Ben Duckett fell an agonising two runs short of an Ashes century as England took the fight back to Australia in the second Test at Lord’s.
England had been a shadow of themselves on day one but rallied impressively with bat and ball before being dragged into a costly a short-ball battle during a gripping final session.
The hosts took five for 77 in the morning session to dismiss Australia for 416, a strong total but one that represented a poor return from a peak of 316 for three.
Duckett then led his side to 278 for four, punching his way to a gutsy 98 but stumbling in sight of glory as he top-edged a Josh Hazlewood bouncer to fine-leg.
The Nottinghamshire opener would have been dismayed to spring a trap that also accounted for Ollie Pope and Joe Root, but this may still go down as a career-best effort.
Duckett has reached three figures twice before but with the quality of the Australian attack and the parlous situation in the series, this trumped his 182 against a limited Ireland earlier this month and his maiden hundred in a run-fest in Rawalpindi.
Australia bowled bumpers almost exclusively for an adrenaline-fuelled hour in the evening, playing on England’s eagerness and ego after spinner Nathan Lyon suffered a worrying calf injury.
On the occasion of his 100th consecutive Test, a testament to his spotless fitness record, Lyon pulled up lame as he collected the ball in the deep and had to be helped off the pitch.
There must now be major concerns over the role he can play in the remainder of the match, as well as in next week’s clash at Headingley.
Harry Brook rode his luck on his way to a dicey 45 not out, but captain Ben Stokes restored an element of calm with a responsible 17no from 57 balls at the close.
Australia started the day 339 for five, with England eager to respond to a performance that was labelled “absolutely shambolic” by Kevin Pietersen and improve on bowling branded “utter dross” by Michael Vaughan.
And while they were unable to prevent Steve Smith turning his overnight score of 85 into a 12th Ashes century, second only to the great Donald Bradman, they would have been more than happy with their efforts.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad had sent down 33 wicketless overs between them on the first day but picked up one apiece in a rousing opening burst that set the tone for an England comeback.
Broad jagged back in sharply off the pitch to pin Alex Carey lbw in his first over of the morning and Anderson following by snapping up Mitchell Starc’s outside edge.
Smith brought up his latest hundred with a majestic cover drive but when he slashed Josh Tongue to Duckett in the gully for 110, Ollie Robinson picked up the last two wickets in short order.
Duckett and Zak Crawley survived four awkward overs before lunch and proceeded to share a buoyant stand of 91 – England’s best against Australia since January 2011.
Crawley was in particularly pleasing touch, but gifted Lyon his wicket on 48 when he raced down the pitch and was well stumped by Carey.
Duckett continued his unconventional habit of steadfastly refusing to leave anything, but was able to score quickly and safely against a pedigree attack.
Alongside Pope, who eased concerns over his shoulder injury by emerging at number three, Duckett added a further 96 as the pace and hostility of the Australian quicks failed to affect his steady rhythm.
Duckett’s interest in feeling bat on ball helped, scoring handily from square drives and cuts that could have been left and sweeping with enough confidence to rotate the strike off Lyon. Starc and Hazlewood both leaked runs at an alarming rate, with the pair both seeing their economy peak at more than seven-an-over.
Duckett reached 50 with a clean punch off the pads and was past 80 before the bouncers started to fly in.
He top-edged one over the wicketkeeper on 84 and almost picked out fine leg on 86. It was at that moment that Lyon hobbled off in anguish and leaving his side a bowler light.
Pope was going well at 42 when he succumbed, stepping inside the line and toe-ending Cameron Green to the waiting Smith. Green thought he had key man Joe Root in the same over, only for a no-ball to cut celebrations short.
England continued the high-risk strategy of pulling and hooking with catchers in the deep and it came at a cost as Duckett shovelled Hazlewood to fine-leg to shatter his dreams of a century.
Root followed with a careless swipe at Starc, failing to cash in on his reprieve as he departed for 10.
Brook played some remarkable shots as he kept the aggression up, twice slashing airily past mid-on and almost losing his leg stump as he stepped away to swing at Green.
But Stokes settled his side in mature fashion as they ended 138 behind with six wickets in hand.
Bolt joined by multiple sports stars for first look at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador Usain Bolt got a first look at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium from the best seats in the house, along with cricket legends and New York sports icons.
The Jamaican sprint legend was joined in this special preview by USA cricketers Corey Anderson and Monak Patel along with cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), and Liam Plunkett (England). Also present during this landmark event was a star-studded line-up of New York sports stars, including John Starks (NBA / New York Knicks), Elena Delle Donne (WNBA/USA), Bartolo Colon (MLB/New York Yankees-Mets), Victor Cruz (NFL/New York Giants), and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Fencing/USA).
To commemorate the occasion, the stars all signed a giant cricket bat, which will be present at the venue for all eight ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches hosted there between June 3-12. The event marks the official final countdown to the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York, with Sri Lanka and South Africa set to clash in the venue's first match on June 3.
Bolt was confident the venue would provide an exciting and energetic cricket experience.
“Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, I’m very excited to be part of the T20 World Cup coming to the USA for the first time, co-hosting with the West Indies. Getting one of the sport’s biggest events into the USA is a big milestone and can provide a launching pad leading towards cricket’s inclusion in the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.
“The new stadium is going to be a fantastic place to watch from. It’s very enclosed and you feel very close to the action. I can imagine it will be full of energy when cricket fans get to Nassau County International Stadium next month," Bolt noted.
Brett Jones, CEO of T20 USA Inc. called the event a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA.
“Today was a fantastic celebration, showcasing a truly out of this world stadium. Having Usain and a host of New York sports stars and Olympic legends to experience it was fantastic and a fitting welcome to cricket in the USA," Jones said.
“Having Curtly Ambrose, Liam Plunkett, Shoaib Malik, Corey Anderson and Monak Patel here and seeing their response to the stadium and the playing surface was also pretty special. It gives us a real sense of what the fans can expect next month," he added.
The 34,000-seater temporary stadium is the first of its kind in international cricket, and is also believed to be the largest ever constructed in the United States.
Featured at the unveiling were extensive hospitality and media pavilions on the north and south ends of the venue, which join the east and west general admission stands. Among the new additions are the Cabana seats in the North pavilion along with the Corner Club seats with a private party area.
The stadium is one of the three venues in the USA for the upcoming mega-event. Florida and Texas will also host matches from the event.
The USA are co-hosts for the event alongside the West Indies, where 39 matches will be played across six venues. The Final will be held on 29 June in Barbados.
No spark from Rovman Powell as Curran pilots Punjab Kings over Rajasthan Royals
Sam Curran starred as Punjab Kings moved off the bottom of the Indian Premier League table with a five-wicket victory over second-place Rajasthan Royals.
The Kings successfully chased a target of 145 as Curran finished with an unbeaten 63, including two maximums in the final four balls, to get them over the finish line.
The Royals struggled to find their rhythm until Riyan Parag (48) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) stepped up to drag them into contention, but the Kings stifled their recovery near the end of the first innings. West Indies captain Rovman Powell (four) was among those that failed to spark at the backend of the Royals innings.
Curran (2-24), Harshal Patel (2-28) and Rahul Chahar (2-26) all played a part in limiting RR to 144-9, though the Kings then looked like they might fall short in the chase.
Sam Curran starred for Punjab Kings.
Punjab captain Curran carried them forward after a slow start, and though Jitesh Sharma was caught for 22 to offer the Royals hope in the 16th over, impact player Ashutosh Sharma contributed an unbeaten 17 in support of Curran, whose big hitting got the job done with an over remaining.
Data Debrief: Patel comes up clutch
Having posted figures of 2-28 on Wednesday, Patel now has 63 wickets in the death overs (16th-20th) in the IPL, the outright fifth-most wickets in this phase in competition history after Dwayne Bravo (102), Lasith Malinga (90), Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (85) and Jasprit Bumrah (80).
His late dismissals of Parag and Donovan Ferreira kept the Royals' score down, then Curran's joint-highest IPL knock ensured the Kings registered a fourth consecutive away victory.
Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
