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The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
England cricket stars forced to arrive to West Indies ODI match on Lime bikes amid ‘shambles' at The Oval
ENGLAND cricket stars have been forced to arrive for their Test match against the West Indies on Lime bikes. The team are facing off at the Oval in London for the third ODI of the series. 1 England go into the match having won the two previous ODIs. However, their arrival for the third one has caught attention as the players took to Lime bikes to get to the stadium. Harry Brook, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts were pictured arriving on the bikes while wearing their training kit. The reason for the mode of transport was that a road outside the ground was closed. The West Indies team have also been delayed arriving due to being stuck in traffic. They were staying in a hotel around four miles from the Oval but arrived at 12.40pm, which was ten minutes after the scheduled coin toss. Due to the delays, the match start has been delayed. England won the first ODI by a massive 238 runs after hitting 400 in their 50 overs. The visitors did not get close as they were bowled out after just 26.2 overs for 162. In the second ODI, the West Indies set England a total of 308 to chase at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Joe Root was the hero as he came to the crease with both openers falling for ducks. The batter smashed 166 runs himself as he steered England to victory. More to follow... THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS England cricket match is delayed as West Indies team bus is stuck in heavy London TRAFFIC
England's third ODI against the West Indies at the Oval has been delayed as the visitors are stuck in heavy traffic north of thr river Thames. With England leading 2-0 in the series, the final 50-over match of the three-game series was due to start a 1pm. However, Surrey Cricket have confimred the schedule of play will have to be altered as one team, which is the West Indies, has not yet arrived.
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Joe Root rescues England and seals series with sublime century
One-day internationals can come and go, gone from the memory banks as quickly as some of the balls fly to the boundary, but sometimes they can linger. Sometimes an individual's brilliance, particularly when it goes against the grain of most modern thinking and hitting, will make a lasting impression, and that will surely be the case here after Joe Root's match-winning innings. It was that special; a magnificent unbeaten 166 (off only 139 balls), his 18th century in ODIs and 54th in total in international cricket, that, with its class and character, rescued England from a perilous position. It was clearly one of his finest innings, but all he would say was: 'It was good fun, I enjoyed it.' The 34-year-old went on to praise England's bowlers for restricting West Indies to 308 when 350 had looked likely at one stage. He had some luck early on, but the crispness and touch of his strokes — a back-foot punch and on drive, both off Jayden Seales, stand out most — and the calmness of his decision-making as the pressure grew were a joy to behold. We really are lucky to be able to watch a player of such greatness; such orthodoxy that can find its metier amid the muscle and the mayhem. And, given Root's age, we should cherish every moment of it. Root was superbly supported by Will Jacks, who is clearly revelling in his new role at No 7, in a partnership of 143 that helped England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead, ensuring tomorrow's finale at the Oval will be a dead-rubber match. 'The way that Jacksy played was exceptional,' Root said. 'In a position in which he has not batted a lot, to show the maturity, skill levels, calmness and clarity he did was really impressive.' It was the highest chase in an ODI at Cardiff and was scant reward for Keacy Carty's fluent fourth ODI century, but, without wishing to be too harsh and it was indeed pleasing to see West Indies competitive after Thursday's mauling at Edgbaston, Carty summed up where West Indies erred. Having been inserted on what turned out to be a good pitch, they really should have got so many more. They were bowled out with 2.2 overs of their innings remaining, and Carty will know that, with just under 15 overs of the innings left, he should then have gone for the kill rather than tamely being stumped off Jacks's off spin. It was hard too on Brandon King and Shai Hope, the captain, who both made half-centuries, as well as Alzarri Joseph, who bowled with pace and hostility. AP And England were actually poor in many areas. They were horribly sloppy in the field, dropping catches for fun, and, for all the excellence of Saqib Mahmood and Adil Rashid with the ball, they missed the injured Jamie Overton when attempting to intimidate West Indies with the short-ball ploy that had worked so well in Birmingham. With the bat they began horrifically and, though Harry Brook, the captain, sparkled briefly, it required something special from Root to take them to victory. The inexperienced West Indies opener Jewel Andrew got a duck but thereafter Carty and King put on a run-a-ball partnership of 141 that laid a solid foundation for the visiting team. Brydon Carse snared Andrew and could have had more immediately too but Ben Duckett failed to take two difficult catches at second slip, while Mahmood dropped King on 42 off Jacob Bethell. England could also have run either of Carty or King out when they were stranded mid-pitch after a mix-up, but Duckett chose the safe option of an underarm throw to the wicketkeeper from mid-on and, sadly, it was more of a lob and King made his ground. Inevitably it was the ever-reliable leg spinner Rashid who broke the partnership, persuading King to hit him to Carse at long-off. Shimron Hetmyer was trapped leg-before by Rashid and Justin Greaves went when Duckett at last had some success in the field, taking the catch at long-off to give Bethell a wicket. Brook took a brilliant tumbling catch to dismiss Matthew Forde and Roston Chase edged the next ball from Mahmood behind, and the end then came swiftly for West Indies, even if there was another fielding howler as Root dropped Hope before catching Gudakesh Motie the next ball off Rashid. Joseph slogged merrily, going six, four, out to Rashid, whose four wickets cost 63, before Hope was the last man out to Mahmood, who finished with three for 37. GETTY In reply England made the worst possible start, losing both openers for ducks, Jamie Smith edging a good ball from Seales in the first over, and Duckett completed a miserable day by slicing Forde to third man. And it could have been a third duck, as Root would have been a long way out from a direct hit when Brook called him for a single. And, on seven, Root was so close to being leg-before to Forde. The review just, and only just, fell in Root's favour. Next ball Brook, on 30, was dropped behind off Seales and Root could have been run out again on 30, before Brook top-edged Joseph to long leg. And a third duck did come, and it was a sketchy seven-ball one for Jos Buttler, bowled off his back elbow by Joseph. Root passed Eoin Morgan as England's leading runscorer in ODIs (he would take his record tally to 7,082) and made fifty from only 52 balls, but Bethell could not repeat his Edgbaston heroics, leg-before to Chase, and from the last 20 overs England required 142 with five wickets in hand. It was a tough ask, but Root pulled Motie for six to go to 96 and went to his hundred off 98 balls with a swept four next ball. Still 105 runs were needed, though, but three fours in a Chase over, including two reverse-sweeps, soon reduced that. With ten overs left, England, with Root on 132, required only 64. Root went to his highest ODI score (previously 133 not out) with a straight six off Greaves. 'It's a sign you're getting old,' he said afterwards with further typical modesty. West Indies seemed to delay Joseph's return to the attack too long, because, when he did reappear, he trapped Jacks leg-before for 49, with 33 still to win. On Root surged, though, passing 150 off 129 balls. Carse was bounced out by Joseph, who bowled a wicket maiden to finish off a valiant effort, but Root found further assistance from Rashid and, fittingly, the great man hit the winning runs, with seven balls remaining, with another beautiful on-drive. Simple and perfect.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Jamie Smith: ‘To win an away Ashes would be every England cricketer's dream'
'When the pressure's on,' Jamie Smith says intently on an otherwise languid morning at the Oval, 'it definitely gives you more of a focus. You can't get away from the fact that, when the game is on the line, you want to be the one that takes it on and wins it. Look at some of the best players that have played the game – and the impact they've had in situations where they've been needed the most. 'Look at Stokesy [Ben Stokes, his England captain] and some of the innings he's played where he's rescued the side from defeat or led them to victory. They're the things that get remembered. So it would be nice to be the sort of player that can do similar.' Smith has played only nine Tests so far, as England's wicketkeeper-batter who does not even stand behind the stumps for Surrey, but his impact has been so impressive with the bat and reassuring with the gloves that it prompts a simple question: whether the 24-year-old believes he can become that indisputably great player who makes a regular difference. 'Definitely,' Smith says, maintaining eye-contact with quiet authority. 'If you don't have that belief there's no point putting yourself through some of the stuff you have to as a cricketer. When you have a good day you want it to be a memorable day where you've put the side in a position to win. You've got to have that optimism that you can be the one that, on a given day, can win the game.' Smith's conviction will be tested like never before over the coming seven months. After next week's four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, England face successive five-match series against India, the world's best team, and then in the cauldron of the Ashes in Australia. A year ago he was thought by many to be just another county hopeful. But in early 2023 Smith played a breakthrough innings on a turning wicket in Sri Lanka, when he crafted and then blasted a 71-ball century for England Lions. Rob Key, the managing director of the England cricket team, watched Smith bat that day in Galle and it was not long before Stokes began talking about him. 'It was a huge turning point,' Smith remembers. 'I didn't have a great year for Surrey in 2022. We won the championship but I didn't play a big role. So to be on that Lions tour and to score a quick hundred, playing the way I wanted, took everything to the next level. Until that point I never had the confidence but that freed me up to really expand my game.' Smith began his innings in Galle steadily and he told Alex Lees, who was batting with him, that, ''I don't feel I can slog-sweep here.' Alex said: 'Yes, you can. Go for it.' I remember doing it the next ball and it went for six.' That life-changing knock did not come out of nowhere. Just under four years earlier Smith scored 127 for Surrey on his first-class debut against an MCC team led by Stuart Broad – who finally dismissed the 18-year-old after he'd faced 192 balls. It still took a characteristic gamble from Stokes and England's coach Brendon McCullum to decide last summer that Smith, who bats at four for Surrey, would become their Test wicketkeeper while, at No 7, having the guile to steer the tail. More controversially, Smith was chosen ahead of Ben Foakes, his Surrey teammate regarded by many as the world's best wicketkeeper, and the vastly experienced Jonny Bairstow. On his Test debut, against West Indies at Lord's last July, Smith kept wicket tidily before scoring a sumptuous 70 which included smashing a massive six out of the ground. He smiles wryly when I ask if they found the ball on the St John's Wood Road. 'No, but I would have liked it if they had done – to have it as a memento.' He came close to his first Test hundred two weeks later, scoring 95 at Edgbaston, but the milestone fell in his next innings – with a stylish 111 against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. Smith's low-key response after reaching his century was as notable. 'Obviously, inwardly, I was ecstatic. But the team side always drives me on. How can I put the team in the best position? If I'm thinking of the team then I'm not worried about myself and it frees me up.' An hour in Smith's company is revealing as he discusses an ambition that has burned in him for a very long time – since he was a boy who undertook solitary net sessions with a local coach, Matt Homes, at 7am every Saturday for 10 years. His parents were not pushy, and his dad was more smitten by their beloved West Ham than cricket, but Smith thought long and hard about how he could become a distinctive cricketer. 'It was just enjoyable,' he adds. 'The variety of stuff that we did was almost five years ahead. From a young age I was practising all kinds of shots, some of which I don't play now. They need to come back out.' In his last Test, against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in October, Smith came out to bat when England were reeling at 98 for five. His sparkling yet resolute 89 underlined his comfort in the heat and dust of Test cricket. He showed even more confidence by opting out of England's end-of-year tour of New Zealand so that he could be with his partner, Kate, as she gave birth to their son, Noah, in December. 'Family has always been my No 1 priority so that was a pretty clear and easy decision,' he says. 'I'm privileged to play cricket for England but it was nothing compared to the amazing experiences I had during the three weeks they were in New Zealand.' Even if the Ashes had taken place last year Smith stresses 'it would have been the same decision'. He and Kate have been together for three years but, as Smith explains with a grin, 'I wouldn't say she's a massive cricket fan. A couple of times I've texted her saying I'm out for 20 and she's said: 'Oh, you've done well!' I try and explain that I've not done well at all.' Kate might not understand all the cricketing intricacies he faces, especially as a keeper who still plays as an ordinary fielder in county games. This season Smith is in the groove with the bat, scoring 84 and 58 in his last two games for Surrey, but Foakes has kept wicket. Surely it's difficult to improve as a Test keeper under such circumstances? 'It takes a little more time to get up to speed. Last year it helped that I was keeping in some white-ball games. Even though people say it's not the same [as Test cricket] it gets you into a rhythm. This season is different but it gives me a great chance to focus on my batting.' Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion For Smith 'wicketkeeping has always given me opportunities. It's something I like doing, and having that responsibility, but it's even more enjoyable when you're batting.' His pleasure when reaching for one of his bats is obvious. In another sign of Smith's growing reputation, he has joined Joe Root and Mark Wood in recently becoming an enthusiastic ambassador for New Balance. This link with the company follows his immediate success in Test cricket, but Smith does not conform to the archetype of the loud and cocky keeper. 'It's not my personality to be like that,' he says, 'so I'm not going to try to change.' While acknowledging Foakes's hurt after losing his England place, Smith says there has 'not been any awkwardness at all between us. We all know how good a keeper and player he is and he's not had the England experiences that he's probably deserved. But this year he's played some fantastic knocks and he looks to be freed of that burden. He's a fantastic person, and fantastic trainer, who goes always about his business in a very professional manner. He's the best [keeper] in the world for a reason.' Smith namechecks the brilliant South African AB de Villiers as the wicketkeeper-batter he once looked up to most. It's also striking that Smith revered Kevin Pietersen when he was growing up. 'It was his natural flair and the way he played the game,' Smith says of Pietersen. 'It was so exciting to watch and playing international cricket myself now, and understanding how hard it is, makes me see how special it was for him to play that way and almost take the mickey out of people at times. That skill level is remarkable.' Despite his own audacity and belief, Smith is the opposite to Pietersen in some regards. He is a deep thinker and committed team player. But Pietersen, and England's 2005 Ashes-winning squad, fired Smith's imagination. He was too young to have understood that momentous summer at the time but watching the series boxset over the subsequent years fuelled him. Smith also loved the boxset of England's 3-1 Ashes win in Australia in 2010-11: 'I enjoyed putting both [boxsets] on and rewatching them, knowing every word of the commentary and knowing these are recent pillars in English cricket. They show what can be done and to do something similar, and win an away Ashes, would be every England cricketer's dream. You look at recent results and see how difficult it is out there – it's almost Test cricket on fast forward with the media and the Australian public. So it would be fantastic to be involved.' But first come Zimbabwe and India, the latter of which Smith describes as being 'the cricket nation. It would be really nice to have success against the top side.' The Ashes will still dominate England cricket this year. Mark Stoneman, his mentor and former Surrey teammate, has explained what it was like to play five Tests in Australia in 2017-18 when England were crushed 4-0. 'It was just relentless,' Smith says, 'and Australia were the best side in the world at the time. But he still enjoyed the experience – and to play in an Ashes would be something I'd never forget even if there were some difficult moments.' They still speak often, even though Stoneman now plays for Hampshire, and Smith says: 'I'll get out and he'll be sending me a clip [of the dismissal] and talking about technique or something. To have someone take that interest in your game is really helpful.' Stoneman is a down-to-earth Geordie and he has always liked Smith because, despite his shimmering talent, he lacks 'the Surrey strut'. Smith smiles shyly. 'It's always been my personality and belief that you don't get anywhere without hard work. You've got to work hard at it but enjoy doing it while you have the opportunity.' It also helps that Smith has the ability and the nerve to meet the demands of such a thrilling but challenging year for English cricket. Smith's self-belief will be exposed to a searing examination but he sounds determined to remain 'relaxed, without thinking too far ahead. I want to go out there and play what's in front of me without thinking too much. I play at my best when I'm very clear and free-flowing.'
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sule expects Glens future to be settled at end of season
Glentoran midfielder Fuad Sule says he will probably wait to the end of the season to determine if he will stay at the east Belfast club. The 28-year-old moved from Premiership champions Larne to the Oval in the summer of 2023. Sule has been a key figure in Glentoran's resurgence this season and they are currently on an unbeaten run of 15 games. However, his contract expires at the end of the season and negotiations are continuing over a possible new deal. "It's been very well documented, the situation with me at the moment - the people there are looking after the negotiations," said Sule. "All I can do is try my best to perform at the best of my ability on a Friday or Saturday. I feel like I'm doing that at the moment. "I don't tend to let these kind of things kind of influence me in how I play. It just depends on what happens and I'll probably wait until the end of the season to see what happens." Declan Devine's team have already won the Co Antrim Shield this season and they continued their excellent form with a 2-1 victory at Coleraine on Friday night. "You can't build a house on poor foundations and I think the manager has laid the foundations for us to build on since the pre-season. "You can see the results of that now coming to the fore on a weekly basis [and we're] more consistent."
