Browsing: victory

England claim second-Test victory over West Indies after dazzling Bashir spell

Shoaib Bashir takes a quick-fire five wickets as England record a 241-run victory over West Indies at Trent Bridge.

England have ruthlessly sealed a 241-run victory over West Indies in the second Test to complete a series win with a match to spare.

With West Indies leading by 41 runs after the first innings, England found themselves in a far tougher battle than they encountered in the opening Test at Lord’s.

However, resuming on 248-3 at the start of Sunday’s play, Stokes’s side were in a position of power, and Joe Root and Harry Brook both hit centuries to leave West Indies requiring 385 to win with four sessions remaining.

Instead of making steady progress until the close and keeping wickets intact, the tourists were blown away in just 36.1 overs, with Shoaib Bashir taking five wickets as West Indies only made 143.

Root, Brook show class

When West Indies had England on 140-3, they would have felt very much in the game, but Root and Brook picked up where they had left off on Saturday night.

The pair would make 189 runs for the fourth wicket, Brook eventually departing for 109 from 132 balls, and Ben Stokes (8) and Jamie Smith (6) would quickly follow.

Nevertheless, Chris Woakes (12) and Gus Atkinson (21*) played valuable support roles as Root made his 32nd Test century, hitting 122 from 178 deliveries to help take England to 425 all out.

Bashir makes up for lost time

Having failed to bowl a single ball at Lord’s, Bashir has been itching to showcase his ability to a wide England audience, and he certainly did that on Sunday evening.

During a memorable spell, the 20-year-old took figures of 3-8 in 2.5 overs, before ending an entertaining knock of 37 from Jason Holder to leave West Indies one wicket away from defeat.

Bashir got his five-for by bowling Shamir Joseph to end with 5-41, while Woakes (2-28) and Atkinson (2-49) also made contributions. Kraigg Braithwaite (47) top-scored for the tourists, his runs having come inside the first 16 overs.

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England pull off rare feat in T20 victory over Pakistan

England conclude the T20 series against Pakistan with a seven-wicket victory at The Oval, pulling off a rare feat in the process.

England have recorded a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan to secure a 2-0 win in the best-of-four T20 series.

The two sides went into the final fixture at The Oval having been left frustrated with two washouts ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

However, the rain stayed away in London for a full match to materialise, England starring with bat and ball to prevail with 27 balls to spare.

Jos Buttler‘s side now travel to the USA and West Indies for the bumper tournament, with their opening fixture coming against Scotland on June 4.

Pakistan fail to take advantage of fast start

Although England won the toss and elected to field, it initially looked like the wrong decision as Pakistan made it to 59-0 off 5.5 overs.

Within minutes, that became 65-2, Babar Azam (36) and Mohammad Rizwan (23) making their way back to the pavilion, and Usman Khan‘s exciting 38 from 21 balls came to an end with Pakistan on 83-3.

Much of the rest of the innings was a disaster. Three batsmen – Shadab Khan, Azam Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi – all departed for ducks having faced eight deliveries between them.

Jofra Archer took the final wicket for figures of 1-31 on just his second England game in over a year, while Mark Wood, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone all took two wickets apiece as Pakistan were dismissed for 157 with one ball remaining.

What rare feat did England pull off?

All six of England’s bowlers took at least one wicket, while the remaining five players all achieved double figures with the bat.

Phil Salt and Buttler were sensational during the opening overs; Salt hit 45 from 24 and Buttler made 39 from 21.

The pair departed with England on 101-2 off just nine overs and Will Jacks was able to keep things ticking along with 20 from 18.

Jonny Bairstow (28*) and Harry Brook (17*) brought the game home, the former smashed three sixes from his 16-ball knock for his best effort in five innings when including IPL matches.

England will now make the long trip West to try to defend the trophy that they won two years ago, coincidentally against Pakistan.

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Athletics

Spotakova secures 10th Odlozil Memorial victory in Prague | REPORT

Two decades after she made her first appearance at the meeting, world record-holder Barbora Spotakova notched up her 10th javelin victory at the Odlozil Memorial, winning with 60.21m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Prague on Monday (7).

In a contest that was held in memoriam of 1952 Olympic javelin champion Dana Zatopkova, Spotakova took the lead in the first round with 58.81m and then improved to 60.21m in the following round, coming within four centimetres of the season’s best she had set just a few days prior.

The two-time Olympic champion from the Czech Republic rounded out her series with a 59.85m effort in the final round. Greek U20 thrower Elina Tzengko was second with 57.92m.

Spotakova, 39, first competed at the Odlozil Memorial as a teenager back in 2001, around about the time she was considering a switch from the heptathlon to the javelin. In 2007 she achieved her first victory at the meet, then set a meeting record of 68.81m there one year later. She went on to win seven more times at this meeting between 2009 and 2017 before adding a 10th triumph on Monday.

Pavel Mialeshka led a Belarusian 1-2 in the men’s javelin. Aliaksei Katkavets held the early lead with his opening effort of 82.91m, but Mialeshka took the lead in round four with 85.06m, breaking his PB from four years ago. 2013 world champion Vitezslav Vesely was third with a season’s best of 82.63m.

World finalist Iryna Zhuk added to the Belarusian success, winning the women’s pole vault with 4.65m.

Namibian teenager Christine Mboma came from behind to win the women’s 200m in a national and meeting record of 22.67 (1.2m/s). The 18-year-old overtook Gina Bass (22.76) and Beatrice Masilingi (22.82) in the closing stages.

Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi won the men’s 100m in 10.07 (0.8m/s), holding off a strong challenge from Panama’s 2009 world 200m silver medallist Alonso Edward (10.09).

In the men’s 1500m – the specialist distance of 1964 Olympic silver medallist Josef Odlozil, after whom the meeting is named – was won by Kenya’s Boaz Kiprugut in a PB of 3:35.26.

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

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Athletics

Warner makes history in Götzis with sixth victory and 8995 score | REPORT

Damian Warner had gone into the Hypo Meeting aiming to become the event’s first six-time winner but he ended up making history in other ways at the World Athletics Challenge – Combined Events meeting in Götzis on Sunday (30).

World decathlon bests of 8.28m in the long jump – a mark which also breaks Edrick Floreal’s Canadian record – and 13.36 in the 110m hurdles helped multiple global medallist Warner to a lifetime best of 8995, smashing his own Canadian record and elevating him to fourth on the world all-time list.

Canadian 1-2 from start to finish

Warner opened his competition with 10.14 (0.7m/s) to lead the 100m – a mark just 0.02 off his own world decathlon best. His 8.28m (1.2m/s) long jump followed before marks of 14.31m in the shot put, 2.09m in the high jump to match his PB and 47.90 in the 400m.

It gave him a score of 4743, the best ever wind-legal day-one score and well ahead of PB pace.

“Everything went well,” said Warner in his trackside interview. “It’s been a long time since I was out here, so to come out here and perform this well is awesome.

“Before I started doing the decathlon, I was a long jumper in high school. I had a couple of injuries and it didn’t quite work out and I kind of gave up on the long jump and moved to the decathlon. It has always kind of picked at me – would I have been able to make it as a long jumper? Today’s result was awesome because it shows if I keep working at it then I can compete with some of the world’s best.”

Compatriot Pierce LePage also enjoyed a strong start, clocking a 100m PB of 10.30. He went on to leap 7.45m, throw 14.31m in the shot put, clear 2.00m in the high jump and run 47.65 for 400m to score 4421 after the first five events.

Vitaliy Zhuk of Belarus launched himself up the standings by throwing a big outdoor shot put PB of 16.86m which he followed with a 1.97m high jump and 49.33 400m to end the day in third with 4279 points.

Like Warner, Belgium’s Thomas van der Plaetsen also achieved 2.09m in the high jump which helped him to fifth place on 4254 points behind Dutch athlete Rik Taam with 4257 at the end of the first day.

Warner picked up where he left off on day two, scorching to a 13.36 clocking in the 110m hurdles to break his own world decathlon best.

He followed it with 48.43m in the discus, one of his best ever throws within a decathlon, and then cleared 4.80m in the pole vault, equalling his best ever decathlon vault and keeping him on pace for a score close to 9000 points.

A 59.46m throw in the javelin meant his task in the final discipline, the 1500m, would be a tough one if he were to break the 9000-point barrier. He produced one of his best ever runs for the metric mile, clocking 4:25.19 – just 0.46 shy of his lifetime best. Although it wasn’t quite enough to make him the fourth member of the decathlon’s 9000-point club, he was rewarded with a national record of 8995.

Just as Warner maintained pole position throughout the whole contest, LePage did likewise with his second-place spot, securing a Canadian 1-2 finish. He set PBs of 14.05 and 48.25m in the 110m hurdles and discus respectively. A 5.10m vault and 57.06m throw in the javelin kept him 100 points ahead of Van Der Plaetsen going into the 1500m.

With a 4:40.69 run, just ahead of Van Der Plaetsen’s 4:41.39, LePage finished second with a PB of 8534. Van Der Plaetsen, who once again excelled in the pole vault (5.40m), was also rewarded with a PB in third, scoring 8430. Zhuk was fourth with 8331, ahead of world champion Niklas Kaul (8263).

Krizsan crushes Hungarian record

European indoor bronze medallist Xenia Krizsan came from behind in the final event to take heptathlon victory, improving on her own Hungarian record with 6651.

USA’s Taliyah Brooks gained the early lead as she clocked 12.93 in the 100m hurdles, but her competition came to an end soon after, when she was unable to clear her opening height of 1.74m in the high jump. Pan American Games silver medallist Annie Kunz started with 13.12, while 2017 world bronze medallist Anouk Vetter ran 13.35 in the hurdles.

Adrianna Sulek moved into the lead after the high jump, thanks to a PB of 1.86m, while Krizsan moved into contention thanks to a 1.80m clearance, lifting her from seventh to third overall.

After two fouls in the shot put, Vetter maintained her composure to achieve the leading mark of 15.28m. USA’s Annie Kunz took the overall lead, though, thanks to her throw of 15.22m. A 14.47m PB from Krizsan meant the Hungarian climbed into the No.2 spot overall.

Kunz maintained her lead after the 200m (24.07) while Vetter and Krizsan swapped places in the overall standings, posting respective times of 23.65 and 24.32. Norwegian 17-year-old Henriette Jaeger was the fastest overall in the 200m, clocking a PB of 23.28.

Heptathlon winner Xenia Kriszan at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis

The second day started well for Krizsan as she leaped a PB of 6.41m in the long jump, moving her back into the second spot. Burkina Faso’s Marthe Koala equalled her own national record of 6.64m to move into the overall lead. Cuba’s Adriana Rodriguez achieved the same mark, temporarily moving her into the top three.

The positions changed again after the javelin, with Vetter excelling in her strongest event, throwing 54.77m. Krizsan wasn’t too far behind, though, throwing 52.02m. It meant just 36 points separated the pair going into the final discipline, the 800m. Koala, Kendell Williams and Maria Huntington occupied the next three spots.

Krizsan, a strong 800m runner, easily made up the difference on Vetter in the final event, clocking 2:11.51 to Vetter’s 2:22.33 and securing the title with 6651. Vetter took second place with 6536, her best ever score outside a major championships, while Williams came through to finish third with 6383.

Just 10 points separated the next four positions as the top seven women scored 6300+ and the first 12 finishers bettered 6200.

Jess Whittington and Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

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