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.”
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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