County Championship Round 8

Results

Division One:

Scarborough: Surrey (267 & 229-3) beat Yorkshire (342 & 152) by 7 wickets
Old Trafford: Hampshire (451 & 237-5) drew with Lancashire (411)
Chelmsford: Essex (517-5 dec & 208-7 dec) drew with Somerset (407 & 151-5)
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire (499-9 dec & 249-4 dec) drew with Worcestershire (287 & 368-8)



Division Two:

Cardiff: Northamptonshire (281 & 406-9 dec) beat Glamorgan (254 & 200) by 233 runs
Chester-le-Street: Warwickshire (424 & 185-9 dec) beat Durham (297 & 226) by 86 runs
Derby: Leicestershire (297 & 133-4) beat Derbyshire (245 & 184) by six wickets
Canterbury: Kent (241 & 281) beat Middlesex (56 & 124) by 342 runs

ENG V AUS T20 & IRE V IND T20

IRE V IND (1st of 2 games)

India 208-5 (20 ovs): Rohit 97, Dhawan 74; Chase 4-35
Ireland 132-9 (20 ovs): Shannon 60; Yadav 4-21, Chahal 3-38
India won by 76 runs

A superb opening stand of 160 between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma helped India to a 76-run win in the first of two Dublin T20s against Ireland.

Dhawan (74) and Rohit (97) plundered the Irish bowling attack although Peter Chase took 4-35 as India posted 208-4 at a sun-kissed Malahide.

Ireland crumbled under scoreboard pressure despite an impressive 60 from James Shannon.

The hosts finished on 132-9 with Kuldeep Yadav claiming 4-21.

3 Test Series WI 1-1 SL

1st Test

West Indies 414 for 8 dec and 223 for 7 dec beat Sri Lanka 185 and 226 by 226 runs

Sri Lanka hurtled to defeat either side of lunch on the final day, losing the last five of their wickets within 25 deliveries, for eight runs, as West Indies went 1-0 up in the three-Test series. The telling blow had been struck earlier in the day, by Shannon Gabriel, who has been outstanding in this Test. He pitched a ball just short-of-a-length to centurion Kusal Mendis, got the ball to erupt, and drew the outside edge. Though for much of the morning, wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich had been collecting balls at knee height or below, so menacing was this delivery, that he had had to complete the catch with arms outstretched over his head.

Of the other Sri Lanka batsmen seen on day five, only Lahiru Gamage the nightwatchman showed any substantial resistance. He played out 49 balls for three runs, deadbatting almost anything that came his way, until he was eventually trapped in front of the stumps by a Devendra Bishoo googly. Everyone else fell in a heap.

The win was special because West Indies' bowlers were outstanding on a pitch that was never particularly treacherous. In the fourth innings, Roston Chase finished up with the best figures of 4 for 15, though two of those wickets were those of tailenders. More impressive were Bishoo, who took 3 for 48, and Gabriel, who was intense in patches in both innings. His match haul was 4 for 100 - figures that do not do him justice.

Upon resumption in the morning, Mendis had been secure, moving smartly to his fifth Test century, with a flick to the deep square leg boundary. He celebrated with little fuss, knowing perhaps that his team still needed many more runs from him. It wasn't to be. That Gabriel ball was nigh unplayable, and it was only because he was in good touch that he got an edge to it. No other Sri Lanka batsman crossed fifty in this Test - woeful returns, given the nature of the surface.

Of Sri Lanka's day five dismissals though, perhaps it was Dinesh Chandimal's that was the most reprehensible. He had resumed his innings on 15, having retired ill the previous day, with early symptoms of sunstroke. He was cautious for the majority of his day five stay, only venturing a boundary off a Bishoo long hop. However, he lost his temperament and his wicket an over before lunch.

Aiming to slam a Chase length ball over midwicket, he ended up miscuing the stroke badly, and looping a catch to near mid-on, where a running Kraigg Brathwaite completed the catch. Later that over, Niroshan Dickwella was struck in front of the stumps by a slider. He burned Sri Lanka's final review in desperation, out for 19.

The tail then went quickly. Herath gloved Bishoo short leg, not long after lunch. Next over, Chase had Nos. 10 and 11 caught behind - though Suranga Lakmal was unlucky to be given out, as he had not in fact made contact. Nevertheless, with all Sri Lanka's specialist batsmen out before lunch, these were merely the last rites. The final margin of victory was an enormous 226 runs. The hosts having run the match from the second day onwards, it was a West Indies domination.


2nd Test

Day 1

Sri Lanka 253
West Indies 2/0 (2 ov)
West Indies trail by 251 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings

Shannon Gabriel delivered a brutal spell with the new ball, then later came back to blast out the middle order to take 5 for 59. Dinesh Chandimal hit a terrific 119 not out off 185 balls, but had little support from the rest of the batting order. The result: another day dominated by West Indies, who shot the opposition out for 253, before their openers survived the two overs before stumps unscathed. The Gros Islet surface rewarded seam bowling, but had largely appeared decent for batting. In fact, Sri Lanka had chosen to bat first, expecting big runs.

It was Gabriel's early spell that defined the day. Second ball, he squared up debutant Mahela Udawatte, who sent a low catch toward third slip, where Jason Holder completed an excellent, diving low-take. Two overs late, after a confident Dhananjaya de Silva had hit two square boundaries off Gabriel's short balls, he claimed de Silva's wicket with a beauty. Having the ball jag towards the right-hander off a back-of-a-length, Gabriel struck de Silva on the forearm, watched the ball ricochet into the stumps, he gloated as he jogged past the injured batsman. De Silva had to be walked off the ground by a physio holding an ice pack, but although there were initial fears that a bone could have been fractured, X-rays have cleared de Silva of any serious injury, team manager Asanka Gurusinha said. As his arm is merely bruised, de Silva is likely to bat again in the second innings.

Gabriel took three more wickets, in much later spells. He had a length ball leap at Roshen Silva, who could only edge it to Holder again, at third slip. He drew Niroshan Dickwella into a drive and had him caught in the gully. Finally, he fired one in at the pads of Suranga Lakmal, who could not get his bat in the way, and was standing right in front of the stumps. This was Gabriel's third five-wicket haul, the other two having come against Pakistan.

Chandimal's hundred was in some ways predictable, though given the manner in which the remainder of the batting order folded, it was invaluable as well. He hit all but one of his fours behind square, but was proactive when there were singles or twos for the taking. It was not a whirlwind innings like, his knock against India in 2015. It wasn't a stonewall, like his century in Abu Dhabi last year. This was something in the middle, and in this game, that is what his teammates needed. He had had two clear reprieves in the innings though. On 14, he was dropped by Devon Smith at second slip, off the bowling of Miguel Cummins. On 119, he top-edged a flick to the man at point, only for bowler Kemar Roach to have been shown to have overstepped. Towards the end of the innings, he even launched Roach over long off for six.

Elsewhere, West Indies' bowlers ran rampant. Kusal Mendis had batted alluringly for 45, before trying a swat off his hips, which ended up looping into the air, to be caught by wicketkeeper Dowrich as he ran towards square leg. Holder was the bowler. Later in the day, Roach knocked out Nos. 10 and 11 in quick time, finishing with 4 for 49 himself.

Beyond Chandimal's 67-run stand with Mendis, there were no fifty-plus associations among the Sri Lanka batsmen. Through the whole innings, only Mendis and Kusal Perera could cross 30. When their innings ended, West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Smith came to the crease, and saw out the final two overs.


Day 2

Sri Lanka 253
West Indies 118/2
West Indies trail by 135 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the innings

Lahiru Kumara delivered 13.3 hostile overs, and Kasun Rajitha was probing on Test debut, but a half-century from Devon Smith drove West Indies foreward on a rain-hit second day. They stand only 135 runs behind Sri Lanka, with eight wickets still in hand. Only 42.3 overs were delivered in the day, the rain arriving during lunch to wash out much of the afternoon and evening sessions, before stumps were eventually drawn due to bad light at 5:55 pm.

Snith was measured for much of the day, hitting only four fours (two of which were edges past the slip cordon) and a six in his 53 not out off 134 balls. He had his outside edge beaten on plenty of occasions, even through the last few overs of the day, but he did enough to survive, and did not miss out when genuinely poor balls were on offer. The half-century is his seventh overall, and his first since April 2015. Smith was especially strong on the legside in this innings, once advancing to launch Akila Dananjaya over long on for six.

Kumara, perhaps, will consider himself unlucky for having only collected figures of 1 for 48. He troubled each of the four West Indies batsmen who came to the crease on day two, often surprising them with the bounce and pace he generated. He touched 145kph on occasion, generally aiming at the batsmen's ribs. His breakthrough came very late in the day - Kusal Mendis diving to his right from second slip to complete an excellent low take off Kieran Powell, who had attempted to drive that ball. In the first session, Kumara could easily have had Kraigg Brathwaite lbw, with a ball that jagged in from well outside off stump. The ball had hit Brathwaite above the knee-roll though, and umpire Aleem Dar felt it was probably going over the stumps.

Rajitha was not quite so aggressive, but there was obviousl skill to the manner in which he operated. He moved the ball both ways off the pitch, and frequently went looking for that edge, his length often full and his line always testing. He had made the first breakthrough, shortly before lunch. Angling a ball in at Brathwaite, Rajitha got it to straighten just a fraction. The result was a feather edge to the wicketkeeper - that touch so light that Brathwaite even reviewed believing he had not hit the ball. DRS disagreed, however. Brathwaite was out for 22 off 79 balls, having gritted his way through almost the entire first session.

So disciplined had Sri Lanka's quicks been in the first session that West Indies made only 63 runs in 25 overs. The scoring rate increased after the first extended rain break, but went south again in the final 6.2-over stretch of play.

Encouragingly for Sri Lanka, there was decent turn for their offspinner Dananjaya on day two. Nevertheless, West Indies are still completely in control of this game, particularly with their strong middle order still alive in the first innings.


Day 3

Sri Lanka 253 and 34 for 1 (Udawatte 11*) trail West Indies 300 (Smith 61, Dowrich 55, Kumara 4-86, Rajitha 3-49) by 13 runs

Sri Lanka's quicks scythed through the West Indies lower order, and finished only 13 runs behind for the loss of one wicket by stumps. But it was what they did at the start of the day that loomed over this game. For two hours, they refused to take the field, and when they did, it was only "under protest". The reason? Match officials had charged them with ball tampering, slapping on a five-run penalty, and changing the ball that had been used on day one. Sri Lanka's coach and team management were seen in animated discussions with match officials, after being told of the tampering allegations shortly before the teams were set to take the field. They were eventually convinced to resume play, but deny any "wrongdoing" according to a board release. An inquiry on these charges will be held after stumps on Saturday.

Though there is a major controversy brewing, this is now a finely-balanced Test, the visitors fighting back hard, after having allowed West Indies to take control of the match over the first two days. The definitive period of play was the 20.3 overs they delivered with the second new ball, either side of tea. In that period they took the six final West Indies wickets for 59 runs - Lahiru Kumara taking three of those wickets, to finish with an impressive 4 for 84 on a day in which he had bowled deliveries as fast as 149kph. Kasun Rajitha also collected encouraging figures in his first Test innings, removing Devendra Bishoo and Jason Holder in a single intense spell, to end with 3 for 49.

The pitch, though, remained helpful for the quicks, especially when they bowled with the new ball, and Sri Lanka will know they are in for another fight tomorrow. Sri Lanka had just under an hour to bat at the end of the day, and were frequently in trouble through this period. Kusal Perera played a stroke-filled 23-ball innings, collecting three boundaries, and miscuing other aerial shots. He was out for 20, leaden-footedly edging Shannon Gabriel to the wicketkeeper. The only batsmen who can be said to have prospered for a meaningful length of time on day three were Shane Dowrich, who hit 55, and Roston Chase, who joined Dowrich for a 78-run fifth-wicket stand.

Where in Trinidad Sri Lanka had allowed West Indies' lower order to compile a formidable first-innings total almost on their own, it was Kumara's intensity and Rajitha's perseverance that enabled the visitors to shut this West Indies innings down in relatively quick time. Dowrich and Chase had built an ominous stand and had taken West Indies to within 14 runs of Sri Lanka's first-innings total with six wickets still in hand, when the second new ball became available. Kumara struck the first blow, having Chase caught at short midwicket for 44. He would later return to knock out the last two wickets, nailing Kemar Roach in front of leg stump with a yorker, and having Shannon Gabriel top edge a heave off the short ball.

In between, Rajitha and Suranga Lakmal moved the ball consistently off the seam, and all three bowlers drew plenty of false strokes - the lower order seeming to play and miss more often than they made connection.

Earlier in the day, only 12.3 overs had been possible because of Sri Lanka's refusal to take the field. When they did begin to play, Kumara was seemingly channelling the ire felt in the Sri Lanka dressing room, sending down a barrage of hostile short deliveries at the overnight pair. Smith was unruffled by the strategy, and batted with caution, much as he had on the previous day. Shai Hope was not as confident, and was eventually out edging Lakmal to the cordon for 19. Subtlety - rather than menace - would later be the end of Smith. Expecting an offbreak from Akila Dananjaya, who was operating around the wicket to the left-hander, Smith was struck on the pad by a slider that would have gone on to hit the stumps. He had made a vital 61, however. Not only was Smith's the highest individual score in West Indies' total of 300, it was an important innings for a batsman who is attempting to win a consistent place in this team, at the age of 36.



Day 4

Sri Lanka 253 & 334/8 * (89 ov)
West Indies 300
Day 4: Sri Lanka lead by 287 runs with 2 wickets remaining

Two dashing innings - a confident 87 off 117 from Kusal Mendis, and a stroke filled 62 off 70 from Niroshan Dickwella - propelled Sri Lanka to a 287-run lead in St Lucia, edging them ahead in this match. Although Shannon Gabriel bowled spiritedly through the fourth day, collecting figures of 6 for 57 to take his match haul to 11 for 116, Sri Lanka still have two wickets remaining in their second innings. Only twice in this century have West Indies chased a higher score for victory. That the visitors found themselves in such a healthy position is a testament to their fight on day four, having found themselves effectively four wickets down with a lead of only one run, in the first hour of play.

Two big partnerships built this Sri Lanka innings. The first was the 117-run fifth-wicket stand between Mendis and a lucky Dinesh Chandimal, who could have been out twice on his way to 39 off 112 balls. The second was the 99-run association between Dickwella and Roshen Silva, after Mendis and Chandimal had fallen within 10 overs of one another. Silva made his first significant score of the series, hitting 48 off 115, while Mendis and Dickwella batted more aggressively at the other end. Both Silva and Dickwella were out to the second new ball, but late in the day, Suranga Lakmal and Akila Dananjaya put on a useful unbeaten partnership amounting to 27. As that second new ball is only nine overs old, however, West Indies will hope to knock out the last two wickets before the lead stretches to 300 on the fifth morning.

Gabriel has been the best bowler in the series by a distance, and Cricket West Indies' recent decision to switch to the Dukes cricket ball appears to be suiting him well. He sometimes attempted to intimidate the batsmen, sending plenty at the ribs and at the throat, but it was the ball that he seamed in from outside off stump that brought him the most joy on day four. He struck nightwatchman Kasun Rajitha in front of the stumps in his first over of the day, then bowled Mendis off an inside edge much later. Roshen Silva was also out to a ball that bounced and nipped back at him more than he expected - Shane Dowrich snatching a tough chance close to the ground after Silva had gloved it.

Only Dananjaya de Silva and Dickwella got out to Gabriel deliveries pitched on fuller lengths. Dananjaya was caught at slip attempting an expansive drive - the ball seaming away to take the outside edge. Dickwella merely slapped a full ball into the hands of mid-off, after Gabriel had pitched on a leg stump line.

Where during his Trinidad hundred Mendis had had reprieves early in his innings, in this knock he was secure and polished. In the morning, he thwarted Gabriel's short deliveries, defused Miguel Cummins and Roach, while taking a particular liking to Devendra Bishoo's legspin, which he hit for 18 off 13 balls. As usual, he favoured the sweep to the spinners, and scored all but 12 of his total runs through the legside, the most attractive of his strokes an elegant push off Roach through mid-on for four early in the day. After lunch, he was especially confident. He whipped Roach over the leg side for six on two occasions, and swivel-pulled Jason Holder to the midwicket boundary for four. Some of the pressure he exerted on the bowlers through his positive approach had sucked some venom out of the West Indies effort, especially earlier in the day.

Dickwella had a slightly easier task, not having to face the newer ball, but his innings was nevertheless important, after he had arrived at the crease with Sri Lanka in some peril. He scored most of his runs in the arc between third man and cover, audaciously carving two boundaries over the slip cordon whenever he was given some width. But even though he struck at 89, less than half of Dickwella's runs came from boundaries. The big shots may have been the most memorable, but this was an innings held together by sharp singles and twos.

Of the two supporting acts, Silva was better than Chandimal in this innings. For the first time in Caribbean, Silva managed to ride that sharp bounce that the West Indies quicks tend to generate, and stuck around while Dickwella scored more quickly at the other end. Chandimal was also reticent, only hitting a single boundary in an innings that stretched to 112 deliveries. He should have been out twice in one Gabriel over in the last half hour of the first session. First, he was struck in front of the stumps, but the appeal was turned down because two noises were heard. As it turned out, the second noise was the ball hitting his back pad, and had West Indies reviewed, they would have had Chandimal out for 21. Two balls later, Gabriel sent a bouncer at his throat and had Chandimal caught at gully. But thanks to Kusal Mendis, who had watched Gabriel overstep and prompted the umpire to check the front foot, Chandimal survived.

All this, after West Indies had threatened to run away with this Test with their early-morning surge. Inside the first seven overs of the day, they had taken three wickets - those of Rajitha, de Silva and Mahela Udawatte. Having had Sri Lanka 47 for 4, they will perhaps be disappointed that the score has now swelled to 334 for 8.


Day 5

Sri Lanka 253 (Chandimal 119*, Mendis 45, Gabriel 5-59, Roach 4-49) and 342 (Mendis 87, Dickwella 62, Gabriel 8-62) drew with West Indies 300 (Smith 61, Kumara 4-86) and 147 for 5 (Brathwaite 59*, Hope 39, Rajitha 2-23, Lakmal 2-48)

Sri Lanka had dismissed the stubborn Shai Hope soon after tea, giving themselves one final chance to surge to victory, but then the rains arrived, followed by bad light. In the end, West Indies drew the match with five wickets in hand, with 32.3 overs lost to the conditions. Perhaps Sri Lanka will rue the two hours they had spent off the field, protesting the ball-tampering charge on Saturday. Another 25 overs of play could have seen them scythe through the West Indies lower order, as they had in the first innings.

Though the rain clouds sealed the draw, it was Kraigg Brathwaite who had set it all up. He was secure in defense and resolute in attitude right through the day, refusing to be shaken by Sri Lanka's short-ball bursts, declining to be lured into loose drives, and capably defusing the spinners, who even on day five did not gain substantial turn off this pitch. Brathwaite's innings soaked up 172 balls, moving to 58 not out during its course. Hope resisted best in his company. The two of them saw out 35.5 of the 60.3 overs Sri Lanka bowled at them in the day. Hope's innings was split into two, because he had had to go off after being hit in the ribs by Lahiru Kumara, but he nevertheless played a vital hand, batting out 115 balls while scoring 39.

Sri Lanka will likely be disappointed that even the overs that were available to them had proved insufficient. By lunch, they had had three wickets, and seemed set to surge quickly to victory, their quicks running hot. The first West Indies wickets had not taken long to come - Kasun Rajitha seaming a delivery away from left-hander Devon Smith to have him nick one to second slip in the fourth over of the innings, before moving one into Kieran Powell to have him caught at square leg. Before they had even got to double figures, West Indies were two down. Later in the session, after Hope had been struck and forced to exit the field, Roston Chase had his off stump uprooted by Suranga Lakmal, who set the batsman up with a succession of away-seamers, before sneaking a straight ball through his defences.

Then came the main Brathwaite-Hope stand. Although obviously still sore, Hope negotiated a fresh short-ball examination with aplomb, even smacking a Lakmal bouncer for six in front of square. There were times when he played and missed, and others when he miscued shots, but the chances never went to hand. Brathwaite seemed much more in control, getting plenty of bat even to the balls that surprised him either by staying low, or leaping alarmingly. Inconsistent bounce had become a feature of this surface through the day. It was the second session, in which West Indies only lost the wicket of Shane Dowrich to the offspin of Akila Dananjaya, that the hosts really laid the groundwork for this result. Hope and Brathwaite put on 53 for the fifth wicket.

Fourth ball after tea, Lakmal got a ball to cut in at Hope and had it ricochet off his elbow into the stumps, but although suddenly Sri Lanka were alive again, the weather soon intervened. First the rains washed out about 78 minutes of play. Although the teams took the field again, only 2.3 overs were possible before the umpires hauled them off again for bad light. The final delivery was proof that there was still life in this pitch - Jason Holder struck in the box by a ball that jagged in off a length.

But before Sri Lanka even began bowling, Shannon Gabriel had imposed himself on the day again, as he has throughout these first two Tests. He blasted out the last two Sri Lanka wickets, to claim an exceptional match haul of 13 for 121 - the third best in West Indies' storied bowling history. He struck Suranga Lakmal in front of the stumps before Sri Lanka had got off the mark for the day, then bowled Dananjaya twice, in his second over. The first of those dismissals was wrongly deemed illegitimate, umpire Ian Gould signalling a no-ball, even though a sliver of Gabriel's boot had landed behind the line.

5 match ODI Series ENG 5-0 AUS

1st ODI

AUS 214
ENG 218/7 (44)
ENG won by 3 wickets


England made heavy work of a run-chase before eventually completing a three-wicket win over Australia in the first one-day international at The Oval.

Chasing 215 for victory, the home side were reduced to 38-3.

And, after Eoin Morgan and Joe Root shared 115, they lost three wickets for 10 runs to slip to 163-6 in the face of some excellent Australia pace bowling.

However, David Willey made an unbeaten 35 to secure victory with six overs to spare.

Australia were playing their first ODI since the ball-tampering scandal resulted in bans for Steve Smith and David Warner, as well as the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann.

New Australia captain Tim Paine introduced a pre-series handshake between the two teams, then saw his side struggle against England's spinners.

Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid took five wickets between them and, after Australia fell to 90-5, they needed Glenn Maxwell (62) and Ashton Agar (42) to drag them to 214 all out.

That did not seem enough on a blameless surface but England's two mini-collapses kept the contest interesting long into the London evening.

The second game in the five-match series is in Cardiff on Saturday.



2nd ODI

England 342-8 (50 overs): Roy 120, Buttler 91*, K Richardson 2-56
Australia 304 (47.1 overs): Marsh 131, Plunkett 4-53, Rashid 3-70
England won by 38 runs

Jason Roy scored 120 to set up a 38-run win for England over Australia and take a 2-0 lead in the one-day series.

Jos Buttler, who captained the side after Eoin Morgan suffered a back spasm, made an unbeaten 91 from 70 balls as England posted 342-8.

Shaun Marsh (131) made his first one-day century since 2013 to keep Australia in the game, but partnerships proved hard to come by.

Australia were bowled out for 304, with seamer Liam Plunkett taking 4-53.

Despite Morgan being ruled out just 20 minutes before the game began, England were able to put in an assured batting performance.

They posted their highest one-day score against Australia but Marsh's innings took the visitors deeper into the game than some may have expected.

However, Plunkett and spinner Adil Rashid (3-70) excelled in the final over to dismiss Marsh and run through the Australia tail.

The third game of the five-match series takes place at Trent Bridge on Tuesday at 14:00 BST.


3rd ODI

England 481-6 (50 overs): Hales 147, Bairstow 139, Roy 82, Morgan 67
Australia 239 (37 overs): Head 51, Rashid 4-47, Moeen 3-28
England won by 242 runs; lead 3-0 in five-match series

England made the highest one-day international total in history as they crushed Australia by 242 runs to seal the series at Trent Bridge.

The hosts scored 481-6 in 50 overs - eclipsing their own record of 444-3, set against Pakistan at the same venue in 2016.

Alex Hales hit 147 and Jonny Bairstow 139 as England briefly threatened to post 500 in the third ODI.

Australia were bowled out for 239 in 37 overs as Adil Rashid took 4-47.

England's win, which gave them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with two games to play, came only 11 days after New Zealand made the highest total in a women's ODI - 490-4 against Ireland in Dublin.

While the innings of Hales and Bairstow, which both lasted 92 balls, laid the platform, skipper Eoin Morgan provided the late impetus with a rapid 67.

The left-hander hit a 21-ball half-century - the fastest by an England player - in becoming his country's all-time top ODI run-scorer.

"This is a poor Australian side who have been utterly dismantled," said BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew.

"It was ruthless from England. The wheels fell off for Australia."

4th ODI

ENG 314/4 beat AUS 310/8 by six wickets

England eased to their highest one-day run chase against Australia to close in on a 5-0 series whitewash.

Jason Roy scored a superb century and Jonny Bairstow hit 79 as England surpassed the tourists' 310-8 to win by six wickets at Chester-le-Street.

Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch had hit hundreds for Australia but the result was never in doubt once England openers Roy and Bairstow put on 174.

Jos Buttler smashed 54 from 29 balls to seal victory with 32 balls to spare.

England, who now lead the series 4-0, will complete their first one-day international series whitewash over Australia if they win the final game at Old Trafford on Sunday.


5th ODI

Australia 205 (34.4 overs): Head 56, Moeen 4-46

England 208-9 (48.3 overs): Buttler 110*, Stanlake 3-35

England won by one wicket

Jos Buttler made a brilliant hundred to give England a dramatic victory in the fifth one-day international and a first 5-0 whitewash over Australia.

Chasing only 206, England were 114-8 when Buttler was joined by Adil Rashid for a stand of 81.

Rashid was dismissed with 11 needed, but Buttler hit the next ball for six to move to his sixth ODI century.

Last man Jake Ball survived an Ashton Agar over and Buttler completed a one-wicket win with nine balls to spare.

The two sides meet in a one-off T20 at Edgbaston on Wednesday, with England then welcoming India.

Royal London One Day Cup semi final 2

Hampshire beat Yorkshire by 107 runs
Hants captain Vince scores 171 off 126 balls
Vince & Northeast (58) put on 142
Hampshire make 348-9
Yorkshire slump to 241 all out
Tattersall makes valiant 89 for Tykes
Hampshire will play Kent in final at Lord's on 30 June

Hampshire captain James Vince produced one of the great limited-overs innings to lead his side into the One-Day Cup final at the expense of Yorkshire.

England batsman Vince scored 171 off 126 balls as Hampshire made 348-9 after being put in by the Tykes.

The 27-year-old looked on course for a double hundred before he was caught on the boundary in the 46th over.

Yorkshire struggled to 241 all out to lose by 107 runs, with only Jonathan Tattersall (89) resisting.

Hampshire will face Kent in the final at Lord's on Saturday, 30 June.

Vince, who played the last of his five ODIs for England in October 2016, timed the ball to perfection throughout his innings, hitting 20 fours and three sixes.

Royal London One Day Cup semi final 1

WORCS 306/6
KENT 307/8 (49.4/50 ov, target 307)
Kent won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)

Heino Kuhn hit his fourth One-Day Cup century in five innings as Kent beat Worcestershire by two wickets to reach their first Lord's final since 2008.

Ben Cox's brilliant unbeaten 122 enabled the home side to post a total of 306-6 after being 48-4 early on.

He put on 140 with Brett D'Oliveira (78) and 109 in just 9.4 overs with Ed Barnard, who made 50 not out.

But Kuhn made 127 off 118 balls and Alex Blake smashed 61 off 47 as Kent reached 307-8 with two balls to spare.

Only Test AFG 0-1 IND

Only Test, Afghanistan tour of India at Bengaluru, Jun 14-18 2018


Day 1

India 347 for 6 (Dhawan 107, Vijay 105, Ahmadzai 2-32) v Afghanistan

On their first day in Test cricket, Afghanistan looked like they wanted to experience the full range of emotions: they conceded 52 fours and four sixes, made a DRS blunder early on, dropped a catch late in the day, enabled two very different types of centuries, and still, somehow, managed to dominate an entire session and stay alive. India, who were 280 for 1 at one stage, and striking at well more than five per over thanks to domineering efforts from their top three Test openers, lost 5 for 63 in the final session.

Afghanistan had had a decent first half hour, with both Wafadar and Yamin Ahmadzai getting the ball to move around in Bengaluru's dense atmosphere. But neither could apply sustained pressure on India's openers. Shikhar Dhawan, in particular, was given too many boundary opportunities through short-pitched bowling that remained a feature throughout the day.

Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai looked forlorn very early on, attempting to stop the glut by gradually chopping his slip cordon in the face of a rampaging opening stand and a knee injury to Ahmadzai in the eighth over that kept him out for the rest of the first session. But his most remorseful moment as a Test captain came when neither Wafadar, who had drawn a faint edge from Dhawan, nor wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai, who had made the most boisterous appeal, came to his aid when he looked for consultants to overturn the not out decision. Standing in the slips, Mohammad Shahzad was the only player urging his captain to take the review, but Stanikzai, drowned out by too many opinions, didn't pay heed.

When replays showed a murmur as the ball passed bat, a collective annoyance gripped the visiting team. It was almost like Dhawan sensed it. He spent the next 70 or so minutes flogging his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mates, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, neither of whom looked in control, erring too short to prevent him getting down the track or, in the latter's case, serving up generous full-tosses. By the middle of the first session, with Mujeeb ur Rahman also taking a pasting, Afghanistan already looked defeated. Seventeen overs after that caught-behind appeal, Dhawan had become the first Indian to make a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test. Despite a shaky, struggling M Vijay at the other end, India had put up 158 without losing a wicket by lunch.

Dhawan fell in the second over after lunch to Ahmadzai - a relay catch, started at second slip by Rahmat Shah's outstretched left hand, completed by Nabi at first - but that didn't put a stop to the scoring. Vijay, who had trouble picking length against pace in the first session, settled into a nice rhythm in the company of KL Rahul, who, having kept the other home boy Karun Nair from making a Test return, was pushed ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara into No. 3. The routine of trying to push through variations - googlies, knuckle balls, arm balls - and invariably landing them short meant more easy runs through the second session for the pair, who had both had indifferent tours of South Africa earlier this year. On the cusp of their milestones, both of them were offered short balls; Vijay launched his upper cut over point to bring up his 12th century - his third in consecutive home Tests - and Rahul casually whipped a googly from Rashid past short fine leg to bring up his half-century.

In the midst of this were two rain breaks that cost 73 minutes. Upon returning from the second one, Afghanistan were a different team. For starters, both their medium-pacers had discovered a peculiar late movement with a near 50-over-old ball in damp conditions. Vijay didn't anticipate the dip inwards when he shouldered arms to Wafadar and was rapped on the front leg and a review couldn't overturn the umpire's on-field decision. Two balls later, Ahmadzai moved one in off the seam and had Rahul chop onto the stumps attempting a cut. That's where the opening was found.

Rashid was a different bowler after the second break as well, switching to a slower pace, a loopier trajectory and relying a lot more on his legbreak. His first maiden in Test cricket came after he had gone for 105 in 17 overs, but it was the start of a tantalising spell. Like he's wont to do, Rashid managed to turn the dots into a wicket. Ajinkya Rahane was given not out after copping one on his back leg trying to whip across the line, but Rashid had grounds for a review that ultimately proved successful.

In Rashid's next over, Pujara had a stab at a rising legbreak but was dropped by Nabi at first slip. But what Rashid couldn't get, Mujeeb did: ripping an offbreak from length, he drew Pujara's inside edge and this time, Nabi took the day's sharpest catch, lunging low to his left at leg slip.

And if India had to prove they were nervous by then, Dinesh Karthik, returning to Tests after eight years, ran halfway down the pitch and failed to ground his bat when diving to return after Hardik Pandya responded in the negative to a non-existent run on the off side. India barely managed to score at three per over in the final session, having begun at 248 for 1 in 45.1 overs.



India 474
Afghanistan 109 & 103 (following on)
India win by innings & 262 runs

Afghanistan brought out their best in the final session once again, but the game had swung so far out of their reach that the second day of their first Test proved to be the last one.

Purely on numbers it was a colossal defeat, by an innings and 262 runs, and the flattening reality of being bowled out twice in a day - only India and Zimbabwe had suffered that before - will take a while to get over. At different points in the day, Afghanistan were done in by different bowlers. Ravindra Jadeja got the last piece of the pie, finishing the second innings with 4 for 17.

Their first innings of 109 lasted a session, between lunch and tea, and their second innings of 103 did not last much longer. India needed only 66.3 overs to take 20 wickets and complete their first ever two-day Test win.

The flailing effort was best signified by how Afghanistan lost their three most experienced batsmen in the first innings: in complete surrender.

Mohammad Shahzad's innings was a race to the finish the moment it began. His first boundary came off the outside edge, his second off the inside edge, and the odd ball that hit the middle was often one he was trying to leave. After all that and several attempts to tap and run, he chose to take on Hardik Pandya at point and was promptly run-out at the non-striker's end in the fourth over. Asghar Stanikzai came in at No. 6 and lasted 14 deliveries before stabbing ambitiously at a loopy R Ashwin offbreak without getting his foot forward. He almost fell over as the ball knocked the top of middle stump.

Mohammed Nabi, the top-scorer in the first innings, looked okay for his 24 at No. 7 before miscuing a slog and being the ninth man out. The only solid batting effort by a visiting player came from left-hander Hashmatullah Shahidi, who battled 88 balls for an unbeaten 36 in the second innings.

Scattered all around these efforts were batsmen rooted to the crease in anxiety against a vastly experienced bowling attack. Unlike their opposition's debutant seamers, India's fast bowlers sustained both a predominantly full length and near-140kph speeds in getting all three of their first-innings wickets either bowled or lbw. They stuck to the plan in the second innings as well. Umesh Yadav brought the flair, moving the new ball considerably in both innings, and Ishant Sharma looked content playing workhorse.

It was Ashwin, however, who accelerated Afghanistan's downfall and eventual folding-up before tea. At that point, given the extended final session ahead, perhaps only the probability of a follow-on was higher than that of Afghanistan being bowled out a second time.

Earlier in the day, Pandya snuck in a breezy and mature innings. India didn't have as subdued a session as they did at the end of day one, striking at more than four an over despite the four wickets they lost in stretching the overnight score of 347 to 474. Pandya was patient against Yamin Ahmadzai, who impressed with his lengths once again. He wasn't rewarded with the new ball, however, with Rashid Khan bowling predominantly from the other end. Pandya saw through this phase before opening up.

His go-to defence mechanism against pace bowling - walking across into the off side - which didn't quite work out in South Africa was a lot more effective against the late-120 kph pace of Wafadar. And while Pandya did eventually cramp himself against the 18-year-old, it wasn't before he had swatted the bowler into the leg side several times from various lengths, in control every time but one - and even on that occasion, deep square leg gifted him four overthrows.

When the line wasn't straight, Pandya also managed to pick up boundaries through the off side. He got out looking to accelerate but what the Indian dressing room would have particularly liked was the uncomplicated, organised manner in which he managed an innings with a 75-plus strike rate during his 94-ball 71.

Royal London One Day Cup quarter finals

Kent beat holders Notts Outlaws by nine wickets
Kuhn hits 124* as Kent race to 257-1
Notts posted 255-8 thanks to Mullaney (90) & Fletcher (53*)
Kent face Worcs in semi-final on Sunday



YOR 259/7
ESSEX 234
Yorkshire win by 25 runs & will face Hampshire on Monday

County Championship Round 6 (All 4 days)

Day 4

Division One

Surrey 368 v Hampshire 135 & 175 [Surrey won by an innings and 58 runs]

Lancashire 301 & 105 v Essex & 302 & 108-5 [Essex beat Lancashire by five wickets]

Somerset 392 & 250-4 v Nottinghamshire 134 & 505

Somerset beat Nottinghamshire by six wickets

Division Two

Durham 96 & 376 v Derbyshire 205 & 172 [Durham beat Derbyshire by 95 runs]

Kent 582-9 dec v Glos 240 & 73-0 (Match drawn)

Northamptonshire 204 & 229 v Leicestershire 217 & 217-4

Leicestershire beat Northamptonshire by six wickets

Glamorgan 220 & 323 v Warwickshire 250 & 294-6

Warwickshire beat Glamorgan by four wickets

Royal London One Day Cup

ESSEX 337/7

KENT 184 (37.5/50 ov, target 338)

Essex won by 153 runs

MIDDX 322/3

GLOUC 289 (48.3/50 ov, target 323)

Middlesex won by 33 runs

HANTS 356/9

SOMST 360/7 (50 ov, target 357)

Somerset won by 3 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)

GLAM 266/8

SURR 269/5 (40.4/50 ov, target 267)

Surrey won by 5 wickets (with 56 balls remaining)

Lancashire v Yorkshire RLODC

Yorkshire 379-7 (50 overs): Lyth 144, Willey 131; Parkinson 2-71, Bailey 2-79
Lancashire 363 (49 overs): Livingstone 79, Jennings 69; Willey 4-59, Rashid 3-64
Yorkshire beat Lancashire by 16 runs

Adam Lyth and David Willey both scored centuries as Yorkshire beat Lancashire to keep alive their hopes of qualifying from their One-Day Cup group.

Lyth (144) and Willey (131) shared a second-wicket partnership of 235 in Yorkshire's 379-7 - a record for them against another first-class county.

Liam Livingstone (79) and Keaton Jennings (69) led the reply as the hosts came close to a successful chase.

But England all-rounder Willey (4-59) ensured the visitors won by 16 runs.

Yorkshire are third in the north group, with their final match at home to Northamptonshire on Thursday (14:00 BST).

With leaders Worcestershire travelling to second-placed Warwickshire, direct progress to the semi-finals is beyond the White Rose county, but they could still secure a home quarter-final.

Yorkshire set new records

Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat and, after Tom Kohler-Cadmore was trapped lbw by Tom Bailey in the third over, their decision was vindicated as Lyth and Willey put on a record partnership for the county in one-day matches against Lancashire.

Willey started slowly, scoring just three runs from the first 18 deliveries he faced, but then hit 10 fours and four sixes to score his third List A century in 79 balls.

After Willey was bowled by Livingstone, Lyth went on to beat his own previous highest score of 136, before being caught by Rob Jones at long on off Bailey's bowling.

Lyth's departure left the visitors 298-3, but Gary Ballance added a quick-fire 38 to help Yorkshire to an imposing total.

Hosts come close in chase

England Test opener Jennings was dropped on one at extra cover in Lancashire's reply, as the hosts attempted to pull off what would have been a joint-record run chase in one-day cricket in England, before he and Livingstone counter-attacked.

Lancashire captain Livingstone bludgeoned his 79 off 44 balls, scoring four sixes and nine fours, before being brilliantly caught by Matthew Fisher off the bowling of Liam Plunkett.

The hosts were ahead of the run rate but Yorkshire managed to get the breakthroughs they needed and slowed Lancashire's progress as the Red Rose county slumped from 218-2 to 302-8.

Lancashire appeared out of it, needing 57 from the final five overs, but 18 runs off one Plunkett over - including seven wides - gave the home side hope.

But Bailey and Stephen Parry's partnership of 57 for the ninth wicket was broken by Willey, as he bowled the former and snared the latter lbw in the 49th over to seal Yorkshire's victory.

2 Test Series ENG 1-1 PAK

Day 1

England 184
Pakistan 50/1 (23 ov)
Stumps - Pakistan trail by 134 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

England's new summer began with old failings as they were bowled out for 184 by Pakistan on day one of the first Test at Lord's.

Joe Root's side, who did not win in seven Tests over the winter and have endured long-standing problems with their top order, succumbed to a string of poor shots.

On a cloudy morning and faced with a green-tinged surface, Root opted to bat on winning the toss, only for his team to be undone by a Pakistan pace quartet that exposed their shortcomings.

Former skipper Alastair Cook, who has struggled for consistency, made 70, but England lost their last five wickets for 16 runs.

Opening bowler Mohammad Abbas took 4-23 and Hasan Ali, a star of Pakistan's Champions Trophy triumph in the UK last year, picked up 4-51.

The tourists found themselves batting in the evening gloom, yet were taken to 50-1 by Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail, the latter dropped on 16 by Ben Stokes off Mark Wood.

The suspicion is that Pakistan are stronger with the ball than with the bat, but, with sunshine forecast for Friday and the pitch likely to get better for batting, the tourists have the opportunity to take a firm grip on this match.
New season, same England

After a winter when they surrendered the Ashes and lost in New Zealand, England would have expected to feel more comfortable on home soil, where they have lost only one series in the previous five years.

Though Pakistan can take credit for the way they used the conditions, they were helped by an England team that gave wickets away with a combination of recklessness and indeterminate footwork.

Opener Mark Stoneman, under pressure to keep his place, was the first of five men to fall driving, bowled by Abbas by one that nipped through the gate. Hasan accounted for both Root and Dawid Malan, Root edging a drive at a ball so wide he could barely reach and Malan's flat feet led to a poke behind.

Jonny Bairstow, promoted to number five, looked solid for 27 in stand of 57 with Cook, but he was bowled pushing at Faheem Ashraf.

Stokes, playing his first match in England since the incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September, looked to have no trouble adjusting after a stint in the Indian Premier League but, like Bairstow, was dismissed out of the blue when Abbas pinned him leg before for 38.

Jos Buttler, recalled largely on the back on his IPL form, had 14 from as many balls before he flashed Hasan to second slip. From there the tail, including debutant Dom Bess, folded in the space of six deliveries.
Fluent Cook provides silver lining

Cook had managed only one half-century in 17 innings since 243 against West Indies at Edgbaston last summer, albeit if that was an unbeaten 244 in the fourth Ashes Test.

Here, as he played his 153rd consecutive Test and equalled the record of Australia great Allan Border, he looked close to his best.

Cook left the ball well and displayed assured footwork, but the most eye-catching feature of his play was as string of fluent cover drives.

The opener survived a very close lbw review from Faheem on 23 but, that aside, was the solid presence that England's flimsy batting so desperately needs.

Even Cook, though, was found wanting for his dismissal. A lack of footwork left him in no position to play a Mohammad Amir delivery that held its line up the Lord's slope and clipped the top of off stump.
Pakistan reap the benefits of preparation

Pakistan's tour began in April and has already included three matches against counties and a Test victory in Ireland.

Indeed, their XI for this match has more days of first-class cricket between them this summer than England's - 126 to England's 82.

Their readiness for this match shone through with the accuracy of their bowling and quality of their catching.

Captain Sarfraz Ahmed said he would have bowled if he had won the toss and was vindicated by a pace-bowling unit that barely bowled a short delivery and moved the ball, particularly in the air, throughout the day.

Asad Shafiq's smart catch off Buttler at second slip and Amir's athletic dive to hold Wood at mid-on typified a near faultless display in the field.

Although Imam-ul-Haq was lbw to Stuart Broad for four, Azhar and Sohail survived a tough period under the floodlights, even if Sohail was missed when third slip Stokes dived at a chance that would have gone straight to second slip Malan.


Day 2

England 184; Pakistan 350-8

Babar Azam top-scores with 68 but forced off injured

On a grey day at Lord’s the situation grew grimmer for the home side. The pattern of the game was sustained as Pakistan outplayed England by dint of solid, unspectacular, old-fashioned virtues. This is not how Pakistan are supposed to prevail. In the past the inspired, stream of consciousness cricket of Waqar and Wasim, Mushtaq and Qadir, and Anwar and Inzamam has enthralled and intimidated, depending on your vantage point .

But here for two sessions the Pakistan team was clinical and patient, dutifully grinding down an England side which contains three players who in recent times have been accustomed to spending only 20 overs in the field at any one time. Then in the final session they played a few more shots against a weary attack.

England had to work hard to remove all the batsmen except Sarfraz Ahmed, whose top-edged hook would have provoked stern words in the dressing room were he not the captain. Four batsmen exceeded 50, one of whom, Babar Azam, had to retire hurt having been hit on his left forearm by a short ball from Ben Stokes, who produced the most hostile bowling of the day. That spell aside, when Stokes bowled nine consecutive overs interrupted by the tea interval, the England bowlers were no more than persistent, while their out-cricket was far from flawless; four chances of varying difficulty were spilt.

In cloudy conditions, where the ball obstinately refused to swing as much as it did for Pakistan on Thursday, the batsmen were prepared to wait for their chance of runs in the knowledge that the ball can speed away from the square at Lord’s like putts from the wrong side of the green at Augusta. Pakistan were prepared to play the long game and they did so with great resolution and a little luck since there was always sufficient movement for the ball to pass the outside edge. On similar days in the past Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have run through sub-continental teams here.

Run-scoring seemed easiest at the start. In the first half hour when Anderson over-pitched in vain pursuit of swing Haris Sohail drove him for two fours in an over and it was not until the introduction of Mark Wood that a wicket fell. Maybe anticipating another bouncer Sohail was stuck on the crease and edged to the keeper. Anderson looked more dangerous – especially against the right-handers – when he switched to the Nursery End. He found a suggestion of away swing and dispatched Azhar Ali lbw for a valuable 50.

England could not capitalise after lunch despite bowling Anderson and Broad in tandem. On 10 Babar offered a tricky catch off Anderson, low down and to Alastair Cook’s right at first slip. A poor review against Asad Shafiq for lbw when Wood was bowling hinted at England’s frustration. So much for home advantage. In archetypal English conditions it was Pakistan who were taking control. An edged upper cut by Shafiq and he became the second half-centurion in the Pakistan innings.

Until now Stokes had been sparingly used. Root had allowed Dom Bess his first prolonged spell in Test cricket and he bowled competently enough; but he discovered neither a hint of turn nor any batsman who might be in the least alarmed by some conventional finger-spin. A small error in length and the batsmen, relieved to have a bit of respite from the seamers, patted the ball away into the gaps.

Stokes inconvenienced them a great deal more in the fieriest spell of the innings, during which he occasionally exceeded 90mph. On 59 Shafiq cut in the air and Jos Buttler in the gully took off to his left, parrying the ball towards Dawid Malan at second slip but it did not reach him, a technical chance but not an expensive miss. Stokes steamed in again and this time Shafiq could only parry a short, fast delivery, this time in a gentle parabola straight to Malan.

Just before tea Stokes set his field for bouncers, which were duly delivered and the mercurial Sarfraz soon obliged with a top-edged hook, whose descent kept Wood at fine leg waiting for a disconcertingly long time. But the catch was taken.

After the interval Stokes continued, taking the new ball rather than Anderson. Now Babar, who had batted purposefully throughout, failed to pick up another short delivery, which thudded into his left forearm. After a long delay in which the physio surveyed the damage, applied an ice pack and – who knows? – asked the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Babar left the field, with tests later confirming he had suffered a fractured wrist.

England may have sensed that the door was ajar but now two young all-rounders, calmly and with some silky strokeplay, closed it. England’s out-cricket became ever more fallible. Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf had already added 50 together when two more chances went begging. In consecutive overs Faheem, on 29, edged between Jonny Bairstow and Cook off the exasperated Wood. Then Cook dropped the most straightforward chance of the day, a regulation slip catch given by Shadab on 30 off Anderson. This pair had added a sparky 72 together when Anderson could smile, though certainly not beam in exultation, at another Test wicket, having bowled Faheem off the inside edge.

Shadab flailed once too often at Stokes after making a sparky 52 but at the close Pakistan were 166 ahead, which should be more than enough.

Day 3

England 184 and 235-6; Pakistan 363
Jos Buttler and Dom Bess lead England fightback after collapse

On a sunlit Saturday evening Jos Buttler and Dom Bess, both oblivious to the torments endured in the dressing room of England’s Test team over the winter, saved their side from total ignominy. At 110 for six at tea, a basketful of humiliations were on the horizon: a three-day finish, an innings defeat, a terrible loss of face, not to mention income, which is deemed quite important in these parts.

Then Buttler and Bess, both revelling in the chance to show their worth rather than fearing the consequence of another failure, calmly restored order by batting throughout the final session in an unbeaten stand of 125. Bess posted his maiden Test half-century and the debutant had the nerve, when acknowledging the crowd’s applause, to give the impression that this was a routine event for him - without quite succeeding.

This was a heartwarming moment even for those not born west of Taunton. At the very least this pair have delayed the inquests into a horrid performance by England at Lord’s. Currently they lead by 56 with four wickets in hand, far from ideal but it could have been so much worse.

Until Saturday’s final session the only thing that England had won in this match was the toss – and that did not do them much good. Pakistan have batted, bowled and caught better against all the odds. It is May; it is England in their own backyard (if we can refer to Lord’s so irreverently). So all had seemed set fair for Joe Root’s side after the travails of the winter. For two days conditions were archetypally English with a greenish pitch below and cloud cover above, perfect for playing against a callow Pakistan side, currently ranked seventh in the world, or so we thought.

To claw their way back into this game England had to mount a significant second innings score on the third day and there was reason to believe that this was possible. The sun was out; the pitch had changed colour with the green tinge fast disappearing.

But then England started batting and by tea they were in disarray. As in the first innings, Pakistan’s bowlers were wonderfully disciplined; they bowled full and straight and with their supple wrists behind the seam they found flickers of movement; they were supported by alert, rather than athletic, fielders eager to snaffle any chance that came their way and comforted by the fact that only Root among the top order threatened any kind of permanence. The rest were out of form or out of luck and appeared almost resigned to the fact that the task ahead was too monumental - the first-innings deficit was 179.

The Pakistan bowlers propelled some serious deliveries to undermine the top order but even during the periods in between the fall of wickets, there was the impression that England were going nowhere. This sense of fragility was triggered in the second over of the innings when Alastair Cook was lbw to Mohammad Abbas. It was a devilish delivery to any newly-arrived batsman since it jagged down the slope before thudding into the knee roll of Cook’s pad, one of those lbws where the experienced batsman does not even bother to glance at his partner to check the merit of a review. Instead Cook turned immediately and headed towards an uncomfortably silent Long Room.

Mark Stoneman was clearly out of touch but determined to hang on in there, if only to earn the sobriquet “Stonewall”, and he survived long enough to prompt Sarfraz Ahmed to introduce his spinner. Stoneman edged a boundary against Shadab Khan and was then scuttled by a nasty delivery that turned out of the rough and kept low before hitting the off-stump. This was a “respectable” dismissal but in this match there has been no evidence to suggest that Stoneman has a place in England’s strongest XI for the Headingley Test, which starts next Friday.

Dawid Malan was barely more fluent alongside Root. The crowd was uneasy, willing England to progress, cheering the odd delicate boundary from Root, not out of any patriotic fervour; they just craved a contest. A deft late cut against Mohammad Amir took Root to his 50, out of a total of 76 for two, which demonstrated the gulf between him and the rest.

Then the game swung violently after the drinks interval in the afternoon session. Another tentative prod against Amir from Malan produced an edge and a fine sprawling catch by Sarfraz, diving to his left. Two balls later Jonny Bairstow was bowled by a perfect in-swinger from Amir; it’s hard to replicate those in practice however assiduously you go about your business.

Ben Stokes announced himself with two crisp boundaries before departing to a soft dismissal. He punched a shortish ball from Shadab firmly to mid-wicket, where the substitute fielder, Fakhar Zaman, held a fine catch. When Root was lbw to the constantly impressive Abbas for 67, England had slumped to 110 for six and all was glum at Lord’s. Then the mood was magically lifted by Buttler and Bess.

There was nothing unorthodox from Buttler. He was positive but never extravagant in his strokeplay and, unlike several others, he is manifestly seeing the ball well, just as he was for the Rajasthan Royals 10 days ago. Unsurprisingly, Bess was tentative at the start but not overawed. Then he hit two flighty boundaries against Faheem Ashraf and he settled in, stroking six more fours with ever-increasing assurance. Meanwhile, Buttler was happy with an unaccustomed, avuncular role at the other end. Probably for the first time in the match, the new national selector Ed Smith wore a smile.



Day 4

England 184 and 242; Pakistan 363 and 66-1
Abbas and Amir fire Pakistan to nine-wicket win

After that little oasis of serenity on Saturday evening, England reverted to type. In the space of 25 minutes wild hopefulness gave way to grim haplessness as their second innings subsided from 235 for six to 242 all out. No one was predicting an England victory overnight but it was reasonable to expect that the rearguard action might still be in operation at noon and that they could head to Leeds this week with something to savour.

Instead they will travel north humbled and humiliated, with their confidence in shreds having been thrashed on their own patch at headquarters by a side ranked seventh in the world, two places below them – though that will change if England perform as ineptly at Headingley. Pakistan won by nine wickets; they performed superbly but unspectacularly like solid old pros who understood the prevailing conditions precisely. And they are supposed to be the callow side. Pakistan bowled full and straight and let the ball swing and seam a little; they batted with grit and patience and they caught their catches. That was more than enough to overwhelm an England team in some disarray.

The England collapse on Sunday morning was numbing. Jos Buttler had batted with great authority on Saturday but in the second over he pushed forward to Mohammad Abbas and was struck on the pad. He reviewed but with no great optimism. Then the new ball polished off the rest at a rush. Mark Wood and Stuart Broad were both caught behind and last man out Dom Bess lost his off stump. Mohammad Amir and Abbas were in clover, taking four wickets each in the innings.

In pursuit of the 64 runs needed to win Pakistan lost Azhar Ali to a fine delivery from Jimmy Anderson. Thereafter there were few alarms. Unlike the first innings, Bess made several deliveries turn but in a hopeless situation he was nowhere near accurate enough to exploit the rough developing outside the left‑handers’ off stump. Rather than inform us about the long-term prospects of Bess excelling at this level, this simply demonstrated what an excellent cricket pitch had been provided at Lord’s, even though England had been woefully unable to exploit its properties. It seamed at the start; it flattened out and if we had reached the fifth day it would have spun.

The scale of this defeat has been so emphatic and unexpected that there will be a hue and cry, which will incorporate calls for the sacking of Trevor Bayliss and/or Joe Root – it seems a little bit early to demand the head of the new national selector, Ed Smith. Of course, Bayliss and Root will continue unless Andy Flower, who is standing in for Andrew Strauss this summer, makes the most spectacular of interventions so early in his role as a locum.

Yet it would be a surprise – and a mistake – if England arrived in Leeds with exactly the same squad. This does not feel like one of those occasions where a defiant selector or coach bellows “same team, different performance, please”. So these are interesting times for Bayliss and Smith and there will be an early indication of how they view the selection process.

At Lord’s we have witnessed a listless, tepid performance from the batsmen, many of whom look haunted by the prospect of another failure that might terminate their careers. The inclusions of Buttler and Bess were modest successes and, if nothing else, they surely highlighted the benefit of fresh faces and minds, which see challenges rather than almighty burdens.

At crisis moments like this selectors must clarify their priorities. They can become tortured and confused if they decide that “fairness” is priority number one; that should not be the case. Priority number one is to pick the best team for the next match. It might be unfair to drop Mark Stoneman for Headingley after just one Test this summer but it is incredibly hard to conclude that he is currently England’s best bet at the top of the order.

All the signs are that Stoneman can be only a modest Test batsman; to achieve that he has to be in good form and full of confidence. Patently that is not the case at the moment. Indeed, we may be reaching a stage when dropping him is almost doing him a favour. By the same token Dawid Malan, even though he has a little more credit in the bank, does not really convince. He battled hard in the Ashes series; indeed, he looked more comfortable than most on harder, bouncier pitches. Since then Test cricket has been a struggle. It might be even more unfair to omit Malan for Headingley but it must also be a consideration. Despite witnessing the capriciousness of the selectors in the 80s and 90s my view is that the trend now is to slavishly stick to the same men until the evidence that they should be dropped is incontrovertible. Maybe it is time to anticipate a decline.

The problem for Smith and Bayliss is that the names of likely replacements are not obvious. Just about the only potential England opener yet to march out with Alastair Cook is Middlesex’s Nick Gubbins, who has enjoyed a prolific start to the season. If he has a weakness against spin, which has been suggested, it is unlikely to be critical against Pakistan at Headingley. Other alternatives are, by definition, not entirely convincing – otherwise they would already be in the team. They range from the 33-year-old James Hildreth to the 22-year-old Joe Clarke, neither of whom has played Test cricket, to recent has-beens such as James Vince and Keaton Jennings. My impression, albeit after a solitary Test this summer, is that it is time to twist rather than stick.

Royal London One Day Cup

Lancashire 290/8 (50 ov)
Derbyshire 265/8 (50 ov)
Lancashire won by 25 runs


Nottinghamshire 255 (49.4/50 ov)
Durham 224 (48/50 ov)
Nottinghamshire won by 31 runs


Leicestershire 207 (43.1/50 ov)
Warwickshire 211/1 (37.4/50 ov)
Warwickshire won by 9 wickets (with 74 balls remaining)


Worcestershire 348/5 (50 ov)
Northamptonshire 314 (49.4/50 ov)
Worcestershire won by 34 runs


Glamorgan 227 (48.4/50 ov)
Hampshire 229/6 (43.2/50 ov)
Hampshire won by 4 wickets (with 40 balls remaining)


Gloucestershire 322/8 (50 ov)
Kent 323/3 (46.3/50 ov)
Kent won by 7 wickets (with 21 balls remaining)


Middlesex 234 (50 ov)
Surrey 238/5 (48.1/50 ov)
Surrey won by 5 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)


Sussex 281/7 (50 ov)
Essex 285/6 (48/50 ov)
Essex won by 4 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)

Royal London One Day Cup

Sussex 277/8 (50 ov)
Glamorgan 281/4 (48.2/50 ov)
Glamorgan won by 6 wickets (with 10 balls remaining


Kent 384/8 (50 ov)
Surrey 164 (30.1/50 ov)
Kent won by 220 runs


Nottinghamshire 202 (45.1/50 ov)
Worcestershire 164 (47.2/50 ov)
Nottinghamshire won by 38 runs


Somerset 211 (40.1/50 ov)
Gloucestershire 39/0 (6/50 ov)
No result


Durham 299/8 (50 ov)
Warwickshire 300/5 (48.5/50 ov)
Warwickshire won by 5 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)


Derbyshire 265/2 (50 ov)
Northamptonshire 214 (46/50 ov)
Derbyshire won by 51 runs