Will Jacks fell a few metres shy of a maiden England hundred but he and Sam Hain shone for a second-string England side as they posted 334 for eight in the second ODI against Ireland.
Attempting a mammoth blow to reach his century, Jacks slog swept to Andy Balbirnie at deep midwicket to depart for 94 off 88 balls for England, who are resting all their World Cup stars for this Metro Bank series.
Jacks thumped seven fours and four sixes but his downfall – one of three scalps claimed by George Dockrell – threatened to derail England and while Hain, one of four debutants, could not match his team-mate for power, the Warwickshire batter’s 89 off 82 balls proved vital in the hosts passing 300.
Ireland are seeking a third successive white-ball win over England – having beaten them in an ODI in 2020 and at last year’s T20 World Cup – and may fancy their chances after restricting their opponents to just 140 in the last 20 overs.
England got off to a flyer thanks to Jacks and Phil Salt (28 off 21 balls) while Ben Duckett contributed 48. A trademark onslaught in the latter stages was not forthcoming but Hain’s knock potentially opens the door for more regular involvement after the World Cup, which starts next month.
Hain started alongside Jamie Smith and bowlers Tom Hartley and George Scrimshaw, with the latter pair able to put their feet up after Ireland chose to field.
Jacks and Salt have been tipped to be the new Jason Roy and Alex Hales and the next generation gave their finest impression of the old guard, feasting on Ireland’s fruitless pursuit of early swing with a rash of fours.
Jacks was imperious against Josh Little, driving sumptuously through the off-side time and again, as England reached their 50 inside six overs before being dealt a double when Salt spliced to extra cover while, two legal balls later, stand-in captain Zak Crawley played all around one from Craig Young.
Duckett pierced cover on a couple of occasions and Ireland took out a lone slip, only for the luckless Barry McCarthy to twice draw the outside edge, desperately out of reach of wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker.
Jacks was put down on 44 low at backward point by Harry Tector, who could not get under the chance. It was a costly, if extremely difficult, drop as Jacks went through the gears, bringing up his maiden international 50 with a lofted drive off spinner Andy McBrine for six.
Duckett also cleared the rope off McBrine but perished for 48 after paddling Dockrell into the inviting hands of Mark Adair at short fine-leg to end a run-a-ball 102-run stand with Jacks.
Hain made a nervous start with just a single – via an inside edge – off his first dozen deliveries and was put down by a diving Tector before gradually finding his stride, using his feet well to open up his scoring options.
Jacks moved into the 90s by hoicking Dockrell for six but, attempting to repeat the trick in the next over, he gave McBrine a skier. As he trudged off, Jacks knocked his bat into his helmet in despair.
Dockrell had his third when Smith holed out but Hain – who possesses one of the best List A averages ever – used his experience to make sure England did not collapse. While there were only five fours, he was able to rotate the strike sufficiently to reach a half-century off just 52 balls.
Brydon Carse made a cameo 32 off 30 balls and while Hain headed into the last over needing 11 to reach three figures, he miscued McCarthy to mid-off.
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
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