England cannot claim a "moral victory" over Australia in this year's "outstanding" Ashes series, which ranks among the best ever played in the view of former skipper David Gower.
Rain during the fourth Test at Old Trafford ruined England's hopes of teeing up a decider at The Oval, though Stuart Broad's heroics did at least allow them to level the series at 2-2 with victory in the fifth Test.
While England's wait to recapture the urn continues, supporters and players took solace in denying Australia a first series win on English soil since 2001.
Captain Ben Stokes said he was "proud" of England's performances after the fifth Test, describing the draw as a "fair reflection" of the series as a whole.
While Gower agrees with that assessment, he does not believe England will be alone in wondering what might have been.
"Let's not talk about moral victories, that's just a red herring," he told Stats Perform. "It's 2-2, that's how it'll stand in history forever.
"I think it's a fair reflection. If you talk to people in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and all the rest of Australia, they will say Australia could have won it.
"It's a certainty that if you talk to people in the United Kingdom, they will look at all the things that could have been slightly different.
"They'll look at the weather in Manchester and say we had the moral victory."
Gower added: "I guess what's fair to say is that England were destroying one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket at Old Trafford.
"That assault at Manchester was awesome. If you want to talk about moral victories, maybe that's the one place you're allowed the leniency to say that."
Gower believes the series' many twists and turns should ensure it is remembered as one of the most entertaining of the modern era.
"This is right up there with the great series, or at least the ones in living memory – I can't go back to beyond the 1930s," he added.
"I was part of the 1981 series, which was [Ian] Botham's Ashes, Botham and [Bob] Willis's Ashes in many ways. That was a brilliant, brilliant series to be part of.
"Then 2005 was outstanding, we had some fantastic performances there. Great drama, great theatre, and this year was certainly up there for drama and theatre. You can argue about the overall quality, but there were some stunning performances.
"You look at the human error… at the end of it all, you can imagine that the results – English fans would say – could have been very different. If only.
"But the Aussies will say the same. Rain at Manchester, who'd have thought it? Weather in England… you have to factor these things in at some stage.
"At the end of it, I would say that the quality of the cricket between the two teams was outstanding."
Gower feels much of the series' intrigue came from a clash of styles, with England's aggressive approach under Brendon McCullum contrasting sharply with Australia's more conservative way of playing.
"Before the series started, there was an element of it being a clash of cultures," he said. "The so-called 'Bazball' against the more traditional way that Australia play.
"Sides have to play the way their players play best. England have a lot of gifted batsmen who have the capacity to force the pace, as per 'Bazball'.
"Australia have batsman, for instance like Usman Khawaja, who will just stay at the crease and make runs in quantities and buy time, use time. He was outstanding as well throughout the series."
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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