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Kaverappa takes a five-for but Karnataka’s hopes fade away in Bengaluru

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2023
Saurashtra are all but through to the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy final, after having taken a 120-run first-innings lead on the fourth day of their semi-final against Karnataka in Bengaluru.Saurashtra batted out 174.4 overs and ate into the time that Karnataka needed to wipe out the deficit and then bowl the visitors out to secure an outright win, having conceded first-innings points.The prospect of an outright win for Karnataka seems unlikely, though, as they were effectively 3 for 4 at stumps. While their scoring rate is a healthy 4.61, the cream of their batting line-up is in the pavilion and they will have a maximum of 90 overs on the final day.Mayank Agarwal, who had made a marathon 249 in the first innings, laid down the marker in the second with an aggressive 55. However, Saurashtra hit back late in the day through their spinners. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja dismissed Agarwal while Parth Bhuth got Manish Pandey three overs later. Karnataka ended the day on 123 for 4, with Nikin Jose unbeaten on 56.The day had belonged to Saurashtra captain Arpit Vasavada, who converted his 11th first-class century into a superb 202. His 142-run stand with Chirag Jani, who made 72, allayed any fears of a lower-order meltdown that Karnataka would’ve hoped to trigger in their hope of limiting the lead.Once Jani was out, legspinner Shreyas Gopal and seamer Vidwath Kaverappa ran through the lower order. Kaverappa, among the finds for Karnataka this season, ended with 5 for 83. In the absence of Prasidh Krishna, who is nursing a back injury, Kaverappa shouldered much of the responsibility and helped bowl Saurashtra out for 527.

Kiran Carlson adds 65 from 52 as Glamorgan chase down 299 target with 17 balls to spare

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2023A century from Colin Ingram guided Glamorgan to a seven-wicket win over Derbyshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at Derby.Ingram scored an unbeaten 115 off 108 balls and Kiran Carlson 65 from 52 as Glamorgan chased down Derbyshire’s 298 for 8 with 17 balls to spare.Billy Root helped seal victory with an unbeaten 34 from 31 balls in a stand of 82 from 76 balls with Ingram who ended the match with a six off Luis Reece.The home side were on course for a more imposing total after Harry Came with 73 and Reece 69 shared an opening stand of 134.But Haider Ali’s dismissal for 63 from 50 balls sparked a collapse that saw Derbyshire lose five wickets for 26 runs in six overs and the visitors were always favourites once Ingram and Carlson took control.It had promised to be a better day for Derbyshire when Reece and Came began to accelerate with Came pulling a free hit from Ben Morris for the first six of the innings in the 11th over.A scoop over the wicketkeeper took Reece to his 50 from 52 balls but after he was hit on his right elbow by a throw, he scored only four more runs before he came down the pitch and was stumped to give Ben Kellaway his first List A wicket.Kellaway was involved again when his direct hit from backward point ran out Came and then struck Alex Horton a painful blow on the ankle which left the wicketkeeper requiring treatment before he could continue.By then, Ali was starting to bruise the bowler’s figures, pulling and driving two big sixes on his way to a 42 ball fifty.Kellaway was hoisted onto the pavilion roof but after cutting the off-spinner for his fifth four, Ali sliced a big drive and was caught at point.From then on the innings went into decline with Matt Lamb missing an expansive drive and Tom Wood lbw trying to shovel Kiran Carlson through mid-wicket.Brooke Guest was well caught on the run at mid-wicket and Anuj Dal was bowled attempting to scoop Andy Gorvin.Derbyshire had fallen well short of what looked likely six overs earlier but some improvisation from Sam Conners and a six by Alex Thomson off the final ball of the innings took them to their highest Lisa A score against Glamorgan.The visitors established a solid base but after Tom Bevan drove a Nick Potts no ball for four and pulled the free hit for six, both openers went in consecutive overs.Bevan skied Dal to deep mid-wicket and Eddie Byrom was caught behind trying to steer Potts to third man.But Ingram and Carlson kept Glamorgan ahead of the required rate and after a short rain break, Ingram carved Conners over cover for six to take his side to 142 for 2 at the halfway point.Carlson pulled Wood for six to reach 50 from 40 balls but when he tried to sweep Thomson, he got a top edge and was caught at short fine leg.But Ingram made sure there was no late drama as he and Root secured Glamorgan’s first victory in the competition to send Derbyshire sliding to a second defeat.

The thinness of resources in Pakistan’s middle order has opened the door for Misbah-ul-Haq to revive, once again, his international career

Cricinfo staff26-Nov-2009The thinness of resources in Pakistan’s middle order has opened the door for Misbah-ul-Haq to revive, once again, his international career. Misbah was dropped from all three Pakistan squads before the team left on its tour of New Zealand, following a poor run with the bat this year.The withdrawal of Younis Khan from the New Zealand trip, however, not only left Pakistan without a captain, but also a No. 3 who averages 50 in Test cricket. Mohammad Yousuf, who took over the captaincy from Younis, immediately asked for Misbah’s return, citing the need for his experience in a middle order which included inexperienced batsmen Fawad Alam and Umar Akmal in the first Test in Dunedin.A member of the selection committee told Cricinfo that Misbah would most likely be in New Zealand before the second Test, due to begin in Wellington on December 3. “We don’t know exactly what day he will go, but we are keen to send him there to be part of the squad,” the official said. The decision needed to be approved by the board but that is thought to be a formality.The request for Misbah’s inclusion was initially turned down by Pakistan’s selection committee. However, following the failure of most of Pakistan’s batting line – the Akmal brothers apart – in the first innings of the ongoing first Test in Dunedin, the selectors agreed to send Misbah out to New Zealand. Before the younger Akmal saved Pakistan with a hundred on debut, Pakistan had collapsed to 85 for 5, and the middle order of Alam, Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, was looking undermanned, particularly with an opening pair as flimsy as Imran Farhat and Khurram Manzoor.The decision is bound to cause comment, especially as Pakistan already have a large 17-man squad touring in New Zealand. Additionally, they already have a middle-order option, Faisal Iqbal, in place. If he plays, he will at least provide a safe pair of hands in the slips. Farhat, who has a long history of dropping chances in the slip cordon, was at first slip and he promptly dropped two in New Zealand’s first innings.Misbah returned to the Pakistan team after a five-year hiatus in 2007, in magnificent fashion. His inventive, fearless batting led Pakistan to the brink of World Twenty20 glory that same year, and he bolstered his reputation as Pakistan’s man for a crisis by scoring two Test hundreds in India towards the end of the year. The returns since were not so spectacular and this year in particular has been poor – an average of 28.57 in five Tests and 300 runs in 13 ODIs. He has been scoring domestically, however, the route through which he came back into the national side in 2007 and the day he was axed, he responded with a career-best 284 in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

It was 31 from 12, and then 16 from six, and then there were wickets, wides, no-balls, sixes, arguments… pretty much everything

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-202218.1: Haris Rauf to Hardik, 1 run
Length ball angling into the corridor, sits deep in his crease and flat-bats it along the ground to deep midwicket18.2: Haris Rauf to Kohli, 1 run
Length ball outside off, slapped on the bounce to deep cover point18.3: Haris Rauf to Hardik, no run
Extra bounce. Short outside off, and the ball beats Hardik’s attempted uppercut18.4: Haris Rauf to Hardik, 1 run
Hard length., angling into the body. Can’t pull that, just manages to send it dribbling towards long-on off the sticker of the bat18.5: Haris Rauf to Kohli, SIX runs
Okay, wow. Has Kohli ever played a better shot in T20 cricket? Length ball, finishing around bail-high, and Kohli punches it with an almost straight bat, straight back over the bowler’s head. Swivels through the hip a little as he does so, a la Jos Buttler, and it easily carries over the rope18.6: Haris Rauf to Kohli, SIX runs
Fullish, angling into leg stump, and Kohli has caused the MCG to explode into pure noise. A flick of the wrists, and the ball sails over the boundary to the left of fine leg. Wow!Fifteen off that over. Twelve off those last two balls. And it comes down to 16 off this final over, with Mohammad Nawaz to bowl. What an incredible game this has been. What an innings Virat Kohli has played.Mohammad Rizwan is standing back to the spinner! Deep extra-cover, long-off, long-on, cow corner, deep square leg are back.19.1: Nawaz to Hardik, OUT
Got him, what a strike for Pakistan! Flat, speared into the pads, and Hardik loses his shape completely as he tries to slog this over the leg side. Edges it, and the ball balloons to the fielder at cover pointAnd with the new T20I rules in place, it’ll be Dinesh Karthik on strike and not Kohli, even though the batters crossed over. DK isn’t the greatest of starters against spin, usually…19.2: Nawaz to Karthik, 1 run
Down the track, and he gets a full-toss that’s chest-high when he meets it. Would it have been as high if he was standing in his normal position? Probably not. Swatted down to long-onKohli on strike. Fifteen to win off four balls. Fourteen to tie. Nawaz is basically bowling left-arm medium.19.3: Nawaz to Kohli, 2 runs
They need a boundary every ball, almost, but they only get two here. Very full, almost a wide yorker, and Kohli drags it down to long-on, all along the ground19.4: Nawaz to Kohli, (no ball) SIX runs
Full-toss, full-toss, and it’s gone for six!!!! It’s only just gone for six, but it’s gone for six nonetheless! On off stump, and it’s a fairly high full-toss too – it’s been called no-ball!!! – and Kohli swats it away over the leg side. Deep square leg leaps to his right, gets a hand to the ball to try and flap it back into play, but it still lands beyond the ropeBabar’s having a heated discussion with the umpires. Was that above waist height? Tight call, I would think.Suddenly, India need 6 off 3. Such a massive difference from 13 off 3.19.4: Nawaz to Kohli, 1 wide
Now he bowls a wide! All the pressure is on the poor bowler, and he looks to keep it away from Kohli’s reach, but ends up spearing his wide yorker beyond the off-side tramline19.4: Nawaz to Kohli, 3 byes
Bowled him, but it’s a free hit! And they run three by the time the throw comes in from the third man region!!! Full, angling into off stump, and Kohli misses his attempted sweep. But he knows it’s a free-hit, and he sets off at full pace, as does DK. The ball rolls between the keeper and short third, and they pick up three byesPhew. It’s down to two off two now, with DK on strike. Absolutely incredible scenes at the G. Do Pakistan bring their fielders in to crowd the ring? Nope, just four inside the circle. Keeper comes back up to the stumps.19.5: Nawaz to Karthik, OUT
Got him, a stumping off the pads!!! Goes flat, angling down leg, following DK’s movement to make room. Looks to sweep, and the ball dribbles off the pad behind the wicket. And Rizwan is alert to the fact that DK has stumbled out of his crease. What a moment. Rizwan is well down the leg side when he collects the ball, and he falls to his right to complete the stumpingWhodathunkit. R Ashwin to face the last ball, with two runs needed. One to tie. Still just four inside the circle.19.6: Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 wide
And Nawaz bowls a wide!!!! Expects Ashwin to try and make room, maybe, and sends a flat, quick one well down the leg side. Ashwin just watches it pass him, and the MCG explodes once more!Seven fielders in the circle now.19.6: Nawaz to Ashwin, 1 run
And Ashwin clears one of those infielders!!! What a cool, collected, and elegant finish!!! Full, angling into the stumps, and Ashwin makes a little bit of room and scoops the ball over mid-off. What a finish! What a freaking game!!!Virat Kohli. A few weeks ago, there were people (myself included) asking if he should still be part of India’s T20I line-up. There’s a reason I’m not a coach or a selector. Let’s go back to the seventh over of this innings. India were 31 for 4, and going absolutely nowhere. What followed was a partnership for the ages between Kohli and Hardik Pandya, and when it came down to the finish, when it came down to 28 to win off eight balls, it was Kohli who found the route to the boundary. Two back-to-back sixes off the excellent Haris Rauf, and that put all the pressure on Mohammad Nawaz, whose last over had been held back.

“I’m not here to show anyone I should have played the World Cup; I want to find myself, enjoy cricket again,” the Royal Challengers Bangalore player says

Sruthi Ravindranath06-Mar-2023Dane van Niekerk has the chance to get back to playing competitive cricket after a lengthy layoff, and all she wants is to “find the Dane” she might have lost in an emotional rollercoaster of a journey over the past year.”I just want to get back into it,” van Niekerk told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the Women’s Premier League, where she is a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore set-up. “I haven’t played competitive cricket for such a long time, I just want to find the Dane that I’ve lost along the way with all the ups and the downs. And there were a lot more downs than ups, so it’s about finding that Dane, finding that edge again, the fearlessness.”When you go through these tiring times, you don’t like the game as much. As a cricketer, everyone says if you don’t enjoy it it’s probably time to call it [off]. I’m not there yet. But I want to find that love and that fun factor again, find the Dane that I missed, to be honest.”Related

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Just when van Niekerk recovered from a broken ankle she suffered in January 2022 and was all set to make her return to international cricket earlier this year, she was left out of South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad for failing to meet one of the board’s fitness requirements: a two-kilometre run in nine-and-a-half minutes, which she overshot by 18 seconds. She instead served as a commentator during the World Cup, held at home. The last international match she played before the layoff was an ODI against West Indies in September 2021. Since then, she has played three matches in the women’s Hundred and a couple of games at CSA’s Provincial T20 competition.She did not play Royal Challengers’ opening fixture – a loss to Delhi Capitals – and said she did not want to put pressure on herself when her turn finally came.”I think I’m at the right place to do just that [play without fear]; the management has been incredible – you know everyone has been incredible, the RCB setup has been incredible – and they understand where I’m coming from and understand where I’ve been. So I’m just feeling very valued within their environment, knowing that I haven’t played that much international cricket goes a long way.”You don’t have to put any pressure on yourself, I’m not here to show everyone or anyone that I should have played the World Cup or I should have done this – the should have, would have, could have. At the end of the day, I want to find myself, enjoy cricket again.”

Van Niekerk: ‘Women’s cricket is going in the right direction in South Africa’

South Africa might have lost to Australia in the T20 World Cup final, but they did have a few things to cheer about. It was the first time a South Africa team – men’s or women’s – had reached the final of a senior World Cup. The final in Newlands had a record turnout of 12,782 people, the highest for a women’s match in the country.Van Niekerk hoped for her cricket board to capitalise on the rising interest in women’s cricket in the country and wanted them to start focusing on improving domestic cricket.”This South African team reaching the final – the timing was so good,” she said. “The hype around women’s cricket in South Africa, then the WPL… the interest was obviously created. The exciting part is that South Africa now watch women’s cricket. Now it’s the WPL, I hope the demand for a domestic league back in South Africa will come shortly. We still have a lot of work to do, but women’s cricket is going in the right direction in our country and hopefully this can strengthen the demand for women’s cricket and a professional league, and push to professionalise all parts of our domestic cricket in South Africa.”There are four South Africans in the WPL – van Niekerk aside, there are Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon.”I’m just excited to see them [her three compatriots] here, excited to see how they go and I wish them all the best,” van Niekerk said. “I hope they take off from where they left off in the World Cup and may this be the start for many South Africans to get into the WPL. May this grow South African cricket and its strength as well.”One of the most experienced players in the Royal Challengers set-up, van Niekerk was keen to get to know captain Smriti Mandhana better.”At such a young age she’s so composed when she bats, she’s achieved so much. She’s still young,” van Niekerk said. “You think she’s young, but the way she goes about it, I think I’d like to pick her brain. When I was that age, I didn’t look at the game that way. She’s definitely somebody I’d like to get to know better to see how she thinks and how she feels about it.”

He had picked up the injury while fielding in the second T20I, in Cardiff

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jun-2021Sri Lanka batsman Avishka Fernando has been ruled out of the ODIs against England with a grade two tear to his quadriceps. Fernando had picked up the injury while fielding in the second T20I, in Cardiff, and had not played in the third match in Southampton.The injury is particularly disappointing for Fernando, because this had been his first tour with the national team since the start of the pandemic. Earlier this year, he had missed out on limited-overs squads to West Indies and Bangladesh because he had failed fitness tests.Although Fernando would have likely been in the first-choice XI, Sri Lanka have several batsmen capable of playing in the top three in his place. Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando and Pathum Nissanka have all batted in the top three in the past (Nissanka mainly for his domestic teams).Fernando’s absence, however, does weaken Sri Lanka ahead of an already daunting assignment. Not only are Sri Lanka ranked ninth in ODIs while England are fourth (as well as the format’s World Champions), they have also lost six of their last eight completed ODIs against England.Sri Lanka were also easily whitewashed in the three-match T20I series that concluded on Saturday.

Free-spirited innings in tough conditions reaffirms sense that Essex batter is a coming man

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Apr-2023Essex 162 for 3 (Lawrence 74*) vs MiddlesexIt took until around 4.45pm on the opening day of the 2023 County Championship at Lord’s to see it.All the talk leading into the start of the summer was of influence from above. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes want you to blow the roof off – what say you, county men? Your country needs you (well, not all of you) – do your bit by taking the silencer off and entertaining. After all, it’s your only way in.Yet, even with intermittent rain interrupting play on the first day of Middlesex’s return to Division One since 2017, and Essex’s plans to reassert their first-class dominance, there was nothing to suggest the message had been heeded. The game moved at a familiar pace, humming familiar tunes. Until midway through the 53rd over when Toby Roland-Jones delivered a regulation top-of-off-stump ball and Dan Lawrence advanced and created room to inside-out check-drive it over extra cover for the first six of the match.It’s easy to get over-excited at the beginning of a new season, but there’s every chance those committed enough to stick through the earlier showers have already witnessed the shot of the season. Essex had been put in under overcast skies, and, having lost Alastair Cook and Nick Browne in consecutive deliveries with just 48 on the board, Lawrence and his captain Tom Westley were primarily focussed on weathering storms. But this was no evidence of a broader sea-change, even if it was immediately followed by another charge and pummel over wide mid-off for four. This was simply Lawrence being his own man, doing things his own way for his own team.A first half-century of the season had come up in 113 deliveries and you wonder how quickly he might have chased three figures if the looming threat of an early close of play did not ask for watchfulness. The 25-year-old rests on 74, Essex already a handy 162 for three against a Middlesex attack looking understandably ring-rusty.No batter straddles the conundrum of positivity preached and the responsibility required to bat for your team in nibbly conditions quite like Lawrence. Few carry such natural audacity and ability while being a vital cog in an established red-ball side. Long before the national team urged the county game to sup their Kool-Aid, Lawrence has been managing the friction of personal expression and professional duty.Dan Lawrence hasn’t featured for England since a lively display in the Caribbean last spring•Getty Images

Being on the periphery of the Test squad gives Lawrence more reason than most to over-indulge. That he kept himself in check to compile a handy 121-run stand for the third wicket before Westley skewed a drive off Roland-Jones to backward point, speaks of a refrain that remains valuable.Lawrence has not yet earned a cap under Stokes and McCullum, his closest involvement coming as an unused squad member on February’s tour of New Zealand. The barrier to adding to his 11 Tests has been space rather than doubts from selectors. The rise of Harry Brook and the expected return of Jonny Bairstow means Lawrence is likely to adopt a similar position on the outside looking in this summer, barring misfortune for the others.By all accounts, he is their type of player. A couple of weeks into the New Zealand tour, Stuart Broad noted this England environment “suits” Lawrence as “an attacking player who plays incredible shots and likes to take the game forward”. Of those trying to break into the team, he has the least to prove.”Dan’s naturally attacking,” Essex head coach Anthony McGrath reiterated. “He’s a top batsman and if he fancies it, he’ll take it on. I don’t think he’ll stop playing like that, wherever the game is going.”Lawrence does have the Middlesex slip cordon to thank for allowing him a shot at first-class hundred No.13. Prior to Westley’s dismissal and after Browne’s misjudged attempt at a backfoot punch, Lawrence had his own miscalculation outside off stump when on 32. But Sam Robson’s dive to his left from second slip in front of Stephen Eskinazi’s to his right from first meant the edge found by Tim Murtagh came to nothing.The wisdom of Murtagh was carried in his reaction: rueful, knowing Lawrence and Essex aren’t the types to ignore gifts. Officially into his 24th season, his standing as Middlesex’s bowling coach gives him more understanding as to why his attack could not create further opportunities.A wet pre-season meant the four seamers were tuning up on the job at the start. Roland-Jones gradually found the right line to Essex’s left-handed openers but did snare Cook with one down the leg side. Browne’s brisk start – at one point 20 off 18 with four fours – was primarily down to being allowed to cut early on before the necessary recalibrations.Easter Friday will bring with it a greater crowd and better weather, and in turn, a good deal more eyes for Lawrence to entertain. Whatever the messages from above, it is in Middlesex’s best interests to stop him.

Glamorgan bundled out for 183 before visiting openers make solid start to reply

ECB Reporters Network17-May-2024Middlesex took charge of their Vitality County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff, finishing the day on 62 without loss having bowled out the hosts for 183.Tom Helm was the most impressive of the bowlers, claiming 4 for 44 as Middlesex made the most of the decision to bowl first. He was well supported by Ethan Bamber, Toby Roland-Jones and Ryan Higgins who chipped in with wickets.The top-scorer for Glamorgan was Zain-ul-Hassan who made 34 after the top order had been removed by the Middlesex seamers.Middlesex batted for 21 overs at the end of the day and were 122 runs behind Glamorgan’s first-innings total at the close.The Glamorgan openers started out positively with Marnus Labuschagne and Eddie Byrom scoring nine boundaries inside the opening hour of the game. Labuschagne was showing a lot of attacking intent throughout his stay at the crease and that led to his downfall. He drove hard at a ball from Helm and was caught by wicketkeeper Jack Davies.It was the introduction of Ryan Higgins that brought about the end of Byrom, a sharp bouncer taking his gloves and ballooning up for a simple catch by Davies. Kiran Carlson was the next to go, and as with Labuschagne he drove at a ball with hard hands to be caught in the slips by Higgins.When these two teams met in the first match of the season Sam Northeast made the highest score at Lord’s when he plundered 335 not out from this attack. It was a different story here as he struggled to get started and never really settled. He was bowled by a snorter of a delivery from Helm that tore his off stump out the ground.When Helm dismissed Chris Cooke two balls later, bowled with a ball the batter left alone, Glamorgan were 92 for 5. That became 92 for 6 when Colin Ingram, the leading run scorer in first-class cricket this season, played a ball onto his stumps for 10 off the bowling of Bamber.Amidst the wickets tumbling at the other end Zain was playing a tidy innings and had reached 34 when he was caught at slip by Leus du Plooy via an attempted reverse pull, as Glamorgan had stumbled to 103 for 7.Andy Gorvin and Mason Crane held up the Middlesex attack for a stand of 31 before Gorvin was caught off a top-edged hook shot for 12.Crane made a career best 61 against Northamptonshire in April and he showed good application with the bat in this game as he finished undefeated on 32. It was his runs that allowed Glamorgan to reach the total that they did after the top-order collapse.Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman made the Glamorgan total look a long way under par as they navigated the new ball without much difficulty. Stoneman was the more fluent of the two as he made it to 42 not out at the close. Robson was undefeated on a patient 18 from 57 balls at the other end.

Defending champions drill co-hosts with aggressive top-order batting in Gros Islet, winning with 15 balls to spare

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Jun-20243:45

Badree: ‘Adil Rashid is such a skillful bowler’

A devastating 87 not out from Phil Salt, supplemented by an unbeaten 48 from Jonny Bairstow, saw England thrash West Indies by eight wickets in St Lucia. It was the kind of performance that set down a marker for the rest of the teams in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024.The defending champions made light work of their target of 181, with a clinical 97-run stand between Salt and Bairstow earning victory with 15 deliveries to spare.Played out on a fine batting deck at the Daren Sammy National Stadium, Jos Buttler opted to chase at the toss. Things looked precarious after eight overs, with West Indies getting 72 on the board for the loss of just Brandon King, who collapsed with a side strain early in the fifth over, having scored 23 off his previous 12 deliveries.Related

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A diet of spin restricted West Indies’ batters thanks to Adil Rashid – the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 21 from his four overs – and Moeen Ali, who would go on to remove Johnson Charles.Rovman Powell, promoting himself to No. 4, took 20 from the 15th over, striking Liam Livingstone for three sixes down the ground in four deliveries. But an attempt at a fourth off Livingstone’s final ball brought his downfall, caught low at short third by Mark Wood, returning to the XI in place of Chris Jordan.It was the first of three wickets to fall in the space of 12 deliveries for just six runs. Jofra Archer removed Nicholas Pooran caught behind in the next over, before Andre Russell nailed a Rashid googly straight to wide long on.Rovman Powell hit five sixes in his innings•ICC/Getty Images

That West Indies were able to reach 180 without any further loss from a position of 143 for 4 with three overs to go owes as much to Sherfane Rutherford as it does to Wood. The former was able to find 28 from 15 deliveries, 13 of them off the latter as the 18th over was taken for 19.England’s pursuit began steadily enough, reaching 58 for no loss after six overs. Roston Chase’s flat delivery eventually ended the opening stand on 67, trapping Buttler in front, before Moeen came and went, batting at No. 3 for the first time since March 2023.Salt remained, and though he did end up slowing down, Bairstow was on hand to pick up the slack, striking 46 off 21 up to the 16th over. It was then that Salt tagged back in, and unfurled a brutal attack on Romario Shepherd, striking the seamer for 30 with three fours and three sixes – the joint-most expensive over by a West Indian in a T20 World Cup.The first of those boundaries brought up Salt’s half-century from 38 deliveries, before he skewered any remaining jeopardy. It left West Indies to rue a half chance to remove Salt on seven in the third over, when he toed a hack across the line through to Pooran, who could not hold on.

Bairstow clicks himself, and Salt, into gear

Salt deserved the Player-of-the-Match award. But without Bairstow’s help, he – and maybe even England – might not have had something to celebrate.Salt had emerged from the powerplay with a respectable 35 off 20. But with the field spread, twirlers working in tandem and less of the strike, he had stalled. Going into the 14th over, he had scored just 12 more from 15 deliveries.That was when Bairstow set about a jump-start. For some reason, Powell returned to Alzarri Joseph instead of persisting with the frugal Chase. Bairstow used the pace on the ball to send the first delivery over the deep midwicket fence – the longer side, no less – before ramping the next delivery for four.Adil Rashid delivered the big wicket of Andre Russell•Getty Images

Powell attempted to correct his error by bringing Akeal Hosein back on for his final over. Bairstow, though, was in an unforgiving mood. An attempted reverse sweep brought a subdued lbw appeal before a conventional sweep, a 76-metre six heaved into the stands at midwicket, and a fortuitous inside edge brought 14 from three deliveries. The 16 from the over outright made it Hosein’s most expensive of this World Cup.It was at that point, with 40 needed from 30, that Salt set about his assault on Shepherd. Bairstow watched on from the other end, settling into the role of cheerleader as his partner went ballistic. He eventually had the honour of striking the winning run, raising his personal best at T20 World Cups to 48 not out.”Once Jos got out, I had to be the better to bat through,” explained Salt. “For Jonny to come out and take the pressure off me by taking calculated risks. I couldn’t be happier about that as a teammate.”

Windies given the run around

Intent comes in many different forms. England blitzed the six-count on the tournament’s truest batting pitch, but the difference between the running out in the middle told as true a story.West Indies, for all their might, set a new unwanted record of 51 dot balls – the most any team has registered in a T20 World Cup when posting a score of at least 180. They were also responsible for the previous highest – 50 – in the 2016 edition, albeit when they chased down 193 to take down India in the semi-final on their way to their second title.Moreover, they were second-best when making use of this ground’s lop-sided dimensions, failing to rotate the strike as much as they could, and running just nine twos across their 120 deliveries. Not only did England run three more in 15 fewer deliveries, but they even managed a three in the fourth over when Buttler could not quite time a cut to the cover point sponge. It brought Salt on strike for the final ball of the over, which he used to get going by charging at Russell and launching him back over his head and onto the roof for the first of five sixes.Jofra Archer was consistently around the 90mph mark•ICC/Getty Images

Archer glee

At the time, the purchasing of Powell’s wicket for 20 runs from Livingstone’s only over did not seem a smart deal. Powell was only averaging 16.25 coming into this match. Having cooled a partisan St Lucian crowd, watching their captain hoist three quick sixes was a surefire way to get them warmed up for the arrival of Russell to assist Pooran, who was set on 32.Both were back in the hut 11 deliveries later. And while Rashid’s snaring of Russell was the icing on the cake in this little stanza that shifted the match England’s way, it was Archer’s in the 17th over that vindicated Buttler’s investment.Over the wicket to Pooran, Archer hammered a tight line across the left-hander. Ranging from full and yorker length, barring one misstep – a full toss third ball which Pooran guided through point for four – Archer had it all his own way.He was too sharp – consistently around the 90mph mark – and too unwavering for a batter slowly falling into a funk, desperate for room to access his favoured hitting zones down the ground. The least full of all the deliveries was the one that took the edge through to Buttler, Pooran presenting the face of the bat in defeat rather than defiance.With six wickets, Archer is now England’s joint top wicket-taker alongside Rashid, boasting an economy rate of 6.58, which is lower than any of his teammates barring Reece Topley (5.50), who has played two fewer games and is still yet to register a dismissal.But the best stat of all is that Archer has now turned out five times for England in the last 15 days. The previous five caps came in the space of 448 days. After the nightmare run of elbow and back injuries over the last two years, the 29-year-old may finally be out the other end.