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Pakistan’s batting struggled again against the discipline of the home attack

Tristan Lavalette18-Jan-2023Quick Darcie Brown led a disciplined attack then fellow teenagerPhoebe Litchfield hit another half-century as Australia thrashed Pakistan at the Allan Border Field to wrap up the three-match women’s ODI series.Electing to bat in Brisbane’s sunny conditions, Pakistan struggled to fire in a must-win game two after losing the series opener by eight wickets in a rain-affected contest reduced to 40 overs per side. They were bowled out for just 125 after 43 overs with Brown snaring three wickets to lead a well-balanced attack.In reply, Australia powered to an effortless 10-wicket victory inside 20 overs with impressive 19-year-old Litchfield smashing 67 off 61 balls and Beth Mooney finishing 57 not out.Coming off her 78 not out on ODI debut, Litchfield struggled early against probing bowling from quick Fatima Sana before getting off the mark in style with a sweet cover drive.She was dominant from there and played mostly orthodox, but unleashed several scoop shots to showcase her range of strokes.Having made just one run in the series opener, Mooney was keen to make amends and started in style with a boundary off the first ball. She didn’t need to take risks and toyed with Pakistan’s struggling bowlers.Mooney was mostly overshadowed by Litchfield, who played with a maturity beyond her years to become the first Australian women’s batter to compile consecutive half-centuries in their first two ODIs.It was a major disappointment for Pakistan, who are still seeking an elusive victory against all-conquering Australia in any format.The series will conclude at North Sydney Oval on Saturday before a trio of T20Is to wrap up Pakistan’s first bilateral series in Australia since 2014.It was an improved performance from Australia’s quicks, who were notably wayward in the opening game in a push for extra swing.Seamer Kim Garth made her ODI debut for Australia and replaced Megan Schutt, who has a niggle with her knee and is being managed ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.Garth opened the attack and bowled a maiden first up in an exceptional start. She continued to bowl a back of a length and found late swing during a tidy five-over spell during the first powerplay. Garth finished wicketless, but conceded just 13 runs from eight overs. She played 34 ODIs for Ireland from 2010-2018 before moving to Australia seeking full-time opportunities.Pakistan were unable to build partnerships with a number of their batters failing to capitalise on starts much like in game one.After opener Sidra Ameen fell in the second over, Muneeba Ali started slowly and had a reprieve when Litchfield dropped a chance at second slip before hitting Brown for a couple of powerful boundaries.Moving around the crease trying to disrupt the bowlers, Muneeba’s aggressive approach backfired when she miss-hit spinner Ash Gardner to cover point.Pakistan’s bid for a competitive total nosedived when skipper Bismah Maroof was trapped lbw to seamer Annabel Sutherland for 21.The burden again fell on veteran Nida Dar, who top-scored for Pakistan in game one with a half-century, and she had a reprieve on 16 when Brown dropped a return catch. But Dar’s luck ended on 24 when she was run out at the non-striker’s end after a touch from Garth in her follow through deflected onto the stumps.Pakistan fell away as their barren run against Australia continued.

From coaching badges to Steve Smith bunny memes, seamer reflects on how far he’s come

Matt Roller24-Jul-2023Josh Tongue would have spent the 2023 summer coaching but for a specialist diagnosing a nerve problem in his shoulder last year. Instead, he has made his England debut, played an Ashes Test and been sent memes depicting Steven Smith as his bunny.”I don’t think it’s really sunk in at the minute,” Tongue said. “Being out for so long with my shoulder, having two operations on it, not knowing what I was going to be doing and maybe retiring, then getting that call-up for the Ireland Test, words can’t really describe how I felt. Now, being in the Ashes squad, it just feels so surreal.”Tongue qualified as a Level 2 coach early in his career and, if the shoulder issue which kept him out of the game for 14 months between June 2021 and August 2022 had not been resolved, he would have quit the professional game and followed a different career path.Related

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“I would have gone into coaching,” he said. “I’d have kept doing my badges.” He suggested he would have tapped into “a few contacts” at his old school, King’s Worcester, or worked with the former Worcestershire batter Gavin Haynes, whose son Jack has played alongside Tongue at the county and for England Lions.”It’s a bit different: doing a bit of coaching or playing for England in an Ashes series. It’s very weird. I don’t think it’s really sunk in at the minute. It’s just crazy: where I was two years ago to now. Obviously as a young kid, I dreamed of being in an Ashes series. Now I’m in one, it’s just an amazing feeling.”Tongue grew up watching James Anderson and Stuart Broad bowling; now, he is in contention to replace one of them in the fifth Test at The Kia Oval, starting on Thursday. “It’s just amazing to be in the training, training with them and learning from them,” he said, speaking before the fourth Test at a #Funds4Runs session organised by LV= Insurance at Stockport Georgians Cricket Club.”The first couple of weeks in the squad, I was trying to find my feet, not asking too many questions as the new kid on the block. I feel like now I’m getting to know everyone, getting a bit more confidence with everyone in the squad, I can ask those questions.”It’s different when you’re in competition. There’s not much training between each Test match, so I try and take as much out of it as I can. Being on the pitch with Jimmy and Broady at Lord’s, them being at mid-on and mid-off, [I tried to] just tap into anything they can offer.”Josh Tongue at a #Funds4Runs session at Stockport Georgians Cricket Club•LV= Insurance/#Funds4Runs

Tongue finished the Lord’s Test with figures of 5 for 151 in the match, bowling a prolonged spell of bouncers on the fourth day and dismissing David Warner and Steven Smith in both innings. “I didn’t think I’d play at Lord’s and that first day, coming through the Long Room and hearing the national anthem, I thought, ‘Wow! I’m actually playing in the Ashes.'”Having earlier trapped him lbw in a County Championship game, Tongue has dismissed Smith in three innings out of three this summer. “I did see a little picture of him in the corner, me, and then a rabbit – something like that,” he said, laughing. “I have seen some funny stuff on Twitter.”The one at Worcester, I did a bit of analyst work against him and tried to mix up the angles. He does draw you in and goes off his stumps. I tried not to play to his strengths which is obviously when you try to bowl straight, he’ll clip you through the leg side.”I feel like bowling that fourth or fifth stump and trying to bore him and force him to do something wrong [is the way to go] and obviously that happened in the first innings. Then, in the second, he was bumped out. It’s just so good to bowl against him, really.”Tongue generally bowls in the mid-80s mph but has touched 90mph/145kph at times this summer, and has enjoyed the novelty of looking up at his speeds on big screens. “I was trying not to look too much but you naturally look sometimes and it was great to get up to that sort of speed,” he said.”It’s a nice feeling. Growing up as a kid, you want to bowl as fast as you can so getting up to 90mph is a nice little achievement. I’m a big rhythm bowler: when I’m bowling at my best, I don’t try too hard. My skills, my height, my bounce, my pace… when I don’t try to bowl too quick, and my attributes kind of sink in.”He has only played at The Oval once before, in a high-scoring draw in 2018, but fresh from a five-wicket haul in Worcestershire’s win against Leicestershire, Tongue is confident that he can make an impact there if selected this week. “From Lord’s, knowing I bowled nicely there, I’ll take confidence for maybe playing at The Oval.”Josh Tongue was speaking on behalf of LV= Insurance, title sponsors of this summer’s LV= Insurance Ashes Series. Head to https://www.lv.com/gi/cricket to find out more

Lancashire rack up 338 for 7 in Hove sunshine but valiant defence falls at final hurdle

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay15-Aug-2025Sussex 342 for 9 (Clark 139, Haines 90, Barnard 4-56) beat Lancashire 338 for 7 (Jones 82, Singh 74, Bell 66, Crocombe 3-61) by one wicketSussex Sharks’ hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup are alive after they squeezed past Lancashire by one wicket with three balls to spare in a thriller at Hove.Chasing 339, Tom Clark’s 139 and Tom Haines (90) appeared to have done the hard bit by adding 232 in 32 overs – a new second-wicket record in 50 overs cricket for the county – to leave 98 needed from 17 overs with eight wickets in hand.Instead, they collapsed in a flurry of poor shots to lose six wickets for 27 runs in 47 balls. When Archie Lenham was eighth out Sussex needed 39 from 27 balls but Jack Carson and Henry Crocombe held their nerve. Carson hit Charlie Barnard straight for six in the 48th over before launching Tom Bailey over midwicket and out of the ground in the next.With one to win there was another twist when Crocombe was lbw to left-arm spinner Barnard off the second delivery of the final over. But last man Sean Hunt bunted the next ball back over Barnard’s head to seal Sussex’s second win in four Group B games.Lancashire were in a good position at halfway after openers Michael Jones and George Bell put on 157 before Harry Singh’s 74 took them to their highest 50 overs total against Sussex.George Balderson picked up Charlie Tear with his second ball, but Clark and Haines then took control. The two left-handers didn’t offer a chance until Clark, on 120, top-edged a sweep but Barnard, running in from midwicket, couldn’t hold on as he dived forward.Clark deserved that fortune given the quality of his stroke play, particularly his inside-out driving through the off and his ability to find the gaps on the leg side. The 24-year-old can seldom have batted with more freedom in any format for his county. None of the seven bowlers employed could tie either of them down until a tired Clark was bowled by offspinner Arav Shetty in the 34th over. He faced 109 balls and hit 16 fours and five sixes.With an end to attack Lancashire were transformed. Shetty, in only his third List A game, finished with 3 for 51 while 20-year-old Barnard, who conceded 23 in his first two overs, ended up with 4 for 56.Lancashire’s 338 for 7 was underpinned by a fine opening stand of 157 in 25 overs by Jones and Bell, a new List A best against Sussex for the first wicket, beating David Lloyd and Farokh Engineer’s 146 at Blackpool in 1976.Jones was the more aggressive, hitting three sixes in his 77-ball 82 before he mistimed a drive at legspinner Lenham and was caught at extra at cover. Bell played nicely for his 66 off 74 balls until he mistimed a sweep at offspinner Carson. Between them Sussex’s two slow bowlers took a respectable 3 for 90 in 18 overs in batter-friendly conditions, but it was harder work for their seam attack on a sweltering afternoon.Left-armer Hunt returned after nearly three months out and picked up a wicket and there were two in two balls for Crocombe, who finished with 3 for 61, but 21-year-old Singh propelled Lancashire beyond 300 with some very impressive ball-striking and placement, hitting five sixes in his 61-ball 74 which was a career best to boot.

England coach Matthew Mott warns captain won’t be risked in fifth T20I

Matt Roller26-Sep-2022England will not take any risks with Jos Buttler’s fitness during the Lahore leg of their Pakistan tour as they look to ease him back from a calf injury sustained playing in the Hundred last month.Buttler was never in contention to play in the first four T20Is in Karachi and, even with the series level at 2-2, he will not be considered for selection in the fifth game on Wednesday, the first of three at the Gaddafi Stadium.He has played an active role at training on the tour and acted as 12th man during Pakistan’s three-run victory on Sunday night, and clarified upon arrival in the country that he felt it was important to travel “whether fit to play the games or not”.”With regards to Jos, he’s still a while off,” Matthew Mott, England’s coach, said on Sunday night. “He’s not a player we want to take a risk on at this stage, so close to a World Cup, and it was a reasonably significant injury that he had.Related

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“He’s champing at the bit for a game but we’ll just try and see how we go: maybe in the last game or two, he might be a chance.”England’s last-gasp defeat on Sunday night meant that the series is squared heading into the Lahore leg of the trip – both teams travelled on Monday afternoon – and Mott added that playing in “high-pressure situations” would serve as ideal preparation for the World Cup next month.”We couldn’t ask for better preparation than games like tonight [Sunday] where it’s all on the line with a couple of overs to go and players are under pressure. To play in high-pressure situations in front of a big crowd that was right into the game [is great].”Yes, we would love to have won, but I think when you head into a World Cup, you want to play against good opposition in tough games and it’s been every bit of that.”

Test coach has ended bookmaker association but will face no action

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2023Brendon McCullum, England men’s Test head coach, will face no action from his employers at the ECB after questions were raised about his advertising arrangements with a bookmaker.The board said last week that it was “exploring” McCullum’s relationship with Cyprus-based betting company 22Bet India after appearances in YouTube adverts and posts on social media came under scrutiny in his home country, New Zealand.New Zealand’s Problem Gambling Foundation had filed an official complaint to the country’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), with the DIA confirming that 22Bet’s adverts are misleading because “they are not a registered New Zealand sports bookmaker, nor are they licensed or regulated in New Zealand by the DIA”.The ECB said it had looked at the matter from a “regulatory and employer perspective” and concluded that McCullum had done nothing wrong. It is understood that the anti-corruption code signed up to by players and coaches does not prohibit such brand ambassador roles.However, McCullum is reportedly set to end his association with the bookmaker.An ECB spokesperson said: “Discussions have been ongoing with Brendon over the last few days, and the matter has been considered from an employer and regulator perspective. We can confirm that no further action will be taken.”

Brian Bennett and JJ Smit were the heroes for Zimbabwe and Namibia, respectively, in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2025Zimbabwe joined Namibia in the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup after they eased past Kenya in the second semi-final of the ICC’s Africa qualifiers in Harare. South Africa are the third African team in the World Cup, having qualified directly. Earlier in the day, Namibia had qualified after beating Tanzania in their semi-final contest without much fuss at the same venue.After the bowlers restricted Kenya to 122 for 6, Zimbabwe aced the chase in 15 overs with seven wickets to spare. Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani smashed 70 together in the first six overs – only three times have Zimbabwe hit more runs in the powerplay in T20Is where ESPNcricinfo has data. Vraj Patel ended the partnership in the next over when he removed Bennett for 51 off 25 balls. Bennett’s innings featured eight fours and a six, including a sequence of 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 in the fourth over, bowled by Lucas Oluoch. He is currently the highest scorer in the tournament, with 299 runs in four innings at an average of 74.75 and a strike rate of 184.56.Vraj also got rid of Marumani for 39 off 27 balls in the 11th over, but by then Zimbabwe had reached 100. Captain Sikandar Raza fell for 10 off 18 balls, but Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga got the job done for Zimbabwe without any further setbacks. Brendan Taylor, who had cracked 123 off 54 balls against Botswana in Zimbabwe’s 170-run win last week, was not needed with the bat.Zimbabwe’s bowlers had set up the win, with Blessing Muzarabani leading the line with figures of 4-0-19-2. Rakep Patel was the only Kenya batter to cross 20. He scored 65 off 47 balls before falling to Richard Ngarava, who finished with 1 for 31.File photo – JJ Smit was the best batter and best bowler on show for Namibia•AFP/Getty Images

As for Namibia, this will be their fourth appearance at the men’s T20 World Cup. They had also taken part in the editions in 2021 (Super 12s), 2022 (group stage) and 2024 (group stage).On Thursday, Namibia were asked to bat by Tanzania captain Kassim Nassoro, and put up a strong 174 for 6, familiar hands Gerhard Erasmus, the captain, and JJ Smit hitting fifties to help their cause.It hadn’t started so well for Namibia, with four wickets – Jan Frylinck, Malan Kruger, Louren Steenkamp and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton – falling within the powerplay. But Erasmus and Smit got together at that point and scored quickly to snatch the momentum away from Tanzania. Erasmus scored 55 in 41 balls with six fours, while Smit hit 61 not out in 43 balls with one four and four sixes.That gave Namibia the runs they needed, and Smit was back in action, this time with the ball, to hurt the Tanzania top order. He picked up the first two wickets to fall, those of Arun Yadav and Dhrumit Mehta, off consecutive balls in the sixth over, and later removed Mukesh Suthar to finish with 3 for 16. Ben Shikongo was the other main wicket-taker for Namibia, returning 3 for 21.There were pockets of resistance from Tanzania, but nothing effective enough to change the course of the match as they finished 63 runs short despite batting out their overs.

The visitors made steady headway on the second day, first through Rajitha and later through their openers, after Mushfiqur’s unbeaten 175

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-May-2022StumpsSri Lanka made steady headway on day two of the second Test in Mirpur, first through Kasun Rajitha, who completed a five-wicket haul, in the first hour, then later through Dimuth Karunaratne and Oshada Fernando, who hit half-centuries in response to Bangladesh’s 365.By stumps, Sri Lanka were 222 runs behind, eight wickets in hand, and Karunaratne still going strong on 70 not out. Although Bangladesh could yet take control of the Test, Sri Lanka perhaps ended the second day in a stronger position than they had begun it. They conceded only 90 further runs as their seamers hunted down the last five Bangladesh wickets. And, they now have a base for their own first innings, with in-form batters still to come.There were times in the morning in which Bangladesh frustrated Sri Lanka, however, and this was largely down to Mushfiqur Rahim. Having lost overnight partner Litton Das early, Mushfiqur doggedly pressed his team’s total forward in the company of the tail, himself striding to an unbeaten 175. He was especially effective in a 49-run eighth-wicket stand with Taijul Islam, in which Mushfiqur scored 34 off 42 deliveries. He crossed 150 during the course of that partnership – the fifth occasion he had passed that mark, out of nine trips to triple figures.Related

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As had been the case on the first day, it was Rajitha who set the major events in motion, when he dismissed Litton in the seventh over of the morning. The seamers having conceded only two boundaries in the first six overs, Rajitha delivered a length ball in the channel outside off, which Litton prodded at and sent off the outside edge to second slip. Kusal Mendis, who had recovered from the chest pains that saw him hospitalised on day one, took an excellent catch diving forward to end Litton’s innings on 141.Three balls later, Rajitha struck again, shaping the second new ball away from left-hander Mosaddek Hossain to have him caught behind. Rajitha had easily been Sri Lanka’s best bowler in the innings, probing the channel consistently. Mosaddek’s wicket completed a much-deserved five-for.With his last recognised batting partner now out, Mushfiqur kicked into a busier gear. He searched proactively for scoring opportunities, resorting even to the reverse sweep he had shunned for much of his innings. The first 127 runs of his innings had come off 277 balls; the last 48 off 78.Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 175 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 365•AFP via Getty Images

Asitha Fernando struck twice with bouncers to take two tail-end wickets, before last man Ebadot Hossain frustrated Sri Lanka for the extra half-an-hour the umpires granted the visitors beyond the scheduled lunch. But Bangladesh could only add four further runs after the break before Ebadot was run out at the non-striker’s end, attempting a second run to keep Mushfiqur on strike early in a Rajitha over.In response, Sri Lanka’s openers began confidently enough. Oshada survived a review for caught behind down the legside in the first over, but got early boundaries away to get himself into the innings. Karunaratne was more assured at the other end, both batters progressing busily against the new ball. Oshada survived another review – this time for lbw – on 39, but Taijul’s excellent, straightening delivery was projected only to hit the outside of off stump, resulting in umpire’s call. Soon after, he came down the track and smashed one back at Shakib Al Hasan, who got both hands to the tough chance to his right, but could not hold on. Oshada charged Shakib again shortly before the tea break, this time to launch him for a straight six that took him to his fifth Test half-century.Karunaratne was content for Oshada to have the majority of the strike early on, but took more control once his opening partner had edged Ebadot to slip for 57. As usual, he rarely went after the big boundary shots, but did not miss out on the chance to pick up singles square of the wicket on either side.He had some fortune too. On 36, a full Ebadot delivery hit him on the boot as he missed a clip to the legside, and although the lbw appeal was turned down, it would have been overturned had Bangladesh reviewed. Shortly after, he was dropped at short leg off Taijul’s bowling on 37, although this was a ball that travelled rapidly to the fielder, off the middle of the bat as Karunaratne whipped square.The rest of his innings was uneventful, however, as he made his way to his 29th half-century and onwards. Through the late stages of the day, he watched Kusal’s laboured 11 off 49, before Shakib trapped Kusal in front. Karunaratne went to stumps in the company of nightwatchman Rajitha, who had faced 11 balls and not scored a run.

Proteas seamer notches seventh five-wicket haul for Notts as home side edge opening day

ECB Reporters Network05-Apr-2024Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox made eye-catching debuts for Essex but it was Elgar’s fellow South African Dane Paterson who stole the show on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship season at Trent Bridge.Opener Elgar, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, looked more than capable of filling the void left by Sir Alastair Cook, defying typical opening-day conditions with a classy 80.He shared a 112-run third-wicket partnership with the brightly talented former Kent batter Cox, who went on to make 84. But Paterson, who flew back from a winter at home only on Wednesday, powered a Nottinghamshire fightback by taking 5 for 49 with his wily medium pace.Paterson bowled Elgar with one of several outstanding deliveries as Essex, runners-up in Division One last season, slipped from 170 for 2 to 176 for 5, before closing on 244 for 9 from 77 overs, time having been lost to a wet outfield at the start and bad light in the evening.Cox impressed his new employers with a mature performance but one which, Elgar apart, lacked any meaningful support.Elgar announced himself with a boundary first ball, dispatching a Brett Hutton half-volley through cover. In testing conditions, the South African was 31 from 62 at lunch, having survived a number of tricky moments without giving a chance.Feroze Kushi, without a Championship appearance since last June but preferred to Nick Browne to open with Elgar, made a brisk 18 that included an audacious six off Nottinghamshire debutant Dillon Pennington, who then had him squared up and edging to first slip.Paterson, Nottinghamshire’s most consistent performer with the ball, took over from Pennington at the pavilion end and soon tempted Tom Westley into a nibble outside off stump, wicketkeeper Joe Clarke taking a good, diving catch to his right.Clarke has the gloves in this match because a Nottinghamshire batting line-up bolstered by the return of England’s Ben Duckett for his first Championship match for 11 months, and by the addition of Jack Haynes, another signing from Worcestershire, could not accommodate regular ‘keeper Tom Moores.As Nottinghamshire searched for a further breakthrough with the Kookaburra ball – in use for the first of four Championship rounds this year – Elgar and Cox dominated much of the afternoon session, the former completing his half-century off 86 balls, Cox reaching that mark from 10 balls fewer soon after lofting leg-spinner Calvin Harrison over the straight boundary for the day’s second six.Elgar was playing with such assurance, drawing on the experience of his two previous county stints with Somerset and Surrey, that a debut century looked there for the taking. But the session ended with Paterson, having switched to the Radcliffe Road end, taking wickets in consecutive overs before tea.Back for his fourth season at Trent Bridge after topping 50 wickets in each of the first three, Paterson produced the ball of the day to bowl his compatriot – angled in from round the wicket and straightening just enough to pass the edge and clip the off bail.Moments later, Paterson was celebrating again as another fine delivery trapped new batter Matt Critchley in front, leaving Essex 174 for 4 at tea, which quickly became 176 for five on the resumption as Paterson continued his excellent spell by dismissing Paul Walter, tamely caught behind, to claim a third wicket in the space of 16 balls.His fifth wicket in all soon followed, Adam Rossington deceived by another superb ball that took out his off stump, giving the bowler figures of four for 24 from an eight-over second spell, and a seventh five-wicket haul in Championship cricket.Cox’s hopes of a debut hundred were also thwarted, having overtaken Elgar with his 11th four only to perish next ball when Harrison turned one past his defensive bat to bowl him. All-rounder Lyndon James, meanwhile, dismissed Simon Harmer and Shane Snater to give Nottinghamshire three bowling points, with Essex still looking for a first batting point.

A comprehensive all-round performance helped Pakistan clinch the low-scoring encounter

Danyal Rasool02-May-2024Pakistan secured their first win of the tour, beating West Indies by eight wickets after a comprehensive all-round performance. It came thanks to a clinical all-round performance after the visitors won the toss and batted first, with Sadia Iqbal and Nida Dar taking three wickets each to skittle West Indies out for 84. There were no real jitters in the chase despite the manner of Pakistan’s defeat in the third T20I, and, spearheaded by Ayesha Zafar, they eased to victory with 21 balls to spare.A day after Pakistan named a near-unchanged squad for the upcoming tour of England, the players repaid that faith with what was by far the most impressive performance of the tour. Despite the series having slipped out of Pakistan’s reach, they began with a sharpness and urgency that belied how little was truly on the line.Qina Joseph was caught out of her crease off Iqbal and stumped first ball to set the tone. But it was the wicket of Hayley Matthews, West Indies’ talismanic captain and the outstanding performer of the series, that gave Pakistan true belief. After an uncharacteristic struggle, she was caught off Fatima Sana’s bowling after managing just a run in nine balls.Shemaine Campbelle was the only batter who scored runs and pushed the run rate up but was run out at an inopportune time after a 20-ball 26. The dismissal opened the floodgates as Pakistan took complete control thereafter, with four wickets falling for as many runs towards the death overs as West Indies stuttered along to 84 for 9.Pakistan had made hard work of an eminently gettable target late on in the third T20I, but there appeared no such danger today right from the outset. A breezy cameo from Sidra Ameen set the tone early, and when she and Muneeba Ali fell in quick succession, Zafar and Gull Feroza took complete control. Zafar in particular was in great touch finding the gaps and the occasional boundary to keep the score ticking over. Some sloppiness leaked into West Indies’ game as two relatively simple catches were put down off Matthews’ bowling, but in truth, the game was a foregone conclusion by then.Appropriately, the game ended with one of the shots of the day from Zafar, who lofted a half-volley over mid-on for an elegant boundary to make the win official.

The leading wicket-taker of the Test series has also bowled the most overs among seamers across both teams

Alagappan Muthu30-Dec-2024India have had Jasprit Bumrah bowling like few ever have in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. The rest have 36 wickets at 41.33. Soon after India lost the Melbourne Test, where the 31-year-old fast bowler picked up a five-for, and went 1-2 down with one Test to play, Rohit Sharma, the captain, was asked if there is a risk of over-bowling Bumrah.”Yeah, there is,” Rohit said. “To be honest, he has bowled a lot of overs. There is no doubt about it. But again, every Test match we play, we keep that in mind. You know, the workloads of all the bowlers in fact. But again, if somebody is in such a great form, you want to try and maximise that form how much ever you can. And that is what we’ve been trying to do with Bumrah.”But there comes a time where you need to step back a little bit and give him that little bit of extra breather as well. So, we’ve been very careful. I’ve been very careful. I talk to him about how he feels and stuff like that. So, yeah. Those things should be managed carefully. And I’m trying to do that on the field.”Related

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Bumrah’s 53.2 overs at the MCG are the most he’s ever bowled in a Test match. That’s taken his tally for the series to 141.2 which puts his workloads ahead of Pat Cummins (136.4) and Mitchell Starc (131.2) and Mohammed Siraj (129.1).India gave up one big, match-turning century in Adelaide, two in Brisbane and another one in Melbourne, not to mention a whirlwind fifty to a 19-year-old debutant on Boxing Day. Would India have posed more of a threat if they’d gone in with another frontline bowling option instead of packing the back-end of the XI with allrounders?”Look, Akash Deep (five wickets at 54) and Mohammed Siraj (16 wickets at 31) are the frontline seamers,” Rohit said. “It’s just that they’ve been very unfortunate not to be seen on the wicket column.”Siraj, especially, is bowling his heart out. I don’t think there’s anything else that he can do. Obviously, there are technical aspects of his game that he’s looking into. But other than that, in terms of his effort, his attitude, bowling those long spells, he’s always up there. It’s just that the wicket column doesn’t show how well he’s bowled.”So is Akash. In Brisbane and here, in both the games, he’s bowled really well. It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t get the wickets under his name. It’s just everyone’s job to make sure that whoever plays needs to get the job done for the team. It’s not about one or two individuals.”India’s other seamer is Nitish Kumar Reddy and he admitted on Sunday that as well as his batting is going – he scored a maiden Test century which helped India recover from 191 for 6 in the first innings – he wanted to do more with the ball. Reddy has contributed only 35 of India’s 542.2 overs in their last four Tests.”When we saw him [Reddy] for the first time, we saw there’s a lot of potential, which is why he came here in the first place,” Rohit said. “And he’s come and shown here what he’s capable of. You know, with the bat, he was brilliant.”He understood the situation pretty well, read the situation pretty well. And he’s got solid technique as well. And superb mind, not to forget.””Right now it’s very hard to say the growth part because it’s only been four test matches for him but I hope that he plays for long enough for India in all forms.”