Connect with us

Latest News

Australia rebuild advantage after Tammy Beaumont drives England with mighty 208

Published

on

Tammy Beaumont exults after reaching her double century
Tammy Beaumont sat back in her crease, nonchalantly threaded the ball between gully and second slip and with that reached the highest Test score by an England Women’s player. It was her 26th boundary of a near-boundless innings and took down BettySnowball’s  88-year-old record of 189, scored against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1935. But Beaumont wasn’t done yet.
When she turned Annabel Sutherland to fine leg and took a single to become the first Englishwoman to score a Test double-century, Beaumont kept on going, skipping towards the dressing-room and thrusting her fist towards her team-mates with a roar. That made her the eighth woman in history to score Test double-hundred.
Even then, Beaumont didn’t stop, whipping Tahlia McGrath through backward point for four. It was to be her 27th and final boundary before she finally became the last batter out, having taken her side within 10 runs of Australia’s mammoth first-innings 473. When she was eventually dismissed trying to sweep Ashleigh Gardner only for the ball to hit the top of off stump, Beaumont stayed down on one knee and gave a shrug of the shoulders. She may have been disappointed, but her work here was done.
In the meantime, McGrath – the pick of Australia’s seamers with 3 for 24 from 12 overs – had dismissed Sophie Ecclestone lbw, bowled Kate Cross for a second-ball duck with a gem that nipped back and crashed into off stump and had Lauren Filer caught behind trying to slash at one that moved away sharply on her.
By stumps, Australia had forged ahead on a batting-friendly pitch, extending their lead to 92 with openers Phoebe Litchfield and Beth Mooney unbeaten on 41 and 33 respectively.
With England’s seam stocks already hit by an knee problem for Nat Sciver-Brunt,  Kate Cross left the field to have a finger on her non-bowling hand taped after missing a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off Litchfield, on 10 at the time with Australia 31 not out. Cross returned to the field but didn’t bowl again as captain Heather Knight turned to spin, including her own, to close out the day.
Beaumont had displayed sublime footwork, strokeplay and concentration and faced 331 deliveries over more than eight hours for her 208, the fifth-highest score in women’s Tests. It was her second double-century in eight days, having retired on 201 during the three day warm-up against Australia A in Leicester. This one came almost two years ago to the day after Beaumont declared she had stopped believing in form.  You wonder if she believes again now.
That was in response to scoring her fourth consecutive ODI half-century, against India in Bristol. But this knock was a turnaround on a more difficult stretch in Beaumont’s international career. She hasn’t played a T20I since the last Ashes series in Australia 18 months ago, after being dropped from the squad ahead of England’s home Commonwealth Games and the World Cup in February. She responded to news of her axing with a blistering one-day century against South Africa at Leicester last July, but failed to pass 33 in her six innings since, during India’s visit last summer and the winter tour of the Caribbean.
She resumed unbeaten on 100 on Saturday’s third morning at Trent Bridge, having sprinted for a second run to bring up her maiden Test hundred late the previous evening. England were still 255 runs in arrears but, after a watchful start, she and Sciver-Brunt set about eating into the deficit with a boundary-rich first session.
That was after Darcie Brown thought she had Sciver-Brunt out lbw for 41 with the first ball of the day before England successfully reviewed, replays showing the ball was missing leg stump.
Australia conceded just one run off the first three overs of the day but then Beaumont picked off three fours in one Brown over, beautifully timed past mid-off, eased through the slips cordon and then pulled through wide mid-on.
Sciver-Brunt raised her fifty by exquisitely timing a Brown delivery to the boundary through deep backward point and she helped herself to three in a row off Sutherland, either side of the pitch.
Surprisingly, given that Gardner and Alana King had caused England some difficulty late on the second evening after Australia’s seamers had struggled throughout Friday, stand-in captain Alyssa Healy left it until well into the second hour to re-introduce her slow bowlers. Off-spinner Gardner struck with her ninth ball of the morning, a faster, flatter delivery outside off stump which found Sciver-Brunt’s outside edge as she stepped back to cut, misjudging the length and feathering to Healy behind the stumps.
England were 288 for 3 but leg-spinner King was extracting some impressive turn as lunch neared. Sophia Dunkley took 18 balls to get off the mark and was not out on 7 as England went to the interval having added 90 runs for the loss of just one wicket. Australia delayed taking the second new ball and were rewarded when Gardner struck again, Dunkley playing across the line to a ball which clattered into off stump to be out for 9 off 51.
Beaumont had survived the previous evening when she struck a King delivery onto her boot and Litchfield wasn’t awarded the catch at short leg. Today, Beaumont was adjudged lbw on 152 when she was rapped on the pad attempting to sweep King, but she reviewed and was vindicated when replays showed the ball had pitched fractionally outside leg stump.
Danni Wyatt made her Test debut after 245 white-ball internationals and played a typically fast-paced innings. She scored her first runs steering the second ball she faced, from King, through deep cover to the fence and struck seven boundaries on her way to 44 at a strike rate of 89.79. But Brown took the second new ball after 99 overs and sent down a couple of eye-catching bouncers. She had Wyatt all at sea with a length ball angling in that the batter lost sight of and, next delivery, Wyatt sent a catch straight to Jess Jonassen at second slip.
The fifth ball of Brown’s over jumped off a length at Amy Jones, but Jones responded by dispatching the next delivery through deep midwicket with a perfectly timed pull. Jones managed two more boundaries before Ellyse Perry had her out to a leading edge, swallowed by Sutherland at mid-on but Beaumont just kept marching on.
Brief scores:
Australia 473 and 82 for 0 (Phoebe Litchfield 41*, Beth Mooney 33*) lead England 463  (Tammy Beaumont 208, Heather Knight 57, Nat Sciver-Brunt 78,  Danni Wyatt 44; Ashleigh Gardner 4-99, Tahlia McGrath 3-24 ) by 92 runs
(Cricinfo)


Latest News

Tamim Iqbal elected new BCB president

Published

on

By

Tamim Iqbal attended a press conference after being appointed BCB president [Cricinfo]

Tamim Iqbal has been elected as the new BCB president following the elections held in Dhaka on Sunday. Tamim was the only candidate, and he will serve a four-year term in total, having already completed two months as the ad-hoc committee’s head.

The Bangladesh government called for BCB elections under the interim body in April, following the dissolution of the previous elected body under Aminul Islam.

The day-long election, including physical votes and e-ballots, were held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, which is also the board headquarters. A total of 23 directors were elected in three categories and two government representatives were announced later to form the 25-member body.

Tamim is one of the most prominent cricketers to have played for Bangladesh, having appeared in 391 internationals across three formats. He led Bangladesh to 21 wins in 38 matches across formats, including the 2-1 ODI series against South Africa in 2022. After his international retirement in early 2025, Tamim continued to play domestic tournaments but a heart attack during a Dhaka Premier League match that year put an abrupt end to his playing career.

The election commission said 88 votes were cast to elect 23 directors in two out of the three categories. The first category includes all the divisions and districts of the country, the second is the Dhaka clubs that participate in the league system, while the third consists of former cricketers, captains, education boards and others. Tamim was one of twelve directors elected from the second category.

The new 25-member body held an election among themselves to choose the president and two vice-presidents. After Tamim was elected as board president, Fahim Sinha was elected as one of the two vice-presidents. The other vice-president hasn’t been selected.

The previous board elections were held on October 6 last year. Aminul was re-elected BCB president under controversial circumstqnces when Tamim, leading one of the panels, withdrew from the polls alleging Aminul of “bias and malpractice”.

Category 1 directors: Sayeed Bin Zaman, Abdullah Al Fuad, Minhajul Abedin, Moyeen Uddin Chowdhury, Shantanu Islam, Shafiqul Alam, Mizanur Rahman, Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury, Shakrul Alam, Faisal Amin

Category 2 directors: Tamim Iqbal, Fahim Sinha, Asif Rabbani, Israfil Khasru, Dr Sarkar Mahbub Ahmed, Masuduzzaman, Rafiqul Islam, Sakeef Ahmed, Shanian Taneem, Syed Ibrahim Ahmed, Yasir Abbas, Yasir Faisal

Category 3 director: Sirajuddin Alamgir.

Government representative directors: Ruhul Amin, Sarfaraz Ahmed

[Cricinfo]

Continue Reading

Latest News

West Indies look to level series in rainy Kingston

Published

on

By

Wanindu Hasaranga takes off after striking [Cricinfo]

With no play possible in the second ODI, both teams go into the third game well-rested. Perhaps this is a chance for the IPL returnees in particular to have caught their breath. The rain, though, may not have cleared in Kingston completely. According to the forecast, showers are likely in the afternoon and also possible in the evening, though there may be dry spells in between. There is a chance this will be a stop-start match in which DLS calculations come into play.

With a series win now beyond them, West Indies will be especially motivated to avoid being blanked at home. There is also the matter of their current 10th-placed ranking, which is not enough for them to gain automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup (cut-off is end of March next year). They need every ranking point they can get over the next two months. Sri Lanka are slightly more comfortable, at sixth position, and about 12 points clear of the current cut-off. But they’ll want to build more of a cushion themselves.

In the first ODI, Sri Lanka’s dominance in the middle overs is what had won them the match. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga were economical on a helpful surface, where West Indies’ frontline spinner Gudakesh Motie had been hit out of the attack. And Sri Lanka’s top six also showed serious hustle, picking up the tempo and keeping the runs flowing after Sri Lanka had had a poor powerplay with the bat.

These remain two relatively evenly-matched teams, however. With a little more discipline from their bowlers, West Indies are capable of leveling the series.

Although his Test average remains outstanding, Kamindu Mendis is yet to find a home in limited-overs cricket. Partly this is because his batting is so versatile, coaches and selectors have tended to yank him up and down the order as the team’s needs evolve. So far in ODIs, he has done his best work at No. 7 and 8, but he has now been asked to open the innings alongside Pathum Nissanka. His first innings at the top of the order brought only 12, but Sri Lanka are unlikely to ditch the strategy after one game. Can batting in the powerplay be the change he needs to kick his white ball career into high gear?

Over a fledgling international career, Keacy Carty has demonstrated promise at No. 3, where he averages 45.18. What he doesn’t have, so far, however, is the kind of body of work a long-term No. 3 should ideally built. So far, he has two tons apiece against England and Ireland, but is yet to put up serious numbers against other oppositions. Runs against an attack of Sri Lanka’s quality would add to his confidence.

Rain will potentially dictate conditions on Monday. If there’s rain around, teams tend to prefer to chase. Not only do they prefer to be batting while DLS calculations are in play, but a wetter ball is also more difficult for bowlers to grip, particularly spinners.

West Indies may think about bringing Shimron Hetmyer into the XI to shake up the batting a little.

West Indies (possible): John Campbell, Justin Greaves,  Keacy Carty,  Shai Hope (capt.)(wk),  Shimron Hetmyer/Sherfane Rutherford,  Roston Chase, Matthew Forde,  Gudakesh Motie,  Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph,  Jayden Seales

Sri Lanka may keep their winning XI, but with so many quicks to choose from, may be tempted to give Eshan Malinga a run, especially if it’s a shortened match.

Sri Lanka (possible): Pathum Nissanka,  Kamindu Mendis,  Kusal Mendis (capt.)(wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage,  Wanindu Hasaranga,  Milan Rathnayake,  Dushmantha Chameera,  Asitha Fernando/Eshan Malinga

[Cricinfo]

Continue Reading

Latest News

Huge crowds throng Madrid streets for Pope’s open-air mass

Published

on

By

Pope Leo held the service on the second day of his official visit to Spain (BBC)

More than a million people lined the streets of Madrid on Sunday as Pope Leo XIV held an open-air mass in the Spanish capital, the Vatican said.

Crowds descended on the city as the pontiff arrived for the service on the second day of his official visit to the country at the Plaza de Cibeles, with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia among the congregants.

The pair welcomed the pontiff to the royal palace on Saturday, as he began his trip by praising the Spanish government’s opposition to global conflicts and its support for migrants.

The Pope waved as he made his way through the city early on Sunday, where authorities mounted a major security operation for the mass and subsequent procession through central Madrid.

People waved flags and shouted “long live the Pope”, with some throwing petals as he arrived at the square.

Large crowds had similarly gathered in the city as he began his trip on Saturday. He was later joined by some 500,000 congregants – most of whom were young people – for a prayer vigil near Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium which stretched into the night.

“In the face of the emptiness of indifference and compliance, before the violence of war and lies, you must be the sparks of a new humanity,” he told those gathered.

EPA/Shutterstock Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful from his popemobile as arrives to Cibeles Square to celebrate mass
The Vatican said 1.2m people lined Madrid’s streets (BBC) 
Reuters Faithful wait ahead of a Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at Plaza de Cibeles
Large crowds could be seen hours before the Pope’s arrival (BBC)

His remarks echoed those he delivered during his royal reception, in which he praised Spain’s commitment to peace and its “faithful adherence to international law”.

The country’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has clashed with US President Donald Trump over the US and Israel’s war against Iran, and with Israel over the war in Gaza. The Chicago-born pope has also drawn criticism from the president over his anti-war views.

His trip to Spain – the first by a pope in some 15 years – will also feature an unprecedented address before the Spanish parliament and a meeting with victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo is also due to visit the Canary Islands with Prime Minister Sánchez later in the week, where they will honour thousands of migrants who have died trying to reach Europe.

(BBC)

Continue Reading

Trending