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Woakes, Wood and Brook keep England’s Ashes hopes alive

Published

3 months ago

2023/07/9

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Harry Brook, centre, and Ben Stokes run during the fourth day of the third Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Headingley (pic Agencies)

The Ashes are still alive. England’s batters clinched a three-wicket win in a white-knuckled run chase at Headingley, led by Harry Brook’s 75 on his home ground before Chris Woakes and Mark Wood took them across the line.

Australia, who would have sealed a first away Ashes win since 2001 with victory, struck regularly on the fourth day to leave England in serious trouble at 171 for 6. Mitchell Starc was the spearhead, taking two wickets either side of lunch – including the middle-order engine room of Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.

Brook and Woakes added 59 for the seventh wicket, England’s highest partnership of the match, before Starc’s fifth wicket – Brook top-edging to cover – gave Australia another sniff. But Wood, whose five-wicket haul in the first innings set the game up for England, joined Woakes and iced the run chase.

Wood hooked Pat Cummins over fine leg for six, then cleared his front leg to blast Starc through cover and take the requirement down to single figures. With scores tied, Woakes scythed Starc through point for four and roared in celebration, keeping England alive at two-one down heading into the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

England needed a further 224 runs to win at the start of the fourth day but lost a wicket in the fifth over of the morning: Ben Duckett was smashed on the shin by Starc, falling over to the off side. His review could not save him, with ball-tracking projecting that the ball would have crashed into his leg stump.

Unexpectedly, it was Moeen Ali who walked out at No. 3, after Brook had deputised for the injured Ollie Pope in that role in the first innings. The experiment did not last long – Starc ripped out Moeen’s leg stump with a 90mph/144kph rocket – but gave the illusion of extending England’s batting line-up and crucially, allowed Brook to return to No. 5.

Joe Root traded boundaries with Zak Crawley either side of drinks but never settled, and a change of ball in the 19th over brought a wicket in the 20th. Crawley crunched Mitchell Marsh through the off side with a trademark cover drive, but Marsh’s next ball was a fraction shorter and drew the outside edge.

Brook played positively from the outset, spanking Scott Boland through cover-point for consecutive boundaries, but his stand with Root was a brief one. Cummins dug one in short, angling down the leg side, which Root attempted to pull but gloved through to Alex Carey. It was not Cummins’ best ball but extended his remarkable dominance in his head-to-head battle with Root.

Stokes, no stranger to a Headingley run chase, calmly worked his first ball away through the leg side for four but was strangled down the leg side in the second over after lunch, flicking Starc through to Carey to fall for just 13. Starc smiled wryly, exerting his considerable influence on a second successive Test.

Bairstow joined Brook, who had reached 42 after a handful of false shots early in his innings, but did not last long. He inside-edged his sixth ball for four, past his leg stump, then chopped his eighth onto his middle stump, beaten by Starc’s movement back into him; after 78 on the opening day of the series, Bairstow has added 63 runs across his next five innings.

Australia sensed an opening. They were four wickets away and Woakes hardly exuded calm early on, regularly playing and missing and picking up boundaries via both edges of the bat. But with Cummins reluctant to introduce Todd Murphy – who bowled only two overs on the last day – Australia were reliant on their three main seamers.

Brook brought up a 67-ball half-century, his second in successive Tests, but both batters continued to keep Australia’s fielders interested, particularly when facing the short ball. Top-edges looped up tantalisingly without going to hand, and ball regularly beat bat before the drinks break.

Brook crunched boundaries away through point off Cummins and the lesser-spotted Murphy, but was rushed by Starc’s short ball and spooned a catch to cover via the top edge, trudging off with 21 runs still required. But It took England only 14 balls to knock them off.

Murphy’s brilliant parry on the midwicket boundary denied Woakes a certain boundary, but Wood – fuelled by adrenaline – took on Cummins’ bouncer and swiped him into the Football Stand for six. When Wood crunched Starc through cover, England were close; when Woakes slashed him through point, they had their first Ashes win in four years.

Brief scores :

England 237 (Stokes 80, Cummins 6-91) and 254 for 7 (Brook 75, Starc 5-78) beat Australia 263 (Marsh 118, Wood 5-34) and 224 (Head 77) by three wickets

(Cricinfo)

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New Zealand 96-17 Italy: All Blacks move to cusp of Rugby World Cup quarter-finals

Published

2 mins ago

2023/09/30

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Will Jordan produced a stunning finish to score his side's first try (pic BBC)

Superb New Zealand scored an incredible 14 tries and hit 96 points against Italy in Pool A to move to the cusp of the World Cup quarter-finals.

Knowing a defeat would see them eliminated, the All Blacks raced into a pulsating 49-3 half-time lead. They ultimately ran out 96-17 victors with scrum-half Aaron Smith scoring a hat-trick after just 33 minutes.

The All Blacks will guarantee a spot in the knockouts with a win over Uruguay in their final pool match on Thursday. Italy must beat hosts France in their next match to reach a first World Cup quarter-final.

The All Blacks’ win sees them jump up to second in Pool A, level on points with Italy who they now have a superior head-to-head record over.

(BBC)

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New Zealand cruise past Pakistan’s 345 with five wickets in hand

Published

6 hours ago

2023/09/29

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Despite not being full fit, Williamson looked in rhythm during his half-century (Cricbuzz)

Kane Williamson’s return to action headlined New Zealand’s first official warmup match of the 2023 World Cup as they hit the right notes with the bat in a high-scoring game in Hyderabad. Mohammad Rizwan (103) and Babar Azam (80) provided a good platform and the middle order got amongst the runs to help Pakistan post 345. The total, however, proved insufficient as New Zealand, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 97 and three other half-century scores, including that of Williamson, pulled off the chase with 6.2 overs to spare

After Devon Conway was dismissed by Hasan Ali for a golden duck, Ravindra and Williamson got together and added 179 runs in just 22 overs to power New Zealand’s chase. Williamson decided to retire after crossing fifty while Ravindra was dismissed by Agha Salman before he could get a ton. Usama Mir then picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession but fifties from Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, and an important 33 from James Neesham, helped New Zealand over the line in the 44th over.

Earlier, After opting to bat, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the second over to Matt Henry while Mitch Santner had Abdullah Shafique out stumped. Babar, who started watchfully, found his groove while Rizwan also scored at a steady rate as they raised a century partnership to set things up nicely for Pakistan. Babar, however, missed a hundred while Rizwan retired after reaching three figures, giving Pakistan’s lower middle order some time out in the middle. Saud Shakeel (75) and Agha Salman (33*) came up with handy contributions to propel Pakistan past 340.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 345/5 in 50 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 103, Babar Azam 80; Mitch Santner 2-39) lost to New Zealand 346/5 in 43.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 97, Mark Chapman 65; Usama Mir 2-68) by 5 wickets

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Mahedi, Tanzid, Litton and Mehidy star in breezy Bangladesh win

Published

7 hours ago

2023/09/29

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Kusal Perera looked in good touch before retiring hurt (pic Cricinfo)

Half-centuries from Bangladesh’s top three of Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took their side to a comfortable win over Sri Lanka in their first warm-up fixture ahead of the ODI World Cup, in Guwahati on Friday.

Bangladesh bowled Sri Lanka out for 263 and chased it down with eight overs to spare; other than all the issues these facts point to, Sri Lanka will also worry about their opener Kusal Perera, who walked off the field in the 10th over of their innings with a strain in his right shoulder. He hit 34 off 24 before retiring hurt.

Apart from the result, Bangladesh would have been pleased with Tanzid – who made his debut during the Asia Cup in August and has played just five ODIs so far – as he eases into the international scene. His breezy knock of 84 off 88 balls, which included ten fours and two sixes, blunted a Sri Lanka attack that struggled to exert any pressure. His 131-run opening stand off 124 balls with Litton, who notched up 61, laid a fine platform for the team to chase down Sri Lanka’s 263. Mehidy, who was Bangladesh’s captain for the game, followed the openers’ efforts with an unbeaten 67. He had also bowled 10 tight overs, taking 1 for 32.

After they opted to bat, Sri Lanka began promisingly, with Pathum Nissanka adding a combined 104 with Perera and Kusal Mendis, before they lost their first wicket in the 15th over. Nissanka top-scored with an aggressive 68 and Dhananjaya de Silva made 55 at No. 6 but most of the middle order struggled to get going, with offspinner Mahedi Hassan picking up 3 for 36 in his nine overs. Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed and Mehidy also chipped in with a wicket each to bowl Sri Lanka out for in the final over.

Bangladesh will play their next warm-up game against England on Monday while Sri Lanka will meet Afghanistan on Tuesday. Both matches will be played at the same venue.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh 264 for 3 in 42 overs (Tanzid Hasan 84, Mehidy Hasan Mirza 67*, Litton Das 61, Mushfiqur Rahim 35*) beat Sri Lanka 263 in 49.1 overs (Pathum Nissanka 68, Kusal Perera 34, Kusal Mendis 22, Dhananjaya de Silva 55, Mahedi Hassan 3-36) by seven wickets