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By the close on another rain-swept, shortened day, West Indies had wiped out the deficit for the loss of three wickets

The Report by Alan Gardner08-Sep-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:29

West Indies their worst enemies again

While Ben Stokes has made the strongest impression on this match so far, it was given an indelible mark on the second evening as James Anderson became the first Englishman to reach 500 Test wickets. Stokes’ six-for had upstaged his team-mate in West Indies’ first innings and he continued to shape events around him as England gained a 71-run first-innings lead – but Anderson was immediately to the fore as the tourists batted again.By the close on another rain-swept, shortened day, West Indies had wiped out the deficit for the loss of three wickets. Kieran Powell, who seemed set to capitalise on the latest drop in a series of fallible catching, was the third to fall as Anderson returned for a second spell and produced an unplayable bail-trimmer to end a 48-run partnership with Shai Hope. With the pitch continuing to offer assistance to the seamers, the deciding Investec Test was tantalisingly poised.Anderson’s big moment came in his second over with the new ball, a vintage inswinger that cut a path inside Kraigg Brathwaite’s defensive push to knock back middle stump. As Lord’s rose, the trademark Anderson grimace of effort blossomed into a smile, before he gestured with the ball to each side of the ground in acknowledgement of the landmark.

Lord’s low

• 317 – Runs scored by both teams in their first innings, West Indies 123 and England 194, the lowest in Lord’s Tests in last 50 years, and the fifth-lowest overall.

• 3 – England players to achieve the double of scoring fifty-plus and taking five-for in the same Test at Lord’s: Ian Botham (four times), Moeen Ali against South Africa earlier this season and Ben Stokes in this match. It’s the first time Stokes has done this all-round double in his Test career.

• 2 – Instances of West Indies fast bowlers picking all 10 wickets in an innings this year – against Pakistan in Bridgetown and this match. They had not done this even once before this year since 2011. The last time they achieve this in an away Test was in Napier in 2008-09.

• 6.83 – Kyle Hope’s average this series – the worst by a West Indies player batting five or more innings in a series in top-six batting positions. His scores have been: 25, 12, 3, 0, 0, 1.

Quickly, a chorus of “Oh, Jimmy Jimmy” struck up around the ground on which he claimed his first wicket – Mark Vermeulen, bowled – 14 years ago, as well as several other milestones along the way. With the sun out and conditions at their most hospitable for batsmen (and spectators) in the match, England had an immediate opening – though they spurned the chance to remove Powell, on 2, in the following over, when Stokes dropped a thick edge at fourth slip off Stuart Broad.West Indies did lose their second wicket soon after, Broad in no doubt that his delivery was hitting the stumps before Kyle Hope’s pads intervened. Hope backed name with deed in an optimistic review but was soon on his way after completing a difficult maiden Test series in which he scored 41 runs across six innings.With the clock ticking past 7pm, England’s eagerness began to get the better of them, with both of their reviews wasted attempting to overturn lbw decisions against Hope and Roston Chase. Anderson was also given a second warning – and a talking to from Marais Erasmus – for running on the pitch.England’s advantage had been built during the afternoon on a bristling half-century from Stokes, facing down a five-wicket haul from Kemar Roach, before two lower-order partnerships added to West Indies’ frustrations. They were again left to rue mistakes in the field, as Stokes was dropped on 24. He then combined with Jonny Bairstow to lift England towards parity, although when Stokes fell, Shannon Gabriel hitting his stumps for the second time in an over (the first coming off a no-ball), England were only five runs ahead.That lead was stretched beyond expectations as the last two wickets added a further 60 runs, with Broad’s 38 – including sixes launched into the Tavern and Mound Stands – becoming the second-highest contribution of the innings.Jason Holder eventually put down the tail-end insurrection with his third and fourth wickets to finish an extended middle session and, in bright sunshine, there were plenty of overs remaining in the day. Not since the 2005 Ashes Test had both sides been dismissed at Lord’s for less than 200 in the first innings (the same match, coincidentally, in which Glenn McGrath reached 500 Test wickets).Earlier, in stubbornly overcast conditions, batting was seldom straightforward – even if Stokes’ powerful stroke-making sometimes made it look so – but West Indies once again gave England another potentially crucial let-off. With Holder having just removed one of his three slips, Gabriel drew a thick edge from Stokes that flew towards the freshly created gap and although Kyle Hope flung himself across for a one-handed catch he couldn’t hold on.Holder immediately reinforced the cordon but the chance had gone. If Stokes had fallen, England would have been 65 for 6; instead the sixth-wicket pair put on 56, the joint-highest partnership of the match.With rain interrupting the morning session, play did not get back underway until 2.15pm. Stokes was dropped from the second ball after the resumption and then proceeded to rub it in on his way to a sixth 50-plus score of a summer that has confirmed his maturation as a Test batsman.Stokes and Bairstow have been England’s most prolific pairing since the start of 2016 and they took England into three figures. Stokes’ check-drive to move to 49 was the shot of a man in form and his next delivery was cut powerfully to the cover sweeper to bring up his fifty, which followed on from career-best figures with the ball on the first day.Bairstow had looked less comfortable, his outside edge beaten several times by Roach, who then went wide on the crease to arrow the ball in and win an lbw decision – Bairstow reviewed in vain, Hawk-Eye showing it to be hitting leg stump flush.Things threatened to go maddeningly wrong for West Indies a few overs later, when Gabriel brought a beast of a delivery back in from round the wicket to hit Stokes’ off stump, only for replays to confirm he had overstepped. Gabriel puffed out his cheeks, lugged his sizeable frame back to the top of his mark… and two balls later sent a near-90mph ball straight through Stokes’ defences again, ending any thoughts the allrounder might get on the batting honours board (for a second time) as well.England had, by that stage, crept into the lead and although Moeen Ali did not last long, wafting Roach to gully to complete the bowler’s five-for, the ninth-wicket stand pushed the advantage from ‘slender’ towards ‘handy’. Shane Dowrich dropped Roland-Jones on 11, a poor effort moving to his right, although he only lasted four more balls before edging Holder. Broad and Anderson then made merry to add another 31.Only 4.2 overs were possible during the morning skirmish, although that was enough time for West Indies to take the wicket of Dawid Malan. Roach produced another demanding ball from the Nursery End – similar to that which did for Alastair Cook on the first evening – holding its line up the slope to take the outside edge. While Malan managed only 20, it did at least mean he had doubled the first-innings contribution of England’s top five.

Hampshire recovered an all but hopeless position thanks to two young quicks Brad Wheal and Gavin Griffiths to keave Sussex off the pace in the chase for the last eight

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Hove15-Jul-2016
ScorecardRoss Taylor could not get Sussex over the line•Getty Images

A low-scoring classic at Hove saw Sussex Sharks snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as a floundering middler order saw them make a mountain out of a low target set by Hampshire. A simple chase of 135 from 20 overs took a turn when Sussex’s batsmen only managed five runs from three overs, in which they lost the wickets of Matt Machan and Chris Jordan.That meant 23 needed off the final three overs, which soon became 17 off 11 when Dawson caught Craig Cachopa at deep third man off the bowling of Gavin Griffiths. The silver lining of the wicket meant Ross Taylor found himself back on strike. Three fours in the remaining five balls of the penultimate over meant a manageable five off the final six.With three needed from the final two deliveries, Taylor went to lap Brad Wheal around the corner, only for the ball to pass him and leg stump through to the keeper. No wide was signalled and, with a cracking yorker, Wheal sealed a one-run win for Hampshire. Sussex Sharks skipper Luke Wright, while questioning the wide decision did not shy away from the brutal truth that Sussex lost this match through their own inexcusable carelessness.Even Matt Prior, watching on from the stands, could not bite his tongue when Sussex’s middle order woes were put to him, suggesting that he was prepared to help – although stopping short of saying in quite what capacity.
While Griffiths returned three figures, it was 19-year-old Wheal that influenced where this game was headed. It was not just his ability to send the ball down consistently above the 85mph mark but his knack of second-guessing the batsmen to return 14 dot balls. Bowling Luke Wright for just nine and then trapping Machan in front just as he looked to steer the game away from Hampshire were marquee wickets.Having chosen to bat, Hampshire posted an under-par target with a batting effort that went some way to explaining why they were rooted to the bottom of the South Group before the match. It makes for unsettling viewing. In an era when the phrase “Moneyball” has been bastardised to the extent that you could get away with applying the phrase to a petrol station meal deal, they were one of the few sides that appreciated the analytics and application of T20 theorems. This will be the first season in the last eight in which they have not made it out of the group stages.Liam Dawson, morphing from one of English cricket’s “most improved” to “most valuable” white ball cricketers, cast as many disapproving looks to teammates as boundaries. Miscommunication with Tom Alsop and Shahid Afridi saw both run out embarrassingly, leaving him to pick up the pieces.Former Barbados under-19 Jofra Archer made his T20 Blast debut and, in his second over, picked up the wicket of Adam Wheater, with Chris Jordan taking the catch. It was Jordan who spotted Archer and recommended that Sussex make use of his British passport and bring him to Hove. Judging by the chain and chunky golden watch, Jordan may accessorise him, too.When he wasn’t encouraging Archer, he was showing him how it’s done. Four overs returned two for 14, as Jordan toyed with the tail when he finished his set with the 17th and 19th overs. His part in the game did not end with the ball, as he made an appearance in the 16th over of the chase, in at No. 6, as Sussex began to get stage fright.Three sixes – Taylor hitting Tino Best into the flats out at midwicket and Machan taking two in a row off Dawson – gave Sussex a degree of insurance. So, too, did Chris Nash’s 32 off the top of the innings. But a game that by Wright’s estimation should have been won in the 18th over slipped through their fingers in embarrassing fashion.It has been a strange season for Sussex: one which started with talk of an all out attack on the sole promotion spot out of Division Two and now, in the midst of the county summer’s own silly season, has them assessing how many eggs to place in each basket. Promotion is still not out of the question. But the uncertain weather and sheer effort needed to win four day games on down-trodden tracks means they will have to embark on an unheard of run in their final 10 matches to take them back to the top division.In the short term, staying in the hunt for T20 success means placing everything on beating Essex Eagles, Surrey and Glamorgan – all of whom sit above them in the group. They are still in control of their own destiny to a point but have lost all wiggle room.

Teenage leg-spinner Mason Crane took 2 for 35 on his full debut to help Hampshire to a seventh straight home victory against Surrey.

ECB/PA10-Jul-2015
ScorecardAdam Wheater scored his highest T20 score (file photo)•Getty Images

Teenage leg-spinner Mason Crane took 2 for 35 on his full debut to help Hampshire to a seventh straight home victory against Surrey.Crane, who was plucked from taking a five-wicket haul for the second team yesterday to replace the injured Chris Wood in the side, claimed the legendary Kumar Sangakkara as his first professional wicket.Adam Wheater had early struck his highest T20 score of 78, beating his previous best of 36, as Hampshire won by 29 to rekindle their quarter-final hopes.After being put in by Gareth Batty, James Vince brought up the first boundary of the night in the second over by dancing down the wicket and slashing through point, before he followed it up with another four through the same region next ball.Michael Carberry took a liking to James Burke’s short and wayward bowling, dispatching him for four boundaries in a row, before he sliced to Jason Roy at backward point.

Insights

This win has got Hampshire’s season back on track following three consecutive losses. Although debutant Mason Crane played an important role in the win, perhaps the key to Hampshire’s victory lay before a ball had even been bowled – in their team. It would have been easy for Hampshire to have made some sweeping changes in light of three consecutive defeats, to lose patience with a formula that has got them to five consecutive finals days. They didn’t. Only one change was made. Only a couple of counties have named fewer players in their T20 squads than Hampshire this season: familiarity breeds success.

Vince, with Wheater, thwacked a stand of 50 for the second wicket off 23 balls before the skipper edged to Tom Curran at short third man off Zafar Ansari for 31.Wheater kept the score ticking along with his textbook reverse sweeps and straight drives, and he reached a deserved half-century from 29 balls – as he and Owais Shah added 84 for the third wicket.Wicketkeeper Wheater continued his assault of the Surrey bowling and just managed to clear the man on the boundary to hit his only six, but departed soon after for a sweet 78 off 49 balls.Veteran Azhar Mahmood returned the pick of the bowling figures – 2 for 19 – including two in two deliveries in the penultimate over, Shah picking out Roy for 37 before Will Smith came and went.Hampshire ended on 186 for six, and Surrey’s reply started in stuttering style as Jason Roy collected a boundary with typical oomph, but opening partner Curran chipped nervously to Vince at extra cover.Jackson Bird made it two wickets in three Hampshire deliveries to comprehensively bowl England one-day smasher Roy for a subdued nine.Sangakkara and Vikram Solanki, who have a combined age of 76, got the visitors back on track to end the powerplay on 50 for two.Spin sensation Crane excelled in his opening over in first-team cricket with four dots and a tough caught and bowled chance. And the 18-year-old had the moment of his life in his second over when Sri Lankan Test star Sangakkara hit a full toss to a sprawling Joe Gatting.Smith trapped Rory Burns in front in the next over as spin turned the game in Hampshire’s favour. Crane picked up an important second wicket with a guileful leg break which beat the outside of Solanki’s bat before Wheater simply stumped him for 34.Zafar Ansari came and went – smartly snatched behind – as Smith ended with impressive figures of two for 17 – before Danny Briggs got in on the act to see off Ben Foakes.The late wickets of Burke and Mahmood completed the Surrey collapse as Hampshire got their T20 Blast campaign back on track in front of a highest Ageas Bowl crowd for two years.

Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension. White has also refused to apologise for not going to the aid of Samuels when he suffered a severe facial injury from a Lasith Malinga bouncer later in the same match.Warne was banned for a match after he grabbed the shirt of Samuels during the second innings of the January 6 game and while Samuels was also charged with breaching the Code of Conduct, his hearing was delayed by a fortnight due to his injury. Samuels was let off with a reprimand after the Code of Conduct commissioner John Price ruled that Samuels threw his bat after “extreme provocation” from Warne, who had just thrown a ball that hit Samuels.However, the problems had started with an incident earlier in the match when Samuels was bowling and appeared to grab the Stars batsman David Hussey, who was turning to complete a second run. The charge that emerged from that incident, that Samuels “engaged in deliberate or inappropriate physical contact with a player or official”, was dismissed.”Being provoked, I don’t think you can use that as an excuse,” White said in Melbourne on Tuesday. “It’s remarkable, isn’t it? How many times have you seen someone throw their cricket bat on a cricket field and get [reprimanded] for being extremely provoked? I’ve never seen it before. That’s what the judiciary came up with.”The heated nature of the match continued when Samuels was struck by a bouncer and the only Stars player who came to check on his welfare was the bowler, Malinga. The injury proved to be serious enough to rule Samuels out of the upcoming ODI series against Australia and meant he was confined to his hotel room for the past two weeks, but White said there were a number of reasons the Stars players did not come to Samuels’ aid.”I don’t think he’s very well-liked, definitely not just from the Stars’ point of view but probably in Australian cricket,” White said. “People think he carries on a bit. There’s probably a few reasons [we didn’t check on him]. We were quite busy.”

Charl Willoughby, the left-arm fast bowler, has signed a two-year contract with Essex

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2011Charl Willoughby, the left-arm fast bowler, has signed a two-year contract with Essex. The former South Africa seamer, who has played two Tests and three ODIs for his country, joins the county after a six-year stint with Somerset.Willoughby, 36, played 15 matches in the 2011 season, taking 53 wickets at an average of 32.47. Commenting on his transfer, Willoughby said his aim is to help Essex gain promotion to the first Division in the County Championship.”I obviously have a lot of experience in the game and Paul Grayson ([he Essex head coach] wants a wise old head to help David Masters with the bowling attack,” Willoughby told the county’s official website. “Essex have some promising youngsters coming through the ranks and I can certainly pass on some of my knowledge as a left-armer.”Grayson said Essex were fortunate to get his services considering there were other counties keen on signing him up.”I’m delighted with the signing of Charl,” Grayson said. “He is a very experienced bowler and someone we wanted to add to our ranks alongside David Masters and Graham Napier. He is a quality left-arm bowler and we see him also helping Reece Topley and Tymal Mills in their development with his experience and knowledge of the game”.

Tasmania lost Ricky Ponting and two of his team-mates as they attempted to reach the 163 needed for victory in an action-packed match

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2010Tasmania 125 & 3 for 73 (Ponting 27) need 90 runs to beat New South Wales 97 & 190 (Katich 36)

ScorecardSimon Katich top scored for New South Wales with 36 on another worrying day for the Test players•Getty Images

Tasmania lost Ricky Ponting and two of his team-mates as they attempted to reach the 163 needed for victory in an action-packed match at the SCG. New South Wales, who are crammed with Test stars, were dismissed for 190 on the second day, with Shane Watson, Simon Katich and Brad Haddin again going without making a significant impact.In another worrying sign for Australia, Ponting was out late in the day when hooking Shane Watson to fine leg for 27. Not only did the dismissal by his team-mate stop Ponting from a long stay, it also ensured he would be peppered with short balls by England at the Gabba next week.Watson finished with 2 for 17 off seven overs after having Jon Wells lbw in the same over he claimed Ponting. Tasmania were 3 for 73 at stumps, still requiring 90 in the testing conditions.Katich’s 36 was the top score for the Blues – he showed no lingering effects from the shoulder hurt on Wednesday – as they improved on their first-innings 97. Xavier Doherty took the lead in the head-to-head battle with Nathan Hauritz, who was called for the final over of the day in his only offerings of the game so far.Doherty, who delivered four overs in the first innings, collected 2 for 45 off 20, including bowling Katich around his legs. His opening breakthrough came when Moises Henriques pushed one to Ponting at short cover, while the offspinner Jason Krejza also gained a couple of wickets.Doherty was also responsible for the run-out of Watson, who added 15 to his first-innings score of 6. New South Wales’ top seven all reached double figures – Haddin got 17 – but none could go on against the visitors’ willing attack.

Stuart Clark’s first day of first-class captaincy couldn’t have gone much better as New South Wales dominated Western Australia despite some fireworks from the debutant Mitchell Marsh

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009
ScorecardDoug Bollinger finished with 3 for 33•Getty Images

Stuart Clark’s first day of first-class captaincy couldn’t have gone much better as New South Wales dominated Western Australia despite some fireworks from the debutant Mitchell Marsh. At stumps on the opening day the Blues had already claimed first-innings points and had extended their lead to 37 after some dismal batting from the Warriors.The 18-year-old Marsh was one of only three Western Australia batsmen to reach double figures and he finished unbeaten on 59 from 70 balls. Wes Robinson (22) and Luke Ronchi (17) were the only other Warriors batsmen to make it past ten as the Blues capitalised on Clark’s decision to bowl first.Clark picked up two victims but the best figures belonged to Doug Bollinger, who was rushed to Perth to help his state despite being officially the 12th man in the Gabba Test. He finished with 3 for 33 and his analysis would have been even better had he not overstepped six times in ten overs.In reply, Phillip Hughes started to find some touch with 58 from 65 deliveries and Western Australia’s 131 looked woefully inadequate as Hughes and Phil Jaques (28) built a 77-run opening stand. Usman Khawaja chipped in with 39 and at the close of play the Blues were 4 for 168 with Daniel Smith on 22 and Moises Henriques on 11.Brad Knowles had 2 for 63 for the Warriors but their task was made even harder by injuries to two key bowlers. Ashley Noffke (ankle) and Brett Dorey (Achilles tendon) were both ruled out of the side having failed to recover in time despite resting from Wednesday’s FR Cup match.

Centurion reflects on the moment he knew Australia were broken before his own wave of emotions breaks

Andrew Miller14-Jun-20251:53

Steyn on SA’s WTC win: ‘We saw the biggest of the biggest come through’

Aiden Markram’s long walk back to the pavilion at the end of his epic, trophy-seizing century, ought by rights to have been one of the proudest, most self-reflective moments of his life.With a mere six runs still needed for World Test Championship glory, here was his chance to soak in the moment, and stride off the hallowed turf of Lord’s with a salute to all corners. Surely, with 136 fourth-innings runs to his name, Markram knew in his heart of hearts (if not quite in his frontal cortex) that he was the man who had just exorcised some 30 years of South Africa big-stage failure.That wasn’t quite how the man himself allowed the moment to unfold, however.”I wish I could have,” he said. “But that’s me being me when I get out. I’m always angry.”At least looking at the building in front was pretty special. And then, naturally, the walk up [the stairs] was incredibly special. So at least there’s one or two memories from that.”Related

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Markram’s reaction was perhaps the final vestige of South Africa’s suspension of belief. Despite all of the well-worn caveats that the nation has learned to factor into impending glory, the thronging support in the stands had long since abandoned their reticence. Perhaps the biggest clue that the game was up, however, came from the reaction of Australia’s own fielders.Travis Head’s sharp take at midwicket created barely a flicker of recognition. For most people in the crowd, the first inkling that Markram was out came as he clasped his own helmet in agony and turned on his heel. But soon afterwards it was clear, as one by one, the Australians trooped up to shake his hand. It was wonderfully magnanimous in the moment, but their body language wasn’t just beaten, but broken.”I noticed it for sure,” Markram said. “Obviously, it was a great touch from their side. There’s quite a bit of banter had on the field. But all is well that ends well, I guess. It’s always nice to be appreciated from that position.”Perhaps he’s still in a trance, still locked into the duty of delivering an innings that, by every conceivable measure – grandness of occasion, fourth innings, and against a relentless attack of unprecedented quality and longevity – earns it the right to be considered the greatest Test innings ever produced by a South African.”Nothing’s hit me just yet, so maybe that’s a good thing, but something needs to hit me soon, to get out all the emotions, because it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.”It was Aiden Markram’s third fourth-innings hundred•ICC/Getty Images

But there was a moment, as Markram marched through to his century late on the third evening, when the mask cracked and the enormity of his performance seemed ready to engulf him. With a stiff upper lip that would doubtless have earned the approval of the many English public-school boys in the stands, he quickly gulped down his emotions – though not without ducking a request for a close-of-play word to the cameras – and reset himself to perform his duty.”Yeah, it was weird last night. I was pretty emotional,” he said. “From about quarter past five, the game had slowed down. I had a bit of time to look around and see all the fans, the family, all the mates that were there … I was looking at the changing room. I was like, ‘Yes, we are now getting close’, and it caught me off guard. Then the hundred happened, and a couple of tears leaked out that I was trying to fight.”Markram reached the close on 102 not out and, with just 69 runs still to get on the final day, he went on to sleep “horribly”.”I tried to take a sleeping tablet, it didn’t work,” he said. “The mind just couldn’t switch off. But fortunately, today wasn’t ever going to be a full day, so I knew it would be fine.”Markram went the full journey in the course of this contest. Way back on that frenzied opening day, he epitomised South Africa’s hunger with his highly-strung display in the slips – first, by being the distraction as he dived across David Bedingham from second slip, then by clinging on as Wiaan Mulder repeated the dose from third, as Kagiso Rabada cranked open the contest with two Australian wickets in four balls.Later that day, his lesser-heralded offspin extracted a well-set Steven Smith for 66, and on the stroke of lunch on Friday, he finally ended Australia’s dogged tenth-wicket stand as Josh Hazlewood holed out to cover.In between whiles, however, he had also fallen for a sixth-ball duck in South Africa’s ropey start to their batting display. And, having made 4 from five balls as captain in Barbados last June, as South Africa’s last appearance in an ICC final fell agonisingly short of glory, he admitted that the urge to stay in the moment was his single biggest driver, when his chance came again to steer his country’s fortunes.Aiden Markram got a well-deserved drink from a friend in the stands•PA Images via Getty Images

“I thought a lot about the T20 World Cup last night and how hopeless I felt sitting on the side after getting out,” he said. “I was like, I don’t want to sit there again. So, this gave me a bit of motivation to make sure I stayed at the crease, if I could. But never once thought about the achievements and what would come with it. It was always about just trying to get the job done and trying to win.”That mindset meant that, throughout his game-breaking 147-run stand with Temba Bavuma, there was never any question about backing up his captain’s desire to soldier on, even after his left hamstring gave way just six runs into his critical knock of 66 that spanned three-and-a-quarter hours.”To see his hammy go was obviously a bit worrying,” Markram said. “We got to tea, and he said he felt he could still keep going, but he wanted to know from my side if the twos becoming ones would affect me.”I said, ‘there’s no chance’. It’s about the partnership, staying out there for longer, getting the ball even softer, even older, and that’s exactly what he did. He still managed to run twos and threes, so I think there was a lot of adrenaline there, but he showed a lot of leadership and character. Maybe not the big, big numbers, but the ones that really make a difference, and that was tremendous for us.”Besides being his most important innings, this was also Markram’s third century in five Tests against Australia, a team against whom he is clearly primed to raise his game. “Australians and South Africans are pretty similar,” he said. “They play the game hard, they play the game to compete, they play the game to really win, and it brings out the best in us. It’s just a battle between two teams that really don’t have any interest in losing.”And now, South Africa are the World Test Champions – an accolade earned in spite of the many well-documented brickbats they faced in the build-up, both in terms of their unusual route to this final, as well as the baggage that such a contest brings with it. “It’s as big and as tough as it gets,” Markram said. “All the questions that have been asked in the past have fortunately now been answered.”And now, at the very last, perhaps he’ll get his chance to savour the moment, now that he has lived it to the fullest. The first inkling of this occurred in the moments before the presentation, amid the melee on the outfield, and the tears and euphoria of his team-mates.Markram was beckoned by a familiar face in the stands, and after some initial hesitation, he trotted over to let his personal party begin.”Yeah, that was cool,” he said. “That was one of my mates from school. He wanted me to come over. And I was like, ‘man, I can’t, it’s too busy. It’s chaos’. And then he was like, ‘Oh, here’s a beer’ … and I was like, okay! I’ve had my first one for today, and I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few more.”

Amanda-Jade Wellington was confident she could defend 10 runs in the final over

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2023Tahlia McGrath lauded the all-round efforts of her team after Adelaide Strikers went back-to-back in the WBBL with a thrilling three-run victory in the final at Adelaide Oval.In a match that came down to the final ball, legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington held her nerve, having been lofted for six by Mikayla Hinkley, to bring the requirement down to five off two balls.But Hinkley fell agonisingly short of another six next ball, caught at long-off by Jemma Barsby, then Nicola Hancock couldn’t hit the boundary off the last that would have either won the match or earned a Super Over.Related

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It was another display of the strength of Strikers’ bowling attack, which had been the best during the regular season, with Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown and McGrath herself all coming to the fore.”I’m going to use my quote from last year because it is the exact same, that was pretty bloody special,” she said at the presentation. “We called it last year. We were sitting in the changerooms, we said we’re not done, we want to go back-to-back. And we’ve had that fight, that determination all year.”This team is a proper team. There’s no individuals, no ego. We know our role. We show up, day in, day out and it’s a lot of fun playing with this team.”Speaking to Fox Cricket moments after the title was secured, Schutt admitted that Strikers’ total had looked under par but that McGrath had given them belief.”[I’m] a bit emotional to be honest. A few tears out there,” she said. “We set out a bold goal last year to go back-to-back and to achieve it is amazing. Running out there, 125 didn’t look good but Tahlia said it was a tricky pitch after batting for the longest. We were confident if we could bowl well we could defend it.”The final was played in front of 12,379 spectators which made it the second highest for a standalone WBBL fixture behind the 2021 final at Optus Stadium in Perth. And for the second year in a row, Wellington was entrusted with the final over.”I’m just overwhelmed with joy,” she told reporters. “Two years in row to have the faith to bowl the last over is pretty special. For me, I love those moments, especially when there’s a crowd behind me and my team are backing him. I was feeling [the pressure] from the 17th over, especially when the [power] surge was happening. Was looking at the scoreboard taking note of how many runs I needed to defend off the last and thought anything over 10 I had in the bag.”Brisbane Heat captain Jess Jonassen praised the performances of Strikers, terming them the “benchmark” of the competition, but looked crestfallen at not being able to chase 126.”To our girls, commiserations. I’m super proud of you all, we’ve worked very hard just to get to this moment,” she said. “Keep your heads up, I know it hurts, but we’ll be back bigger and better and stronger next year.”

Every batting record up for grabs on a daily basis in absence of The Hundred elite

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2022Derbyshire 312 for 2 (Reece 106, Godleman 87, Masood 53*) beat Northamptonshire 311 for 7 (McManus 107, Zaib 62) by eight wicketsLuis Reece scored his second century of this year’s Royal London Cup campaign to set up a Derbyshire victory by eight wickets against Northamptonshire on a day of records and big runs at Wantage Road.It was Derbyshire’s highest successful run chase in all List A cricket, beating their previous best of 309, also against Northamptonshire, in 2017.Reece (106) shared a mammoth opening partnership worth 204 with his captain Billy Godleman (87) as Derbyshire chased down 312 to win. It was a record stand in List A games between these two sides and the highest for any Derbyshire wicket beating the previous best between Kim Barnett and Chris Adams in 1997.When both fell, Derbyshire were behind the run rate but Shan Masood (53) and Harry Came (44) kept up the pace, making short work of the remaining runs in a blaze of boundaries with seven balls to spare.That meant subdued celebrations for Lewis McManus, who had hit his maiden List A century (107 off 111 balls). The keeper shared a stand of 161 with Tom Taylor (75 off 54 balls) who also hit his highest score in all formats in Northamptonshire colours.Related

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Statisticians could take delight at least. It was the biggest Northamptonshire List A partnership for any wicket against Derbyshire, beating the previous best of 158 between David Sales and Alex Wakely in 2012. It was also the highest fifth-wicket partnership in List A cricket for Northamptonshire against any opposition, beating the previous record set by Allan Lamb and David Capel.Derbyshire made an immediate breakthrough when Ben Aitchison struck in consecutive overs to remove the dangerous pair of Ricardo Vasconcelos, who was caught off a top edge, and skipper Will Young who edged to the keeper.Saif Zaib and Emilio Gay led the recovery, putting on 58 in 10 overs, with Zaib stroking boundaries off three consecutive deliveries from Sam Conners before Gay (29) chipped Reece straight to short midwicket.After putting on 59 with McManus, Zaib (62) reverse swept Mattie McKiernan straight to Mark Watt behind square. It was to be the last wicket for some time as Taylor joined forces with McManus.McManus’ first 50 included just three boundaries but he ran sharply between the wickets and reached the milestone off 79 deliveries. From there he accelerated with the rest of his runs coming off just 32 balls. He hit Watt straight down the ground for six and hooked Nick Potts and Conners behind square for two further maximums. Conners went the distance again when McManus struck him high over deep midwicket and smashed him down the pitch.Taylor smote Watt over long-on for six but was content to let McManus have the strike initially. He took a liking to Potts though, playing a stinging drive through the covers and whipping him through midwicket. He crunched Connors down the ground for four and scooped him over the keeper to bring up his fifth List A half-century. The carnage continued when he swung Reece high over long-on into the stands for six.The pair were finally parted when McManus was run out while Taylor fell when he missed an attempted scoop and was bowled by Conners.Derbyshire got off to a bright start in the chase. Reece soon found the boundary, playing a brace of perfect on-drives down the pitch off Taylor, scooping him for another boundary and whipping Nathan Buck over backward square leg for six. He advanced to his half-century off exactly 50 deliveries with his eighth boundary.Godleman too was timing the ball beautifully through the covers and reached his half-century by pulling Buck aggressively for four.The Falcons otherwise breezed past 150 without loss in the 26th over with neither batter looking troubled or needing to take many risks, most of the boundaries coming along the floor rather than through the air. Northamptonshire’s largely inexperienced attack seldom looked threatening after almost drawing the edge in the opening overs. Wickets looked most likely to come through spin with Zaib having three lbw appeals turned down in two overs.Derbyshire passed 200 in the 35th over but when Reece attempted to force the pace, coming down the pitch to Taylor, he could only pick out Gay who took an excellent tumbling legside boundary catch. He had faced 120 balls and hit 13 fours and one six.Four overs later Godleman (99 balls) departed too, run out thanks to some sharp work by Sales with Derbyshire still needing 91 with nine overs to go.Shan Masood held the key to Derbyshire’s hopes and he came out determined to play his shots, whipping a legside half volley from Sales off his pads for six, supported by Came who struck two big sixes as the pair added 50 in five overs to leave Derbyshire needing 36 off the last five.