pinned first-innings centurion Kavem Hodge lbw, and after three overs, Bashir had 3 for 8.
Mark Wood, who had bowled with jaw-dropping speed in West Indies first innings, produced venom of a different kind to remove Kevin Sinclair, his short ball spitting up higher than the batter expected and, as Sinclair put his hands in front of his face, it rapped the wristband of his glove and was taken at second slip.
Joshua Da Silva, who had scored an unbeaten 82 in the first innings, started playing some shots, pulling Gus Atkinson through midwicket for four and crunching Bashir over the fence at wide long-on. But Atkinson responded in his next over with one that moved back in from outside off to strike Da Silva on the back pad in line with middle stump and, two balls later, he put England on the brink of victory by bowling Alzarri Joseph.
No sooner had Jason Holder taken him for six and four to move to 37, and Bashir rattled off stump with a gem that turned in and beat the edge as Holder pressed forward, leaving West Indies nine down.
Bashir then bowled Shamar Joseph with a fuller ball on middle stump to the absolute delight of his captain, Ben Stokes, who grinned broadly as his young charge took a third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.
Earlier, Root was serene in posting 122, his 32nd Test century having moved to eighth on the all-time Test run-scorers’ list with 11,940 during the course of his innings.
Brook had reached 109 in similarly unruffled style, the pair putting on 198 runs for the fourth wicket. That was after Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett had fallen in quick succession on the third day, themselves having each passed fifty and put on 119 runs together.
Seales broke through with a double-strike on the fourth morning and another wicket on the last ball before lunch to Sinclair lifted West Indies from a position where the match looked to be slipping beyond their reach as Root and Brook settled into their stand. They added 100 runs to England’s overnight score but the hosts lost three wickets for 19 runs in 7.2 overs.
Brook brought up his fifth Test ton – and first on home soil – nudging Alzarri Joseph for a single to mid-on and, two balls later, Root clipped one to the leg side to bring up his fifty, and the 150 partnership.
But, after a near-flawless innings, he fell wafting at a Seales delivery that moved away slightly off the seam, found the edge and sailed through to Da Silva behind the stumps.
Seales struck again when he removed Stokes cheaply, turning a short ball straight to Alzarri Joseph at backward square leg.
That brought Jamie Smith to the crease and he managed only 6 before Sinclair drew a faint edge with a delivery on off stump and Da Silva collected.
Moments after Woakes edged a rising Shamar Joseph delivery towards second slip, where the towering Holder took a strong catch moving to his left with arms stretched above his head, Root raised his century with a thumping drive through deep point for four off Alzarri Joesph.
Holder returned to the attack with great effect, Root smashing a full, wide delivery straight to Kirk McKenzie at cover. Root departed to hearty applause from the crowd and handshakes from his opponents.
Seales saw two slips catches put down off Wood in successive balls, but made no mistake with the third when he bowled Wood for a duck with the next, a fuller ball just outside off which seamed in and clattered into the top of off stump. Seales’ fourth wicket ended England’s innings, Bashir the last man out, bowled by a yorker.
Brief scores:
England 416 (Ollie Pope 121, Ben Duckett 71, Ben Stokes 69; Alzarri Joseph 3-98) and 425 (Joe Root 122, Harry Brook 109, Ben Duckett 76, Ollie Pope 51; Jayden Seales 4-97) beat West Indies 457 (Kaveem Hodge 120, Joshua Da Silva 82*, Allick Athanaze 82; Chris Woakes 4-84) and 143 (Craig Brathwaite 47; Shoaib Bashir 5-41) by 241 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Sri Lanka Under 19s pull off two wickets win against Afghanistan
Sri Lanka Under 19s scored back to back victories as Mahanama College batsman Chamika Heenatigala anchored the tail with an unbeaten half century to seal two wickets victory over Afghanistan U19s in their second group match of the Under 19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Monday.
Chasing 236 runs to win Sri Lanka U19s were eight wickets down for 217 runs in the 48th over but Heenatigala with Rasith Nimsara kept their cool to seal the victory with four balls to spare.
In their chase, Viran Chamuditha top scored with 62 runs and put on a first wicket stand of 55 runs with Dimantha Mahavithana (27).
While Kavija Gamage (34) and Dulnith Sigera (22) made vital contributions with the bat, Sethmika Senevirathne and Sigera took three wickets each.
It was Sri Lanka Youth team’s second consecutive win in the tournament after registering their first win against Nepal.
Sports
Dasun Shanaka’s all-round effort can not hold Vipers
Dasun Shanaka scored an unbeaten 29 and took two wickets but that could not hold Desert Vipers becoming the first team to seal a playoffs spot as they made it six wins out of six on Sunday (December 14) halfway through the league stage of the ILT20 2025-26.
Sam Curran produced an all-round effort as Vipers chased down Dubai Capitals’ 166/4 with five wickets in hand and a ball to spare.
Asked to bat, Capitals lost Shayan Jahangir to Naseem Shah in the third over and were kept on a tight leash by the Vipers pacers in the powerplay, reaching 35/1. Gulbadin Naib and Leus du Plooy then added 39 at close to a run-a-ball before Noor Ahmad removed his Afghanistan teammate. Capitals were 68/2 at the halfway mark and in need of momentum through the second half of the innings.
Du Plooy injected some urgency with two fours off Lockie Ferguson in an over, followed by a six off Naseem Shah to bring up a 38-ball fifty. But Curran turned the innings again with a double-wicket over, dismissing du Plooy and Rovman Powell off successive deliveries. Jordan Cox and Dasun Shanaka, however, ensured a strong finish, striking six fours and three sixes in an unbroken 72-run stand off 40 balls.
Max Holden set the tone in the chase, accounting for six of the seven fours Vipers struck in the powerplay. Fakhar Zaman fell to Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over but Vipers still reached 50 in six overs. Holden was dismissed for 34 by Haider Ali while attempting a slog sweep, and although Hasan Nawaz struck three sixes, he fell to Waqar Salamkheil to leave Vipers at 88/3 after 10 overs.
Dan Lawrence and Curran steadied the chase with a 32-run stand before Lawrence was dismissed by Shanaka for 20 in the 14th over. In the same over, Shimron Hetmyer struck a four and a six and was later reprieved by Shanaka. A couple of tight overs followed, but Vipers remained in control, needing 31 from the final four overs.
Curran took them closer with two fours off David Willey and a six off Muhammad Jawadullah. With three required in the final over, Hetmyer fell to Shanaka, but Curran finished the chase with a six off the fourth ball, completing a 33-ball fifty to cap a fine all-round performance.
Brief scores:
Dubai Capitals 166/4 in 20 overs (Leus du Plooy 54, Jordan Cox 49*; Sam Curran 2-17)
Desert Vipers
171/5 in 19.4 overs (Sam Curran 52*, Max Holden 34; Dasun Shanaka 2-19)
Sports
Akbar Brothers crowned MBSA A-Division champions
Akbar Brothers Ltd delivered a commanding all-round performance to clinch the ‘A’ Division title at the 33rd MSBA League Basketball Tournament, defeating defending champions Fairfirst Insurance 70–60 in a thrilling final held recently.
Despite a group stage loss to Fairfirst, a revitalized Akbar Brothers team returned for the final with renewed focus, executing a strategic and disciplined game plan with some excellent passing and defense. Akbar Brothers came in with all guns blazing right from the outset. The first quarter was all Akbar’s that stacked up a 13 to 4 lead. Fairfirst mounted a strong challenge in the second quarter, narrowing the margin, but Akbar’s momentum secured a 35–28 lead at halftime, a margin they maintained with composure through to the final whistle.
Dasun Mendis led the charge for Akbar Brothers with 18 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). Chenura De Alwis added 17 points to the tally, while Shehan Udayanga posted a valiant 22 points for Fairfirst. Dimitri Grebe anchored Akbar Brothers with strong leadership, with Hiran Wijesooriya captaining Fairfirst.
Earlier in the tournament Akbar Brothers beat Sampath Bank (82-71), Seylan Bank (91-68) David Pieris (110-78) and Seylan Bank in the semi final (83-60)
The final, held at the Royal College Indoor Sports Complex, saw a vibrant turnout of supporters as Akbar Brothers proved their championship mettle with teamwork, resilience, and clinical execution.
Akbar Brothers – Dimitri Grebe (Captain), Dasun Mendis, Chenura De Alwis, Randil Henry, Taher Akbarally, Selvam Savarimuttu, Franklyn Morais, Sanketha Jayarathne, Jeewan Priyankera , Praneeth Udumalagala, Ajith Kuruppu (Coach), Adrian Gabriel (Asst. Coach)
Fairfirst Insurance – Hiran Wijesooriya (Captain), Shehan Udayanga , Lakshan Kulathunga, Roshan Randima, Arnold Brent, Isuru Perera, Denzil Nicholas, Nimesh Fernando, Keshawa Perera, Charaka Anuhas, Asanga Perera (Coach)
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