Ravichandran Ashwin took his 500th Test wicket for India in the third match of the series against England.
Ashwin dismissed Zak Crawley for 15 in the first innings and here, the PA news agency looks at the 37-year-old’s impressive record.
Landmark wicket
Ashwin has reached 500 in his 98th Test since making his debut in 2011 – a relatively late starter aged 25, having made his limited-overs bow the previous year.
His wickets have come at an average of 23.95, with 34 five-wicket hauls including a best of seven for 59 against New Zealand in October 2016 as he also picked up his best match figures of 13 for 140.
He has 114 wickets against Australia and 98 against England though in terms of favourite opponents, his 66 wickets at an average of 15.44 against New Zealand or 75 at 20.48 against the West Indies may take the honours.
England captain Ben Stokes is his most regular victim with 12 dismissals, one more than Australia’s David Warner. He has 277 wickets caught, including 46 by the wicketkeeper, 110 lbw, 100 bowled and 13 stumped.
Quiet dominance
Ashwin has rarely been the headline name in the India team but his key role in their bowling attack makes remarkable reading.
In the 98 Tests he has played, India have taken 1,655 wickets – meaning Ashwin has been responsible for over 30 per cent of them.
He has more wickets than the second- and third-leading wicket-takers in those matches combined – fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja on 231 and seamer Mohammed Shami on 161 – more five-wicket innings than the next six combined and 10-wicket matches (eight) than all other India bowlers in those games (five).
With 3,308 runs at a batting average of 26.67 for good measure, Ashwin has been invaluable to India for over a decade without necessarily claiming the spotlight.
500 club
Ashwin is the ninth man to take 500 Test wickets and only the second after Muttiah Muralitharan to get there in fewer than 100 Tests.
Former Sri Lanka spinner Muralitharan took just 89 Tests to reach 500 and ended his career with a record 800 wickets at an average of 22.72 in 133 Tests, one of which was played for a World XI in 2005 and contributed five to his wicket tally.
His total stands 92 clear of the late Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne in second, with England’s James Anderson the leading active player on 696.
Anil Kumble, Ashwin’s predecessor in the India spin ranks, took 619 with Anderson’s long-time new-ball partner Stuart Broad the final member of the 600 club on 604.
Glenn McGrath took 563 for Australia and Courtney Walsh 519 for the West Indies, with Australia spinner Nathan Lyon two behind Walsh.
After Ashwin there will not be another addition to the 500 club for some years to come. New Zealand seamer Tim Southee is the next active player on a distant 376, and aged 35, while time is also against Australia’s Mitchell Starc (353). South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada is younger at 28 but has yet to take 300 wickets.
Allen hundred sets up rematch between San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket final
Aggresive New Zealand opener Finn Allen hit the third hundred of his T20 career to propel the San Francisco Unicorns to a win over the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday to advance to the Major League Cricket final.
The 25-year-old Allen put the Super Kings to the sword in Friday's Challenger to help his side make 200-6 off their 20 overs after being inserted by Super Kings skipper Faf du Plessis.
Allen faced 53 balls and hit nine fours and five sixes on his way to 101 and was supported well by Australian wicket-keeper/batsman Josh Inglis who hit 37 off 25 balls including two fours and a six.
Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad snagged 3-27 from his four overs for the Super Kings.
Then, despite unbeaten fifties from both Devon Conway and Joshua Tromp, TSK fell agonizingly short of a spot in the final, finishing 190-4 from their 20 overs.
Conway led the way with 62* off 38 balls including four fours and two sixes while Tromp hit five fours and two sixes on his way to a 36-ball 56*.
Captain du Plessis had earlier made 45 off 22 balls.
Conway and Tromp got together at 90-4 in the 10th over and tried their best with a 100-run partnership but the runs proved to be just enough for the Unicorns.
The Unicorns will now square off with the Washington Freedom in Sunday’s final, also being played at the Grand Prairie Stadium.
The pair met on Thursday in the qualifier where the Freedom chased down 146 in 15.3 overs to book their spot in the final.
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
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