Latest news with #cricket
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Somerset shine in T20 Blast opener but holders slip
Last season's beaten finalists Somerset beat Surrey as they made an impressive start to their T20 Blast Roy hit a blistering 92, but Surrey were restricted to 146-9 at Taunton before the hosts completed a five-wicket Gloucestershire started their defence with a narrow four-run defeat to Kent Spitfires, while the returning James Vince stroked 62 as Hampshire Hawks thrashed Essex by 106 runs in the other South Group Haynes' unbeaten 89 eclipsed Sam Hain's 92 as Notts Outlaws chased down Bears' 226-5 with five balls to spare at Trent Budinger smashed a 17-ball 50 as Leicestershire Foxes defeated Derbyshire David Willey smashed 54 and took three wickets as Northamptonshire Steelbacks held off Yorkshire Vikings' brave chase in a runfest at to follow.
BBC News
7 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'Relief' and 'pride' as Jones takes her chance
Amy Jones had waited a while for her first international century - 12 years, 225 matches and 190 innings, to be exact. Against a struggling West Indies at Derby, in England's first one-day international under the new leadership regime of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards, the wicketkeeper finally made it out of the 90s. Edwards' first tactical move in the 50-over format was to promote Jones back up the order after Maia Bouchier's omission from the side, and she repaid the faith immediately. Jones had opened for England 23 times previously between 2016 and 2019, but said the simplicity of Edwards' approach helped take the pressure off upon her return to the top."She said, 'you've scored big runs at county level opening and you did pretty well opening before so have a good go at it'. For it to be an option was really exciting for me," Jones told BBC Test Match Special. "It feels really special [to make the century]. It feels like it has been a long time, especially with a bit of an opportunity to bat at the top of the order at the start of my career, so it just feels like a lot of relief and a huge amount of pride." The Ashes drubbing which started the year was one to forget for all of England's players, but Jones suffered a particularly painful experience in the second ODI at Melbourne which really kickstarted England's with chasing 181 to level the series, Jones was left unbeaten on 47 having failed to marshal the tail and miscounting the balls left in an over. Since that series, Edwards had made her intentions clear regarding England's "smartness" in 50-over cricket so it is fitting that Jones has immediately answered the had made it past 90 three times in an England shirt before, making 94 against India in 2018, 91 v West Indies in 2019 and an unbeaten 92 against New Zealand in 2024 - and the nerves did seem to be kicking in when she was dropped on 92 and 93 in this opposition will certainly come - in fact, rather soon, with India's arrival next month, but the smile on Jones' face as she embraced fellow centurion Tammy Beaumont in celebration indicated the sheer weight lifted from her shoulders. "There would have been a few people scratching their heads on why she would be opening the batting," said former England seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt on BBC Test Match Special. "I never thought she lost that spot, so I am massively pleased. She didn't say to whoever was in charge, 'I want that spot back', she just took that she would be four, five or six. "The last two years she has done that well. I am over the moon for her that she has got the first hundred out of the way under some pressure. "I am mega happy for her but the ones that will stand out are the ones that really matter against the best teams in the world."
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan seal T20 series against Bangladesh with 57-run win
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second T20 international in Lahore to seal the three-game series 2-0. Opener Sahibzada Farhan was named Player of the Match after he top scored with 74 for the hosts, who won the toss at Gaddafi Stadium before posting 201-6. It was a fair fight back from Bangladesh to restrict the hosts after Hasan Nawaz recorded the best strike rate of the innings with an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls. Tanzim Hasan gave some respectability to the chase, which was reduced to 77-7, when, coming in at nine, the Bangladesh bowling allrounder added 50 off 31 balls. Abrar Ahmed's off-break spin was key to restricting the tourists as he claimed 3-19 off his four overs to help Pakistan to their first T20 home series win since December 2021. 'It feels very good … I didn't know it was three and a half years,' the Pakistan captain Salman Agha said afterwards of the end of the barren run. 'It was a complete performance, and that is way better than anything else. 'Everyone is loving the team environment where everyone can come and enjoy playing for Pakistan.' Pakistan, who won the first match by 37 runs at the same venue, brought in opener Sahibzada in place of Fakhar Zaman. The decision was fully repaid with six sixes and four fours recorded by the right-hander in his 41-ball innings. The match could not have got off to a worse start for Bangladesh with Shoriful Islam limping out of his first bowl. The left-arm seamer appeared to tweak a groin while fielding the ball in his follow-through and adds to a long list of absent pacers for the tourists. 'When Shoriful was injured, the momentum shifted,' the Bangladesh skipper Litton Das said. 'We have a lack of bowling, but we came back well because I would back our batters any day to chase 200 on this track. 'Whoever is batting well has to keep going, for 13 or 14 overs, but after four overs we didn't bat well and there were back-to-back wickets. 'In cricket, you have to do the basics, we don't do it at the moment.' Bangladesh had reached 44-0 in the fourth over of the chase before the collapse that ended their hopes of bouncing back from the opening defeat. Opener Tanzid Hasan struck 33 from 19 balls in the stand, but once he fell to the seam of Faheem Ashraf an inevitable end quickly formed. The last match is on Sunday, also in Lahore.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Amy Jones and Linsey Smith star as England's opening gambit pays off in West Indies win
Opening pair Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont both struck centuries as England secured a convincing 108-run victory over the West Indies in the first one-day international in Derby. Jones returned to the top order for the first time in six years and hit her maiden ODI century – 12 years after her debut in India – while the dominant Beaumont also impressed with the 11th of her career as the duo frustrated the West Indies in the first innings. The visitors' attack had to wait till the 36th over for their first wicket but England set their opponents 346 to win and they made a fist of things through the opening powerplay courtesy of Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph. Linsey Smith claimed a five-wicket haul on her ODI debut, with fellow 50-over debutant Em Arlott getting two wickets of her own and, despite Joseph's half-century, the West Indies fell to a heavy defeat. Jones quickly brought up her half-century while Beaumont was holding it up down the other end – she finally smashed the first six of the innings over wide long-on as she passed the 50 mark from 74 balls. The pair were cruising and the visitors had no answer to their superiority. Beaumont began to put the pedal to the metal after her half-century, with Aaliyah Alleyne slapped for two fours and a six in the first over of her second spell as England flew to 200 with 17 overs still to go. Perhaps Jones was feeling the pressure of being in the nervous 90s and she was let off the hook twice in two overs as the West Indies blew the chance to get her back in the shed with a pair of dropped catches from Jahzara Claxton and Karishma Ramharack. Beaumont needed just 22 balls for her next 50 runs and raised the bat after reaching her century, and her partner was not far behind her as she drilled one through the covers to reach her ton from 108 balls. The West Indies finally made their breakthrough as Cherry-Ann Fraser bowled Beaumont, who looked to dance down the track, and one wicket brought another as Emma Lamb lasted just three balls. Jones' stay at the crease ended in the 39th over and Nat Sciver-Brunt brought up her 23rd ODI fifty before she was caught lbw by Fletcher as England reached 345 at the halfway stage. The West Indies started well with the bat, with Joseph and Matthews finding the boundary regularly in the powerplay to put on an opening partnership of 91 before the latter nicked Arlott into the gloves of Jones. Joseph brought up her second ODI half-century before she was bowled by Alice Capsey and that started a procession of wickets as the West Indies lost their last eight for 98 runs with Smith slicing through the middle order.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Linsey Smith: It's surreal to celebrate five-for on my ODI debut for England
England bowler Linsey Smith admitted it was a 'surreal' feeling to claim a five-wicket haul on her one-day international debut after the hosts earned a convincing 108-run victory over the West Indies in Derby. Tammy Beaumont (107) and Amy Jones (122) put on a stunning 222-run partnership for the first wicket which saw both openers claim their centuries, while captain Nat Sciver-Brunt added 52 late on as England climbed to 345 for six at the halfway point. West Indies struggled with the bat in the previous T20 series but put up a bit more a fight this time around. Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph's opening stand of 91 had them in the contest until the former was caught behind and – despite Joseph's 62 – the visitors slipped to defeat. Smith ripped through the West Indies middle order and marked the occasion with a five-for haul which sealed a dominant performance from the hosts with both bat and ball. The 30-year-old was happy with her performance but quickly switched the focus onto game two in Leicester next week. She said: 'It's pretty surreal to be honest. Today feels like a bit of a blur but I guess initial feelings are, pretty over the moon. 'One, to make my debut; Two, to put in a performance and help the team win so I'm pretty proud of myself right now. But, there's another game coming up quickly and we want to win the series as well. 'I was just telling myself to try and hit the stumps and then obviously saw it go up in the air for what felt like about five minutes. But yeah, saw Dunks (Sophia Dunkley) underneath it and obviously she'd had a really good day in the field. 'So yeah, I felt pretty confident and it was nice, obviously fitting. She did my cap this morning as well, so to top it off with her was really nice.' Smith made her England T20 debut against Bangladesh in 2018 and had to wait seven years to get her first cap in the 50-over format. Smith became only the second woman to take a five-wicket haul in her first ODI for England and insisted she did not want to give up on her dream of playing in an ODI for her country. She added: 'I've been reminded quite a few times today how many days in between debut I've had, but I just feel quite proud of myself because it's a dream that I didn't want to give up on. 'I know for quite a while I only played T20 and I knew deep down within me that I wanted to play every format and really push my case for that. 'I started off with Hampshire this year, putting in some good performances and then to carry that into this series to get the win is a good feeling.'
