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Graham Onions and Tom Bailey continued their prolific seasons in a relegation clash Lancashire have to win

Paul Edwards10-Sep-20181:48

Surrey struggle as wickets tumble around the Championship

ScorecardAbout half an hour before the start of this Roses match between relegation candidates, Graham Onions was capped by Lancashire. Two years ago it must have seemed inconceivable to this most skilful of fast-medium bowlers that he would ever wear any county badge on the field but Durham’s.Then came the ECB’s great “saving” of that county, an exercise so benevolent and far-sighted that it resulted in many players leaving the Riverside. When offered a one-year deal by Durham last September, Onions opted for the longer contract offered by Lancashire and he marked his fresh honour by taking 4 for 76 as Yorkshire were dismissed for 209 on an afternoon when anxieties at the Kirkstall Lane End deepened like a coastal shelf.But Onions did not have things all his own way on the opening day of this game. He was denied for long periods and was hit for several fine boundaries by Tom Kohler-Cadmore, another cricketer who is walking the road less travelled. A couple of summers ago Kohler-Cadmore seemed a fixture at Worcestershire, a county which prizes the loyalty of its Academy graduates. However, he had played his junior cricket in Yorkshire and moved back to Headingley midway through last season, a decision for which home supporters had every reason to be grateful when Kohler-Cadmore’s cover-drive off Onions took him to his second century in successive innings.But Yorkshire’s recovery was a qualified affair and the next couple of days may establish its inadequacy. The home side’s modest total was put into perspective during a 35-over evening session when Alex Davies and Karl Brown put on an unbroken 105 for Lancashire’s first wicket. Davies gave a chance to Adam Lyth at second slip when he had made 36 but otherwise he and his partner enjoyed calm seas and gentle, following breezes.Such conditions were probably particularly welcome to Brown whose batting often reminds one of the style of football played by West Ham United in the mid-1970s; it is attractive but ineffectual. Indeed, a month ago Brown can hardly have envisaged he would be getting this opportunity but faced by a Yorkshire attack which lacked incision he got his head down and was undefeated on 43. Davies was 57 not out and it had been Lancashire’s day to a degree which even David from Blackpool, their most optimistic fan, can scarcely have imagined.But Lancashire’s prosperity in a game they surely need to win was built on the excellence of their three seamers. After Onions had plucked out Jeet Raval’s off stump in the tenth over of the day Tom Bailey took three wickets with the new ball when the floodlights were on and this Headingley pitch was at its liveliest.During that first hour or so Yorkshire’s batting was marked by vulnerability and doubt. Harry Brook gave up without a fight; his waft outside the off stump was not consonant with the demands of the game. Lyth battled away for an hour but eventually edged a catch to Dane Vilas and departed shaking his head in disappointment at Rob Bailey’s decision. Finally, Gary Ballance was leg before to a full length ball he was trying to work on the on side.Kohler-Cadmore was joined by Jonny Tattersall and the pair repaired the innings with a 105-run stand for the fifth wicket, Tattersall contributing an admirably resolute 33. But the loss of those four early wickets for 33 runs in 16.5 overs was a grievous blow and Yorkshire could not full recover from it. Onions saw to that in the afternoon session by taking three wickets in 13 balls, the most significant of them that of Tattersall, who was leg before wicket when looking to play to leg.Tim Bresnan and Matthew Waite followed for ducks in scarcely the time a man takes between sips of a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Yorkshire were 144 for 7. Steve Patterson and Ben Coad then played useful short innings and Kohler-Cadmore reached his fine century off 121 balls during a last wicket stand of 22 with Coad. But Richard Gleeson marked a fine debut after his move from Northamptonshire by bowling his outswingers at an attacking length and if that brought him some punishment it also brought him the last three wickets.As for Onions, he walked off the Headingley outfield after taking his total of Championship wickets this summer to 55. It has been yet another fine season for him. All the same, he may on just the odd occasion, have looked around him and wondered why he was not bowling at the Finchale End and where Rushy and Colly had disappeared to all of a sudden.

And in their chase, Peshawar Zalmi cruised to a ten-wicket victory courtesy a hundred-run partnership between Kamran Akmal (57*) and Tamim Iqbal (37*)

The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2018In a nutshellThe template doesn’t change for Lahore Qalandars. They got off to a blazing start in the Powerplay again with Fakhar Zaman smashing 25 in the first two overs. Once the first six overs had ended, they began to lose wickets and the wheels came off rapidly. Peshawar Zalmi skittled them out for 100, the lowest total in the PSL this year. Soon after, they became the fifth team to inflict defeat on Brendon McCullum’s beleaguered side. This was the most resounding one yet, the first 10-wicket defeat in the history of the PSL.The collapse this time was even more dramatic than previous games, tempered only by its predictability. After reaching 57 for one at the end of the Powerplay, they failed to build on it through the middle overs, continuing to go for rash shots and losing wickets rapidly in the process. Before you knew it, the tail was in, and Peshawar, further strengthened by the return of Hasan Ali, prowled ominously.The chase was everything Lahore are not: calm, clinical, mature and professional. It required just openers Tamim Iqbal and Kamran Akmal to brush aside Lahore. Kamran scored a 47-ball 57, while Tamim was unbeaten on 36 as the chase effectively became a stroll early on. Lahore’s bowlers were toothless, their fielding uninspired, their captain out of ideas – and their side very likely out of the tournament already.Where the match was wonA chase of 101 isn’t daunting by any means, but many teams thought processes get muddled while assessing how to go about a small chase. Not Peshawar Zalmi, whose openers were as assured as could be hoped in the situation. They got their eye in for the first couple of overs, not letting the lack of runs worry them. Inevitably, the runs came once they were settled at the crease. Lahore weren’t good enough in the field either, dropping a catch early on, and allowing themselves errors they could ill-afford. It wasn’t Lahore’s charity to give, and Peshawar didn’t need it at any rate, the opening pair ensuring no one else in the dugout was disturbed.The men that won itHasan Ali hasn’t bowled for over a month, but he didn’t look any worse for it. Skiddy, quick and consistent, he bowled in the Powerplay when Fakhar was in blistering form, keeping that over to just three runs. He got rid of the McCullum, and was instrumental in orchestrating Lahore’s collapse, cleaning up Sunil Narine and wrapping things up with a third wicket for good measure.Another newcomer into the side didn’t do much worse either. Liam Dawson was brought in to replace Darren Sammy. It doesn’t bear repeating that those are big shoes to fill. But Dawson was up to the challenge, ripping the Lahore top order apart with his left-arm spin. He dismissed Fakhar and Dinesh Ramdin off just his second and third deliveries, and overall figures of 4-0-20-3 suggest he’s more than just a back-up in Peshawar side.Where they standLahore look to have taken out a lease on the basement of the table, firmly sixth after their fifth successive defeat. Peshawar are third, having won three of their five games.

The Sri Lankan opener carried his bat to score 158 as Kagiso Rabada caused trouble at the other end

The report by Firdose Moonda12-Jul-2018Dimuth Karunaratne raises his bat after reaching a century•AFP

An unbeaten century from Dimuth Karunaratne neutralised the South African threat on the opening day of the Test series in Galle, after the visiting attack burrowed their way through Sri Lanka’s middle order. Playing in his 50th Test, Karunaratne was the only Sri Lankan batsman to score more than 26 runs and featured in five partnerships of over 40 – the last stand of 63 with Lakshan Sandakan – to ensure that even though Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 61 at one point, they ended the day on top.Kagiso Rabada emerged as a the spearhead of the South African pack, with 4 for 50 on a surface that offered scant assistance. He outbowled both his seniors – Vernon Philander, who only delivered eight overs, and Dale Steyn, who took one step closer to breaking Shaun Pollock’s record as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker. For Steyn, two more remain. Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner who was included alongside Keshav Maharaj, was the other threat, which only suggests it will become tougher for batting as the match progresses.That places even more value on the runs Sri Lanka’s lower order provided. Their last two pairings put on 111 runs to push their total towards 300. At 176 for 8, even 200 seemed distant, and South Africa will rue their inability to finish off the tail, especially as they had an early chance to do so.Three balls after the eighth wicket fell, Shamsi appealed for lbw against Suranga Lakmal, after pitching one on off stump that struck the stand-in captain in front of middle, but umpire Paul Reiffel gave it not out. South Africa had a review in hand but did not use it and replays showed the ball would have gone on to hit the inside of leg stump.South Africa also failed to review one in the first over, when Danushka Gunathilaka flicked Vernon Philander down leg and there was an audible sound. Reiffel gave it not out but replays showed a spike on Ultra Edge. But, that missed chance did not prove too costly. After Gunathilaka and Karunaratne achieved Sri Lanka’s best opening stand in their last 16 innings, Rabada removed Gunathilaka when he found his outside edge with some extra bounce.Still, Karunaratne ensured Sri Lanka had a productive morning and took advantage of any width and the short ball. He provided the only six of the innings, albeit almost by accident, when he hooked Steyn over the gap between long leg and deep-backward square leg.Sri Lanka were initially circumspect against spin, and Dhananjaya de Silva was hesitant to get his front foot across to Keshav Maharaj, but that cost him his wicket when Shamsi came on. De Silva tried to drive Shamsi through the covers but left a bat-pad gap and was bowled for 11. Shamsi continued bowling from that end for the entire second session but more success only came after the major damage had been done.Steyn returned after lunch to an aggressive Karunaratne, who went after the short ball again and with more control, but got a wicket unexpectedly when the new-to-the-2,000-Test-run-club-member Kusal Mendis chipped him to mid-on. Rabada received the catch and four overs later, replaced Steyn and rocked Sri Lanka. Angelo Mathews and Roshen Silva were dismissed in three balls to leave Sri Lanka teetering on 119 for 5.And Rabada continued to threaten. In his next over, he had Niroshan Dickwella given out lbw but the batsman reviewed and the ball was found to be pitching outside leg. With the next ball, Rabada hit Dickwella on the helmet. South Africa sensed they may be able to rip through Sri Lanka when Quinton de Kock thought he had Dickwlla caught behind in the next over off Shamsi, and reviewed after Reiffel disagreed, but the on-field umpire was proved correct. Shamsi had the last laugh when Dickwella edged him to first slip – reward for a spell in which he demonstrated consistency of length.A rain break delayed the third session but it began with Shamsi thinking he had another wicket when Dilruwan Perera was given out lbw. He reviewed and ball-tracking showed the ball – which pitched outside off – would have turned past leg stump, perhaps explaining South Africa’s reluctance to review against Lakmal later on. Philander got rid of Dilruwan in the next over, returning to the action in the 48th over, after bowling four of the first eight overs, and provided the throw that ran Rangana Herath out but from there, it was the Karunaratne show.He brought up his century off 159 balls with a straight drive off Shamsi, whose consistency waned as the afternoon wore on. Steyn provided a few more short balls for the Sri Lankan to tuck into before 150 came up off 215 balls (his third fifty taking just 56 balls), also off Shamsi. Karunaratne eventually ran out of partners but his job was complete.And just as South Africa’s openers would both have wanted to emulate Karunaratne, only one was able to. Dean Elgar, also playing in his 50th Test, survived the four overs but Aiden Markram, on his first tour of the subcontinent, did not. He was caught at slip off Herath, who opened the bowling, to hand Sri Lanka the advantage.

Two new bats belonging to the Bangladesh ODI captain were stolen ahead of the team’s tour of South Africa. Luckily for her, help was at hand from a famous member of the men’s team

Mohammad Isam26-Apr-2018Ahead of Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa, ODI captain Rumana Ahmed had a problem. Both her new bats had been stolen. An Australian sports outlet had given them to her when she went to the WBBL earlier this year.A couple of days before the team’s flight to Johannesburg, Rumana called Tamim Iqbal and asked if he could arrange a bat for her. Luckily for Rumana, Tamim had a special one with him in Mirpur.Within 15 minutes, Tamim arranged for a meet-up in the BCB office where he handed over the bat to Rumana. But she had a question.”How much should I pay?” she asked.”What? You don’t have to pay,” Tamim said. “This is for you. Come from South Africa, I will arrange a sponsor for your team.”Normally, Rumana tries to source high-quality bats from abroad, since they are difficult to find in Dhaka and the Bangladesh women cricketers aren’t at the economic level of their male counterparts. Rumana is probably the best paid among the current women players but still, a good bat would cost her as much as her BCB monthly salary of BDT 30,000 (USD 350 approx).Rumana will lead Bangladesh in what is expected to be a difficult ODI series in South Africa. A good bat will help, no doubt.

Veteran seamer helps run through Worcestershire as Middlesex wrap up 127-run victory on final day

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2019Veteran paceman Tim Murtagh steered Middlesex to their first Specsavers County Championship victory of the campaign, a 127-run success against Worcestershire, with a six-wicket haul at Blackfinch New Road.Murtagh, who is 38 in August, struck twice before lunch, produced another triple breakthrough after the resumption and he went on to finish with figures of 6 for 51 and a match analysis of 35-16-76-8. Worcestershire, who had been set a 353 target after Middlesex declared overnight, were bowled out for 225 in 73.3 overs.It was the perfect return to county action for Murtagh after his recent international commitments with Ireland and the 33rd five-wicket haul of his career.Middlesex fully deserved their 20-point haul and fit again captain Dawid Malan produced the game’s outstanding batting performance with scores of 45 and 124 on a wicket where the ball nipped around over all four days.For Worcestershire, opener Daryl Mitchell made a return to form for the home side with a defiant 129-ball half-century and Ross Whiteley also produced strong resistance with a late order fifty. But for the home side it was a second successive setback following the defeat at Lancashire and they were second best with bat and ball for the majority of the game.Middlesex declared at their overnight total of 287 for 6 with John Simpson unbeaten on 30 and Toby Roland-Jones 11 not out.Murtagh took the new ball and struck in successive overs. Tom Fell was undone by a ball which bounced on him and nicked to Sam Robson at first slip with 5 on the board. Then George Rhodes departed lbw for a duck to a Murtagh delivery which nipped back sharply.Mitchell and Callum Ferguson tried to rebuild the innings and the latter needed 21 balls to get off the mark before reeling off a succession of boundaries. They steered Worcestershire to 91 for 2 at lunch but Murtagh came back into the attack after the resumption to re-assert a position of authority for Middlesex.Ferguson went for a drive to his first delivery of the afternoon from Murtagh and was pouched by Steve Eskinazi who held onto a head high catch at second slip. Two balls later Riki Wessels pushed forward and only succeeded in finding Malan in the gully region.Mitchell went to his half-century – containing nine fours – with a single off Murtagh but in his next over dragged a delivery on to his stumps.Murtagh had Whiteley dropped on 11 at third slip and the left hander profited from his let-off, mixing defence with some trademark attacking strokes.The wickets continued to tumble at the other end with Ben Cox and Ed Barnard both caught behind off Tom Helm and Toby Roland-Jones respectively. Victim number six for Murtagh came when he defeated the defensive push of Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach who was bowled.Whiteley’s half-century came up from 90 deliveries with seven fours. But the end came quickly as Josh Tongue was taken at second slip off Helm and finally Whiteley, whose 112-ball knock contained nine fours, edged James Harris to first slip with 22.3 overs remaining.

Third-wicket stand of 141 with Haseeb Hameed overhauls Glamorgan with ease

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Aug-2025Nottinghamshire 282 for 3 (Haynes 124, Hameed 58*) beat Glamorgan 278 for 9 (Byrom 62, Root 56) by seven wicketsJack Haynes starred with a century as Notts Outlaws kept their qualification chances at arm’s length with a comfortable run chase against winless defending champions Glamorgan.The 24-year-old Haynes struck a well-timed 124 with some late acceleration to chase the sub-par 278 for 9 set by the hosts.Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed played supporting roles in the seven-wicket win, the latter combining with Haynes for a 141-run third-wicket stand.

Eddie Byrom notched up back-to-back half-centuries with 62 while Billy Root also passed 50 to hold together the Glamorgan innings. One positive for the winless side was 18-year-old Romano Franco picking up a first professional wicket at the third time of asking.After being inserted, Glamorgan got off to a racing start, as has tended to be their way in this competition. Byrom and Asa Tribe’s 71-run opening stand left Notts’ bowling attack – hit by the absence of players in the Hundred – with cause for concern before Tribe’s fun was ended by 18-year-old debutant Byron Hatton-Lowe.Byrom, the steadier of the two openers in terms of strike rate, continued calmly as he watched on for Henry Hurle, playing a first Glamorgan game of 2025, to be dismissed.Kiran Carlson was unable to kick on, as was Will Smale who suffered a ball-watching run out to leave the hosts with just five wickets in hand with more than 20 overs to bat, a theme too common in their campaign.Root held the fort in a knock of few boundaries for 56 before Dan Douthwaite’s blistering cameo added some impetus, the hosts still left short.Zain Ul Hassan was able to contain in a seven-over new-ball spell while Ned Leonard leaked at the other end, Slater enjoying a rather comfortable start.After Ben Martindale was dismissed, a period of experience was due with Slater and Haynes adding 75 before Hameed struck an unbeaten 58 to ice the run chase.Franco impressed in his 10 overs but poor fielding, including a drop by Andy Gorvin with Haynes on 68 proved costly.Tribe followed as the third player in the game to take a first wicket for his club, after Hatton-Lowe and Franco, although the damage was done.

The New Zealand captain gives an insight into exactly why his team is sitting pretty when so many of its rivals are in such advance states of funk

Andrew Miller at Lord's28-Jun-20194:02

Vettori: Nicholls will put pressure on Munro

Permutations, permutations… somebody spare us from permutations. Who knows, England might go a long way to doing just that on Sunday, by losing against India and placing their World Cup fate firmly into the hands of the teams around them. But for now, with the sun shining over a pristine Lord’s, and the New Zealand flag flying proudly over the home dressing room, Kane Williamson isn’t about to be tempted into stressing.Of course, it’s not entirely obvious what tempt Williamson into such a course of action.Certainly, last week’s scoreline of 7 for 2 with both openers gone for golden ducks wasn’t enough to rattle his cage – his silken-touched retort, 148 from 154 balls against West Indies, rather proved that point.And certainly not the situation that greeted him on the last occasion that Australia and New Zealand met in the group stages of the World Cup – that cage-fight of a contest in Auckland in 2015, when Williamson responded to the loss of four wickets for seven runs in ten balls by planting the front foot forward against Pat Cummins and stroking him over long-on to seal an epic one-wicket win.So, trying to suggest that New Zealand’s skipper should be overly bothered by a first defeat of the tournament – against a resurgent Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday – was something of an exercise in futility. Even if that setback genuinely has put the squeeze, just a teensy bit, on his team’s final two games of the group stage.In short [deep breath…] if England can find their chill at any time between now and the end of the weekend, and overcome India, and if Pakistan can avoid losing to Afghanistan, the one side that can match them in the hot-and-cold air-blowing stakes… then New Zealand’s fate may yet be ripped from their own hands.For that to happen, they would need to go on to lose to England in Chester-le-Street, and for Pakistan to keep up their own rampant streak in their final game against Bangladesh. And even that match could yet come down to a battle of net run-rates if Shakib Al Hasan can crown his own stunning campaign by inspiring Bangladesh to a knee-trembler of a victory over India in their penultimate fixture…If… if… if. It’s what the tournament wanted, and needed. The sun shining, the tongues wagging, the stakes rising. But… nah! Williamson and his team will not be drawn in like that.”It kind of is what it is, really,” he said. “You come to tournaments and sides beat each other and they climb the ladder, and that’s what everybody sort of desires to do, and who remains is kind of the ones that go through. But, at the end the day, you’re trying to play the best cricket that you can to try and put yourself in one of those top four positions.”Kane Williamson leads his ‘no-stress’ boys out to the middle•Getty Images

Williamson was sitting deep within the bowels of the MCC’s real tennis court – a strangely appropriate setting for such an anachronistically fabulous batsman – and he spoke with the clarity and lack of fluster with which he compiles his best innings. All angles and pointed placement, and next to no recourse to raw power.There are, doubtless, times when it gets grating to be so consistently talked down in the tournament narrative – as if ploughing a very steady path towards an eighth semi-final in 12 World Cups (a tally that no team, not even Australia, will have exceeded) is in any way underwhelming.But there are clearly also times when that relative anonymity is a blessing. Who, at various stages of this campaign, would have wished to be in charge of Sri Lanka or Pakistan’s fates, for instance, let alone an England campaign that, to judge by Jonny Bairstow’s feud with Michael Vaughan, is in danger of borrowing the apocalyptic Brexit stylings of @Coldwar_Steve … all shipwrecks and squabbles as the dream dies before their eyes.Nope, Williamson seems perfectly content with the hand that he has been dealt. A solidly placed side that, in coming through some taut contests against Bangladesh and South Africa, has been arguably been tested more robustly than either India or Australia, the only teams above them in the table. Another subtly different challenge awaits on a used pitch at Lord’s and the hottest day of the year – but in spite of the temptation to play legspinner Ish Sodhi, New Zealand look every bit as likely to name an unchanged team for the seventh match in a row.And, within his measured responses to an admittedly low-key grilling, Williamson gave an insight into exactly why New Zealand are sitting pretty when so many of their likeliest rivals are in such advance states of funk.”At a World Cup, perhaps teams adopt slightly different plans when we’re playing different opposition day-in and day-out on different surfaces,” he said. “[But] the most important thing is adapting to the conditions. Sometimes I think we’ve seen in the last few games, that looking to blast teams out, perhaps with the use of seam movement and these sorts of things, it hasn’t quite been there, and it’s been about playing the long game a little bit.”We haven’t played at Lord’s yet, and we’ll just have to assess those conditions.”If that was meant as a dig at England after the failure of their gung-ho approach on this same pitch last week, then it was delivered with such deftness that it barely made a sound off the bat.”There’s so many games of cricket, so many different things can happen,” he added. “We know in this sport the variables and uncontrollables we can come up against on any given day, and perhaps some sides might be more suited to certain conditions than others on a certain day, and that’s just the nature of the beast.”England are still in a strong position, as are a few other sides. The focus for all of those sides is to keep trying to apply what they know holds themselves in the strongest position with the sort of cricket they want to play, which is equally different to one another.”When the time comes and the round-robin’s finished, if you can hang your hat on that, then at the end of the day, you can either walk away and end up in a semi-final, or know that you’ve done that and it hasn’t quite happened.”Or, more likely, you’ll find that – over the course of nine group-stage fixtures – the fact that you’ve done more right than wrong will get rewarded in the final analysis. And those who have either not been good enough, or have relied on bluster and preconception at times of duress (or both), will be found out.So, what if it’s the Australians tomorrow, was Williamson’s message. We’re pootling along just fine. How about the rest of you?

Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 64 sets up hosts before three wickets apiece for Sonny Baker, Josh Tongue take Superchargers down

ECB Media17-Aug-2025Originals are right back in the shake-up of the Hundred men’s competition after an ultimately emphatic victory against in-form Northern Superchargers.Jos Buttler’s rich vein of form continued, registering his seventh fifty in the history of tournament to go top of this year’s run-scorers chart.He was ably supported by the classy New Zealander Rachin Ravindra, playing his first match for this year’s edition and striking 31 from just 14 balls, and then Heinrich Klaasen, who roared back into nick with a savage 25-ball 50.Only Matthew Potts offered much counter-thrust, picking up two wickets; but even he was helpless to halt the carnage at the death as Buttler and Klaasen combined for 27 runs from the final 11 balls. In all the Superchargers gave up nine sixes.Much then hinged on the Superchargers getting off to a flyer. Zak Crawley clattered two cover drives from the first set bowled by Sonny Baker, and then smashed a six off his England team-mate Josh Tongue. But a sharp catch at backward point from Matty Hurst saw Crawley depart for a nine-ball 16, and thereafter their chase flatlined.The key moment was the dismissal of Harry Brook, who top-edged an attempted sweep for 11 to give Ravindra his first wicket of this year’s competition.Originals have an enviably varied attack, with Tongue, Scott Currie and the effervescent Baker – last week called into England’s white-ball squads – providing the cutting edge and the Afghan mystery spinner Noor Ahmad offering the sparkle.Tongue and Baker shared three wickets apiece – Baker taking a hat-trick after bowling Dawid Malan for 19 off the 50th ball before returning to claim the final two dismissals, Tom Lawes caught by Lewis Gregory at deep midwicket and yorking Jacob Duffy next ball to wrap up victory.Tongue is now top of the wicket-takers’ list with nine, one ahead of his teammate Currie – while Ahmad was irresistible, taking two wickets and conceding less than a run a ball. Ravindra, with his left-arm spin, offered further control in the middle sets.For the Superchargers it was an afternoon to forget. Only David Miller, with 38, managed to make it past 19. They nonetheless remain in the mix, in a three-way tie at the top, ahead of a crucial week in this intriguing tournament.Meerkat Match Hero Buttler said: “It was hard work but I tried not to get frustrated. We built some partnerships and having guys set was crucial. We’ve played a couple of games here, and seen how the wicket can be. We tried to keep it simple and not to put pressure on our bowlers.”There’s nice variety in our attack, Josh and Sonny complement each other, and adding someone like Noor is a trump card. To put together a performance like that with bat and ball is very exciting.”Phil Salt, Originals skipper, was thrilled with the performance. “It’s been a chasing competition so far, so we’re really pleased with what the top order did today, batting first. Bowling-wise we’ve been pretty strong, with Sonny [Baker] and Scottie [Currie] and the rest doing really well.”Sonny’s brilliant as always, mad as a box of frogs. You just wind him up and let him go! In the last couple of weeks, he’s executed more often than not. It’s now about picking up momentum.”

India A made a steady start to their innings before rain brought an early end to the second day in Lucknow

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2025Josh Philippe’s unbeaten 123 off 87 balls and Liam Scott’s 81 continued Australia A’s dominance on day two of the first four-day game against India A in Lucknow.With Sam Konstas also making a century on the first day, Australia A declared their innings on 532 for 6 in just 98 overs, having scored at a run rate of 5.43. In reply, India A lost opener Abhimanyu Easwaran for 44, but N Jagadeesan remained unbeaten on 50 before rain brought an early end to the day.Resuming on 337 for 5, Australia A went into overdrive on the second day. Play started half an hour early at 9am to make up for overs lost to rain on the opening day. Philippe was dropped on 26 by wicketkeeper Jagadeesan off Khaleel Ahmed and cashed in, bringing up his half-century off 55 balls. He added 81 runs for the sixth wicket with Scott, who hit 81 off 122 deliveries before falling to fast bowler Gurnoor Brar.Philippe then had an unbroken 118-run stand off 62 balls with Xavier Bartlett, contributing 78 off 38 to the partnership. He smashed left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey for a six and three fours in the 93rd over and then went after offspinner Tanush Kotian in the 94th, taking him for two fours and a six. He took 77 balls to reach his century, getting there with a quick single to cover”I just looked to be positive. It was a pretty good wicket and Scotty batted beautifully, Philippe said after play. “Then, Xavier came in and we had a nice little partnership at the end. And when we’re told we’re probably declaring soon, it requires attacking against the spinners. I played them naturally. I like to try and take the game on and look to put pressure back on them straight away.”While Philippe hit 18 fours and four sixes in his century, Bartlett smashed five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 24-ball 39. Australia A thrashed 195 runs in just 25 overs on the second day before declaring their innings.India A openers Easwaran and Jagadeesan responded quickly too, adding 88 runs for the first wicket in 21.1 overs. Easwaran was bowled by Scott but Jagadeesan reached his fifty and had B Sai Sudharsan for company on 20 when stumps were called. Only 55 overs were bowled on the second day, with no play possible after tea.”I think it’s still a pretty good wicket,” Philippe said. “There’s some signs that there’s a bit of spin from us today. Not sure what’s going on with the weather, but hopefully as the game gets on, it continues to deteriorate and our spinners can take charge and get some poles.”

India captain takes heart from India having put the pressure back on Australia late in the Gabba Test, despite having fallen behind earlier

Alagappan Muthu18-Dec-20246:07

Rohit: ‘No harm in accepting I’ve not batted well’

Rohit Sharma took heart from India’s performance at the Gabba, particularly in the way they were able to save the follow-on and then take a few quick wickets when Australia were batting in the second innings.Although they fell behind in the game – after winning the toss and choosing to bowl – KL Rahul held the batting together in their first innings with his 84 and their lower-order rallied hard enough to effectively dismiss Australia’s hopes of a win. India were helped in large parts by the rain in Brisbane which affected all but one day’s play.”This thing has been in our team for a while now that we don’t give up easily, whatever the situation. We want to keep fighting. Even when we bowled in the second innings, we had the same intensity that we wanted to bowl them out for 60-70 runs because we knew they would play their shots and look to score quickly. That gives you opportunities and we get some as well. But we didn’t have enough time to chase 270-280 in 50 overs.”Related

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Australia batted with the purpose of setting up a declaration on day five, so they went out and took a lot of risks and in the process lost a lot of wickets. They declared on 89 for 7 and had about one session or so to go for a win but then the rains came again.”There’s pressure on the other team too,” Rohit said. “Until you put some pressure on the other team you won’t come to know how they react under pressure. When we were here last, we had chased 320-330 [328] on the last day and they’ll remember that in the back of their mind, they know we are capable of chasing like this. Whatever happened today, it gave us confidence ahead of Melbourne. We’re aware we have to start from scratch, conditions are different there and the ball may not move around so much there like it did here. We have to analyse all this and proceed.”Rohit’s own form is a matter of concern as well with the 10 he scored in Brisbane being his highest score in four innings so far on the tour, including a practice game in Canberra.”Yeah, I have not batted well. There is no harm in accepting that. But I know what’s in my mind. How I am preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked. It’s just about spending as much time as possible [batting].”Which I am pretty sure I am just there. As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well. I am pretty happy with how things are panning out for me.
Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it’s been a while since he has got big runs. But for a person like me, I think it’s all about how I feel in my mind. What kind of prep I am having before each game. And how I am feeling about myself. That’s the most important thing.”And I am feeling good about myself, to be honest. Yeah, runs are obviously not showing that. But inside it’s a different feeling.”India move to Melbourne on Thursday for the fourth Test of the series which remains locked at 1-1, and the team is fairly pleased with that state of affairs.”It might appear that we were lagging behind in this Test but we take a lot from here,” Rohit said. “I’m immensely proud of the attitude we have shown because runs and wickets are one thing, but if your attitude and character are good then you can turn the impossible into possible.”