Off-spinner Nathan Lyon says there are no dead rubbers as Australia chases a 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2021-22 Ashes.
Australia leads the series 3-0 after three dominant victories ahead of the fourth Ashes Test starting on Wednesday at the SCG.
There has been speculation about the make-up of the Australian side given they have already secured a series victory with dilemmas on Josh Hazlewood's fitness and Scott Boland's place along with talk of a second spinner in Mitch Swepson.
Lyon, who has taken 12 wickets in the three Tests, insisted Australia were determined to pursue victory and pick the best side possible.
"There's no more dead rubbers - and I've never considered them when you wear a baggy green - firstly because there's the World Test Championship and we want to go 5-0 up," Lyon told reporters on Sunday.
"If the conditions suit then we pick the best team to win that Test to make sure we keep moving forward. The Ashes for me is the pinnacle but I'd love to be part of a Test Championship final to state our case for the number one team in the world."
Australia missed out on the World Test Championship final last year, finishing third behind winners New Zealand and India. The Aussies have won the past two Ashes on home soil 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.
Lyon endorsed fellow spinner Swepson, who is set to get Test opportunities in 2022 with tours of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India to come.
"I love bowling in partnership with spinners for sure," Lyon said. "I've done it a lot in subcontinent conditions so if the opportunity does come to play two spinners I know we'll really enjoy building that partnership. We've been doing it in the nets but it's a lot different."
Hazlewood, who has missed the past two Tests with a side injury, is expected to train fully with the group on Monday and could replace Boland who took 7-6 in the second innings of the third Test.
James Vince and Liam Dawson do the damage in Hampshire’s rout of Essex
Skipper James Vince and Liam Dawson starred as Hampshire trounced Essex by 118 runs in the Vitality Blast.
Vince needed just 48 balls to amass 103, hitting eight sixes and the same number of fours, in a total of 214 for eight before Dawson took four for 21 as the home side collapsed to 96 all out in 14.1 overs at Chelmsford.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore plundered an unbeaten 64 to help Somerset strengthen their position at the top of the South Group with a nine-wicket demolition of struggling Middlesex.
Kohler-Cadmore, who hit four sixes – the last of them to win the match – and seven fours, and Tom Abell with 25 not out eased the home side over the finishing line with 39 balls to spare at Taunton after the visitors were bowled out for just 136 in 18.4 overs.
Tom Smith dispatched the first ball of the final over for four as Gloucestershire edged to a two-wicket victory over high-flying Surrey in a low-scoring thriller at Bristol.
Only opener Grant Roelofsen, Oliver Price and James Bracey made it past 20 on a difficult pitch, but the hosts, who needed two off the last over, managed to chase down the visitors’ 124 for nine despite England seamer Sam Curran’s three for 20.
David Payne and Matt Taylor had both earlier taken three wickets with Jamie Smith’s knock of 29 the biggest batting contribution in the match.
Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke staged an unbeaten stand of 109 to ease Glamorgan to a seven-wicket win over Kent inside 17 overs.
The pair came together in the ninth over with the score on 82 for three in response to Kent’s 189 for six – due in large part to Tawanda Muyeye’s 62 – and were still there at the finish, Ingram making a 32-ball 63, including 10 fours and a six, and Cooke 46.
Michael Bracewell and Adam Hose both hit half-centuries as Worcestershire blew away Nottinghamshire by 56 runs to go top of the North Group.
Bracewell, who put on 98 with skipper Brett D’Oliveira for the first wicket, made 55 and Hose an unbeaten 51 in an impressive 226 for five.
Alex Hales led a Notts charge with 71 from 35 balls, but largely without support as D’Oliveira ripped the heart out of their reply with four for 11 in his two overs and Pat Brown took four for 25 as they were dismissed for 170.
Wayne Madsen’s unbeaten 71 laid the foundation for Derbyshire to see off previous leaders Birmingham Bears by 17 runs.
Madsen hit 12 fours with Tom Wood adding a quick-fire 39 from 19 balls in a total of 174 for five, and they were backed up by bowlers Zaman Khan and Zak Chappell, who finished with three for 34 and three for 32 respectively as the visitors reached 157 for nine.
Chris Lynn smashed an unbeaten century as Northamptonshire beat Leicestershire by eight wickets in the battle of the bottom two.
Lynn thumped five sixes and 13 fours on his way to 110 from 68 balls to see his side to victory on 168 for two with seven deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire had posted 164 for eight with Ben Sanderson and Andrew Tye helping themselves to three wickets each.
A third-wicket partnership of 54 between Michael Jones and Ollie Robinson provided the backbone for Durham as they completed a comfortable six-wicket win over Lancashire at Chester-le-Street.
Jones’ 43 and 39 for Robinson set up Ashton Turner and Wayne Parnell to see the home side over the line with 10 balls remaining after Parnell, Bas de Leede, Ben Raine and Nathan Sowter had taken two wickets each to help restrict Lancashire to 152 for nine.
West Indies Women to host Ireland Women in Saint Lucia
Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday announced the match schedule and venue for the West Indies Women’s international home series against Ireland Women. The highly anticipated series will feature three CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia from 26 June to 9 July.
The first two CG United ODIs will bowl off at 10am (9am Jamaica Time), with the third being a day/night game, starting at 3pm (2pm Jamaica). The three T20Is will commence at 5pm (4pm Jamaica).
The ODIs hold significant weight in this series, as they contribute crucial points to the ICC Women's Championship and the results will therefore directly impact qualification for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 in India.
CWI’s High Performance Manager Graeme West said: “The Ireland Series is the only engagement in the region for the Senior Women in 2023 and its critical we maximize ‘home’ advantage in the three CG United ODIs as we continue our qualification campaign towards the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025. The three T20Is will kick start the preparation towards the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup which the team has already qualified for.”
West added, “Ireland have shown great improvement in recent times and the game between the two sides in February at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa was a thriller. We will need to prepare well for both series with very clear game plans, the squad will get time in St Lucia prior to the first ODI to establish the key roles and focus areas that each player will be required to execute in order to play winning cricket. It’s exciting to be taking international Women’s Cricket back to St Lucia, the island is developing a number of exciting young female players and we hope the Ireland games can inspire more girls to get involved and start their own cricket journeys.”
Fans worldwide can join the excitement as all eight matches will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. Furthermore, live ball-by-ball scoring will be available on the Match Centre at www.windiescricket.com, ensuring fans do not miss a single moment of the action.
Full match schedule:
All matches at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, St. Lucia
Monday, 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Thursday, 29 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Sunday, 2 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
Wednesday, 5 July: 1st T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Friday, 7 July: 2nd T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Sunday, 9 July: 3rd T20I – 5pm (4pm Jamaica Time)
Ollie Pope says entertainment matters as England close in on win against Ireland
Double centurion Ollie Pope was delighted with his “special” innings and played down concerns over England’s under-cooked middle-order after they closed in on victory against Ireland.
Pope smashed 22 boundaries and three sixes in a sparkling knock of 205 from 208 balls and shared a 252-run partnership for the second wicket with opener Ben Duckett, who hit a superb 182 on day two at Lord’s.
Pope’s double century was the quickest ever registered in a Test match in England but his dismissal after tea brought about an early declaration from Ben Stokes with England on 524 for four, holding a lead of 352.
Ireland look destined to suffer an innings defeat in this one-off Test despite closing on 97 for three, meaning Harry Brook, Stokes and Jonny Bairstow would go into the Ashes opener on June 16 with minimal time at the crease.
But Pope countered: “What we’re about as a side is entertaining so we wanted to let the crowd watch us have a whack for a few overs and then watch us with the new ball.
“That’s what a full crowd at Lord’s probably wants to see as well so that was partially why we did that (declaration). I guess Jonny didn’t bat but he’s played a lot of county cricket.
“The way cricket is now, there is not always that feeling of you need a load of innings before a series.
“Jonny is in a really good place, his batting is in a really good place and you want to just be as fresh and confident as you can. Hopefully all the boys are feeling like that.”
Pope was more than happy to get some time in the middle himself before the battle with Australia begins at Edgbaston and especially at Lords, where he had only passed 50 once in seven previous Test innings.
Reflecting on going on the honours board, he admitted: “It’s very special.
“Lord’s is not somewhere I’ve done that well over the years, I think I got 70-odd against South Africa but other than that I’ve hardly scored a run here.
“So, it’s nice to get that one off my back, especially leading into a big summer.
“There’s no denying that Australia’s attack is stronger than Ireland’s but scoring runs at Lord’s and scoring runs in Test matches is a habit, a good habit to get into early.”
After Pope, who had struggled during the first hour, hit his fourth Test hundred, England debutant Josh Tongue stole the show in the evening session.
The Worcestershire seamer impressed in the enforcer role on day one and clocked 91mph, but had Peter Moor lbw and bounced out Paul Stirling on his way to three for 27 from a fine eight-over spell.
“For him to dive into that role he did this evening…the way he did that was perfect,” Pope admitted.
“He has been awesome this week, he looks the part and has been great around the changing room too. I don’t think you would know it’s his debut.”
Meanwhile, Duckett’s extraordinary new lease of life in Test cricket shows no signs of slowing.
In his first Test innings on home soil, the Nottinghamshire batter breezed to 150 off the same number of balls to snatch the record for quickest Test 150 at Lord’s off Australian great Don Bradman before his fun ended on 182, which came at a strike rate of 102.84.
Duckett, recalled this winter six years after his last appearance, told BBC Today at the Test: “It’s been a crazy six months and to start the summer like that and make a century at Lord’s was something I dreamt of as a kid.
“Even 12 months ago I thought I’d never play Test cricket for England again.
“With other captains I probably wouldn’t have, but Stokesy and Baz (Brendon McCullum) wanted me to open the batting and play the way I’ve played throughout my career and a lot of thanks to them.”
Ireland face an uphill battle to take only their seventh Test into a fourth day and batting coach Gary Wilson was unsure if opener James McCollum would bat again after he twisted his ankle and retired hurt on Friday evening.
Wilson said: “He has gone to hospital for scans and we don’t have a further update.
“I went to see him in the ambulance and he was very keen to go on, felt like he was in good touch, so he’s very disappointed, but he might be back tomorrow. We don’t know yet.”
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