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The short-term England approach that can lift Ben Stokes over major hurdle at Old Trafford
The short-term England approach that can lift Ben Stokes over major hurdle at Old Trafford

The Independent

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • The Independent

The short-term England approach that can lift Ben Stokes over major hurdle at Old Trafford

Ben Stokes had spent some of Monday in the middle at Old Trafford, studying the pitch. He had no such option on Tuesday, the covers shielding it from the elements. The Mancunian weather accounted for his only draw as Test captain, against Australia in 2023. There may be the risk of a repeat, though even as the skies started to clear in the afternoon, the rain still came down. But Old Trafford draws have a different pertinence: this week has marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the 2005 Ashes. Australia held on in Manchester, nine wickets down in a thrilling finish, but England won the series 2-1. Twenty years on, in what is shaping up as another epic contest, England hold a 2-1 lead over India, in a series that has taken a twist with sledging defining the Lord's Test. Rain may be unwelcome, but it would hurt the tourists more. Stokes, whose side has been accused of 'breaching the spirit of cricket' after delay tactics in the third Test, is a man with a proven capacity to bowl through the pain barrier, knows something about suffering. He got through 44 overs to secure the 22-run win at Lord's, 24 of them in the last innings, spells of nine and 10 included. "I don't think enjoyment is the right word," he reflected. "I consistently felt threatening in those spells, hence why I kept on going." It was just as well he then had a few days off. 'I felt like I was in a long-distance relationship with my family because I hardly saw them [despite] being at home,' he said. 'I needed to lie down. I watched the whole series of Landman on Amazon; that's good. I watched 28 Days Later and followed up with 28 Weeks Later.' In 28 weeks' time, the Ashes will be over: following India's visit, back-to-back defining series have the potential to provide the lasting impression of Stokes' captaincy. It has brought entertainment in abundance and a flurry of victories, four of them against India. But his England are yet to overcome either India or Australia in a series; the World Test Championship may suggest otherwise, but they feel the superpowers. If it is all about the here and now, perhaps that explains why England's bowling attack are 29, 30, 34, 35 and 36. Stokes, the 34-year-old, may not have had a youth policy when pairing James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Now the old stagers are Chris Woakes and Liam Dawson. Woakes, whose returns can diminish when he plays four or five Tests in a series, has seven wickets at 56 in this. There was some thought he could be rested, rotated or dropped. 'Outside of the rewards that Woakesy hasn't got with the ball, he is a very important player for us,' said Stokes, unworried by unflattering returns of late, focusing on his Old Trafford past. 'Woakesy has got a very good record here.' Dawson's record in County Championship cricket stands in stark contrast to the injured Shoaib Bashir 's: the Somerset spinner averages 84 in the championship, whereas Dawson took 49 wickets and scored 840 runs last season. He could add more runs – he has more first-class hundreds than opener Zak Crawley – and, eight years after his last Test, is selected to be a plug-and-play solution. 'Getting recalled to the white-ball team, he showed he can come back in and get to work straight away,' Stokes said. 'We spoke briefly at nets yesterday about that. I said to Daws, 'you're a lot different so someone like Bash, where we were both learning on the job together'.' Dawson is a beneficiary of Brendon McCullum 's job-share, impressing the Test coach on his new one-day duties, leapfrogging Jack Leach to become the preferred left-arm spinner. 'Quality cricketer and very, very competitive,' said Stokes, arrowing in on the character of a player who is both newcomer and veteran. Injuries have the potential to reshape the series. India's bowling attack is more depleted with Akash Deep joining Nitesh Kumar Reddy in being ruled out, along with a plausible replacement, in Arshdeep Singh. Either Prasidh Krishna or the uncapped Anshul Kamboj will take the last berth for a seamer. India, having declared that Jasprit Bumrah will only play three Tests in the series, have decided that Old Trafford will be the third. The oddity is that England have won both in which the world's top-ranked bowler has appeared. But if short-termism is a theme of England's selection, it has to be for India, too: save Bumrah for The Oval and it could be too late. The better injury news for India is that Rishabh Pant is fit after the finger problem that prevented him from keeping wicket at Lord's. He averages 70 in the series, just above KL Rahul, with both Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja over 100. If the statistics can underline the importance of Stokes the bowler for England, they can also invite questions as to how his side is leading. An answer can be found in England's ability to win key moments, which can be a Stokes specialism. 'The series has been great to play in and I presume it's been pretty good to watch,' said the England captain. It invites comparisons with one of the most celebrated summers in English cricket. 'The 2005 Ashes series was great to watch,' added Stokes. 'We've gone all five days in all three Tests so far. It just proves that the quality of cricket has been outstanding. Two teams going toe-to-toe and not very much separating us at the moment.' After Old Trafford, there could be nothing separating them, or England could have clinched their most prestigious series victory under Stokes. Or, if the Mancunian weather has its way, he may get something he almost abolished: a draw.

West Indies all out for 27 - the numbers behind extraordinary collapse
West Indies all out for 27 - the numbers behind extraordinary collapse

BBC News

time15-07-2025

  • Sport
  • BBC News

West Indies all out for 27 - the numbers behind extraordinary collapse

West Indies wrote an unwanted new chapter in the history books when they crumbled to just 27 all out against Australia on Monday - the second lowest score in Test extraordinary innings has prompted a top-level review of West Indies cricket - and it has thrown up several memorable statistics, good and Sport has looked at the numbers to see how they compare across 148 years of Test cricket history. What does it say about West Indies cricket? Like any Test match there were a number of factors at play. The pitch certainly favoured the bowlers, with Australia's first innings 225 the highest total of the match before the tourists were bowled out for just 121 in their second there is the quality of the opposition. Australia are the number one ranked Test team in the world while West Indies are eighth out of tourists, who host England in the Ashes this winter, won their matches in the three-Test series by 159, 133 and 176 runs respectively. Mitchell Starc, one of the best fast bowlers of this generation, bowled a fearsome opening spell that demolished the West Indies' top order in Jamaica on Monday."Out of nowhere," said Australia captain Pat Cummins, Starc can "tear an opposition apart and win a game for you." Left-armer Starc was also armed with a pink ball since the third Test was a day-night game. Starc has taken 81 wickets in day-night cricket, far ahead of the next best, his Australia team-mate Cummins who has pink ball has similar characteristics to one-day cricket's white ball in that some believe it swings more, certainly in the right conditions. Of bowlers to have taken more than 200 wickets in one-day internationals, only India's Mohammed Shami (25.8) has a better strike-rate (wickets taken per 100 balls) than Starc's frankly incredible were also helped by some pretty sloppy shots as the batting line-up disintegrated. Of those who played, opener John Campbell was the highest-ranked player in the world Test batting rankings at 78. Australia have four in the current top 20: Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja."Assessing this series is simple: the bowlers kept us in the contest and the batting let us down time after time," was captain Roston Chase's frank is further evidence of the decline of West Indies cricket since its 1970s and 1980s the 87 Test series they have played since 2000, West Indies have won just 23, with 15 of those coming against three weaker Test-playing nations in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and of their five lowest innings totals have occurred in the 21st Century, with another in said, they did claim a credible draw in a two-Test series in Australia in 2024, proving they do have the quality to compete with the best on their day. They were also without some of their more established players such as Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Gudakesh Motie. How does the score compare? West Indies have shot straight into number two on the lowest scores list, and just one run short of the lowest score mustered by New Zealand against England in Auckland in a low score is incredibly rare in the modern are the only two totals in the top five that occurred after the Second World War, with one in 1924 and the other two in the 19th 14.3 overs West Indies batted is the third-shortest all out innings in Test history after Sri Lanka's 13.5 in 2024, when they slumped to 42 all out against South Africa (13th on the all-time lowest list, in case you were wondering), and the Proteas' 12.3 overs against England in 1924. What were the best bowling figures? Such paltry totals have resulted in some stunning bowling ripped through the West Indies' top order as he finished with figures of 6-9 from 7.3 overs - four of those being 1955, England's Bob Appleyard took 4-7 in New Zealand's record low 26, ably supported by Brian Statham's 3-9, Frank Tyson's 2-10 and Johnny Wardle's best figures in the top five belong to England's George Lohmann, who took an incredible 8-7 as South Africa were skittled out for 30 in that only ranks 21st in the list of all-time best innings bowling figures, with Jim Laker's 10-53 for England against Australia in 1953 top of the pile. Who was top scorer? Justin Greaves was West Indies' top scorer with just 11, the only player to reach double figuresGreaves is one of just five players to reach double figures across the 55 who batted in the top-five lowest innings - none scoring more than 11. It is notable that one of the four columns of those reaching double figures is occupied not by a batter, but by 'extras', with no-balls and wides contributing heavily to the low 11 extras for South Africa against England in 1924 was their top scorer, with opener Herbie Taylor next with just seven.

West Indies subside to 27 all out as Mitchell Starc and Australia run riot
West Indies subside to 27 all out as Mitchell Starc and Australia run riot

New York Times

time14-07-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

West Indies subside to 27 all out as Mitchell Starc and Australia run riot

Mitchell Starc claimed his 400th Test wicket and team-mate Scott Boland took a hat-trick as Australia humiliated the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, bowling their hosts out for only 27 to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep. The home side's score was the lowest total the West Indies have ever mustered at this level. They only eclipsed the worst score ever recorded by a Test team — New Zealand's 26 against England in 1955 — by one run, courtesy of a misfield by Sam Konstas in the gully before Starc completed the rout. Advertisement The Australian left-armer ended with Test best figures of 6-9, taking three wickets in his first over to leave the home side 0-3 chasing 204 for victory and completing the quickest five-wicket haul in Test history in terms of balls delivered — 15. Starc, playing his 100th Test, passed the 400-wicket milestone when he trapped Mikyle Louis leg before wicket for four. Australia ended up winning what had, after three innings, been a relatively tight day-night Test match by an emphatic 176 runs even before the lights were turned on on the third day. 'It's been a fantastic series,' said Starc. 'We've seen some difficult batting conditions throughout, but it's been a good few days. Very enjoyable. I go home with a smile on my face. Our bowling attack has been pretty on the money throughout the series. Today it was like that again.' 'When you talk about 100 Tests, you talk about resilience, skill and fitness, but today he showed the real Mitchell Starc and what he can bring to a team,' said Australia's captain, Pat Cummins. 'Out of nowhere, he can tear an opposition apart and win a game for you. 'He does it consistently in any format, and I'm very lucky he's on our team.' Boland became the 10th Australian to claim a Test hat-trick by removing Justin Greaves, Shamar Joseph and Jomel Warrican with successive deliveries. 'He's amazing, isn't he,' added Starc. 'He would have played so many more Test matches in another team. But every time he comes in he's on the money, as you saw this week. He's never far from the perfect length. 'He got his opportunity this week and showed what a wonderful Test bowler he is.' Australia's win completed their 3-0 series win following the 159-run success in Bridgetown, Barbados and 133 runs in St George's, Grenada. Click here to read more cricket stories on The Athletic, and follow Global Sports on The Athletic app via the Discover tab.

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