England have decided to go with an all-seam attack for the second Ashes Test against Australia, but surprisingly selected Josh Tongue as the fourth seamer.
Moeen Ali, who struggled with a burst blister on his right index finger at Edgbaston, is left out in the only change from the narrow two-wicket defeat in the series opener.
All-rounder Moeen appeared to allay any concerns over his fitness by taking a full part in Monday’s net session, but captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have chosen to go with four seamers at Lord’s.
Tongue is preferred to the express pace of Mark Wood, who has not played Test cricket since December.
Seamers Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts were also overlooked.
Worcestershire bowler Tongue only made his Test debut against Ireland earlier this month but impressed with a maiden five-wicket haul and relished his chance to be the enforcer with a string of first-innings bouncers on a slow pitch at Lord’s.
England could have picked teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, called up to the squad on Friday, had they wanted to go with another spin option, but have opted for Tongue and will rely on Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks in their efforts to level the series in London.
England have decided to go with an all-seam attack for the second Ashes Test against Australia, but surprisingly selected Josh Tongue as the fourth seamer.
Moeen Ali, who struggled with a burst blister on his right index finger at Edgbaston, is left out in the only change from the narrow two-wicket defeat in the series opener.
All-rounder Moeen appeared to allay any concerns over his fitness by taking a full part in Monday’s net session, but captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have chosen to go with four seamers at Lord’s.
Tongue is preferred to the express pace of Mark Wood, who has not played Test cricket since December.
Seamers Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts were also overlooked.
Worcestershire bowler Tongue only made his Test debut against Ireland earlier this month but impressed with a maiden five-wicket haul and relished his chance to be the enforcer with a string of first-innings bouncers on a slow pitch at Lord’s.
England could have picked teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, called up to the squad on Friday, had they wanted to go with another spin option, but have opted for Tongue and will rely on Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks in their efforts to level the series in London.
After losing the first Test at Edgbaston, England will be looking to level the Ashes when the second Test starts at Lord’s on Wednesday.
The Home of Cricket has staged 37 Ashes Test matches since 1884 with Australia holding a fine track record at the ground.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main moments of Ashes history at Lord’s.
Home of the urnThe top prize up for grabs, England and Australia are vying to lift the small urn at the conclusion of the series.
The name “Ashes” was coined when England lost to Australia for the first time on home soil in 1882 and the Sporting Times published an obituary of English cricket, stating: “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”.
England captain Hon Ivo Bligh vowed to “return the ashes” while on tour to Australia and was gifted a terracotta urn while away.
Although its contents are debated, the urn is said to contain the ashes of a bail and Bligh kept it until his death in 1927 when it was subsequently donated to the MCC.
The original urn can be seen at the MCC Museum at Lord’s and the winner of the Ashes will lift a replica along with the urn-shaped Waterford Crystal trophy introduced in the 1998-99 series.
Early historyThe first Ashes Test at Lord’s took place in 1884 when Allan Steele’s 148 put England in the driving seat along with George Ulyett’s seven wickets to earn victory by an innings and five runs.
Another win followed in 1886, but Australia picked up their first success in 1888 after a low-scoring affair saw Charlie Turner shine with the ball and take 10 wickets across the match.
England then earned a six-wicket win in 1896, but it would be their last at Lord’s until 1934.
Clem Hill and Victor Gregory’s contribution of 135 each set Australia up for a 10-wicket win in 1899 and victories swiftly followed in 1909 and 1921.
Australian great Don Bradman then made his mark on English soil in 1930 with an incredible double century of 254, which led to the touring party declaring on 729 for six and easing to a six-wicket win.
Advantage Australia?Centuries from Les Ames and Maurice Leyland gave England an innings victory in 1934, but Lord’s has certainly since been advantage Australia with the visitors exerting a 75-year period of dominance.
After drawing in 1938, Australia won by 409 runs in 1948 and went on to pick up another eight victories until 2009 when England finally broke their losing run.
Their last win at the ground came in 2015 when a huge double century from Steve Smith in the first innings allowed Australia to set England a target of 509 in the second innings, but they crumbled to 103 all out.
Australia’s overall Test record at the Home of Cricket makes for far better reading with the tourists winning 16 matches compared to England’s six, while 15 draws have taken place between both sides.
Lord’s HeroesAlongside Bradman’s mammoth knock in 1930, Lord’s has thrown up plenty of memorable Ashes moments with most being in Australia’s favour.
Allan Border put on an impressive batting display with a first innings 196 to guide his team to victory in 1985.
Working with Greg Ritchie (94), the pair dragged their side back into the game from 101 for four to 398 for seven by the time the Australian captain was dismissed, setting them on track for a four-wicket win.
Their bowling has also showcased some fine moments and in 1972 Bob Massie produced one of the finest Test match debuts, taking eight for 84 in the first innings and eight for 53 in the second.
His ability to get the ball swinging like no one else saw him finish with match figures of 16 for 137, a record for a Test debutant until bettered by India’s Narendra Hirwani in 1988.
Lord’s is no stranger to impressive bowling spells and Glenn McGrath etched his name into the history books in 1997 with a first innings eight-wicket haul.
On his first tour of England, the seamer ripped through the England batting line-up, reducing them to 77 all out and taking eight for 38.
Although Australia ultimately hold the happier memories at Lord’s, Andrew Strauss’ 161 and Andrew Flintoff’s second innings five-for earned England a first victory at the ground in 75 years in 2009.
Last time outLord’s hosted the second Test of the last Ashes series in 2019, when an intriguing five days boiled down to a draw.
With day one washed out, Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow made half-centuries on day two, but England were bowled out for 258 with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon taking three wickets each.
There was plenty of buzz in the build-up to the game with fast bowler Jofra Archer making his Test debut and his sheer speed became one of the talking points when his 92mph bouncer caught Steve Smith on the neck.
The Australian batter fell to the floor and was taken off the field, but returned after passing concussion protocols before being bowled lbw by Chris Woakes with Australia all out for 250.
Smith was subsequently ruled out of the fifth day of the Test with concussion and would go on to miss the Headingley Test, with Marnus Labuschagne brought into the team as the first concussion substitute.
Ben Stokes then smashed an unbeaten 115 as England declared on 258 for five, but despite three wickets each from Archer and Jack Leach, Australia managed to hold on for the draw.
Nathan Lyon is set to play his 100th consecutive Test when Australia and England meet at Lord’s from Wednesday.
The second Ashes Test sees the visiting spinner bring up an unprecedented landmark for a bowler and here, the PA news agency looks at his record in that time.
Six of the bestLyon will become only the sixth man to play 100 consecutive Tests, with the others all specialist batters including one regular wicketkeeper – current England coach Brendon McCullum, whose 101 Tests without missing a game mark the next figure for Lyon to pass. McCullum took the gloves in 52 of those games.
India’s Sunil Gavaskar and Australia’s Mark Waugh played 106 and 107 consecutive Tests respectively, both in Lyon’s sights barring injury or a shock omission.
Allan Border’s Australian record of 153 successive appearances will surely remain out of reach, however, along with former England captain Sir Alastair Cook’s world record of 159.
Even the other regular bowlers on the list were all-rounders, with Sir Garry Sobers closest behind Lyon with 85 consecutive appearances for the West Indies.
Kapil Dev had separate runs of 66 and 65 for India, missing only one Test in his 131-match career, while Lord Ian Botham also played 65 in a row for England between 1978 and 1984.
In terms of specialist bowlers, spinner Anil Kumble’s 60 consecutive Tests for India from 1992 to 2000 is the longest run other than Lyon’s.
Five from 500Lyon’s 495 Test wickets rank eighth all time and fourth among spinners, with the fairytale prospect of bringing up 500 and adding his name to the famous Lord’s honours board in the process.
On his previous visits to the Home of Cricket, he took one for 53 and two for 27 in 2015 and three for 68 before a wicketless second innings in 2019.
He needs 24 wickets to catch former West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh for the next spot on the list, though compatriot Glenn McGrath could remain out of reach in sixth, 68 ahead of Lyon.
England’s long-standing new-ball pair James Anderson (686) and Stuart Broad (588) are in the top five along with the other spinners on the list – Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan clear on 800, Australia great Shane Warne taking 708 and India’s Anil Kumble splitting Anderson and Broad with 619.
Since his debut in August 2011, Lyon has missed only four of the 125 Tests Australia have played – against India at Perth in 2012 and Hyderabad the following year, plus the first two games of the 2013 Ashes in England.
Since being recalled at Old Trafford in August 2013 he has been ever-present, taking 419 wickets at an average of 30.60 including 20 of his 23 five-wicket hauls.
He has four 10-wicket matches along the way, with his best figures of eight for 50 in an innings and 13 for 154 in a match both set in 2017 against India and Bangladesh respectively.
His run of 99 Tests so far includes 109 wickets in 29 Ashes Tests and 99 in 21 against India, with double figures of Tests too against South Africa (13) and Pakistan (12). Eight games against New Zealand, seven each against the West Indies and Sri Lanka and two against Bangladesh complete the list.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a new two-year Caribbean broadcast rights agreement with RUSH Sports for the live coverage of all West Indies Men’s and Women’s international matches played at home.
The new exciting two-year partnership will allow for fans to watch the live broadcast via RUSH Sports cable channels which are also available exclusively live through the Flow Sports and Sportsmax apps. The partnership commences with the West Indies Women vs Ireland Women CG United One Day International (ODI) Series and West Indies T20 International (T20I) Series starting on Monday 26 June and running until Friday 7 July. This will be the first ever live broadcast of a West Indies Women’s Home Series in the Caribbean.
The first West Indies Men’s Series broadcast starts on 12 July with the 1st Test between West Indies and India. The full Series comprising two Tests, three CG United ODIs and five T20Is will all be shown live with RUSH Sports.
RUSH Sports will also have rights to feature Men’s and Women’s West Indies ‘A’ team matches, West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s matches and also the Men’s domestic West Indies Championship matches throughout the agreement.
CWI’s CEO Johnny Grave welcomed the new agreement. He said: “We are delighted to again partner with RUSH Sports to bring live coverage of all West Indies Men’s and Women’s International Home matches to our fans around the region. This new partnership with RUSH Sports gives fans the opportunity to watch high quality broadcasts of West Indies home matches plus for the first time West Indies Championship red ball regional matches live on TV and on mobile devices.”
Michael Look Tong, General Manager, CPSL said: “Our new multi-year agreement with Cricket West Indies provides fans the opportunity to enjoy the West Indies Home Series and the West Indies Championship on RUSH Sports across the widest multi-platform distribution ever in the Caribbean. Fans can enjoy their favorite team at home or on the go on RUSH Sports and we are so pleased to have Windies Cricket join our family of the most loved sports and general entertainment brands.”
MATCH SCHEDULES
West Indies Women v Ireland Women
(All matches played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia)
CG United ODI Series:
Monday 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Wednesday 28 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Saturday 1 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
T20 International Series:
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I
All matches start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean Time (4pm Jamaica Time)
West Indies Men v India Men
Test Matches
12-16 July: 1st Test Match, Windsor Park, Dominica
20-24 July: 2nd Test Match, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
CG United ODIs
27 July: 1st CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
29 July: 2nd CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados
1 August: 3rd CG United ODI, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
T20 Internationals
3 August: 1st T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
6 August: 2nd T20I, National Stadium, Guyana
8 August: 3rd T20I, National Stadium Guyana
12 August: 4th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
13 August: 5th T20I, Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida
Liam Dawson staked his claim for an Ashes call with a century and six wickets as Hampshire took command against Middlesex in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.
After amassing 141 with the bat, Dawson tore through Middlesex with his left-arm spin to claim six for 38 – and leave Middlesex 142 for eight at the close.
Earlier, Hampshire had been bowled out for 419 with Josh de Caires picking up career-best figures of seven for 144.
Leaders Surrey wrested control against Lancashire at the Kia Oval thanks to a last-wicket stand of 130 between Sean Abbott and Dan Worrall.
Abbott and Worrall both made entertaining half-centuries as Surrey scored 360 to establish a first-innings lead of 86.
The pair then struck in successive overs as Lancashire lost three wickets clearing their arrears. They reached stumps on 113 for four, a lead of 26.
Daniel Bell-Drummond hit a career-best 271 not out and Tawanda Muyeye also weighed in with a century as Kent moved into a strong position to pile more woe on Division One’s bottom club Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Bell-Drummond’s masterful knock eclipsed his previous best of 206 seven years ago, and also set a record for a Kent batter at Wantage Road, beating Frank Woolley’s 217 from 1926.
The pair added 318 for the second wicket as the visitors piled up 550 for five by stumps, a lead of 313.
Somerset stormed back into contention on the second day against Nottinghamshire at Taunton thanks to Matt Henry’s six-wicket haul and an eighth first-class century from George Bartlett.
Henry took four from 26 in a superb seven-over spell as the visitors collapsed from an overnight 145 for four to 186 all out.
Henry finished with six for 59 to leave Nottinghamshire with a first-innings lead of just 23, before Bartlett’s unbeaten 109 helped Somerset close on 268 for four, 245 in front.
Simon Harmer continued to do the damage as Essex moved closer to an emphatic win over Warwickshire at Chelmsford.
Harmer took five for 65 in the first innings as the visitors were dismissed for 158 and forced to follow on 299 runs in arrears.
Harmer added another wicket in the 24 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings, as an unbroken second-wicket stand of 66 edged the visitors to 71 for one at close.
A century by Colin Ackermann kept Leicestershire in with a chance against Division Two leaders Durham, who declared at 517 for six on day two.
Ollie Robinson’s career-best unbeaten 167 had put the visitors in command but Ackermann – who will join Durham at the end of the season – replied with an unbeaten 104 as his current side responded well to reach 335 for four at stumps.
Wayne Madsen and captain Leus du Plooy rewrote the record books as Derbyshire moved into a position of considerable strength on day two against Worcestershire at New Road.
The duo scored centuries and broke a 31-year-old landmark in establishing a new Derbyshire record of 267 from 70 overs for the fourth wicket against the home side.
Derbyshire will begin day three with a lead of 137 and five wickets in hand and Du Plooy unbeaten on 159.
Matthew Revis hit an unbeaten 104 off 163 balls as Yorkshire posted an emphatic 550 for nine declared against Gloucestershire at Headingley.
Revis was the third rising Yorkshire star to make three figures after openers Fin Bean and George Hill on day one, and set up an action-packed reply from the visitors who reached 232 for five off 57 overs, with Miles Hammond reaching an unbeaten 84.
Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson took the final two wickets in two balls as Glamorgan dismissed Sussex for 203 on day two at Cardiff.
The Welsh county then built on their first-innings lead of 39 as openers Zain-ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter ended the day on 46 without loss – a lead of 85.
Ollie Pope is aiming for another big showing at Lord’s after admitting he fell short with the bat during England’s Ashes defeat at Edgbaston.
Pope contributed scores of 31 and 14 in the first Test, cut off lbw by Nathan Lyon in the first innings before losing his off stump to an inswinging yorker from Australia captain Pat Cummins in the second.
The latter was probably the best delivery of the match but failing to cash in on either visit left Pope eager to make up for lost time when the series resumes at Lord’s on Wednesday.
“It’s one game, you try not to look too much into who you are playing just because it’s an Ashes series, but I know that you can be remembered by Ashes series and playing amazing knocks,” he said.
“It does give you that extra bit of fire within yourself. Hopefully I can deliver that over the rest of the series. That first innings was a good time to bat. I got myself in, got to 30-odd, and didn’t play a great shot to be honest. Whenever you walk off for 30-odd on a good pitch you have left some out there. Second dig, I put it down to a nice ball, which I don’t normally do, but hopefully I can keep that out next time.”
One thing that he is unlikely to change is a willingness to get after Lyon. The off-spinner had a match to remember in Birmingham, taking eight wickets and helping his side over the line unexpectedly with the bat in the deciding session, but he was also expensive at times as England refused to let him settle.
“We obviously don’t want to lose eight wickets to him, I think we’re reasonably happy. I think we’re going to keep being really positive against him and try and take our strong options,” he said.
“Those eight wickets he got will make us think ‘Right, what was the best option for me?’ a little bit more. That’s the way we see it. He’s a highly-skilled bowler and knows how to bowl when people are coming at him as well, so it’s going to be a good game of cat and mouse I think.”
If Pope needs any additional motivation at Lord’s, he need only stop to glance at the ground’s famous honours board. Waiting for him there is a freshly-engraved entry with his name next to a career-best score of 205, after he dominated the Ireland attack earlier this month.
Australia’s attack represents a major step change from that which Ireland were able to put out, but there are positive recent memories for Pope to mine.
“It’s different (facing Australia), but I wouldn’t say chalk and cheese,” he said.
“You always have grounds you enjoy batting at, and if you know you’ve had success at a ground it does give you a bit of confidence going into it. That just helps your mindset, it doesn’t mean you are going to score runs but it doesn’t mean you won’t. It’s nice to know you’ve had success on a ground in the past.”
The West Indies will enter the super sixes stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers with it all to do after they were stunned in a super over by the Netherlands on Monday.
Teams will take points earned from the group stage into the super sixes if you beat the other qualified teams from your group.
As a result of their losses to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, the West Indians will enter the super sixes stage with no points while the Netherlands will enter with two and Zimbabwe with four.
The West Indies made a seemingly insurmountable 374-6 from their 50 overs after being put in to bat by the Dutch.
The innings was set up excellently with a 101-run opening stand between Brandon King and Johnson Charles.
Charles was first to go for 54 to bring Shamarh Brooks to the crease to join King. The pair put on a further 59 before Brooks fell for 25.
Captain, Shai Hope, was next to make his way out to the middle and just three runs later, King fell for a well made 81-ball 76 to bring Pooran to the crease.
Hope and Pooran, then, added a further 108 before Hope eventually fell for 47 in the 41st over.
Pooran, however, batted excellently, smashing the Dutch bowling all over the Takashinga Sports Club, eventually finishing 104 not out off 65 balls including nine fours and six sixes. Keemo Paul also played extremely well alongside Pooran, finishing unbeaten on 46 off 25 balls including four fours and two sixes.
Bas De Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar each took a pair of wickets for the Netherlands.
The Dutch, on the back of a magnificent 111 from Teja Nidamanuru, produced a spirited chase that saw them equal the West Indies score, and make their highest ODI score in the process, finishing 374-9 off their 50 overs.
It was a well-rounded batting effort as they got valuable contributions from Vikramjit Singh (37), Max O’Dowd (36), Wesley Barresi (27) and Bas De Leede (33) at the top of their innings.
It was then a crucial 143-run fifth-wicket partnership between Nidamanuru and Captain, Scott Edwards, that put the Netherlands on the cusp of victory.
Edwards eventually fell for a 47-ball 67 to leave the Netherlands 313-5 in the 45th over. Saqib Zulfiqar (3) and Nidamanuru (111) then fell in quick succession to leave the Netherlands 327-7 after 46 overs.
Logan Van Beek and Aryan Dutt then batted brilliantly to put on the further 47 needed to prolong the enthralling contest.
Eventually, they found themselves needing 9 from 6 and then one from one before, off the very last ball, Van Beek was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 28 off just 14 balls.
The resulting super over gave Van Beek an opportunity to continue the momentum he built during the chase and that is exactly what he did.
He hit a mammoth 30 runs off Jason Holder’s over including three fours and three sixes.
Van Beek was then tasked with bowling the super over to the West Indies pair of Johnson Charles and Shai Hope.
Charles hit the first ball for six before dragging the next ball into the leg side for a single, meaning Hope would need to hit four sixes in a row for victory. The next ball could only produce a single, pretty much ending all hope for the West Indies.
Eventually, the West Indies managed just eight in the super over to give the Netherlands an improbable victory.
England teenager Rehan Ahmed has admitted being part of this week’s Ashes squad at Lord’s is beyond his wildest dreams.
Ahmed, 18, became the youngest male to play Test cricket for England in December when selected during the Pakistan series and marked his debut with a stunning five-wicket haul in Karachi.
The confidence of the Leicestershire all-rounder has been clear from the outset despite his tender age, but even he conceded his call-up to the group for the second Test on Friday was unexpected despite injury concerns over Moeen Ali.
“It means everything. I would never have dreamed this,” Ahmed told England’s official Twitter account.
“To be part of an Ashes squad at my age, at Lord’s as well, I never saw it coming so it is lovely to be a part of.
“I was actually with my brother when Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) called me, but my mum and dad found out straight away, and a couple of my friends.
“Baz said I would be joining up with the squad for the next couple of games, well the next four games. Yeah, he was so chilled about it as well but I was on the phone a bit panicky but just happy.”
Ahmed joined the group on Sunday and had his first nets session at Lord’s a day later.
While Ahmed has never played at the home of cricket, he is familiar with the ground having bowled there to future captain Ben Stokes when he was 11 and impressed the late Shane Warne two years later with his leg-spin.
He added: “Lord’s is always a special ground.
“I’ve never played here before, I’ve not been on the main pitch either but (I have) good memories from when I was 13, 14 and I net bowled for England as well.”
Quizzed on his Ashes memories, Ahmed admitted the first time he fully watched five days of a Test against Australia was the thrilling opener at Edgbaston last week.
With Moeen able to bowl during Monday’s training session, Ahmed is not expected to feature at Lord’s but made no secret of how much he relishes being part of the environment Stokes and McCullum have created.
“The last game was probably the first time I watched the full Ashes, the full days,” Ahmed revealed.
“I was playing a game against Notts for Leicestershire and I was getting drinks every two overs for the score. The last game was unbelievable.
“Baz gave me a call on Friday morning. He basically told me I would come in and join the lads. It was unbelievable.
“I love it. I love being around this new environment that’s been created. It is unbelievable.”
Heather Knight has urged England to regroup quickly in the Women’s Ashes but took a crumb of comfort from the entertainment served up in a losing cause in the lone Test at Trent Bridge.
The decision to have this series opener across five days as opposed to the traditional four for women’s Tests backfired on England as Australia sealed an 89-run win inside 90 minutes of the final morning.
Australia therefore took a 4-0 points lead in the multi-format series but with only two on offer for wins in three T20s and three ODIs, England need to prevail in five of the six matches to claim the urn.
While Knight spoke forlornly after England slid from an overnight 116 for five to 178 all out chasing 268, she pointed out the ebbs and flows that occurred was a great advert for the women’s Test cricket.
There is some justification to her argument with an official attendance of 23,207 across the Test – with just over 2,000 on the final day after the Nottingham venue threw open their gates free of charge.
“There is certainly disappointment but I’m really proud of how the girls have gone about these five days, it’s been a very entertaining Test match which has been great,” the England captain said.
“The way we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the Australians and really put them under pressure at times, I’ve been really proud of how the girls have done that. I don’t think we’ve taken a backward step.
“The fact that we’ve had five days has led to the great cricket that we’ve had. Lauren (Filer) bowled before lunch (on Sunday) and I just had a little moment to look around at the crowd getting really engaged. At that moment I was like ‘can I bottle this? This is awesome’.
“That’s what we want to do as a team. We want to get people watching Test cricket, we want to get people excited about women’s cricket. That moment made me realise that actually we’ve done our job.”
England have no time to lick their wounds as the T20 series starts at Edgbaston on Saturday, with Knight acknowledging there will be some aching limbs on both sides.
Asked if she thinks England can still win the Ashes, Knight said: “I think we have to, of course. When you look at (having to win five in six) it is tricky mentally, but you have to look at the first game.
“There will certainly be some tired bodies in both changing rooms. I think being able to decompress and let things go is really important. Obviously, we’ve got quite an uphill battle.
“We have to turn things around quite quickly and it can’t be too much of a momentum shifter.
Knight, who alongside head coach Jon Lewis, has attempted to foster a more attacking mindset similar to that adopted by the men’s team under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
But after Tammy Beaumont’s double century had helped England close to within 10 runs of Australia to effectively set up a one-innings shootout, Knight felt her bowlers strained too hard for wickets as Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield put on 82 in 19 overs to get the tourists’ noses in front.
While Australia were restricted to 257 all out, with Sophie Ecclestone claiming another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 in the match, England slipped from 55 without loss to 73 for four in 29 balls on the penultimate evening and the hosts were unable to recover despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.
“Day three and four – the evening sessions there probably cost us the game,” Knight added. “Maybe we were a little bit too aggressive (with the ball).
“With the new ball you’re looking to take wickets and probably I’ll take a bit of responsibility for that as well – probably been a little bit too aggressive.”
Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who kept wicket despite nursing fractures to her left index and right ring fingers, was delighted with Australia’s first Ashes Test win since 2015 after three draws.
Victory was set up by Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 on a worn pitch, with the off-spinner’s match haul of 12 for 165 the best ever by an Australian in Tests and the second best figures of all-time.
“It’s really satisfying,” she said. “Five-day Test cricket is pretty tough work. I am just really proud of the group.”
Mitchell Starc has insisted Australia will stick with their pragmatic approach ahead of this week’s second Ashes Test but was tight-lipped over his own selection at Lord’s.
Australia claimed a thrilling two-wicket win in the series curtain-raiser at Edgbaston last Tuesday with a more careful and cautious style of cricket in the face of England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ brand.
England seamer Ollie Robinson claimed after the narrow defeat in Birmingham that Australia would have to “change their approach to keep up with how we’re going to play” despite the hosts going 1-0 down in the series.
Starc, who was left out of the XI last week, is adamant that will not be the case.
“They have brought an overly aggressive head space to Test cricket,” the Australian pace bowler noted.
“The way they are approaching it, there is going to be a reaction when you are either bowling or facing that. I think that is natural but we will stick to our guns and I am sure they will as well.
“Just because they are scoring at a higher rate or trying to score at a higher rate doesn’t mean you go to one-day cricket. There is plenty of ways to skin a cat as we saw last week in the way they approached it as opposed to the way we did.
“We’ve played enough against England in white-ball cricket to know they can all play that sort of thing. I have certainly seen Joe (Root) enough to know he can play those (ramp) shots.
“They are going to take the game on now in Test cricket as they have done for the last 12 months. That is their approach and we will stick to the way we want to approach our Test cricket.
“Hopefully come the end of the series we are sitting back with more wins than them.”
Starc’s presence in the penultimate press conference before the second Test begins suggests the 33-year-old will be recalled by captain Pat Cummins.
The left-arm quick has taken 37 wickets in 10 Tests in England but only featured once in the 2019 series here and was coy over his own selection chances.
“In terms of the team, I haven’t got any indication either way. Your guess is as good as mine until the selectors decide,” Starc insisted.
“I have different skills that fit into this bowling group so if and when I get a turn, I’ll be ready to go. If not this week, then I’ll get ready for Headingley.
“I was used to it from last time, so it is all good. I have been around long enough, been dropped enough. Probably been dropped the most in this squad so it is not something new for me. It probably won’t be the last time either.”
Four wickets from Starc at Old Trafford back in 2019 helped Australia retain the Ashes but they were pegged back in the final Test at the Kia Oval and had to settle for a 2-2 drawn series.
It extended the tourists’ winless streak in England, which dates back to 2001, and the 78-capped Test veteran conceded the squad are aware of the opportunity in front of them.
Starc added: “We’re here at Lord’s, an exciting place to be and play cricket. We are coming off a good week but know we can play better cricket and the way England are playing their cricket, they will come as hard if not harder.
“It is a chance to go 2-0 up. It is not lost on us the opportunity we do have.
“For some of us it is our fourth trip here and coming off the back of 19, where we retained the Ashes but missed out on winning, the carrot is certainly there.
“Certainly for the wider group, players and staff who have been so close or lost series here, it is certainly an incentive to keep going but we are not looking too far past this week.”
Yorkshire hope the sanctions imposed over their handling of the Azeem Rafiq case and their failure to tackle the use of racist language over many years will be “reasonable” and will not hinder their efforts to continue bringing about change at the club.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will make its sanctioning recommendations to an independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel at a hearing in London on Tuesday, with Yorkshire having admitted to four charges in February.
The county will then offer up arguments in mitigation to the panel, which will deliver the final sanctions at a later date.
Yorkshire released a statement on Monday afternoon saying the hearing “marks the near culmination of a chapter that has weighed heavily on Yorkshire County Cricket Club for close to two years”.
The county’s statement added: “Racism and discrimination in any form is unacceptable and, as a board, we have been clear on the need to take accountability for the historical cultural issues that allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged at the club.
“The acceptance of four amended charges brought by the CDC was part of a continued effort to acknowledge what happened in the past so we can learn and move forward.
“In making representations to the CDC panel, we hope to achieve a reasonable sanction which takes into account our acceptance of the charges, YCCC’s current financial position and the robust work we have undertaken to build the foundations for a club which is truly inclusive and welcoming to all.”
Any significant financial sanctions could hit the club hard, with chief executive Stephen Vaughan highlighting a £3.5million cash shortfall this year to members at the annual general meeting in March, and the need to repay £14.9m to the Graves Trust.
The club said last week they were still having “positive conversations” around the long-term financial future of the club and would make an announcement “in due course”.
The club’s statement on Monday concluded: “We hope that any sanctions are reflective of the circumstances the club is in today and do not serve to hinder our ongoing commitment to create a brighter future for all associated with Yorkshire.”
The first admitted charge is that Yorkshire mishandled the investigation report into allegations of racism and bullying by former player Rafiq which they received in August 2021, in that they rejected the findings of the report in respect of allegations it upheld, and failed to take adequate disciplinary action against then-current employees about whom allegations were upheld.
The second charge admitted relates to the mass deletion by persons unknown of emails, documents and log files related to the club’s response to the report, discovered in or around November 2021 during the course of the ECB’s investigation into Yorkshire.
The third charge concerned the club’s failure to take adequate action following receipt of allegations of racism or discriminatory behaviour. The charge highlighted in particular the handling of racism complaints by Rafiq back in 2018, an allegation of racist abuse of an Asian family by a spectator at a match at Headingley between Yorkshire and Lancashire on August 11, 2017 and a report made concerning a racist incident in the crowd at Scarborough during a game between Yorkshire and Surrey on June 25, 2018.
Finally the club admitted a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language at Yorkshire over a prolonged period and in relation to multiple employees and/or players of the club.
Six former Yorkshire employees were sanctioned in May as part of the same case, with all of them found to have used the word “P***”.
A seventh, former England captain Michael Vaughan, was cleared in March of using racist and/or discriminatory language towards a group of four players of Asian ethnicity, including Rafiq, before a Twenty20 match in 2009.
Ollie Pope insists England’s tactical gambles at Edgbaston were not “moments of madness” and is ready to embrace more of the same during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s this week.
England took a gung-ho approach to the series opener against Australia, most strikingly when Ben Stokes declared just 78 overs into the first day in a bid to catch the tourists cold and snap up some late wickets.
The attacking ‘Bazball’ ethos continued as the hosts pushed the game forward throughout the five days, only to lose by two wickets during a frantic final session.
Some of England’s decision-making has attracted scepticism from pundits and former players but, as Stokes’ vice-captain, Pope sees logic to every call the side made in Birmingham.
And, when the rivals resume battle on Wednesday, he backed England to take the same approach.
“I know sometimes it can look like it’s just moments of madness but all the decisions that are made are well thought out with a vision of the end goal,” he said.
“These decisions aren’t just a rash thought. They are well thought out and spoken about by senior players in the changing room.
“We come to a group decision and back that decision 100 per cent. There’s no looking back on that decision once it’s made, it’s about how we can make the most of it.
“We might find ourselves in a similar situation this week, who knows? That’s what Stokesy and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) are very good at, they read conditions very well.
“We’ll talk consistently throughout this Test match, (about) if there’s a decision like the first day at Edgbaston when we pulled out.
“If we feel there are overheads one evening and we might have a half-hour opportunity to get a few wickets and get into their middle order early the next day, then we’ll talk about it.”
One risk that England will need to weigh up involves the selection of spinner Moeen Ali.
He was tempted out of Test retirement on the eve of the series following a season-ending injury to Jack Leach but saw his right index finger blister and burst, reducing him to a bystander’s role in the conclusion of the game.
Pope faced Moeen in the Lord’s nets on Monday and offered a positive assessment, but despite five days of rest and recovery it seems impossible to rule out a recurrence of the issue if the 36-year-old was rolled out again.
England have called up 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, their youngest ever men’s cricketer in all three formats, as cover but could also recall paceman Mark Wood and lean on Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks.
“I think Mo’s all good, hopefully he’s fit to play,” said Pope.
“It was pretty unfortunate what happened and hopefully over these few days it has looked after itself.”
Ollie Robinson’s place, on the other hand, is under no doubt whatsoever.
The 29-year-old performed impressively with the ball in the first Test, taking five for 98, but has become a target for Australian ire due to his explicit sledging of centurion Usman Khawaja and an unapologetic press conference which followed.
Former greats such as Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden have lined up to shoot down the Sussex seamer – with Hayden colourfully writing him off as a purveyor of “124kph nude nuts” – but Pope is not concerned about the impact.
“Maybe he sees it as a compliment. They’re legends of the game and are entitled to their own opinion,” said Pope.
“Robbo’s in good spirits this week so hopefully he can just come out and deliver with the ball. I think Ollie is the kind of guy, he gets in the battle and sometimes in a big series like this emotions take over while you are on the pitch, but he’s a top guy.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Saturday announced the West Indies Women's provisional squad for the first and second CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Ireland Women, to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on 26 and 28 June.
The provisional squad includes some exciting new talent, with right-arm off-spinner Ashmini Munisar and wicketkeeper-batter Shunelle Sawh being named for the first time. Both players have shown their potential with the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s team and have now been called up to the senior West Indies Women’s squad. They will be joining their Rising Stars teammates Zaida James and Djenaba Joseph, who have already gained valuable experience representing the senior team in the Tri-Series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The squad is boosted by Chinelle Henry, the experienced allrounder, who is selected having fully recovered from the injury which kept her out of the recent CG United Super50 Cup and CWI T20 Blaze tournaments. The squad is led by captain Hayley Matthews and vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle. The official squad of thirteen players will be named ahead of each match.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket, Ann Browne-John, said: “The CG United ODI series against Ireland gives a good opportunity for batters to focus and to stay longer at the crease and build an innings. A number of the younger players would be transitioning from the shorter format to the fifty over format. They definitely have the potential, and it is important that the policy of identifying young players and developing the talent pool is continued.”
Browne-John added: “The squad shows a great balance of batting coupled with a variety of bowling styles, which is something that has been lacking in the recent past. Victory here will provide valuable points as the team attempts to move up in the rankings and qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.”
The matches are West Indies Women’s only home fixture in 2023. The three CG United ODIs comprise West Indies’ third fixture in the ICC Women’s Championship where they are pushing to win points to achieve a top five position to qualify automatically for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025.
Match tickets are available online from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard - Tickets.windiescricket.com - at a discounted price of US$6/EC$16 (USS3/EC$7.50 children and seniors) with tickets available on the day at the box office at a price of US$7.50/EC$20 (US$3.75/EC$10 for children and seniors).
For fans unable to get to the games in St. Lucia, the CG United ODI Series will be exclusively live on Flow Sports in the Caribbean and on BT Sport in the UK & Ireland. The matches will also be shown around the world on FanCode (India), ESPN+ (USA), Sky NZ (NZ), SuperSport (sub-Saharan Africa) and in all other countries on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
PROVISIONAL SQUAD for 1st and 2nd CG United ODIs
Match Schedule
(All matches played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia.
CG United ODI Series:
Monday 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Wednesday 28 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Saturday 1 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
T20 International Series:
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I
All matches start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean Time (4pm Jamaica Time)
England have been left with a mountain to climb to regain the Women’s Ashes after Australia seized the upper hand in the multi-format series by triumphing in the lone Test.
Resuming on 116 for five in pursuit of 268 on a final day where Trent Bridge threw open its gates free of charge, England subsided to 178 all out inside 90 minutes despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.
Wily off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 saw her walk away with a 12-wicket match haul as Australia claimed an 89-run victory to collect four all-important points ahead of the ODIs and T20s.
If England are to retrieve the urn for the first time since 2015 they will have to prevail in five of the six white-ball contests against the ODI and T20 world champions, with two points per win on offer.
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