McCaughan blasts fifty to hand Vipers back-to-back wins

Ella McCaughan blasted a half-century to take her past 1,000 Southern Vipers runs and help her side win back-to-back Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches.Opener McCaughan was belligerent in her 97-ball 83, with Charli Knott continuing her fine start to life in the UK with 40 – as Vipers totted up 287.Diamonds stuttered in response before Lauren Winfield-Hill’s 63 and Erin Burn’s 45 steadied things before another stumble – with Charlie Dean claiming 4 for 34.Rain ended proceedings with Diamonds 70 runs short of the DLS target of 232 and put an end to Diamonds’ winning start to the season.Diamonds skipper Hollie Armitage stuck Vipers in – with weather around and the benefits of chasing with DLS – but McCaughan and Maia Bouchier began like they were up against some rain.The duo had 50 up inside eight overs, with McCaughan the unlikely aggressor of the partnership, while playing a series of sumptuous shots – none more so than the cut, on drive and cover drive combo in the third over off Lizzie Scott.The 21-year-old had a strike-rate of 55.77 in List A matches before this match but blasted her way to her sixth Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy half-century.Bouchier had been dropped on 14 at gully, one of four drops across the Vipers innings, but fell for an entertaining 26 when she top-edged Phoebe Turner – giving the medium pacer her first.Knott continued the fast pace with some well-judged dabs to the third boundary, as the Australian followed up her 41 and 58 not out in her opening two Viper appearances with a run-a-ball 40.The end of her 93-run stand with McCaughan, coupled with the pair departing in back-to-back overs, began a fightback for Diamonds which stopped Vipers from reaching 300.Emily Windsor, Freya Kemp, Charlie Dean and Georgia Adams all got starts but couldn’t blow the visitors away like the top order had.Australian Burns started finding good turn, which did for Windsor and Kemp, for her 2 for 56, while Phoebe Turner completed her back-to-back three-wicket hauls when she had Adams caught behind.Vipers’ 287 for 9 felt lower than it could have been but Linsey Smith bowling Emma Marlow in the sixth over gave them early control of the reply.In reply, Marlow – opening in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the first time with Sterre Kalis on international duty – had her middle stump knocked back by Smith.Dean had Armitage leg-before and Bess Heath stumped in quick succession as the chase struggled to get going.Winfield-Hill and Burns got things pointing in the right direction with a punchy partnership for the fourth wicket.Former England opener Winfield-Hill found the gaps with ease to show her quality in her second fifty of the campaign – coming in 54 – albeit having been dropped on 9.The stand with Burns reached 82, and had almost caught up with the DLS target, before a flurry of wickets ended the Diamonds’ hopes.Burns was brilliantly caught at short third, Winfield-Hill picked out deep midwicket, Phoebe Turner was castled and Leah Dobson missed a straight one to give Dean her fourth.Rain, which had been light for a while, started to come down heavier just after 4pm to take the players off, with the DLS target 232.

Grewcock, Hancock dismantle Storm to set up comfortable Sunrisers win

Jodi Grewcock and Nicola Hancock claimed three wickets apiece as Sunrisers launched their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Western Storm at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.Seamer Hancock took 3 for 15 in 5.4 overs and teenager Grewcock bowled unchanged for 10 overs to return impressive figures of 3 for 28 with her legbreaks as Storm were dismissed for a wholly inadequate 114 in 30.4 overs.Offspinner Mady Villiers weighed in with 2 for 36, while Esmae MacGregor took a wicket and contributed a run out as Sunrisers produced a disciplined performance in the field after winning the toss. Only Nat Wraith offered meaningful resistance with the bat, top-scoring with 42 as Storm opened this campaign as they finished the last, by suffering heavy defeat.Sunrisers skipper Grace Scrivens then led by example, compiling a composed innings of 63 and sharing in a reassuring partnership of 59 with Cordelia Griffith for the second wicket as the visitors comfortably overhauled their target with 16.2 overs to spare.Victorious in their final four matches of last season, Sunrisers have picked up where they left off and will go into their next match against Thunder at Sale in confident mood. For their part, Storm have now been beaten in their last five outings in the 50-over competition and will need to find improvement ahead of their trip to play Northern Diamonds at Headingley on Wednesday.Put into bat, Storm were unable to recover from the loss of early wickets and were shot out inside 31 overs, only three batters managing double-figures in an innings which the home side will no doubt want to forget in a hurry.Hancock produced a probing new-ball spell to remove Alex Griffiths for 2, but fellow opener Sophia Smale responded in positive fashion, helping herself to three leg-side boundaries to advance her score to 16. Calamity then struck, Smale clipping Villiers behind point and setting off for a quick single, only to collide with partner Sophie Luff halfway down the track and be run out by MacGregor while getting back to her feet.That unfortunate mishap sparked a dramatic collapse which saw five wickets fall in just 8.1 overs as Storm subsided to 64 for 6, their top and middle-order batting undermined by spin. Luff played and missed at a delivery from Grewcock that nipped back and was adjudged lbw for 7, while Dani Gibson was also undone by the England Under-19 legspinner, playing back to a ball that struck her on the pad and departing for 3.Plying her offbreaks at the other end, Villiers trapped Katie Jones in the crease and then struck a telling blow, inducing former England international Fran Wilson to drive straight to Jo Gardner at mid-on. Wilson had made 18 and with her went Storm’s best chance of posting a competitive total.Fearing she might run out of partners before she was able to do anything to remedy a parlous situation, Wraith adopted a forthright approach and dominated stands of 24 and 26 with Niamh Holland and Amanda-Jade Wellington for the seventh and eighth wickets respectively. But Holland eventually offered a return catch to MacGregor and Wellington miscued a drive to extra cover as Grewcock continued to deploy clever variation in flight to strike again in her final over.Attempting to take matters into her own hands, Wraith plundered half a dozen boundaries in carrying the fight to the Sunrisers bowlers, her luck finally running out when she hoisted a ball from the returning Hancock to deep midwicket. Her combative innings of 42 spanned 52 balls and at least enabled embattled Storm to realise three figures.Hancock required just four deliveries to wrap-up the innings, having Chloe Skelton caught at the wicket, the seventh Storm player to perish either in single figures or without scoring.Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Storm’s bowlers did their utmost to build pressure and new overseas recruit Wellington provided a silver lining when gaining an lbw decision to remove Ariana Dowse with the score on 21 in the eighth over. Making a good first impression on her debut, the Australian international spinner finished with 1 for 24 from nine overs and discomfited the top-order batters sufficiently to suggest she is going to make a positive impact in Storm colours this season.But the implacable Scrivens overcame all attempts to unseat her, playing a captain’s innings to ensure her team reached their target without enduring any undue dramas. She found the perfect partner in Griffith, who adopted the role of chief support in an innings of 28 that spanned 48 balls and included a quartet of fours before she holed out to Holland in the deep off the bowling of Skelton.Unperturbed by that setback, Scrivens went to 50 via 65 balls with her ninth four, a fluent cover drive plundered at the expense of Griffiths. Perhaps fittingly given her performance with the ball earlier, Grewcock hit the winning runs as she finished unbeaten on 15.

Rashid the spark for England before Buttler, Salt dismantle chase

There wasn’t much to separate these two sides when they met in the last T20 World Cup final, but in the final T20I before that tournament’s next edition kicks off, the gap between the two is positively chasmic. A disciplined, all-round bowling performance from England, followed by a brutal barrage of top-order hitting from openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt saw England crush Pakistan by 7 wickets with 27 balls to spare, and claim a 2-0 series win.How the game started under overcast skies wasn’t quite a harbinger of the overwhelming dominance England would eventually establish. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who opened the batting for the first time this year, got Pakistan off to a steady start in the first four overs before finishing the powerplay strongly; the 59 they managed was Pakistan’s second-highest powerplay score since January. But England struck back with five wickets for 27 runs either side of a brief rain break, spearheaded by Adil Rashid.Brief, happy-go-lucky resistance from Usman Khan – whose 21-ball 38 bolstered Pakistan when they were in danger of crumpling – kept hopes of a competitive target alive for long enough. But Liam Livingstone, who England utilised to perfection in the middle overs, prised him out thanks to a stunning catch from Chris Jordan, and Pakistan eventually folded for 157.There was a suspicion it wasn’t quite enough, but England’s openers made a mockery of the idea it was ever even in doubt. Mohammad Amir was leathered for 16 in his first over, Naseem Shah pulverised for 25. England scored 78 in the Powerplay, their highest since they managed 82 in Lahore against the same opposition in 2022. And though Haris Rauf restored some respectability to the score with three wickets in a fiery, spirited spell, the hosts wouldn’t even let him have the last laugh, with Harry Brook clobbering him for six over cover to seal a statement-making win before their World Cup defence begins.

Rashid triggers collapse

Rizwan and Babar had given Pakistan a platform, but what happened off the final ball of the powerplay was more significant than anything that went before. The Pakistan captain edged one to short third, which Rashid held on to. The openers have often been accused of slowing down after the powerplay, so when Rashid breached Rizwan’s defences next over, the middle order had their platform laid out for them. But Fakhar Zaman holed out as Rashid took a sharp catch during a passage of play when he simply couldn’t be kept out of the game. He returned to clean up Shadab Khan first ball, with Mark Wood’s sheer pace sending Azam Khan packing for a five-ball duck. His nightmare was only just beginning.Adil Rashid helped tie Pakistan down•Getty Images

Livingstone’s bowling heroics

Every time Livingstone was thrown the ball by Buttler, it seemed like the time for Pakistan to sneak in a big over. And yet, the spinner found a way to bowl perfect lines to perfectly set fields; the big shot never quite seemed to be on. But not content with being milked for 16 in his first two, Livingstone bowled the most impactful over of the game in the 15th, sending down a double-wicket maiden. Pakistan’s top-scorer Usman holed out to Jordan before Shaheen Afridi smeared at one that eventually hit his stumps. By the time Livingstone was done, the last dregs of Pakistan’s batting resistance had been stomped out of them.

The onslaught

On a wicket as true as this, surely Pakistan’s pace quartet would find a way to keep England honest, right? Right?Wrong. Shaheen and Naseem might have been slightly unlucky to concede 18 without reward in the first two, but everything that followed was a one-sided drubbing. Even the pace of the wicket played in the batters’ favour, the touch and timing of Buttler and Salt meaning caresses flew to the boundary. Pakistan’s bowlers, flustered and harried, found their lengths wavering and their pace one-dimensional. It was only too easy for England’s openers to take full advantage.

Azam’s day out

Azam receiving a snorter of a short ball he wasn’t mobile enough to evade was just the start of his horror day. With his credentials as a middle-order batter severely diminished by his stint in the side, his status as their wicketkeeper also took a battering. Stationed there only because he can’t be hidden elsewhere, he dropped two straightforward chances off an otherwise impressive Rauf, with his embarrassment so palpable it was borderline uncomfortable viewing. When he eventually did grasp a straightforward catch, Rizwan jogged up to give him a pat on the back. You would imagine it isn’t long before Rizwan is stood there permanently again.

Kedar Jadhav announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Kedar Jadhav has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 39.Jadhav played 73 ODIs and nine T20Is for India after making his international debut in 2014. He earned an India call-up for the ODIs against Bangladesh in June 2014 but he had to wait till November that year to get his maiden international cap, making his debut against Sri Lanka in Ranchi. He was then named in the India squad for the two tours to Zimbabwe, in 2015, when he scored an unbeaten century, and then in 2016, when he didn’t get an opportunity to bat in the series.In 2012, he scored a triple century in the Ranji Trophy, against Uttar Pradesh and also finished as Maharashtra’s second-highest run-getter in the edition. Jadhav made a name for himself in the 2013-14 Ranji edition, becoming the season’s highest run-getter with 1223 runs including six centuries.Initially a part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru development squad, he was drafted in by the Delhi franchise [then Daredevils] in 2010, making an instant impact with a 29-ball 50 on his IPL debut. He has represented Kochi Tuskers, RCB, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL over the years.

A sustained run in the ODI set-up came only in October 2016 when he featured in all five games against New Zealand at home. He became a regular in the national side in the next few years, playing the role of a finisher. He was also part of the 2019 World Cup in England where India lost to New Zealand in the semi-final.Overall in ODIs, he has 1389 runs in 52 innings at an average of 42.09 and has scored two centuries and six fifties. With the ball, he has 27 wickets at an economy of 5.15.In 87 first-class matches, he has 6100 runs at an average of 48.03, with 17 hundreds and 23 half-centuries. Recently, in the 2023-24 edition of the Ranji Trophy, he slammed 182 against Jharkhand in Pune. He finished the season with 379 runs from five matches. In 93 IPL games, he hit 1196 runs at a strike rate of 123.17.His last international appearance came against New Zealand in Auckland in 2020.

Henriette Ishimwe picks up four wickets in four balls as Rwanda stun Zimbabwe

Rwanda have registered a historic first victory at a cricket World Cup after their under-19 team beat Zimbabwe by 39 runs in their second group match.Rwanda’s top three scored the bulk of their 119 runs with none of the other batters getting into double-figures, but they defended their total fiercely. They had Zimbabwe 80 for 5 before capping victory with five wickets in six balls including four in four balls by seamer Henriette Ishimwe. Her hat-trick is the second at this tournament after South Africa’s Madison Landsman took the competition’s first against Scotland on Monday.The Zimbabwean collapse started with a run-out in the 17th over, when victory already seemed to be evading their grasp. They needed 39 runs off 14 balls when Adel Zimunu was run-out by Rwanda captain Giselle Ishimwe.Related

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Henriette – no relation – then stepped up to bowl the 19th over. She bowled Kudzai Chigora, had Olinder Chare given out lbw and then removed both Chipo Moyo and Faith Ndlalambi’s stumps to seal victory with eight balls remaining. She told ESPNcricinfo that all four deliveries were “yorkers, because that’s a delivery I practise a lot.”Her performance in this match built on her form leading into the tournament. Henriette also took 2 for 19 in Rwanda’s one-run win over Ireland in the warm-up matches, and has been capped 44 times for the senior side as well.Rwanda’s victory may come as bittersweet for their coach Leonard Nhamburo, who is Zimbabwean and was previously involved with their senior women’s side, as an assistant coach and interim head coach. Nhamburo is experienced on the continent and has also coached the Namibian national women’s team before moving to Rwanda in 2021.

Hampshire get the band back together for T20 Blast title defence

Hampshire have confirmed that Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis, their T20 Blast-winning overseas pairing, will return to the club to help their bid to defend the title in 2023.McDermott scored 494 runs in the Blast last season including five centuries, second only to his opening partner and captain James Vince among Hampshire players. He top-scored in the final against Lancashire with 62 – Hampshire’s next-highest score was 22 – and was also involved in 19 dismissals, the second-most in the competition.Ellis, meanwhile, took 15 wickets for Hampshire last year and finished the season with a remarkable economy rate of 6.87, despite predominantly operating as a death bowler.He was involved in a memorable climax to the final: Ellis appeared to have sealed the trophy when he bowled Richard Gleeson, but Hampshire’s celebrations were cut short when replays confirmed he had over-stepped. With three runs to win, he deceived Gleeson with a slower ball, and Lancashire could only manage one bye.Both players were initially signed, in part, through Hampshire’s ties to George Bailey, who captained the club in 2017 and has since become Australia’s lead selector. Bailey has a long-standing connection with Hobart Hurricanes, the Big Bash team that McDermott and Ellis represent.Related

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“Both Ben and Nathan were fantastic for us last year and it’s a great boost to the squad to have them back,” Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.”They made a big impact at the club and were exceptional on the field. The clarity that comes with continuity will hopefully help in our pursuit of another Finals Day in 2023.”Ellis may miss some early fixtures depending on Punjab Kings’ progress in the IPL. “After the success of last year it was a no-brainer to re-sign with the Hawks for this summer,” he said.McDermott, who does not have an IPL contract, is likely to be available for the whole season. “I’m over the moon to have re-signed with the Hawks and can’t wait to play in front of the Ageas Bowl crowd again,” he said.Both players also represented London Spirit in the Hundred last year, though only Ellis has been retained (on a £100,000 contract). McDermott has entered the draft on March 23 without a reserve price.

Tom Alsop and Michael Burgess give Surrey a jolt in Oval upset

Tom Alsop’s tenacious unbeaten 51, and a classy 28-ball 48 from Michael Burgess, swept Sussex Sharks to a tenacious, against-the-odds Vitality Blast five-wicket victory against Surrey at the Kia Oval – with just one ball to spare.After bowling out the hosts for 148 on a used pitch, Sussex looked out of it when they struggled to 57 for four after Sunil Narine, who took two for 18 from his four overs, produced a wicket maiden in the 11th over.But then Burgess joined Alsop in a match-winning partnership of 77 in eight overs that shocked Surrey, who had won their first two Blast fixtures of the season, and propelled the Sharks to the brink of an opening South Group win.Burgess, having just deposited Dan Worrall for a huge six into almost the second tier of the JM Finn Stand, was brilliantly caught at short third man from the last ball of the 18th over – slashing a low full toss to Nathan Barnwell, the substitute fielder, who hung on gallantly.That left Sussex needing 16 from the last two overs, and then ten from the last after Sam Curran bowled a tight penultimate over, and Alsop was equal to the task of taking ten off Tom Lawes.Left-hander Alsop hit the second ball through extra cover for three and, with James Coles taking a single from the next, levelled the scores by hammering Lawes’ fourth ball back past the bowler for a lofted boundary.Alsop then pulled Lawes over a ring field for the victory-clinching single and his 42-ball anchor knock included legside sixes off Cameron Steel and Worrall and four fours besides.But it had been Burgess, on-loan from Warwickshire and originally a product of Surrey’s youth system before joining Sussex for three seasons from 2017, who played the innings of the game. He took the lion’s share of the 19 runs that came from the 15th over, off Worrall, including a remarkable square cut six that landed on the boundary rope.That left Sussex needing 52 from the final five overs and Burgess, in all, hit two sixes and five fours as the Sharks shook off injury setbacks that included opener Ali Orr having to bat with a runner – but still hitting 24 from 15 balls – after hurting his knee trying to take a boundary catch early in the match.Narine earlier hit three sixes in a quickfire 29 but he then became the first of Ravi Bopara’s three victims in a canny spell of three for 18 from the 12th, 14th and 16th overs, and Surrey’s innings rather fizzled out as their last four wickets tumbled for just two runs in nine balls.Surrey at first took the attack to a Sussex bowling unit shorn of both their overseas players, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and Australia’s Nathan McAndrew, who were rested as a precaution following their unfortunate on-field collision in the Sharks’ opening game defeat against Somerset at Hove.Laurie Evans took two legside fours off George Garton in the second over and then lifted Coles’ left-arm spin for a six into the back tier of the Bedser Stand in a third over that brought 16 runs as Will Jacks also plundered two fours.But Tymal Mills, introduced for the fifth over, made the breakthrough when Evans, making room to carve, lost his off stump on 23 and Jacks fell for 13 – splicing Henry Crocombe’s fast-medium to mid wicket – as Surrey ended the six-over powerplay on 42 for two.A quite brilliant low diving catch at backward point by Coles cut Sam Curran’s innings short on just two, the fielder scooping the ball up right-handed as the England all-rounder slashed Archie Lenham’s leg spin hard for what he must have thought would be a boundary.Narine’s mid-innings aggression helped to take Surrey to 82 for three by the halfway point as he and Tom Curran added 53 for the fourth wicket but then Bopara began to produce his own particular brand of medium-paced magic as Narine lofted to long on and Curran (23) skied to extra cover, where Alsop took a fine running catch over his shoulder.Jamie Smith did bludgeon Lenham for two straight fours but on 19 was bowled by Bopara as he tried to sweep a straight ball after moving outside his off stump.Mills returned to help his captain turn the screw on Surrey’s lower order and Jamie Overton was bowled for 13 by a thunderbolt that hit his off stump and both Steel and Lawes were run out trying to come back for a second run – Lawes being dismissed without facing a ball.The innings ended with three balls unused, Jordan Clark swinging and missing at Garton to go for just eight and leaving Surrey short of a par total and guilty of losing their way against some excellent Sussex out-cricket.Tom Clark was Sussex’s first wicket to fall, caught at extra cover off Worrall for 9 and after Orr was taken at backward point off Lawes the Sharks reply stuttered further when Bopara edged Narine’s third ball behind and the West Indian mystery spinner also had Garton caught by keeper Smith for 7.Alsop and Burgess, though, held their nerve in front of a big crowd and, with Narine bowled out at the end of the 14th over, an equation of 71 from six was achieved. Their stand, meanwhile, was a fifth wicket T20 record for Sussex against Surrey.

Umpire Marais Erasmus to retire after second New Zealand-Australia Test

Veteran South African umpire Marais Erasmus will walk out to officiate his final international cricket match when New Zealand take on Australia in the second Test in Christchurch.He will finish his time on the ICC’s elite panel of umpires, having stood as the on-field official in 82 men’s Tests, 124 men’s ODIs, 43 men’s T20Is and 18 women’s T20Is. He has also been the TV umpire in 131 international games. CSA will determine the matches he works from now on.Erasmus has had a storied career, officiating in four men’s Cricket World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023), seven men’s T20 World Cups (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022) and three women’s T20 World Cups (2010, 2012, 2014) aside from two men’s Champions Trophy tournaments in 2013 and 2017. He was one of the two on-field umpires for the dramatic final of 2019 World Cup between England and New Zealand and, last year, he was the umpire who upheld an appeal that made Angelo Mathews the first batter to be timed out in international cricket.”I have had a wonderful time on the Elite Panel, officiating in some top-class matches around the world and in global ICC events,” Erasmus, who was appointed to the ICC elite panel of umpires in 2010, making him the longest serving umpire on the list along with Rod Tucker, said.”I am very fortunate to have continued my association with the game after my time as a cricketer in South Africa and have enjoyed every moment,” he said. “While I will miss being on the Elite Panel and the challenges that come with it, I feel it is time for me to step away and look to contribute to the game in some other way.””Marais epitomises what the Elite Panel is supposed to be. He is the type of person that immediately makes you feel welcome in his presence. His personality off the field is what you see on the field. He can calm everyone, and you feel at ease in his company,” Tucker said, thanking Erasmus on behalf of the Elite panel. “I think the greatest compliment I could give Marais is that he would be mentioned in the same breath as the great David Shepherd, both so calm but very strong and so well respected by all those in the game.”Erasmus won the David Shepherd Trophy for the ICC Umpire of the Year in 2016, 2017 and 2021. He’d made his debut as an international umpire in February 2006.

Bashir, Root, Brook give West Indies a 241-run hammering

Shoaib Bashir’s first five-wicket haul on English soil sealed victory inside four days for the hosts, after Joe Root and Harry Brook had set England up against West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge.Root and Brook each scored centuries before the hosts were bowled out for 425 in their second innings – the first time in England’s history that they had scored 400 in both innings of a Test – setting West Indies a target of 385.Then, at 20 years and 282 days, off-spinner Bashir became the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a men’s Test at home, beating the previous record of just-retired seamer James Anderson. His 5 for 41 gave England the win, by 241 runs, and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series being played for the Richards-Botham Trophy.On a flat batting track and with a monumental run-chase at Headingley nearly seven years ago still in the recesses of some memories – certainly captain Kraigg Brathwaite’s – the task was still steep, not to mention in light of an innings defeat at Lord’s in the first Test of this series, even if Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis made a bright start by taking West Indies to 61 without loss.But Chris Woakes and Bashir put it out of reach as West Indies lost 5 for 21 in the space of 35 balls and Bashir finished things, West Indies losing 10 for 82 in all as they were bowled out for 143.Woakes struck with the first ball after the evening drinks break, a length ball outside off stump that lured a faint edge behind from Louis. Moments later, Kirk McKenzie fluffed an attempted drive off a Bashir short ball and fell to a sharp catch by Jamie Smith behind the stumps.Brathwaite, on 47, edged Woakes to the keeper and Bashir drew another edge to Root at slip off Alick Athanaze with one that dipped and turned appreciably. In between, Bashir had pinned first-innings centurion Kavem Hodge lbw, and after three overs, Bashir had 3 for 8.Mark Wood, who had bowled with jaw-dropping speed in West Indies first innings, produced venom of a different kind to remove Kevin Sinclair, his short ball spitting up higher than the batter expected and, as Sinclair put his hands in front of his face, it rapped the wristband of his glove and was taken at second slip.Joshua Da Silva, who had scored an unbeaten 82 in the first innings, started playing some shots, pulling Gus Atkinson through midwicket for four and crunching Bashir over the fence at wide long-on. But Atkinson responded in his next over with one that moved back in from outside off to strike Da Silva on the back pad in line with middle stump and, two balls later, he put England on the brink of victory by bowling Alzarri Joseph.No sooner had Jason Holder taken him for six and four to move to 37, and Bashir rattled off stump with a gem that turned in and beat the edge as Holder pressed forward, leaving West Indies nine down.Bashir then bowled Shamar Joseph with a fuller ball on middle stump to the absolute delight of his captain, Ben Stokes, who grinned broadly as his young charge took a third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.Harry Brook is congratulated by Joe Root after his first century at home•Getty Images

Earlier, Root was serene in posting 122, his 32nd Test century having moved to eighth on the all-time Test run-scorers’ list with 11,940 during the course of his innings.Brook had reached 109 in similarly unruffled style, the pair putting on 198 runs for the fourth wicket. That was after Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett had fallen in quick succession on the third day, themselves having each passed fifty and put on 119 runs together.Seales broke through with a double-strike on the fourth morning and another wicket on the last ball before lunch to Sinclair lifted West Indies from a position where the match looked to be slipping beyond their reach as Root and Brook settled into their stand. They added 100 runs to England’s overnight score but the hosts lost three wickets for 19 runs in 7.2 overs.Brook brought up his fifth Test ton – and first on home soil – nudging Alzarri Joseph for a single to mid-on and, two balls later, Root clipped one to the leg side to bring up his fifty, and the 150 partnership.But, after a near-flawless innings, he fell wafting at a Seales delivery that moved away slightly off the seam, found the edge and sailed through to Da Silva behind the stumps.Seales struck again when he removed Stokes cheaply, turning a short ball straight to Alzarri Joseph at backward square leg.That brought Jamie Smith to the crease and he managed only 6 before Sinclair drew a faint edge with a delivery on off stump and Da Silva collected.Moments after Woakes edged a rising Shamar Joseph delivery towards second slip, where the towering Holder took a strong catch moving to his left with arms stretched above his head, Root raised his century with a thumping drive through deep point for four off Alzarri Joesph.Holder returned to the attack with great effect, Root smashing a full, wide delivery straight to Kirk McKenzie at cover. Root departed to hearty applause from the crowd and handshakes from his opponents.Seales saw two slips catches put down off Wood in successive balls, but made no mistake with the third when he bowled Wood for a duck with the next, a fuller ball just outside off which seamed in and clattered into the top of off stump. Seales’ fourth wicket ended England’s innings, Bashir the last man out, bowled by a yorker.

Kira Chathli, Alice Davidson-Richards guide South East Stars to brink of semi-finals spot

South East Stars advanced to the brink of a place in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy semi-finals by beating Central Sparks by 20 runs in a fluctuating encounter at Moseley.Put in, Stars totalled 270 all out from 49.5 overs, an imposing score built around a fourth-wicket partnership of 127 in 20 overs between Kira Chathli (80) and Alice Davidson-Richards (70). Katie George took 4 for 47 for Sparks and Charis Pavely 3 for 37.Sparks’ chase of the demanding target was then set back by the loss of early wickets and though they recovered boldly through Davina Perrin (50), Chloe Brewer (54) and Bethan Ellis (57), they fell short at 250 for 9.The victory means Stars will qualify for the semis if they win their last game, away to Northern Diamonds at Chester-le-Street on Saturday. Defeat there could still see them edged out of the top four if Sunrisers record a bonus-point win over Southern Vipers at Southampton.Asked to bat first, Stars lost a wicket to the 12th ball of the innings when George bowled Cloe Hill through an airy waft. Alexa Stonehouse and Phoebe Franklin added 70 in 14 overs but then fell in quick succession. Franklin, in pursuit of her seventh four, lifted Ellis to extra cover. Four balls later, Stonehouse was beaten in the flight and bowled by Pavely.Chathli and Davidson-Richards rebuilt first carefully then stylishly. The latter hit two straight sixes and the pair shared 14 fours to put their side in command before George slowed the Stars’ momentum with three quick wickets. The left-armer had Davidson-Richards caught at mid-wicket from a full toss then struck twice in four balls when Aylish Cranstone fell lbw and Emma Jones diverted an attempted pull on to her middle stump. Chathli’s polished innings ended when she hoisted Grace Potts to deep mid-wicket but Priyanaz Chatterji provided a useful late cameo of 17 off 18 balls.Sparks’ top order, without captain Eve Jones, who has joined Thunder on loan for the rest of the season, lost four wickets in the first 13 overs. Seventeen-year-old slow left-armer Tilly Corteen-Coleman dismissed openers Ami Campbell and Meg Austin, caught in the deep, in an opening spell of 5-0-14-2. Abi Freeborn edged a wide ball from Franklin to wicketkeeper Chathli. George chipped Chatterji to midwicket.Perrin reached a run-a-ball half-century but perished next ball when she lifted a shot ball from Danielle Gregory to deep midwicket. That was 104 for 5 but Brewer and Ellis rebuilt to send their side into the last ten overs needing 75 with five wickets still intact.Brewer reached her maiden half-century for Sparks from 75 balls and, after she top-edged Stonehouse to deep mid-wicket, Pavely lent Ellis further good support so that they needed 32 from the last three overs. But Paveley was run out by calm work from Chathli and when Ellis gave Stonehouse the charge and was bowled, Sparks’ gallant chase was over.

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