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England take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series with Sri Lanka by recording a five-wicket victory in the first Test at Old Trafford.

England have chased down a target of 205 to record a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Old Trafford.

Even in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, England had been expected to make light work of a Sri Lanka side that does not possess the same star power as years gone by.

However, Kamindu Mendis‘s outstanding 113 left the hosts with plenty to think about on the fourth day, before Joe Root showcased his class to get England over the line with a day to spare.

Resuming on 204-6 with a lead of 82, Sri Lanka were aware of the size of the task in front of them if they were to remain competitive, yet Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal frustrated England during the morning session.

The pair survived the 135-minute session and took Sri Lanka past 300, only for Mendis to fall soon after lunch for 113 off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.

Mendis and Chandimal’s resilience was undone as the rest of the innings was wrapped up in just over four overs, Chandimal the last man to be dismissed for 79.

Matthew Potts came away with figures of 3-47 after a frustrating summer playing a waiting game, and it set England up with a target that they could chase down without the need of a fifth day.

“They’ve been donated a wicket right there” 😅

Ollie Pope is dismissed in bizarre fashion as Sri Lanka pick up their second wicket 👀 pic.twitter.com/SQQwlCFjYA

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 24, 2024

England survive nervy start

With Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (six) out by the 12.5-over mark, England found themselves in a game, and Dan Lawrence‘s dismissal for 34 left his team on 70-3.

By this point, Root was at the crease, yet he remained disciplined as Harry Brook put together 32 from 68 in a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Jamie Smith, after his century in the first innings, added 39 from 48 to put England to within touching distance, allowing Root to go at a pedestrian pace and make an unbeaten 62 from 128 balls that featured just two boundaries.

Stand-in skipper Pope was quick to laud Root as “a greedy Yorkshireman” after the game as he continued to chase down sixth spot in the all-time Test run scorers that is currently held by Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, who is 269 runs ahead.

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Sports Mole previews the third Test match between England and the West Indies, scheduled to get underway on Friday at Edgbaston.

England will be looking to complete a clean sweep in the three-match series when they take on the West Indies in the final Test at Edgbaston, which gets underway on Friday morning.

The hosts have dominated the series so far, winning the first Test by 114 runs and an innings to spare, before wrapping up the second by 241 runs on day four of the match at Trent Bridge.

Match preview

© Reuters

It has now been two years since Jonny Bairstow‘s blistering century led England to an excellent run-chase victory against New Zealand and marked the birth of what has since been dubbed Bazball.

At the time, Ben Stokes and newly-appointed head coach Brendon McCullum were tasked with revitalising England Test cricket, having inherited a team that had won only one of its last 17 matches.

While many still question the effectiveness of the new-found approach, given the side have drawn with New Zealand and Australia and lost in India since then, major positive signs are emerging, with the victory at Trent Bridge marking England’s first full series win since December 2022.

That victory took Stokes to a win rate of 61% since assuming captaincy, which is the third-highest percentage in Test history among captains who have led their country in at least 25 games, only behind Australian legends Steve Waugh (72%) and Ricky Ponting (62%).

England also made history in the last match, scoring 400 runs for the first time ever in both innings of a Test match. Additionally, Joe Root became the highest run scorer in Test cricket among active players with his century in the second innings, and he is now just 60 runs away from completing 12,000 runs in red-ball cricket.

If Root manages to score those 60 runs in the third Test, which will be his 143rd game, he will be the seventh batsman in history to score 12,000 runs in the longest format and will become the fastest Englishman to reach this milestone, surpassing Alastair Cook, who achieved the feat in 161 matches.

© Reuters

While the first Test marked the end of an era, with James Anderson playing his final match for his country, new bowling stars have already begun to emerge in Gus Atkinson and Shoaib Bashir, the latter of whom became the first spin bowler since 2006 to take five wickets in a Test match at Trent Bridge.

The England off-spinner tore through the Windies’ middle order, which had performed brilliantly in the first innings, leaving Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze with distinctly different emotions in the second innings.

The pair of diminutive Dominicans gave the West Indies momentum, and a classy 82* from Joshua Da Silva propelled the team to a first-innings lead and their first 450+ score in a decade, but they had no answer for the 20-year-old Bashir in the final innings of the match.

Indeed, the second Test was made a much tighter affair by the Maroons but England still emerged victorious by 241 runs after bowling West Indies out for 143 in the second innings.

West Indies’ second-innings collapse highlighted England’s skill with the ball on home turf, but there were still many positives for Jason Holder‘s men as they aim to get on the series scoreboard in Birmingham.

Team News

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While Root stole most of the headlines in the second Test, Harry Brook also turned in an excellent performance, scoring 109 off 132 balls in the second innings, marking his first Test century on home soil.

McCullum may also use this opportunity to experiment with his side’s post-Anderson bowling attack, which could see a change in their starting seamers, potentially opening the door for Matthew Potts or the uncapped Dillon Pennington to make the starting 11.

Given the improvement made in the second Test, the West Indies are likely to remain unchanged for this match, with Hodge and Athanaze looking to improve on their career-best figures from the last match.

The only squad change for this one will be the exclusion of fast bowler Jeremiah Louis due to an injury. The 28-year-old did not feature in the first two matches and will be replaced by Akeem Jordan for the final fixture of the series.

England squad: Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Akeem Jordan, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair

Series so far

Test 1 of 3 – England won by an innings and 114 runs
West Indies – 121 & 136
England – 371

Test 2 of 3: England won by 241 runs
England – 416 & 425
West Indies – 457 & 143

© PA Photos

We say: England to win

Despite putting up a much better performance in the second Test, we feel the West Indies will struggle to avoid a series clean sweep.

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Sports Mole previews the second Test match between England and the West Indies, scheduled to get underway on Thursday at Trent Bridge.

After cruising to victory in the opening Test at Lord’s, England will endeavour to wrap up the series when they face the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday.

The visitors, meanwhile, will attempt to bounce back and level the three-match series before heading into the final Test at Edgbaston scheduled for July 26 to July 30.

Match preview

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There will have been many Test cricket lovers looking forward to a full five days of action between these two cricketing rivals in the first match, but England made light work of their West Indian counterparts as they won by innings and 114 runs, completing the rout barely an hour into the third day at Lord’s.

It was a particularly memorable series for seamers James Anderson and Gus Atkinson, with the former ended his legendary international career on a high as the latter made an immediate impact with a player-of-the-match display on his Three Lions’ debut.

Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, took three second-innings wickets in his 188th and final Test to finish with a total of 704 – third on cricket’s all-time list behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia’s Shane Warne (708). The 41-year-old had the chance to take the winning wicket, but the fairytale moment went begging as he dropped a caught-and-bowled chance off Gudakesh Motie.

Atkinson, meanwhile, impressively claimed match figures of 12-106 – the best for an England debutant in 134 years. The 26-year-old Surrey seamer became the first England player since Alec Bedser back in 1946 to take 10 wickets on his home Test debut, with his 7-45 in the first innings followed up by 5-61 in the second.

While England’s bowlers stole the headlines, head coach Brendon McCullum will have taken positives from his side’s batting display. Although they once again failed to reach the desired 400-mark, the Three Lions were all out for 371 in their first and only innings, with five players scoring at least 50 runs – Zak Crawley the top scorer with 76 from 89 balls.

A similarly dominant display in the second Test will be the aim for England, who have only won two of their previous six Tests at Trent Bridge and just one of their last nine at the same ground against the West Indies – a nine-wicket win with more than a day to spare back in 2012.

© Reuters

Although there were occasional bright spells from the West Indies in the first Test – particularly with the ball as Jayden Seales took four wickets while debutant Mikyle Louis produced a stunning throw to run out Shoaib Bashir for a duck – there was a notable gulf between the two sides with the bat.

West Indies struggled to cope with the pace of England’s seamers and were bundled out for just 121 in the first innings, with only three players scoring more than 20 runs. Their batting display barely improved in the second innings as they were bowled out for 136, with Gudakesh Motie finishing as their top scorer with 31 runs from 35 balls, including five fours.

Head coach Andre Coley has suggested that his inexperienced side have learned from the heavy defeat, stating that the ‘process’ they went through was ‘a lot more powerful’ than the result itself, and there was plenty to take away from his team’s performance.

Coley has also encouraged his players to channel the resilience shown in their two-match series with Australia earlier this year, in which they claimed a famous victory by just eight runs at The Gabba to tie the series having previously been thrashed by 10 wickets in the first Test.

West Indies head into Thursday’s contest looking to win their first Test match in England since July 2020 when they won by four wickets at the Rose Bowl before going on to lose the three-match series 2-1.

Team News

© Reuters

England have confirmed that fast bowler Mark Wood has been added to their squad for the second Test. The 34-year-old missed the first Test after representing the Three Lions at the T20 World Cup in June.

Wood takes the place vacated by the retired Anderson and is one of three seamers along with Durham teammate Matthew Potts and Nottinghamshire’s uncapped Dillon Pennington battling for a spot in the first XI – the latter is eyeing up a debut on his home ground.

Jamie Smith is set to keep his place after notching up an impressive 70 runs as a lower middle-order batman on his Test debut in the first innings, as well as taking four catches behind the stumps, while fellow debutant Shoaib Bashir could also be given a second chance despite the 20-year-old off-spinner not bowling a single ball in the first Test.

As for the West Indies, they are set to make a late call on the fitness of fast bowler Shamar Joseph who suffered stiffness in his left hamstring during the first Test.

Mikyle Louis made his Test debut last time out, becoming the first man from St Kitts to play Test cricket for the West Indies, and after showing signs of promise with the bat – albeit scoring only 41 runs across two innings – he should continue as an opener along with captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Jeremiah Louis, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair

Series so far

First Test: England won by an innings and 114 runs
West Indies 121 all out (41.4 overs)
England 371 all out (90 overs)
West Indies 136 all out (47 overs)

© PA Photos

We say: England to win

The unpredictability of England means that West Indies cannot be ruled out of this contest entirely, but if the first Test is anything to go by, the Three Lions should once again have the strength, particularly in the bowling department, to secure a victory and wrap up the series.

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James Anderson ends his Test career with 704 wickets as England beat West Indies at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs.

James Anderson has waved goodbye to Test cricket as England record victory over West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord’s.

With West Indies resuming on 79-6, only bad weather would prevent Friday from being the 41-year-old’s final day as a Test player, and his 188th match was wrapped up within 65 minutes of day three.

The veteran paceman squandered a fitting moment to sign off from the five-day arena, dropping a caught-and-bowled attempt which would have sealed the win.

Nevertheless, there was a sense of a changing of the guard as Gus Atkinson – on debut – recorded a five-wicket haul and ended the game with remarkable figures of 12-106.

England will now move onto the remaining two matches in the series, but this occasion was all about Anderson, who bows out with 704 wickets in the long format of the game.

For the final time James Anderson walks out at Lord’s 🥺

A guard of honour from both sets of players 👠pic.twitter.com/mgqNu8Twez

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 12, 2024

Guard of honour commences final day

Before play got underway, both sides greeted Anderson with a deserved guard of honour, which was accompanied by a rapturous ovation, before he set about trying to end his Test career in style.

In his second over of the day, the Lancashire legend struck, Joshua Da Silva edging through to Jamie Smith for nine for what would prove to be Anderson’s final contribution.

Atkinson had his own ambitions to make the Lord’s honours board for the second time in the match, needing to take the final three wickets to achieve that target.

Alzarri Joseph (8) and Shamar Joseph (3) would follow in quick succession, leaving the younger and old guard to effectively go head to head for the final wicket.

Anderson, literally, had the opportunity to win that duel in his hand, only to agonisingly fumble a one-handed caught-and-bowled attempt much to the despair of the crowd.

DROPPED by James Anderson 😩ðŸÂ´ó Â§ó Â¢ó Â¥ó Â®ó Â§ó Â¿

Almost the perfect ending… pic.twitter.com/bBmjDprLhR

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 12, 2024

That would prove to be the England great’s final chance, and although Gudakesh Motie stood tall with an unbeaten 31, Jayden Seales holed out to Ben Duckett to gift Atkinson his fifth wicket of the innings and 12th of the match.

After an emotional exit from the pitch, Anderson will now take the plaudits that will inevitably come his way, but the focus of Ben Stokes will turn to trying to achieve England’s first Test series victory – aside from a one-off Test versus Ireland – since overcoming Pakistan at the back end of 2022.

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Amit Mishra with teammates gestures towards the pavillion after taking five wickets. (AFP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: The frustration of having to…

India captain MS Dhoni with Virat Kohli. (PTI Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership as well as finishing skills will be put through a stern test when an inconsistent India take on a rejuvenated New Zealand in the series-deciding fifth and final cricket ODI, here on Saturday.
ALSO READ: Dhoni needs strong support cast to rediscover finishing touch
With the series locked at 2-2, Dhoni and his men will be eager to clinch the issue while history beckons Kane Williamson’s men as they have a glorious opportunity to taste their maiden success in a bilateral ODI rubber.
ALSO READ: Dhoni should stick to batting at No 4, feels Ganguly
The only thing that can play spoilsport is the cyclone threat which can lead to complete washout.
ALSO READ: We are geared up for the series decider, says Ross Taylor
While Dhoni’s captaincy may not be under immediate threat but a series loss against New Zealand will certainly raise questions about ‘Captain Cool’s’ ability to marshall his resources after his much publicised admission of being unable to rotate strike lower down the order.
Under Dhoni, India lost three ODI series – 1-2 against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, 1-4 against Australia Down Under and 2-3 at home against South Africa. The only ODI series victory in the last 18 months has been against a lowly Zimbabwe.
Away from home for four months spanning two continents, New Zealand’s only success was a 2-0 win against a lowly Zimbabwe, following which they drew South Africa 1-1 before being whitewashed 0-3 by India in the Tests.
Their ODI campaign started off on a sour note in Dharamasala but some strong batting performances by skipper Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill in Delhi and Ranchi respectively have managed to catch India off guard and level the five-match series 2-2.
That they have never won against India in four bilateral contests since 1988 will be a big motivation for the Black Caps to buck the trend and return home with an act of redemption.
Weather permitting, a tantalising finish is on the cards as India would be equally hungry for success at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, a venue where they boast of a 4-1 record.
Their last win has been against Sri Lanka, a 5-0 whitewash way back in November-2014 and an under-fire Dhoni would not want another series loss at the fag end of his career.
The world No.4 India have just three more ODIs, against England, ahead of the coveted Champions Trophy in June next year and it would be an opportunity for Dhoni to give them a boost against a team which is ranked a notch higher.
The over-reliance on Virat Kohli has also been evident during the series as Indian Test captain was the prime performer in both victories during the first four matches so far.
With their opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane yet to provide a much-needed solid start, India’s batting is centred around their no 1 batsman Kohli.
Consider this, India’s both the wins of the series had Kohli anchor the chase be it the 85 not out in a low-scoring chase in Dharamsala, or his majestic unbeaten 154 that hunted down New Zealand’s challenging 285 in Mohali.
Chasing a modest 261 in the fourth ODI in Ranchi, Rahane returned to form with a half-century while Kohli looked in full flow on a slow wicket but both failed to convert their starts, and it was a familiar story for the inexperienced middle-order.
Failure or not, Indian fabled opener Sharma has been a permanent member of the line-up with Dhoni seeming to be in no mood to give youngsters the chance and Mandeep Singh is seen warming the bench.
Sharma’s last big knock came in Australia, and it’s been more than nine months he’s yet to score a century in either longer or shorter format. His scores in the ongoing series read 14, 15, 13 and 11, something that is hurting India’s cause more than anything else.
It’s high time that the world record holder for ODI individual score of 264 return to form in the most-important match of the series, and at his mother’s home town he would hope to make it special.
It’s the same venue where Dhoni had got instant stardom with his fiery 123-ball 148 to take India to a huge 356/9 in their 58-run win over Pakistan in the first match of the venue.
The Dhoni special had come batting at no 3. The Indian skipper may not be like the old ‘Dhoni’ but having promoted to no 4 in Mohali where he scored a 91-ball 80 his intentions are right, if not his reflexes.
Following up with his brilliant half-century, Dhoni disappointed his home crowd with a 31-ball 11 before being cleaned up by James Neesham, and missing the line completely.
In his heyday, he would have dispatched it for six but Dhoni is struggling to get back to his old rhythm.
He has also made a stunning revelation of ‘losing ability’ to freely rotate in the middle as to expect a Dhoni special would be like expecting a youngster to finish a chase.
As for bowling, India have done reasonably well, especially the spin trio of Amit Mishra, Axar Patel and part-timer Kedar Jadhav who have ensured that they have not missed the regulars, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
On pace front, India would hope that Jasprit Bumrah who was indisposed and was replaced by a lacklustre Dhawal Kulkarni returns to full fitness.
Opener Martin Guptill’s return to form in Ranchi to go with the consistency of Tom Latham who has five half-centuries from seven matches, combined Tests and ODIs, on the tour will give New Zealand a massive advantage up front.
Skipper Williamson at number 3 too has been consistent but it’s their middle order who has often frittered away good starts, be it in Ranchi where they were on course for 300 or in the previous ODIs.
Left-arm spinner Anton Devcich who was included as a third spinner in Ranchi looked ordinary as Williamson may not mind bringing back either Corey Anderson or Matt Henry.
With conditions overcast, the last thing India would want is a wash-out. Despite weakening, cyclone Kyant and has gone further down south, there’s forecast of localised downpours as both the teams will keep their fingers crossed.
The venue is slated to host its maiden Test in less than a month’s time, when India take on England from November 17.
As a matter of fact, around the same time Visakhapatnam was ravaged by cyclone Hudhud and the scheduled last ODI here between India and West Indies was cancelled without a ball bowled on October 14, 2014.
It remains to be seen whether India give themselves a Diwali gift or New Zealand return home with their heads held high.
Teams
India: MS Dhoni (captain & wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Axar Patel, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Amit Mishra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav and Mandeep Singh.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, James Neesham, BJ Watling, Anton Devcich, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell.
Match starts: 1.30 pm IST.
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