Sports

Head’s blistering century buries feeble England

Published

5 years ago

2021/12/10

Hackneyed though the phrase is, this truly was a day to forget for Joe Root and Co. As they dragged themselves off the Gabba amid scenes of general delirium, the colour had literally and metaphorically drained off their faces by a Travis Head century that had pushed them so far behind in the game that they were but a tiny speck in the hosts’ rear-view. For the record, Australia stretched their lead to 196 with Head and two other wickets still available.

Head’s maiden Ashes century, his third in Test cricket, was achieved off 85 balls. It followed a more serene imposition of reality – a 156-run stand for the second wicket between David Warner (94) and Marnus Labuschagne (74) and a sudden collapse. His 112* off 95 was a counter-attack borne out of a period of brief England renaissance that saw the visitors claim 4 for 29 either side of the Tea interval to spark thoughts of a comeback that had seemed unlikely since the day began.

For until then the order was mightily maintained. When Australia’s openers had come out, so had the sun. The curdled cream of England’s batting line-up looked on enviously while taking their positions in the field. There was, though, still the patented Gabba bounce and seam movement to work with.

Robinson struck an early blow by dismissing Marcus Harris using angle across the left-hander to wreak havoc and forcing the opener to nick a ball from off-stump for a sharp catch at third slip from Dawid Malan. Hope, however, faded quickly enough when Warner was reprieved for the first of three times by Ben Stokes’ foot fault. The inswinger had breached the opener’s defence and hit the off-stump via the thigh pad. It was a portent of the things to come.

Warner, then on 17, began growing into his innings. His partner, Labuschagne too did the same after earning a mini-reprieve himself when a genuine edge off Chris Woakes fell just short of Joe Root at first slip, who’d stationed himself a bit too deep.

A wicket denied, Stokes produced a loose second spell, giving away 15 from two overs and forced Root’s hands into bringing on the lone spinner, Jack Leach into the attack. The pressure valve was suddenly released with both batters bloody-mindedly intent on not letting the left-arm spinner settle. After giving away just 1 run from his first over, Leach was taken for 30 from his next two with Warner hitting him over his head for a pair of sixes. Labuschagne added one of his own and got to his half-century before the Lunch break.

Warner got to his 50 early in the second session but not before earning a second reprieve when Rory Burns put down a straightforward catch at second slip. Robinson was the unlucky bowler. Warner offered another chance when on 60 when he overbalanced after flicking a ball and slipped, losing possession of his bat. But forward short leg fielder Haseeb Hameed couldn’t hit the stumps from close range.

At the other end, Labuschagne was at his fluent best on home soil before he was dismissed against the run of play to Leach, who after being launched over his head for another six bowled a rank half-tracker but was mysteriously cut straight to point. It paved the way for England’s comeback as Mark Wood returned for another of his short bursts to dismiss Steve Smith before Robinson took two in two straight after Tea. Warner was deceived by a slower one to fall six short of his century while Cameron Green shouldered arms to an inswinger and lost his off-stump.

Australia were ahead by only 48 then and here was a chance for a famous England fightback. But Head, reinstated at No.5 ahead of this Test, was in no mood to relinquish his side’s control. In the company of debutant Alex Carey, he led a thrilling counter-attack, the pair adding 41 runs as Root struggled to rotate his bowlers with Leach (11-0-95-1) copping punishment and Stokes carrying a niggle. The all-rounder volunteered to bowl with a shortened run-up but was dispatched for three fours in an over and the pressure England had built dissipated.

Head sparkled with a series of drives as a beaming sun taunted the visitors for their inability to survive long enough to benefit these conditions. Wood kept coming back for bursts without much success while Robinson himself could manage just one over in his next spell before returning to the dressing room to tend to his aching body. That meant Root had to bring himself on in a bid to get to the second new ball as quickly as he could. Quick on the uptake, Head kept the scoring rate, adding 70 with Pat Cummins off just 69 balls, with the captain scoring 12 off 27 in that stand. In all, Head hit 13 fours and two sixes and got his second fifty off just 34 balls before letting out a guttural roar as meek England faded away behind the noisemaker of the day.

Brief scores:

Australia

343/7 (Travis Head 112*, David Warner 94, Marnus Labuschagne 74; Ollie Robinson 3-48) lead England 147 by 196 runs.

(Cricbuzz)

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Smriti Mandhana appointed India captain across formats

Published

5 hours ago

2026/10/7

Priyan

Smriti Mandhana looks on in the field [Cricinfo]

Smriti Mandhana has been named India’s all-format women’s captain on the same day Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role after nearly a decade since she first took over.

Mandhana – vice-captain to Harmanpreet for much of this period – has previously led India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is, apart from captaining Maharashtra in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League.

Mandhana’s first assignment will be the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe beginning with the three T20Is in Raipur from October 16. On Tuesday, Mandhana was part of the selection meeting chaired by Amita Sharma to pick the squad for the tour.

Terming the appointment a “special honour”, Mandhana also acknowledged the contributions of her predecessor in her welcome note.

“I would also like to acknowledge Harmanpreet and the contribution she has made as captain over the years,” she was quoted as saying by the BCCI. “She has led the team with great commitment and has been an important part of our journey.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and look forward to working with the team, learning along the way and giving my best to take Indian cricket forward.”

Mandhana’s appointment comes on the back of a review meeting held on Monday in Guwahati. Chaired by secretary Devajit Saikia, the meeting was also attended by Mandhana, Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar to chart a roadmap forward, with an eye on next year’s inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February as well as the T20 World Cup and Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Mandhana, India’s best all-format batter, has been knocking on the doors for a while. Earlier this year, she led RCB to their second WPL title, in which she also top-scored in the final.

In September, she overtook Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international across formats. Her 18 international hundreds are also the most in women’s cricket. She is also the first Indian woman to score centuries in all formats.

[Cricinfo]

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Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise

Published

15 hours ago

2026/10/7

Priyan

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal's leading scorer (Aljazeera)

Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal ‌coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly ⁠explain his omission ⁠against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.

In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute ⁠that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.

Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark ⁠matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.

“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.

“The manager had broken his word to me.”

Portugal’s ‌captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.

According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.

Ronaldo said the agreed notes did ⁠not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s ⁠public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.

“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”

The statement provided Ronaldo’s account⁠, but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player, nevertheless leaving the door open ⁠for his return.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.

Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious.

“The consequences of my actions must be assessed ‌and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.

Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance.

“If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring ‌goals, ‌I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.

(Aljazeera)

Sports

Nalanda on the cusp of reaching knockout stage as unbeaten run continues

Published

16 hours ago

2026/10/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rusandu Silva has nine wickets against his name after three matches.

by Reemus Fernando

Nalanda College, Colombo continued their unbeaten run to come closer to securing a berth in the knockout stage as they beat Gurukula College by nine wickets in the Under 19 Division I Tier A Limited Overs Tournament match played at Campbell Place on Tuesday.

‎With Rusandu Silva continuing his impressive run in the tournament, Nalanda did well to restrict the team from Kelaniya to just 113 runs (in 35.4 overs).

‎After two outings Rusandu had six wickets against his name coming to this match.‎Rusandu and Methuka Perera claimed three wickets each. ‎Lithum Wijekumara also impressed with two wickets, while Santhul Wijeyarathne took one.

‎Adeepa Pinsara was the only batsman to make a contribution of note as he top-scored with 35 off 49 balls, including four fours and two sixes, while Javindu Madusanka made 20.

‎In their chase Nalanda made light work of the modest target, reaching 114 for one, scoring at a rate of over a run a ball.

‎Nadul Jayalath cracked an unbeaten 62 from just 52 balls. His innings contained four fours and five sixes. He received valuable support from Lithum Wijekumara, who scored 35 off 42 deliveries with six boundaries.

‎Ranmith Senarath completed the successful chase with an unbeaten 10 off seven balls, including two fours.

‎Nalanda lost only one wicket as the opening pair added 89 for the first wicket. Jayalath and Senarath then finished the contest comfortably, securing a convincing nine-wicket victory with many overs to spare.

‎It was Nalanda’s third successive victory in the Tier A tourney after having beaten Thurstan (155) by seven wickets and St. Servatius’ Matara (187) by four wickets in the first two matches.

‎As of now, they are the leading team in Group G where they have only St. Joseph’s Darley Road to meet before the knockout stage.

‎With just two teams advancing to the next stage from each Group Nalanda are almost assured of their place.