A look at the action from Southern Vipers and the Blaze in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and a photo gallery,
This August bank holiday the only professional cricket action is in the women’s game, with four Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy matches (the RHFT is the women’s 50 overs per side domestic competition in England – the longest format most of them get to play on any sort of regular basis). There is live radio coverage of the match at Arundel (in West Sussex but for centuries owned by the dukes of Norfolk) between Southern Vipers and The Blaze (the latter are midlands based) and I have thus been following that game.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
For some unfathomable reason radio coverage of the match was due to start at 10:38AM, eight minutes after play itself started. Technical issues then intervened meaning that it was a further ten minutes, and thus 18 minutes (and five overs – the women are not slow getting through the overs) after the scheduled start that coverage was actually available.
BLAZE STRUGGLE WITH THE BAT
Vipers had won the toss and chosen to bowl first. With the notable exception of Marie Kelly (40 off 37 balls) Blaze struggled with the bat all the way through their innings. Lucy Higham tried to marshal the lower order, scoring 29. Vipers’ two off spinners, Ava Lee (4-51 on her 19th birthday) and Georgia Adams (2-32 from 8.5 overs) were the best of the bowlers, a fact that Higham, whose bowling stock in trade is off spin will surely have noted.
THE VIPERS REPLY SO FAR
Ella McCaughan and Rhianna Southby opened for the Vipers, McCaughan being their regular opener, while Southby is the sixth opening partner they have tried alongside her (shades of finding a partner for Alastair Cook in the England’s men’s side after the retirement of Strauss).
Vipers made it to 33 before Irish star (recent player of the series for them against Sri Lanka) Orla Prendergast, who had fared badly with the bat, trapped McCaughan LBW for 9. Vipers have just past 50, in the 13th over, but significantly Prendergast has also just struck for a second time, removing Adams with the aid of a catch by Josie Groves. This is looking like a decent contest. While I have been preparing this for publication Vipers have moved on to 72-2 after 16 overs. Southby is 30*.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I have a splendid gallery for you…
Until I saw this (four pics) I was wondering which dragon/ damselfly would be the feature image.
A look back at England’s win over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford and a large photo gallery.
At just after 7pm yesterday evening Joe Root straight drove a four off Prabath Jaysuriya to seal an England win the opening test match of the series against Sri Lanka. This post looks back at the match and gives England player ratings.
THE FINAL STAGES OF DAY THREE
I put up a post on Friday and this section picks up the action from there. Mendis and Mathews fought well, and although Milan Rathnayake, promoted after his first innings efforts, did not fare well he did last long enough that Chandimal was able to resume his interrupted innings. He and Kamindu Mendis carried Sri Lanka to the close at 204-6, a lead of 82 overall. The biggest news of this period of the day was that Mark Wood suffered a thigh injury, which we now know has ruled him out of the rest of the series. Olly Stone will probably take his place in the XI for the next test, while 20 year old Leicestershire bowler Josh Hull has been added to the squad.
DAY FOUR
Sri Lanka initially responded superbly to their adversity, and Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal took Sri Lanka past the 300 mark while still together. The breakthrough finally came when Atkinson had Mendis caught by Root for 113, a superb century that rightly earned him a standing ovation from the Manchester crowd. The tail then imploded and from the high water mark of 307-6 Sri Lanka were all out for 326, an advantage of 204.
Chandimal’s thumb injury meant that he could not keep wicket, and Kusal Mendis took his place behind the stumps, with yet another Mendis, Ramesh of that ilk, on as substitute fielder. Asitha Fernando had Duckett caught by the second choice keeper with the score at 34, Duckett 11. Pope never looked remotely comfortable, and his dismissal caught by skipper de Silva off Jayasuriya for 6 to make it 56-2 was no surprise in the circumstances. Lawrence after making a respectable start for the second time in two innings as opener also failed to convert that start into a really big score for the second time out of two, falling LBW to Rathnayake for 34 to make it 70-3. Brook was starting to look impressive when he hit a return catch to Jaysuriya to make it 119-4. Jamie Smith injected some vital momentum when England were threatening to atrophy, scoring 39 off 48 balls before Asitha Fernando bowled him to make it 183-5. That made it 150 runs in the match for Smith. Woakes joined Root, and the pair never looked in any difficulty as they knocked off the remaining 22 to win. On the face of it this was comfortable for England, but that run chase was definitely hard work for them, and had Sri Lanka’s top order functioned adequately in either innings (they were 6-3 at low water mark in the first innings and 1-2 in the second – five top order wickets across the two innings for a mere seven runs) they might well have embarrassed England. Jamie Smith whose 150 runs across the two innings, both contributions being crucial, and a wicket keeping performance marred by only one definite error, his role in the no-ball as per law 27.3.1, was deservedly named Player of the Match. Scorecard here.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Ben Duckett – 3. Two failures with the bat. Dan Lawrence – 6. He is not an opener in spite of which he fared respectably in both innings, but loses points for not managing a major score either time. Ollie Pope – 3. Failed even worse with the bat than Duckett, but gets some credit for winning his first match as captain. Joe Root – 8. 104 runs for once out in the match, and his cool head in the final innings steered England through what could have become very choppy waters. Harry Brook – 7. Two good counter attacking innings when England needed them, a combined 88 runs in the match. Jamie Smith – 9. His first innings century turned a potentially sticky situation into one where England were in command, his 39 in the second innings injected some extra momentum at a crucial stage of the chase and his keeping was sound overall. The law 27.3.1 incident and the fact that he did not quite manage to see the chase through were the only negatives. Chris Woakes – 7. Three wickets in each Sri Lankan innings, a crucial supporting innings first time round for England and there at the death second time round. Gus Atkinson – 6. Wickets in both Sri Lankan innings and a crucial supporting knock first time round for England. Matthew Potts – 5. The least impressive of England’s regular bowlers, he shipped runs at five an over in the first Sri Lanka innings, and his three wickets in the second looked a flattering return as well. Mark Wood – 6.5. His searing pace, unmatched by anyone on either side, had more impact than his mere two wickets in the match might suggest. Sri Lanka’s best batting period in the match came, not coincidentally, after injury had removed him from proceedings. Shoaib Bashir – 6. Three wickets in the first innings, wicketless second time round.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
I put in an appearance at a Beer Festival at the Rathskeller today – it is an event raising money for charities, among them the West Norfolk Autism Group.
A look at developments in the England v Sri Lanka test match at Old Trafford and a photo gallery.
The test match between England and Sri Lanka is into the final session of the third day. England have fared very well. I covered events of the first day here, so what follows will look at days two and three.
DAY TWO
Yesterday was a work day, so I missed most of the play. Almost all of the England front line batters (Pope being the exception) got some sort of start, but they also got out without going on to really big scores, with the exception of Jamie Smith who batted superbly and ensured that England were well placed. England were 259-6, 23 runs ahead on first innings when rain and bad light halted the action, with Smith 72 not out.
DAY THREE
The morning session gave the lie to those who had worried that England’s decision to play five front line bowlers with Woakes at number seven had left them with too long a tail. It was over an hour before England lost a wicket, Atkinson being the one to go for 20. By then Smith had completed his maiden test century, and England had moved past 300. At 315 Smith himself fell, for 111. However Potts, Wood (22 off 13 balls) and Bashir added a further 43 entertaining runs for the last two wickets before England were all out. In the run up to lunch things got better still for England as Woakes and Atkinson bagged a wicket a piece in the mini-session Sri Lanka had to negotiate before the interval. The second session of the day was better for Sri Lanka, although they lost the wickets of Karunaratne and their captain Dhananjaya de Silva, and also saw Chandimal suffer an injury when a ball from Wood struck his thumb, which was serious enough to at least temporarily remove him from the action. Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis got Sri Lanka to the tea interval, though they were still in arrears at that point. That pair are still together as I type, with Sri Lanka now 146-4, 24 runs ahead overall. There was a bizarre outcome to a review of an LBW appeal by England when TV replay Umpire Joel Wilson requested a split screen showing bowler and wicket keeper at the time the ball was delivered to check whether the wicket keepers gloves were wholly behind the stumps, as required by law 27.3.1 – and they were not, leading to a call of no-ball and an extra run to the SL total, but fortunately for Smith the replay showed that even had this offence not happened the not out verdict wouldn’t have been overturned – it was umpire’s call on whether it was hitting the stumps.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This green shieldbug was resident in my garden for a couple of days. I took several images, getting far closer than is usually possible.
A look at action on day one of the test match so far (there is not likely to be any more due to the light) and a photo gallery.
The first test match of the series between the England and Sri Lanka men’s teams got underway today in Manchester. The first innings of the match has now concluded, and this post looks at what we have seen so far.
THE MORNING SESSION
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first, as was virtually mandatory given that no side have won a test match at Manchester after putting the opposition in. Ollie Pope, stand in skipper for England in place of the injured Ben Stokes said that he would have chosen to bowl had he won. England began extremely well, reducing Sri Lanka to 6-3, with two wickets for Woakes and one for Atkinson, albeit both of Woakes’ wickets, taken in the space of four balls had the assistance of the batters – Madushka played a loose shot to be caught by Root and the veteran Angelo Mathews horribly misjudged a leave when the ball was very close to the stumps and fell LBW. Wood produced a brute of a ball that Chandimal could only fend into the hands of Brook o make it 40-4. Bashir, brought on late in the morning session, produced one that kept wickedly low to pin Dinesh Chandimal LBW (he reviewed it, probably out of disbelief that a ball in the first session of a test match in England had actually behaved in that fashion) and that was 72-5. Kamindu Mendis kept skipper Dhananjaya de Silva company until lunch, by when Sri Lanka were 80-5.
THE AFTERNOON SESSION
With the score at 92 Woakes found the edge of Kamindu Mendis’ bat, Smith took the catch and SL were six down. Prabath Jayasuriya got to to 10, before Atkinson’s pace proved too much for him – he was caught off what was called a no-ball as the third bouncer of the over but was unable to make use of the reprieve, edging through to Smith two balls later and that was 113-7. Milan Rathnayake was making his test debut, but proceeded to bat with a competence that should have shamed most of those above him in the order. Tea was approaching when the previously impeccable de Silva played a poor shot at Bashir, turning the ball straight into the hands of Dan Lawrence to be out for 74. That was 176-8, and tea was taken with the score 178-8.
THE EVENING SESSION
Rathnayake and Vishwa Fernando were now in occupation, and both batted well in contrasting ways – Rathnayake assumed control of the scoring, will Vishwa Fernando blocked. During their partnership the light became an issue, and England were able to continue only be deploying Root in partnership with Bashir. Rathnayake had set a new record for a number nine on test debut (72), and the highest score for nine years for anyone debuting at nine or lower in the order (Ashton Agar scored 98, also against England, from number 11 on his test debut in 2015) when he finally fell, holing to Chris Woakes off Bashir, whose third scalp of the day brought his test bowling average below 30 per wicket (29 at 29.86. That was 226-9, and the last pair Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando added a further 10 runs before Vishwa was run out to end the innings. 236 all out was far more than Sri Lanka could have hoped for from 6-3 or indeed 113-7, but the Bashir delivery to Chandimal notwithstanding this not actually an especially tough pitch for batting, and England will probably be pleased with their day’s work, especially if they make it to the close without loss (SL have opted to open with Prabath Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva, deciding they want to bowl this evening and accepting that to do so they must use spin only). As I prepare this for publication Sri Lanka have turned to pace and the umpires have immediately suspended play with England 22-0 after four overs, Duckett 13* and stand-in opener Lawrence 9*.
A quick look at the England XI for the first test against Sri Lanka, which starts on Wednesday and a huge photo gallery.
The second part of the England men’s test summer gets underway on Wednesday at Old Trafford, against Sri Lanka. The England XI for that game has just been announced and this post looks at the selections.
There are no absolute bolts from the blue here, which is a good thing. With Crawley and Stokes injured there had to be at least two changes. Having opted for Lawrence, although he has never done the job in red ball cricket before playing him as an opener was the least disruptive thing that England could have done in the circumstances. Some might notice that there is less batting depth than against the West indies, but I personally applaud the selections of Smith at six (he bats at number four for Surrey, so this no real gamble) and Woakes at seven, which gives the side five front line bowlers. With Potts, Woakes and Bashir there the two gun speedsters, Wood and Atkinson, can be used in short spells as would be preferable. Potts has a first class century to his name, and Atkinson can also handle a bat. Additionally, the Sri Lankan bowling attack is not exactly fearsome, and to win test matches one generally has to take 20 wickets, so again with Stokes’ absence forcing a decision between being light on bowling or somewhat lacking in batting depth it was better to go for the former. Although he would not have been my first choice pick for the role at the start of the season I am pleased to see Shoaib Bashir being given an extended run as first choice spinner – as someone who first started following England in the second half of the 1980s and witnessed the whole of the 1990s in their (in)glory I have developed a major dislike of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ selections.
I think the selectors have done the best job possible in difficult circumstances, and I expect this side to fare well against Sri Lanka.
A look back at the final of The Hundred (women’s), plus mention of a great finish to the Eliminator in the Hundred (men’s), and a brief mention of the One Day Cup semi-finals and a photo gallery.
The final of the Hundred (women’s) has just ended, and it has been an absolute cracker. The men’s final starts at 6PM, and last night saw a great finish in their Eliminator match – it went to a super five, with Southern Brave managing to win. Birmingham Phoenix should have won in open play – Akeal Hosein bowled a no-ball to start the final five balls, and it went for six as well, which left Phoenix needing three off five balls. Phoenix failed to finish it from there, then scored only seven from their five balls in the Super Five, and finished the snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory by trusting Adam Milne to bowl their five balls, when they had Mousley who had recently won them a game by conceding just three from the last 10 balls available to do so.
THE WELSH FIRE INNINGS
Welsh Fire had won the league stage of the tournament and their reward for doing so was to progress straight to today’s final. London Spirit faced Oval Invincibles in the Eliminator yesterday (see here for details), and won that match. Spirit won the toss and chose to field first. Fire struggled with the bat, but Aussie all rounder Jess Jonassen gave them some hope with 54 off 41 balls, which helped them reached 115-8. A small total, but not an absolutely hopeless one. Sarah Glenn had 2-17 from her 20 balls, Deepti Sharma 1-23 and Eva Gray 2-23.
THE LONDON SPIRT CHASE
The 12th ball of the innings, bowled by Shabnim Ismail, the fastest bowler for any side in this tournament, secured the prize scalp of Meg Lanning for just 4. Cordelia Griffith got to 10 before Georgia Davis got one to take the edge of her bat and Sarah Bryce took a smart catch behind the stumps. Georgia Redmayne and Heather Knight looked in control of proceedings until Ismail intervened again, bowling Knight for 24 (18). That was 56-3 after 56 balls, 60 still needed off 44 balls. Dani Gregory now arrived at the crease, and she played the crucial innings – 22 off just nine deliveries, before Ismail clean bowled her to make it three wickets in the innings. Sharma, for my money the Player of the Tournament, now joined Redmayne with 28 needed off 29 balls. 16 of those runs had been accrued by the time Freya Davis trapped Redmayne LBW for 34 (32). A frenetic innings by Abi Freeborn ended when she ran herself out, setting off for a single in which Deepti Sharma had no interest and which was never on. Four were needed on three balls, with Sharma on strike and Matthews bowling. Sharma launched a straight drive, which as it happened went all the way for six, and London Spirit had secured the trophy. Sharma, 16* (16) had taken her aggregate for the tournament to 212, which was also her average for the tournament as she had been dismissed only once.
ELSEWHERE
The semi-finals of the One Day Cup are taking place today. Glamorgan look like they are getting the better of Warwickshire, while Somerset are likely to beat Leicestershire, although the latter are making a good fight of it in response to a Somerset total of 334-4. Lewis Goldsworthy, a native of Cornwall, scored 115* off 86 balls for Somerset. James Rew with 71 off 57 balls was the next biggest contributor, and openers Andrew Umeed and George Thomas deserve credit for giving their side a very solid start, on which the more explosive likes of Goldsworthy and Rew cashed in.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My periodic reminder that clicking on a photograph will enable you to see it and others at a larger size. My usual sign off…
This one shows not just a caterpillar, but what those caterpillars do the leaves of this plant.
A look at The Hundred (women’s) Eliminator match, a correction/ clarification relating to yesterday’s post and a photo gallery.
This post is largely about the Eliminator match in The Hundred (women’s) – the equivalent in the men’s starts in an hour from now. However I inadvertently misstated how the One Day Cup works in yesterday’s post. The ‘quarter-finals’ that took place yesterday were in fact the only such matches, not the first two of four, since the winners of each of the two groups qualify direct for the semi-final, while second in one group play off against third in the other for the right to join them.in the semis. Warwickshire did win the match I covered yesterday, with Kai Smith, who had just completed his hundred by the time I finished that post ending with 130*, almost triple his previous best as a professional cricketer.
THE INVINCIBLES INNINGS
London Spirit won the toss and chose to field first. Apart from Lauren Winfield-Hill (17 off 10) and Laura Harris (16 off 7) no one scored with any freedom at any stage. Alice Capsey took 33 balls to score her 30, and Marizanne Kapp’s 26 came at exactly a run a ball. Tara Norris bowled the first five balls of the match, and yielded only five runs, but was not called on again. Danielle Gibson was expensive, conceding 38 from her 15 balls but also claiming two wickets. It was the other four bowlers who really did the damage: Charlie Dean 3-24 off 20 balls, Eva Gray 2-13 off 20 balls, Sarah Glenn 2-15 off 20 and Deepti Sharma 0-17 off 20. Oval Invincibles were thus restricted to 113-9.
THE SPIRIT CHASE
The only way a total as small as Invincibles had on the board even might be defended was by taking early wickets. 35 were already on the board by the time Meg Lanning was first out, caught by Winfield-Hill off Kapp. Cordelia Griffith, in at number three, went cheaply, stumped by Winfield-Hill off Amanda-Jade Wellington. However Georgia Redmayne is one of the best uncapped players around (she is uncapped simply because as rivals for her position she has Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney, the first named of whom is also Australia’s current captain) and she was now joined by England skipper Heather Knight. There were nine balls as well as eight wickets to spare when Redmayne hit the four that both completed her 50. She had played the anchor role to perfection, and Knight had provided the extra impetus, her 36* coming in just 23 balls. Marizanne Kapp had 1-19 from her 20 balls, Amanda-Jade Wellington 1-21 also from a full allocation. London Spirit will therefore face Welsh Fire in tomorrow’s final.
A look back at the early match in the Hundred (women’s) – Southern Brave v Welsh Fire. Also a large photo gallery – a few from yesterday, the rest from this morning before the cricket started.
Today is a ‘double double header’ day in The Hundred. In the early game Welsh Fire travelled to Southampton to take on Southern Brave. Brave were bottom of the table, with little to play for. Fire could guarantee qualification with a win and a big win would give them a major chance of qualifying directly for the final by finishing top (second and third place play off in a so-called ‘eliminator’ for the right to join them).
THE BRAVE INNINGS
Fire won the toss and decided to bowl. Brave have fared terribly with the bat all through this competition, and this one was no different. Wickets crashed from the start, and it looked like being a very short match indeed when Brave were 47-7. However Chloe Tryon was still there, and finally found some support, from wicket keeper Rhianna Southby. The eighth wicket partnership yielded 52, and Tryon completed a fine 50. However, once the big stand was broken the rest of the innings was quickly wrapped up, and Brave had only 103 to defend. Hayley Matthews with 4-14 was the pick of the bowlers, with Jess Jonassen 3-21, Freya Davies 2-14 and Shabnim Ismail 1-16 all also picking up wickets.
THE FIRE CHASE
Tammy Beaumont soon showed that there was little wrong with the pitch, finding her best form right from the start. With 34 on the board Sophia Dunkley fell to a fine catch by Danni Wyatt off Lauren Bell for 7. That proved to be Brave’s only bowling success, as Hayley Matthews followed her superb bowling with a fine innings. Beaumont passed 50 off 31 ball, bringing up the landmark with her ninth four. It fell to Matthews to make the winning hit, with 26 balls to spare as well as nine wickets. Matthews’ all round contribution quite rightly secured her player of the match. For the record Oval Invincibles are currently in a very strong position against Trent Rockets and may even win by a big enough margin to leapfrog Fire on net RR. Full scorecard of the early game here.
A look back at the early game in The Hundred today and a two part photo gallery – some of my regular stuff and a lot of owl pictures, taken at a Norfolk Owls session yesterday.
The early game in the Hundred today was between Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, at The Oval. This post looks back at that match.
THE SPIRIT INNINGS
The Invincibles won the toss and elected to field first. Spirit started atrociously, and when Charlie Dean gifted her wicket to left arm spinner Sophia Smale the score was 47-7 and it looked like we were going to be in for a very short game. However Eva Gray lived up to her team’s moniker, playing a very spirited innings of 28 off 22 balls, providing excellent support to Indian all rounder Deepti Sharma. Gray was eighth out with the score at 103. Sarah Glenn scored 2*, but her main role was to support Deepti Sharma which she did excellently, and the end of their innings Spirit had 120-8 to defend, with Sharma having scored 46* (30).
THE INVINCIBLES CHASE
Invincibles started slowly, with Chamari Atthapaththu continuing to struggle for form, scoring 11 off 19 balls, and number three Alice Capsey also scored at less than a run a ball, managing 13 off 14. However Invincibles’ skipper Winfield-Hill was going well, and she now found an excellent partner in Marizanne Kapp. This pair were still together when Invincibles completed victory with nine balls to spare. Winfield-Hill had 61* (40), a performance that would win her the Player of the Match award, while Kapp with 30* (18) had also batted superbly. Invincibles are second in the table, behind Welsh Fire on net run rate. A by-product of this result was that Manchester Originals, currently in action against Northern Superchargers, were officially eliminated even before their match started.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Today my gallery comes in two parts, first of all some of my regular pictures…
The second part of today’s gallery comes from yesterday early afternoon when there was a Norfolk Owls session for autistic people at the Scout Hut on Beulah Street. There were a number of different species of owl, ranging from very small (similar in weight to the mice that are its foodstuff) to gigantic (an eagle owl with a wing span of 6’4″). We were given plenty of information about owls, including the excellence of their sight and hearing. At the end of the session we got to handle two of the owls, one very small one and the eagle owl.
A look at development’s in the Hundred so far today and a photo gallery.
Today in The Hundred Trent Rockets are hosting London Spirit. The Women’s match has just reached the halfway point, and this post looks back at the first 100 balls.
BUILDING A BIG TOTAL
London Spirit won the toss and decided to bowl first. Bryony Smith and Grace Scrivens opening for the Rockets had an excellent opening stand, and Scrivens, who also got good support from Nat Sciver-Brunt, completed an excellent half century. She was third out, bowled by Sarah Glenn for 55, which made it 121-3 with 21 balls to go in the innings. Heather Graham played a superb late innings, and although Ashleigh Gardner didn’t have a great time, Alana King played well in the very closing stages. The innings ended with the run out of Gardner for 7 (4) which left Rockets with a score of 158-5. Deepti Sharma, the Indian off spinning all rounder, had the best figures for the Spirit, taking 2-25 from her 20 balls. This total will take a lot of chasing down. If Rockets defend successful it will mean that there is a clear gap between the top three (Welsh Fire, Northern Superchargers and Oval Invincibles) and the rest. If Spirit do somehow pull this off the split will instead be between a top four and a bottom four.
aspiblog 