England Summer 2021

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New Zealand 229 for 3 (Conway 80, Young 82, Taylor 46*, Broad 2-22) trail England 303 (Lawrence 81*, Burns 81, Boult 4-85) by 74 runs
New Zealand boasted an embarrassment of riches for a second day running as Devon Conway and Will Young frustrated England's bowlers and moved to within 74 runs of England's first-innings total with seven wickets in hand at Edgbaston.
Conway, who cemented his place in the side with 200 on debut in the series opener at Lord's, produced another valuable, though not chance-less, innings of 80. And, while he would have been disappointed not to press on to triple figures again, a gutsy 82 from Young - in the side as a replacement for injured captain Kane Williamson - mitigated the damage.
Stuart Broad bowled superbly for his 2 for 22 from 15 overs, including six maidens, but he was the only England bowler to reap any reward for his considerable efforts - until Young's dismissal by part-time off-spinner Dan Lawrence on the last ball of the day.
England had resumed on 258 for 7 with Lawrence on 67 and Mark Wood 16. Wood provided serious entertainment as he pushed his score up to 41. He hit Trent Boult for three fours in six balls across two overs followed by back-to-back boundaries off Matt Henry as he punished New Zealand's persistence with short-pitched bowling.
Wood eventually fell, bowled by a Henry outswinger which found an inside edge onto the stumps.
Lawrence remained not out 81 to share top-scoring honours for England with Rory Burns, while Boult polished off Broad and James Anderson to end as New Zealand's leading wicket-taker with 4 for 85.
When Broad had Tom Latham, New Zealand's stand-in captain, out lbw in the sixth over of the innings, the visitors were 15 for 2.
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Mark Wood and Dan Lawrence added vital runs for England PA Photos/Getty Images
Young ground out eight runs from 45 balls to begin with before settling into his stride, unfurling a beautiful on-drive to the rope off Olly Stone and then lacing another past third slip. In Stone's next over, Young jabbed another four through point, his feet leaving the ground as he latched onto a short ball.
Having survived on seven when Joe Root juggled and dropped a standard-looking slips catch off Stone's bowling, Young brought up his maiden Test fifty with a single off Anderson's late-moving inswinger.
Conway had earlier done well to make it back to his crease when Latham struck a Broad delivery straight back down the pitch and the bowler, following through, managed to get his fingers to it before it crashed into the stumps at the non-striker's end. Conway, who was advancing, tracked the ball like a hawk and managed to turn and stretch his bat back to safety.
That was positively skilful, whereas his next nervous moment - on 22 - fell more in the lap of fortune. Having edged Broad towards Zak Crawley at third slip, the soft signal given on the field was not-out, suggesting the ball had touched the ground first. Broad was incensed but, upon review, there was enough doubt for the decision to stand - and spark debate over the existence of the soft signal.
Conway and Young put on 122 runs together before Conway holed out to Crawley at deep backward square leg, giving Broad his second wicket, having conceded just 18 runs to that point midway through his 12th over. Conway's scores of 200, 23 and 80 meant he had scored more runs in his first three Test innings than any other New Zealand batter.

Broad gave Ross Taylor a thorough examination, beating the bat on numerous occasions while Anderson provided excellent support from the other end. It was Anderson who had Taylor given out lbw shortly after Broad had wrapped up his spell but the decision was overturned on review, which showed the ball was missing leg stump by a distance.
Taylor managed to grit his way towards a half-century and was 46 not out at stumps when part-time off-spinner Lawrence finally broke through in the last over of the day. Lawrence ended Young's knock with his ninth ball, finding an inside edge onto the pad, which Ollie Pope swallowed diving forward at short leg.
Young was playing just his third Test - he earned both his previous caps in the home series against West Indies in December - and had scored two centuries in three innings for Durham in the County Championship in the lead-up to this match, earning his place among six changes to the New Zealand side which drew at Lord's. Based on his performance at Edgbaston, he gave selectors plenty to think about going forward.

[Admin]

Pitiful performance against New Zealand reserves although Matt Henry was more than a handful when playing for Kent and always rated Wagner gives 100% at all times. Meanwhile Buttler playing 20/20

England 303 and 122 for 9 (Wood 29, Wagner 3-18, Henry 3-36) lead New Zealand 388 (Young 82, Conway 80, Taylor 80, Broad 4-48) by 37 runs
A devastating opening spell from Matt Henry backed up by Neil Wagner and later Ajaz Patel snuffed out England's hopes on the third day of the second Test at Edgbaston.
England were left reeling at 3 for 30 as Henry tore through their top order either side of tea and by the close, they were nine down and just 37 runs ahead. Their fragile middle order was exposed once more and New Zealand were on the cusp of victory - although not enough to take the extra half-hour at the end of the day to try and finish it off.
Having resumed on 229 for 3, still 74 runs behind, New Zealand lost their remaining seven wickets for 96 runs, but that wasn't quickly enough for England, who collapsed to 76 for 7 still nine runs adrift, only clawing their way ahead via an eighth-wicket partnership between Mark Wood and Olly Stone.
Bearing in mind that New Zealand were resting spearheads Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson ahead of next week's WTC final, a theme that had developed surrounding the tourists' incredible depth became outright dominance as England had no answers.
Ross Taylor batted with greater fluency than on the previous day, pushing his overnight score on from 46 via a series of boundaries, including a deft sweep off Dan Lawrence to bring up his fifty. He then hit back-to-back fours off James Anderson through the point region, with the second looking more intentional than the first.
Taylor was dropped on 68 hooking to long leg, where Sam Billings grassed the chance but he was eventually out nicking Stone through to wicketkeeper James Bracey for 80, the third New Zealand batter and fifth overall this match to be dismissed in the 80s.
Bracey, the England wicketkeeper playing his second Test, had a moment to forget a short time later when he dropped Tom Blundell off Stone with the batter yet to score.
Wood was bowling with sharp pace for reward as Blundell and Henry Nicholls withstood the pressure. But that was only until Nicholls was struck on the helmet attempting to pull a rapid bumper. No sooner had he been given the all-clear to continue, Nicholls gloved Wood's next delivery down the leg side and Bracey held on.
Anderson had toiled for 24.2 overs before taking his first wicket of the match, bowling Wagner for a duck and, when Wood had Henry out lbw, New Zealand's lead was just 50 with only two wickets in hand.

Stuart Broad mopped those up, including the wicket of Blundell, caught by Joe Root, who let out an almighty shout directly at the ball after he held on at slip, having dropped one the previous day off Stone that would have dismissed top-scorer Will Young on seven. Broad remained the pick of England's bowlers with 4 for 48 from 23.1 overs.
But the lead was 85 by that point and, when Henry had Rory Burns out for a second-ball duck, attempting to drive and edging to Tom Latham at second slip, the danger signs were there. Burns had been England's in-form batsman this series and it would fall to someone else this time. As it turned out, not even Root could come to the rescue.
Henry had Dom Sibley caught by Daryl Mitchell at third slip shortly before tea and, after the break, Zak Crawley's lean run continued when he fell lbw to Henry for 17 Ollie Pope rattled along to 23 off just 20 balls but he was struck on the knee roll by a Wagner inswinger and sent on his way with England still 27 behind.
Lawrence, who has impressed among the relative newcomers to this England side with a fifty on debut in Sri Lanka in January, scores of 46 and 50 against India in Ahmedabad and an unbeaten 81 in the first innings of this Test, was Wagner's second scalp, caught behind without scoring.
Bracey, out for a duck on debut at Lord's and again in the first innings here, managed a wry smile as the Edgbaston crowd roared when he got off the mark and they were equally enthusiastic when he pulled Trent Boult through midwicket for four.
His relief was brief, though, when Patel was re-introduced into the attack and struck with his third ball when Bracey moved across his stumps and ended up pressing the ball into middle with his glove.
Where there was Root there was hope, even if he had faced 54 balls to reach double figures. But his attempted cut off Patel produced only a top-edge through to Blundell.
What remained for home fans was another entertaining knock from Wood, who had put on a show on the second morning to reach 41 with some big hitting. This evening he took England into a five-run lead with a slog-sweep off Patel for six over deep midwicket. Two fours off as many balls in Patel's next over brought up England's hundred but they were seven wickets down and only 15 ahead.
Wood's partnership with Stone was worth 44 before Wood skied a Wagner short ball almost directly above his own head and Blundell had aeons to set himself beneath it, gloves at the ready.
Boult rearranged Broad's stumps in the last over of the evening, but Anderson survived the remaining four balls to ensure the match would see a fourth day.

[lancsdes]

Wagner has really surprised me. Never doubted his effort but in the games I saw, it was mainly bone headed effort with bouncers. Totally proved me wrong ; he is top quality as his figures prove.

Bracey's poor start hasn't surprised me . Saw a couple of his big innings earlier this year on streaming ; didn't look anything other than in in form county player to me; nothing to suggest the level above. Suspect there is still an element of the press picking England teams even now in the way Blofeld used to advance the cause of the likes of Mark Illott.

Anyway, hope Bracey proves me wrong . I love to see good cricket from any player so it's great when the likes of Tom Bailey and Neil. Wagner prove me wrong. Even better of course when you spot someone and are proved correct.

[Admin]

New Zealand 388 (Young 82, Conway 80, Taylor 80, Broad 4-48) and 41 for 2 (Latham 23*) beat England 303 (Lawrence 81*, Burns 81, Boult 4-85) and 122 (Wood 29, Wagner 3-18, Henry 3-36) by eight wickets
The first ball said it all, really. Trent Boult sent it down with a scrambled seam, it found the edge and Tom Blundell's waiting gloves leaving Olly Stone, England's last man out, visibly exhaling in deflated resignation to his side's fate. And the Edgbaston clock hadn't even ticked over to 11am on the fourth day yet.
The man at the other end, James Anderson, was into the changing room and straight back out again, producing a maiden first up. He wasn't going down without a fight, even with a target of 38 to defend.
Nor was his old mate, Stuart Broad, who struck with the last ball of the following over when he removed Devon Conway, the man who had racked up 306 runs at 76.50 this series in the only two Tests of his career. Broad enticed Conway to nibble at one that pitched outside off and found an edge which James Bracey took behind the stumps.
With the visitors only needing 32 more for victory, it was all a bit of a moot point but England could rely on their two elder statesmen, who had bowled so well against stiff opposition in this match and who are consummate professionals, to keep competing to the last.
And they did, doing their best to make scoring slow-going for New Zealand but the tourists had all the time in the world, a tiny target and wickets in hand - everything - on their side.
It was England's batters who had let them down, the second-innings capitulation for 122 could have been worse. They were 76 for 7 before an eighth-wicket stand worth 44 between Stone and Wood (who top-scored with 29).
Stone came into the attack in the 10th over of the morning and struck with his sixth ball. Having had a wider delivery punished to the fence by Will Young two balls prior, he had Young out chopping onto his stumps with just five runs needed.
Stand-in captain Tom Latham sealed the result in the next over with a four clubbed through square leg off Wood followed by another two balls later, guided through third man. It was New Zealand's first Test series win in England since 1999, moving them back to the top of the ICC rankings as a consequence, and consigned England to their first home Test series defeat since 2014.


England's batters from No. 3 to No. 7 scored just 59 runs between them in the second innings while in the first Dan Lawrence - with an unbeaten 81 - scored more than three times as many runs as the other four middle-order batters combined.
The difference was that openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley were dismissed for single figures in the second innings - Burns, England's leading run-scorer for the series with 238 at 59.50, fell for a duck - exposing England's middle-order frailties before tea on the third afternoon.
England's fielding had been ragged too, with at least three missed opportunities on the third day on top of Zak Crawley's low chance that didn't go their way on the second, a moment that sparked more controversy over the on-field umpires' soft-signal option.
It all left England needing with huge selection concerns ahead of the August Test series against India, even allowing for the return of such shoo-ins as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in that middle-order. It also left New Zealand with selection headaches of a different kind.
Matt Henry's devastating opening spell to remove England's top three either side of tea on the third day cracked this game wide open and gave him six wickets for the match for Player of the Match honours.

But Henry was among six changes made to the side who drew the first Test at Lord's. Along with Neil Wagner, who took seven wickets across the two matches this series including 3 for 18 in England's second innings at Edgbaston, he is among a host of New Zealand seamers jostling for a place in next week's WTC final against India.
Of the top three contenders, Trent Boult took six wickets for the match at Edgbaston upon his return from post-IPL quarantine while Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson were rested.
Will Young, who came into the side while Kane Williamson nursed a sore elbow, acquitted himself well with a top-score of 82 but may have to bide his time, especially given Ross Taylor's doughty 80 in the same innings. One thing looks assured though, given New Zealand's bench strength and dominance in this series, they should pose formidable opposition for a long time to come.

[Admin]

20/20 series starts tonight against Sri Lanka can hardly contain myself !!!!!!!!!

[chris]

Jun 23, 2021 12:32:12 GMT Admin said:

20/20 series starts tonight against Sri Lanka can hardly contain myself !!!!!!!!!

1/9 off two overs for the ex Lancashire captain.  Although Roy doing his best to make sure that bowling will be all that Livi has to contribute.

[Admin]

England 130 for 2 (Buttler 68*, Roy 36) beat Sri Lanka 129 for 7 (Shanaka 50, Rashid 2-17) by eight wickets
England have taken a one-nil lead in the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a comfortable eight-wicket victory in Cardiff achieved with 17 deliveries to spare.
A much-changed Sri Lanka side - there were six alterations from their previous T20I in March - never really got to grips with the variation and control of the England attack or a slightly sluggish surface that rendered strokeplay tricky. At one stage they went 10 overs (from 4.2 to 14.1) without hitting a four and there were just three sixes in their innings.
Eoin Morgan, the England captain, appeared to have an almost endless array of options and variations on hand in the field. And with Adil Rashid producing the third most economical four-over spell of his T20I career (he conceded 17) and Chris Woakes (three overs for 14) and Liam Livingstone (two overs for nine) adding equally miserly support in conceding just one boundary between them, Sri Lanka never looked to be on course for a competitive total.
While Dasun Shanaka, with his second T20I half-century, helped Sri Lanka plunder 25 off the final two overs of the innings to drag his side to something approaching respectability, only one of his colleagues, Kusal Perera, made 20 and Sri Lanka only took their run-rate above a run-a-ball in their penultimate over.
That left England chasing a modest 130 for victory. And even without the injured Ben Stokes, that was unlikely to test the side ranked No. 1 in the world in this format

Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, took 61 from the powerplay to all but end the game as a contest. If Buttler, timing the ball beautifully both through and over the off side, was the more pleasing on the eye, Roy was no less effective as he thrashed through the leg side. It was some surprise when he was brilliantly caught attempting to flay one over mid-off.
By then, though, the openers had added 80 from 55 balls. And while Dawid Malan (seven off 14) was unable to get into his stride, Buttler brought up a 38-ball half-century by taking 10 off two deliveries from Akila Dananjaya - a pulled six followed by a drive for four - and ensured England cruised over the victory line with quite a bit to spare.
Perhaps the one-side nature of the contest was no big surprise: this was the No. 1 ranked T20 side playing at home against the No. 8 ranked side, after all. Spare a thought for Sri Lanka, though. In the age of Covid, we have become accustomed to teams performing without the warm-up matches and acclimatisation we once expected. Here, though, Sri Lanka were up against a side who are in the middle of their domestic T20 tournament - the Vitality Blast - and had only had a couple of inter-squad matches to prepare by comparison. It was hardly ideal and it may well have shown.

Buttler came into this game having spent the last couple of weeks batting in Lancashire's middle-order in T20 cricket. And with the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes also vying for the opening position in this format, he may have felt he had something to prove. If so, he did a fine job of making his point with an innings that was both controlled and brutal. Early on, it was his shots through the off-side - a lofted drive and a back foot punch, in particular - that caught the eye, but as the ball softened and the sluggish pitch made such strokes less productive, he produced some powerful thumps through the leg side. He gave only one chance, from the final ball of the match, when an outside edge was dropped by Kusal Perera. It was Buttler's second T20I half-century in succession and his third in four innings. For a man who scores at his rates, that is a remarkable level of consistency. He also scored a century in his final IPL innings.

Shanaka recorded the second half-century of his T20I career to justify his recall to the Sri Lanka side. Shanaka hadn't played an international match in this format since March 2020 but here, coming in with his side in some trouble (they were 52 for 4 in the ninth over), he provided the resistance. He looked hurried by Mark Wood initially - he was beaten by his first three deliveries and, after 16 balls, had scored just nine - but, as he settled, he unveiled some powerful strokes and accelerated nicely in hitting 23 from the eight deliveries before his dismissal from the final ball of the innings. Twice in succession, Wood was punished for some width by being cut to the boundary, while he also hit two-thirds of the sixes of the innings: a ferocious drive over long-on off Chris Jordan and a pull off Sam Curran. None of it was enough to take Sri Lanka to victory but he did, at least, give his bowlers something to defend.

Some were surprised by England's decision to prefer Livingstone to Moeen Ali as their spin-bowling allrounder. But Livingstone's ability to bowl both leg and offspin does give him an edge in being able to adapt to left or right-handed batters. He has been in decent form with the bat in domestic T20 cricket, too, scoring an unbeaten 94 a couple of weeks ago and 45 and 65 in his two most recent games. He didn't have a chance to bat here but impressed with the ball in delivering two well-controlled overs containing both offbreaks and leggies and without conceding a boundary. It was a performance that provided his captain with a buffer should any of his frontline bowlers have an off day and must have done Livingstone's T20 World Cup chances no harm at all.
Hope in Hasaranga

Sri Lanka's bowlers weren't given much of a chance by their batters. But at least Wanindu Hasaranga gave Sri Lanka supporters some cheer with a really well controlled spell of leg-spin that saw him concede just 12 runs and deliver 14 dot balls. With just a little luck he could have had a couple of wickets, too, as England's batters struggled to predict which deliveries would turn and which would skid on. Malan missed one which slid past his outside edge and Bairstow came within an ace of playing on to another which hurried on to him. The impression was that, given a decent target to defend, he could have caused England quite a lot of trouble.

The last time Chris Woakes played a T20I, Barack Obama was president of the USA and David Cameron was prime minister in the UK. So a lot has changed since November 2015. But with Jofra Archer missing and Woakes having enjoyed a decent IPL, England recalled him for his first international game since September; a remarkably long time for a player with a central contract who spent much of the winter in the squad's bio-bubbles. While Woakes didn't take a wicket, he more than justified his recall in conceding just one boundary in three frugal overs which contained 11 dot balls and cost only 14. With his control, his variations and his experience, he may well have put himself back in contention for a place in the T20 World Cup squad.


They liked it so much they are playing them again tonight

[Admin]

England 108 for 5 (Livingstone 29*) beat Sri Lanka 111 for 7 (Mendis 39, Wood 2-18) by five wickets (DLS method)
Sri Lanka's batting was not good. That much is clear, right? In fact, we're being diplomatic. It was awful. England's bowling was decent, and the pitch was not exactly a flatbed, and yet, even despite all that, 111 for 7 was still a pathetic total. One that was always going to be run down, even if Sri Lanka had a good first seven overs with the ball.
Sri Lanka's batsmen repeatedly struggled for timing. Imagine a T20 innings in which only two players hit boundaries. Only Kusal Mendis (who hit a run-a-ball 39) and Isuru Udana (who made 19 not out off 14), found the rope - four fours and two sixes between them.
England stuttered early in their response, slipping to 36 for 4 in the seventh over, but they bat so deep that their victory never really seemed at risk. Liam Livingstone and Sam Billings put on 54 off 48 balls for the fifth wicket, and essentially made the game safe for the hosts.

As Sri Lanka had made a poor score in the first T20I, and given their reliance on their top four, the Powerplay was always going to be a good indication of how this game was going to go. Once again, the visitors failed, this time, almost embarrassingly. First, Danushka Gunathilaka was run out attemping a quick single - Sam Curran booting the ball into the stumps like a babier-faced David Beckham to find the batsman short of his ground.
In Curran's next over, Avishka Fernando attempted to hook the bowler but holed out to deep square leg - the fielder having to run in several metres to complete the catch. Kusal Perera and Mendis attempted desperately to hit boundaries after that, trying to make something of the Powerplay overs. But their timing was woeful. And Sri Lanka were 26 for 2 after six overs.
The Mark Wood Express
On a surface offering pace and carry, Mark Wood was quick and menacing. In his first over he was already into the high 140s kph/90mph range, and troubled Mendis, whose outside edge he beat. In later overs, he cranked it up to 150kph/93mph, and in the 14th over of the innings, he dismissed Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella off successive balls - the first off a big top edge that wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow settled under, and the second off a leading edge that went to cover. He finished with figures of 2 for 18 from his four overs.


Sri Lanka had an excellent first seven overs with the ball too. In fact, at one point in the seventh over, the visitors had England 36 for 4 - Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Isuru Udana and Wanindu Hasaranga all having struck once apiece.
But so modest was the required rate that Billings and Livingstone had the luxury of building steadily. They were watchful initially, only hitting out against the truly bad balls. As rain began to fall over Cardiff, they collected safe runs into the outfield to get England ahead of the DLS par score.
The rain caused a long delay, cutting their innings short by two overs, but the target never seemed daunting. They cruised towards it - Livingstone remaining not out on 29 off 26 as Curran hit the winning runs after Billings became a second wicket for Hasaranga.

[Admin]

England 180 for 6 (Malan 76, Bairstow 51, Chameera 4-17) beat Sri Lanka 91 (Binura 20, Willey 3-27, Curran 2-14) by 89 runs
England completed a 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka in the T20I series with a crushing 89-run victory at the Ageas Bowl. It was the fourth-largest victory margin in terms of runs England have achieved in the format.
Despite the loss of both regular openers to injury, England posted a century stand for the first wicket to grasp a firm hold on the match which they were never to relinquish. Dawid Malan was named Player of the Match for a fluent innings of 76 that belied the slow nature of the pitch. Jonny Bairstow made 51. Nobody in the rest of the match passed 20.
England lost their way a little towards the end of their innings. An excellent spell of death bowling from Dushmantha Chameera, a bright spot amid the rubble of a bitterly disappointing Sri Lanka performance, saw England lose five wickets for 19 runs between the 16th and 19th overs. Chameera finished with career-best figures of 4 for 17.
Chris Jordan, however, helped England plunder 17 from the final over of the innings to take them to a total that was always likely to prove beyond the reach of a side that had failed to reach 130 in either of the first two games in the series.
So it proved as England's seamers, gaining a degree of lateral movement that is unusual with the white kookaburra ball, combined to bowl Sri Lanka out for just 91. It was the fourth lowest score Sri Lanka have made from a completed T20I innings.
Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Chris Jordan took 4 for 36 from their 12 overs combined, while David Willey picked up three wickets.
With Jason Roy suffering from a tight hamstring, Moeen Ali was recalled to the T20I side for the first time since September 2020. But he was consigned to a peripheral role by the dominance of England's opening batters and the excellence of their seamers.
Sri Lanka also made a couple of changes. But Oshada Fernando, who took 27 balls over his 19 runs and seemed preoccupied with trying to hit almost everything through the leg side, underwhelmed and Lakshan Sandakan was unable to make any inroads with his left-arm leg-spin. Avishka Fernando was absent through injury.
Given that England went into this series without two first-choice players (in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer) and lost Jos Buttler to a calf injury along the way, this result would seem to confirm their place among the favourites for the T20 World Cup in a few months. It is harder to find room for optimism for a Sri Lanka side that succumbed to their first clean-sweep defeat in any limited-overs series (of at least three matches) against England.

With Jos Buttler (calf) and Jason Roy (hamstring) absent through injury, England went into this game without either of their first-choice T20 openers. But such is their strength in depth in top-order limited-overs batting at present that Malan and Bairstow were still able to provide the perfect platform for them.
Malan, who has been batting at No. 3 of late, and Bairstow, who has been at No. 4, put on 105 for the first wicket in 11.4 overs. After taking a couple of overs to size up the bowling and the conditions, they attacked with calm precision to define the rest of the game. Their stand was 14 more than the entire Sri Lanka side managed.
It was England's first century opening stand against Sri Lanka in this format of the game and their fifth in total. Underlining that strength in depth is the observation that Alex Hales, another man who is currently deemed surplus to requirements, was involved in three of those five century stands and was busy scoring a century for Nottinghamshire while this game was being played. Realistically, Malan and Bairstow are likely to be shunted back down the order when Buttler and Roy return.

This has been, in many ways, a chastening series for Sri Lanka. But the performance of Dushmantha Chameera, at least, has been encouraging. With his pace, control and variations, Chameera challenged the batters in each game. Over the series, he had an impressive economy rate of 6.26 per over.
In the third T20I, he intially impressed with the new ball. He conceded just three from the first over of the match, demonstrating an ability to gain a little movement and a sharp short ball. But it was when he returned towards the death that he excelled: mixing his quicker deliveries - he can exceed 140kph - with some well-directed slower balls, he took four wickets for six runs in those two overs and dragged back a runaway England.
If we had been told, a few years ago, that slow wide balls were the future, it would no doubt have been a surprise. But Malan, Sam Billings and Moeen Ali all spooned catches having been deceived by Chameera's slower delivery which is often wide enough that it entices batters to reach for it. So, in a disappointing series for Sri Lanka, Chameera emerged a man around whom they can build a T20 attack.
Malan makes a statement
He batted both beautifully and at an impressive tempo. His first boundary, from his sixth delivery, was a clip for six off his legs that was timed to perfection and it was followed by a succession of reverse-sweeps, drives and slog-sweeps that provided a reminder of his range and class. One lofted drive over extra-cover might have been the stroke of the day. He beat Bairstow to 50 (30 and 41 balls respectively) and demonstrated his ability as a power hitter by heaving Wanindu Hasaranga for two vast sixes in an over.

Don't fret about his having 'only' scored 76 by the time he was dismissed in the 19th over: he had been starved of the strike. On another sluggish surface, his strike-rate - 158.33 - was significantly better than anyone else who faced 10 deliveries in the match.
With scores of 111 for 7, 129 for 7 and now 91 all out, Sri Lanka's batters looked strangely impotent against England in this series. They were never able to register a total that threatened England and only one Sri Lanka batter reached 40 during the series. With time running out ahead of the T20 World Cup, it's an area that will have to improve if Sri Lanka are to challenge.
Woakes' happy return
It had been almost six years since Woakes had played a T20I before this series. But, in conceding just 3.28 runs per over in the two games he played, he must have earned himself a chance of a longer-term recall. His control, skills, and variations - which seems, on this evidence, to include a new slower ball which is delivered with no change of seam position and appears tough to pick-up - and his ability to contribute with the bat, would appear to render him an attractive option.

[Admin]

It's coming home apparently

First one-day international, Emirates Riverside:
Sri Lanka 185 (42.3 overs): Perera 73, Hasaranga 54; Woakes 4-18, Willey 3-44
England 189-5 (34.5 overs): Root 79*; Chameera 3-50
England win by five wickets; lead series 1-0

Joe Root led England to a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street.

Chasing just 186, the hosts wobbled at 80-4 in the 12th over but Root's unbeaten 79 from 87 balls saw them win with 15.1 overs to spare.

He and Moeen Ali calmed any nerves with a stand of 91 and when the latter was out for 28 the win was all-but assured.

Sri Lanka dropped Moeen first ball and put in another dismal batting effort - bowled out for 185 in 42.3 overs.

Captain Kusal Perera made 73 from 81 balls and Wanindu Hasaranga a 65-ball 54 but only one other batter made double figures.

Chris Woakes returned an impeccable 4-18 and David Willey 3-44, while there were also two run-outs and a raft of soft dismissals in a Sri Lanka batting effort weakened by three players being sent home for breaching Covid-19 protocols on Monday.

England, comprehensive winners in last week's Twenty20 series, now lead the three-match one-day series 1-0.

The sides meet again in the second ODI on Thursday at The Oval before the final match in Bristol on Sunday.



England began their chase with Jonny Bairstow racing to 43 from 21 balls, at which point it looked as though a win could be completed in quick time.

After seeing his opening partner Liam Livingstone miscue to long-on, Bairstow then played on and, when captain Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings followed within six overs, Sri Lanka had an outside chance of an unlikely win.

Had wicketkeeper Perera clung on low to his left to dismiss Moeen for a duck things may have been different.

Ultimately Root - who was reprieved on 36 when a far harder chance at fine leg was put down by Dushmantha Chameera - astutely nudged England to an easy victory.

Woakes stars as Sri Lanka batting woes continue


Sri Lanka were dismissed for their fourth-lowest total in the third T20 on Saturday and this batting effort was little better. The stand of 99 between Perera and Hasaranga saved them from similar embarrassment.

Woakes recorded five maidens in his 10 overs of exemplary line and length, and bowled a brilliant away-swinger to have Dasun Shanaka caught behind.

But he was also helped by more loose batting - opener Pathum Nissanka one of those culpable, caught at mid-wicket toe-ending a pull shot.

Debutants Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya Lakshan made zero and two respectively and, after Hasaranga was caught top-edging a pull to deep square-leg off Woakes, Sri Lanka lost their next four wickets for seven runs, with Perera also caught in the deep.

There was still time for a comical run out, with Chameera dismissed after ending up at the same end as Binura Fernando.

The final wicket, a brilliant direct-hit run out by Billings from the edge of the 30-yard circle, summed up the difference between the two sides.


England all-rounder Chris Woakes, talking to Test Match Special: "I felt good today, it is always nice to get a couple early. It sets up your game as a bowler. It was a professional performance from the unit, it wasn't the best wicket but it wasn't the worst, so bowling them out for 185 was a good effort."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "I'm delighted. Full credit to our bowling unit today, it really did fire.

"Joe Root is one of the best in the world in most situations. He showed his class. Even yesterday at training it was notable how easy he finds things."

England bowler James Anderson on TMS: "The bowling was fantastic, the fielding was exceptional and England could just have been a bit more ruthless with the bat."

[Admin]

England 244 for 2 (Morgan 75*, Root 68*, Roy 60) beat Sri Lanka 241 for 9 (Dhananjaya 91, Shanaka 47, S. Curran 5-48, Willey 4-64) by eight wickets
Sam Curran's maiden international five-for set England up for victory and their top order sealed the deal, despite Dhananjaya de Silva putting up a fight for Sri Lanka in the second ODI at The Kia Oval.
Curran took 5 for 48 from 10 overs, while fellow left-armer David Willey took 4 for 64 as Sri Lanka reached 241 for 9, largely on the back of Dhananjaya's run-a-ball 91.
But, led by half-centuries from Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Jason Roy, England overhauled the target with seven overs to spare, winning by eight wickets to go 2-0 up in the three-match series.
Morgan's unbeaten 75 came in his 16th international innings across both white-ball formats since he had last passed fifty, while Root went past the mark for the second match in a row to remain not out 68, the pair putting on an unbroken 140-run stand for the third wicket

Sri Lanka had no answer for the swinging ball early on with Curran the chief purveyor at his home ground. At one point, he had taken three wickets for three runs in 1.3 overs as England made early breakthroughs.
Dhananjaya restored some order after the chaotic start and shared valuable partnerships with Wanindu Hasaranga and Dasun Shanaka to steady the innings, Shanaka falling three runs short of a half-century.
Willey had an lbw decision overturned on the fourth ball of the day, Pathum Nissanka successful with his review, which showed he had edged the ball onto his pad. But Curran struck four balls later, removing Kusal Perera for a second-ball duck.

By the end of the second over, Sri Lanka were 6 for 2 after Curran also pinned Avishka Fernando - unexpectedly back in the side after apparently being ruled out of the series by a thigh injury - with a ball that shaped back in and hit him in line with leg stump.
They were in disarray when Curran claimed his third, pegging back Nissanka's middle stump with a big inswinger that beat the inside edge.
That brought Dhananjaya to the middle and, having passed a late fitness test after suffering back spasms, he injected some experience to a Sri Lanka side which had blooded three players in Tuesday's five-wicket loss at Durham.
A short ball from Willey lured a mis-timed pull from Charith Asalanka - the only debutant from Chester-le-Street to hold his place - which sailed straight to George Garton, the substitute fielder at short midwicket while Morgan was off the field. With seven overs bowled, Sri Lanka were 21 for 4.
Dhananjaya and Hasaranga began salvaging the innings, the former showing strong intent as he helped himself to boundaries off Willey and Curran down the ground, through midwicket and to the off side.
They took Sri Lanka to 47 for 4 by the end of the first powerplay and, despite a near-miss when taking a single - Dhananjaya was nearly run out as well as almost colliding with Jonny Bairstow all at once - they survived. It was Bairstow who came off worse when he took Curran's wild throw awkwardly on the left thumb and had it taped before carrying on.
Hasaranga offered an early chance, edging a back-of-a-length ball from Mark Wood to Bairstow off the shoulder of the bat, but was put down as the keeper flung himself high to his right. He then hit two fours off a Curran over, pulled soundly over midwicket and driven gorgeously through cover, but it was a Curran bouncer that did him in as he took it on and picked out Sam Billings at deep square leg for 26, having put on 65 runs with Dhananj
Sam Curran acknowledges the applause for his five-for
Dhananjaya reached his fifty off 58 deliveries and Shanaka brought up the team 100 by launching Curran for a powerful six over wide long-on.
Willey ended Dhanajaya's stay with a short ball pulled poorly in the direction of deep square leg, where Root snaffled the catch. Shanaka fell to Willey, cutting another short delivery to Curran just inside the rope at cover point, and Curran claimed his fifth wicket with a bouncer that Chamika Karunaratne tried to pull, only to see it loop behind him and into Bairstow's waiting gloves.
Willey found himself on a hat-trick when he added Binura Fernando's wicket, well caught by Adil Rashid running in from fine leg, to that of Shankaka, taken on the last ball of his previous spell, but Dushmantha Chameera denied him.
Roy was in fine touch after missing the last T20I and the first ODI with a hamstring problem: by the time he reached 40, off the 26th ball he faced, he had racked up eight boundaries including back-to-back fours off Binura Fernando, bisecting fine leg and deep backward square off his pads and punishing a wider one through point to raise England's fifty.
Bairstow took longer to find his rhythm but he did so in style, taking 16 off one Asitha Fernando over with two fours and a six thundered over long-off. And, after first powerplay, England were 65 without loss.
Bairstow fell to Hasaranga for 29, though, chopping a legspinner onto his off stump, having just managed to edge the previous ball for four past the keeper.


Roy took another 21 deliveries to make the 10 runs needed to reach his half-century and he didn't hit another four until the 17th over when he struck Hasaranga for two in as many balls, over midwicket and straight down the ground.
That was the precursor to his demise which came when he walloped a back-of-a-length Karunaratne delivery to short midwicket, where Dhananjaya took a stunning catch leaping to his right.

But with England 104 for 2 and Root, whose unbeaten 79 saw England home in the opening ODI, accompanying Morgan with more than 32 overs remaining, there was no sense of urgency.
Morgan brought up his fifty off as many balls with a single edged past the keeper off Hasaranga shortly after hitting the same bowler for six over cow corner. Root guided Dhananjaya behind point for his half-century.
Needing 18 off the last 10 overs, the two England captains got there with ease, Morgan cracking the winning runs to rope at deep backward square off a Binura Fernando short ball, having worn the previous delivery somewhat painfully on his thumb before it almost rolled onto his stumps.

[Admin]

Third one-day international, County Ground, Bristol:
Sri Lanka 166 all out (41.1 overs): Shanaka 48*, T Curran 4-35, Willey 2-36, Woakes 2-28
England: Did not bat
Match abandoned
Scorecard
England won their one-day international series against Sri Lanka 2-0 after the third match in Bristol was washed out.

England, who also won the Twenty20 series 3-0, looked well-placed for another victory when they dismissed a sorry Sri Lanka cheaply once more - the tourists all out for 166 in 41.1 overs.

But heavy rain arrived soon after 15:00 BST, during the change of innings, and no further play was possible.

The match was abandoned at 16:15 with puddles forming on the outfield.

In another strong England bowling performance, Tom Curran impressed with 4-35 in his 10 overs.

Curran ripped through Sri Lanka's middle order after Chris Woakes and David Willey had reduced the tourists to 42-4.

England will likely face a far sterner test on Thursday when they play Pakistan in the first of three ODIs. A three-match T20 series follows afterwards.

Rain arrives but not before another Sri Lanka collapse
This has been a miserable tour for Sri Lanka whose only relief is that the rain allowed them to escape before what would almost certainly have been a sixth defeat in six games.

In the first ODI in Chester-le-Street they were 46-3, the second at The Oval 21-4, and here they were four down within nine overs.

Woakes in particular managed to swing the ball throughout but the majority of wickets fell to bad shots rather than good bowling.

Dhananjaya de Silva, who made 91 in the previous game, was one of two batters out on the hook, Oshada Fernando smashed Curran to mid-off to make the score 63-5 and the final wicket came in comedic fashion when Asitha Fernando was run out.

So poor was the opposition, England have learned little from the series but four wickets were a welcome boost for Curran.

The Surrey bowler, whose brother Sam took 5-48 at The Oval, had only taken three wickets in his previous 11 ODIs.

He was helped by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who took a brilliant diving one-handed catch to dismiss Chamika Karunaratne for Curran's third.

The win extends England lead at the top of the Super League, which acts as qualification for the next 50-over World Cup. Sri Lanka are 11th and in danger of not qualifying for the 2023 showpiece should their results not improve.

'I don't feel I've done anything different' - reaction
England bowler Tom Curran: "It is disappointing. We sort of knew there was a bit of rain, but I didn't quite think it was going to come down that hard, that quickly, but look it was nice to contribute with a few wickets.

"I don't feel like I've done anything different, it is a funny game. I've felt pretty good for a while to be honest, and I just haven't quite been getting the wickets."

England captain Eoin Morgan: "We're delighted with the series win, and more so today with the way we started.

"We looked to be aggressive, create pressure and create opportunities. We're delighted that we continued to be ruthless and disciplined in the nature that we showed."

[chris]

3 players test positive and 4 staff. All players now self isolating. New England being announced shortly. Parkinson? Mahmood? Luckily (?) this will be all over by the time the H*ndred starts as it would further decimate the county squads.

[Admin]

Jul 6, 2021 8:43:07 GMT chris said:

3 players test positive and 4 staff. All players now self isolating. New England being announced shortly. Parkinson? Mahmood? Luckily (?) this will be all over by the time the H*ndred starts as it would further decimate the county squads.

Parkinson and Saq picked

[lancsdes]

Usual thing; county cricket is just a convenience for the ECB