Sports
England ride on Woakes brilliance to edge out Day 1 honours
A remarkable four wicket haul from Chris Woakes and a reasonably efficient outing from Stuart Broad helped England come out on top after a see-saw Day 1 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Starting the final session at 187/4, Australia’s batters continued the trend of looking unfazed at the crease and yet throwing their starts. Travis Head was the first to fall, giving Stuart Broad his milestone 600th Test scalp after the southpaw had looked set for bigger things. Mitchell Marsh continued on his merry ways and stroked the ball around with aplomb, even as a shaky Cameron Green gave him company.
The two all-rounders got Australia to 254/5 and the visitors were strolling along comfortably. However, the re-introduction of Woakes turned the game on its head with the seamer removing both batters in the first over of his new spell. Green was a fraction unfortunate to be given out LBW, a marginal call that ended up umpire’s call on review while Jonny Bairstow produced a one-handed screamer to send back Marsh. All of a sudden, Australia were 255/7.
Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc then fought doggedly through a small stand that frustrated the hosts for more than an hour. With the second new ball approaching, England also were content to go through the motions. Once the new cherry was taken, Woakes once again came to the party to take out Carey at the fag end of the day’s play. It was a strike that just about swung the honors England’s way, albeit by a bare margin.
Earlier on, Australia had a good start to the day after being put into bat. David Warner and Steve Smith batted with great intent in the morning to put pressure on England but the hosts fought back well since the second session started. Not only did they manage to relatively curb the run flow but they also got wickets at regular intervals. Warner and Smith were both guilty of not going big after getting set, more so the latter. It was a trend through the day for Australia’s batters who weren’t ruthless enough.
On a ground where the recent first innings average score has been in the high 350s, England have had a strong opening day here as Australia were comfortably on track for that kind of a total if not more. However, Woakes and Broad along with a firing Mark Wood ensured that the hosts not only stayed afloat but also ended the day on top.
Brief scores:
Australia 299/8 (Mitchell Marsh 51, Marnus Labuschagne 51; Chris Woakes 4-52) vs England
India qualified by virtue of being hosts while New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa progressed from the 2020-23 ODI Super League. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands came through the qualifying tournament held in June and July 2023.
This World Cup follows a simple round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals, to be played in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
The defending champions England and the runner-up in 2019 New Zealand will kick off the competition in two weeks’ time. The hosts, India, will begin their campaign against five-time winners Australia on October 8 and then build up to the group stage’s marquee clash with Pakistan on October 14. The matches are spread across 46 days and 10 cities with the final scheduled on November 19 in Ahmedabad.
After the recent ICC decision to offer equal prize money for both men’s and women’s events, this sets the precedent for the next Women’s World Cup in 2025.
(Cricbuzz)
Chasing 79 in the rain-reduced 15-overs-a-side quarter-final, Sri Lanka coasted to a win in 10.5 overs. Rain and a wet outfield had delayed the start of the game by close to an hour-and-a-half. Once the weather cleared, Sri Lanka opted to field under grey skies.
Udeshika Prabodhani found some movement in the air, but it was Priyadharshani who inflicted the early damage, accounting for four of the first five wickets to fall. She struck twice in her first over – the second of the innings – dismissing Suwanan Khiaoto and Natthakan Chantham. In her next over, she removed Nannapat Koncharoenkai before accounting for Naruemol Chaiwai with a smart caught and bowled.
At 37 for 6, Thailand were sinking rapidly but a 29-run stand between Chanida Sutthiruang and Phannita Maya arrested the slide a touch. Sutthiruang top-scored with an unbeaten 31 and was the only batter to get into double-digits as Thailand managed to reach 78 for 7 in 15 overs.
Chamari Athapaththu and Sanjeewani then made light work of the chase. They brought up their 50 partnership in the sixth over before Thipatcha Putthawong accounted for Athapaththu, who top edged a slog sweep.
Putthawong also removed Sanjeewani but the damage had been done by then. Thailand were not helped by their ground fielding; they committed a number of mis-fields and dropped chances. Harshitha Samarawickrama closed the game in the 11th over with a pull over deep square leg.
Sri Lanka will face Pakistan in the second semi-final on Sunday.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 84 for 2 (Chamari Athapaththu 27, Anushka Sanjeewani 32, Harshitha Samarawickrema 14*; Thipatcha Putthawong 2-21) beat Thailand 78 for 7 (Chanida Sutthiruang 31; Inoshi Priyadharshani 4-10, Sugandika Kumari 1-13, Chamari Athapaththu 1-13, Kavisha Dilhari 1-14) by eight wickets
France are on the brink of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals after claiming their biggest-ever win with a 96-0 victory over Namibia in Pool A.
Damian Penaud scored a hat-trick, while Jonathan Danty, Charles Ollivon and Louis Bielle-Biarry all scored twice.
Antoine Dupont, Thibaud Flament, Baptiste Couilloud and Melvyn Jaminet also crossed before a penalty try took their total tally to 14 in Marseille.
The only French cause for concern was the loss of Dupont to injury. The hosts’ captain was withdrawn during the second half following a head-on-head tackle by Johan Deysel, whose yellow card was upgraded to a red by the bunker-review system.
France head coach Fabien Galthie’s decision to keep his talisman on the field despite his side’s huge 54-point half-time advantage could be scrutinised if Dupont’s injury keeps him on the sidelines with the knockout stages looming.
Line-ups:
France: Ramos; Penaud, Fickou, Danty, Bielle-Biarry; Jalibert, Dupont; Baille, Mauvaka, Atonio; Woki, Flament; Cros, Ollivon, Jelonch.
Replacements: Bourgarit, Wardi, Aldegheri, Taofifenua, Boudehent, Couilloud, Moefana, Jaminet.
Namibia: Van der Bergh; Mouton, Deysel, Burger, Greyling; Loubser, Theron; Sethie, Van der Westhuizen, Coetzee, Tjeriko, Ludick, Katjijeko, Retief, Gaoseb.
Replacements: Nortje, Benade, Shifuka, Van Lill, Hardwick, Blaauw, Izaacs, Rossouw.
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
(BBC Sports)
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