England did not quite turn their back on Joe Root as a limited-overs batter, but certainly the schedule threatened to axe him from white-ball cricket.
A couple of crises and a change of management later, here Root was in Cardiff, unfurling perhaps the best of his 18th ODI hundreds, a career-best 166 not out. His first 42 runs put him top of the pile of English run scorers in the format, usurping Eoin Morgan’s tally of 6,957, before the rest iced a chase of 309 to secure a series win over West Indies with a game to spare.
This was Root’s second hundred in his eighth innings since returning to the 50-over format this year, ahead of an admittedly disastrous ICC Champions Trophy as far as the team was concerned. Not only is he averaging 30 runs more than his overall average of 49.18, but his strike rate is also 10 points higher. An immaculate straight drive, his 23rd boundary of a fever-dream knock, confirmed victory with three wickets and seven balls to spare.
This second ODI did not, all told, seem befitting for Root’s historic brilliance. Mainly because, for the first half, it seemed to belong to West Indies – specifically Keacy Carty’s 103, the centrepiece of West Indies’ 308 all out. Skipper Shai Hope’s 78 at the end and Brandon King’s 59 up top were vital bookends.
Though they left 14 deliveries unused having been inserted by England, it didn’t seem to matter as West Indies’ attack took just nine deliveries to remove openers Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett for ducks – 2 for 2 – then had England 93 for 4 when Jos Buttler was also bagelled. From that point on, it was Root at his absolute best, accompanied for the most part by Will Jacks. You might have described his 49 off 58 in a stand of 143 from 122 as “playing the Joe Root role”, had the man himself not been at the other end strumming 87 off 64. Root’s last 70 runs with Jacks came off just 45 balls, by the way.
The catastrophic start to the chase added a layer of jeopardy to Root’s innings that he never felt. But it did mean more because of a West Indies outfit hell-bent on disavowing themselves from Thursday’s 238-run loss in the first ODI at Edgbaston. Smith nicked Jayden Seales behind for a duck after four legal deliveries, before Ben Duckett scythed a thick edge off Matthew Forde to deep third, his three-ball nought capping off a horrendous day that included two dropped catches and a missed run-out.
Both Duckett’s chances would have nipped a second-wicket stand between Carty and Brandon King in the bud. It reached 141 but should not have made it to double figures, let alone out of the first powerplay, Duckett’s misses at second slip off Brydon Carse – the first diving to his right, the second tipped over the bar – came when King had 10, then 11. Duckett’s hat-trick of fielding botches was completed when, spoilt for choice, both King (55 not out) and Carty (57 not out) were stuck in the middle of the pitch. King ended up running to the far end, beating Duckett’s loopy under-arm to wicketkeeper Buttler.
The biggest error in the first innings, however, was Saqib Mahmood’s tame drop of Carty on 41, when Bethell was worked around the corner. He also might have been run out on 57 had the throw from midwicket been crisper after he had been sent back. Both of those gifts were reciprocated to Root, who could have been found short of his ground twice.
The best chance was at the end of the second over when Root was dead in the water after Harry Brook called him through for a dodgy single, only for Roston Chase to miss from backward point. A tougher opportunity arose in the 11th over when, on 30, he had again given up. This time, King missed, albeit having mad a brilliant stop at midwicket followed by a throw at the non-striker’s end from the ground. But maybe the biggest grievance as far as West Indies were concerned was an LBW appeal at the end of the sixth over. Forde hit Root on the back leg and giving it the celebrappeal, only for the review to find the ball clipping the bails.
Brook was also dropped on 30 – which he had made from just 16 deliveries – when Hope palmed a diving catch to his right after Seales had found the edge. England’s captain had just launched an assault on Forde, smashing three boundaries in a row – the first a towering boundary to the leg side – but fell short of fifty when flipping Alzarri Joseph’s bouncer to backward square leg. And though Joseph would then snare the former white-ball captain six deliveries later – Buttler playing on, undone by bounce – Root was well on his way.
That Joseph was even on owed to four elegant boundaries from Root – including a couple of crisp cover drives – to take 17 off what would prove to be the last over of Forde’s opening spell. From then on, Root managed the situation, calmly at first with Bethell and thereafter in a remarkable partnership with Jacks. Most spectacular of all was the acceleration from Root, despite Jacks’ game being far more suited to the pyrotechnics he produced.
The key passage came with 135 needed from 18.2 overs, with Root on 77 fron 82. After taking 16 deliveries to move to his hundred – a milestone he reached with a six over midwicket and a four swept around the corner off Gudakesh Motie – he then smashed 43 from his next 24 deliveries up to Jacks’ dismissal. He ramped, scooped and then charged Chase’s offies for boundaries in four balls, before Jacks was trapped in front to give Joseph an impressive 4 for 31 from his allocation.
A gorgeous carve over extra cover off Forde then took Root past 150 for the first time in ODIs, from 129 deliveries, and thereafter it was only a matter of how, not when. A picture-perfect on-drive for four sealed the deal with seven balls to spare.
Both teams had made a single change each from the first ODI; England swapping Matthew Potts for Jamie Overton (broken little finger), while West Indies erred for experience with Shimron Hetmyer moving into the XI at the expense of Amir Jangoo.
Precocious Antigua batter Jewel Andrew was moved to open with Evin Lewis still missing with the groin injury that kept him out of the first ODI. It was the first time the 18-year-old had performed the role in his professional career, across all formats – and it did not last long. A hard length from Carse lifted into harder hands from Jewell, who was surprised by the bounce and fended it away on instinct, gifting a straightforward catch to Jacks at point for a five-ball duck.
Carty’s binding of the innings began at this point, and the value of his stickability felt particularly crucial with the 58 shared with Hope. Their stand began when King found Carse at long-on off Rashid – the first of the legspinner’s 4 for 63. Nine overs later, a late dab through third brought Carty’s 13th four off his 102nd delivery to take him to three figures. And while he was unable to launch from there, stumped off Jacks three balls after the milestone, Hope was now set.
Nevertheless, West Indies lost their final eight wickets for 103. Mahmood removed Forde and Chase in consecutive balls before Motie took to Jacks. But Rashid’s two wickets in his final over shifted the onus even more so on Hope, who toed a simple catch to Brook to give Mahmood figures of 3 for 37.
England’s target of 309 could have been 50 more with better choices throughout, and maybe 111 fewer had England taken their chances against Carty and King. Then again, Root would not have had the scope to unfurl his brilliance. Sometimes, the game works itself out.
Brief scores: England 312 for 7 in 48.5 overs (Joe Root 166*, Will Jacks 49, Harry Brook 47, Alzarri Joseph 4-31) beat West Indies 308 in 47.4 overs (Keacy Carty 103, Shai Hope 78, Brandon King 59, Justin Greaves 22; Saqib Mahmood 3-37, Adil Rashid 4-63) by three wickets
BCB appointed former national captain Habibul Bashar as mentor while Mizanur Rahman Babul and Nafis Iqbal will act as team manager of the Chattogram Royals [BCB]
The Bangladesh Cricket Board took over the ownership rights of Chattogram Royals for the remainder of the Bangladesh Premier League season. BCB vice-chairman Shakhawat Hossain, a member of BPL Governing Council, confirmed the development to Cricbuzz on Thursday.
Royals owner Kayum Rashed submitted a written request to the BCB, citing difficulties in continuing to run the team under the current circumstances and asked the board to take over the operations.
“We have taken over the ownership right of the team, and now the board will run the team,” Shakhawat told Cricbuzz. “We will sit with the players and discuss the next steps.”
According to the letter submitted to the board, and seen by Cricbuzz, Royals failed to attract sponsors.
“Since the acquisition of the franchise, there have been persistent and widespread speculations in various media outlets regarding the team’s uncertainty in participating in the tournament, as well as repeated questions surrounding the franchise’s financial and operational credibility. These rumours included, but were not limited to, allegations that franchise fees, bank guarantees, and players’ payments had not been made-despite the fact that such payments were not contractually required at those early stages,” it was stated in the letter.
“Unfortunately, no formal clarification or reassurance was issued to the media to counter these claims. As a direct consequence, the rumors gained traction across multiple platforms, severely impacting the reputation of Chattogram Royals. Several potential and confirmed sponsors, questioning the franchise’s credibility and the certainty of its participation in the tournament, withdrew from their partnerships.
“The withdrawal of sponsorship support has resulted in significant financial challenges, directly hampering the team’s preparation and jeopardizing its future prospects within the tournament. This situation arose not from any failure on our part to comply with contractual obligations, but rather from unchecked misinformation and the absence of authoritative clarification.
“In light of the above circumstances, and considering the substantial reputational and financial damage already sustained, I respectfully request the Bangladesh Cricket Board to take over from this point forward and assume the necessary responsibilities throughout the remainder of the tournament. This includes providing clear, timely communication to stakeholders and ensuring the integrity, stability, and smooth operation of the franchise within the BPL framework.
“I trust the Board will appreciate the seriousness of this matter and act in the best interests of the league, the franchise, and all associated stakeholders. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your guidance and support.”
Another BCB official said that their connection with dubious characters from the start of forming the team hit them hard in the long run considering the activities of those characters in their team jeopardized their reputation in the sponsorship market.
It is learnt, BCB appointed former national captain Habibul Bashar as mentor while Mizanur Rahman Babul and Nafis Iqbal will act as team manager of the Chattogram Royals.
Bashar was initially appointed as mentor of the team but left the position citing family issues though many feel he was uncomfortable seeing dubious characters in and around the franchise set-up, and as a result took up the decision. The move to change the set-up was aimed at stabilizing the franchise and ensuring the smooth running of the team for the rest of the tournament.
Many cricketers of the Royals decided to leave the team hotel on Wednesday (December 25) as they failed to receive money from the franchise till last night. The BPL is all set to commence at Sylhet on December 26 and it started with the expected move made by Royals owner. He insisted that he will pull out from the competition if things don’t turn his way.
Let us uphold the true meaning of Christmas following the guidance of Jesus Christ, and work together towards the shared goal of building a new nation filled with peace and harmony – PM
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya in her Christmas message, called upon everyone to uphold the true meaning of Christmas following the guidance of Jesus Christ, and work together towards the shared goal of building a new nation filled with peace and harmony
The full text of the PM’s Christmas day message:
“As the month of December dawns, Christian devotees prepare to celebrate Christmas. The message of peace that echoed from Bethlehem with the birth of the infant Jesus continues to be honoured and revered by Christians across the world.
However, this year, the month of December has arrived not with the usual joy and festivity. It comes amid the sorrow, pain, and quiet anguish of thousands of our people affected by a natural disaster that has shaken the entire nation.
Yet, in keeping with the true meaning of Christmas and guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ, the people of our country have set aside their differences and come together in unity and solidarity to support those affected by the disaster. Through their actions, they have demonstrated to the world the values of love, compassion, and the noble teaching of Christ to love one another.
At this moment, we stand at a critical juncture where all communities must unite with a shared purpose and collective responsibility to rebuild the country and work together for the future of our nation.
We will continue to work tirelessly towards the common goal of building the “new country” envisioned by the many who have placed their trust in our government, and to ensure that their hopes and aspirations are fulfilled.
On this Christmas Day, let us renew our commitment to act together as citizens, guided by unity, love, compassion, and responsibility, in pursuit of our shared dream of a better tomorrow.
I extend my heartfelt wishes for a Merry Christmas to all Christian devotees in Sri Lanka and around the world.”
Shafali Verma took 27 balls to bring up her fifty [BCCI]
A quick glance at the head to head record is enough to show the gulf between India and Sri Lanka in women’s T20Is. Despite that, the manner in which India have swept Sri Lanka aside two games in a row would have surprised watchers and the hosts alike. The story in the second T20I followed a similar script to the first. Once again, India’s spinners squeezed Sri Lanka’s middle order before one of their top-order batters made easy work of the chase.
Left-arm spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and N Shree Charani picked up two wickets apiece after Sneh Rana, in the XI in place of the indisposed Deepti Sharma, sucked out the momentum from Sri Lanka’s batting. If it was Jemimah Rodrigues’ half-century in the first game, Shafali Verma was at her brutal best in the second, finishing on an unbeaten 69 in just 34 balls, to help India get to the 129-run target at a run-rate close to 11 an over with 49 balls to spare.
India went 2-0 up at the end of the Visakhapatnam leg, with the next three games to be played in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sri Lanka were jolted in the opening over after being asked to bat. Vishmi Gunaratne’s uppish drive was caught by Kranti Gaud in her follow-through. Chamari Athapaththu then started the charge. After the defeat in the first game, she asked her batters to step up and find ways of scoring. She was intent on leading from the front. She used her feet against Gaud to slash her in front of point. Two balls later, Gaud almost got back at the Sri Lanka captain.
Charani, who dropped two simple catches on Sunday, misjudged Athapaththu’s slash and conceded a six. She charged in from the boundary line and then ran back, missed the ball completely despite a leap. Athapaththu blazed away with the field restrictions on, scoring 31 off 24 balls out of Sri Lanka’s 38 in 5.3 overs at that stage.
After her dismissal, Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama continued to bat with high intent. They primarily scored square of the wicket and added 28 in the three-and-a-half overs. And then came the squeeze from India.
On a day she was newly crowned the No. 1 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings, Deepti missed a T20I for the first time since 2019 – after 92 straight games – because of a mild fever. Harmanpreet Kaur has often turned to her when in search of control, but on Tuesday, Rana fit into the role with ease.
Playing her first T20I in India since 2016 – she played 15 away from home in between – Rana’s first task was to stop a belligerent Athapaththu, and she delivered. She kept the Sri Lanka captain guessing with flight and dip before dismissing her. With Athapaththu itching to cut loose, Rana generously flighted one. It landed slightly shorter than Athapaththu expected because of the dip, and she ended up miscuing it to long-off.
Rana then returned with Perera and Samarawickrama scoring at a good tempo, bowled a maiden and that turned the tide. It allowed left-arm spinner Charani to slip in a few quiet overs, which resulted in Perera’s dismissal. Vaishnavi also returned to pick up her first international wicket, with Charani, who denied her in the first T20I by dropping a dolly at short fine leg, taking a simple catch at the same spot after Nilakshika Silva top-edged a sweep.
Sri Lanka hit 11 boundaries in the first nine overs, but could hit only two fours in the rest of their innings. They lost six for 24 to be restricted to a below-par total for the second game in a row, which was never going to challenge the hosts. Three run-outs for a second game in a row did not help matters either.
If Sunday was an opportunity missed by Shafali, she more than made up for it on Tuesday. She was happy to bide her time at the start, with Smriti Mandhana being the aggressor. Once Mandhana fell, caught at point in a bid to hit Kavisha Dilhari’s offspin inside out over the off side, Shafali took centrestage. Inoka Ranaweera’s left-arm spin with the field restrictions in place was just the tonic she needed.
Shafali hit Ranaweera for successive fours in the penultimate over of the powerplay – both by dancing down the track and lofting her over cover. She then took apart Athapaththu’s offspin, hitting here for 4, 6, 4 in the sixth over of the chase: first sweeping a short ball through backward square leg, then thumping a full ball straight into the sight-screen and then lifting one over extra cover.
With the in-form Rodrigues for company, there was no respite for Sri Lanka’s bowlers. Rodrigues also tore into Ranaweera, hitting her for two fours and a six as the left-arm spinner was taken for 31 in her two overs.
In an attempt to maintain the high tempo, Rodrigues holed out to long-on. Shafali soon completed her fifty from just 27 balls. She picked Shashini Gimhani’s left-arm wristspin from the hand and thumped her for back-to-back boundaries in a 12-run over that put India on the brink.
Sri Lanka earned a consolation when Malki Madara’s dipping yorker deceived Harmanpreet. But they knew, as Athapaththu conceded after the game, that the batters failed to make the helpful conditions count in successive games.
Brief scores: India Women 129 for 3 in 11.5 overs (Smriti Mandhana 14, Shafali Verma 69*, Jemimah Rodrigues 26, Harmanpreet Kaur 10; Malki Madara 1-22, Kavya Kavindi 1-3, Kavisha Dilhari 1-15) beat Sri Lanka Women 128 for 9 in 20 overs ( Chamari Athapaththu 31, Hasini Perera 22,Harshitha Samarawickrama 33, Kavisha Dilhari 14, Kaushini Nuthyangana 11; Kranti Goud 1-31, Sneh Rana 1-11, Shree Charani 2-23, Vaishnavi Sharma 2-32) by seven wickets
