Brook and Stokes fire England to victory over Pakistan in final warm-up match

By Sports Desk October 17, 2022

Harry Brook and Ben Stokes impressed as England stormed to a six-wicket triumph over Pakistan at the Gabba in their final warm-up fixture before the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan set England a target of 161, led by opener Shan Masood top-scoring with 39 runs off 22 deliveries, while David Willey impressed with the ball by taking two wickets for England.

England opener Phil Salt was bowled by Naseem Shah for just one run, but a rapid innings from Stokes (36 off 18), coupled with Liam Livingstone's 28, put England in good stead to secure victory by the time of their dismissals.

Brook scored 45 not out from 24 balls and Sam Curran smashed an unbeaten 33 from just 14 to finish the job as England chased down Pakistan's total in just 14.4 overs.

England middle order impresses

With their openers producing a combined 10 runs off 16 balls, it fell on the middle order to win England the match, and they did so in thrilling fashion.

Stokes, Livingstone, Brook and Curran smashed the ball to all areas and accounted for all 12 of their team's sixes.

Each of that quartet finished with strike rates of at least 175 to help England to a morale-boosting victory before their World Cup campaign gets underway against Afghanistan on Saturday.

Jordan improves after tough start

Pakistan ended up on 160-8 from 19 overs, with the match shortened slightly due to a brief rain stoppage.

They had threatened a bigger total, with Chris Jordan smashed for 27 off his first two overs without taking a wicket, but the England bowler steadied the ship to finish with figures of 1-36 from four, including a final over which went for just three runs and included the wicket of Mohammad Wasim (26).

Jordan's bowling at the death ensured England's target was achievable, and they then chased it down comfortably.

Related items

  • CG United Super50 Cup final between Scorpions, Pride abandoned due to inclement weather CG United Super50 Cup final between Scorpions, Pride abandoned due to inclement weather

    The CG United Super50 final between the Jamaica Scorpions and the Barbados Pride was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the inclement weather at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

    Barbados Pride, with six titles plus one shared, were hoping to break a mini drought having last won in 2016-17, while Jamaica, with eight titles plus one shared, had ambitions to get back to the summit as their last title was in the 2022-23 season.

  • Greaves’ maiden century powers Windies to control on day two as Bangladesh reeling at 40-2 Greaves’ maiden century powers Windies to control on day two as Bangladesh reeling at 40-2

    West Indies took firm control of their opening Test match against Bangladesh as Justin Greaves’ maiden century piloted the Caribbean side to a mammoth first innings total of 450-9 declared at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.

    The hosts then restricted Bangladesh to 40-2 at the close of day two, leaving the visitors with a steep challenge ahead as they look to recover from a poor start.

    Mominul Haque, not out on 7, and Shahadat Hossain, unbeaten on 10, will resume on Sunday with Bangladesh at 40-2, still trailing by 410 runs.

    Greaves, who enjoyed sublime form in the Super50 Cup with three consecutive centuries, continued that rich vein of form with an unbeaten 115 that anchored West Indies’ innings and ensured a daunting total on the board.

    The 30-year-old’s knock, which lasted just over six hours, had only four boundaries and was crucial in reviving the innings after a mid-session slump.

    Scores: West Indies 450-9 dec; Bangladesh 40-2

    West Indies resumed the day at 250-5 with Greaves on 11, and Joshua da Silva, 14, looking to consolidate their position. However, early breakthroughs from Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud threatened to derail the West Indies’ momentum.

    Mahmud struck in the first session, removing da Silva without addition to his overnight score, and Alzarri Joseph (four), who also fell cheaply to leave West Indies at a precarious 261-7.

    At that point, the Bangladesh bowlers seemed poised to bowl the Caribbean side down for a score under 300, but Greaves and veteran pacer Kemar Roach had other ideas.

    The two Barbadians countered the pressure with patience, building a partnership of 140 runs for the eighth wicket that pushed West Indies past the 400-run mark.

    Roach, who had previously struggled with the bat in Tests, made 47—his highest Test score in his 15-year career. He batted for over four hours, frustrating the Bangladesh bowlers with steady defence and timely strokes.

    Together, Roach and Greaves weathered the storm, forcing Bangladesh to toil longer and harder than expected. Greaves, in particular, looked in complete control, while Roach’s composed knock provided vital support.

    West Indies then made quick inroads in Bangladesh’s reply and reduced the visitors to 2-21, with both openers back in the pavilion cheaply. Alzarri Joseph was the first to strike, removing Mahmudul Hasan Joy for just five runs before Jayden Seales cleaned up Zakir Hasan for 15.

    With Bangladesh struggling at 2-21, it seemed as though West Indies were on the brink of another quick domination as they sought to dismiss the Bangladesh top-order cheaply. However, Mominul Haque and Shahadat Hossain managed to negotiate the remainder of the day without further loss.

  • Australia have 'serious work to do' against India, McSweeney concedes Australia have 'serious work to do' against India, McSweeney concedes

    Nathan McSweeney conceded Australia have "serious work to do" if they are to get back into the first Test against India.

    The Baggy Greens trail by 218 runs heading into day three in Perth after an unbroken century partnership of Yashasvi Jaiswal (90) and KL Rahul (62) put the tourists well in control at 172-0 at stumps.

    Though they resumed at 67-7, Australia could only add another 37 runs and were bowled out for 104.

    McSweeney acknowledged the hosts must improve, and quickly.

    "It definitely hasn't gone to plan in the past couple of days," he told ABC. "We've got some serious work to do to get back into this Test. It looks like it is getting easier to bat, so hopefully we get early wickets tomorrow and get batting.

    "It is definitely a new-ball wicket. All the damage was done before we could get through to the 35-40-over mark with the bat, so the trick will be nullifying the new ball and having batters in for the 40-80-over mark."

    Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann added: "It was a tough day, but hats off to the two Indian batters. They were excellent today and weathered the storm, and they got to the stage where they could take the game on.

    "India are well ahead of the game. The wicket has settled down a little bit, but that is more because the Australia bowlers were tired from the first innings and having to bat two hours today."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.