Rescheduling of India’s white-ball Tour of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have mutually agreed to defer the white-ball series, three ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals, between Bangladesh and India in August 2025 to September 2026.
This decision has been reached following discussions between the two Boards, taking into account the international cricketing commitments and scheduling convenience of both teams.
The BCB looks forward to welcoming India in September 2026 for this eagerly anticipated series. Revised dates and fixtures for the tour will be announced in due course.
The former professional triathlete signed with EF Education-Oatly last month and soon learned that her first race would be the Giro d’Italia Women. Fortunately, Maya is an endurance athlete and is looking forward to taking on the eight-stage Giro with her Cannondale LAB71 SuperSix EVO.
Our mechanics have been working closely with Maya to get her set up dialed in before the race kicks off on Sunday. She will ride Vittoria Corsa Pro 30mm tires, offering her the low rolling resistance and traction she’ll need for Italy’s roads.
The Fizik Solocush Tacky bar tape allows her to grip with confidence and in comfort as she navigates the winding descents. Maya will track all her data using her Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3.
“I’m new to Cannondale but I’m already so impressed with my bike,” Maya said. “It feels super fast, especially when accelerating. When you stand on the pedals, the power transfer feels really direct. And with the handling, it feels very secure so I feel like I can really put it inside in the corners. It lets me give a little more, go a little harder. You can tell – this bike just wants to go fast.”
Check out the full specs of Maya’s Cannondale LAB71 SuperSix EVO.
Brazil’s Fluminense continued their fairytale run at the Club World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal on Friday in Orlando to book their place in the semi-finals.
The tournament underdogs struck first through Matheus Martinelli in the opening half before Al-Hilal hit back after the break when Marcos Leonardo found the net. But Fluminense refused to be denied and regained their lead in the 70th minute through Hércules to secure a memorable win over Al-Hilal in the first meeting between the two clubs.
“If you asked me a while ago whether we would reach this stage, a semi-final, I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t believe it because I believe in everything that I do, but it was so far away from us,” said the captain Thiago Silva. The Brazilian side, who entered the tournament as one of the biggest long shots, will now face the winners of Friday’s other quarter-final clash between Palmeiras and Chelsea.
Fluminense opened the scoring when João Cancelo failed to clear his line, allowing Gabriel Fuentes to roll the ball to Martinelli who brilliantly picked out the far post with a left-footed strike into the top right corner.
“Many people didn’t believe in our potential, in our team but each game and each step we proved we can be tough,” said Martinelli, who will miss the semi-final after picking up a yellow card shortly after his goal. When we step on the pitch it’s difficult to beat our team.”
During first-half stoppage time, a rising Kalidou Koulibaly headed the ball on target but a fully-stretched Fabio used his left hand to swat it away and keep Fluminense in front.
Al-Hilal made a quick start to the second half and drew level after a cushioned header from a wide-open Koulibaly hit the legs of Leonardo, who quickly reset his feet and fired home from close range.
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Moments later, Fluminense’s Samuel Xavier looked to have tripped Leonardo in the area, prompting the referee to immediately point to the spot, but after a VAR review it was considered “normal football contact” and the call was reversed.
Fluminense nearly restored their lead in the 55th minute when German Cano broke free but rather than shooting he tried to take the ball around Yassine Bounou and the Moroccan goalkeeper managed to poke away the ball.
Hércules, who scored off the bench in the last-16 win over Inter Milan, came in for Martinelli after the break and struck again when he took a brilliant touch into the area and fired into the bottom corner.
“I really want to congratulate my squad for the way that they played, they poured their hearts out on the pitch tonight,” said the Al-Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi. “And of course we are sorry but we need to be proud.”
The match began with players and fans observing a minute’s silence in memory of Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who both died in a car crash on Thursday.
LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – Cameroon made their fans back home proud by defeating Dominican Republic in FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 classification action for their first win in the history of the competition.
Hermann Bel scored only one-field goal in this game, but it turned out to be the most important one. Bel scored a go-ahead put-back basket with just 6.2 seconds in the game to break the tie and get the win.
Cameroon’s hero
Cameroon rallied from 18 points down to knock off the Americas side 86-84 in Classification 13-16 action. Noe Bom led the way with 19 points, Franck Belibi had 18 points, Wilf Kingue collected 18 points and 8 assists and Amadou Seini contributed 6 points and 14 rebounds.
Ronny Ewanke shined with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Cameroon will next play against the winner of China versus Jordan for 13th place.
It was a victory the Africans had hoped would come earlier.
Steve Tchiengang’s team came so close to getting their first win in the second game of the group stage against Australia. The Africans led by six points with 50 seconds to play but ended up watching Australia take the game to overtime where Cameroon lost 101-96 in double OT.
Cameroon then lost a 14-point lead in the Round of 16 and were defeated 86-82 to Israel in the Round of 16. That was followed by a loss to Argentina in Classification 9-16 action.
Today, however, they emerge victorious.
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Who will be named FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 TISSOT MVP?
Some random half-time thoughtspublished at 11:57 British Summer Time
11:57 BST
HT: NSW Waratahs 5-14 Lions
Nigel Ringland BBC Sport at Allianz Stadium
Finlay Bealham, not originally selected to go on the tour, could be playing his way into the starting number three jersey for the first Test.
The scrum, in the games he’s started, has looked better than the games he hasn’t.
Tadhg Furlong will come on in the second half and will need to prove his fitness.
Everything Hugo Keenan has tried in the first half has gone wrong. There was an early knock-on, a missed tackle for the try, a couple of high balls he didn’t catch (and he is usually reliable).
Tough opening forty minutes for the Leinster man in his Lions debut, perhaps trying too hard.
Playing on the left wing, Blair Kinghorn, also making his Lions debut, has been a virtual spectator. I can’t remember a meaningful contribution.
Not necessarily his fault as there has been a lack of service but again for someone wanting to make an impression, surely not what he was hoping for.
Huw Jones will continue to push Gary Ringrose for the starting 13 shirt. He has taken his chances.
Two-time Rally di Roma winner Crugnola set a strong pace in his Citroën C3 Rally2 across a trio of tricky asphalt stages, held in hot temperatures, to open up a slender 0.7sec lead over compatriot, and fellow Pirelli driver Giandomenico Basso.
FIA European Rally Championship title contender Andrea Mabellini ended the loop in third [+1.1sec], two tenths ahead of championship leader Marczyk, who set the pace for most of the morning before a late error.
Marczyk had dominated the first two stages of Saturday morning. The Michelin Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver started the day in seventh after Friday night’s super special stage in Rome with the famous Colosseum in the backdrop. The Polish driver leapt into the rally lead after sharing the fastest time with Basso, while Crugnola was seven tenths slower, following a short blast through the 6.47km Collepardo Pozzo d’Antullo stage, that kicked off the morning.
Marczyk then survived a moment at high speed when he ran slightly off the road in the mammoth stage three (Torre di Cicerone 1 – 34.57 km) Despite the error, Marczyk won the stage by 2.3s from Crugnola to extend his lead to 2.6sec.
However, the lead changed hands in the final stage of the loop (Santopadre 1 – 13.05 km) when Marczyk misjudged a braking point towards the end of the stage and overshot a junction. The error cost Marczyk 4.5sec, dropping him from the lead to fourth.
“I overshot a right hand corner unfortunately, but I hope we still have the speed. We need to come back for the second loop with consistent driving like we did in the first and second stages,” said Marczyk.
“There was [a moment in the previous one] but fortunately we came back with good speed. We will do our best to keep the pace with the good guys.”
The local drivers made the most of their knowledge as they challenged Europe’s best. Italy’s Simone Campedelli completed the morning in fifth, ahead of countryman Boštjan Avbelj, who held the rally lead overnight after winning Friday’s super special.
Mads Østberg delivered a strong and clever drive throughout the loop to hold seventh in front of WRC2 winner Roberto Dapra. The top 10 was rounded out by 2022 ERC champion Efrén Llarena and Jakob Matulka. Llarena had impressed while getting used to his new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, before a half spin in stage four cost the Spaniard time.
It proved to be a difficult morning for M-Sport-Ford World Rally Team’s Jon Armstrong, who struggled to find the rhythm and battled understeer behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta Rally2, particularly in the long stage three. Armstrong ended the morning in 15th position.
“I tried to be a little bit slower [in the final stage of the loop] and try not to work the tyres too much, and we made a small set up change which seems like a better direction. I think we still need to see if we can improve it more, but it has been a tricky morning loop,” said Armstrong.
It was also challenging for ERC Hungary winner Roope Korhonen and WRC2 driver Jan Solans as the MRF-equipped drivers attempted to learn Rome’s unfamiliar and challenging asphalt roads. The pair headed into the afternoon loop in 17th and 22nd overall respectively.
Sweden’s Mille Johansson split the pair in 21st after the Hankook-shod driver recovered from a power steering failure in stage three.
Basso led the Master ERC class from Antonio Rusce by 1minute10.7sec. In ERC3, Tymek Abramowski topped the class by 0.2sec from Tristan Charpentier, with Hubert Kowalczyk, 20.2sec in arrears.
Calle Carlberg set the pace in Junior ERC, powering his Opel Corsa Rally4 into an 11.3sec lead over the Peugeot 208 Rally4 piloted by Sergi Pérez.
The crews will repeat the stages this afternoon to conclude Saturday’s action.
Joe Burns says Italy’s cricketers have the chance to “create a legacy” as he attempts to guide the European nation to their first ever World Cup.
Opening batter Burns, 35, made four centuries in 23 Tests for Australia between 2014 and 2020 but made himself available to play for Italy last year, qualifying through his grandparents.
He has since been appointed captain of Italy, who will battle it out with Guernsey, Jersey, Scotland and the Netherlands in a European regional qualifier for next year’s 2026 T20 World Cup.
The two teams who finish top of the round-robin tournament held in the Hague between 5 to 11 July will qualify for the event in India and Sri Lanka.
“We’re very confident that if we play to our best, we’ll be going to a World Cup,” Burns told BBC Sport.
“It’s not lost on us the magnitude of the impact we can have on Italian cricket. We talk a lot as a team about creating a legacy for the generations to come after us.
“To wear the Italian cap at a World Cup would make us a groundbreaking team. And we think we’ve got the team to get there.”
The first recorded game in Italy was played in Naples in 1793 by sailors from the fleet of Lord Nelson, and today there are more than 3,500 competitive players and in excess of 100 clubs.
They are currently 32nd in the International Cricket Council world rankings but do not have any proper turf pitches.
Italy’s squad have prepared for the tournament with a short training camp in Rome, some friendlies on grass in Horsham before warm-up games in the Netherlands.
Burns said there is a “huge opportunity” for cricket, and T20 in particular, to really grow in Italy and qualifying for the T20 World Cup could prove to be a major catalyst.
“I feel like Associate cricket is very much the grassroots of international cricket,” Burns added.
“But I really think that in 30, 40 or 50 years from now, Italy could be a massive player in world cricket.
“Playing Tests for Australia it was about the history that you’re honouring, and you’re carrying on in the traditions of the past, but when you play for Italy, it’s a blank canvas and you shape the future.”
48th over: India 237-4 (Gill 58, Jadeja 1) A lesser spotted maiden from Josh Tongue. Some respite after the dismissal of Pant.
47th over: India 237-4 (Gill 58, Jadeja 1) With the lead standing at 416 runs, Ravindra Jadeja strides to the crease. Gulp. The man with the best barnet in cricket (and the top ranked all-rounder in the world) nudges a single into the off side to open his account.
WICKET! Rishabh Pant c Duckett b Shoaib Bashir 65 (India 236-4)
Gone! Oh my word – Pant throws his bat again whilst trying to moose Bashir into the stratosphere! The ball loops to Ben Duckett in the deep and the bat travels nearly as far. Pant collects his bat from Brydon Carse on the way off, what an entertainer he is.
‘Off to the pavillion – and take that with you!’ Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images
46th over: India 232-3 (Gill 58, Pant 61) Gill charges Josh Tongue and swats him down the ground for four. Gill is usually so aesthetically pleasing but there was a real woodcutter’s scythe.
45th over: India 228-3 (Gill 54, Pant 61) Bashir loops up a full toss and Pant sweeps for four with ease. That’s the 100 run partnership between this pair, in just 92 balls. England are starting to look weary, whatever happens in the rest of this match there will need to be some fresh faces (and limbs) injected onto the bowling line up for Lord’s.
44th over: India 224-3 (Gill 54, Pant 57) Rishabh Pant goes to his 16th Test fifty with a flick off his hips. He then opens his shoulders and bunts Tongue wide over mid-on for SIX. India’s lead is stretched beyond 400.
43rd over: India 215-3 (Gill 52, Pant 49) A single to each batter off Bashir. Some calm before the inevitable storm.
42nd over: India 212-3 (Gill 51, Pant 48) slams another one in short and once again Shubman Gill clobbers it for SIX with a nonchalant hook shot! England’s fielders resemble Brownian Motion but it doesn’t matter where they are if the ball is sailing into the stands. Tongue is now going at more than seven an over in this innings, his two wickets coming at a not insignificant price. Shot! Gill flat backs another short ball through mid on for four and goes to a half century. Yeh, he’s in decent nick.
Shubman Gill on his way to his half-century. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters
ICYMI:Bad news for Sciver-Brunt and England
England women’s captain Nat Sciver-Brunt will miss the rest of their T20 series against India due to a left groin injury. The all-rounder was ruled out of Friday’s match with a groin injury that she sustained during the second match in Bristol and the ECB confirmed on Saturday she will be unavailable for selection ahead of the ODI series against India, which begins on 16 July.
41st over: India 199-3 (Gill 40, Pant 47) Bashir tosses one up wide of off stump, Pant shoulders arms and there is some slow but considerable turn. Ravi Jadeja will be looking at that with interest.
40th over: India 197-3 (Gill 39, Pant 46) Splat! Gill hooks Tongue for SIX and then pumps two consecutive fours to the off side fence. Ben Stokes is guilty of a mis-field to gift the second, he looks down at his finger accusingly, he might’ve hurt himself in the process, just what England need.
39th over: India 183-3 (Gill 25, Pant 46) A sign of things to come no doubt – Bashir starts the afternoon session with a drag down and Pant doesn’t miss out – scything square for four. England’s task will be much harder than Headingley, not only because the runs they’ll need will be much higher but also because they’ve will have spent much longer in the field by the time they do come out to bat. Did I mention I was up at 5am this morning. Much the same sort of situation I reckon.
Here come the players post lunch, India will look to bat this session and see where they are at. I know that’s the kind of searingly sharp analysis you are after. Give me a break I was up at 5am.
Lunch: India 177-3 (lead England by 357 runs)
An enthralling session comes to a close, India lost two wickets but put on 113 runs at 4.5 an over. The lead stands at 357. Pant and Gill will return after lunch to put their foot down and set England 500 or more before getting on with the task of bowling them out in a just over a day or so. England will chase whatever they are set and India know it.
There’s a fascinating situation brewing, time to grab a Kumar Sanger-kara and see you back here in half an hour.
38th over: India 177-3 (Gill 24, Pant 41)
37th over: India 173-3 (Gill 22, Pant 39) Bashir to Pant. Honours even. Pant hoicks a four over the leg side but the young spinner responds well, keeping Pant tied down with five dots.
36th over: India 169-3 (Gill 22, Pant 35) Josh Tongue bowls a tidy over, just a Pant single off it. Things quieten down with just over five minutes to go until lunch.
35th over: India 168-3 (Gill 22, Pant 34) A gnat’s eyebrow! That’s how close Shoaib Bashir has just come to bowling Pant as the pint sized pyro merchant misses a huge sweep across the line. Bashir gets out of the over well, for the cost of just three runs.
Meanwhile, down the road in Worcester, 14-year-old batting wunderkind Vaibhav Suryavanshi has just smashed a 52-ball hundred for India U19s against England U19s. What chance we might see the teenager in a Test this summer…?
34th over: India 165-3 (Gill 21, Pant 32) Pant tries to launch Tongue into the stands but ends up flinging his bat way over square leg instead! Fair to say he was giving that the kitchen sink, kettle, toaster and chest freezer. One of the more curious dot balls you’ll ever see. Chance! Pant gets a leading edge and is nearly grabbed by a diving Chris Woakes running round at square leg. Woakes got a hand to it but it goes begging. England are scrambling courtesy of Rishabh Pant. Somehow there are just three runs off the over.
Butter gloves! Photograph: Martin Rickett/PAspot the bat. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
33rd over: India 162-3 (Gill 20, Pant 30) Pant takes ten runs off the over with two improvised sweeps through the leg side. India’s lead moves up to 342 runs, it could be a whole lot more if Pant stays in for another half an hour, especially in this mood.
32nd over: India 152-3 (Gill 19 , Pant 21)‘Zak Zak Zak Zak ZAK!’ I imagine Crawley’s inner monologue is ticker-taping as Pant hacks a four through point with a real flourish and then sweeps a mahooosive SIX into the crowd with a slog sweep. Ten off the over and here comes Shoaib Bashir for a bowl. Stand by your beds!
31st over: India 142-3 (Gill 19, Pant 11) Gill glides a cut for four and then nudges a single. NO! You cannot do that Zak Crawley… not in a good way – DROP! Pant charges Stokes and clubs a flat ball straight to Crawley at mid off and the ball goes straight in and out. A loud groan goes around the ground from the England fans, that could well be a damaging miss.
30th over: India 136-3 (Gill 14, Pant 10) Pant pulls a short ball from Tongue away for four and then charges down the track to bloodaxe a SIX into the stands. Pant missed out in the first innings and this situation is tailor made for him.
Pant looks to run down the track first ball and Tongue follows him with a full ball into the pads. DO. NOT. GO. ANYWHERE.
Buckle up knuckleheads, here comes Rishabh Pant.
WICKET! KL Rahul b Tongue 55 (India 126-3)
Yes he can! Tongue is a wicket taker and he rushes a ball through KL Rahul’s defences to send the middle stump cartwheeling. Rahul was rushed by the speed and seemed to play down the wrong line too. England have their second of the morning.
Rahul’s middle stump goes for a walk! Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
29th over: India 126-2 (Rahul 55, Gill 14) Stokes brings himself on and immediately finds the edge of Rahul’s blade but wouldyoubelieeeevit the edge flies through the vacant third slip region. England are trying to stem the runs and take wickets and they can’t have fielders everywhere, the ball has mostly flown in the gaps so far this morning. Top over from Stokes, can Tongue back him up at the other end?
28th over: India 119-2 (Rahul 50, Gill 13) Josh Tongue replaces Chris Woakes and immediately the pressure is released. This is becoming a problem for England, Tongue is a wicket taker but he has also been particularly loose this summer so far. Ten runs off the over as Tongue is too full, driven for three by KL Rahul – as the opener notches another half century – and Tongue is then pinged through the covers for four by Gill.
Some commentary cliches courtesy of Kandukuru Nagarjun and Gary Naylor.
“Gavaskar on Indian commentary just said, while praising Karun Nair as a slipper, that he catches them “more often than not.” I hate that phrase – in this case, it implies Nair could be dropping upto 49% of ‘em.
Also: “He’s good at the hook shot; he middles them more often than not.”
“It’s basically a good pitch for batting. A bit on the slow side, but if you can get through the new ball, there’s plenty of runs in it. There’s a chance it might break up a little on the fourth day and offer some turn to the spinners later in the match.” Every. Single. Test.”
27th over: India 109-2 (Rahul 46, Gill 7) Carse has been excellent this morning, he returns after a slurp of electrolytes and bowls a zippy and probing maiden to KL Rahul. Ben Stokes is warming up, he’ll be a handful in these overcast conditions ifhe can find his groove too.
Good morning to Tom v d Gucht:
“The OBO has its own rich tapestry of unique clichés. Id say my favourite would be oblique references to or quotes from Peep Show. For example, ‘I’m not the sort of person who makes things happen. I’m the sort of person things happen to.’ Keep them coming.”
Have you heard the Big Beats OBO manifesto recently? The OBO manifesto is short posts are the best, do quotes all the time…
26th over: India 109-2 (Rahul 46, Gill 7) Jamie Smith stands up to the stumps to Chris Woakes. Plenty of ego driven club bowlers wouldn’t like the keeper insulting their pace by doing the same. Woakes gets on with the task in hand and skims one past Gills edge, Smith shows off some fast hands behind said sticks. Gill angles the blade to pick up four to deep third, it’s time for a drink for the players and a vat of Kenco pour moi.
25th over: India 105-2 (Rahul 46, Gill 3) Carse has looked the most dangerous bowler this morning, he gets one to lift at Rahul who flashes an angled blade outside off and gets a meaty edge wide of point for four. That was risky but India are in a position where they can take a few.
24th over: India 101-2 (Rahul 42, Gill 3) A maiden from the Wizard. England are bowling well this morning, India’s lead stands at 281, they haven’t pulled away yet this morning.
23rd over: India 101-2 (Rahul 42, Gill 3) England lose a review much to Ben Stokes’ chagrin. Gill gets a scratch of an inside edge on straight on from Carse, the keeper and slips all fancy it but Stokes – at mid off – reckons he heard something woody. The troops convince their general to give it a whirl but DRS confirms the bat was tickled. Democracy is overrated eh Ben?
“Morning James!” back atcha Anand Kumar.
“Wonder how all pundits say the same thing about the same things for all test matches? First hour is the key. New ball is vital. First half hour of this session is important. This last hour before close of play is crucial
Do fellow OBOers have their favourite clichés?”
Fine to join in – as long as they aren’t OBO cliches (actually…)
22nd over: India 98-2 (Rahul 41, Gill 1) Gill gets off the mark with a nudge into the leg side off Woakes. There’s some movement in the air and the clouds have a grey-ish tinge to them. The floodlights are on and these are about the best conditions for bowling in the match so far.
21st over: India 96-2 (Rahul 40, Gill 0) Shubman Gill arrives in the middle… he won’t be on strike as Nair fell to the last ball of the over. The lead stands at 276 runs. England would dearly love a couple of quick ones to put a bit of pressure back onto India. Easier said than done of course.
WICKET! Karun Nair c Smith b Carse 26 (India 96-2)
These two batters are two of the most elegant players you could wish to watch, Nair pings a cover drive for four but is then GONE! Carse deserves that, he’s hammered away at a good length and eventually Nair drives at one that wasn’t quite there and the nick goes to hand, Jamie Smith taking a sharp catch with the gloves.
Finger up and out. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
20th over: India 88-1 (Nair 18, Rahul 40) Woakes has Kl Rahul beaten a couple of times in the over, one nip backer and one that holds its line that the normally unflappable Rahul has an undistinguished flap at. There’s something happening with the ball out there and England are trying to harness it.
19th over: India 86-1 (Nair 17, Rahul 39) Carse has found some real rhythm this morning, he looks to be less bothered by his troublesome toes and is pounding away at a handkerchief sized spot back of a length. He beats Nairs edge with one that moves away late and then gets the edge but it is a thick one and runs away for four backward of point. No justice eh Brydon?
18th over: India 81-1 (Nair 13, Rahul 38) Woakes stitches together a maiden. England have bowled well this morning but with no luck so far.
“Morning James. A packed day of sport today, it’s what the OBO/MBM was made for!”
Indeed Guy Hornsby, it is in fact the busiest weekend of the year on the Guardian Sports desk.
“These next two sessions should be fascinating in how the game is set up. England will feel they can’t chase anything, but yesterday showed that even a monster partnership can’t solve a big total on its own. India will want, you feel, 450+, and England will give that a go. It’s a far cry from forlorn hope of the draw in my formative 1990s. This team has made it an endangered species. But it shouldn’t be off the table, either. Going down in a blaze of boundaries to lose by 200 doesn’t help us in the series. But we’re all just passengers now, eh.”
Spot on Mr Hornsby. Slightly more problematic thinking from Tim Sanders…
“Good morning James. I think Howard Banwell might be mistaken if he caps England’s run-chase ambitions at 350-400. It’s three years to the day, at the same ground, against the same opposition, since Joe and Jonny’s partnership chased down 378 with seven wickets in hand. I think if, come tomorrow evening, England were to need 720 from 20 overs, they’d give it a good go.”
England’s Brydon Carse reacts as India’s Karun Nair runs between the wickets. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters
17th over: India 81-1 (Nair 13, Rahul 38) Eventful over as Carse clangs Karun Nair on the helmet with a brutish delivery and then draws the edge with the next ball but it flies in the large-ish gap between first and second slip! England can’t believe their luck but they were trying to have a bob each way. Nair survives. Top over from Brydon Carse, he really bent his back in that one and got some life out of this placid wicket.
16th over: India 76-1 (Nair 8, Rahul 38) “India are only going to get better as the series goes on” purrs Ravi Shastri, and he’s not wrong. If they win this game sans Bumrah then the series is well and truly anyones with three to play. A leg bye sees India stretch the lead up to 250.
15th over: India 75-1 (Nair 8, Rahul 38) Rahul unfurls another picture perfect cover drive, how good is he at that shot? He never seems to miss out. Carse nips one back and the inside edge from KL saves him from succumbing lbw. Carse asked the question but Stokes wasn’t interested in the review and rightly so. Edge! Safe. Rahul punches off the back foot and the edge flies wide of second slip. Four more for India, they are rollocking along at five an over.
14th over: India 67-1 (Nair 8, Rahul 30) There are no alarms or surprises in the wicket, the roller was on it this morning and it is still very easy paced. We have seen the odd ball nip and bounce, the wickets of Brook and Stokes for example. Kl Rahul picks up a couple of singles in his usual princely fashion. Nair then clips a ball off his hip for a single to make it three off the first over of the day. It’s cloudy but still flat as all flip out there.
Righto, the players are out on the field, its a bit more overcast and breezy in Edgbaston. Chris Woakes is going to start with the ball, England need some wickets to try and keep India in check. India will look to bat most of the day. Fingers crossed for another belter. WinViz gives England just 3 per cent chance of winning, might be worth a flutter you know…
“I’m torn.” Says Howard Banwell, getting his Natalie Imbruglia on.
“I like very much the positive, go-for-it England approach to test cricket in recent years, but here I would rather see a draw than an England loss. I reckon it depends on the lead India is allowed to rack up today. If England restrict them to a 350 to 400 lead (or Shubman declares with that target on the table), Stokes will be very tempted to go for the chase. More than that, I suspect even Stokes will pucker up and kiss his sister.”
Our man Ali Martin had the task of summing up a quite bonkers day of Test cricket:
Pressure? What pressure? Or to pinch a line from Keith Miller, the great Australian all-rounder and a fighter pilot during the second world war: “There is no pressure in Test cricket. Real pressure is when you are flying a Mosquito with a Messerschmitt up your arse.”
Notwithstanding this old truism, there was still a fair bit on the line when Jamie Smith strode out to middle at 11.12am here on the third morning. Joe Root had been uncharacteristically strangled down leg, Ben Stokes had been blown away by a brutish first ball and Mohammed Siraj, a fiery fast bowler known to get on a roll, was eyeing up a hat-trick. Oh, and England were 84 for five, 503 runs behind India’s first innings.”
Ease yourself into Saturday morning with Mr Andy Bull:
The field was set, the slips were waiting, the crowd was up. There was, everyone watching felt sure, only one way the game was heading. The ball was a good one, on a length just outside off and moving in towards middle. Smith took a half-step forwards and, crack, thumped it back down the ground for four.
Everyone else in this England team had to unlearn a lot of what they had been taught to begin to bat like this. But not Smith. He and Harry Brook are hothouse kids.”
Preamble
James Wallace
Here’s something I wrote earlier:
“A draw is like kissing your sister,” Edward J Erdelatz said to the New York Times in 1954. Erdelatz was the United States Navy’s head football coach and his side had just drawn 0-0 against Duke University. “No one asked the mild spoken navy coach to explain,” the report adds. Well, quite. But sister or not, everyone knew what he meant.
Erdelatz’s unique take on the merits or otherwise of not winning are ingrained in American sports where a Lombardian win-at-all-costs mentality prevails. Try explaining Test cricket to an American sports fan, they say, with a wry chuckle – the fact that two teams can battle it out for five full days and in the end, there is not necessarily a winner. Good luck, they smirk. Adelaide 1961? You may as well be describing the plot of Christopher Nolan’s Memento to a toddler. Old Trafford 2005? More chance of a cider-addled bee getting to grips with quantum theory. They do not get it, be gone with your quaint English ways, five days and no winner. That’s crazy, man.
Yet draws are intrinsic to Test cricket, they are written in its DNA – a double helix in the shape of a deadlock. Draws speak to its beguiling and maddening qualities, a testament to the game’s downright peculiarity. That a side can battle back from a point of seemingly no return to pull off the heist of shared spoils, drop anchor, defy logic, battle against their opponents’ desire, their own self-belief, against conditions under their feet and above their heads, against time itself. This makes the game what it is, why it is called what it is called. Even when you are on top, it is still really hard to finish a side off and win a Test match.”
At what point in this game do you think Ben Stokes might decide to pucker up and play for the draw? Or will he laugh in the face of such outdated thinking? Preferring his side to go down in a blaze of wickets rather than entertain not entertaining and batting out to share the spoils?
England are playing a more nuanced version of Bazball but whether they still have the stomach to suck up a draw remains to be seen. India are currently 64 for one and hold a lead of 244. India captain Shubman Gill knows all too well that England will try and chase whatever they are set, at least initially, and 371 wasn’t enough last week in Headingley. Harry Brook and Jamie Smith’s barnstormingly epic three hundred run partnership showed the path of one possible outcome just as England’s quacking and creaking batting card containing six ducks showed the other.
Of one thing we can be sure, it’ll be unmissable viewing on day four at Edgbaston.
Play gets underway at 11am and I’m very much here for your thoughts and theories on where this second Test match might be headed.
Three disallowed All Blacks tries, relentless French defence, and TMO interventions throughout all combined to continue the special rivalry between the two sides before New Zealand achieved its 500th Test victory in the first Lipovitan-D series clash in Dunedin on Saturday.
The unfancied French belied all the controversy surrounding their selection for the tour with a gutsy display that was not quelled until the final moments of the game.
It was a reminder that the French in the mood can cause problems for any All Blacks side, and they took advantage of the home side’s first Test of the year to unsettle their chances of making combinations. And they gave the All Blacks a reminder of their need for better execution in the air.
There was satisfaction in the introduction of new players, with lock Fabian Holland making his mark as the All Blacks dominated the lineouts 19-5. No8 Christian Lio-Willie made some powerful runs with ball in hand, while prop Ollie Norris and flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi got a taste of how torrid Test matches can be during the final quarter especially.
France had their heroes with fullback Theo Attissogbe who under pressure, especially from the All Blacks kicking, pulled off some remarkable saves that contributed to the effectiveness of the French defence, who made 224 tackles to 121 by the All Blacks, while captain and second five-eighths Gael Fickou was a constant presence in the backline.
There was disappointment for the All Blacks 15 minutes into the game when they appeared to have scored after a break by halfback Cameron Roigard and a link with second five-eighths Jordie Barrett, who crossed. But the TMO ruled the ball had been knocked on earlier when prop Fraser Newell appeared to have completed a catch.
From the scrum, France moved the ball when Attissogbe made ground on the outside before the ball was moved inside to centre Emilien Gailleton and Fickou, who went close to scoring before No8 Mickael Guillard picked it up to cross in the 17th minute.
The response was immediate. In attempting to clear their line from the restart, French halfback Nolann Le Garrec had his kick charged down by lock Scott Barrett. The ball was moved to the left before it came back right, where Beauden Barrett threw a long ball to Will Jordan on the wing, and he crossed for his 39th try.
He was moved to the wing after Sevu Reece failed an HIA after a first-minute head knock when attempting a tackle.
The All Blacks got back into the French 22m area and built pressure before the ball emerged for replacement Damian McKenzie, who tap-danced his way through five tackles and, while finally put down, quick ball was moved by Roigard to flanker Tupou Vaa’i, who scored under the crossbar.
Capping their improved second quarter, the All Blacks made the most of some burrowing, bullocking running by flanker Ardie Savea, who gave the attack momentum. The ball was released, and while the French defence affected the fluidity, the combination of Beauden Barrett and Jordan got the ball to Jordie Barrett, who had to take a low pass and work his way around a tackle attempt to ground the ball in the corner for a 21-13 lead at the break.
A mistake at the restart by the All Blacks gave France a sniff, which they took, with Fickou taking the ball to the line before it was released to wing Gabil Villiere to score to get France back within a point.
However, the All Blacks burst back after Roigard broke to the line to create a 46th-minute chance, which saw Beauden Barrett feed the ball to Jordan running from depth to break through two tackles to score his second.
The French struck back when they made five changes for immediate effect, with Jacobus van Tonder breaking into space and only being pulled down by Roigard’s chasing tackle. However, in the goalmouth assault, it was fellow replacement Cameron Woki who scored.
After Villiere was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, the All Blacks looked to have scored when Billy Proctor touched down, but a knock-on was ruled and the try scrubbed.
However, within five minutes, the pain increased when the obstruction was ruled against Pasilio Tosi, which resulted in a third try being denied to Jordan.
The win broke the run of three consecutive losses to France, while their 500th win lifted their overall Test percentage success rate of 76.80
Scorers: New Zealand 31 ( Will Jordan 2, Tupou Vaa’i, Jordie Barrett tries; Beauden Barrett 4 con, pen) France 27 (Michael Guillard, Gabil Villiere, Cameron Woki tries; Joris Segonds pen; Nolann Le Garrec 3 con, pen). HT: 21-13
