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Dom Sibley gorged plentifully upon a meaningless day, but the real action takes place next week at Edgbaston

Paul Edwards21-Sep-2018
ScorecardAt 4.20 this afternoon Tim Ambrose played an innocuous ball from Ben Brown into the on side. The bowler fielded it, Paul Baldwin called over and Warwickshire declared. The game ended in a draw and the players shook hands. Receiving particular congratulations, perhaps, was Dom Sibley, who had batted through the day for 144 not outThe handshakes marked two events, one of them specific to the moment, the other curiously timeless. They confirmed Warwickshire’s promotion and they brought the first-class season at Hove to an end. The first of these had been certain for hours barring the intervention of God or Jofra Archer. This draw leaves Jeetan Patel’s side equal on points with Kent, who have won two matches more. Whichever side takes more points from next week’s game between the sides at Edgbaston will be Second Division champions.And across England cricket is softly drawing down its blinds. All the counties are playing next week but there are matches at only nine grounds, of course. Most of the season’s serious work is done. Monday afternoon in Brighton seems suddenly distant with its warmth and careless leisure: the aroma of cannabis in North Laine; beach volleyball near Kings Road; the glittering water. Then there were catamarans drawn up on the shingle, their names a curious confection of aggression, fondness and titillation: Tiger, Ethel, Seymour Butts.

Time now to earn the right – Gillespie

Jason Gillespie, Sussex head coach: “We’ve had a couple of losses in the past month but we feel some progress has been made. I wanted to give some young guys the opportunity to show what they can do and they’ve done that. Now I’ve got to find the balance between giving lads games of cricket and earning the right to play first-class cricket. We’ve got to find the right balance between potential and performances. It’s a difficult balancing act but we’ll get there. The lads have played the game the right way, been positive and looked to win games.”

Some mornings this week there have been floodlights, mild air and the churn of the Channel glimpsed through the great arcade of trees on Selborne Road. Today, though, the atmosphere was not so clotted and the sun was in generous attendance. Only the temperature reminded one this is autumn. “Seaward the water / Is satin, pale emerald, fretted with lace at the edges / The whole sky rinsed easy like nerves after pain,” wrote Alan Ross in his poem, “Cricket at Brighton.”Sussex supporters were presented with three wickets as rewards for their loyalty this sparkling day. In the fifth over of the morning Will Rhodes shuffled much too far across his crease and was leg before to Ollie Robinson for 88. Then Ian Bell suffered bruising to his right thumb when hit by a ball from Robinson and had to retire hurt.Out strode Jonathan Trott, a batsman who had spent over five hours earlier this week scoring his seventh career century against Sussex. “Jesus Christ!” exclaimed a blasphemous Sussex adherent with a passing knowledge of the Book of Hebrews. “The same yesterday, today and for ever more.” But his fears were misplaced on the two latter counts: Trott made only 8 before clipping Chris Jordan to Harry Finch at midwicket and he is retiring next week in any case.Despite these two dismissals and one injury, the game was soon ambling quietly towards stalemate. In the afternoon session Robinson sent down some fairly respectable off-spin and Sussex used three wicketkeepers, albeit not all at once. Phil Salt and Michael Burgess bowled their maiden spells in first-class cricket. The flagpoles bent in the breeze and some players’ caps blew off. The game drifted into late afternoon and the over rate was plus 12 at one stage. A draw could have been agreed at teatime and perhaps it should have been.Sibley spent the rest of the day filling his boots which, if his feet are in proportion to the rest of him, was some achievement. He put on 168 for the third wicket with Sam Hain, who had made 90 when he chased a wide one from Salt and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Harry Finch. The ecstatic Salt raced off like Mick the Miller but was eventually mobbed by his equally delighted team-mates. If you had told the uninitiated that the cricket had a gentle, addictive beauty about it, they might have called for an unmarked van and a straitjacket.

Ten of the visiting batsmen got to or past 18, but only one – Pat Cummins at No. 8 – went on to score a half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2018Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

A five-wicket haul from Beuran Hendricks restricted the Australians to a succession of unconverted starts on the second day of their tour match against South Africa A in Benoni. Replying to South Africa A’s first-innings total of 220, the Australians were bowled out after taking a 109-run lead. The left-armer Hendricks picked up his 14th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, and found useful support from his fellow seamers Duanne Olivier and Malusi Siboto, who picked up two wickets apiece.Then the home side’s openers, Zubayr Hamza and Pieter Malan, batted through the last 18 overs of day two to move their side to 55 for 0 at stumps.Ten of the Australians got to or past 18, but only one of them – Pat Cummins at No. 8, who made an unbeaten 59 – went on to make 50. The only batsman out for a single-digit score was Peter Handscomb, who was out for a three-ball duck on day one.Resuming with their side 87 for 3, the overnight pair of Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh stretched their fourth-wicket stand to 60 before the latter fell for 25. Bancroft fell 4.5 overs later for 45.A few more partnerships of middling length followed: 43 for the sixth wicket between Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine, 47 for the eighth between Cummins and Mitchell Starc, and 64 – the biggest of the innings – between Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who struck 38 off 34 balls with three fours and two sixes. All of these allowed the Australians to comfortably surpass South Africa A’s first-innings effort.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is hopeful that the time of the year will help them overcome the loss of legspinner Yasir Shah for the Tests against Ireland and England

Andrew McGlashan25-Apr-2018Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is hopeful that the time of the year will help them overcome the loss of legspinner Yasir Shah for the Tests against Ireland and England.Yasir has taken 89 wickets in the last two years – more than double Pakistan’s next most successful bowler in the period – but was ruled out of this tour due to a hip injury. Shadab Khan, the 19-year-old legspinner, who has impressed with the white ball but has played just one Test, has huge shoes to fill although there remains a chance Pakistan will decide to go without a specialist spinner given the early-season conditions which are likely to prevail.There has been a significant decline in Pakistan’s Test fortunes since the shared series against England in 2016 which helped them to the No. 1 ranking. They are now languishing at No. 7 following series defeats against New Zealand, Australia and most recently Sri Lanka – their record with Arthur as coach is 11 defeats and six wins from 17 Tests – and are going through a transitional phase following the retirements of batting stalwarts Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.There are four uncapped batsmen in the squad and the absence of Yasir has shorn Pakistan of a senior figure with the ball while also leaving them with their least experienced spin attack to face England in at least 40 years.”Any team would miss Yasir,” Arthur said ahead of the team’s first warm-up match against Kent. “He has the ability to hold the attack and control the game. Shadab is incredibly exciting but also I am not sure that spin is going to be a huge factor given it’s early season in England, so we have covered ourselves in the seam department. But Shadab can clean tails up because he has all the tricks. It is going to be exciting to see how he goes.”Yasir is a big loss but we have him at the National Cricket Academy [in Lahore] and he is getting fit, his stress fracture is healing and it’s really important for us to have him fit and firing for the Australia and New Zealand series later in the year.”Pakistan’s bowling attack will rest heavily on Mohammad Amir, who arrived in the UK on Wednesday having been granted his visa after a short delay. Two years ago he made his return to Test cricket at Lord’s, following his spot-fixing ban, and since then has not earned the rewards his bowling has often deserved with 44 wickets at 37.25. How Pakistan catch will be a critical factor, with Amir suffering significantly from missed chances, although there is also a belief in the team management that the amount of white-ball cricket he has played has led him into bowling too short with the red ball.”He’s our No. 1 bowler, we back him in tough situations. He generally gets it done for us,” Arthur said. “We need him to get the ball swinging, we need him to get his length slightly fuller and if he gets that he’s going to ask a lot of questions.”Amir’s workload has also become a topic of debate in recent times, with the indication that he may sit out some Test cricket to preserve him for the 2019 World Cup and beyond. Arthur said that Pakistan have “three weeks off” between now and the World Cup, leaving a balancing act between building a new era for the Test side while keeping an eye on the demands of the limited-overs game.”We have had the workload debate for a long time now and every team has to do the same. We only have three weeks off in our calendar now before the World Cup next year, so we’d be silly not to arrive here with our bowlers fit and we know who they are – we have identified them – so we just have to manage them because ultimately want the best team to play in that 2019 World Cup.”But also for us it is so important to win Test matches – we are a young team and we need to get our Test team right and to do that we have to build a core of players who can play at any given time. We are trying to resurrect our Test side, we feel we’ve got our white-ball cricket where we need it now, so we are really excited about this series, really excited to see these young guys come out and perform. There’s some incredible talent in our dressing room, so let’s hope it all goes well for us.”

After a challenging start to the season which has yielded 88 runs in six innings, Clarke delivered the sort of knock that will have the selectors taking note

Dan Norcross at Kia Oval06-May-20182:04

Yorkshire complete epic comeback

ScorecardWhen Joe Clarke slapped a filthy long hop from Dom Bess into the hands of Sam Curran at the Kensington Oval in the second match of the North v South series in March to be dismissed for a glorious 58-ball 71, Andy Flower on commentary pursed his already thin lips and produced a stare harder than any animated English-speaking Peruvian bear could muster.Disappointment was not the emotion. Barely concealed fury would be closer to the mark. England rate Clarke, you see, and they want him to score big runs. The big runs that have been missing from the Test team pretty much since the middle-order of Trott, Pietersen and Bell broke up.After a challenging start to the season which has yielded a mere 88 runs in six innings, Clarke delivered the sort of knock that will have had Flower purring in appreciation over his tea time marmalade sandwiches.The cynics will point out that The Oval does not provide the most testing of conditions for batsmen. The wiser heads will counter that most Test match surfaces are pretty good to bat on. The problem England have encountered is that their batsmen don’t seem minded to bat on them for any great length of time.On pitches in the winter that produced nine centuries for Australia, England managed just three. Their best batsman, Joe Root failed to convert any of his fifties into a three figure score. What they would have given for the sort of application and hunger that Clarke displayed against Surrey in compiling a near perfect 157 from 280 balls. It took a ball of considerable pace from the promising Conor McKerr, making his first appearance for Surrey this season after recovery from injury, to trap him in front after nearly six hours at the crease.Clarke’s most eye catching strokes tend to be his off side drives, but England fans have grown wary of the eye-catching. A winter listening to James Vince whisper sweet-nothings into sleep-deprived ears before nicking off to second slip has taught a nation to harden its heart to the frivolous blandishments of aesthetic beauty. What impressed most was Clarke’s determination to cash in while he had the chance. After all, he could be back on a green top at Worcester by Friday, facing up to Jamie Porter, Peter Siddle et al.Surrey’s captain Rory Burns, much like Root when confronted with Steve Smith in the winter, tried any number of fancy tricks; leg-slips, multiple mid-wickets, short-bowling with the old ball, but much like Smith, Clarke could not be drawn from his impressive bubble.As a spectacle this game is dying a death. As a potent tonic for Worcestershire’s early season despondency it’s doing just the job. Batsmen who have barely made a run are starting to feel the unfamiliar comfort of bat on ball. Daryl Mitchell, Tom Fell and Travis Head have all got half centuries and Ed Barnard, Worcestershire’s one bright spark in a sepulchral April is unbeaten on 42, eyeing up perhaps a dart at the stiff Surrey bowlers in the morning with a view to applying some pressure in the afternoon.That, though, is the tallest of orders. The pitch offered the bowlers nothing and although the crowd was twice treated to Amar Virdi’s ersatz rendition of Imran Tahir’s wicket celebration, this match will in all likelihood be completed with a shake of the hands in the late afternoon tomorrow.If Surrey are to be genuine title contenders they cannot afford to play matches on pitches like this; least of all matches against the division’s bottom side. There are extenuating circumstances. The weather has made preparation unusually difficult, but this is a repeating theme. High scoring draws may keep you in this division, but it won’t get you the title.As for Clarke and indeed the England selectors, an innings of substance in a high-scoring draw might be just what the doctor ordered.

No stranger to the big stage, former South Africa bowler believes defending champions Hampshire have the edge on Royal London Cup rivals Somerset

Paul Edwards23-May-2019The last domestic final played at Lord’s will not take place in September. There will be no sense of summer’s farewell, a last hurrah for careless heat before football recolonises sport. Such occasions belong to distant seasons, when Lancashire or Kent always seemed to be playing and St John’s Wood was packed with supporters making a weekend of it in what was still the big city.But if, as most neutrals hope, Saturday’s Royal London game goes the distance in the manner of those fondly remembered BBC Saturdays, at least one player should know how to cope with the tension that became almost routine in the heyday of Jack Bond and Asif Iqbal.Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott is used to the big occasion and having missed the whole of Hampshire’s triumphant Royal London Cup campaign last year because of an ankle problem he will be delighted to do more in 2019 than offer his support from cricket’s most famous balcony.”Obviously I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Having missed out last year with a pretty silly injury, I was motivated a bit more towards helping the team to get to Lord’s this season. So yes, I’m pretty excited. I know the boys are up for it and the club certainly have a decent reputation when it comes to Lord’s finals.”But things have changed at the Ageas Bowl since Hampshire beat Kent last June. Former head coach Craig White left in October and has been replaced by Adi Birrell, an appointment Abbott sees as vital in the club’s development.”There’s been a big mindset change and it’s one that’s been driven by the coach,” he said. “The players have begged to be challenged and so Adi’s been telling us at the start of every session: ‘Right you guys have asked to be challenged. Well, we need wickets, we need to do this or do that.'”I don’t think it’s been a question of the lack of talent Hampshire have had over the years, I think there’s sometimes been a lack of direction. People say we’re professionals and we should know what to do but sometimes you get so involved and mentally tired that you need these reminders.”Fair enough, of course, but Hampshire’s players have been challenged in a way they almost certainly did not welcome this week following Liam Dawson’s selection in England’s World Cup squad. Despite representations being made to the ICC on the club’s behalf by the ECB both Dawson and James Vince will now be unavailable for the final.”James and Liam have been huge in getting us to the final but so was Aiden Markram,” said Abbott. “It’s quite strange that some players’ first games in this year’s Royal London will be in the final but that provides an opportunity for those guys and I always feel that it’s a question of who holds their nerves on the day. I’d say it’s a 50-50 contest in finals.”I think where Hampshire have the edge over Somerset is that we have been to a Lord’s final and to T20 Finals Day a lot more regularly than they have. That will help us on Saturday because suddenly for somebody the occasion will become bigger than it should be. Instead of Taunton they will be at Lord’s on a bigger stage and nerves show.”No one could accuse Abbott of being a spear carrier on the big stage – or, indeed, of being timid when it comes to the big decision. Although he has never played anything more than T20 cricket at Lord’s, he has represented South Africa in even bigger matches than that he will play on Saturday.”When you are two-all against India in India and you have to go out to perform, that’s as big as it gets,” he pointed out. “I’ve played in the quarter-final of the World Cup. That sort of occasion doesn’t bother me. It will make Lord’s a little bit more comfortable for me.”Kyle Abbott appeals for lbw•Getty Images

Abbott’s reference to his career with South Africa and his obvious pride in his achievements when doing so only reinforces the magnitude of the choice he made in 2017 when he turned his back on international cricket and signed a Kolpak deal with Hampshire. Making that call was all the more difficult given that after a stuttering start his Test career appeared to be flourishing.But Abbott was convinced his place was secure only because Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were unfit and he had already been omitted from a World Cup semi-final, some suggested for partly political reasons, in favour of Vernon Philander. Many cricketers might claim that having made such the decision to step away from the international game, they had filed the matter as “case closed”, but Abbott is too honest for such self-deluding escapes.”I do sometimes think what might have been and from the outset I’ve always said I made the decision six months too early,” he said. “But I’d rather have been six months too early than six months too late. Had I waited, I would have played in the Champions Trophy and I would have played in the England Test series in 2017.”But things became very clear straight after that series when South Africa toured Bangladesh. Dale Steyn was straight back in the side and then Morne Morkel was straight back in. That’s what I kept telling people. They said, ‘You’re going to have a run now,’ but I replied, ‘No, you don’t understand how this works.'”The convenor of selectors said Steyn and Morkel would have to prove themselves in first-class cricket but I said: ‘They won’t. They are world-class bowlers and they’ll come straight back in.’ And they did come in. I knew international cricket and I could read their minds from a mile off. I do miss international cricket. Even a Lord’s final is not going to replicate an international match but I’m proud of the cricket I played for South Africa in those four years, the games I played in, the wickets I took.”

India haven’t had a perfect game yet, and they head into Vizag bracing for a battle of resilience

Vishal Dikshit08-Oct-20254:10

Two wins in two, but scratchy start for India?

Big Picture

When close to 800 runs were scored between India and Australia 10 days before the start of the World Cup, this tournament was being billed as the biggest run-fest of them all. But since then, we have seen South Africa bowled out for 69, India suffer two collapses, the 275 mark breached just once, and even Australia collapse to 76 for 7.The action now moves to Visakhapatnam, the fourth venue of this World Cup, where the Indian team held preparatory camps in the lead up to the tournament, and where five women’s ODIs have been played before, the last in 2014, but none involving South Africa. They arrive here after contrasting results in their first two games, but they have the personnel in terms of batters, spinners and quicks to adapt to whatever the damp conditions in Visakhapatnam throw at them.India’s first two wins were far from their “perfect game,” as Jemimah Rodrigues put it on Wednesday, and with this fixture, they head into a 10-day period of big clashes against South Africa, Australia and England, which could well decide their fate in this home World Cup. South Africa were the ones who had knocked India out of the semi-final race in the last ODI World Cup but they have since been beaten 5-0 by India, including the three ODIs last year in India and the two in the Sri Lanka tri-series earlier this year.With some rain around in this city too, both teams will be desperate to continue their winning ways.Related

• Brits and Gardner enter top five in women's ODI batters' rankings

• Mithali Raj and Ravi Kalpana to have stands named after them at Vizag stadium

• From 69 all out to statement win – South Africa restore World Cup credentials

• Stats – Tazmin Brits fastest to seven hundreds in women's ODIs

Form guide

India WWLWL (last five completed matches, most recen first)
South Africa WLLWW

In the spotlight

Between them, Tazmin Brits and Smriti Mandhana have scored nine of the 29 centuries this year by players from teams in this World Cup. Brits’ five are the most centuries in a calendar year, with Mandhana right on her heels with four. Mandhana, meanwhile, has played five innings more than Brits’ 11 this year and has 959 runs against Brits’ 749. And if Brits recently became the fastest to seven ODI hundreds (in 41 innings), Mandhana had recently smashed the second-fastest ODI century, against world champions Australia.Thursday will see a clash of not just two of the most prolific ODI openers but batters in recent times, who have been rewriting one record book after another. While Brits’ 101 against New Zealand got South Africa their first points, India will hope Mandhana follows on Brits’ footsteps having started the tournament with two low scores.3:04

‘South Africa can’t afford to drop points from here’

Team news

India were without Amanjot Kaur for the Pakistan game because of a fever and she will likely be back for this game, having bowled and batted in the nets at length on Tuesday evening. How they slot her back is the question because her replacement Renuka Singh bowled tidily with the new ball and sent down a maiden to finish with 0 for 29 from her 10 overs. India will also wonder if their five-bowler strategy will be good enough against a side that scored 234 in under 41 overs a few days ago. The only way to add a sixth bowler is by dropping a batter, which isn’t straightforward at all.India (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Prtika Rawal, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Sneh Rana, 10 Shree Charani, 11 Kranti GoudSouth Africa may not feel the need to change their winning XI from the New Zealand match in Indore although conditions in Visakhapatnam may not be as flat. But the pressure is mounting on Anneke Bosch at No. 5 who has scores of 0, 6 and 10 in her last three ODIs, and South Africa have so far kept out pace-bowling allrounder Annerie Dercksen, being seen as Marizanne Kapp’s successor.South Africa (possible): 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Tazmin Brits, 3 Sune Luss, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Anneke Bosch/ Annerie Dercksen, 6 Sinalo Jafta (wkt), 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Masabata Klaas, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko Mlaba

Pitch and conditions

There was a brief shower two days before the game and a slightly longer spell the day before, but neither too threatening to pose a threat of a washout on game day. There are some spells expected on Wednesday afternoon too, but not as bad as the one in Colombo for Australia vs Sri Lanka. While keeping with the theme of the other venues of this World Cup these two teams have played at – Indore, Guwahati and Colombo – Visakhapatnam is going to be muggy too, with temperatures capping in the early thirties, but could feel a lot worse. Rodrigues said on match eve a score around 270-odd could be competitive at this ground.Richa Ghosh was in a cheerful mood during India’s training session•ICC via Getty Images

Stats and trivia

Sussex post their lowest total for 12 years, trail by 379 runs

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2019Northamptonshire are on course to claim their first County Championship win of the season after bowling out Sussex for their lowest total for 12 years.Bottom of the second division going into the fixture, Northamptonshire ended day two at Hove with an overall lead of 379 on 212 for 4 in their second innings after Sussex had earlier been dismissed for 106, their lowest score since May 2007 when they made 102 against Kent at Canterbury – a season when they went on to become county champions.They had no answer to the unrelenting accuracy of Northamptonshire’s four seamers led by Ben Sanderson who finished with 6 for 37, his best figures of the season. They found the right length throughout and a pitch offering some seam movement and swing.Northants did not enforce the follow-on and when they batted again Ricardo Vasconcelos, who scored 88, and Rob Newton, who reached 54, added 108 for the first wicket. Abi Sakande picked up two wickets but Sussex had long since been consigned to damage limitation. Their only hope now is to at least show a bit more resolve when they bat again.Sussex had resumed on 7 for 2 and they soon lost overnight batsmen Luke Wells and Aaron Thomason in successive overs. Brett Hutton picked up Wells and Sanderson claimed his first wicket of the day when Thomason edged an away-swinger to third slip, just as Wells had done.It set the tone for a dispiriting morning for Sussex who were 26 for 5 as Sanderson struck again to remove Laurie Evans. Evans was also beaten by late movement and edged to first slip. Ben Brown and Delray Rawlins staged a mini recovery to take the score to 49 before Luke Procter straightened one nicely and Brown 10 edged behind.Rawlins rode his luck at times but briefly broke the shackles to take successive boundaries off Hutton before Sanderson returned to have him taken a second slip for 31. While Sanderson, Hutton and Procter shared the spoils they were backed up by Nathan Buck, whose six overs contained four maidens.After lunch, Will Beer – batting at No.9 having opened in his last three games – was lbw to Hutton for one before Sanderson finished things off. David Wiese, who helped Rawlins add 34 for the seventh wicket, was caught behind and Sakande edged to third slip in the next over.Northants batted again with a lead of 163 and by tea had extended that to 275. Vasconcelos and Newton reached half-centuries off successive balls with Newton hitting Beer for six to get there.Sussex made a breakthrough with the first ball after the resumption when Newton edged to slip to give Ollie Robinson his seventh wicket of the match and there was double success for Sakande who had Alex Wakely caught behind off an inside edge before pinning Vasconcelos for 88 after the South African had struck 13 fours.Temba Bavuma smashed a waist-high full toss from Rawlins to deep mid-wicket just before the close but it was a chastening day for Sussex and a very good one for Northants.

Rajasthan Royals have a 1-6 win-loss record at Eden Gardens, and might be hampered by their lack of batting depth

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-May-20183:52

Agarkar: KKR start as firm favourites

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals. They ended third and fourth on the league table, with not a lot separating them, after seasons that followed similar trajectories, particularly when the playoffs race intensified. As squads, however, the campaigns they went through couldn’t have been more dissimilar.Fast bowlers aside, the KKR XI that will line up in Wednesday’s Qualifier is perhaps exactly the one their team management might have picked as their best XI on auction day, down to the batting order. This is a small but wisely assembled squad, full of trusted names, and who knows where it might have finished had Mitchell Starc been fit to play the tournament?

Form guide (most recent match first)

Kolkata Knight Riders: beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets, beat Rajasthan Royals by six wickets, beat Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs
Rajasthan Royals: beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets

Rajasthan Royals was a less tested combination, partly because they were returning from a two-year suspension, but one full of exciting overseas talent. All that talent, however, took time and a fair bit of shuffling to begin firing. And by the time that happened, two of the team’s biggest names, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, had to be scratched off the roster.The absence of those two names, particularly Buttler, is a handicap Royals will have to overcome in Wednesday’s Eliminator, as are a shortish middle order and a longish tail. There is the small matter of the venue as well. Eden Gardens is KKR’s lair, and Royals have an awful record here: only one win in seven matches.KKR, therefore, have a number of advantages going into this meeting, but the fleetingness of a single T20 contest can minimise all of them. The Eliminator is as accurate a name for this kind of contest, and it’s anyone’s game to lose.

Previous meetings

KKR won both their matches against Royals in the league stage, and comfortably at that. In Jaipur, an all-round display from Nitish Rana set up a seven-wicket win with seven balls remaining. In Kolkata, Royals collapsed to Kuldeep Yadav’s wristspin after a helter-skelter opening stand between Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi, and forties from Chris Lynn and Dinesh Karthik led the home team home with two overs to spare.

In the news

• Neither team trained on Tuesday, with rain keeping Eden Gardens under covers. There is a 20% chance of rain on Wednesday as well.
• Apart from Buttler and Stokes, who are away on England duty, Royals have also been without their mentor Shane Warne over the last week or so. He has tweeted saying he will miss the Eliminator and Friday’s second Qualifier as well, but that he would be back for Sunday’s final – if Royals make it, of course.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Javon Searles, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Prasidh KrishnaRajasthan Royals: 1 Rahul Tripathi, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Heinrich Klaase, 5 Stuart Binny, 6 K Gowtham, 7 Jofra Archer, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Ben Laughlin

Strategy punt

In IPL 2018, Chris Lynn has only managed to score 121 off 131 balls against spin, while being dismissed four times. Sunil Narine has been explosive against spinners, scoring 138 off 66 balls, but he’s also been out to them once every 9.4 balls.Royals will want to start with spin at least from one end, but they have to be smart about their choice of spinner. They usually give the new ball to the offspinner K Gowtham, but one of their two legspinners, Ish Sodhi or Shreyas Gopal, could be a better option against KKR. While Narine has smashed offspin for 76 off 28 balls (including 23 off 9 against K Gowtham) while only being dismissed once this year, he hasn’t done as well against right-arm legspin, scoring only 18 off 16 while being dismissed twice. Lynn hasn’t been dismissed by legspin this season, but his strike rate against them – as is the case with other kinds of spin – is below 100.By opening the bowling with Sodhi or Shreyas, Royals will be able to hold back Gowtham for a contest he might relish, against his former Karnataka team-mate Robin Uthappa, who has only scored 33 off 33 against offspin this season while being dismissed twice. This while achieving strike rates of over 180 against both left-arm orthodox and legspin.

Stats that matter

• Home advantage could be a major factor in this game. Royals have a 9-8 win-loss record overall against KKR, but have only won one of their six meetings at the Eden Gardens. This season, moreover, Royals have won only two of their seven matches away from Jaipur.
• KKR’s players have played 50 IPL playoff matches between them, while Royals’ have only played 23.
• Dinesh Karthik will reach the 5000-run mark in T20s if he makes 36, while Sanju Samson needs 39 to get to 3000.
• Lasith Malinga (at the Wankhede Stadium) is the only bowler to take 50 or more wickets at one venue in the IPL. Sunil Narine needs two wickets to get to 50 at the Eden Gardens.
• Royals’ fortunes could well depend on how soon they can send back Narine – this season, he has the best Powerplay strike rate (198.4) of any batsman to face 75 or more balls in that phase. He has made 252 runs in the first six overs this season off 127 balls, while being dismissed eight times.

Fantasy pick

• Andre Russell has had a decent IPL without making as many match-turning interventions as his fans may have expected. Wednesday night could well be his night.
• Heinrich Klaasen struck form with a 21-ball 32 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and also sparkled behind the stumps with three stumpings and a low, diving catch. He will still be full of confidence from that performance when he makes his IPL playoff debut, playing a crucial middle-order role in a team that lacks a bit of batting depth.

India sealed their closest-ever Test win in terms of runs as Siraj picked up a five-for

Andrew Miller04-Aug-2025A dank, grey morning in South London, a packed crowd at the Kia Oval, and 53 of the most extraordinary deliveries in Test-match history… all of which culminated in the inevitable, indefatigable redemption of Mohammed Siraj, whose gut-busting five-wicket haul trumped a very different, but every bit as heroic, intercession from England’s incapacitated Chris Woakes, in one of the greatest climaxes in all of Test history.Twenty years ago, on this very day, the legendary Edgbaston Ashes Test of 2005 got underway, but even that match’s breathless two-run finish paled against the agonising drama that spanned a solitary hour of play of this, the 25th and final day of another all-timer of a Test series. By the end of it all, India had landed their closest victory in Test history, by six runs. Their players were doing a lap of honour in front of a sea of their jubilant fans, grins beaming out from their battle-weary bodies, safe in the knowledge that they had earned every drop of the acclaim.Related

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This final act had been forced upon the series by the chaotic thunderstorm that had ended the fourth day early, arguably to England’s benefit in that moment, given the hot vein of form that Siraj had located to drag the contest, kicking and screaming, back in India’s direction after Harry Brook and Joe Root had, at one stage, threatened to rampage to their target of 374.With one last burst of Lee Fortis’ heavy roller before play, and with the potential for Siraj and his crucial sidekick Prasidh Krishna to resume with an adrenaline hangover, England were arguably favourites when play resumed, with 35 runs needed and three (and a half) wickets in hand. When Jamie Overton duly cracked two fours from Prasidh’s first two balls of the day – the latter, admittedly, very streakily past his leg stump – that equation was in danger of being settled in a matter of minutes.Siraj, however, was not letting this one slip. Of all the extraordinary moments in the course of five breathless Tests, nothing had threatened to have a more lasting legacy than his own crestfallen face-palm at deep fine-leg on the fourth afternoon, in the moment that he stepped on the boundary triangle to turn a regulation top-edge from Brook into a momentum-shifting six.2:02

Harmison: Woakes put his career on the line by coming out to bat

Coupled with his cruel luck with the bat in a similarly tense finale at Lord’s, it was an error that had drawn Siraj’s heart ever more fervently onto his sleeve. It had been his mission to make amends every step of the way of his exhausting 30.1-over effort, and the deliverance would prove to be exquisite. The winning moment came with a pinpoint yorker to uproot Gus Atkinson’s off stump, as he swung lustily once more – knowing that Woakes, his left arm in a sling after dislocating his shoulder in the field, could not be asked to do more than just be there. However, that snapshot hardly scratches the surface of the drama he ignited.Siraj’s final act began with 27 runs left to defend, and England’s most likely matchwinner, Jamie Smith, in his sights on 2 not out from 17 balls. Right from the get-go, he located that crucial old-ball movement, and got his pace cranked up into the high-80s in the process. But, with Smith inevitably itching to get this done quickly – as is the Bazball ethos – Siraj cunningly kept his line wide, forcing the batter to come looking for his drives, and duly hitting paydirt with his third ball of the day – a palpable nick through to Dhruv Jurel that the umpires, under extraordinary pressure themselves, took upstairs to double-check.In an instant, the momentum lurched violently in India’s direction, and Atkinson, the new man, might have gone first ball as he was squared up by Siraj’s tighter line only for the ball to reach KL Rahul on the half-volley at second slip. At the other end, Overton’s long levers – which have attracted the interest of England’s white-ball teams in recent years – were stymied by six men back on the rope, one of whom, Ravindra Jadeja, pulled off a tigerish stop at deep cover to save a priceless boundary as Atkinson drove Prasidh firmly.3:49

Bangar: Series result proves India is growing in stature

Siraj, however, was still the main man. With the old ball still talking, a big inswinger crunched into Overton’s pad as he was pinned on the crease, and it was the voracity of the appeal that prised the crucial decision. Umpire Dharmasena waited an eternity before deciding that the appeal was worthy… and Overton’s desperate review duly confirmed that the ball would have been clipping leg stump.Moments later, umpire Ahsan Raza was similarly convinced by the inswinger, as Josh Tongue was pinned by Prasidh, but this time his review was clearly shown to be missing leg. In his next over, however, Prasidh didn’t need the umpire’s assistance. A piledriver of a yorker burst through Tongue’s defences for a 12-ball duck, and at 357 for 9, the die was cast for an extraordinary contest to receive an immortal climax.This was a match that burgled plotlines from a host of memorable predecessors – not least Trent Boult’s boundary-catch-that-wasn’t in the 2019 World Cup final. But now, 40 minutes into the day’s play, out strode Woakes, one arm completely encased by a sling beneath his jumper, charged with the task of hanging in there as best as he could, as Atkinson attempted to hack away the 17 runs still needed for victory.1:19

Sanjay Bangar picks his moment of the series

Sixty-two years have elapsed since Colin Cowdrey did likewise at Lord’s in 1963, returning to the crease with a broken arm, with England six runs from victory and with one wicket still standing. In those less chaotic days, David Allen opted not to go for broke against Wes Hall with two balls of the match to come, and Cowdrey was not required to do more than lean on his bat. Woakes, on the other hand, had a significantly more torrid role in store.The onus, though, was on Atkinson to score the runs. Two balls into Siraj’s next over, he connected magnificently with a launch across the line, as Akash Deep – in off the rope in the deep – could only palm the ball across the rope as he leapt in vain to intercept. Three air-shots ensued, whereupon – from the last ball of the over – Woakes hurtled off for a bye to the keeper, his arm bouncing out of his sling in the process, leaving him wincing in agony as umpire Raza helped swaddle him back into position.There was no respite, however. “Two!” was Atkinson’s instant call one ball later, as he found rare space in the deep off Prasidh to take the target into single figures. And though he could not make further inroads from the next four balls, the sixth was a gift, tight and full on the stumps, and a calm nudge to mid-on to keep the strike once more, and take England to within one blow of tying the scores.Siraj, however, wasn’t letting this cause slip now. In he hurtled for one final effort ball. Back went Atkinson’s off stump as he swung for the hills once again. Out came Siraj’s “siu” celebration as his team-mates swamped him in adulation. Off went the celebrations all across a nation that had no doubt come to a standstill on an otherwise nondescript Monday afternoon. So ended one of the most breathless hours ever witnessed in 148 years and 2598 Tests. And one of the most compelling series in living memory.

Here’s all we know about the players who are set to be retained by their respective franchises

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-202410:37

Who will RCB retain apart from Kohli?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)MS Dhoni is one of five players set to be retained by CSK, along with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana. The amounts CSK are paying to each retained player is yet to be confirmed but they will lose at least INR 65 crore from their overall purse of INR 120 crore.
Gujarat Titans (GT)Gujarat Titans are likely to retain Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, leaving them with one right-to-match card (RTM) option at the upcoming IPL mega auction.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)The franchise is set to retain Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy. Their 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer and star allrounder Andre Russell are unlikely to be retained.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi, along with the uncapped pair of Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni, are set to be retained by LSG for IPL 2025. KL Rahul, who has led the franchise since its inception in 2022, is unlikely to be retained.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma are the four players set to be retained by Rajasthan Royals. ESPNcricinfo has learned that England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler and India legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal are not part of the retention list.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)South Africa power-hitter Heinrich Klaasen is set to be the top retention for SRH and will get INR 23 crore (US$ 2.74 million approx.) as the first retained player. Pat Cummins, who was SRH captain in 2024, is set to be retained at INR 18 crore (US$ 2.14 million approx.), and India allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore (US$ 1.67 million approx). Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy are also set to be retained as their final two capped retained players ahead of the auction.
Delhi Capitals (DC)Rishabh Pant is all set to go into the auction after not being retained by DC. ESPNcricinfo has learned that talks between DC’s ownership group and Pant failed after stretching over the past few months and Wednesday. The franchise has retained four players: the spin pair of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, South Africa batter Tristan Stubbs and uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)Punjab Kings are likely to retain only two uncapped players – batters Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh – from their IPL 2024 squad. They will go into the upcoming mega auction with the largest purse, likely in excess of INR 100 crore, and also have four right-to-match options which can be used to buy back their players.
Mumbai Indians (MI)Mumbai Indians are set to retain their four major Indian players – Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav – along with Tilak Varma ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.With those five capped players retained, MI can use their one right-to-match option only on an uncapped player at the auction. While the individual amounts for each of their retained player is yet to be ascertained, MI will lose at least INR 75 crore from their purse of INR 120 crore, or more if they have paid a higher aggregate amount to the five.