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Ben Stokes four-for, Ben Duckett hundred as England roar back

Published

2 days ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

Ben Duckett raced through to an 88-ball hundred [Cricinfo]

As well as things had gone for New Zealand on day one at Trent Bridge, they went badly on day two. England, led by a four-wicket haul from Ben Stokes, completed their turnaround with the ball to cap the visitors at 438 – having been 317 for 0 – and Ben Duckett then rattled off his first international hundred in more than a year to launch the reply.

Duckett was given a life on 8, dropped in the slips by Henry Nicholls, but went on to form a second-wicket partnership worth 179 at exactly a run a ball with Jacob Bethell, who was eyeing a hundred of his own by the close of another scorching day in Nottingham.

New Zealand’s problems were compounded by a concussion suffered by Blair Tickner, who was struck on the side of the helmet by Jofra Archer while batting and, despite initially being cleared to continue and delivering a three-over spell before tea, did not emerge for the evening session. He was eventually replaced by Zak Foulkes.

With Tickner, Mitchell Santner and Ben Sears – the three changes from New Zealand’s victorious XI at The Oval – all leaking runs at upwards of five an over, things began to unravel for the tourists. When Duckett brought up an 88-ball hundred midway through the evening session, the game had almost completely flipped in trajectory from 24 hours earlier, when Tom Latham and Devon Conway were amassing 150s during their triple-century opening stand.

Having taken two wickets with the last two balls on day one, England continued their fightback on the second morning. Stokes claimed three in the session during an eight-over spell, as New Zealand’s middle order struggled to build on the foundation laid for them, before two in an over from Shoaib Bashir helped wrap the innings up.

It meant New Zealand had suffered a collapse of 10 for 121 and their total of 438, while respectable, was nevertheless the third-lowest in Test history for any innings featuring a 300-run partnership – behind England’s 407 against India at Edgbaston last summer, and the 431 made by West Indies at Sabina Park in 1999 – and the lowest when those runs had been scored by the openers.

England’s momentum was briefly checked when Will O’Rourke had Emilio Gay caught down the leg side for a five-ball duck in the second over. They should have been 8 for 2 when Nathan Smith found Duckett’s outside edge, only for Nicholls to make a hash of the catch at third slip.

Duckett, who had twice drilled Smith for fours in his opening over, was in the mood to make New Zealand pay for such generosity. His next ball also disappeared through the covers, and he used the knowledge of his home ground to good effect, cutting, pulling and clipping his way to ten boundaries in a 40-ball fifty.

With Bethell recovering from a scratchy start against O’Rourke and the probing Smith, England went on to make New Zealand sweat in the field in much the same way they had through two-and-a-half sessions on day one.

Runs flowed in the passage after tea. Santner wasn’t allowed to settle, picked off for five boundaries in his first four overs by Duckett – although one of those, a thick outside edge, might have been held by Daryl Mitchell at slip had he not been stood so wide. From the other end, Sears was pulled and driven by Bethell, leaking 23 runs from three overs as England raced into three figures.

Latham was forced to go back to O’Rourke and, while Santner began to find some rhythm in his first Test appearance in ten months, Bethell worked him leg side for a single to bring up his first half-century in a home Test – and first such score in the first innings, having made all of his previous four in the second dig.

Duckett was by now in the 90s and quickly homed in on the milestone, his seventh hundred in Tests and first since the India series last year – ending a barren run of 22 innings in which he had only passed 50 three times. It was also his fourth 50-plus score in four innings at his home ground and although he was bowled shortly after, dragging on against Smith, Joe Root joined Bethell to steer England to the close two down.

New Zealand had added 77 to their overnight 361 for 4, Blundell’s 30 the only score of note as they fell well short of 500 – a total that looked all but inevitable when Latham and Conway were cashing in after opting to bat in baking conditions. Their frustration at being pegged back perhaps added to a sense of grievance around the dismissals of Mitchell and Santner, with both given out by the third umpire, Adrian Holdstock, after reviews.

The mercury was still rising on the second morning, with temperatures in the mid-30s C again forecast. New Zealand made a largely circumspect start in the knowledge that another long day in the field for England would only strengthen their hand in this deciding Test – only for Stokes to once again wrest the game his way during a tenacious spell with the ball.

O’Rourke, the nightwatcher, provided the main impetus for New Zealand inside the first hour as he advanced to his highest score in first-class cricket – beating the 17 not out he had made for Canterbury against Otago in March 2023. He managed boundaries off Archer, Josh Tongue and Stokes, comfortably eclipsing his previous Test best of 5 not out – and England then fluffed their first chance of a breakthrough as Jamie Smith dived across first slip in pursuit of a thick outside edge, but only managed to fingertip the ball out of Root’s grasp.

Stokes, already a shade of beetroot, threw his arms up in anger but bent himself to the task and extracted Mitchell an over later. Umpire Nitin Menon did not initially grant the appeal as Stokes nipped one past the bat, but UltraEdge detected a feather of an outside edge; Mitchell, however, seemed to think the sound was his bat hitting his front pad as he pushed forward.

O’Rourke was dismissed after the drinks break without having added to his score, and Stokes then chipped out his third of the session, and 250th in Tests, when Santner ducked into a bouncer and ballooned a catch to Bethell in the gully. Santner reviewed, gesturing that the ball had struck him on the arm guard. But Holdstock, in the TV umpire seat, took barely 30 seconds to examine one front-on replay before concluding that there was also contact with the strap of his glove, and upholding the on-field call.

After lunch, Bashir bounced back from dropping Blundell at deep backward square leg – a tough chance off Archer, but one he should have held having made up the ground. Archer’s chagrin appeared to extend to not joining the huddle to celebrate Bashir’s breakthrough a few balls later, when Smith drilled a return catch back – at least until Stokes made a point of calling the fast bowler up from fine leg.

Bashir made it two in four balls when Blundell missed a reverse-hoick at a delivery from round the wicket, which ball-tracking showed had pitched in line on review. With Nos. 10 and 11 at the crease, Archer had Tickner ducking and diving before delivering a full, straight one to pin Sears in front of leg stump first ball.

Scores:
England 223 for 2 in 45 overs (Ben Duckett 113, Jacob Bethell 74*) trail New Zealand 438 in 114.5 overs (Tom Latham 151, Devon Conway 157; Ben Stokes 4-70) by 215 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Jangoo 233, Chase 194 put West Indies in commanding position

Published

17 hours ago

2026/06/28

Priyan

Amir Jangoo turned his maiden Test ton into a mammoth 223 [Cricinfo]

Amir Jangoo amassed 233, RostonChase hit 194, and through a record-breaking 401-run partnership, the pair slow-roasted Sri Lanka on day three in Antigua. Their gargantuan stand delivered West Indies to a position of extraordinary strength, securing them a 318-run first innings lead. That in the four overs they got to bowl at Sri Lanka, West Indies dismissed the dangerous Pathum Nissanka, and created other chances, buoying them further heading into day four.

Jangoo and Chase now not only have the highest sixth wicket stand in the history of Test cricket, they also have the second highest partnership for West Indies, behind only Garfield Sobers and Conrad Hunte. Both batters improved on their previous first-class high scores, Chase easily beating his 137 not out, and Jangoo surpassing his domestic 218.

That Jangoo produced a knock of such astonishing concentration, and expansive range, in just his third Test innings was especially impressive. Until he got out attempting to accelerate about midway through the last session, his innings was largely chanceless. He batted 373 deliveries on his own, and he and Chase batted 100.2 overs, seeing out three complete sessions together. Though they had begun slowly, both batters sped up through the day and were finding boundaries off both the quicks and spinners through the second and third sessions of the day.

Sri Lanka’s attack found the pitch utterly docile for most of day three. They were missing their fastest quick Lahiru Kumara, who went off the field with a hamstring niggle early the previous day. Their quicks were earnest in the first hour, but once Jangoo and Chase saw out the second new ball (the ball was four overs old when day three began) with a period of disciplined batting, Sri Lanka’s quicks lost some venom, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva went increasingly to his spinners – Sonal Dinusha in particular.

The one exception for Sri Lanka was Milan Rathnayaka, who was intense in each of his day three spells, and created chances even in a dreary second session, having Chase dropped by a diving wide slip for 108. Later in the day, it would be Rathnayaka who would break the enormous stand, and would go on to complete a well-deserved five-wicket haul, finishing with 5 for 124. Dinusha, the left-arm spinning allrounder, conceded 234 runs himself in this innings, though he did also pick up two wickets, including that of Chase.

Patience had defined Jangoo and Chase’s batting in the first hour. Jangoo, for example, didn’t score off the first 15 deliveries he faced on day three, while Chase was only marginally less defensive. When conditions began to ease after the first hour, however, they began to slip into more fluent modes of operation. In the afternoon session, when the pair really propelled West Indies into the ascendancy, they plundered 136 runs at a rate of more than five an over. Jangoo was especially strong square of the wicket on the offside and down the ground. Chase was excellent through the covers. Jangoo, additionally, would sometimes tonk the spinners over the straight boundary.

Right through the day the pair would notch up milestones – both for themselves, and the partnership. The milestone that drew the most raucous celebration came soon after tea, when Jangoo completed his double with a sweep through square leg, leaping in the air as he took off for the run. Although only hundreds were in attendance, the house was on its feet for him, coach Daren Sammy and the West Indies dressing room giving him an especially warm ovation. Having come into the XI only as a replacement player for the injured Shai Hope, Jangoo has essentially made himself undroppable for the second Test.

After tea the pair took the scoring up even one further gear, Jangoo hitting some memorable sixes over square leg, while Chase continued to drive powerfully. Jangoo was out attempting to repeat a pulled six though the ball was not quite short enough for that shot. The resultant top-edge was gobbled up by the wicketkeeper. Chase was out much later, under-edging Dinusha into his stumps when a sweep went awry. He was six short of what would also have been his first double century.

Rathnayake would take two further wickets before West Indies declared the innings. Nissanka was out caught behind feeling for a Jayden Seales away-swinger first ball of the second over. Nightwatcher Kasun Rajitha could have been out too, had Jangoo at short leg held a sharp, low chance off the bowling of Kemar Roach.

Scores:
Scores: Day 3 Stumps
Sri Lanka 308 and 15 for 1 (Kasun Rajitha 4*, Nishan Madushka 2*; Jayden Seales 1-5) trail West Indies 626 for 9 dec (Amir Jangoo 233, Roston Chase 194; Milan Rathnayaka 5-124) by 303 runs

[Cricinfo]

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US launches second night of strikes against Iran after ship struck by drone

Published

22 hours ago

2026/06/28

Priyan

President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office on June 26 [Aljazeera]

For a second day in a row, the United States has launched strikes against Iran, once again citing an attack against a commercial vessel as a motivation.

Saturday’s renewed attacks are the latest indication that a regional Middle East ceasefire, established as part of a June 17 memorandum of understanding (MOU), might be at a breaking poInt.

In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which directs military action in the Middle East, explained that the latest attacks came “at the Commander in Chief’s direction”.

“CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping,” it wrote.

“U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”

[Aljazeera]

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India A stretch lead to 170 after Sai Sudharsan retires hurt

Published

1 day ago

2026/06/27

Priyan

Auqib Nabi bagged four wickets [SLC]

India suffered a potential injury scare ahead of the Test series in Sri Lanka, with their No.3 B Sai Sudarshan retiring hurt on 7 while playing for India A against Sri Lanka A during the third day of the first four-dayer in Galle. After scoring a century in the first innings, Sai Sudharsan retired hurt in the fourth over of India A’s second innings. By the end of the day’s play, however, India A had stretched their lead to 170.

Chhattisgarh opener Aayush Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal were unbeaten on 20 each at stumps.

India A had claimed a first-innings lead of 122 after dismissing Sri Lanka A for 330 in their first innings. Resuming from an overnight 113 for 2, they were guided by half-centuries from captain Sahan Arachchige (72) and Ashen Bandara (70). Nuwandi Fernando, who had passed his own fifty on day two, had his innings cut short on 84 on day three.

For India A, Auqib Nabi, who was the top wicket taker in the previous Ranji Trophy season and was a net bowler during India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, was the pick of the bowlers, returning 4 for 58 in 19.4 overs. Sri Lanka A lost their last five wickets for 30 runs, with Nabi taking four of those.

Left-arm fingerspin-bowling allrounder Harsh Dubey and Vidarbha fast bowler Yash Thakur picked up two wickets apiece. India A then closed out the day on 48 for 0.

Scores:
India A 48 for 0 in 17 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 20*, Ayush Pandey 20*) and 452 for 6 dec in 111.4 overs [Sai Sudarshan 132, Dhruv Jurel 141, Shaik Rasheed 63; Chamika Gunasekera 3-64, Dilum Sudeera 2-143] lead Sri Lanka A 330 in 101.4 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 84, Ashen Bandara 70, Sahan Arachchige 72; Aaqib Nabi 4-58, YashThakur 2-51, Harsh Dubey 2-84) by 170 runs

[Cricinfo]