England will eye early wickets on day two of the second Ashes Test after Steve Smith helped Australia make a strong start in their quest to move 2-0 up in the series.
Smith was unbeaten on 85 at the end of the first day at Lord’s with Australia able to close on 339 for five, a score which would have been even better had Joe Root not struck twice late on with his part-time spin.
David Warner and Travis Head contributed half-centuries as England disappointingly failed to make the most of winning the toss and bowling on a green-tinged wicket under cloudy skies in the capital.
Only Ashes debutant Josh Tongue, who claimed two for 88, was able to make a significant impact out of the hosts’ all-seam attack but captain Ben Stokes will hope that can change on the second morning despite the threat of rain.
View from the dressing roomPope’s on ice
England have work to do before they can think about batting at the home of cricket, but they do have concerns over the fitness of Ollie Pope.
Vice-captain Pope injured his right shoulder while fielding soon after lunch and did not return to the field.
It has heightened fears he will not be able to bat during the rest of the Test.
The Surrey batter spent most of day one being treated with ice, but if fit he can bat in his usual number three slot and will not incur any penalty time for being off the field of play due to this being an impact injury.
Here’s Jonny!
The second Ashes Test was only six balls old when Just Stop Oil protesters ran on to the field and headed for the Lord’s wicket, but it was Jonny Bairstow who came to the rescue.
England’s wicketkeeper picked up one of the men and carted them over the boundary edge. The other protester, who momentarily attracted the attention of Ben Stokes and Australia’s David Warner, was intercepted by security staff.
Bairstow did have to change his orange-stained whites but his “swift hands” were praised by an official spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. All three protesters were arrested.
Organisers will hope the headlines from day two are just about the cricket.
Sloppy England overstep the mark
Root’s late double scalp helped spare England’s blushes on what had largely been a poor day.
The hosts’ sluggishness started with Root putting down a low catch from Usman Khawaja in the fifth over and while the Australian batter did not cash in, his fellow opener Warner did make the most of a life on 20 – when Pope dropped a sharp chance at third slip – to register a half-century.
Even more eye-catching than those drops were the 12 no-balls Stokes’ side bowled. After 23 no-balls at Edgbaston, it is an area where improvement is required – especially for Robinson, who overstepped on six occasions.
Josh gets Tongues wagging
A crumb of comfort for England was the display of Tongue. After being hit for a few early boundaries, he stuck to his guns and conjured up a superb inswinging delivery to dismiss Khawaja on the stroke of lunch.
Better was to follow in the afternoon session when the Worcestershire seamer produced a brilliant over of Ashes cricket.
With Warner at the crease, Tongue had the aggressive Aussie tied up in knots with no answer to both the inswinger or outswinger.
It was a wonderful delivery that jagged back in and went through Warner’s defence that did for the opener, with the ball clipping his leg-stump.
Red for Ruth Day
Rivalries will be put to one side on Thursday for the Ruth Strauss Foundation with both England and Australia players joining fans and pundits in turning Lord’s into a sea of red.
Former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss set up the charity in memory of his late wife Ruth, who died in 2018 from a non-smoking lung cancer.
The foundation supports thousands of families as they deal with the impact of terminal cancer diagnosis and day two will aim to raise more funds and awareness.
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
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