Ollie Pope is aiming for another big showing at Lord’s after admitting he fell short with the bat during England’s Ashes defeat at Edgbaston.
Pope contributed scores of 31 and 14 in the first Test, cut off lbw by Nathan Lyon in the first innings before losing his off stump to an inswinging yorker from Australia captain Pat Cummins in the second.
The latter was probably the best delivery of the match but failing to cash in on either visit left Pope eager to make up for lost time when the series resumes at Lord’s on Wednesday.
“It’s one game, you try not to look too much into who you are playing just because it’s an Ashes series, but I know that you can be remembered by Ashes series and playing amazing knocks,” he said.
“It does give you that extra bit of fire within yourself. Hopefully I can deliver that over the rest of the series. That first innings was a good time to bat. I got myself in, got to 30-odd, and didn’t play a great shot to be honest. Whenever you walk off for 30-odd on a good pitch you have left some out there. Second dig, I put it down to a nice ball, which I don’t normally do, but hopefully I can keep that out next time.”
One thing that he is unlikely to change is a willingness to get after Lyon. The off-spinner had a match to remember in Birmingham, taking eight wickets and helping his side over the line unexpectedly with the bat in the deciding session, but he was also expensive at times as England refused to let him settle.
“We obviously don’t want to lose eight wickets to him, I think we’re reasonably happy. I think we’re going to keep being really positive against him and try and take our strong options,” he said.
“Those eight wickets he got will make us think ‘Right, what was the best option for me?’ a little bit more. That’s the way we see it. He’s a highly-skilled bowler and knows how to bowl when people are coming at him as well, so it’s going to be a good game of cat and mouse I think.”
If Pope needs any additional motivation at Lord’s, he need only stop to glance at the ground’s famous honours board. Waiting for him there is a freshly-engraved entry with his name next to a career-best score of 205, after he dominated the Ireland attack earlier this month.
Australia’s attack represents a major step change from that which Ireland were able to put out, but there are positive recent memories for Pope to mine.
“It’s different (facing Australia), but I wouldn’t say chalk and cheese,” he said.
“You always have grounds you enjoy batting at, and if you know you’ve had success at a ground it does give you a bit of confidence going into it. That just helps your mindset, it doesn’t mean you are going to score runs but it doesn’t mean you won’t. It’s nice to know you’ve had success on a ground in the past.”
The West Indies will enter the super sixes stage of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers with it all to do after they were stunned in a super over by the Netherlands on Monday.
Teams will take points earned from the group stage into the super sixes if you beat the other qualified teams from your group.
As a result of their losses to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, the West Indians will enter the super sixes stage with no points while the Netherlands will enter with two and Zimbabwe with four.
The West Indies made a seemingly insurmountable 374-6 from their 50 overs after being put in to bat by the Dutch.
The innings was set up excellently with a 101-run opening stand between Brandon King and Johnson Charles.
Charles was first to go for 54 to bring Shamarh Brooks to the crease to join King. The pair put on a further 59 before Brooks fell for 25.
Captain, Shai Hope, was next to make his way out to the middle and just three runs later, King fell for a well made 81-ball 76 to bring Pooran to the crease.
Hope and Pooran, then, added a further 108 before Hope eventually fell for 47 in the 41st over.
Pooran, however, batted excellently, smashing the Dutch bowling all over the Takashinga Sports Club, eventually finishing 104 not out off 65 balls including nine fours and six sixes. Keemo Paul also played extremely well alongside Pooran, finishing unbeaten on 46 off 25 balls including four fours and two sixes.
Bas De Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar each took a pair of wickets for the Netherlands.
The Dutch, on the back of a magnificent 111 from Teja Nidamanuru, produced a spirited chase that saw them equal the West Indies score, and make their highest ODI score in the process, finishing 374-9 off their 50 overs.
It was a well-rounded batting effort as they got valuable contributions from Vikramjit Singh (37), Max O’Dowd (36), Wesley Barresi (27) and Bas De Leede (33) at the top of their innings.
It was then a crucial 143-run fifth-wicket partnership between Nidamanuru and Captain, Scott Edwards, that put the Netherlands on the cusp of victory.
Edwards eventually fell for a 47-ball 67 to leave the Netherlands 313-5 in the 45th over. Saqib Zulfiqar (3) and Nidamanuru (111) then fell in quick succession to leave the Netherlands 327-7 after 46 overs.
Logan Van Beek and Aryan Dutt then batted brilliantly to put on the further 47 needed to prolong the enthralling contest.
Eventually, they found themselves needing 9 from 6 and then one from one before, off the very last ball, Van Beek was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 28 off just 14 balls.
The resulting super over gave Van Beek an opportunity to continue the momentum he built during the chase and that is exactly what he did.
He hit a mammoth 30 runs off Jason Holder’s over including three fours and three sixes.
Van Beek was then tasked with bowling the super over to the West Indies pair of Johnson Charles and Shai Hope.
Charles hit the first ball for six before dragging the next ball into the leg side for a single, meaning Hope would need to hit four sixes in a row for victory. The next ball could only produce a single, pretty much ending all hope for the West Indies.
Eventually, the West Indies managed just eight in the super over to give the Netherlands an improbable victory.
England teenager Rehan Ahmed has admitted being part of this week’s Ashes squad at Lord’s is beyond his wildest dreams.
Ahmed, 18, became the youngest male to play Test cricket for England in December when selected during the Pakistan series and marked his debut with a stunning five-wicket haul in Karachi.
The confidence of the Leicestershire all-rounder has been clear from the outset despite his tender age, but even he conceded his call-up to the group for the second Test on Friday was unexpected despite injury concerns over Moeen Ali.
“It means everything. I would never have dreamed this,” Ahmed told England’s official Twitter account.
“To be part of an Ashes squad at my age, at Lord’s as well, I never saw it coming so it is lovely to be a part of.
“I was actually with my brother when Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) called me, but my mum and dad found out straight away, and a couple of my friends.
“Baz said I would be joining up with the squad for the next couple of games, well the next four games. Yeah, he was so chilled about it as well but I was on the phone a bit panicky but just happy.”
Ahmed joined the group on Sunday and had his first nets session at Lord’s a day later.
While Ahmed has never played at the home of cricket, he is familiar with the ground having bowled there to future captain Ben Stokes when he was 11 and impressed the late Shane Warne two years later with his leg-spin.
He added: “Lord’s is always a special ground.
“I’ve never played here before, I’ve not been on the main pitch either but (I have) good memories from when I was 13, 14 and I net bowled for England as well.”
Quizzed on his Ashes memories, Ahmed admitted the first time he fully watched five days of a Test against Australia was the thrilling opener at Edgbaston last week.
With Moeen able to bowl during Monday’s training session, Ahmed is not expected to feature at Lord’s but made no secret of how much he relishes being part of the environment Stokes and McCullum have created.
“The last game was probably the first time I watched the full Ashes, the full days,” Ahmed revealed.
“I was playing a game against Notts for Leicestershire and I was getting drinks every two overs for the score. The last game was unbelievable.
“Baz gave me a call on Friday morning. He basically told me I would come in and join the lads. It was unbelievable.
“I love it. I love being around this new environment that’s been created. It is unbelievable.”
Heather Knight has urged England to regroup quickly in the Women’s Ashes but took a crumb of comfort from the entertainment served up in a losing cause in the lone Test at Trent Bridge.
The decision to have this series opener across five days as opposed to the traditional four for women’s Tests backfired on England as Australia sealed an 89-run win inside 90 minutes of the final morning.
Australia therefore took a 4-0 points lead in the multi-format series but with only two on offer for wins in three T20s and three ODIs, England need to prevail in five of the six matches to claim the urn.
While Knight spoke forlornly after England slid from an overnight 116 for five to 178 all out chasing 268, she pointed out the ebbs and flows that occurred was a great advert for the women’s Test cricket.
There is some justification to her argument with an official attendance of 23,207 across the Test – with just over 2,000 on the final day after the Nottingham venue threw open their gates free of charge.
“There is certainly disappointment but I’m really proud of how the girls have gone about these five days, it’s been a very entertaining Test match which has been great,” the England captain said.
“The way we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the Australians and really put them under pressure at times, I’ve been really proud of how the girls have done that. I don’t think we’ve taken a backward step.
“The fact that we’ve had five days has led to the great cricket that we’ve had. Lauren (Filer) bowled before lunch (on Sunday) and I just had a little moment to look around at the crowd getting really engaged. At that moment I was like ‘can I bottle this? This is awesome’.
“That’s what we want to do as a team. We want to get people watching Test cricket, we want to get people excited about women’s cricket. That moment made me realise that actually we’ve done our job.”
England have no time to lick their wounds as the T20 series starts at Edgbaston on Saturday, with Knight acknowledging there will be some aching limbs on both sides.
Asked if she thinks England can still win the Ashes, Knight said: “I think we have to, of course. When you look at (having to win five in six) it is tricky mentally, but you have to look at the first game.
“There will certainly be some tired bodies in both changing rooms. I think being able to decompress and let things go is really important. Obviously, we’ve got quite an uphill battle.
“We have to turn things around quite quickly and it can’t be too much of a momentum shifter.
Knight, who alongside head coach Jon Lewis, has attempted to foster a more attacking mindset similar to that adopted by the men’s team under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
But after Tammy Beaumont’s double century had helped England close to within 10 runs of Australia to effectively set up a one-innings shootout, Knight felt her bowlers strained too hard for wickets as Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield put on 82 in 19 overs to get the tourists’ noses in front.
While Australia were restricted to 257 all out, with Sophie Ecclestone claiming another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 in the match, England slipped from 55 without loss to 73 for four in 29 balls on the penultimate evening and the hosts were unable to recover despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.
“Day three and four – the evening sessions there probably cost us the game,” Knight added. “Maybe we were a little bit too aggressive (with the ball).
“With the new ball you’re looking to take wickets and probably I’ll take a bit of responsibility for that as well – probably been a little bit too aggressive.”
Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who kept wicket despite nursing fractures to her left index and right ring fingers, was delighted with Australia’s first Ashes Test win since 2015 after three draws.
Victory was set up by Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 on a worn pitch, with the off-spinner’s match haul of 12 for 165 the best ever by an Australian in Tests and the second best figures of all-time.
“It’s really satisfying,” she said. “Five-day Test cricket is pretty tough work. I am just really proud of the group.”
Mitchell Starc has insisted Australia will stick with their pragmatic approach ahead of this week’s second Ashes Test but was tight-lipped over his own selection at Lord’s.
Australia claimed a thrilling two-wicket win in the series curtain-raiser at Edgbaston last Tuesday with a more careful and cautious style of cricket in the face of England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ brand.
England seamer Ollie Robinson claimed after the narrow defeat in Birmingham that Australia would have to “change their approach to keep up with how we’re going to play” despite the hosts going 1-0 down in the series.
Starc, who was left out of the XI last week, is adamant that will not be the case.
“They have brought an overly aggressive head space to Test cricket,” the Australian pace bowler noted.
“The way they are approaching it, there is going to be a reaction when you are either bowling or facing that. I think that is natural but we will stick to our guns and I am sure they will as well.
“Just because they are scoring at a higher rate or trying to score at a higher rate doesn’t mean you go to one-day cricket. There is plenty of ways to skin a cat as we saw last week in the way they approached it as opposed to the way we did.
“We’ve played enough against England in white-ball cricket to know they can all play that sort of thing. I have certainly seen Joe (Root) enough to know he can play those (ramp) shots.
“They are going to take the game on now in Test cricket as they have done for the last 12 months. That is their approach and we will stick to the way we want to approach our Test cricket.
“Hopefully come the end of the series we are sitting back with more wins than them.”
Starc’s presence in the penultimate press conference before the second Test begins suggests the 33-year-old will be recalled by captain Pat Cummins.
The left-arm quick has taken 37 wickets in 10 Tests in England but only featured once in the 2019 series here and was coy over his own selection chances.
“In terms of the team, I haven’t got any indication either way. Your guess is as good as mine until the selectors decide,” Starc insisted.
“I have different skills that fit into this bowling group so if and when I get a turn, I’ll be ready to go. If not this week, then I’ll get ready for Headingley.
“I was used to it from last time, so it is all good. I have been around long enough, been dropped enough. Probably been dropped the most in this squad so it is not something new for me. It probably won’t be the last time either.”
Four wickets from Starc at Old Trafford back in 2019 helped Australia retain the Ashes but they were pegged back in the final Test at the Kia Oval and had to settle for a 2-2 drawn series.
It extended the tourists’ winless streak in England, which dates back to 2001, and the 78-capped Test veteran conceded the squad are aware of the opportunity in front of them.
Starc added: “We’re here at Lord’s, an exciting place to be and play cricket. We are coming off a good week but know we can play better cricket and the way England are playing their cricket, they will come as hard if not harder.
“It is a chance to go 2-0 up. It is not lost on us the opportunity we do have.
“For some of us it is our fourth trip here and coming off the back of 19, where we retained the Ashes but missed out on winning, the carrot is certainly there.
“Certainly for the wider group, players and staff who have been so close or lost series here, it is certainly an incentive to keep going but we are not looking too far past this week.”
Yorkshire hope the sanctions imposed over their handling of the Azeem Rafiq case and their failure to tackle the use of racist language over many years will be “reasonable” and will not hinder their efforts to continue bringing about change at the club.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will make its sanctioning recommendations to an independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel at a hearing in London on Tuesday, with Yorkshire having admitted to four charges in February.
The county will then offer up arguments in mitigation to the panel, which will deliver the final sanctions at a later date.
Yorkshire released a statement on Monday afternoon saying the hearing “marks the near culmination of a chapter that has weighed heavily on Yorkshire County Cricket Club for close to two years”.
The county’s statement added: “Racism and discrimination in any form is unacceptable and, as a board, we have been clear on the need to take accountability for the historical cultural issues that allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged at the club.
“The acceptance of four amended charges brought by the CDC was part of a continued effort to acknowledge what happened in the past so we can learn and move forward.
“In making representations to the CDC panel, we hope to achieve a reasonable sanction which takes into account our acceptance of the charges, YCCC’s current financial position and the robust work we have undertaken to build the foundations for a club which is truly inclusive and welcoming to all.”
Any significant financial sanctions could hit the club hard, with chief executive Stephen Vaughan highlighting a £3.5million cash shortfall this year to members at the annual general meeting in March, and the need to repay £14.9m to the Graves Trust.
The club said last week they were still having “positive conversations” around the long-term financial future of the club and would make an announcement “in due course”.
The club’s statement on Monday concluded: “We hope that any sanctions are reflective of the circumstances the club is in today and do not serve to hinder our ongoing commitment to create a brighter future for all associated with Yorkshire.”
The first admitted charge is that Yorkshire mishandled the investigation report into allegations of racism and bullying by former player Rafiq which they received in August 2021, in that they rejected the findings of the report in respect of allegations it upheld, and failed to take adequate disciplinary action against then-current employees about whom allegations were upheld.
The second charge admitted relates to the mass deletion by persons unknown of emails, documents and log files related to the club’s response to the report, discovered in or around November 2021 during the course of the ECB’s investigation into Yorkshire.
The third charge concerned the club’s failure to take adequate action following receipt of allegations of racism or discriminatory behaviour. The charge highlighted in particular the handling of racism complaints by Rafiq back in 2018, an allegation of racist abuse of an Asian family by a spectator at a match at Headingley between Yorkshire and Lancashire on August 11, 2017 and a report made concerning a racist incident in the crowd at Scarborough during a game between Yorkshire and Surrey on June 25, 2018.
Finally the club admitted a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language at Yorkshire over a prolonged period and in relation to multiple employees and/or players of the club.
Six former Yorkshire employees were sanctioned in May as part of the same case, with all of them found to have used the word “P***”.
A seventh, former England captain Michael Vaughan, was cleared in March of using racist and/or discriminatory language towards a group of four players of Asian ethnicity, including Rafiq, before a Twenty20 match in 2009.
Ollie Pope insists England’s tactical gambles at Edgbaston were not “moments of madness” and is ready to embrace more of the same during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s this week.
England took a gung-ho approach to the series opener against Australia, most strikingly when Ben Stokes declared just 78 overs into the first day in a bid to catch the tourists cold and snap up some late wickets.
The attacking ‘Bazball’ ethos continued as the hosts pushed the game forward throughout the five days, only to lose by two wickets during a frantic final session.
Some of England’s decision-making has attracted scepticism from pundits and former players but, as Stokes’ vice-captain, Pope sees logic to every call the side made in Birmingham.
And, when the rivals resume battle on Wednesday, he backed England to take the same approach.
“I know sometimes it can look like it’s just moments of madness but all the decisions that are made are well thought out with a vision of the end goal,” he said.
“These decisions aren’t just a rash thought. They are well thought out and spoken about by senior players in the changing room.
“We come to a group decision and back that decision 100 per cent. There’s no looking back on that decision once it’s made, it’s about how we can make the most of it.
“We might find ourselves in a similar situation this week, who knows? That’s what Stokesy and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) are very good at, they read conditions very well.
“We’ll talk consistently throughout this Test match, (about) if there’s a decision like the first day at Edgbaston when we pulled out.
“If we feel there are overheads one evening and we might have a half-hour opportunity to get a few wickets and get into their middle order early the next day, then we’ll talk about it.”
One risk that England will need to weigh up involves the selection of spinner Moeen Ali.
He was tempted out of Test retirement on the eve of the series following a season-ending injury to Jack Leach but saw his right index finger blister and burst, reducing him to a bystander’s role in the conclusion of the game.
Pope faced Moeen in the Lord’s nets on Monday and offered a positive assessment, but despite five days of rest and recovery it seems impossible to rule out a recurrence of the issue if the 36-year-old was rolled out again.
England have called up 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, their youngest ever men’s cricketer in all three formats, as cover but could also recall paceman Mark Wood and lean on Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks.
“I think Mo’s all good, hopefully he’s fit to play,” said Pope.
“It was pretty unfortunate what happened and hopefully over these few days it has looked after itself.”
Ollie Robinson’s place, on the other hand, is under no doubt whatsoever.
The 29-year-old performed impressively with the ball in the first Test, taking five for 98, but has become a target for Australian ire due to his explicit sledging of centurion Usman Khawaja and an unapologetic press conference which followed.
Former greats such as Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden have lined up to shoot down the Sussex seamer – with Hayden colourfully writing him off as a purveyor of “124kph nude nuts” – but Pope is not concerned about the impact.
“Maybe he sees it as a compliment. They’re legends of the game and are entitled to their own opinion,” said Pope.
“Robbo’s in good spirits this week so hopefully he can just come out and deliver with the ball. I think Ollie is the kind of guy, he gets in the battle and sometimes in a big series like this emotions take over while you are on the pitch, but he’s a top guy.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Saturday announced the West Indies Women's provisional squad for the first and second CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Ireland Women, to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on 26 and 28 June.
The provisional squad includes some exciting new talent, with right-arm off-spinner Ashmini Munisar and wicketkeeper-batter Shunelle Sawh being named for the first time. Both players have shown their potential with the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s team and have now been called up to the senior West Indies Women’s squad. They will be joining their Rising Stars teammates Zaida James and Djenaba Joseph, who have already gained valuable experience representing the senior team in the Tri-Series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The squad is boosted by Chinelle Henry, the experienced allrounder, who is selected having fully recovered from the injury which kept her out of the recent CG United Super50 Cup and CWI T20 Blaze tournaments. The squad is led by captain Hayley Matthews and vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle. The official squad of thirteen players will be named ahead of each match.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s Cricket, Ann Browne-John, said: “The CG United ODI series against Ireland gives a good opportunity for batters to focus and to stay longer at the crease and build an innings. A number of the younger players would be transitioning from the shorter format to the fifty over format. They definitely have the potential, and it is important that the policy of identifying young players and developing the talent pool is continued.”
Browne-John added: “The squad shows a great balance of batting coupled with a variety of bowling styles, which is something that has been lacking in the recent past. Victory here will provide valuable points as the team attempts to move up in the rankings and qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.”
The matches are West Indies Women’s only home fixture in 2023. The three CG United ODIs comprise West Indies’ third fixture in the ICC Women’s Championship where they are pushing to win points to achieve a top five position to qualify automatically for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025.
Match tickets are available online from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard - Tickets.windiescricket.com - at a discounted price of US$6/EC$16 (USS3/EC$7.50 children and seniors) with tickets available on the day at the box office at a price of US$7.50/EC$20 (US$3.75/EC$10 for children and seniors).
For fans unable to get to the games in St. Lucia, the CG United ODI Series will be exclusively live on Flow Sports in the Caribbean and on BT Sport in the UK & Ireland. The matches will also be shown around the world on FanCode (India), ESPN+ (USA), Sky NZ (NZ), SuperSport (sub-Saharan Africa) and in all other countries on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
PROVISIONAL SQUAD for 1st and 2nd CG United ODIs
Match Schedule
(All matches played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia.
CG United ODI Series:
Monday 26 June: 1st CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Wednesday 28 June: 2nd CG United ODI – 10am (9am Jamaica Time)
Saturday 1 July: 3rd CG United ODI – 3pm (2pm Jamaica Time)
T20 International Series:
Tuesday 4 July: 1st T20I
Thursday 6 July: 2nd T20I
Saturday 8 July: 3rd T20I
All matches start at 5pm Eastern Caribbean Time (4pm Jamaica Time)
England have been left with a mountain to climb to regain the Women’s Ashes after Australia seized the upper hand in the multi-format series by triumphing in the lone Test.
Resuming on 116 for five in pursuit of 268 on a final day where Trent Bridge threw open its gates free of charge, England subsided to 178 all out inside 90 minutes despite a defiant 54 from Danni Wyatt.
Wily off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s eight for 66 saw her walk away with a 12-wicket match haul as Australia claimed an 89-run victory to collect four all-important points ahead of the ODIs and T20s.
If England are to retrieve the urn for the first time since 2015 they will have to prevail in five of the six white-ball contests against the ODI and T20 world champions, with two points per win on offer.
Sophie Ecclestone fervently believes England can still win the lone Women’s Ashes Test, insisting she would have “bitten your hand off” for the difficult position they find themselves in.
England took to the field on the penultimate day at Trent Bridge with a telling-off from head coach Jon Lewis still ringing in their ears after Australia had racked up 82 in 19 overs late on Saturday.
But Ecclestone showed why she is widely regarded as the world’s best women’s spinner with another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 for the match as Australia collapsed from 149 for one to 257 all out.
England’s openers put on 55 in their pursuit of 268 to draw first blood in this multi-format series but Ashleigh Gardner snared Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight as the hosts wobbled.
They closed on 116 for five and need another 152 but their fightback with the ball has convinced Ecclestone the Test remains in the balance.
“We’ll always believe in that dressing room,” she said. “We’re definitely going into it ready to win that Test match. I’m absolutely backing our team to do that.
“We’d have bitten your hand off for this situation (on Saturday) after our disappointment. We had a bit of a rocket so we had to go at them early, put a lot of pressure on them, put it all back on them.
“We definitely showed that. I’m really proud of this team. We’re just going to go away and we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to win the Test match.”
Ecclestone was selected as England’s lone frontline spinner and has been one of the Test’s standout performers with remarkable figures of 77.1-16-192-10 on a pitch that is becoming increasingly tired.
The odd delivery has kept low while Gardner extracted prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease late on in Sunday’s evening session. Gardner is one of three Australia spinners although Alana King did not bowl in England’s second innings after sustaining a painful blow to her elbow when batting.
While Ecclestone conceded she did not anticipate bowling as many overs as she has, she is appreciative of doing so after becoming just the fourth English woman to take a 10-wicket match haul.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” she said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of overs put in up until this point. I really wanted a five-for and to get two I’m absolutely made up.
“I knew I was going to bowl a lot of overs, I didn’t think it would be this many but I’m grateful that I was bowling a lot as I’ve come out with 10 wickets and I’m made up with that.”
As for how she prepared for the enormous workload she took on, Ecclestone said: “Not much, just made sure I played as much golf as I could to get out and about and take my mind off cricket.
“I think you can’t really prepare for that, you’ve just got to go with it and be tough in the mind.”
Ecclestone was similarly phlegmatic when asked to explain England losing four wickets in 29 deliveries before Test debutant Danni Wyatt and nightwatcher Kate Cross got them to stumps.
“It just shows that Test cricket changes so fast,” she added. “Dan and Crossy played really well to get us through to the end of the day. We’ll have to come back and put them back under pressure.”
Half-centuries from Beth Mooney, out for 85, and captain Alyssa Healy, who ended a run of three Test ducks in a row with a crucial 50 after demoting herself to number eight, buttressed Australia’s total.
That they are in pole position to claim a first Ashes Test win since 2015 – there have been three successive draws – owes much to extending this contest from the customary four days into a fifth.
The notion was proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and accepted by Cricket Australia last year, and there is a prospect of a thrilling finish – with four points available for a win.
“This is a sign of why it’s important,” Mooney said. “At a really critical point it would be a real shame if it just petered out (into a draw), so credit to the ECB.”
Sophie Ecclestone fervently believes England can still win the lone Women’s Ashes Test, insisting she would have “bitten your hand off” for the difficult position they find themselves in.
England took to the field on the penultimate day at Trent Bridge with a telling-off from head coach Jon Lewis still ringing in their ears after Australia had racked up 82 in 19 overs late on Saturday.
But Ecclestone showed why she is widely regarded as the world’s best women’s spinner with another five-wicket haul to finish with 10 for the match as Australia collapsed from 149 for one to 257 all out.
England’s openers put on 55 in their pursuit of 268 to draw first blood in this multi-format series but Ashleigh Gardner snared Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight as the hosts wobbled.
They closed on 116 for five and need another 152 but their fightback with the ball has convinced Ecclestone the Test remains in the balance.
“We’ll always believe in that dressing room,” she said. “We’re definitely going into it ready to win that Test match. I’m absolutely backing our team to do that.
“We’d have bitten your hand off for this situation (on Saturday) after our disappointment. We had a bit of a rocket so we had to go at them early, put a lot of pressure on them, put it all back on them.
“We definitely showed that. I’m really proud of this team. We’re just going to go away and we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to win the Test match.”
Ecclestone was selected as England’s lone frontline spinner and has been one of the Test’s standout performers with remarkable figures of 77.1-16-192-10 on a pitch that is becoming increasingly tired.
The odd delivery has kept low while Gardner extracted prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease late on in Sunday’s evening session. Gardner is one of three Australia spinners although Alana King did not bowl in England’s second innings after sustaining a painful blow to her elbow when batting.
While Ecclestone conceded she did not anticipate bowling as many overs as she has, she is appreciative of doing so after becoming just the fourth English woman to take a 10-wicket match haul.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” she said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of overs put in up until this point. I really wanted a five-for and to get two I’m absolutely made up.
“I knew I was going to bowl a lot of overs, I didn’t think it would be this many but I’m grateful that I was bowling a lot as I’ve come out with 10 wickets and I’m made up with that.”
As for how she prepared for the enormous workload she took on, Ecclestone said: “Not much, just made sure I played as much golf as I could to get out and about and take my mind off cricket.
“I think you can’t really prepare for that, you’ve just got to go with it and be tough in the mind.”
Ecclestone was similarly phlegmatic when asked to explain England losing four wickets in 29 deliveries before Test debutant Danni Wyatt and nightwatcher Kate Cross got them to stumps.
“It just shows that Test cricket changes so fast,” she added. “Dan and Crossy played really well to get us through to the end of the day. We’ll have to come back and put them back under pressure.”
Half-centuries from Beth Mooney, out for 85, and captain Alyssa Healy, who ended a run of three Test ducks in a row with a crucial 50 after demoting herself to number eight, buttressed Australia’s total.
That they are in pole position to claim a first Ashes Test win since 2015 – there have been three successive draws – owes much to extending this contest from the customary four days into a fifth.
The notion was proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and accepted by Cricket Australia last year, and there is a prospect of a thrilling finish – with four points available for a win.
“This is a sign of why it’s important,” Mooney said. “At a really critical point it would be a real shame if it just petered out (into a draw), so credit to the ECB.”
Division One leaders Surrey mustered a nervy 70 for four in reply to Lancashire’s 274 during an intriguing opening day of LV= Insurance County Championship action at the Kia Oval.
Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Tom Latham and Ben Foakes each fell for the reigning champions in the final 20 overs of the day after Lancashire recovered from 119 for five thanks to a lower-order rally which included 56 from Phil Salt.
Four dismissals apiece for Jordan Clark and Sean Abbott looked to have secured first-day honours for Surrey but two wickets from Will Williams and one each for Tom Bailey and Jack Blatherwick turned the contest back towards the visitors.
At Chelmsford, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence combined for a double-century stand which put Essex firmly in control against second-placed Warwickshire on 391 for seven.
Lawrence, who is on standby for England’s Ashes campaign, registered an immaculate 152 – his second century of the season – during five-and-a-half hours at the crease.
The third-wicket pair put on 227 in 59 overs until Westley dragged Ed Barnard to short midwicket to depart on 114 from 193 balls, while Lawrence was eventually removed by Dom Bess.
Nick Gubbins marked his first appearance against boyhood club Middlesex by grinding them down with an unbeaten 98 as he and centurion Liam Dawson wrestled control for Hampshire at 284 for four.
Gubbins batted for six hours and 262 balls on a dry and flat pitch, while Dawson added 111 not out in four hours.
The pair put on 190 to break a 100-year record for the fifth wicket for Hampshire against Middlesex, beating the 149 scored by Lord Tennyson and Tom Jameson in June 1923.
Brett Hutton claimed a five-wicket haul to help Nottinghamshire trail Somerset by just 18 runs following the opening day at Taunton.
The hosts managed only 163 all out after winning the toss before Ben Slater’s unbeaten 67 helped the visitors to 145 for four.
Kent’s Australia international Wes Agar claimed the second five-wicket haul of his first-class career to restrict bottom club Northamptonshire to a modest 237.
Rob Keogh hit 97 for the hosts, who closed with a lead of 127 runs after Tawanda Muyeye’s unbeaten half-century (58) and 48 not out from Daniel Bell-Drummond helped Kent to 110 for one in 26 overs.
Centuries from Ollie Robinson and Alex Lees put Division Two leaders Durham in a commanding position at 422 for four against third-placed Leicestershire at Grace Road.
Robinson (113 not out) shared an unbroken 221-run fifth-wicket partnership with Graham Clark, who is 15 away from a hundred of his own.
Leicestershire, who are without a head coach after Paul Nixon was placed on gardening leave, were on the back foot following a first-wicket stand of 145 from openers Lees (101) and Michael Jones (78).
Fin Bean and George Hill posted centuries of 114 and 101 respectively to help Yorkshire dominate against Gloucestershire at Headingley.
Opener Bean and Hill shared a stand of 153 for the fourth wicket as the hosts closed on 393 for six from 91 overs.
Anuj Dal took five wickets as bottom-placed Derbyshire put their injury problems in the bowling department behind them to bring about a Worcestershire collapse.
The hosts were dismissed for 237 in 83.3 overs at New Road before Derbyshire lost openers Harry Came and Luis Reece inside 10 overs to close on 32 for two.
Sussex trail Glamorgan by 177 runs with nine wickets remaining of their first innings.
Billy Root’s 66 was the mainstay of Glamorgan’s 242 all out as Sussex all-rounder Nathan McAndrew took four for 58, while off-spinner Jack Carson posted figures of three for 45.
England were left in a spin by Ashleigh Gardner as their hopes of victory in the lone Women’s Ashes Test drastically receded despite the indefatigable Sophie Ecclestone’s 10-wicket match haul.
The slow left-armer claimed back-to-back five-wicket hauls to finish with astonishing figures of 77.1-16-192-10 this week and restrict Australia to 257, which left England requiring 268 for victory.
Despite Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont putting on opening stand of 55, Gardner’s introduction to the attack was the catalyst for a top-order collapse as England ended day four on 116 for five.
Gardner’s wily off-spin bagged first-innings double centurion Beaumont, star all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Heather Knight, leaving England needing an improbable 152 to win on the final day on a Trent Bridge pitch that has shown several signs of keeping low and had appreciable turn.
Australia require five wickets to collect a first Ashes Test triumph since 2015 and seal a sizeable four points that would go a long way to helping them retain the urn in this multi-format series.
They had been under the cosh as Lamb (28) and Beaumont (22) started the chase well. But Gardner had bowled Beaumont with her last ball in England’s first innings and struck immediately in the second to remove the same batter, whose attempt to dig out a fuller, flighted delivery ended up at first slip.
Australia got the benefit of the umpire’s raised finger after Tahlia McGrath thudded into Lamb’s front pad as a review showed the ball would have trimmed leg stump.
Knight got off nought with a heave for six but, in attempting something similar later in the over, Sciver-Brunt, who had earlier fallen in a heap at the end of an over while bowling amid concerns about her right knee, got a top-edge off Gardner which looped to short leg.
If that was something of a gift, Gardner found prodigious turn to trap Knight on the crease. While there was some suspicion she might have been outside the line, the impact went with the umpire.
Knight’s downfall meant England had lost four wickets in 29 balls to lurch to 73 for four and they lost another before the close as Kim Garth found the outside edge of Sophia Dunkley.
Test debutant Danni Wyatt made it to stumps unbeaten on 20 with nightwatcher Kate Cross (5no) seeing out 12 deliveries to ensure there were no further alarms.
Earlier, Cross required strapping after injuring her left thumb when shelling a waist-high chance to reprieve Phoebe Litchfield on 42 as Australia resumed on 82 without loss and a lead of 92.
But Cross atoned for a mistake that yielded just four runs with a delivery that jagged back and took out out off-stump as Litchfield was out again offering no shot.
Sciver-Brunt got both hands to a return chance after Beth Mooney had passed 50 but could not cling on before Lauren Filer took the fielders out of the equation as Ellyse Perry chopped on for 25 to fall for the second time to the England debutant, who then beat McGrath for pace by uprooting leg-stump.
The strikes in consecutive wicket maidens gave England a fillip ahead of lunch before the metronomic Ecclestone got into the act upon the resumption as Jess Jonassen had her bails disturbed after missing a full-blooded slog-sweep to a delivery that turned and snaked under her bat.
Annabel Sutherland was promoted two spots to six and the first-innings centurion had a life on nought when Wyatt spilled a difficult chance at square-leg, but Mooney was on her way for 85 after an attempted cut off Ecclestone took the under-edge before dislodging the stumps.
Gardner lasted just three balls as a low edge off Cross was held by a juggling Knight while Sutherland’s streaky innings concluded on 14 after she tamely lobbed to Wyatt.
Australia had stretched their lead to above 200 but they almost lost their fourth wicket in 13 deliveries as Alyssa Healy, who had demoted herself to eight after three successive Test ducks, got a thin edge to her first ball which brushed the glove of Amy Jones before rolling away.
The Australia captain rebuilt alongside Alana King in what may yet be a crucial 59-run stand either side of tea.
Healy was the aggressor but King’s departure after being squared up and edging to slip in Lauren Bell’s first over of the day marked the beginning of the end as Australia lost their final three wickets in seven balls.
Ecclestone grinned sheepishly and had her head in her hands after Healy bunted a rank full toss to Lamb, who took a catch above her head, before whirling away in celebration as Darcie Brown was lbw when she missed a forward prod to finish with second-innings figures of 30.5-7-63-5.
England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed has been backed to relish the big stage if selected to make his Ashes debut in next week’s second Test at Lord’s.
Leicestershire leg-spinner Ahmed has been called up to the England squad after the thrilling curtain-raiser at Edgbaston, which saw Australia win by two wickets to move 1-0 up in the series.
Teenager Ahmed, the youngest man to play Test cricket for England after his December appearance in Pakistan, was drafted into the set-up owing to concerns over Moeen Ali’s injured finger.
Moeen reversed his decision to retire from red-ball cricket to feature in the series opener – after Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes with a stress fracture – but a burst blister on his right index finger troubled the off-spinner in Birmingham.
The wound is being monitored by England’s medical staff ahead of Wednesday’s start and while there is optimism Moeen will be passed fit, Leicestershire’s director of cricket Claude Henderson knows the county’s talented prospect will be ready if called upon.
Henderson told the PA news agency: “Rehan is one of those characters: the bigger the game, the more he wants to stand up.
“He loves the big stage so let’s see what happens. I don’t know what the situation is like with him yet regarding the next Test but he joined them today and let’s see where that goes.
“He loves a challenge. He doesn’t play names, he plays the ball. He loves cricket and just wants to compete against the best players in the world, which is a great attitude to have.”
If Moeen does not recover in time, England could still leave Ahmed out of their XI and go with an all-seam attack at Lord’s supplemented by Joe Root’s off breaks.
Ahmed is not short of match practice though, having featured in seven of Leicestershire’s red-ball fixtures in Division Two.
Four half-centuries have followed and the 18-year-old reserved his best display for Headingley, home of the third Ashes Test, where he claimed three for 89 and smashed 85 in a memorable three-wicket win for his county.
“He has played a massive role for us in the County Championship. He came in at number seven, got good runs, got a 90 (against Glamorgan) and got a hundred at the back end of last year, so he is a really promising batter,” Henderson added.
“His bowling has shown a lot of good signs as well. April and May can be tricky in county cricket for leg spin but he stuck at it, has shown progress and is just a wonderful character to have in the changing room.
“It is important from us on Rehan’s development to keep getting him overs, which is great. We’ll keep doing that to try and create opportunities for him to develop as the final cricketer.”
Six wickets at an average of 67.66 and an economy rate of 4.01 in Division Two this season may not strike fear into the Australians, but Ahmed showed on his Test debut with five for 48 in Karachi the difficulty of picking up his leg breaks.
At the age of 11, Ahmed had bowled to future captain Ben Stokes in the nets and two years later left the late Shane Warne in awe of his wrist spin.
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England’s decision to again go bold and call up the teenager to cover Moeen over more experienced options suggests even if there is no Ashes debut at Lord’s, Ahmed could break Brian Close’s record as England’s youngest player in the men’s Ashes later this summer.
And if not, Henderson feels the all-rounder can continue to aid Leicestershire’s promotion charge.
He said: “Look, let’s see what happens. We never know with Lord’s, Lord’s can spin.
“It depends on the weather and what they want to do but he just offers so much in the changing room, with the bat and he is the whole package.
“We’ll see what England say. I know they do send back some players when they are not playing, they ask them to go back and play county cricket.
“I think it would be healthy for Rehan to keep playing cricket, not sit on the bench but there are always opportunities and it is just great for us to see him back in the mix with England.”
Sophie Ecclestone took three wickets to lead England’s fightback on the penultimate afternoon of the Women’s Ashes Test but Australia increased their lead to 264 at Trent Bridge.
Australia were cruising on 149 for one but then lurched to 198 for seven, with Ecclestone to the fore as the tourists lost four wickets in 34 balls at a hectic juncture in the afternoon session.
Lauren Filer bowled Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath in the morning, but there were a few let-offs for Australia’s batters as England dropped six chances of varying degrees of difficulty.
Beth Mooney’s 85 plus 47 from Alyssa Healy underpinned Australia’s teatime 254 for seven on day four in what is effectively a one-innings shootout at the start of this multi-format series.
Mooney put on 99 with fellow opener Phoebe Litchfield (46) and 50 with Perry (25) and was the beneficiary of being dropped on 55 as Nat Sciver-Brunt spilled a difficult return catch with her first delivery in Australia’s second dig.
Sciver-Brunt went off before tea after falling in a heap at the end of her ninth over, having been restricted in Australia’s first innings because of a jarred right knee.
Despite Tammy Beaumont’s historic double century on Saturday, Australia had edged ahead through Mooney and Litchfield, who outlined her intentions on the penultimate morning with an uppish drive at Ecclestone. She was reprieved after Cross spilled a simple waist-high chance at extra cover.
Cross required strapping on her left thumb but was able to continue bowling, and the England seamer’s drop proved not to be too costly as she got a delivery to jag back alarmingly towards Litchfield, who offered no shot and lost her off stump.
There was movement and spin in sunny and blustery conditions but England were largely unable to take advantage. Mooney offered a sharp caught and bowled chance after passing 50 but Sciver-Brunt could not cling on in her follow-through despite getting both hands to the ball.
Heather Knight’s off-spin drew the outside edge of Perry on 21 but the ball flew between wicketkeeper and slip. The talismanic Australia all-rounder’s luck ran out soon after as, leaning back and shaping to cut, she merely inside edged on to her stumps.
Cheered on by the Nottingham crowd, Filer struck in her next over as a fuller, pacy delivery proved too much for McGrath, whose leg stump was flattened, in a second successive wicket maiden.
Australia progressed to 178 for three post-lunch before Jess Jonassen saw her bails dislodged after missing a full-blooded sweep at Ecclestone, with the ball snaking under her bat, while Mooney’s cross batted shot to the slow left-armer ended with her under-edging on to her stumps.
Ashleigh Gardner lasted just three balls as a low edge off Cross was held by a juggling Knight while Amy Jones and Danni Wyatt put down difficult chances off first-innings centurion Annabel Sutherland, who was out for a streaky 14 after lobbing Ecclestone tamely to square-leg.
Healy demoted herself to number eight and might have recorded a fourth successive Test duck after getting a thin edge to her first delivery but the ball brushed the glove of Jones, standing up to the stumps, before rolling away.
Healy (47 not out) and Alana King (9no) steadied Australia following the flurry of wickets with an unbroken 56-run partnership but a few minutes before the end of the session there were England concerns as Sciver-Brunt limped off the field after falling to the ground in her follow-through.
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