Stuart Broad was in the thick of things as England and Australia vied for control on day two of the first Ashes Test, conjuring a big double breakthrough before reprieving centurion Usman Khawaja with a careless no-ball.
Broad raised the roof at Edgbaston in the morning when he dismissed old rival David Warner and the world’s number one batter Marnus Labuschagne with consecutive deliveries, but Khawaja batted from start to finish as Australia finished 82 behind on 311 for five.
Khawaja’s supreme 126 not out dragged the tourists back from a parlous 67 for three, but Broad will be kicking himself after bowling him late in the day only to be called for overstepping.
England had already squandered a couple of chances at the other end, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow fumbling a stumping against Cameron Green and dropping a regulation catch off Alex Carey.
While Ben Stokes has stayed true to his attacking principles – with bat, ball and by springing a surprise declaration at 393 for eight on Friday afternoon – Australia have dug their heels in with a more conservative, traditional brand of Test cricket.
Khawaja was the personification of that, occupying the crease for 279 balls across almost seven hours but the 36-year-old did so with no little style.
Amid long periods of studied concentration he picked his moments, striking returning spinner Moeen Ali for five fours and two sixes.
It was a mixed day for Moeen, entrusted with 29 overs and aggressive fields in his first bowling day since reversing his red-ball retirement, removing Travis Head (50) and Green (38) at a cost of 124 runs.
Australia began by blocking out three maidens in a row, one more than England allowed in their entire innings, offering further evidence of the growing culture clash between the sides.
It took just over half-an-hour for England to make their move and it was Broad, preferred to Mark Wood for his experience and big game mentality, who made it happen.
Warner, who was tortured by Broad in the 2019 series, attempted to pound him through the vacant cover region but lost his shape and dragged down his stumps.
It was the 15th time Warner had been dismissed by Broad, a stranglehold that the seamer refuses to let go.
Next up was Labuschagne, whose long stint at the top of the ICC rankings could not spare him the ignominy of a golden duck.
Broad spoke earlier in the season about designing a new outswinger with Labuschagne in mind and it worked first time, Bairstow diving low in front of first slip to pouch the outside edge.
Steve Smith survived the hat-trick ball, dragged down attempting to bring in leg-slip, but seemed in the mood for a long stay.
At the ground where he scored twin centuries four years ago, he soaked up 59 deliveries, including an unexpected cameo from Harry Brook’s modest medium pace, before Stokes took matters into his own hands.
England fans have spent months worrying about his chronic left knee problem and whether it would stop him bowling this summer, but he answered the question just before lunch.
The last ball of his second over skidded through, thumping Smith just above the knee as he sat deep in the crease. Stokes flung both arms into the air and implored Marais Erasmus to raise his finger, with the umpire obliging after a long look. Smith called for DRS and looked aghast when he saw three reds on the big screen.
The afternoon session checked English momentum as Australia added 110 runs for the loss of Head, caught at midwicket flicking Moeen off his toes.
Khawaja was impeccable, pulling reliably whenever England dropped too short, and joining Head in going after Moeen.
Bairstow’s failure to stump Green spared the all-rounder a duck and he went on to add 72 with Khawaja either side of tea.
Moeen returned to get Green, bowling him with a beauty that spun sharply through the gate, but Australia were decisive winners of the final session.
Khawaja moved assuredly towards three figures, reaching his first hundred in England with a late cut off Stokes and flinging his bat in the air as he celebrated with raw passion.
He came into this game with a top score of 54 in England and an average of less than 20, but put those statistics firmly to the sword.
Carey proved awkward as England visibly tired in the evening, making an unbeaten 52 after Bairstow grassed a thin edge off Joe Root’s spin.
But the real morale killer came when Broad speared the second new ball through Khawaja’s defences only to see the wicket chalked off as a no-ball.
They never quite recovered from that, with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson reaching the close without a chance between them, and will need to lift themselves on day three.
West Indies win fifth T20I by eight wickets to secure 4-1 series victory
The West Indies Women defeated hosts Pakistan by eight wickets in the fifth and final T20 International at the Karachi National Stadium on Friday to complete a 4-1 series victory.
Pakistan, after being put in to bat by the West Indies, had an excellent start to their innings with Ayesha Zafar and Sidra Ameen putting on 38 for the first wicket before Zafar fell in the fifth over for 22.
Ameen and Muneeba Ali then put on a further 46 before the latter fell for 25 in the 13th over.
That same over saw Pakistan reduced to 86-3 when Nida Dar fell for two.
What proceeded that can only be described as a collapse as the hosts then lost their next five wickets for just 35 runs in five overs.
They eventually ended their 20 overs 134-8. Ameen was the final person out for a top score of 48 as Afy Fletcher was excellent with the ball for the Windies with 3-17 from her four overs.
Qiana Joseph also bowled well with 2-26 from four overs.
The successful chase was then anchored by superstar batter Hayley Matthews.
The skipper faced 59 balls and hit 11 fours on her way to a top score of 78 as the West Indies needed just 18.2 overs to reach 136-2.
Shemaine Campbelle provided good support with 33.
Matthews was named player of the series thanks to her 205 runs and seven wickets.
Full scores: Pakistan 134-8 off 20 overs (Sidra Ameen 48, Muneeba Ali 25, Ayesha Zafar 22, Afy Fletcher 3-17, Qiana Joseph 2-26)
West Indies 136-2 off 18.2 overs (Hayley Matthews 78, Shemaine Campbelle 33)
IPL: Iyer and Starc boost Kolkata's top-two hopes after Mumbai win
Venkatesh Iyer starred with 70 for Kolkata Knight Riders before Mitchell Starc's four-wicket haul eased his side to a 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
The Knight Riders only managed to post 169 at Wankhede Stadium as Iyer and Manish Pandey (42) were the only Kolkata batters to pass 15 runs on Friday.
Nuwan Thushara registered figures of 3-42 and Jasprit Bumrah picked up three wickets for just 18 runs as Kolkata limped to a target that appeared somewhat reachable for Mumbai.
Yet Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir all failed to get going in response for the Indians before Suryakumar Yadav's 35-ball 56 promised a tense ending.
However, Andre Russell forced Suryakumar to launch a full toss into the sky for a simple Phil Salt catch – with the West Indian one of three Kolkata bowlers to collect two wickets, along with Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy (both 2-22).
Suryakumer's dismissal teed up Starc's three-wicket blitz to end the innings with 4-33, moving the Knight Riders up to second in the table as Tim David's quickfire 24 proved redundant for Mumbai.
Data Debrief: Iyer the hero as Mumbai play-off hopes stunted
Having been reduced to 57-5 in the first innings, Iyer stood up with his season-best 70 off just 52 balls – including six fours and three maximums – guiding Kolkata to a commendable target.
This defeat left Mumbai ninth in the table, some six points adrift of the play-offs with just three games remaining – they may live to rue not capitalising on a promising first-innings position.
CWI's Lead Selector Haynes confident in T20 World Cup squad- “We’ve got a team that can win this World Cup”
CWI Lead Selector, Dr. The Hon. Desmond Haynes, believes the squad that has been selected to represent the West Indies at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup set for June 1-29 in the Caribbean and the USA can replicate the performances of the region’s title-winning squads in 2012 and 2016.
“This is a very good time in West Indies cricket. I believe that we’ve got a team that can win this World Cup and I feel damn good about this,” Haynes said in a Friday press conference announcing the squad.
“We’ve had preparations for the last year. The majority of the players, we had them involved and they were very successful. This is a very exciting time for us and I would hope that everyone in the Caribbean and all the West Indies fans support us because this is our best chance,” he added.
Also on hand at Friday’s press conference was West Indies Men’s ODI and T20I head coach Daren Sammy who also expressed confidence in the squad ahead of the tournament.
“We’ve known how to select winning teams. We’ve done it before and I think, as a selection group, we’re really excited about it,” Sammy said.
“It’s an exciting time and this preparation did not start now. It started from the last World Cup in Australia. What we’ve been able to do throughout the last year as a T20 group, the players we’ve exposed, has brought us to this moment and I think we’re about to knock it out of this world,” he added.
Two of the standout names in the 15-man squad were pacer Shamar Joseph and Shimron Hetmyer.
Joseph made his Test debut during the recent tour to Australia and became a worldwide phenomenon when he took a seven-wicket haul in the final innings despite an injured foot to give West Indies a dramatic eight-run win at the Gabba in the second Test. It was West Indies' first Test win in Australia since 1997.
This will be his first opportunity to represent the West Indies in the T20I format. He’s currently getting his first crack at franchise T20 cricket as he is a member of the Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
“You really can’t question Shamar Joseph’s skills. We saw him in Australia. We were looking at someone up front to bowl in the first powerplay and we think he ticks that box for us,” Haynes said.
Hetmyer is making his return to the squad after being left out for the tour of Australia. Haynes said it was a tough time deciding whether to pick Hetmyer or Kyle Mayers.
“It was a very close decision between Kyle and Hettie but we look at it from the point of view that we wanted the extra batsman to be one batting down the order,” he said.
Since the start of Daren Sammy’s tenure as head coach, he has always placed an emphasis on the importance of roles in a successful T20 outfit.
He believes that this 15-man group has covered all the necessary bases.
“We are ready. When you look at role definition from the group we’ve selected, I think we’ve come up with the best combination to help us win this World Cup.
The hosts will open their campaign against Papua New Guinea at Providence in Guyana on June 2.
Full squad: Rovman Powell (C), Alzarri Joseph (VC), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
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