England put themselves in pole position for an Ashes-levelling win in the fifth and final Test, leaving Australia a record chase after another display of ‘Bazball’ bravado at the Kia Oval.
The hosts turned in a swaggering attacking performance on day three in south London, clattering their way to 389 for nine as they ushered an enthralling series towards its end game.
Joe Root cracked 91 before being undone by a shooter, Zak Crawley signed off a fine summer with a vibrant 73 and Jonny Bairstow clubbed 78 as the tourists chased leather for 80 overs.
It was a fitting way for England’s batting unit to bow out after six weeks of fearless – and often reckless – hitting with 48 boundaries and three sixes.
Australia have already retained the urn thanks to their 2-1 lead but face a mountainous battle if they are to land a first outright win on these shores in 22 years.
Stuart Broad, England’s second-highest Test wicket-taker of all time, announced after the match that he would be retiring from all cricket at the end of this match.
They are already 377 behind on a ground where the highest fourth-innings pursuit sits at 263, while Donald Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ are the only Australian team to have chased more.
They established a slender lead of 12 before being bowled out in the final act of day two, an advantage that lasted precisely an over.
The first ball of the day was a wide half-volley from Mitchell Starc, practically begging to be crashed through the covers for four. Crawley had done exactly that to the opening ball of the series back at Edgbaston and needed no encouragement to repeat the stroke.
A single and two boundaries from Ben Duckett followed in quick succession, clearing the deficit in six balls. For an Australia side who had scraped just 13 runs off the bat in a soporific first hour on the second day, England’s self-assured start seemed disorientating.
Starc was hauled off after shipping 22 from two overs – a poor spell even by T20 standards, let alone an Ashes Test – with Australia unable to plug the scoring. England reached 50 in 8.4 overs, with Duckett collecting seven fours.
The touring attack were light on ideas but finally made a breakthrough with 79 on the board, when the returning Starc had Duckett (42) caught behind off a thin edge. England were not allowed to send out Moeen Ali due to time spent off the field with a groin injury, leaving Ben Stokes to become his side’s fourth number three of the series.
Any hopes of the wicket allowing Australia to reset crumbled upon contact as Crawley stepped out of Duckett’s shadow and began to dictate terms. He took a liking to Todd Murphy, easing through his arsenal of sweeps and off drives to leave the spinner unsure of what line to bowl.
With Starc continuing to be costly, England romped along to 130 for one at lunch with Stokes an unlikely anchor as Crawley freed his arms. The Durham man is nobody’s idea of a wallflower, though, and he shifted gears abruptly by hooking Josh Hazlewood’s third ball of the afternoon for six.
His immediate reaction suggested Stokes was worried, but Starc could do no more than paw it over the ropes at fine-leg. Crawley was in sight of reaching 500 runs for the series, a landmark few would have tipped him to get close to at the start, but fell 20 short when he drove slightly lazily at a Pat Cummins delivery that shaped away.
That was the first of three wickets in the session, though it would be hard to call it a comeback. Stokes made 42 before hacking Murphy to mid-on and Harry Brook hit one huge straight six before nicking Hazlewood behind, but this was Root’s time to take the spotlight.
After surviving a marginal lbw shout on four, he came to life. Mitch Marsh was reverse ramped for six over third man, a party trick that never loses its sparkle, and flicked fine to fine-leg when he straightened up in response.
Starc, meanwhile, coughed up three consecutive boundaries culminating in a loose-limbed uppercut. Root’s half-century took just 42 deliveries and by the time tea arrived, he and Bairstow had already pushed the lead past 250.
Bairstow seemed particularly hungry to hurry along, depositing Murphy through the covers and popping him back over his head, then tucking into his favourite cut shot to give Hazlewood a dose.
By the time his frenzy took the fifth-wicket stand to 100, he had scored 70 of them. Root was quietly making his way towards his own century, an apparent inevitability until he was cut off by a grubber from Murphy.
The bowler can take credit for generating some handy turn, but Root had no chance as the ball skidded into his stumps off the toe end. Bairstow followed with a flat-footed poke at Starc and the innings wound to an end in a flurry of activity.
The ailing Moeen made an enjoyable 29 in what is surely his final Test innings, but joined Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in donating his wicket chasing quick runs at the close.
IPL: Salt stars as KKR get back to winning ways
Phil Salt inspired Kolkata Knight Riders to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League as they beat Delhi Capitals with an emphatic seven-wicket victory.
The Capitals had surpassed 220 runs in each of their last two matches, but their chances of doing so again were dented early on, Prithvi Shaw walking for 13 before the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk followed before the end of the third over, his flat drive being taken by Venkatesh Iyer near the boundary for 12.
Varun Chakaravarthy posted figures of 3-16 as Kolkata prevented their visitors from mounting any kind of response, with only Kuldeep Yadav's unbeaten 35 off 26 balls helping them crawl beyond the 150 mark and finish their innings on 153-9.
Salt started brilliantly for Kolkata, plundering his way to a half-century within the first six overs of the chase. He was bowled by Axar Patel, but only after the openers had raced to 79-0, with Sunil Narine and Rinku Singh dismissed shortly after.
Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer ticked off the remaining runs with ease, securing the win for Kolkata with 21 balls left.
Data Debrief: A sprinkle of Salt
England all-rounder Will Jacks smashed an unbeaten century off just 41 balls to propel Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory over Gujarat Titans on Sunday, and his compatriot Salt followed up with a stunning knock this time around.
He reached 52 in just 26 balls, with a further two boundaries taking him to 60 and seeing Kolkata reach 79 by the end of the powerplay. His knock included seven fours and five sixes.
Cricket West Indies VP Azim Bassarath dismisses GCB legal action as 'laughable'
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Vice President and President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), Azim Bassarath, has dismissed the legal action taken by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) against CWI as laughable, especially given their organization's recent history with alleged questionable elections at the territorial board level.
On April 20, the GCB announced it was commencing legal proceedings against CWI, continuing its year-long allegation that Bassarath was unlawfully elected vice president.
This move comes despite CWI's statement on October 7, 2023, where they addressed the GCB's concerns and confirmed that the election was conducted in accordance with the organization's Memorandum and Articles of Association.
According to CWI's statement: “The Board of Cricket West Indies has thoroughly examined the matters raised by the Guyana Cricket Board and wishes to assure all stakeholders that the election for the post of Vice President was conducted in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the organization. CWI recognizes the importance of transparency and fairness in all its operations, including elections, and is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity.”
Speaking after last weekend’s conclusion of the two-day CARICOM cricket symposium in Trinidad, Bassarath, in an interview with Sportsmax.tv, responded to the GCB's legal action.
“As long as I’ve been a CWI director, unfortunately, the Guyana Cricket Board has been the one and only shareholder whose elections were accused of being unlawful. Guyana’s board is the only instance where CWI was forced to stop international cricket from being played in a territory due to government intervention, which went against both CWI and ICC positions against government intervention in sport. Therefore, I genuinely find it laughable what Mr. (Bisoondial) Singh is doing, considering the GCB’s history.”
Sportsmax.tv has obtained the original letter sent by the GCB to CWI under then-President Ricky Skerritt ahead of the March 25, 2023 election, which contradicts the assertion in the GCB’s April 20, 2024, letter that one of the reasons for withdrawing its nomination of Bassarath was due to misconduct allegations against the TTCB.
In the letter, the GCB only cited Article 92 of the CWI Articles of Association.
Bassarath also questioned Singh's administration of affairs in Guyana: “Mr. Singh joined CWI in 2021, and I have no clear information as CWI vice president about when local cricket elections are due in Guyana, unlike other territorial boards. This is concerning, considering the history of Mr. Singh’s predecessor at the GCB. Similar to me, he created all sorts of alleged unlawful acts to remove former Guyana director Hilbert Foster, which surprised many on the CWI board. Mr. Foster, from the area of Berbice, as we are seeing around the Caribbean with the young Shamar Joseph, is producing many talented West Indies players.”
Bassarath concluded by urging his Guyanese counterpart to follow the lead of Guyanese head of state Dr. Irfan Ali, who is taking productive actions to benefit Caribbean cricket.
“We saw the eye-catching presentation by Guyana's Head of State Dr. Ali at the symposium, and we already see what he has been doing in recent years with the CPL cricket carnival. So, just like our Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister, the honorable Keith Rowley, who organized this fantastic symposium, Singh should spend more time seeking to create cricket-focused initiatives for the benefit of Guyana and West Indies cricket.”
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ticket Box Offices to open on Thursday, May 2
Fans in the Caribbean will be able to buy ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 tickets directly from box offices from Thursday 2 May and confirm their attendance at the biggest cricket carnival spectacle ever.
To celebrate 30 days to go to the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and the launch of the official anthem, box offices will open their doors on Thursday until the end of the event across the six host locations in the West Indies.
Box office locations:
Opening hours:
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago: Monday to Friday: 10:30 am - 6:00 pm and Saturdays: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Monday to Friday: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm and Saturdays: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Box offices will be closed on Sundays. Fans across the West Indies will be able to purchase tickets for all Caribbean match fixtures. Fixtures and local start times for matches are available here.
Tickets for 39 of the World Cup’s 55 matches which are to be hosted in the West Indies will be available with prices starting from as low as US$6 for selected matches. Fans can choose from the following ticket categories: Premium, Standard Plus, Standard, Grounds and Mounds, and Party stand.
Fans will be able to pay with cash in their local currency or with their credit card at box offices. Tickets are also available online on the tournament’s official ticketing website; tickets.t20worldcup.com.
Leading up to the opening of the box offices, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Tournament Director Fawwaz Baksh said: “With just over 30 days to the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the opening of the ticket box offices in the West Indies from 2 May will mark a pivotal moment in our journey to delivering an out of this world experience for all fans.
“The opening of box offices also underscores our commitment to ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for all West Indians, who are passionate followers of the game. Their presence in the stadiums will energise players, entertain fans and viewers, and show the world a cricketing spectacle which can only be experienced in the Caribbean.”
Venue, hospitality, and party stand packages for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup are also available for matches in the West Indies and USA and are available at tickets.t20worldcup.com.
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