More Test cricket this week. England easily defeated India at Headingley by having another almost perfect day on Day 4 to bowl out India for 278, 76 runs short of the total they needed to force a second innings by England. Ollie Robinson’s 5-fer was aided by Craig Overton getting two of his three wickets against the tail. The teams have moved to the Oval for the 4th Test. It was another fine Day 1 for the home team, with India, put in to bat by Joe Root, getting off to a 39-3 start before Virat Kohli’s 50 righted the ship somewhat. After Kohli departed exactly at 50, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant only added 23 runs before Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav stuck around for a partnership of 63. Thakur, Yadav, and then Jasprit Bumrah all toppled over quickly to end India’s innings at 191. England lost three early wickets, including Root’s when he failed to play a Yadav cross-seamer that shockingly, to Root, anyway, took off the bails. Dawid Malan and Craig Overton were in the middle as the day ended with England at 53-3. Today, India have gotten those two out but England has battled back with Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow eclipsing 50 together and still going.
The CPL has had a few memorable performances in the early going. Andre Russell hit a 14-ball 50 against St. Lucia and there was a super over between Trinbago and Guyana won by Guyana even though they faced only 5 balls in their end of the super over. Maybe they thought it was The Hundred? Guyana’s Romario Shepherd was able to defend a Guyana total of 6 in the extra frame. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, playing all home games at Basseterre in this year’s CPL because of COVID, are 5-0 to top the table. They won a dramatic fifth straight game last night, against Barbados Royals, on a Sheldon Cottrell six when they needed three off the last ball and were down 8 wickets.
The County Championship resumed on Monday. The opening game of the Group 1 race to the title was a disaster for Somerset, who were obliterated by Notts by an innings and 160 runs. Warks and Lancs and Yorkshire and Hampshire played to draws, giving Notts a huge boost in the 3-game competition, which resumes on Sunday.
The playoffs for the Charlotte Edwards Cup are set. South East Stars won against Central Sparks to capture the overall points lead and a spot in the finals. They were paced by Emma Jones’ 47 off 26 balls and a Danielle Gregory 3-fer. Northern Diamonds will face Southern Vipers to determine who faces Stars in the final. Diamonds had a quick chase over Thunder, eclipsing Thunder’s 90 in the 13th over, mostly due to Bess Heath’s 58*. Vipers needed some help from Lightning’s Grace Ballinger, whose crucial no ball in the 20th over led to a final delivery single by Vipers’ Paige Scholfield for the victory. The eliminator is today and the final is Saturday.
There were a couple of great finishes in Minor League Cricket last weekend. St. Louis Americans came out of nowhere to upset the table-leading Houston Hurricanes, winning on a last-ball tracer bullet 4 from Abe Pienaar off his fellow South African countryman Willem Ludick. In Virginia, the Philadelphians were even further out of it against Manhattan Yorkers. Jonathan Foo and Chris Patandin needed 24 runs off the last two overs, and got 9 runs in the 19th over, leaving a difficult 15 remaining. Foo took the strike and started with two straight sixes, then passed up two possible singles in a row to leave the deficit at 3 with 2 balls left. Foo then blasted his third six of the over off Gajanand Singh and took off running for the comms box, where he knocked over the streaming camera and almost tackled the commentators. https://youtu.be/yrhuipJIMJg (scroll to the last few minutes).
The England women knocked off the visiting New Zealand women by 46 runs at Chelmsford in the first of three T20Is that will be followed by five ODIs. Tammy Beaumont’s 97, although agonizingly close to a century, was plenty for England. Every England bowler got at least one wicket in the NZ chase, which ended in the 19th over. The next game will be tomorrow at County Ground, Hove.
West Indies and South African women have started a series in Antigua where they will also play 3 T20Is/5 ODIs. The first match was abandoned due to rain after South Africa batted first and put up a decent but possibly below par 135/3. The 2nd match was all South Africa. They batted first, reaching a score of 165/3. Laura Woolvardt wrapped up the innings with four consecutive sixes, becoming the first woman to ever perform that feat in a T20I. Marizanne Kapp continued her mastery with three wickets in the 50-run win. Lizelle Lee top-scored for South Africa with 75.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier was won by Scotland, who were undefeated. They and the runner’s up, Ireland, advance to the next stage.
