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Int'l Cricket Council
04-08-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
Pain no barrier as Woakes readies to take crease at The Oval ICC World Test Championship
Woakes received some throwdowns at the indoor nets at The Oval on Sunday and got changed into his whites in anticipation of batting on the penultimate day as England reached 339/6 at stumps in pursuit of 374 runs for victory. England teammate Joe Root, who scored his 39th Test century earlier in the day to put the side within sight of victory , revealed Woakes was going to do everything he could to help his side prevail. "He's all-in, like the rest of us," Root said of Woakes. "It's been that kind of series, where guys have had to put bodies on the line. Hopefully, it doesn't get to that. But he had some throwdowns in here at one point, and he's ready if needed. He's desperate to do what it takes." England are yet to reveal the full extent of Woakes' injury, though Root said the 36-year-old was still experiencing some pain. "Clearly, he's in a huge amount of pain having done what he's done," Root said. "It just shows, as we've seen from other guys in this series - (Rishabh) Pant batting with a broken foot, guys taking all sorts of blows here and there, but it means a huge amount to him. "It just shows the character and the person that he's willing to put his body on the line like that for England, and hopefully - well, hopefully he doesn't have to, but if it does come to that - get us across the line and win us an incredible series." The headband straight on ❤️"England's present No. 4 will never forget England's previous No. 4, that meant so much to him." 🤝 @IGcom With just 35 runs required for victory on Monday, Root believes his team is well placed to sneak across the line and claim the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. "I'd like think we have got what we need to get across the line tomorrow," Root said. "It's been one hell of a series, one hell of a journey and the confidence in our dressing room, clearly we feel we have got the players to get us across the line. But it's just been one of those sort of five matches in six weeks where it's swung both ways the whole time. And we are in for a great day tomorrow."
India.com
03-08-2025
- Sport
- India.com
Joe Root Pays Tribute To Graham Thorpe After Scoring 39th Test Century
Joe Root on Sunday paid a tribute to former England batter Graham Thorpe after scoring his 39th Test century on Day 4 of the fifth Test at the Oval. Root, who anchored the England second innings and stitched a crucial partnership of 195 runs for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook (111), reached his 39th century with a double in the 60th over, bowled by Akash Deep. He reached his hundred off 137 balls, hitting 12 fours. After completing his century, Root kissed the badge on his helmet and raised his bat to acknowledge the applause from the crowd. After that, he also picked up the 'Graham Thorpe headband', wore it, and pointed up to the sky. The headband straight on "England's present No. 4 will never forget England's previous No. 4, that meant so much to him." @IGcom — England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 3, 2025 Notably, Thorpe who was regarded as one of the best English players of his generation, played 182 matches for England (100 Tests, 82 ODIs). He was the batting coach of the England Test team after retirement till he was dismissed along with other support staff following England's 0-4 defeat in the Ashes series of 2021-22. Thorpe took his own life on August 4 last year after a long struggle with anxiety and depression. Between 1993 and 2005, Thorpe played 100 Test matches and 82 One-Day Internationals for England He scored 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66 and amassed 2,380 ODI runs. On Day 4 of the Oval Test, England players and supporters were also seen donning white headbands, which bore a silhouette of Thorpe and his initials. Thorpe famously wore a headband while batting during his glittering career. The limited-edition headbands were also sold to raise money for mental health charity Mind.
India Today
03-08-2025
- Sport
- India Today
ENG vs IND: Joe Root surpasses Kumar Sangakkara with 39th Test century at Oval
Joe Root continued his prolific run as he slammed his 39th Test century on Day 4 of the fifth Test against India. He surpassed Kumar Sangakkara (38) in the list of most centuries in Tests and has now occupied the fourth spot in the elite list. Root got involved in a massive 195-run stand for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook and sucked the life out of Indian was also the third fourth innings hundred for the England star as he continued his golden run in the last innings of the Test. He reached the milestone in the third session of the day with a couple of runs against Akash Deep. It was a memorable moment for Root as his parents were also present in the crowd as the entire stadium stood up to applaud another masterclass from the second-highest run scorer in vs India 5th Test Day 4 Updates The former England captain also paid tribute to late Graham Thorpe by wearing his band after completing the milestone. Root walked out to bat in the first session itself, following the wicket of Ben Duckett early in the day. After failing to notch up a big score in the first innings, Root was determined to take his team over the line as he looked at ease right from the headband straight on"England's present No. 4 will never forget England's previous No. 4, that meant so much to him."@IGcom England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 3, 2025He brought up his half century in the second session and played second fiddle to Brook, who ripped apart Indian bowling after being dropped on 19. However, after Brook was dismissed on 111, Root took the onus upon himself to see England reached his landmark in the last session to bring his team to the cusp of a win. Root's previous two centuries in the fourth innings have come in a winning cause, and he has brought England to the verge of chasing another 370-plus target.- EndsMust Watch
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First Post
24-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett: A partnership of two contrasting halves that delivers yet again, this time in Manchester
Crawley and Duckett now average 45.55 together, their stand of 166 on Thursday the fifth century partnership they have put on together. Not since the heady days of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick have England had such a productive duo at the top of the order. read more Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put England in the driver's seat on Day 2 of the fourth Test against India with a 166-run opening partnership. AP England go into day three at Old Trafford firmly on the front foot, and with a lengthy batting lineup to come they'll have high hopes of building a healthy first innings lead. When they arrived on Day 2 with India 264/4 and Rishabh Pant seemingly ruled out of proceedings, they would have had been optimistic of pressing home their advantage with a cheap wrapping up of the tourists' innings. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In fact none of that occurred, against all odds and turned his overnight score into a 19th Test match 50, and India's tail wagged effectively and efficiently to post a more than reputable 358 all out. More from First Cricket BCCI to host Asia Cup in UAE; India, Pakistan likely to be grouped together despite recent tensions: Report Even in the face of Ben Stokes' first five wicket haul since 2017, and their final three wickets adding just nine runs between them, India's phalanx of all-rounders provided stiff enough resistance to put England somewhat on the back foot at the start of their innings. It was not a position they occupied for long. The most productive openers since Strauss and Trescothick England's opening partnership is very much one of two contrasting halves. One left hander, one right, one tall, one short, one firmly established as one of his team's best players, the other constantly having his position called into question by critics. However for all the opprobrium Zak Crawley has drawn, he and Duckett have quietly – if that word isn't in contradiction to the swaggering style in which they play – been establishing themselves as a very solid opening partnership for England. An imperious shot from Zak to get to his 50 🤌 🤝 @IGcom — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The pair now average 45.55 together, their stand of 166 today the fifth century partnership they have put on together, not since the heady days of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick have England had such a productive duo at the top of the order. Of opening partnerships to bat more than 20 innings together, their average together is now ninth in England's all-time list. Speaking after the day's play, Crawley was self-deprecating about what makes their partnership work: 'I like how good he is,' he said. 'He's a phenomenal player and he takes a lot of pressure off me. It allows you to go about your business.' Crawley and Duckett capitalise on India's poor bowling India were poor early on with the new ball, struggling to find either a consistent line or length and finished with only Jasprit Bumrah managing to register an economy rate of less than 4.8 an over. Something Crawley thinks could be exacerbated by the contrasting physicalities of England's opening pair. 'Our height difference and being left-right hand probably makes it hard for the bowlers when we're going well at both ends,' he said. 'I love batting with him and hopefully that continues. 'One of my strengths is I can hit quite good balls for four with my height and reach, I feel like I hadn't allowed that to come out quite as much as late. This game I just wanted to react and play every ball on its merits.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ultimately both men would fall agonisingly short of well-deserved hundreds, Crawley on 84 and Duckett 94, and Joe Root and Ollie Pope did well to see off an improvement in bowling from India and take England into the close without further loss of wicket. England though will go to bed extremely satisfied with the position in which they sit, a position reached on the backs of their underratedly excellent opening partnership.
Indian Express
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Never gotten out to it': Nasser Hussain dissects the Harry Brook shot that makes him a class apart in Test cricket
Harry Brook's stoic counter-attack kept England alive in the fight after their early collapse on Day 3 of the Edgbaston Test against India on Friday. Picking up the side with a record-breaking 303-run partnership alongside Jamie Smith, Brook played second fiddle in the onslaught but not without leaving his own impressions with the 'charge' against the India pacers. Brook patiently coasted to his ninth Test century, becoming the fastest England batter in 96 years since Herbert Sutcliffe (43) to get there in only 44 innings. The young Yorkshireman's Test average consequently moved past 60. At 60.37, Brook holds the second-highest Test average among active players who have played at least 20 innings, also the second among all Englishmen, behind Sutcliffe's 60.73. Former England captain Nasser Hussain was effusive in his praise of how Brook calibrated his innings and described how the sturdy right-hander punishes pacers to maintain the tempo, using a distinct shot-making technique by charging down the pitch. 'For his last three Test hundreds, he has walked to the crease with the scoreboard reading 45 for three, 26 for three and 25 for three here. He clearly deals well with pressure. Yes, on the second evening, he looked frenetic but that was simply because all of England's batsmen's brains were scrambled after 151 overs in the field,' Hussain wrote on his Daily Mail column. 'But the break overnight clearly did him some good, because from the start of that 303-run partnership with Jamie Smith, he was back to his normal, calm and composed self.' Hussain noted how Brook wasn't attempting to play catch-up with Smith even when the India seamers alternated from their short-ball ploy to bowling wide outside the off-stump. "A REAL talent!" 👌 Test century number nine for @Harry_Brook_88! 🏏@IGcom | 🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 4, 2025 'Importantly, he didn't try to keep up with Smith, either. Smith overtook him very quickly, but Brook just kept his own tempo. This was back to Bazball at its smartest.' 'Brook doesn't just play one way. He's a thinking cricketer and although there have been a couple of times that he has been sucked into things he perhaps shouldn't have – he had a couple of brain fades in the 2023 Ashes with the short ball, and then got a bit bored with Sri Lanka tactically bowling wide to him and lost focus – he adapts to playing the shots in his favour,' observed Hussain. Hussain explained how Brook forces bowlers to alternate their plans to his liking while adeptly using the charge, down the track, to hit them off their conventional lengths. 'His charging down the pitch early on Friday to counter the Indian seamers was a case in point. Brook is doing it for a reason. There's a method in that madness. He wants to put bowlers off and the statistics show you that he plays it well: 32 attempts at it have got him 92 runs, and he's never got out to it. 'It's clever batting: he charges because he realises there's a certain length he's uncomfortable with about seven metres down the pitch and when he sees a bowler bowling that length, he advances to hit him off it,' remarked Hussain.
