England captain Ben Stokes has spent the past week immersing himself in the story of The Godfather and is ready to make Australia an offer they can’t refuse in this week’s must-win Ashes Test.
Both sides have everything to play for at Emirates Old Trafford, with the tourists seeking a first series win on English soil since 2001 and Stokes’ side hungry for a victory that would tie the scores at 2-2 and set up a thrilling decider at The Kia Oval.
The growing sense of anticipation around the fourth Test is only dampened by an uncompromising weather outlook, with plenty of rain forecast over the weekend, but Stokes has made it clear that he cannot abide draws and is willing to pull every lever in his power to achieve positive results.
Opposite number Pat Cummins may need some more encouragement to play ball, with a draw enough for Australia to retain the urn, but Stokes’ choice of pre-match entertainment took him in a different direction entirely.
“I spent most of my time on the sofa, watching a TV series called The Offer and I watched The Godfather. It’s a great film,” Stokes said of his downtime after a classic encounter at Headingley.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Mafia classic, and the 10-part drama about the making of the movie, will have exposed Stokes to some famously extreme methods of persuasion but he has already established his own way of forcing things in his favour, based around ultra-aggressive batting and bold declarations.
Expect more of the same in the coming days if the weather begins to eat away at England’s chances.
“I think we always try and look to be creative, I think the way in which we play will force the game on anyway. There might just be a few different tactical decisions to make,” he said.
“If there is potentially even 100 overs lost in the game, we might have to look at pressing the game on quicker than we normally would. I don’t know how they’ll play this game; we do know that they just need a draw to retain the Ashes. I’m not looking too much into that, but I do understand it.
“You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in, we might find we have to. We know we have to win this game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back. It might bring more out of us again knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.”
Stokes has made it one of the founding principles of his tenure as skipper to re-energise the five-day format, casting his teams as entertainers as well as athletes and making a clear bid to draw new fans to the Test arena.
On several occasions over the past few weeks, the Ashes has felt like the biggest sporting draw in the country with three tight finishes and plenty of nail-biting tension. Stokes is desperate to deliver a fitting climax by setting up a winner-takes-all finale but hopes the feelgood factor can outlive the series regardless of outcome.
“I hope this craze around cricket doesn’t get lost if things don’t go our way in this Ashes,” he said.
“I think we have captured the imagination of a few more people, whereas 2019 felt like we were getting a lot of cricket fans coming up to us and saying well done, now it’s more people who don’t even like cricket.
“It would be amazing (to win here). We would be focusing more on the fact of winning this game and going to The Oval 2-2 but then when we took a step back, that last game would be everywhere. If that does happen and we do go to The Oval level, I think we’ll be challenging 2005 for one of the best series in England.”
Despite 18 years having passed since that famous summer, James Anderson represents a dressing room link. He was an unused squad member in 2005 and returns on home turf in Manchester as the 40-year-old leader of the attack.
There are few accolades he has not achieved in a career that has seen him become the most prolific seamer in history in terms of wickets taken and games played, but a five-wicket haul at the ground which has an end named after him still eludes the veteran.
“Is he not on there yet?,” said Stokes, standing in front of Old Trafford’s honours board.
“I’ve got to say, I’m amazed at that. It would be good if he was able to do that, it would be nice to get his name up. To still be doing what he’s doing at 40 years old, and I think over the last six or seven years his stats have got better every year, he’s just an amazing performer. He’s been an incredible gift to English cricket.”
Cricket West Indies to reveal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Friday, May 3
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is gearing up to unveil its squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup during a highly anticipated live press conference in Barbados on Friday, May 3. The event will feature CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes, and Head Coach Daren Sammy alongside CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave.
In a statement, Johnny Grave expressed the organization's excitement about the impending announcement and highlighted the decision to host a live press conference as a means to directly engage with fans and media.
"Emphasizing the significance of this moment, we chose to host a live press conference to engage with fans and media directly. We also requested permission from the ICC to align our announcement with this event," said Johnny Grave.
The announcement comes amidst increasing excitement as local box offices across the region open on Thursday, May 2, allowing fans to secure their tickets for the tournament. Additionally, CWI will be releasing the official tournament song on the same day, further adding to the anticipation building around the event.
"Excitement is mounting as local box offices open across the region on Thursday, May 2, and we are equally thrilled to release the official tournament song on the same day. Anticipation is building, and we can't wait to share this journey with cricket enthusiasts worldwide," Grave added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to commence on June 1, will be co-hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, culminating with the finals scheduled to take place in Barbados. With preparations in full swing, CWI's squad announcement promises to be a significant moment in the lead-up to this highly anticipated global cricketing event. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the squad and the exciting journey ahead for Cricket West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup.
IPL: Punjab Kings spinners frustrate CSK in routine win
Punjab Kings eased to back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, their spinners doing the damage as they claimed a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings chased down an IPL-record of 262 with eight balls to spare to beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, but they didn't need anywhere near that level of big hitting to clinch their first set of consecutive victories this year.
Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar made it a far more comfortable outing for Punjab, finishing with two wickets apiece and giving up just 33 runs between them through eight overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad did his best to keep CSK in it with his 62 off 48 balls, but they always looked unlikely to defend a middling score of 162, particularly when Deepak Chahar pulled up two deliveries into the Punjab innings and walked gingerly from the field.
Richard Gleeson dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for 13 on his IPL debut, but that was as good as it got for Chennai as Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 25) steadily ate away at their score.
The Super Kings' outing was summed up by Sam Curran's wayward drive spinning away from Shivam Dube at the boundary for a four late on, and Punjab wrapped up their most comfortable win of the season with 13 balls to spare.
Data Debrief: Kings maintain Chennai hoodoo
The Kings' upturn may have come a little too late to give them a genuine shot at the play-offs, but for Chennai, it was a case of more frustration against their bogey team.
Punjab have now won their last five matches against the Super Kings, who have seen their title defence stall with a run of three defeats in four outings.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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