Moeen Ali hailed another “brilliant” intervention from Ben Stokes and insisted England’s Ashes destiny remains in their own hands as long as their talismanic captain is still in the game.
His body may appear to be in rebellion against him as he battled hip discomfort to add to longstanding concerns over his left knee but Stokes lifted England from 87 for five in the third Test at Headingley.
Following on from his jaw-dropping 155 in a losing cause at Lord’s, Stokes thumped five sixes in his 80 off 108 balls to drag England to 237 before Australia extended a first-innings lead of 26 to 142.
Thoughts have already drifted towards what England might be able to chase down, with three days still to go at a ground where Stokes’ unbeaten 135 secured a victory for the ages against Australia in 2019.
Moeen cautioned against an over-reliance on Stokes but always feels they have a shot at narrowing their current 2-0 deficit in the series if he is at the crease.
“Ben’s a brilliant player,” Moeen said. “He’s the one player in the world who everyone will be thinking about in that situation, especially against Australia because he has done it a couple of times now.
“Whether it’s a white ball or a red ball, as long as he’s there you’ve always got a great chance of winning. It’s the situations more than anything, he loves those situations, he thrives off them.
“We can’t rely on him all the time. We do have dangerous players who we just need to come to the party as well as Ben. Ben’s playing brilliantly but there are runs out there for other players.”
Stokes called out the physiotherapist twice and took a couple of pain-killing tablets in the morning before cutting loose after lunch and Moeen hinted there may be more than the all-rounder is letting on.
“It’s difficult, there’s so much he’s dealing with,” Moeen said. “I think when I was batting he was a little bit sore. There’s a lot more than he’s showing. As long as he’s batting well, he’s fine.
“His body has obviously been through a lot but there’s one thing with Ben, he can’t do anything without it being 100 per cent. Hopefully he’ll get through this series well, scoring a lot more runs.”
Moeen was recalled after his finger drama at Edgbaston and reached 200 Test wickets – only Graeme Swann and Derek Underwood have more among English spinners – by snaring Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
Both perished to loose strokes but Moeen was able to hold up an end as he bowled 17 consecutive overs after tea, critical to a side that were unable to call upon Ollie Robinson because of a back spasm.
Moeen is not renowned for containment – he was selected for his ability to bowl the odd magic ball and add batting ballast to the lower order – but this was a quietly impressive spell of 17-3-34-2.
“My finger is fine, it’s sore but I can bowl,” Moeen said. “I’m pleased with the 200 wickets. We are in a good position and those two wickets were gifted in a way but generally I bowled quite well.”
While Mark Wood is wicketless so far, he once again troubled Australia’s batters with his express pace and Moeen felt like a beneficiary when bowling at the other end.
“It’s great to have him someone like him and as a spinner, you do definitely take more wickets just by batters being anxious to score (at the other end),” Moeen added.
“There’s a lot of belief that if we can get a couple early (on Saturday), we’ve got somebody who can knock over the tail with pace.”
While Pat Cummins’ Ashes-best six for 91 went some way towards stifling England, they were once again left to rue a defiant Stokes.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald was singing off the same hymn sheet as Moeen when asked about the influence Stokes – who was dropped on 45 by Mitchell Starc – has on opposition sides.
“When Stokes is there you are never in total control,” McDonald said. “We have seen that over a period of time. We created a couple of opportunities so there was a bit of dysfunction there on our behalf.
“Full credit to Ben, his way of batting with the tail is probably second to none. We have to work out a way to navigate through Ben Stokes in the second innings.”
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
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