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Both sides will likely need a bonus point victory to qualify for the final against New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2021Western Australia have been able to stack their one-day side with Australia players for their final Marsh Cup group match against Tasmania at the WACA with both sides chasing a bonus-point victory to qualify for the final against New South Wales.D’Arcy Short, Ashton Turner and Jason Behrendorff have been included along with Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Agar who were part of the recent Sheffield Shield squad. All six were in the Australia squad that toured New Zealand and had to undergo two weeks quarantine when they returned.If Behrendorff, the left-arm quick, makes the starting XI it will be his first appearance for Western Australia since October 2018.However, the home side will be without Shaun Marsh who is unavailable for personal reasons. Fast bowlers Matt Kelly and Joel Paris both picked up injuries in the Shield match against Tasmania.Tasmania have also been boosted by the availability of Ben McDermott who has recovered from a hamstring injury but are without three first-choice quicks: Riley Meredith (IPL), Nathan Ellis (injury) and Peter Siddle (border restrictions).A bonus-point victory for either side would see them leapfrog Queensland into second place and leave them ruing the fact they missed a double bonus point by one run against South Australia late last month which was followed by a heavy defeat against New South Wales.The final will take place at Bankstown Oval in Sydney on April 11.Western Australia squad Mitch Marsh (capt), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Josh Inglis, David Moody, Lance Morris, Josh Philippe, D’Arcy Short, Ashton Turner, Sam WhitemanTasmania squad Matthew Wade (capt), Tom Andrews, Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Jarrod Freeman, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Mitch Owen, Tim Paine, Alex Pyecroft, Sam Rainbird, Tom Rogers, Jordan Silk, Beau Webster

Spin-bowling allrounder expected to play majority of 2023 Blast season

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2022Michael Bracewell has signed a contract with Worcestershire for the Vitality Blast, effectively replacing Moeen Ali in their T20 side.Moeen has joined Warwickshire on a three-year contract and his departure left a hole in Worcestershire’s top order for a left-handed batter and offspinner.Bracewell, the late-blooming allrounder who has made his New Zealand debuts in all three formats this year, has signed a contract that will see him play county cricket for the first time in the 2023 Blast.Worcestershire did not specify his availability but he is expected to be available for the majority of the tournament. He is likely to spend April and May in the subcontinent – either in Pakistan for a white-ball tour, or in India if he is picked in Friday’s IPL auction – with Worcestershire’s first Blast fixture on May 24.Alan Richardson, Worcestershire’s head coach, said: “It’s always good to have someone of his calibre, but the fact he is a true allrounder means we are really getting two players.”Michael’s international white-ball cricket record is outstanding, but he also has a very healthy first-class record and will offer great experience.”Bracewell will extend a recent relationship between Worcestershire and New Zealand players, with Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Martin Guptill, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner among the Kiwis to have spent time at New Road in recent seasons.Worcestershire will hope he can play a part in reviving their T20 fortunes. They were champions in 2018 and losing finalists the following season but struggled badly in 2022, finishing rock-bottom with two wins in 14 group games.”I’m really looking forward to my first experience of the Blast, a competition in which Worcestershire [have] had a lot of success in recent times,” Bracewell said. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about Worcestershire from a lot of New Zealand players who have recently played there, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to join up with the group next summer.”

With 202 runs to get and six wickets in hand, the offspinner says there is confidence in the rest of the batting group

Alex Malcolm10-Mar-2024Nathan Lyon’s words said one thing but his body language and tone said quite another as Australia still have a chance to pull off a great escape in the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval.Australia slumped to 34 for 4 in pursuit of the target of 279. Lyon had been padded up as the nightwatcher yet again but was not required after Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh steered Australia to stumps without any further loss. But they still need 202 runs to win with just six wickets in hand and two days of the Test remaining.Lyon said Australia believe they can win from any position.”It would be a great Test match win if we’re able to pick this off,” Lyon said after play. “There’s a lot of belief in that change room and I think that’s credit to Pat [Cummins] and Ron [Andrew McDonald], the way they go about their leadership, instilling a lot of belief that we can win from any position.”And we’ve now found ourselves in this position that our backs are up against the wall. New Zealand were on a roll tonight but I’m sitting here understanding and believing that we can win, that’s for sure.”Related

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Australia did chase down 282 at Edgbaston in the first Ashes Test in June last year, with Cummins and Lyon finishing as the heroes, sharing an unbeaten 55-run stand for the ninth wicket. But Australia have only run down 279 or more in the fourth innings on 13 occasions and only twice since 2006.Before Edgbaston, Australia’s last successful chase of that size was in South Africa in 2011, when Cummins was again the hero on Test debut as an 18-year-old while Lyon was nervously padded up as the next and last man in.”We’ve been able to tick off a couple of totals in the past,” Lyon said. “So there’s a lot of the confidence within our batting group and us bowlers with the bat in hand. We pride ourselves on our batting, so we’ll give it our best chance if it comes down to that.”But while Lyon was bullish with his words, his body language and tone told a different story. Just eight days earlier, he had sat bolt upright in the press conference room on the third night of the Wellington Test and declared confidently with a smile that Australia would easily create the seven chances required with the ball to win the game despite New Zealand being 111 for 3 chasing 369.In Christchurch, he was leaning forward and speaking in a quieter tone. He had only just taken the pads off, having admitted he had nervously sat there as the nightwatcher, a job he has had to do twice already in this series, having not done it for two years despite being Australia’s designated man.”Too often I seem to be batting in the top six,” Lyon said. “Happy to do the role but it’s nice that I didn’t have to walk out there tonight.”He stopped short of criticising his batting group, but his tone spoke volumes as to how the team is feeling about their latest batting collapse.”It’s not a frustration. I think it’s a learning curve for us,” Lyon said. “We’re on a path, and on a journey, on a dream to become one of Australia’s great cricket teams.”And I’m not saying that we are that at the moment. It’s a learning experience for us. And if we can try and get better at that, then it’s going to put us in really good stead on our dream to become a great Australian team.”I know that we’ve got a lot of work to do, but that’s our dream and that’s our goal.”They were interesting words from a largely unchanged World Test Championship-winning team. A team with nine of the 11 members over the age of 30 and one other aged 29.Australia could still win at Hagley Oval. But, right now, their actions and words are not in sync.

Jaiswal had three lives, while Sai Sudharsan, Akash Deep and Nair were all put down

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-20251:44

‘Disappointed, but it is what it is’ – Trescothick on dropped catches

4.5 Atkinson to Jaiswal, FOUR runs
Chance…. bursts through Brook’s hands at second slip. It went high, just above the left shoulder, and at pace. Had to hop across and was beaten by pace. Tipped it over and to the deep-third boundary. 140ks full ball outside off, Jaiswal committed fully to the booming cover drive, got a bona-fide edge13.2 Tongue to Jaiswal, 1 run
Another life for Jaiswal. Dawson doesn’t spot and gets hit in the face! This was hit flat and going right at his throat at deep fine leg. He swayed his head to the right and had his hands right in front. Might’ve come earlier than he thought. Was a shortish ball at waist-height that Jaiswal hooked14.3 Overton to B Sai Sudharsan, 3 runs
That’s another drop! Went quickly to the left of Crawley at third slip, he got on one knee and tried to snap it up with his hands. Reached across, got a big deflection that took it towards the third boundary. Might’ve hit the thumb. Duckett stops it. Was an overpitched ball outside off that Sudharsan looked to drive firmly through cover25.3 Tongue to Akash Deep, no run
edged into the cordon and dropped again! Crawley, diving across from third to second, a comfortable height, and it spans off both palms! Deep was pushing hard to the full length, and that’s two big opportunities gone for England53.4 Overton to Nair, 1 run
another one goes down! England’s fifth drop of the innings! It’s a tough one, but these have got to stick! Right in the gap between Crawley, diving across from third, and Brook, reaching down at second. It’s into Brook’s fingers and out again. The ball looping a touch off the splice as Overton hit his hard length57.4 Overton to Jaiswal, FOUR runs
Chance at leg gully! On a length and angled into Jaiswal, who looks to tuck it leg-side. Comes to Duckett’s left, and he dives to take it low, but it bursts through him. Tough chance, but that’s their 20th drop of the series so far!21.3 Tongue to Jaiswal, FOUR runs
fenced through the cordon! Chancy from Jaiswal! He rode the bounce outside off, but not very effectively, caught in two minds at the point of impact… two slips weren’t enough though, that would have been third’s or gully’s.

Defending champions will start T20 World Cup against Scotland on strip used for Namibia’s low-scoring shoot-out against Oman

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2024England will begin their defence of the T20 World Cup against Scotland on the same Kensington Oval surface which threw up a 218-run shoot-out between Namibia and Oman on Sunday night. They are heavy favourites against their British rivals but were beaten when the teams last met, in a 2018 ODI, and this slow, low surface could make life difficult for their batters.Jos Buttler, England’s captain, said on Monday that he will encourage his players to adapt and judge conditions for themselves and react accordingly, rather than heading into Tuesday’s match with “too many preconceived ideas”. But the evidence from Sunday’s match is that there could be variable bounce on a sticky surface on which wickets fell in clusters.Related

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• Bairstow: 'It doesn't really matter to me where I bat'

Namibia emerged as winners, but needed a Super Over to do so after reaching 109 for 6 in pursuit of 110. Their fingerspinners, Bernard Scholtz and Gerhard Erasmus, both trapped batters lbw with balls which kept low, while Oman seamer Mehran Khan bowled Jan Frylinck in the final over with a grubber which deflected off his pad.David Wiese, Namibia’s match-winner in the Super Over, said the pitch was “a difficult wicket to start on the whole time… once you got wickets, you got wickets in clusters.” Zeeshan Maqsood, Oman’s ex-captain, suggested that Saturday’s rain in Barbados had impacted the pitch: “There was a little bit of stopping and coming, because a little wetness was there.”England and Scotland will use the same surface that Namibia and Oman did on Sunday•Getty Images

Buttler said he saw “bits and pieces” of Sunday’s match, but suggested that England should be accustomed to conditions in Barbados. They played a five-match T20I series held entirely at Kensington Oval in early 2022, and also played an ODI and a T20I there when they toured the Caribbean in December last year.”We’ve played some games here, so we know what conditions can be like,” Buttler said. “But it’s important not to have too many preconceived ideas and assume the pitch will play in a certain way. We’ve got to be prepared. That’s where communication and assessing conditions quickly – with bat or ball – will be key to the game.”He told the BBC: “We are trying not to play the game before the game has been played. It’s good to be here and get a feel for conditions, but on each day, you have to be ready to adapt… it is not in the batters’ favour all of the time in T20 cricket. We need to be able to adapt and communicate well as a team, and work out what will be a winning score.”England have been joined in Barbados by Kieron Pollard, who has been enlisted as a consultant coach for this World Cup and has spoken to the players about the impact that stiff crosswinds can have in the Caribbean. “That’s part of selection discussions and team discussions, being aware of the wind and right-hand/left-hand combinations,” Buttler said.”[Pollard] has fitted in really well. Some of the guys have played with him, or played lots of cricket against him, so have a nice relationship to start from. Obviously, he’s got a wealth of T20 knowledge and everyone should have been tapping into that, sponging up any really good information that he’s got for us.”And obviously, [he knows about] local conditions. He knows everything about the Caribbean, and he’s got that winner’s mindset. I think that’s something that we’re really tapping into. He’s won a lot of competitions around the world… it’s great to have guys like that around the group.”Kieron Pollard will assist Matthew Mott during the T20 World Cup•Gareth Copley/Getty

England come into the World Cup after beating Pakistan 2-0 in a rain-affected series, and Buttler said there is “a really good vibe” around their squad. “We had some good performances there, but we’re fully focused on the game tomorrow. We need to make sure we bring 100% intensity to that, first of all.”He acknowledged that England will be expected to beat Scotland comfortably, but said: “It’s a great game: our first of the World Cup. We’re all excited for that and we expect a tough challenge. They’ve come here to try and win games, and they want to beat us; we want to beat them. It’s pretty straightforward.”Buttler also declined to give any clues as to England’s XI for the opening match, saying: “I think we’ve got lots of really good options, from No. 1 to 15. We picked a squad with a lot of different options, and we’ve got to work out what we feel is the best combination for the first game.”

Watson says the 19-year old’s adaptability to different conditions and India’s plans would be a “good test of his evolution”

Andrew McGlashan02-Jan-20252:11

Clarke: ‘Freakish’ debut for Konstas

Sam Konstas’ mentor Shane Watson has admitted the 19-year-old’s audacious start to Test cricket took even him by surprise, both in terms of the strokeplay and the way he carried himself in the field and with the crowd.Konstas scored 60 off 65 balls on the opening morning at the MCG, regularly scooping Jasprit Bumrah, and had a run-in with Virat Kohli who was fined for a shoulder barge. Later in the game he embraced the crowd when fielding on the boundary and was a vocal presence under the helmet, clearly getting under the skin of Yashasvi Jaiswal during the second innings.”I understood what his game plan was, what plan A was anyway,” Watson said as part of the ICC Champions Trophy tour at the SCG. “So when plan B sort of kicked in quite quickly, within a couple of overs, that was a little surprising. But the one thing that we’ve always talked about is trusting his gut.”Related

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While Watson was aware of the range of strokes Konstas had in his locker, even if showing them so early in Test was unexpected, he admitted the character shown in the field was not something he had seen before.”My experience of dealing and working with Sam has been a very quiet, reserved personality,” he said. “[He’s] a very deep thinker and certainly not an extrovert. But obviously what we saw in the Test match is that he absolutely is a showman. And he certainly rose to the occasion, as in he wasn’t overawed.”I know through my experience of debuting…you just put a lot of pressure on yourself because it’s your dream to be able to represent your country, wear the baggy green. But for Sam, it’s superhuman in a way that he sort of just didn’t have any of that at all. You can see it wasn’t put on. That’s just obviously who he is. And again, I hadn’t seen that side of him. It just shows that he’s built for this stage where most people it takes a bit of time to warm up to sort of get into that. Whereas Sam, he obviously just thrives on that.”Konstas has continued to enjoy the trappings of being a Test cricketer since arriving with the squad in Sydney, having photographs with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon during the annual New Year’s Day gathering at Kirribilli House. He also spent time chatting with Kohli, who his brothers took the opportunity to get a photograph with.Albanese joked about his role in Konstas’ rapid rise to the Test side after the century he scored against the Indians in Canberra. “Of course, he got his break in the Prime Minister’s XI [game],” Albanese said. “I’m claiming some of the credit, which is about my only contribution to national cricket.”Shane Watson on Konstas: ‘He’s certainly got all the gears and all the skills to be able to make adjustments’•Getty Images

On Friday, Konstas will become the youngest Australia men’s player to feature in a Test at his home ground of the SCG followed by the prospect of two Tests in vastly different conditions in Sri Lanka. India had already adjusted their tactics by the second innings in Melbourne where Konstas was kept quiet before being bowled by an inducker from Bumrah.”Look it’s going to be a different challenge for him now,” Watson said. “Because he’s shown what his plan B is. And we already saw in that second innings the field positions certainly changed. It’s going to be a good test of his evolution. To be able to continue to work through how he can take the game on against the best bowlers in the world. But he’s certainly got all the gears and all the skills to be able to make those adjustments quickly.”He is technically very correct and waits for loose balls. But he’s also got the other gears to be able to hit the ball down the ground. But when they do have third man fine and fine leg fine, the ramp shot is probably out. But you know what? I thought the ramp shot wasn’t going to come out in the first couple of overs, and it did. Sam will just trust what he feels and go with it. And that’s something very special that he taps into.”Australia captain Pat Cummins said there had been no instructions given to Konstas about how to go about his innings and believed he would be able to adjust to different scenarios.”Think he showed how adaptable he can be,” Cummins said. “That takes a lot of skill first of all, but we always encourage our players just to read the moment, play it how they see fit. For Sam he sensed the moment was to attack and put pressure back on the bowlers and he did that, it might be different this week; it might be ‘I’m going to play a slow game and kind of score runs that way’. Our message is always just to back yourself, have really clear plans and back your decision making.”

Teams likely to have a purse of INR 100 crore to build their squads for next season

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Oct-2023The IPL player auction ahead of the 2024 season will be held on December 19 in Dubai; it is the first time the auction will be held overseas.The event will coincide with the second ODI of India’s tour of South Africa, which is scheduled for December 19 in Gqeberha.The ten IPL teams have until November 15 to submit the lists of players they are retaining and releasing, after which the auction pool will be finalised by early December.Each team will have a purse of INR 100 crore (USD 12.02 million approximately) to build their squad for the 2024 season, a INR 5 crore increase from last season’s purse of INR 95 crore. How much each team has to spend on auction day depends on the value of players they release, in addition to their unspent purse from the 2023 auction.Punjab Kings have the largest purse at present – INR 12.20 crore (USD 1.47million) – while Mumbai Indians have the smallest at INR 0.05 crore (USD 0.006 million). Of the remaining teams Sunrisers Hyderabad have INR 6.55 crore (USD 0.79 million); Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals both have INR 4.45 crore (USD 0.54 million); Lucknow Super Giants have INR 3.55 crore (USD 0.43 million); Rajasthan Royals have USD 3.35 crore (USD 0.40 million); Royal Challengers Bangalore have INR 1.75 crore (USD 0.21 million); Kolkata Knight Riders have INR 1.65 crore (USD 0.2 million); and defending champions Chennai Super Kings have INR 1.5 crore (USD 0.18 million).Despite being only a day-long event – compared to the two-day mega auction once every four years – mini auctions have produced some of the most expensive buys, especially in the overseas players category. Ahead of the 2023 season, Sam Curran became the most expensive player in IPL history when he was bought by Punjab for INR 18.5 crore in December last year.Several prominent overseas players are likely to enter the upcoming auction, including Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc who recently said he was “definitely” heading back to the IPL after an eight-year hiatus. Pat Cummins is also likely to put his name up for bidding, having skipped the IPL last year. Some of the other key players franchises expect to see at the auction are Travis Head, Chris Woakes, Alex Hales, Sam Billings, and Gerald Coetzee.

Aches perhaps for wannabe Ashes keeper, but pains reserved for Yorkshire as Glamorgan take control

Vithushan Ehantharajah04-May-2023There can’t be much Jonny Bairstow and the Archbishop of Canterbury have in common. But for the next few days at least, their hands are of great interest.Different levels, of course. The duties in Westminister Abbey of popping a crown on the head of King Charles III ranks higher than standing up to the stumps for Ben Coad. But even two days earlier and some 195 miles north of Saturday’s Coronation, a different pair of king-making hands were being scrutinised.Thursday’s opening day to this Division Two bout between Yorkshire and Glamorgan by another name was The Much-Anticipated Return of Bairstow, Even with two teams desperate for a first win of the season, this felt as much about one man’s return as it did about a county looking for light to break through the years of dark cloud. And to arrive at the ground in the morning was to know the bright spots were very much to do with one son’s return. Nine months from suffering multiple fractures in his left leg in a freak accident on a golf course, 2022’s Bazball totem was back.It was, in many ways, the perfect scenario. The buzz around the stands dulled slightly when Yorkshire decided to bowl first after winning the toss. And while it was a shame to have to wait to watch Bairstow bat, more insightful was the 71.5 overs spent keeping wicket. Even after a spectacular last summer – 681 runs, four hundreds and an average of 75.66 – his work behind the stumps between now and Tests against Ireland and Australia will guarantee he reclaims a spot in the XI he feels is rightfully his. Ultimately, by taking it away from Ben Foakes.That Yorkshire followed up their removal of Glamorgan for 245 with 62 for 5 of their own leaves more out there for Bairstow. Originally carded at five, he flexed seniority to call on two nightwatchman – Mickey Edwards and Matt Fisher – before having to walk out at 6:36pm for the final two overs anyway. Presumably sending out a third would have been poor form. Either way, a few hours of vintage on Friday Jonny will echo far beyond this match.Before the two sacrificial lambs were three catches of varying degrees of difficulty across a keeping performance that was surprisingly assured. The aches will no doubt come, but there were no pains evident in real-time.The first dismissal got him up and about, in amongst it a matter of minutes after the team huddled beyond the boundary’s edge. Four balls in, a comically loose drive from visiting skipper David Lloyd gave Bairstow an excuse to test out his side-to-side, shuffling to his right to complete the dismissal.Number two gave us a sense of his athleticism, diving to his left to take a spectacular grab with his left-hand a matter of inches off the turf after George Hill had taken Kiran Carlson’s inside edge. The third was as vital to Yorkshire’s cause as it was to the Ashes narrative: Marnus Labuschagne feathering an edge off Hill for 65.The Australian came to the crease with nothing on the board, and together with Sam Northeast dragged Glamorgan out of the Coad-induced hole of 1 for 2. The pair made 83 between them before Northeast, the aggressor, was sent back by Edwards three deliveries after the lunch break, unable to get his bat (and handle) out of a delivery that exploded off a length. Soon afterwards, Coad left the field – this time the explosion was in his groin.Labuschagne had played possum early doors. He took lunch on 19 from 101 deliveries but soon moved to a second half-century of the season just 32 deliveries later. He had just started looking like Test cricket’s number one ranked batter when Hill got one to hold its line off the seam from the Rugby Stand End.This was the one that drew the most emotion from Bairstow, and not just because of their nationalities. Bairstow had been getting in Labuschagne’s ear since the end of the 21st over when the right-hander, on 10, seemingly edged Edwards behind. Labuschagne’s unperturbed demeanour worked well enough to keep the umpire’s finger down, much to the annoyance of the fielding team and those in the stands.That should have been 42 for three, and who knows what that might have meant for Glamorgan this early on in the piece. Contributions from Timm van der Gugten and Billy Root got them within five of what they considered a par first innings score. To have led by 194 with five Yorkshire wickets already is sure more than they would have expected, considering how the day began.Though even Thursday’s conclusion gives the scoreboard an artificial look. Both of Bairstow’s nightwatchmen fell in the space of two balls, meaning he had to come out at anyway under floodlights and with Labuschagne taking the opportunity to return serve now the shoe was on the other foot. Barring a stifled lbw shout second ball, it was largely without issue. A nudge around the corner off his fourth delivery face brought a first first-class run since 49 against South Africa last August, nine months ago.Nine months or “36 weeks” as Bairstow put it on Instagram on Wednesday night. The content of the post spoke of pain, emotions and unanswerable questions during this long stretch on the sideline. What those closest to him knew was distilled in those 115 words for the rest of us.Privately, the 33-year-old’s angst is as much about the crushing disappointment of losing it all when he finally felt settled as it is about having to watch the last six months from home. The T20 World Cup win, the historic Test series in Pakistan, the rise of Harry Brook from place-holder to wunderkind. There’s FOMO, and then there’s whatever Bairstow went through.There were a few byes, notably one for four which wobbled devilishly past his right after sending him left, but nothing worrisome. At times, he was childlike, at one point running over to an advertising board blown onto the field and lying across it, looking to the stands for laughs like this was panto. It duly came.This is only day one of his return, but to see him with a smile on his face, even as he walked off sheepishly at the end, felt like a positive step forward to all this. Even if it moves us closer to an awkward call for the Ashes, that Bairstow is back is only a boost for English cricket.

Jos Buttler’s team have sealed qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy

Andrew Miller11-Nov-20232:12

Harmison: Buttler has to take ownership for the future

England 337 for 9 (Stokes 84, Root 60, Bairstow 59, Rauf 3-64) beat Pakistan 244 (Salman 51, Willey 3-56) by 93 runsEngland’s soon-to-be-deposed world champions bade farewell to the 2023 World Cup with a glimpse of their former domineering selves, as they marched to an emphatic 93-run win over Pakistan at Eden Gardens. The result means that Babar Azam’s men are officially out of semi-final contention.David Willey marked the final appearance of his international career with a sparky all-round display that included his 100th and final ODI wicket, and after Ben Stokes had underpinned an imposing total of 337 for 9 with his second forceful outing in quick succession, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid turned the screw on a spin-friendly surface to snuff out any pretence of a contest with four wickets between them.England vs Pakistan could have been one of the matches of the World Cup, and surely would have been had either team lived up to their pre-tournament expectations. Instead, both slipped out of the sidedoor among the also-rans, even if England’s second victory in quick succession did confirm them a seventh-place finish in the group-stage standings, and a place at the 2025 Champions Trophy – the most pyrrhic of consolation prizes.As for Pakistan, their despondent display began from the moment that Jos Buttler called correctly at the toss. With fourth-placed New Zealand streets ahead of them on net run-rate, their already slim chance of reaching the semi-finals had rested on putting a huge score on the board and routing England by 287 runs or more in response – which, to be fair, wasn’t totally outlandish given England’s experiences in the tournament so far.2:04

‘Shaheen has failed to deliver impact’

Being asked to bowl first, however, was a different matter. Once Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan had biffed along to 72 for 0 in the powerplay – England’s highest of the tournament – Pakistan already needed to be able to tick off that total inside three overs, and that requirement only rose exponentially with every additional run. Their eventual target of 338 meant their challenge would be officially snuffed out after 6.4 overs of their chase, by which stage Willey had reduced them to 30 for 2 with his 98th and 99th ODI wickets.From there the only way was down for Pakistan. Babar Azam miscued Gus Atkinson to midwicket to end his campaign as he had begun it against the Netherlands, while Mohammad Rizwan also provided an unwitting echo of past performances, as he galloped down the pitch to Moeen and seized up with cramp while the ball gripped to bowl him through his gate – a comedic reprise of his heroics against Sri Lanka earlier in the campaign.Regardless of the subplots, it was unquestionably England’s most complete performance of the World Cup. At the ninth time of asking, they got their batting tempo just right on what soon proved to be a sluggish black-soil surface, with a trio of half-centuries from Bairstow, Joe Root and Stokes interspersed with a clutch of unfettered cameos – including an admittedly jammy 27 from 18 balls from Buttler – that suggested that they had finally stopped worrying and simply reverted to hitting the ball as hard and as often as possible.Fifty six of Ben Stokes’ 84 runs came in boundaries•ICC/Getty Images

Bairstow, to be fair, hadn’t strayed far from that formula all tournament, but, after an underwhelming haul of 156 runs at 19.50 in his previous eight innings, this time he allowed himself time to gauge the pace of the pitch before signalling the charge with five fours and a six in the space of 16 balls after just one run from his first 11.His eventual 59 from 61 balls ended with a flat drive to cover off Haris Rauf, by which stage Malan, England’s most consistent performer in an underwhelming field, had already fallen on the reverse-sweep for 31. However, in taking England’s opening stand to 82 in the 14th over, the pair had at least spared Root a reacquaintance with the powerplay – a period of the game that, to judge by his 11 dismissals in 19 innings since the 2019 win, has seemingly had him spooked.Root’s bafflingly poor tournament would conclude with his third half-century in nine innings, and an overall haul of 276 runs at 30.66 that disguised the extent to which his game went missing in the crunch moments of England’s campaign. Even so, his 60 from 72 balls was still a long way removed from the standards to which he aspires – once again his timing on his trademark scoop over the keeper was noticeably awry – and until Mohammad Wasim offered up back-to-back fours to give his strike-rate a massage late in his stay, he’d managed a solitary boundary in his first 38 balls.Joe Root was happy to reverse scoop despite being bowled playing that shot in his last game•AFP/Getty Images

Root did, however, have familiar and indomitable company to mitigate his tempo. For the second match running, Stokes turned in the sort of performance that had been expected of him on his return to ODI colours. His 84 from 76 balls provided the impetus in England’s telling third-wicket stand of 132, although it might have been a different story had Shaheen Shah Afridi clung onto a return catch after suckering Stokes with a well-disguised slower ball.That moment could have sent Stokes on his way for 10 from 16 balls. Instead, it was the catalyst for an inevitable counterattack, as Afridi’s next ball was belted straight back over his head for four, followed by three more thrashes down the ground in his subsequent over.The harder Stokes came, however, the more apparent it was that his troublesome left knee was on its last sinews. At one point, after a bludgeon through the line off Wasim, it visibly locked up in his followthrough, but Stokes’ response was to get even more inventive with his angles, including an extraordinary tumbling reverse-sweep for six over backward point off Agha Salman, a shot last seen in his Headingley 2019 miracle.A second century in successive innings seemed to beckon as the range hits kept coming, until Afridi – back for the 40th over with the ball just beginning to reverse – landed a pinpoint first-ball yorker to pluck out his off stump. With Stokes booked in for surgery ahead of January’s Test tour of India, and given his prior absences from the ODI and T20I set-ups, that moment could well have marked the end of his involvement in England’s white-ball formats. It may not have been the glory he had envisaged after reversing his ODI retirement, but at least it was suitably removed from the ignominy that the team had embraced earlier in the campaign.David Willey struck with the new ball for England•AFP/Getty Images

And with a platform finally set for the middle-order, there was a chance too for Buttler to end his campaign on a high – although, in keeping with his troubling loss of form, he wasn’t entirely able to capitalise. He did at least unfurl his reverse-sweep for the first time in the tournament – an extraordinary indictment of his flatlining confidence – but having nailed the first off Shadab, he scuffed the second through Wasim’s clutches at backward point, then survived a second chance in the same over as Rauf at long-on trod on the rope after clinging onto a miscued drive.There was even time for Buttler to chop Wasim onto his own stumps without dislodging the bails, but just when it seemed the fates were feeling sorry for him, Rauf ran him out with a bullet shy from backward point, to draw a veil over an inglorious tournament haul of 138 runs at 15.33.With Brook chipping in with a hard-hitting 30 from 17, Willey marked his retirement with a lusty cameo of 15 from five balls, then carried that feel-good factor into his opening burst. His second delivery curled into Abdullah Shafique’s front pad to trap him lbw for a duck, and he had two in ten balls when Fakhar Zaman – the hero of Pakistan’s rain-affected chase against New Zealand – smeared to Stokes at mid-off for 1.Of Pakistan’s top-order, only Agha Salman, with 51 from 45, found a tempo remotely in keeping with the needs of a stiff chase, but Willey bagged him too in his second spell, caught at long-off for a satisfying 100th wicket. By then, the game was over as a contest, thanks to two other players who may well have just played their last ODIs. And if so, then Adil Rashid – England’s best player of a grim campaign – looks to have signed off with 199 wickets, after two more breakthroughs, including a sharp googly to bowl Saud Shakeel round his legs for 29.England’s margin of victory would have been more emphatic but for a carefree tenth-wicket stand of 53 between Wasim and No.11 Rauf, who belted three sixes in his 23-ball 35. But by then, both teams’ thoughts had drifted away to the what-ifs.

Liam Scott’s brisk half-century boosted the home side’s total then the bowling attack was outstanding

AAP01-Mar-2025Nathan McSweeney’s game-changing cameo with the ball helped South Australia defeat Victoria by 64 runs to collect the state’s first one-day cricket title in 13 years.SA, with Harry Nielsen, Jake Lehmann and Liam Scott making half-centuries, posted 268 for 7 in Saturday’s battle for the inaugural Dean Jones Trophy.Victoria were bowled out for 204 in 43.3 overs in reply at Adelaide Oval as SA captured their first 50-over trophy since 2011/12.Victoria’s run chase, with Marcus Harris flying on 41 from 42 balls, was well on track at 74 for 1 in the 14th over. But McSweeney, who hadn’t taken a wicket all tournament with his gentle offspin, then provided an unlikely – and decisive – turn.Harris gave himself room to hit McSweeney through the offside, but smacked the ball straight to Jason Sangha at cover. In his next over, McSweeney dismissed dangerman Peter Handscomb for 1. The SA captain instinctively flung his right hand at a lofted straight drive, parried the ball, and completed a stunning catch on the second grab.Five overs later, Victorian opener Campbell Kellaway top-edged a pull shot from the bowling of Brendan Doggett and was caught by wicketkeeper Nielsen. Soon after, Sam Harper was taken by Nielsen when attempting a leg glance from Nathan McAndrew.Liam Scott struck an unbeaten 54 off 37 balls•Getty Images

Victoria had lost 4 for 30 in a sudden slide to 108 for 5 in the 24th over and were never in the hunt thereafter, despite captain Will Sutherland’s 50 from 52 balls.McSweeney finished with figures of 2 for 14 from four overs, McAndrew took 3 for 47 from eight overs and Henry Thornton claimed 4-27 from 9.3 overs to be named the first winner of the Michael Bevan medal as player of the final.In SA’s innings, Nielsen top-scored with 68 from 93 balls, Lehmann made 67 from 75 and allrounder Scott, the player of the tournament, finished with a flourish with an unbeaten 54 from 37 deliveries.Victorian captain Sutherland took three of the initial four wickets and veteran Peter Siddle claimed 3 for 40.SA made a solid start with openers Nielsen and Mackenzie Harvey putting on 44 runs before Sutherland struck in the eighth over. Harvey, who hit two fours and a six in his 23 from 23 balls, chopped on to his stumps when attempting to force through the off-side.Sutherland claimed Daniel Drew in the 14th over and McSweeney soon followed. When Sangha fell to Sutherland, SA were wobbling 118 for 4 in the 26th over, before Nielsen and Lehmann steadied with a 56-run partnership.Lehmann later combined with Scott for a brisk 67-run stand, with the latter reaching his half-century from 36 balls in a flurry featuring seven fours and a six.