Sports
Matthew Potts bags three as England blitz New Zealand on opening morning
NEW ZEALAND TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2022
England ran rampant on the first morning of the Test summer at Lord’s, as the new captain-coach combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum enjoyed the perfect start in their efforts to resurrect the team’s fortunes. Four New Zealand wickets fell inside the first hour and six before lunch, as Kane Williamson’s decision to bat first quickly rebounded on the touring side.
If England began in Stokes’ words with a “blank canvas” at Lord’s, they soon daubing pretty pictures for an expectant crowd – and such a rousing start might help squeeze a few more in through the gates in the days to come. James Anderson and Stuart Broad, back in harness with the new ball after being dropped for the tour to the Caribbean, claimed three early wickets before Matthew Potts, the Durham debutant, struck with his fifth ball and added two more for good measure during an impressive first spell in Test cricket.
Only two of New Zealand’s top six made it into double-figures, a grim sequence which included Williamson making 2 from 22 balls before edging behind off Potts, Ben Foakes swooping to his right for his maiden dismissal behind the stumps on home soil. Daryl Mitchell struck three retaliatory boundaries through the leg side, only to play on in Potts’ fifth over and the new boy had a third shortly before lunch when bringing one back up the slope to clatter Tom Blundell’s off stump.
In true McCullum style, England charged headlong into their new era – literally, in the case of Jack Leach, who suffered a concussion when throwing himself full length over the boundary rope to prevent four and had to be substituted from the game. Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, was called in as Leach’s replacement for an unexpected Test debut and was set to join the match later on Thursday.
For all the buzz around a fresh approach to Test cricket, it was the familiar sight of Anderson and Broad taking the new ball that greeted the New Zealand openers, Tom Latham and Will Young. Stokes confirmed that he too would have opted to bat had he won the toss, but was able to settle straight into his new role orchestrating proceedings from mid-off.
It took Anderson, playing his first Test since helping to secure a draw at the SCG in January, a mere seven balls to find his groove once again. Young was lured into pushing outside off but might have got away with a fast, low edge had it not been for a fantastic one-handed catch from Jonny Bairstow, throwing himself to his left from third slip. Anderson bagged the wicket of Latham in his next over, with Bairstow again the catcher – this time throwing himself for the rebound after dropping the initial, chest-high chance.
Broad did not have to wait long to get amongst it either, luring Devon Conway into a hard-handed prod that again provided catching practice for in the slips Bairstow, leaving New Zealand deep in trouble at 7 for 3 in the eighth over.
There woes were deepened by the impact of Potts, handed his cap before play by Steven Harmison after being backed by Stokes, another Durham and England man, for his debut. Potts had never played a first-class match before at Lord’s, but walked off at lunch with figures of 3 for 8 after living up to his billing as a deck-hitting catalyst of a fast bowler.
He was on the money from the outset and his first victim could scarcely have been more illustrious, as Williamson was drawn into pushing at one in the channel. Mitchell had looked more comfortable than most of his colleagues, but was undone by some extra bounce as he looked to defend from the crease, and although Blundell survived after being given out lbw – Michael Gough’s decision overturned by the detection of an inside edge – Potts got his man in the following over, his relentless line leaving New Zealand’s wicketkeeper uncertain of his response and fatally late on an in-ducker.
There was nearly a fourth for Potts, following a tribute to Shane Warne with the interval looming, as Colin de Grandhomme was hit on the front pad. This time DRS sided with Gough’s not-out decision, with confirmation of an inside edge – despite suggestions the ball might have brushed the pad first.
Brief scores
at Lunch
New Zealand
39/6 (Matthew Potts 3-8, James Aderson 2-5) vs England
(Cricinfo)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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