England assistant Marcus Trescothick was unable to put much of a positive spin on their latest batting collapse but insisted they are not “dead and buried” in Dharamsala yet.
With the Test series in India already lost, England are searching for a consolation win and Zak Crawley made a battling 79 but the tourists unravelled from 137 for two and 175 for three to 218 all out.
Kuldeep Yadav collected five for 72 while Ravichandran Ashwin marked his 100th Test with figures of four for 51 as all 10 England wickets fell to spin in chilly conditions before India closed on 135 for one.
The in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal muscled three sixes in his 57 off 58 balls while Rohit Sharma went to stumps on day one of this fifth and final Test on 52 not out to leave India just 83 runs behind.
“It’s been a disappointing day,” Trescothick said. “We were hoping for a lot more with winning the toss. We’re a bit behind the game, it’s not quite the score we wanted.
“We got to lunch quite nicely, had a bit of luck here and there and managed to get to that point where we were OK and the afternoon was where it all changed.
“Kuldeep spun the ball hard, more than we’ve seen from anyone else so far. Of course we’re disappointed to not quite match up to what we expect.
“But you never look upon it as ‘we’re dead and buried’. Everyone will take a look at themselves and potentially go, ‘All right, I can be better than I’ve been’ and hopefully we can put that right.”
While the dismissals of Jonny Bairstow, on his 100th Test, Joe Root and Ben Stokes within eight balls was the turning point as England dramatically crumbled, Ollie Pope had another forgettable outing.
Pope’s brilliant 196 underpinned a famous England triumph in Hyderabad in the series opener but he has made just 100 runs in his eight other innings and often appeared skittish when at the crease.
England head coach Brendon McCullum said recently the key for Pope is “to not have played his innings before he goes out there” but he was again ill-at-ease in his 24 balls here.
In the final over before lunch, Pope rashly charged at Kuldeep but seemingly failed to pick the left-arm wrist-spinner’s googly and was stumped by a long way by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel for 11.
“Ollie Pope is someone who cannot stay still at the crease for a long time,” Kuldeep said. “His style is such that he steps out a lot and tries to dominate the spinners by hitting them down the ground.
“He had stepped out early, so it was easy for me to change the variation. It was not that I had planned in advance. When I saw him coming out, I changed it.”
Trescothick, though, threw his backing behind England’s number three.
“Getting into an innings is always challenging over here, and facing high quality spin,” Trescothick said. “That is part of his game he is looking to improve on.
“I think we’d all agree that after his 196 in Hyderabad we had seen an improvement and we saw parts of his game that are definitely getting better. Let’s keep allowing that to happen.
“The more we knock down and put pressure on people, the challenges will come. He’s definitely improving, as are many other players in our team.”
While Shoaib Bashir recovered sufficiently from a stomach upset to take the field, Ollie Robinson was still feeling unwell and left at the team hotel, bringing England’s number down to 13 fit players.
Trescothick and fellow England assistant Paul Collingwood have been drafted in as substitute fielders at 48 and 47 years old respectively. Trescothick, though, hopes to avoid fielding duties.
“If I do, I’ll be standing at long-leg or something like that,” the former Somerset opener said. “I think Colly’s chomping at the bit to get on there!
“I think we’ve worked out a plan; it’s not going to happen, we’re not going to get on the field, we’ve got enough reserves in place.”
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
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