England captain Heather Knight hailed an “awesome” batting display by Alice Capsey after her blistering 46 helped secure a five-wicket victory over Australia in a rain-hit final T20 international at Lord’s to keep alive hopes of regaining the Ashes.
Capsey had made just 17 runs in her last five England innings, but the 18-year-old returned to form to lead England’s revised run chase of 119 in 14 overs after Australia had been restricted to 155 for seven before a rain delay at the interval.
“Alice Capsey was awesome,” Knight said on BBC Test Match Special.
“She probably hasn’t played how she wanted to in the first two (games), but to play like that and take the game on is exactly how we want her to play so I’m really pleased for her.”
Having pulled off a three-run win in a thrilling finale at the Oval on Wednesday, England’s victory saw them take the T20 series 2-1 and reduce the multi-format deficit to 6-4 ahead of the deciding one-day internationals, which start at Bristol on Wednesday.
“We talked yesterday about wanting a series win in the T20s and I’m really proud of the girls and the way we went about it,” Knight said.
“The really pleasing thing is that, when someone doesn’t have a great day, someone else is standing up and we’re able to have a real team performance.”
The Lord’s crowd of 21,610 broke the home bilateral attendance record for an England women’s fixture.
The series could now go the distance, which had looked unlikely after England’s defeat in the Test at Trent Bridge and the opening T20 at Edgbaston.
“The support has been so good, we’ve loved it,” said Knight, captain of London Spirit, who play their Hundred games at Lord’s.
“It is credit to both teams the cricket that has been played and to get people out and momentum behind the series. There is still a long way to go.
“The way we’ve fought back in this series has been really pleasing. We’ve felt like we’re not far away and once we’d got that win it felt like we’d got over that hurdle a little bit. Hopefully we can keep that going.”
Capsey, named player of the match, is in no doubt England can keep the pressure on in the ODIs.
“It has been unbelievable. The series is still alive, which is amazing. It was a great performance,” Capsey said on Sky Sports Cricket.
“It was just about playing to our strengths and putting the Aussies under pressure. T20 cricket, especially the way I play, sometimes I’m going to come off and sometimes I won’t.
“It’s just about getting better and trying to become more consistent at it. I’ve been working hard in the nets and been given a lot of backing by the coaching staff.”
A second consecutive defeat saw Australia beaten in a series for first time since 2017.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who was trapped lbw by Charlie Dean for 16 in the fourth over, admitted her side paid the price for another below-par display.
“They played a really good innings. They outbraved us and batted really well,” she said to Sky Sports.
“They played a few shots and took their chances. They played some fearless cricket and got themselves over the line.
“That’s the beauty of the T20 format. When you’re not quite on, you can get pounced upon by teams.
“England have played a really great style of cricket throughout the series and we didn’t quite match that.
“Fortunately, we’ve still got three games of this Ashes series to pick ourselves up. We go into the one-day format, which we absolutely love.”
Karthik announces retirement from cricket
Dinesh Karthik has announced he is retiring from all cricket, bringing an end to his nearly 20-year career.
Karthik represented India in 180 matches across all formats, making his debut in September 2004, but has not played for his national side since the 2022 T20 World Cup.
He has been a part of the Indian Premier League since its inaugural season in 2008, representing six teams, including two spells at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
His most recent stint with RCB saw him play a vital role in their run to the playoffs, where they ultimately lost to Rajasthan Royals.
In a social media post on Saturday, his 39th birthday, Karthik announced his decision to retire from the sport.
"Having given it plenty of thought for some time now, I have decided to move on from playing representative cricket," Karthik said in his statement.
"I officially announce my retirement and put my playing days behind me as I square up for the new challenges that lie ahead.
"I'd like to thank all my coaches, captains, selectors, teammates and members of the support staff who have made this long journey pleasant and enjoyable. Among the millions that play the sport in our country, I consider myself among the lucky few to have had the chance to represent the nation, and luckier still to have earned the goodwill of so many fans and friends.
"My parents have been pillars of strength and support over all these years, and I wouldn't be what I am without their blessings. I also owe plenty to Dipika [Pallikal], herself a professional sportsperson who often put her career on hold to walk my journey with me.
"Of course, to all the fans and followers of our great game, a massive thank you! Cricket and cricketers wouldn't be the same without your support and good wishes."
Karthik is one of just seven players to feature in every edition of the IPL so far, playing 256 games across that run.
He also played for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Overall, Karthik scored 4816 runs, striking at over 135 with 22 half-centuries. As a keeper, he is second only to MS Dhoni in overall dismissals (172) as well as stumpings (36).
IPL: Mumbai Indians condemned to last-place finish after 18-run defeat to Super Giants
Rohit Sharma's half-century was not enough for Mumbai Indians as they slipped to an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.
The defeat consigned Mumbai to bottom place in the Indian Premier League for the second time in the space of three seasons, after losing 10 matches this year.
LSG were also left to lament their misfortune, as despite reaching 14 points, they did not qualify for the play-offs.
KL Rahul's 55 got the ball rolling for Lucknow, but their innings was ebbing out until Nicholas Pooran's dazzling 29-ball 75 took them to 214-6, despite the efforts of Nuwan Thushara (3-28) and Piyush Chawla (3-29), who stepped up in Jasprit Bumrah's absence.
Rohit's 38-ball 68 set the tone for what looked set to be a promising Mumbai chase, as he struck 13 boundaries around a short rain delay.
However, Mumbai went from 88 without loss to 120-5 in the space of six overs, leaving the tail with too much of a mountain to climb.
Data Debrief: Lucknow miss out
While Mumbai sit bottom of the pile yet again, it is a case of what might have been for LSG, who for the first time in their three-season history, failed to make the top four.
Fourteen points is often enough to get over the line and into the play-offs, but their poor net run rate of -0.667 means they miss out.
Tape ball programme can help England find unorthodox talent – Richard Gould
The England and Wales Cricket Board hopes to unearth a new seam of talent beyond the game’s traditional league structure with a national tape ball scheme that allows players to thrive without “whites, willow and leather”.
The practice of using a soft ball wrapped in electrical tape to aid swing and variable bounce is a common one in Asia, where it has helped produce express pace bowlers like Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi and spinners such as Rashid Khan and Shakib-al-Hasan, but has been slow to enter the mainstream conversation in the United Kingdom.
The Chance to Shine charity has long pioneered tape ball cricket as part of its engagement hubs and now, with the ECB keen to live up to its lofty aspiration of becoming the most inclusive team sport in the country, it is at the heart of a new core cities programme designed to engage ‘diverse communities in urban areas’.
Speaking at a launch event where games were hosted in a warehouse space in Birmingham, ECB chief executive Richard Gould was optimistic about reaching out to those with an interest in cricket but limited access to the pavilions and prepared pitches in the club setup.
“We talk about clubs with picket fences around them. In the past that has been seen as the preserve of the ECB. We’ve missed a complete trick on that,” he said.
“When we talk about the recreational game we’re not just talking about Premier League clubs and village cricket clubs now. We’re talking about all forms of cricket that take place.
“You can play the game anywhere, any time, with anybody, in any environment you want. You don’t have to have whites, willow and leather to do it. You can just pick up a bat and a ball and have some fun.”
As well as fulfilling its remit of reaching out to all comers at a grassroots level, Gould also believes there are benefits to finding cricketers with different styles who have learned the game outside the traditional, private-school heavy pathways.
“Without doubt there are,” he said. “We have to get out and try to find the talent. More to the point, we have to try and find talent in areas that we haven’t normally looked for it.
“I do think county pathways will be looking to make sure they don’t miss out on this talent. It’s just about punching through all of our normal procedures and finding ways to both get people in the game and unearthing that talent which may be unorthodox and great.”
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