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Varun Chakravarthy takes five in losing cause after Ben Duckett fifty helps set up winning total

Alan Gardner28-Jan-20252:09

Did India get their batting order wrong?

England kept the T20I series alive with a 26-run win in Rajkot, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton sharing seven wickets alongside a masterful spell from Adil Rashid to help break India’s ten-match run without defeat in home conditions.After being inserted for the third match in a row, England’s total of 171 for 9 looked a little light – particularly from a position of 83 for 1 in the ninth over. Ben Duckett made his first T20I fifty as an opener but the middle order was blown away by Varun Chakravarthy and it needed some belligerent hitting from Liam Livingstone, who made 43 off 24 with five sixes, to keep them afloat. An unbroken stand of 24 for the last wicket between Rashid and Mark Wood was the second highest of the innings.India had crept over the line by two wickets in the second match of the series, Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 guiding them to a target of 166. But he fell to Rashid for 18 off 14 – his first T20I dismissal in five innings – as India sank to 85 for 5 in the face of more tenacious defence from England’s pace-heavy attack.Related

• Adil Rashid's simple trick to wreck India's batting

• Shami back without a bang, but it's still a big deal for India

India only managed to score two boundaries off the bat between the seventh and 15th overs, with Rashid’s immaculate analysis of 4-0-15-1 key to suffocating the innings. After battling his way to 23 off 27, Hardik Pandya finally broke the shackles by hitting sixes off Wood and Archer – but when he was dismissed by Overton for 40 off 35, caught at long-off, India’s lingering hopes of burgling the chase went with him.Mohammed Shami, playing his first match for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, was eighth man out as the hosts limped through their 20 overs nine down – beaten in a T20I on home soil for the first time since November 2023.

England quicks land early blows

With the expectation that this would be the best batting track of the series so far, England had to make early inroads in defence of a middling target. Sanju Samson didn’t trouble the scorers for the second match running, failing to clear mid-on, and although Abhishek Sharma struck five boundaries in his 14-ball innings, Archer was again involved in his dismissal, racing back from cover to claim a steepling catch off Brydon Carse.That brought Tilak to the crease, his imperious recent form exemplified by an audacious charge-and-slap over cover second ball. Suryakumar Yadav then played his trademark flick for six over fine leg off Archer, adding four more off another slower ball later in the same over. But India’s captain was crowbarred out by a 143kph/89mph Wood delivery in the following over as England claimed their third wicket of the powerplay. Only the departure of Jamie Smith, who had been given the gloves due to a “tight calf” but walked off in the fourth over to be replaced behind the stumps by Phil Salt, threatened to undermine England’s strong start.2:51

Takeaways: Rashid show masks England batting worries

Tilak sent back (finally)

Gqeberha, November 10, 2024. Before Tuesday, that was the last time Tilak had been dismissed in a T20 international. In between times he had scored 336 runs (off 187 balls), a run that included back-to-back unbeaten hundreds in South Africa and the key contribution of 72 not out in India’s two-wicket win on Saturday. With India wobbling at 48 for 3, he loomed as the key wicket – not that he would be giving it up lightly.It took a piece of brilliance from England’s all-time great, Rashid, to end Tilak’s run. Tossed up wide of off, the ball dipped and ripped back through the gate with the batter on his heels, rattling middle and leg stumps. Silence rippled around the SCA Stadium. India needed 104 from 12 overs but their aura of invincibility had taken a hit, and they never really got close despite Hardik and Axar Patel attempting to take the game deep.

Shami’s comeback

Shami was back in an India XI for the first time in 14 months, and playing his first T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final – a game in which England cruised to a 10-wicket win on the way to lifting the trophy. The teams’ fortunes have diverged significantly since then, with India now the reigning T20 champions and coming into this game with a record of 15 wins from 17 T20Is since last year’s World Cup in the Caribbean.Shami was deep in rehab during most of that run but finally made his return in Rajkot, with India opting to rest Arshdeep Singh. His first ball drew a swing and a miss from Salt, while his second was mistimed with enough power to go for four down the ground during an opening over that cost six runs. After Salt fell to Hardik, plinking to cover, Jos Buttler was beaten by a classic Shami outswinger – seam bolt upright like a rudder – before Duckett ramped the last ball of an initial two-over spell for six.He later returned to bowl the 19th over, with England nine down. There was to be no comeback wicket, however, as Rashid deftly steered him for four before Wood had to dodge a beamer that earned Shami a warning from the umpire.1:14

Manjrekar: Duckett is a maverick with his shots

Duckett sets tempo

In his fourth outing as an opener in this format for England, Duckett finally produced a score of note. His 26-ball half-century had England sizing up a total in excess of 200 – but a tame dismissal in the same over trying to launch Axar over midwicket played a significant part in their disastrous mid-innings collapse.Coming into this game on the back of consecutive single-figure scores, Duckett quickly set about rebalancing the ledger. He glanced Hardik for a boundary off his third ball, followed up by scooping Shami and then opened up the throttle even further to give England a promising base in the powerplay. Hardik was taken for three consecutive fours at the end of his second over, before the introduction of spin in the form of Washington Sundar was greeted by Duckett going 4-4-dot-6.Duckett had struck eight of his first 13 balls to the boundary, although a quiet first over from Varun was a harbinger of things to come as England ended the powerplay on 52 for 1. Ravi Bishnoi was hit for four and six off consecutive balls by Buttler but the spinners began to exert control for India once again. Buttler tickled a fine edge behind off Varun – detected on DRS – to end a partnership of 76 off 45, and Duckett then holed out in the following over to leave England’s middle order with a rebuilding job.

Varun runs through England

Varun was already the leading wicket-taker in the series, with five from the first two games, but he doubled his money as England once again folded like Superman on laundry day during the middle overs. Having removed Buttler with the final ball of the ninth over, he returned to bowl the 14th and 16th and pick up four more wickets at a cost of 12 runs, putting the seal on England’s disastrous slide of 7 for 44 in 7.1 overs of undignified thrashing.Harry Brook was fourth out, dragging a sweep off Bishnoi into his stumps. Smith then went six and out – although Varun might have been a touch fortunate as his drag down ended up in the hands of deep midwicket. Overton’s difficult tour with the bat continued as he missed an attempted paddle to be bowled behind his legs first ball, Carse holed out to deep square leg and Archer was bowled by a well-disguised googly as Varun completed his second five-for in T20Is.

The Australian opener played nine balls and missed six in a row before edging behind for a duck

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2025

Cooper Connolly nicks one behind after missing six in a row from Mohammed Shami•Associated Press

Cooper Connolly, 21, was playing the Champions Trophy semi-final against India in Dubai because of the injury to regular opener Matthew Short. Opening the innings with Travis Head, he faced nine balls from Mohammed Shami, making contact with only two of his first eight balls before edging behind for a duck. Here’s how the third over of the game played out:2.1 Shami to Connolly: wide outside off, Connolly drives over the top of it…142kph2.2 Shami to Connolly: plays and misses again! Connolly looking to drive, beaten on the inside edge this time as it angles back2.3 Shami to Connolly: 1 wide 140kph, short and wide, Connolly slashes and misses with a square cut but gets the wide call2.3 Shami to Connolly: four in a row! Connolly struggling. This one was nicely bowled, fuller outside off, feet not going anywhere as he pokes at it2.4 Shami to Connolly: make that five! Aims for a square drive on the up, slides past the edge2.5 Shami to Connolly: beaten again, six out of six…drives over the top of it as he targets square through the off side2.6 Shami to Connolly: OUT has he edged it this time?! India are very convinced. Wide outside off, Connolly playing a square drive, was it an under edge? Yes, it’s taken the toe end. They are just checking the ball has carried to KL Rahul. It’s cleanAustralia had chosen to bat after winning the toss in the first semi-final against India. They made two changes to their XI, bringing in Connolly and legspinner Tanveer Sangha for Short and fast bowler Spencer Johnson. India named the same XI that won their last group game against New Zealand, fielding a four-spinner attack.

Duckett scored 149 after Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped him on 97, the latter’s third drop of the match

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2025Tea Shardul Thakur blew the first Test back open with two wickets in two balls to keep India’s hopes alive after Ben Duckett set England on their way to another famous Headingley run chase. Thakur had been a passenger for the first four-and-a-half days of the Test but was thrown the ball by Shubman Gill, and dismissed Duckett and Harry Brook off consecutive deliveries.Duckett and Zak Crawley added another 71 in quick time after batting through the morning session, with Duckett racing to his hundred – his sixth in Tests, and his first in England’s second innings – off 121 balls. He was reprieved on 97 by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who dropped his third catch of the match – this time on the square-leg boundary – as Duckett punched the air on reaching three figures.After a brief interruption for rain, Crawley pulled Prasidh Krishna through wide mid-on for four but fell to his next ball, edging to slip for 65. England’s first-innings centurion Ollie Pope followed soon after, chopping Prasidh on to his own stumps, but Duckett continued to cruise; his most outrageous shot was a reverse slap for six over cover off Ravindra Jadeja.But Thakur’s reintroduction gave India a foothold, as he struck with two innocuous balls. Duckett slapped the first, a wide half volley, straight to substitute fielder Nitish Kumar Reddy at extra cover; Harry Brook strangled the second, a freebie angling a long way past leg stump, through to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps, becoming only the fifth man out for 99 and 0 in the same Test.Ben Stokes started scratchily against Jadeja, missing a pair of reverse sweeps – the first of which Shubman Gill unsuccessfully reviewed for a catch at short leg, only for replays to confirm the ball had hit him on the biceps. Stokes and Joe Root will resume with 102 more runs required after the tea interval, which arrived early due to another rain shower.

Mousley leads response with unbeaten fifty but visitors still trail by 462 runs

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025 Warwickshire 140 for 2 (Mousley 54*, Davies 52) trail Essex 602 for 6 dec (Westley 134, Allison 133, Pepper 107*, Walter 86) by 462 runs Dan Mousley led the Warwickshire fightback to Essex’s mammoth first-innings total with an innings that belied the gravity of the situation facing the visitors in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.The imposing right-hander clocked up only his third half-century of the season, but at a rate of more than a run-a-ball. It was in contrast to his more measured captain Alex Davies, who went along at half the rate in a second-innings stand of 86 that pulled Warwickshire back into the game.Though Davies departed for 52 from 116 balls, stumped by the alert Michael Pepper to give Matt Critchley a second wicket of the innings, Mousley was still there at the end with 54 from 53 balls and Warwickshire 140 for 2.It had been a chastening day and a half in the field for Warwickshire after Davies put Essex in as Essex rattled up 602 for 5 declared on an unresponsive, green-tinged pitch. Along the way there were three Essex centurions, curiously all scoring their third three-figure scores of the season. Tom Westley’s 134 was followed by Charlie Allison and Pepper, who combined in a 38-over, sixth-wicket stand of 195, the largest partnership in an innings of large partnerships.Either side of a mid-afternoon rain break, it was carnage as the pair sensed the impending declaration and went for broke. The declaration duly arrived when Allison departed after four hours, caught at deep midwicket, for 133 from 202 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. That left Pepper unbeaten on 107 from just 117 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes.It would not have escaped Warwickshire’s notice that Allison was not even in the Essex XI announced at the toss, but was drafted in at short notice, without argument, when Simon Harmer dropped out for “personal reasons”.Before his partnership with Pepper, Allison also put on 91 for the fifth wicket with Westley. 57 of them in the morning. Westley added 24 to his overnight 124 before he was finally dismissed after a stay of more than six hours, caught at short fine leg turning Beau Webster off his legs. Significantly, the pair had carried Essex to a fourth batting point with four balls to spare.Westley had laced his 278-ball innings with 17 fours, a large portion of them driven elegantly through the covers. At the other end, Allison followed closely in Westley’s footsteps, punching fours through the off-side, though also comfortable enough to reverse-sweep Corey Rocchiccioli for four. He reached his fifty from 85 balls when he turned the Australian off-spinner for a single.The incoming Pepper did not hang about. He swept Rocchiccioli for an emphatic boundary to get off the mark and added four more with a late cut off Webster. The wicketkeeper-batsman went to lunch on 33, at which point he was presented with his county cap; little more than quarter-of-an-hour after the restart he had reached his half-century with a tap into the off-side off Rob Yates.Despite his rate of scoring, Pepper was beaten to his hundred by Allison, who helped a wayward legside delivery from Mousley for his 14th boundary. After a 25-minute rain break, Pepper made it to his century, having taken just two hours and 15 minutes of improvised nudges and paddles. Two balls later he celebrated by driving Yates straight for six. Not long afterwards Warwickshire were put out of their misery.Essex found the Kookaburra ball just as unhelpful when Warwickshire set out with the initial target of 453 to avoid following on. Yates and Davies made a competent start, passing 50 in 21 overs, Davies hammering Jamie Porter for successive boundaries before Matt Critchley made the breakthrough. Given the rare opportunity to take the main spin-bowling role in Harmer’s absence, Critchley had Yates retreating on to the backfoot and lbw to one that turned and reared up.Mousley brought Critchley down to earth when he slammed him straight back down the ground for six and reached his fifty from just 46 balls.

Fast bowler missed much of the season after knee surgery but could be in contention for Australia role

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Olly Stone has signed for Middlesex on loan in a last-ditch attempt to force his way into England’s plans for the Ashes.Stone, whose England central contract expires at the end of the season, has taken 17 wickets at 23.52 in his five Tests and was part of their squad for tours to Pakistan and New Zealand last winter. But his career has been plagued by injuries, and knee surgery in April ruled him out of the home Test summer.He has played six matches since completing his rehabilitation, four for Nottinghamshire in the Blast and two for London Spirit in the Hundred, and has now agreed a short-term loan move to Middlesex for the next two rounds of County Championship fixtures. He is set to make his debut for the county against Derbyshire at Lord’s on Monday.Stone is an outside bet for England’s Ashes squad, though could compete for a spot as a back-up fast bowler after Jamie Overton’s surprise decision to put his red-ball career on pause. Matthew Potts has been stood down from the upcoming T20I series in Ireland so that he can push his case for selection, while Sonny Baker’s chances dipped after an expensive ODI debut.”This is a great opportunity for Olly to get some competitive overs under his belt with the red ball for the first time since the back end of last summer,” Peter Moores, Notts’ coach, said. “A fit and firing Olly Stone is an asset for any side, and we’re sure he’ll be well served by this short spell at Middlesex.Related

• Overton's shock decision sounds alarm bells for England schedule

• Olly Stone ruled out for 14 weeks after undergoing knee surgery

“We’re fortunate to have a number of seam bowlers to choose from for our next couple of games, and we want to make sure Olly has the best possible chance to get some miles back in the legs after some impressive spells in white-ball cricket so far this summer.”Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said: “As we reach the end of the season, the rigours of the season inevitably take their toll on the fast-bowling unit, so to be able to bring someone in of Olly’s proven international quality to freshen things up ahead of the County Championship run-in is a huge bonus for us.”He will add not only quality, but vast amounts of experience too at the highest level, which the younger players in our group can really benefit from as we look to finish the season strong. We are really looking forward to welcoming Olly to the club and are excited to see what he will bring over the next fortnight.”

Ben Green cameo enlivens limited action as Somerset post 441 for 6 declared

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Sep-2025Somerset and Yorkshire were frustrated by the weather on the third day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match at the Cooper Associates County Ground.Only 10.3 overs were possible because of persistent rain and, with the first two days, also having been badly affected, a draw now appears the only conceivable outcome.Play started on time and there was some entertaining cricket as Somerset looked to build quickly towards a declaration from their overnight first innings total of 391 for six. They had added 50 to that total in half an hour when the rain set in.There was a restart at 3.20pm, which saw Yorkshire post 17 without loss, but soon the players were forced off again and umpires Rob Bailey and Mark Newell called off play for the day at 4.10pmBen Green looked in good touch when Somerset batted, punching a delivery from Matthew Revis through the covers off the back foot for four and following up with a sweetly-timed pull shot to collect another boundary in the same over.Green then powered a straight six back over the head of bowler Jack White before being dropped on 25 by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, a tough chance diving full length to his right, off the same bowler.Kasey Aldridge also went on the attack after a watchful start and brought up the half-century partnership with a clip through the leg side for four off White. But after just over half an hour’s play the rain began to fall with 8.3 overs having been bowled. Aldridge was unbeaten on 42 and Green 33 not out.Yorkshire were given a fast start when play resumed, Adam Lyth edging a four to third man off Josh Davey, who also conceded four wides in the opening over with a wild delivery down the leg side.Finlay Bean also got off the mark with a boundary wide of the slip cordon off Lewis Gregory, but this time only two overs were possible before the rain returned.

Matt Kelly was superb in leading the WA attack with five wickets after the home side lost left-armer Joel Paris to enjoy early in the second innings

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2025Stand-in New South Wales captain Nathan Lyon provided stubborn late-order resistance that might prove crucial as the bowlers continued to dominate the Sheffield Shield match in Perth after debutant Will Salzmann shone againAfter 13 wickets fell on day three at the WACA Ground, openers Cameron Bancroft and Sam Whiteman survived four overs late on Monday. That left the home side nine without loss, needing 222 to win this Sheffield Shield opener.Related

• CA to trial injury subs with tactical twist in Sheffield Shield with eye to Test cricket use

• 'Stripped back' Labuschagne takes leap towards Ashes recall with 160

• Handscomb ton and Warren's three put pressure on South Australia

Salzmann, making his first-class debut, compiled an excellent 72 to top score for the second time in the game, adding 76 with Charlie Stobo to lift the visitors from 79 for 6.NSW and Australia opener Sam Konstas failed again as he tries to shore up his berth for the first Ashes Test, but he had plenty of top-order mates.So far, the highest total at the fall of the third wicket in the match has been a paltry 23, while Sunday’s play featured 14 dismissals.Konstas fell for 14 on Monday after making four in the first innings, while No .3 Kurtis Patterson also did not advance his national cause with scores of 8 and 4.Bancroft is another Test hopeful needing a major knock after being fired out for 10 in WA’s first innings.Typical of how the match has gone, the first delivery of the morning from NSW paceman Ryan Hadley was a perfect yorker that bowled Matthew Kelly for 20.That left WA 116 for 8, with rearguard knocks from Ashton Agar, Cameron Gannon and Corey Rocchiccioli helping the final score to 161. Hadley claimed 5 for 38, his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.WA suffered a blow when opening bowler Joel Paris only managed one over before departing with a left hamstring injury. Had the injury occurred before the end of the second day, WA could have brought in substitute under the new trial being run by Cricket Australia.Test allrounder Cameron Green also did not bowl on Monday as he continues to return from back surgery.But Kelly stood tall with 5 for 43. When he bowled Liam Hatcher for a duck, NSW were 189 for 9. Lyon then dug in, with the Test offspinner scoring 40 from 57 balls, featuring six fours and a six.While the pitch appeared to be playing better late on day three, Lyon’s knock added some crucial meat to the bare-looking NSW bones.Another notable feature of the day was an incident involving Chris Green who was initially given caught behind when he duck a bouncer but was eventually recalled to the crease. Umpire Gerard Abood even gave Green out a second time having chatted with the square-leg official before reverse the decision

Leeds United supporters are expecting one deal and one deal only on transfer deadline day: the permanent transfer of Swansea City’s Daniel James.

With the rumour mill refusing to throw up any other reason for Leeds fans to feel expectant on deadline day, all eyes are on James’ potential move from south Wales to Yorkshire.

Can Leeds get a deal over the line? Tell will tell but murmurs emerging from both clubs suggest that it’s one which is set to go right down to the wire.

Interest in James has arrived during a month in which Bielsa has clearly felt the need to strengthen in wide areas following the departure of Samu Saiz, with Pablo Hernandez expected to play a key role at number ten for the remainder of the season.

But the 21-year-old winger was relatively unheard of until just a few months ago, so why exactly did Bielsa decide to put all his eggs in one basket and launch a transfer mission to secure his signature?

Well, Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Phil Hay has shed some light on the matter, citing Leeds scout Craig Dean as the man who introduced James to Bielsa with a series of video clips.

‘James is understood to have been picked out first by Craig Dean, a scout who once worked for Oxford United and is Leeds’ head of emerging talent for players between the age of 17 and 21 (James turned 21 in November).

‘The video clips shown to Bielsa appealed to him. James was quick, direct and minded to go past full-backs, providing crosses for players arriving in the box as Kemar Roofe and Mateusz Klich like to do.’

If Leeds are ultimately successful in their endeavour to sign James, Bielsa will be desperately hoping that his crosses do indeed find their way to the likes of Klich and Roofe in the final months of the season.

Craig Dean, who left Oxford United for Leeds in October 2017, may well have been a focal figure in identifying Polish teenager Mateusz Bogusz as a player for Bielsa to bring in, but his decision to recommend James is the one which could really make or break Leeds’ season.

While football supporters appreciate that scouts are working behind the scenes to identify players worth signing, it’s intriguing to get this level of specific inside information from Hay on a proposed deal which has been in the media spotlight for the best part of 7-10 days.

Dean has done his part; Bielsa has taken the advice and given the green light; now it’s down to Victor Orta to conclude the deal before the 11PM deadline.

Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Tottenham remain firmly in the Premier League title race with plenty of football still to be played.

Manchester City overtook Liverpool following their 2-0 win against Everton on Wednesday though the Reds have a game in hand. Spurs remain outsiders in the race but could still be in with a shout if their excellent form continues. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have scored plenty of late goals this season which could also prove to be crucial.

Nevertheless, the Lilywhites have still had an excellent campaign considering no players have been signed in two transfer windows. Pochettino should be handed transfer funds in the summer window and could look to welcome a host of new signings to Tottenham’s recently built stadium. Quality reinforcements could be just what they need to end their wait for a trophy.

One man Spurs could target is Fulham wonderkid – Ryan Sessegnon. Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, the 18-year-old burst on the scene last season after graduating from the Cottagers youth academy. Sessegnon was a key player during their successful promotion campaign which brought interest from plenty of the Premier League elite.

Although the youngster hasn’t been at his best in the higher division, he remains one of the most talented young players in the country. Comfortable on the left wing or left back, Sessegnon would flourish under world-class management like Pochettino. The Englishman will be buoyed by the progress of Harry Kane and Dele Alli in recent years though Fulham will be unwilling to lose their prized asset.

However, with just 18 months remaining on his current deal at Craven Cottage, Claudio Ranieri could be powerless if Spurs submit a tempting offer.

Tottenham fans, thoughts?

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Leeds United duo Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford both put in impressive displays in their side’s 2-1 win against Swansea City at Elland Road on Wednesday night, and teammate Mateusz Klich may well be the one to suffer if they maintain their form.

On the chalkboard

Well, manager Marcelo Bielsa has often preferred Roofe in the lone striker role this season – especially with Bamford absent for the majority of the campaign because of injury – but they have both started the Yorkshire outfit’s previous two Championship clashes.

The former Middlesbrough man was given the centre-forward role for the second successive fixture as they hosted the Swans, with Roofe starting in an advanced central midfield role behind him.

It is a similar one to the one that Klich has had for much of the season, with his most frequent partner Adam Forshaw arguably more defensively-minded.

The chosen duo certainly made an impact on Wednesday, having nine shots at goal between them according to WhoScored.

Is Klich in danger of losing his place?

He might well be, especially since he hasn’t been in the best form in recent months.

With Kalvin Phillips having the defensive midfield role wrapped up it will leave the likes of him, Roofe and Forshaw – when he returns from injury – fighting for the two spots ahead of him.

While it may have been deemed fine to deploy the Poland international and Leeds’ top goalscorer there for the visit of Graham Potter’s men, Bielsa may choose for a slightly more conservative line-up in the future – especially away from home given he has attacking players like Pablo Hernandez, Jack Harrison and Jack Clarke on the wings.

Should Roofe remain in midfield then the experienced manager may well favour Forshaw alongside him when he needs to be more defensive – something that could easily happen in what could be a nervous run-in for the Yorkshire club.