Saturday, September 21, 2024

Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey take Australia to competitive total at Headingley

Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey take Australia to competitive total at Headingley

England need 271 to level their ODI series against Australia at Headingley, with the tourists boosted by fifties from captain Mitch Marsh and wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

After inviting Australia to bat first, Brydon Carse took an eventful three for 75, while there were two wickets for Matthew Potts, Jacob Bethell and Adil Rashid, including his 200th in ODIs, as the tourists lurched to 221 for nine.

But Carey refused to buckle and blazed eight fours and three sixes in his 74 off 67 balls, marshalling last man Josh Hazlewood in a last-wicket stand of 49, that lifted Australia to 270 all out in 44.4 overs.

With Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc back after illness saw them miss Thursday’s seven-wicket win at Trent Bridge, Australia, who were also grateful for 60 off 59 balls by Marsh, might fancy their chances on a pitch that offered England’s bowlers early seam movement and spin.

Travis Head was Australia’s match-winner in Nottingham with a superb 154 not out but he was skittish early on.

Head was beaten on both edges by Olly Stone, replacing Jofra Archer for his first ODI since January 2023, as he and new opening partner Matthew Short enjoyed some early luck.

When England overpitched, Head was punishing and 28 of his 29 runs came off boundaries but he directed a leg-side delivery at hip height, usually meat and drink for him, down the throat of Stone off Carse.

Short was similarly boom or bust, with Australia taking just seven singles in getting to 59 for one off the first powerplay, but he fiddled outside off through to Jamie Smith to reward Potts’ change of ends.

Adil Rashid bowling in the second ODI between England and Australia
Adil Rashid bagged his 200th ODI wicket (Danny Lawson/PA)

Potts turned up the crowd noise even further when snaking through the gate of Steve Smith, booed to and from the crease again, after Marsh had settled with a mighty six out the ground in a costly Carse over that went for 20.

From 89 for three, Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne stitched together a 56-run stand, with Australia’s captain belting two sixes off Carse to bring up fifty, but both perished in successive Bethell overs.

Attempting to punish a drag down, Labuschagne was perhaps surprised by the extra bounce and skewed to mid-on for 19, while Marsh wore a wry smile when he missed a sweep, not even bothering to review being given lbw after being struck on the back leg.

Glenn Maxwell slammed his first ball into the stands but Bethell had his revenge by taking the catch as Australia’s all-rounder went big only to fall short to give Rashid his landmark wicket.

Jacob Bethell celebrates after dismissing Mitchell Marsh
Jacob Bethell dismissed Mitchell Marsh (Danny Lawson/PA)

At 161 for six, Australia were in danger of not making 200 but they were boosted by a handy 55-run stand between Carey and Aaron Hardie, both taking advantage of two loose overs from Liam Livingstone and one from Will Jacks.

The reintroduction of Carse paid dividends, though, as Hardie miscued to midwicket and Starc flapped at his first ball and chipped to Potts for his second catch in two balls.

Rashid took out Adam Zampa for his second wicket but Carey shepherded the strike with Hazlewood to great effect, turning down singles and only occasionally cutting loose to get Australia past 250.

He brought up a half-century with a fine straight drive for six off Jacks, with Stone and Potts also going the distance, before holing out to deep point to end Australia’s innings.

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England suffer more batting woes as Australia ease to win at Headingley

England suffer more batting woes as Australia ease to win at Headingley

England are in the familiar position of being 2-0 down to Australia with three to play after a deflating batting performance saw them lose the second ODI by 68 runs.

Set 271 to win, England’s hopes of levelling the series appeared a lost cause when they lurched to 65 for five in 9.3 overs against an Australia side who fielded eight of their 2023 World Cup final XI.

Jamie Smith, who has impressed to such a degree at Test level this summer that he has ended long-term scrutiny on the wicketkeeping position, spared England’s blushes with an encouraging 49 off 61 balls.

But England were all out for 202 in 40.2 overs and, a little over a year after losing the first two Tests in the Ashes, they are in an identical bind in another five-match series against their old rivals.

England turned the tide then to claim a thrilling 2-2 draw but they have been outplayed twice in the last three days by the world champions, having suffered a seven-wicket thrashing at Trent Bridge.

As on Thursday, they had their moments in Leeds, reducing Australia to 221 for nine but failed to apply the finishing touch as Alex Carey’s 74 off 67 balls lifted the tourists to a competitive 270 all out.

Josh Hazlewood, back alongside Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell after illness, was vital to a last-wicket stand that frustrated a much more inexperienced England outfit. Hazlewood and Starc then shared the first three wickets to take the wind out of the home side’s sails.

Phil Salt was dropped in the second over but he continued to flash hard at Hazlewood and inevitably nicked off for 12 before Starc found his range, with Will Jacks departing for a golden duck after fiddling away from his body and edging to Short in the cordon.

England were in big trouble when captain Harry Brook’s head fell across the line after being served up a big inswinger from Starc, with the Yorkshireman burning a review.

Ben Duckett found some relief with three boundaries in an over off Hazlewood, including a heave for six into the Western Terrace, but he was caught and bowled for the second match in a row for 32, deceived by a slower delivery from Hardie, who strangled Liam Livingstone down the leg side first ball.

With England ahead of the rate, Smith and Jacob Bethell, both featuring in their second ODIs, batted according to the situation and initially demonstrated a better temperament than some of their team-mates.

But any thoughts of another Headingley miracle evaporated when Bethell got a leading edge off Maxwell that looped to Starc to depart for 25 to end a 55-run stand, while Smith fell one short of a maiden ODI fifty after flicking Hazlewood to midwicket.

To their credit, England did not throw in the towel, with Brydon Carse and Adil Rashid each muscling two fours and a six in making 26 and 27 respectively.

But Starc ended proceedings, claiming his third wicket when Olly Stone was dismissed.

Stone was brought in for his first ODI since January 2023 as England rested Jofra Archer, with Brook winning the toss and this time electing to field.

It was largely boundary or bust as Australia took just seven singles in the first powerplay, still racking up 59 for one. Travis Head, fresh from his match-winning 154 in Nottingham, and new opening partner Matthew Short were lethal with anything in their arc but they were both dismissed for 29.

Head was fed a hip-high delivery by Carse, usually meat and drink for him, but ended up pulling straight to Stone in the deep.

Short flirted outside off through to Smith off Matthew Potts, who turned up the heat by snaking one through Steve Smith’s defences and knocking back his off-stump.

Mitch Marsh, who revived his Test career here last year with a supreme century, thumped three sixes off Carse with one clearing the ground and looked in good order until he was lbw for 60 after missing a sweep off Bethell.

Glenn Maxwell became Rashid’s 200th ODI wicket when shovelling to Bethell and when the Yorkshireman also took out Adam Zampa after Carse had snared Aaron Hardie and Starc with successive deliveries, Australia were in trouble.

But having shared a 55-run stand with Hardie, Carey astutely farmed the strike with only Hazlewood for company.

Hazlewood faced just 11 deliveries in a run-a-ball stand of 49 as Carey took sixes off Will Jacks, Potts and Stone before holing out to deep point off the latter.

Australia were all out in 44.4 overs but they had more than enough on the board.

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Friday, September 20, 2024

Surrey close in on third successive County Championship title

Surrey close in on third successive County Championship title

Surrey closed in on a third successive Vitality County Championship title after cruising to a 10-wicket win over Durham, while Kent’s relegation was confirmed and Sussex clinched promotion.

Durham, who began day three at the Kia Oval trailing by 152, were dismissed for 177 in their second innings with only Emilio Gay (48) offering prolonged resistance as Dan Worrall and Sam Curran each took four wickets.

Surrey were left needing just 25 to complete their eighth win of the campaign, with captain Rory Burns and Dom Sibley swiftly knocking off the target in five overs.

Somerset were left needing to beat relegation-battlers Lancashire to keep their slim title hopes alive, and finished the third day at Old Trafford still 189 runs short of victory.

Set 393 to win, Archie Vaughan made 68, his maiden first-class half-century, and Tom Lammonby 49 in a fine second-wicket partnership as George Balderson and Luke Wells took two wickets each to leave Somerset 204 for six at stumps.

Wicketkeeper-batter James Rew was unbeaten on 24 as Somerset look to press on again in the morning and take the title race down to the final game.

Kent’s relegation was confirmed with a 10-wicket defeat to Nottinghamshire at the Spitfire Ground.

Jacob Duffy took four for 60 and Rob Lord picked up three wickets as Kent were dismissed for 230 in their second innings, with Joey Evison’s 42 helping the hosts at least avoid the follow-on.

Nottinghamshire, though, soon chased down their lowly target of 23 in just 3.3 overs, Ben Slater finishing unbeaten on 22, and will stay up provided they avoid defeat in next week’s final round of fixtures.

Liam Dawson returned 50 wickets in a County Championship season for the first time after scoring another half-century as Hampshire closed in on victory over Worcestershire.

The visitors ended the day on 117 for five, still 277 runs short of victory, with Jake Libby undefeated on 55.

Sussex clinched promotion from Division Two with a game to spare after quickly wrapping up an innings victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Gloucestershire resumed on 140 for three in their second innings, still trailing by 62 runs, and were skittled out for 195.

Henry Crocombe took four wickets and left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat claimed three as Sussex sealed victory by an innings and seven runs, which gave them an unassailable advantage over Middlesex, who beat Derbyshire.

Yorkshire remain in the driving seat for second spot, needing just three Glamorgan wickets to secure victory on the final day.

Glamorgan were 141 for seven when bad light stopped play, still 254 behind, with Yorkshire opening bowler Ben Coad picking up his 50th wicket of the season as he finished with four for 30.

The hosts had managed to bowl Yorkshire out for 273, with James Harris taking his 600th first-class wicket while Asa Tribe scored an unbeaten maiden first-class half century.

Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones had earlier taken another five-wicket haul, making it 10 in the match, as hosts Derbyshire, from 74 for three overnight, were all out for 119 in the morning session.

Northamptonshire held off a Leicestershire fightback to secure a nine-wicket win at Wantage Road.

Scott Currie’s valiant maiden first-class century proved in vain for Leicestershire, who pushed on to 316 all out with Sam Wood finishing unbeaten on 57 to set their hosts a victory target of 137 after Yuzvendra Chahal had claimed another five-wicket haul.

Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter (68) and George Bartlett (54) both scored half-centuries to seal victory.

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Thursday, September 19, 2024

Ben Duckett stars but England are spun out by Australia

Ben Duckett stars but England are spun out by Australia

Ben Duckett justified his elevation to opener with 95 off 91 balls before England succumbed to a trial by spin in their first ODI against Australia at Trent Bridge.

Tasked with bringing the same energy to the top of the 50-over order that he has in Tests, Duckett laid the foundations for a mammoth total with a busy knock, putting on 120 in 101 balls with Will Jacks for the second wicket.

However, Duckett’s dismissal five short of a second ODI ton saw England collapse from 213 for two in the 33rd over and on course for a score well in excess of 350 to 315 all out with two balls unused.

Both Duckett and Harry Brook, who made an enterprising 39 off 31 balls on his England captaincy debut, were caught and bowled by part-timer Marnus Labuschagne, one of eight bowlers used by the tourists.

In the absence of their big three fast bowlers – Pat Cummins, who has been rested for the entire tour, and Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, both of whom are ill – Australia’s spinners took centre stage.

Adam Zampa celebrated his 100th ODI with three for 49, while Labuschagne also claimed three scalps and fellow part-timers Travis Head and Matthew Short were in the wickets column, too.

In total, 26 of the last 27 overs were sent down by the quartet, including all of the last 10, in an innings where Mitch Marsh chopped and changed his bowlers in a bid to keep making breakthroughs after losing the toss.

England’s bold batting in the first 10 overs has been synonymous with their white-ball resurgence since 2015 but despite the shorter boundaries here, Duckett and Salt struck a more measured tone.

Will Jacks hits out in the first ODI
Will Jacks impressed at Trent Bridge (Nigel French/PA)

They still rattled along at almost a run a ball despite eight fours in the first powerplay – four in one over when Sean Abbott dropped short to Duckett – while Salt was bowled for 17 by Ben Dwarshuis.

Jacks deposited spinners Short and Zampa into the crowd as he and Duckett brought up bustling fifties full of running between the wickets at better than a run a ball.

There were a dozen bowling changes in the first half of England’s innings and the last of them led to Jacks departing for 62 off 56 balls as he thrashed to cover off Zampa, who rallied from conceding 27 in his first three overs.

Australia attempted to strangle England with spin and while Duckett continued to rotate the strike, Brook crashed a pair of straight sixes off Short to carry his side to 201 for two after 30 overs.

Any hope of them doubling the total receded when Duckett then Brook gave return catches to Labuschagne. Duckett was undone by a googly that stuck in the pitch and took a leading edge to deny him a ton, while Brook cast a suspicious look at the surface after innocuously knocking back to Labuschagne.

Marsh continued to dangle the carrot with part-time spin and while there were boundaries to be had, ODI debutant Jamie Smith fell for 23 off 19 balls after lobbing to long-on off Short, fresh off his surprise five-for in the T20 series at Cardiff.

Both Liam Livingstone and Brydon Carse found the bucket hands of Cameron Green off Zampa and while another ODI debutant in Jacob Bethell made 35 to carry England past 300, the all-rounder and Adil Rashid holed out in the last over bowled by Head.

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Marcus Trescothick suggests Harry Brook got toss wrong on captaincy debut

Marcus Trescothick suggests Harry Brook got toss wrong on captaincy debut

Marcus Trescothick suggested Harry Brook erred at the toss on his England captaincy debut after Travis Head inspired world champions Australia to a seven-wicket win in the first ODI.

Brook chose to bat first, wanting to put Australia under a “bit of pressure”, and England were well on their way to doing that as Ben Duckett justified his promotion to open with 95 off 91 deliveries.

His dismissal saw England slide from 213 for two in the 33rd over to 315 all out, with nine wickets falling to spin – six of them shared by part-time options Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Short.

Head took advantage of being dropped on six to muscle his way to an ODI-best 154 not out off 129 balls, underpinning Australia’s highest successful chase in England and a 13th consecutive win in this format.

Travis Head celebrates
Travis Head punished England (Nigel French/PA)

Labuschagne finished unbeaten on 77 in an unbroken 148-run stand alongside Head and Trescothick feels the Australia pair got the best of batting conditions under the floodlights at Trent Bridge.

“We’ll agree the pitch got better so the toss was probably a big factor in what happened,” Trescothick, England’s interim white-ball head coach until Brendon McCullum takes charge in the new year, said.

“The ball was spinning and they had plenty of spinners. We hoped the pitch might stay in that same sort of fashion and carry on but a little bit of coldness and the dew made it slide on a little bit more.

“It was a tough day. Losing is never easy but we did some really good things, some nice things, but just not for the longer periods.”

Trescothick, though, was impressed with how Brook carried himself in his first outing standing in for Jos Buttler, adding: “He’s been really enjoyable to work with. We’ve seen a little taste of his methods.”

England were on for a 350-plus total courtesy of Duckett’s knock and 62 off 56 balls from Will Jacks but an inexperienced line-up were guilty of gifting away their wickets by being caught on the boundary.

Brook was unrepentant at those dismissals against Australia, who were without Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell due to illness and thankful for three for 49 from Adam Zampa on his 100th ODI.

“We are out there to score runs,” Brook told the BBC. “If you get caught somewhere on the boundary or in the field then who cares? On another day that could go for six so I’m not too fussed about that.

“We want to entertain. Obviously we care but if you get out trying to score runs that’s the way we want to play.”

The five-match series next visits Headingley on Friday and Trescothick is aware finding a way to stop Head from running riot as he did in Nottingham could be key to their fortunes.

Travis Head is congratulated
Travis Head struck a brilliant century (Nigel French/PA)

Head, whose century lifted Australia to World Cup final victory over India last year, was a thorn in England’s side in the drawn T20 series and muscled 20 fours and five sixes here.

“He’s a serious player,” Trescothick added. “The form he’s in and the way he’s going about his work is very tough for us. You can see how good a player he is and the impact he has had on all the games.

“If he gets in and gets momentum going, he’s hard to bowl at, for sure. Eventually the worm will turn and hopefully we get on top of that and get a bit of luck on the other side.

“Picking up the rhythm of 50-over cricket, we haven’t done a great deal of, today highlighted that big scores a massive part of playing 50-over cricket.”

Head, who also made a hundred to help Australia win last year’s World Test Championship final, said: “It’s nice to get a hundred, it was a good night at the office.”

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Surrey close in on third successive County Championship title

Surrey close in on third successive County Championship title

Surrey closed in on a third successive Vitality County Championship title after cruising to a 10-wicket win over Durham, while Kent’s relegation was confirmed and Sussex clinched promotion.

Durham, who began day three at the Kia Oval trailing by 152, were dismissed for 177 in their second innings with only Emilio Gay (48) offering prolonged resistance as Dan Worrall and Sam Curran each took four wickets.

Surrey were left needing just 25 to complete their eighth win of the campaign, with captain Rory Burns and Dom Sibley swiftly knocking off the target in five overs.

Somerset were left needing to beat relegation-battlers Lancashire to keep their slim title hopes alive, and finished the third day at Old Trafford still 189 runs short of victory.

Set 393 to win, Archie Vaughan made 68, his maiden first-class half-century, and Tom Lammonby 49 in a fine second-wicket partnership as George Balderson and Luke Wells took two wickets each to leave Somerset 204 for six at stumps.

Wicketkeeper-batter James Rew was unbeaten on 24 as Somerset look to press on again in the morning and take the title race down to the final game.

Kent’s relegation was confirmed with a 10-wicket defeat to Nottinghamshire at the Spitfire Ground.

Jacob Duffy took four for 60 and Rob Lord picked up three wickets as Kent were dismissed for 230 in their second innings, with Joey Evison’s 42 helping the hosts at least avoid the follow-on.

Nottinghamshire, though, soon chased down their lowly target of 23 in just 3.3 overs, Ben Slater finishing unbeaten on 22, and will stay up provided they avoid defeat in next week’s final round of fixtures.

Liam Dawson returned 50 wickets in a County Championship season for the first time after scoring another half-century as Hampshire closed in on victory over Worcestershire.

The visitors ended the day on 117 for five, still 277 runs short of victory, with Jake Libby undefeated on 55.

Sussex clinched promotion from Division Two with a game to spare after quickly wrapping up an innings victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Gloucestershire resumed on 140 for three in their second innings, still trailing by 62 runs, and were skittled out for 195.

Henry Crocombe took four wickets and left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat claimed three as Sussex sealed victory by an innings and seven runs, which gave them an unassailable advantage over Middlesex, who beat Derbyshire.

Yorkshire remain in the driving seat for second spot, needing just three Glamorgan wickets to secure victory on the final day.

Glamorgan were 141 for seven when bad light stopped play, still 254 behind, with Yorkshire opening bowler Ben Coad picking up his 50th wicket of the season as he finished with four for 30.

The hosts had managed to bowl Yorkshire out for 273, with James Harris taking his 600th first-class wicket while Asa Tribe scored an unbeaten maiden first-class half century.

Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones had earlier taken another five-wicket haul, making it 10 in the match, as hosts Derbyshire, from 74 for three overnight, were all out for 119 in the morning session.

Northamptonshire held off a Leicestershire fightback to secure a nine-wicket win at Wantage Road.

Scott Currie’s valiant maiden first-class century proved in vain for Leicestershire, who pushed on to 316 all out with Sam Wood finishing unbeaten on 57 to set their hosts a victory target of 137 after Yuzvendra Chahal had claimed another five-wicket haul.

Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter (68) and George Bartlett (54) both scored half-centuries to seal victory.

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Essex beat Warwickshire inside two days at Edgbaston

Essex beat Warwickshire inside two days at Edgbaston

Essex claimed a crushing innings-and-40-run victory over Warwickshire inside two days of their Vitality County Championship Division One clash.

Shane Snater’s 69 helped Essex finish their first innings on 232, securing a lead of 154 after bowling the hosts out for 78 on day one, and Warwickshire were plunged into trouble after falling to three for four and then 38 for six.

Jamie Porter took six for 36 and Sam Cook claimed three for 36 as the hosts crumbled to 114 all out.

Liam Dawson claimed another five-wicket haul and hit a century as Hampshire dominated against Worcestershire.

Liam Dawson bowling
Liam Dawson took five wickets and hit a century (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Nick Gubbins reached a joint career-best 201 as Hampshire posted 462 before Dawson earned his fifth five-wicket haul of the summer, aided by Mohammad Abbas who took four for 27 to dismiss the visitors for 273.

Worcestershire’s Division One safety was confirmed as Ethan Brookes notched a maiden century alongside Gareth Roderick’s 94.

Ryan Patel’s career-best 134 guided leaders Surrey to a 153-run first-innings lead against Durham.

Patel’s knock took the game away from Durham along with an eighth-wicket stand of 92 with Tom Lawes to help Surrey finish 415 all out.

Nottinghamshire took charge against Kent, who were forced to follow-on at Canterbury.

The visitors were all out for 433, with Nathan Gilchrist finishing with four for 101, but Farhan Ahmed then claimed four for 37 to dismiss Kent for 225.

After following-on, Kent reached 85 without loss at stumps, but are still 123 behind.

Relegation-battling Lancashire built a 292-run lead in their clash with Somerset.

Josh Bohannon’s 60 and Luke Wells’ unbeaten 78 enabled Lancashire to reach 298 for seven in their second innings in a game of high stakes, as Lancashire aim to avoid relegation while Somerset push Surrey at the top of the table.

Zafar Gohar claimed his 300th first-class wicket in taking six for 76 as Gloucestershire bowled Sussex out for 311.

However, the Division Two leaders remain on top after taking a first-innings lead of 202 as Jack Carson top-scored with 71 and shared a 112-run partnership with skipper John Simpson, who made 61.

At stumps, Gloucestershire were 140 for three in their second innings – still trailing by 62.

Yorkshire took a step towards a return to Division One, despite a late fightback from Glamorgan.

Matthew Fisher and Ben Coad took four wickets each to dismiss Glamorgan for 239 and establish a first-innings lead of 122 before half-centuries from Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean saw Yorkshire close on 116 for one.

Middlesex kept their promotion challenge alive by maintaining their dominance over Derbyshire.

After Derbyshire were bowled out for 173, Middlesex responded with 358 as opener Mark Stoneman made 115, Josh De Caires matched his career-best 80 and Max Holden scored 68.

Derbyshire lost two wickets in the first five overs of their second innings and another from the last ball of the day to close on 74 for three.

James Sales hit a career-best 135 as Northamptonshire piled on the runs in their meeting with Leicestershire.

Sales and Rob Keogh (49) extended their overnight partnership to 117 before the latter was trapped lbw by England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and Saif Zaib’s 71 helped Northamptonshire reach 383.

Leicestershire trail by 111 runs after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets as the Foxes closed on 69 for four.

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