Saqib Mahmood tore through Pakistan as a makeshift England side cruised to a crushing nine-wicket victory in the first game of the ODI series at Sophia Gardens.
England were forced to name an entirely new squad just two days before the opening match in Cardiff due to a coronavirus outbreak in the initial party.
A new-look team including five debutants grasped their opportunity in emphatic fashion, however, as the rusty tourists were dismissed for only 141 in 35.2 overs after being put in to bat by stand-in skipper Ben Stokes.
Mahmood took two wickets in the first over and finished with excellent figures of 4-42, while Craig Overton (2-23) and Matt Parkinson (2-28) also did damage.
Fakhar Zaman top scored with 47 in a nightmare start to the three-match series for Pakistan and England reached their target from only 21.5 overs, with Dawid Malan (68 not out) and debutant Zak Crawley (58no) making unbeaten half-centuries.
Mahmood snared Imam-ul-Haq leg before with the first ball of the game and claimed the huge wicket of Babar Azam two deliveries later, the Pakistan captain edging a peach of a delivery behind without scoring.
Lewis Gregory had Mohammad Rizwan caught by wicketkeeper John Simpson and Pakistan were 26-4 when Saud Shakeel was struck in front by a fired-up Mahmood.
Fakhar, who had scored centuries in his previous two ODI knocks against South Africa, struck six boundaries before slashing leg-spinner Parkinson to Crawley at point and while Shadab Khan added 30, Pakistan folded miserably.
Shaheen Shah Afridi saw the back of Phil Salt for only seven, but Malan and Crawley eased England home with an unbroken stand of 120.
MAHMOOD MAKES HIS MARK
Mahmood playing in his fifth ODI, recorded his best international figures, while Gregory conceded only one boundary from his four overs before Overton and Parkinson claimed a couple of wickets apiece.
England have now taken 33 wickets during powerplays in the 50-over format since winning the Cricket World Cup two years ago, 11 more than any other side. No team to play over three matches in that period has a better strike rate (28.2 balls per wicket) and their rate of a boundary every 10.4 deliveries is also the best.
MALAN AND CRAWLEY CASH IN
Malan missed the 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka due to personal reasons but played fluently on his unexpected return. He has now recorded back-to-back ODI half-centuries, having also reached the landmark against India in Pune back in March.
The left-hander also made 76 in a recent Twenty20 victory over Sri Lanka and has showed he could merit a place in all formats. Crawley struggled in the Test series loss to New Zealand, yet he looked in good touch as he struck seven boundaries in a 50-ball innings.
Chris Gayle challenges Usain Bolt to race: “All Usain will be seeing is a lot of dust”
West Indian batting legend Chris Gayle has spoken about the time Jamaican spring king Usain Bolt got his wicket in a friendly game which led the hard-hitting batsman to challenge the sprinter to a race.
“Till this day, he’s still afraid of me. Doesn’t want to see me on a 100m track,” Gayle tells ICC in a new video released by cricket’s world governing body before breaking into a laugh.
“Of course, I’m a sprinter. All Usain Bolt will be seeing is a lot of dust and the Universe Boss just going down the stretch,” Gayle added.
In response, Bolt said “we all know Chris can’t run. We have seen him. We know Chris doesn’t do quick singles or anything. We’re not worried about Chris.”
Responding to this, Gayle said, “that’s a big lie. I run a lot of ones, twos, threes, you name it… sometimes even fours. So, Bolt, get your running spikes ready. And if you want to bring any other athlete along, you know, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, anybody. Somebody gonna come fourth. And it’s not me!”
Talking about Bolt taking his wicket, Gayle said that the incident had happened at a charity match where Bolt had bowled a “damn good bouncer” at him, following which he told himself to not hold back at the “fun game.”
“After the bouncer I said to myself, it’s a fun game. What am I doing? So, I start smashing him. Hit him for one or two sixes and probably for a few fours. Then, eventually, I get an inside edge onto the stumps,” said Gayle.
Gayle and Bolt are both ambassadors for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1-29.
DJ Bravo reiterates call for love, togetherness in T&T; to host peace walk on May 18
Former West Indies cricket captain Dwayne Bravo is again hoping to use his status and influence to shape a safer Trinidad and Tobago, as he is set to host a peace walk to raise awareness about crime in the twin island republic.
The event, Unity Walk 2024 – A Mother’s Cry, is scheduled to start at Memorial Park in Port of Spain, on May 18, at 10:00 am.
“Come out and let’s re-inject love, peace, unity and togetherness in our beautiful twin island,” Bravo said in a short video.
“Don’t miss out, get your crew, come out in your numbers. Walk for unity, walk for peace,” he added.
The walk is being held to raise awareness of domestic violence, drug abuse, gang warfare and murder.
This is another attempt by Bravo to not only encourage the youth of Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, to follow their dreams, but more importantly, to stay away from a life of crime.
Last year, Bravo, known for his electrifying all-round performances for West Indies and in franchise cricket, took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the crime situation.
"To the youths out there, please find your passion and follow your dreams! Drugs and guns (are) not the way forward,” he said then.
The two-time T20 World Cup winner made the plea under an excerpt of his song "Sad Place".
While the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) reported a five percent decrease in homicides — 577 in 2023 as compared to 605 in 2022 — citizens remain concerned about a high level of violent crime in and around the city centre of Port of Spain.
IPL: Capitals sneak past Titans after Pant heroics in free-scoring clash
Rishabh Pant stole the show with an unbeaten 88 as Delhi Capitals leapfrogged Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League table with Wednesday's nervous four-run victory.
Delhi looked in some trouble after Sandeep Warrier dismissed openers Prithvi Shaw for 11 and Jake Fraser-McGurk on 23 but Pant blitzed a remarkable 43-ball knock that contained eight maximums to help the Capitals to 224-4.
That onslaught from the India wicketkeeper came after Axar Patel – promoted up the order to number three – blasted 66 off 43 balls, though Wriddhiman Saha (39) and Sai Sudharsan (69) led the Gujarat fightback.
David Miller's quickfire 55 offered further hope yet impact player Rasikh Salam's 3-44 stunted that response.
With the Titans needing 19 from the final over, Mukesh Kumar (1-41) held on in a showdown with Rashid Khan (21 not out) to edge the Capitals over the finish line.
Data Debrief: Sharma sets unwanted IPL record
Though much of the credit went to Pant for his late-innings destruction, questions may be asked of Mohit Sharma, whose 0-73 from four overs marked the most expensive figures for a bowler in IPL history.
Mohit cannot shoulder too much blame, though, as this entertaining IPL clash saw only two bowlers concede less than eight runs an over – Warrier's 3-15 in the first innings before Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saha and Rahul Tewatia (4) in his 2-29 Delhi spell.
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