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Twin tons sink England in World Cup opener

Published

2 years ago

2023/10/5

Priyan

Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra were involved in an unbroken 273-run stand (Cricbuzz)

New Zealand made a statement on the opening day of the 2023 ODI World Cup by smashing the defending champions England in Ahamedabad. Chasing 283 for victory, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra sent the England bowlers on a leather hunt by hammering centuries to pick up the win with 82 balls still left in the chase.

Conway wasted little time to get going and started off the chase with a couple of boundaries in the very first over. But at the other end, Will Young nicked one down the leg side off Sam Curran to depart for a golden duck. England’s joy was short-lived thereafter as the game quickly turned into an one-sided affair.

World Cup debutant Ravindra took on Woakes and hammered him out of the attack by smashing him for four boundaries and showed no fear whatsoever against the pace of Mark Wood to race to 34 off just 22 balls. The boundary spree continued as New Zealand knocked off 81 runs in the powerplay in quite stunning fashion. Even the introduction of spin in the form of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid didn’t help England as Ravindra continued to hammer the bowlers to bring up a 36-ball fifty. Conway reached his landmark in the very next over before teeing off further.

At the end of the 20th over, New Zealand were well and truly on top forcing England to pray for a miracle to bail them out. That just didn’t happen as both the batters continued their rampage. In the process, Conway registered the first hundred of this year’s World Cup and Ravindra, too, made his promotion count in Kane Williamson’s absence by bringing up his maiden international ton. Conway then brought a swift end to England’s misery by launching into the attack to get the job done in the 37th over.

Earlier in the day, a weakened New Zealand bowling outfit did a tremendous job to keep England to 282/9 especially as the defending champions looked all set to finish with a total well beyond 300. Even though New Zealand dominated the middle overs, Jos Buttler and Joe Root led England’s revival and both batters were set to take advantage of a bowling lineup that didn’t have Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee, both missing out due to injuries.

Matt Henry stepped up in their absence with the new ball and troubled Dawid Malan before eventually dismissing him. And even though Jonny Bairstow gave England a fine start in the powerplay, his team did struggle post his departure as none of the batters managed to hang in there alongside Root. Harry Brook, making his World Cup bow in the absence of Ben Stokes, thrilled for a while smashing Ravindra but ended up playing one shot too many and mistiming one off the same bowler. Moeen’s promotion didn’t work either as Glenn Phillips cleaned him up.

Root and Buttler then joined forces to stem the rot, with the skipper initially biding his time, scoring 8 off just 15 balls. Buttler then teed off and hit a six each off Ravindra and Trent Boult before racing to his 40s. With Root also going past fifty, England were well set at 187/4 after 33 overs. A weakened bowling attack for the opponent meant the likes of Root, Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Curran and Woakes could all cause damage at the death.

However, Henry returned to get rid of the big fish as Buttler edged behind. Livingstone didn’t last long before Phillips returned to land the killer blow as Root failed to connect a reverse sweep to lose his leg stump. New Zealand really went for the kill and kept picking wickets to leave England reeling at 252/9. But for the first time in ODI history, all 11 batters managed to touch double digits as Mark Wood and Adil Rashid dragged their side to 282/9 – a total that wasn’t good enough by any stretch to challenge the centurions.

Brief scores:
England 282/9 in 50 overs (Joe Root 77, Jos Buttler 43; Matt Henry 3/48, Glenn Phillips 2/17) lost to New Zealand 283/1 in 36.2 overs (Devon Conway 152*, Rachin Ravindra 123*) by 9 wickets

(Cricbuzz)

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Ghosts of 2016 writ large as England, West Indies meet again

Published

21 mins ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

Gudakesh Motie sends one down in the nets on match eve [Cricinfo]

In a tournament that has so far been characterised by plucky challenges from unfancied underdogs, here’s a clash of big beasts to whet the appetite. Okay, so West Indies may not be among the big hitters on a global scale any more – hell, they didn’t even qualify for the ICC’s last two 50-over tournaments. But in a 20-over gunfight, they’ve proven time and again that their particular brand of physical might is right. Not least against Wednesday’s familiar foes at the Wankhede.

A clash of England and West Indies in a T20 World Cup is an inevitable opportunity to revisit one of the greatest finales of all time. Ten years ago in Kolkata, not quite to the month, Carlos Brathwaite launched Ben Stokes into the stratosphere time and time again to swipe the 2016 trophy from England’s grasp, almost as the engraver was getting to work.

But if the raw aggression of that moment left England feeling robbed, they could not say that they hadn’t been warned. For it was at the Wankhede, in their very first match of that same campaign, that they came a cropper in the face of an even more ferocious beating, as the mighty Chris Gayle blitzed 11 massive sixes in his 47-ball hundred.

Fittingly, those were the only two defeats of England’s knowingly naïve campaign. Perhaps they came too early in their ongoing white-ball awakening for the players to possess the street-smarts required to bring down an IPL-trained mean machine. But the lessons they learned would be invaluable, especially when the 2019 World Cup reached its own clutch moments.

England still have two survivors from that campaign – Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler, whose recognition of the value of six-hitting was his single biggest takeaway from that tournament; that, for a player who trusts his ability to clear the ropes, even the steepest of chases can be broken down into a handful of big hits when the match-up is right.

But, as Sam Curran noted after his nerveless death over had saved the day against Nepal, the lessons of that tournament cut both ways as they continue to echo down the generations. “I weirdly thought of the 2016 final, when Carlos got hold of Stokesy,” he told the BBC afterwards. “I was thinking, ‘Well, if I execute, he’s not going to hit me for six.'”

As for West Indies, Johnson Charles and Jason Holder remain from that squad of ten years ago, alongside their head coach, Darren Sammy – whose captaincy proved instrumental in drawing his players together to fight for a common cause. As he demonstrated on match eve, shooting the breeze with the media in a 15-minute address that touched every issue imaginable in West Indies cricket, his class of 2026 are unlikely to lack for motivation against these opponents.

History and precedent aside, this is a significant match-up for more basic qualification reasons. On the face of it, the jeopardy in Group C has been reduced by Bangladesh’s decision to withdraw, but Nepal are clearly itching for an upset and, as Scotland showed with a comprehensive win over the likely stragglers Italy, they have embraced their unlikely opportunity with gusto.

It’s an occasion that deserves to be savoured. As the weeks of uncertainty over India versus Pakistan ended up demonstrating, there’s still something precious about proper historical rivalries on the grandest stages that the game can offer. England and West Indies have each won two T20 World Cup titles, tying them with India as the most successful teams in the tournament’s history. Their storied pasts will inform the present on Wednesday night, as each team seeks to stride on into the future.

One of the main reasons for England’s angst in that Nepal run-chase was the unexpectedly brutal treatment meted out on Adil Rashid. Not only did he go wicketless for the first time in 25 T20I innings, dating back to the last World Cup, he was launched at a rate of 14 runs an over, the second most expensive T20I spell of three or more overs in his career. Nepal’s ability to pick his variations was the clincher, borne no doubt of their own familiarity with the art of legspin, and given his form coming into the tournament, there’s no question of Harry Brook losing any faith in Rashid’s impact. As the man himself said on this site last week, “you have to have a big heart as a spinner”. It’s about to be tested once more.

Quality spin remains an Achilles heel for England’s heavy hitters, and in Gudakesh Motie, they’ll be reunited with a left-arm spinner who knows how to cramp their style. Ten of his 40 T20I wickets have come in his frequent clashes with England, including a matchwinning haul of 3 for 24 in Tarouba two years ago. He was recently left out of their tour of New Zealand after a dip in form linked to a technical flaw, but last month he reasserted his trump-card status with a matchwinning haul in a rain-reduced game against South Africa.

Once again, England were quick out of the blocks with their starting XI. Just the one change from that fraught opener against Nepal, with Luke Wood’s left-arm seam making way from the heavier deck-hitting capabilities of Jamie Overton. He hits a long ball too, which might be useful down the order, given West Indies’ own six-hitting reputation.

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

West Indies know their XI, but have chosen not to divulge it just yet. There was not much reason to change a winning formula from their tournament opener against Scotland.

West Indies (probable): Brandon King, Shai Hope (capt & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosain, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.

[Cricinfo]

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Undermanned Australia get campaign going against dangerous Ireland

Published

5 hours ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

Paul Stirling has not been in good touch of late [Cricket Ireland]

Australia are the last side to begin their T20 World Cup campaign and the late start plays heavily into their favour, given the injury issues they have had coming into the tournament.

They are already without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after both were ruled out with injury, and Australia’s selectors have intriguingly not yet replaced Hazlewood in the 15 and will only have 13 to choose from for their opening match against Ireland with Tim David expected to miss the opening round as he continues to rehab his hamstring injury.

Had the first match been any earlier, there may have also been doubts on Nathan Ellis coming off a hamstring concern and Adam Zampa, who experienced some groin tightness in the last T20I of the tour of Pakistan a fortnight ago, which Australia lost 3-0.

Australia are also struggling for form, having been hammered in Pakistan despite many of them coming from the BBL. However Ellis, David and Glenn Maxwell were all absent from that trip while many of the World Cup squad only played one or two games in the series at most. The change in conditions will challenge them, as will Ireland’s spinners George Dockerell and Gareth Delany after both bowled well against Sri Lanka.

Ireland themselves will feel under some pressure after butchering a chance to beat Sri Lanka in Colombo in their tournament opener. They dropped seven catches and gave up 59 runs from their final four overs with the ball. They were 105 for 2, albeit with the required run-rate climbing, but lost 8 for 38 to lose the game by 20 runs.

In theory, Ireland have the advantage of being a slightly unknown quantity to Australia. The two teams have only met twice in T20Is and only once in all international cricket since 2016. They played at the Gabba in the 2022 T20 World Cup and eight of the Ireland XI that played against Sri Lanka played in that game too. However, Australia may only have four players in their XI who played four years ago, with a number of retirements and injuries changing the formation of Australia’s team.

The only other time the two teams met in the shortest format was in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Colombo. Paul Stirling, Dockrell and Maxwell all played in that game.

Can Glenn Maxwell go to the well one more time to produce a stunning World Cup for his nation? Given he turns 38 this year, it seems unlikely that he will play another one for Australia, having already retired from ODI cricket. But since a match-winning 62 not out against South Africa last August, he has had a very lean run in all T20s. In eight innings in the BBL when he got past 3 he remained unbeaten, but that only happened three times with a highest score of 39 not out. His bowling will also be vital in the tournament as he will likely be the lone spinning allrounder in the top seven for most of the event.

Ireland need skipper Paul Stirling to set the tone at the top of the order, particularly against an inexperienced new-ball attack for Australia. His returns have also been lean in recent times with scores of 21, 29, 38, 0, 23, 45, 8, 14, and 6 in his last nine T20Is, striking at just 125.17. His 6 off 13 against Sri Lanka was not the start to the tournament he or Ireland were hoping for.

Australia appear set to play two specialist spinners in Matt Kuhnemann and Zampa. It will mean one of Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis will miss out. There is another option Australia could take with Cooper Connolly playing at No. 8 to lengthen the batting, but that appears unlikely based on form. David’s absence will likely give Matt Renshaw a chance in the middle order. The combination of the top seven is likely to be fluid with the potential of elevating Maxwell early against spin.

Australia (probable): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett/Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa

There could be a temptation to bring in left-arm seamer Josh Little, who bowled very well against Australia four years ago, but he has gone wicketless in his last four T20Is. Ireland will more than likely remain unchanged given catching was the major issue against Sri Lanka.

Ireland (probable): Paul Stirling (capt), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys

[Cricinfo]

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Afghanistan face mighty South Africa with campaign on the line

Published

5 hours ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

Quinton de Kock has plenty of experience of playing in India [Cricinfo]

Afghanistan made it till the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup, but this time, after just one game, they face an uphill task. Their loss to New Zealand in their opening match has put them, in all likelihood, in a do-or-die situation against South Africa: if they lose, even the wins against Canada and UAE may not be enough to qualify for the Super Eight stage.

It will not be easy for Afghanistan. They have faced South Africa three times in T20Is. On all three occasions, they were on the losing side. Their last defeat – in of the 2024 edition – was particularly chastening: South Africa bowled them out for 56 and then chased down the target with nine wickets to spare.

Apart from all that history, too, South Africa will be well primed after their win against Canada, where they ticked most boxes. Their captain Aiden Markram scored a half-century, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs added 75 in an unbroken stand, and the team posted the highest total of the tournament so far. Lungi Ngidi’s four-for was the icing on the cake. A win against Afghanistan will make their path to the Super Eight stage smooth.

It’s a day game, starting at 11am. But as Stubbs said after the Canada match, it may not make much of a difference.

It may feel like Rashid Khan is not the same bowler he once was. But numbers tell a different story. Since the start of 2024, he has taken 52 wickets in 26 T20Is against Full Members. Both his strike rate (11.3) and economy (5.83) in this period are better than his career numbers. If Afghanistan are to qualify for the next round, they will need similar performances from their captain.

Since his return to T20I cricket in October, Quinton de Kock has five single digit scores in 11 innings. But when he gets going, it’s not easy to stop him. He has scored 355 runs in this period, at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 181.12. His overall record in India is also impressive, and he will be keen to put behind his 22-ball 25 in South Africa’s opening match against Canada.

Expect Noor Ahmad to replace Ziaur Rahman, who conceded 33 from his three wicketless overs against New Zealand.

Afghanistan (probable): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (capt), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

South Africa could consider bringing in a second spinner in George Linde for one of the many fast bowlers.

South Africa (probable): Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi

[Cricinfo]