Joe Root’s first Ashes century in eight years provided calm amid the storm as England and Australia traded blows in a high-octane opening day at the first LV= Insurance Test.
Root’s masterful 118 not out, the 30th ton of his career but a first against the old enemy since 2015, provided the centrepiece on a day of fiercely competitive cricket and outstanding entertainment that bodes well for the summer ahead.
Ben Stokes pulled a rabbit from the hat when he waved Root in at 393 for eight – the earliest declaration in Ashes history after just 78 overs of the match – but his hopes of sniping a late wicket did not materialise.
The renewal of Stuart Broad’s personal duel with David Warner provided some late theatre, but Australia will resume on 14 without loss after surviving the challenge.
The tone was set by the first ball of the series, when Zak Crawley crashed visiting captain Pat Cummins through the covers for four in a bold statement of intent. England went on to score their runs at a fraction more than five-an-over, once unthinkable but fully in keeping with this side’s spirit of adventure.
Crawley’s flowing 61 set the agenda, and repaid a portion of the faith he has been shown during patchy form, while Jonny Bairstow’s first Test innings in 10 months found him in rude health.
He hustled and bustled his way to 78 at exactly a run-a-ball, bossing a stand of 121 with Root and proving the badly broken leg that interrupted his career-best hot streak last summer had not dulled his effectiveness.
But England needed someone to go on, take it deeper and hold the line as Australia repeatedly made timely breakthroughs on an placid pitch. That man was Root.
He may have gone three Ashes series and 16 Tests since he last made a century against the Baggy Greens, but the 32-year-old remains his country’s classiest performer.
Here, he measured his innings to perfection. Arriving at the crease in the 18th over at 92 for two, Root quickly settled into a familiar rhythm as he worked the ball meticulously around the arc between deep third and point.
In the afternoon he eased to his half-century for the fifth time in his last five innings, allowing Harry Brook and Bairstow to press the accelerator at the other end, and in the evening session he finished the job.
Twice he pulled out his audacious reverse ramp, dispatching Scott Boland and then Cummins over his shoulder for six, and he was building to a crescendo when Stokes declared.
England won the toss and, with it, the chance to bat first under sunny skies.
The first ball of the Ashes has acquired a mythology of its own over the years, with the most memorable moments falling in Australia’s favour.
Michael Slater slashing Phil DeFreitas for four in 1994, Steve Harmison serving up a massive wide in 2006 and Mitchell Starc smashing Rory Burns’ leg stump 18 months ago are all etched into the story of this series, and Crawley made a game attempt at joining their ranks.
Offered a modicum of width first up by Cummins, he found the sweet spot of the bat and pounded the ball emphatically to the ropes at extra-cover.
The crowd roared its approval, joined by an England balcony who had seen their fighting talk come to life in a matter of seconds.
Josh Hazlewood, recalled in place of Starc, was welcomed in similar style as Crawley pinged his first delivery to the square-leg boundary, but Ben Duckett made an early exit. One ball after chopping past his stumps he was caught behind in familiar fashion.
Crawley and Ollie Pope refused to be rattled, putting on a bright 70 as they ran hard, played positively and used their feet to confront the bowlers head on.
By contrast, Australia quickly reverted to defensive field placings, piling up the boundary riders in a clear attempt to throttle England’s aggressive game.
Crawley was buoyant. When Nathan Lyon was handed an early look in the 10th over, he pulled out a reverse sweep and clean drive down the ground, before leaving his mark on Boland with some flowing strokes.
Yet the first session ended with Australia back in the hunt at 124 for three, Lyon trapping Pope lbw for 31 and Boland getting one to lift as Crawley gloved the final ball of the session behind.
By then Root had settled quietly into his work and he was happy to sit back and watch Brook’s 32-run cameo at the start of the afternoon.
Brook showed glimmers of his ball-striking prowess, pounding Lyon over extra-cover and clobbering Boland on the charge, before his fun ended in a stroke of misfortune.
Padding away the spinner, he saw the ball loop into the air, hit his leg and dislodge a bail.
Stokes made just one before nicking Hazlewood, but Bairstow kept the tempo up. He and Root produced their latest made-in-Yorkshire stand, Root providing the finesse, while Bairstow scampered greedily for every single and pounded out 12 boundaries.
Both he and Moeen Ali were stumped running down the pitch at Lyon, the latter having heaved Cummins for six over midwicket, but only Stokes’ surprise declaration could bring an end to Root’s magnificent innings.
City's Shaw, Keating nominated for Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season
Despite having her impressive run of form cut short due to injury, Jamaica International and Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw did enough prior to the season-ending surgery, and so it comes as no surprise that she is up for the coveted Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season award.
Shaw, who recently copped the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Women's Footballer of the Year award, is no stranger to accolades, as she was named 2022-23 Player of the Season for Manchester City, and also pocketed a couple Player of the Month prizes since joining the club in 2021.
In fact, it is Shaw's impressive goalscoring exploit that not only propelled her to being the club's all-time leading striker, but also places City at the summit of the WSL standing, heading into their final assignment away to Aston Villa on Saturday May 18. However, their hope of clinching the title remains on edge, as they have played a game more than second-placed Chelsea.
Both Shaw and goalkeeper Khiara Keating, who has also been nominated for Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Season award, have impressively helped Gareth Taylor’s side relentlessly pursue a second-ever league title with a string of outstanding displays.
Shaw, 27, has scored 22 goals across 25 appearances in all competitions this term – with 21 of those coming in the WSL. She recently became the Club’s all-time leading scorer with 68 goals – which she has since extended to 72 before a foot injury prematurely ended her season.
Meanwhile, Keating has performed beyond her years in the 19-year-old’s breakthrough campaign for Taylor’s team – playing every league minute in 2023/24.
The England youth international has been an integral part of the best defensive record in the division with City conceding only 14 league goals so far this term. What’s more, outstanding is that Keating has maintained nine WSL clean sheets which is the most so far across the competition.
Shaw's unmatched scoring ability, and Keating's shot stopping exploit resulted in both being placed on the short list for prestigious annual honour, alongside Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Grace Clinton (Spurs), Lauren James (Chelsea), Jutta Rantala (Leicester), Elisabeth Terland (Brighton) and Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
Pooran's unbeaten 48 in vain as Head, Sharma lead Sunrisers to dazzling 10-wicket win over Super Giants
Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head struck an unbeaten 167 from the opening partnership to move SRH third in the points table, with LSG unable to come up with any answers to defend their own haul of 165-4.
Head plundered 89 from 30 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, while Sharma's 75 from 28 had eight fours and six maximums, in an explosive batting display that saw the duo hit 100 inside the powerplay.
Earlier, Lucknow struggled to get going in their innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-12) conceding only singles and shutting down LSG's top order, who scored just 66 in the first 11.2 overs.
Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran continued his fine build up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 26-ball 48, as he crafted a 99-run fifth-wicket stand with Ayush Badoni, who was also unbeaten on 55.
Pooran struck six fours and a solitary six, while Badoni's 30-ball knock had nine fours, as the two gave Lucknow a chance, but in the end, it was nowhere near enough.
Data Debrief: Sunrisers pounce again in the powerplay
Sunrisers scored 107 runs in the powerplay. In all of T20 cricket, there have only been seven instances of a team scoring 100 runs or more in the powerplay – SRH have the two top scores, with both coming this year.
Pooran and Badoni's 99-run partnership was LSG's highest for the fifth wicket in IPL, surpassing the previous record of 87 between Deepak Hooda and Badoni. However, it proved fruitless.
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