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Khawaja, middle-order turn the tables on England

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Usman Khawaja scored his first Test hundred on English soil (Cricbuzz)

Usman Khawaja’s century, backed up by fifties from Travis Head and Alex Carey, has allowed Australia to stage a fightback on Day 2 of the first Ashes Test in Edgbaston, on Saturday. Khawaja, who stroked his maiden ton in England, went to stumps unbeaten on 124 – having batted through the day. He had the company of Carey, who was unbeaten on 52, and had added a 91-run stand before the end of the day’s play.

For much of the day though, England were on the front foot after Stuart Broad had struck twice in the seventh over of the morning. First, he dismissed David Warner (14th time in the Ashes) when the southpaw dragged a length delivery outside the off on to his stumps. And then, had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind with an outswinger.

England were on the offensive, with Ben Stokes being unconventional and proactive with his field changes. Steve Smith and Khawaja nullified the attack for an hour with a dour 38-run partnership before the former was trapped leg-before with a Stokes delivery that jagged back in – in what was only his second over of the innings. Smith took a review but to no avail. With three wickets down, for only 64 runs, England had owned the morning session and seized control of the contest.

However, after Tea, the momentum started to shift. The in-form Travis Head took charge of the counter-attack, of which Moeen Ali was largely at the receiving end. It had started out with Khawaja, who danced down the track and hit the offspinner for a six in only the third over of the post-lunch session. However, Khawaja was kept in control by England’s short-ball tactic, which had the opener in a bit of an uncomfortable space. Head, however, didn’t hold back on the cuts and the pulls.

He departed soon after bringing up his 14th Test fifty, chipping Moeen Ali’s flattish delivery to midwicket, handing the offspinner his maiden scalp on Test comeback. Moeen could’ve had another wicket to his name only two deliveries later when Cameron Green stepped out and attempted a big shot, only to be deceived by the turn. However, Jonny Bairstow missed a regulation stumping opportunity.

Green was subdued thereafter and helped Australia head to Tea without any further damage. His only attack came against Joe Root in the last over before Tea when he hit the part-timer for two boundaries through the offside. However, soon after the Tea break, Moeen eventually had his man – beating him in flight, with drift, dip and turn to knock over his stumps. Green, by then, had scored 38 runs and stitched a valuable 72-run partnership with Khawaja.

Nonetheless, that happened to be the only dismissal of the last session. England could’ve had another when Stuart Broad knocked over Khawaja’s stumps only two balls after the second new ball was taken. However, the third umpire noted that he had overstepped, offering Khawaja a life when he was batting on 112. The opener shut shop and went on to add only 12 runs thereafter in the last hour of play when Carey had taken the mantle of attacking the English bowlers.

The ‘keeper-batter was always on a lookout for scoring opportunities, hitting on the up, over the in-field and at times, even just short of fielders. He brought up his fifty with a lucky boundary after getting an outside edge for a boundary while looking to attack Moeen Ali, only to be deceived by the spinner.

England used seven bowling options on the day, but the bulk of the work was handed to Moeen, who got some assistance from the wicket but was also on the line of attack of the Australian batters. He picked two wickets in 29 overs, but ended up conceding 124 runs.

Brief scores:

England 393/8 decl. (Joe Root 112*, Jonny Bairstow 78, Zak Crawley 61; Nathan Lyon 4-149, Josh Hazlewood 2-61) lead Australia 311/5 (Usman Khawaja 124*, Alex Carey 52*, Travis Head 50; Stuart Broad 2-49, Moeen Ali 2-124) by 82 runs



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October 11 at the Women’s T20 World Cup: Australia enter Dubai with eye on semi-final spot

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Pakistan are likely to be without Fatima Sana [Cricinfo]

Australia vs Pakistan

Dubai, 6pm local time

A personal tragedy has all but taken out chances of Pakistan captain Fatima Sana playing on Friday. With her departure to Karachi, Muneeba Ali is expected to fill in the role. Diana Baig – if fit to play – could replace her. But Sana’s shoes will be tough to fill as she is the joint-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan so far and her strike rate of 153.57 is by far the highest within the side. Despite the batters’ willingness to be aggressive, they have put up totals of 116 and 105 for 8 and will have to push past that if they are to challenge Australia

Australia have stood up to their champion billing and are currently on a hot streak of 13 straight wins in T20 World Cups since 2020. They have beaten Pakistan 13 times in T20Is and have never lost a game. Another win will all but confirm their spot in the semi-finals. Dubai could be a welcome change in venue for Australia, after playing both their games in Sharjah where the pitch and outfield were slow. Grace Harris, who replaced Darcie Brown against New Zealand, might have to make way for the pacer as Australia bat deep.

Australia squad:
Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan squad:
Muneeba Ali (capt & wk), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Fatima Sana (unlikely starter)

Tournament form guide:
Table-toppers Australia are coming off of big wins against Sri Lanka [by six wickets] and  New Zealand [by 60 runs] and are the only unbeaten team in Group A. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in their tournament opener and lost to India in Dubai and currently third on the table..

Player to watch:
Nida Dar is the only Pakistan batter to have gone past 20 in both games this tournament. She is the stabilising force at No. 5. She bowled just under five overs and has gone at an economy of 4.55 but is yet to pick up a wicket, something she would like to change against Australia. Beth Monney’s forties in both games at Sharjah took Australia home in a modest chase and set the platform to post the highest total in the venue so far this tournament. A friendlier pitch in Dubai will add to the run tally and raise her boundary count if she can get off to another start

[Cricinfo].

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Ramharack, Matthews keep West Indies in contention for semi-finals with crucial win

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Karishma Ramharack took 4 for 17 [Cricinfo]

Karishma Ramharak’s four-wicket haul and Hayley Mathews’  quickfire 34 helped West Indies coast to an important eight-wicket victory against Bangladesh, in Sharjah. Having chased down the target of 104 in 12.5 overs, West Indies, with their second win in three matches, moved to top of Group B.  Three teams from this group are now in contention for the two semi-final spots with South Africa and England also on four points, but the latter have played only two matches.

Bangladesh succumbed to their second straight defeat in three matches and their chances of advancing to the knockouts took a big hit. Batting once again hurt Bangladesh as they lost six wickets for 27 runs after they were sent in to bat.

West Indies used as many as seven bowlers but it was Ramharack who stood out by taking a wicket each in her four overs across different phases of the game. The offspinner struck with her very first delivery when opener Shathi Rani tried to sweep and missed. Shemaine Campbelle took the bails off in a flash to effect a stumping. In her second over, the last one in the powerplay, Dilara Akter moved across to sweep but missed, only to expose her middle stump and be bowled. When Ramharack came out to bowl in the 13th over, she mixed her lines well but kept the ball outside off. She had Sobhana Mostary stumped by making her come down the track to an outside off-stump delivery. That ended the 40-run third-wicket stand for Bangladesh.

Just when Nigar Sultana and Ritu Moni were looking to stitch a stand during the death overs, Ramaharack came back and knocked Moni out. Chinelle Henry took an excellent running catch after the batter came down and miscued a lofted shot to deep midwicket. Ramharack finished with 4 for 17.

Bangladesh showed positive intent with the bat early on, with the openers charging down as early as the second over to go aerial. Nigar started briskly after the openers fell in the powerplay. She particularly took legspinner Afy Fletcher on and smacked three fours off her second over and moved to 20 off 17 balls. However, once Mostary fell in the 13th over and Fletcher struck twice in the 15th, Nigar, who was on 27 off 27, slowed down despite West Indies’ sloppy fielding. Her next 17 deliveries fetched just 12 runs and eventually, she fell to Matthews in the final over attempting a big heave towards deep midwicket.

Bangladesh struggled to pitch the ball up and got punished as they erred on the shorter side. It allowed the West Indies batters to rock back and play their shots. Matthews, in particular, pounced on this opportunity in the powerplay and blunted the Bangladesh attack. After being on a run-a-ball seven, Matthews lined up the left-arm spin of Nahida Akter with a punch off the backfoot, piercing the gap between cover and extra cover. Two balls later, Nahida bowled short again and received the same treatment.

Legspinner Fahima Khatun, after having given away just four runs off her first over, bowled short on off stump in the fifth over and Matthews stayed back and punched uppishly to find her third boundary on the off side. Marufa Akter overpitched the last ball of the powerplay, which Matthews drove through cover to bring up her sixth boundary. But she was bowled by a nip-backer from the fast bowler in the eighth over for a 22-ball 34. At the end of Marufa’s over though, West Indies needed just 49 off 72 balls which was taken care of by Stafanie Taylor – before she limped off retired hurt – and Deandra Dottin, who smashed an unbeaten 19 off just seven balls.

Brief scores:
West Indies Women  104 for 2 in 12.5 overs  (Hayley Matthews 34, Stafanie Taylor 27, Shermaine Campbelle 21, Demdra Dottin 19*; Nahida Akter 1-22,   Marufa Akter  1-20) beat Bangladesh Women 103 for 8 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 39; Karishma  Ramharack 4-17, Hayley Mathews 1-19, Afy Fletcher 2-25) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Brook’s 317 leads record-breaking England towards victory

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Harry Brook and Joe Root batted together for more than 86 overs

Harry Brook became the first England batter for 34 years to hit a triple-century in Test cricket on an astonishing fourth day against Pakistan in Multan.

Brook, Joe Root and England broke a host of records, then the visiting pace bowlers were irresistible in charging to what looks like certain victory in the first Test.

Brook’s 317 is the sixth score in excess of 300 by an England man and his partnership of 454 with Root, who made 262, was the fourth-highest for any wicket in the history of the game.

A total of 823-7 declared is also the fourth-highest ever and England’s highest score since 1938.

It meant England took a lead of 267, a barely believable advantage considering that Pakistan posted 556 in their first innings.

Despite the avalanche of runs on the flat pitch, Chris Woakes knocked out the off stump of Abdullah Shafique with the first ball of Pakistan’s second innings.

England were rampant, Pakistan feeble. The hosts disintegrated after tea, spiralling towards a humiliating defeat on 152-6, still 115 short of making England bat again.

Never before has a team posted so many runs in the first innings of a Test, then gone on to lose by an innings.

England, who secured a historic 3-0 victory in Pakistan two years ago, will add another memorable win at some point on Friday.

Multan madness – the records that fell

  • Brook became the sixth English batter to score a triple century and first since 1990. It was the second-fastest 300 of all time, reached in 310 deliveries.

  • The 454 that Root and Brook added for the fourth-wicket is England’s highest partnership for any wicket, the fourth-highest in all Test cricket and best for the fourth-wicket.

  • Root’s double century was his sixth in Test cricket, only Wally Hammond, on seven, has more for England.

  • This was only the third instance in Test history that two batters passed 250 in the same innings and the first occasion for England.

  • England’s 823-7 declared is the fourth-highest team total in Test cricket and England’s highest since 903-7 declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938.

  • England’s lead of 267 runs is the most for any team in Test history after conceding a total in excess of 550 in the first innings of a match.

By any measure, this was an incredible day of Test cricket, one that broke new ground and challenged other landmarks that have stood for decades.

Even on a pitch that has been abnormally flat for the best part of four days, and against a toothless Pakistan attack missing ill spinner Abrar Ahmed, the runs scored by Brook, Root and England were extraordinary.

The tourists gave themselves the advantage by moving to 492-3 on day three, when Root became England’s all time leading Test run scorer.

Root had added 10 to his overnight 176 when he drilled Naseem Shah to mid-wicket, where Babar Azam shelled a simple catch. From there, Pakistan fell apart, England scored at will and the prospect of a rare triple-century quickly became a reality.

Brook, resuming on 141, went past his previous highest Test score of 186. A top-edge off Aamer Jamal just evaded the square leg fielder and, from the next ball, a Brook pull took the stand past England’s previous best partnership of 411 between greats Colin Cowdrey and Peter May in 1957.

Root found another best in his record-laden career, beating his previous highest score of 254. After 10 hours at the crease, he was eventually beaten by an off-break that Salman Agha got to keep low.

Brook went on and on, toying with the bowling using both classical and unorthodox strokes: cover drives, ramps, flicks and use of the feet. Pakistan became a rabble, beset by misfields and overthrows, while six home bowlers conceded more than 100 runs.

Only eight overs were needed to add 79 with Jamie Smith. Brook went from 250 to 300 in just 29 balls, a holy grail of batting achievements reached thanks to a straight four off Saim Ayub.

It was the 32nd instance of a triple century in Test cricket, which Brook celebrated with a salute to the dressing room and a look to the sky.

The 25-year-old seemed set to challenge Sir Len Hutton’s 364, the highest score by an England batter, until he top-edged a sweep off Ayub. He left owning the fifth-highest score by an Englishman.

Still England were not done, becoming the fourth team to pass 800 before captain Ollie Pope decided enough was enough just before tea.

While Brook and Root were punishing Pakistan, there was the temptation to wonder whether or not their exploits would ultimately be in vain.

Given the surface, it felt like it might still be a challenge for England to dismiss Pakistan for a second time.

But Pakistan, winless in 10 matches at home, are brittle and the pitch, out of nowhere, woke from its slumber. The notion of an England victory went from being in the balance to possible by the end of the day.

Woakes produced the sensational start, finding a crack for the ball to keep low and nip back. Shafique could not believe his off stump was left lying on the ground.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood was dropped twice, by Woakes off Gus Atkinson, then by Atkinson off Woakes, leaving Atkinson to find a leading edge that Zak Crawley pouched on the leg side.

The hosts were caught between hitting themselves out of trouble and digging in. Atkinson produced a beauty to take the edge of Babar and, from the next ball, Ayub criminally miscued Brydon Carse for Ben Duckett to take a fine catch running back at mid-off.

Mohammad Rizwan had his stumps splattered by Carse and Abrar was absent from the ground, yet the prospect of a four-day finish literally slipped through England’s fingers.

Brook can be excused for his flying drop of Jamal at gully, but Shoaib Bashir’s miss of the same man at long leg was a dolly.

Jamal remains on 27, Salman has 41, making England wait for a third successive win in Tests when they have conceded a total in excess of 500.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 556 & 152/6 (Agha Salman 41; Gus Atkinson 2-28) trail England 823/7 decl. (Harry Brook 317, Joe Root 262; Naseem Shah 2-157) by 115 runs.

 

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