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Fast bowler in form and fitness of his life after playing starring role in England’s series win

Vithushan Ehantharajah15-Dec-2022Two Tests against Pakistan down with one to go, with a series win secured and history made, Ollie Robinson is in a good place.He might “only” have eight wickets in his four innings to date, but they have come at an average of 18.37, to reduce his overall Test figure to 19.61 after 13 appearances, and have showcased his impressive dexterity. He has dabbled in bouncers and reverse-swing, along with his usual unerring accuracy with the new ball, and in the second Test at Multan, he became the first seamer to bowl Pakistan’s captain and batting phenomenon Babar Azam twice in a match. Most heartening of all, his 62.1 overs have been of a base level intensity that has not let batters off the hook.Heartening because Robinson has revealed he considered retirement in the summer, after constant bumps in the road on a long journey to his return to action.After having his conditioning called into question at the end of a humbling tour of Australia last winter, back issues meant that Robinson was unable to play any part in the three-Test tour of the Caribbean that followed. Complications followed at the start of the 2022 summer: further back troubles and a dental issue saw him miss a chunk of cricket with Sussex, as well as the first four Tests under the new leadership duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.In light of the comments about his lack of fitness, Robinson’s subsequent setbacks triggered something of a pile-on from those who assumed that a lack of work ethic was the reason for his continued absences. In reality, Robinson believes that those ailments were nothing more than unfortunate timing for a cricketer still only 28, and attempting to return fitter than ever before. Speaking on Thursday in Karachi ahead of the third Test which begins on Saturday, Robinson opened up about a dark time which had him wondering about leaving the game altogether, with a vague idea of moving into property.Related

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“There were points when I didn’t think I was going to play for England again, or play cricket again,” Robinson told BBC Sport. “I kept coming back to full fitness, then getting an injury or illness, then another injury. There was a point in June time when I thought ‘I might have to look at what else I can do here, I don’t think I’m going to be able to carry on playing cricket’. It’s been tough and there has been some dark days, but tours and series wins like this make it all worthwhile.””It’s a massive confidence-booster for myself,” he said of the Pakistan series, on pitches that have seemed unhelpful to quick bowlers, and yet England’s have taken 23 of the 40 wickets available so far. “Twelve months ago I was struggling to even get on the park. It’s a really proud tour for me, in the fact my body has got through it, I’ve bowled well and I’ve proved to the world, almost, I can do it in any conditions. Not just for the team, but for myself. It’s been a really good tour so far and hopefully we can win 3-0 this week.”The nature of Robinson’s back issues were particularly grating, and for a time they showed no signs of abating even while he was focussing on the rehabilitation and reinforcement of his body. The root of the problem proved hard to establish, in part because the spasms would come and go, ultimately at random but frustratingly just when it seemed he was on the verge of making a return to competitive action.”I had different types of scans. MRIs, X-rays. It was just a bit of wear and tear,” he said. “Because there was so much inflammation, every time I got back to full fitness, the inflammation was there. It was jarring again and giving me another back spasm. I ended up having five injections, which took the inflammation away and allowed me to train a bit harder. Then it settled down. It was a strange one, because I felt it was career-ending, the way it felt.”Things can change so quickly. When you’re in those dark spaces it’s hard to see through that. When you get to this time, and if it ever happens again in the future, I know I can come out the other sides of it, still fighting, still bowling well.”He feels he is lucky to get out the other end. And so are England. Robinson returned to the Test side for the second match of the series against South Africa at Emirates Old Trafford and, not only has the team won all four matches since, but Robinson has contributed 20 dismissals at 16.35. He went past 50 Test wickets in his 11th Test – the joint-fastest by an England bowler since Ian Botham in 1978 – and, at the age of 29, there is a very real sense he is in it for the long haul as a new-ball bowler for his country.In the absence of Stuart Broad, who sat out the trip following the birth of his first child, the manner in which Robinson has dovetailed with Anderson has been vital to England’s approach. His skills have not been dulled with an older ball in hand, and he has been able to work to unconventional plans, including hitting the pitch on a slightly shorter length, and utilising the skid available from the surfaces to hit the top of off stump.It should be said, none of that application of fine-tuned skill is a coincidence. it is merely the reward for a change of lifestyle based on those around him.”I’ve changed my gym sessions, I’ve changed my training. I’ve upped the intensity of my training,” he said. “You only have to look at Stokesy, when he trains, to look at how intense some people train. I’ve tried to get as near that as possible. Jimmy has played for 20 years now. He’s a great role-model for me and someone I look up to.”Test cricket has thrown up a myriad of challenges for Robinson, even if his on-field exploits have been impressive. His debut against New Zealand was tumultuous when historic offensive tweets emerged hours after he was presented with his maiden cap at Lord’s at the start of the 2021 season.Now, his focus is on closing out 2022 with another win to seal England’s second clean sweep in Asia, after beating Sri Lanka 3-0 in 2018.”It’s an exciting time for English cricket. We’ve done 2-0 and if we can do 3-0 it will be an amazing effort. The boys are prepared for one, last big push to get the 3-0 whitewash.”

Mandhana’s 55 underpinned Southern Brave’s 157, the highest total in the women’s Hundred at Trent Bridge

Matt Roller01-Aug-2023The men’s Hundred is short on overseas superstars after Rashid Khan’s 11th-hour withdrawal but Smriti Mandhana’s stylish 55 ensured the women’s competition launched with a sprinkle of stardust at Trent Bridge.Mandhana’s innings underpinned Southern Brave’s 157, the highest total in the women’s Hundred at this ground and one that proved a long way out of reach. Trent Rockets were late off the launchpad, despite the best efforts of Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Brave saw out a 27-run victory.Sciver-Brunt gave Brave a brief scare, crashing 18 runs off five balls from Maitlan Brown to reach 44 off 27 balls. She hit another boundary off Anya Shrubsole to leave 57 required off 24, but chipped a return catch to fall for 49 and end the game as a contest.Salaries in the women’s Hundred were frozen after the 2022 season but the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India has transformed the landscape of short-form leagues. Mandhana was retained on a top-bracket £ 31,250 contract by Brave – a wage that is not even one-tenth of the INR 3.4 crore she was paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore.Related

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The women’s game has not yet reached the point of saturation that has left the men’s Hundred struggling for relevance. There are only three top-tier leagues around the world – the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL – with a handful more operating at a level below.Some of Australia’s top players have skipped the Hundred this year due to heavy workloads, injuries or both. But as a whole, the standard of overseas players in the women’s competition is high – a sense that is only underlined by Mandhana’s presence. “Along with the WPL, this is probably still up there with one of the best competitions in the world,” said Kirstie Gordon, who bowled tightly for Rockets.Fresh from India’s tour to Bangladesh, with only one nets session since arriving, Mandhana dovetailed with both Danni Wyatt and Maia Bouchier in making 55 off 36 balls. Brave raced to 45 for 0 in their 25-ball powerplay as Rockets’ seamers started waywardly, struggling to adapt to the left-right opening combination.”Initially, I didn’t know two or three bowlers,” Mandhana said. “I had just watched their videos, so it was important for me to see them and how the wicket was playing, because I’ve just come off a tour from Bangladesh and the conditions were pretty different.”Brave opted not to retain Sophia Dunkley over the off-season, instead backing their complementary opening pair. “Those two at the top, Smriti and Danni, have been exceptional for us,” Shrubsole told Sky Sports. “They were the two we really wanted to retain because they get us off to such good starts: right and left-handers, they can play completely differently and hit the ball in different areas.”Danni Wyatt and Smriti Mandhana resumed their opening partnership•ECB/Getty Images

Wyatt chipped Bryony Smith into the off side where Sciver-Brunt took a sharp catch running back from extra cover, but Bouchier – unused by England in their Ashes campaign – came out swinging, hitting 31 off 18 balls with four fours and a slog-swept six.Mandhana pounced on Rockets’ spinners through the middle phase, skipping down the pitch and lofting Smith’s offbreak back over her head for a straight six, and when she brought up a 32-ball half-century, Brave looked on course to break their own record total in the women’s Hundred of 166.Brave stumbled towards the back end, losing five wickets for 29 runs off the last 22 balls, but Chloe Tryon’s 10-ball 23 from No. 5 ensured they posted a competitive score.Rockets’ reply started with a run-out, Smith stitched up by Lizelle Lee as Shrubsole’s leg-side wide diverted down to Kalea Moore at short fine leg, and despite the presence of Sciver-Brunt and Harmnpreet Kaur in the middle order, 158 always looked a tall order.This was Brave’s 13th win in 15 group games across the competition’s nascent history. The ECB hope that the tournament will prove to have more competitive balance this season, having introduced a draft earlier this year in an attempt to close the gap between the best and worst teams.Brave’s team looks lighter on paper than in previous years: the England seamer Lauren Bell is missing for the first two games, resting after an exhausting Ashes, and the Australian legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington was drafted by Manchester Originals after two prolific seasons at the Ageas Bowl.But the south coast remains a hotbed of young, homegrown talent – as 18-year-old Mary Taylor proved in removing both Lee and Naomi Dattani early in the run chase. She returned to have Jo Gardner caught at the death, finishing with 3 for 18 on Hundred debut and putting the finishing touches on Brave’s victory.Taylor, a standby for England’s Under-19 World Cup squad earlier this year, said that Brave coach Charlotte Edwards had kept her advice as simple as possible. “She said, ‘Just bowl straight.’ I just wanted to hit the stumps. It felt so surreal. I’m so excited to be here – absolutely buzzing.”

Visitors take 10 points to virtually confirm safety going into final round of Championship season

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Sep-2025Essex 325 for 5 (Allison 98, Pepper 54*) drew with WarwickshireEssex virtually secured their Rothesay County Championship Division One status as their match with Warwickshire ended in a rain-ruined draw at Edgbaston. No play was possible due to rain on the final day, meaning that three of the four days were completely blank.Essex collected ten points from the draw, putting them pretty much safe from relegation as two of the teams below them – Yorkshire and Durham – meet in next week’s final round of games. It would now take an extraordinary combination of results and bonus points to drag Essex through the trapdoor with Worcestershire.It was a sodden and sorry scene at Edgbaston as Warwickshire’s home season came to an anti-climatic close. After high winds prevented play on the first day and rain did so on the third, persistent drizzle overnight and on the fourth morning again left conditions unplayable. Essex were denied the chance to resume from the 325 for 5 that they build on the second day.Tom Westley’s side at least took a solid ten points from the draw – a more productive return than from the drawn encounter between these teams in their inaugural Championship meeting at Edgbaston in 1895. After three days of hard work and effort, the points gained from that game, in which, incidentally 21 players made their Championship debuts, were Warwickshire 0 Essex 0.

An update on her availability for the World Cup opener will be provided over “the next few days”; Australia’s first game is on October 5 against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2024Australia have been dealt a potential injury concern heading into their title defence at the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, with batter Phoebe Litchfield being ruled out of the warm-up games with groin soreness. The news came in ahead of Australia’s first warm-up fixture against England in Dubai on September 29.Grace Harris, who has not played competitive cricket since April 2024 because of calf strains in both legs, was also deemed not quite ready to take the field yet because of a “new niggle”, though she is back in training.”Grace has resumed training following a new niggle sustained in her preparation to return to play,” Cricket Australia’s (CA) update said.Harris is making her way back after a first calf strain kept her out of the Women’s Hundred in the English summer, and then a second, in the other leg, kept her out of the recent series against New Zealand.CA said an update on both players’ availability for the T20 World Cup opener will be provided over “the next few days”.Australia play a second warm-up on October 1 against West Indies, before opening their tournament against Sri Lanka on October 5.India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are the other teams in Australia’s group – Group A. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the semi-finals on October 17 and 18, before the final on October 20.

Second-placed Thunder close the gap on league leaders Scorchers

Tristan Lavalette10-Jan-2022Sydney Thunder 1 for 140 (Hales 80*, Sangha 35*, Short 1-9) beat Hobart Hurricanes 6 for 139 (McDermott 38, McAndrew 2-31, Sandhu 2-32) by nine wickets
Alex Hales continued his resurgence to lead red-hot Sydney Thunder to their sixth straight BBL win after crushing Hobart Hurricanes by nine wickets at an almost empty MCG.The opener smashed an unbeaten 80 off 56 balls in his second straight half-century as Thunder knocked off Hurricanes’ modest 6 for 139 with 16 balls to spare.Second-placed Thunder (30 points) closed the gap on league leaders Perth Scorchers (33 points) in a game played at a neutral venue as part of the tournament shifting to a Melbourne hub to combat the Covid-19 outbreak engulfing the BBL.Hales continues resurgenceThunder made a bright start to their chase with aggressive Matthew Gilkes putting Hurricanes’ strong pace bowling attack to the sword before falling for 19. After a slow start to the season, Hales returned to form last night against Melbourne Renegades with his first half-century of the season, and he was intent here on not doing anything rash.He resisted pressing for the bonus point as Thunder went through a boundary drought much like Hurricanes’ did in their innings. But Hales and stand-in skipper Jason Sangha didn’t panic as they chipped the ball around before making their move in the 13th over,Sangha smashed spinner Tim David down the ground for the first six of the innings and Hales then notched his half-century off 44 balls – the slowest 50 in his BBL career. But it was a mature knock from the Englishman who then put the foot down in trademark fashion as Thunder cruised to victory.The return to form of Hales, who holds the highest ever BBL individual score, is a major boost for Thunder who notched the longest winning streak in their history.Hurricanes’ quicks struggleHurricanes needed early wickets and speedster Riley Meredith almost obliged first delivery with a menacing swinging yorker trapping Gilkes but it was given not out.Their quicks had limited impact in the powerplay but Hurricanes clawed back into the game through spinners D’Arcy Short and Sandeep Lamichhane who dried the runs.Short lured Gilkes out of his crease for a stumping but Hurricanes couldn’t put enough pressure on Hales and Sangha. Hurricanes returned to their ace quicks Meredith and Tom Rogers in the hope for a late twist but to no avail as Hales relished the extra pace.Quite clearly, Hurricanes will need to return to the drawing board before Thursday’s rematch.Disciplined Thunder tie down HurricanesThunder’s impressive bowling attack have swept opponents during this hot streak but faced the biggest challenge in the BBL – halting Ben McDermott. Like most teams this season, they were under siege early but never lost their composure and hit back.Nathan McAndrew got the danger man out in the 10th over before McDermott really got going and Thunder’s accurate bowlers then gained a stranglehold in the middle overs. They couldn’t quite sustain it with Hurricanes providing a late rally but Thunder were satisfied with their efforts overall.Their quicks bowled a nagging length mixed with canny slower balls to frustrate Hurricanes. Pakistani quick Mohammad Hasnain set the tone with electric bowling during the powerplay although it was surprising he didn’t bowl his full quota to finish with 0 for 15 off 3 overs.Legspinner Tanveer Sangha helped tie down Hurricanes in the middle overs and claimed the wicket of stand-in skipper Peter Handscomb.Hurricanes over reliant on McDermottWith Hurricanes skipper Matthew Wade out indefinitely due to personal reasons, the burden has increased on McDermott who again unleashed belligerent strokes early.He pulled out the ramp shot to counter probing seamer McAndrew and then smashed Sangha for a huge six down the ground as he eyed another massive score.But McDermott became tied out and on 38 miscued a slower delivery from McAndrew to deep long-on leaving Hurricanes’ shaky middle-order exposed. Handscomb has been unable to find fluency all season and even a promotion to No.3 failed to the trick with a slow 21 runs off 25 balls.Hurricanes went seven overs without a boundary as the pressure fell again on big-hitter David, who broke the drought to start the power surge in the 17th over but holed out a few balls later. They’ve resisted moving David up the order but they might need to soon to spark a batting order too reliant on McDermott.Hurricanes at least finished strong with struggling Short, who was moved down to No.5, stroking three straight boundaries in the penultimate over but their total was not nearly enough.

Durham seamer included alongside recalled James Anderson and Stuart Broad

Matt Roller01-Jun-2022Matthew Potts, the Durham seamer, has been preferred to Craig Overton and will make his England debut in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s which starts on Thursday.Potts, 23, has been the standout bowler in county cricket this year, taking 35 Championship wickets at 18.57 for Durham. Ben Stokes, England’s new captain, has played alongside him and, like Rob Key, the managing director of men’s cricket, has been impressed.England named a 13-man squad for the first two Tests and signalled that Yorkshire’s Harry Brook would be the spare batter, with a new-look top six of Alex Lees and Zak Crawley opening, Ollie Pope in an unfamiliar role at No. 3, and a middle-order engine room of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Stokes.Ben Foakes will play his first home Test, keeping wicket and batting at No. 7 with James Anderson and Stuart Broad sharing the new ball after their recalls and Jack Leach selected as the frontline spinner.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

By Potts’ own admission, an England debut “wasn’t at all on the radar” at the start of his season but he has benefitted from an injury crisis which has seen at least eight realistic seam-bowling options ruled out of the first Test.Overton is widely considered to be the better batter of the two but struggled on England’s tour of the Caribbean in March and Key said in May that sees Potts as “a point of difference” from Anderson and Broad. He is not a genuine fast bowler but can reach speeds north of 140kph.”I like the look of this Matt Potts,” Key said. “I’m pretty excited by what he offers. We see him as a point of difference. You see the way he runs in, the way that it looks like if you’re facing him, you’re in a proper contest… these are the picks I get really excited about.”Related

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Potts has never played a first-class match at Lord’s, having been rested for Durham’s Championship game against Middlesex two weeks ago on the back of six consecutive games. “I’ve had two chilled-out weeks, bowling a few overs and just fine-tuning everything,” he said on Monday. “I was a bit on simmer but now I’m raring to go and very, very excited.”It would mean everything to make my debut at the Home of Cricket. There is a little difference in the intensity but I’m honestly looking to change nothing about what’s got me here. I’m just going to run in and bowl hard, bowl my areas and see if that works.”Potts is due to bat at No. 8 for England, even though he has spent the vast majority of his first-class career batting at No. 9 or 10. He has regularly been used as a nightwatchman and has two first-class fifties and a hundred in second-team cricket, but has managed only 65 runs in seven Championship innings this season.

Lewis Goldsworthy’s maiden List A hundred brings light to dismal campaign

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2022Somerset 266 for 5 (Goldsworthy 111, Rew 96) beat Warwickshire 252 (Rhodes 92, Brookes 51) by 14 runsSomerset collected their first Royal London Cup win at the eighth and last attempt and dragged Warwickshire out of the competition in the process with a 14-run victory at Edgbaston.Lewis Goldsworthy’s maiden List A century (111, 116 balls) and Jack Brooks’ excellent bowling (four for 38) underpinned a win which brought some belated light to a leaden campaign.Somerset owed their total to a third-wicket stand of 198 in 35 overs between Goldsworthy and James Rew (96, 120). Olly Hannon-Dalby and Liam Norwell took two wickets apiece but George Garrett impressed most, conceding 37 from his ten overs.Warwickshire knew that reaching 267 would take them through to the knockout phase but their depleted batting order, without the injured Krunal Pandya and Michael Burgess, fell just short on 252 all out. Captain Will Rhodes (92, 103) and Ethan Brookes (51, 57) added 104 in 18 overs for the fifth wicket but there were no contributions of substance either side of their stand.After choosing to bat, Somerset soon lost former Warwickshire opener Andy Umeed, bowled by Norwell who also had Steven Davies superbly caught low at slip by Rob Yates. With three vital championship games to come in September, the Bears will be encouraged to see Norwell starting to regain full fitness and menace.Related

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Rew and Goldsworthy rebuilt, slowly at first, then more fluently, reaching their half-centuries from 77 and 71 balls respectively. The latter struck 12 fours in a polished innings before falling lbw to Yates.Eighteen-year-old Rew was a boundary short of his second List A ton when he sliced Hannon-Dalby to short third man. George Bartlett’s tidy unbeaten 29 (21 balls) lifted Somerset to a competitive score.Yates (four fours and a six in 25) gave Warwickshire’s reply a brisk start until he was brilliantly caught at extra cover by Bartlett off Kasey Aldridge.
A string of batters then also picked out fielders. Bartlett pounced again at extra when Dom Sibley (23, 36 balls) lifted a drive at Brooks and Goldsworthy added wickets to his earlier runs as Hamza Shaikh swept to deep mid-wicket and Matt Lamb cut to point.That was 95 for four but as Rhodes and Brookes’ enterprising batting righted the ship and got the crowd involved. Brookes twice located the Hollies Stand on his way to a 53-ball half-century before edging Brooks to wicketkeeper Davies.Brooks’ then pinned Kai Smith lbw with a yorker to send Warwickshire into the last five overs needing another 42. Denied the required boundaries by disciplined, full-length bowling, they entered the final over requiring 21. That was well beyond the tail and they accompany their opponents out of the tournament.

“England’s attacking cricket always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them”

Danyal Rasool05-Oct-2024Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel echoed his coach Jason Gillespie’s comments about Pakistan’s game plan, saying his side were looking to use England’s aggressive tactics against them in their three-Test series. England’s reputation for playing high-risk, high-reward cricket under current coach Brendon McCullum means Pakistan are sniffing an opportunity to draw them into making mistakes, according to Shakeel.”England always play attacking cricket, and that always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them, and to use their mistakes to stay in the game,” Shakeel said at a press conference in Multan.Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s second-highest scorer during their series against England in 2022, said Pakistan would draw inspiration from that tour, despite England ultimately beating the hosts 3-0. “The last series we played against England, there were times we were quite close to winning, such as Rawalpindi and Multan, but we couldn’t finish it off.”Related

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It was in Multan, where the first Test starts Monday, that Pakistan ran England closest last time, with Shakeel almost steering his side home. Needing 355 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan were securely placed at 290 with half the side still to bat, and Shakeel on 94. But two wickets from Mark Wood on the stroke of lunch ended Pakistan’s resistance, with England ultimately edging to a 26-run victory.The idea of exploiting England’s mistakes is not exactly novel. Most recently, Sri Lanka managed it with relative success in their three-Test series in England, winning the third Test after inducing England collapses in each innings. Pakistan’s ability to execute such a plan, though, is far from guaranteed, given recent struggles with both bat and ball, badly exposed by Bangladesh.Saud Shakeel finished as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer when they last played England•AFP/Getty Images

“We’re struggling with the bat from time to time, and unable to convert starts into huge scores,” Shakeel said. “That’s a point of concern. The series that’s over is now in the past. Admittedly we didn’t play well there. Our focus is on what’s ahead.”But we don’t follow any particular style playing cricket, we play according to the requirement of any situation, which gives us flexibility.”Pakistan have been trying to carve out their own identity, something new head coach Gillespie has tried to nail down. In July, he told ESPNcricinfo he wanted his side to find a style of cricket “authentic to Pakistan”, admitting he didn’t yet know what that was.Earlier this week, he told the that Pakistan would look to “hang in there, keep being disciplined” and “strike at the right moments”, suggesting the quest for an identity is temporarily being shelved in the hunt for the results Pakistan have been starved of.”The strategy is often decided on the spot depending on how England play,” Shakeel said. “Reverse swing may also come into play depending on the weather and the pitch [that is] prepared. If a team is being aggressive, it can be easy to get sucked into their style of play and over-attack. If they’re attacking, and we just let them make their mistakes, that might work out better for us.”

Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir also included in XI for first Test at Lord’s

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Jul-20241:59

Ehantharajah excited to see what Atkinson can offer England

England will hand debuts to the Surrey duo of Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s, which begins on Wednesday.Chris Woakes also returns to the XI, his first Test appearance since being named player of the series in last summer’s Ashes, while offspinner Shoaib Bashir makes his home debut after three Tests in India at the start of the year.Atkinson, who has made 12 appearances for England in white-ball cricket, was unused on the tour of India but has been earmarked as a long-term pace option, registering in the late 80s and early 90s mph at his most fluent. A breakthrough 2023 summer saw him earn selection for the ODI World Cup, though he was omitted for this summer’s T20 World Cup. This season, he has taken 14 County Championship wickets at 29.78 for Surrey, who lead Division One.England XI to play West Indies•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Smith, meanwhile, will assume the gloves as England move beyond Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. The 23-year-old has been in fine form across all formats and marked his maiden call-up with his second first-class century of the season. He is currently Surrey’s top-scorer with 677 Championship runs at 56.41 with a strike rate of 76.67. He earned two ODI caps against Ireland at the end of last summer and will slot in at No. 7 with Harry Brook returning to the No. 5 position having missed the India series following the death of his grandmother.Ben Stokes slots between the pair at six, and is back to fulfilling his allrounder duties, which has allowed for the selection of Bashir. After impressing with 17 wickets in India, England underlined their faith in the spinner by selecting him in the squad ahead of Jack Leach, despite the fact Bashir had to move on loan to Worcestershire for first-team opportunities with Leach the No. 1 spinner at Somerset.Related

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Woakes adds to that balance as an option with the bat, and will likely be an ever-present this summer in what is set to be a transitional period for England with the impending retirement of James Anderson.England XI: 1⁠ ⁠Zak Crawley, 2⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett, 3 ⁠Ollie Pope, 4⁠ ⁠Joe Root, 5 ⁠Harry Brook, 6⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (capt) 7⁠ ⁠Jamie Smith (wk), 8⁠ ⁠Chris Woakes, 9⁠ ⁠Gus Atkinson, 10⁠ ⁠Shoaib Bashir, 11 ⁠James Anderson

Victory in a shortened but tense affair in Centurion puts the visitors 1-0 up in three-match series

Firdose Moonda25-Mar-2023West Indies 132 for 7 (Powell 43*, Magala 3-21) beat South Africa 131 for 8 (Miller 48, Smith 2-21) by three wickets Rovman Powell, in his first match as full time West Indies T20I captain, led his team to victory in a short but tense affair in Centurion. After persistent rain delayed the start of the game by two hours and then reduced it to 11 overs a side, West Indies opted to put South Africa in and were mostly sharp in the field but still found themselves chasing a steep target of 132.Brandon King’s eight-ball 23 gave them a good start and Johnson Charles’ 14-ball 28 built on that but it was Powell who ensured West Indies got over the line. They needed 46 runs off 24 balls when Powell took 23 runs off Bjorn Fortuin’s second over, to bring the required run-rate down to seven an over for the last three overs. He held his nerve when Sisanda Magala took two wickets in two balls at the other end to leave West Indies needing nine off the last over. Fittingly, Powell hit the winning runs with three balls to spare.West Indies have now won four out of seven T20Is against South Africa in their own backyard and have a 1-0 lead in the three match series.

Hosein strikes upfront; Rossouw and Hendricks hit back

When the match got under way, players on both sides seemed keen to get things going as quickly as possible. Quinton de Kock tried to heave the first ball he faced, from Akeal Hosein, over fine leg but misread the length and top-edged. Sheldon Cottrell was stationed there and took a simple catch. The early dismissal of de Kock didn’t keep South Africa down for too long. Rilee Rossouw gave himself three balls to get his eye in and then reverse slapped Hosein past backward point for the first boundary of the innings. He followed up with a shuffle down the pitch for a loft over mid-on but his aggression didn’t last long. Rossouw was out in the next over when he tried to hit Cottrell over mid-off and only got as far as Powell. That left it to Reeza Hendricks to take advantage of a three-over Powerplay. He sent the penultimate delivery over deep square leg for six and then swept the final one for six more to take the score to 30 for 2.

Middle overs meltdown

Boundary hitting was top of South Africa’s minds, even as the ball seemed to stick in the pitch a touch, and it backfired on them. Aiden Markram tried to clear deep midwicket off Alzarri Joseph, was too early on the stroke and skied it to Charles, who took a good catch. In the next over, Hendricks was premature on the pull and feathered an edge to Nicholas Pooran behind the stumps. And the over after that, Heinrich Klaasen threw his bat at a wide Cottrell delivery and sent to it Charles at backward point. South Africa lost 21 for 3 and boundaries dried up. They did not find the rope once between the fifth and eighth overs.David Miller and Sisanda Magala put up 47 off just 13 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Miller and Magala finish strongly

David Miller’s finishing ability is well known and he delivered on his reputation when he started the ninth over by smashing Romario Shepherd over deep square leg. Miller went on to smoke him through the covers before handing over to Sisanda Magala to face the first ball of the 10th over. Magala swivel-pulled Cottrell for four to start and then took back-to-back sixes off the last two balls, both slower balls. Miller took back the mantle and scored 14 runs off the next three balls he faced before he was caught on the deep midwicket boundary with two balls left in the innings. South Africa scored 60 runs off the last three overs.

King gets cracking; Fortuin strikes back

King got West Indies’ chase underway in the best possible way when he hit Fortuin through extra cover for four and over deep midwicket for six. Kyle Mayers then slogged to send Fortuin over long-on – and hit a woman in the crowd unintentionally, but South Africa’s left-arm seamer was not about to let his opening over end without a wicket. He held his pace back and had Mayers edging a delivery he tried to hit over point in the air. De Kock took the catch. West Indies finished the first over on 17 for 1 and with King still at the crease. He went on to hit 12 runs off Wayne Parnell’s first over, which cost 17 in total, but was bowled by a Magala full toss, when he made too much room to paddle it away. West Indies finished their Powerplay on 46 for 2.

Nortje gets Pooran – twice – and then catches Charles – twice

Anrich Nortje, who recovered from a groin niggle that kept him out of the second Test and the ODIs, was introduced in the fourth over and made an immediate impression. His first ball was full and wide and Pooran crashed it to Magala at extra cover. Magala missed the ODI series after splitting the webbing on his right hand, which he got to the ball but then could not hold on to it. An annoyed Nortje picked up the pace for his next one and Pooran nicked off. For the next over, Nortje went to long-on and was in place when Charles hit a full Tabriz Shamsi ball his way. Nortje took the catch but then realised he was going to step on the boundary cushion, so he parried the ball back into the field, regained his balance and stepped back in to take the catch. A lengthy replay showed Nortje had done everything right and Charles was out for 28.

Powell power

After showing his intent against spin when he hit a Shamsi googly for six, Powell got stuck into Fortuin and put West Indies in the driving seat. He sent the first ball of the left-armer’s second over past long-off for six, then cleared the front leg to hit him down the ground for four and ended the over with successive sixes. Powell had scored 10 runs off seven balls before the over and 33 off 12 after that over and put West Indies in a position from which they should not have lost, and they didn’t.