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Mitchell Marsh, Mark Wood stand out on roller-coaster day

Published

2 years ago

2023/07/7

Priyan

Mitch Marsh celebrates reaching his century at Headingley

Mark Wood and Mitchell Marsh were the standout performers on a rollercoaster day one at Headingley, as England and Australia jousted for the ascendancy on a juicy Headingley pitch.

Wood, back in the side after concerns about his fitness, bowled with sustained pace and hostility to claim his first five-wicket haul in a home Test, and helped England clean up the Australia innings with alacrity after an unheralded scene-stealing performance from Marsh had threatened to take the game away.

Marsh was a surprise selection in the Australia XI, after Cameron Green picked up a minor hamstring strain, and playing his first Test since the final match of the 2019 Ashes. He had only made four first-class appearances in the intervening period, but produced a bullocking, 102-ball hundred – his third in Tests and third against England – to help steer Australia away from the rocks at 85 for 4 just before lunch.

Marsh dominated his stand of 155 with Travis Head, outscoring his partner by almost four to one, but England hit back to take the last six Australia wickets for 23 runs in the space of 8.4 overs. The game continued to rattle along thereafter, too, as England lost their top three before the close.

England came into this match 2-0 behind in the series and nursing their grievances after narrow defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Only a win in Leeds will suffice if they are to keep their attempts to win the Ashes alive – and only Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australians have successfully come back from such a position against their oldest rivals.

Ben Stokes won his third toss of the series and duly put Australia in, with the expectation of helpful conditions at Headingley – scene of Stokes’ heroics four years ago and a ground known for its partisan stance. It took just five balls for the Western Terrace to let out its first roar of the day, as Stuart Broad found David Warner’s outside edge to extend his record against the Australia opener to 16 dismissals in Tests.

There were immediate signs of pace and carry for the seamers, in contrast to the surfaces for the opening two Tests, and England’s reshaped attack were soon making further inroads. Wood had not played a Test since December or bowled in competitive match since mid-April at the IPL but hit his straps from the outset, pushing the speed gun up to 96.5mph/155kph and leaving Marnus Labuschagne groping for the ball during three consecutive maidens.

When Labuschagne managed to get off strike, that left Usman Khawaja in the firing line. Five balls that were short or short of a good length were followed by a fuller, 95mph/152kph delivery that beat Khawaja’s flat-footed drive and left leg stump flat on the ground. His opening spell of 4-3-2-1 was proof plenty that Wood was ready to blast off.

Labuschagne had grafted for more than an hour but eventually fell for a ponderous 21 when Chris Woakes – in his first Test appearance since March 2022 – had him edging to slip, and England went in to lunch in buoyant mood when Steven Smith, in his 100th Test, fell to a catch at the wicket off Broad despite reviewing Kumar Dharmasena’s on-field decision.

It could have been better for the hosts, and dropped catches were a major blight on England’s day. Jonny Bairstow missed a tough chance off Smith on 4 and then put down a far simpler chance down the leg side when Head had made 9. The worst aberration was to come at the start of the afternoon session, however, when Woakes found Marsh’s outside edge only for Joe Root to grass a straightforward take at first slip.

Marsh was on 12, having smashed Woakes for six earlier in the over, and he fully capitalised on his good fortune in one of the more extraordinary Ashes hundreds of recent memory. Strong on the drive through the covers and down the ground, he showcased his power with a bludgeoned six off Wood that flew into the Western Terrace, racking up his first Test fifty since March 2018 – from just 59 balls – to push England back.

Their mood got worse when Ollie Robinson walked off the field mid-over after suffering from a back spasm, and Marsh continued to do much as he pleased. Broad was thumped down the ground, barely able to get his fingertips to a fast chance, and Moeen Ali’s offspin came in for similarly disdainful treatment, as a straight six took Marsh to 99 before a tap into the off side – a tight single had Stokes collected cleanly – brought up the second-fastest hundred by an Australian in England.

But as the day threatened to run away from them, England grabbed on to Marsh’s coattails at the vital moment, Woakes finding an inside edge that ballooned to slip on the brink of tea. And although Root put down another chance to reprieve Alex Carey after the interval, he held Head’s outside edge from the very next ball and Wood then tore through the tail in the space of 14 deliveries: Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins pinned by pace, Carey hit on the head and then holing out, Todd Murphy dragging into his stumps.

There was still more than an hour and a half left in the evening session, and Australia made use of the conditions themselves as Cummins struck twice in his opening spell. Ben Duckett was well held by the leaping Carey – who clinched an outstanding catch by pressing the ball to his lips in the tips of his gloves – and Harry Brook’s first outing at No. 3 was short-lived as he edged to second slip.

Marsh then capped his day in the Yorkshire sun by removing Zak Crawley in his second over, via another fiddle to the cordon, before the local pairing of Root and Bairstow throttled down to see out a high-octane day, with the promise of more to come.

Brief scores:

England 68 for 3 (Root 19*, Bairstow 1*) trail Australia 263 (Marsh 118, Wood 5-34) by 195 runs

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IPL 2025: Kohli and Hazlewood break Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home duck as Rajahstan Royals botch another chase

Published

5 hours ago

2025/04/25

Priyan

Virat Kohli scored his first home fifty of IPL 2025 [Cricinfo]

At some point, you’d think the toss gods would show Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) a little mercy at home. But once again, the coin turned its back on Rajat Patidar. This time, though, the bad luck ended right there as they posted 205 for 5, their highest total at home this season. For all that, another heartbreak loomed, but RCB turned it around sensationally to clinch their first home win – and perhaps their most dramatic win at any venue – of IPL 2025.

The losing side were Rajasthan Royals (RR), who came into this contest having let back-to-back games slip out of their control in the final over. Their tension seemed to have defused when Dhruv Jurel , having scratched his way to 18 off 23, found his hitting range, and when he and Shubnam Dubey ransacked 22 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th over, the equation came down to 18 off 12.

Then came Josh Hazelwood. He was ice-cold in the moment, producing a masterful 19th over of unhittably steep bounce – conceding just one run and taking two wickets, of Jurel and Jofra Archer in successive balls.

It was left to Yash Dayal, the same man who had held his nerve in a now-legendary last over to deliver their previous home win, against Chennai Super Kings last season. And he delivered as RR lost by 11 runs after having the chase in their grasp for so long.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted. RCB had finally found their voice at home and, with it, a long-overdue win that put them in the top three. For RR, this was a fifth straight loss that left them on the brink.

With 17 needed off ten, Hazlewood conjured a moment of magic – a pinpoint wide yorker that Dhruv Jurel shaped to scythe but appeared to miss. With little conviction, Patidar opted for a caught-behind review. Technology confirmed what only Jurel might have known – a faint under edge that carried low to Jitesh Sharma. A seemingly innocuous dot turned into a game-changing strike.

Jurel, who had weathered a slow start and was just beginning to ignite, walked back, and with him went RR’s best hope. But Hazlewood wasn’t done. He cranked up a hard-length ball next that cramped Archer for room. It was as if Archer had been served a dish of his own, cold. The ball ballooned to cover, where Patidar pouched it gleefully.

If Hazlewood’s final over, the 19th, was theatre, his penultimate over was no less telling. Having seen balls angled across the left-handers disappear, he went around the wicket to Shimron Hetmyer and pounded the surface with venom. Hetmyer tried to nudge him away but only managed a feather of an inside edge through to Jitesh. Only six runs came off that over, the 17th, and RCB’s grip got firm.

Long before the chaos of the death overs, RR were cruising. Yzshaswi Jaiswal had lit the Chinnaswamy up with a power-packed 49 off 19, and Nitish Rana was stroking it with finesse. At 110 for 2 in nine overs, the chase seemed to be on autopilot.

It’s here that Krunal Pandya was summoned and he delivered a breakthrough first ball when Riyan Parag, looking to muscle a slog sweep, only managed a top edge that settled into Jitesh’s gloves.

At the other end, Suryash Sharma was equally impressive. Mixing up quick, skiddy legbreaks with the odd wrong’un, he kept the pressure on. RR managed just one boundary from the tenth to the 13th overs. Under rising pressure, Rana went for a release shot in the 14th, only for Bhuvneshwar to pluck a catch on the second attempt at short fine leg. Krunal now had figures of 3-0-19-2. The strangle was on.

Half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal laid a strong foundation after Phil Salt’s scratchy 26 off 23, while a late dash from Tim David and Jitesh lifted RCB to 205 for 5. Kohli overcame a streaky start to get to a composed fifty in 32 balls. His early duel with a fiery Archer was, in particular, thrilling. Meanwhile, Padikkal made the most of two dropped chances to notch up a second straight half-century.

Just as the platform was set for a lift-off, RR struck back, removing Kohli, Padikkal, and Patidar in quick succession. But David and Jitesh picked up 42 runs in just 19 balls to cap the innings with a flourish. In a match that swung wildly from one side to the other, those closing overs turned out to be the difference between a defendable total and yet another heartbreak.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 26, Virat Kohli 70, Devudutt Padikkal 50, Tim David 23, Jitesh Sharma 20*; Jofra Archer 1-33, Sandeep Sharma 2-45, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-30) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 9 in 20 overs (Yashaswi Jaiswal 49, Vaibhav Suriyavanshi 16, Nitish Rana 28, Riyan Parag 22, Dhruv Jurel 47, Shimron Hetmyer 11, Shubham Dubey 12; Josh Hazlewood 4-33, Bhuveneshwar Kumar 1-50, Yash Dayal 1-33, Krunal Pandya 2-31) by 11 runs

[Cricinfo]

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All schools will be closed on 5th and 6th May for LA elections

Published

21 hours ago

2025/04/24

Priyan

The Ministry of Education has announced that all schools will be closed on 05th and 06th May 2025, for the Local Authorities Election which is scheduled to be held on 6th May.

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“School Nutrition Programme’’to continue, without interruption

Published

1 day ago

2025/04/24

Priyan

The Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake stated that the government has taken a policy decision to continue, without interruption, “School Nutrition Programme’’ aimed at reducing anemia among schoolchildren, which is being implemented with the assistance of the World Food Programme.

He made these remarks on Wednesday (23), during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat with representatives from relevant Ministries and government institutions involved in the programme, along with officials from the World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Pathfinder Foundation.

The school meal programme, aligned with the government’s initiative to provide nutritious lunch to primary school students in districts identified as having high levels of malnutrition, specifically targets the reduction of iron deficiency among schoolchildren. The initiative is jointly coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Provincial Councils, the Food Promotion Board and the Partnership Secretariat for the World Food Programme Cooperation. The government has allocated Rs. 32 billion for this programme for the current year.

A pilot project is currently being implemented in four selected districts. Based on a formal health and nutrition study assessing the outcomes of this pilot project, there are plans to expand the programme island-wide. The study aims to determine the extent to which iron deficiency among schoolchildren can be reduced through this initiative.

As part of the programme, fortified rice enriched with iron and folic acid will be included in the school meals to specifically address anemia among students.

The World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gateway Foundation and the Pathfinder Foundation have pledged their continued support for this effort.

Present at the occasion were Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr. Anil Jasinghe, and Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Malarmathy Gangatharan, along with other government officials and representatives from partner organizations.

[PMD]