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Bairstow carting a protester back to the Grand Stand the only time an Englishman extolled domination

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Jun-2023An over into the opening day at Lord’s, two protestors from Just Stop Oil ran onto the field armed with orange paint powder. Their aim was to disperse as much of it as possible on the pitch, only to be halted in their tracks by Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and David Warner. Honestly, could you think of three worse cricketers to be confronted by?Apart from Bairstow hot-footing it into the home dressing room to change out of a now stained white shirt, there was no real impediment on proceedings. The auxiliary pitch – sat two to the left of the main strip as you look out from the press box – did not have to be used. As it turned out, Bairstow’s carry of one of the protesters back to the Grand Stand from where he emerged was the only time an Englishman extolled domination on day one.Whatever debris on the field was removed with a petrol-fuelled blower, just to really hammer home the futility of the protest. A worthy one considering the debilitating effects of fossil fuels on the climate. But like many things we need to change about the world around us, there was a nagging sense it’s all too far gone. Even for believers, there’s enough doubt in the productivity of such acts to let the nuisance of inconvenience, however minor, prevail as the dominant emotion.”They have consistently shown complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events,” said CEO Guy Lavender in an MCC press release about the protest that dropped an hour later. A line far more instructive than he would have intended 24 hours after the institution had to confront a chastening from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket for being woefully out of step with “contemporary Britan”.Jonny Bairstow removes a ‘Just Stop Oil’ pitch invader from the field•Getty ImagesThe home of cricket is only a home for those who look a certain way and, principally, can afford the entry fee. A fee which MCC felt entitled those who can afford it to an uninterrupted day’s play without being reminded the ground’s main sponsor JP Morgan is the world’s worst fossil fuel financing bank.It also entitles them to, well, not watch the cricket. Just as celebrated as the members rushing for seats in the Pavilion before the start of play is the afternoon meander to the various greens of the Nursery Ground, Coronation and Harris Gardens. A point in the day when they think, you know, all this cricket is getting in the way of our conversing.On this occasion, you could understand the motivation of those punters, however strong their ties to this England team are. This was not good viewing, by any means. Overly full bowling at a worryingly docile pace. Nuts so nude you could see the birthmarks.No one in England garb looked like they really wanted to be there, save Josh Tongue in his second Test, which is damning in its own way. They had flunked the best conditions you could ever ask for at this ground. Even Stokes seemed to be devoid of the usual funk, fiddling intermittently when testing Travis Head out with the short ball, but otherwise sticking to by-the-book fields featured in many of the paintings adorning the walls of the closed-off Long Room.As England went through the back end of 83 overs of toil, they probably looked upon the now vacant spaces in the stands with some jealousy. If only they could saunter off and chill out, rather than pointlessly address Australia’s screw-turning.At another time, players would think nothing of it. They all know this is a ground those not really into cricket come to be seen at rather than actually do any seeing. But given all the success coming into this summer, all the Bazball buzz heading into an Ashes, even the way the Edgbaston opener played out day to day, something about these empty white seats created far more of a stain than any orange pigment.There was a sense of lost hope. Of a team who pride themselves on entertaining whether they win or lose, simply losing the thread of their most vaunted – and thus, most watched – series to date, in quite unwatchable fashion. Whether you watched all of the 339 runs and five wickets, or just the first session, you were left with the same mundane conclusions. Australia are quite good. England might not be as good as they thought.Related

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There is a point be made that this is the worst ground for this particular England Test side. It’s as much the pitch – devoid of meaningful bounce today from the Nursery End – as the tradition hanging over this joint, cruelly over-emphasising the grandeur of an Ashes to a group whose best cricket over the last year has come through not taking the game and their part in it too seriously.They also need those watching them to invest emotionally in what they do, which doesn’t happen here. Perhaps Wednesday was when they found out the hard way that this Lord’s crowd need a bit more than vibes and the wrong kind of jaunty hats to buy into what you’re selling. And it’s not so much the ones who wander off, more those who remain. They’ve seen far more than most, and they care not for golfing anecdotes other than their own.There’s no Hollies Stand or Western Terrace here. Other than the occasional sponsored brass band on the outfield, no instruments are allowed. All the beer snakes are killed at birth. Try and sneak in an extra can at your peril. Oh and revelry? Just try and get that past a thorough pat-down. Whatever noise to be made has to come from the middle, and but for the cracks off the middle of the bats of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Head and Steve Smith (with plenty to come from him), England couldn’t produce the infectious music that has scored the last 14 months.Expect all or some of the above to get fashioned into some excuse behind closed doors, and pray to whoever you pray to it’s not uttered publicly. There has been enough talk for a life time. Six days into this series, England’s worst by some distance has an entire narrative they built shifting against them. Previous lauders are now doubters. Their most high-profile celebrators now their harshest critics.Now, only actions matter. And at a time when English cricket and the world at large step up to fight harder in unending battles for betterment, those on the field (who are meant to be there) now find themselves rallying in similar fashion. They must hope like hell these are not equally futile circumstances.

With a sixth day on offer, the rain-affected showpiece event is still far from being a damp squib

Andrew Miller22-Jun-2021By lunch on the fifth day, something was stirring – and not just on the pitch. All around the concourse at the Ageas Bowl, excited conversations were taking place in the queues for the concessions, and in knots under the awnings which had previously been used only for rather forlorn shelter from the rain. A burst of breakthroughs from India with the prospect of more to come, and suddenly the Ultimate Test was threatening to live up to its billing.It’s perhaps too soon to get over-excited about a positive result, the sixth day notwithstanding, but at least there’s a chance to change the foghorn narrative of the World Test Championship final. “#shameontheicc!” has been the chant on social media, because yes, it’s clearly the governing body’s fault that the heavens chose this week of all weeks to open like a slice-gate and rain on the ICC’s shiniest new venture.Related

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Had the contest taken place only days earlier, it would have been basking in England’s hottest weather of the year so far – balmy temperatures in excess of 30 degrees, no less … but no, as Twitter rightly points out, it only ever rains in this country, and no international fixtures have ever reached a successful conclusion here in more than 140 years of trying.The criticism, however, has been rather moreish for those who love to clamber aboard a bandwagon. “England should be banned from hosting ICC events,” was the sentiment that Kevin Pietersen chose to echo, as the fourth day, like the first, was washed straight down the gurgler.”If it was up to me, Dubai would always host a one-off match like this WTC game,” Pietersen wrote on Twitter. “Neutral venue, fabulous stadium, guaranteed weather, excellent training facilities and a travel hub! Oh, and ICC home is next to the stadium.”All pertinent points, no doubt, especially with the hindsight that comes from such a miserable anti-climax. But, as a man whose desire to play to the gallery was the defining trait of his career, Pietersen’s urge to indulge the furious masses has caused him to overlook perhaps the most critical criteria in England’s favour as a host country. The one that has been huddled in the damp all week long, and which, in spite of everything, could yet prove to be this contest’s saving grace.Despite the weather, the fans have continued to make their presence felt at the stadium•ICC via GettyIn spite of everything, the crowds for the WTC final have been little short of heroic. Passionate, stoic, optimistic and tenacious, they have kept coming in their hundreds in the face of rank futility – an exclusively UK-based contingent, and just 25% capacity in keeping with the Covid restrictions, but drawn from India’s and New Zealand’s hefty diasporas in a guarantee of representation that could not realistically have been replicated in any other host nation.The ICC reckons they could have sold this contest out several times over, and that’s in spite of its relocation from the cosmopolitan hub of Lord’s to the motorway lay-by of the Ageas Bowl – a necessary adjustment in the current climate, but one that could easily have separated the committed fans from the casual onlookers.Not a bit of it. India’s fans, in particular, have come in their droves – from London, Luton and Leicester, and everywhere in between – banging their drums, waving their flags, donning their tri-colour pagri, and exuding, through thin and thinner, an enthusiasm for the occasion that cannot be faked.By 2.30pm on the fourth afternoon, for instance, despite having stared at the covers for four hours of scheduled playing time, a huge contingent were still gathered at the top of the Shane Warne Stand, singing their tributes to Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, and greeting their intermittent glimpses of a Virat Kohli here or a Jasprit Bumrah there with rock-star acclaim – and utter vindication of their patience.

There has been the seed of something special germinating in the rain this week, now let’s hope a sixth day of sun can allow it to bloom after all

As for the Kiwis, they’ve been outnumbered but far from under-represented – kitted out in their replica beige and turquoise shirts, and their sailor’s hats in tribute to their skipper, Kane Williamson, and his air of salty sea-dog as he sets about “stiddying the shup” once again in his typically unflappable manner.And while the weather did make a dent in the 2019 World Cup as well (four washouts out of 48, as it happens, which is not quite the “ruining” that some on Twitter seem to recall) the ubiquity of support for every competing nation in that competition goes to show that, whoever had made this final – Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, even the last in the standings, but definitely not least, Bangladesh – there would have been a crowd to fit the occasion.Frankly that matters, every bit as much as a positive result. After all, the World Test Championship is a long-overdue attempt to provide “context” to the international calendar, which is actually a euphemism for “proving the point” of Test cricket.Existing aficionados love the format for what it already is – not least Kohli, who rather rained on the final’s parade a full 24 hours before the heavens followed suit by insisting that “those who understand the game” would not accept that a one-off match can decide which team is the best in the world.Judging by the teasingly brief glimpses of action we’ve been afforded, the quality on show could not have been bettered•AFP/Getty ImagesBut those who aren’t necessarily in the know, or could do with having their curiosity piqued in a rather more grandstanding fashion, were the ones towards whom this contest was truly geared. They were to be dangled a biennial carrot – a proper spectacle featuring the two finest Test teams of the moment – and to judge by the teasingly brief glimpses of action we’ve been afforded this week, the quality on show really could not have been bettered.We’ve all become depressingly inured to the sight of empty banks of seats at stadiums throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but what would it have proved for this showpiece event to be played to a conclusion in another echoingly empty environment – indistinguishable from any of the numerous Tests that are currently drifting along around the world? As Keshav Maharaj’s hat-trick in St Lucia showed on Monday, any of these contests can explode into life at any given moment. But without witnesses to such spectacles, they are essentially shouting into the void.The pity is that England has not had the chance to prove its neutral-host credentials more often. Astonishingly, this is just the sixth such fixture in 141 years, and until this late, late stirring, it was proving to be every bit as cursed as its benighted predecessors – most especially the 1912 triangular tournament, a competition way before its time, and doomed to apathy as the rain held sway almost for its entirety – including through the wettest August in the whole of the 20th Century.The other two neutral games on English soil, in 2010, were kiboshed for rather more awkward reasons. The ECB’s goodwill towards Pakistan – exiled since the Lahore shootings a year earlier and hosted for two Tests against Australia under the guise of the “MCC Spirit of Cricket series” – had rather dissipated by the time they were caught in the News of the World’s match-fixing stint during the Lord’s Test against England. But for that, the drama of their three-wicket series-levelling win at Headingley might well have sealed them a longer-term home-from-home.And that, until now, has been that. And who knows, maybe the ill vibes of the first four days will spook the powers-that-be into thinking this really isn’t a venture worth pursuing – it didn’t take much to blow the WTC concept off-course when it was proposed and thrown out in 2011 and 2014, after all. But let’s hope not. There has been the seed of something special germinating in the rain this week. Let’s hope a sixth day of sun can allow it to bloom after all.

The miracle at Edgbaston or the second-highest chase in history. Pick between the two as we begin to identify The Greatest Test of the 21st century

Himanshu Agrawal06-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The SA-AUS 2008 Perth Test moves to the round of 16.South Africa bend Australia to their will – WACA 2008Australia were in transition ahead of the home summer in 2008-09, but showed that none of their powers were lost in beating New Zealand 2-0. They kept finding a hero to lead the rescue mission.But the script was flipped in the first Test against South Africa in Perth. Despite a familiar lower-order resolve in the first innings, despite typical macho fast-bowling from Mitchell Johnson, who bagged a career-best 8 for 61, and despite setting South Africa a huge 414 to win, Ricky Ponting’s side was left aghast. Centuries from AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith, and half-centuries from Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and debutant JP Duminy, led South Africa to the second-highest successful chase in Test history.That was Australia’s second successive loss at the WACA after India beat them there in 2007-08. And who knew at the time that it would lay the foundation for the first of three back-to-back Test series wins by South Africa in the country? Australia’s aura had started to fade.The two runs that brought the Ashes alive – Edgbaston 2005The drama had begun before the toss. Glenn McGrath had hurt his ankle on the first morning of the match, and the man who replaced him nearly did it for Australia… with the bat. On the fourth day, Australia were 137 for 7 in their pursuit of 282. Michael Clarke was their only hope, and it took an ahead-of-the-time slower ball from Steve Harmison to dismiss him and make it 175 for 8. With Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz, who took McGrath’s place in the side, remaining, England were favourites.But run by run, and minute by minute, Warne hurt England with the bat after bagging ten wickets with the ball. His stoic stand with Lee, who also looked unmoved, was fanning belief. But then, with Australia 62 runs away and the pair having added 45, a little flicker of a sound broke the silence of the stadium. Everyone searched for it. Warne found it. He had trod back onto his stumps. He was hit-wicket.Most of us would have forgotten by then that it was the Australia of their pomp. On their day, even a No. 11 could raise the ceiling with the bat. Kasprowicz did exactly that. Michael Vaughan looked frustrated with every run Lee and Kasprowicz scored. Until, with three to get, Harmison’s short ball saw Kasprowicz fending, and nudging behind to a diving Geraint Jones. Billy Bowden’s crooked finger was up, Edgbaston erupted, and Andrew Flintoff consoling Lee became an iconic image.

Return of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee will pose selection questions after strong start to tournament

Firdose Moonda09-Oct-20231:25

McClenaghan: Ravindra could bat at No. 4 upon Williamson’s return

After the emotional release of their victory over England – the team that denied them the trophy four years ago – in the World Cup opener, New Zealand continued their campaign in almost surgical style against Netherlands. The runs were scored, the wickets and catches (mostly) taken, two points secured, NRR gains made and, most importantly, selection questions answered. It is the last of those that was their biggest takeaway from this win.New Zealand came into the tournament with only 12 of their 15-player squad available for the first game, with Kane Williamson and Tim Southee recovering from serious injuries and Lockie Ferguson suffering back stiffness. By the time they play their next match, on Friday, they should have all 15 players available and the performance against Netherlands could help them decide who to pick.Let’s start with the obvious: when captain Williamson is ready for competitive cricket, he’ll slot straight back in at No. 3, which would ordinarily leave room for only two of Devon Conway, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra. All three have put good numbers on the board at this tournament, Young becoming the latest to do so. He came back from a second-ball duck against England to score his sixth half-century this year and third in six innings, making a strong claim to continue as an opener.Related

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As much as the runs mattered, the manner in which he scored them may end up counting for more. Young’s first signs of aggression came in the fourth over, when he took two fours off Ryan Klein to get New Zealand going, but a hallmark of this innings was his takedown of spin. His first six was a glorious, high-elbowed loft over long-on off Aryan Dutt. Later, he played a similar shot off Colin Ackermann. In total, Young scored more than half his runs – 39 – off the 38 balls of spin he faced and he did it at a good time. New Zealand’s next two matches are on spinner-friendly surfaces in Chennai against spin-heavy sides, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and Young has shown the kind of form that merits a place.That means when Williamson returns, if New Zealand want to retain their current opening pair and Ravindra’s form, they will have to make some changes to the composition of their line-up. The most likely solution will be to bench Mark Chapman, who won the thanks-for-coming award in the England match (he did not bat or bowl) and then scored 5 against Netherlands, and to ask Ravindra to bat in the No. 6 spot. An alternative would be to allow Ravindra to bat at No. 4 and have the others move one spot down. Either way, Chapman is the most likely to fall away, according to ESPNcricinfo expert Mitchell McClenaghan.Leaving out Chapman and James Neesham – who made way for Ferguson against Netherlands – means that lower-order runs from Mitchell Santner hold significant weight. Batting at No. 8 in Hyderabad, Santner played a cameo that was the difference between New Zealand scoring 285 and 320; he took 18 runs off the last over as Bas de Leede lost his composure and Santner picked his slower ball. Although it was only a welcome top-up in this match, a contribution like that could be crucial in future contests.Rachin Ravindra and Will Young were both in the runs against Netherlands•ICC via Getty ImagesMatt Henry was with Santner for the final phase of the innings and contributed a four-ball 10, which should be a footnote but also adds to his case as New Zealand assess the make-up of their attack. That’s where a tough decision will have to be made between Tim Southee, Henry, Ferguson and Trent Boult. No team will mind having this kind of problem of plenty but New Zealand still need to figure out how to solve it.As things stand, Henry has made himself undroppable with six wickets in his first two matches and it’s not just the numbers that work in his favour. He has taken wickets with the new and old ball and consistently troubled batters in the channel and found the edge. In the last two years, Henry has 38 wickets at an average 25.18 and McClenaghan said he would pick him over Southee, even if Southee is fit.That would likely mean a longer run for Ferguson, who had recovered for this clash. He bowled eight overs, conceded at four runs an over and showed off his variations with but did not deliver anything in the 145kph-plus range, which is what New Zealand would want from him at this tournament. It may have been that Ferguson was being conservative on his comeback from injury but if he is not going to offer out-and-out pace, it could open the door for Southee to get some game time.”This is the option – in the next game against Bangladesh, do you want to get three wins in a row? He bowled really well against Bangladesh in the past – he troubled them with speed, but if the speed is not there in these conditions, he may not be as troubling,” McClenaghan said. “You’ve also got to think about if you’d rather get overs into Tim Southee in a competitive fixture, and is that going to be this next game against Bangladesh?”Whichever way New Zealand go, in Boult, Henry, and one of Ferguson, Southee or Neesham, they have an attack with the qualities to be among the best in the tournament and are stacking up fairly well albeit still early in the event. While McClenaghan was slightly concerned about some lapses in their intensity, especially in the field, where they put down five chances, none of them cost much. Even if New Zealand were going through the motions at stages, they got everything they needed from this match – including a bit of a test with the ball – to set themselves up for the ones to come.

Axar and Root dominate the stats analysis in a game dominated by spin bowlers

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Feb-2021 0 Completed Tests since World War II to last fewer balls than the Ahmedabad Test (842 balls). The day-night Test match at Motera is now the seventh shortest completed Test match and the shortest since 1935. 77 Matches taken for Ravichandran Ashwin to complete 400 wickets in Test cricket. Muttiah Muralitharan is the only player to have reached the milestone quicker than Ashwin. The Sri Lankan got to the 400th Test wicket in his 72nd Test match.ESPNcricinfo Ltd387 Lowest Match aggregate in a completed Test match in Asia. The previous lowest was the 2002 Test between Pakistan and Australia at Sharjah (422 runs). The Ahmedabad Test is also the lowest aggregated Test in the last 74 years.81 England’s second innings total at Motera, the second-lowest Test total by any team against India. South Africa’s total of 79 in the first innings of the 2015 Nagpur Test still remains the lowest Test total against India. England’s previous lowest Test total against India was 101, way back in 1971 at The Oval. 193 Runs scored by England across both the innings. This is the first instance of a team being bundled out twice in a Test match in India with an aggregate of less than 200 runs. The previous lowest was 212 runs that was made by India and Afghanistan – against Australia and India respectively. This was also just the second Test since 1904 for England where they were bowled out twice in a Test with an aggregate lower than 193 runs. England were all-out for 93 and 82 respectively against New Zealand in Christchurch,1984. 0 Balls bowled by the pace bowlers in the second innings of both teams in this Test. This is only the second instance in a Test that yielded a result where only spinners bowled in the 3rd and 4th innings. R Ashwin , Axar Patel and Washington Sundar bowled for India while Jack Leach and Joe Root bowled for England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 8 Runs conceded by Joe Root for his five-wicket haul. Only once has a spinner taken a five-for conceding fewer runs: Australia’s Bert Ironmonger, a left-arm spinner, took 5 for 6 against South Africa way back in 1932*. Two other Australians feature among the top four such cases: Tim May conceded nine runs and took five wickets against West Indies at the Adelaide Oval in 1993, while Michael Clarke took 6 for 9 in Mumbai, 2004. 1 Instance of a ten-wicket win in Test cricket with a first-innings total lower than the 145 scored by India. England came back to defeat Australia by ten wickets in Birmingham in 1909 after they were bundled out for only 121 in the first-innings. 11/70 The cheapest ten-wicket Test match haul for India, achieved by Axar. The previous record was held by Ashwin who gave away only 85 runs for his 12 wickets against New Zealand during the 2012 Test match in Hyderabad. Axar also now holds the best match figures in a Day-Night Test going past Pat Cummins who took 10 for 62 against Sri Lanka in Brisbane. 3 Number of Indians with five-wicket hauls in three or more consecutive Test innings before Axar. Harbhajan Singh in 2001, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan in 1984 and Javagal Srinath in 1999 were the others to have achieved this rare feat. The overall record is with Charlie Turner from Australia who had taken six consecutive five-wicket hauls.* 0300GMT: The piece had originally said that Root’s eight runs is the fewest for a five-for by a spinner, because it was believed that Ironmonger bowled medium pace as well. This has been corrected after confirming that Ironmonger was indeed a spinner.

England sealed a Test series in New Zealand for the firs time since 2007-08, with Harry Brook’s hundred again pivotal. Alan Gardner was joined by Vithushan Ehantharajah, Andrew Miller and Matt Roller to break down the win in Wellington

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2024Victory by a resounding margin of 323 runs at Basin Reserve saw England take a Test series in New Zealand for first time since 2007-08. On Switch Hit, Alan Gardner heard from Vithushan Ehantharajah in Wellington, then Andrew Miller and Matt Roller in London. How good are Harry Brook and Brydon Carse? Will Jacob Bethell continue to give Ollie Pope a run for his money at No. 3? And what does it all mean for the Ashes?