Sophie Ecclestone and the debuting Lauren Filer took top billing as England mounted a fightback after Ellyse Perry’s excellent 99 at the outset of the Women’s Ashes.
Perry reversed an lbw verdict on 10 off Filer’s first ball at international level and amassed her fifth 50-plus score in 10 Tests against England, who rallied after tea and a near two-hour rain delay.
Ecclestone snared Jess Jonassen and Australia captain Alyssa Healy in the same over while Filer had the prize scalp of Perry as a century went begging, with the tourists then ending the day on 328 for seven.
Skilful slow left-armer Ecclestone also castled Tahlia McGrath, who struck 61 in a 119-run stand with Perry, to finish with figures of 31-6-71-3 on the opening day of the one-off Test at Trent Bridge.
The tall and speedy Filer vindicated her selection over Issy Wong with two for 65 but all of England’s seamers went at more than four an over, with Ecclestone the only bowler to hem in Australia’s batters.
Heather Knight, who promised to “entertain and inspire” on the eve of only the second five-day Women’s Test in history, was attacking throughout with her field settings after they were asked to bowl – something the England captain said she would have done anyway after Healy called correctly at the toss.
Trying to regain the urn for the first time since 2015, England made a false start on a day where an attendance of 5,545 marked the largest attendance on a single day for a women’s Test in this country.
Kate Cross, fully recovered from an intestinal parasite that plagued her build-up, was entrusted with the first delivery but served up an anti-climactic no-ball in a first over that yielded nine.
The Dukes ball moved laterally early on a green-tinged pitch but Phoebe Litchfield justified her inclusion and showed few signs of nerves on Test debut with some elegant strokeplay.
Beth Mooney was spared on nine after Cross dropped a tough one-handed return grab, but later in the over Litchfield erred when padding up to a delivery that shaped back in before compounding the mistake by walking off for 23 when DRS showed the ball would have missed off-stump.
Out walked the indomitable Perry, who greeted Ecclestone’s introduction by driving a short and wide delivery for four, while Test debutant Danni Wyatt shelling a diving catch after Cross had drawn Mooney’s edge seemed costly when the Australia opener clattered two boundaries off Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Held back until the 18th over, Filer made her presence immediately felt by beating the defences of Perry, whose immediate review was vindicated when replays detected a thick inside edge on to the pads.
Perry was beaten by the second ball and edged the third, hurried by the extra pace of Filer, who had due success in her third over as Mooney’s back-foot punch on 33 took the edge and carried to Cross.
Sciver-Brunt and Filer tested Perry with bouncers but she pulled handsomely on both occasions, finding some rhythm alongside McGrath, who got stuck into Lauren Bell with three fours in an over after lunch.
There was a flat feeling in the field for much of the second session as Perry went to a stylish half-century with a late dab off Cross for her ninth four while McGrath also moved to a fluent 50.
But Ecclestone prised the partnership apart with a delivery that angled in then turned fractionally to beat the forward prod of McGrath and clip the top of off-stump.
A lengthy break ensued after the heavens opened but the drainage at the Nottingham venue meant play was not curtailed for the day – and England may have been grateful as Ecclestone landed a double blow.
Jonassen missed a sweep but the ball brushed her glove before looping to Tammy Beaumont as the not out decision was overturned, while Healy lasted just two balls after shuffling down the order for Litchfield, playing down the wrong line and bowled when Ecclestone came wider on the crease.
England had the big fish when Perry flashed at Filer and the ball flew to Sciver-Brunt at gully, one ball after a similar shot had flown away for four, as England claimed three wickets in 24 balls.
Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland threatened to take some of the sheen away from England in a 77-run union, with the hosts having to bowl 33.3 overs in an elongated final session, finishing at 7.25pm.
While Sutherland (39 not out) was unbeaten at stumps, Gardner tickled Bell’s first delivery with the second new ball to depart for 40.
Ramharack stars with four wickets as West Indies clinch thriller against Pakistan in first T20I
West Indies sealed a thrilling one-run win in the first women's T20I against Pakistan in Karachi. The visitors posted 122 after a disciplined bowling performance from Pakistan, which was spearheaded by Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal. But West Indies' bowlers responded in kind, shackling the Pakistan innings and turning the chase into a nervy one that went to the death. In the end, it would boil down to two runs off the final delivery, but Shamilia Connell beat the bat, and Shemaine Campbelle behind the stumps effected the run-out.
In the first of five T20Is, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first as they looked to continue their 100% record in Pakistan on this tour. But on a pitch that gripped under the lights, it was Pakistan who started stronger as Iqbal struck of the second ball to send the talismanic captain Hayley Matthews back for a duck. Diana Baig, the most economical of the Pakistan bowlers, trapped Campbelle behind soon after to leave West Indies wobbling at 14 for two. The partnership between Qiana Joseph and Stafanie Taylor that followed did steady the ship, but Pakistan never quite let them get going.
A pair of valuable cameos - both Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry scored 13 off 9 balls - helped West Indies tip over the run-a-ball mark, but Pakistan would have felt they had a slight edge at the halfway mark.
That advantage was bolstered by a dynamic innings from opener Sidra Ameen, whose 17-ball 23 put Pakistan ahead of the asking rate by the end of the powerplay. But losing both her and Gull Feroza within four balls of each other without adding to the score brought West Indies roaring back into it, and when Karishma Ramharack cleaned up Ayesha Zafar after a stilted innings, the visitors had edged ahead. But Pakistan captain Dar's 24-ball 27 saw Pakistan seize the advantage again as the game balanced on a tightrope throughout the innings.
It all came to a head in a dramatic final over, with Connell bowling. When Najiha Alvi smacked the penultimate ball for an exquisite inside-out cover drive for four, Pakistan appeared, for one final time, to be sneaking home. But a dot ball would follow, and as Pakistan hearts were broken, West Indies' streak held firm.
West Indies 122 for 9 (Joseph 34, Taylor 30, Sana 3-24) beat Pakistan 121 for 8 (Dar 27, Ramharack 4-15) by one run
IPL: Bairstow century gives Kings stunning win over KKR with record run chase
Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten century to lead Punjab Kings to a magnificent record Indian Premier League run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders.
England batter Bairstow scored a stunning 108 not out off 48 balls with nine maximums as the Kings somehow chased down a victory target of 262 with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow was helped by Shashank Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 68 from 28 deliveries with eight maximums of his own in a remarkable display of hitting.
Hosts KKR thought they had done enough for victory when a fast start from Phil Salt (75 from 37) and Sunil Narine (71 off 32) set them up a huge total of 261-6, but the Kings battled back to earn a famous triumph.
Data Debrief
This astonishing IPL 2024 campaign has already seen Sunrisers Hyderabad twice break the record for the highest innings score in the competition and now the Kings have made more history by recording the biggest chase ever seen in T20 cricket.
This was Bairstow’s second IPL hundred, more than five years after he registered his first while playing for SRH in 2019, and it has given the Kings just their third victory of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
Reviving cricket's spirit: new JCA president Bennett focused on rebuilding sport from its foundation
“If you really want to kill whatever you do, start from the top going down.”
Those words by newly-elected Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Dr. Donovan Bennett, just about declared that he is armed with a vision and a no-nonsense approach to not only change the narrative of the country’s governing cricket body, but also to rebuild the sport from the youth level up.
Bennett, who has a passion for cricket, revealed plans for the journey ahead with optimism that he can lead Jamaican cricket into a new era of greatness, after he dethroned Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven 67 to 30 during the JCA’s Annual General Meeting at the Jamaica Conference Centre on Thursday.
Interestingly, Bennett, was a long-serving vice-president to Heaven, who led for over a decade, but said he was forced to challenge for the presidency due to the state of Jamaica’s cricket, and the resounding response from delegates justified his decision.
Though a bit surprised by the margin of victory, Bennett believes his proven track record at the youth level was what convinced delegates to vote in his favour, denying Heaven a fifth-consecutive term.
“I suppose because of my work at the youth level. I must say, I was quite successful for a very long time, and if we're going to rebuild Jamaica's cricket, then we've got to start at the bottom and work our way up. So, I think the voters think that they needed somebody who have a proper knowledge of cricket and how to administer it,” Bennett said.
With well-known administrators Fritz Harris and Dr Akshai Mansingh as his vice presidents, Bennett intends to waste little time rolling out his ambitions for the future of Jamaican cricket. His first order of business was to focus on rebuilding the sport from its foundation –the youth.
“If you start a building and you build from the top downwards, you're going to have problems. There's only one profession where they start from the top and go to the bottom and that is a gravedigger. So, if you really want to kill whatever you do, start from the top. So, we're going to start from the bottom. We are going to start at the Under-13 level, our first task would be to start building from there,” he declared.
“Because if you build the Under-13 and you build it properly, then the following year, you will have Under-15 cricketers, and the following year you'll have Under-17 cricketers, and it goes along like that. There's also another gap in that pyramid. Just below the top of the pyramid, we have an Under-23 gap, when players leave the Under-19 level, sometimes they get lost because there is not an Under-23 level to absorb them and to keep them going in the game. It's not going to happen in one year. It's going to take time, but if you do it properly, before you know it, you will have guys who are winners for you,” Bennett explained.
Bennett's approach to youth development is owing to the fact that the country's current crop of senior players, have had very little success in recent times. As such, he and his team are ready to hit the ground running, with the assistance of others, to steer cricket down the right path.
“I understand the enormity of the task at hand because things are at a very low level right now, but as I told my supporters and my friends that, I can't do it alone, and it's going to take the effort of every cricket loving person to get this thing going. No one of us or no few of us can rebuild cricket in Jamaica. So, it's going to be a process of working with and consulting with all the clubs and parishes. We've got to rebuild that relationship between the clubs and parishes because the JCA is a reflection of the clubs and parishes. So that's where I think we need to go,” he added.
For Bennett, the implementation of plans, which were shelved by his predecessor, will also take priority on his to-do list. However, with the JCA currently strapped for cash, he is hoping to access funds from Cricket West Indies (UWI) to cushion the shortfall.
“There are a lot of good plans lying at the JCA. The problem with the JCA has been implementation and getting the funding in place to get these programmes working. So, we need funding, and we need proper implementation. So, the effort has to be there, and the money has to be there. So let us not fool ourselves. If we don't have money, we can't do anything,” Bennett noted.
He continued: “I think one of the problems that the past administration had is that they didn't get funding because they didn't go and ask for it. We are going to go there and we're going to ask for it, and I'm sure that with the proper presentation and proper plans being drawn to be presented to sponsors, that we will get sponsorship.
“And I have significant goodwill at CWI level. I mean, I represent Jamaica there, and I have tried my best to be respected and understood by the majority of the directors there, so I expect cooperation at that level. Right now, the CWI owes Jamaica a lot of money, and I am sure that we will get that.”
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