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Pat Cummins rises to the occasion to seal two-wicket Edgbaston epic

Published

3 years ago

2023/06/21

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Pat Cummins and James Anderson have a lighthearted post-match word

Australia won an epic first Test by two wickets, to take a 1-0 lead over England at Edgbaston, an hour and six minutes after they seemed to have lost it.

Pat Cummins their captain, back-cut Ollie Robinson’s short ball down towards the boundary directly in front of the travelling Australian supporters in their canary caps in Block 31 of Edgbaston’s South Stand. Harry Brook sprawled to his right in a bid to cut it off at deep third, but the ball squirmed out of his grasp and into the boundary to clinch a two-wicket victory.

When Joe Root held an outrageous caught-and-bowled off Alex Carey, Australia still needed 54 more runs to win with Nathan Lyon described by Robinson as the first of their “three No. 11s” – walking out to join Cummins. England were two wickets away from victory, and had a second new ball available.

But 12 overs later, Cummins and Lyon were still there. Cummins flogged Root for two sixes in the first over of the final hour to make a dent in the target and after surviving a spectacular effort by Ben Stokes at square leg when miscuing a hook, Lyon chipped Stuart Broad over mid-on to take the target down to single figures.

The Eric Hollies Stand roared England’s depleted attack on. Cummins dug out a yorker from Robinson and both batters wore short balls on the body. With three to win and 28 balls left, Cummins guided Robinson away to the rope, tossed his bat and helmet away, punched the air and lifted Lyon off his feet. It had echoes of the 2005 Test here – but this time, it was Australia who won by two.

In the dressing room, Usman Khawaja was “absolutely s***ing myself for the last five minutes” – and Australia’s win would not have been possible without his contribution. He faced 518 balls in the match and batted on each of the five days, top-scoring in both innings with 141 and then 65.

After rain wiped out the first session, he batted through an afternoon in which Australia added 76 runs for the loss of only two wickets – one of them nightwatcher Scott Boland, who edged Broad through to Jonny Bairstow. Travis Head poked Moeen Ali to slip as England kept a lid on the scoring rate, but with 98 to win after tea, Australia were clear favourites.

Khawaja added 49 with Cameron Green in a sixth-wicket stand that spanned the interval, but when Green inside-edged Robinson’s in-ducker on to his stumps, Stokes sensed an opportunity.

He brought himself on for his only spell of the second innings, battling his chronic left-knee injury, and smiled wryly when Khawaja chopped his short, slow legcutter on to off stump. The Edgbaston crowd paused for a moment, deceived by Stokes’ non-celebration, before erupting into life. England had the most important wicket, and needed only three more.

Root, bowling an extended spell from the Birmingham End with Moeen’s blistered spinning finger rendering him unable to grip the ball, dropped two difficult half-chances off his own bowling, giving Carey and Cummins a life each. Stokes opted not to take the new ball when it became available; three deliveries later, Root held a stunning reaction catch.

With Carey gone, Cummins became the protagonist. He has been criticised throughout these five days for a perceived negativity in his tactics, but took control of the game in its decisive passage. Root went full, so he cleared his front leg and swung him down the ground for six – then repeated the trick two balls later.

Broad returned, still with the old ball, and Lyon hooked the second ball of his spell out to Stokes at square leg, 25 yards in from the boundary. He flung himself back, sticking his right hand over his shoulder; the ball looped towards him but escaped his grasp, then squirmed away from his desperate second attempt.

When Cummins slapped a cut for four two balls later, the target was down to 30. Stokes opted to take the new ball, but it offered little for Broad and Robinson. They charged in with spread fields but had almost nothing left in the tank; as if to mark the changing of a guard, James Anderson ambled stiffly around the outfield.

Despite the jibes, Lyon batted more like a No. 3, lacing an off drive for four down the ground to the rope – and beating Robinson at mid-off to his right. After Cummins’ off-side slap snuck under Crawley at the cover boundary, Lyon flogged Broad over the top towards the Australian supporters.

They had been barracked relentlessly by the neighbouring Hollies Stand over the course of the Test match but jumped to their feet to celebrate an imminent Australian victory. Three overs later, they did so once more to mark the clinching moment of an enthralling run chase.

England were “devastated”, in Stokes’ words, but without their enterprising tactics this game would have been written off as a rain-ruined draw. Instead, it bubbled up to a conclusion that had Australians gripped to their television screens until well past 4am – with the promise of four more Tests to come.

Brief scores:

Australia 386 (Khawaja 141, Carey 66, Head 50) and 282 for 8 (Khawaja 65) beat England 393 for 8 declared (Root 118, Bairstow 78, Crawley 61, Lyon 4-149) and 273 (Cummins 4-63, Lyon 4-80) by two wickets

(Cricinfo)

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Binura, Liyanage, Neesham take Colombo Kapps to victory

Published

3 hours ago

2026/07/20

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Binura Fernando, Hasan Mahmud and James Neesham shared nine wickets between them to restrict Kandy Royals to 179 after which Janith Liyanage (53*) and James Neesham (48*) helped Colombo Kaps to reach the win need with six wickets in hannd in the fifth match of the Lanka Premier League 2026, played under lights at the SSC on Sunday.

Scores:

Kandy Royals 179 in 20 overs (Kusal Perera 11, Lahiru Udara 53, Angelo Mathews 45, Vijay Shankar 15; Binura Fernando 4-45, Hasan Mahmud 3-31, James Neesham 2-42)

Colombo Kaps 182/4 in 19.4 overs (Kamindu Mendis 26 , Ben McDermott 22, Janith Liyanage 53*, James Neesham 48*; Angelo Mathews 1-21, Nuwan Thushara 1-22, Wanudu Hasaranga 2-29)

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Russia launches major ballistic missile attack on Ukrainian cities

Published

8 hours ago

2026/07/19

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The latest Russian strikes hit both residential and non-residential buildings, Kyiv's mayor said [BBC]

Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, killing five people and wounding at least 35, officials say.

Four people were killed and 19 injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, while one person died and 16 were hurt in the capital Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the raid on Kyiv as “one of the most massive ballistic attacks” on the capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Meanwhile Ukraine has continued its assault on Russian sites. Three Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea were hit, as well as facilities in the southwestern Stavropol region, Zelensky said.

A number of areas in the Kyiv region were hit overnight. The Ukrainian military said air defences in the capital had shot down 18 out of 41 missiles. The systems also intercepted 108 drones.

Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said a postal terminal in the city suburbs had been attacked, with four men aged between 24 and 62 killed. Several of the injured were in a serious condition.

In a Telegram message, Zelensky said in the past week Russia had “used about 1,450 strike drones, more than 1,640 guided bombs and 99 missiles of various types against Ukraine”.

Zelensky also posted on Telegram about Ukrainian strikes.

“SBU [security service] units hit three oil depots in the Stavropol region simultaneously, while units of our Armed Forces struck another fuel-sector facility in the same region,” he said.

“Precise hits on three Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers were recorded in the Black Sea. I thank every one of our units that is helping to spread the realisation within Russia that this war must be brought to an end.”

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries Kazakhstan’s Caspian oil to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, said its terminal had been hit.

It said two tankers were damaged, prompting oil loading operations to be suspended. There were no injuries or oil spills.

Stavropol’s governor said a drone attack had caused a fire in an industrial park.

The latest strikes on Kyiv involved a range of Russian weapons systems, including Iskander and hypersonic Zircon missiles, as well as 125 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.

On Sunday Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said both residential and non-residential buildings had been damaged, including a supermarket and a dormitory.

Firefighters have been battling blazes at two warehouses. Ukraine’s emergencies ministry said a logistics hub in Bucha district near Kyiv had been hit, with two people injured.

The overnight strikes came after Ukraine sent drones to destroy two warehouses belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, killing eight people and causing major fires.

Seven deaths and 25 injuries occurred at a facility in the city of Tambov, about 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow. One death and 37 injuries occurred at another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal near the capital.

On Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s operations were in response to “Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities”.

Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. The RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026.

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. Earlier this month, Kyiv said nearly 43% of Russia’s oil refining capacity had been “disabled” as a result.

The BBC has not independently verified this figure.

Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

But Russia has also stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities, prompting Kyiv to seek increased supplies of ballistic missile interceptors from its European allies.

“Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now,” Zelensky said on Sunday. “Interceptors are needed every day.”

[BBC]

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Messi on the brink of history – will it be his last World Cup game?

Published

8 hours ago

2026/07/19

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Lionel Messi has scored 15 of his 21 World Cup goals in 2022 and 2026 [BBC]

Argentina are one win away from sporting immortality.

Lionel Scaloni’s side are bidding to become just the third team to win successive World Cups, after Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).

If they are to pip European champions Spain to the crown, they will need Lionel Messi to be at his best. Again.

Is he the greatest of all time?

Whatever your response to that statement – and it could be debated for hours – it cannot be denied that the Argentine maestro is among the best players to ever set foot on a pitch.

Win on Sunday and Messi will become the first captain to lift the World Cup trophy twice.

After perhaps underwhelming in his first four tournaments, he was outstanding in 2022 – as Argentina won the trophy – and is now just one goal behind Kylian Mbappe in his bid to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.

It is remarkable to think that Messi initially retired from international football back in 2016 before changing his mind.

Sunday’s World Cup final will be his 34th appearance in the competition, but will it be the last we see of Messi in the famous blue and white stripes?

BBC Sport looks at what might be next for the great man – and could he even aim to play at a seventh World Cup in 2030?

If Messi decides to carry on with Argentina to 2030, then he would become the oldest outfield player to appear at a World Cup, at the age of 43 – unless, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo opts to keep going for Portugal.

Not only could Messi add a new record to his long list, but he would have the chance to play in one of the centenary matches held in Argentina at the start of the next World Cup.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague doesn’t think this is the last fans will be seeing of Messi at the World Cup.

“Even if you hear it is the end, I doubt it but we’ll see. I just see him with the national side, simply because he enjoys it,” he said.

“I don’t see him being at Inter Miami in the MLS, still performing and then saying that’s it and he’s going to play out the rest of his career with Inter Miami.”

Messi’s 2026 World Cup has been nothing short of sensational. He has scored eight goals in seven games – two goals behind tournament top scorer Mbappe – and has carried Argentina into the final with a series of virtuoso performances.

Argentina boss Scaloni hailed Messi as the greatest player ever, saying: “He is history, a legend. I feel proud, he is the best footballer the world has ever seen and reaching a final at 39 is something unbelievable – and that is why I said we must enjoy him.

“With Diego Maradona, we still miss him but Messi is still with us so we must enjoy him.

“I have no idea if this is Leo’s last game, you will have to ask him. We haven’t discussed it.”

His displays in North America continue a quite remarkable late career resurgence for Messi at World Cups. Fifteen of his 21 tournament goals have come since his 35th birthday.

Having already lifted the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Messi showed he had the motivation to keep going in 2026. The question is whether that continues to 2030.

“I feel that he hasn’t said the last word yet,” said Balague. “He finishes games, 120-minute games, at 39.

“In the first 90 minutes against Cape Verde, he covered 6.5km and 62% of that is walking.

“You can add a bit more walking. The passion is still there. All of that means he’s not going to leave the national side.”

There is also the factor of Messi playing at a World Cup in front of a home crowd.

The 2030 World Cup will have six host nations. While the majority of matches will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, at least one game will be played in each of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. A world stage game in front of an Argentine crowd may be too much for Messi to resist.

Messi himself hinted that the 2022 final would be his international swansong.

“I am very happy for finishing my journey in World Cups in a final, to play the last game in a final. That is really very gratifying,” he said before the 2022 showpiece.

“There are a lot of years from this year to the next one. I don’t think I will be able to do that. To finish this way is brilliant.”

That has obviously proved to not be the case. So regardless of what might be said after the 2026 final, keep an eye on 2030.

[BBC]