Ben Duckett was awarded a dramatic late reprieve to keep England’s hopes of an audacious chase alive at Lord’s and cap a remarkable day of cricket that saw Nathan Lyon book his place in Ashes folklore.
Duckett was on his way to the pavilion the closing moments of the fourth evening after a reckless uppercut off Cameron Green was caught by a sliding Mitchell Starc on the ropes.
The scoreboard briefly flashed up at 113 for five, with Duckett on his way for exactly 50, in what seemed a fatal blow to England’s hopes of chasing down a massive 371.
But TV umpire Marais Erasmus reviewed the replays and decided Starc did not have control of his motion before sliding the ball across the ground. To the horror of the Australian players, and the joy of the home crowd, Duckett was called back to the crease as he and Ben Stokes reached stumps at 114 for four.
They remain heavy underdogs to hunt down a score just seven less than the record chase against India last year, but with Duckett riding his luck and Stokes (29 not out) always capable of doing the impossible there is now just a sliver of a chance.
Despite the late controversy, and some remarkable dismissals from Starc and Pat Cummins, arguably the most memorable image of the day belonged to Lyon, whose participation in the match was assumed to be over.
The 35-year-old, last spotted on crutches following a serious calf injury on the second evening, limped to the crease to bat at number 11 in a bid to eke every run out of Australia’s second innings.
He was helped through the Long Room and hopped down the pavilion steps, rendered virtually immobile by the time he made it to the middle. The plan to occupy one end broke down when substitute fielder Rehan Ahmed produced a remarkable diving save to deny Starc a six, with Lyon wincing in pain as he dragged himself 22 agonising yards.
He even managed a boundary in a last-wicket stand of 15, a buffer Australia will hope they do not need on the final day of this gripping contest. Yet the mere fact that he was allowed to take the field suggested England’s reputation as fearless chasers had left its mark on the Baggy Greens.
Lyon was the eighth and final Australia batter to be dismissed by England’s relentless short-ball tactics, as the home seamers took it in turns to pound the pitch with bouncers over the course of nearly five hours.
It proved a remarkably effective method, driving Australia from 130 for two overnight to 279 all out. Stuart Broad led the way with four for 65, Josh Tongue picked up Steve Smith for the second time in the match and Ollie Robinson chipped in with two wickets. Stokes also defied his chronic knee problems with a 12-over marathon spell that culminated in the hard-earned scalp of Josh Hazlewood.
England looked a long shot as they began their chase but, having successfully pursued 378 against India last summer just three wickets down, they had done enough to give themselves an outside chance of another audacious chase.
With Lyon’s off-spin unavailable, there was even the sliver of a suggestion that Australia might be vulnerable – but their strike bowlers had other ideas.
The first wicket had an element of fortune, Zak Crawley strangled down leg for three as he feathered Starc to keeper Alex Carey, but the impact was significant. With a target that left minimal wriggle room, English optimism was wavering early in the piece while Australia had the breakthrough they needed to stiffen their belief.
Two balls later Starc saw an lbw decision against Duckett overturned, but the left-armer was in no mood to hang around. Returning for a third over he conjured a quite brilliant delivery, hooping it in at 90mph to leave Ollie Pope groping at thin air as his middle stump went flying.
Pope had taken the field with a painful shoulder injury on Friday in order to retain his regular slot at number three but must have wondered why he had bothered as he watched the replays on the big screen.
There was a fleeting moment of calm as England added 28 for the third wicket, but Cummins was about to blow the game wide open with a magnificent over that doubled his side’s haul.
The first ball left Joe Root with a bruise as he rose into his forearm but the second did the real damage, lifting sharply again and taking the edge as Root looked to open the face.
With England’s best player in the bag, Cummins came within inches of dismissing Harry Brook for a golden duck with a return catch and then knocked him over with surgical precision. Brook attempted to play the line but saw the ball snake past at high speed before pegging back his off stump.
Duckett batted with poise and purpose as he reeled off a calm half-century and Stokes held his nerve to reach the close, but the mood took a febrile turn that will surely carry into day five as soon as Starc’s catch was sensationally ruled out.
Narine, Hinds on the losing end of court ruling regarding bar rental
Trinidad and Tobago cricketers Sunil Narine and Terrence Hinds have found themselves on the losing side of a court ruling and are now left to fork up just over $60,000 after a business arrangement with a former landlord went sideways.
Justice Ricky Rahim ordered Narine and Hinds to compensate Dave Kangal for a breach of contract after they rented a bar from the claimant at Oropune Gardens in Piarco.
Though Narine’s role in the issue is unfortunate as he was merely rendering financial assistance to Hinds in the business venture, the judge could not ignore the fact that he was also named as a tenant on the agreement dated July 1, 2020.
Interestingly, it was the players that first took Kangal to court, citing a breach of a tenancy contract, before the landlord counterclaimed and won. As such, Narine and Hinds will have to pay $62,246.90 plus interest as outstanding rent, as well as a half of Kangal’s legal fees.
According to Trinidad Express, the judge, in his written ruling delivered on Thursday, found that the two were actually owing Kangal $130,500 in unpaid rent. However, the figure was reduced as the court also found that Narine and Hinds were to be reimbursed $68,263.10 for renovations and improvements to the bar.
Hinds contended that $100,000 was actually spent on renovations and improvements, but he was unable to present some of the receipts to support his claim.
“The chips must lie where they fall. On the other hand, the court was taken aback by the tenor of the dealings between Terrance and Anna (Hinds' sister) on one hand and the defendant on the other,” the judge shared.
“There is a strong inference that they sought to take advantage of the apparent lack of understanding and naivete to a certain extent of the defendant to his disadvantage and to their benefit,” he added.
Mooney's 43* guides Australia to win over Sri Lanka
Australia produced a strong showing as they defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets to get the defense of their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup crown off to the best possible start.
Sri Lanka chose to bat first in Sharjah but struggled to 93 for seven, with Nilakshika Silva top scoring with an unbeaten 29.
Australia showed it was not easy going for either team but could rely on Beth Mooney, who battled through the energy-sapping sun to make 43 not out and see her team home with 5.4 overs to spare.
Sri Lanka needed a positive start against the world number one side, who put the squeeze on from the outset - with 10 balls passing until the first run was scored and Vishmi Gunaratne departing for a duck.
Captain, Chamari Athapaththu soon followed for just three as Australia successfully reviewed an LBW decision with Ashleigh Gardner claiming her first wicket.
Sri Lanka’s first boundary came as Harshitha Samarawickrama took advantage of a free hit with a four after Australia’s third no ball of the innings.
Australia made some unwanted history with a record fifth no ball as Darcie Brown's first over cost 12, taking Sri Lanka to 23 for two at the end of the powerplay. They regained control when Sophie Molineux picked up their third LBW wicket of the innings and Sri Lanka lost the second of their two reviews.
Samarawickrama helped push the score to 43 for three at the halfway stage and was reprieved on 20 as Brown put down a catch as she slid in from extra cover.
The wicketkeeper made only three more runs however, as Molineux got her second wicket with a simple caught and bowled on an impressive return to the World Cup stage after injury trouble.
Silva provided some resistance without improving the scoring rate, finishing on 29 not out from 40 balls.
Her 34-run partnership with Anushka Sanjeewani was ended by Megan Schutt, who took two wickets in two balls to tie Shabnim Ismail for the most T20 World Cup wickets with 43 as Sri Lanka posted 93 for seven.
Australia lost captain Alyssa Healy in the opening over of the reply as she was clean bowled by Udeshika Prabodhani.
The gamble to promote Georgia Wareham up the order did not pay off as she was run out thanks to smart fielding from Kavisha Dilhari to leave Australia at 14 for two.
It was left to the uber-calm Mooney to steer the chase and she steered Australia to 62 for three at the halfway stage alongside Gardner.
The partnership was eventually broken at 43 as Gardner skied a shot that Samarawickrama gladly gobbled up, but it only postponed the inevitable.
Mooney ended on 43 not out, as she picked up where she left off in World Cup cricket, having been named Player of the Final in 2023 for her 78 not out in their victory.
Australia too continued their winning form at World Cups with a 12th victory in a row to triumph by six wickets.
Scores in brief
Australia v Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Sri Lanka 93/7 in 20 overs (Nilakshika Silva 29 not out, Harshitha Samarawickrama 23; Megan Schutt 3/12, Sophie Molineux 2/20)
Australia 94/4 in 14.2 overs (Beth Mooney 43 not out, Ellyse Perry 17; Sugandika Kumari 1/16, Udeshika Prabodani 1/19)
Result: Australia won by six wickets
Matthews hopeful Windies can bounce back against Scotland on Sunday
After an undesirable start to their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is hopeful that her team can turn around their fortune and possibly challenge for a spot in the semi-final.
Matthews’ optimism follows their 10-wicket hammering by South Africa in their opening fixture in Dubai on Friday.
In that contest, Matthews believes her team failed to properly acclimatize to the conditions, as they mustered a meagre 118 for six in their 20 overs. South Africa, led by half-centuries from Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, then made light work of the target at 119 without loss in 17.5 overs.
However, with Scotland being the Caribbean side’s next assignment on Sunday morning, Matthews says they will have to pick up the pieces and bounce back.
“Obviously a pretty disappointing game (against South Africa). Firstly, not scoring enough runs on the board, and we would have liked to have taken a few wickets and at least put up a bit more of a fight in the second innings,” Matthews said.
“But with a game in two days’ time, we’re going to have to get things back together quickly and pick up the pieces and go again,” she added.
Reflecting on the outcome against South Africa, Matthews felt her team was undone by challenging conditions.
“It’s pretty hot here in Dubai. I’d probably have to say the hottest place I’ve ever played cricket or even been, and that’s someone coming from the West Indies. It’s definitely been some difficult conditions. We’ve been here for about two weeks, thankfully, and we’ve been able to acclimatise as much as we possibly can to conditions like this,” Matthews shared.
She continued: “I think we came down here expecting some pretty good wickets. We’ve camped here quite a bit when we went to Pakistan in April, and we tend to spend some time down here training, so we knew what the ICC Academy grounds were like, and those were pretty decent wickets early.
“It wasn’t a bad wicket. South Africa showed you can really bat on a wicket like that and even us in parts. Stafanie Taylor was able to take charge of the game as well throughout the middle. I don’t think the conditions surprised us too much. We probably just didn’t adapt to them as well.”
Matthews also addressed concerns surrounding Zaida James, who was hit in the face, and Taylor, who appeared to be cramping and had difficulty running between the wickets.
“For Zaida, it was pretty much just a knock on her face. I think the seam might have hit her in the face, so she was in a bit of discomfort. There’s a bit of swelling around her jaw, but she’s a tough girl, so hopefully it’s just one of those knocks that you get on the field, and hopefully she’ll be able to be out on the field for the next match,” Matthews noted.
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